Before Orthodoxy: The Satanic Verses In Early Islam
by Shahab Ahmed /
2017 / English / PDF
33.8 MB Download
One of the most controversial episodes in the life of the Prophet
Muhammad concerns an incident in which he allegedly mistook words
suggested by Satan as divine revelation. Known as the Satanic
verses, these praises to the pagan deities contradict the Islamic
belief that Allah is one and absolute. Muslims today―of all
sects―deny that the incident of the Satanic verses took place.
But as Shahab Ahmed explains, Muslims did not always hold this
view.
One of the most controversial episodes in the life of the Prophet
Muhammad concerns an incident in which he allegedly mistook words
suggested by Satan as divine revelation. Known as the Satanic
verses, these praises to the pagan deities contradict the Islamic
belief that Allah is one and absolute. Muslims today―of all
sects―deny that the incident of the Satanic verses took place.
But as Shahab Ahmed explains, Muslims did not always hold this
view.Before Orthodoxy
Before Orthodoxy wrestles with the question of how
religions establish truth―especially religions such as Islam that
lack a centralized authority to codify beliefs. Taking the now
universally rejected incident of the Satanic verses as a case
study in the formation of Islamic orthodoxy, Ahmed shows that
early Muslims, circa 632 to 800 CE, held the exact opposite
belief. For them, the Satanic verses were an established fact in
the history of the Prophet. Ahmed offers a detailed account of
the attitudes of Muslims to the Satanic verses in the first two
centuries of Islam and traces the chains of transmission in the
historical reports known as
wrestles with the question of how
religions establish truth―especially religions such as Islam that
lack a centralized authority to codify beliefs. Taking the now
universally rejected incident of the Satanic verses as a case
study in the formation of Islamic orthodoxy, Ahmed shows that
early Muslims, circa 632 to 800 CE, held the exact opposite
belief. For them, the Satanic verses were an established fact in
the history of the Prophet. Ahmed offers a detailed account of
the attitudes of Muslims to the Satanic verses in the first two
centuries of Islam and traces the chains of transmission in the
historical reports known asriwāyah
riwāyah.
.
Touching directly on the nature of Muhammad’s prophetic visions,
the interpretation of the Satanic verses incident is a question
of profound importance in Islam, one that plays a role in
defining the limits of what Muslims may legitimately say and
do―issues crucial to understanding the contemporary Islamic
world.
Touching directly on the nature of Muhammad’s prophetic visions,
the interpretation of the Satanic verses incident is a question
of profound importance in Islam, one that plays a role in
defining the limits of what Muslims may legitimately say and
do―issues crucial to understanding the contemporary Islamic
world.