Satanic Verses (Gharaniq Incident): Difference between revisions

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The goddess al-Uzza at the Temple of Winged Lions in Petra.

The Satanic Verses (also the حديثة الغرانيق Gharaniq incident) was an incident where Prophet Muhammad reportedly acknowledged Allat, Manat, and al-Uzza, three deities or angels of the Pagan Meccans in a Qur'anic revelation, only to later recant and claim they were the words of the Devil. Quran 53:19-20 mentions their names: "So have you considered al-Lat and al-'Uzza? And Manat, the third - the other one?". One day when reciting these verses in the presence of the Meccan disbelievers while eager to gain acceptance from them, Muhammad reportedly succumbed to temptation from Satan, adding a verse, "They are the exhalted gharaniq whose intercession is to be hoped for". Gharaniq is thought to mean cranes (the bird), though some interpret it simply to mean female deities or angels. The report was apparently uncontroversial in the early centuries of Islam, though widely rejected by later Muslim scholars. Modern academic scholars today also generally reject the story, at least in terms of detail, though most agree that an interpolation of verses has occured at almost the same point in the surah.

Theological status in Islam

Shahab Ahmed (d. 2015) was an Islamic studies scholar at Harvard University until he passed away, aged 48, in 2015.

The facticity and historicity of the Satanic verses incident are today (with a few maverick exceptions) universally rejected by Muslims of all sects and interpretative movements—Sunnī, Twelver Shī‘ī, Ismā‘īlī Shī‘ī, Aḥmadī, Ibāḍī, Ḥanafī, Shāfi‘ī, Mālikī, Ḥanbalī, Wahhābī, Salafī, Deobandī, Barelvī, and so forth—routinely on pain of heresy (kufr)—that is, on pain of being deemed not a Muslim. The Satanic verses incident is understood as calling into question the integrity of the process of Divine Communication to Muḥammad—and thus the integrity of the Text of the Qur’ān. The universal rejection of the Satanic verses incident constitutes an instance of contemporary Islamic orthodoxy—that is to say, it is the only truth that a Muslim qua Muslim may legitimately hold on the matter. For the last two hundred years, to be a Muslim, one should believe that the Satanic verses incident did not take place—that is, the contemporary Muslim should not believe that the Prophet Muḥammad recited verses of Satanic suggestion as Divine inspiration. In other words, for modern Muslims, the Satanic verses incident is something entirely unthinkable.
The reason for my writing this book is that, as a straightforward matter of historical fact, this Islamic orthodoxy of the rejection of the facticity of the Satanic verses incident has not always obtained. The fundamental finding of the present volume is that in the first two centuries of Islam, Muslim attitudes to the Satanic verses incident were effectively the direct opposite of what they are today. This volume studies no less than fifty historical reports that narrate the Satanic verses incident and that were transmitted by the first generations of Muslims. This study of the Satanic verses incident in the historical memory of the early Muslim community will demonstrate in detail that the incident constituted an absolutely standard element in the memory of early Muslims of the life of their Prophet. In other words, the early Muslim community believed almost universally that the Satanic verses incident was a true historical fact. As far as the overwhelming majority of the Muslim community in the first two hundred years was concerned, the Messenger of God did indeed, on at least one occasion, mistake words of Satanic suggestion as being of Divine inspiration. For the early Muslims, the Satanic verses incident was something entirely thinkable.

Shahab Ahmed, Before Orthodoxy: The Satanic Verses in Early Islam, Harvard University Press, pp. 2-3, ISBN 9780674047426, 2017, https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674047426

Account

The following account is recorded by al-Tabari, with a chain of transmission including Ibn Ishaq. Al-Tabari also includes a shorter version by another chain. For that and the other main versions of the story in the sirah literature, see Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Muhammad and the Satanic Verses.

Satan Casts a False Revelation on the Messenger of God's Tongue

The Messenger of God was eager for the welfare of his people and wished to effect a reconciliation with them in whatever ways he could. It is said that he wanted to find a way to do this, and what happened was as follows.
Ibn Humayd—Salamah--Muhammad b. Ishaq—Yazid b. Ziyad al-Madani—Muhammad b. Kali al-Qurazi: When the Messenger of God saw how his tribe turned their backs on him and was grieved to see them shunning the message he had brought to them from God, he longed in his soul that something would come to him from God which would reconcile him with his tribe. With his love for his tribe and his eagerness for their welfare it would have delighted him if some of the difficulties which they made for him could have been smoothed out, and he debated with himself and fervently desired such an outcome. Then God revealed:

By the Star when it sets, your comrade does not err, nor is

he deceived; nor does he speak out of (his own) desire ...

and when he came to the words:

Have you thought upon al-Lat and al-'Uzza and Manat, the third, the other?

Satan cast on his tongue, because of his inner debates and what he desired to bring to his people, the words:

These are the high-flying cranes; verily their intercession is accepted with approval.

When Quraysh heard this, they rejoiced and were happy and delighted at the way in which he spoke of their gods, and they listened to him, while the Muslims, having complete trust in their Prophet in respect of the messages which he brought from God, did not suspect him of error, illusion, or mistake. When he came to the prostration, having completed the surah, he prostrated himself and the Muslims did likewise, following their Prophet, trusting in the message which he had brought and following his example. Those polytheists of the Quraysh and others who were in the Mosque likewise prostrated themselves because of the reference [1193] to their gods which they had heard, so that there was no one in the mosque, believer or unbeliever, who did not prostrate himself. The one exception was al-Walid b. al-Mughirah, who was a very old man and could not prostrate himself; but he took a handful of soil from the valley in his hand and bowed over that. Then they all dispersed from the mosque. The Quraysh left delighted by the mention of their gods which they had heard, saying, "Muhammad has mentioned our gods in the most favorable way possible, stating in his recitation that they are the high-flying cranes and that their intercession is received with approval."
The news of this prostration reached those of the Messenger of God's Companions who were in Abyssinia and people said, "The Quraysh have accepted Islam." Some rose up to return, while others remained behind. Then Gabriel came to the Messenger of God and said, "Muhammad, what have you done? You have recited to the people that which I did not bring to you from God, and you have said that which was not said to you." Then the Messenger of God was much grieved and feared God greatly, but God sent down a revelation to him, for He was merciful to him, consol?ing him and making the matter light for him, informing him that there had never been a prophet or a messenger before him who de sired as he desired and wished as he wished but that Satan had cast words into his recitation, as he had cast words on Muhammad's tongue. Then God cancelled what Satan had thus cast, and established his verses by telling him that he was like other prophets and messengers, and revealed:

Never did we send a messenger or a prophet before you but that when he recited (the Message) Satan cast words into his recitation (umniyyah). God abrogates what Satan casts. Then God established his verses. God is knower, wise.

