Jesus in the Qur'an

Geoffrey Parrinder

• Publisher: Oneworld Publications
• Year: 2014
• eBook ISBN: 9781780741833
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Islamic Theology

An essential introduction to the influence of Jesus in contemporary Qur'anic teachings In Jesus in the Qur'an, written for both Christians and Muslims, for specialists as well as general readers, Parrinder offers a study of Qur'anic teachings about the birth, life, work, death and resurrection of Jesus. Parrinder explores all ninety-three verses in the Qur'an in which Jesus is mentioned, setting them in the context of the work as a whole and drawing parallels with the Christian gospels wherever possible.

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Introduction

THIS book has been written primarily for readers in the western world, the general public as well as students of theology and the comparative study of religions. But it is hoped that it may also be useful to some people in Asia and Africa who have asked for a modern and impartial study of the teaching of the Qur’ān about Jesus, which seems to be unobtainable in English or Arabic.

In the modern world the ease of communications and the growth of world languages enable the spoken or written word to be studied far away. A lecture given in London may be reported in Cairo, and a book written in New York may be read in Lahore or Tokyo. It is no longer possible to write or speak to a limited audience; all the world is listening. This means that when a westerner writes about another religion, say Islam, there is not just a Christian but a world audience. One cannot write about Islam in a vacuum, for Muslims will read. They may agree or disagree, and they are likely to be impressed or offended not only by what is said but by the way in which it is said, whether it is fair or prejudiced, sympathetic or antagonistic. As W. Cantwell Smith has said, one must try to write so that intelligent and honest Muslims will recognize what is said as accurate; in fact, ‘no statement about a religion is valid unless it can be acknowledged by that religion’s believers’.¹

This is a study of religion, and it presupposes sympathy with religious faith. The old idea that only an agnostic could write impartially is less popular now than in the last century, for it is realized that one who regards religion as superstition may well be biased and cannot hope to discover the inner spirit of religion or command the attention of believers. It is noteworthy that some of the most eminent modern writers on Islam in English, French and German are Christians who approach Islam as a kindred religion. But many academic scholars are interested chiefly in linguistic or historical matters, and questions of theology tend to get left aside for lack of interest or competence. When the theologian enters this field he must try to follow academic discipline, apply its standards in the examination of texts and teachings, yet bring out the meaning and importance of religion. This gives at least three classes of reader: academic, Christian and Muslim. It is indeed a world audience.²

The interest of this book is chiefly theological, and so questions of textual criticism, a subject peculiarly delicate for Muslims, have largely been left aside. Particularly, following the example of W. Montgomery Watt, ‘in order to avoid deciding whether the Qur’ān is or is not the Word of God, I have refrained from using the expressions “God says” and “Muḥammad says” when referring to the Qur’ān, and have simply said “the Qur’ān says”’.³

The teaching of the Qur’ān is still little known in the Christian and western world. There are historical reasons of separation and enmity that led to misunderstanding and neglect, and these ought no longer to apply if we are to live as neighbours and friends in one world; but there are literary reasons too. The Qur’ān has rarely been well translated, and in translation it loses its poetic form and flavour. It is not an easy book to read, especially in its traditional arrangement with the longest chapters first. Yet there is a great deal of its material which parallels stories and teachings of the Bible, both Old and New Testaments. The texts that speak about Jesus are particularly important for Christians and Muslims, and it is hoped that it will be found useful to have these presented in a collected form. At the same time the context of the rest of the Qur’ān must not be neglected. A selection cannot absolve the serious student from reading the whole book. It is not possible to understand Islam without studying all the Qur’ān, yet to study it brings its own reward and gives at least an impression of the religious fervour, originality and depth of this holy book. To read the scriptures of other people is most important in such highly literary religions, and as a Christian would recommend study of the Bible, and especially the Gospel, to his Muslim friends, so he may be urged to read and meditate on the Qur’ān.

