“Jewish Texts as Sources of the Qur’anic Narratives: A Historical and Critical Study of Abraham Geiger’s Arguments and Their Subsequent Developments.”

یہودی متون بطورمآخذ قصصِ قرآن : ابرہم گائیگر کے مستدلات اور ان کے متابعات کا تاریخی و تنقیدی مطالعہ

Abstract

Orientalist critiques of divine revelation in Islam primarily challenge the supernatural and transcendent nature of the Quran, arguing that its descent in human language and specific linguistic forms defies rational and logical principles, as an infinite divine reality cannot be confined within finite human words. Proponents of this intellectual school, exemplified by Abraham Geiger, insist that the Quranic text is not direct inspiration but the outcome of a conscious or subconscious intellectual exercise aimed at reinterpreting prior religious traditions in a new linguistic guise. Geiger's foundational work, "Was hat Mohammed aus dem Judenthume aufgenommen?" (What Did Muhammad Borrow from Judaism?, 1833), marks a pivotal shift in 19th-century religious studies, positing that the Quran extensively draws from Jewish sources, including rabbinic literature like the Midrash Rabbi Eliezer. For instance, he claims the miracle of the "white hand" (yad bayda) of Moses in the Quran originates from Jewish midrashic narratives rather than original revelation. This argument extends to linguistic structures, asserting that words are mere products of human societal evolution and cognitive development, rendering the idea of God communicating through specific phonetic and linguistic units scientifically untenable. Furthermore, through deductive logic, Orientalists demonstrate that the text's stylistic features and historical anecdotes are human constructs derived from the contemporary intellectual and religious milieu, intended to forge a novel socio-religious order. Such portrayals reduce revelation to a psychological state or human creation, influencing modern Quranic studies by emphasizing cultural borrowings over divine origin. This analysis underscores the clash between empirical rationalism and faith-based interpretations, fostering deeper comparative insights into Abrahamic religions and their intertextual dynamics.