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

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Allah [is] great in greatness and great is His Will and prayer / praise to Allah morning, evening and a long night. Allah! Lord of Gabriel and Michael and Asrafil, forgive Tabit bin Yazid al-Asari [i.e., from Ashar] his earlier transgression and his later one and him who says aloud, Amen, Lord of Creation and this document (kitab) was inscribed in Sawal of the year 64. 23 Sawal is the tenth month of the Islamic calendar, as well as of the pre-Islamic lunar calendar that the pagan Arabs used. Gabriel, Michael, and Asrafil are angels in the biblical tradition; it is extremely odd, if Tabit bin Yazid al-Asari was a Muslim who revered Muhammad as the last and greatest prophet, that he invoked Allah as the Lord of these angels rather than in some more conventionally Islamic manner. Likewise it is unlikely that Tabit bin Yazid al-Asari could have been a Christian or a Jew, for the same reason: Invoking God as Lord of the angels was not a common practice for either. After all, other inscriptions from roughly the same period invoke Allah as the “Lord of Musa and Isa,” that is, Moses and Jesus—but not, once again, Muhammad. 24 This kind of inscription may, however, have been more common among those who considered themselves to be monotheists with a kinship to Jews and Christians but nonetheless distinct from them. This would fit in with what we have seen of Muawiya's Abrahamic but apparently creedally vague monotheism. Muawiya objected to the divinity of Christ but was apparently not hostile enough to Christianity to forbid the cross altogether, as Islam ultimately did. No surviving inscription indicates that he was aware of Muhammad or Islam, but he does mention Abraham and thus seems to have some knowledge of the founding figures of the Hebrew scriptures. Tabit bin Yazid al-Asari, who apparently lived in Muawiya's domains during his reign, could have been one who subscribed to precisely this religious perspective—indeed, it may have been an imperative for subjects of the new Arab domains. If the explanation for the cross on the Gadara inscription is lost in the mists of history, it is reasonable to surmise that Islamic strictures against the cross and Christianity were ignored because those strictures did not yet exist, at least in their present form. Coins that appear to depict Muawiya's successor, Yazid I (680–683), also feature a cross. 25 It is even possible, given these coins and the official nature of the Gadara inscription, that Muawiya and Yazid thought of themselves in some way as Christian rulers. They would have been exponents not of any form of Christianity that survives today but rather of a faith that encompassed Christianity and was not incompatible with some form of it. A clue as to the nature of the Christianity to which Muawiya, Yazid, and many of their subjects may have adhered can be found in the inscriptions inside the Dome of the Rock, the imposing mosque that was constructed late in the seventh century on Jerusalem's Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism and holy for Christians as well. 26 The Dome of the Rock: The First Exposition of Islamic Theology?
Traditionally the Dome of the Rock has been understood as a manifestation of the triumph and superiority of Islam. Completed in 691, eleven years after the death of Muawiya, on the order of the caliph Abd al- Malik (685–705), the mosque contains inscriptions that appear to be taken directly from the Qur'an, although not in any orderly fashion. Here is the text of the inscription on the southeast portion of the octagonal arcade within the Dome of the Rock. The translator, Estelle Whelan, has added in brackets material indicating where various portions of the inscription appear (and do not appear) in the Qur'an: “In the name of God, the Merciful the Compassionate. There is no god but God. He is One. He has no associate” [this is the beginning of the shahada]. “Unto Him belongeth sovereignty and unto Him belongeth praise. He quickeneth and He giveth death; and He is Able to do all things” [a conflation of 64:1 and 57:2]. “Muhammad is the servant of God and His messenger” [variant completion of the shahada]. “Lo! God and His angels shower blessings on the Prophet. O ye who believe! Ask blessings on him and salute him with a worthy salutation” [33:56 complete]. “The blessing of God be on him and peace be on him, and may God have mercy” [blessing, not in the Qur'anic text]. “O, People of the Book! Do not exaggerate in your religion (dini-kum) nor utter aught concerning God save the truth. The Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, was only a messenger of God, and His Word which He conveyed unto Mary, and a spirit from Him. So believe in God and His messengers, and say not ‘Three’—Cease! (it is) better for you!