Ricoldo first conflated hadith commentary with the Qur’anic text

Evidence

Ricoldo was charitable towards Islamic belief when it fell within his direct, as opposed to his literary, experience. “And when they named Christ among us, they never did so except with fitting praise, such as, “Christ, may he be praised”, or something of the sort.’ He classed this as affability to strangers, rather than as religion. — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 952 (#contradicts, via linked claim)

The implications of the text as this puts it are obvious. A careful comparison with the Qur’anic original will show how, with a minimum of inaccuracy, it gives an erroneous sense. Thus the Prophet’s being allowed more wives than the other believers becomes promiscuous access to all women; a suggestive phrase about their offering their bodies derives really from permission for marriage without a dowry. The final verse refers to the obligation of the Prophet to sleep with his wives in rotation; instead of conferring promiscuous licence, it regulates marital rights. It was to this Revelation that ‘A’ishah referred when she said that God hastened to satisfy Muhammad’s desires; but the reprobatio understood something much more shameful. — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 565 (#contradicts, via linked claim)

Ricoldo was even more inclined to schematisation, but with him an excess of it resulted in confusion. He attacked the Qur’an through the Prophet, thus reversing the more usual dismissal of the lawgiver because of the law, possibly because he recognised the greater significance of the Qur’an than of the Prophet. — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 411 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Ricoldo understood Muslims regarded the Qur’an as the literal Word of God; Ricoldo attacked the Qur’an through Muhammad, reversing the usual polemical order — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 411; Direct encounter with Muslims tempered Ricoldo’s literary polemics toward charity — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 952 (+4 more)

Related

• Ricoldo attacked the Qur’an through Muhammad, reversing the usual polemical order (similarity 0.88)
• Ricoldo ridiculed the Qur’an by imputing later Islamic traditions onto its short texts. (similarity 0.86)
• Medieval Christian polemic interpreted Qur’anic texts as nastily as possible (similarity 0.85)
• Christian polemicists distorted Qur’anic verses with small, impactful translation shifts (similarity 0.84)
• Direct encounter with Muslims tempered Ricoldo’s literary polemics toward charity (similarity 0.83)
• Medieval Christian polemic distorted Qur’anic texts with minimal inaccuracy (similarity 0.83)
• Ricoldo’s public polemic masked a privately favorable view of Islam (similarity 0.83)
• Ricoldo mocked the Qur’an’s dreamlike style while recalling his peaceful time in Muslim Baghdad. (similarity 0.82)
• Medieval Christian polemicists misattributed beliefs to Muslims that Muslims would disown. (similarity 0.82)
• Ketton’s medieval Qur’an mistranslated but did not deliberately distort Islam (similarity 0.82)
• Medieval Christian rebuttals of Islam distorted sources even when better readings were available. (similarity 0.81)
• Ricoldo’s Qur’an quotations were borrowed from the Contrarietas, not the Arabic original. (similarity 0.81)
• Ricoldo conceded Muslims differed over interpretation but not over divine origin. (similarity 0.81)
• Medieval Christian polemicists attributed hostile origin myths to the Qur’an (similarity 0.81)
• Medieval European conflation of Qur’an and Traditions may have been a deliberate polemic tactic (similarity 0.81)

Broader Connections

• Ricoldo attacked the Qur’an through Muhammad, reversing the usual polemical order #expands (0.85) — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 411
• Direct encounter with Muslims tempered Ricoldo’s literary polemics toward charity #contradicts (0.85) — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 952
• Medieval Christian polemic distorted Qur’anic texts with minimal inaccuracy #contradicts (0.85) — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 565
• Medieval Christian polemic interpreted Qur’anic texts as nastily as possible #complicates (0.75)
• Ricoldo rejected the Muslim idea that prophecy ended with Muhammad #expands (0.75) — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 129
• A Qur’anic verse was distorted into an incitement to fight non-Muslims #exemplifies (0.70) — Asena Karipek, Portrayals of Jihad, 46