Muslim perceptions of biblical lore narratives: between tentative acceptance and total rejection (7th- 14th century)

Mansour Mohamed Baumi, Doaa (2024). Muslim perceptions of biblical lore narratives: between tentative acceptance and total rejection (7th- 14th century). University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

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Abstract

This research demonstrates that isrāʾīliyyāt category has not been theorised by early Muslims to denote biblical lore. Rather, the theorisation of isrāʾīliyyāt category started with the fourteenth- century Ḥanbalī scholar Ibn Taymiyya who outlined the appropriate methodology for dealing with such narratives. Ibn Taymiyya's theoretical framework was subsequently embraced and put into practice by his dedicated student Ibn Kathīr.

This dissertation argues that before the theoretical formulation of the term, early Muslims engage with biblical lore without subjecting it to any critical examination. It was Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn Kathīr who utilised ḥadīth methodology to assess the biblical lore embedded in Islamic literature. While this work aims firstly to examine the validity of biblical lore within Islamic literature, it aims secondly to question the concept of taḥrīf (scriptural falsification) and investigate whether it poses an impediment to Muslims to engage with biblical lore.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ph.D.

Supervisor(s):