Historical reliability of the Quran

Short description: Aspect of Islam

The Quran is viewed to be the scriptural foundation of Islam and is believed by Muslims to have been sent down by Allah (God) and revealed to Muhammad by the angel Jibreel (Gabriel). Muslims have not used historical criticism in the study of the Quran, but they have used textual criticism in a similar way used by Christians and Jews.[1] It has been practiced primarily by secular, Western scholars such as John Wansbrough, Joseph Schacht, Patricia Crone, and Michael Cook, who set aside doctrines of the Quran's divinity, perfection, unchangeability, etc., accepted by Muslim scholars,[2] and instead investigate the Quran's origin, text, composition, and history.[2]

Islamic Persian miniature of Jibril protecting Ibrahim from Nimrod's fire.

Scholars have identified several pre-existing sources for some Quranic narratives.[3] The Quran assumes its readers' familiarity with the Christian Bible and there are many parallels between the Bible and the Quran. Aside from the Bible, the Quran includes legendary narratives about Dhu al-Qarnayn, apocryphal gospels,[4] and Jewish legends.

Some philosophers and scholars such as Mohammed Arkoun, who emphasize the mythological content of the Quran, are met with rejectionist attitudes in Islamic circles.[5] In the Muslim world, scholarly criticism of the Quran can be considered an apostasy. Scholarly criticism of the Quran is thus a nascent field of study in the Islamic world.[6][7] Another -pretty new- interpretation of historical figures in the Qur'an is that the characters mentioned are not historical figures but certain typologies of evil people such as Nimrod (the king who humiliated and imprisoned Abraham), Haman, Qarun and Pharaoh, which we should understand as concepts related to human beings.[8]

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## Contents

* 1 Textual history
* 1.1 Early manuscripts
* 2 Quran and History
* 2.1 Creation narrative
* 2.2 Around Moses
* 2.2.1 Qārūn
* 2.2.2 Haman
* 2.2.3 A Legendary Tower
* 2.2.4 Samiri
* 2.3 Alexander the Great legends
* 2.4 Around Jesus
* 2.4.1 Death of Jesus
* 3 See also
* 4 References
* 4.1 Notes
* 4.2 Citations
* 4.3 Bibliography

## Textual history

Main articles: Religion:History of the Quran and History of Islam

Further information: Revisionist school of Islamic studies and Historicity of Muhammad

In Sunni tradition, it is believed that the first caliph Abu Bakr ordered Zayd ibn Thabit to compile the written Quran, relying upon both textual fragments and the memories of those who had memorized it during Muhammad's lifetime,[9] with the rasm (undotted Arabic text) being officially canonized under the third caliph Uthman ibn Affan (r. 644–656 CE),[10] leading the Quran as it exists today to be known as the Uthmanic codex.[11] Some Shia Muslims believe that the fourth caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib was the first to compile the Quran shortly after Muhammad died.[12]

The canonization process is believed to have been highly conservative,[13] although some amount of textual evolution is also indicated by the existence of codices like the Sanaa manuscript.[14][15] Beyond this, a group of researchers explores the irregularities and repetitions in the Quranic text in a way that refutes the traditional claim that it was preserved by memorization alongside writing. According to them, an oral period shaped the Quran as a text and order, and mentioned repetitions and irregularities were remnants of this period.[16]

Sanaʽa manuscript of the Quran.

Some revionist western scholars,[17] question the accuracy of the traditional accounts on whether the holy book existed in any form before the last decade of the seventh century (Patricia Crone and Michael Cook);[18] and/or argue it is a "cocktail of texts", some of which may have been existent a hundred years before Muhammad, that evolved (Gerd R. Puin),[18][19][20] or was redacted (J. Wansbrough),[21][22] to form the Quran.

