prophecy in judaism and islam

PROPHECY IN JUDAISM AND ISLAMAuthor(s): Fred MillerSource: Islamic Studies, Vol. 17, No. 1 (SPRING 1978), pp. 27-44Published by: Islamic Research Institute, International Islamic University, IslamabadStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20847058 .

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PROPHECY IN JUDAISM AND ISLAM

Fred Miller

INTRODUCTION

This article represents an attempt at a broad comparative study of

the concepts of prophecy of Judaism and Islam. The major problems we will be dealing with are the questions of if and how these two concep

tions of prophecy may illuminate one another. In the final section of this

article, some general comparative conclusions will be discussed, including the position that certain striking similarities may be observed between the

biblical figure of Moses on the one hand and the Qur'anic figure of Muham

mad on the other. However, due to the breadth of the subject and the

wealth of material relative to it, our primary task will be descriptive. The bulk of this study will be devoted to an attempt to summarize the concepts of prophecy which occur in Judaism and Islam. This attempt will be limited

chiefly to the primary sources of the two traditions, the Hebrew Bible and

the Qur'an. While such a limitation renders the study a bit more mana

geable, it inevitably raises problems stemming from the disparate literary nature of the two sources. The Hebrew Bible is a composite work, con

taining several different styles and types of literature. Its component

parts span centuries of Israelite history. This diversity is reflected in its

treatment of the various themes which run through the course of that history. The Qur'an, on the other hand, is a unitary work, rising from a single source

and reflecting a period of composition of only 23 years. Therefore in

dealing with the Hebrew Bible, one must, because of the nature of the

literature, speak historically, tracing the development of a theme from

the earliest sources to the latest. This task is not applicable to Qur'anic

study where the procedures lie more in the direction of fleshing out a con

cept in terms of the various Qur'anic discussions of it. This literary difference not only necessitates the different approaches utilized in the

second and third sections of this article, it also raises a serious problem for

comparative study of the concept of prophecy in the two traditions. This

problem is discussed in the concluding section of this article.



28 FRED MILLER

THE CONCEPTION OF PROPHECY IN JUDAISM

In our consideration of the Jewish view of prophecy we will deal with

two major themes. The first is the history of Jewish prophecy. In this sec

tion we will sketch briefly the development of the prophetic office in the

history of Israel. The second is the Jewish view of Moses as the paradigm of biblical prophecy. In this section we will cite the criteria on the basis

of which Moses is identified as the prophet par excellence of the Jewish

tradition.

A. The History of Prophecy

In sketching the outline of the prophetic history in Israel, we will

follow the outline of Paul1 and expand upon it when necessary.

The earliest stage of Israelite prophecy is found in figures referred

to as seers. This term may be defined as "(parsons) who possessed abilities

to reveal that which has been concealed from ordinary mortals"2 The

term is first applied to Samuel in a passage which notes the historical cont

inuity between the words "seer" and "prophet"3. Among the methods

used by seers for foretelling the future were dreams and divination. In

a number of passages, dreams are regarded as a legitimate medium whereby one may become cognizant of the will of God4. Divination was an alter

native method for accomplishing similar purposes. Included here are

casting of lots, (used as one method of selecting Saul as king,5 to appor

tion the land of Canaan among the tribes of Israel6 and listed as being

among the ways in which God answers human inquiries7) visions8 and

necromancy.9 These methods are employed to seek God's help and

guidance in the solution of problems which occur in the course of every

day life.

In addition to seers, Neher uses the notion of personal charisma

based on the call of God to include two further groups, the judges and

Nazarites, in the category of early prophecy.10 These groups would,

in his scheme, represent God's continuing effort to help Israel overcome her

military enemies through the medium of His selected personnel.

Neher also includes in his discussion of this period the wandering

bands of prophets which are briefly described in the Samuel/Saul narra

tives. 11 Von Rad also calls attention to these groups, referring to them

as being "almost the last representatives of pure, uncontaminated Yahwism

and its divine law, and therefore of extreme importance to its survival."12



PROPHECY IN JUDAISM AND ISLAM 29

Indeed the existence of groups of prophets, which in later times appear to

have become associated with the royal court, continues to be an important

aspect of Israelite prophecy.13

The rise of the monarchy in Israel marks an important stage in the

development of the prophetic office. Indeed prophecy appears to be the

instrument by which the monarchy is established. The figure of Samuel

is crucial here. He is the intercessor through whom the people plead for, and are granted, a king14. It is he who anoints Saul to be the first king of Israel15, a choice which, as we have seen, was substantiated by the divi

natory method of selection by lot.16 Further, he renounces God's rejec tion of Saul as king because of his disobedience.17 Finally he is the figure

who, again guided by God, anoints David to be Saul's successor18. Thus

the whole process of the institution of the Israelite monarchy is based on

the intercessory actions of the prophetic figure Samuel.

