THE JEWS OF THE QUR’AN
Ben Abrahamson
Alsadiqin Institute, Al-Quds Jerusalem
E-mail: abrahamson@alsadiqin.org
Abstract
The Jews of the Qur’an belonged to varied and mutually
exclusive groups. Some Jews joined Muhammad, some opposed
him. The majority of Jewish tribes encountered by Muhammad
held a Sadducean-based form of Judaism, as opposed to the
Rabbinic sect, which was a minority in that area. This may help
explain the seemingly contradictory attitude that the Qur’an
holds vis a vis the Jews. Contextualizing said verses provides a
framework which can eschew ongoing conflict.
Key Words:
Sadducee, Pharisee, Rabbinic, Qur’an, hadith,
Talmud, the Prophet Muhammad, Muslims,
Islam, Jews.
Studies in History and Jurisprudence
January 18, 2020 , Revision 2.0
Copyright © 2020, Alsadiqin Institute
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Ben Abrahamson
Introduction
The Jews of the Qur’an belonged to varied and mutually
exclusive groups. Just as Pharisaic and Sadducean Jews differed
widely in their beliefs and practices at the dawn of the first
millennium CE, the various Jewish communities who resided within
the sphere of influence of the ministry of Muhammad also held
significant theological differences. Some Jews aligned with
Muhammad, some opposed him. The majority of Jewish tribes that
interacted with Muhammad held a Sadducean-based form of
Judaism, the minority were Rabbinic Jews. This may explain the
seemingly contradictory attitude that the Qur’an holds vis a vis the
Jews - different passages are referring to different Jewish
communities. Negativity towards Jews as recorded in the Qur’an
may actually be directed towards the Sadducean-based group,
which no longer exists as a Jewish community. Contextualizing
those verses provides a framework which can eschew ongoing
conflict.
The major topics covered here, and that differentiated the major
Jewish groups, are the veneration of the prophet Ezra, the claim that
Jews changed scripture, offering sacrifices, an “eye for and eye”, the
emphasis of priest over rabbi, and the battle of Khaybar. We will see
that Rabbinic and Islamic traditions in fact intersect.
Islamic historians
Islamic historians differentiated between Rabbinic and
Sadducean Jews. Classical Islamic historians claim that most of the
Jews mentioned in the Qur'an were Saducees, and note the existence
of other Jewish groups whose views varied markedly from them.
Ninth century Muslim scholar Al Jahiz refers to a Jewish group
termed Saduqiyya (Saducees) which are found in the Yemen, Syria,
and Byzantine territory. He says their name stems from
“a man whose name was Zadok (the student of Antigonus of Sokho), and
that they held that 'Uzayr (Ezra) was the son of God.”
Eleventh century Muslim historian Ibn Hazm records:
''Al Saduqiyyh: this sect associates itself with a person called Saduq (Zadok).
Differing with all other Jews, they regard 'Uzayr (Ezra) as the son of God.
The Jews of the Qur’an
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They live in Yemen.”.1
Professor Steven Donnelly of Hebrew University claims that Ibn
Hazm considers the Saduqiyya to have been a politico-religious sect
distinct from other Jewish communities. He notes that the
Saduqiyya at one time lived in Yemen, yet by Ibn Hazm’s era the
group had vanished.2 Ibn Hazm notes that a similar claim was
introduced in the ninth century by Al-Jahiz which stated that this
group “exaggerated Ezra's importance and called him the son of
God, and this is well known about them. A remnant of this group
survived in Yemen, Syria and inside the Roman countries."3 Al-Jahiz
suggests that two categories existed: one group, responding to
Ezra's miraculous restoration of the Scriptures, overstated his
importance as the exclusive son of God: another group esteemed
every Jew of Israel as bearing the title “son of God”.4
Changing the wording of scripture
The Torah says,
"[Moses] took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the ears of the people,
and they said, 'All that Hashem has spoken we will do and we will hear!"
(Exodus 24:7)
This passage is crucial in Rabbinic Judaism. Known as “na’aseh
venishma” - we will do and we will hear, this is brought down by
traditionally observant Jews until today as a cornerstone of faith; it
means - how could we possibly judge what God gives us? The
Creator of the universe is poised to bequeath commandments, how
on earth can we say, well let’s see what these commandments are
first and then decide if we feel like keeping them. “Na’aseh venishma”
is a call to embrace God and His commandments wholeheartedly,
without reservation.
