Article Citation: Isa Muhammad Maishanu (2019). The Influence of Qur'an on the Study of Comparative Religion: An Appraisal of the Position and Contributions of Some Muslim Scholars. DEGEL: The Journal of the Faculty of Arts and Islamic Studies, Vol. 17, No. 2. ISSN 0794-9316
THE
INFLUENCE OF QUR’AN ON THE STUDY OF COMPARATIVE RELIGION: AN APPRAISAL OF THE
POSITION AND CONTRIBUTIONS OF SOME MUSLIM SCHOLARS
By
Isa Muhammad Maishanu
Abstract
The Glorious Qur’an is the primary source of Islam
and it contains several verses about other religions and their adherents, beliefs
and practices. It will not be out of place to expect Muslims to show genuine
interest in studying and writing on those religions. The political as well as
cultural interaction Muslims had with other civilizations and religious communities
make it possible to have attacks and counter-attacks between Muslims and
followers of other religions on many religious issues and controversies. The
researcher feels that there is a need to pinpoint some of the Muslim scholars
and their contributions to the discipline, and how that helped in the emergence
of Comparative Religion. The study is not claiming to be exhaustive. This area
of study needs to be explored further. The paper therefore intends to appraise
and highlight the position and positive contributions of Muslim scholars in the
nascent discipline of Comparative Religion or History of Religions, and that
their contributions in the field are pioneering and have facilitated and helped
greatly in its emergence in subsequent centuries.
Introduction
The Qur’an, being primary source of Islam is
essentially a religious source book, which contains numerous passages on
religious issues, as well as what some may call mundane matters, ranging from
different concepts of deities, to modes of worship and claims and
counter-claims on eschatological matters, as well as economic, political and
cultural matters. The subsequent Muslim interest and study of the different
religions of the world due to this eye-opener became part of the general
intellectual legacy Islamic civilization bequeathed to mankind.The mission of
Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) started with a command and
order to acquire knowledge and scholarship. Intellectually, it was such an
enlightened beginning, as the basis of this Divine religion is knowledge,
understanding revelation and Divine guidance. The study of Muslim sects as well
as that of other religions known in Islamic heritage as ‘Al-Milal wa
al-Nihal’, according to Daraz (1970), is one of the pioneering
contributions of the Muslims to the world for two basic reasons. Firstly, the
Muslims, for the first time in world scholarship, and before any other human
civilization, wrote independent works on the subject of religion, and secondly,
they relied in their works in the field, on first-hand information and primary
sources of the religions they studied.[1]
The influence of the Qur’an on the Muslims in this regard like in other
spheres of human endeavours, especially its references to the previous
religions, and its judgements on, assessment and criticism of some of their
beliefs and practices, prompted and encouraged many Muslim scholars to study,
assess, criticize and refute some religious beliefs and practices as well as
some other aspects of religion, especially Judaism and Christianity, the
adherents of which have been given a special title of Ahl al-Kitab. This
paper intends to highlight and introduce the ‘scientific’ study of religion as
a discipline, and the pioneering contributions of Muslim scholars to this
relatively nascent field of Comparative Religion. Not much attention is being
given to the pioneering intellectual contributions of Muslim scholars, not only
in the bulk of material collected and preserved by them, but also in their
contributions in methodology and theorization. As there is also a kind of
misunderstanding on the Islamic position on studying other religions in some
quarters, the paper will attempt to clear the air on the issue. We will first
begin by introducing the field.
