Tahrif: Difference between revisions

Browse history interactively

← Previous edit Next edit →

Content deleted Content added

VisualWikitext

Revision as of 23:13, 4 March 2006 edit Blubberbrein2 (talk \| contribs) 730 edits m →‎Qur'an lays foundation for doctrine of tharif ← Previous edit		Revision as of 02:12, 8 July 2024 edit undo Ogress (talk \| contribs) Extended confirmed users, New page reviewers 50,340 edits →‎Origin: disambig Next edit →
(672 intermediate revisions by more than 100 users not shown)
Line 1: {{Short description\|Islamic term for claimed alterations to holy books preceding the Quran}} '''Tahrif''' ([[Arabic language\|Arabic]] ''{{ArabDIN\|taḥrīf}}'') means "corruption, forgery" (the stem-II infinitive of the root ''{{ArabDIN\|ḥrf}}'' "make oblique"); used with regard to words, and more specifically with regard to what [[Jews]] and [[Christians]] are supposed to have done to their respective Scriptures in the sense of perverting the language through altering words from their proper meaning, changing words in form or substituting words or letters for others. Such substitution is also termed ''{{ArabDIN\|tabdīl}}'' "alteration, substitution" (from the root ''{{ArabDIN\|bdl}}'' "substitute"), a wider term, used also in other contexts, but in the [[Qur'an]] and later literature practically synonymous with tahrif (e.g. Commentaries of [[Mudjahid b. Djabr Al-makki]]) {{Quran}} '''{{transliteration\|ar\|ALA\|Taḥrīf}}''' ({{lang-ar\|تحريف}}, {{Translation\|'distortion'}}) is a term used in [[Islam]] to refer to believed alterations made to the previous revelations of [[God in Abrahamic religions\|God]]—specifically those that make up the [[Torah in Islam]] or ''Tawrat'', the ''[[Zabur]]'' or [[Psalms]], and the [[Gospel in Islam]] or ''Injil''. The term is also used to refer to what Muslims consider to be the corrupted [[Jewish]] and [[Christian]] interpretations of the previous revelations of God, known as “Tahrif al-Mana”. This concept holds that earlier revelations have been misinterpreted rather than textually altered. ==Origin ~~of tahrif~~==▼ ~~==Qur'an lays foundation for doctrine of tharif==~~ The origins of Tahrif are debated. In the 8th century, [[Muqatil ibn Sulayman]] claimed in his tafsir on [[al-Baqarah\|al-Baqara 2]]:79 of the [[Quran]] that the Jews had distorted the ''Tawrat'' and removed mention of [[Muhammad]] in the [[Quran]] in his Tafsir, 2:79. Some academics doubt this as a true mention of tahrif.<ref>{{cite book \|last1=Nickel \|first1=Gordon \|editor1-last=Thomas \|editor1-first=David \|title=The Bible in Arab Christianity \|date=1 January 2007 \|publisher=Brill \|isbn=978-90-474-1170-3 \|pages=207–224 \|url=https://doi.org/10.1163/ej.9789004155589.i-421.53 \|language=en \|chapter=Early Muslim Accusations of Taḥrīf:Muqātil Ibn Sulaymān’s Commentary On Key Qur’anic Verses}}</ref> The 9th century [[Zaydism\|Zaydi]] scholar [[al-Qasim al-Rassi]] claimed that the Jews and Christians had misinterpreted the interpretations of the ''Tawrat'', ''Zabur'', and the ''Injil''. This concept is referred to as ''tahrif al-mana''.<ref>{{Cite book\|last=Lazarus-Yafeh\|first=Haza\|title=Tahrif\|publisher=Brill\|year=2000\|isbn=9004112111\|location=Leiden\|pages=111}}</ref> The Qur'an accepts the [[Tawrat]] ([[Thora]]) and the [[Injil]] as genuine divine revelations taken from the same Guarded Tablets as the Qu'ran itself and brought by true messengers to both Jews and Christians respectively. The Jews are accused of having altered (parts of) the [[Torah]] or the [[Hebrew Bible]] and the Christans are accused of having altered (parts of) the [[Gospel]] or the [[New Testament]]. Which parts in not known from the Qur'an. According to [[Camilla Adang]], the early quranic exegete [[al-Tabari]] believed that there was a genuine ''Tawrat'' of [[Moses]] that had been lost and then restored by [[Ezra]] alongside a ''different'' Torah created by the [[rabbi]]s and ignorant Jews. Tabari suspected that the Jews of his time were using this different ''Tawrat'' instead of the authentic Mosaic one, which is why Tabari made the distinction of referring to the Torah of his time as "The Torah that they possess today" Tabari says elsewhere in his [[Tafsir]] of Quran [[al-Baqara\|al-Baqara 2]]:42 that the Jews had introduced falsehood with their own hands in the Torah.