—God is only One God. Far be it removed from His transcendent majesty that He should have a son. His is all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth. And God is sufficient as Defender. The Messiah will never scorn to be a servant unto God, nor will the favoured angels. Whoso scorneth His service and is proud, all such will He assemble unto Him” [4:171–72 complete]. “Oh God, bless Your messenger and Your servant Jesus son of Mary” (interjection introducing the following passage). “Peace be on him the day he was born, and the day he dies, and the day he shall be raised alive!” [19:33 complete, with change from first to third person]. “Such was Jesus, son of Mary, (this is) a statement of the truth concerning which they doubt. It befitteth not (the Majesty of) God that He should take unto Himself a son. Glory be to Him! When He decreeth a thing, He saith unto it only: Be! and it is” [19:34–35 complete]. Lo! God is my Lord and your Lord. So serve Him. That is the right path” [19:36 complete, except for initial “and”]. “God (Himself) is witness that there is no God save Him. And the angels and the men of learning (too are witness). Maintaining His creation in justice, there is no God save Him, the Almighty, the Wise. Lo! religion with God (is) The Surrender (to His will and guidance). Those who (formerly) received the Book differed only after knowledge came unto them, through transgression among themselves. Whoso disbelieveth the revelations of God (will find that) lo! God is swift at reckoning” [3:18–19 complete]. Another Dome of the Rock inscription, on the outer portion of the arcade, reads this way: “In the name of God, the Merciful the Compassionate. There is no god but God. He is One. He has no associate” [beginning of the shahada]. “Say: He is God, the One! God, the eternally Besought of all! He begetteth not nor was begotten. And there is none comparable unto Him” [112 complete except for the introductory basmala]. “Muhammad is the Messenger of God” [completion of the shahada], “the blessing of God be on him” [blessing]. “In the name of God, the Merciful the Compassionate. There is no god but God. He is One. He has no associate. Muhammad is the Messenger of God” [shahada, complete]. “Lo! God and His angels shower blessings on the Prophet. O ye who believe! Ask blessings on him and salute him with a worthy salutation” [33:56 complete]. “In the name of God, the Merciful the Compassionate. There is no god but God. He is One” [beginning of the shahada]. “Praise be to God, Who hath not taken unto Himself a son, and Who hath no partner in the Sovereignty, nor hath He any protecting friend through dependence. And magnify Him with all magnificence” [17:111 complete except for the initial “And say”]. “Muhammad is the Messenger of God” [completion of the shahada], “the blessing of God be on him and the angels and His prophets, and peace be on him, and may God have mercy” [blessing]. “In the name of God, the Merciful the Compassionate. There is no god but God. He is One. He has no associate” [beginning of the shahada]. “Unto Him belongeth sovereignty and unto Him belongeth praise. He quickeneth and He giveth death; and He is Able to do all things” [conflation of 64:1 and 57:2]. “Muhammad is the Messenger of God” [completion of the shahada], “the blessing of God be on him. May He accept his intercession on the Day of Judgment on behalf of his people” [blessing and prayer]. “In the name of God, the Merciful the Compassionate. There is no god but God. He is One. He has no associate. Muhammad is the Messenger of God” [the shahada complete], “the blessing of God be on him” [blessing]. “The servant of God Abd [Allah the Imam al-Ma'mun, Commander] of the Faithful, built this dome in the year two and seventy. May God accept from him and be content with him. Amen, Lord of the worlds, praise be to God” [foundation notice]. 27
Page 2 and 3: DID MUHAMMAD EXIST? An Inquiry into
Page 4 and 5: Dedicated to all those who do not f
Page 6 and 7: Contents Foreword by Johannes J. G.
