Muhammad in the Qur'an

THE ROUTLEDGE COMPANION TO THE QUR’AN Edited by George Archer, Maria M. Dakake, and Daniel A. Madigan First published 2022 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2022 selection and editorial matter, George Archer, Maria M. Dakake and Daniel A. Madigan; individual chapters, the contributors The right of George Archer, Maria M. Dakake and Daniel A. Madigan to be identified as the authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this book has been requested DOI: 10.4324/9781315885360 ISBN: 978-0-415-70950-7 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-032-07245-6 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-88536-0 (ebk) Typeset in Bembo by Apex CoVantage, LLC 10 MUHAMMAD IN THE QUR’AN Joseph E.B. Lumbard When the Prophet Muhammad is considered in relation to the Qur’an, discussions usually focus upon “Muhammad and the Qur’an,” relating to his role in the revelation, composition, or collection of the Qur’anic text. Discussions of the place of Muhammad in the Qur’an are far less frequent, particularly in Euro-American studies of the text.1 Even in discussions of “prophecy” (nubuwwa) in the Qur’an, the Prophet Muhammad is often passed over in favor of discussions of Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and other prophets.2 The name Muḥammad is only mentioned four times in the Qur’an (Q 3:144, 33:40, 47:2, 48:29), along with one use of the variant Aḥmad (Q 61:6). There is no Qur’anic narrative of his life in forms comparable to the other Qur’anic prophets.3 Nonetheless, hundreds of verses are addressed to the Prophet Muhammad, and the interactions among God, the Prophet, the early Muslim community, and their opponents are woven into the fabric of the Qur’an. From a classical Islamic perspective, the text would be incomprehensible without the Prophet. His function was not only to transmit the revelation and to judge in accord with it (Q 4:105), it was also to teach his community how to recite it, to purify them, and to teach them “the Book and wisdom” (Q 2:151, 3:164, 62:2).4 The Prophet Muhammad is considered the first commentator on the Qur’an (Q 16:44) and the exemplar whose actions teach Muslims how live and act in accordance with the Qur’an (Q 33:21). As his wife ʿĀʾisha said when asked about his character, “His character traits were the Qur’an.”5 This chapter examines the Qur’an from this perspective, unfolding the manner in which the Qur’an has been read by generations of Muslims as being intricately interwoven with the life of the Prophet Muhammad. Before Birth Several verses of the Qur’an are understood to indicate that all of the prophets began their prophetic missions before creation when making a covenant with God on the “Day of the Covenant” (see Q 7:172–173).6 Their missions on earth wherein they deliver revelation, establish divine rites, and guide humanity are then a manifestation of this covenant. This is alluded to in Q 33:7, “And [remember] when We took from the prophets their covenant (mīthāq)”7 and in Q 3:81: And [remember] when God made the covenant of the prophets, “By that which I have given you of a Book and Wisdom, should a messenger then come to you confirming that which is with you, you shall believe in him and you shall help him.” He said, “Do you 105 10.4324/9781315885360-10 Joseph E.B. Lumbard agree and take on My burden on these conditions?” They said, “We agree.” He said, “Bear witness, for I am with you among those who bear witness.” Here the prophets are understood as having committed to the mission of delivering messages from God and guiding humanity to live in accord with the covenant. A component of the covenant that is particular to the prophets is that they would believe in one another and support one another. Seen in this light, the following prayer of Abraham and Ishmael is both a hope for a messenger of God to continue their mission and guide the people of Arabia and an affirmation of the covenant taken aforetime: Our Lord, raise up in their midst a messenger from among them, who will recite Your signs to them, and will teach them the Book and wisdom, and purify them. Truly You are the Mighty, the Wise. And who shuns the creed of Abraham, save one who fools himself? We chose him in the world and in the Hereafter he shall be among the righteous. (Q 2:129–130) This supplication foreshadows the arrival of the Prophet Muhammad, establishes his connection to Abraham and Ishmael, and situates his Arabian context.8 The Qur’an also reports that Jesus foretold the coming of the Prophet Muhammad, when he said to the Israelites, “O Children of Israel! Truly I am the Messenger of God unto you, confirming that which came before me in the Torah and bearing glad tidings of a Messenger to come after me whose name is most praised (Aḥmad)” (Q 61:6). In this vein, the reference to “the Messenger, the unlettered Prophet, whom they find inscribed in the Torah and the Gospel that is with them” (Q 7:157) is also read as an allusion to the presence of the Prophet Muhammad in previous scriptures.9 Whereas the Qur’an