Būluṣ Ibn Rajāʾ: The Fatimid Egyptian Convert Who Shaped Christian Views of Islam

Erscheinungsjahr 2022
ISBN: 978-90-04-51739-4
Verlag: Brill

Buch, Englisch, Band 4, 336 Seiten, Format (B × H): 155 mm x 235 mm, Gewicht: 706 g

Reihe: Arabic Christianity

Bulus ibn Raja' (ca. 955–ca. 1020) was a celebrated writer of Coptic Christianity from Fatimid Egypt. Born to an influential Muslim family in Cairo, Ibn Raja' later converted to Christianity and composed The Truthful Exposer (Kitab al-Wadih bi-l-Haqq) outlining his skepticism regarding Islam. His ideas circulated across the Middle East and the Mediterranean in the medieval period, shaping the Christian understanding of the Qur'an’s origins, Muhammad’s life, the practice of Islamic law, and Muslim political history. This book includes a study of Ibn Raja'’s life, along with an Arabic edition and English translation of The Truthful Exposer.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Bertaina, David

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Sonstige Religionen Sonstige Religionen: Heilige & Traditionelle Texte, Mythologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Religionswissenschaft Allgemein Dialog & Beziehungen zwischen Religionen
• Geisteswissenschaften Christentum, Christliche Theologie Christliche Kirchen, Konfessionen, Denominationen Östliche & Orientalische Orthodoxe Kirchen
• Geisteswissenschaften Islam & Islamische Studien Islam & Islamische Studien
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Naher & Mittlerer Osten

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Acknowledgements

List of Figures

Abbreviations

Note on Translation and Transliteration

Part 1 Study

1 The Life of Bulu? ibn Raja?

1 Introduction

2 Ibn Raja? and the Fatimid Era

3 The Biography of Bulu? ibn Raja?

2 The Context for Ibn Raja?’s The Truthful Exposer

1 Title, Date, and Audience: Copts and Muslims ca. 1009–1012

2 Ibn Raja?’s Intellectual Circles

3 Ibn Raja? on Muslim Conversion to Christianity

3 The Arguments and Sources of The Truthful Exposer

1 Ibn Raja? on the Qur?an

2 Ibn Raja? on Mu?ammad

3 Ibn Raja? on the Hadith

4 Ibn Raja?’s Use of Intra-Islamic Disputations

5 Ibn Raja?’s Use of Christian Arabic Sources

4 The Reception of The Truthful Exposer

1 Literary Afterlife from the Mediterranean to Europe

2 A Comparative Analysis of the Arabic and Latin Versions

3 The Arabic Manuscripts and Notes

Part 2 The Truthful Exposer (Kitab al-Wa?i? bi-l-?aqq)

Introduction: Bulu? ibn Raja?’s Conversion and Purpose for Writing

1 On Divisions among Muslims: A Lack of Consensus about the Qur?an and Interpretation

2 A Refutation of the Alleged Alteration of the Torah and the Gospel

3 On Mu?ammad as a Prophet of the Sword; Anecdotes of Christians Living under Islam

4 On Those Who Converted to Islam in Fear of the Sword

5 On Musaylima the False Prophet and al-?Ansi

6 On Mu?ammad’s Claim of How the Revelation Came to Him

7 On the Meaning of the Qur?an: Different Texts and Readings (qira?at) of the Qur?an

8 On What Muslims Have Lost from the Qur?an

9 On Their Agreement about Marwan Ibn al-?akam’s Version

10 On the Authority of Interpreting the Qur?an

11 On Inconsistencies and Repetitions in the Qur?an

12 On the Subject of Mary the Copt

13 On Sexual Themes in the Qur?an

14 On the Zayd Scandal

15 On the Repetition of Passages in the Qur?an Taken from the Torah, Psalms, and Gospel

16 On the Inimitability of the Qur?an

17 On the Audience for the Qur?an and the Bible as a Source

18 On Contradictions in the Qur?an

19 A Refutation of Mu?ammad’s Alleged Favor over Other Prophets

20 A Refutation of Mu?ammad’s Never Disbelieving or Worshipping Idols

21 A Refutation of Equating Jesus with Adam (Q 3:59)

22 A Response on the Anthropomorphizing of God in Christianity and the Qur?an

23 A Response on the Union of Jesus Christ at the Incarnation

24 A Response on the Crucifixion of Christ (Q 4:157)

25 On the Destruction of the Ka?ba

26 On the Black Stone

27 On the Pilgrimage to Mecca

28 On the Sacrifice of Cattle and Camels

29 On Contradictions in the Qur?an and Oral Traditions

30 On Marriage and Divorce in the Qur?an; On Mu?ammad’s Night Journey

31 Conclusion: Closing Exhortation

32 Appendix: Additional Contradictions in the Qur?an

Bibliography

Index of The Truthful Exposer

Index of Biblical and Qur?anic Citations

Index of People, Places, and Subjects

Über Autor(innen)

David Bertaina, PhD. (2007), The Catholic University of America, is Professor of History at the University of Illinois Springfield. He publishes on the history of Christian-Muslim encounters and the relationship of the Bible and Qur'an, including the edited volume Heirs of the Apostles (Brill, 2019).