Revelation and Interpretation
Yesterday I read a statement by former Islamic extremist Tawfik Hamid. He said, “The best way to stop criticism of Islam is to admit that violent teachings exist and that Islamic scholars must work on providing modern ways for interpreting and understanding their religion instead of accusing those who expose the problem and raise valid questions…”
However, reinterpretation is problematic. Islam is a religion based on “revelations from Allah,” specifically found in the Qur’an and Hadith. These revelations may contain severely troubling teachings (religious persecution, slavery, permitted rape, polygamy, domestic abuse, deception, murder, etc.), but they are the words of Allah given to Mohammed via “divine revelation” or wahy. In Unveiling Islam, Ergun and Emir Caner explain the seven ways Mohammed experienced wahy:
- He had seizures that caused him to sweat profusely, hear the ringing of bells, foam at the mouth, and roar like a camel (according to his wife Aishah and ‘Umar ibnu’l Khattab)
- He had dreams
- He had visions
- He saw an angel that appeared to be a tall young man
- He saw actual angels
- He crossed “the seven heavens” one evening (known as Mi’raj) and received a revelation
- He heard Allah speaking from behind a veil
To Muslims, the Qur’an is the “Mother of Books” (surah 43:3) and they are suspicious of any non-Arabic translation. They revere it, and store it on the highest shelf in their house. They believe no other book can ever compare to the Qur’an in beauty, mystery, or integrity.
If scholars try to reinterpret these revelations, they are saying their interpretation is weightier than Allah’s own words to Mohammed. No devout Muslim would be able to accept scholarship that “reinterprets” the Qur’an, especially if the motivation is to reform it into something peaceful and compatible with a Western culture based on Judeo-Christian values.