Early Islamic Differentiation from Judaism: Three Additional Case Studies

Abstract

In this article, I elaborate on an earlier paper concerning a relatively neglected aspect of the relationship between Islam and Judaism - differentiation from Judaism - by providing three examples from the early Islamic era: instituting the leap year, testifying against adulterers, and punishing perjurers. In all three, the Qurʾān suggests that the Jewish practice is not to be observed. In the first two, the Islamic tradition differentiates from Jewish practice by enacting what it considers more lenient rules of behavior (a course of action considered important in many Islamic sources); this suggests the possibility of a Rabbinite Jewish presence in the foundational Islamic milieu, one that, in Islamic eyes, had to be countered. In the third case, however, the Islamic tradition establishes a more stringent rule, as is rarely done. Here, the purpose of differentiation appears to have been the need to avoid assimilation with the Jews.