Thus God removed the sorrow from his Messenger, reassured him about that which he had feared and cancelled the words [1194] which Satan had cast on his tongue, that their gods were the high-flying cranes whose intercession was accepted with approval. He now revealed, following the mention of "al-Lat, al-'Uzza and Manat, the third, the other," the words:

Are yours the males and his the females? That indeed were an unfair division!
They are but names which you have named, you and your fathers ...

to the words:

to whom he wills and accepts.

This means, how can the intercession of their gods avail with God?

When Muhammad brought a revelation from God cancelling what Satan had cast on the tongue of His Prophet, the Quraysh said, "Muhammad has repented of what he said concerning the position of your gods with God, and has altered it and brought something else." Those two phrases which Satan had cast on the tongue of the Messenger of God were in the mouth of every polytheists, and they became even more ill-disposed and more violent in their persecution of those of them who had accepted Islam and followed the Messenger of God.

Those of the Companions of the Messenger of God who had left Abyssinia upon hearing that Quraysh had accepted Islam by prostrating themselves with the Messenger of God now approached. When they were near Mecca, they heard that the report that the people of Mecca had accepted Islam was false. Not one of them entered Mecca without obtaining protection or entering secretly. Among those who came to Mecca and remained there until they emigrated to al-Madinah and were present with the Prophet at Badr, were, from the Banu 'Abd Shams b. 'Abd Manaf b. Qusayy, 'Uthman b. 'Affan b. Abi al-'As b. Umayyah, accompanied by his wife Ruqayyah the daughter of the Messenger of God; Abu Hudhayfah b. 'Utbah b. Rabi'ah b. 'Abd Shams, accompanied by his [1195] wife Sahlah bt. Suhayl; together with a number of others numbering thirty-three men.

al-Tabari (d. 923), M. V. McDonald; W. Montgomery Watt, eds, The History of al-Tabari [Ta’rikh al-rusul wa’l-muluk], vol. VI, SUNY Press, pp. 107-112, ISBN 0-88706-706-9, 1988, https://archive.org/details/HistoryAlTabari40Vol/History_Al-Tabari_10_Vol/page/n1577/mode/2up
أبو جعفر الطبري, تاريخ الرسل والملوك, vol. 2, al-Maktabah al-Shamilah, p. 337-341, https://app.turath.io/book/9783

Historicity

The Satanic Verses incident is reported in the tafsir and the sira-maghazi literature dating from the first two centuries of Islam, and is reported in the respective tafsīr corpuses transmitted from almost every Qur'anic commentator of note in the first two centuries of the hijra. It seems to have constituted a standard element in the memory of the early Muslim community about the life of Muhammad.^[1]

Among the sira literature to record the story are four early major biographies of Muhammad; al-Waqidi,^[2] Ibn Saad,^[3] al-Tabari,^[4] and Ibn Ishaq.^[5] In Sahih Bukhari and other major hadith collections, it is recorded that Muhammad performed a prostration when he finished reciting Surat-an-Najm, and all the Muslims and pagans prostrated, though the Satanic verses are not mentioned.^[6] Another version includes the element in which one man puts dust to his forehead instead of prostrating, though here it is portrayed as an act of disrespect instead of infirmity.^[7] Professor Sean W. Anthony writes that these are truncated versions of the story with the Satanic verse elements expurgated, though that foundational narrative remains their implicit context.^[8]

Since in today's Qur'an, the pagan goddesses are attacked in that particular Surah, pagans and Muslims prostrating together could represent a remarkable memory of Muhammad at one time holding a totally heterodox view to contemporary and historical Islam. The tradition was later widely rejected by classical scholars such as al-Razi, Qurtubi and Ibn Kathir after the concept of iṣmat al-anbiyā (impeccability of the prophets) had developed.

Shahab Ahmed, in his academic book on the topic,^[9] carefully examined 50 riwayahs (transmissions) of the hadith narrated from the companion Ibn 'Abbās, and successors (tabi'un) including Muhammad bin ka'b Al-Qurazi, Sa'id b. Jubayr, 'Urwah b. al-Zubayr, Qatada b. Di'amah, Abu Bakr 'Abd al-Rahman b. al-Harith, al-Hasan al-Basri, and Mujahid b. Jabr. He notes that many of these are sahih mursal (i.e. sound except that the chain of narration ends at the successor instead of a companion of the prophet). He also discusses some narrations whose chains go back to Ibn 'Abbās, including one (riwayah 40 in Ahmed's book) which was considered reliable by some scholars, though al-Albani rejected it due to limited biographical information on one of the transmitters, and a similar one (riwayah 41) which Ahmed describes as "an equally - if not more - reliable isnād that has apparently gone unnoticed by later commentators". This, he says, has an "immaculate isnād" and lacks the deficiency noted by al-Albani.^[10] Ahmed states that "all the first and early second century reports are agreed that the Prophet uttered the satanic verses".^[11]

In terms of modern historical-critical methods, Sean W. Anthony writes on early and more recent academic trends: "Western scholars subsequently divided into two camps, either affirming or denying the historicity of the story. Nowadays, however, the denialist camp has won the day, as a steady stream of studies by the likes John Burton, Uri Rubin, Jaakko Hämeen-Anttila, Gerald Hawting, Nicolai Sinai, and Patricia Crone have all expressed profound reservations about the historicity of the story."^[12]

Some of these scholars have proposed theories as to why such a story may have been concocted (Rubin; Burton). Anthony himself agrees with Rubin that earlier traditions attributed to ʿUrwa b. al-Zubayr about the mass conversion of the Meccans but which do not mention the satanic verses were at a later stage elaborated using elements from the Quran (and presented as the occasion of revelation for Q. 22:52): Quran 22:52 itself which mentions Satan throwing words into the mouths of previous prophets; Quran 53:19-20 which mentions the three female deities; and Quran 17:73-74 which mentions that the Meccans tried to tempt Muhammad into attributing false words to Allah.^[13]^[14] The observations of Nicolai Sinai, Patricia Crone, and (writing in 2021, a couple of years after Anthony's assessment) Tommaso Tesei all make arguments based on a literary analysis of the text, which either undermine or (Tesei) implicitly support the likelihood of a historical kernal to the story and are discussed below.

Firstly, here are verses 19-32 of Surah an-Najm. The rest of the surah (62 verses) is entirely composed of short verses with three or four Arabic words each on average, though verses 23 and 26-32 shown here in contrast are long verses.

53:19 So have you considered al-Lat and al-'Uzza?

