THE QURʾ AN THE BASICS The Qurʾan: The Basics is a concise and easy to read introduction to the holy book of Islam. Exploring the Qurʾan’s reception throughout history, its key teachings and its place in contemporary thought and belief, you will also be able to read about: (cid:127) The Qurʾan as the word of God (cid:127) Its reception and communication by the Prophet Muhammad (cid:127) The structure and the language of the text (cid:127) Conceptions of God, the holy law and jihad (cid:127) Islamic and Western commentaries on Qurʾanic teachings through the ages Including such essential reference resources as a chronology of the revelation, weblinks and extensive guides to further reading, The Qurʾan: The Basics will tell you all you need to know about a text that provides the foundations of Muslim faith, right-living and daily worship. Massimo Campanini is Professor of History of Islam and the Arab Countries at the Oriental University in Naples. ALSO AVAILABLE FROM ROUTLEDGE ISLAM: THE BASICS COLIN TURNER 978–0–415–34106–6 FIFTY KEY FIGURES IN ISLAM ROY JACKSON 978–0–415–35468–4 FIFTY EASTERN THINKERS DIANÉ COLLINSON, ROBERT WILKINSON AND KATHRYN PLANT 978–0–415–20284–8 RELIGION: THE BASICS MALORY NYE 978–0–415–26379–5 JUDAISM: THE BASICS JACOB NEUSNER 978–0–415–40176–0 FIFTY KEY JEWISH THINKERS DAN COHN-SHERBOK 978–0–415–77141–2 ROMAN CATHOLICISM: THE BASIC MICHAEL WALSH 978–0–415–26381–8 FIFTY KEY CHRISTIAN THINKERS PETER MCENHILL AND GEORGE NEWLANDS 978–0–415–17050–5 THE BIBLE IN WESTERN CULTURE DEE DYAS AND ESTHER HUGHES 978–0–415–32618–6 THE QURʾAN THE BASIC S Massimo Campanini translated from the Italian by Oliver Leaman R Routledge Taylor &.Francis Group LONDON AND NEW YORK First published in English 2007 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business Originally published in Italian as Il Corano e la sua Interpretazione © 2004 Gius. Laterza & Figli S.p.a., Roma-Bari. English language edition published by arrangement with Eulama Literary Agency, Roma. Typeset in Aldus and Scala Sans by HWA Text and Data Management, Tunbridge Wells Printed and bound in Great Britain by MPG Books Ltd, Bodmin All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Campanini, Massimo, 1954– [Corano e la sua interpretazione. English] The Qur’an : the basics / Massimo Campanini ; translated from the Italian by Oliver Leaman p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. 1. Koran – Criticism, interpretation, etc. I. Leaman, Oliver, 1950– II. Title. BP130.1.C3613 2007 297.1’2261–dc22 2006026150 ISBN10: 0–415–41162–9 (hbk) ISBN10: 0–415–41163–7 (pbk) ISBN13: 978–0–415–41162–2 (hbk) ISBN13: 978–0–415–41163–9 (pbk) CONTENTS 1 Islam and the Qurʾan 1 2 Structure and composition 13 3 God, humanity, prophecy 35 4 The Qurʾan and the Qurʾanic sciences 66 5 Contemporary meanings of the Qurʾan 101 Appendix 1: Glossary of essential terms 139 Appendix 2: Concise traditional chronology of the revelation 144 Appendix 3: Websites on the Qurʾan 147 Bibliography 148 Index 153 This page intentionally left blank 1 ISLAM AND THE QURʾAN The Qurʾan is the sacred book of Islam. In Islamic culture it is the Book. It represents a point of essential reference to the essence of Islamic culture and is referred to on a daily basis by believers, primarily as a religious guide, but also in everyday colloquial expressions. In order to understand in what sense and how the Qurʾan carries out these functions, it is necessary to discuss the nature of Islam itself. WHAT IS ISLAM? Islam is of course a religion. That seems to be an obvious, even banal, remark. But it is important to establish that using the word religion to defi ne Islam is, if not a mistake, at least rather imprecise. It is worth noting that from a methodological perspective, terms like religion or theology are problematic or ambiguous, especially when applied to Islam. We will not make progress if we seek to defi ne an expression such as the Islamic religion as though it is like the Christian religion. Similarly, theology in Islam is not the study of God, or argument about God, despite the literal sense of the Greek word (theos, God and logos, reasoning), but takes on an apologetic and dialectic character, as compared with dealing with divine issues. 