provides accounts of the trials that previous messengers such as Moses and Abraham faced before their prophetic missions began, there are only a few allusions to the life of the Prophet Muhammad before the onset of his prophetic mission.10 The most famous of these is Sūrat al-Ḍuḥā (“The Morning Brightness,” 93): “Did He not find you an orphan, then shelter, find you astray, then guide, find you in need, then enrich?” (Q 93:6–8). Other verses, such as Q 42:52, allude to the Prophet having been unaware of revelation before the descent of the Qur’an: “Thus have We revealed unto you a Spirit from Our command. You knew not what scripture was, nor faith. But We made it a light whereby We guide whomsoever We will among Our servants” (Q 42:52, emphasis added, cf. 12:3). Prophetic Mission While Q 3:81 and Q 33:7 are read as allusions to the Prophet Muhammad’s mission beginning before the dawn of humanity, his mission on earth begins with the first revelation. The majority of details regarding the nature and process of revelation are found in the biographies of the Prophet, primarily those recorded in al-Ṭabarī’s (d. 310/923) Taʾrīkh and the Sīra of Ibn Hishām (d. 218/833), both of which rely on the accounts transmitted by Ibn Isḥāq (d. 150/767).11 The Qur’an itself only provides allusions to the phenomena and process of revelation. The clearest reference is found in Q 2:97, which indicates that the Qur’an comes down upon the Prophet’s heart via the Archangel Gabriel and that it reaffirms previous revelations: “Say, ‘Whosoever is an enemy of Gabriel: he it is who sent it down upon your heart by God’s leave, confirming that which was there before, and as a guidance and glad tiding for the believers’” (cf. Q 26:192–196). The revelation began on the “night of power” (laylat al-qadr, Q 97:1) during “[t]he month of Ramadan in which the Qur’an was sent down as guidance to mankind, as clear proofs of guidance” (Q 2:185).12 Other passages emphasize the congruity between the Qur’anic revelation and previous revelations, as when a group of jinn 106 Muhammad in the Qur’an who overheard the Prophet reciting the Qur’an are reported to have said, “O our people! Truly we have heard a Book sent down after Moses, confirming that which came before it, guiding to the truth and to a straight path” (Q 46:30, cf. 2:97, 3:3, 10:37, 35:31, 87:18–19), and the connection between Muhammad and previous prophets, “Nothing has been said to you, save what has been said unto the messengers before you” (Q 41:43;13 cf. 13:37–18, 16:43–44, 25:20, 40:78). Mecca The function of Muhammad as a messenger of God, a spiritual guide, and a temporal leader unfolds gradually through the process of the Qur’anic revelation. Some of the earliest revelations reflect Muhammad’s hesitancy and even doubt regarding his prophetic mission (Q 67:1–5, 93:1–8, 94:1–7), others allude to God steeling the Prophet for his mission (Q 73:1–6, 74:1–4), and others to God amending the Prophet’s behavior (Q 18:28, 80:1–10), and guiding him in the processes of receiving revelation, conveying revelation (Q 20:114, 75:16–19), and guiding the community. Throughout the historical progression of the Qur’an, the Prophet takes on a wider array of functions. Nonetheless, his status is elevated from the beginning in early Meccan passages such as, “truly you are of an exalted character” (Q 68:1) and “And did We not elevate your renown?” (Q 94:4), as well as in later Meccan passages such as, “And We sent you not, save as a mercy unto the worlds” (Q 21:107).14 In the Meccan period, the Qur’an focuses more upon the Prophet’s function in relation to delivering the message. He is to deliver the message to his entire community but bears no responsibility for whether or not they accept it, as in, “And if they turn away, We did not send you as a keeper over them. Nothing is incumbent upon you, save the proclamation” (Q 42:48, cf. 4:80, 6:66, 107, 11:86, 10:108, 17:54, 39:41, 42:6). He is commanded to “remind” (dhakkara; e.g., Q 50:45, 52:29, 87:9, 88:21), to “warn” (andhara; e.g., Q 32:3, 35:23, 42:7, 74:2, 79:45), and to “give glad tidings” (bashshara; e.g., Q 19:97, 25:56, 34:28, 36:11). In affirming these functions, the Qur’an responds to the objections of his opponents, who accused him of being a “poet” (shāʿir; Q 21:5, 37:36–37, 52:30, 69:41), or a “soothsayer” (kahin; Q 52:29, 69:42), or of being “possessed” (majnūn; Q 37:37–37, 68:2, 51, 81:22), and maintains that the Prophet has no hand in authoring the message: Truly it is the speech of a noble messenger and not the speech of a poet. Little do you believe! Nor is it the speech of a soothsayer. Little do you reflect! It is a revelation from the Lord of the worlds. Had he ascribed any statements to Us, We would have seized him by the right hand. Then We would have severed his life vein. And none among you could have shielded him from it. (Q 69:40–47)15 In addition to delineating the Prophet’s primary function as a messenger of God and his relationship to the message he bears (Q 26:224–227, 29:48), passages from the Meccan period emphasize