ORIENTALIST’S VIEWS ON QURAN

BY: SUMNA SADAQAT

DEPARTMENT OF ISLAMIC STUDIES

JAMIA MILLIA ISLAMIA

INTRODUCTION
Quran has been a source of guidance and the holy book of the Muslims since Prophet Muhammad
(PBUH)’s advent in the 7th century. But criticism of this holy text has existed since it was being revealed
to the Prophet (PBUH). The practice of laying allegations against the compilation, structure and verses of
the Quran is not a new phenomenon; new questions and criticisms have popped up time and again from
the Orientalists scholars. Their aim has been to prove the Quran to be wrong, inefficient, false, and
incompetent in the present scenario, mathematically inaccurate and linguistically repetitive and
plagiarized. The Orientalists largely allege the authorship of the Quran and try to prove that it was
written by Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). They also are skeptical about the compilation of the Holy text
and believe it to be like all other scriptures in the world. They put their maximum efforts in questioning
the structural composition of the book as well. But all these arguments are not very well thought
enough, they lack research and historical evidences. It is important to note that they blame the Muslims
for the ‘inaccuracies’ they find in the Quran because they measure everything according to their own
experiences. Since their own books were tampered with, compiled rather written centuries later, and do
not comply with science they assume that every other work i.e. even the Quran has been corrupted for
which they use different techniques to prove their feeble point.

AUTHORSHIP OF QURAN
Muslims believe that Quran was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) over a period of 23 years
gradually by Allah via Archangel Jibreel, which he recited to his Companions there and then. Before the
orientalists came into picture to prove that Quran was created by a human mind, the people of
Prophet’s (PBUH) times also argued that the verses recited by him are not revealed by God but his own
creation.

PRE PLANNED AMBITION TO GAIN POWER

Some orientalists like Muir argued that it was his ambition to produce such a text in order to gain power
and prestige. According to him the laying of the Black stone in 605 CE was a part of the same agenda.
Others like, Margoliouth asserted that his ambition was clear as he participated in the Fijar war, years
before claiming Prophethood. Montgomery Watt supports them by describing the years that followed
the Prophet's marriage with Khadijah (r.a.) as "years of preparation" for the work that lay ahead, Watt
gives a translation of 93: 6-8 and observes that this passage "seems to refer to Muhammad's early
experiences" and that from this "we might perhaps argue that one stage in his development was the
realization that the hand of God had been supporting him despite his misfortunes. he believed that since
he was an orphan he needed attention for which he composed the Quran.

But these claims are baseless, as during the Fijar war the Prophet was very young and his work of merely
handing over the arrows to his uncles is recorded in the texts clearly. Besides, in the Quran it is clearly
mentioned that if the Prophet would have lied (69:44-46), his aorta would have been cut by God, and
such a verse could not be said by him if he had a pre assumed mission and was lying about it all through.
Plus, the Prophet was just chosen by Allah not because of his misfortunes but because He so willed and
he had no idea about it before the first revelation proven in verse 28:86. Also, if he had any such plan of
becoming a religious and social teacher, he would have at least told his wife, Khadija (RA) about it and
she would not have been surprised when he first came back to his house from cave Hira after the
revelation1.

POET, SOOTHSAYER

They called him a soothsayer and poet because of the rhythm found in the verses especially in the
earlier period when he resided in Mecca. Muir asserts that Prophet (PBUH) learnt poetry at Ukaz fair.
The Quran verse 69:41 refutes his claim and this allegation was falsified as great poets of the time
realized that it was something unusual, which could not be merely poetry. Moreover he did not have the
ability to write so how could he have written so much2.

