Jaarboek Thomas Instituut 2006 - Thomas Instituut te Utrecht

NICHOLAS OF CUSA 57
The ambiguity of Nicholas' approach to the Qur'än is quite clear in
this prologue. On the one hand, the old tradition that sees Muhammad
as an imposter and his Qur'än as a falsification, lingers on.48 On the
other hand, Nicholas seems to incline toward a more benevolent
interpretation that explains the divergences between Gospel and
Qur'än and therefore between Jesus and Muhammad not as the result
of malevolence but as the result of ignorance. According to this pia
interpretatio, the book of Muhammad can be seen as a form of
learned ignorance: Muhammad did not know Christ, but nevertheless
the Gospel may be confirmed by the contents of this book. One might
be tempted to translate pia interpretatio as 'benevolent
interpretation', because it is an interpretation that tries to relate the
contents of the Qur'än to the Gospel of Jesus in a positive way, not
however neglecting the differences. This benevolent interpretation is
possible because not only Muhammad did not know Jesus, but
Christians do not know Christ in the full sense of the word as well, as
Nicholas made clear in the Christological chapters of his Docta
ignorantia. Although there is a clear difference between Christians
who accepted Christ as the Truth revealed by God, and Muslims who
only accept Christ as a Prophet of God, still we all are human beings
and therefore on our way to the full truth that will only be revealed to
us if we meet Christ after this life.
Jasper Hopkins is correct in suggesting that translating pia
interpretatio as 'benevolent interpretation' would not do justice to the
theological intention of Cusanus' book." I do not agree, however,
with his suggestion to translate it as 'devout interpretation', because
the word pius in Medieval Latin has different connotations than
'pious' or 'devout' which smacks of 19th century pietism. Pius may
mean: conscientious; upright; faithful; respectful; righteous or loyal
as well as pious or devoted, and the same holds true for the Dutch
Nicholas of Cusa, Cribratio Alcorani, protogus. nos. 4-5 and 9-10.
Translation: Jasper Hopkins, Nicho/as of Cusa 's Scrutiny of the Koran (De
Pace Fidei and Cribratio A/korani), translation and analysis by Jasper
Hopkins, Minneapolis 1994.
48 John of Damascus is, if not the founder, certainly the most important early
proponent of this tradition. See Adelbert Davids and Pim Valkenberg, John of
Damascus: The Heresy of the Ishmaelites, in Roggema, Poorthuis,
Valkenberg (2005), o.c., 71-90.
49 Hopkins (1994), o.c. (nt. 42), 52-55.