Quran Final Short Answer
Explain the five possible rulings that Muslims scholars gave to all human acts. What is an example of each and what are the consequences of doing them / not doing them? What type of scriptural evidence do they require?
1) Obligatory: what you should do (prayer, fasting, etc.) 2) Recommended: What is recommended that you do but doesn't have to be done (extra prayers) 3) Neutral: There is no scripture obligatory to it, so if you do it nothing happens, if you don't, nothing happens (breakfast) 4) Disliked: What should not be done and not rewarded if you do it, but if you do it, nothing happens (divorce) 5) Prohibited: Should not be done (drinking alcohol)
Describe the process by which many Muslims today study and become licensed to orally transmit the Qur'an to others.
1) memorize the text 2) recite the text to someone who recited the text... all the way back to Muhammad (isnad) 3) When certified as having memorized correctly, and mastered tajwid, you receive ijaza that includes isnad
In the Islamic tradition, what qualifications did a Muslim scholar need to have before they were "qualified" to interpret the Qur'an?
1. The proper intention to please God and guide others 2. Fear of God and immediate repentance upon the performance of a sin 3. Knowledge and mastery of all the relevant sources of tafsir (see above), e.g. knowledge of all relevant hadith on a particular topic and their levels of reliability. 4. Knowledge of the different transmitted recitations (qira'at) of the Qur'an (with their minor variations in consonants, vowels, and occasionally words) 5. Knowledge of the methods of interpretation (hermeneutics / usul) 6. Knowledge of the chronological order of revelation 7. Knowledge of which verses abrogated (replaced) others (naskh) 8. A gifted intellect
How did Usama bin Laden justify attacking American civilians? Be sure to cite his grievances as well as his scriptural arguments
1.US occupation of Saudi Arabia (Contains Mecca and Medina- Holy Land) Gulf War I- Iraq invades Kuwait Saudi King invites America to send troops to Saudi Arabia to protect it We send 550,000 troops Bin Laden regarded Saudi king as illegitimate (puppet of the US) After war, 5,000 remain behind through 2003 2. US support for Israel 1948 Israel becomes an independent nation, war fought with Arab neighbors, 711,000 Arab refugees flee Palestinian refugee crisis Israel settlements in West Bank Israel is a major US ally Lots of financial support US protects Israel in security council 3. UN Sanctions on Iraq after Gulf War Only allowed to import food and medicine (economy tanks) Rise in infant mortality 500k infants died
Give an example of a story about Abraham in the Qur'an that is also found in extra-Biblical material.
Abraham breaks idols according to the Qur'an and extra-biblical material, but not in the Bible
According to the Qur'an, was Jesus crucified and killed on the cross? Explain three possible interpretations of the Qur'anic verses on this question. Cite an important phrase from the Qur'an that bears on this question in your answer.
According to Quran, Jesus was not crucified and killed on the cross One of Jesus' enemies was killed and was crucified in his place Jesus was crucified, but he passed out and was put into a tomb Jesus was crucified by Romans, not Jews "'We slew the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, the Messenger of God'-though they did not slay him; nor did they crucify him, but it appeared so unto them"
List examples of one Arab prophet and the people he was sent to (other than Muhammad) and three non-Arab prophets and the people they were sent to, according to the Qur'an.
Arab prophet: Hud-->Yemen Non-Arab prophet: Moses--> Israelites Non-Arab prophet: David--> Israelites Non-Arab prophet: Noah--> Mesopotamians
How did Muslims define a "good" interpretation of the Qur'an that uncovers its "true" meaning? That is, how did they think a sincere believer could be guided by the Qur'an, rather than manipulating it?
Does not yield unanimity Good interpretation: By a qualified interpreter **Use some qualifications from the handout Who performs due diligence using all of the necessary sources and using an acceptable method
In what ways does the Qur'an engage with the Bible? Discuss at least three ways. For what purposes does it do this?
Does these three things to increase audience Echo- to parody Allusion-Common, Channeling authority of the quoted text in the hearts and minds of your audience Quoting the Bible-Rare, Channeling authority of the quoted text in the hearts and minds of your audience, Helps to make a point
How did Muslim scholars define the rules of engagement in war based on the hadith tradition? List at least five traditional prohibitions
Don't kill animals Don't destroy crop land Don't kill people using fire weapons No mutilation of bodies No torture Don't kill innocent people (Women, children, elderly, monks)
Why did Thomas Jefferson purchase a copy of the Qur'an? What evidence do we have for his motivation?