It is also possible that the content of the Quran itself may provide data regarding the date and probably nearby geography of writing of the text. Sources based on some archaeological data give the construction date of Masjid al-Haram, an architectural work mentioned 16 times in the Quran, as 78 AH[23] an additional finding that sheds light on the evolutionary history of the Quranic texts mentioned,[24] which is known to continue even during the time of Hajjaj,[25][26][27] in a similar situation that can be seen with al-Aksa, though different suggestions have been put forward -contrary to some of the hadiths of Muhammad's ascension, which indicate that these places are architectural structures[28]\- to explain.[Note 1] These structures, expected to be somewhere near Muhammad,[Note 2] which were placed in cities like Mecca and Jerusalem, which are thousands of kilometers apart today, with interpretations based on narrations and miracles, were only a night walk away according to the outward and literal meaning of the verse.Surah Al-Isra 17:1 (See also:Bakkah)

### Early manuscripts

Main article: Religion:Early Quranic manuscripts

In the 1970s, 14,000 fragments of Quran were discovered in the Great Mosque of Sana'a, the Sana'a manuscripts. About 12,000 fragments belonged to 926 copies of the Quran, the other 2,000 were loose fragments. The oldest known copy of the Quran so far belongs to this collection. According to Sadeghi and Bergmann, the results indicated that the parchment had a 68% (1σ) probability of belonging to the period between 614 CE to 656 CE. It had a 95% (2σ) probability of belonging to the period between 578 CE and 669 CE. The carbon dating was applicable to the lower text. But paleography suggest a date from mid to latter half of the 7th century CE. Upper text dated between end of 7CE and beginning of the 8CE.

In 2015, a single of folio dating from between approximately AD 568 and 645, were identified at the University of Birmingham.[35] Islamic scholar Joseph E. B. Lumbard of Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Qatar has written in the Huffington Post in support of the dates proposed by the Birmingham scholars. Professor Lumbard notes that the discovery of a Qur'anic text that may be confirmed by radiocarbon dating as having been written in the first decades of the Islamic era, and includes variations in the “under text.” recorded in the Islamic historiographical tradition .[36]

## Quran and History

Further information: List of legends in the Quran and Biblical and Quranic narratives

### Creation narrative

Further information: Islamic views on evolution

The Quran contains a creation narrative and may refer to the world being created in six days (yawm), although this is highly debatable. In Sūrah al-Anbiyāʼ, the Quran states that "the heavens and the earth were of one piece" before being parted.[37] God then created the landscape of the earth, placed the sky above it as a roof, and created the day and night cycles by appointing an orbit for both the sun and moon.[38] Some Muslim apologists, like Zakir Naik and Adnan Oktar advocate creationism and contemporary Islamic scholar Yasir Qadhi believes that the idea that humans evolved is against the Quran.[39] Most Muslims do not accept the theory of evolution, although there are substantial differences among countries (from <10% acceptance in Egypt to about 40% in Kazakhstan).[40] Some Muslims point to a verse in the Quran as evidence for Evolution “when He truly created you in stages ˹of development˺?” Verse 71:14. Evolution is taught in many Islamic countries, and some scholars have tried to reconcile the Quran and evolution.[41]

### Around Moses

#### Qārūn

Islamic depiction of Musa watching Qarun and his palace be swallowed by the earth from a Persian 1580 manuscript.

Korah is also mentioned in the Quran by the name of Qārūn (Arabic: قارون). He is recognized as wealthy, and became very arrogant due to his pride and ignorance.[42] He gave the credit for his wealth to his knowledge instead of to God.[43]

> Indeed, Qarun was from the people of Moses, but he tyrannized them. And We gave him of treasures whose keys would burden a band of strong men; thereupon his people said to him, "Do not exult. Indeed, Allah does not like the exultant.

— Quran 28:76

#### Haman

The name Haman, also appears in the biblical Book of Esther where Haman is a counselor of Ahasuerus, king of Persia and an enemy of the Jews. The relationship between the Biblical and Quranic Haman has been a topic of debate. There is no evidence of such stories in Egyptian history.[44] Some Islamic scholars compared plot elements of the book of Esther when they elaborated on the Quranic narrative of the Exodus.[45]

#### A Legendary Tower

Further information: Tower of Babel and Nimrod

The Quranic narrative brings together Moses, Pharaoh, Karun, Haman, and a tower made of mud bricks in the same story.[46] While some commentators, in an attempt to harmonize these elements from different geographical and historical periods, suggest that the structure in question could be a pyramid, the architecture of Egyptian pyramids does not resemble a tower, nor is the construction material made of clay, as the Quran describes. Another interpretation of the matter is that the characters mentioned are not historical figures, but rather specific typologies.[47]

Finally, Pharaoh's family found and took the child, who would become their enemy and a source of distress. Indeed, Pharaoh, his vizier Haman, and their soldiers were making a mistake. (Al-Qasas-8)

