Muhammad: Meccan Opposition[39] The problem of Muhammad being instructed by others, in light of his
claim to have received his information as "revelations" from God is
discussed below, see p. 145.
[40] Margoliouth in "Additions," JRAS, (1939), pp. 59 f, thinks that this
term came from Ethiopic, and suggests that the phrase "Leave the sea
tranquil..." could then be better rendered as: "leave the sea open..." (so that
the Egyptians would enter and be drowned).
[41] Horovitz, Untersuchungen, pp. 102 f, shows that the name must have
come from southern Arabia. Although Tubbawas referred to by early Arab poets, there seems to have been some confusion between Tubba and
Abraham among later Muslim writers. Horovitz thought that Muhammad
probably did not know the original story of Tubba`, but that he simply took
the name and made it conform to other punishment narratives.
[42] It is not known for certain who was meant here; Horovitz, Unter-
suchungen, pp. 94 f, cf. Qur'an 25:40; Tabari, History, vol. 4, p. 68. For
various Islamic interpretations, see Suyuti, El-Itkan, vol. 2, p. 368.
[43] It is thought that Muhammad may have originally gotten this name
from the works of earlier Arab poets, and then connected it with Shu`ayb
(26:176f) and the Midianites (11:97f); Horovitz, Untersuchungen, pp. 93 f.
[44] See n. 41, above.
[45] Nöldeke and Schwally, GQ, vol. 1, p. 124.
[46] Cf. Qur'an 52:48f; 76:25f and the comments to these.
[47] Geiger, WMJA, p. 67 also references Othioth Derabbi Akiba 8,4;
which comments on Is. 5:14.
[48] Guillaume, Muhammad, pp. 155 f. Nöldeke and Schwally, GQ, vol.
1, p. 125, also show that in some traditions different suras are said to have
played a role in `Umar's conversion. Guillaume, New Light, p. 40, (Ibn
Bukayr's Ibn Ishaq recension) gives Qur'an 81 in addition to sura 20.