The Qurʾan and its Disbelievers​

According to the majority Muslim opinion, the first revelation of the Qur'an occurred when the Prophet, upon him blessings and peace, was in retreat at the cave of Hira, some fifteen kilometers from the Kaba, the ancient House of God, built by the Prophets Ibrahim and his son Ismail, upon them peace, approximately twenty five hundred years prior to this event; the last verses of the Qur'an were revealed in 632, just a few days before the death of the Prophet in Madina, the oasis town to which he had migrated in 622.

During the twenty-three year period of the descent of the Qur'an and ever since then, it has drawn two fundamental responses from humanity: (i) belief in its Divine authorship, which simultaneously entails belief in the veracity of the Messenger to whom it was revealed, and (ii) disbelief in its Divine authorship and consequently the denying the prophethood of Muhammad, upon him blessings and peace.

This article explores, in brief, various aspects of the second response in three categories of works: (i) polemical works on the Qur'ān; (ii) works by the Orientalists; and (iii) the contemporary academic studies of the Qur'an that are based on implicit or explicit disbelief in its Divine authorship. The article also seeks to explore inherent links between these three categories and provides historical background to their emergence.

Keywords: The Qur'an and its disbelievers; Jewish and Christian responses to the Qur'an; Polemical works on the Qur'an; Orientalism; neo-Orientalism; the Qur'an and Orientalism; teaching of Islam in the Academy; academic discourse on the Qur'an.

Journal of Islam & Science, Vol. 7 (Winter 2009) No. 2

Muzaffar Iqbal

Muzaffar Iqbal is the President of the Center for Islamic Sciences and the General Editor of the Integrated Encyclopedia of the Qurʾan.