Muhammad, the Qur\'an & Islam

Appendix D

38:30f 38:30f 38:30f 38:30f Solomon's love of horses. Solomon's love of horses. Solomon's love of horses. Solomon's love of horses.

Cf. I Kgs. 10.26f; Deut. 17:16. Muslim commentators understand this
passage to show that Solomon's love for horses caused him to neglect his
evening prayers; cf. SEI, p. 550; Rudolph, Koran, pp. 411 f.

38:33 38:33 38:33 38:33 A form on Solomon's throne. A form on Solomon's throne. A form on Solomon's throne. A form on Solomon's throne.

Geiger, WMJA, p. 185, gives Gattin 68 as a similar Jewish tradition for
this. Solomon's power over the spirits and demons, who helped him build
the temple are also well attested to in Jewish traditions; Sanhedrin 20b,
Midrash Rabbah Genesis, parag. 11, etc. (Koran, p. 412, n. 17); the Second
Targum to Esther 1:2 (Geiger, WMJA, p. 182). Cf. Speyer, Erzählungen,
pp. 386 f; Tabari, History, vol. 3, pp. 170 f.

38:34 38:34 38:34 38:34 Solomon repented and asked for Solomon repented and asked for Solomon repented and asked for Solomon repented and asked for

a kingdom unlike any other. a kingdom unlike any other. a kingdom unlike any other. a kingdom unlike any other.

Speyer, Erzählungen, pp. 383 f. shows that Solomon's prayer of I Kings 3:6f
has been corrupted so that he asks for a kingdom rather than for wisdom.
Speyer holds that the the idea of "kingdom" in this passage seems to be
Christian.

38:35f 38:35f 38:35f 38:35f The wind and jinn served Solomon. The wind and jinn served Solomon. The wind and jinn served Solomon. The wind and jinn served Solomon.

Geiger, WMJA, p. 182, gives the Targum to Esther 1:2 as the ultimate
source for the demons having served Solomon. Horovitz, Untersuchungen,
pp. 117 f, shows that the pre-Islamic poets wrote of this, and that
Muhammad might have gotten his information from them. Cf. the notes to
Qur'an 38:33, above.

38:43 38:43 38:43 38:43 Job was to strike with a bundle of Job was to strike with a bundle of Job was to strike with a bundle of Job was to strike with a bundle of

rushes to keep an oath. rushes to keep an oath. rushes to keep an oath. rushes to keep an oath.

This appears to have been a misunderstanding of Job 2:8-10, for which
Muslim Qur'an exegetes later invented a story to better fit the general
confusion of this passage; cf. Tabari, History, vol. 2, p. 140; SEI, p. 26.