Muhammad: Meccan Oppositionmade his original request for wisdom (cf. I Kgs. 3:6f). The notions^183 of a
form being seated on Solomon's throne (v. 33) and of the wind and demons
being made subservient to Solomon (vv. 35f) appear to have their origins in
Jewish traditions. In the vv. 43f one of the first narratives a^184 bout Job
appears, which seems to contain a very disorganized allusion to Job
2:8-10. The awkwardness of v. 45 mentioning Abraham, Isaac and^185 Jacob
together, only to have v. 48 later name Ishmael with Elisha and the
enigmatic Dhu'l-Kifl, indicates that Muhammad did not know^186 that
Ishmael was Abraham's son at the time. Descriptions of Parad^187 ise and Hell
are given (vv. 49f), and the narrative of Adam and Iblis (vv. 71f) was
probably a later addition, since the rhyme scheme of the vv. 67-87 does not
match that of the remainder of the sura. In v. 86 Muhammad again^188 shows
that he was not asking for a wage from the Meccans. The Arabic n^189 ames
for David, Solomon and Job all seem to predate Muhammad, and i^190 t is not
known who was meant by Dhu'l-Kifl. In 38:6 the word "milla" was
probably borrowed from Syriac. Remote similarities to Bib^191 le passages
can be found in 38:8 (cf. Ps. 135:7) and 38:40 (cf. Ja. 5:11). Some^192 Sira
traditions connect the revelation of this sura with the death of Abu Talib.^193
Qur'an 36Qur'an 36Qur'an 36Qur'an 36 also begins with mysterious letters. Muhammad is presented as a
messenger to a people who had not been warned (vv. 1f). The narrative of
the envoys and the city appears to come from either Christians or sects
having broken off from Christianity, and some wording is th^194 ought to be
missing between the vv. 24 and 25. The vv. 33f relate the witnes^195 s of
Creation, after which the Meccan objections to almsgiving (^196 v. 47) and
questions about the advent of the Judgment are given (vv. 48f). The vv. 63f
contain a description of Hell, in which the Jewish idea that body members
will testify is given, and the vv. 78f reproduce some of the Mec^197 can's
objections to the doctrine of the Resurrection. 36:38 is similar to Eccl. 1:5,
and 36:82 is similar to Ps. 33:9. According to some Sira traditions,
Muhammad recited this sura as his opponents once tried to murder him.^198
Mysterious letters open sura 43sura 43sura 43sura 43, which includes an oath "by the clear book"
(v. 1). The vv. 5f contain one of the earliest direct implications that
Muhammad considered himself to be a prophet, as opposed to a
"messenger," following which Creation is described (vv. 8f). The rhetorical
question against the Meccans attributing daughters to Allah is reiterated (v.
15), and the pagan notion that angels were feminine is also m^199 entioned
(vv. 18f). The vv. 21f reflect the problems Muhammad had convincing the
Meccans, and this leads into a narrative about Abraham, in which