THE FALL OF MAN IN SHAKESPEARE’S MACBETH COMPARING TO THAT IN A CREATION STORY: A STUDY FROM QUR’ANIC PERSPECTIVE
Abstract
Inspired and motivated by our conviction that “Shakespeare is a gift of Heaven to all of Mankind, for
every creed, in every age" (Lings, 1998, 12), this research aims at studying William Shakespeare’s
Macbeth from a Qur’anic perspective instead of a biblical one, as has usually been done so far. The study
utilizes Islamic pedagogy to examine Macbeth, a European masterpiece, hypothesizing that Islam offers a
uniquely different view of the world from that of the European one. For its textual analysis, the study
relies on verses translated from the Noble Qur’an as well as Hadiths (the prophet’s traditions) from
Sunnah, in addition to the text of Macbeth. The axiomatic question that is raised here is whether or not we
have the right to categorize Shakespeare's Macbeth into “sacred art”. The study answers positively to this
question since the thematic framework of the play revolves around “the essence of religion” (Lings, 1998,
12).
The study attempts to analyze and compare the fall of man in Shakespeare’s Macbeth to that in the
story of man’s creation from Qur’anic perspective according to five axes. The first axis is about the
temptation of the evil power in both stories, Adam’s creation in Quran and Shakespeare’s Macbeth. The
second axis examines the role of Hawaa (Eve) and Lady Macbeth as temptresses. The third axis is about
the feeling of remorse for the evil actions that they take and the punishment of God. The fourth axis
presents a study of the nature of some encounters between humanity and evil forces. The fifth axis
presents a brief study of the types of human soul (Nafs) from Quranic perspective to diagnose the role of
the soul in determining the characteristics of each personality.
Yet, the study concludes that Shakespeare presents Macbeth with a narrow perspective to represent
only the inherent weakness of humanity in the face of evil forces, ignoring his charitable nature to
encounter evil forces, and his fall is cursed eternally because of his insistence on evil; while Adam (peace
be upon him) represents humanity in all of his conditions, and his fall is not eternal because of his remorse
and repentance.
Downloads
References
Al Bukhri, Muhammad Ibn Ismaeel (2009). The
Translation of the Meaning of Sahih Bukhari.
Translated by M. Muhsin KhanMika'il. Edited
by: Mika'il al-Almany. Saudi Arabia: Riyadh,
Darussalam, Book 60, Vol 6.
Alfar, Cristina León (2003). Fantasies of Female
Evil: The Dynamics of Gender and Power in
Shakespearean Tragedy. New York:
University of Delaware Press.
Al-Tabari, Muhammad ibn Jarir (1994). Tafsir al-
Tabari: Jami’ al-Bayan fi Tafsir al-Qur’an,
. Vol. 13, Bulaq.
Bloom, Harold (1999). Shakespeare the Invention of
the Human. Fourth Estate Limited, London.
Branham, William (2005). The Original Sin.
Available at
https://www.williambranham.com/the-
original-sin/. Retrieved November 22, 2018.
Howard, E. Jean (2003). Macbeth, (introductory
essay), collected in The Complete Works of
Shakespeare, 5th Edition, and Edited by David
Bevington, New York: Longman.
Ibn al-Qayyim, Shams al-Din Muhammad bin Abi
Bakr (2014). Madarij as-Salikin fi Manazili
Iyyaka Na'budu wa Iyyaka Nasta'in. Vol. 1.
Dar-ul Hadith, Egypt, Cairo.
Ibin Katheer, Ismail bin Omar (1990). The Beginning
and The End. Lebanon: Beirut. Al-Ma’araf
Library. vol. 9, Egypt, Cairo
Imam Abu Abdur Rahman, Hafiz & Ahmad bin
Shu'aib bin 'Ali An-Nasai'(2007). English
Translation of Sunan An-Nasa’i. Vol. 4, KSA:
Riyadh, Maktaba Dar-us-Salam.
Imam Muhammad at-Tirmidhi, Abu `Isa (1978).
Jami` at-Tirmidhi: Chapters on Tafsir. Vol. 5,
Book 44, Hadith 2955. Available at
https://sunnah.com/urn/639390. Retrieved
October 18, 2018.
Imam Muslim, Abui Hussain Ibn al-Hajjaj (2007).
English Translation of Sahih Muslim. Vol. 1,
KSA: Riyadh, Maktaba Dar-us-Salam.
Jack, Jane (1955). ―MacBeth, King James, and the
Bible.‖. The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Retrieved 9 August 2018.
James I, King of England (1597). Daemonologie
[electronic Resource]: In Forme of a
Dialogue, Diuided into Three Bookes.
Edinburgh: Printed by Robert Walde-graue,
Printer to the
Kings Majestie. Early English Books Online.
Retrieved 20 August 2018.
Johnson, Samuel (1962). The Preface to Shakespeare.
The Norton Anthology of English Literature.
Vol.1, Seventh Edition. Ed. Abrams M. H.
USA: W.W. Norton and Company Inc. Kaosar, Mohammad Ahmed (2014). Islamic
Discourse in Shakespearean Study: Teaching
Shakespeare from Islamic Perspective -
Worksheet on Macbeth. International Islamic
University Chittagong, Bangladesh.
Klein, Joan Larsen (1998). Lady Macbeth: Infirm of
Purpose.” Shakespeare: Macbeth. New York:
Signet.
Knight, Wilson (2001). The Wheel of Fire, Routledge
Classics, London.
Lings, Martin (1998). The Sacred Art of Shakespeare,
To Take Upon Us the Mystery of Things.
Rochester: Inner Tradition International.
Mohammed Saleh Al-Managed(2019). ―The story of
Adam, peace be upon him, entering and
leaving Paradise”. Available at
https://almunajjid.com/courses/lessons/139.
Retrieved 20 October 2018.
Muhammad Safiur Rahman(2014). Humanity’s
Encounter with the Powers of Darkness’1
: A
Study of Shakespeare’s Macbeth from the
Quranic Point of View. Journal of Education
and Practice. Vol.5, No.39. Bangladesh,
Chittagong.
The Noble Quran (2016). Available at
https://quran.com/?local=en. Acessed October
, 2018.
Thomas, Keith(1971). Religion and the Decline of
Magic. Charles Scribner‘s Sons, USA: New
York.
Shakespeare, William (1958). Macbeth. Bernard Lott
(ed). London: Longmans, Green and Co., Ltd
Stacey, Aisha (2008). The Religion of Islam: The
Story of Adam (Part 1 of 5): The First Man.
Available at
https://www.islamreligion.com/articles/1190/v
iewall/story-of-adam/. Retrieved October 25,
It is the policy of the Journal of Duhok University to own the copyright of the technical contributions. It publishes and facilitates the appropriate re-utilize of the published materials by others. Photocopying is permitted with credit and referring to the source for individuals use.
Copyright © 2017. All Rights Reserved.