The Qur'an states that the Jews changed the wording of the Torah:
"distorting (the word) with their tongues and taunting about religion; and
if they had said (instead): We have heard and we obey"
Among the Jews are those who distort words from their [proper] usages
1
2
3
4
Ibn Hazm, Kitab al-Fasl fi al-Milal wa al-Ahwa wa al-Nihal trans. by Rif'at, vol. 2.4, p.
306.
Ibn Hazm, Kitab al-fisal trans. by Rif'at, vol. 2.4, p. 306.
Al-Jahiz, Risalat al-Radd 'Ala Nasara
Steven Donnelly The Forging of a Tradition
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and say, "We hear and disobey" and "Hear but be not heard" distorting (the
word) with their tongues and defaming the religion. And if they had said
[instead], "We will hear and we will do" and "Wait for us [to understand]," it
would have been better for them and more suitable. But Allah has cursed
them for their disbelief, so they believe not, except for a few.
(Surat An Nisa 4.46)
Even this sura mentions that not all Jews changed the words of
scripture; note, “among the Jews” and …”they believe not, except
for a few.” Here, even in a sura that appears harshly condemning,
there is an exception noted. The Qur’an itself notes the existence of
varied groups of Jews who held by significantly different beliefs.
Rabbinic Jews hold by the Masoretic text of the five books of
Moses, as quoted above, which does not say, “We will hear and we
will do”.
The Sadducees, who were known for a literal interpretation of
scripture, changed these words exactly this way. They claimed
reason to be more important than scripture. They said logically, one
must first hear a commandment in order to carry it out. This change
of order in the wording by the Sadducees is recorded in Rabbinic
writings, when a prototypical Sadducee mockingly said to Rabba,
“You rash people…who gave precedence to your mouth over your ears?
You still persist in your rashness. First you should have listened: If it was
within your powers, accept; if not, you should not have accepted” (Talmud,
Shabbat 88a).
In other words, both the Qur’an and the Talmud are grappling
with the same issue - the rationalist Sadducees who rejected the call
“we will do and we will hear”, vs the Rabbinic Jews who accepted
scripture, embracing the call to follow the word of God with a level
of faith that the Sadducees eschewed.
Condemnation directed at Jews by the Qur’an may thus be
directed at a sect long gone, at an action that Rabbinic Jews reject
outright.
Sacrifices outside the Temple
According to ninth century Islamic scholar Tabari, the Jews of
pre-Islamic Arabia offered sacrifices. This practice would never be
practiced by Rabbinic Jews, who held that sacrifices can only be
made in the Temple of Jerusalem. The practice of Mosaic sacrifices in
The Jews of the Qur’an
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the Temple of Jerusalem was reproduced in Mecca. The blood of the
sacrificed animals was poured onto the walls of the Ka’aba and the
flesh was hung from pillars around the Ka’aba, in the belief that God
demanded the flesh and blood of these animals.
In Solomon's Temple, the animals were tied to rings outside the
altar, and then slaughtered and flayed on a post called nasiv. This
was reproduced at the Ka'aba, the posts were called nusub. The
blood was sprinkled by the priests onto the sides of the altar, and
according to Tabari, after the pre-Islamic Arabs slaughtered their
sacrificial animals near the well of zamzam, they used to sprinkle
the blood towards the Ka'aba.
Dutch historian Reinhart Dozy proposed that idols at the Ka'aba,
Isaf and Na'ila, were originally Hebrew Asaf (tapuach) and Naili
(maqom hadeshen) the two places where the ashes and the entrails
of sacrifices where disposed in Solomon's Temple. According to
Azraqi5, the place of Na'ila was just inside the semi-circular wall just
outside the ka’aba called the hatim: "bayna l-farth wa-l-dam'i" which
means - between the intestines and the blood (of sacrificial animals).
Tabari specifically says that Jewish king Hasan Tubba' spent his
last years in al-matabikh (slaughtering houses) at the Ka'aba.