In the following pages attempts are made to show what the Qur’ān says about Jesus, and to examine in what senses the Quranic teaching may be taken. Parallels are given to this teaching in the Gospel, where they occur. The many other teachings about Jesus found in the rest of the New Testament and the later church are not fully dealt with here, for that is another subject. But it may be remarked that Islam, when it left Arabia and entered into debate with Christians, came to see Christian teaching in dogmas which had been partly framed by Greek thought, both orthodox and heretical, and the Semitic thought of the Gospel was insufficiently known. Whether early Islam followed on the tradition of Jewish Christianity, as Harnack and others suggested, is a difficult question and beyond our present concern, though it is worthy of more research and fuller light may be shed on it by archaeological discovery.⁴

In the course of Islamic history various attitudes have been adopted towards Jesus. Some of these are based upon the Qur’ān, while others have been influenced by later commentary and the unhappy controversies that have made our religions appear as enemies rather than as allies. In modern times some leading Muslim writers, lay rather than professional theologians, have studied the Bible and written sympathetic accounts of Jesus as depicted there, while the authors have remained within the bounds of Islamic orthodoxy and personal faith. Certain extremists have gone on to criticize Jesus and his character, in a manner not only offensive to Christians but inconsistent with the teaching of both Qur’ān and Gospel.

In the following pages the Qur’ān itself is the principal object of study, with parallels in the Gospel where possible. Later Muslim commentary and interpretation are considered only slightly though they could not be ignored altogether. The chief authorities mentioned are: Ibn Isḥāq (d. A.D. 768; A.H. 151) whose Sīra, the Life of the Apostle, is the standard biography of Muḥammad as preserved by Ibn Hishām (d. 834); the collection of Ḥadīth or Traditions by Bukhārī (d. 870); the history and commentary of Ṭabarī (d. 923), and the commentaries of Zamakhsharī (d. 1144), Rāzī (d. 1209), and Baiḍāwī (d. 1282).⁵ Baiḍāwī’s commentary, summarizing earlier work, was regarded by orthodox Sunni Muslims almost as a holy book, it received more careful study than other commentaries, his discussions on a single chapter of the Qur’ān were expanded into whole books, his two volumes into eight, and many later works are based upon his. Some modern commentators and general writers have also been mentioned from time to time. But apart from characteristic and orthodox comments the attempt has been made to interpret the Qur’ān itself here, rather than later Islamic exposition, which is given only for illustration.

It is common nowadays to talk of ‘return to the source texts’, and there are movements of ‘back to the Qur’ān’ as there are of ‘back to the Bible’. Biblical scholars recognize that it is hard to separate Scripture from Tradition, and in Islam the Qur’ān has been interpreted through the Ḥadīth and later traditions. Yet there is special value in going back as far as possible to the sacred texts. Christian and Muslim positions have been hardened over the centuries into formulas which cannot all claim the full authority of the original scriptures. Rather than enter into arguments over dogmatic statements which only lead to deadlock, it may be more profitable to prepare the ground for meeting and discussion by a return to the basic texts.⁶

A critical attitude to the traditions and commentaries has been expressed in modern studies of both Jesus and Muḥammad. Professor Isḥāq Ḥusaini says that the traditions ‘do not, by any means, stand on the same footing as the Qur’ān . . . the authentic traditions are like a handful of grain in a heap of chaff’.⁷ A Lebanese writer on pre-Islamic Arabia and the life of the Prophet, Muḥammad ‘Izza Darwaza, takes the Qur’ān as the only source and sure witness and encourages a critical attitude to tradition. The great success of the life of the Prophet by Muḥammad Ḥussain Haykal in Egypt,⁸ has been largely due to his use of ‘scientific method’, criticizing stories of tradition which shock modern views of the Prophet, and appealing to that large and growing Muslim public which has received a western-type education, is repelled by customary exposition, yet tries to practise its faith in the modern setting. And Dr Kamel Hussein has described as ‘a fatuous innovation’ the search for scientific inventions even in Quranic texts, and claims that modern Muslims must look for the fundamental principles to be applied to faith and life.⁹

The quotations from the Qur’ān in English given below are nearly all taken from Richard Bell’s two volume The Qur’ān translated, published by Messrs T. & T. Clark of Edinburgh, to whom thanks are due for their permission of quotation. The verses given from the sūras are numbered first of all from Fluegel’s edition, which is still generally used in the West, but as it does not correspond exactly to any Oriental recension the second reference in each verse is from the Cairo edition of 1923.