the human nature of the Prophet. His opponents are portrayed as expecting that a messenger should be of an angelic nature or be accompanied by angels: “They say, ‘What ails this Messenger who eats food and walks in the markets? Why is there not an angel sent down unto him to be a warner with him, or no treasure cast unto him, or no garden for him from which to eat?’” (Q 25:7, cf. 6:8–9, 17:94–95). They thus mocked the Prophet for partaking in mundane human affairs, such as walking in the markets and eating food (Q 23:33, 25:7). In response to such objections, the Qur’an contends that if the message had been meant for angels instead of human beings, God would have sent an angel as a messenger, but since this message is for human beings, God sends its messenger in human form (Q 17:95). The Qur’an further maintains that partaking in human affairs is part of the nature of prophets: “We did not send any messengers before you but that they ate food and walked in the markets” (Q 25:20). The Prophet Muhammad is thus enjoined to emphasize his humanness, “Say, 107 Joseph E.B. Lumbard ‘I am only a human being like you. It is revealed unto me that your God is One God’” (Q 18:110, 41:6),16 and to deny any angelic function or “knowledge of the unseen,” “Say, ‘I do not say to you that with me are the treasuries of God; nor do I know the unseen; nor do I say to you that I am an angel. I follow only that which is revealed to me’” (Q 6:50; cf. 11:31). Verses from the Meccan period also allude to the Prophet’s developing relationship with the Qur’anic revelation, gradually becoming more accustomed to the manner in which he should receive it and work with it. Some of the earliest Meccan verses enjoin recitation of the Qur’an (Q 73:1–4). Later Meccan verses, counsel the Prophet to be patient in reciting the verses during revelation, “Do not hasten the recitation (Qurʾān) before its revelation has been completed for you” (Q 20:114). Qur’an 75:16–19 expands upon this injunction, clarifying that God teaches the manner of recitation, orders the verses, and provides the interpretation: “Move not your tongue therewith to hasten it. Surely it is for Us to gather it and to recite it. So when We recite it, follow its recitation. Then surely it is for Us to explain it.” In the later Meccan period, Sūrat al-Kahf (“The Cave,” sura 18) provides detailed instructions regarding the manner in which the Prophet should regard revelation. According to non-Qur’anic historical accounts, the Meccan leaders posed three questions to the Prophet to which the Jewish leaders of Medina had said a true prophet would know the answers. The Prophet had responded that he would bring them an answer the next day, believing that God would provide an immediate response. It was not until 15 days later that a revelation came. Within these verses God also provided instructions for how to work with revelation. The passage begins by chiding those who posed these questions for “guessing at the unseen” (Q 18:22). Despite their being misguided, the Prophet is commanded; “dispute not concerning them, save with clear argument, nor seek a ruling from any of them about them” (Q 18:22). This injunction indicates that when hearing misinformation or disinformation regarding matters of the Unseen, the Prophet should not dispute or seek the opinions of others but should await clarification from God until there is a “clear argument.” Qur’an 18:23–24 then states, “Say not of anything, ‘Surely, I shall do it tomorrow – except as God wills.’” This specifies that the Prophet should not have promised a response from God and thus serves to delineate the nature of the relationship between God, the Prophet, and the revelation, emphasizing that the revelation comes from the realm of the Unseen, whose keys “lie only with God” (Q 6:59), and that it cannot be hastened by anyone. Qur’an 18:24 expands upon these commands, indicating that when the Prophet does not know the answer or have a response from God, he should turn to God “and say, ‘It may be that my Lord will guide me nearer than this to rectitude.’” The discussion ends with the command: “Recite that which has been revealed unto you from the Book of your Lord. None alters His words. You will not find refuge apart from Him” (Q 18:27). From a chronological perspective, just as Q 73:3 – “Truly We shall cast upon you a weighty Word” – alludes to God steeling the Prophet to face the challenges of delivering the message during the Meccan period, these clarifications regarding the relationship between the Prophet and the revelation, combined with guidance on how to implement the revelation and derive rulings from it at the end of the Meccan period, prepare the Prophet to assume a more comprehensive role and establish a society grounded in Qur’anic principles during the Medinan period. Medina In the Medinan suras of the Qur’an, new functions are conferred upon the Prophet Muhammad. From a political perspective, as the Prophet consolidated his rule, the Qur’an delineated his functions within the new polity.17 From a theological perspective, within an idolatrous environment, it was necessary to first emphasize the human nature of the Prophet in the Meccan period, before expanding upon his divinely ordained powers in order to avoid the proclivity of the pagan Arabs to “assign equals to their Lord” (Q 6:1, cf. 27:60).18 The Medinan verses continue to refer to Muhammad as a “warner and a bearer of glad tidings” and to underline his humanity (Q 3:144)19 but now emphasize 108 Muhammad in the Qur’an that he is to be obeyed and followed: “Say, ‘Obey God and obey the Messenger.’ If they turn away, then truly God loves not the disbelievers” (Q 3:31). Obedience to the Messenger is even equated with obedience to God: “Whosoever obeys the Messenger obeys God” (Q 4:80). That obedience to the Prophet is a component of faith is implied in the Meccan passages of the Qur’an that discuss the calamities that befell those who failed to obey previous messengers. In Sūrat al-Shuʿarāʾ (“The Poets,” sura 26) the prophets Noah, Hūd, Ṣāliḥ, Lot, and Shuʿayb each enjoin their respective communities, “reverence God and obey me” (Q 26:108, 110, 126, 131, 144, 150, 163, 179),20 and after providing a list of 16 prophets Sūrat al-Anʿām (“The Cattle,” sura 6) states, “They are those whom God has guided, so follow their guidance” (Q 6:90). Nonetheless, it is not until the Medinan period that the Qur’an provides explicit injunctions to follow the Prophet Muhammad (Q 3:132; 4:59; 5:92; 8:1, 20, 46; 24:54; 47:33; 48:17; 58:13; 64:12).21 While not the most emphatic, Q 59:7 is perhaps the most frequently cited verse in this regard: “Whatsoever the Messenger gives you take it; and whatsoever he forbids you, forgo.” In its immediate context, Q 59:7 provides specific rulings pertaining to the distribution of booty after the expulsion of the Banū Naḍīr tribe from Medina. Beyond that, it is understood as a reference to everything that the Prophet enjoins and forbids. Hence commentators often gloss it with a famous hadith that encapsulates the understanding of the Prophet’s legislative function developed in the Medinan verses: “Abstain from that which I have forbidden for you, and do as much as you can of that which I have enjoined upon you. For verily, it was excessive questioning and disagreeing with their Prophets that destroyed those who were before you.”22 While explaining the qualities of believers, Q 24:51 states that when they received a “ruling” (ḥukm) from the Prophet, they will obey: “The only words of the believers when they are called to God and His Messenger, that he may judge among them, is to say, ‘We hear and we obey.’ And it is they who prosper.” Other verses are more emphatic, indicating that taking the Prophet as an arbiter of disputes is a condition of “belief ” (īmān): “But no, by your Lord, they will not believe until they have made you the judge among them in their disputes, and find no resistance in their souls to that which you have decreed, and submit completely” (Q 4:65). While it may have been implied in the Meccan period, such verses from the Medinan period make it clear that, as he is a representative of God, Muhammad and the Qur’an work together to provide the rulings the community needs, as in Qur’an 4:105, wherein God addresses the Prophet: “Verily We have sent down unto you the Book in truth, that you might judge among the people according to what God has shown you.” Several scholars employ Q 4:105 to demonstrate that the Prophet had been given permission to perform ijtihād – that is, to derive independent rulings from the principles and laws contained in the Qur’an. The belief that his rulings stand above others is often grounded in the interpretation of the following verse: Do not deem the Messenger’s calling among you to be like your calling to one another. Indeed God knows those among you who steal away under shelter. So let those who contradict His command be wary, lest a trial befall them or a painful punishment befall them. (Q 24:62) From this perspective, the Prophet’s words, actions and sunna (“wont,” “custom,” or “normative legacy”) serve as an extension of Qur’anic teachings and are essential for proper implementation of its rulings and fully adhering to its teachings. Their preservation is thus a natural outgrowth of the Qur’anic emphasis upon them.23 In this vein, Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal (d. 241/855) is reported to have said, “The sunna explains the Book and clarifies it.”24 The word sunna is not used in relation to the Prophet Muhammad in the Qur’an. Qur’an 33:21 – “Indeed you have in the Messenger of God a beautiful example (uswatun ḥasanatun) for those who hope for God and the Last Day, and remember God much” – is, however, understood by most 109 Joseph E.B. Lumbard commentators as a direct reference to the importance of his sunna. In its immediate context, following upon a discussion of “the hypocrites and those in whose hearts is a disease” (Q 33:12), who had abandoned the Prophet in battle (Q 33:9–20), Qur’an 33:21 refers to being steadfast and holding one’s ground as did the Prophet. Beyond its