The Qur’an condemns the notion that flesh and blood are
demanded by God in the ayah
“It is neither their meat nor their blood that reaches God, but it is taqwaa
(piety) from you that reaches Him.” (Quran 22:37)
Again, we have agreement between an ayah in the Qur’an and
the Rabbinic concept of rejecting any sacrificial system outside the
Temple of Jerusalem
Interpretation - Literal vs Oral Tradition
Tabari says the Jews of Arabia practiced qisas, retaliation in a
literal, physical sense.6 The Jews mentioned in the Qur'an practiced
“an eye for an eye" literally; this practice defied Rabbinic tradition,
which held that “an eye for an eye” always, since the revelation at
Mount Sinai, meant compensation equivalent to whatever loss
incurred. Rabbinic Jews never practiced eye for an eye in its literal
5
6
Ninth century Islamic scholar
Tabari, The History of al-Tabari, V
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sense, but the Sadduceans, with their rejection of the oral law, did.
The idea that there were parallel streams of Judaism developing
alongside each other may irk those who hold by the evolution of
religion, and by extension, that the form of Judaism they are holding
must be the most developed form. They benevolently excuse ancient
“Judaism” for its “eye for an eye”, declaring that the oral law later
reinterpreted this barbaric concept to a newer, more compassionate
interpretation, and in turn, we can carry on evolving. Those who
hold this view may be chagrined to discover that the Pharisaic Jews,
who later became Rabbinic Jews, always held by the interpretation
that “eye for an eye” simply meant equivalent compensation - that is,
we were never barbaric.
Priests or Rabbis?
The term often translated as “Rabbis” is Ahbar, which literally
means “one of the brotherhood”. In the Talmud this referred to
those who kept the laws of Levitical Purity, even when it was not
strictly required. This included the Pharisees, and latter Rabbis, but
was by no means limited to them.
In Arabia the priestly function of Cohen degenerated into the role
of kahin, who was fortune teller and poet. These kahins were advisers
to rulers of the kingdom, as well as sought out by ordinary people.7
The Jewish Tubba' dynasty of the kingdom of Himyar in Arabia
appointed Qussay to manage the Ka'aba. Qussay was the ancestor of
the Quraysh. He relocated his immediate clan to houses around the
Ka'bah where they were known as Quraish Al-Bawatin (Quraish of
the House).8
The Rabbinic Jews, valuing the learning and transmission of
scripture and the oral tradition, followed their Rabbis, and not these
kahins.
Khaybar - the Pivotal Battle
There were three Jewish tribes in Medina, banu Quraiza, banu
7
8
Fahd, La divination arabe, 112-13
Many descendants of the Quraysh test positive for the Cohen gene; both Quraysh and
the Cohanim share a dominant common ancestor J-P58 Dienekes’ Anthropology Blog:
CMH
The Jews of the Qur’an
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Qanuqa, and banu Nadir, they traded with the Arabs. Three wars
occurred among these tribes. In the third war, the polytheist
Meccans asked for help from the local Bedouin tribes to fight against
Muhammad. The Jewish tribe of banu Quraiza was asked to prevent
anyone entering into Medina. They betrayed this agreement, in fact,
they even went into an agreement with the Meccans against
Muhammad.
A spy on behalf of Muhammad went back and forth between the
Meccans and the banu Quraiza, this weakened the agreement
between the banu Quraiza and the Meccans. Muhammad won,
destroyed the village of banu Quraiza, executed the men and took
the women and children. The Jewish wife of Muhammad, Safiya,
came from there.
The men of banu Quraiza were in captivity; although Islam
forbids the execution of captives, in this case an adviser invoked
Deuteronomy 20:10-18 that the punishment of treason is death.
A few men escaped with their lives by promising to convert to
Islam.
Muhammad’s victory was partly due to the help of Salman Farsi.
In Rabbinic tradition, Salman Farsi was a Rabbinic Jew, in Islamic
tradition, Salman Farsi was a Persian convert to Islam.
Salman Farsi was in alliance with Muhammad during all the
wars. As son of the Exilarch9, he and Ali, Muhammad’s son in law,
were honored by the the head of the Yeshivah of Peroz-Shavur and
90,000 Rabbinic yeshiva students in Babylon. Ali claimed Jewish
ancestry on his mother’s side. Thus, in allying with Muhammad,
Salman Farsi and Ali were not acting in an anti-Jewish way.