Pharaoh said, "I know of no god for you other than myself. O Haman, kindle a furnace for me in clay and build me a tower, perhaps I will ascend to the god of Moses, but I surely think he is one of those who lied." (Al-Qasas-38)

#### Samiri

Quran recounts a story of the golden calf, where it mentions that Samiri, a rebellious follower of Moses, created the calf while Moses was away for 40 days on Mount Sinai, receiving the Ten Commandments.[48] Due to the fact that as-Samiri can mean the Samaritan,[49] some believe that his character is a reference to the worship of the golden calves built by Jeroboam of Samaria, conflating the two idol-worshiping incidents into one.

### Alexander the Great legends

Silver tetradrachm of Alexander the Great shown wearing the horns of the ram-god Zeus-Ammon.

Main article: Biography:Dhul-Qarnayn

Quran also employs popular legends about Alexander the Great called Dhul-Qarnayn ("he of the two horns") in the Quran. The story of Dhul-Qarnayn has its origins in legends of Alexander the Great current in the Middle East in the early years of the Christian era. According to these the Scythians, the descendants of Gog and Magog, once defeated one of Alexander's generals, upon which Alexander built a wall in the Caucasus Mountains to keep them out of civilised lands (the basic elements are found in Flavius Josephus).

The reasons behind the name "Two-Horned" are somewhat obscure: the scholar al-Tabari (839–923 CE) held it was because he went from one extremity ("horn") of the world to the other,[50] but it may ultimately derive from the image of Alexander wearing the horns of the ram-god Zeus-Ammon, as popularised on coins throughout the Hellenistic Near East.[51] The wall Dhul-Qarnayn builds on his northern journey may have reflected a distant knowledge of the Great Wall of China (the 12th century scholar al-Idrisi drew a map for Roger of Sicily showing the "Land of Gog and Magog" in Mongolia), or of various Sasanian Persian walls built in the Caspian area against the northern barbarians, or a conflation of the two.[52]

Dhul-Qarneyn also journeys to the western and eastern extremities ("qarns", tips) of the Earth.[53] In the west he finds the sun setting in a "muddy spring", equivalent to the "poisonous sea" which Alexander found in the Syriac legend. [54] In the Syriac original Alexander tested the sea by sending condemned prisoners into it, but the Quran changes this into a general administration of justice.[54] In the east both the Syrian legend and the Quran have Alexander/Dhul-Qarneyn find a people who live so close to the rising sun that they have no protection from its heat.[54]

"Qarn" also means "period" or "century", and the name Dhul-Qarnayn therefore has a symbolic meaning as "He of the Two Ages", the first being the mythological time when the wall is built and the second the age of the end of the world when Allah's shariah, the divine law, is removed and Gog and Magog are to be set loose.[55] Modern Islamic apocalyptic writers, holding to a literal reading, put forward various explanations for the absence of the wall from the modern world, some saying that Gog and Magog were the Mongols and that the wall is now gone, others that both the wall and Gog and Magog are present but invisible.[56]

### Around Jesus

Further information: Joachim

#### Death of Jesus

Papyrus of Irenaeus'Against Heresies, which describes early Gnostic beliefs about Jesus' death which influenced Islam.[57]

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Main article: Religion:Islamic views on Jesus's death

The Quran maintains that Jesus was not actually crucified and did not die on the cross. The general Islamic view supporting the denial of crucifixion was probably influenced by Manichaenism (Docetism), which holds that someone else was crucified instead of Jesus, while concluding that Jesus will return during the end-times.[58]

> That they said (in boast), "We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah";- but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not:-
> Nay, Allah raised him up unto Himself; and Allah is Exalted in Power, Wise;-

— Qur'an, sura 4 (An-Nisa) ayat 157–158[59]

Despite these views, scholars maintain the historicity of the Crucifixion of Jesus.[60] The view that Jesus only appeared to be crucified and did not actually die predates Islam, and is found in several apocryphal gospels.[58]

Irenaeus in his book Against Heresies describes Gnostic beliefs that bear remarkable resemblance with the Islamic view:

> He did not himself suffer death, but Simon, a certain man of Cyrene, being compelled, bore the cross in his stead; so that this latter being transfigured by him, that he might be thought to be Jesus, was crucified, through ignorance and error, while Jesus himself received the form of Simon, and, standing by, laughed at them. For since he was an incorporeal power, and the Nous (mind) of the unborn father, he transfigured himself as he pleased, and thus ascended to him who had sent him, deriding them, inasmuch as he could not be laid hold of, and was invisible to all.-

— Against Heresies, Book I, Chapter 24, Section 40

Irenaeus mentions this view again:

> He appeared on earth as a man and performed miracles. Thus he himself did not suffer. Rather, a certain Simon of Cyrene was compelled to carry his cross for him. It was he who was ignorantly and erroneously crucified, being transfigured by him, so that he might be thought to be Jesus. Moreover, Jesus assumed the form of Simon, and stood by laughing at them.[61][62] Irenaeus, Against Heresies.[57]

Another Gnostic writing, found in the Nag Hammadi library, Second Treatise of the Great Seth has a similar view of Jesus' death:

> I was not afflicted at all, yet I did not die in solid reality but in what appears, in order that I not be put to shame by them

and also:

> Another, their father, was the one who drank the gall and the vinegar; it was not I. Another was the one who lifted up the cross on his shoulder, who was Simon. Another was the one on whom they put the crown of thorns. But I was rejoicing in the height over all the riches of the archons and the offspring of their error and their conceit, and I was laughing at their ignorance

Coptic Apocalypse of Peter, likewise, reveals the same views of Jesus' death:

> I saw him (Jesus) seemingly being seized by them. And I said 'What do I see, O Lord? That it is you yourself whom they take, and that you are grasping me? Or who is this one, glad and laughing on the tree? And is it another one whose feet and hands they are striking?' The Savior said to me, 'He whom you saw on the tree, glad and laughing, this is the living Jesus. But this one into whose hands and feet they drive the nails is his fleshly part, which is the substitute being put to shame, the one who came into being in his likeness. But look at him and me.' But I, when I had looked, said 'Lord, no one is looking at you. Let us flee this place.' But he said to me, 'I have told you, 'Leave the blind alone!'. And you, see how they do not know what they are saying. For the son of their glory instead of my servant, they have put to shame.' And I saw someone about to approach us resembling him, even him who was laughing on the tree. And he was with a Holy Spirit, and he is the Savior. And there was a great, ineffable light around them, and the multitude of ineffable and invisible angels blessing them. And when I looked at him, the one who gives praise was revealed.

However, Islamic scholar Mahmoud M. Ayoub and historian of religion Gabriel Said Reynolds disagree with the mainstream interpretation of the Quranic narrative of Jesus' death, arguing that the Quran nowhere disputes that Jesus died.[63][64]

## See also

* Criticism of the Quran
* History of the Quran
* Early Quranic manuscripts
* Historicity of Muhammad
* Corpus Coranicum
* Noah in Islam
* Historicity of the Bible
* Syriac Infancy Gospel

## References

### Notes

1. ↑ Arabic and Persian writers such as 10th-century geographer al-Muqaddasi,[29] 11th-century scholar Nasir Khusraw,[29] 12th-century geographer al-Idrisi[30] and 15th-century Islamic scholar Mujir al-Din,[31] as well as 19th-century North American and British Orientalist scholars such as Edward Robinson, Guy Le Strange, and Edward Henry Palmer explained that the term Masjid al-Aqsa refers to the entire esplanade plaza also known as the Temple Mount or Haram al-Sharif ('Noble Sanctuary')—i.e., the entire area including the Dome of the Rock, the fountains, the gates, and the four minarets—because none of these buildings existed at the time when the Quran was written.[32][33]
2. ↑ While "masjid" may simply be used as a place of worship, meaning a place of prostration traditionally used for worship, it may also refer to the buildings where these acts took place. In this case, the relevant verses could be dated after the construction of these buildings. Another verse alluding to Muhammad's Miraj story can be used to conclude that these two mosques are not that far apart. In this regard, one can consider the conclusions of scholars who point to Al-Aqsa being near Mecca —in the Al-Ji'rana region—[34] or, conversely, the Revisionist school of Islamic studies, which suggests that the birth of Islam occurred in northwestern Arabia.

