Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Muhammad and the Satanic Verses: Difference between revisions

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{{QualityScore|Lead=1|Structure=4|Content=4|Language=3|References=3}}
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{{QuranHadithScholarsIndex}}
{{QuranHadithScholarsIndex}}
According to orthodox Sunni Islam, the Qur'an as a whole was not the inspired word of a prophet channeling the holy spirit of Allah, but rather the very words of Allah coming our through the lips of his final apostle. As such, every word of the Qur'an, in Allah's own clear Arabic, is not simply divinley inspired, but is literally divine speech. Despite the lofty place of the text of the Qur'an in Islamic theology, according to the Islamic tradition at least one time the holy words of Allah were sullied by the whispers of Satan. In what is known as the Satanic verses incident, or also the [[Gharaniq]] (cranes) incident, according to all of the great biographers of the prophet, Satan whispered into the ear of Muhammad, corrupting a divine verse from Allah and turning it into an invitation to [[shirk]], in the form of the worship of the daughters of Allah, deities worshipped by the pagan Meccans in addition to Allah at their shrine, the [[Ka'bah]]. This verse endeared Muhammad to the pagan Meccans, who had been dismayed by Muhammad's attacks on their gods and his declarations that their ancestors were in [[Jahanam|hell]], but dismayed his followers who were shocked by this sudden embrace by Muhammad of [[shirk]]. Muhammad would later retract the verse, declaring it to be the work of Satan. Later commentators, theologians and scholars have questioned the incident, with modern scholars noting that this incident provides a very good rationale for the doctrine of [[naskh]]. Never the less, the incident is well documented in the Islamic tradition, with attestation in [[ibn Ishaq]], [[Tabari]], and [[Sahih Bukhari|Bukhari]] inter alia. 
==Qur'an==
==Qur'an==