Comparative Religion Defined
We will begin our discussions on the meaning and scope of Comparative
Religion as an academic discipline. Different scholars, in line with their
special interests, have given this discipline that takes religion as its object
of study, numerous titles and names. These names include: Religionswissenschaft,
Science of Religion(s), Comparative (Study of) Religion(s), History of
Religions, Religion, Religious Studies, Religiology, Comparative History of
Religions, etc.[2]
This variety is one of the very evident features of the study of
religion. There is no consensus among its proponents on its name. This is
easily noticed in the academic institutions that study religion. Even the
definition of religion itself is not one but many. Why should there be numerous
titles for this field? The controversy seems to be between the normative and
value-laden study of religion that investigates the essence of religion, and
even passes judgments, as reflected in the works of ‘Comparative Religionists’
on the one hand, and the non-normative, ‘scientific’ and ‘objective’ study of
religious phenomena concerned with the descriptive history of religions and
their developments, as carried out by ‘Historians of Religions’ on the other.[3]
The title ‘Comparative Religion’ is most popular in continental Europe
and elsewhere around the world, including many parts of the Muslim world
despite its normative connotations. The academic students of religion however,
agree to name the discipline as ‘History of Religions’ and to call their association
as the ‘International Associatin for the History of Religions’.[4]
Some of the scholars, in attempting to solve this issue came up with the idea
of ‘the different levels for the academic study of religions’. Platvoet [5]
and others saw that there are two main levels of this study:
1. A
descriptive level of the history of religions, where individual
religions are studied as more or less self-contained historical entities; this
is the ‘History of Religions’;
2. A
comparative level, where religions that have been historically
investigated or more usually, certain elements of them, are compared. This,
according to him can be termed ‘Comparative Study of Religions’.[6]
This opinion seems to be a kind of compromise on the part of the
students of religion. However, both the two titles have been criticized
separately. Comparison, they say tends to be odious and normative, while
‘history’ suggests ‘a study of the past only’. [7]
The discipline has been defined differently, and we will refer to some of the
definitions in order to show the two tendencies mentioned above in this field.
Genuine interest in the study of religions in modern scholarship started in the
seventh decade of the nineteenth century. Jordan (1905) gave one of the oldest
and elaborate definitions thus:
Comparative Religion is that science which compares the origin,
structure, and characteristics of the various Religions of the world, with the
view of determining their genuine agreements and differences, the measure of
relation in which they stand one, to another, and their relative superiority or
inferiority when regarded as types.[8]
Exactly seventy years later, and with further developments in the field,
Sharpe offered another definition in 1975. In it the inclination towards
non-normative historical tendencies can be discerned. He said:
Comparative
religion implies the serious and, as far as possible dispassionate study of
material drawn from all the accessible religious traditions of the world...’
Elsewhere he added that it is "the historical, critical and comparative
study of the religions of the world’.[9]
Sharpe also referred to another definition given by Ugo Bianchi,
indicating a shift to the historical, while downplaying the comparative
tendencies! He defined it as a science which, using accepted historical method
and with the support of psychology, sociology and phenomenology, establishes
and examines facts in order to identify historically integrated religious
worlds and to study their respective character.[10]
The definitions above show to some extent the historical stages of the
development of `History of Religions' as a discipline. It is clear that in the
initial stage, when it was struggling to free itself from theology and
philosophy, as Wach[11]
ably demonstrated, it became the accepted nomenclature of the field especially
in North America. In our opinion, the field should be called, ‘The Science of
Religion’ (Religionswissenschaft) for its use of the scientific methods,
or the title of ‘Comparative Religion’ for the fact that comparison is
essentially involved in the study. The name ‘The History of Religions’ makes
the study a branch of History and also suggests a concern with the past, and
this, as seen by Smart is ‘a complication of matter’, because it does not
suggest its independence as a discipline.[12]
Evidently, as pointed out by Bianchi, the Science of Religion sought
help from and depended partly on the material drawn from psychology, sociology,
anthropology, phenomenology, philology and history and the other social and
human sciences that employ the scientific methods of research and have interest
in the study of the spiritual realm of man. Consequently, these areas became
the different branches of the History of Religions. Let us now see what the two
main sources of Islam say on other religions and their followers.