immediate context, it has broader implications regarding the nature and function of the Prophet.25 Since his “example” (uswa) is considered normative, the function of the Prophet extends far beyond providing judgments and transmitting the Qur’an, as when God addresses the community, saying, “We sent to you a messenger from among you, who recites Our signs to you and purifies you, and teaches you the Book and Wisdom, and teaches you what you knew not” (Q 2:151, cf. 3:164, 42:52, 62:2). From this perspective, obedience to the Prophet is not simply a matter of proper conduct; it is a means by which believers draw closer to God. Thus God enjoins the Prophet, “Say, ‘If you love God, follow me, and God will love you and forgive you your sins. And God is forgiving, compassionate” (Q 3:31).26 The most detailed list of the Prophet’s functions in the Qur’an occurs in Q 7:156–157: [God] said, “I cause My punishment to smite whomsoever I will, though My mercy encompasses every thing. I shall prescribe it for those who are reverent, and give alms, and those who believe in Our signs, those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered Prophet, whom they find inscribed in the Torah and the Gospel that is with them, who enjoins upon them what is right, and forbids them what is wrong, and makes good things lawful for them, and forbids them bad things, and relieves them of their burden and the shackles that were upon them. Thus those who believe in him, honor him, help him, and follow the light that has been sent down with him, it is they who shall prosper.” This description of the Prophet’s functions occurring after the phrase, “My mercy encompasses every thing” alludes to the Qur’anic concept that sending messengers is an essential component of God’s mercy.27 That the Prophet “relieves them of their burdens and the shackles that were upon them” is interpreted by most as a reference to his lessening the legal restrictions that had been placed upon previous religious communities.28 More broadly it relates to his universal function, wherein he is sent as “a mercy to the worlds” (Q 21:107), and to his more particular function wherein he is “kind and compassionate unto the believers” (Q 9:128), purifies them (Q 9:103), and seeks forgiveness for them (Q 60:12). Just as the first part of Q 7:156–157 provides a more detailed account of the Prophet’s functions, the last sentence provides a more detailed account of the relationship between the Prophet and the believers. “The light that has been sent down with” the Prophet is interpreted as a reference to the Qur’an or to his sunna. In other Medinan verses, the Prophet himself is referred to as “a light,” as when he is referred to as “a luminous lamp” (Q 33:46) and when God says, “There has come unto you, from God, a light and a clear book, whereby God guides whosoever seeks His contentment unto the ways of peace, and brings them from layered darkness into light, by His leave, and guides them unto a straight path” (5:15–16).29 And whereas it is only God who guides the believers in the Meccan verses, in the Medinan verses, the Prophet Muhammad also brings people “from layered darkness into light” (Q 14:1, 65:10). In this vein, Qur’an 57:28 promises, “O you who believe! Reverence God and believe in His Messenger; He will give you a twofold portion of His mercy, make a light for you by which you may walk, and forgive you.”30 In addition to an expansion of the Prophet’s functions and increased emphasis upon his ability to guide the community, the Medinan suras present a closer relationship between God and the Prophet. Of the 68 times that the phrase “God and His Messenger” occurs in the Qur’an, only one is in a Meccan verse – Q 73:23 – which is from the later Meccan period. In addition, the phrase “God and the Messenger” only appears in Medinan verses,31 and the community is called to respond to the Messenger as they would to God, “O you who believe! Respond to God and the Messenger when 110 Muhammad in the Qur’an he calls you unto that which gives you life” (Q 8:23). This close association is reflected by the manner in which many attributes of God are also attributed to the Prophet. For example, God is “the Light” (al-Nūr, Q 24:35), and the Prophet is “a light” (nūrun, Q 5:15); God is “the Truth” (al-Ḥaqq, Q 18:44), and the Prophet is “a truth” (haqqun, Q 3:86); God is “The Guide” (al-Hādī, Q 22:54), and the Prophet guides “unto the straight path” (Q 42:52); God is “The Judge” (al-Ḥakam, Q 6:114), and people must take the Prophet as “the judge among them in their disputes” (Q 4:65, cf. 4:105); God is “The Kind” (al-Raʿūf, Q 3:30) and “The Compassionate” (al-Raḥmān), and the Prophet is “kind and compassionate unto the believers” (Q 9:128); God is “the Merciful” (al-Raḥīm), and the Prophet is sent as “a mercy to the worlds” (Q 21:107). Qur’an 8:17 indicates that this relationship reached the point where the will of the Prophet was subsumed within the will of God. Referring to an incident when the Prophet threw pebbles at an oncoming army to summon the aid that God had