Cited by 15Historical and Linguistic StudiesQur’anic Interpretation StudiesLanguage, Linguistics, Cultural Analysis

The DOI matches its Crossref record, with a small difference in title or year; 45 of the 49 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; none of the 26 sources its claims cite is checked for support yet.

Infidel or Paganus?: The Polysemy of kafara in the Quran

Open access
Cole, Juan·2021·Journal of the American Oriental Society

Abstract

This article explores the meaning of the root k-f-r in the Quran, questioning the practice of translating the noun kāfir as “infidel.” It argues for a distinction between the idiomatic phrasal verb kafara bi-, which does mean to reject or disbelieve, and the simple intransitive verb kafara and its deverbal nouns, which are used in the Quran in a large number of different ways. This polysemy is explored through contextual readings of Quran passages. It is argued that the noun kāfir, unlike the verb kafara, is used only with regard to adherents of traditional polytheism and is not deployed in an unmodified way with regard to Jews and Christians. The possible influence on the Arabic kafara of Greek and Latin conceptions is also broached.

Overview

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.7817/jameroriesoci.140.3.0615

Cites

45 of 45 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Verification

Claims the paper makes

50 Own interpretation · 46 No basis given · 23 Sources not found · 5 Not checked yet · 5 Own result

Show all 66 claims

  • It may state two separate claims as one. 41
  • The quote only partly states this claim. 9
  • Probably not a substantial claim. 21
63 of 63
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The chronological order of Quranic suras, such as al-Māʾida being very late, is sufficiently known to date Muhammad's encounters.

    “since such beliefs are not mentioned until the very late sura al-Māʾida.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The Quran's statements about Jews, Christians, and pagans reflect actual social groups and historical events in Muhammad's environment.

    “Muḥammad thus lived and worked in Christian societies and would have had a fair experience of contemporary Christian practice and belief.”
2 of 2

Citations

Cites

Show all 49 references

Research works printed but not linked: 9

  1. T. S. Cason, "Creature Features: Monstrosity and the Construction of Human Identity in the Testament of Solomon," Catholic Biblical Quarterly 77.2 (2015): 263-79;
  2. Saint John Chrysostom, The Homilies on the Epistles of St. Paul, the Apostle, to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon (Oxford: J.H. Parker, 1854), 81-83.
  3. period, P. Fredriksen, Paul: The Pagans' Apostle (New Haven: Yale Univ. Press, 2017), 45-48;
  4. Ch. Haas, Alexandria in Late Antiquity: Topography and Social Conflict (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, 2006); Shahîd, Byzantium and the Arabs in the Sixth Century; Ph. Jenkins, Jesus Wars: How Four Patriarchs, Three Queens, and Two Emperors Decided What Christians Would Believe for the Next 1,500 Years (New York: HarperOne, 2010), chap.
  5. T. Sizgorich, Violence and Belief in Late Antiquity: Militant Devotion in Christianity and Islam (Philadelphia: Univ. of Pennsylvania Press, 2012), chap. 4.
  6. A. Kateusz, "Collyridian Déjà Vu: The Trajectory of Redaction of the Markers of Mary's Liturgical Leadership," Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion 29.2 (2013): 75-92.
  7. M. Sághy and E. M. Schoolman (Budapest: Central European Univ. Press, 2018), 105-18.
  8. J. J. O'Donnell, "Paganus," Classical Folia 31 (1977): 163-69;
  9. A. Cameron, The Last Pagans of Rome (New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 2011), chap. 1; Remus, "End of 'Paganism'?," 198-200.

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Metadata

Authors
Cole, J.
Affiliations
University of Michigan (US)
Corresponding author
Cole, Juan
Venue
Journal of the American Oriental Society
Published
2021-09-19
Volume
140
Issue
3
ISSN
  • 0003-0279 (ISSN-L)
  • 2169-2289
OpenAlex
W3088230346
Cited by
15
References
49
Citations by year
2025: 1 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 3
FWCI
25.47
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
Journal of the American Oriental Society (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Religious studies › Historical and Linguistic Studies
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Religious studies › Qur’anic Interpretation Studies
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Language and Linguistics › Language, Linguistics, Cultural Analysis
Keywords
Quran, kafir, Arabic vocabulary, polysemy, Quran translation, phrasal verbs, pagans

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