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

418 Waleed AhmedSodomites was open-ended. If initially the Sodomites' intention was to abuseLot's guests sexually, and Lot had offered them his daughters as a substitute, withno restrictions whatsoever, Lot, through such an offer, has undoubtedly exposedhis daughters to the sexual desires of the Sodomites.This understanding is emphasized by the segment "ifye must be doing," immediatelyfollowing the allusion-marker in verse 71. This segment echoes the phrase"do to them" in Genesis 19:8 and would, in light of Genesis 19:1-29, mean: if youinsist on your intention to abuse my guests sexually.Certainly, understanding the incident in the fashion described in this case studydoes not coincide with the Islamic moral code. The Qur'an had early on assertedthat Lot is a messenger of God. Furthermore, it is also possible that some of theverses prohibiting fornication were communicated around the same time ofal-lfijr. 25 There may have been an oral narrative which complemented theQur'anic representation of the incident and which resolved this apparent contradiction;we will discuss ~is possibility later on. For now, let us tum our attentionto the representation of the episode of Lot's daughters in Hzld.Verses 78 and 79 of HfidVerse 78 reads, "And his people came unto him, running towards him·- and beforethen they tJSed to commit abominations- He said: 0 my people! Here are my daughters!They are purer for you. Beware of Allah, and degrade me not in (the person of).my guests. Is there not among you any upright man?" The verse unambiguouslyalludes to the incident ofLot's daughters, in Genesis 19 and/or in al-lfijr (the Biblical .corui.otations of the incident have already been shown to be present in the latter). Thesegment "Here are my daughters" is again an unmistakable allusion-marker.Syntactically, the phrase "they are purer [athar] for you" in verse 78 qualifiesthe allusion-marker as its predicate. This phrase, however, could function in oneof two ways. If the word athar is understood in an immaterial sense, e.g. purity ofthe heart from sin, then the phrase "they are purer for you" would seem not toalign with the Biblical connotations of Lot's offer. 26 We will consider this possibilityshortly in the second case study. The second possibility is that to theQur' an's early audience the word athar in this verse meant "cleaner" in a Iilaterialsense (as in physical cleanness). 27 In this case, the phrase "they are purer for you"25 Qur'iin 17:32; 25:68 and 24:2 are some of the verses where the prohibition of fornication ismentioned in the Qur'iin.26 The derivatives of the root f.h.r. in this sense are used in the Qur' iin to point to purity of the heart,purity related to sacredness etc. See Qur'iin 80:14; 98:2; 3:55; 33:53; 58:12; 22:26; 5:6; and 5:41.According to Noldeke, only Qur'iin 80:14 was revealed before Hiid. See Robinson, 77-78. For acomprehensive concordance of the root's occurrence in the Qur'iin, consult Mul)ammad Fu'iid'Abd al-BiiqT, AI-Mu 'jam al-mzlfahras /i-a~ a/-Qur 'an al-karim, Cairo: Dar al-I;Iad'ith, 1996, 527.27 As in the use of the derivative of the root f.h.r. in Qur'an 2:222 (''They question thee (0Mul)ammad] concerning menstruation. Say: It is an illness, so let women alone at such times andgo not in unto them till they are cleansed [yathurna]. And when they have purified themselves[lathharna], then go in unto them ... ").Lot's daughters in the Qur'an 419does not contradict the Biblical connotations of Lot's offer. Lot would simply betelling the Sodomites that having sexual intercourse with his daughters is "cleaner"than having sexual intercourse with his male guests. 28Verse 79 in Hzld continues the narration. The verse reads: "They [i.e. theSodomites] said: Well thou knowest that we have no right [baqq] to thy daughters,and well thou knowest what we want." 29 The question here is: if Lot were offeringthe Sodomites his daughters under no restrictions, as in the Biblical story, whywould they answer in this fashion? The Qur' anic texts are silent with regard to thisquestion. But in light of the Jewish traditions, this response would indicate thatLot's offer was not in accordance with the Sodomites' customary law. In theircustomary law, the Sodomites established their right to abuse strangers and Lot,as a sojourner in Sodom, was not in a position to change this rule by offering themhis daughters.3° The Sodomites' response to Lot hence would mean: you know wehave no right to your 1daughters because, as per our customary law, we have. rightsonly to your guests.The second case studyGiven the composition of verse 71 of al-lfijr and verses 78 to 79 of Hiid, it seemsplausible to suppose that an external oral narrative which complements the representationof the episode in these verses and differs from the Biblical connotationsof Lot's offer should assign a specific nature to this offer. This oral narrative hasto present Lot's offer as an alternative to the Sodomites' intended sexual abuse ofLot's guests, but it also has to make this offer bounded by terms set by Lot himself,not dependent on the Sodomites' desires, or else its interpretation would eventuallycoincide with its Biblical connotations. We can only resort here to Muslimexegetical literature for it is the only source that offers us a hypothesis as to thenature of Lot's offer in this case scenario.Many Muslim exegetes suggest that Lot offered the Sodomites his daughtersin marriage. This seems to fit the criterion mentioned above. Furthermore, it isconsistent with the meaning of the word a{har in verse 78 of Hzld in its immaterialsense. Had this been the interpretation ascribed to Lot's offer in the oral narrativeagainst which the Qur' anic episode of Lot's daughters took shape, the allusionmarker"here are my daughters" in verse 71 of al-Jfijr and verse 78 of Hiid wouldbe referring to Lot asking the Sodomites to marry his daughters (i.e. "here are mydaughters, marry them"). 3128 The rest of verse 78, i.e. "Beware of Allah, and degrade me not in (the person of) my guests. Isthere not among you any upright man?", could support either reading of the word a{{har.29 Given the usage of the derivatives from the root /.z.q.q. in the Qur'iin and the syntax of verse 78 ofHiid, the word l.zaqq could be understood to mean "right" or "fair claim". See AI-Mu 'jamal-mzlfahras, 255-60.30 See for example Genesis 19:9 and Josephus, The New Complete Works, 64-65.31 The majority of Muslim exegetes interpret the segment "ifye must be doing" (in lamtumfo 'ilin) inverse 71 of al-lfijr to mean: if you must be doing what I asked of you, i.e. to marry my daughters.See for example, I;Iusayn b. Mas'iid al-Farii' al-BaghawT, Ma 'a/im al-tanzflji al-taftir wa-1-ta'wfl,