Modern Biblical Criticism, Enlightenment and Muslim Role in Modern Revolutions

Dr. Zulfiqar Ali Shah

The Evolution of Biblical Interpretation: A Historical and Critical Perspective

The Holy Bible, a sacred text revered by Jews and Christians alike, has undergone centuries of acceptance as the verbatim Word of God. This enduring belief has shaped the religious convictions and interpretations of countless individuals throughout history. In particular, the Jewish perspective on the Bible during the medieval and premodern periods was characterized by a steadfast insistence upon the Mosaic authorship of the Torah.

Jewish Interpretation in the Medieval and Premodern Era

According to Jewish tradition, each word of the Torah was directly dictated by God and meticulously transcribed by the hand of Moses himself. Even prominent Jewish authorities like Moses Maimonides, who employed metaphorical interpretations to reconcile certain biblical passages with reason and common sense, did not waver in their conviction regarding the Mosaic authorship and divine origins of the Torah. The medieval attitude towards the Bible was rooted in profound reverence, sanctity, and a commitment to historical accuracy.

Early Christian Perspectives

Similarly, early Christian theologians, often referred to as Church Fathers, employed various interpretive methods such as metaphorical, allegorical, moral, and spiritual approaches to reconcile certain biblical passages and Christian dogmas with reason and morality. Nevertheless, they too firmly upheld the belief in the Mosaic authorship of the Torah and the divine origins of both the Torah and the New Testament. The Bible’s sanctity and divine nature were never called into question during this period.

Shift in Perception: The Second and Third Centuries

It was during the second and third centuries that a notable shift occurred in the perception of the Bible, particularly as exemplified by Roman philosophers like Celsus (around 175 AD) and Porphyry of Tyre (234-305 AD). These philosophers initiated a concerted attack on the Bible, criticizing what they saw as superstitious dogmas, historical contradictions, immoral stories, and repulsive elements within the sacred text. Their criticisms were often vitriolic and venomous, representing a departure from the earlier tradition of reverence for the Bible.

Islamic Influence and Biblical Criticism

Surprisingly, it was the advent of the Islamic scripture, the Qur’an, that brought forth a distinctive form of biblical criticism. The Qur’an offered clear and purposeful criticisms of the Bible, highlighting contradictions, corruptions, deletions, additions, superstitions, irrationalism, and immoralities. Unlike earlier critics, the Qur’an did so without resorting to offensive language or aggressive tones. The early Muslim attitude towards the Hebrew Bible, its compilation, canonization, and veracity, oscillated between ambivalence, respect, and condemnation. Many of the polemical works against the Hebrew Bible in the first two centuries of Islam were authored by Jewish converts to Islam.

Muhammad Ibn Hazm al Zahiri: A Turning Point

The ambivalence in the Muslim perspective began to shift significantly with the emergence of Abu Muhammad Ali Ibn Hazm al Zahiri (994-1064 CE) in Spain. Ibn Hazm’s personal animosity towards his Jewish rival, Shemuel ibn Nagrela, who had become the Vizier of the Spanish Muslim state of Granada, played a role in inspiring him to compile a piercing critique of the Bible, particularly the Torah. His magnum opus, “al-Fasl fi al-milal wa-al-ahwa’ wa-al-nihal,” challenged the traditional belief in the Mosaic authorship and divine origins of the Torah. Ibn Hazm argued that the Torah as it existed in his time had been compiled by Ibn Ezra the Scribe, after the Babylonian exile, centuries after Moses, and covered events beyond Moses’ time. This marked a departure from previous beliefs.

Transition to Modern Biblical Criticism

Ibn Hazm’s work not only eroded trust and confidence in the Hebrew Bible but also incorporated elements of the biblical criticisms found in the works of earlier Roman philosophers like Porphyry. Scholars such as Lazurus-Yafeh, Richard C. Steiner, and R. D. Freedman have recognized Ibn Hazm as a transitional figure between ancient biblical criticism and the modern biblical criticism that would later be championed by figures like the Dutch Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677) and Pierre Bayle (1647-1706), French Philosophers Voltaire (1694-1778), Denis Diderot (1713-1784), and Jean-Baptiste D’Alembert ( 1717-1783); the Genevan Jean-Jacques Rousseau {1712-1778); the German biblical critics Hermann Samuel Reimarus (1694-1768), philosophers Gotthold Lessing (1729-1781) and Immanuel Kant (1724-1804); the English deists like Anthony Collins (1676-1729) and the philosopher David Hume (1711-1776); and the American deistic leaning political figures and writers such as Benjamin Franklin (1706-1797), Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) and Thomas Paine (1737-1809).

