Muhammad: His Call[20] Nöldeke and Schwally, GQ, vol. 1, p. 96, show that mention of
opposition to Muhammad (68:1-16) could not have been so early. See also
the editorial remark in Tabari, History, vol. 6, p. 69, n. 102, where it is
pointed out that the accusation of Muhammad being possessed (68:2) was
not made at the beginning of his ministry.
[21] In Qur'an 68:15-16 one is quoted as having regarded the "signs" of
the Qur'an as "fables of the ancients." What appears to have been meant are
the narrations of the Qur'anic "messengers," and this would presuppose
their having already been revealed. However, Weil and Nöldeke list Qur'an
68:1-16 before practically all of the suras containing such narratives.
Blachère wisely places sura 68 in the second Meccan period (see Appendix
B), but Bell (Qur'an, vol. 2, p. 597) maintains that Qur'an 68:10-16 is
Medinan, and gives no reason for this in his notes, which were published by
Bosworth and Richardson; cf. Watt (Introduction, p. 190, n. 1). Others are
most probably correct in disagreeing with Bell, as the phrase "fables of the
ancients" appears to have been a Meccan accusation and not a Medinan
one; see the references in n. 15, above. The similarity between Qur'an 96:4
and 68:1 may have led Islamic authorities to believe sura 68 was the second
Qur'anic revelation; see Nöldeke and Schwally, GQ, vol. 1, p. 96.
[22] For the source on Qur'an 74:1f, see n. 9, above. For sources on Qur'an
93:1f, see the references in n. 11, above.
[23] Most Islamic sura orderings give Qur'an 73, 74, and 111 after the
suras 96 and 68; Qur'an 93 is usually placed a little later in the listings; see
Appendix B. The positioning of the suras 73 and 74 together seems to have
been influenced by the similarity of 73:1 to 74:1; cf. Nöldeke and Schwally,
GQ, vol. 1, p. 98.
[24] As has been seen in some of the examples above (nn. 13, 21; the
relationship between Qur'an 96:4 to 68:1 and the roles of 74:1f and 93:1f in
the fatra traditions), Qur'anic exegesis even appears to have been the basis
for some Sira traditions, rather than vice versa. This phenomenon also
provides another reason for doubting the reliability and authenticity of
some of the Sira accounts. Cf. Nöldeke and Schwally, GQ, vol. 1, p. 91,
concerning sura 111: trans.- "One gets the impression that already very