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

460 Emran El-Badawi!ewish scri~es. 63 In addition,. the Qur' arne condemnation formula, waylli +pronoun,'woe unto, reflects the Synac of Matthew, way li +pronoun, ''woe unto." 64. Another re~ationship can be drawn between the distinctive, intentional, repetitiv_eus: o_f this :~~demnation formula. Jesus's curse against the Pharisees, way!lam sdfre waprzse niisbay bap€ is repeated seven times almo.st consecutively inMa~hew ~3 alone (see earlier). Similarly, the Qur'iin repeats the following cursete~ times m al-Mursaliit alone, way! yawma 'idh li-1-mukadhdhibin, "woe unto thereJecters on that day (Q 77)!" Irrespective of this verse's interpretation or whoal-mukadhdhibin were, such a cursing formula was probably well understood inthe 9m:'an's s.e~tarian milieu. Based on content, i.e. condemning scribes of aPhansa1c rabbiniCal or even masoretic background, on style, i.e. the identicalusage of w_ayl li and its almost rhythmic repetition, the common language ofcondemnatiOn between both texts is again demonstrated.Against killing the prophetsJesus's outburst against the Pharisees in Matth~w 23 brings about another reasonwhy they are condemned. It states, ·Thus you testify against yourselves that you are descendants . of thosewho murdered the prophets (msahdin antfm 'a! naftlaln dabnayii antllndaq{ahl lanbfy€) ... How can you escape being sentenced to hell (Matthew23:31)? 65The Sinaiticus manuscript has mawdin antzln 'a! naftlaln, ''you confess againstyourselve~." 66Moreo~er, Matthew 23:34-37 is a passage unique to Matthew'sGospel, with only oblique references in Mark and Luke. 67 The killing of prophets63 Oth~~ verses show.that the Qur'an's distrust for scribes and Jewish men ofletters is a clear motif.Qur an 4:46 explams, "of those who professed Judaism (al-ladhina hiidii) are those who changewords from their places, and say, 'we heard and disobeyed,' and 'hear that which is not heard • and'l~~k after us (rii'ina)' as a twist of their tongues and a slander to religion." For more on the ~se ofra ma see Jeffery, FV, 136.64 Smi.th, A Com~endius Syriac Dictionary, I 07. Arabic possesses way as a rarer alternative to way/.While ~u~pectmg a pos~ible origin from Syriac-Aramaic, Zammit proposes that this form is anabbreviation. M. Zammit, A Comparative Lexical Study of Qur 'iinic Arabic Lei den: Brill 200244!, ~16. The Matthean-Q~'anic context of the phrase's usage suggests that the Syriac,phras~way b over an extended penod of oral transmission merged into the Arabic way/ leaving traces ofthe original Syriac wiiy in way.'65 S~e in relation the reference in Luke 11:47-48, which does not match the Qur'anic text as closely.66 Kiraz,. Comparative Edition of the Syriac Gospels, 1:361.67 See also Mark 12:1-5, and especially Luke 11:49, which states, "Therefore also the Wisdom ofGod said, I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute"· and13:34, which states, "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kilis the prophets and stones those wh~ aresent to it! H.ow often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her broodunder her wmgs, and you were not willing!" See also Thyen, Bibel und Koran, 123.Condemn,ation in the Qur 'an and the Syriac Gospel of Matthew 461and rejection of their message is a frequent lament and indictment in the Qur' anof which scholars have taken notice for some tirne 68 and which Speyer generallytraces back to Matthew. 69 More specifically, two phrases in the Qur'iin appear toreflect the language of condemnation against those who killed the prophets in themanner of Matthew. One of these occurs as follows: "and so they testified againstthemselves (shahidii 'alii 'anjitsihim) that they were rejecters (kiifiriin)" (Q 6: 130;7:37). The other phrase occurs in the following verse:Verily, as for those who deny the signs of God, and kill the prophets (yaqtulfmal-nabiyyin) with6ut just cause, and kill those who command good, announceunto them an excruciating punishment (Q 3:21). 70Although it is from Hebrew Scripture that "testifying against oneself' and "killingthe prophets" first arises/ 1 there i~ reason to argue for a close relationship betweenthe language of the Qur'iin and Matthew here. The Arabic phrase shahidii 'aliianjitsihim together with yaqtulzin al-nabiyyin closely reflects the Syriac mashdfnantzln 'a! nafokl7n dabnayii antlln daqtalii lanbfy€. Another attribute that indicatessome sort of Qur'iinic dependence on traditions going back to Matthew is theparallel between the Qur'iin's "announce unto them an excruciating punishment(i.e. in hell]" and Matthew's "How can you escape being sentenced to hell?"Against the deaf, blind, and hard-heartedThe Qur'iin describes the inhabitants of hell more than once, for example in al-a 'riif"And We have condemned to hell many spirits (jinn) and people. They have heartsby which they do not understand. And they have eyes by which they do not see. Andthey have ears by which they do not hear ... " (Q 7: 179). The failing eyes and ears ofthose condemned is also a motif repeated injit$$ilat: " ... and for those who do notbelieve, there is deafness in their ears and it is a blindness over them (fi iidhiinihimwaqr wa-huwa 'a!Ciyhim 'amii)" (Q 41 :44). Similarly, in Matthew we read:For this people's heart has grown dull, and their ears are hard of hearing andthey have shut their eyes ( et 'bay leh ger lbeh d 'amm€ hiinii wa bednayhtlnyaqfrayit sam 'a wa 'aynayhiin 'am$tl); so that they might not look with theireyes, and listen with their ears, and understand with their heart and turn- andI would heal them.(Matthew 13:15)68 The condemnation in Q 4:155 is multi-faceted and ulthnately goes back to Leviticus 26: 41. Concerningthis, see Horovitz, Koranische Untersuchungen 186. See also Q 2:98; 3:184; 36:18; etc.69 On Q 3:112 See Speyer, Die biblischen Erziihlungen im Qoran, 365,417-19.70 See also Q 3:181; 4:155.71 Deuteronomy 31: 19; Nehemiah 9:26; Amos 2: 12; 7:12-16. Jeremiah 2:26-35, however, providesthe full context and narrative of condemning those who killed the prophets. See also the discussionin Jeffery, The Qur 'iin as Scripture, 26.