promised, God addresses the Prophet, “[Y]ou did not throw when you threw, but God threw.”32 The fullest manifestation of God’s will within the person of the Prophet occurs in Q 48:10 where, when swearing allegiance to the Prophet, the believers are in fact swearing allegiance to God: “Truly those who pledge allegiance unto you pledge allegiance only unto God. The Hand of God is over their hands” (Q 48:10). According to Rūzbihān Baqlī (d. 606/1209), this indicates that God made the Prophet, “a mirror for the manifestation of His Essence and His Attributes.”33 In this same vein Ibn ʿAjība (d. 1223/1809) interprets this verse as an allusion to the Prophet’s “complete extinction in God and to his abiding in God.”34 Praise for the Prophet In addition to these verses indicating the Prophet’s submission to and submersion in the Divine, Q 33:56 states, “Truly God and His angels invoke blessings upon the Prophet. O you who believe! Invoke blessings upon him, and greetings of peace!” In the context of Sūrat al-Aḥzāb (“The Parties,” sura 33) in which it appears, this verse answers questions raised by the previous verses as to why the Prophet is “closer to the believers than they are to themselves” (Q 33:6), why he should be obeyed (Q 33:33), why he is “a beautiful example” (Q 33:21), and how it is that he is “a luminous lamp” (Q 33:46). That he receives such an honor also explains why his wives are “the mothers of the believers” (Q 33:6) and have a status above other women (Q 33:31–32).35 While the injunction to “invoke . . . greetings of peace” refers to the now ubiquitous Muslim greeting, “Peace be upon you,” it also indicates being at peace with the Prophet and thus following him and living in accord with what he has brought. In order to follow the injunction to bless the Prophet, his Companions asked him, “We know how to give you greetings of peace, but how do we invoke blessings upon you?” To which the Prophet responded: O God! Bless Muhammad and the family of Muhammad as You blessed Abraham and the family of Abraham. And shower grace upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad as You showered grace upon Abraham and upon the family of Abraham in all the worlds. Truly You are praised, glorious.36 Similar formulas occur in many other supplications. Invoking blessings upon the Prophet is not a benefit for the Prophet but for the believers themselves and serves as a way in which he remains with the community at all times. As Shihāb al-Dīn al-Ālūsī (d. 1270/1854) observes in his commentary on Q 33:56, this manner of calling for God’s blessings upon the Prophet expresses one’s inability to do anything more than to ask God to shower His blessings upon the Prophet.37 In this sense, to wish blessings upon the Prophet is a means of participating in and affirming the Divine act of whelming in blessings upon the Prophet and thus of also drawing the believer closer to God. 111 Joseph E.B. Lumbard Notes 1 The major exception is Rudi Paret’s Muhammed und der Koran: Geschichte und Verkuendigung des arabischen Propheten. Nonetheless, Paret is overly focused upon establishing a Jewish/Christian paradigm as the universal paradigm through which Muhammad’s mission should be understood. Like Nöldeke and others, Paret cannot conceive of Muhammad implementing a mode of prophethood different from that of the Old Testament prophets and insists upon the inferiority of Muhammad’s mission to those of Moses and other Jewish and Christian prophets. This puts his analysis quite at odds with the image presented in the Qur’an and especially the Islamic tradition. For the diversity of portrayals of Muhammad, see Christiane Gruber, The Praiseworthy One: Prophet Muhammad in Islamic Texts and Images (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2018); Kecia Ali, The Lives of Muhammad (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2014); Annemarie Schimmel, And Muḥammad Is His Messenger: The Veneration of the Prophet in Islamic Piety (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1985). 2 See, for example, Fazlur Rahman, Major Themes of the Qur’an (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2013), chapter five of which examines prophecy in the Qur’an but gives little coverage to the specific role of the Prophet Muhammad. 3 For the most recent examination of the manner in which the Qur’an reveals developments in the life of the Prophet and the early Muslim community, see Juan Cole, Muhammad Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires (New York: Nation Books, 2018). 4 That these verses include the concept of purification with the phrases, “[who] purifies them” (Q 3:164, 62:2) or “[who] purifies you” (Q 2:151), alludes to the ultimate purpose of the knowledge imparted by the Prophet. 5 Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhārī, 994, 6310. Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, 746. 6 For a discussion of the Covenant in the Qur’an, see Joseph E.B. Lumbard, “Humanity in Covenant with God” in this volume. 