Islam, the Glorious Qur’an and Other Religions
Islam is the last Divine message that contains all
previous revealed messages to humankind. It is to a Muslim, the final form of
Allah’s guidance and one of the many signs and evidences of His infinite mercy,
benevolence and care for man. It contains not only the messages of previous
Prophets and Messengers of Allah (peace be upon them all), but also what will
happen from the time of its revelation to the final Hour of Judgement and
beyond. The Glorious Qur’an is believed by Muslims to be the embodiment of the
last form of Divine Will revealed from the All Wise and All-Knowing Creator,
and is therefore the basis of their beliefs and actions as well as the
framework that determine their covert and overt behaviour. It lays down general
principles and parameters for both the individual and collective human conduct.
All that man needs for his guidance, or for understanding the meaning of his
life, its source and origins, its purpose and objective, as well as the destiny
of creation, have clearly been laid down in the Book. These guiding principles
have further been elucidated by Prophet Muhammad bin Abdullah (May Allah's
peace and His blessings be upon him) in what came to be known as the Sunnah,
i.e. the sayings, actions and silent or tacit approval of the Messenger of
Allah, the recipient of that message, and whose sole duty was to explain in
plain language and put into practice, what has been sent down to him from his
Lord.[13]
Muslims live by the foundations and dictates of these two primary sources,
which serve as their guiding light that prompted the great achievements made by
them for the general progress and prosperity of humanity in different spheres
and epochs of their history.
These two guiding lights gave to the early Muslims
their identity, a very strong impulse and the necessary impetus for the
magnificent intellectual and civilization contributions and achievements
recorded in their history. In fact, those achievements were the basic foundations
for the western scientific and technological take-off. They bequeathed to the
beleaguered humanity of that time new thinking, new set of ideas and ideals.
The Medieval period seen in the Western intellectual discourse as an era of
theological dogmatism, ignorance and intellectual inertia, was by no means the
same in the Muslim world. That was in fact the golden era of Muslim
intellectual contributions. This was due to the fact that the first revealed
verses of the Qur’an, as indicated above, called on man, for whose good it was
revealed, to study and recite in the name of the Lord and Creator of all, Allah
(Glorified be He).[14]
The first Muslims became teachers of humanity not only in the Islamic sciences
but also in philosophy, the natural sciences and the humanities, as well as in
human relations.[15]
For instance, Smart, a British scholar of religion, affirmed the fact that
Muslim "knowledge of other religions (in the Medieval times) was in
advance of European knowledge, notably in the work of Ibn Hazm….” [16]
Another writer gave the honor of writing the first history of religions to the
Muslim theologian al-Shahristani.[17].
Muslims'
studies of other religions came as a result of the Qur’anic interest and
discussion of those religions and its refutation of some of their beliefs and
practices. That encouraged many of them to take up the serious task of
unraveling other religions in a number of works.
The
Qur’an has amply discussed the religious beliefs and practices of many
religions, indicating how they strayed, in large or small measure, from the one
divine religion sent to all the Prophets of Almighty God (peace be upon them)
in the different nations of the world.[18]
More than 700 of its verses discuss these religions. One can say without the
fear of exaggeration that if not because of this final message of God, we may
probably not be able to see humanity as one nation religiously, and that Allah
(Almighty God) is the One True God that has sent His chosen Messengers and
Prophets (peace be upon them) to each and every human nation with the same
message of:
Worship
Allah (Alone), and avoid Taghut (all false deities)...[19]
We did
not send any Messenger before you but We revealed to him (saying) none has the
right to be worshipped but I (Allah), so worship Me.[20]
The
import of these and similar verses indicates the beginning and end of the
history of religion[21].
This also explains to us the many similarities we find today not only in the
so-called monotheistic religions, but also in many of the man-made and pagan
religions, as experts in the field know. The belief in one Supreme God among
many, in the permanence of the soul, in reward and punishment and the afterlife
are found in most of the religious traditions on the globe. The religions that
do not subscribe to these ideas are very few indeed. The Qur’anic revelation
guides the Muslims into searching for the religious history of mankind, its
various developments, elements of human manipulation, distortion, interpolation
and the forgetting of part of Allah's message sent through the earlier prophets
to their nations [22].
