Orientalists’ Claims about the History of the Iqra Narration: A Study of Gregor Schoeler

Dilek Tekin

Article Details

Orientalists’ Claims about the History of the Iqra Narration: A Study of Gregor Schoeler

Authors:

Dilek Tekin

Publisher:

Kahramanmaras Sutcu Imam University

Main Topics:

İslam Tarihi | İslam Tarihi ve Medeniyeti

Journal:

Akademik Siyer Dergisi Issue 10, pp.1-20

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

6/2024

Document Language:

Turkish

Document ID (Org No.):

2001321478

pISSN:

2687-5810

Keywords:

Abstract:

 It is inconceivable for a historian to read his source without paying attention to both its historical and historiographical context. For this is precisely the heart of historical interpretation. For sources are the materials from which historians construct meaning. In other words, they are the claims about the past of a news item or object that historians rely on to create their own portrayal of the history in question. Therefore, a historical study or interpretation is the result of this depiction. A source provides us with evidence for the existence of an event; historical interpretation is a claim about that event. Considering the close relationship between the science of hadith and the science of history and siyar, the issue of the source of the former to the latter has been an issue frequently raised by both hadith and history scholars. From this point of view, it is only natural that Westerners who study Islam and its history would be interested in the life of the Prophet and his hadiths. When these scholars interested in the life of the Prophet are examined, it will be seen that they are particularly interested in the news about his experience of the first revelation. This article will examine the issue of how Gregor Schoeler, who has done the most recent and comprehensive study on the narration of iqra, which is directly linked to the first revelation experience, traces the narration in question in hadith and sira sources and reaches new conclusions by taking a different stance within the orientalist paradigm based on the textual comparison of the narrations. As a result, it is understood that Schoeler is the middle-ground researcher within the orientalist paradigm and the closest to the Islamic paradigm in terms of his methodology, in terms of examining the narrations based on textual comparison, checking the information in the isnad based on the text, using biographical works, and his conclusions in terms of accepting the narrations as reliable and understanding the narration history correctly.

 It is inconceivable for a historian to read his source without paying attention to both its historical and historiographical context. For this is precisely the heart of historical interpretation. For sources are the materials from which historians construct meaning. In other words, they are the claims about the past of a news item or object that historians rely on to create their own portrayal of the history in question. Therefore, a historical study or interpretation is the result of this depiction. A source provides us with evidence for the existence of an event; historical interpretation is a claim about that event. Considering the close relationship between the science of hadith and the science of history and siyar, the issue of the source of the former to the latter has been an issue frequently raised by both hadith and history scholars. From this point of view, it is only natural that Westerners who study Islam and its history would be interested in the life of the Prophet and his hadiths. When these scholars interested in the life of the Prophet are examined, it will be seen that they are particularly interested in the news about his experience of the first revelation. This article will examine the issue of how Gregor Schoeler, who has done the most recent and comprehensive study on the narration of iqra, which is directly linked to the first revelation experience, traces the narration in question in hadith and sira sources and reaches new conclusions by taking a different stance within the orientalist paradigm based on the textual comparison of the narrations. As a result, it is understood that Schoeler is the middle-ground researcher within the orientalist paradigm and the closest to the Islamic paradigm in terms of his methodology, in terms of examining the narrations based on textual comparison, checking the information in the isnad based on the text, using biographical works, and his conclusions in terms of accepting the narrations as reliable and understanding the narration history correctly.

 It is inconceivable for a historian to read his source without paying attention to both its historical and historiographical context. For this is precisely the heart of historical interpretation. For sources are the materials from which historians construct meaning. In other words, they are the claims about the past of a news item or object that historians rely on to create their own portrayal of the history in question. Therefore, a historical study or interpretation is the result of this depiction. A source provides us with evidence for the existence of an event; historical interpretation is a claim about that event. Considering the close relationship between the science of hadith and the science of history and siyar, the issue of the source of the former to the latter has been an issue frequently raised by both hadith and history scholars. From this point of view, it is only natural that Westerners who study Islam and its history would be interested in the life of the Prophet and his hadiths. When these scholars interested in the life of the Prophet are examined, it will be seen that they are particularly interested in the news about his experience of the first revelation. This article will examine the issue of how Gregor Schoeler, who has done the most recent and comprehensive study on the narration of iqra, which is directly linked to the first revelation experience, traces the narration in question in hadith and sira sources and reaches new conclusions by taking a different stance within the orientalist paradigm based on the textual comparison of the narrations. As a result, it is understood that Schoeler is the middle-ground researcher within the orientalist paradigm and the closest to the Islamic paradigm in terms of his methodology, in terms of examining the narrations based on textual comparison, checking the information in the isnad based on the text, using biographical works, and his conclusions in terms of accepting the narrations as reliable and understanding the narration history correctly.

