reynolds-the-quran-in-its-historical-context-2

362 Clare WildeBal:iira accounts), 19 as well as of the collection and codification of the 'Uthmaniccodex. And although there are, to date, no confirmed extant copies of non-'Uthmaniccodices, 20 the memory of 'Uthman' s suppression of alternative codices is preservedin the historical record, 21 perhaps as a precaution against the dangers of the "abso-.lute" truth claims already inherent in monotheistic systems.2 2 Much like the detailsof many Christian heresies known to us only from the listings ofheresiarchs (suchas the Panarion ofEpiphanius, c. 310-403 CE), the contents of the non-'Uthmaniccodices are known through reports of later Islamic literature. As they would nothave been subject to the dictates of normative Islam, might Christian Arabic textsprovide a heretofore under -explored source of information about approaches toQur' an, possibly including the continued circulation of non-'Uthmanic codicesalternative "readings" of the 'Uthmiinic rasm), well into the Abbasid period?Early Christian Arabic texts and the Qur' anChristian Arabic texts that trace their provenance to al-Ma'miin's reign (suchthose of 'Abd al-Masil;l al-K.indi 23 and Theodor~ Abii Qurra 24 ) are striking for ...seemingly casual manner in which they deal with fue Qur'an. Al-Ma'miin's reign '_notable both for inter-confessional comrnunications, 25 including the translation .Greek (and oilier) works into Arabic, as well as the institution of the mihna inhe required all public officials to profe~s the doctrine of the createdness ~fthe Qur'Ultimately AJ:unad b. I;Ianbal's position against the createdness of the Qur'anprevail in "normative" Islamic thought, 26 as would the idea that the Qur'iin and the'prophetic sunna (rather than human logic alone) should suffice as guidance for the.lives oflater generations ofMuslims. Still the position of the Mu' tazila, on the ··edness" of the Qur'iin, as well as the use of human logic in discerning God'swould continue to inform later generations of Muslim scholars - as evidenced19 See the recent comprehensive study of B. Roggema, The Legend of Sergius Bahira:Christian Apologetics and Apocalyptic in Response to Islam, Leiden: Brill, 2009.20 But cf. the argument of A. Mingana, "An ancient Syrian translation of the Kur'an exhibitingverses and variants," Bulletin of the John Rylands Library 9, 1925, 188-235.21 Most famously the third/ninth-century account of' Abd al-Masi~ al-Kindi, known in Englishlation as "The apology of al-Kindi." See N.A. Newman, The Early Christian-Muslim _,_, ____ ,._,collection of documents from the first three Islamic centuries (632-900AD), Hatfield,disciplinary Biblical Research Institute, 1993, 355-545. On alternative accounts fromtradition, see in particular C. Gilliot, "Creation of a fixed text," EQ, 41-57.22 On "universalism" and monotheism, see the comments and note of J. Berkey, The Formation· ·Islam: Religion and Society in the Near East, 600-1800, Cambridge: Cambridge University2003,7-8.23 See above, n. 21.24 Whose debate with Muslim notables in the majlis of al-Ma' miln (in Dick's edition) is onetexts discussed here. For bibliographic details seen. 6 above.25 On the significance of this theme, see S.H. Griffith, The Church in the Shadow af theChristians and Muslims in the World of Islam, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2008,26 See e.g. al-Tabari's accounts of the "trial" of ~mad b. I;lanbal, C.E. Bosworth (trans.),History ofai-Tabari, XXXII, Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 1987, 199-221.Early Christian Arabic texts 363caliphal edicts outlawing these very positionsP Similarly, laws \YOuld emergebanning ChristiartS from "teaching the Qur'an to their children" (although the exacttime of the establishment of these laws is unclear). 28 Might early Christian Arabic' texts shed light on the reasons behind either or both of these prohibitions?In particular, might Christian Arab debate literature from al-Ma'mfin's reignprovide evidence that the Mu' tazilite-infl.uenced discussions "encouraged" by themil:ma influenced the interpretation of (and approaches to) the Qur'an, not only onthe question of its createdness, but also on the question of its transmission? 'Abdal-Masil;l al-K.indi, for example, provides a detailed and highly critical account ofthe formation of the 'Uthmanic muf!l:zaf, concluding: "You have read the Qur' an and·. know how the material has been put together and the text corrupted, a sure sign that· many hands had been busy on it, and that it has suffered additions and losses." 29 Towhat extent might other Christian Arab texts provide evidence to support such.. claims? For, alongside phrases that do match the codex known to us, and in addition· to explicit polemics, appear paraphrasing of, or even misquotations from, theUttlffiilmc codex" known today. What might we deduce/infer from these seemcasual(or erroneous?) Christian Arabic handlings of the Qur'an? Are they"'r""''"""" of either textual or reading variations on the 'Uthmanic codex itself, oreV1de11ce for the persistent circulation of non-'Uthmanic codices? Or, as is argueddoes the primary significance of these seeming variant textual attestations liewhat they might tell us of the attitude towards the Qur' an (in the 'Uthmanic rasm,other codices) in the milieu in which Christians came to express themselves inArabic? In particular, as evidenced by. Christian Arabic discussions of the "books"of God, and their inclusion in this category of the Qur'an itself, might the very. concept of"scripture" in early Arabophone Islamic society have been more flexiblein later Christian or Muslim circles? Rather than assuming that Christians·•P'I,.,.t;·,,,,.h, read the sacred text oflslam to satisfY their own polemics, might Muslims__...,_.,w~"''v"'~have been understanding the Qur' an in a fashion more akin to traditional~hristian approaches to the Bible (i.e. aclmowledging the human element in the---nr'""P'-v"1inT1 of the Word of God) that lent itself to- a charitable Christian approachthe text - even deeming it, albeit in a "corrupted" form, "of God"? But, beforeinto Christian Arabic handling of the sacred text oflslam, some discussiontheir uses of, and approaches to, their ow:D. scripture (the Bible) is in order.~IJuu,~ai variants?oft-repeated contrast between Christianity and Islam is ilie fixed - Arabic -of the Qur'anic revelation, as compared to the widespread acceptance notof numerous translations of the Bible, but the multiple forms in which theCf. e.g. B. Lewis, Islam from the Prophet Muhammad to the Capture of Constantinople, NY:Harper Row, 1974, 1:235-6; 2:217-19.Newman (ed.), "The Apology of al-Kindi," 458; see 455-60 for al-Kindi's discussion of thevarious versions of the Qur' an.