First theory: He first purchased the Quran in 1780s in response to the conflict between the US and "Barbary states" of North Africa He helped negotiate a peace treaty in 1786 He was studying the Quran to better understand the adversities as a part of "know thy enemy" Second theory: He bought it when he was a law student to further his studies in 1765 Jefferson kept the book in the section of religion, located between a book on myths and Gods of antiquity and a copy of the Old Testament He did not class religious works with books on history or ethics, but with jurisprudence Evidence: We know the book belonged to him because he marked it We know he looked up to Locke who learned from Pococke about religious toleration Jefferson helped write the Declaration of Independence in which toleration of all religions is specified
How are the unique aspects of the Qur'an's version consistent with its own larger understanding of what God is like, what prophets are like, and the nature of humanity?
God is like: Adam and Eve blame themselves, and God forgives them Understanding that God is the Most Merciful and the Most Forgiving God forgives directly Prophets are like: Adam and Eve blames themselves, not each other They act more responsibly in the Quran- prophets are role models Humanity is like: Adam and Eve in the Quran forget Not considered a sin-not willful disobedience Humanity's fundamental problem is forgetfulness/absentmindedness-not God having one's consciousness Humanity's fundamental problem is not sin
What lines of evidence have led most academic scholars to argue that the Qur'anic text we have today dates to the 7th century?
Grammar of the Quran text we have today has some unusual and archaic features and text contains some unusual words We don't see evidence of subsequent theological debates Sunnis and Shiites agree upon the story of how the text we have today came about We have manuscripts of the Quran that have been carbon dated to 650's Can attest to about 92% of the Quran today Uthman was worried about arguments over pronunciation of the Quran, so he ordered a master copy and orders all other written copies to be destroyed so there is no confusio
What guidelines does the Qur'an give regarding dress for both sexes? Discuss key terms and phrases in the Qur'anic text itself.
Guard private parts (awrah) Remove harmful obstacles Women: typically cover everything but face, hands, and feet Khumur: can mean headscarf or hankerchief Men: typically cover navel to knees
Discuss how Muslim scholars sought to deal with the problem of multiple interpretations of the same Qur'anic verse
If a qualified interpreter issues an interpretation using all the sources and an acceptable method, their interpretation should be respected You don't have to agree with it, you can't argue they're wrong, but it's legitimate-not blameworthy to follow it They can't be excommunicated Admit the possibility that you yourself could be wrong
Give an example of a story about Jesus in the Qur'an that is also found in extra-Biblical material.
Jesus breathes life into clay pigeons
What guidelines does the Qur'an give regarding looking at the opposite gender? Discuss key terms and phrases in the Qur'anic text itself
Lower the gaze Not look with passion/lustfully Can look once at a woman, but after that you cannot look anymore
For what purposes does the Qur'an authorize violent force? Identify at least three purposes given by the Qur'anic text.
Maintenace of religion Protection of places of worship Defensive action in response to acts against them
How did Muslim scholars seek to reconcile the Qur'an's violent verses with its peaceful ones? Discuss arguments made by mainstream Muslim scholars and by terrorists.
Modern Muslim argument: 1) Linguistic analysis Verses say fight the polytheists-self-defense doesn't mean kill 2) Muhammad's own example- which favored diplomacy 3) Looking at overall objectives of the text Preponderance of peaceful verses Summation of Muhammad's career as being a mercy to all fo the worlds 4) the violent verses can be best understood through historical contextualization Refer to specific conflicts with polytheists Byzantines They are not universal commands to fight in all places and all times Terrorist argument: Violent verses cancel and replace the peaceful ones Violent verses have general applicability "fight the people of the book"- doesn't mean just the Byzantines, it also means Americans/Europeans Justification for killing civilians: America and western Europe doesn't have civilians because they're democrats If they kill our civilians, we're allowed to kill their civilians
How have the Qur'an's guidelines on dress for men and women been interpreted by Muslim scholars? Discuss the range of interpretations given by scholars in both the pre-modern Muslim world in modern Western societies
Modern: Purpose of hijab was to protect woman-->So, in a western society where there's anti-Muslim animus, wearing hijab might lead to harassment, better not to wear it Many traditional people follow pre-modern rules New revisionist understanding: Hadith that defines what you must cover for women is weak Khumur refers to a scarf in general, does not necessitate covering the hair Premodern: Men should cover navel-->knees Women in front of other women cover navel-->knees Women in front of non-family men: all but face, hands, and feet Justification: Hadiths define regions that need to be covered Word khumar means headscarf
How have Muslims and critical academics explained the similarities and differences between the Qur'an's stories of the prophets and those of the Bible?