Page 8 and 9: scholars will not be interested in
Page 10 and 11: 650s-660s: Arabian conquest of Nort
Page 12 and 13: Muhammad and His Family, According
Page 14 and 15: Introduction
Page 16 and 17: historicity of Muhammad. Although t
Page 18 and 19: No one knows, for it has never rece
Page 20 and 21: Some of the bold scholars who have
Page 22 and 23: Influenced by this, the historians
Page 24 and 25: 1
Page 26 and 27: ut this could apply to any of the Q
Page 28 and 29: Was That Muhammad? In light of all
Page 30 and 31: leader as the “devil.” It is un
Page 32 and 33: them, reprimand them, warn them, an
Page 34 and 35: was not even able to save himself f
Page 36 and 37: of polemical hyperbole or using a t
Page 38 and 39: 2
Page 40 and 41: encountering some mention of Islam,
Page 42 and 43: The first biographer of Muhammad, I
Page 46 and 47: This Qur'anic material is the earli
Page 48 and 49: that orthodox theologians produced
Page 50 and 51: Arabic language, he was eloquent an
Page 52 and 53: 3
Page 54 and 55: The same can be said of an explanat
Page 56 and 57: “anyone who establishes in Islam
Page 58 and 59: But with Muhammad held up as an exe
Page 60 and 61: When Ibn Umar says that yes, he did
Page 62 and 63: these are known as as-Sahih as-Sitt
Page 64 and 65: was self-contradictory or absurd on
Page 66 and 67: latter's “godlessness and opposit
Page 68 and 69: Switching On the Full Light of Hist
Page 70 and 71: Ibn Ishaq's Reliability So are thes
Page 72 and 73: Muhammad's virtues, or a combinatio
Page 74 and 75: Jansen administers the coup de grâ
Page 76 and 77: Central to Islam, therefore, is the
Page 78 and 79: (Nor, for that matter, do Muslim hi
Page 80 and 81: 5
Page 82 and 83: The problem with the third option i
Page 84 and 85: years of age. 6 The earliest Islami
Page 86 and 87: elationship, the Qur'an also has Ma
Page 88 and 89: einforced the point that Muhammad h
Page 90 and 91: “worked on Allah's Apostle so tha
Page 92 and 93: The Unchanging Qur'an Changes The Q
Page 94 and 95:
during the eighth and ninth centuri
Page 96 and 97:
did not worry over such matters, wh
Page 98 and 99:
Rajam be inflicted on him who commi
Page 100 and 101:
telling indications that it has bee
Page 102 and 103:
ut suddenly verses 238 and 239 inte
Page 104 and 105:
The Non-Arabic Arabic Qur'an A Book
Page 106 and 107:
“We know indeed that they say,
Page 108 and 109:
Puin explains: “The Koran claims
Page 110 and 111:
a person dies, his Book (of deeds)
Page 112 and 113:
The Syriac influence is not restric
Page 114 and 115:
To provide the new religion with it
Page 116 and 117:
What the Qur'an May Have Been A Clu
Page 118 and 119:
An Islamic scholar writing late in
Page 120 and 121:
Luxenberg states that if Qur'an “
Page 122 and 123:
symbolism of the wine of Paradise.
Page 124 and 125:
Syriac connection, has revealed—c
Page 126 and 127:
unbelievers, may say, “What did G
Page 128 and 129:
gods except the Creator of all, nor
Page 130 and 131:
in Paradise reserved exclusively fo
Page 132 and 133:
9
Page 134 and 135:
who have been true in their covenan
Page 136 and 137:
for them to brandish. Nor is it eve
Page 138 and 139:
The First Mention of the Qur'an If
Page 140 and 141:
Uthman approved did not survive, ev
Page 142 and 143:
10
Page 144 and 145:
years after its birth, Islam has re
Page 146 and 147:
The realm of political theology, th
Page 148 and 149:
The real proliferation of material
Page 150 and 151:
from long after the time he is supp
Page 152 and 153:
Notes Introduction: The Full Light
Page 154 and 155:
34 Ibid., 63-64 (= Patrologia Greca
Page 156 and 157:
6 Al-Qastellani, X, 342 (quoted in
Page 158 and 159:
7 Arthur Jeffery, “The Quest of t
Page 160 and 161:
Chapter 6: The Unchanging Qur'an Ch
Page 162 and 163:
29 Ibn Kathir, Tafsir Ibn Kathir, v
Page 164 and 165:
49 Nevo and Koren, Crossroads to Is
Page 167 and 168:
Further Reading There is a great de
Page 169 and 170:
Acknowledgments I could not have wr
Page 171 and 172:
Muhammad and, 2, 7, 24-28, 41, 48,
Page 173 and 174:
Encyclopedia Britannica, 1 Ephraem
Page 175 and 176:
Islamic calendar, 48-49, 204 Islami
Page 177 and 178:
Mufid, Sheikh al-, 81 Mughira, al-,
Page 179 and 180:
Rosenthal, Franz, 154 Ruqayya (daug
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