In Interpreting the Qurʾān with the Bible, R. Michael McCoy III brings together two lesser known yet accomplished commentators on the Qurʾān and the Bible: the muʿtabir Abū al-Ḥakam ʿAbd al-Salām b. al-Išbīlī (d. 536/1141), referred to as Ibn Barraǧān, and qāriʾ al-qurrāʾ Ibrāhīm b. ʿUmar b. Ḥasan al-Biqāʿī (d. 885/1480). In this comparative study, comprised of manuscript analysis and theological exegesis, a robust hermeneutic emerges that shows how Ibn Barraǧān’s method of naẓm al-qurʾān and al-Biqāʿī’s theory of ʿilm munāsabāt al-qurʾān motivates their reading and interpretation of the Arabic Bible. The similarities in their quranic hermeneutics and approach to the biblical text are astounding as each author crossed established boundaries and pushed the acceptable limits of handling the Bible in their day.
Author(s): R. Michael McCoy III
Series: Biblia Arabica, 7
Publisher: Brill
Year: 2021
Language: English
Pages: 275
City: Leiden
7
7 Interpreting the Qurʾān with the Bible (Tafsīr al-Qurʾān bi-l-Kitāb) Reading the Arabic Bible in the Tafsīrs of Ibn Barraǧān and al-Biqāʿī
Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Chapter 1 Introduction
1 Methodology
2 Reading Someone Else’s Kitāb
3 Ibn Barraǧān: Life and Career
3.1 Ibn Barraǧān: The Muʿtabir Par Excellence
3.2 Ibn Barraǧān’s Biblical Engagement in His Historical and Cultural Context
4 Al-Biqāʿī: Life and Career
4.1 Al-Biqāʿī: The Polymath Preacher
4.2 Al-Biqāʿī’s Biblical Engagement in His Historical and Cultural Context
Chapter 2 An Historical Survey of the Bible in Muslim Tradition
1 Taḥrīf al-maʿnā and Taḥrīf al-naṣṣ
2 Biblical Quotation in the Muslim Tradition
2.1 Sīrah al-nabawiyyah and the Bible
2.1.1 Old Testament Parallels and Allusions in the Sīrah
2.1.2 Gospel Parallels, Allusions and Quotations in the Sīrah
2.2 Ta ʾrīḫ Literature and the Bible
2.2.1 Al-Yaʿqūbī’s Adam and Eve
2.2.2 Al-Yaʿqūbī’s Jesus
2.3 Ḥadīṯ Literature and the Bible
2.4 Zuhd Literature and the Bible
2.5 Dalāʾil al-nubuwwah Literature and the Bible
2.5.1 ʿAbd al-Ǧabbār’s Critique of Christianity
2.6 Radd ʿalā l-naṣārā wa-l-yahūd Literature and the Bible
2.6.1 Al-Qarāfī on Primordial Sin
2.7 Al-Ṭūfī’s Taʿlīq on the Bible
2.7.1 An Arabic Version of the Bible in the Taʿlīq
2.7.2 Linguistic Observations on the Arabic Bible in the Taʿlīq
3 Conclusion
Chapter 3 Identifying the Arabic Versions of the Bible Used by Ibn Barraǧān and al-Biqāʿī: A Comparative Analysis
1 The Torah Manuscripts
1.1 The Torah Manuscripts for Ibn Barraǧān
1.2 The Torah Manuscripts for al-Biqāʿī
2 The Gospel Manuscripts
2.1 The Gospel Manuscripts for Ibn Barraǧān
2.2 The Gospel Manuscripts for al-Biqāʿī
3 The Diatessaron Manuscripts for Ibn Barraǧān and al-Biqāʿī
4 A Verse-by-Verse Analysis of Arabic Bible Manuscripts and Biblical Quotations in the Tafsīrs of Ibn Barraǧān and al-Biqāʿī
