Anonymous503: Views of the Jewish religion on the Islamic prophet Muhammad

2023-10-05T15:31:40Z

Views of the Jewish religion on the Islamic prophet Muhammad

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{{Short description|Views of the Jewish religion on the Islamic prophet Muhammad}}
{{Muhammad}}

Very few texts in [[Judaism]] refer to or take note of the Islamic prophet, [[Muhammad]]. Those that do generally reject Muhammad's proclamation of receiving divine revelations from [[God]] and label him instead as a [[false prophet]].

==References to Muhammad==

In the Middle Ages, it was common for [[Jews|Jewish]] writers to describe Muhammad as ''ha-meshuggah'' ("the [[Insanity|madman]]"), a term frequently used in the Bible for those who believe themselves to be prophets.<ref name="Stillman1979">{{cite book|author=Norman A. Stillman|title=The Jews of Arab lands: a history and source book|url=https://archive.org/details/jewsofarablands00stil|url-access=registration|accessdate=26 December 2011|year=1979|publisher=Jewish Publication Society|isbn=978-0-8276-0198-7|page=[https://archive.org/details/jewsofarablands00stil/page/236 236]}}</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=M8o6UZ37ppUC&pg=PA255 Defending the West: A Critique of Edward Said's Orientalism By Ibn Warraq Page 255]</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=vjFNPT52XjUC&pg=PA21 The Legacy of Islamic Antisemitism: From Sacred Texts to Solemn History page 21]</ref>

===Maimonides===

[[Maimonides]] referred to Muhammad as a [[false prophet]] and an [[insane]] man. In his ''[[Epistle to Yemen]]'' he wrote "After [Jesus] arose the Madman who emulated his precursor [Jesus], since he paved the way for him. But he added the further objective of procuring rule and submission [''talb al-mulk''; pursuit of sovereignty] and he invented what was well known [Islam]."<ref name=Roth1994p218>Norman Roth. ''Jews, Visigoths, and Muslims in Medieval Spain: Cooperation and Conflict'', [[Brill Publishers|BRILL]], 1994, p. 218.</ref>

In his authoritative work of law, the ''[[Mishneh Torah]]'' (Hilkhot Melakhim 11:10–12), Maimonides indicated that nevertheless Muhammad was part of God's plan of preparing the world for the coming of the [[Jewish Messianism|Jewish Messiah]]: "All those words of Jesus of Nazareth and of this Ishmaelite [i.e., Muhammad] who arose after him are only to make straight the path for the messianic king and to prepare the whole world to serve the Lord together. As it is said: 'For then I will change the speech of the peoples to a pure speech so that all of them shall call on the name of the Lord and serve him with one accord' (Zephaniah 3:9)."<ref name=Rudin128-129>[[A. James Rudin]]. ''Christians & Jews Faith to Faith: Tragic History, Promising Present, Fragile Future'', Jewish Lights Publishing, 2010, pp. 128–129.</ref>

===Obscure and indirect references===
[[Natan'el al-Fayyumi]], a prominent 12th-century [[Yemenite Jews|Yemenite]] rabbi and theologian, and the founder of what is sometimes called "[[Jewish philosophy#Nethan'el al-Fayyumi|Jewish Ismailism]]", wrote in his philosophical treatise ''Bustan al-Uqul'' ("Garden of the minds") that God sends prophets to establish religions for other nations, which do not have to conform to the precepts of the Jewish Torah. Nethanel explicitly considered Muhammad a true prophet, who was sent from Heaven with a particular message that applies to the Arabs, but not to the Jews.<ref>''The Bustan al-Ukul, by Nathanael ibn al-Fayyumi,'' edited and translated by David Levine, Columbia University Oriental Studies Vol. VI, p. 105</ref><ref>''Gan ha-Sekhalim'', ed. Kafih (Jerusalem, 1984), ch. 6.</ref> Al-Fayyumi's explicit acceptance of Muhammad's prophecy was rare and virtually unknown until recent times beyond his native [[Yemen]].<ref>''Abraham's children: Jews, Christians, and Muslims in conversation,'' by Norman Solomon, Richard Harries, Tim Winter, T&T Clark Int'l, 2006, {{ISBN|0-567-08161-3}}, p. 137 ''Netanel's work was virtually unknown beyond his native Yemen until modern times, so had little influence on later Jewish thought.''</ref>

