In Search of the Original Koran: The True History of the Revealed Text (7 page)

Tradition has never concealed the fact that the revealed text underwent interpolations that then passed for authentic passages of the Koran: the archangel Gabriel dictated verses to Muhammad and indicated to him the place where they ought to be inserted-"in this chapter or that." This mythic scenario was conceived to legitimize a posteriori the work of the manifestly arbitrary composition of the Koranic surahs on the basis of those parts of the revealed texts that had a thematic unity. Therefore, most of the surahs of the current Koranic canon are formed of aggregates of revelations, which make them heterogeneous compositions.

This phenomenon inside the surahs is further accentuated by further interpolation within each of the constitutive parts of a surah. In effect, words or phrases may occur inside a thematic development but be distinct from it, either at the level of the composition or at the level of the meaning. Consequently, these interpolations betray a work of textual recomposition of the initial flow and thus constitute so many traces of interventions-divine or human-which are not concerned with being in harmony with the initial text.

The first clue to interpolation is the abnormal proportion taken up by one verse among the other verses in the surah. For example, the verse 2:102 contains thematic developments on the magic used by Solomon and it explains that he cannot be held responsible for it, for instead the fault belongs with the angels Harut and Marut, who taught the magic to humans. This argument in favor of Solomon is composed of a single verse that is exceptionally long, eight lines, as opposed to an average of two lines for the surrounding verses. The same is true of this verse: "The angels and the Spirit ascend to Him in the course of one day whose duration is fifty thousand years" (70:4). This is three times longer than the other verses of the same surah and does not have the same rhyme. It is an interpolation that might have been introduced here in the guise of a gloss of the preceding verse, which also mentions the ascent to heaven.

Another category of interpolation consists of the presence of one verse (or more) without a logical link to the idea developed in the text that it interrupts. For example, in the surah "The Heifer," verses 153 to 162 have the theme of encouragements addressed to believers after a military defeat. But in the middle of this development, verse 158 suddenly announces the authorization of the rite of walking around al- Safa and al-Marwa, two stations belonging to the pilgrimage route to Mecca. And then the following verses resume the prior thematic development.

Verse 3:92 announces the necessity of almsgiving, without being tied to the preceding theme devoted to the punishments awaiting different categories of infidels.

Verse 5:69 offers a particular case of interpolation, since it repeats word for word verse 2:62. This verse 5:69 was very probably introduced here inadvertently, inasmuch as it expresses a positive appreciation of the "followers of scripture" and other believers, whereas the context in which it is reproduced is marked by recriminations against them.

Another verse without a tie to its context is 5:109. It is caught between two thematic developments-before it, on the testaments of the dying, and after it, on Jesus-while it itself is devoted to prophecy and what is demanded of the prophets on the Day of Judgment.

One also wonders why the brief verse 57:17, devoted to divine omnipotence, has a place in a context devoted to hypocrites.

We may also find a sequence of verses comprising an interpolation in the middle of a development devoted to a different theme. For example, verses 29:18-23 interrupt the story of Abraham to attack those who do not believe in Muhammad and to demonstrate the inevitable character of the punishment that awaits them. And verses 36:69-70 reject the accusation made to the Prophet of being a poet, without any link with the preceding or succeeding verses devoted to the refutation of the belief of Associators. Similarly, verses 55:7-9 introduce the theme of "balance" and the necessity of equity in weights and measures-right in the middle of a thematic development about the omnipotence of God. It is also to be noted that this interpolation is not at the beginning of a new verse but is integrated into the end of verse 55:7.

This kind of interpolation (in the interior of a single verse) is also found in verse 2:189, which contains two different developments: the first devoted to astral phenomena, the second to social graces concerning the manner of entering into homes. Verse 35:18 is composed of two different themes, the first on the principle of individual responsibility, the second on the recipients of divine warnings.