In the Davidic monarchy two strands of prophecy may be identified.

The first is represented by the figure of God, to whom David turns as an

advisor when seeking guidance in practical affairs.19 He also serves as

a messenger who delivers God's words to David.20 This role seems to

constitute the rudiments of the phenomenon of court prophecy which con

tinues throughout the monarchy. The other strand may be associated

with the figure of Nathan, who, on behalf of God, both delivers God's

promise that he will establish the Davidic throne forever21 and confronts

David with the accusation of the murder of Uriah.22 In the latter case

the role of the prophet appears to be that of God's representative speaking in opposition to the acts of the king, God's anointed. Though Nathan

himself was associated with the royal court, the strand of prophecy he

represents continued. It may be observed to have separated from the court

and actually to have come into direct conflict with pure court prophecy in the instances of Elijah and Ahab23 and Micaiah and the prophets of

JehoshophatH Thus in its association with the monarchy prophecy can

be observed to move in two directions. The close relationship of prophecy with the early Davidic monarchy continues through the institution of court

prophecy. At the same time, another strand of prophecy adopts a posture of antagonism, splinters off from the court and ultimately produces the

profound criticisms of the monarchy by the classical prophets.

The question of the relationship of prophecy to the cult is a nebulous one. It is certain that various prophetic figures, Moses, Samuel, Elijah,



30 FRED MILLER

arc described as performing cultic acts.25 The intercessory role which the

prophets performed, in which they acted as the final voice in decisions such

as war-making, was probably strongly related to the cult.26 Also the early methods of divination were probably cultically oriented. However, as

the example of Amos and Amaziah illustrates,27 the attempt to identify the classical prophets too closely with cult prophecy is doomed to failure.28

Thus here again we can observe an early and continuing relationship bet ween some strands of prophecy and the cult, and, at the same time, a strand

of prophecy moving away from the cult and functioning as critics of it.

Despite the monumental importance of classical prophecy, we must

confine ourselves to a brief, summary treatment of the phenomenon and

an identification of the major contributions which this period makes to

the development of prophecy. This age is marked by the rise of inspired individuals who offer profound criticism of the social and political condi

tions of the time. They are not strictly representative of any of the

major institutions of society, the court, the cult or the forms of prophecy associated with these institutions. Their authority is based on the vocation

of God, and their social criticisms are far-ranging and fundamental. By way of illustration, Isaiah accuses king Ahaz of trusting in political allian ces rather than in the God of Israel, thereby insuring doom for his people.29 Hosea uses the metaphor of his unfaithful wife, Gomer, to confront Israel

with the magnitude of her disobedience and the inevitability of her punish ment. 3 0 Jeremiah warns of the impending destruction of the nation, which

is the result of her disobedience to God.31 His message is tempered by the vision of a prosperous return to the land32 and the establishment of

a new covenant, written this time on the very hearts of the people.33 Ezekiel envisions himself as a watchman for the people, whose duty it is

to warn them of the approaching doom in order that they might forsake

their ways of sin.34 Deutero-Isaiah, speaking during the Exile, describes

the image of the powerful, magnificent, Creator-God who is the agent be

hind all human history and the controller of all nations in the unfolding of

history. This is the God who has plotted the course of Israel's destiny and Who will redeem her from her suffering.35 Though these statements

are over-simplified and ignore some of the prophetic figures of this time,

they do provide some insight into the autonomy and majesty which classical

prophecy was able to attain. We can see immediately that this manifesta

tion of prophecy is not bound by relationships with institutions such as

the court or the cult, with which many earlier forms of prophecy had been so closely associated, (and, for that matter still was, since the existence of




cultic and court prophets did not end with the rise of classical prophecy). Rather these prophets seem possessed of a broader view of God and his

relationship with the people of Israel than had heretofore been achieved. It is a view from which profound criticism of social and political conditions

could be levelled and which was based on the conception of the demands

which God had placed on his chosen people.