The [[Apocalyptic literature|apocalyptic]] [[Midrash]] ''[[The Secrets of Rabbi Simon ben Yohai]]'', compares Muhammad to the Jewish [[Jewish eschatology|Messiah]]. According to this text, ascribed to the famous 1st-century sage and mystic [[Simeon bar Yochai]], and apparently written at the beginning of the Muslim conquest or in the 8th century,<ref>''The History of Jerusalem: The Early Muslim Period'', by Joshua Prawer and Haggai Ben-Shammai, NYU Press, 1996, {{ISBN|978-0814766392}}, p. 304</ref> Muhammad's role as a prophet includes redeeming the Jews from the Christian ("Roman" or "Edomite") oppression and playing a positive role in the messianic process.<ref>''Abraham's children: Jews, Christians, and Muslims in conversation,'' by Norman Solomon, Richard Harries, Tim Winter, T&T Clark Int'l, 2006, {{ISBN|0-567-08161-3}}, p. 133 ''"Nistarot" places the Muslim conquests in an eschatological context, and implies that Muhammad had a positive role to play in the messianic process.''</ref>

One Yemenite Jewish document, found in the [[Cairo Genizah]], suggests that many Jews had not only accepted Muhammad as a prophet, but had even desecrated [[Shabbat|Sabbath]] in order to join Muhammad in his struggle. However, some historians suggest that this document, called ''Dhimmat an-nabi Muhammad'' (Muhammad's Writ of Protection), has been fabricated by Yemenite Jews for the purpose of self-defence.<ref>Yakov Rabkin [http://www.cismor.jp/en/publication/jismor/documents/JISMOR5en_Rabkin.pdf "Perspectives on the Muslim Other in Jewish Tradition"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120327204751/http://www.cismor.jp/en/publication/jismor/documents/JISMOR5en_Rabkin.pdf |date=2012-03-27 }} (126 KB)</ref>

A number of stories from the Islamic tradition about Muhammad entered mainstream Jewish thought incidentally, due to the great cultural convergence in Islamic Spain from the 9th to 12th centuries, known as the [[Golden age of Jewish culture in Spain|Golden Age]] of [[Sephardim|Spanish Jewry]]. For example, Rabbi [[Jacob Joseph of Polonne]], one of the early [[Hasidism|Hasidic]] mystics, wrote that one pious man (''hasid'') taught that the internal struggle against the evil inclination is greater than external battle, quoting [[Bahya ibn Paquda]]'s popular treatise ''[[Chovot HaLevavot]].'' In the [[Judeo-Arabic]] original version of that book, Bahya Ibn Paquda refers to both external and internal battle as [[jihad]] and the "pious man" about whom the story is originally told is Muhammad, though the author does not mention his source by name.<ref>''A Sufi-Jewish Dialogue: Philosophy and Mysticism in Bahya ibn Paquda's Duties of the Heart,'' by Diana Lobel, University of Pennsylvania Press, {{ISBN|0-8122-3953-9}}, p. ix "How does a perennially popular manual of Jewish piety come to be quoting Islamic traditions about the Prophet Muhammad? Muslim Spain of the tenth through twelfth century, known as the "Golden Age" of Hispano-Jewish poetry and letters, is a time of great convergence and cultural creativity."</ref>

==See also==
* [[Judaism's view of Jesus]]
* [[Islamic-Jewish relations]]
* [[Muhammad's views on Jews]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Islam and Judaism|Muhammad]]
[[Category:Judaism-related controversies|Muhammad]]
[[Category:Muhammad and Judaism| ]]
[[Category:Religious perspectives on Muhammad]]
[[Category:Point of view]]

Judaism's view of Muhammad - Revision history

Anonymous503: Views of the Jewish religion on the Islamic prophet Muhammad