53:20 And Manat, the third - the other one?
53:21 Is the male for you and for Him the female?
53:22 That, then, is an unjust division.
53:23 They are not but [mere] names you have named them - you and your forefathers - for which Allah has sent down no authority. They follow not except assumption and what [their] souls desire, and there has already come to them from their Lord guidance.
53:24 Or is there for man whatever he wishes?
53:25 Rather, to Allah belongs the Hereafter and the first [life].
53:26 And how many angels there are in the heavens whose intercession will not avail at all except [only] after Allah has permitted [it] to whom He wills and approves.
53:27 Indeed, those who do not believe in the Hereafter name the angels female names,
53:28 And they have thereof no knowledge. They follow not except assumption, and indeed, assumption avails not against the truth at all.
53:29 So turn away from whoever turns his back on Our message and desires not except the worldly life.
53:30 That is their sum of knowledge. Indeed, your Lord is most knowing of who strays from His way, and He is most knowing of who is guided.
53:31 And to Allah belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth - that He may recompense those who do evil with [the penalty of] what they have done and recompense those who do good with the best [reward] -

53:32 Those who avoid the major sins and immoralities, only [committing] slight ones. Indeed, your Lord is vast in forgiveness. He was most knowing of you when He produced you from the earth and when you were fetuses in the wombs of your mothers. So do not claim yourselves to be pure; He is most knowing of who fears Him.

Quran 53:19-32

Nicolai Sinai points out that the purported satanic verses praising the three deities mentioned in verses 19-20 would not have made sense if inserted before any of the polemical verses that immediately follow.^[15] Patricia Crone, instead looking at the verses preceding the above quoted passage, argues that "Have you seen al-Lat...?" in verse 19 should be taken as a hostile question about literally seeing the three deities, particularly given that the previous verse and four others in the first half of the surah claim that Allah's servant "saw" the heavenly being (with the same Arabic verb meaning "see" as verse 19). She undelines this point using (Quran 35:40 and Quran 46:4 where a similar hostile question is asked. Given the hostility of the question in Q. 53:19-20, Crone argues that the purported Satanic verses praising the deities would not fit if inserted after such a context.^[16]

On the other hand, Tommaso Tesei builds on the common observation (also agreed by Crone as the general scholarly view) that verses 23 and 26-32 appear to be an interpolation of long verses into a surah of otherwise short verses. Tesei argues that those verses display stylistic incoherence as well as a theological tension with the rest of Q. 53, a surah which is otherwise consistent with evidence external to the Islamic tradition regarding pre-Islamic deities and star worship. It could be noted that these long verses with all their difficulties commence after verses 20-21, so Sinai's argument is not entirely eliminated.

In further support of his argument that the long verses are interpolations, Tesei notes that the apparent interpolation coincides with the traditional account that an explanatory comment was inserted to rectify the identification of the pagan deities as divine intercessors, which may support the possibility of historical elements to the Satanic verses story, though not in every detail (since he argues that the interpolations were by a separate author).^[17]

External links

The Satanic Verses Saifullah - Saifullah from Answering Islam on the Satanic Verses
The Satanic Verses - The Story of the Cranes - Samuel Green from Answering Islam on the Satanic Verses
Muhammad and the Satanic Verses - Responses to Islamic Awareness by Answering Islam
Dr. Wood Proves Muhammad Spoke From The Devil (Quran Verses From Satan) - David Wood on the Satanic Verses

References

↑ Ahmed, Shahab (2008), "Satanic Verses", in Dammen McAuliffe, Jane, Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān, Georgetown University, Washington DC: Brill (published 14 August 2008)
↑ Rubin, Uri (14 August 2008), "Muhammad", in Dammen McAuliffe, Jane, Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān, Georgetown University, Washington DC: Brill
↑ Ibn Sa'd's "Kitab al Tabaqat al Kabir" (Book of the Major Classes), Volume 1, parts 1 and 2, pp. 236 - 239, translated by S. Moinul Haq, published by the Pakistan Historical Society.
↑ Al-Tabari (838? – 923 A.D.), The History of al-Tabari (Ta’rikh al-rusul wa’l-muluk), Vol. VI: Muhammad at Mecca, pp. 107-112. Translated by W. M. Watt and M.V. McDonald, State University of New York Press, Albany, NY, 1988, ISBN: 0-88706-707-7, pp. 107-112.
↑ Ibn Ishaq, The Life of Muhammad: A Translation of Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah, Translated by A. Guillaume, Oxford University Press, Oxford, England, (Re-issued in Karachi, Pakistan, 1967, 13th impression, 1998) 1955, p. 146-148.
↑ "Narrated Ibn Abbas: The Prophet performed a prostration when he finished reciting Surat-an-Najm, and all the Muslims and pagans and Jinns and human beings prostrated along with him." - Sahih Bukhari 6:60:385
↑ " Narrated `Abdullah bin Mas`ud: The Prophet (ﷺ) recited Surat-an-Najm (53) and prostrated while reciting it and all the people prostrated and a man amongst the people took a handful of stones or earth and raised it to his face and said, "This is sufficient for me. Later on I saw him killed as a non-believer."" - Sahih Bukhari 2:19:176
↑ Anthony, Sean W. (2019). "The Satanic Verses in Early Shiʿite Literature: A Minority Report on Shahab Ahmed’s Before Orthodoxy". Shii Studies Review 3: 226-27..
↑ Shahab Ahmed (2018), Before Orthodoxy: The Satanic Verses in early Islam, Harvard University Press, ISBN 978-0-674-04742-6
↑ Ahmed, Before Orthodoxy pp. 224-228
↑ Ahmed, Before Orthodoxy p. 56
↑ Anthony, The Satanic Verses in Early Shiʿite Literature. pp. 215-252
↑ Anthony, The Satanic Verses in Early Shiʿite Literature pp. 241–245
↑ Rubin, Uri (1995), The eye of the beholder: the life of Muḥammad as viewed by the early Muslims: a textual analysis Princeton, NJ: Darwin Press, p. 157-61
↑ Sinai, Nicolai (2011). "An Interpretation of Sūrat al-Najm (Q. 53)". Journal of Qurʾanic Studies. 13 (2): 1–28. doi:10.3366/jqs.2011.0018 See pp.10-11
↑ Crone, Patricia (2015). [Problems in sura 53 https://www.jstor.org/stable/24692173] Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. 78 (1): 15–23. doi:10.1017/S0041977X15000014 (See pp. 18-22)
↑ Tesei, Tommaso (2021). The Qurʾān(s) in Context(s) Journal Asiatique. 309 (2): 185–202. (see pp. 192-196)

[1] Ahmed, Shahab (2008), "Satanic Verses", in Dammen McAuliffe, Jane, Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān, Georgetown University, Washington DC: Brill (published 14 August 2008)

[Uri-2] Rubin, Uri (14 August 2008), "Muhammad", in Dammen McAuliffe, Jane, Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān, Georgetown University, Washington DC: Brill

[3] Ibn Sa'd's "Kitab al Tabaqat al Kabir" (Book of the Major Classes), Volume 1, parts 1 and 2, pp. 236 - 239, translated by S. Moinul Haq, published by the Pakistan Historical Society.

