Before Revelation

Download or read book Before Revelation written by A. Kevin Reinhart and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 1995-02-16 with total page 278 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Before Revelation studies the development of Muslim jurisprudential and theological thought as expressed in the extensive dispute over the assessment of acts that took place before the arrival of Revelation. Between the ninth and nineteenth centuries Muslims debated, often fiercely, the question, "What is the value of an act--moving from place to place, breathing, or eating a tasty food, for instance--before Revelation arrives?" That is, Muslims, whose existence as Muslims derived from the Qur'anic Revelation, debated whether acts could be called "good," or "reprehensible," before the Qur'an. This book analyzes that prolonged debate from a History of Religions perspective, using sources from the Muslim sciences of jurisprudential theory (usal-fiqh) and theology (kalam).