Muslim explanation: Quran matches Bible sometimes because the figures existed, events really happened, and the Quran is a reminder of truth Jews and Christians know Quran contradicts the Bible sometimes because it's correcting the Bible Quran matches extra-biblical because sometimes it has true information Critical academics: Quran matches Bible sometimes because Muhammad is simply repeating stories he's already heard Quran contradicts Bible sometimes because someone changed the story, either someone who was in the chain or Muhammad himself Quran matches extra-biblical sometimes because stories all being transmitted orally--> they get mixed up
Explain the origin and nature of the Variant Readings of the Qur'an (qira'at): What types of variations exist in the oral transmissions of the Qur'an? How significant are these differences for the meaning of the text? What is the range of opinions on the origin of these variations? Discuss both the standard Muslim explanation and skeptical revisionist interpretations
Muslims transmitted the Quran with minor variations in vowels, consonants, and rarely whole words. Variations of the text only affect a small part of the text (~1% of the whole text). Variations have almost no impact on meaning. Many of these transmissions have a sound isnad. The standard Muslim explanation is that God authorized multiple variations in the Quran to accommodate the different dialects of the Arabs. Which explains the difference in spelling, pronunciation, and words The skeptical academic approach is perhaps the Quran was not perfectly memorized by early Muslims. And because the Quran was not written with vowels or consonantal dots, sometimes they didn't know what the text said, so they read into it their own dialogues. So when people who spoke different dialects read the written copies, they made up the variant readings
What are the religious implications of the Qur'anic version for Muslims? Explain at least two major implications for issues such as the nature of women, the question of evolution, and the means of salvation.
Nature of women: In Quran, Eve is not made from Adam's rib Eve and Adam eat at the same time Consequences that women are not derivative of men Women are not the source of man's problems Question of evolution: Quran generally lacks detail as a result, it's difficult to come up with a dating for Adam Consequently, it's harder to argue against evolution Means of salvation: In the Quran, Adam and eve acknowledge their mistake, repent, and God forgives them Salvation comes through repentance and God's forgiveness Muslims would say you can never know though if God has accepted your repentance
What is the Qur'an's "prophetology?" That is, what do prophets and messengers do and not do according to the Qur'an, why are they sent, and what common teachings did they bring to humanity?
Prophets are people whom speak with God Messengers are people whom God speaks with and gives them a message: There is one God and that is God Prophetology: theory or doctrine of prophets/prophecy-One way of explaining other religions
What are some reasons do Muslim women give for why they wear hijab?
Protection Different male-female interactions More convenient to work as a human being rather than a sexual object Contain sexual energies for when they can best be used Raises quality of love Emphasizes inner beauty Mysterious and enticing
When and how did the Qur'an first come to America?
Quran came to America through the slave trade in the 1500s Americans were reciting the Quran in the 1800s
How does the Qur'an describe treaties?
Quran endorses treaties An important tool of state craft Muslims should not break their treaties and keep their words Dishonorable to break treaties
Why is it helpful to know the historical context of a particular Qur'anic verse when interpreting it?
Quran often alludes to events or persons that is not clear from the Quran alone Context helps us to understand the intent of the Quran
How might the Qur'an's understanding of religious toleration have possibly influenced Thomas Jefferson? Discuss the role of the George Sale translation of the Qur'an that Jefferson had purchased.
Sale translation: Quran has a verse calling for religious toleration, "There is no compulsion in religion, truth stands clear from falsehood" Jefferson bought Sale's translation of the Qur'an Sale added 200-page introduction- even though he regards Muhammad as a false prophet, he says Judaism and Islam historically have been more tolerant than Christians have been (contrary to Gospel teaching) John Locke: The toleration that Pococke experienced was grounded in the Qur'an Edward Pococke (Locke's beloved teacher, mentor, and friend)-studied Arabic in the Muslim world for 9 years-lives in Istanbul and Syria Experiences toleration firsthand under Ottomans Taught Arabic by a Syrian Jew Did Locke pick up some of Pococke's experience of toleration which Locke then wrote about? Jefferson loved Locke, he written tolerance doctrines found in Virginia statute of religious freedom, bases of the first amendment
How is Muhammad similar to and different from the other prophets sent by God according to the Qur'an?
Similarities: He's a prophet A role model He brings a scripture Differences: Muhammad is the final prophet Muhammad is sent to all of humanity not just one community
How is the Qur'anic story of Adam and Eve (Hawa) similar to and different from the biblical story in Genesis chapters 2 through 4? Identify three similarities and three differences in the stories.
Similarities: They both mention the forbidden fruit Expulsion of Adam from the garden Repentance of Adam Differences: Bible says Eve was made from Adam's rib, but Quran doesn't say In the Quran, Adam and Eve forgot they weren't supposed to eat the fruit Bible mentions creation of Adam-More detailed
What are some of the challenges of translating the Qur'an into English? Identify at least five challenges.
