Most of the voluminous book of Zohar was written in Spain at the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries. Its texts are written either as homilies or as stories (and very often as a combination of both genres). There are about 350 stories in the Zohar, but about 20 of them combine together into describing the life story and spiritual development of R. Shimeon bar Yochay and his circle (fraternity). These stories are literarily very sophisticated and are characterized by acute messianism.
Here one scene in this biography is described, in which a new novice, R. Hiyya the Great, joins the fraternity. Thus the fraternity consists now of 10 members and is therefore "whole". At the same time R. Hiyya is being rewarded with an awesome mystical experience and is to be considered a prophet, just like all other members.
This article presents a critical edition of this story, based on 28 sources – manuscripts, different printed editions and quotations. It also presents an additional, unknown version of the story, probably an earlier one, which is extant in one manuscript only.
The article begins with detailed introductions which lay special emphasis on literary and theological analysis.

This book examines John Calvin’s sense of vocation.

1) It begins with an analysis of thinking on prophecy in early, medieval, and Reformation theology.

2) It finds Calvin within a non-mystical, non-apocalyptic prophetic tradition that focused on scriptural interpretation.

3) It argues Calvin believed his prophetic authority was the same as Isaiah and Jeremiah, and suggests that he may have held himself to be infallible in matters related to Christian doctrine.

4) It argues that starting from about 1555, Calvin began to conceive the idea of encouraging one of the French 'lesser magistrates' (the princes of the blood royal) to rise up in armed conflict against the sitting French king with the aim of taking the throne.

5) Thus, it argues that when that did happen in 1562 when Louis of Condé gathered troops in Orléans and declared their intentions to liberate King Charles IX from the evil councillors surrounding him, this had Calvin's fingerprints on it -- Calvin was to a significant degree responsible for this turn of events.

6) Calvin pursued this plan, I argue, as one of a number of approaches to winning France for the gospel. In this way, the volume explores Calvin's sense of vocation and the impact this had on his political thought.

Catalogue description of Add MS 15407, located in the British Library. Add MS is dated 13th century, and includes texts by Anselm, Boethius, John of Damascus, Richard of St. Victor and Isidore. The description also includes a previously unedited transcription of a Sibyl Prophecy and a short commentary on the possible meanings and references.

A report of Francis of Assisi foretelling a non-canonically elected pope is circulating online in English translation. The translation is of a text edited by Luke Wadding in 1623. With the advances of Franciscan studies over the last century, we can assert with confidence that Wadding's text is a distraction from the real origin of the report, namely a small collection of sayings that circulated in the fourteenth century as the "Verba fratris Conradi." We also can say with confidence that those sayings were written in the first half of the fourteenth century by zelanti who were trying to make sense of their experience of being persecuted both by their superiors and the popes themselves.

El siguiente catálogo reúne todos los manuscritos que contienen obras de Hildegarde,y pseudo Hildegarde y Gebeno de Eberbach de los que he tenido noticia. La descripción de los mismos se ha hecho de acuerdo con el siguiente modelo: nº] CIUDAD, Biblioteca, signatura moderna nº AUTOR, tit./ tit. expl./ tit. fol. ?/ tit. cont./ cat. obra [= identificación] (folios). Observaciones. nº. AUTOR, tit./ cat./ etc. parte de la obra (folios) Descr.: partes del manuscrito: nº = fols. Soporte (filigranas)/ nº folios (fols. en blanco)/ foliación/ Cuadernos/ numeración de cuadernos, reclamos/ nº columnas/ nº líneas/ Medida del fol. (medida de la caja)/ títulos, iniciales/ manos, marginales, correcciones/ letra/ pautado/ ilustraciones/ encuadernación/ título del volumen. Hist.: Datación/ origen/ procedencia(s) (`marca(s) de posesión', fol., siglo)/ signaturas o cotas antiguas Bibl.: (cat.: catálogo de referencia) Ed.: Ediciones que colacionaron de primera mano el manuscrito para la edición de alguna obra de Hildegarde (= sigla utilizada) [nº obra(s) que se edita según la numeración de este catálogo] Rep.: Estudios en los que se reproduce algún(os) fol(s). del manuscrito [folios reproducidos] Observ.: relación del ms. con otros La descripción de las obras de Hildegarde, ps. Hildegarde y Gebeno que contiene cada manuscrito es bastante exhaustiva. Siempre que me ha sido posible, he tratado de identificar cada carta de Hildegarde, cada composición de la Symphonia o cada capítulo del Speculum futurorum temporum. Para el Scivias, el Liber divinorum operum, el Liber vite meritorum, el epistolario de Hildegarde y la Vita s. Hildegardis de Teodorico de Echternach he utilizado como referencia las ediciones del Corpus Christianorum (debidas respectivamente a Führkötter-Carlevaris, Derolez-Dronke, Carlevaris, Acker y Klaes, citados en la bibliografía). Para la identificación de las piezas de la Symphonia me he basado en la reciente edición de B. Newman. En cuanto al Speculum futurorum temporum, sigo la numeración de capítulos de mi propia edición de la primera redacción de la obra; para los manuscritos de la segunda redacción, la equivalencia es la siguiente:

Ne La gaia scienza Friedrich Nietzsche parla di « Quell'uomo folle che, accesa una lanterna alla chiara luce del mattino, corse al mercato e si mise a gridare incessantemente: "Cerco Dio! Cerco Dio". E poiché proprio là si trovavano raccolti molti di quelli che non credevano in Dio, suscitò grandi risa [...] L'uomo folle balzò in mezzo a loro e li trapassò con i suoi sguardi. "Dove se ne è andato Dio", gridò, "Ve lo voglio dire! L'abbiamo ucciso voi e io! Siamo noi tutti i suoi assassini! Ma come abbiamo fatto? Come potemmo vuotare il mare bevendolo fino all'ultima goccia? Chi ci dette la spugna per cancellare l'intero orizzonte? Che mai facemmo per sciogliere questa terra dalla catena del suo sole? Dove va essa ora? Dove andiamo noi, lontani da ogni sole? Dio è morto! Dio resta morto! E noi l'abbiamo ucciso! Come troveremo pace noi assassini più di ogni assassino! Quanto di più sacro e di più possente il mondo possedeva fino a oggi ha perso il suo sangue sotto i nostri coltelli" [...] A questo punto l'uomo folle tacque e fissò nuovamente i suoi ascoltatori. Anch'essi tacevano e lo guardavano stupiti » 1 .

References to ancient prophecies in Irish bardic poetry usually see the prophecies as examples of political propaganda for the patron. But providing political propaganda was not always the primary motivation behind the use of prophecy in bardic poetry; nor, for that matter, behind the use of bardic poetry in general. The bardic poets were more than the political pundits of the day. References to prophecy from historical and social perspectives may also explain the tradition of which the bardic poet was a part, and help to explain the social dynamics behind the creation and presentation of the poems, and the motifs therein.

Animals, words & iconology in Dante’s Divine Comedy (or «What is left of the lonza is only its name»)."

ABSTRACT.- A discussion of the textual and symbolic worldview of the High Middle Ages based on the example of the 'lonza' (Inf. I, 32) from Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy. In general terms, the book is an example of Medieval ideology, but it also an illustration of the way that laicism invaded the clerical sphere by means of the vernacular. The lonza – difficult to identify from a zoological viewpoint – functions as an allegory whose meaning is constructed through images ('phantásmata') that derive from the name that designates the animal. To a degree, Spanish etymologies provide a glimpse of the symbolic or allegorical mentalité of the Middle Ages. Using the tools of medieval exegesis and iconology to show the meanings of the lonza, this paper compares some of the ideas of Dante and the Jewish philosopher Yehuda Romano (1292-1330?), both inheritors from Maimoindes’ theological rationalism.

RESUMEN.- Exposición de la mentalidad textual y simbólico-alegórica de la Baja Edad Media, con el ejemplo de la 'lonza' (Inf. I, 32), de la Divina Comedia. En general, ese libro es una muestra de la ideología medieval, pero también de la invasión del laicismo en la esfera clerical, a través de la lengua vernácula. El animal llamado «lonza», difícilmente identificable desde la zoología, cumple una función alegórica cuyo significado se construye a partir de las imágenes ('phantásmata') derivadas de la palabra que lo designa. Hasta cierto punto, es posible vislumbrar rastros de ese simbolismo o alegorismo medieval en las etimologías del español. Al mostrar los significados de la 'lonza' con las herramientas de la exégesis medieval y la iconología, nuestro artículo equipara algunas de las ideas de Dante y el filosofo judío Yehudá Romano (1292-¿1330?), ambos herederos del racionalismo teológico o razón teológica de Maimónides.