 Bir tarihçinin, kaynaklarını hem tarihi düzlemine hem de tarih yazımı bağlamına dikkat etmeksizin okuması düşünülemez. Zira bu, kesinlikle tam da tarihî yorumun kalbidir. Çünkü kaynaklar tarihçilerin manayı kurguyla inşa ettikleri malzemeleridir. Diğer deyişle, kaynaklar tarihçilerin söz konusu tarihe dair kendi tasvirlerini yaratmak için dayandıkları geçmişe ait bir haberin veya objenin geçmişiyle ilgili iddialarıdır. Dolayısıyla tarihî bir çalışma ya da yorum bu tasvirin neticesidir. Bir kaynak bize ilgili olayın var olduğuna dair delil sağlar; tarihî yorum ise bu olay hakkında bir iddiadır. Hadis ilminin tarih ve siyer ilmi ile yakın ilişkisi düşünüldüğünde birincisinin ikinciye kaynaklığı meselesi hem hadis hem de tarih akademisyenleri tarafından sık sık gündeme getirilen bir mesele olagelmiştir. Buradan hareketle İslamın kökeni ve tarihi üzerine araştırma yapan Batılıların Hz. Peygamberin hayatı ve onun hadisleriyle yakından ilgilenmeleri son derece tabiidir. Bu araştırmacıların eserleri incelendiğinde ise onun ilk vahiy tecrübesine dair haberlerle özellikle ilgilendikleri görülecektir. Türkiyede ise ilk vahiyle ilgili tartışmalara, yaptıkları çalışmalarla katkı sunan tefsir ve hadis alanından pek çok araştırmacı mevcuttur. Bunlar konuyla ilgili ihtilaflı rivayetleri inceleyen yahut özel olarak ikra rivayetini hadis yahut Kurân tarihi bakımından ele alan çalışmalardır. Bu makale, ilk vahiy tecrübesi ile doğrudan irtibatlandırılan ikra rivayetiyle ilgili Batıda en kapsamlı çalışmayı yapması dolayısıyla Gregor Schoelerin hadis ve siyer kaynaklarında ilgili rivayetin nasıl izini sürdüğü ve rivayetlerin metin mukayeselerinden hareketle oryantalist paradigma içerisinde farklı bir duruş sergileyerek nasıl yeni sonuçlara ulaştığı meselesini ele alacaktır. Neticede Schoelerin, rivayetleri metin mukayesesinden hareketle inceleme, isnaddaki bilgileri metinden hareketle kontrol etme, biyografik eserleri kullanma bakımından yöntem olarak ve rivayetleri güvenilir kabul etme, rivayet tarihini doğru anlama bakımından ulaştığı sonuçlar olarak oryantalist paradigma içerisinde en mutavassıt, İslamî paradigmaya en yakın araştırmacı olduğu görülmüştür.

Article Details

Orientalists’ Claims about the History of the Iqra Narration: A Study of Gregor Schoeler

Authors:

Dilek Tekin

Publisher:

Kahramanmaras Sutcu Imam University

Main Topics:

İslam Tarihi | İslam Tarihi ve Medeniyeti

Journal:

Akademik Siyer Dergisi Issue 10, pp.1-20

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

6/2024

Document Language:

Turkish

Document ID (Org No.):

2001321478

pISSN:

2687-5810

Hadith

sira

iqra narration

Schoeler

common link

textual comparisonHadis

Siyer

İkra Rivayeti

G. Schoeler

Metin Mukayesesi

Issues

Article Details

Authors: Dilek Tekin

Publisher: Kahramanmaras Sutcu Imam University

Main Topics: İslam Tarihi | İslam Tarihi ve Medeniyeti

Journal: Akademik Siyer Dergisi Issue 10, pp.1-20

Document Type: Article

Publication Date: 6/2024

Document Language: Turkish

Document ID (Org No.): 2001321478

pISSN: 2687-5810

Issues

Authors:

Dilek Tekin

Publisher:

Kahramanmaras Sutcu Imam University

Main Topics:

İslam Tarihi | İslam Tarihi ve Medeniyeti

Journal:

Akademik Siyer Dergisi Issue 10, pp.1-20

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

6/2024

Document Language:

Turkish

Document ID (Org No.):

2001321478

pISSN:

2687-5810