Muhammad, the Qur'an and Islam
appear in this period. With respect to the Qur'anic narratives which are
based on Biblical characters, these modifications seem to indicate that
Muhammad attempted to accommodate the Jews at first, but later either
Christians or the members of sects which had broken off from them.
The narratives of this period also show that Muhammad had begun to
identify himself with Moses, and this seems to have been part of
Muhammad's attempt to win over the Jews. The character of Moses is
accorded more text (and generally more detail) than any other of the
Qur'anic messengers in this period, and he is the only messenger mentioned
as having received the "Book" (32:23; 41:45; 11:20, 112; 28:43). The^245
apparently Jewish question as to why Muhammad was not given the same
as Moses (28:48f), seems to have been at least partially answered by verses
which now show Muhammad to have received the "Book" (16:66; 6:92).
Muhammad is openly compared with Moses (cf. 14:1, 5; 28:44f), and in
17:47f (see the previous period) he even appears to have been substituted
for Moses (cf. Ex. 34:34; II Cor. 3:13f).
As opposed to the last Qur'anic period, the names of the Biblical characters
which were introduced in these suras all seem to have come from Jewish
sources, rather than Christian ones. The amount of foreign vo^246 cabulary
from the Jews has also increased, although a number of terms s^247 eem to
have come from Ethiopic, but practically none from Syriac^248.^249
Quite a few of the narratives in the suras of this period are generally
repetitions of the previous Qur'anic accounts. However, new narratives
have been introduced (e.g. those about Joseph and the Sabbath) and older
ones have been expanded (e.g. those about Moses, Haman and Korah).
Many of these new narratives are heavily dependent on the Talmud and
Jewish legends, but the influence of Christian sources on these new
narratives appears to have been minimal. Nevertheless, many errors were
made in the Qur'anic versions of these stories, which again indicates that
Muhammad relied on oral sources. Accordingly, one of Noah's^250 sons
drowns (11:44f); Joseph, among many other inconsistencies,^251 welcomes
his parents to Egypt (12:100); Moses was sent to Pharaoh, Haman and
Korah (40:25); Haman is to build a tower for Pharaoh (40:38f); Moses is
adopted by Pharaoh's wife (28:8); Moses asks for forgiveness for killing the
Egyptian (28:14f); Moses served 8 or 10 years for his wife (28:27f); Noah
was 950 years old at the time of the flood (29:13); Moses performs the
miracle of the leprous hand before Pharaoh (7:105); Moses requests to see