ISSN 2014-5675
Versió impresa: ISSN 2014-5667

After a short introduction of Nicholas of Lyra's biographic and intellectual path, I will show how this exegete's reflection on the Apocalypse is placed within a specific groove according to which the pages of the Book of Revelation provide an opportunity for a continuous reading of the history of Christianity. I will therefore focus mainly on the most problematic moment of the work, namely the author's comment on Revelation XX. In fact, it is precisely in this chapter that Nicholas, declaring his lack of access to the prophetic gift, reveals his myopia in the face of any attempt to recompose the events surrounding him from an historical-eschatological perspective. As I will show in Part II, with this strategy, the prophetic word is therefore subjected to a speculative work aimed at subtracting it from the claims of the apocalyptic thought and at relocating it adequately within a social project suited to the needs of the Church of the time.

Created by Jean Delumeau in the 1970s, the expression “pastoral of fear” has been very popular among historians. The article aims to verify this model from the concrete perspective of the history of texts and of their reception, and from a geographically and culturally defined point of view: the Florentine preaching on the last judgement between the half of the 14th and the beginnings of the 16th century. Following a chronological order, the three sections of the essay intend to test as many historiographical stereotypes, which cannot be taken too literally: the individual eschatology replacement of collective eschatology; the 15th century transition, after the end of the Schism and until the last years of the century, from the waiting of the end to the end of waiting; Savonarola’s influence on the many penitential preachers who, after him, crowded the squares and churches of Florence.

Nell'articolo si riflette sulla rappresentazione di Roma nella propaganda pseudo-profetica del XIII secolo, e in particolare sulla ricezione di questa tradizione da parte di Petrarca e Cola di Rienzo. Un testo appartenente a questa tradizione, la Sibilla Erithea (una profezia apocrifa composta a metà del XIII secolo), è menzionato nei Rerum memorandorum libri (IV, 30) e nel De otio religioso (I, 9); l'atteggiamento di Petrarca nei confronti di questo testo – che aveva fatto copiare e che aveva glossato nel codice Paris, BNF, Lat. 8500 – è ambiguo, ma non privo di fascinazione rispetto alla possibilità di fondere antichità classica ed escatologia cristiana. Il carisma profetico e la centralità del mito della Roma imperiale sono fondamentali anche nel rapporto tra Petrarca e Cola; quest'ultimo mette in atto un processo di auto-legittimazione messianica che si fonda, tra gli altri, anche su un altro testo di propaganda pseudo-profetica della fine del XIII secolo, l'Oraculum Cyrilli. Vengono dunque messi in luce i diversi approcci di Petrarca e di Cola nei confronti di questa tradizione, sottolineando come l'ideologia politica del primo si nutra anche, benché in maniera meno esibita rispetto alle fonti classiche, di serie documentarie tipicamente medievali.

The Arab conquest of the seventh century and continued Arab rule over the Near East gave rise to a wave of apocalyptic writings across confessional and denominational borders. In the context of this apocalyptic Zeitgeist, Christian circles promoted a new ideological figure which became one of the most influential literary topoi in medieval history, namely, the Last Roman Emperor. This Last Roman Emperor was said to be coming at a moment of great distress and to liberate Christians from the yoke of the Arabs, pacify the world, and establish the pax Christiana that would endure until the emperor's abdication at the end of times.

«La visione interiore dalla Vita nova al Convivio», in «Vedi lo sol che ’n fronte ti riluce». La vista e gli altri sensi in Dante e nella ricezione artistico-letteraria delle sue opere, a cura di Maria Maślanka-Soro, con la collaborazione di Anna Pifko-Wadowska [Atti del Convegno Internazionale del Northern European Dante Network (NEDANTEN), Cracovia, Università Jagellonica, 19-21 aprile 2017], Roma: Aracne (“Dante nel mondo”), 2019, pp. 43-66.