7 All Qur’an translations for this essay are a modified version of the translations employed in The Study Quran: A New Translation and Commentary, ed. S.H. Nasr, Caner Dagli, Maria Dakake, Joseph Lumbard, and Mohammed Rustom (San Francisco: HarperOne. 2015). 8 Regarding the manner in which the Qur’an brings the Prophet Muhammad and Arabia into the narrative of biblical history, see Walid Saleh, “The Preacher of the Meccan Qur’an,” Journal of Qur’anic Studies 20, no. 2 (2018): 74–111. 9 Whether there are in fact verses in the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament that refer directly to the Prophet Muhammad has become a point of contention in contemporary discussions. Premodern Qur’anic commentators were also divided on this issue, with some maintaining that specific passages, such as Genesis 16–17 and John 16:7–14, refer to the Prophet Muhammad, and others maintaining that Qur’an 7:157 only indicates that “the qualities that identify and describe him as a prophet are mentioned in the Torah and the Gospel.” Maria Dakake, “Commentary on Sūrat al-Aʿraf,” in The Study Quran, 405–481, 461. 10 As will be seen, several other passages address the difficulties the Prophet Muhammad encountered when facing opposition to his message and in the process of guiding his community. 11 For an account of the manner in which the Prophet experienced revelation, see Muḥammad Mustafa AlAzami, “The Islamic View of the Quran,” in The Study Quran, 1607–1623. 12 Some commentators also interpret Q 44:3–4, “truly We sent it down on a blessed night – truly We are ever warning – wherein every wise command is made distinct,” as a reference to the descent of the Qur’an during the Night of Power. But the majority of commentators prefer the interpretation wherein this passage is understood as a reference to the 15th day of Shaʿbān, the month before Ramadan, when the Qur’an is said to have been sent down from “The Mother of the Book” (umm al-kitāb) to the seventh heaven, before it was sent down gradually to the earthly plain via the Angel Gabriel and the heart of the Prophet Muhammad. See Joseph Lumbard, “Commentary on Sūrat al-Dukhān” in The Study Qur’an, 1206–1214. 13 Qur’an 41:43 can be read as reference to the insults cast upon the Prophet Muhammad by his opponents or to the revelation sent to him by God. In either interpretation, it likens his experience to that of the prophets before him and connects his mission to theirs. In this same vein, the Prophet is commanded, “Say, ‘I am no innovation among the messengers’” (Q 46:9). 14 For a more comprehensive discussion of the manner in which the Prophet Muhammad’s functions expand in the Medinan suras, see Nicolai Sinai, “Muḥammad as an Episcopal Figure,” Arabica 65 (2018): 1–30. 15 Qur’an 53:3–4, “He does not speak out of desire. It is but a revelation revealed,” is also understood to mean that were the Prophet to insert his own ideas into the revelation, it would be a violation of the prophetic function. Though other commentators interpret it as a more general statement indicating that the Prophet does not speak based on his whims and desires. 112 Muhammad in the Qur’an 16 The question of the humanity and mortality of God’s messengers is reiterated in many ways throughout the Qur’an, as in Q 21:8, which says of all messengers, “We did not make them bodies that did not eat food; nor were they immortal,” and in Q 5:75, which asserts the human nature of Jesus and Mary: “The Messiah, son of Mary, was nothing but a messenger – messengers have passed away before him. And his mother was truthful. Both of them ate food.” 17 For discussions of the manner in which the Prophet Muhammad’s rule expanded in the Medinan period, see Sinai, “Muḥammad as an Episcopal Figure.” 18 For a discussion of the manner in which many attributes of God are also attributed to the Prophet Muhammad in the Qur’an, see Khalil Andani, “The Metaphysics of Muhammad: The Nūr Muḥammad from Imām Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq to Naṣīr al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī,” Journal of Sufi Studies 8 (2020): 99–175. 19 “Muhammad is but a messenger; messengers have passed before him. So if he dies or is slain, will you turn back on your heels? Whosoever turns back on his heels will not harm God in the least, and God will recompense the thankful” (Q 3:144). 20 For an analysis of the manner in which Sūrat al-Shuʿarāʾ develops the paradigm of prophethood, see Sidney H. Griffith, “ ‘The Sunna of Our Messengers’: The Qurʾan’s Paradigm for Messengers and Prophets: A Reading of Sūrat ash-Shuʿarāʾ (26),” in Quʾrānic Studies Today, ed. Angelica Neuwrith and Nicholai Sinai (London: Routledge, 2016), 228–246. 21 From one perspective, such verses provide a definitive response to the objections of those who had opposed prophets, asking, “Shall we follow a single person from among us?” (Q 54:24) or “Has God sent a human being as a messenger?” (Q 17:94). 