Paralleling this development of the prophetic office is a similar de

velopment in the message of prophecy. We can trace this development in

a number of areas. First, in terms of methods, we may begin with the use

of divinatory devices such as lots, trial by ordeal36 and dreams to deter

mine the will of God and foresee the future. Upon this is built the inter

cessor role which forms the basis of the office of the court prophet. Finally, the prophet becomes the messenger who delivers the word of God and con

veys a grand view of world history. In a second area, that of ritualistic

conduct, we begin again with the use of divinatory practices, move through the priestly functions of some prophetic figures and the cultic aspects of the

intercessor role to the classical view of ritual activity as being an insufficient

response to the call of God. This latter view holds that ritual activity

apart from personal commitment to righteousness and justice is tantamount

to disobedience of God. In terms of a doctrine of election, the idea of

covenant is closely related to such early prophetic figures as Abraham and

Moses. The anointing of the king by Samuel and the delivery of the pro

mise to David by Nathan bring prophetic figures into close association

with the doctrine that Israel is a chosen people. The classical prophets re-interpret this relationship as being not simply a gift, but a source of

strict ethical demands. In addition, they offer a more universal, wholistic

view of God's action in history than is found in early covenant material.

Finally, in terms of personal morality, the view of the early seers centred

around obedience to the oracles which determined God's will. The mov

ing bands, or at least some of them, were more concerned with ritualistically

pure worship as a means of preserving the Yahwistic cult. These views

continued into the court and cultic manifestations of prophecy which came

into being with the monarchy. The classical period, however, called for a

morality which was based on the personal relationship of the believer and

his God and the ethical demands inherent in that relationship. The co

venant which had been written in stone for Moses was to be rewritten by God on the very hearts of those who would enter a covenant relationship with Him.



32 FRED MILLER

B. Moses as the Paradigm of Prophecy

In the Jewish view of prophecy, Moses is identified as the prophet

par excellence, the paradigm of prophecy. To identify the grounds on

which this statement is made, let us turn first to McCurdy. "He (Mosss) was not a mere prototype of the canonical

prophets, but a sort of comprehensive type in himself, being the

combination of civil and religious leader in one. His claim to be

considered the first and greatest of the prophets is founded upon the

fact that he introduced the worship of YHWH among his

people and gave them the rudiments of law and a new sense of

justice wider and deeper than that of the tribal system. By him

'direction' (Torah) was given to Israel; all later true prophets kept Israel in the same right course along the line of religious and moral

development."37

Paul cites Numbers 12:6-8 as establishing, in the words of God, Moses'

credentials as the greatest of prophets on the basis of God's direct, "mouth

to mouth" communication with him.38 Further, his performance as in

tercessor for Israelis unmatched39 and the report of his vocation is the

model for this type of narrative.40 To this Neher would add that, in addi

tion to epitomizing many of the characteristics which made Abraham exal

ted, the figure of Moses is also characterized by the concept of suffering, a common feature of the greatest of Israel's prophets.41

This view of Moses raises a problem for us. How may we speak of Moses as the model of prophecy and also of a historical development of

the concept of prophecy which had a rather modest beginning in the period of the judges, after Moses' death? One possibility is to say that the image of Moses that one finds in the Torah is a late construction. Fohrer's

reconstruction of the source strata J and P would tend to confirm this

approach.4 2 Thus the post-exilic imag of Moses, not the historical figure,

would be identified as the prophetic model. The Qur'an's view of pro

phecy allows what I find to be a more satisfactory solution. It is discussed below in our comparison of Moses and Muhammad.

THE ISLAMIC VIEW OF PROPHECY

In our effort to delineate the notion of prophecy which is found in

Islam, we will resort chiefly to Qur'anic material, with occasional references




to the insights of various scholarly studies of the problem. Our survey will encompass three major areas: the figure of Muhammad, the nature of

revelation, and the history of revelation. It seems to me that these three areas coalesce to form a coherent picture of prophecy and the prophetic office in Islam.

A. The Figure of Muhammad

The Qur'an goes to great lengths to point out that Muhammad is

essentially a human being. In one passage, it is emphasized that the messen

gers who have brought revelation to man are mortals.4 3 They have no super

human powers to "bring a warrant", this task is only to be performed with

the "permission of Allah". Their special position is itself only a manifesta

tion of the grace given by Allah. In a second passage, Muhammad is told

to say to disbelievers, "I say not to you that I possess the treasures of Allah, nor that I have knowledge of the Unseen, and I say not to you: Lo, I am

an angel! I follow only that which has been inspired in me."44 Thus, it seems that Muhammad and past prophetic personages are thoroughly human, differing from other humans primarily in the fact that they have

been chosen by God as His messengers.45

Second, the Qur'an mentions the fact that Muhammad is an Ummi,

referring to him as "the Prophet who can neither read nor write."46 In

a similar manner it refers to Muhammad's unfamiliarity with earlier scrip ture.47 These passages would appear to be serving as a refutation for those

who would accuse Muhammad of attempting to pass off his own literary creations as God's revelation or of simply copying stories from the Torah.