Adherents of Other
Religions in the Glorious Qur’an
In mentioning the followers of other religions, Allah categorized them
in the Glorious Qur’an into two, namely: Ahl al-Kitab (People of the Book)
usually interpreted as the Jews and the Christians or the followers of the
revealed religions possessing divine books[23].
The other category is broad and refers to all the followers of other
non-monotheistic religions as polytheists or worshippers of more than One True
God, like the Arabs of that time, as well as the nations of Nuh, Ibrahim,
ancient Egyptians and so on[24]
The Qur’an mentions the beliefs and practices of the adherents of other
religions as they hold and perform them. That will be followed with what we may
call 'constructive criticism' and in a style full of compassion and the hope of
attaining guidance through the message conveyed after due reflection [25].
In the case of divine nature of Jesus (peace be upon him) mentioned in the
Qur'an[26]
started by asserting that those who believed that the Christ is God have really
disbelieved, and according to it, this is because that goes contrary to the
message delivered by Jesus to his people. This authoritative statement is made
with full force in line with the Qur'an's claim of divine origin. After this,
another aspect directly related to this belief, that is the doctrine of Holy
Trinity is treated in a similar way. A plea was then made to those who
entertain those beliefs to repent and desist from that, as it is futile. The
Qur'an here, wants the Christians - after due reflection - to realize that if
what they believe concerning Jesus son of Mary is not what Jesus himself
taught, then they will do themselves better service by abandoning them, and
then search elsewhere for the true message of the Jesus. After the plea, again
the true nature of Jesus was explained placing him in his right place among the
chosen Prophets of God. Many modern scholarly works today are towing this line,
for example 'The Myth of God Incarnate’ edited by John Hick published in1977.
The Glorious Qur’an by this kind of treatment of such topics depicts itself as
the guard against the distortion of divine revelation, the yardstick, the
criterion and the watcher over all the previous divine messages. It becomes the
means by which we know the true revelation of God from the human configurations
of it.
The Science of Hadith and Muslim Study of Religion
The Sunnah as the second source of Islam provides us with detailed
information on the life activities sciences of Hadith (Ulum al-Hadith)
evolved by the Muslim Ummah, had its impress on Muslim interest in the study of
religion. The need and requirement of the science that any statement attributed
to anyone, has to be substantiated and affirmed by means of authentic and
reliable transmitters (ruwat), made it mandatory on anyone attributing
any statement to another to provide proofs and evidences on his claims. This
helped the Muslim students of religion in no small measure in their endeavour
to unravel the mysteries of the religious world. It is a known fact the Qur’an
has accused the adherents of earlier religions, notably the Jews and the
Christians of distorting the revelations sent to them, as well as forgetting or
losing parts of the messages revealed to them as shown above. The interaction
of the Prophet (peace be upon him) with the Ahl al-Kitab gave us a lot
of material on their religions and the stand of the Islam on many of their
claims, beliefs and religious practices. One needs only to read authentic books
of the Sunnah to see the bulk of material relevant to the study of these
religions.
Muslim Contributions to Comparative Religion
Generally speaking, Western scholars in the review of philosophical
literature and in tracing the history of many a discipline tend to skip the
whole of the Medieval era, on the claim that nothing of substance and
importance had been contributed, either in the West or elsewhere[27].
Even though the medieval period was believed to be Dark Age in the history of
Europe, the Muslim world happened not to be in the ‘dark’ during that period. On
the contrary, this was the period when Islamic civilization was at the zenith
of its contribution to the intellectual world. At that time the Western world
was dependent on the world of Islam, not only intellectually but even in such
things as "foods, drinks, drugs, and medicaments".[28]
In reality, the Muslim world contributed immensely in unraveling the
mysterious world of religion. Some Western scholars do admit this fact, albeit
modestly. We have scholars in the West like Ninian Smart who,[29]
after mentioning the impact of Islamic `theology' on Western Christianity,
especially in maintaining the values of both reason and revelation together
says that Muslim knowledge of other religions was in advance of European
knowledge, notably in the work of the `theologian' Ibn Hazm (994-1064 C.E.).