[4] Al-Tabari (838? – 923 A.D.), The History of al-Tabari (Ta’rikh al-rusul wa’l-muluk), Vol. VI: Muhammad at Mecca, pp. 107-112. Translated by W. M. Watt and M.V. McDonald, State University of New York Press, Albany, NY, 1988, ISBN: 0-88706-707-7, pp. 107-112.

[5] Ibn Ishaq, The Life of Muhammad: A Translation of Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah, Translated by A. Guillaume, Oxford University Press, Oxford, England, (Re-issued in Karachi, Pakistan, 1967, 13th impression, 1998) 1955, p. 146-148.

[6] "Narrated Ibn Abbas: The Prophet performed a prostration when he finished reciting Surat-an-Najm, and all the Muslims and pagans and Jinns and human beings prostrated along with him." - Sahih Bukhari 6:60:385

[7] " Narrated `Abdullah bin Mas`ud: The Prophet (ﷺ) recited Surat-an-Najm (53) and prostrated while reciting it and all the people prostrated and a man amongst the people took a handful of stones or earth and raised it to his face and said, "This is sufficient for me. Later on I saw him killed as a non-believer."" - Sahih Bukhari 2:19:176

[Anthony2019-8] Anthony, Sean W. (2019). "The Satanic Verses in Early Shiʿite Literature: A Minority Report on Shahab Ahmed’s Before Orthodoxy". Shii Studies Review 3: 226-27..

[AhmedBeforeOrthodoxy-9] Shahab Ahmed (2018), Before Orthodoxy: The Satanic Verses in early Islam, Harvard University Press, ISBN 978-0-674-04742-6

[10] Ahmed, Before Orthodoxy pp. 224-228

[11] Ahmed, Before Orthodoxy p. 56

[12] Anthony, The Satanic Verses in Early Shiʿite Literature. pp. 215-252

[13] Anthony, The Satanic Verses in Early Shiʿite Literature pp. 241–245

[14] Rubin, Uri (1995), The eye of the beholder: the life of Muḥammad as viewed by the early Muslims: a textual analysis Princeton, NJ: Darwin Press, p. 157-61

[15] Sinai, Nicolai (2011). "An Interpretation of Sūrat al-Najm (Q. 53)". Journal of Qurʾanic Studies. 13 (2): 1–28. doi:10.3366/jqs.2011.0018 See pp.10-11

[16] Crone, Patricia (2015). [Problems in sura 53 https://www.jstor.org/stable/24692173] Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. 78 (1): 15–23. doi:10.1017/S0041977X15000014 (See pp. 18-22)

[17] Tesei, Tommaso (2021). The Qurʾān(s) in Context(s) Journal Asiatique. 309 (2): 185–202. (see pp. 192-196)

