Muhammad, the Qur'an and Islam
were taken as booty by the Muslims. Muhammad received one-fifth of the
spoils (cf. Qur'an 8:42).^206
The first feast of the sacrifice (`Id al-Adha) is said to have been held in the
22nd month after the Hijra.^207
Also in the 22nd month after the Hijra, Muhammad and 200 Muslims are
said to have left Medina in pursuit of Abu Sufyan, who with 200
Meccans had killed two men and burned two houses and a field n^208 ear
Medina. In order to expedite their escape, Abu Sufyan's riders threw off
sacks of barley (sawiq), which were collected by the Muslims as booty.
There was no confrontation on this expedition.^209
Qur'an 3Qur'an 3Qur'an 3Qur'an 3 begins with mysterious letters and a Monotheistic statement
(v. 1). In v. 2 the Qur'an is alleged to be a book of truth, which confirms
what was previous to it, i.e. the Torah and the Gospel, which were also
"sent down" by God. The v. 3 states that there will be a punishment for
those who deny God's signs. The v. 5 shows that some of Muhammad's
contemporaries tried to cause division by looking for the meanings of
ambiguous Qur'an passages, and in reply, it is said that only God knows the
meanings of such verses, and that those established in knowledge believe
all (of the Qur'an). The vv. 6f give a prayer against being led astray, and the
vv. 8f speak of unbelievers, who are compared with Pharaoh's people (v. 9).
The v. 11 may refer to the battle of Badr, and the vv. 12f contrast the
temporal pleasures of life to the eternal pleasures of Paradise. The vv. 14f
speak of believers, v. 16 makes a monotheistic statement, and v. 17 claims
that religion before God is Islam. The v. 18 refers to discussions with those
who were given the Book, and v. 19 gives the call to them and the
unlearned to be Muslims. The vv. 20f seem to allude to the Jews i^210 n the
statement about killing the prophets, and the vv. 22f appear to give the
response of "those who were given the Book" to Muhammad's invitation to
Islam. The prayer of the vv. 25f probably came from Jewish sources. The^211
vv. 27f show that believers are not to accept unbelievers as their protectors,
and v. 29 stipulates that those who love Allah should follow Muhammad,
and that Allah would then love them and forgive their sins; a command of
obedience to Allah and Muhammad follows. The v. 30 states that God
chose Adam, Noah, the family of Abraham and the family of `Imran
(Amram), and the vv. 31f begin a long narrative about Mary (an^212 d Jesus),
in which Zacharias plays a role. The vv. 37f give a Qur'anic fo^213 rm of the