Third, the Qur'an defines Muhammad's function with a variety of

social roles. By virtue of his selection by God to be His messenger Mu

hammad is specifically commanded to observe very closely his moral duties

to God, to bring religion to a pure level and to maintain it there.48 In

these instances Muhammad seems to function as an example to the people of the correct path of obedience to God. In two other passages, all believers

are advised to bring their disputes to Muhammad and follow his decisions

in the matters49 and it is stated that the Qur'an will be the criterion by which

Muhammad will "judge between mankind".50 Finally, in a number of

passages, those who believe are admonished to obey Allah and his messen

ger.51 Failure to do so is a severe offense which will be harshly punished.52 Thus Muhammad is to be viewed as the leader of the community. He

is commanded to observe his duties as an example to the people and to



34 FRED MILLER

judge between the people on the basis of the revelation which he receives.

Further, the believers are told to obey him and are warned of punishment if they do not. (It is consistent with the Qur'anic view of man that the power to disobey is seen to reside within him. Though the consequences of doing so are dire, 53 it is never denied that it is within man's power to disobey

God).

Fourth, in spite of Muhammad's high social position, it is always

apparent in the Qur'an that Muhammad is God's agent, that it is God's

power, not his own, which lies behind Muhammad's position. Muham

mad's chief function is to be the messenger of God.54 He is the medium

through which the revelation is transmitted to man. As we shall see below, it is not in his power to change or edit any of the revelation.55 Further, in another passage, Muhammad is prohibited from petitioning God to con

tinue the revelation.56 Thus, though Muhammad's social position and

function are high, his relationship to God is always clear. God is the

Revealor, the message and the power are His. Muhammad is His selected

instrument, through whom the revelation is conveyed to man. This

relationship and God's domination of it are never in doubt.

Finally, Muhammad's prophecy does not depend on the power to

perform miracles. "Neither in the promulgation nor in the propogation of his Religion, did he resort to any physical miracle whatsoever, deeming it sufficient to recite the Qur'an and to appeal to the hearts and minds of

sensitive, thinking men."57 Indeed the Qur'an is clear in associating

"portents" with Allah, not his messenger.58 In addition it recalls that

past prophets have been rejected in spite of their ability to perform mirac

les.59 Thus the ability to perform miracles is not an integral part of

Muhammad's prophetic identity.

B. The Nature of Revelation

This section has to do with both the form and the content of

Qur'anic revelation. In terms of form, our first observation must be that

the Qur'an is in Arabic. According to the Qur'an, this fact provides an ea

sily understandable guideline to Muslims, constitutes an Arabic confirma

tion of the Mosaic revelation and is consistent with the concept that

revelation is available to all people in their own language.60

Second, the Qur'an is a verbatim transmission of revelation. We

may substantiate this position by noting two phenomena. First, the use




of the word "recite" is applied to the process of transmission. It is used

to describe both Muhammad's reception of the revelation61 and his

transmission of it.62 Second, numerous times in the Qur'an, Muham

mad is addressed with the brief imperative "Say" followed by a strictly verbatim account of what is to be repeated to the people.63 Thus the

Qur'an is very clear in detailing methods of transmission which are specifi

cally designed to preserve the verbatim accuracy of the revelation.

The essential nature of the Qur'an as the verbatim revelation of God

is re-enforced in a number of different ways. The first is by way of the

assertion, which we have already noted, that Muhammad is the messenger of the Revealor, not the author of the revelation. In at least two passages, Muhammad is told to respond to requests that the Qur'an be changed by

affirming that his recitation is under the control of his inspiration from

God, not his own will.64 In a second vein, it is noted that the words of

God are unchangeable, that the Prophet must transmit them exactly if he is to fulfil his mission and that God is capable of perceiving whether or not

Muhammad has honestly transmitted them.65 Further, the magnitude of

the sin of altering revelation, lying about God or attempting to shape reve

lation toward one's own ends are noted and the punishment for these acts

is prescribed.66 The point here is that, knowing the penalties for altering revelation, Muhammad would never engage in such conduct. Third, the

Qur'an challenges those who doubt its validity to produce ten suras, or even one, sura, which are comparable to it.67 The point here is that

no matter how much collaboration he resorts to ("call on anyone ye can

besides Allah" 11:13) man is incapable of matching the literary majesty of

God's revelation. All these statements serve to re-enforce the fundamental idea that revelation is God's. It is revealed by Him to His chosen messen

ger and transmitted strictly and without alteration to man by that messen

ger. There is no doubt, then, that the Qur'an is the verbatim revelation of God.6?