22 Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhārī, “Kitāb al-Iʿtiṣām bi’l-Kitāb wa l-Sunna,” 2, 7288; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, “Kitāb al-Faḍāʾil” 37, 1337b. 23 As Jonathan Brown writes, “The normative legacy of the Prophet is known as the Sunna, and although it stands second to the Qur’an in terms of reverence, it is the lens through which the holy book is interpreted and understood. In this sense, in Islamic civilization the Sunna has ruled over the Qur’an, shaping, specifying, and adding to the revealed book.” Jonathan A.C. Brown, Hadith: Muhammad’s Legacy in the Medieval and Modern World (London: Oneworld, 2018), 3. 24 This saying is repeated in many sources among other sayings that speak to the relationship between the Qur’an and the sunna, among them Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad al-Qurṭubī’s (d. 671/1272) al-Jāmiʿ li-aḥkām al-Qurʾān, which has been among the most influential commentaries in Islamic history and thus shaped the understanding of this relationship in many other commentaries. Al-Qurṭubī writes, “Al-Awzāʿī reported that Ḥassān ibn ʿAṭiyya said, ‘Revelation descended on the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, and Gabriel brought him the sunna which explains that.’ Al-Awzāʿī also reported that Makḥūl said, ‘The Qur’an is in greater need of the sunna than the sunna is of the Qur’an.’ Yaḥyā ibn Abī Kathīr said, ‘The sunna judges the Book and the Book does not judge the sunna.’ Al-Faḍl ibn Ziyād said that he heard Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal being asked about this report, and he said, ‘I am not so bold as to say it, rather I say that the sunna explains and clarifies the Book.’” Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad al-Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-aḥkām al-Qurʾān, 20 vols., ed. ʿAbd al-Razzāq al-Mahdī (Beirut: Dār al-Kitāb al-ʿArabī, 2001), 1:74. 25 Commenting upon the entire verse, Joseph Lumbard writes, “Although his function as God’s messenger is unique and inimitable, the Prophet’s words and actions are considered to provide the archetype of a life lived in full submission to God. . . . In this context, and remember God much can be seen as a reference to the heart of the prophetic example, since to live in accord with the prophetic model is to live in constant remembrance of God,” “Commentary on Sūrat al-Aḥzāb,” in The Study Qur’an, 1017–1041, 1025. 26 In this context, David Marshall’s observation that “obedience and disobedience to God are inseparably tied up with obedience and disobedience to Muhammad; human response to God is virtually coterminous with human response to His messenger” applies more to the Medinan verses than to the Meccan verses. David Marshall, God, Muhammad and the Unbelievers (Richmond, Surrey: Curzon, 1999), 167. 27 As Aḥmad Ibn ʿAjība writes in his commentary on Q 21:107, “Shaykh Abū l-ʿAbbās al-Mursī says, ‘The prophets were created from mercy and our prophet is the quintessence of mercy (ʿayn al-raḥma).’” Aḥmad Ibn ʿAjība, al-Baḥr al-madīd fī tafsīr al-qurʾān al-majīd, 8 vols., ed. ʿAbd al-Salām al-ʿAmrānī al-Khālidī al-ʿArāʾisī (Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, 2005), 4:289. In the commentary on Qur’an 8:24, Ibn ʿAjība writes, “It is from God’s grace and mercy that He has placed in every time and era callers who invite humanity to that which will bring life to their hearts,” al-Baḥr al-madīd, 3:207. 28 See Maria Dakake, “Commentary on Sūrat al-Aʿrāf,” in The Study Qur’an, 405–481, 461. 29 Qur’an 78:13, which refers to “a radiant lamp” is also interpreted by some as an allusion to the Prophet Muhammad, as in the reference to “a lamp” in Q 25:61. 30 For a study of the manner in which the “light of Muhammad” has been understood in the Islamic tradition, see Andani, “The Metaphysics of Muhammad.” 31 Q 3:132, 3:172, 4:69, 8:1, 8:24, 8:27, 61:11. 113 Joseph E.B. Lumbard 32 Regarding the relationship this verse shows between God and His Messenger, Ismāʿīl Ḥaqqī al-Burusāwī (d. 1137/1725) writes, “This pertains to the station of Divine self-disclosure. Thus, if God discloses Himself to one of His servants with one of His attributes, an action congruent with that [Divine] attribute will manifest itself in the servant.” Ismāʿīl Ḥaqqī al-Burusāwī, Rūḥ al-Bayān, 10 vols., ed. Aḥmad ʻUbaydū ʻInāyah (Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 2001), 3:416. 33 Rūzbihān Baqlī, Arāʾis al-bayān fī ḥaqāʾiq al-Qurʾān, 3 vols., ed. Aḥmad Farīd al-Mazīdī (Beirut: Dār alKutub al-ʿIlmiyya, 2008), 3:318. 34 Ibn ʿAjība, Al-Baḥr al-madīd, 7:136. 35 In Q 33:33, “God only desires to remove defilement from you, O People of the Household, and to purify you completely is also understood as a reference to the Prophet’s wives or to his extended family” is also interpreted as a reference to the purification of the Prophet’s wives by some or as a reference to his descendants by others. 36 Bukhārī 6357; Muslim 405; Tirmidhī, Tafsīr, Abū Dāwūd 980; Nisāʾī 1282; Aḥmad 22415. 37 Shihāb al-Dīn al-Alūsī, Rūḥ al-maʿānī fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm wa al-Sabʿ al-Mathānī, 30 vols., ed. ʿAlī ʿAbd al-Bāriʾ ʿAṭiyya (Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, 2001), 11:254. 114