This is where Rabbinic and Islamic traditions intersect, because
as Rabbinic Jews, we have a collective memory of Salman Farsi
aiding Muhammad, recorded in the Igerot Rabbi Shreria Gaon. "It
was he [R' Yitzchak Gaon] who was in Peroz-Shavur when Ali ben
Abutaleb conquered." The word "conquered" here does not refer to a
military conquest, but simply to the acceptance of Ali's authority, for
Ali only became caliph in 656 CE, while the conquest of Babylonia
had taken place under Caliph Omar around 640 CE.
The rabbinic historian Rabbi Sherira Gaon (906-1006 CE) writes
9
Political and spiritual head of the Jewish community in the diaspora
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of the warm encounter between Ali and the head of the Babylonian
Academy of Peroz-Shavur: "Rabbi Yitzchak Gaon was in
Peroz-Shavur when Ali ben Abu Taleb entered the city, and Mar
Yitzchak of Peroz-Shavur went out to him and welcomed him with
great friendliness. At that time, there were in Peroz-Shavur ninety
thousand Jews, who were received by Ali ben Abu Taleb with great
friendliness."10,11
Edomite Roots
The term often translated as “Jews” in the Qur’an and hadith is
“aladhina hadu” which translates literally as “those who have
accepted the Jews’ religion”. This is often understood to refer to
converts. From Josephus, we know that the Edomites were
force-ably converted to Judaism under the Hasmonean dynasty.
Ya'qubi12 notes that the banu Nadir and banu Qurayza were
called “Banu Judham” (Edomites), a clan of “Judham”, that became
Jewish, their name comes from Mount Seir on which they settled.13
Mas'udi14 also says that the Nadir and Qurayza were the offspring
of Judham (Edomites) who had abandoned the paganism of the
Amalekites and followed the law of Moses. We know from Josephus
that the Hasmonean King Alexander Yannai (103-76 BCE) force-ably
converted the Edomites to Sadducean Judaism.
Concluding Remarks
Any claim that the banu Qurayza were Rabbinic Jews has
political import. The implication would be that Islam fights against
the Jews and that's why Islam fights Israel.15
However, the Sadducees were Hellenized rationalists. They do
not exist as a Jewish community anymore, having been absorbed
into Christianity and Islam. The Rabbinic Jews today are descended
from a completely different community. Rabbinic Jews have the
10
11
12
13
14
15
Iggeret Sherira Gaon
Halevi, vol. 6, p. 178
Ninth century Islamic historian
Arabic transliteration: fakhdhun min hudhama illa nnahum tahwwadu wa-nazalu bi jabalin
yuqalu lahu al-nadiru fasummu bihi
Tenth century Islamic historian
Haggai Mazuz argues that the Jews of Medina were Rabbinic Jews, Segula Magazine
2011
The Jews of the Qur’an
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custom to prostrate on the High Holidays and pray in the middle of
the night.16 No other groups today whose religion is based upon
Judaism (Samaritans, Karaites) do this.
Indeed, Rabbinic Judaism was chosen by the Islamic Caliphate,17
from among all the sects of Judaism, as the sole recognized form of
Judaism throughout the rapidly expanding Islamic empire.
The Qur’an recognizes variety among Jewish groups, and
embraces those who accept scripture and lovingly preserve their
traditions:
They are not [all] the same; among the People of the Scripture is a
community standing [in obedience], reciting the verses of Allah during
periods of the night and prostrating [in prayer]. Imram 3:113
The reform, conservative and orthodox Jewish movements of
today hail from Rabbinic Judaism. The gamut of the Jewish world
today has Rabbinic roots, and descend from those who allied with
and honored Muhammad and his cousin Ali. The implication is that
we are not in a state of constant conflict, we can indeed make
alliances between Jewish and Muslim communities today.
"To each among you have we prescribed a Shariah (law) and Minhaj
(custom). If Allah had so willed, He could have made you a single Ummah
(faith community), but (His plan is) to test you in what He hath given you:
so strive as in a race in all virtues. The goal of you all is to Allah; it is He that
will show you the truth about the matters in which you are different" (Al
Maeda 5:48)
16
17
Tikkun chatzos, the midnight rectification
Through the appointment of Bustanai as the Exilarch