JUDEO-CHRISTIAN INFLUENCE

Orientalists argue that Prophet (PBUH) took the things mentioned in the Quran from Judeo-Christian
sources while his journey to Syria and Medina where he came across practicing Christians and Jews. The
orientalists like, Abraham Geiger, C. C. Torrey's (Book: The Jewish Foundation of Islam), A. I Katsh talked
about the Jewish influence on the Prophet while William Muir, Richard Bell's (The Origin of Islam in its
Christian Environment) tried to prove the Christian influence on the Prophet. Muir used arguments such
as Prophet’s learning from Warqa b. Noufil, Zayd b. Haritha who knew Christians, and Quss ibn Sa'ida at
the 'Ukaz fair. He also claimed that he learnt from the orthodox groups in Syria thus he had different
beliefs regarding Maryam and Isa (PBUT). It is important to note that people like Zayd were not experts
in Christianity, even if he had to why would he learn from amateurs and not go to skilled trainers?
Additionally, Prophet could not have learnt so much in such short intervals of time that too at a young
age. In 16:103, Quran claims that nobody has taught the Prophet the verses of the Quran he does not
have any outside teacher, but it is in pure Arabic revealed by God. Even if he would have had any
teacher, the question is that why did he not claim his work in the public, why did he not tell the people
that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) has learnt from me, why did he remain silent even after his death?

1
The Quran and the Orientalists, Muhammad Mohar Ali, 2004 Pg 7-11
2
The Quran and the Orientalists, Muhammad Mohar Ali, 2004 Pg 14-15
The Quran itself mentions the tales of Prophets in details which are not mentioned in the old or new
testaments, umpteen examples are seen in Surah Yusuf, for instance, Yusuf (PBUH) did not tell his
dream to his brothers (12:5), but according to old testament, he revealed his dream to them (Gen 37:5-
9), Yusuf defended himself against the mistress (12:26), while Bible skips this information. The Quran
upholds each Prophet and claims to be complementary to earlier teachings, which were corrupted with
time by the People of the book.

EPILEPSY AND MENTAL ILLNESS

Orientalists like San Pedro believe that the Prophet was an epileptic or possessed by demons, in an
attempt to explain the divine revelations. But the question is that how was an epileptic powerful and
healthy enough to run such a big movement, convert so many and run such an organized state as
Medina was? This is a groundless argument as no epileptic can ever wage so many battles, without
being swathed by an attack in the middle even once. Even the contemporaries of Prophet (PBUH) called
him mad but this was because of the verses which were way ahead of their time, went beyond the
common traditions prevalent in the society and mismatched the social, economic and cultural fabric of
their times3.

COMPILATION OF THE QURAN

Both the orientalists and the Muslim scholars have almost contradictory stands on the compilation of
the Quran. The orientalists try their best to portray Quran to have been corrupted and not dealt with
the kind of preservation that the Muslims believe. On the other hand, Muslims rightly and firmly believe
that the Quran is true and accurate word by word and no corruption has or can ever take place by
anyone due to its responsibility of preservation in the hands of Allah as stated in the Quran (15:9) itself.

ORIENTALISTS VIEW

The orientalists claim that the Quran which existed at the time of the Prophet (PBUH) is not preserved in
its purest form today. They claim that it has gone changes; interpretations of verses were made for
personal benefit, the order of the verses was changed, context of revelation does not compliment the
present day order of the verses, Uthman burnt all other copies hence the original was lost, it was
compiled by the companions so it exists according to their convenience etc.

Theoder Noldeke claims that Zayd b. Thabit collected the texts, edited/ redacted them, combined many
original passages in the form of Surah and arranged them in the current order, emphasizing that the
Quran is incomplete. He thinks that the verses are arranged in a crooked manner, and gives his
chronological order based on categories of Surah in the early Meccan, mid Meccan, late Meccan and
Medina. But his ideas are only relative; he is unable to distinguish between the times of revelation in
Meccan surah. Apart from this, his order is not welcomed by other orientalists like, Rodwell.

Arthur Jeffrey further claims in his book Materials for the History of the Text of the Qur'an The Old
Codices (1937) that the Companions like Ubayy b. Kaab, b. Masood, b. Abbas, Anas etc. had different
3
The Sublime Quran and Orientalism, Muhammad Khalifa, 1989 Pg. 12
readings and codices of the Quran. However all of them were companions and the differences might
have crept up by the narratives of others. He also calls the opinions of the Muslim scholars regarding the
history of compilation of the Quran are fictitious but does not state any particular reason for the same.
He also tries to prove that the gap amongst each recording is extensively divergent. He argued that
Prophet (PBUH) left certain passages for revision which he could not do. But this claim is totally false as
no verse of the Quran was edited even if the ruling was abrogated.

