Final post 1:History leading up to Ibn al-Rawandi and Al-Warraq's conversation

A central issue in early Islamic theological discussions is the question of who should be considered a believer. When attempting to define the answer many Muslims would simply reply by explaining who would not be considered a Muslim. However, this distinction is not the focus of well-known Muslim doubters like Ibn al-Rawandi, and al-Warraq. Instead they often focused on questioning the legitimacy of the existence of prophets.  Their accusations would inevitably cause people to question if they are actually believers or not, which in turn directly connects to the first question. These questions are one of the same because the religion of Islam is based on the teachings of Muhammad, the last prophet. If someone doesn’t believe in prophecy, they obviously cannot claim that they are Muslim without being deemed a heretic.

Ibn al-Rawandi was one of the most notorious heretics of prophecy. He was born in Marwarrudh about the year 815 A.D He joined the Mutazila of Baghdad. The Mutazila is the name of a main sect of the Muslim world that believes the essence of God was justice. When he was almost 40, he became estranged from his fellow Mutazilites. He later began to question the Islamic beliefs. He wrote many works demonstrating his beliefs and questions. Some sources describe him as an outspoken heretic (supposedly Muslim, but adheres to non-orthodox beliefs) and others present him as neutral.  Many people questioned whether he was an Aristotelian philosopher or a radical atheist. He was indeed a heretic, but many people have argued about to what degree. He supported the eternity of the world, agreeing with Aristotle. This meant that he believed that God did not create the world. Although, al-Rawandi claimed to be Muslim he took on such harsh and non-Muslim positions such as, “against the idea that God is wise,” “against the Quran,”  “against Muhammad,” and “against all prophets.”  These few strong positions are what surrounded his beliefs.

Al-Rawandi’s most infamous book is known as The Zumurrud, or The Book of Emerald, it was directed against prophecy. The book is a conversation between him and al-Warraq, who was his mentor and friend. Al- Warraq also criticized the existence of prophecy. Many Islamic scholars argue about which one of them really wrote it, but most researchers believe that it was the recorded conversation between Al-Rawandi and Al-Warraq written by Al-Rawandi. It has been said that Al-Rawandi presents himself as the defender against prophecy and Al-Warraq as the heretic. This is not to confuse people about his true beliefs against prophecy, it has been said that the book is him presenting his own views in which he no longer holds. The conversation is supposedly the recorded account of the conversation in which Al-Warraq changed Al-Rawandi’s views and made him begin to criticize the Quran and question the prophets. Although, Al-Warraq claimed he was Muslim, many sources refer to him as a Manichaean, in which Al-Rawandi also criticized their beliefs. However, it is more than likely that they both agreed on the criticism of the Quran that The Zumurrud contained.  The book contained arguments both for and against the existence of prophets.

In the book al-Rawandi mentions the miracles of the prophets Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad, but says that they were magicians and liars who performed great tricks. The Zumurrud also discussed Quranic beliefs, attempting to point out their logical flaws and to call into question the Muslim tradition about the circumstances of their revelation. The discussions also touched on other issues, such as the validity of Muslim tradition and the Prophet's alleged miracles.
http://ismaili.net/mirrors/7ismaili/ismaili.html