نشریه قرآن پژوهی خاورشناسان (قرآن و مستشرقان)
سال یازدهم شماره 1 (پیاپی 20، بهار و تابستان 1395)

This paper examines the infallibility of Prophet Noah according to the Leiden Encyclopedia of the Quran. Prophet Noah was the first in the series of Ulū al-ʿAzm prophets and is discussed frequently in the Qurʾān. One signifier of the eminence of this divine prophet is the fact that God named Prophet Abraham as one of the followers of Prophet Noah. Furthermore, God asserts that the Abrahamic religion is rooted in monotheistic concepts promoted by Prophet Noah. Doubts cast about the infallibility of this great prophet posited in various books mainly include rejection and rebuke of Noah by God, denial of Noah's request for the salvation of his son, Noah's ignorance of his son’s unbelief, attribution of matters incompatible with infallibility to Noah, attribution of infidelity to his wife, and Noah's repentance and prayers for forgiveness. Some of these matters are also mentioned in the Leiden Encyclopedia of the Quran. This paper critically examines doubts posited by orientalists concerning Prophets Noah, providing evidential responses based on reason, the Qurʾān, and Islamic traditions.

This study critically examines the entry ‘Shafāʿa’ written by Asma Afsaruddin, a professor at Indiana University in Bloomington, in The Quran: An Encyclopedia edited by Oliver Leaman. Afsaruddin discusses verses concerning Shafāʿa as well as the views of Muslims in this regard. Making use of Wahhabi ideas, she rejects Shafāʿa and Ziyāra. The Holy Qurʾān, however, approves of dependent Shafāʿa authorized by God. Shafāʿa is an effusion of God's mercy and can only be carried out by those accepted by God. Therefore, the Shafāʿa of idols, an unwarranted notion of polytheists, is rejected. Shafāʿa fundamentally differs from idolatry in terms of the dependence of Shafāʿa of those who perform Shafāʿa, the growth and development of the individual through love for those who perform Shafāʿa, the inadmissibility of worshiping those who perform Shafāʿa, the life and intelligence of those who perform Shafāʿa, the conditionality of Shafāʿa, the lack of power of those who perform Shafāʿa in engendering greatness or abjection and victory or defeat. It is therefore inappropriate to consider these two equivalent. On this basis, this paper demonstrates that the beliefs of the Wahhabi sect concerning Shafāʿa are contrary to the teachings of Islam.

This paper examines the entry, ‘Sunna and Its Role in Interpretation’ by Oliver Leaman in The Quran: An Encyclopedia also edited by Oliver Leaman. The author of this entry has listed various uses of Sunna in interpreting the Qurʾān. These include use as legislative sources, interpretation of ambiguities in the Qurʾān, explication of general statements and condensed ideas in the Qurʾān, limitation of general laws and precepts, and presentation of necessary details for applying Islamic decrees. Under each case, the author has presented Qurʾānic verses and traditions. Some shortcomings of this entry include presentation of the uses of traditions as sources of interpretation in an incoherent and unclassified manner, incorrect explication of some of these uses in selected interpretations of the Qurʾān, and citation of only popular Sunni traditions as well as unique and fabricated Sunni traditions. These shortcomings are discussed beside the examination of each application cited for Sunna in interpretation of the Qurʾān.

In the entry ‘Muḥammad’ in the Leiden Encyclopedia of the Quran, expressing doubts concerning the Prophet’s reception of revelation, Rubin considers the origin of Qurʿānic stories to have been the Bible. He even claims that the Prophet of Islam himself had doubts about the true nature of what was revealed to him. In part of his entry, Rubin touches upon the idea of Satan’s suggestions in divine revelation which, if accepted, would compromise the infallibility of the Prophet. The present article critically examines the notion of a biblical origin for the Qurʿān, demonstrating its untenability and lack of support. Furthermore, the ideas of the Prophet's doubts concerning the nature of revelation and Satan's suggestion in revelation are challenged on the authority of concrete evidence.

Contemplation of the teachings in the Holy Qurʿān indicates that it must have originated from a metaphysical entity. Some orientalists cast doubts on such an origin for the Qurʿān. Both historical data and sound reason deny the possibility of any origin for the Qurʿān save for revelation. Thus, sources such as the Prophet's genius, unconscious, epilepsy, hysteria, and other mental phenomena are unfounded. The Qurʿān itself declares that it is revelation, and challenges deniers to bring a similar text to match. The present article critically examines such orientalist views concerning the origin of the Qurʿān using historical data and traditions.

The present article examines one of the serious doubts presented by orientalists concerning the Qurʿān; the alleged influence on the Qurʿān by poems from the era of revelation. A consequence of this belief is the notion of a human origin for the Qurʿān. The most important poems that orientalists based their statements upon include the poetry of Imruʾ al- Qays and Umayyah ibn Abī al-Ṣalt, contemporaries of the revelation era. These poems are critically examined in the present paper, demonstrating that the Qurʿān has not been influenced by Arabic poems. In fact, many of these poets may have been influenced by the Qurʿān, integrating Qurʿānic ideas into their poems.