The Early Development of the Quranic <i>ḥanīf</i>Journal of Semitic StudiesSyriaca.org: The Syriac Reference PortalThe National Endowment for the HumanitiesThe International Balzan Prize FoundationDavid A. Michelsoncbsc_adminRecord added to Zotero bycbsc_adminSyriaca.org: The Syriac Reference Portalhttp://syriaca.org/cbss/I6RK8VVH/tei
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CREATED: This bibl record was autogenerated from a Zotero record.Munim A.SirryThe Early Development of the Quranic <i>ḥanīf</i>http://syriaca.org/cbss/I6RK8VVHhttps://www.zotero.org/groups/a_comprehensive_bibliography_on_syriac_studies/items/I6RK8VVHhttps://www.zotero.org/groups/4861694/items/I6RK8VVHJournal of Semitic Studies56:22011345-366This article examines the occurrence of the term <i>ḥanīf</i> in the Qurān. While the Qurān uses the term <i>ḥanīf</i> in a purely monotheistic sense, the Syriac cognate <i>hanpa</i> from which the Arabic anīf might possibly be derived denotes pagan or heathen. The first part of the article attempts to reconcile these seemingly contradictory usages between the Quranic <i>ḥanīf</i> and the Syriac <i>hanpā</i> by considering the Arabic lexical sources as well as the various Quranic allusions to <i>ḥanīf</i>. It is argued that the meaning of <i>ḥanīf</i> in the Qurān is not self-evident, and the fact that the term is used in different contexts seems to support the view that at the time of the Prophet the meaning of <i>ḥanīf</i> was not yet stable and could be understood in both polytheistic and monotheistic senses. The second part examines the classical Qurān commentaries which seem to support that conclusion. By looking closely at the Qurān and its classical commentaries, this article sets itself to criticize the current scholarship on the Quranic <i>ḥanīf</i>.
Sirry, Munim A. “The Early Development of the Quranic Ḥanīf.” Journal of Semitic Studies 56:2 (2011): 345–66.
Munim A. Sirry, The Early Development of the Quranic Ḥanīf,” Journal of Semitic Studies 56:2 (2011): 345–66.Muslim-Christian relationsQuranSyriac influence [Arabs]Syriacismsloan-words