### Citations

1. ↑ Religions of the world Lewis M. Hopfe – 1979 "Some Muslims have suggested and practiced textual criticism of the Quran in a manner similar to that practiced by Christians and Jews on their bibles. No one has yet suggested the higher criticism of the Quran."
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 LESTER, TOBY (January 1999). "What Is the Koran?". Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1999/01/what-is-the-koran/304024/. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
3. ↑ Leirvik 2010, p. 33.
4. ↑ Leirvik 2010, pp. 33–34.
5. ↑ Fazeli, Hamidreza; Tali Tabasi, Marziyeh; Fazeli, Alireza; Fararooei, Shokrolla. "A Critical Study of the Quran's Theory of Mythology (A Case Study on Mohammad Arkoun's Perspectives)". p. 2. https://www.iraqoaj.net/iasj/download/194df3cf9e25bbef. "After examining the verses of the Quran to find where the word mythology has been used and seeking the accordance between the meaning and context with Quran’s purpose of knowledge and guidance, including rules and educational issues, we found that the concept of myth is not acceptable in the Quran. The result of this study show that Quran is not a myth, rather the stories are factual and based on reality."
6. ↑ Christian-Muslim relations: yesterday, today, tomorrow Munawar Ahmad Anees, Ziauddin Sardar, Syed Z. Abedin – 1991 For instance, a Christian critic engaging in textual criticism of the Quran from a biblical perspective will surely miss the essence of the quranic message. Just one example would clarify this point.
7. ↑ Studies on Islam Merlin L. Swartz – 1981 One will find a more complete bibliographical review of the recent studies of the textual criticism of the Quran in the valuable article by Jeffery, "The Present Status of Qur'anic Studies," Report on Current Research on the Middle East
8. ↑ https://dspace.library.uu.nl/bitstream/handle/1874/210507/doeka.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y
9. ↑ Leemhuis, Fred (2006). Jane Dammen MacAuliffe. ed. The Cambridge Companion to the Qur'ān. Cambridge. pp. 145–155. ISBN 9780521539340.
10. ↑ Esposito, John L. (2004). "The Islamic World: Past and Present". doi:10.1093/acref/9780195165203.001.0001. https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780195165203.001.0001/acref-9780195165203.
11. ↑ "The Qurʾan - Introduction". http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/book/islam-9780192831934/islam-9780192831934-miscMatter-6.
12. ↑ Cenap Çakmak, ed (2017). Islam: A Worldwide Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. pp. 1116–1120. ISBN 9781610692175.
13. ↑ Peters, F. E. (1991). "The Quest of the Historical Muhammad". International Journal of Middle East Studies 23 (3): 291–315. doi:10.1017/S0020743800056312. https://www.jstor.org/stable/164484.
14. ↑ Taher, Abul (2000-08-08). "Querying the Koran" (in en). https://www.theguardian.com/education/2000/aug/08/highereducation.theguardian.
15. ↑ Ohlig, Karl-Heinz (2013) (in en). Early Islam: A Critical Reconstruction Based on Contemporary Sources. Prometheus Books. ISBN 978-1-61614-825-6. https://books.google.com/books?id=EbVvDwAAQBAJ.
16. ↑ Bannister, "Retelling the Tale", 2014: p.1-4
17. ↑ Herbert Berg(2000), p.83
18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Patricia Crone, Michael Cook, and Gerd R. Puin as quoted in Toby Lester (January 1999). "What Is the Koran?". The Atlantic Monthly. https://www.theatlantic.com/doc/199901/koran.
19. ↑ THE HISTORY OF THE QUR’ANIC TEXT FROM REVELATION TO COMPILATION: A COMPARATIVE STUDY WITH THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS by Muhammad Mustafa Al-A’zami, Leicester: UK, page 12; Al-A’zami quotes a letter that was published in the Yemeni newspaper ath-Thawra, 11 March 1999
20. ↑ Querying the Koran , by Abul Taher, The Guardian, 8 August 2000
21. ↑ Quranic Studies: Sources and Methods of Scriptural Interpretation (1977) and The Sectarian Milieu: Content and Composition of Islamic Salvation History (1978) by Wansbrough.
22. ↑ http://www.derafsh-kaviyani.com/english/quran3.html (Discusses Wansbrough)
23. ↑ "An Inscription Mentioning the Rebuilding of Al-Masjid Al-Haram, 78 AH / 697-698 CE". https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/inscriptions/haram1.html.