<ref>Camilla Adang. ''Muslim Writers on Judaism and the Hebrew Bible: From Ibn Rabban to Ibn Hazm''. BRILL, 1996. {{ISBN\|978-9-004-10034-3}}. page 231.</ref><ref>[[Tafsir al-Tabari]] 2:42</ref> ~~Relevant verses on which the doctrine of tahrif is based are ([[Yusuf Ali]]):~~ 4:46. Of the Jews there are those who displace words from their (right) places, and say: "We hear and we disobey"; and "Hear what is not Heard"; and "Ra'ina"; with a twist of their tongues and a slander to Faith. If only they had said: "What hear and we obey"; and "Do hear"; and "Do look at us"; it would have been better for them, and more proper; but God hath cursed them for their Unbelief; and but few of them will believe. </br> 5:13. But because of their breach of their covenant, We cursed them, and made their hearts grow hard; they change the words from their (right) places and forget a good part of the message that was sent them, nor wilt thou cease to find them - barring a few - ever bent on (new) deceits: but forgive them, and overlook (their misdeeds): for God loveth those who are kind. 2:59. But the transgressors changed the word from that which had been given them; so We sent on the transgressors a plague from heaven, for that they infringed (Our command) repeatedly. 2:75. Can ye (o ye men of Faith) entertain the hope that they will believe in you? - Seeing that a party of them heard the Word of God, and perverted it knowingly after they understood it. 7:162. But the transgressors among them changed the word from that which had been given them so we sent on them a plague from heaven. For that they repeatedly transgressed. It is worthy to note that some [[companions of the Prophet]] such as [[Uthman]] (according to ''[[Tafsir Ibn Kathir]]'' 2:79) and ibn Abbas made some statements that imply he believed the scriptures of ‘the people of the book’ were distorted. In ''[[Sahih al-Bukhari]]'', he is quoted saying as narrated by Ubaydallah:{{which\|date=July 2024}} According to some scholars on the field of Middle East studies, Muhammed's attachment to the Bible was doubtless born of a desire to give legitimacy to his own message, to stress the affinity of [[Islam]] to the two better established and more widely accepted monotheistic faiths, and most specifically to [[Judaism]] {{Blockquote\|Ibn ʿAbbas said, "Why do you ask the people of the scripture about anything while your Book (Qur'an) which has been revealed to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) is newer and the latest? You read it pure, undistorted and unchanged, and Allah has told you that the people of the scripture (Jews and Christians) changed their scripture and distorted it, and wrote the scripture with their own hands and said, 'It is from Allah,' to sell it for a little gain. Does not the knowledge which has come to you prevent you from asking them about anything? No, by Allah, we have never seen any man from them asking you regarding what has been revealed to you!{{cn\|date=July 2024}}}} The "religion of Abraham" motif served that end, as did the Qur'an extensive citation of biblical material and Muhammed's acceptance of Jews as "People of the Book". But if that was Muhammed's intent, the situation was quite different for later Muslims. Their problem was to separate and distinguish temselves from those other two groups, to disengage themselves, so to spreak, from their prophetically bestowed biblical heritage. {{ref\|2}} The corruption of the Biblical text was elaborated more extensively by [[ibn Hazm]] in the 11th century, who popularized the concept of ''tahrif al-nass'' "corruption of the text". Ibn Hazm rejected claims of [[Mosaic authorship]] and posited that [[Ezra]] was the author of the Torah. He systematically organised the arguments against the authenticity of the