robert spencer-did muhammad exist__ an inquiry into islams obscure origins-intercollegiate studies institute (2012) (1)

Luxenberg states that if Qur'an “really means lectionary, then one can assume that the Koran intended
itself first of all to be understood as nothing more than a liturgical book with selected texts from the
Scriptures (the Old and New Testament) and not at all as a substitute for the Scriptures themselves, i.e. as
an independent Scripture.” 14
But what, then, of passages in which the Qur'an seems to refer to itself as exactly that, an independent
scripture? Consider, for example, Qur'an 12:1–2, which Abdullah Yusuf Ali renders this way: “These are
the symbols (or Verses) of the perspicuous Book. We have sent it down as an Arabic Qur'an, in order that
ye may learn wisdom.” Referring to Syriac to elucidate the Arabic, Luxenberg translates the passage in
this way: “This is the written copy of the elucidated Scripture: We have sent it down as an Arabic
lectionary so that you may understand it.” 15
Luxenberg explains the implications: “It is thus not surprising that Jesus (Isa) is cited 25 times in the
Koran and that he is there referred to as the Messiah (al-Masih) eleven times. Thus it is only logical to
see other Syro-Christian passages being a part of this foundation which constitutes the origin of the
Koran.” 16
Luxenberg is among the scholars who have pioneered the critical examination of the rasm—that is, the
basic form of the Qur'anic text without diacritical marks. Because diacritical marks are not found in the
earliest Qur'an manuscripts, these scholars posit that the Qur'an originally had a meaning quite different
from that of the now-standard Arabic text. Luxenberg notes that many of the Qur'an's linguistic
peculiarities vanish when one strips out the Arabic diacritical marks, which were added later, and reads
the book as a Syriac document. He even contends that Syriac was the original language of the Arab
conquerors; although other scholars dispute this claim, it is plausible given that Syriac was the chief
literary language of the Middle East from the fourth to the eighth centuries.
By referring to the Syriac and examining the rasm, Luxenberg solves the difficulties of a passage that
has perplexed readers of the Qur'an for centuries. Just as Mary gives birth to Jesus in the Qur'anic
account, there is this: “Then (one) cried unto her from below her, saying: Grieve not! Thy Lord hath
placed a rivulet beneath thee” (19:24). It is unclear from the text who is speaking (the newborn Jesus or
someone else?) and what the nature of this rivulet is. Luxenberg, however, finds that this passage has
nothing to do with rivulets. Rather, it refers to Mary's delivering a Virgin Birth. In Luxenberg's
philological reconstruction, the infant Jesus (who speaks elsewhere in the Qur'an) tells Mary: “Do not be
sad, your Lord has made your delivery legitimate.” 17
Raisins, Not Virgins
Luxenberg's investigations won international attention for his reinterpretation of Qur'anic passages
referring to the virgins of Paradise (44:51–57, 52:17–24, 56:27–40). These passages are among the most
famous in the entire Qur'an, promising “perfect…spotless virgins, chastely amorous” (56:35–37) to the
inhabitants of Paradise. Most notably, after the 9/11 terrorist attacks many news stories focused on the
Qur'anic promise of virgins in Paradise as the reward for Islamic martyrs.