Muhammad, the Qur'an and Islam
The mosque in Medina was also constructed according to the pattern of a
Jewish synagogue, and even the Islamic system of worship see^32 ms to have
been adopted from Judaism.^33
Western biographers of Muhammad have also noticed a brief period of
assimilation during his first months in Medina, which they generally
interpret as having been part of Muhammad's attempt to become accepted
as a prophet by the Jews. Despite this realization, however^34 , Western
scholarship on the Qur'an has frequently followed its Islamic counterpart in
presuming a Medinan period which essentially began in 2 AH.^35
Nevertheless, relatively early on, Qur'an scholars recognized that some
Meccan suras contained Medinan passages and vice versa. Mo^36 reover,
modern theories on the introductions of the "basmala" and th^37 e mysterious
letters to the Qur'anic text also concede that Muhammad must^38 have at
least revised some typically Meccan passages in Medina. It is very unlikely
that any Qur'anic "intermission" during Muhammad's first months in
Medina would have escaped the notice of later Muslim traditi^39 onists, thus
the question remains as to what sort of work was done on the Qur'an in
Medina prior to 2 AH. One Western Qur'an scholar essentially linked this
earliest Medinan period to the last Meccan one, without, however, really
defining any of its distinctive characteristics.^40
With respect to Muhammad's biography and Qur'anic studies, perhaps the
most distinguishing feature of Medina was, again, the presence of a
practicing Jewish community. Although Islamic traditions make virtually
no mention of Jewish synagogues, there must have actually been quite a
few in Medina, since some Sira accounts reveal the presence of no small
number of rabbis and even a Jewish "school" there, which was led by a
certain Finhas (Phinehas). Additionally, the Jews of Medina^41 are said to
have possessed a copy of the Torah, and some Qur'anic eviden^42 ce suggests
that they also had a collection of the Talmud.^43
During this period of assimilation of Jewish doctrines and rituals, one
would expect to find Qur'anic passages which not only spoke fairly
favorably of the Jews, but also which would indicate more familiarity with
traditional Judaism. Judging from the Islamic accounts about the Muslims'
emigration to Medina, it appears that Muhammad only gradually came into
"theological" contact with the Jews, and therefore it should not be
surprising to notice a gradual, but ever-increasing knowledge of Judaism.
Many Qur'anic passages, for example, refer to the exodus of the children of