Biblical text in the [[Hebrew Bible]] and the [[New Testament]] of his book: chronological and geographical inaccuracies and contradictions, theological impossibilities (anthropomorphic expressions, stories of fornication and whoredom, and the attributing of sins to prophets), as well as lack of reliable transmission (''[[tawatur]]'') of the text. Ibn Hazm explains how the falsification of the Torah could have taken place while only one copy of the Torah existed, kept by the [[kohen\|Aaronic priesthood]] of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]]. Ibn Hazm's arguments had a major impact on Muslim literature and scholars, and the themes that he raised concerning tahrif and other polemical ideas were modified slightly by some later authors.<ref>''The Encyclopedia of Islam'', BRILL</ref><ref>{{cite book \|last1=Brann \|first1=Ross \|title=An Andalusi-Muslim Literary Typology of Jewish Heresy and Sedition \|date=2009 \|publisher=Princeton University Press \|isbn=978-1-4008-2524-0 \|pages=54–90 \|url=https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400825240.54 \|language=en \|chapter=CHAPTER TWO. An Andalusi-Muslim Literary Typology of Jewish Heresy and Sedition}}</ref><ref>''Under Crescent and Cross'': The Jews in the Middle Ages, p. 146, {{ISBN\|0-691-01082-X}}</ref> The [[Twelver Shia]] scholar [[ibn Babawayh]] narrated a debate between [[Ali al-Rida]] and the [[catholicos]] where [[Ali al-Rida]], the [[Imamate in Twelver doctrine\|the 8th Imam of the Twelvers]], claimed that the existing Gospels were created and changed after the original Gospel was lost.{{cn\|date=July 2024}} ▲==Origin of tahrif== ~~The Qu'ran does not state explicitly how the alteration of the various biblical texts was done and when, but later commentaries give various explanations:~~ Some relate it to the times of [[Moses]]. Later authors accuse Israelite Kings or Priests, especially [[Ezra]] the Scribe or Byzantine rulers. The accusation that Jewish contemporaries of Muhammed concealed Biblical material, e.g. the punishment (stoning) for adultery or the [[Islam in the Bible\|Biblical prediction of Mohammed’s prophecy]] is also considered to be tahrif. (see for example [[Ibn Hisham]]) Tahrif has also been advocated by Quranist Muslims such as [[Rashad Khalifa]], who believed that [[Islamic holy books\|previous revelations of God]], such as the Bible, contained contradictions due to human interference.<ref>{{cite web \| url=https://www.masjidtucson.org/publications/videos/ \| title=Videos: Submission, Rashad Khalifa }}</ref> ~~==Accusation of forgery was also widespead polemical motif==~~ The accusation of forgery was a widespread polemical motif, already in pre-Islamic times used by pagan, Samaritan and Christian authors to discredit their opponents and Scriptures. In the [[Medinan suras]] it is a central theme, apparently used to explain away the contradictions between the Bible and the Qu'ran and to establish that the coming of the Prophet and the rise of Islam had indeed been predicted in the "true" [[Bible]]. ==Types== ~~==Tahrif in the first centuries of Islam==~~ [[Amin Ahsan Islahi]] writes about four types of tahrif:<ref>[[Amin Ahsan Islahi]], ''[[Tadabbur-i-Qur'an]]'', 2nd ed., vol. 1, (Lahore: Faran Foundation, 1986), p. 252</ref> ~~In the first centuries of Islam, tahrif was not a central theme, though well-known. Early commentaries filled out the gaps left by the relevant Qu'ranic verses. Commentaries varies:~~ # To deliberately interpret something in a manner that is opposite to the author's intention. To distort the pronunciation of a word to such an extent that the word changes completely. * Some explained that those who hide and distort Biblical verses are the Jewish [[ulama]] # To add to or delete a sentence or discourse in a manner that distorts the original meaning. For example, according to Muslim tradition, the Jews altered the incident of the migration of [[Abraham in Islam\|Abraham]] so that no one could prove that Abraham had any relationship with the ''[[Kaaba]]''. * Others stated explicitly that the Jews do so in order to hide the fact that Mohammed was predicted in their Torah.