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-{{QualityScore|Lead=1|Structure=4|Content=3|Language=2|References=4}}
+{{QualityScore|Lead=4|Structure=4|Content=4|Language=4|References=4}}
 [[File:Al-Uzza with Zodiac.jpg|right|170px|thumb|The goddess al-Uzza at the Temple of Winged Lions in Petra.]]
-The''' Satanic Verses''' (also the ''Gharaniq incident'') was an incident where Prophet [[Muhammad]] acknowledged Allat, Manat, and al-Uzza, the goddesses of the [[Paganism|Pagan]] Meccans in a [[Qur'an|Qur'anic]] [[revelation]], only to later recant and claim they were the words of the Devil.
+The''' Satanic Verses''' (also the حديثة الغرانيق ''Gharaniq incident'') was an incident where Prophet [[Muhammad]] reportedly acknowledged Allat, Manat, and al-Uzza, three deities or angels of the [[Pre-Islamic Arab Religion in Islam|Pagan]] Meccans in a [[Qur'an|Qur'anic]] [[revelation]], only to later recant and claim they were the words of the Devil.
+{{Quran-range|53|19|20}} mentions their names: "So have you considered al-Lat and al-'Uzza? And Manat, the third - the other one?". One day when reciting these verses in the presence of the Meccan disbelievers while eager to gain acceptance from them, Muhammad reportedly succumbed to temptation from Satan, adding a verse, "They are the exhalted ''gharaniq'' whose intercession is to be hoped for". Gharaniq is thought to mean cranes (the bird), though some interpret it simply to mean female deities or angels.
+The report was apparently uncontroversial in the early centuries of Islam, though widely rejected by later Muslim scholars. Modern academic scholars today also generally reject the story, at least in terms of detail, though most agree that an interpolation of verses has occured at almost the same point in the surah.
-==Account==
-The following text is taken from Sir William Muir's "The Life of Mahomet", which summarizes  the [[Satanic Verses]] incident.
+== Theological status in Islam ==
-{{Quote|1=|2=On a certain day the chief men of Mecca, assembled in a group beside the Kaaba, discussed, as was their custom, the affairs of the city.  Mahomet appeared and, seating himself by them in a friendly manner, began to recite in their hearing Sura LIII.  The chapter opens with a description of the first visit of Gabriel to Mahomet (already known to the reader);<ref>See ''ante'', p. 47: also p. 78</ref> and then unfolds a second vision of that angel, at which certain heavenly mysteries were revealed.  The passage is as follows:--
+Shahab Ahmed (d. 2015) was an Islamic studies scholar at Harvard University until he passed away, aged 48, in 2015.
+{{Quote|{{citation|url=https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674047426|author=Shahab Ahmed|year=2017|pages=2-3|title=Before Orthodoxy: The Satanic Verses in Early Islam|publisher=Harvard University Press|ISBN=9780674047426}}|The facticity and historicity of the Satanic verses incident are today (with a few maverick exceptions) '''universally rejected by Muslims of all sects and interpretative movements'''—Sunnī, Twelver Shī‘ī, Ismā‘īlī Shī‘ī, Aḥmadī, Ibāḍī, Ḥanafī, Shāfi‘ī, Mālikī, Ḥanbalī, Wahhābī, Salafī, Deobandī, Barelvī, and so forth—routinely '''on pain of heresy (kufr)—that is, on pain of being deemed not a Muslim.''' The Satanic verses incident is understood as calling into question the integrity of the process of Divine Communication to Muḥammad—and thus the integrity of the Text of the Qur’ān. The universal rejection of the Satanic verses incident constitutes an instance of contemporary Islamic orthodoxy—that is to say, it is the only truth that a Muslim qua Muslim may legitimately hold on the matter. For the last two hundred years, to be a Muslim, one should believe that the Satanic verses incident did not take place—that is, the contemporary Muslim should not believe that the Prophet Muḥammad recited verses of Satanic suggestion as Divine inspiration. In other words, for modern Muslims, the Satanic verses incident is something entirely unthinkable.<br>The reason for my writing this book is that, '''as a straightforward matter of historical fact''', this Islamic orthodoxy of the rejection of the facticity of the Satanic verses incident has not always obtained. The fundamental finding of the present volume is that '''in the first two centuries of Islam, Muslim attitudes to the Satanic verses incident were effectively the direct opposite of what they are today.''' This volume studies no less than fifty historical reports that narrate the Satanic verses incident and that were transmitted by the first generations of Muslims. This study of the Satanic verses incident in the historical memory of the early Muslim community will demonstrate in detail that the incident constituted an absolutely standard element in the memory of early Muslims of the life of their Prophet. In other words, the early Muslim community believed almost universally that the Satanic verses incident was a true historical fact. As far as the overwhelming majority of the Muslim community in the first two hundred years was concerned, the Messenger of God did indeed, on at least one occasion, mistake words of Satanic suggestion as being of Divine inspiration. For the early Muslims, the Satanic verses incident was something entirely thinkable.}}
+==Account==
-'''He also saw him (Gabriel) at another descent,'''
+The following account is recorded by al-Tabari, with a chain of transmission including Ibn Ishaq. Al-Tabari also includes a shorter version by another chain. For that and the other main versions of the story in the sirah literature, see [[Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Muhammad and the Satanic Verses]].
-'''By the Lote-tree<ref>The Lote is the wild plum tree, rendered in India by the ''Ber''.</ref> at the furthest boundary,'''
+{{Quote|{{citation|title=The History of al-Tabari|trans_title=Ta’rikh al-rusul wa’l-muluk|volume=vol. VI|ISBN=0-88706-706-9|year=1988|publisher=SUNY Press|author=al-Tabari (d. 923)|editor1=M. V. McDonald|editor2=W. Montgomery Watt|url=https://archive.org/details/HistoryAlTabari40Vol/History_Al-Tabari_10_Vol/page/n1577/mode/2up|pages=107-112}}<br>{{citation|title=تاريخ الرسل والملوك|author=أبو جعفر الطبري|url=https://app.turath.io/book/9783|publisher=al-Maktabah al-Shamilah|volume=vol. 2|page=337-341}}|<center>''Satan Casts a False Revelation on the Messenger of God's Tongue''</center>
+<BR>
+The Messenger of God was eager for the welfare of his people and wished to effect a reconciliation with them in whatever ways he could. It is said that he wanted to find a way to do this, and what happened was as follows.
+<BR>
+Ibn Humayd—Salamah--Muhammad b. Ishaq—Yazid b. Ziyad al-Madani—Muhammad b. Kali al-Qurazi: When the Messenger of God saw how his tribe turned their backs on him and was grieved to see them shunning the message he had brought to them from God, he longed in his soul that something would come to him from God which would reconcile him with his tribe. With his love for his tribe and his eagerness for their welfare it would have delighted him if some of the difficulties which they made for him could have been smoothed out, and he debated with himself and fervently desired such an outcome. Then God revealed:
+<BR>
+:  ''By the Star when it sets, your comrade does not err, nor is''
+:  ''he deceived; nor does he speak out of (his own) desire ...''
+and when he came to the words:
-'''Near to which is the Paradise of rest.'''
+: '' Have you thought upon al-Lat and al-'Uzza and Manat, the third, the other?''
+Satan cast on his tongue, because of his inner debates and what he desired to bring to his people, the words:
-'''When the Lote-tree covered that which it covered,'''
+:  ''These are the high-flying cranes; verily their intercession is accepted with approval.''
