An Analysis of al-Kindi and John of Damascus’s Argument and Allegation of the Inconcistencies in the Qur’an
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Published:
Oct 30, 2020
Keywords:
‘Abd al-Masīh al-Kindī; John of Damascus; Qur’an; inconsistency.
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Abstract
The study aims to analyse ‘Abd al-Masīh al-Kindi’s (9th century) and John of Damascus’s (7th century) argumentation on the alleged inconsistencies in the Qur’an. The study is a qualitative study employing textual analysis method. It analyses William Muir’s translation of al-Kindi’s apology to ‘Abd Allah al-Hāshimī which was written in the court of al-Ma’mūn and John of Damascus’s writings on Islam in The Heresy of Ishmaelites which was compiled in the The Fount of Knowledge. The study investigates the alleged inconsistencies in the Qur’an which were addressed by the two scholars. The study concludes that alleged inconsistencies in the Qur’an stands as the one of the major arguments for early critics of the Qur’an among Christian apologetics. They cited the assumed contradictory verses in the Qur’an and present them in a polemical manner with the intention to vilify the foundation of Islam.
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Musa, M. A., Azmi, A. S., & Mohamed Yusoff, A. (2020). An Analysis of al-Kindi and John of Damascus’s Argument and Allegation of the Inconcistencies in the Qur’an. Afkar: Jurnal Akidah Dan Pemikiran Islam, 133–156. Retrieved from https://mjlis.um.edu.my/index.php/afkar/article/view/26909
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References
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Al-Alūsi, Shihāb al-Dīn Mahmūd bin ‘Abd Allah. Rūh al-Ma‘āni fi Tafsīr al-Qur’ān al-‘Aẓīm wa al-Sab‘u al-Mathānī edited by ‘Ali Abd al-Bari ‘Atiyyah. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah, 1414H.
Azmi, Ahmad Sanusi, "The Development of Dalail Nubuwwa Literature: An Emblem of Interreligious Dialogue in Early Islam," The Social Sciences 13 (2018): 1072-1078.
Al-Baghawi, Muhammad al-Husayn. Ma'ālim al-Tanzīl fī Tafsīr al-Quran. Riyadh: Dar Tayyibah, 1997.
Al-Bayhaqi, Ahmad bin al-Husayn. Dalāil al-Nubuwwah. Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyyah, 1984.
Beaumont, Mark Ivor, "Early Christian Interpretation of the Quran," Transformation 22(4) (2005): 195-203.
Al-Wāhidī, ‘Ali bin Ahmad. Asbāb Nuzūl. Dammam: Dar al-Islah, 1992.
John of Damascus, The Fount of Knowledge: An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, trans, G. N. Warwick, 40, https://www.academia.edu/7842905/The_Fount_of_Knowledge_by_Saint_John_Damascene.
Griffith, Sydney H., "The Quran in Arab Christian Text, The Development of an Apologetical Argument. Abu Qurrah in the Maglis of al-Ma'mun," Journal Parole de L' Orient 24 (1999): 203-233.
‘Itr, Hasan Diyā al-Dīn. Nubuwwah Muhammad fi al-Qur'ān. Halab, Syria: Dar al-Nasr, 1973.
Janosik, Daniel J. John of Damascus, First Apologist to the Muslims. The Trinity and Christian Apologetics in the Early Islamic Period. Oregon: Pickwick Publication, 2016.
Koningsveld, P. S Van. "The Apology of al-Kindi." In Religious Polemics in Context. Leiden: Royal Van Gorcum. 2000: 69-92.
Mawsu‘āh Bayān al-Islām fi al-Radd ‘āla al-Iftirāt wa al-Shubahāt. Egypt: Dar al-Nahḍah, 2012.
Muir, William. The Apology of Al Kindy, Written at the Court of Al Mâmûn (Circa A.H. 215; A.D. 830), in Defence of Christianity Against Islam. With an Essay on its Age and Authorship Read Before the Royal Asiatic Society. London: Society For Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1887.
Al-Qadi ‘Abd al-Jabbār, Ahmad bin Abd al-Jabbār. Tathbīt Dalāil al-Nubuwwah. Cairo: Dar al-Mustafa, n.d.
Rhodes, D. Bryan. John Damascene In Context: An Examination of “The Heresy of The Ishmaelites” With Special Consideration Given to The Religious, Polictical, and Social Contexts During The Seventh and Eight Century Arab Conquests. Virginia: Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary, 2005.
Sahas, Daniel J. John of Damascus on Islam. Canada: Leiden E. J Brill, 1972.
Al-Saqqar, Munqiz bin Mahmud. Tanzīh al-Qur'ān ‘an Da‘āwa al-Mubtilin. Riyadh: Muslim World League, 2012.
Al-Ṭabarī, Muhammad bin Jarīr. Jāmi‘ al-Bayān fī Ta'wīl al-Qur'ān. Damascus: al-Risalah Foundation, 2000.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica ed. Encyclopedia Britannica, accessed 2 May, 2019. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-John-of-Damascus.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica ed. "Saint John of Damascus," Encyclopedia Britannica, accessed Dec 3, 2019. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-John-of-Damascus.
‘Ulwan, ‘Abd Allah Nasih. Hurriyyah al-I‘tiqād fi al-Sharī‘ah al-Islamiyyah. Egypt: Dar al-Salam, 2004.
Zayd, Mustafa. Al-Naskh fi al-Qur’an. Cairo: Dar al-Wafa,1987.