Muhammad, the Qur'an and IslamQur'an 17Qur'an 17Qur'an 17Qur'an 17 begins with Muhammad's night journey from the holy mosque
(Kaba) to the far-away mosque (Jerusalem or Heaven). In v. 2 Mo^262 ses is referred to again as having received the Book, which was a guide for the children of Israel, v. 3 mentions Noah and the vv. 4f seem to allude to the two destructions of the Temple in Jerusalem. In v. 13 day and ni^263 ght are said to have been given for the calculation of years (and not for days; seasons would have been for years). The vv. 14f speak of the Judgment, and the vv. 23f seem to present some of the Ten Commandments, which have been interspersed with other Biblical and non-Biblical ordinances. The^264 instruction of v. 33, not to kill children, appears to refer to the pagan Arab practice of killing infant daughters. The v. 42 repeats the anti-pagan polemic of assigning daughters to God, but preferring sons for themselves, and the vv. 43f describe the Qur'an as a warner. The vv. 47f are a play on Ex. 34:34f (cf. II Cor. 3:13f) in which Muhammad has been exchanged for Moses, and v. 48 is similar to Is. 6:9-10. The vv. 52f give some of the Meccan arguments against the Resurrection, and the vv. 55f relate how Satan tried to instigate division among the servants of God. The v. 57 states that some prophets were made higher than others, and that David was given the Psalms. The vv. 58f relate the judgment of the polytheists, the vv. 62f summarize the narrative about Adam and Iblis, the vv. 68f describe God as both provider and punisher and the vv. 73f speak of the Judgment again. The vv. 75f appear to refer to the event of the Satanic inspiration, v. 78^265 portrays the Meccans as trying to have Muhammad leave the land, and v.^266 79 reports that such things occurred to the previous messengers. Two daily prayer times and a vigil are mentioned in the vv. 80f, and the vv. 84f tell of the witness of the Qur'an. The vv. 87f give the Qur'anic reply to someone who had asked about "spirit," which event is explained in some Sira traditions as follows: al-Nadr andUqba b. Abu Mu`ayt were sent to ask the
Jews in Medina about Muhammad and his stories of the prophets, the Jews
counseled them to ask him three things, one of which was "What is spirit?,"
they then asked Muhammad, who gave the belated answer that spirit was by
the Lord's command (v. 87). This tradition, however, is most pr^267 obably the
invention of later Muslim exegetes, since the other two questions the Jews
supposedly recommended are rather things which Christians would have
asked. The question about "spirit" could have been asked b^268 y either the
Meccans or the Jews, and was probably based on Muhammad saying that
his mediator of revelation was a "spirit" (26:193) The v. 90 de^269 scribes the
uniqueness of the Qur'an as not being imitable by humans or jinn, after
which apparently Meccan requests for a miracle follow (vv. 91f). The v. 99
mentions the doctrine of Allah leading and leading astray, and the vv. 100f