4.1 Ibn Barraǧān: Genesis 3:1–7
4.1.1 Conclusion
4.2 Al-Biqāʿī: Genesis 3:1–7
4.2.1 Conclusion
4.3 Ibn Barraǧān: Matthew 19:30–20:9
4.3.1 Conclusion
4.4 Al-Biqāʿī: Matthew 19:30–20:9
4.4.1 Conclusion
Chapter 4 The Scriptural Hermeneutics of Ibn Barraǧān and al-Biqāʿī
1 Al-Biqāʿī’s Defense of the Bible: The Aqwāl
1.1 Chapter 5 of the Aqwāl: Suspending Judgment (Tawaqquf) on the Biblical Text
1.2 Chapters 7 and 8 of the Aqwāl: Categories of Alteration (Tabdīl) and Classes (Aqsām) of Biblical Material
2 Reception History of Sūrat Āl ʿImrān (Q3:7)
2.1 Muqātil b. Sulaymān on Q3:7
2.2 Al-Ṭabarī on Q3:7
2.3 Al-Zamaḫšarī on Q3:7
3 Ibn Barraǧān’s and al-Biqāʿī’s Scriptural Hermeneutics of the Qurʾān and Bible
3.1 The Theories of Naẓm and Munāsabāt
3.2 Q3:7 and the Hermeneutical Value of Muḥkam and Mutašābih
3.3 The Ontological Relationship between Biblical and Quranic Revelation
4 Conclusion
Chapter 5 Adam in the Gardens of Paradise: Tafsīr al-Qurʾān bi-l-Kitāb in Ibn Barraǧān’s and al-Biqāʿī’s Exegesis of Genesis 1–3
1 Adam’s Garden Interpreted
1.1 Tafsīr al-Ṭabarī on the Angels’ Protest
1.2 Tafsīr al-Ṭabarī on the Creation of Adam
2 The Garden Narrative in Ibn Barraǧān’s Tafsīr
2.1 The Quranic Garden Narrative
2.2 The Biblical Garden Narrative
2.3 The Use of Hadith in the Interpretation of the Garden
2.4 The Role of the Two Trees in the Garden Narrative
3 The Garden Narrative in al-Biqāʿī’s Tafsīr
3.1 The Created Order: From Hadith to Torah
3.2 Apologia in Context: Foundations for Biblical Quotation
3.3 The Formation of Adam and His Wife
4 Conclusion
Chapter 6 The Parable of Muḥammad’s Vineyard: Tafsīr al-Qurʾān bi-l-Kitāb in Ibn Barraǧān’s and al-Biqāʿī’s Exegesis of Matthew 19–20
1 Ibn Qutaybah’s Matthean Quotations
2 Ibn Barraǧān’s and al-Biqāʿī’s use of the Inǧīl
2.1 Jesus, the “Example” and the “Sign”
2.2 Jesus, Eschatology and Monasticism
2.3 Jesus, “Fatherhood” and “Sonship”
3 The Parable of Muḥammad’s Vineyard in Ibn Barraǧān’s Tafsīr: Surahs al-Nisāʾ (Q4:85–7) and al-Ḥadīd (Q57:26–9)
4 The Parable of Muḥammad’s Vineyard in al-Biqāʿī’s Tafsīr: Sūrat al-Aʿrāf (Q7:157)
4.1 Biblical Proofs of Prophethood sub Q7:157: Deuteronomy 18
4.2 Biblical Proofs of Prophethood sub Q7:157: Gospels
5 Conclusion
Chapter 7 Conclusion
1 Contexts for Biblical Engagement
2 The Interpretive Tradition
3 Arabic Versions of the Bible
4 Scriptural Hermeneutics
5 Case Studies
6 Avenues for Future Research
Appendix I Table of the Arabic Bible Quotations (Genesis 3:1–7 & Matthew 19:30–20:9) from the Tafsīr of Ibn Barraǧān and the Tafsīr of al-Biqāʿī
Appendix II Table of the Arabic Bible Quotations (Genesis 3:1–7 & Matthew 19:30–20:9) from the Manuscripts Chosen for Comparison with Ibn Barraǧān and al-Biqāʿī
Bibliography
Index of Names and Subjects
Index of Bible References
Index of Qurʾān References
