Critique of Gabriel Sawma’s View on “Fātiḥah” ‎

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Assistant Professor, Department of Qur’an and Hadith Sciences, The University ‎of Sciences and Teachings of the Holy Qur’an, Faculty of Comparative Studies, ‎Shiraz, Iran‎

2 ‎. Assistant Professor, Department of Arabic Language and Literature, The ‎University of Sciences and Teachings of the Holy Qur’an, Faculty of ‎Comparative Studies, Shiraz, Iran.‎

3 MA student of Qur’an and Hadith Sciences, The University of Sciences and ‎Teachings of the Holy Qur’an, Faculty of Comparative Studies, Shiraz, Iran.‎

Abstract

In 2006 Gabriel Sawma compiled the book “The Qur'an, Misinterpreted, Mistranslated, and Misread: The Aramaic Language of the Qur'an”. In his book, he claims that the language of the Qur’an is Aramaic Syriac, trying to prove the adoption of the Qur’an from Jewish-Christian sources. By reviewing the Surahs of the Qur’an, he mentions many vocabulary as witnesses and then analyzes them. He begins by examining the first chapter of the Qur’an with the term Fātiḥah, believing that the shadow of the adaptation has even fallen behind the name of the first chapter of the Qur’an. He cites evidences from the Testaments and the Hebrew and Syriac language, in order to prove that it is not an Arabic word but goes back to the Aramaic Syriac language. In this paper, while presenting Gabriel Sawma’s views, they would be reviewed and criticized from the aspect of comparative historical linguistics in three Hebrew, Arabic and Syriac languages. The existence of the Qur’anic word in Ignorance Age’s poems and the structural and semantic similarities between the word in Arabic, Hebrew, and Syriac Languages prove the fact that it has its root in Sami language, contrary to Sawma’s claims.
 
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Keywords

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History

  • Receive Date: 07 April 2019
  • Revise Date: 11 January 2020
  • Accept Date: 11 January 2020

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