The myth of Gharaniq and the orientalist's exploitations

The infallibility and non-intervention of others save Allah in the process of revelation is from those doctrinal principles of Muslims which a great deal of traditional (the verses and narrations) and rational reasons stand as proofs for. The myth of Gharaniq is a fabricated tradition that contradicts with the important principle of infallibility; for it implies the intervention of Satan in descending of revelation. Unfortunately, citation of such a myth by some historians and exegetes provided the pretext for a group of orientalists to extend it as a document on fallibility of revelation. Nonetheless, with the existence of abundant textual and documentary problems within this myth, still we find few papers to have it comprehensively analyzed and criticized. In the very article, after citing the background of the myth, many of the orientalists’ views would be reported. After examining the story’s document we would present it to Quran, traditions and some self-evident reasons and then the justifications of its narrators will be closely inspected. Finally, a great part of the writing is particularly criticizing Montgomery Watt’s viewpoints in detail, where he talks of this fabricated story in most of his writings.