Muhammad: Meccan Oppositionseem to refer to the Meccan rejection of the Resurrection. The vv. 103f give
a very revealing narrative about Moses and Pharaoh, in which Moses is said
to have been given nine signs (v. 103), as opposed to the ten plagues of the
Bible (cf. Ex. 7:14f-12:33). The vv. 105f not only contain the an^270 omaly
that Pharaoh tried to scare the Israelites out of the land, but it also seems
clear now that the children of Israel were thought to have received Egypt as
the Promised Land. Thus the notion of earlier suras, that Moses was thought
to have aimed at driving the Egyptians from their own land (cf. 20:59, 66;
26:34), was fulfilled after the destruction of Pharaoh's armies. It is highly
improbable that Muhammad could have misunderstood his informants to
this extent, but rather likely that he modified the plots to fit his own
situation with respect to the Meccans, who had evidently tried to scare him
from the land (cf. v. 78). The v. 107 describes the Qur'an as being sent
down piece by piece, v. 110 says that God can be called "Allah" or
"al-Rahman" ("the Compassionate"), and v. 111 reiterates that God has no
son or associate. In addition to the section of this sura, which seems to have
the Jewish Law as its source (vv. 23f), several other verses in this sura are at
least remotely similar to Bible passages, a work of Ephraem the Syrian, and
the Talmud.^271
Sura 27Sura 27Sura 27Sura 27 gives mysterious letters, which are said to be the signs of the Qur'an
and a clear Book; (v. 1) a guide and good news for the believers (v. 2). In v.
3 the believers are defined as those who pray, give alms and believe in the
Resurrection. The vv. 4f speak of the destiny of unbelievers, and the vv. 7f
give a brief narrative about Moses. The vv. 15f relate a narrative of David
and Solomon, by which the latter is said to have learned the speech of birds
(v. 16). The vv. 17f continue the narrative of Solomon, in which h^272 e
speaks with an ant, communicates with the Queen of Sheba via a^273 bird (vv.
20f), and the "basmala" is mentioned as having been used by^274 Solomon in
a letter to the queen (v. 30). Some scholars think this was the first
occurrence of the "basmala" in the Qur'an. The vv. 46f give a na^275 rrative
about Salih, following which a narrative of Lot appears (vv. 55f), where (in
an obvious alteration by Muhammad) Lot's people (v. 57) are said to have
wanted him and his family driven from the land (cf. 26:167). Th^276 e vv. 60f
speak of God's provision and reproduce some of Muhammad's polemic
against polytheists and their remarks. In v. 78 the Qur'an is said to instruct
the children of Israel about things over which they are divided, and the
verses following portray the (testimonies of the) Qur'an as signs from God.
The vv. 85f tell of the Judgment, and Muhammad's mission is defined in the
vv. 93f. The Queen of Sheba is mentioned for the first time in this sura, and