24. ↑ "What Is the Koran?". The Atlantic (Washington, D.C.). 1 January 1999. ISSN 2151-9463. OCLC 936540106. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1999/01/what-is-the-koran/304024/. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
25. ↑ Jeffrey 1952, pp. 99–120. sfn error: no target: CITEREFJeffrey1952 (help)
26. ↑ Robinson 1996, p. 56. sfn error: no target: CITEREFRobinson1996 (help)
27. ↑ John Wansbrough argued that ḥadīth literature is exegetical in origin, i.e., the bulk of the tradition literature is closely tied to the interpretation of the Qur'an, which he believed did not take its final form/canonised until the late eighth / early ninth century.https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/inscriptions/earlysaw
28. ↑ "When the Quraish disbelieved me (concerning my night journey), I stood up in Al- Hijr (the unroofed portion of the Ka`ba) and Allah displayed Bait-ul-Maqdis before me, and I started to inform them (Quraish) about its signs while looking at it." .https://sunnah.com/search?q=4710
29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 Le Strange, Guy (1890). Palestine Under the Moslems: A Description of Syria and the Holy Land from A.D. 650 to 1500. Translated from the Works of the Medieval Arab Geographers. Houghton, Mifflin. pp. 96. https://books.google.com/books?id=BxUyssIX-H4C&pg=RA1-PA94. Retrieved 31 July 2022. "Great confusion is introduced into the Arab descriptions of the Noble Sanctuary by the indiscriminate use of the terms Al Masjid or Al Masjid al Akså, Jami' or Jami al Aksâ; and nothing but an intimate acquaintance with the locality described will prevent a translator, ever and again, misunderstanding the text he has before him-since the native authorities use the technical terms in an extraordinarily inexact manner, often confounding the whole, and its part, under the single denomination of "Masjid." Further, the usage of various writers differs considerably on these points : Mukaddasi invariably speaks of the whole Haram Area as Al Masjid, or as Al Masjid al Aksî, "the Akså Mosque," or "the mosque," while the Main-building of the mosque, at the south end of the Haram Area, which we generally term the Aksa, he refers to as Al Mughattâ, "the Covered-part." Thus he writes "the mosque is entered by thirteen gates," meaning the gates of the Haram Area. So also "on the right of the court," means along the west wall of the Haram Area; "on the left side" means the east wall; and "at the back" denotes the northern boundary wall of the Haram Area. Nasir-i-Khusrau, who wrote in Persian, uses for the Main-building of the Aksâ Mosque the Persian word Pushish, that is, "Covered part," which exactly translates the Arabic Al Mughatta. On some occasions, however, the Akså Mosque (as we call it) is spoken of by Näsir as the Maksurah, a term used especially to denote the railed-off oratory of the Sultan, facing the Mihrâb, and hence in an extended sense applied to the building which includes the same. The great Court of the Haram Area, Nâsir always speaks of as the Masjid, or the Masjid al Akså, or again as the Friday Mosque (Masjid-i-Jum'ah)."
30. ↑ Idrīsī, Muhammad; Jaubert, Pierre Amédée (1836) (in fr). Géographie d'Édrisi. à l'Imprimerie royale. pp. 343–344. https://books.google.com/books?id=BRA7AAAAcAAJ&pg=PA343. Retrieved 31 July 2022. "Sous la domination musulmane il fut agrandi, et c'est (aujourd'hui) la grande mosquée connue par les Musulmans sous le nom de Mesdjid el-Acsa مسجد الأقصى. Il n'en existe pas au monde qui l'égale en grandeur, si l'on en excepte toutefois la grande mosquée de Cordoue en Andalousie; car, d'après ce qu'on rapporte, le toit de cette mosquée est plus grand que celui de la Mesdjid el-Acsa. Au surplus, l'aire de cette dernière forme un parallelogramme dont la hauteur est de deux cents brasses (ba'a), et le base de cents quatre-vingts. La moitié de cet espace, celle qui est voisin du Mihrab, est couverte d'un toit (ou plutôt d'un dôme) en pierres soutenu par plusieurs rangs de colonnes; l'autre est à ciel ouvert. Au centre de l'édifice est un grand dôme connu sous le nom de Dôme de la roche; il