Was Socrates a Prophet?
Good Fit
- Readers who want to read Socrates from a religious-comparative perspective
- Those who want to see a general account of the idea of prophethood in Islam, the Torah and the Gospel in plain language
- Readers who want to read the main theses of Socrates' «Apology» in a frame discussed in the Turkish context
Not a Fit
- Anyone seeking academic history of philosophy: the book is a faith-based interpretation
- Anyone seeking analysis of Socrates based only on historical sources
- Anyone sceptical of religious texts and expecting critical analysis: the author takes the Islamic perspective as his basis
The chapter opens with the question of the origin of knowledge: does knowledge come from birth or is it acquired later? The second question: can a person reach the truth alone? The author Cemal Duruk writes that philosophers and prophets answer this question differently: prophets agree that a person cannot find the truth without God's guidance, and the very essence of the institution of prophethood is the belief that a person cannot find the truth alone and needs a guide. Then the concepts «nubuwwa», «nabi» and «rasul» are explained in their dictionary meaning: nabi puts the stress on the news, rasul on the messenger who carries the news.
The author stresses that the prophets were human: the Qur'an says «Say: I am only a mortal like you, but it is revealed to me»; prophets are chosen from among people, not spiritual beings. Five common qualities of all the prophets are listed: sidq (truthfulness), amanah (trustworthiness), fatanah (high intelligence and insight), ismah (protection from sin) and tabligh (conveying the divine commands without alteration). Each is illustrated with verses and hadiths: for example, when the Prophet Muhammad asked the Quraysh «if I said that enemy horsemen were at the foot of this mountain, would you believe me?» he got the answer «yes, we have never heard you lie».
The author describes fatanah as «not dry reason and logic but a level of insight beyond genius» and tabligh as the most important duty of the prophets. On ismah he writes that prophets are protected from sin and disobedience because they must be able to be taken as examples; their behaviour must be of a kind that all people can perform, otherwise people would make the excuse «what the prophets command is beyond our strength».
In the second half of the chapter it is stressed that the lives of the prophets were spent in struggle: the hardships endured by Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Job, Jacob, Joseph, Zachariah and Muhammad are listed; their main strength was patience and trust in God. According to one tradition 124,000 and according to another 224,000 prophets came, and only 25 are named in the Qur'an; then the names and brief descriptions of these 25 prophets (Adam, Idris, Noah, Hud, Salih, Abraham, Lot and others) are given.
- The book has a simple three-part structure: the concept of prophethood, ancient Greece and Socrates, comparison
- The first part explains the qualities of the prophets with examples from verses and hadiths
- The author gives Arabic-derived terms (nubuwwa, fatanah, ismah) with brief dictionary explanations
- The text is divided by short paragraphs and headings and is easy to read
Plato's basic text of Socrates' defence in court
Memoirs and conversations written by another of Socrates' students
A short introduction to the life and philosophy of Socrates with an academic approach
At the end of the part read the author moves on to the list of prophets named in the Qur'an: Adam (his name occurs 25 times in the Qur'an; the first human and first prophet), Idris, Noah, Hud, Salih, Abraham, Lot and others, each with a brief description. What follows is outside the scope of this review.
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