Muhammad, the Qur'an and Islam
the fate of those who receive their books in the left hand.^150 The belief in
Allah and the feeding of the poor are listed as the duties which were
neglected by those sent to Hell. In the vv. 38f an oath is given that
Muhammad's message is from God, and that were his message against
God('s), he would have been killed (vv. 44-46).
In sura 51sura 51sura 51sura 51, which begins with oaths, only the vv. 1-23 are thought to belong
to the first Meccan period,^151 and they do not appear to contain much new
material.
Qur'an 52Qur'an 52Qur'an 52Qur'an 52 also begins with oaths, and only the vv. 1-20 and 22-28, which
again describe Hell and Paradise are regarded as early.^152
Sura 56 Sura 56 Sura 56 Sura 56 begins with oaths, and then explains the destiny of those who will
go to Paradise (vv. 10-25), the future of those who will be the "companions
of the right" (vv. 26-39) and those who will be the "companions of the left"
(vv. 40-56).^153 The vv. 57-73 form an appeal for man to believe after
realizing the magnificence of God's creation, and the vv. 74-96 give an oath
as a guarantee for the truthfulness of Muhammad's message. The verse
56:52 seems to be similar to a Jewish tradition (Sukkah 32), and an early
Qur'an codex is said to have contained a short extra verse after 56:50.^154
Sura 70Sura 70Sura 70Sura 70 also contains little that is new for the early Meccan period of the
Qur'an. Verse 8 is similar to the Bible reference II Pet. 3:12, and the vv. 22f
describe those who will go to Paradise as those who pray, give to the poor,
believe there will a day of Judgment, etc.
Qur'an 55Qur'an 55Qur'an 55Qur'an 55 contains perhaps the earliest usage of the term "Rahman," which
Muhammad probably borrowed from Jews or Christians.^155 This sura is
most famous for its refrain which begins in v. 12 and is repeated
inconsistently for the remainder of the sura. The v. 33 is thought to have
been a later modification, because of its comparatively unusual length.^156
The dual plural form was employed frequently in this sura ("two Easts", v.
16; "two Wests," v. 17; "two waters," v. 19; later - "two gardens, " v. 46;
with "two springs," v. 50; "two kinds of fruits," v. 52; etc.) to conform with
the rhyme scheme.^157