The first challenge of translating the Qur'an into English is syntactical. The shifts in tenses or persons are hard to translate. It's hard to capture the full dramatic effect the shift can have on readers/listeners. Every translation is an interpretation. The second challenge is grammatical structure. Grammatical structures are open to multiple interpretations. The translator must choose to limit the Arabic text to a single meaning or render a dual translation that would convey both meanings. The third challenge would be translation of Quranic terms. There is the challenge of finding English words that are equivalent to the Arabic words. The fourth challenge is a scripture is encoded in the world views of its original language. Any translation would lose its view. The last challenge would be good literature is attentive to the sounds of words, not just their meaning. It is hard to translate accurately while preserving that sound.
What are the main sources of Islamic law? Identify three
The main sources of Islamic law are the Quran, Sunnah, and Qiyas
Describe the state of stories about biblical figures in Arabia during Muhammad's life time (a period sometimes referred to as "Late Antiquity"). How did these stories circulate? Who told them? Was the Bible translated into Arabic yet? Discuss the state of the evidence for an Arabic Bible translation in Muhammad's day (Griffith).
The preponderance of evidence suggests that the Bible had not been translated into written Arabic during Muhammad's life time Stories are circulating orally- Storytellers, families, and neighbors
Give an overview of the history of the Qur'an as a written text: How much of the Qur'an had been written down during the Prophet's lifetime? How did the first official edition come about? What steps did Muslims take over the centuries to more fully capture its spoken form?
The prophet did not write the Quranic text himself. He was illiterate. There are reports that 65 scribes wrote down the revelation in separate locations (leaves, bones, parchment). It is not in one location nor was it gathered as a single text in his lifetime. When the Quran was written in the 7th century, it lacked vowels and lacked dots to differentiate consonants. In order to capture its spoken form, Muslims added vowel marks, added consonantal dots, and added color coated letters to indicate vowel length.
Explain Muslim understandings of the previous scriptures. Which previous scriptures are specifically mentioned by the Qur'an? How do Muslims interact with them today and why?
Torah has been confirmed by Christ Quran argues that Jews and Christians corrupted their scriptures/forgot part of their scripture Ultimate relationships of Muslims to Bible is respectful caution-They think of Bible as weak hadith, They use the Bible for storytelling
How did Muslim jurists seek to adapt the Qur'an's message, initially given to Muhammad's community in seventh-century Arabia, to new times and places?
They use qiyas= legal analogy Maqasid-Al Shari'ah--> useful for making sure when you deal with new topics/issues that you're preserving the spirit of the religion (Mercy, preserving life, property, honor, religion, intellect) The continued use of reason as a tool in Islamic legal theory is most evident among Sunni scholars in their reliance on analogical reasoning Allows rules of Quran to be continually adapted to new circumstances that were not present during Muhammad's lifetime
Compare and contrast the story of Jesus in the Bible and in the Qur'an. Identify three significant similarities and three significant differences.
Three similarities: He is the "word" Mary is the mother, making him the messenger (Messiah) He can perform miracles; raising dead, healing leper and blind Three differences: Jesus is not divine in the Quran Jesus is not the son of God according to Quran Jesus did not die on the cross
Explain the difference between tradition-based and reason-based exegesis
Tradition based: Aims to restrict the use of independent reasoning in the understanding and interpretation of the text, emphasizing instead the importance of exegesis by reference to the Quran itself Reason-based: Allows for interpretation of texts based on independent reasoning with certain limitations
Which group(s) of ancient Christians were closest in their Christology [their understanding of who Jesus was/is] to that of the Qur'an?
Understand that Jesus is the Messiah, a prophet, a miracle worker, a human (not divine), only sent to the Israelites Closest form of Christianity to the Quran's teachings: "Jewish Christianity" Ebionites- Prophet , Human not divine, He called for the observance of Jewish law Problem: Thought Jesus was the biological son of Joseph (not born of a virgin)
What are the challenges in reconstructing the historical context of a Qur'anic verse?
Unless one is aware of the chronological order of certain instructions, it is difficult to determine which should be given priority over the others Problems with reliability
What challenges do the Qur'an's guidelines on looking at the opposite gender present for modern Muslims today?
You're not supposed to look at a man between the belly button and knees at all, and you're not supposed to look at a woman, not your wife or family, except hands, face, and feet Guideline-lower the gaze to avoid lustful looking Modern Muslims are surrounded-media, social media, billboards with half-naked people-We use half-naked bodies to market everything