fut orné d'arabesques en or et d'autres beaux ouvrages, par les soins de divers califes musulmans. Le dôme est percé de quatre portes; en face de celle qui est à l'occident, on voit l'autel sur lequel les enfants d'Israël offraient leurs sacrifices; auprès de la porte orientale est l'église nommée le saint des saints, d'une construction élégante; au midi est une chapelle qui était à l'usage des Musulmans; mais les chrétiens s'en sont emparés de vive force et elle est restée en leur pouvoir jusqu'à l'époque de la composition du présent ouvrage. Ils ont converti cette chapelle en un couvent où résident des religieux de l'ordre des templiers, c'est-à-dire des serviteurs de la maison de Dieu." Also at Williams, G.; Willis, R. (1849). "Account of Jerusalem during the Frank Occupation, extracted from the Universal Geography of Edrisi. Climate III. sect. 5. Translated by P. Amédée Jaubert. Tome 1. pp. 341—345.". The Holy City: Historical, Topographical, and Antiquarian Notices of Jerusalem. J.W. Parker. https://books.google.com/books?id=T_sqAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA3-PA131. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
31. ↑ Mustafa Abu Sway (Fall 2000). "The Holy Land, Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Islamic Sources". Journal of the Central Conference of American Rabbis: 60–68. https://www.academia.edu/6338726. Retrieved 29 May 2022. "Quoting Mujir al-Din: "Verily, ‘Al-Aqsa’ is a name for the whole mosque which is surrounded by the wall, the length and width of which are mentioned here, for the building that exists in the southern part of the Mosque, and the other ones such as the Dome of the Rock and the corridors and other [buildings] are novel"".
32. ↑ Le Strange, Guy (1890). Palestine Under the Moslems: A Description of Syria and the Holy Land from A.D. 650 to 1500. Translated from the Works of the Medieval Arab Geographers. Houghton, Mifflin. https://books.google.com/books?id=BxUyssIX-H4C&pg=RA1-PA89. Retrieved 29 May 2022. "THE AKSÀ MOSQUE. The great mosque of Jerusalem, Al Masjid al Aksà, the "Further Mosque," derives its name from the traditional Night Journey of Muhammad, to which allusion is made in the words of the Kuran (xvii. I)... the term "Mosque" being here taken to denote the whole area of the Noble Sanctuary, and not the Main-building of the Aksà only, which, in the Prophet's days, did not exist."
33. ↑ Strange, Guy le (1887). "Description of the Noble Sanctuary at Jerusalem in 1470 A.D., by Kamâl (or Shams) ad Dîn as Suyûtî". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland (Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland) 19 (2): 247–305. doi:10.1017/S0035869X00019420. ISSN 0035-869X. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25208864. "…the term Masjid (whence, through the Spanish Mezquita, our word Mosque) denotes the whole of the sacred edifice, comprising the main building and the court, with its lateral arcades and minor chapels. The earliest specimen of the Arab mosque consisted of an open courtyard, within which, round its four walls, run colonades or cloisters to give shelter to the worshippers. On the side of the court towards the Kiblah (in the direction of Mekka), and facing which the worshipper must stand, the colonade, instead of being single, is, for the convenience of the increased numbers of the congregation, widened out to form the Jami' or place of assembly… coming now to the Noble Sanctuary at Jerusalem, we must remember that the term 'Masjid’ belongs not only to the Aksa mosque (more properly the Jami’ or place of assembly for prayer), but to the whole enclosure with the Dome of the Rock in the middle, and all the other minor domes and chapels.".
34. ↑ Grabar, Oleg (1959). "The Umayyad Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem". Ars Orientalis 3: 33–62. ISSN 0571-1371. https://www.jstor.org/stable/4629098.
35. ↑ Coughlan, Sean (22 July 2015). "'Oldest' Koran fragments found in Birmingham University". BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-33436021.
36. ↑ "New Light on the History of the Qur'anic Text?". 24 July 2015. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joseph-e-b-lumbard/new-light-on-the-history-_b_7864930.html.
