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Licensed Unlicensed Requires Authentication Published by De Gruyter October 9, 2019

“Who are the Aṣḥāb al-Ukhdūd? Q 85:4‒10 in Near Eastern Context.”

  • Adam Silverstein EMAIL logo
From the journal Der Islam
https://doi.org/10.1515/islam-2019-0025

Abstract

This article seeks to contribute to our understanding of a short Qurʾānic passage, Q 85:4‒10, which concerns the fate of the enigmatic Aṣḥāb al-Ukhdūd. It is argued that the ‘eschatological’ and ‘historical’ readings of this passage, which have generally been taken to be mutually exclusive options for its interpretation, are both indispensable for a full contextualization of the verses in question. Furthermore, regarding the historical reading of the passage, it is argued that the verses refer to the events recorded in Daniel 3, rather than to the Martyrs of Najrān episode that most exegetes (and many modern scholars) opt for. Finally, a new etymology for the word Ukhdūd is proposed.

Keywords: Qurʾān; Aṣḥāb al-Ukhdūd; ‘Men of the Pit’; Daniel 3; Martyrs of Najrān; Dhū Nuwās; fire ordeals; martyrdom; hellfire in Islam; Meccan sūrahs
Online erschienen: 2019-10-09
Erschienen im Druck: 2019-10-04

© 2019 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

From the journal
Der Islam
Der Islam
Volume 96 Issue 2

Journal and Issue

Articles in the same Issue

Titelseiten
Recompense and Reward: The Scholarly Contributions of Michael David Bonner (1952‒2019)
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“Who are the Aṣḥāb al-Ukhdūd? Q 85:4‒10 in Near Eastern Context.”
Whence Diyār Bakr? An Inquiry into Early Jazīran Administrative Geography
The Uniqueness of the Fāṭimid State
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