Muhammad, the Qur'an and Islamwas thought to be Abyssinian, however, this appears to be an innovation of
later traditionists; see n. 116, above.
[250] Bell, parting with practically all other Western Qur'an scholars,
considered these verses to have been Medinan; Watt and Bell, Introduction,
p. 17, n. 1. Bell does not give the reason for this decision even in his notes
(cf. Commentary, vol. 2, p. 2), but it seems it was based simply on the idea
of his own theories: i.e. "writing" has to do with the production of the
"Book," which period (according to Bell) began in Medina.
[251] See n. 116, above, for the names of some who are said to have been
Muhammad's informants.
[252] This verb is also translated by some as causative; cf. Watt and Bell,
Introduction, p. 36.
[253] In modern times, Muslims have invented many stories about the sea
explorer Captain Cousteau accepting Islam after allegedly noting that salt
and fresh water do not mix. The popular Islamic book by Bucaille (The
Bible, the Qur'an and Science, pp. 179 f) also considers this to be a miracle
in confirmation of this verse. Cousteau's denial of becoming a Muslim was
published in the Turkish magazine Gökyüzü (March, 1985, p. 12), and
Campbell (The Qur'an and the Bible, pp. 165 f) counters the Muslim claim,
and notes, of course, that salt and fresh water do combine in the ocean.
[254] See n. 88, above.
[255] See Appendix F, p. 411, for sources.
[256] Guillaume, Muhammad, p. 179; the origin of these Christians is
doubted, and Ibn Ishaq's personal reservations about this tradition are
evident in the phrases "God knows"; cf. Ibid., p. xix.
[257] Or rather to Heaven; see SEI, p. 183.
[258] Guillaume, Muhammad, pp. 181 f; New Light, p. 58; Ibn Sad, Classes, vol. 1, 1, pp. 246 f; Tabari, History, vol. 6, pp. 78 f; Sahih Bukhari, vol. 1, p. 211; vol. 4, p. 287; vol. 5, p. 143; vol. 6, p. 196; vol. 7, p. 338; vol. 9, p. 449; cf.Ali Tabari, in ECMD, pp. 591 f; Nöldeke and Schwally,
GQ, vol. 1, pp. 134 f. The accounts in Ibn Sa`d differ considerably from the