+When Quraysh heard this, they rejoiced and were happy and delighted at the way in which he spoke of their gods, and they listened to him, while the Muslims, having complete trust in their Prophet in respect of the messages which he brought from God, did not suspect him of error, illusion, or mistake. When he came to the prostration, having completed the surah, he prostrated himself and the Muslims did likewise, following their Prophet, trusting in the message which he had brought and following his example. Those polytheists of the Quraysh and others who were in the Mosque likewise prostrated themselves because of the reference [1193] to their gods which they had heard, so that there was no one in the mosque, believer or unbeliever, who did not prostrate himself. The one exception was al-Walid b. al-Mughirah, who was a very old man and could not prostrate himself; but he took a handful of soil from the valley in his hand and bowed over that. Then they all dispersed from the mosque. The Quraysh left delighted by the mention of their gods which they had heard, saying, "Muhammad has mentioned our gods in the most favorable way possible, stating in his recitation that they are the high-flying cranes and that their intercession is received with approval."<BR>
+The news of this prostration reached those of the Messenger of God's Companions who were in Abyssinia and people said, "The Quraysh have accepted Islam." Some rose up to return, while others remained behind. Then Gabriel came to the Messenger of God and said, "Muhammad, what have you done? You have recited to the people that which I did not bring to you from God, and you have said that which was not said to you." Then the Messenger of God was much grieved and feared God greatly, but God sent down a revelation to him, for He was merciful to him, consol?ing him and making the matter light for him, informing him that there had never been a prophet or a messenger before him who de sired as he desired and wished as he wished but that Satan had cast words into his recitation, as he had cast words on Muhammad's tongue. Then God cancelled what Satan had thus cast, and established his verses by telling him that he was like other prophets and messengers, and revealed:
-'''His sight turned not aside, neither did it wander.'''
+: '' Never did we send a messenger or a prophet before you but that when he recited (the Message) Satan cast words into his recitation (umniyyah). God abrogates what Satan casts. Then God established his verses. God is knower, wise.''
-'''And verily he beheld some of the greatest Signs of his Lord.'''
+Thus God removed the sorrow from his Messenger, reassured him about that which he had feared and cancelled the words [1194] which Satan had cast on his tongue, that their gods were the high-flying cranes whose intercession was accepted with approval. He now revealed, following the mention of "al-Lat, al-'Uzza and Manat, the third, the other," the words:
-'''And see ye not Lat and Ozza,'''
+:  ''Are yours the males and his the females? That indeed were an unfair division!<BR>They are but names which you have named, you and your fathers ...''<BR>
+to the words:
+:  ''to whom he wills and accepts.''
+This means, how can the intercession of their gods avail with God?
+<BR>
-'''And Manat the third besides?--'''
+When Muhammad brought a revelation from God cancelling what Satan had cast on the tongue of His Prophet, the Quraysh said, "Muhammad has repented of what he said concerning the position of your gods with God, and has altered it and brought something else." Those two phrases which Satan had cast on the tongue of the Messenger of God were in the mouth of every polytheists, and they became even more ill-disposed and more violent in their persecution of those of them who had accepted Islam and followed the Messenger of God.
+<BR>
+Those of the Companions of the Messenger of God who had left Abyssinia upon hearing that Quraysh had accepted Islam by prostrating themselves with the Messenger of God now approached. When they were near Mecca, they heard that the report that the people of Mecca had accepted Islam was false. Not one of them entered Mecca without obtaining protection or entering secretly. Among those who came to Mecca and remained there until they emigrated to al-Madinah and were present with the Prophet at Badr, were, from the Banu 'Abd Shams b. 'Abd Manaf b. Qusayy, 'Uthman b. 'Affan b. Abi al-'As b. Umayyah, accompanied by his wife Ruqayyah the daughter of the Messenger of God; Abu Hudhayfah b. 'Utbah b. Rabi'ah b. 'Abd Shams, accompanied  by his [1195] wife Sahlah bt. Suhayl; together with a number of others numbering thirty-three men.}}
-When he had reached this verse, the devil suggested to Mahomet an expression of thoughts which had long possessed his soul; and put into his mouth words of reconciliation and compromise such as he had been yearning that God might send unto his people, namely:--
+==Historicity==
+The Satanic Verses incident is reported in the [[tafsir]] and the sira-maghazi [[literature]] dating from the first two centuries of Islam, and is reported in the respective tafsīr corpuses transmitted from almost every Qur'anic commentator of note in the first two centuries of the hijra. It seems to have constituted a standard element in the memory of the early Muslim community about the life of Muhammad.<ref>Ahmed, Shahab (2008), "[http://www.brillonline.nl/subscriber/entry?entry=q3_SIM-00372 Satanic Verses]", in Dammen McAuliffe, Jane, ''Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān'', Georgetown University, Washington DC: Brill (published 14 August 2008)</ref>
-'''These are exalted Females,'''
+Among the sira literature to record the story are four early major [[Sirat Rasul Allah|biographies of Muhammad]]; al-Waqidi,<ref name="Uri">Rubin, Uri (14 August 2008), "[http://www.brillonline.nl/subscriber/entry?entry=q3_COM-00126 Muhammad]", in Dammen McAuliffe, Jane, ''Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān'', Georgetown University, Washington DC: Brill</ref> Ibn Saad,<ref>Ibn Sa'd's "Kitab al Tabaqat al Kabir" (Book of the Major Classes), Volume 1, parts 1 and 2, pp. 236 - 239, translated by S. Moinul Haq, published by the Pakistan Historical Society.</ref> al-[[Tabari]],<ref>Al-Tabari (838? – 923 A.D.), The History of al-Tabari (Ta’rikh al-rusul wa’l-muluk), Vol. VI: Muhammad at Mecca, pp. 107-112. Translated by W. M. Watt and M.V. McDonald, State University of New York Press, Albany, NY, 1988, ISBN: 0-88706-707-7, pp. 107-112.</ref> and Ibn Ishaq.<ref>Ibn Ishaq, The Life of Muhammad: A Translation of Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah, Translated by A. Guillaume, Oxford University Press, Oxford, England, (Re-issued in Karachi, Pakistan, 1967, 13th impression, 1998) 1955, p. 146-148.</ref> In [[Sahih]] Bukhari and other major hadith collections, it is recorded that Muhammad performed a prostration when he finished reciting Surat-an-Najm, and all the Muslims and pagans prostrated, though the Satanic verses are not mentioned.<ref>"''Narrated Ibn Abbas: The Prophet performed a prostration when he finished reciting Surat-an-Najm, and all the Muslims and pagans and Jinns and human beings prostrated along with him.''" - {{Bukhari|6|60|385}}</ref> Another version includes the element in which one man puts dust to his forehead instead of prostrating, though here it is portrayed as an act of disrespect instead of infirmity.<ref>"'' Narrated `Abdullah bin Mas`ud: The Prophet (ﷺ) recited Surat-an-Najm (53) and prostrated while reciting it and all the people prostrated and a man amongst the people took a handful of stones or earth and raised it to his face and said, "This is sufficient for me. Later on I saw him killed as a non-believer."''" - {{Bukhari|2|19|176}}</ref> Professor Sean W. Anthony writes that these are truncated versions of the story with the Satanic verse elements expurgated, though that foundational narrative remains their implicit context.<ref name="Anthony2019">{{Cite journal |last=Anthony |first=Sean W. |date=2019 |title=The Satanic Verses in Early Shiʿite Literature: A Minority Report on Shahab Ahmed’s Before Orthodoxy |url=https://www.academia.edu/38941116/_The_Satanic_Verses_in_Early_Shi%CA%BFite_Literature_A_Minority_Report_on_Shahab_Ahmed_s_Before_Orthodoxy_Shii_Studies_Review_3_2019_215_252 |journal=Shii Studies Review |volume=3 |pages=226-27.}}</ref>
-'''And verily their intercession is to be hoped for.'''
-The Coreish were astonished and delighted with this acknowledgment of their deities; and as Mahomet wound up the Sura with these closing words,
+Since in today's Qur'an, the pagan goddesses are attacked in that particular [[Surah]], pagans and Muslims prostrating together could represent a remarkable memory of Muhammad at one time holding a totally heterodox view to contemporary and historical Islam. The tradition was later widely rejected by classical scholars such as al-Razi, Qurtubi and Ibn Kathir after the concept of  ''iṣmat al-anbiyā'' (impeccability of the prophets) had developed.
