Page:Judaism and Islam, a prize essay - Geiger - 1898.pdf/118

 100 JUDAISM AND ISL^M.

ing address of God (or Gabriel) to Muhammad. 1 This view renders it unnecessary to adopt the desperate expedi- ent of Wahl, who supposes a transposition of verses, or an interpolation. The true explanation is rather Muhammad's entire identification of Abraham with himself. Further, he is not content with making Abraham preach against idolatry, he represents him also as teaching the doctrine of the Eesurrection of the dead. 2 The lack however of full certainty about this doctrine 3 caused Abraham, according to the Muhammadan view, to pray for a tangible proof of it, and then was vouchsafed to him what the Eabbis call 4 the " covenant between the divided pieces." 5

He was convinced through the fact that the divided birds came together again and became living, 6 a view which is foreign to Judaism. How Muhammad came to call Abraham's father, (whose name is given in the Bible as Terah, 7 Azar 8 is at first sight not clear, but is completely explained when we consider the source 9 of his informa- tion, namely Busebius. In his Church History, Eusebius calls him Athar 10 which is an easy transition from Thara,

1 Compare above on Noah. 2 Suras II. 260, XXVI. 81

3 Baidhawi says on Sura II. 262 :

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" It is said bhat, after Nimrod had said : ' I make alive and I kill,' (II. 260), Abraham answered : ' Quickening is brought about by the return of the spirit to the body,' Nimrod replied : ' Hast thou then seen that ? ' Abraham could not answer in the affirmative and had to pass over to another argument, On this he prayed to the Lord for some revelation, in order that his mind might be easy about an answer to this question, if it were put to him again."

4 d^ri5!l V% fivn Genesis, xv. 9. ff. 6 Sura II. 262.

7 nnfr 8 Sura VL ? 4 - }$ 9 Pointed out by Maraoc. Prodr., iv. 90. 10 'A#ap from <9ap, hence Arabic, ;j\