This study aims to examine the concept of natural divination both in dreams and in waking, according to the different approaches developed by eminent Latin thinkers of the thirteenth century after the reception of the “new Aristotle” and Arabic Aristotelianism. The concept of natural divination was spread in these textual corpora which had recently been translated or were still being translated. As a consequence, it became a controversial idea in a key period in which the boundaries between the sacred and the natural, between the spheres of religious and profane learning, were being redefining towards an increasing naturalization of the worldview. This particular issue can be considered a case study of how the naturalistic approach of Aristotle and Arabic Aristotelianism was assimilated and reconciled with the Christian faith. Divination and prophecy allow us to explore the boundaries between natural, divine and demoniac worlds in the late Middle Ages. Therefore, it is understandable that natural divination was discussed not only in works on natural philosophy but also in theological writings on account of the interest in discerning divine prophecy and natural prophecy. Some theologians also question the boundaries of both these prophecies with necromantic divination. The causality attributed to each of these prophetic experiences is also the basis for the considerations regarding their epistemological validity, their place in the system of sciences and the factors that condition the reception of knowledge about the future.

The article argues that the religious belief-system of the Orthodox community after the middle part of the 15th century not only legitimized but also challenged Ottoman rule. Responsible for this were the prophetic and apocalyptic beliefs of those subjugated. The article first traces the course of a medieval tradition of prophecy of religio-political character, which existed as part of the general religious framework of the Orthodox belief in the eastern Roman empire. It next highlights the social function of the tradition after the fall of Constantinople, as repertoire of shared mythic beliefs with status reversal properties assuring the faithful that, eventually, the status of collective subjection shall be reversed. The age of modernity is last considered, all the while arguing that the tradition proved advantageous to Greek nationalism insofar as it encapsulated collective beliefs which, thanks to their status reversal meanings and their intrinsic capability for reinterpretation, were useful at making the Orthodox masses more receptive to the nationalist call to arms.

Profeţiile constituie un fenomen complex în cultura europeană, a căror influenţă se regăseşte în diverse domenii. Cunoscută din Antichitate, profeţia (în greaca veche, προφητεία) reprezenta un mesaj care exprima voinţa divinităţii, comunicată oamenilor prin intermediul profetului, şi cuprindea cunoştinţe inaccesibile muritorilor de rând, inclusiv preziceri ale viitorului. Revelaţiile profetice au continuat să fie vehiculate în Europa medievală şi modernă, în cuprinsul diferitor specii literare (apocalipse apocrife, scrieri eshatologice, visuri sau viziuni extatice etc.). Specialiştii contemporani au demonstrat că aceste discursuri enigmatice reprezintă mărturii ale credinţelor, aşteptărilor colective, curentelor de idei care au animat societăţile în diverse perioade. Operele conţinând profeţii au fost semnalate şi în spaţiul românesc, de filologi şi de cercetători literari, încă la sfârşitul secolului XIX, dar fără a beneficia de studii aparte. Istoricul Andrei Pippidi, unul dintre primii, analiza "Profeţiile despre sfârşitul dominaţiei otomane", considerându-le una din expresiile tradiţiei politice bizantine în Ţările Române (Pippidi 1983, 83-90). Abia în ultimele două decenii, odată cu sporirea interesului istoricilor pentru imaginarul social, profeţiile eshatologice au intrat în atenţia mai multor medievişti din România . Mureşan, Ş.S. Gorovei, M.M. Székely, L. Pilat, P. Guran, O. Cristea ş.a.) şi Republica Moldova (C.I. Ciobanu, E. Dragnev, V. Pâslariuc). Majoritatea autorilor abordează totuşi profeţiile ca pe o problemă adiacentă, menită a elucida aspecte ale iconografiei ecleziastice, ale gândirii politice sau ale mentalităţilor colective.