In some places A. J. Arberry’s The Koran Interpreted has been followed. As in Professor Arberry’s version, Allāh is always rendered here as God. It is increasingly recognized that for English-speaking people to insist on using only the word Allāh can be quite misleading. The thin English pronunciation makes it almost unintelligible to an Arabic-speaking Muslim. But also the sentimental associations of Allāh in the European’s mind, and the notion that he is speaking about another God, are most deceptive. There are differences between the Muslim and the Christian apprehensions of God, but it would be fatal to any chance of understanding to doubt that one and the same God is the reality in both (‘Our God and your God is One’, see p. 165). Similarly ‘Īsā. is rendered as Jesus, Maryam as Mary, Injīl as Gospel, and Naṣārā as Christians, because no doubt this book will be read principally by those who are used to these forms.

Acknowledgements and grateful thanks are due to a number of friends. Professor Isḥāq Ḥusaini, Dr Kamel Hussein and the Rev. J. W. Bowker all read drafts of the manuscript and made helpful criticisms and suggestions. Lectures on some of the chapters were given at the University of Ibadan and under the Oxford University Extra-Mural Delegacy and gave rise to valuable discussion. Mr K. D. D. Henderson and the Spalding Trust helped to make possible a study visit to Cairo. Professor Ḥusaini and other members of the Center for Arabic Studies in the American University in Cairo were most kindly in providing references and interviews. Dr Murād Kāmil of Cairo University was valuable on Coptic and Ethiopic sources. Fr J. Jomier and other members of the Institut Dominicain d’Etudes Orientales du Caire helped with advice and hospitality. And I shall not forget the long discussions with Dr Kamel Hussein, author of City of Wrong, who took time off from a busy medical life to talk about problems of deep religious importance. The assurance that this book could be useful, and was not offensive to modern Muslims, encouraged the writer in final revisions and publication of a matter that had long been on his mind.

Although the interest of this book is religious and theological, it makes no claim to be either speculative or dogmatic theology. It has been said that the present time is for ploughing, not reaping, for making soundings, not plotting maps. Yet if the time is not ripe for major works of theological construction or reconstruction, the tools for this work need to be provided. These tools are known to specialists, but they should be made available to a much wider audience, for the encounter of the world religions is a major fact of our times and it demands a restatement of traditional theological expression. This restatement must take account of all the new knowledge available.

The present writer has often disagreed with some of the theological views of Dr Hendrik Kraemer, and he is glad therefore to support one of Dr Kraemer’s latest pleas, in which he says, ‘the “dialogue” with the non-Christian religions should not only be the concern of a few so-called experts, who are as Christians professional students of one or more of these religions. The period in which that could be the case has definitely passed. The time has now arrived when all theological thinkers have to include these new worlds of thought and apprehension in their sphere of interest. Not only for the theoretical reason of joining issue in philosophical and religious respect with thought- and life-systems, whose key concepts were for a long time mainly marginal in the cultural and religious world debate, but for pastoral reasons. This pastoral aspect deserves special men...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• 1 Introduction
• 2 Jesus (‘Īsā)
• 3 Son of Mary (Ibn Maryam)
• 4 Names of Jesus: Messiah, Servant, Prophet, Messenger, Word, Spirit. Other titles
• 5 Zachariah and John
• 6 Mary (Maryam)
• 7 The Annunciation
• 8 The Birth of Jesus
• 9 Works of Jesus
• 10 Words of Jesus: Sayings; aḥmadu; Similarities
• 11 The Death of Jesus
• 12 Jesus and the Future
• 13 Son of God
• 14 Trinity
• 15 Gospel (Injīl)
• 16 Christians (Nașārā)
• 17 Conclusion
• General Index
• Quranic Index
• Biblical Index