Another Western scholar, Waardenburg (1999) saw the need to write on the
‘Muslim Perception of Other Religions: A Historical Survey’, was
published in 1999. Mention must be made in this regard of scholars who
contributed immensely to the study of religion among the Muslims, and who for
the first time wrote independent works on religion, as asserted by Daraz [30]
A. Abu
al-Hassan Al-Amiri (The Philosopher of Khurasan) (d. /934 C.E.-381 A.H.),
who wrote four different works in which he compared religions in various
aspects, namely:
1. ‘Al-I’lam Bi Manaqib al-Islam’ (Declaration on the virtues of
Islam). In this work, he compared Islam with Judaism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism,
Sabianism and Idolatry of the Pre-Islamic Arabs, in themes like faith, worship,
social system, contributions to knowledge and human civilization.
2. ‘Al-Amad Ala Al-Abad’, in this work al-Amiri compared the
different conceptions of the Afterlife.
3. ‘Al-Irshad Li Tashih al-I’tiqad’, Al-Amiri carried out a
comparative study of resurrectional and eschatological beliefs of different
religions based on his claims as the document could not be found.
4. ‘Al-Ibanah An Ilal
al-Diyanah’, another lost work of Al-Amiri, in which he compared Islamic
legal code with that of other religions.
B. Abu al-Rayhan al-Biruni (d.440 A.H./1050
C.E.), one of the greatest and most renowned scientist whose two outstanding
works on religion were translated since the end the nineteenth century by E.
Sachau. They are:
1. ‘Al-Athar al-Baqiyah An al-Qurun al-Khaliyah’ (The Chronology
of Nations). Al-Biruni’s first major work written around the year 1000 C. E.,
edited and translated by E. C. Sachau (1879), who stated that as a work (on
chronology and religious institutions and festivals of the ancient nations)
‘…it will scarcely ever be superceded… [It is] …representing in its peculiar
line the highest development of oriental scholarship’– The book contains a
‘comparative chronology of eras and festivals, of various ethnic and religious
groups’.
2. ‘Tahqiq Ma Li al-Hind Min Maqulah…’ (Alberuni’s India), this
being one of the first authentic account of Indian religions written at the
time. The work as stated by the author, was not a polemical refutation of the
Indian religious traditions, but an honest and objective study of them. Some
modern scholars see the work as ‘…the first objective study ever made of a
foreign culture.’[31].
It depicts al-Biruni’s breadth of learning and novel sense of cosmopolitan
objectivity. Kitab Tahqiq ma li al-Hind..’ is seen as intellectually admirable
because of its ‘…strictly scientific style, its perfectly logical and
methodical arrangements, its deep and patient investigation … its candid
criticism in the light of the sciences, philosophy and institutions of other
nations, and the wealth of illustrations which it gives from Greek literature’ [32]
C. Ibn Hazm al-Andalusi (d. 456 A.H./1064 C.E.)
wrote the first significant and erudite work on the criticism of the Bible.
Many indeed benefited from his ‘Al-Fisal Fi al-Milal Wa al-Ahwa’ Wa al-Nihal.’