Στα πρώτα χρόνια του 20ού αιώνα ο Νικόλαος Γ. Πολίτης δημοσίευσε την προφορική παράδοση των μισοτηγανισμένων ψαριών του Μπαλουκλί, καθιστώντας τη δομικό στοιχείο της ελληνικής εθνικής ιδεολογίας. Έναν περίπου αιώνα αργότερα ο εγγονός του, Αλέξης Πολίτης προσέγγισε κριτικά τον ίδιο θρύλο, και δι’ αυτού την σύστοιχη μυθολογία, διερευνώντας τις σχέσεις της τελευταίας με την εθνική ιδεολογία. Το άρθρο αυτό συνδιαλέγεται κριτικά με τις διαπιστώσεις του Αλέξη Πολίτη. Από τα πορίσματα του το άρθρο κρατάει την έννοια της «διαπερατότητας» των παραδόσεων διαφορετικών ανθρώπινων κοινοτήτων, ιδιαίτερα δε στην περίπτωση που οι παραδόσεις αυτές είναι προφορικές. Γεγονός είναι όμως ότι η νοηματοδότηση των επίκοινων πολιτισμικών στοιχείων και χαρακτηριστικών αλλάζει σε σχέση με τις κοινωνικές, οικονομικές, πολιτικές και πολιτισμικές ανάγκες της κάθε κοινότητας: νικητές και κατακτημένοι δεν έχουν τις ίδιες ανάγκες. Μέσα από το πρίσμα αυτό και επί τη βάσει νέου τεκμηριωτικού υλικού το άρθρο διερευνά τον θρύλο του Μπαλουκλί υποστηρίζοντας ότι δεν αποτελεί μια «εθνικής έμπνευσης» νεωτερική κατασκευή αλλά έναν προ-νεωτερικό μύθο συνδεδεμένο με τον προφητισμό είτε της κυρίαρχης (μουσουλμανικής) είτε της υπόδουλης (χριστιανικής) κοινότητας και τα διαφορετικά, πολιτικού χαρακτήρα, διακυβεύματα που η κάθε περίπτωση συνεπαγόταν.

Part of "Prophetic Futures," a special issue of "postmedieval: a journal of medieval cultural studies".
ABSTRACT
Pope Benedict XVI seemed an unlikely fellow to declare Hildegard of Bingen a Doctor of the Church in 2012. Yet Joseph Ratzinger's studies as a medievalist disposed him to the symbolist tendencies of Hildegard and her contemporaries in reflecting on the relationship among scripture, history, and the Church. Deeply affected by the abuse of political power and corruption within the Church, both Ratzinger and Hildegard developed prophetic outlooks on the nature of the Church and its mission in the world, centered on the singular light of Christ's Incarnation. We find, across the centuries, a shared embrace of the enigmatic tension between the Church's corrupted institutions and their prophetic renewal. Ironically, Hildegard came to distrust the authority of the papacy and prophesied its ending, even as Benedict would be, as pope, her greatest champion. postmedieval: a journal of medieval cultural studies (2019) 10, 22-35.

Tras haberse ganado un puesto entre los profetas de Cristo, la Sibila experimentó a partir del siglo XIII en la iconografía cristiana un interesante proceso de reacentuación. La filosofía escolástica, el auge del culto mariano o el ascenso del movimiento joanquinista,  contribuyeron a subrayar bien su papel como mensajera de Cristo, bien como tronante voz del Juicio Final. El himno del Dies Irae, el gigantesco árbol de Jesé de la Catedral de Orvieto o los púlpitos de Giovanni Pisano en Pistoia y Pisa son todos ellos prueba de la actualidad de la imagen y la ampliación de su significado. Es en este período cuando la Sibila multiplica -por primera vez desde la Antigüedad-, su número en los programas figurativos, adopta el papel de la Virgen,  se compara –sobre todo en ámbito bizantino- con los sabios paganos, o entrar a formar parte –más allá del ámbito catedralicio- de la decoración de los palacios urbanos. En ese contexto triunfa el tema de las doce Sibilas como contrapunto de los doce profetas, pero también como símbolo de la universalidad geográfica de la providencia divina y de la unión entre paganismo y cristianismo. Todo ello nos permitirá entender mejor el éxito inusitado de su iconografía durante el Renacimiento así como la genial propuesta de Miguel Ángel en la Capilla Sixtina.