The content of the Qur'anic revelation may be summarized as

universal, moralistic monotheism. The most obvious and pervasive element of this brief summary is the uncompromising monotheism which

permeates the whole of the Qur'an. It is repeated again and again: "Allah!

There is no God save Him, the Alive, the Eternal."69 "There is no God save Allah... Allah is the Mighty and the Wise."70 and "He is Allah, than whom there is no other."71 Again and again the heresies of the



36 FRED MILLER

assertion of gods other than Allah or of a sonship relative to Him are conde

mned. On this point the Qur'an is immovable.

The Qur'anic revelation is universal in at least two ways. First, it

asserts that revelation has been made available to all people. This has

been accomplished by two means. First, a messenger has been sent to

every nation.72 Second, all the messengers who have been sent have re

cited the revelation in the language of their own people.7 3 The Torah and

the Gospel are primary examples of this phenomenon.74 The revelation

has been made universally available in a second way. It is by means of the

prophecy of Muhammad. Salvation is available to all who would listen

to his revelation and obey the dictates thereof.75 Again, it is necessary to note here that man is free to reject these revelations and suffer the con

sequences.76 Thus revelation is universally available, but acceptance of

it remains the prerogative of man.

Finally, the revelation is moralistic in that it contains a set of laws

and religious practices which must be followed. Indeed, the revelation is given to Muhammad for the specific purpose of reminding men of the

moral obligations incumbent upon them. These duties involve strict

attention to one's duties to God,77 and to the Prophet who makes His

will manifest.78 Those who faithfully perform these duties may look

forward to reward;79 those who do not, to severe punishment.80

Thus we may say in summary that the Qur'anic view of revelation

is that revelation is the verbatim word of God, transmitted intact by a

messenger (prophet) who does not alter it in the least. Further, the con

tent of this revelation may be characterized as universal, moralistic mo

notheism.

C. The History of Revelation

The history of revelation that is presented by the Qur'an is one of

constant tension between revelatory, prophetic figures and stubborn, dis

obedient people. Specifically, the Qur'an speaks of Hebrew prophecy,

beginning with Adam, and the reluctance of the Jews to accept it. Among those mentioned as messengers are Noah, Abraham, Ismael, Isaac, Jacob,

Jesus, Job, Jonah, Aaron and Solomon.8 * However, the most important

prophet in the Qur'an (excepting, of course, Muhammad) is Moses, whose

confrontation with Pharaoh is mentioned often82 in addition to references

to Sinai and the Torah.83 Despite this stream of Prophets, the revelation




has always been denied by man,84 necessitating a continuing revelatory

process. Because of this, the Qur'an often refers to itself as a "Remin

der".85 That is to say, the Qur'an does not consider itself a totally new

revelation, but rather a new form of a revelation which has remained

consistent throughout the history of God's interaction with man. The

Qur'an is a final, complete form of that revelation. It culminates the his

tory of revelation which involves all past prophets. Implicit in this view

is a third feature of the Qur'anic conception of the history of revelation, the consistency of revelation. That is to say, the Qur'an confirms past revelations.86 There is no distinction between it and past revelations.87

In terms of a vision of the universal, moralistic, monotheistic nature of

reality, the revelation to Moses and the revelation to Muhammad are the

same.88 Therefore we find in the Islamic view of the history of prophetic revelation a stream of consistent, individual acts of revelation through many different prophets. The fact that revelation has continued is due to man's denial of and disobedience to the numerous prophets whom God has sent to him in the past.

Finally, the Qur'an views Muhammad as being the "Seal of the

Prophets".89 That is to say, with Muhammad and the Qur'an, the history of prophecy has reached its culminating, final form, an ethical monotheism which is available to all mankind.

COMPARATIVE CONCLUSIONS

In attempting to find a basis for the comparison or prophecy in Islam and Judaism, we are confronted immediately with the problem of

history. Our analysis of Israelite prophecy has been largely historical while our treatment of the Qur'an has been more descriptive. The pro blem arises: How are we to compare data which are so disparate in nature?