Baruch Spinoza, often regarded as the pioneer of modern biblical criticism, made significant contributions to the field. His work in chapters VII to X of “Tractatus Theologico-Politicus” laid out contentions that set the stage for modern biblical criticism. Spinoza’s interest in biblical criticism was influenced by cryptic remarks in the commentary of Abraham ibn Ezra, a twelfth-century Spanish exegete. Additionally, Spinoza’s indebtedness to Ibn Hazm’s polemical work is evident, as many of his critical points align with those put forth by Ibn Hazm.

Richard Steiner has shown that Ibn Hazm’s work was well-known to medieval Jewish and Christian scholars and apologetics. Prominent figures like Abraham ibn Da’ud of Toledo, Shlomoh ibn Edret, and Shim’on ben Sameh Duran wrote detailed rebuttals to Ibn Hazm’s criticisms. Even Jewish scholars in Christian Spain were aware of Ibn Hazm’s charges, with Rashba feeling compelled to write a treatise in response. It is clear that Ibn Hazm’s polemical treatment of the biblical text influenced subsequent discussions and debates among scholars. Spinoza, Richard Simon, Bayle, Locke, Newton, and Voltaire were the heirs to those debates.

In conclusion, the attitude towards the Bible, particularly the Torah, has evolved significantly over the centuries, shaped by the contributions of various thinkers and religious traditions. From the unwavering acceptance of the Bible as the verbatim Word of God to the emergence of critical perspectives, the history of biblical interpretation is rich and diverse. Figures like Ibn Hazm and Spinoza played pivotal roles in challenging traditional beliefs and paving the way for modern biblical criticism. Their work, rooted in both intellectual inquiry and historical context, continues to be influential in contemporary discussions of the Bible’s origins and meanings.

The Role of Biblical Criticism in Modern Revolutions

Biblical criticism marked a profound challenge to the divine underpinnings, Mosaic authorship, authority, historical accuracy, and contemporary relevance of the Bible, constituting a revolutionary force that shattered the Old Regime. The Old Regime, characterized by divine right monarchy, an authorized Church, religious-legal conformity, religiously sanctioned terror, and enigmatic dogmas, was initially confronted by European rulers seeking to curtail papal and clerical influence in state and societal affairs. This conflict, epitomized by the struggle between secular authority and ecclesiastical power, later fell into the hands of intellectuals among the nobility and merchant class who sought to break free from the unyielding grip of the absolutist church and clergy.

As the foundations of divine authority eroded, the authoritative and sacred nature of the Bible disintegrated, along with the sanctified institutions associated with it, including divine right monarchy, the established church, and ecclesiastical control over education and knowledge institutions. This dialectical intellectual revolution set the stage for the dismantling of the Old Regime and the emergence of modern revolutions, national states, democracies, freedoms, rights, and sciences.

Notably, Islam and Muslims played a pivotal role in providing intellectual, scriptural, hermeneutical, historical, and comparative tools to those engaged in the field of biblical criticism. The groundbreaking critical biblical works of Polish Socinians, heavily influenced by Muslim analysis and polemics, paved the way for subsequent exegetical and critical endeavors by Unitarians, anti-Trinitarians, Deists, Philosophes, and revolutionaries. Influential figures like Spinoza, Richard Simon, Bayle, Locke, Newton, Stubbe, Boulainvilliers, Voltaire, Priestley, Franklin, and Jefferson were either wholly or partially influenced by Socinian, Unitarian, and Deistic approaches to biblical analysis and assessment.

In essence, Islam and Muslims can be credited as the trailblazers and pioneers of biblical criticism, which in turn catalyzed the modern revolutions, including the American and French Revolutions, and the subsequent emergence of modernity, characterized by its emphasis on freedoms, rights, and scientific advancements. It is worth recognizing that the tools for this intellectual transformation were predominantly of Islamic origin, while their users were primarily European. Consequently, modern civilization can be seen as a fusion of Judeo-Christian and Islamic influences. The exclusion of Islam and Muslims from the narrative of modernity by Eurocentric historians is an act of historical appropriation and theft, denying credit where it is due.