This last figure of interpolation is found again in verse 4:164, where the phrase "Allah spoke directly to Moses" has no link with the beginning of the verse or with the verses that follow. The interpolated phrase is sometimes found in the middle of the verse, as in 6:25 that begins with "Some of them [infidels] listen to you," and suddenly leads to ". . . and we have cast veils over their hearts so they do not understand. We have placed deafness in their ears. If they see every Sign [aya], they do not believe in it." After this interpolation, the text returns to the development broached at the beginning of the verse in these terms: "When they come to you . . ." Another case of faulty interpolation inside a verse: "Indeed we gave the Book to Moses / Be not in doubt that you will meet him / and we made it a guide for the Sons of Israel" (32:23). One clearly sees that this interpolation (placed here between two slashes) can only be a fragment of an unknown development.

Similarly, the interjection "and it was said: `Away with those who do wrong!"' placed at the end of verse 11:44, has no link whatsoever with its beginning nor with the following verses. The same is true of verses 11:45-47, which evoke Noah's intercession in favor of his son, whereas the son was among those drowned in the flood in the preceding verses.

There also exists a particular category of interpolations deriving from the displacement of a text within the Koran. For example, verse 24:60 commences with a rule of politeness among believers, specifying that it also applies to the blind, the lame, and the sick. This precision is by all the evidence the twin of another verse, 48:17, where it finds its real justification, since there it is a matter of authorizing these infirm ones not to participate in war. Therefore, here in 24:60 lies a faultily placed interpolation. The same is true of verse 28:74: ". . . the day that Allah will call on them, He will say: `Where are my partners, those whom you pretended to be such?"' which has no connection with the topics where it has been placed, except that the exact same words are found in a preceding verse of the same surah (28:62). Here this duplicate is followed by the response of the associated divinities, incriminating their own idolators.

Another case of duplication, verse 35:12, seems, as Blachere has found,53 to take up the theme of verse 25:53 on the two seas, one sweet and the other bitter and salty, and in its second part reiterates the theme of verse 16:14 on the exploitation of fish in the sea. In any case, this verse (35:12) gives the impression of an interpolation that would be justified by an idea common to other verses, that of God's creative power. No doubt we see here one technique in the composition of the Koranic text, which testifies to the effect of hasty editing.

We may also speak of a mistake with regard to this verse: "We have enjoined man to be kind to his father and mother. His mother bore him with much pain. He is born and weaned in thirty months. / When he grows to manhood and reaches forty years, he says: `Lord! Allow me to give thanks to you for the favors you have bestowed on me as upon my father! [...1 "' (46:15). We see here that the second part of this verse concerns a particular person, not identified, while its beginning tackles the general theme of the stages of human development. What person is being spoke of here? But verse 27:19 allows us to answer with near certainty: "At this, Solomon smiled and said: `Lord! Allow me to give thanks to you for the favors you have bestowed on me as well as my father. "'S4 We see here that the author of verse 46:15 does not know the identity of the person concerned in the second part of the verse that begins with "When he grows to manhood . . ." He may even have thought that it was a general statement about human beings, which allowed him to stick it, as if it were a logical consequence, onto the first part of the verse. This mistake is manifestly of great interest for the history of the Koranic text. Could we deduce that someone other than the Prophet committed this erroneous interpolation? Quite logically, we think that must be the case since it is difficult to conceive that Muhammad would leave as authorized such a mistake. This error could only come from someone who was not sufficiently familiar with the revealed texts.

Let us signal another case held by Blachere to be a mistaken interpolation. In the very middle of the story of Moses confronting Pharaoh's magicians, there occurs a disputed verse that follows this phrase of verse 27:10: "When Messengers stand with Me, they should not be frightened of anyone." And here follows the disputed verse: "Except for those who have done wrong and then substituted good for evil, for I am forgiving and merciful" (27:11). For Blachere, it is clear that this last verse cannot refer to the "Messengers," but to sinners whose story is found elsewhere; and he argues that divine messengers could not be treated in the Koran as sinners. Yet I think that this incidental sentence is theologically correct, even if somewhat surprising in the context. The figure of Muhammad in the Koran sometimes appears as fallible: hesitant, failing to overcome those who contradict him, not to mention forgetting some verses of the Koran, or even being spoken through by Satan. Orthodox exegetes took note of all this, and they interpreted the verse in question (27:11) as referring to the messengers of Allah. That is the paradox: orthodox exegetes knew very well the truth of things-unlike modern hagiographic dogmatists.

