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

416 Waleed Ahmedabsent (mal;zdhz7f, literally omitted or left out), is implied. They presented twosuggestions to solve this issue. In one solution, the meaning of the mal;zdhz7felement was speculated to befa-tazawajiihunna or, equally,fa-inkal;ziihunna (i.e.marry them). 14 Hence the first segment of verse 71 would mean "here are mydaughters, marry them." In the second solution, the mal;zdhz7fwas considered to bean imperative verb, tazawwajii or inkal;zii (i.e. marry), at the beginning of theverse, where ha 'ula 'i was considered the direct object of this verb and banatz asubstitute noun for ha 'ula 'i (i.e. badal). So, in this case, the first segment of verse71 would mean "Marry! Here are my daughters." 15The verse's second segment, i.e. in kuntum fo 'ilin ("if ye must be doing"), isalso problematic. It is a conditional sentence that lacks its apodosis (jawabal-(fharf). Arab grammarians again solved this problem by compensating for themissing apodosis with an implied sentence element, the very element which theyproposed earlier to solve the problem in the verse's first segment (fa-inkal;ziihunna["marrythem"] or inkal;zz7 ["marry"]). 16 Now, what are we to make of this syntacticalanalysis of verse 71?Undoubtedly, the verse must refer to some external element( s) in order to conveydefinite meaning to its audience. Indeed, it demands an intertextual reading. Bearin mind that except for verse 71 of al-Jfijr and Hz7d (11) 78-79 there are no otherreferences to Lot's daughters in the Qur'ii.n and that, according to the chronologicalorder we have adopted, Hz7d (11) 78-79 was revealed after verse 71 of al-Jfijr. Ifverse 71 of al-Jfijr was to be understood when it was communicated, it had to becomprehended intertextually with reference to a pre-text external to the Qur'an.Genesis 19:8 reads: "Look, I have two daughters who have not known a man;let me bring them out to you, and do to them as you please; only do nothing tothese men for they have come under the shelter of my roof." 17 Comparing verse 71of al-Jfijr to Genesis 19:8, one notices the following. In the former, the phrase"here are my daughters," although it does not specify the number ofLot's daughtersor point to their virginity, clearly alludes to the segment, "Look, I have twodaughters that have not )mown a man; let me bring them out to you" in the latter.Also, the segment of Genesis 19:8 in which Lot says "do to them" has permutatedto "ifye must be doing" in verse 71. Lastly, the segment of Genesis 19:8 in whichLot specifies the terms ofhis offer, i.e. "as you please" (literally, as is good in youreyes [ka-tob bi- 'enekem]), is not echoed in verse 71 of al-Jfijr, at least not explicitly.The rest of Genesis 19:8 is echoed in al-Jfijr in verse 68 before verse 71. Onthe whole, then, verse 71 references Lot's offer in Genesis 19:8 and an action thatthe phrase fa tazawajzi ("marry") after hii 'ulii 'i baniitf when he interpreted the verse. Cf. AbiiJa'far A]:Imad b. Mu]:Iammad al-Na]:I]:Iiis, Ma 'iinf al-Qur'iin al-karfm, ed. Mu]:Iammad 'Alial-Sabiini, Mecca: Jami'at Umm al-Qura, 1988,4:33.14 Respectively, cf. l:lalabi, 7: 173; Darwish, 14:206.15 See also l:lalabi, 7:173; Darwish, 14:206.16 See Darwish, 14:206; Bahjat 'Abd a!-Wahid 'Ali, Al-I 'riib al-muja$$01/i-kitiib Alliih al-murattal.'Amman: Dar al-Fikr Ji-1-Nashr wa-1-Tawzi', 1993, 5:100.17 The English translations of Bible verses are from the Revised Standard Version.Lot's daughters in the Qur'an 417is attributed to the Sodomites. In particular, the verse should be recognized as anallusion to Genesis 19:8. 18 There is an unmistakable allusion-marker in verse 71:the explicit reference to Lot's offer, i.e. "here are my daughters."However, in order to make full sense of this allusion, it is not sufficient tocorrectly identify the referent of its markers, for this segment does not specify thenature of Lot's offer (relating only, "let me bring them out to you"). The meaningofthe allusion is not its referent, but rather it is the attributes and the connotationsattached to this referent in the pre-text. 19Before we proceed with resolving this, let me first point to the impact of thenarrative before the allusion-marker on the episode's meaning. Verse 67 of al-lfijrreads: "And the people of the city [i.e. Sodom] came, rejoicing at the news (of newarrivals) (i.e. God's messengersV' Certainly, this verse does not by itself state whythe Sodomites rejoiced at the news of the arrival of Lot's male guests. Nonetheless,Genesis 19:5 ("and they called·to Lot, 'Where are the men who came to youtonight? Bring them out to vs, that we may know them [i.e. sexually]' 20 ") ensuresthat the audiences have understood that the reason of the Sodomites' excitementwas because they anticipated abusing Lot's male guests sexually. 21 Verse 68 ofal-Jfijr confirms this. It relates that Lot begged the Sodomites not to disgrace himin the person of his guests ("He said: Lo! they are my guests. Affront me not!").So, not only the "insufficiency of sense" 22 in the allusion-marker, and its"particular formulation" 23 impel the audience to recall the connotations attachedto Lot's offer in the Biblical story, but also "the meaning of the alluding textprevious to the marker's occurrence, suggest the property(ies) of the source text'sintention necessary to complete the sense of the allusion-m~ker." 24 Lot's offer inverse 71 of al-lfijr is hence presented as a solution which Lot devised in order toavoid the sexual abuse of his guests. By merely recalling what follows in Genesis19:8, i.e. "do to them as you please," the audience realizes that Lot's offer to the18 My approach to allusion is informed by Camela Perri's speech act model of alluding. See C. Perri,"On alluding," Poetics 7, 1978, 289-307.19 Ibid., 291-92.20 See for instance Josephus's interpretation of the Sodomites' intentions toward Lot's male guests inJosephus, The New Complete Works, 64-65. The expression "know (someone)" is used severaltimes in Genesis in this sense. See, e.g., Genesis 4:1, 17, 25; 24:16 and 38:26. Genesis 19:8 refersto Lot's daughters' virginity by indicating that they have not "knoWn" man.21 Also, there is no ambiguity regarding the Sodomites' sin in the Qur'an. The Qur'an states clearly thatthe Sodomites practiced homosexual sex. See for example Qur'an 54:37, 26:165, 27:55, 29:29 and7:81. Qur'an 54:37 ("They even asked of him his guests for an ill purpose. Then We blinded theireyes (and said): Taste now My punishment after My warnings!") seems to have been communicatedprior to al-I;lijr. See Noldeke's chronology inRobinson, 69-78; Neuwirth, "Referentiality and textuality,"158. Qur'an 54:37 clearly alludes to Genesis 19:5 (mentioned above) and 19:11 ("And theystruck with blindness the men [i.e. the Sodomites] who were at the door of the house, both small andgreat, so that they wearied themselves groping for the door"). Therefore, the "ill purpose" mentionedin Qur'an 54:37 denotes the Sodornites' intention of abusing Lot's guests sexually.22 Perri, "On alluding," 300.23 Ibid.24 Ibid.