We will attempt to do so in two ways. First, we will offer an interpreta tion of Muhammad's prophecy as a culmination of the historical deve

lopment we have found in the Hebrew Bible. Second, following the Jewish view of Moses as the paradigm of prophecy, we will undertake a compa rative analysis of Moses and Muhammad as prophetic figures.

This interpretation of Muhammad as the logical culmination of the historical development of Israelite prophecy is based on the following observations. In our discussion of some of the strands of Hebrew pro phecy,90 we traced a movement of methods from the initial stage of divina



38 FRED MILLER

tory devices to the classical stage in which emphasis is placed on the word

of God and signs are simply a re-enforcing, symbolic technique. Muham mad would represent a further stage in that process in that his revelation

is the verbatim word of God, for which no device, signal or sign is necessary as proof or re-enforcement. In terms of the message of prophecy, we noted

that at least some strands of Hebrew prophecy were always concerned with

preserving the worship of a single God. One of the highest developments of this trend is found in Deutero-Isaiah's statement that there is no god besides Yahweh.91 The absolute, uncompromising monotheism of the

Qur'an may be seen as the ultimate manifestation of this trend. Again, in terms of ethics, Hebrew prophecy moved from the following of divina

tory omens through the advisory roles of the court and cult prophets to the

ethical criticism of both these institutions on the basis of the classical

prophets' vision of God's ethical demands on his people. This trend con

tinues through Muhammad's threefold role as messenger, example and

leader to his people, whose duty it was to recite, demonstrate and legislate the religious and ethical duties of man to God. Thus in all these ways, the historical development of Israelite prophecy can be interpreted as mov

ing toward the Qur'anic view of that office.

In comparing Moses and Muhammad we will cite some striking similarities between them in terms of their prophetic roles and messages.

First, both were leaders of their communities and examples to their people, both religiously and socially/politically. This is especially important for

Judaism in that Moses appears to be the last figure of whom this can be

said. After the settlement there was a religious alliance between the tribes

but political/military leadership developed on a limited, ad hoc basis. In

the monarchy the king was thought to have the blessing of God, but he

was not the messenger of God, a function reserved for prophetic figures. Thus a confusion existed in Israel. The monarchy was divinely authenti

cated and its court prophets thought to be divinely guided. The cult and

its prophets also had intercessory roles between God and man. Finally the individual prophets were also divinely inspired and were critical of both

court and cult. In other words, there was a multitude of divinely sanctio

ned factions mutually criticising one another. Such a phenomenon could

be viewed as a result of the splintering of the roles which were united in

the figure of Moses.

Second, Moses and Muhammad are both recognized as messengers who deliver the verbatim words of God to their people. The exalted

place of the Torah in the body of Jewish scripture is related to this fact.




Third, the messages of both are characterized by monotheism. We have already discussed the magnificence of this concept in the Qur'an.92

Though the Decalougue's statement is less strictly monotheistic,9 3 it is

obvious that Moses' revelation speaks of obedience to a single God. Fur

ther, we can recall here von Rad's statement that even the earliest bands of

prophets were intent on preserving pure Yahwism and, because of this, were important to its survival.94 This theme continues to be of importance in the classical prophets' condemnation of worship of other gods and of

cultic and court practices which failed to understand the true nature of

Yahwism.

Fourth, the Torah and the Qur'an are both ethically related in terms

of describing the proper religious and ethical practices of the people.

If there is a major divergency between the figures of Moses and

Muhammad, it lies in the area of particularism versus universalism. We have already commented on the universalism of revelation in the

Qur'an.95 However, the association of Moses with an election doctrine

appears very strong indeed. This doctrine is expressed clearly in two themes of the Torah, the delivery from Egypt and the revelation of law on Sinai. Moses is the central figure in both these narratives. However, without attempting to dodge this problem, we must note that there is an other side to it. Noth, citing Genesis 12:1-3, raises the possibility that from the earliest times the Israelite notion of election was part of a broa der conception of God's will as the wish that "by you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves".96 This view seems to be reflected in the classical prophets' visions of the cosmic plans of God. Perhaps it finds its most moving expression in the parallel speeches of Isaiah and Micah which reflect a vision of justice and law flowing from Zion to all nations, nations who are at peace with one another.97 There is then at least the

possibility that particularism and universalism are notcomplete opposites and that election itself may be seen as a part of God's grander scheme of universal redemption.

