Muhammad, the Qur'an and Islam
intercession, and the vv. 46f speak of the Resurrection and Judgment. The
vv. 50f are very similar to the passage in vv. 11f, v. 54 concerns
forgiveness, and the vv. 55f describe the Judgment, which is preceded by
"two" trumpet blasts. The vv. 54-56 or 61 are considered to ha^150 ve been
Medinan by some, and v. 67, which already reveals Biblical inf^151 luence (cf.
Is. 34: 4; 40:12), is said to have been recited to a Jewish rabbi. Many of^152
the verses in this sura are similar to Bible passages or Talmudic
references.^153
Qur'an 29Qur'an 29Qur'an 29Qur'an 29 begins with mysterious letters, and the vv. 1-10 are thought to
have been Medinan, because they obviously allude to the "h^154 ypocrites."
The vv. 11f relate how unbelievers tried to mislead believers, and the vv.
13f briefly mention Noah, who is said to have been 950 years old at the
time of the flood. The vv. 15f give a narrative about Abraham, wh^155 ose
preaching style is quite similar to that of Muhammad's. The v. 23 contains a
mistake of person, and in v. 26 Isaac and Jacob are spoken of as^156 having
been given to Abraham (cf. 19:50); again, Ishmael is missing. T^157 he vv.
35f speak of Shuayb, v. 37 mentions theAd and the Thamud, and v. 3 8
refers to Korah, Pharaoh and Haman. The v. 40 compares polytheists with a
spider, and v. 43 mentions God as Creator. The vv. 44f deal with Qur'an
recitations and prayer, and v. 45 seems to refer to the Jews. Th^158 e v. 47
indicates that Muhammad had neither read (recited) nor written a book
previously, but many Western scholars presume that only the Bible was
meant here. Taken in context with v. 48, however, this passage s^159 hows
that up until this time Muhammad only wanted the Qur'an to be recited
from memory, since his writing it down would have only incurred doubt
(cf. 25:6). The vv. 49f essentially present the Qur'an as Muha^160 mmad's
miracle, and the vv. 53f give the apparently Meccan challenge for
Muhammad to hurry the alleged punishment, which is then described as
being Hell. The v. 56 alludes to an emigration, but not necessarily the one
to Medina. The vv. 59f give some of the discussions with pagan^161 s, and v.
69 is thought by some to have been Medinan, provided it refers to armed
conflict. The word for "hypocrite" in 29:10 appears to have c^162 ome from
the Ethiopic, and a few verses of this sura are similar to Bibl^163 e passages.^164
According to Sira traditions, the "hypocrites" were those pagan Arabs in
Medina who "pretended to accept Islam" but secretly sided with the Jews
against Muhammad.^165