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==Sira==  
==Sira==  


===Ibn Ishaq===
===Ibn Hisham===


{{Quote|Ishaq:165-167|Now the apostle was anxious for the welfare of his people, wishing to attract them as ‎far as he could. It has been mentioned that he longed for a way to attract them, and the method he ‎adopted is what Ibn Hamid told me that Salama said M. b. Ishaq told him from Yazid b. Ziyad of ‎Medina from M. b. Ka'b al-Qurazi: When the apostle saw that his people turned their backs on ‎him and he was pained by their estrangement from what he brought them from God he longed ‎that there should come to him from God a message that would reconcile his people to him. ‎Because of his love for his people and his anxiety over them it would delight him if the obstacle ‎that made his task so difficult could be removed; so that he meditated on the project and longed ‎for it and it was dear to him. Then God sent down 'By the star when it sets your comrade errs not ‎and is not deceived, he speaks not from his own desire,' and when he reached His words 'Have ‎you thought of al-Lat and al-'Uzza and Manat the third, the other',Satan, when he was ‎meditating upon it, and desiring to bring it (sc. reconciliation) to his people, put upon his tongue ‎‎'these are the exalted Gharaniq whose intercession is approved.' When Quraysh heard that, ‎they were delighted and greatly pleased at the way in which he spoke of their gods and they ‎listened to him; while the believers were holding that what their prophet brought them from their ‎Lord was true, not suspecting a mistake or a vain desire or a slip, and when he reached the ‎prostration ‎3 and the end of the Sura in which he prostrated himself the Muslims prostrated ‎themselves when their prophet prostrated confirming what he brought and obeying his command, ‎and the polytheists of Quraysh and others who were in the mosque prostrated when they heard ‎the mention of their gods, so that everyone in the mosque believer and unbeliever prostrated, ‎except al-Walid b. al-Mughira who was an old man who could not do so, so he took a handful of ‎dirt from the valley and bent over it. Then the people dispersed and Quraysh went out, delighted ‎at what had been said about their gods, saying, 'Muhammad has spoken of our gods in splendid ‎fashion. He alleged in what he read that they are the exalted Gharaniq whose intercession is ‎approved.'‎<BR>
{{Quote|{{citation|title=The Life of Muhammad|trans_title=Sirat Rasul Allah|ISBN=0-19-636033-1|year=1955|publisher=Oxford UP|author1=Ibn Ishaq (d. 768)|author2=Ibn Hisham (d. 833)|editor=A. Guillaume|url=https://archive.org/details/GuillaumeATheLifeOfMuhammad/page/n1/mode/2up|pages=165-167}}|Now the apostle was anxious for the welfare of his people, wishing to attract them as far as he could. It has been mentioned that he longed for a way to attract them, and the method he adopted is what Ibn Hamid told me that Salama said M. b. Ishaq told him from Yazid b. Ziyad of Medina from M b. Ka'b al-Qurazi: When the apostle saw that his people turned their backs on him and he was pained by their estrangement from what he brought them from God he longed that there should come to him from God a message that would reconcile his people to him. Because of his love for his people and his anxiety over them it would delight him if the obstacle that made his task so difficult could be removed; so that he meditated on the project and longed for it and it was dear to him. Then God sent down ‘By the star when it sets your comrade errs not and is not deceived, he speaks not from his own desire,and when he reached His words Have you thought of al-Lat and al-'Uzza and Manat the third, the other, Satan, when he was meditating upon it, and desiring to bring it (sc. reconciliation) to his people, put upon his tongue ‘these are the exalted Gharaniq whose intercession is approved.' When Quraysh heard that, they were delighted and greatly pleased at the way in which he spoke of their gods and they listened to him; while the believers were holding that what their prophet brought them from their Lord was true, not suspecting a mistake or a vain desire or a slip, and when he reached the prostration and the end of the Sura in which he prostrated himself the Muslims prostrated themselves when their prophet prostrated confirming what he brought and obeying his command, and the polytheists of Quraysh and others who were in the mosque prostrated when they heard the mention of their gods, so that everyone in the mosque believer and unbeliever prostrated, except al-Walid b. al-Mughira who was an old man who could not do so, so he took a handful of dirt from the valley and bent over it. Then the people dispersed and Quraysh went out, delighted at what had been said about their gods, saying, ‘Muhammad has spoken of our gods in splendid fashion. He alleged in what he read that they are the exalted Ghariniq whose intercession is approved.
The news reached the prophet's companions who were in Abyssinia, it being reported that ‎Quraysh had accepted Islam, so some men started to return while others remained behind. Then ‎Gabriel came to the apostle and said, 'What have you done, Muhammad? You have read to these ‎people something I did not bring you from God and you have said what He did not say to you. ‎The apostle was bitterly grieved and was greatly in fear of God. So God sent down (a revelation), ‎for He was merciful to him, comforting him and making light of the affair and telling him that ‎every prophet and apostle before him desired as he desired and wanted what he wanted and Satan ‎interjected something into his desires as he had on his tongue. So God annulled what Satan had ‎suggested and God established His verses i.e. you are just like the prophets and apostles. Then ‎God sent down: 'We have not sent a prophet or apostle before you but when he longed Satan cast ‎suggestions into his longing. But God will annul what Satan has suggested. Then God will ‎establish his verses, God being knowing and wise.' ‎Thus God relieved his prophet's grief, and ‎made him feel safe from his fears and annulled what Satan had suggested in the words used ‎above about their gods by his revelation 'Are yours the males and His the females? That were ‎indeed an unfair division' (i.e. most unjust); 'they are nothing but names which your fathers gave ‎them as far as the words 'to whom he pleases and accepts',‎‎ i.e. how can the intercession of their ‎gods avail with Him?
The news reached the prophet’s companions who were in Abyssinia, it being reported that Quraysh had accepted Islam, so some men started to return while others remained behind. Then Gabriel came to the apostle and said, ‘What have you done, Muhammad? You have read to these people something I did not bring you from God and you have said what He did not say to you. The apostle was bitterly grieved and was greatly in fear of God. So God sent down (a revelation), for He was merciful to him, comforting him and making light of the affair and telling him. that every prophet and apostle before him desired as he desired and wanted what he wanted and Satan interjected something into his desires as he had on his tongue. So God annulled what Satan had suggested and God established His verses i.e. you are just like the prophets and apostles. Then God sent down: ‘We have not sent a prophet or apostle before you but when he longed Satan cast suggestions into his longing. But God will annul what Satan has suggested. Then God will establish his verses, God being knowing and Wise.’ Thus God relieved his prophet’s grief, and made him feel safe from his fears and annulled what Satan had suggested in the words used above about their gods by his revelation ‘Are yours the males and His the females? That were indeed an unfair division’ (i.e. most unjust); ‘they are nothing but names which your fathers gave them! as far as the words ‘to whom he pleases and accepts', i.e. how can the intercession of their gods avail with Him?
<BR>
When the annulment of what Satan had put upon the prophet’s tongue came from God, Quraysh said: ‘Muhammad has repented of what he said about the position of your gods with Allah, altered it and brought something else.Now those two words which Satan had put upon the apostle’s tongue were in the mouth of every polytheist and they became more violently hostile to the Muslims and the apostle’s followers. Meanwhile those of his companions who had left Abyssinia when they heard that the people of Mecca had accepted Islam when they prostrated themselves with the apostle, heard when they approached Mecca that the report was false and none came into the town without the promise of protection or secretly.
When the annulment of what Satan had put upon the prophet's tongue came from God, ‎Quraysh said: 'Muhammad has repented of what he said about the position of your gods with ‎Allah, altered it and brought something else.' Now those two words which Satan had put upon ‎the apostle's tongue were in the mouth of every polytheist and they became more violently ‎hostile to the Muslims and the apostle's followers. Meanwhile those of his companions who had ‎left Abyssinia when they heard that the people of Mecca had accepted Islam when they ‎prostrated themselves with the apostle, heard when they approached Mecca that the report was ‎false and none came into the town without the promise of protection or secretly. Of those who ‎did come into Mecca and stayed there until he migrated to Medina and were present at Badr with ‎him was 'Uthman b. 'Affan . . . with his wife Ruqayya d. of the apostle and Abu Hudhayfa b. ‎‎'Utba with his wife Sahla d. of Suhayl, and a number of others, in all thirty-three men.<ref name="Ishaq Satanic Verses">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>}}
Of those who did come into Mecca and stayed there until he migrated to Medina and were present at Badr with him was ‘Uthman b. 'Affan ... with his wife Ruqayya d. of the apostle and Abu Hudhayfa b. 'Utba with his wife Sahla d. of Suhayl, and a number of others, in all thirty-three men.}}


===Al Tabari===
===Al Tabari===


{{Quote|{{Tabari|6|pp. 107-112}}|<center>''Satan Casts a False Revelation on the Messenger of God's Tongue''</center>
{{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>
<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.
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.
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:  ''These are the high-flying cranes; verily their intercession is accepted with approval.''
:  ''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 lis?tened 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>
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:
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:


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[[Category:Qur'an]]
[[Category:Qur'an]]
[[Category:Qur'anic textual history]]
[[Category:Qur'anic textual history]]
[[Category:Muhammad]]
[[Category:Jinn]]
[[Category:Sihr (Magic)]]
[[Category:Revelation]]
[[ar:القرآن_والحديث_والعلماء:_محمد_والآيات_الشيطانية]]
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