Thus a comparison of the figures of Moses and Muhammad would seem to offer support for the Jewish position that Moses is the paradigm of prophecy. This view would maintain that much of the historical de

velopment discussed above is the result of a movement away from Moses'

prophetic role and prophetic message, an interpretation which is very close to that of the Qur'an.



40 FRED MILLER

In summary, the diverse nature of our primary sources caused our

summary of Israelite prophecy to follow a historical line and our summary of prophecy in Islam to be more descriptive. This raised for us the ques tion of how such diverse data can be analyzed comparatively. We have

attempted to solve this problem in two ways. First, we interpreted the

Qur'anic view of prophecy as a culmination of the developmental patterns we observed in the Hebrew Bible. Second, we noted striking similarities

between the figures of Moses and Muhammad in terms of their social roles

and prophetic messages. In doing so, we interpreted the history of pro

phetism in Israel as (a) a continuing struggle to preserve the essentials of

Mosaic revelation and (b) being directly related to the splintering of the

social role of Moses into the various religiously legitimized institutions of

the court, the cult, the prophets associated with these institutions and indi

vidually inspired prophets. Noting the similarity of this interpretation with that of the Qur'an, we are, thus, led to the conclusion that the Qur'an

provides a valid, practical frame-work from which Moses, the development of prophecy in Israel and Muhammad may be understood.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Primary Sources

Oxford Annotated Bible, Oxford University Press, New York, 1962.

The Meaning of the Glorious Koran, Mohammed M. Pickthall translator, Mentor Books,

New York.

Secondary Sources

Books

Fohrer, Georg, Introduction to the Old Testament, Abingdon Press, Nashville, 1968.

Neher Andre, The Prophetic Experience, Barnes and Company, Cranbury, New Jersey, 1969.

Noth, Martin, The History of Israel, Harper and Row, New York, 1958.

Rahman, Fazlur, Prophecy in Islam: Philosophy and Orthodoxy, George Allen and Unwin

Ltd., London, 1958.

von Rad, Gerhard, Old Testament Theology: Vol. II, Harper Press, New York, 1960.

Articles

'Abdul-IJakim, Khalifa, "Religious Experience or the Prophetic Consciousness", Muslim

World, 16: April 1942,153-60.

Al-Nowaihi, Mohamed, "Towards a Re-evaluation of Muhammad: Prophet and Man", Muslim World, 60:July 1970, 300-13.




Beltzer, Klaus, "Considerations Regarding the Office and Calling of the Prophet", Harvard Theological Review, 6:October 1968,567-81.

Bell, Richard, "Muhammad's Visions", Muslim World, 24:April 1934,145-54.

Bijlefeld, Willem A.,44 A Prophet and More Than a Prophet: Some Observations on the

Qur'anic Use of the Terms 'Prophet' and 'Apostle*", Muslim World, 59, January 1969,1-19.

Horovitz, J., "Nabi", Encyclopedic deVIslam, Alphonse Picard et Eils, Paris, 1?13.

McCurdy, J. Fredric, "Prophets and Prophecy", The Jewish Encyclopedia, Vol. X% Ktav

Publishing House, New York, 213-19.

Napier, B.D., "Prophet :Prophetism", Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, Abingdon,

Nashville, 1962, pp. 96-919.

Paul, S.M., "Prophets and Prophecy", Encyclopedia Judaica, Keter Publishing House,

Jerusalem, 1971, pp. 1150-75.

Tritton, A.S., "Reason and Revelation" in Arabic and Islamic Studies in Honour of Hamil

ton A.R. Gibb, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1965.

NOTES

1. Paul, S.M., "Prophets and Prophecy", Encyclopedia Judaica, Keter Publishing House, Jerusalem 1971, pp. 1150-75.

2. Ibid., p. 1154.

3. I Sam. 9:9.

4. I Sam. 28:6, Gen. 20:6,1 Kgs. 3:4-15.

5. I Sam. 10:20-24.

6. Num. 22:55-6.

7. I Sam. 28:6.

8. Num. 22:5-20.

9. I Sam. 28:8-19.

10. Neher, Andre, The Prophetic Experience, A.S. Barnes, New York, 1969, pp. 186

201.

11. Ibid., p. 202.

12. von Rad, Gerhard, Old Testament Theology: Vol. //, Harper Press, New York, 1966, pp. 26-7.

