Quran might predate Muhammad?

[T-Shirt Ninja]

Take a look at this!


This has major implications if it predates Muhammad or if it's contemporary with his life. If it predates, then it contradicts his story that the verses originated with his meeting the angel Gabriel and getting them from him. That would indicate that the Quran is an old Christian heresy that Muhammad adopted and used for his political and theological gain. If it's contemporary with him, then it contradicts the claim that the verses were memorized and written down after his life. I think the article sums it well by saying

Historian Tom Holland, told the Times: 'It destabilises, to put it mildly, the idea that we can know anything with certainty about how the Koran emerged - and that in turn has implications for the history of Muhammad and the Companions.'

[rogue06]

[Cerebrum123]

I wonder how Muslims and Bahai' will take this if it turns out to be older than Mohammed.

[Cow Poke]

Interesting.

[One Bad Pig]

Could be, but it's possible that the parchment just wasn't used immediately.

In any case, Islam has never been particularly interested in studying ancient copies of the Koran, since it is an article of faith that it hasn't changed.

[Catholicity]

It would also lend credence to the Idea that Mohammed may have been a composite of several people according to many scholars.

[rogue06]

Could be, but it's possible that the parchment just wasn't used immediately.

In any case, Islam has never been particularly interested in studying ancient copies of the Koran, since it is an article of faith that it hasn't changed.

(Itqan^[1]Al-Muhallaal-Kash-Shaf.

The ItqanItqanAl-MuhallaAl-Kashshaaf1.

[Cow Poke]

(Itqan^[1]Al-Muhallaal-Kash-Shaf.

The ItqanItqanAl-MuhallaAl-Kashshaaf1.

This sounds strangely similar to stuff in the Mormon forum.

[robrecht]

I don't know much about Islam or the Koran, but it seems to me that parts of it can be understood as originating in creative midrash upon the Hebrew scriptures.

[Jesse]

Chris White has done a very good study on Islamic eschatology. Where he expresses the same idea that the Hadiths that talk about end time events are lifted directly from The Bible and Christian heretical (gnostic) books:

So it wouldn't be surprising that the Quran would also have the same content.

[shunyadragon]

Take a look at this!


This has major implications if it predates Muhammad or if it's contemporary with his life. If it predates, then it contradicts his story that the verses originated with his meeting the angel Gabriel and getting them from him. That would indicate that the Quran is an old Christian heresy that Muhammad adopted and used for his political and theological gain. If it's contemporary with him, then it contradicts the claim that the verses were memorized and written down after his life. I think the article sums it well by saying

Historian Tom Holland, told the Times: 'It destabilises, to put it mildly, the idea that we can know anything with certainty about how the Koran emerged - and that in turn has implications for the history of Muhammad and the Companions.'

Need more information and references.

Rougoe06 gave some reasonable historical references concerning the Quran. The Baha'is have no problem with an evolved text of Holy Books as also is evidenced concerning the evolved history of the OT and NT.

[shunyadragon]

This sounds strangely similar to stuff in the Mormon forum.

This sounds strangely familiar with the history of the Old Testament and the New Testament.

[shunyadragon]

As far as I can Tom Holland has not come up with anything new concerning the history of the Quran. Yes the Quran has its roots in the Jewish Torah.

[siam]

Revisionist History has/had 2 theories about the Quran---1) that it predates Prophet Muhammed 2) that it postdates Prophet Muhammed.
Both are pinned on the assumption that there is not enough historical evidence to substantiate the generally accepted narrative....
The point of intersection between these types of revisionist narratives and the Islamic one is that all agree that the Prophet Muhammed is not the "author" of the Quran.
In the case of the Muslim narrative, the claim is based on comparison of the literary styles of the the Quran with the constitution of Medina and the various letters and peace treaties that the Prophet dictated.

As far as Muslims are concerned there is not enough evidence to support either of the 2 revisionist theories and with the new evidence, theory 2 is dead. Theory 1 is almost dead as well...unless the revisionist historians can come up with a plausible excuse why some events that happened IN the lifetime of the Prophet are alluded to in the Quran BEFORE they actually happened.....

So far...the traditional narrative is the one that makes the most historical sense. The Western narrative generally leans towards the Prophet as the "author" (for lack of any other figure as the possible candidate) whereas Muslims claim he isn't....

Literary analysis of the Quran is a recent field of research for Western scholars (though Muslim scholars have done the work already since the 9th century). This analysis shows that the Quran is the work of a single "author"/style, that it has consistency and coherence in the use of various literary devices and styles.....

[siam]

Islam as a religion(way of life) has evolved/developed over time---though this development is unrelated to the issue of whether the Quran has remained unchanged or not....