HISTORY OF COMPILATION OF QURAN

The history of compilation of the Quran refutes all the allegations of the Orientalists. It took place in
three broadly categorized eras. Each era had its own demands but unanimously it is claimed that there
was no tampering of the text in any period. The Quran is supposed to have survived in its original form
as it is without any corruption and change as is found in other scriptures since its revelation.

According to historical evidences, Muslims believe that when Quran was revealed, Prophet (PBUH)
asked his companions to write it down on whatever materials were available. There were about 42
scribes of the Quran at his time who recorded the verses in the order which was ordered by the Prophet
(told by Allah). Thus the writing of the verses was done simultaneously, in the presence of the Prophet
who heard from the scribers what they had recorded for ensuring its authenticity. This is proved in the
conversion story of Caliph Umar, who when was about to enter his sister’s house in rage, she quickly
tried to hide the manuscript on which the verse was written. Also, the chronological order of the verses
of the Surah was decided during the Prophet (PBUH) as they were commonly recited during prayers.

After his demise, in the Yamama war which broke out in 632CE, more than 70 memorizers of the Quran
fell martyred, which instilled the thought of compiling the Quran as a single unit in the mind of Umar
(RA) who suggested the same to the then Caliph, Abu Bakr. After much contemplation he ordered Zayd
b. Thabit who was an excellent scribe of the Prophet to take the cumbersome task, and for months he
dedicated himself to it. Each verse was recorded only if a memorizer brought two testimonies, thus both
memory and writing of the verse was considered to be important. Only after praying was each verse
added and finally it was recited to an assembly of more than 30 thousand who agreed that each word
was absolutely in place.

During Uthman (RA) caliphate, as Islam spread its wings, different dialects led to conflicts in verses,
which enticed Uthman (RA) to compile the Quran on Quraysh dialect. He formed a committee, led by
Zayd b. Thabit. They ensured that different dialects and recitation styles were kept into account, and
accordingly he delivered a copy of the text to different areas with an official reciter. With time diacritical
marks were added. And the Quran remains as it is in the current form4.

On the theme of textual purity Muir has indicated that probably no other book in the world had
remained for centuries with so pure a text, while Margoliouth observed, that the theory of "coloring by
the medium" adopted by Christian theologians in order to explain discrepancies in their scriptures was
unknown in Islam. Similarly, Menezes commented: "There is every probability that the work of Zaid was

4
History of the Quranic Text from Revelation to Compilation, Sheikh M. Mustafa al-Azami Pg. 87-93
executed faithfully and indeed the acceptance of Quran by Ali and his party, the antagonists to Othman,
is the surest guarantee of its genuineness5.

INACCURACIES IN THE QURAN

The Quran’s style was questioned, its rhythm and change in subjects was questioned. Orientalists
commented on the abrupt switches in subjects, and sudden conversion of didactics and emotional
content to historical narratives was thought to be unattractive rather than intriguing. The repetition of
words and phrases was assumed to suggest lack of content instead of mark of using literary devices for
reiterating important points. The vocabulary used in the Quran was distinct from the usual Arabic and it
was condemned of having a limited lexical range, although words used in the Quran could be explained
by pre- Islamic poetry and highlighted the diction and richness of Arabic language which was forgotten
even by the language- conscious Arabs. The orientalists questioned the usage of rhetorical devices used
for emphasis and called them unnecessary and unwanted. The specific usage of preceding the words
which are usually placed in the beginning was used multiple times in the Quran which was criticized by
claiming that the grammar has not been used as it should have been. The orientalists are also skeptical
about the structure of the Quran, the linear, circular, cross and thematic composition of the Quran and
the link between consecutive and alternate verses and Surah is thought to be absurd. Instead of viewing
it as a symbol of literary excellence many skeptics refuse the similarities and inter connectedness which
exists in the verses.

