Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

• tahereh rahimpour azghadi
• alireza azad

Abstract

The question about the source of the Qur'an has been dealt with by both proponents and opponents of Islam since old times. In the 19th century, it turned into an important issue for many orientalists, who then proposed a number of different ideas to settle it. This paper first reviews major ideas of Islamic scholars about the source of the Qur'an. It then employs a library method to deduct major ideas of Western orientalist who studied the Qur'an and finds these ideas to be as follows: epilepsy and disease, mental visions, natural genius, culture and beliefs of pre-Islamic Arabs, the Hanif cult, poets and poetry, books of other religions – both divine and non-revealed books and divine and revealed books. This paper uses forthright views of Islamic scholars on the issue to criticize six Western ideas which firmly insist on a human source of the Qur'an. The method used for criticism involves two parts. First, general arguments for the Divine source of the Qur'an are presented in two categories of intra-religion and extra-religion arguments, and ideas which claim a non-divine source for the Qur'an are rejected thereby. Second, a specific criticism of each of the six ideas is made.

Keywords

• source of the Qur'an
• sources of divine revelation
• ideas of orientalists
• the Qur'an and orientalist