Ignaz Goldziher and Theodor Nöldeke on Revelation: A Critical Study in Light of Classical Muslim Scholarship

Abstract

In this paper the discussion will be critical on opinions expressed by Ignaz Goldziher and Theodor Nöldeke on the concept of revelation among the Muslims, especially the Quran. The two scholars are amongst the pioneers of the Western study of Islam who have made a tremendous contribution to the academic interpretation of the Islamic literature of the recent time. Goldziher took revelation as psychological and sociological process and observed it in the context of history development and culture. Nodleke, however was concerned with the chronological and stylistic development of the Quran and suggested an organized sequence of revelation founded on the linguistic and thematic factors. This paper draws comparisons of their theories and the views of classical Muslim thinkers, including al Tabari, Fakhr al-Din al-Razi and Qadi Iyad. These ancient scholars present a comprehensive, theological, and spiritually based interpretation of revelation based on the Quran and the Hadith. The work identifies the way that the orientalist approach tends to become discontinuous with the internal epistemology of Islamic tradition, often being the symptom of Eurocentric different types of assumptions and intellectual trends of the 19th century Europe. The paper will endeavor to explore in a balanced and critical manner the way in which revelation is perceived within and without the Islamic intellectual tradition by involving both the western and Islamic sources. It finds that some of the orientalist contributions do add value to the academic discourse but they do not always have the depth of context that can be traced in the classical Islamic scholarly work. This study ends up supporting the usefulness of dialogical working and methodological impartiality in researching religious text and customs.