Juhud Ulama al-Muslimin fi Naqd al-Kitab al-Muqaddas min al-Qarn al-Thamin al-Hijri ila al-Asr al-Hadir "Ard wa Naqd
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- 1433 AH
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- Juhud Ulama al-Muslimin fi Naqd al-Kitab al-Muqaddas min al-Qarn al-Thamin al-Hijri ila al-Asr al-Hadir "Ard wa Naqd
Juhud Ulama al-Muslimin fi Naqd al-Kitab al-Muqaddas min al-Qarn al-Thamin al-Hijri ila al-Asr al-Hadir: ‘Ard wa-Naqd (The Efforts of Muslim Scholars in Criticizing the Bible from the Eighth Century AH to the Present Era: Exposition and Critique) is an academic study by Ramadan al-Desouqi examining the historical development, methodologies, and thematic contributions of Muslim scholarship in biblical criticism across the post-seventh-century Hijri period .
Background and Purpose
The work was originally prepared as a doctoral dissertation in Usul al-Din, Da‘wah, and Islamic Culture at Al-Azhar University's Faculty of Usul al-Din and Da‘wah in Mansoura under the academic supervision of Prof. Dr. ‘Imarah Najib Muhammad Musa, and was completed in 1424 AH / 2004 CE . The study serves as a direct chronological sequel to an earlier doctoral research completed at the same institution by Dr. Yasir Abu Shabanah al-Rashidi, which investigated Islamic biblical criticism from the first through the end of the seventh century AH .
The stated purpose of the research is to document and evaluate how Muslim scholars approached the Old and New Testaments from the eighth century AH onwards, highlighting their critical contributions in evaluating the scriptural transmission (sanad) and internal textual content (matn) of the Bible against rational, historical, and textual criteria .
Structure and Content
The book consists of an introductory section, a preliminary chapter (tamhid), two main parts, and a conclusion :
- Preliminary Overview: Surveys the historical course of biblical criticism, the structural and theological relationship between the Old and New Testaments, the motivations guiding Muslim critical engagement, and Islamic perspectives on the Torah and the Gospel .
- Section One: Survey of Critical Literature and Textual Transmission: The first part reviews major classical and contemporary treatises written by Muslim polemicists and theologians within the covered timeframe. Classical figures discussed include Ibn Taymiyyah and his al-Jawab al-Sahih li-man Baddala Din al-Masih (The Correct Response to Those Who Altered the Religion of Christ), Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah and his Hidayat al-Hayara (Guidance for the Confused), and Abdullah al-Tarjuman and his Tuhfat al-Arib, alongside nineteenth- and twentieth-century figures such as Abd al-Ahad Dawud, Rahmatullah al-Hindi, Ahmad Deedat, and modern researchers . The second part analyzes Muslim critiques of the transmission history (sanad) and authorship of the Pentateuch, historical books, the four canonical Gospels, and the Pauline and General Epistles .
- Section Two: Critique of Biblical Content and Doctrines: Devoted to textual and theological analysis (matn), divided into Old Testament and New Testament studies . The Old Testament chapters evaluate doctrines of monotheism, angels, prophethood, the afterlife, predestination, and the promised land, followed by legal regulations regarding purity, priesthood, family, non-Jews, criminal penalties, moral depictions, and biblical prophecies concerning the Prophet Muhammad . The New Testament chapters analyze Muslim refutations of core Christian doctrines—including the divinity and divine sonship of Jesus, the divinity of the Holy Spirit, the Trinity, divine indwelling and union (hulul wa-ittihad), and the crucifixion and atonement—as well as Christian ethics and ordinances .
Methodology
The work relies on three primary analytical methods: the inductive method (al-manhaj al-istiqra'i) to trace individual textual arguments across various chapters and critical writings; the deductive method (al-manhaj al-istinbati) to evaluate premises, textual evidences, and theological conclusions; and the historical method (al-manhaj al-tarikhi) to contextualize scriptural compilation, examine authorial attributions, and trace the chronological succession of Muslim critical discourse .
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