D. Al-Shahristani
(d. 548 A.H/1153 C.E.) his work ‘Al-Milal Wa al-Nihal’ has been rightly
acclaimed as ‘the first history of religion, in world literature’[33]
Of special mention is Abu al-Rayhan al-Biruni who attempted to implement
the empirical method in the study of the Indian religions. Regarding his
account of the Indian religions, both Western and Indian scholars alike have
acknowledged his success, impartiality and scientific approach[34]
As seen by Jeffery, Al-Biruni’s method is scientific in that he was concerned
with `the assembling of facts about the beliefs and practices of various
religious groups, arranging them, classifying them, comparing them with one
another, in order to arrive at a better understanding of the significance of
religions....’ Jeffery went further to describe Al-Biruni’s method as
characterized by `completeness, accuracy and unbiased treatment.' [35]
Undoubtedly, there were many Muslim scholars in Muslim Spain
(al-Andalus), under Ottoman Caliphate and in the Indian sub-continent who had
made meaningful contributions to the study of religion apart from the few
mentioned above in the Middle ages like Imam Ghazali, Qadi AbdulJabbar, Imam
Ibn Taymiyyah, his student Ibn al-Qayyim, etc., but due to space constraint, we
will not be able to mention them all. One good example of these works in Muslim
heritage is Al-Musabbihi’s work entitled ‘Dark al-Bughyah fi Wasf al-Adyan wa
al-‘Ibadat’ comprising of 3000 leaves, according to Himayah.[36]
In the
modern times with the full blossoming of the Comparative religion as an
academic discipline, it was reluctantly accepted by few Muslims who worked in
both Muslim and Western worlds. Names mentioned here are people like Shaykh
Rahmatullah al-Hindi, Muhammad Abu Zahrah., Isma’il Raji Faruqi, Hassan Zaza,
S. Hussein Nasr, etc. The categorization given later in this paper gives an
idea of non possibility of putting all Muslim efforts in this area as
condemnable, inexperienced or unscientific. As said earlier this is not the focus
of this paper. It may require another effort to do that.
However,
it is pertinent here to bring to light the different typologies of Muslim
intellectual contribution to the religious heritage of mankind. Broadly
speaking, we can group them under three general categories known today in the
modern scientific study of religion. The three categories are namely:
Apologetic, Polemical and Objective-Descriptive or Scientific study of
religion.
Apologetic Writings
Under
this group, we have scholars like Abu al-Hassan al-'Amiri (d.381 A.H.) and Qadi
Abd al-Jabbar (d.415 A.H.) in their works, which are aimed at extolling the
virtues of Islam, its message and the Prophet who brought it. Other religions
are shown in their scriptures, religious beliefs and practices to be inadequate
in providing complete guidance and true success for man both in this life and
the life to come. Al-'Amiri for example, compared Islam with five other
religions. He arrived at the conclusion that, it is the best of them and it
deserved the right to abrogate all the rest. A considerable part of Muslim
works on religion is of this kind. The many writings of Muslim converts as well
as born-Muslims on the prophecies foretelling the advent of Muhammad and Islam
fall under this group. Virtues of Islam over other religions and of the Qur'an
above earlier revealed scriptures and of Prophet Muhammad as a true messenger
of God are presented and in most cases, they are established by means of very
strong rational arguments. This may be seen today as an aspect of Philosophy of
Religion as a discipline.
Polemical Works
As Islam
from its inception had a lot to say on other traditions, and these religions
especially Judaism and Christianity showed reluctance and in most cases open
enmity and outright rejection of what Islam categorically declared on them.
That led to a lot of controversies and theological exchanges between them. Many
themes were discussed and positions contrary to the opponents were taken.
Issues like abrogation of the law, concept of God, prophecies on the advent
Prophet Muhammad and Islam, divinity of Jesus and the Trinity, crucifixion of
Prophet 'Isa (peace be upon him), the human and divine natures in him, etc.
were hotly debated by Muslims on the one hand and the People of the Book on the
other. A number of these issues were recorded in the Qur'an itself as well as
in the Sunnah (traditions of the Prophet). And after the wonderful spread of
the last ring of the long chain of Prophetic religion, the followers of many
religions, especially the scholars saw Islam as a serious threat to their very
existence. As a consequence of that, offensives and counter-offensives were
launched against each other.
Example
of two scholars who contributed in this kind of study were Al-Jahiz (d. 255
A.H.) and Ibn Hazm (d. 456 A.H.). Both of them possessed a good knowledge of
other traditions, but were more interested in refuting whatever they found in
other religions not in line with Islam and the Qur'an. Many Muslim scholars works
under this group were written in response to works by either Jewish or
Christian theologians.