Apart from these, the Orientalists believe that the Quran’s verses go against scientifically proven facts
and hence hold no ground, Watt argues the same regarding the usage of the same word Ard for earth
and ground, He also discusses the shape of the earth, and questions the verses on transition from night
to day etc. But his skepticism can simply be refuted by getting to the exact meanings of each word in
Arabic language itself. The poor knowledge of the language has led many scholars to translate the Quran
wrongly, and give different meanings to words, rendering false interpretations and questioning the
authenticity and credibility of the Holy Scripture. The flawed translations result in inferring false
conclusions and the orientalists use these to attack the Quran and claim it to be incompetent with
research standards in the modern world. The word, ‘qadir’ was translated as potent by Sale, instead of
capable, the word, Savary translated the word Haffina as barefooted rather than thronging. Many other
examples of the type exist which create misconceptions about the Quran in the minds of people 6.

DRAWBACKS OF ORIENTAIST WORKS ON QURAN

Their inferences are usually based on incorrect research methodologies which do not take into
account the language, differential meanings of the same word, and the vast organization of
Arabic root word system.
Mostly they argue without knowing the background, and context of each verse which leads
them to draw twisted conclusions.

5
The Sublime Quran and Orientalism, Muhammad Khalifa, 1989 Pg. 49
6
The Sublime Quran and Orientalism, Muhammad Khalifa, 1989 Pg. 64-80
 Orientalists often indulge in distortion of historical facts which leads them to misinterpret the
actual realities.
Generalization of specific verses was undertaken by them extensively, thus exceptions were
believed to be the unsaid norm in the society by them. Similarly the abrogated verses were
confused with the rest.
The Orientalists did not take into account the thematic structure of the Quran as a whole unit
while commenting on it; each verse was studied in isolation which is just like reading one
sentence of any book and trying to draw conclusions without knowing the rest of the book.
A society that follows a particular faith, knows the best about its own laws and principles. Even if
the outsiders are sympathetic (which mostly they are not and cannot be) they cannot
understand the needs and actual values of the religion. Being external, understanding the
essence and spirit of the faith is more difficult for them which they refuse to understand.
Healthy criticism is unlike judgmental statements which are common to find in orientalist
writings. Stereotypes and prejudices pertaining to Muslims and their religion are asserted
directly or indirectly. Thus their entire approach is under a big question mark, leave apart as a
revealed scripture they do not even try to understand it as a general book, and unfortunately
study it with a pre- conceived notion which is that the Quran is wrong, orthodox and
problematic.

The above stated reasons lead us to doubt the enormous works undertaken by the orientalists. Although
some have tried their best to understand its essence by learning the Arabic language, but many either
have no idea about the colloquial language while others just depend on English translations of the book
which should not be acceptable. Primarily, their efforts are not undertaken with an aim of learning and
understanding rather, criticizing and proving the Quran to be inferior and incorrect. Even if they do
extensive researches, they cannot reach the depth and the true spirit of the Book unless they have an
unbiased frame of mind, which is often rare.

CONCLUSION
Thus the Orientalists throughout the course of history have used various methods of undermining the
holy book of the Muslims. They do not believe it to be revealed, or even authentic and accurate. In
different times different questions were raised against the text, but deep and unbiased analysis leads us
to think that their arguments are illogical and can be countered easily. People might superficially
believe in what they say or the false propaganda they spread but the biggest argument is that if the
Quran was created and not revealed then it would never have been possible for more than 2 billion
people to follow the Quran and have firm faith in its authenticity. It would not have been possible for us
to even get the original text which is uniform across the globe to reach us safely if it would have been
tampered with. Hence the orientalists need to revisit their theories and try to reach the truth which is
possible only through a neutral and impartial study of the Quran.

REFERNCES
 The Quran and the Orientalists, Muhammad Mohar Ali, 2004 Pg 7-22
 The Sublime Quran and Orientalism, Muhammad Khalifa, 1989 Pg. 64-80
 History of the Qur'anic Text from Revelation to Compilation, Sheikh M. Mustafa al-Azami Pg. 87-
93
 Orientalists on the style of Quran: A critical study, Saeed Akhtar & Ataur Rahman, June 2015
 History of Compilation of Quran, Ekrum Burga Ekinci, June 2017