Muhammad, the Qur'an and IslamMuhammad seems to have gotten his information about her by means of
Jewish or Christian accounts of the legends about Solomon and the
queen. The v. 84 of this sura is reminiscent of Rev. 13:11. The vv. 4^277 2, 93
of this sura are thought to be missing some text.^278
As mentioned above, some Sira traditions present al-Nadr and Uqba b. Abu Muayt as having been sent to the Jewish rabbis in Medina to ask about
Muhammad and his prophet stories. The Jews recommended that they ask
Muhammad about three things, the answers to which only a prophet would
know. They were to ask about the story of the men who disappeared in the
past, the one who traveled to the bounds of the East and West, and about
"spirit." Upon asking Muhammad, they were told he would give an answer
to these questions the next day. After fifteen days, Gabriel is said to have
come to Muhammad and revealed sura 18, which contains the stories of the
Seven Sleepers and Dhu'l-Qarnayn ("the double-horned" - i.e. Alexander
the Great). In that both the legend of the Seven Sleepers and^279280 the
Qur'anic story about Alexander the Great are known to have co^281 me from
Christian sources, it is hardly probable to think that the Jews would have
posed the questions concerning them. Moreover, Gabriel only seems to be
known of in Medinan suras, and the Sira traditions place this event in
Mecca, prior to al-Nadr's death. Nevertheless, although the occasions for
these Qur'an passages may not be known for certain, it is evident that
Muhammad was at least asked about "Dhu'l-Qarnayn" (cf. 18:82).
The first verses of Qur'an 18Qur'an 18Qur'an 18Qur'an 18 describe the purposes of the Book given to
Muhammad, and among these is the notice that it is a warning to those who
say God has a son (v. 3). The vv. 8f relate the Qur'anic version of the legend
of the Seven Sleepers, and al-Raqim (v. 8) is thought to have b^282 een a
Syrian place name for a location in southern Palestine. Thi^283 s Qur'anic
account of the story also includes a Monotheistic message (vv. 13f) and a
verse (v. 23) which is similar to the Bible verses Ja. 4:13, 15. The vv. 25f
may have helped motivate some Muslims to reject the protection of