Page:Judaism and Islam, a prize essay - Geiger - 1898.pdf/111

 TOWEE OF BABEL, 93

men spoke in Hebrew, but afterwards in seventy languages. Jalalu'd-din says the same thing, 1 and adds that Nimrod built the Tower " in order that he might mount out of it into heaven to wage war with the inhabitants thereof." 2 But the identity of this narrative with that of Hnd and Ad is no more accepted by Abulf eda 3 than it is by Elpherar and Jalalu'd-din, even on the view that Hnd is the same as Bber. Although the colouring of this narrative as given in the Qur&n differs much from that of the Biblical account, yet the identity of the two can be shown by putting this and that together, and by ex- plaining the way in which the individual differences arose. But in the case of another narrative which follows this one in almost all the passages of the Quran, 4 it is very difficult to find out the subject of which it treats and the Bible characters to which it refers. This narrative is about Samud, 5 -which like Ad is an ancient extinct Arab tribe, 6 to whom their brother Salih was sent when they fell into sin. 7 Salih is said to have exhorted the Sanrddites to righteousness and to have commended to them a certain she-camel as especially under divine protection j

1 Maracc. on the passage. 2

3 Hist. Anteislamica, pp. 18 and 20.

4 Except in Suras L. 12, and LXIX. 4, where it precedes. In the former of these two passages it precedes the story of the Hidianites also, and thus no chronological order is followed. In Suras LI. 43 and LIII. 61, it actually precedes the story of the Deluge, and in Sura LXXXV. 18 Pharoah is placed before Samud on account of the rhyme.

J *' -

s o*> Samud, ^JUj S&lih.

6 Poo. Spec., p. 8.

7 The passages which treat of this are the following : Suras VII. 7178, XI. 64-72, XXII. 43, XXV. 40, XXVI. 141160, XXVII. 4655, XXIX. 37, XXXVIII. 12, XL. 32, XLI. 1218, L. 12, LI. 43-46, LIII. 51, LTV, 23-33, LXIX, 4-6, LXXXV. 18, LXXX1X. 8, XCI, 11-16,