Objective-Descriptive
(Scientific) Works
The third
kind of Muslim writings on religion is what we call 'objective-descriptive' or
scientific works. As was said earlier, it will be gross injustice to deny the
fact that not all what the Muslims wrote in this field can safely be called
theological, while other works by other writers not up to their standard of
scholarship are viewed as 'scientific'. In this group of works, we see Muslim
scholars usually study the history of the religions of the world, describing
their beliefs and rituals objectively, affect their understanding of other
traditions.
This kind
of approach to other religions, usually frowned at by some Muslims scholars due
to the belief of the latter that one must not relate ideas not in line with the
truth and refrain from refuting them. It is evident that the modern academic
discipline of Comparative Religion was viewed as 'comparative theology' by the
one believed to be its founder in the West, (F. Max Muller).
Scholars like
Abu al-Rayhan al-Biruni (d. 440\442 A.H.), one of the well-known Muslim
scientists of the Middle Ages. His two main works, 'Tahqiq Ma Li al-Hind…', and
'Al-Athar al-Baqiyah…' Al-Biruni as will be seen below, studied the Indian
religious tradition as well as other traditions in an impassionate and
objective manner. He distanced himself from passing judgment on other religions
and declared that he intends to present these religions as believed by their
adherents. He has been hailed by both Western and Indian scholars on his
success in implementing his method.
Similarly,
Al-Shahristani studied all the known religions of his time describing their
beliefs and practices objectively. Modern scholarship should search for the
real origins of the science of religion in such kind of works.
Muslims and Comparative Religion
There are indications today in some Muslim quarters that the study of
other religions goes contrary to the teachings of Islam. What is usually said
is that since Allah says: “Surely, the religion in the sight of Allah is Islam”[37],
then that truth must not be compared with any other thing. But if we reflect a
bit on this issue, we will notice that Allah drew the attention of the
unbelievers of Mecca at the time of the revelation of the Qur’an, by means of
comparing his Exalted Self with the other Lords and gods they worship with or
without Him. Allah mentions on the tongue of Prophet Yusuf (peace be upon him):
O! My two fellow-prisoners! Are diverse Lords better, or Allah the one, the
Almighty? [38]
In another Surah Allah coins a similitude of the diverse lords
worshipped by man and Himself in a comparative manner. He says:
Allah coins a
similitude: A man in relation to who are several part- owners, quarrelling, and
a man belonging wholly to one man. Are the two equal in similitude? Praise be
to Allah! But most of them know not![39]
A man
with several part owners is the one who worships many gods with an unsettled
mind, all his energy is being expended in trying to please quarreling and
competing gods. While the other man belongs wholly to one God, he directs all
his efforts and worship, hope, trust, etc, to only one God, the Almighty Lord
of all. In another Surah Allah asks: ‘‘... Is Allah best, or (all) that you
ascribe as partners (into Him)?’’[40]
In the
Sunnah, there are many authentic Ahadith on the Children of Israel or the Jews
and Christians. In one of them, the Messenger of Allah is advising the Muslims
not to believe the People of the Book or to disbelieve them.[41]
So also we find the issue or the denial of the Jews that there is a verse in
the Torah on stoning to death the adulterer and adulteress.[42]
These and many similar statements abound in the authentic Sunnah of the
Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). This can serve as a very useful
material on the understanding of the Jewish religious beliefs and practices at
the time of the advent of Islam.
Conclusion
From the
preceding pages, we have seen the new field of Comparative Religion and how
Muslim scholarship contributed immensely towards its inception and development.