+Shahab Ahmed, in his academic book on the topic,<ref name="AhmedBeforeOrthodoxy">Shahab Ahmed (2018), Before Orthodoxy: The Satanic Verses in early Islam, Harvard University Press, ISBN 978-0-674-04742-6</ref> carefully examined 50 riwayahs (transmissions) of the hadith narrated from the companion Ibn 'Abbās, and successors ([[tabi'un]]) including Muhammad bin ka'b Al-Qurazi, Sa'id b. Jubayr, 'Urwah b. al-Zubayr, Qatada b. Di'amah, Abu Bakr 'Abd al-Rahman b. al-Harith, al-Hasan al-Basri, and Mujahid b. Jabr. He notes that many of these are sahih mursal (i.e. sound except that the chain of narration ends at the successor instead of a companion of the prophet). He also discusses some narrations whose chains go back to Ibn 'Abbās, including one (riwayah 40 in Ahmed's book) which was considered reliable by some scholars, though al-Albani rejected it due to limited biographical information on one of the transmitters, and a similar one (riwayah 41) which Ahmed describes as "an equally - if not more - reliable isnād that has apparently gone unnoticed by later commentators". This, he says, has an "immaculate isnād" and lacks the deficiency noted by al-Albani.<ref>Ahmed, ''Before Orthodoxy'' pp. 224-228</ref>
+Ahmed states that "all the first and early second century reports are agreed that the Prophet uttered the satanic verses".<ref>Ahmed, ''Before Orthodoxy'' p. 56</ref>
-'''Wherefore bow down before God, and serve Him,'''
+In terms of modern historical-critical methods, Sean W. Anthony writes on early and more recent academic trends: "Western scholars subsequently divided into two camps, either affirming or denying the historicity of the story. Nowadays, however, the denialist camp has won the day, as a steady stream of studies by the likes John Burton, Uri Rubin, Jaakko Hämeen-Anttila, Gerald Hawting, Nicolai Sinai, and Patricia Crone have all expressed profound reservations about the historicity of the story."<ref>Anthony, ''The Satanic Verses in Early Shiʿite Literature''. pp. 215-252</ref>
+Some of these scholars have proposed theories as to why such a story may have been concocted (Rubin; Burton). Anthony himself agrees with Rubin that earlier traditions attributed to ʿUrwa b. al-Zubayr about the mass conversion of the Meccans but which do not mention the satanic verses were at a later stage elaborated using elements from the Quran (and presented as the occasion of revelation for Q. 22:52): {{Quran|22|52}} itself which mentions Satan throwing words into the mouths of previous prophets; {{Quran-range|53|19|20}} which mentions the three female deities; and {{Quran-range|17|73|74}} which mentions that the Meccans tried to tempt Muhammad into attributing false words to Allah.<ref>Anthony, ''The Satanic Verses in Early Shiʿite Literature'' pp. 241–245</ref><ref>Rubin, Uri (1995), [https://www.urirubin.com/assets/docs/THE_EYE_OF_THE_BEHOLDER_-_SEARCHABLE.32644548.pdf The eye of the beholder: the life of Muḥammad as viewed by the early Muslims: a textual analysis] Princeton, NJ: Darwin Press, p. 157-61</ref> The observations of Nicolai Sinai, Patricia Crone, and (writing in 2021, a couple of years after Anthony's assessment) Tommaso Tesei all make arguments based on a literary analysis of the text, which either undermine or (Tesei) implicitly support the likelihood of a historical kernal to the story and are discussed below.
-the whole assembly prostrated themselves with one accord on the ground and worshipped.  Walid alone, unable from the infirmities of age to bow down, took a handful of earth and worshipped, pressing it to his forehead.
+Firstly, here are verses 19-32 of Surah an-Najm. The rest of the surah (62 verses) is entirely composed of short verses with three or four Arabic words each on average, though verses 23 and 26-32 shown here in contrast are long verses.
+{{Quote|{{Quran-range|53|19|32}}|'''53:19 So have you considered al-Lat and al-'Uzza?'''<BR>
+'''53:20 And Manat, the third - the other one?'''<BR>
+:21 Is the male for you and for Him the female?<BR>
+:22 That, then, is an unjust division.<BR>
+:23 They are not but [mere] names you have named them - you and your forefathers - for which Allah has sent down no authority. They follow not except assumption and what [their] souls desire, and there has already come to them from their Lord guidance.<BR>
+:24 Or is there for man whatever he wishes?<BR>
+:25 Rather, to Allah belongs the Hereafter and the first [life].<BR>
+:26 And how many angels there are in the heavens whose intercession will not avail at all except [only] after Allah has permitted [it] to whom He wills and approves.<BR>
+:27 Indeed, those who do not believe in the Hereafter name the angels female names,<BR>
+:28 And they have thereof no knowledge. They follow not except assumption, and indeed, assumption avails not against the truth at all.<BR>
+:29 So turn away from whoever turns his back on Our message and desires not except the worldly life.<BR>
+:30 That is their sum of knowledge. Indeed, your Lord is most knowing of who strays from His way, and He is most knowing of who is guided.<BR>
+:31 And to Allah belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth - that He may recompense those who do evil with [the penalty of] what they have done and recompense those who do good with the best [reward] -<BR>
+:32 Those who avoid the major sins and immoralities, only [committing] slight ones. Indeed, your Lord is vast in forgiveness. He was most knowing of you when He produced you from the earth and when you were fetuses in the wombs of your mothers. So do not claim yourselves to be pure; He is most knowing of who fears Him.}}
-Thus all the people were pleased at that which Mahomet had spoken, and they began to say: ''Now we know that it is the Lord alone that giveth life and taketh it away, that createth and supporteth.  And as for these our goddesses, they make intercession with Him for us; wherefore, as thou hast conceded unto them a portion, we are content to follow thee.''  But their words disquieted Mahomet, and he retired to his house.  In the evening Gabriel visited him; and the Prophet (as was his wont) recited the Sura unto him.  And Gabriel said: ''What is this that thou hast done? thou hast repeated before the people words that I never gave unto thee.''  So Mahomet grieved sore, and feared the Lord greatly; and he said, ''I have spoken of God that which He hath not said.''  But the Lord comforted his Prophet, and restored his confidence,<ref>Tradition tells us that Mahomet was consolled by the following passage in Sura XXII., which, however (from the reference to former apostles and prophets), must have been revealed at a somewhat later period: ''And We have not sent before thee any Apostle, nor any Prophet, but when he longed, Satan cast suggestions into his longing.  But God shall cancel that which Satan suggesteth.  Then shall God establish His revelations (and God is knowing and wise);--that He may make what Satan hath suggested a trial unto those whose hearts are diseased and hardened...''</ref> and cancelled the verse, and revealed the true reading thereof (as it now stands), namely--
+Nicolai Sinai points out that the purported satanic verses praising the three deities mentioned in verses 19-20 would not have made sense if inserted before any of the polemical verses that immediately follow.<ref>Sinai, Nicolai (2011). "An Interpretation of Sūrat al-Najm (Q. 53)". Journal of Qurʾanic Studies. 13 (2): 1–28. doi:10.3366/jqs.2011.0018 See pp.10-11</ref> Patricia Crone, instead looking at the verses preceding the above quoted passage, argues that "Have you seen al-Lat...?" in verse 19 should be taken as a hostile question about literally seeing the three deities, particularly given that the previous verse and four others in the first half of the surah claim that Allah's servant "saw" the heavenly being (with the same Arabic verb meaning "see" as verse 19). She undelines this point using ({{Quran|35|40}} and {{Quran|46|4}} where a similar hostile question is asked. Given the hostility of the question in Q. 53:19-20, Crone argues that the purported Satanic verses praising the deities would not fit if inserted after such a context.<ref>Crone, Patricia (2015). [Problems in sura 53 https://www.jstor.org/stable/24692173] Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. 78 (1): 15–23. doi:10.1017/S0041977X15000014 (See pp. 18-22)</ref>
