Journal of Comparative Religious Studies
Title
“The Satanic Verses: Textual History, Islamic Tradition, and the Question of Qur’anic Integrity”
Abstract
The “Satanic Verses” incident represents one of the most controversial topics in Islamic historiography and interfaith polemics. Rooted in the earliest Islamic sources, the narrative claims that the Prophet Muhammad, at one point, recited verses in honor of pre-Islamic deities, which were subsequently abrogated and denounced as satanic interference. This article critically examines the historical evidence for the event, the textual variations in the Qur’an, early Islamic responses, and theological implications for the doctrines of revelation and scriptural integrity. Through the analysis of primary Islamic sources—biographies, hadith collections, and exegetical literature—this study contributes to the ongoing discourse on the transmission and preservation of sacred texts in Abrahamic religions.
Keywords
Qur’an, Satanic Verses, Muhammad, textual criticism, Islamic tradition, abrogation, scriptural integrity, polemics, revelation, early Islam.
1. Introduction
Within Islamic polemics and apologetics, the question of the reliability and preservation of holy scriptures remains central. Muslims often assert the divine preservation of the Qur’an, contrasting it with alleged textual corruption in the Bible. Yet, a critical review of Islamic historiography reveals episodes—such as the so-called “Satanic Verses”—that challenge simplistic notions of textual purity. This article investigates the “Satanic Verses” narrative, its documentation in Islamic sources, and its wider doctrinal consequences.
2. Background: The Satanic Verses Narrative
The term “Satanic Verses” refers to an incident recounted by numerous early Muslim authorities, wherein Satan is said to have inspired the Prophet Muhammad to utter verses affirming the intercessory power of three pre-Islamic goddesses: al-Lat, al-Uzza, and Manat. These verses were later abrogated and replaced within the Qur’anic corpus. The narrative, while highly contentious in Islamic thought, remains extensively documented in Islamic historical literature.
3. Primary Sources and Early Islamic Historiography
3.1 Qur’anic Context
Surah An-Najm (53:19–20) states:
“Have you considered al-Lat and al-‘Uzza, and another, the third [goddess], Manat?”1
Historical biographers recount that this passage was originally followed by a now-excised verse:
“These are the exalted cranes (gharāniq), whose intercession is to be hoped for.”2
This interpolation was later condemned as a product of satanic interference and removed, replaced with the current verses (53:21–22):
“Is the male for you and the female for Him? That, then, is an unjust division.”
3.2 Early Islamic Biographers
Four principal early Muslim biographers preserve the episode:
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al-Wahidi / al-Waqidi (d. 207/823 CE): In Asbab al-Nuzul, describes how Muhammad’s conciliatory recitation led to the Meccan leaders’ approval, until Gabriel later rebuked him for reciting words not divinely revealed.3
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Ibn Sa’d (d. 230/845 CE): In Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir, corroborates the occurrence and details communal reactions.4
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Ibn Ishaq (d. 145/767 CE): In Sirat Rasul Allah, reports that both Muslims and polytheists were momentarily reconciled by the verses, only for Muhammad to later retract them as satanic suggestion.5
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al-Tabari (d. 923 CE): In Tarikh al-Rusul wa al-Muluk, provides a detailed account of Muhammad’s inner conflict, Satan’s intervention, and Gabriel’s subsequent correction.6
3.3 Other Acknowledgements
Several other prominent scholars and exegetes—including Abu Ma’shar, Ibn Abi Hatim, Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Hajar, Ibn Mardawayh, Musa ibn ‘Uqba, and Zamakhshari—reference or discuss the incident, indicating its prevalence in the early Islamic tradition.7
4. Indirect Evidence: Qur’an and Hadith
4.1. Canonical Hadith
Sahih al-Bukhari and Abu Dawud document that, after Muhammad’s recitation of Surah An-Najm, both Muslims and pagans prostrated—a unique occurrence, suggesting the inclusion of conciliatory content.8
4.2. The Qur’an on Satanic Interference
Two passages are cited as allusions to this episode:
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Surah 22:52: “We did not send before you any messenger or prophet except that, when he desired, Satan threw [some suggestion] into his desire; but Allah abolishes that which Satan throws in, then Allah makes precise His verses...”
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Surah 17:73–75: Addresses external attempts to sway Muhammad from divine revelation, with warnings of grave consequences.
5. Muslim Responses and Scholarly Critique
5.1. Common Muslim Objections
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Lack of unanimity in the isnad (transmission chain): Some hadith collectors omit the incident, or question its reliability.
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Contradiction with Qur’anic monotheism and Muhammad’s inerrancy: Verses such as 15:9 and 41:42 are cited as evidence for the Qur’an’s incorruptibility.
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Redaction in Islamic sources: Later redactors like Ibn Hisham are known to have removed the episode from earlier biographies out of theological discomfort.9
5.2. Academic Responses
Scholarly consensus recognizes the multiplicity of independent early attestations, the early dating of the reports (predating major Sunni hadith collections), and the narrative’s consistency across biographical and exegetical sources. The practice of abrogation (naskh) within the Qur’an further supports the possibility of excised revelations.10
6. Theological and Scriptural Implications
The Satanic Verses episode, if accepted, raises questions regarding the doctrine of revelation, prophetic impeccability (isma), and the Qur’an’s textual preservation. If Muhammad could temporarily utter non-divine words as revelation, it suggests a more dynamic—and vulnerable—process of scriptural transmission than traditional Islamic dogma permits.
Conversely, if the incident is rejected, one must explain the widespread early Muslim attestation and the textual traces in both Qur’anic and hadith literature.
The episode further intersects with the broader polemic between Islam and Christianity regarding the reliability and corruption of sacred texts, highlighting both shared anxieties and divergent doctrines of scriptural integrity.
7. Conclusion
The “Satanic Verses” incident, deeply embedded in early Islamic literature, presents a significant case study in the history of religions. It compels both Muslims and non-Muslims to reckon with the realities of textual transmission, historical memory, and the complex evolution of doctrinal orthodoxy. Ultimately, the episode invites renewed reflection on the nature of divine communication, the limits of human agency in revelation, and the enduring quest for religious certainty.
References
Correspondence:
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Acknowledgments:
The author thanks the staff at Max Shimba Ministries and the editorial board of the Journal of Comparative Religious Studies for their input.
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Footnotes
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Qur’an 53:19–20. ↩
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Guillaume, A. (Trans.). (1955). The Life of Muhammad: A Translation of Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah. Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 166. ↩
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al-Wahidi, Asbab al-Nuzul. ↩
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Ibn Sa‘d, Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir. ↩
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Ibn Ishaq, Sirat Rasul Allah. ↩
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al-Tabari, Tarikh al-Rusul wa al-Muluk (History of the Prophets and Kings), vol. 6, pp. 108–110. ↩
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See S. Moinul Haq (Trans.), The Book of the Major Classes. ↩
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Sahih al-Bukhari, vol. 3, book 19, nos. 173, 176; vol. 6, book 60, nos. 385–386. Abu Dawud, vol. 1, book 2, no. 1401. ↩
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Ibn Hisham, al-Sira al-Nabawiyya (redacted biography). ↩
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Sahih Muslim, vol. 1, book 244, no. 1433 (on abrogation). ↩