</br> # To translate a word that has two meanings in the meaning that is against the context. For example, the [[Aramaic]] word used for Jesus that is equivalent to the {{lang-ar\|ابن}} ''{{transliteration\|ar\|ALA\|ibn}}'' was translated as "son" whereas it also meant "servant" and "slave". * Some explained that tahrif means that the Jews 'made the lawful forbidden and the forbidden lawful, and took the truth as falsehood and the falsehood as truth' (see for example [[al-Tabari]]) # To raise questions about something clear to create uncertainty or change it completely.<ref>{{cite journal \|last1=Modarressi \|first1=Hossein \|author1-link=Hossein Modarressi \|title=Early Debates on the Integrity of the Qur'ān: A Brief Survey \|journal=Studia Islamica \|date=1993 \|issue=77 \|pages=13 \|doi=10.2307/1595789 \|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/1595789 \|issn=0585-5292}}</ref><ref>{{cite book \|last1=Fareed \|first1=Muneer \|author1-link=Muneer Fareed \|title=Al Itqan Fi Ulum Al Quran \|url=https://archive.org/details/AlItqanFiUloomIlQuran/Al%20Itqan%20Fi%20Ulum%20Al%20Quran%20English/page/n1/mode/2up}}</ref> ==~~Early~~See ~~refutation~~also== * [[Biblical inerrancy]] The argument of tahrif is refuted already in an early polemical text attributed to the Byzantine Emperor [[Leo III]] {{ref\|1}} with the statement that Jews and Christians share the same, widely-known divine text, and that [[Ezra]], the convenental architect of the [[Second Temple]] [[Judaism]], was a pious, reliable person. The same arguments appear in later Jewish writings. * [[Categories of New Testament manuscripts]] * [[Criticism of the Quran]] ~~==Ibn Hazm==~~ * [[Great and abominable church]] - [[Mormonism\|Mormon]] equivalent doctrine The personality of Ezra becomes very involved in this discussion in the 4th/10th century, and especially with [[Ibn Hazm]], who in his explicitly accused Ezra of having falsified and added interpolations into the Biblical text. He also arranged systematically and in scholarly detail the arguments against the authenticity of the Biblical text in the first ([[Hebrew Bible]]) and second part ([[New Testament]]) of his book: chronological and geographical inaccuracies and contradictions; theological impossibilities (anthropomorphic expressions, stories of fornication and whoredom, and the attributing of sins to prophets), as well as lack of reliable transmission ( tawatur ) of the text. He explains how the falsification of the Pentateuch could have taken place while there existed only one copy of the [[Pentateuch]] kept by the Aaronid priests in the Temple in Jerusalem. Ibn Hazm’s impact on later Muslim polemics was great, and the themes which he raised with regard to tahrif and other polemical ideas updated only slightly by some later authors * [[Islamic holy books]] * [[Internal consistency of the Bible]] * [[Naskh (tafsir)\|Naskh]] * [[Supersessionism]] * [[Textual variants in the New Testament]] ==Notes== {{Reflist}} ==External links== ~~{{note\|1}}A. Jeffery, Ghevond’s text of the correspondence between Umar II and Leo III, in Harvard Theol. Review, xxxvii [1944], 269-321 </br>~~ * [https://web.archive.org/web/20051216022546/http://www.themodernreligion.com/comparative/christ/christ_islambridge_bcorrupt.htm Corruption in the Bible: The Muslim Stance] ~~{{note\|2}}~~ * [https://web.archive.org/web/20051218034634/http://www.themodernreligion.com/comparative/christ/bible_tampered_qa.htm Is The Bible Corrupted?] ~~International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol. 26, No. 1. (Feb., 1994), pp. 147-148.~~ * [https://web.archive.org/web/20051218034658/http://www.themodernreligion.com/comparative/christ/bible_meaningtomuslims.html What the Gospels Mean to Muslims] ~~==See also==~~ ~~[[Islam in the Bible]]</br>~~ ~~[[Injil]]</br>~~ ~~[[Tawrat]]</br>~~ [[Category: Islam and other religions]] [[Category:Islamic ~~Islam and Other Religions~~terminology]] [[Category:Supersessionism]]