That was due partly to the Glorious Qur’an, the Sunnah and indefatigable
efforts of the Muslims of different persuasions. Both the modern Western
students of religion and the followers of the religion they wrote on have
acclaimed the writings of some of these Muslim scholars. The Glorous Qur’an
remains the main instructor and guide of the Muslims in their study of and
comparison of religions. The Muslims learn from the Qur’an its objective as
well as critical study of religion, which shows in the end how inconsistent are
the beliefs and practices of those mentioned with the divine revelation through
the ages!
References
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‘Alberuni’s India’ in Islamic Culture. Vol. 1, No. 1
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[1] Daraz, M.A. (1970) Al-Din.
Kuwait: Dar al-Qalam, p.21).
[2]
Wiebe, D. Religion and Truth. The Hague: Mouton, 1981, p.47 and Allen,
D. Structure and Creativity in Reliigion. The Hague: Mouton, 1978 , p.3.
[3] Kitagawa, J.M.,(Ed.) The History
of Religions Retrospect and Prospect. New York: Macmillan, 1986, pp.32-33.
[4]
Sharpe, E. J. Comparative Religion A History. New York: Charles
Scribner’s, 1975, p.269.
[5]
Plavoet, J.G. Comparing Religions A Limitative Approach. The Hague:
Mouton, 1982 p.3.
[6] Smart, (1986) pp.131-132, 196-199,
212-213; Waardenberg, (1973) p. 475; Wach, (1988) p. xix).
[7] Parrinder, G., (1962) Comparative
Religion. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1962, p. 11.
[8]
Jordan, L. H. (1905) Comparative Religion Its Genesis and Growth. Edinburgh:
T&T Clarke, 1905, p.63.
[9] Sharpe, op. cit., pp. xiii-xiv,
p.1.
[10] Sharpe, ibid., p.282.
[11] Kitagawa, op. cit., pp. 7-19
[12] Smart,
N., Concept and Empathy. London: Macmillan, 1986, p. 213).
[13] Qur’an, Surah al-Nahl: 44
[14] Qur’an , Surah alAlaq : 1-5.
[15] Smart, (art), op. cit. vol.26, p.
615 and Kitagawa, op. cit., p.125.
[16] Smart, ibid., p. 615.
[17] Sharpe, op. cit. p. 11
[18] Qur’an, Surah al-Shura: 13; Nahl:
36; Fatir: 24; Yunus: 47; Ra’ad: 7.
[19]
Qur’an, Surah al-Nahl: 36.
[20] Surah al-Anbiya: 25.
[21] Surah al-Baqarah: 213; Al- Anbiya:
92; Al-Muminun: 52.
[22] Surah al-Baqarah: 75, 79; Al
Imran: 78; Al-Maidah: 13-14.
[23] Surah al-Maidah: 15, 19, 44, 46.
[24] Surah al-Zumar: 3; Yusuf: 37-40.
[25] Surah al-Nisa: 157-159.
[26] Surah al-Ma'idah: 72-77,
[27]
Copleston, F.C. (n.d.) A History of Medieval Philosophy. London: Muthuen
pp. 1-3
[28] Kitagawa (1985) p. 125.
[29] ‘The New Encyclopedia Britannica’ (1973-1974 ed.
Vol. 15, p. 615),
[30] Daraz, op.cit., p.21.
[31] Schimmel,
A., (1980) Islam in the Indian Subcontinent. Leiden: E. J. Brill
[32] Ali,
Ali, A.Y (art). ‘Alberuni’s India’ in Islamic Culture. Vol. 1, No. 1,
1927.
[33] Sharpe, op. cit.
[34] Iran
Society, Al-Biruni Commemorative Volume. Calcutta: Iran Society,
1951, pp.125-136.
[35] Ibid.
[36]
Himayah, M.A. Ibn Hazm’s Approach to the Study of Religion. Cairo: Dar
al-Ma’arif, 1983.
[37] Qur’an, Surah Al Imran: 19.
[38] Surah Yusuf: 39.
[39] Surah Zumar: 29.
[40] Surah al-Naml: 59.
[41] Bukhari: Hadith no. 4125.
[42] Bukhari: Hadith no.3363.
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