BY THE AGE AND
MISFORTUNES OF TIME
by David Ross
23 Feb 2004
Introduction
The ancient Shi'a disagreed over the content of sura 103. According to Daud Rahbar:
The only other interesting variant in 'Ali's Codex is a different reading of Surah al-'Asr (No. 103). The 'Uthmanic reading is this:
By the age [Or, By the afternoon]! Verily, man is in loss! Save those who believe and do right, and bid each other be true and bid each other be patient.
'Ali's Codex offers the Surah in the following form:
By the age and the misfortunes of time! Verily, man is in loss. And he is in it until the end of time.
Does this rather pessimistic variant reflect the Shi'a despair over the turn of history?
The Aphorism
'Ali's variant 103:1 and 103:3 share the same ending, of al-dahr (time). Meanwhile, the variant
103:1's "misfortunes" is a thematic parallel to shared 102:2, in which "man is at a loss".
'Ali's sura is self-contained.
Were it not in a holy text, we would never suspect tampering here.
In fact, we would not suspect this humanistic epigram to belong to a holy text
in the first place.
At A Loss
Sura 103's 'Uthmanic pluses, by contrast with 'Ali's, are foreign to the sura, and
more natural to the rest of the Qur'an.
The textus receptus of 103:3 does not follow from either version of 103:1-2.
Belief, good deeds, truth, and enjoining anything at all are not factors in the
nihilistic verses 103:1-2.
The only 103:3 concept that could possibly fit al-'asr, a span of time,
is patience; and that only because 'Uthman's version does not mention the "end of time".
We should suspect an interpolation in 'Uthmanic sura 103.
'Uthman's pluses to sura 103 are also found in other suras.
The 'Uthmanic third verse reads thus in Arabic: illâ allathîna âmanû wa-'amilû al-sâlihâti wa-tawâsaw bi-l-haqqi wa-tawâsaw bi-l-sabri.
The phrase "those who believe and do good
(allathîna âmanû wa-'amilû al-sâlihâti)" is a common Qur'anic formula, referring to the Muslim (47:2, etc).
Likewise the "patient ones
(sabirîn)" are consistently blessed
(3:17, etc).
Two suras in particular have passages which parallel 'Uthman's sura 103 nearly verbatim.
2:153 associates believers (allathîna âmanû)
with bi-l-sabri, and
90:17 has allathîna âmanû wa-tawâsaw bi-l-sabri wa-tawâsaw bi-l-marhamati.
I do not need to speculate as to which came first; 'Uthman's 103, or the suras 2, 47, and 90.
It is enough to point out that 'Uthman's pluses are foreign to sura 103, and orthodox Qur'anic in language and sentiment.
The Pagan Mind
Rahbar then adds, "Or did 'Ali actually hear Muhammad on some occasion recite the Surah in this form? We cannot easily decide this. The chapter, according to Nöldeke's theories, belongs to the first period of the Prophet's mission (A.D. 612-617). The portrayals of human destiny in that period were, on the whole, grim.
" This is question-begging;
we cannot assume, yet, the biography of Muhammad as given in the Sira.
Instead of comparing this to Muhammad's mission, it were better to compare it to
the Arabic-language poetry which the earliest Muslims associated with the desert pagans.
As one example, Sulmî bin Rabî'a wrote a poem on time, its effect on man, and general futility (from Firestone p. 29, citing Helmer Ringgren's Studies in Arabian Fatalism, Uppsala, 1955; p. 50):
al-dahr is change, al-dahr's fool is man,
Wealth or want, great store or small,
All is one since Death's are all.
This is very close to 'Ali's sura 103; and like it, does not refer to the slogans
of Islamic monotheism.
Conclusion
Rahbar listed more than a few variants in which the Shi'a reading is inferior to the Uthmanic. This is not such an example.
The Shi'a appreciated its poetry and applied it to their situation. Sura 103 cheered up
the community, for a time.
'Uthman's isnad of copyists, meanwhile, noticed instead its atheism.
Accordingly they took action.
Any thoughts? e-mail me :^)
zimriel@sbcglobal.net
Other Links
Bibliography
- Daud Rahbar. The Muslim World 1960-1961.
- Reuven Firestone. Jihad. Oxford. 1999.
Miscellany
23 Feb 2004, started.