2 ISLAM AND THE QURʾAN In Arabic the word “religion” when applied to Islam may be translated in a number of ways, but the most satisfactory and precise term for it is din. The Qurʾan states at least twice that Islam is “the” din. For example at 5.3 “Today I have perfected your religion (din) for you. I have applied my favour to you and have chosen Islam for you as your religion (din)” (but see also 3.19). Second, a widely accepted defi nition contains three things: iman, ihsan and islam, i.e. faith, right behaviour and submission. Faith leads, right behaviour binds and submission implies future retribution. A famous hadith, reporting a saying or an action of the Prophet Muhammad, transmitted by al-Nawawi, consists of the following anecdote: One day, while we were sitting down listening to the Messenger of God, a man appeared in white clothes and with dark black hair. He did not look as though he had been on a journey and none of us knew who he was. He sat in front of the Prophet, put his knees together and the palms of his hands on his thighs, and said “Oh Muhammad, tell me what Islam is”. The Messenger of God said “Islam is that you bear witness that there is no other God than God and that Muhammad is the Messenger of God, that you carry out the ritual prayer, give zakat [alms], fast in the month of Ramadan and make pilgrimage to the House [the sacred mosque in Mecca], if you can”. “You say the truth”, the man said. We were surprised that he had been able to question the Prophet and been answered. The man then asked “Tell me what iman [faith] is”. The Prophet replied “It is that you believe in God, in his angels, in his Books, in his Messengers, and in the Last Day, and that you believe in the divine decree, and that it determines the good and the bad”. “You said the truth” replied the man, asking again “ Tell me what is ihsan [right conduct]”. He replied “It is that you love God as though you see him, for if you do not see Him, He certainly sees you”. The man said “Tell me what the Hour [of fi nal judgement] is”. The Prophet replied “He who is questioned does not know any more than he who asked the question” […]. After that the man disappeared and only I remained. Then the Prophet asked me “Umar, do you know who that was who questioned me?” I replied “God and His Messenger will surely know more about it”. “It was Gabriel” he said “who came to teach you your religion”. (Al-Nawawi 1990: 30–1) ISLAM AND THE QURʾAN 3 In this traditional report Islam is essentially defi ned as the legal practice (right behaviour or ihsan) of the fi ve pillars of faith. The most important of the fi ve pillars is the belief that there is no other god than God and Muhammad is his Messenger (in the formula of the Arabic shahada). The two parts of the shahada do not appear together in the Qurʾan, but verse 37.35 states that “there is no other god than God” (la ilah illa Allah) while verse 48.29 states that “Muhammad is the Messenger of God” (Muhammad rasul Allah). Thus the profession of faith can be brought together from various parts of the Qurʾan. But Islam is more than the profession of faith, it is also complete surrender and belief in the will of God and this is the primary meaning as well as the ordinary meaning, of the term “Islam”. There is also a second fundamental implication. The God to whom one surrenders is One and the unity of God unifi es the reality of nature and the same reality of man. This philosophical principle is very well described by the Muslim Brother Sayyid Qutb (1906–1966), the author of a fundamental commentary on the Qurʾan to which we shall return in Chapter 5: Islam is the religion of unifi cation, and it is diffi cult to overemphasize this point. The religion of unity is very much centred around the notion of tawhid or unity as a central aspect of Islam. It means the Unity of God, the unifi cation of all the religions in the religion of God, the uniformity of the message transmitted from all the prophets since the start of life. (Shepard 1996: 33) And also: The essence of life, with all its various species, is one, and the essence of man, with all the infi nite human varieties and potentialities, is one. […] The unique sweep of Islam is to determine the meaning of God’s worship in human life according to the Qurʾan […] The realization of this human sweep remains impossible so long as we distinguish between the material and the spiritual parts of our lives. We should appreciate that our consciousness and our actions are part of a harmonious and single entity. Our notion of the Unity of God ought to refl ect our ability to bring together and unify the various aspects of our life. (Qutb 1991: 104–7 passim)