13. I Kgs. 22.

14. I Sam. 8:4.

15. I Sam. 10:1.

16. I Sam. 10:20-24.

17. I Sam. 15.

18. I Sam. 16.

19. I Sam. 22:5.

20. I Sam. 4:11-14.



42 FRED MILLER

21. II Sam. 7. 22. IlSam. 12.

23. I Kgs. 18:17-40. 24. I Kgs. 22.

25. I Sam. 7:5-11,1 Kgs. 18:30-40.

26. von Rad, p. 52.

27. Amos 7.

28. von Rad, pp. 50-3.

Napier, B.D., "Prophet and Prophetism", Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible,

Abingdon, Nashville, 1962, p. 901. 29. Isa. 7.

30. Hos.1-2.

31. Jer. 7:21-26.

32. Jer. 24:5-7.

33. Jer. 30:1-3.

34. Ez. 33:1-11.

35. Isa. 45.

36. Num. 5:11-31.

37. McCurdy, J. Fredric, "Prophets and Prophecy" The Jewish Encyclopedia, vol. X, Ktav Publishing House, N.Y., p. 213.

38. Paul, p. 1153.

39. Ibid., p. MO.

40. Paul, p. 1166.

41. Neher,pp. 179-86.

42. Fohrer, Georg, Introduction to the Old Testament, Abingdon, Nashville, 1968,

pp. 146-58 and 178-95.

43. Surah 14, verses 10-11, abbreviated henceforth as 14:10-11.

44. 6:50. 45. This position does not reflect the discussions that occur in Khalifa 'Abdul IJakim,

"Religious Experience or the Prophetic Consciousness", Muslim World, April 1942 and Fazlur Rahman, Prophecy in Islam: Philosophy and Orthodoxy, on the sub

ject of prophetic consciousness. These discussions focus on the views of prophecy

held by various Islamic philosophers and theologians. A common theme of these treatments is the notion of prophecy as a higher state of consciousness

which, for the philosophers, has been expressed in terms of contact with the active intellect and, for the theologians, is God-given. I have chosen not to deal with this

question at length for the following reason. My reading of the Qur'an leads me to the conclusion that the major themes associated with the prophetic office in that book are God's absolute control over the appearance of revelation, the rather passive,

transmissive function of the prophetic office, the historical consistency of prophecy and selection by God as the fundamental criterion of a prophet. For the current study, the development of these themes would appear to be more fruitful in leading to an understanding of the concept of prophecy in Islam than would a detailed ana

lysis of the "prophetic consciousness" as manifested in the figure of Muhammad. 46. 7:157-8. 65. 29:48,42:52.




48. 30:30-1,39:10-17.

49. 4:59.

50. 4:109. 51. 3:31-2,4:59,69, 150-60

52. 4:170,47:34. 53. 4:115,137,7:40. 54. 3:80,29:18,5:109,65:11. 55. 10:16.

56. 20:114. 57. al-Nowaihi, Mohammed, "Toward a Re-evaluation of Muhammad: Prophet and

Man", Muslim World, 60 July, 1970, p. 301. 58. 29:50.

59. 3:183.

60. 39:28,42:27,46:12,14:4.

61. 3:58,45:6. 62. 18:28. Note here also the emphasis of the unchangeability of the revelation. 63. 3:64, 6:56-75. These are random examples of a common phenomenon. 64. 7:203, 10:16. 65. 10:65,5:67, 3:29.

66. 6:94,11:18,41:40. 67. 11:13,2:23. 68. 3:108,5:48, 10:38, 65. 69. 2:225.

70. 3:62.

71. 59:23.

72. 10:48.

73. 14:4.

74. 5:44-48.

75. 4:92.

76. 7:182,5:92,41:52.

77. 10:64-65.

78. 7:157-8.

79. 4:57,13:35.

80. 13:33-34, 14:28-30.

81. 4:163.

82. 20:9-80,43:46-64,44:17-33.

83. 2:87,7:138-56.

84. 6:4-5.

85. 6:91,7:174-5,20:3.

86. 3:3,6:93,46:12. 87. 3:84. 88. 6:155,41:43. 89. 33:40. 90. Above, pp. 7-8.

91. Isa.45:6.



44 FRED MILLER

92. Above, pp. 15-16. 93. Ex. 20:3. 94. Above, pp. 3-4, reference p. 4 note 1. 95. Above, pp. 15-16. 96. Noth, Martin, The History of the Old Testament, Harper and Row, New York,

1958, p. 138. 97. Isa. 2:1-4, Micah 4:1-4.



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