37. ↑ Quran 21:30
38. ↑ Quran 21:31–33
39. ↑ "Muslim thought on evolution takes a step forward | Salman Hameed". 11 January 2013. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2013/jan/11/muslim-thought-on-evolution-debate.
40. ↑ Hameed, Salman (2008-12-12). "Bracing for Islamic Creationism" (in en). Science 322 (5908): 1637–1638. doi:10.1126/science.1163672. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 19074331. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1163672.
41. ↑ webmaster (6 December 2011). "Are evolution and religion compatible?". https://ajmn.tv/4w622.
42. ↑ Worldreminder.com
43. ↑ "The Story of Qarun: Picture of Perfidious Rich – Your Guide to get to know the Quran" (in en-US). 12 August 2016. https://whatisquran.com/1195-the-story-of-qarun-picture-of-perfidious-rich.html.
44. ↑ Silverstein, Adam (2008). "Haman's transition from the Jahiliyya to Islam". Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam 34: 285–308. https://www.academia.edu/30959178. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
45. ↑ Silverstein, Adam J. (2018). Veiling Esther, Unveiling Her Story: The Reception of a Biblical Book in Islamic Lands. Oxford University Press. pp. 39-63. ISBN 978-0198797227. https://academic.oup.com/book/10288/chapter-abstract/158005696?redirectedFrom=fulltext&login=true.
46. ↑ https://mquran.org/content/view/9220/12
47. ↑ In his Encyclopaedia of the Social Concepts of the Qur’ân he mentions that we should understand evil people like Namrud (the king who humiliated and imprisoned Abraham), Haman, Qarun and Pharaoh ‘not as historical figures, but as concepts about human beings. To give an example, Shariati expressed as his opinion that Qarun/Korah was a symbol for the economic elite, while Pharaoh was the ultimate symbol for a tyrant.https://dspace.library.uu.nl/bitstream/handle/1874/210507/doeka.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y
48. ↑ The Qur'an, Surah Ta Ha, Ayah 85
49. ↑ Rubin, Uri. "Tradition in Transformation: the Ark of the Covenant and the Golden Calf in Biblical and Islamic Historiography," Oriens (Volume 36, 2001): 202.
50. ↑ Van Donzel & Schmidt 2010, p. 57 fn.3.
51. ↑ Pinault 1992, p. 181 fn.71.
52. ↑ Glassé & Smith 2003, p. 39.
53. ↑ Wheeler 2013, p. 96.
54. ↑ 54.0 54.1 54.2 Ernst 2011, p. 133.
55. ↑ Glassé & Smith 2003, p. 38.
56. ↑ Cook 2005, pp. 205–206.
57. ↑ 57.0 57.1 "Et gentibus ipsorum autem apparuisse eum in terra hominem, et virtutes perfecisse. Quapropter neque passsum eum, sed Simonem quendam Cyrenæum angariatum portasse crucem ejus pro eo: et hunc secundum ignorantiam et errorem crucifixum, transfiguratum ab eo, uti putaretur ipse esse Jesus: et ipsum autem Jesum Simonis accepisse formam, et stantem irrisisse eos." Book 1, Chapter 19
58. ↑ 58.0 58.1 Joel L. Kraemer Israel Oriental Studies XII BRILL 1992 ISBN 9789004095847 p. 41
59. ↑ Lawson, Todd (1 March 2009). The Crucifixion and the Quran: A Study in the History of Muslim Thought. Oneworld Publications. p. 12. ISBN 978-1851686353. https://books.google.com/books?id=C1cQBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA12.
60. ↑ Eddy, Paul Rhodes and Gregory A. Boyd (2007). The Jesus Legend: A Case for the Historical Reliability of the Synoptic Jesus Tradition. Baker Academic. p. 172. ISBN 0801031141. ...if there is any fact of Jesus' life that has been established by a broad consensus, it is the fact of Jesus' crucifixion.
61. ↑ Haer. 1.24.4
62. ↑ Kelhoffer, James A. (2014). Conceptions of "Gospel" and Legitimacy in Early Christianity. Mohr Siebeck. pp. 80. ISBN 9783161526367.
63. ↑ Ayoub, Mahmoud M. (1980). "Towards an Islamic Christology, II:The Death of Jesus, Reality or Delusion". The Muslim World 70 (2): 91–121. doi:10.1111/j.1478-1913.1980.tb03405.x. ISSN 0027-4909.
64. ↑ Reynolds, Gabriel Said (May 2009). "The Muslim Jesus: Dead or Alive?". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London) (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) 72 (2): 237–258. doi:10.1017/S0041977X09000500. https://www3.nd.edu/~reynolds/index_files/jesus dead or alive.pdf. Retrieved 17 January 2021.

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