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

364 Clare WildeBible was recognized to have circulated. For Christian sects have not agreed as tothe contents of their sacred text and ·have accepted multiple translations of theBible into the languages of every nation as equally sacred representations of the· Word of God. As noted above, the normative Islamic understanding of the Qur' linis that one codex (the 'Uthmanic) preserves the revelation to Mul)ammad- and,while translatipns are permissible for accessing the meaning of the text, devotionalrecitation should only be done in Arabic, the language of the revelation. 30But, despite this traditional contrast of Christian and Muslim approaches to scripture,the seeming con:flation of biblical passages with no clear attribution in ourtwo Christian Arabic texts is still surprising.For example, Abii Qurra relates that Christ had no need to pray because "theProphet says that 'all the angels and the kings of the earth and its governors willbow down to him, and obey him, for he rules over all and his rule will neitherend nor will it pass away.' " 31 This resonates with Isaiah 9:6-7, Daniel 7:13-14,1 Peter 3:21-22, and Psalm ,72:10-11, but it is not an exact Biblical quotation.Similarly, Abii Qurra's discussion of the hardships oflife under Islam appears tobe a con:flation of Hebrews 12:6 and Proverbs 3:11-12: "We, the people of thereligion of Christianity, He put the lash of punishment upon us. That is a benefitfor us, according to the reckoning of Solomon b. David: 'Whom the lord loves, heputs to the test; He disciplines the men with whom He is well pleased.' " 32 Likewise,the anonymous monk states that "Isaiah the prophet said that 'the world willknow God when the Messiah comes and the nations will be confused, believing inhis coming'"- a paraphrase oflsaiah 9:6-7. 33These few passages are put forth merely as a caution that an inability preciselyto locate a passage identified as Qur' anic by Christian Arab authors should not betaken as certain proof of (a) a careless quotation (intentional or otherwise) of the'Uthmanic rasm, or (b) the existence of alternative readings not preserved in thenormative Islamic tradition, or even (c) a non-'Uthmanic codex (if the testimony,for example, of Theodore's near contemporary, 'Abd al-Masi1;1 al-Kindi, is anaccurate indication of the continued circulation of non-'Uthmanic codices). Thus,when there are similar difficulties in precisely locating Biblical and Qur'anicpassages (espeCially those whose supposed pro~enance is clearly indicated) foundin Christian Arabic texts, might not we do well to focus on the seeming attitude,or approach, to "scripture" ("Word" and/or"book[s]" of God) on the part of Christians(and Muslims) as they came to write in Arabic, rather than, or in addition to,the possible form(s) in which the Qur'an (or Bible) may have been circulating?30 Discussions of linguistic excellence have, of course, not been absent from Christian discourse, 'from Isidore of Seville (d. 636 CE) to the Apocalypse of Samuel of Qalamun. See my "Linguasacra? Some reflections on Christian discussions offar;la 'if al-suryaniyya and I}Tiz al-Qur' an," inJ.P. Monferrer Sala (ed.), Eastern Crossroads: Essays on Medieval Christian Legacy, Piscataway,NJ: Gorgias Press, 2007, 61-82.31 Abii Qurra, 121.32 lbid.,l23.33 Sinai Ar. 434, f. 175r.Early Christian Arabic texts 365For, had these Christian authors been fastidious in their citation of the Bible,·· their seemingly "loose" handling of the Qur'an would likely indicate (a) disrespectfor the Islamic text or (b) citation from an alternative version to the onetransmitted to us today. As, however, the Christian authors (and/or their scribes)are seemingly as lax in their citations of the Bible as in their citations of theQur'an, speculations as to the form in which the sacred texts (Bible or Qur'an)were known to our authors seem unlikely to yield certain results; these earlyChristian Arabic texts may, however, shed light on the approaches to "scripture."In other words, if early Arabophone Christians handled the Qur' an with the samefreedom with which they handled the Bible, might their writings suggest that):he approach to scripture among both Christians and Muslims at the time wasmore flexible than is commonly understood?Qur'anic variants?While many of the scriptural references in these works are easily located, a fewexamples will give a sense of the types of "discrepancies" from the received'Uthmanic rasm that can be found in Christian Arabic usage of the Qur' an.aSinai Ar. 434, f. 177r, 11. 3-5 cites the Qur'anic report of the announcement toZechariah of the glad tidings of a son with a con:flated citation of Q 3:39 and19:7, 13: wa-qala 1-Qur 'an ya Zakariyya inna Allaha mubashimtka bi-nabiyyinmu~addiqin bi-kalimati llahi wa-huwa fi batini ummihi taqiyyin wa-minal-~alil;znl 4 "And the Qur'an says: '0 Zechariah, God is giving you the goodnews of a prophet [who will] confirm the Word of God while in his mother'swomb, pious, and among the righteous;'" Q 3:39 has instead "God gives yougood news [with a verb, not an active participle], of John, confirming a wordfrom [min] God, noble, pure, a prophet, from among the righteous"; Q 19:7has: "0 Zechariah, Verily We give you good news of a youth whose name willbe John ...";The description above ofJohn as "pious" is connected to Q 19:13.b. Sinai Ar. 434, f. 176v, ll. 3-7 references the Qur'anic allusions (Q 51:24;15:51; 11:69-83) to Abraham's guests as proof of the Triune nature of God-changing the twofold Qur'anic salam to salam sa/am salam thus using theQur'iin to elaborate upon Christian usage of Genesis 18:2 as proof from theTorah of the Triune nature of God.c. Theodore and the anonymous monk include Qur'anic attestations to Jesus'smiracles, but paraphrase the Qur'anic wording: "and in the Qur'iin is [mentionof] reviving the dead, exorcising demons, curing the sick with a decisivecommand, without question ... flight from a bird by blowing on it by power of34 See the discussion of the variant Islamic readings of these verses in R. Paret, Der Koran:Kammentar und Konkordanz, Stuttgart: W. Kohlhammer, 1993, 66-67.