Muhammad: The HijraGod, but a mountain is destroyed instead (7:139f); fish which would only
come on the Sabbath (7:163f); Sabbath violators were transformed into
apes (7:166); Abraham's father was Azar (6:74).
Although the heavy influence of Judaism is obvious in the suras of this
period (see also the references to "keeping covenant": 16:93f; 6:153;
13:20f), there is some evidence which reveals that Muhammad was still in
contact with Christians. The instruction to give alms instead of lending to
usurers (30:37f), the references to Jesus (42:11; 6:85) Zac^252 harias and John
(6:85), and the denial that "the Book" was not previously sent down to just
"two" groups (6:157f), all seem to reveal a Christian presence in Medina.
Moreover, the Qur'an verses from this period which are similar to New
Testament passages (particularly Qur'an 14:5f - Acts 26:18^253 ), and the
notion that the Jewish dietary laws were meant to be a punishment on the
Jews (7:160f; 6:147) also indicate the influence of Christi^254 ans or pseudo--
Christian sects. Muslim scholars have generally thought that Medinan
passages concerning Christianity were due to the Christians of distant
Najran, and though this idea cannot be categorically rejec^255 ted, it is more^256
probable that Muhammad had frequent contact with the Christians of the
nearby Wadi al-Qura.^257
As was shown in the last chapter, it may have been pagan Arab
understandings of Monotheism which led Muhammad to reject the doctrine
of the Sonship of Christ and turn away from Christianity. Muh^258 ammad
then seems to have favored Judaism, and no doubt learned about the
previous scriptures from them (16:45; 10:94), until he became cognizant of
the Jewish dietary laws. Perhaps after a period of partial conformance to
these regulations, Muhammad rejected them as a whole, and ret^259 ained a
dietary code, which as it turns out, would have been most acceptable for