Critique of Uri Rubin’s Interpretation of “al-Muzzammil” and “al- Muddaththir” in His Article: The Shrouded Messenger (On the Interpretation of al- Muzzammil and al-Muddaththir)

Uri Rubin, the professor emeritus of Tel Aviv University, has published numerous books and articles on the early Islamic period with a focus on the Holy Quran, its interpretation, and prophetic biography and hadiths, of which is his paper “The Shrouded Messenger (On the Interpretation of al-Muzzammil and al-Muddaththir”, in EQ. In this writing, Rubin classifies the interpretations on the titles “al-Muzzammil” and “al-Mudaththir” as three categories: first, the “Neutral Explanations” that explain the semantic meanings of the terms without mentioning the reason for using them; second, “the Commendation Explanations” that the terms have been considered as praiseworthy and respectable for the holy prophet; third, “the Reproachful Explanations” that indicate the ignorance or inability of the holy prophet while performing his responsibilities and regard the shrouded mode as a reflection of pre-Islamic priests. The latter indicate to the holy prophet’s inaction, isolation, and lack of interest to face with the obstacles against his prophetic responsibilities. Making a critique on three aspects of content, source, and method, the present research investigates Rubin’s viewpoints and evidences. In addition, regarding facts of the Islamic history and the explanation of the meaning of the terms and the hadith of “'ana al-nadhīr al-‘uryān”, it is proved that his claims originate from the fact that he has referred to the sources in a one-dimensional manner, without validating them, and putting forward his own personal views instead of Muslim scholars’ interpretations.