Muhammad: His Callbe Christian in nature, and v. 5 is similar to a hymn of Ephraem t^82 he
Syrian. The oath in Qur'an 103:1 probably does not refer to t^83 he afternoon
prayer, but rather to "fate."^84
Qur'an 85Qur'an 85Qur'an 85Qur'an 85 begins with several oaths and then (vv. 4f) seems to relate the
story of the execution of Christians by the Jewish Yemenite leader Dhu
Nuwas. It is clear from v. 7 that Muhammad considered those who^85 were
executed as having been "believers." The vv. 10-11 are thought to be later
additions. Muhammad has learned the stories of the hosts of P^86 haraoh and^87
Thamud (vv. 17-18), which stories are said to have been lies by
Muhammad's opponents (v. 19). The v. 21 contains perhaps one of the first
direct references to the "Qur'an."
Doctrinally, Qur'an 103:2 may be related to the New Testament idea of "the
lost" and although 95:6; 103:3 and 85:11 are thought to be later additions to
these suras, the phrase "those who believe and do righteou^88 s works" cannot
have been too much later. The coupling of belief and good wo^89 rks is
somewhat common in pre-Reformation Christianity, nevertheless, some
Western scholars maintain that the Syrian Church was Muhammad's most
probable source for such teachings.^90
Sura 73Sura 73Sura 73Sura 73 presents Muhammad as being cloaked, holding vigils and
"chanting" (the Qur'an), which is somewhat reminiscent of t^91 he practices of
Christian monks. Qur'an 73:7 seems to imply that because of^92 his work
during the day, Muhammad did not have enough time to devote to the
revelation until evening. The vv. 9f imply Muhammad's need for protection
and speak of opposition to his message. The description of the end of the
world being preceded by an earthquake (73:14), as well as^93 the sky being
split apart (73:18) appear to have come from Christian sourc^94 es. The vv.
15f give perhaps the earliest instance of Muhammad being compared with a
Biblical prophet (in this case Moses, who is unnamed); and this idea
became even more developed later on. The mention of gray-hai^95 red
children appears to have come from Jewish sources. The verse^96 73:20 is
certainly Medinan and seems to have been added to this sura by either
Muhammad himself or later editors, due to the similarity between v. 20a
and 73:2f.^97
Qur'an 73:9f definitely indicate that the rejection of Muhammad's message
had begun, and the Sira traditions also have much to say about the various
forms of rejection and persecution which Muhammad and his early