Introducing

INTRODUCING

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The Qura¯n’s most specific advice concerning the legislative impact of its content is contained in passages describing its abrogation (naskh) of some verses. “Whatever verse we abrogate or cause to be forgotten, we bring one better than that or else one like it” (Q 2:107; cf. Q 16:102; 13:40). Some scholars believe this applies only to the Qura¯n’s abrogation of earlier scriptures, but many believe it applies to verses within the Qura¯n itself. This principle of abrogation has been used, for example, to establish the Islamic prohibition of alcohol, even though the Qura¯n at one point says simply that people should not pray under the influence (Q 4:44) and, at another, only that wine should be avoided (Q 5:91). Nevertheless, the verses which state that drinking wine is a grievous sin whose evil outweighs its usefulness (e.g., Q 2:220) are taken as definitive, superseding the earlier verses because they were delivered later. In other cases, however, such as the verses on oppression, all the verses are applicable, depending upon the circumstances for which people are seeking guidance. In some circumstances, suffering patiently is recommended, such as when those suffering are so weak that rebellion would undoubtedly result in utter defeat, whereas in other cases retaliation or retribution might be an effective means of ending oppression. In order to determine the applicability of diverse judgments such as these, scholars refer to the circumstances of revelation (asba¯b al-nuzu¯l) of each verse. The circumstances of revelation are conveyed in reports known generically as h.adı¯th (plural: ah.a¯dith; sometimes translated as “traditions”). A rich source of the early history of Islam, h.ad¯¯ı ths are reports of things Muh.ammad said or did, and include things that were said or done in the presence of the prophet and his reaction to them. As noted above, these circumstances assist in dating the various verses, a critical element in determining the applicability of the principle of abrogation. But they also provide the context for various Qura¯ nic statements, allowing scholars to define the circumstances in which the various verses carry the force of law. Since the death of Muh.ammad, Islam’s most revered scholars have devoted themselves to elaboration of the Qura¯n in commentaries known as tafs¯¯ı r. Based on detailed study of language, logic, and history transmitted through h.ad¯¯ı th, tafs¯¯ı r attempt (among other things) to provide guidance to Muslim legists in their efforts to derive legislation from the Qura¯n. The study of the Qura¯n for the sake of determining Islamic law is considered the highest science in Islam ( fiqh). Relying on h.ad¯¯ı th reports and tafs¯¯ı r, scholars set about the process of deriving legislation from the Qura¯n. But in view of the dynamic nature of society and the fallibility of human judgment, Islamic legislation has never been monolithic. Even though the Qura¯n is considered perfect and applicable for all time, Islam has always tolerated a range of interpretations of its legal implications. By the tenth century, the Muslim community recognized five major schools of Islamic legal thought (madha¯hib; singular: madhhab). Each was named for a major scholar who was believed capable of deriving fresh legal rulings from the Qura¯n and the sunna. These were Jafar al-S.a¯diq (d. 148/765), Abu¯ H. an¯¯ı fa (d. 150/767), Ma¯lik ibn Anas (d. 179/795), al-Sha¯fı¯ı¯ (d. 205/820), and Ibn H. anbal (d. 241/855), producing, respectively, the Jafarı¯ madhhab which is dominant among Shı¯ı¯ Muslims as well as the Sunnı¯ H. anafı¯, Ma¯likı¯, Sha¯fı¯ı¯, and H. anbalı¯ schools. Overall, Qura¯nic legislation is characterized as being of two kinds: those regulations concerning humans’ responsibility to God (iba¯da¯t), and those concerning human

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beings’ interaction (mua¯mala¯t). The former concern requirements for prayer, charitable giving, fasting, and pilgrimage. The latter deal with all social matters, including marriage, divorce, inheritance, the treatment of orphans and slaves, murder, theft, retaliation, and war. In the Qura¯n, however, these issues are not always separate, as is clear from the popular verse quoted above: True piety is this: to believe in God and the last day, the angels, the book, and the prophets, to give of one’s substance, however cherished, to relatives and orphans, the needy, the traveler, beggars, and to ransom the slave, to perform the prayer, to pay alms. And those who fulfill their promises and endure with fortitude misfortune, hardship and peril, these are the ones who are true in their faith; these are the truly God-fearing. (Q 2:178)

Instead of a neat division of duties into those concerned with the divine and those concerned with the mundane, then, the entire world for the Qura¯n is of divine concern, and thus potentially sacred. Indeed, the Qura¯n may be described as charging humanity with the task of sanctifying all aspects of human life by bringing them into accord with the will of God.

Further reading Translations of the Qur>a¯ n Ali, Abdullah Yusuf (1934) The Holy Qura¯ n: Text, Translation and Commentary. Shaikh Muh.ammad Ashraf, Lahore. (Accessible translation; includes voluminous footnotes describing interpretations of various verses. Generally follows Egyptian standard edition verse numbering. Many reprints exist.) Arberry, A. J. (1955) The Koran Interpreted. Allen & Unwin, London. (Poetic translation in somewhat anachronistic style. Follows Flügel edition verse numbering.) Bell, Richard (1937–9) The Qura¯ n Translated, with a critical re-arrangement of the Su¯rahs. 2 vols. T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh. (Classic translation, based on Flügel edition. Some critical comments and su¯ra arrangement considered problematic by Muslim scholars.) Khan, Muh.ammad Zafrulla (1971) The Quran. Curzon Press, London. (Arabic text with English translation, often reflecting modern interpretations. Uses common Indian/Pakistani verse numbering, similar to Egyptian standard system except that it counts the opening “In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate” as the first verse.) Pickthall, Mohammed Marmaduke (1930) The Meaning of the Glorious Koran: An Explanatory Translation. A. A. Knopf, London. (Classic English translation, following Egyptian standard verse numbering and based on traditional interpretations.)

Secondary sources Bijlefeld, William A. (1974) Some recent contributions to Quranic studies. Selected publications in English, French, and German, 1964–1973. The Muslim World 64, 79–102, 172–9, 259–74. Cragg, Kenneth (1971) The Event of the Qura¯ n: Islam in its Scripture. Allen & Unwin, London. Cragg, Kenneth (1973) The Mind of the Qura¯ n: Chapters in Reflection. Allen & Unwin, London.