Qur'anic Pagans from Crone's Point of View: Emphasizing on Verses 32-43 of Surah Kahf

Abstract

From the perspective of Islamic and Western scholars, the Holy Qur'an is presented as the source of Islamic beliefs, and many Orientalists have studied and written on topics derived from the themes of the Qur'an. Among them, we can mention Patricia Crone, who in the article "Qur'anic pagans and resurrection" has analyzed the principles of monotheism and resurrection as the most important religious foundations in the Qur'an. On the one hand, she believes that the Qur'an has not clearly defined polytheists and infidels, and on the other hand, all polytheists have been addressed in the Qur'an, like the wealthy person in Surah Kahf/32-43, as those who deny the resurrection. The current research has investigated the above-mentioned doubts by descriptive-analytical method. In this regard, the findings of the research on the words "Polytheism" and "Disbelief" show that the Qur'an has explained them according to the context and audience. And the reasons for the polytheism of a wealthy person in Surah Kahf by examining the context and analyzing the verses such as the connection of arrogance and shirk is obtained by suspecting the Resurrection and admitting one's own shirk. The result of the investigation indicates that Crone's analysis about polytheism and their belief in resurrection cannot be compatible with the verses of the Qur’an.