I
recently received in the mail the first English translation (The Proofs of
Prophecy), of a debate "that took place in the early tenth
century between the famous Isma'ili missionary Abū Hātim al-Rāzi (d. ca. 933)
and the even more celebrated Abū Bakr al-Rāzi (d. 925), the physician and
philosopher known to medieval Europe as 'Rhazes'. The two were towering figures
of pre-modern Islamic thought, and this account of the debate between them
brings us into immediate contact with some of the most intellectually exciting
topics of medieval Islamic culture." (Quotation from the dust cover of the
book; also reproduced at Amazon.com.)
I
ordered this book because of my ongoing interest in Islamic studies, coupled
with the fact that I have been impressed by a number of other published works
in BYU's "Islamic Translation Series". I was not disappointed—this
2011 contribution has become my favorite of the series—not only does Abū Hātim
al-Rāzi take "the heretic" (i.e. Abū Bakr al-Rāzi) to task for his
rejection of supernatural revelation from God (including the Qur'ān), but he
does so by appealing numerous times to the harmony between the Bible and the
Qur'ān. (He quotes from the Bible in nearly one hundred instances, from 24
different books/epistles, including those of John, Paul, and Peter).
The
most interesting section of the book (IMO) is where Abū Hātim al-Rāzi defends
the crucifixion and death of Jesus as portrayed in Gospels, arguing that there
is no disagreement here between the Gospels and the Qur'ān. Please note the
following:
As
for the claim of the heretic (i.e. Abū Bakr al-Rāzi) that the Qur'ān
contradicts what the Jews and Christians hold regarding the killing of Christ
because both groups maintain that he was killed and crucified, whereas the
Qur'ān explicitly denies his death and crucifixion and assets that God made him
ascent to Him, we answer: What is in the Qur'ān is right and truthful. It is a
parable coined by God, whose true meaning is know to scholars of the community.
Nevertheless, some scholars have advance the following argument: The verse in
the Qur'ān states, "Assuredly they killed him not but God raised him up to
Him" [Q. 4:157-58], means in fact, that even were they to assert that they
killed him, he is indeed alive, having been made to ascend to God, and he is
with God in full glory, honor, and joy, because he is a martyr. Martyrs are
alive with God, as God Himself describes them in the following verses: "Do
not say about those who are killed in the cause of God that they are dead; they
are indeed alive, but you do not perceive them" [Q. 2:154]; or else,
"Do not imagine those who are killed in the path of God to be dead.
Rather, they are alive with their Lord, enjoying His bounty, jubilant at what
God has granted them from His grace, eagerly expecting those who have not yet
followed, to come after them. In truth, no fear shall fall upon them, nor shall
they grieve" [Q. 3:169-70]. It may therefore be said that this is the case
with Christ. Thus, the verse, "Assuredly they killed him not" [Q.
4:157-58], means they did not really kill him, because he is a martyr whom God
has made to ascent to Him. He is thus with God, full of honor and joy.
A
similar account is found in the Gospel of John, which states that Christ died
in the body but is alive in the spirit [cf. 1 Peter 3:18*], and so they
imagined that he who died in the body is free of sins. In the Gospel of Luke,
we find, "I say to you my friends, Do not fear those who kill the body and
after that can do no more. I will tell you whom to fear; fear him who, after he
has killed, has the power to cast into hell," and "In truth I say to
you, I shall go to the kingdom of heaven, and this my body that shall be
delivered to death for your sake. Do likewise whenever you gather together, as
a memorial of me" [cf. Luke 12:4-6, 22:19]. In the Gospel of Matthew, we
find, "That which you have heard with your ears, proclaim from the
rooftops. Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the spirit; fear
him who can kill the spirit and cast the body into hellfire" [cf. Matthew
10:27-28].
This
is what may be found in the Gospel, and it agrees with the Qur'ān in this
respect. Christ has said that he delivers his body to death and will go to the
kingdom of heaven. He also spoke of those who kill the body but cannot kill the
spirit. This saying of his is in agreement with the words of the Almighty in
the Qur'ān, "Assuredly they killed him not but God raised him up to
Him" [Q. 4:157-58]. In another verse, God said, in addressing Christ,
"I shall cause you to die and make you ascent to Me" [Q. 3:55]. In
yet another verse, quoting Christ, God says, "I was a witness to them
while I lived among them, but when You caused me to die, it was You who kept
watch over them. You are a witness over all things" [Q. 5:117]. This
means: You wee a witness for them while You remained among them. Then he says,
"But when You caused me to die, it was You who kept watch over them. You
are a witness over all things." This proves that God the Almighty caused
him to die when he disappeared from them. Hence, the Qur'ān is in agreement
with the Gospel in respect of the fact that God cause him to die and ascent to
Him, and that he is alive with God. This interpretation is correct with
reference to both the Qur'ān and the Gospel. Accordingly, the claim advanced by
the heretic that the Qur'ān contradicts the Gospel in this respect is false. (Abū
Hātim al-Rāzi: The Proofs of Prophecy - A parallel English-Arabic text,
translated, introduced, and annotated by Tarif Khalidi, 2011, pp. 124,
125.)
Abū
Bakr al-Rāzi was a humanist, and argued that there is no such thing as
supernatural revelation, and that our Universe needs no such revelation to
explain its existence. A 'tool' utilized in his attack on supernatural
revelation was to claim that the Bible and Qur'ān contradicted each other, but
Abū Hātim al-Rāzi refutes such claims, exposing "the heretic" for
what he is: a pure humanist who allows no place for God in the lives of
mankind.
In
ending, with respect to the interpretation of Surah 4.157-158, I ask: will you
side with the humanist or with the theist ???
[*Abū Hātim al-Rāzi incorrectly attributes the passage
to John, it is actually from the first epistle of Peter.]
Grace
and peace,
