Page:Judaism and Islam, a prize essay - Geiger - 1898.pdf/36

 18 JUDAISM AND ISLAM.

language and scriptures ; * so also was Habib ben Malik, a powerful Arabian prince, 2 who for some time professed the Jewish religion. These all afterwards became followers of the Prophet. Thus Muhammad had ample opportunity ef becoming acquainted with Judaism, That his knowledge thereof was not obtained from the Scriptures is clear, from the matter actually adopted, since there are mistakes, which cannot be regarded as intentional alterations, and which would certainly have been avoided by anyone who had the very slightest acquaintance with the sources. 3 It is evident also from the low level of culture to which Muhammad himself and the Jews of his time and country had attained- The contempt in which the compilers of the Talmud held the Arabian Jews, in spite of their political power, can be attributed only tO'the ignorance of the latter. Though we must not conclude from this that the Jews knew nothing of the Scriptures and, though we hear of schools among them 4 and even of their reading the sacred writings in the original, 5 still we must doubt, if there was any widely diffused critical knowledge of the Scriptures, and we may be quite certain that Muhammad himself possessed nione. Many passages testify to this. First, we may take a passage already quoted, 6 where he says he had formerly no knowledge of reading and writing, and then Sura XLIL 52, ? where he denies any previous acquaintance with " the Book" or the " Faith." Even if these are mere figures of speech to prove the divine character o his mission, still it

1 Vid. Elbecar in Maracc. Prcdomi I. p. 44 3 and WahJ, Einleitnng zur TTebersetffung des Koran XXX,

2 Wahl, Einleitung XXXY,

5 This will be explained in detail later.

5 Comp. the passage quoted above from Elpherar in the First Section (foot note). <? Sura XXIX. 47.
 * Comp. the passage quoted above from Baidhawi in the 1st Section,

? " Thou didst not understand before this what the book of the was, nor what the faith was, etc." (Sale).