-'''And see ye not Lat and Ozza,'''
-'''And Manat the third beside?'''
-'''What! shall there be male progeny unto you, and female unto Him?'''
-'''That were indeed an unjust partition!'''
-'''They are naught but names, which ye and your fathers have invented...'''
-Now when the Coreish heard this, they spoke among themselves, saying: ''Mahomet hath repented his favourable mention of the rank of our goddesses with the Lord.  He hath changed the same, and brought other words instead.''  So the two Satanic verses were in the mouth of every one of the unbelievers, and they increased their malice, and stirred them up to persecute the faithful with still greater severity.
-Pious Mussulmans of after days, scandalised at the lapse of their Prophet into so flagrant a concession, would reject the whole story.  But the authorities are too strong to be impugned.  It is hardly possible to conceive how the tale, if not in some shape or other founded in truth, could ever have been invented.  The stubborn fact remains, and is by all admitted, that the first refugees did return about this time from Abyssinia; and that they returned in consequence of a rumour that Mecca was converted.  To this fact the narratives of Wackidi and Tabari afford the only intelligible clue.  At the same time it is by no means necessary that we should literally adopt the exculpatory version of Mahometan tradition; or seek, in a supernatural interposition, the explanation of actions to be equally accounted for by the natural workings of the Prophet's mind.<ref>Muir, Sir William. (1878). [http://books.google.com/books?id=-jxbAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_navlinks_s#v=onepage&q=&f=false ''The Life of Mahomet'']. (pp. 86-88). London: Smith, Elder & Co</ref>}}
-==Historicity==
-The Satanic Verses incident is reported in the [[tafsir]] and the sira-maghazi [[literature]] dating from the first two centuries of Islam, and is reported in the respective tafsīr corpuses transmitted from almost every Qur'anic commentator of note in the first two centuries of the hijra. It seems to have constituted a standard element in the memory of the early Muslim community about the life of Muhammad.<ref>Ahmed, Shahab (2008), "[http://www.brillonline.nl/subscriber/entry?entry=q3_SIM-00372 Satanic Verses]", in Dammen McAuliffe, Jane, ''Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān'', Georgetown University, Washington DC: Brill (published 14 August 2008)</ref>
-It has also been recorded in four early major [[Sirat Rasul Allah|biographies of Muhammad]]; al-Waqidi,<ref name="Uri">Rubin, Uri (14 August 2008), "[http://www.brillonline.nl/subscriber/entry?entry=q3_COM-00126 Muhammad]", in Dammen McAuliffe, Jane, ''Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān'', Georgetown University, Washington DC: Brill</ref> Ibn Saad,<ref>Ibn Sa'd's "Kitab al Tabaqat al Kabir" (Book of the Major Classes), Volume 1, parts 1 and 2, pp. 236 - 239, translated by S. Moinul Haq, published by the Pakistan Historical Society.</ref> al-[[Tabari]],<ref>Al-Tabari (838? – 923 A.D.), The History of al-Tabari (Ta’rikh al-rusul wa’l-muluk), Vol. VI: Muhammad at Mecca, pp. 107-112. Translated by W. M. Watt and M.V. McDonald, State University of New York Press, Albany, NY, 1988, ISBN: 0-88706-707-7, pp. 107-112.</ref> and Ibn Ishaq,<ref>Ibn Ishaq, The Life of Muhammad: A Translation of Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah, Translated by A. Guillaume, Oxford University Press, Oxford, England, (Re-issued in Karachi, Pakistan, 1967, 13th impression, 1998) 1955, p. 146-148.</ref> and is indirectly and in part referred to in al-Tirmidhi and [[Sahih]] Bukhari, where it is recorded that Muhammad performed a prostration when he finished reciting [[The Holy Qur'an: An-Najm (The Star)|Surat-an-Najm]], and all the Muslims and pagans prostrated along with him.<ref>"''Narrated Ibn Abbas: The Prophet performed a prostration when he finished reciting Surat-an-Najm, and all the Muslims and pagans and Jinns and human beings prostrated along with him.''" - {{Bukhari|6|60|385}}</ref> Since in today's Qur'an, the pagan goddesses are attacked in that particular [[Surah]], pagans and Muslims prostrating together would only make sense if the account of the Satanic Verses incident were true.
+On the other hand, Tommaso Tesei builds on the common observation (also agreed by Crone as the general scholarly view) that verses 23 and 26-32 appear to be an interpolation of long verses into a surah of otherwise short verses. Tesei argues that those verses display stylistic incoherence as well as a theological tension with the rest of Q. 53, a surah which is otherwise consistent with evidence external to the Islamic tradition regarding pre-Islamic deities and star worship. It could be noted that these long verses with all their difficulties commence after verses 20-21, so Sinai's argument is not entirely eliminated.
-==Surah Like It==
+In further support of his argument that the long verses are interpolations, Tesei notes that the apparent interpolation coincides with the traditional account that an explanatory comment was inserted to rectify the identification of the pagan deities as divine intercessors, which may support the possibility of historical elements to the Satanic verses story, though not in every detail (since he argues that the interpolations were by a separate author).<ref>Tesei, Tommaso (2021). [https://www.academia.edu/75302962 The Qurʾān(s) in Context(s)] Journal Asiatique. 309 (2): 185–202. (see pp. 192-196)</ref>
-If, like the early Muslims, the historicity of the Satanic Verses incident is accepted, this raises another troubling implication for the Islamic faith. Verse 2:23 of the Qur'an contains what is now popularly referred to as the "surah like it" challenge, where [[Allah]] challenges doubters to create a single surah like those contained in the Qur'an.<ref>"''And if you are in doubt as to that which We have revealed to Our servant, then produce a chapter like it and call on your witnesses besides Allah if you are truthful. ''" - {{Quran|2|23}}</ref>
-According to the Satanic Verses incident, Satan created a fabricated surah. It was apparently so convincing that Muhammad himself believed it and publicly recited it as the words of Allah. Not one amongst the Muslims, the pagans and even the [[jinn]] doubted its source. Therefore, according to Islamic sources, the "surah like it" challenge has been met already during Muhammad's lifetime, and the Qur'an is discredited by its own criteria.
+==See also==
-==See Also==
+*[[Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Muhammad and the Satanic Verses]]
+*[[The Rushdie Affair]]
-*[[Library]] ''- WikiIslam's online library of books''
+==External links==
-{{Hub4|Satanic Verses|Satanic Verses}}
-==External Links==
+*[https://www.answering-islam.org/Responses/Saifullah/sverses.htm The Satanic Verses Saifullah] - ''Saifullah from Answering Islam on the Satanic Verses''
+*[https://www.answering-islam.org/Green/satanic.htm The Satanic Verses - The Story of the Cranes] -  ''Samuel Green from Answering Islam on the Satanic Verses''
 *[{{Reference archive|1=http://www.answering-islam.org/Responses/Saifullah/sverses.htm|2=2011-11-04}} Muhammad and the Satanic Verses] ''- Responses to Islamic Awareness by Answering Islam''
+*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjMGLIjraHI Dr. Wood Proves Muhammad Spoke From The Devil (Quran Verses From Satan)] - '' David Wood on the Satanic Verses''
 ==References==
@@ Line 85: / Line 101: @@
 [[Category:Qur'an]]
-[[Category:Literature]]
+[[Category:Qur'anic textual history]]
-{{page_title|Satanic Verses (Gharaniq Incident)}}
+[[Category:Muhammad]]
+[[Category:Revelation]]
+[[Category:Jinn]]
+[[Category:Sihr (Magic)]]
+[[Category:Sirah]]

Satanic Verses (Gharaniq Incident): Difference between revisions

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Satanic Verses (Gharaniq Incident): Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 17:45, 23 May 2025

Theological status in Islam

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