Let us return to interpolations. There also exist glosses that serve to detail, to explain, or to add thematic developments that were not foreseen in the first redaction. For example, the long verse 7:157 introduces into the discourse addressed by God to Moses the idea of Muhammad's coming and the necessity of believing in it. This is an addition that testifies to the process of legitimation by means of the prophetic cycle.

I may also agree with Blachere in considering that the first phrase of verse 40:35-"those who dispute about the signs [aya] of Allah without any authority that has reached them"-is an interpolation aiming to explain the last phrase of the preceding verse, "Thus Allah confounds the one who is sinful and doubtful (murtab)."ss

Again, in the verse: "God-like the Angels and those who possess revealed knowledge-attests that / there is no divinity but him / he practices justice, [he of whom it should be said that] there is no divinity but him, the Powerful, the Wise" (3:18). We are in the presence of an interpolation of the expression in apposition "there is no divinity but him"-whose correct placement is just after "God" and not after the conjunction "that." Moreover, this interpolated part constitutes a repetition within the same verse. It is clear that the redactor of this version of the Koran has demonstrated some zeal in the glorification of God, without worrying about the grammatical or stylistic imperatives of the sentence. In any case, what is sure is that this verse has undergone the interpolation of a repetition that is wrongly placed.

In verse 2:177, there is a commentary about true pious virtue that, it is said, does not reside in the formal practice of worship but in faith and in good actions that are listed at length. When detailing these deeds, this verse switches midway through from the single mode to the plural without any justification. Why this change in number? Very probably because this change corresponds to an interpolation added by a new scribe.

We find the same phenomenon of accumulation within the same verse at 2:187, which begins by authorizing sexual relations at the breaking of the fast, then defines the limits of the day of fasting, and finally, announces an interdiction on having sexual relations inside the sacred mosque. These instructions end with this conclusion: "These are the limits (hudud) set by Allah. Do not approach them to transgress them! Thus does Allah make clear his signs [dya] to men, hoping that perhaps they will be righteous." The last instruction about the ban on sexual relations inside the Kaaba-which was an ancient Oriental practice-shows that this verse was composed after the taking of Mecca in January 630. The first two instructions might have been revealed beforehand. The impression derived from this composition is that these three ritual prescriptions have in common either the theme of fasting or that of sexuality. No doubt the first instruction combining the two themes authorized the redactor of this verse to associate with it two other laws that each touch on one of these themes. We can see a compositional effort that was careful about the thematic order. But this order, as we see, was not logically applied, for it remains hampered by the confusion of two themes.

The verse that we are going to cite next illustrates perfectly a case of interpolation in the middle of an incidental phrase placed between a question and answer: "The Impious have not made a just estimate of Allah when they say: `Allah did not send anything down to a mortal.' Ask them: `Who sent down the Book brought by Moses as Light and Guide to men? / You put it into parchment rolls of which you show [little] and conceal much. You were taught what you did not know, neither you nor your ancestors.' / Say: `It is Allah.' Then leave them to amuse themselves with their discussion" (6:91). It is remarkable that Ibn Kathir, Ibn `Amir, and Ubayy all give the interpolated phrases in the third person: "They put it into . . ." It is clear to me that this interpolation deals with the "people of the Scripture," whereas the beginning of the verse deals with the radical unbelievers, who don't believe it is possible for anything to be sent from God to humans. Blachere thinks that this interpolation must be an addition later than the emigration to Medina, and I agree with him that Ubayy's variant constitutes an attempt at harmonization with the beginning of the verse.56