That’s kind of cute… are still stuck with the rather annoying problem that the book written by Ibn Ishaq doesn’t exist.
I’ll take the “cute” remark as a compliment.
Your quote that the book written by Ibn Ishaq “doesn’t” exist is a mistatement.
The version of Ibn Ishaq’s text we have in full text was redacted by Ibn Hisham, around the 10th century, I believe. Ibn Hisham did two things:
-He added a long series of explanatory notes to the text, which Mr. Gullaiume has translated in the back of the text
-He edited out traditions in the book he thought were spurious or unreliable
It seems to me the more pressing question is that, if we have Ibn Ishaq’s biography and we know that Ibn Hisham redacted the text, obviously he thought the Kinana story really happened, lest he would have edited it out of the text.
Ibn Ishaq is often quoted or expanded upon by Al-Tabari, the great Moslem historian. You can see this if you read Tabari’s History and the volumes concerning Mohammed’s life. You can read these in the preface notes and other notes which Guillaiume adds to the text for explanation in the margins and preface.
If it doesn’t exist, how could it possibly be translated? …
I have answered your question above.
I find it funny how you say that Ibn Ishaq’s biography never existed. That would imply that the biography, which you can find at many Moslem bookstores (I can list more if you are interested), must be a fake as well, and the Moslems are deceiving themselves by reading it.
It’s impossible to say it doesn’t exist, because it clearly does; how else would they be able to sell it? It’s also ridiculous to even suggest that it’s a poor source of Islamic tradition since it was written by Moslems for Moslems and it’s used by Moslem scholars all around the world.
If you want to read the actual Arabic, the biography is called Sirat Un-Nabawiya, and if you go to any good Islamic bookstore you can find the original in the Arabic text.
Moreover, I actually have a couple of different books on the Sirah… this bizarre story doesn’t appear at all.
Which “books” on Sirah do you have?
Amy, if you haven’t realized it yet, many of these modern biographies of Mohammed are sanitized with respect to the original orthodox Islamic sources. Anything which would make Mohammed appear in a negative light is selectively missing.
I find that interesting, especially when Mohammed said:
Don’t lie against me, for whoever tells a lie against me will enter the fire (of hell).
Sahih Bukhari, Volume I, Book I, Number 106 (also 107-111)
My suggestion to you: read the early sources of Islam written by the orthodox Moslems- Ibn Ishaq, Tabari, Ibn Sa’d, Waqidi, Bukhari, Muslim- if you want to know about Mohammed and early Islam, and make your citations from the early sources.
And the fact that you’re quoting it is very very weird anyway. …You need to provide all sorts of facts, … I guess you can’t tell … just by reading it that it’s very suspicious anyway. …
I’m quoting because you wanted to know the story. You didn’t want to believe it when other people gave you sources that referenced it, so I provided the story for you.
Do you find it weird that I provided textual proof to support my claims?
You say that it’s suspicious “just by reading it” and that is something “I can’t tell.” Why? Do you have some kind of unique insight? Or is this story inconsistent with your personal image of Mohammed because it shows Mohammed sanctioning murder and torture?
Kinana isn’t the only case where Mohammed is involved in murder. There are many more cases, and not just in Ibn Ishaq but Tabari, Waqidi, Bukhari, Muslim, Ibn Sa’d, and many other reliable, orthodox collections of Islamic tradition. I’d be more than happy to provide not only accounts, but stories as well. That is, if you’re open to discussion.
All the same, I provided a story a few pages back where the Prophet (saws) actually scolded his companions for torturing two boys.
And I can provide you a story where Mohammed orders his follower to cruelly torture 80 men to death because they “caused mischief” to Mohammed. I can also provide you a story where Mohammed orders an old man murdered for criticising him, and a (I believe) widowed woman who has five children murdered for similar reasons.
If you want to quote stories and discuss from the early Islamic text, I’m open. I will provide proof, logical reasoning, examples, and cited sources. I expect you to do the same.
All you have is what is at best a very inauthentic weak report in a translation of a book that no longer exists (and didn’t exist to be translated anyway.) Just looking for trouble, all to make Muhammad look bad. It should tell you something that you have to try so hard
Translation: This story didn’t happen because it makes Mohammed look bad.
I don’t to try to make Mohammed “look bad.” Mohammed does that on his own, and your orthodox Moslem scholars support this image. I just present their writings.
You don’t have to like what Mohammed did. You cannot selectively choose from the early Islamic sources what you want to believe Mohammed did or didn’t do, because then your image of Mohammed is a lie, and as Mohammed said about liars:
Don’t lie against me, for whoever tells a lie against me will enter the fire (of hell).
Sahih Bukhari, Volume I, Book I, Number 106 (also 107-111)
Are you willing to discuss Mohammed’s life using the orthodox Islamic sources combined with proof, logical reasoning, examples, and references?
Yes or no?