Ο μοναχός Κύριλλος Λαυριώτης από την Πάτρα ανήκε σε ένα ελληνικό ρεύμα σκέψης που αναπτύχθηκε κατά την Οθωμανοκρατία το οποίο πρέσβευε ότι η Συντέλεια των αιώνων πλησίαζε - γεγονός που θα σηματοδοτούσε το τέλος της «αιχμαλωσίας» του Γένους και την απαρχή της αιώνιας βασιλείας του εν Χριστώ. Υπό το πνεύμα αυτό έγραψε ένα ογκώδες υπόμνημα στην Αποκάλυψη του Ιωάννη από το 1792 μέχρι το 1826 για να υποστηρίξει ότι η εκκλησία και το βασίλειο της Ιβηρίας, δηλαδή της σημερινής Γεωργίας, δικαιούνται τον εσχατολογικό ρόλο του ιδρυτή και ηγεμόνα της χιλιετούς βασιλείας του Θεού που έμελλε να ιδρυθεί μετά την ήττα του Αντίχριστου / Σουλτάνου. Σύμφωνα με τον Α. Αργυρίου, η περίπτωσή του Κύριλλου Λαυριώτη είναι ξένη προς την ελληνική παράδοση ερμηνείας της Αποκάλυψης : από τον 17ο -19ο αι. δεν υπάρχει άλλος ερμηνευτής που να αποδίδει εσχατολογικό ρόλο στην εκκλησία ή το βασίλειο της Ιβηρίας και να θεωρεί την καταγωγή του Βασιλιά-Λυτρωτή, γεωργιανή. Συνδιαλεγόμενο με την προβληματική αυτή το άρθρο προσεγγίζει κριτικά τις θέσεις του Αστέριου Αργυρίου προτείνοντας τη διάκριση της χρησμολογικής/μεσσιανικής γραμματείας από την αποκαλυπτική/εσχατολογική γραμματεία των χρόνων της Οθωμανοκρατίας.

Verso l'anno 1220, il priore del monastero cistercense di Eberbach realizzò una compilazione di diversi scritti della mistica Ildegarde di Bingen riferiti ai tempi futuri, con l'intenzione di rifutare la dottrina pseudo-gioachimita che considerava imminente il momento della nascita dell'Anticristo. Questa opera, intitolata Speculum futurorum temporum, ebbe un grande successo, come dimostra l'elevato numero di manoscritti che la tramandano (più di 100); il testo, però, non ha avuto mai una edizione a stampa. Oltre a uno studio della tradizione manoscritta e della fortuna dell'opera di Gebenone, che evidenzia, in particolare, l'importante ruolo che il testo ebbe per la reputazione di Ildegarde come profetessa, il volume offre l'edizione critica della prima redazione dell'opera, basata su un gruppo di manoscritti che, per la loro provenienza, datazione e contenuto presentano la versione più vicina all'originale.

In this article I explore the relationship between poetry and prophecy in Petrarch’s oeuvre. First, I analyse Rvf 166, a sonnet in which poetry is linked to an Apollo represented as a chthonian prophet. In the second part, I briefly summarise the multifaceted medieval reception of Apollo, and I explore the different portraits of the pagan god by Petrarch. In the third paragraph, I examine several passages where Petrarch deals with divination and prophecy, and thus show how he oscillates between scepticism and the will to present himself as a « vate », particularly in relation with Robert Anjou. Finally, I confront some texts where Petrarch prophesises Laura’s death with those where he mourns Robert’s, in order to show how the two faces of Apollo, that is to say prophecy and love poetry, are intertwined with each other.

La mujer vidente en la literatura hispano-medieval no ha recibido la debida atención de la crítica literaria. Esto se debe a que la mayoría de los autores de la época ven la mujer como un ser con tendencias al mal . Esta opinión empieza a cambiar bajo la influencia del culto mariano. Aún así, el tema no se introduce en la literatura hasta mediados del siglo 15 con el Laberinto de Fortuna (1444) de Juan de Mena. En esta obra, hay una alusión a la Sibila de Cumas, quién el autor considera superada por una Divina Providencia. Sin embargo, la Sibila recibe mayor atención en la versión del Laberinto entitulada Las Trezientas (1499) que edita Hernán Núñez y, unos diecisiete años después, reencarna como agente del diablo en Carajicomedia (1516-1518), un contrafactum paródico de parte de Las Trezientas  . Este ensayo explica por qué Mena rechaza la tradición sibelina, nota el mayor peso de esa tradición en las glosas de Núñez, y traza su influencia en la caracterización de María de Vellasco y las putas valencianas como 'sibilas' en el mundo al revés de Carajicomedia.

In the ongoing scholarly search for the roots of Islamic theology, students of Kalam are entrenched in two main camps: those who see early Islamic theology as a product of the encounter with Christian theology,1 and those who, without denying certain influences, emphasize the independence of Muslim thought and regard Kalam as a genuine, original reflection of the inner development of Islam. 2 Until now, the arguments of one group of scholars have done little to convince the other. 3