Muhammad, the Qur'an and Islam
one of the earliest appearances of this term ¾_³ = "prophet," in the Qur'an.^26
Aaron is mentioned with Moses (v. 110) as having received the B^27 ook (v.
117). The narrative of Elias and Baal is very abbreviated (vv. 123f), and
most Western scholars are of the opinion that this story came from
Ethiopian sources. The narrative of Lot (vv. 133f) seems to sh^28 ow that at
least until this time Muhammad did not know that the "old woman" who
was not saved was really Lot's wife. The story of Jonah (vv. 139^29 f) is
thought to have come from Christian sources, although one Western scholar
thinks the strange Arabic word for "gourd" (v. 146) was "garbled" from
Hebrew. Qur'an 37:149f is related to 52:39, where only "daugh^30 ters" are
mentioned as being attributed to Allah. The v. 157 contains an early
challenge to prove one's claims by showing the book from which they
came. The commands for Muhammad to turn away from the unbelievers in
37:174, 178 is similar to 51:54, and 37:182 parallels Qur'an 1:1. The
subject of Monotheism is particularly emphasized in the narratives of
Abraham and Elias in this sura.
Sura 71Sura 71Sura 71Sura 71 is primarily a narrative about Noah, in which the Biblical
information has been radically changed. The vv. 1-2 present Noah as
having been sent to his people as a warner, who proclaimed obedience to
Allah and himself (v. 3). It is, however, Muhammad who saw himself in the
role of a warner (e.g. 51:50f; 53:57), and the novel idea that a messenger
(prophet) should be obeyed rather than God alone, also seems to have
Muhammad as its source (cf. 3:29, 126; 4:62, etc.). Noah is portrayed as a
preacher of forgiveness (vv. 4, 9), who complains of how his people turn
away from his message (vv. 6), which he shared with others publicly and
privately (v. 7-8). None of this information is found in the Biblical
accounts, but all of these circumstances fit Muhammad conveniently.^31
After making an allusion to Creation (vv. 12f), Noah is dismayed that his
people have rebelled against himself and that they have schemed (v. 21) to
undermine his implied Monotheistic message (vv. 22-23). It is Muhammad,
however, who frequently appealed to the wonder of God's Creation (e.g.
88:17f; 56:57-73), who was wary of the Meccans designs against him (e.g.
86:15-16; 77:39; 52:42, 46; etc.), and who was preaching Monotheism.
Another feature of the vv. 22-23 is that the Qur'an has Noah anachronisti-
cally mention the names of the gods and goddesses of the Arab tribes
contemporary with Muhammad. The prayer attributed to Noa^32 h in this sura
(particularly v. 29) was most probably a prayer of Muhammad instead.^33