Muhammad: His Call
"rujza" (="wrath"), and 74:4-7 contains Biblical phrases^30 which could
hardly have been coincidental.^31
One might suppose Muhammad received his initial information from a
variety of sources, were it not for a lesser-known tradition which can be
found in later Islamic works. Accordingly, Muhammad is said to have
heard the preaching of Quss the bishop of Najran at the market of Ukaz. Quss, who was most probably Nestorian, reportedly gave his "recitations" about the vanity of life and the imminence of the Judgment in the form of saj. The general (but very rare) agreement between Islamic^32 traditionists
and Christian polemicists that Muhammad at least had some form of
fleeting contact with a monk also seem to concur with the bac^33 kground
evidence found in the earliest suras of the Qur'an which show Syrian
Christian influence.
Islamic traditions show the institution of the ritual prayers (salat) and
ablution (wudu') as being taught to Muhammad by the angel Gabriel, and
that Muhammad then instructed Khadija. According to the mos^34 t popular
accounts, the ritual prayers were originally to be performed five times daily,
and the direction of prayer (qibla) was initially the Ka`ba.^35 The Qur'an also
testifies to the early development of at least some form of the ritual
prayers, but that the introduction of ablutions and the qib^36 la must have^37
been much later; probably in Medina. The ritual prayers we^38 re first
performed only twice daily (Qur'an 17:80), and it appears that the night
prayer was added later (Qur'an 20:130; 11:116). The "middle" prayer was
added at Medina (Qur'an 2:239). The five daily prayer times^39 , as they stand
today, are not mentioned in the Qur'an, but occupy a very important place
in the canonical hadith. Muhammad's form of early "devotions" may have
been influenced by a Christian practice, and the basic ge^40 nuflexions of the
ritual prayer appear to have been borrowed from Syrian Christians. The^41
original two daily times of prayer follow the rule of the Nestorians which
prescribes two prayer times for their laity. The night pra^42 yer may have later
taken the place of the vigils Muhammad used to hold. The intr^43 oduction of
the "middle" prayer was probably influenced by the Jews,^44 who generally
prayed three times a day.^45
Islamic Sira traditions contradict one another concerning who became
Muhammad's first male follower, and these hadith appear to have been
colored by the various political and theological persuasions of the
narrators. Some traditions depict Muhammad and two of his fo^46 llowers as