Page:Judaism and Islam, a prize essay - Geiger - 1898.pdf/47

 WHAT WAS BORROWED FROM JUDAISM. 29

ask them who have read the "book "before thee." 7 If he then, however cunningly, acknowledges the Jews as to a certain extent witnesses to his revelations, we are justified in expressing our opinion, that Judaism was one source of the utterances in the Quran, and in this certainty we may proceed at once to discuss the actually borrowed passages.

SECOND SECTION. What did Muhammad borrow from Judaism?
In the case of any single instance o! borrowing, the proof that the passage is really of Jewish origin must rest on two grounds. First, it must be shown to exist in Judaism, and to prove this we have every facility. Secondly, in order to attain to certainty we must prove that it is really borrowed, i.e. } that it is not founded on anything in old Arabian tradition, which Muhammad used largely as a foundation though he disputed some points. Then again we must shew that it had its origin in Judaism and not in Christianity. For the complete discussion of the last two points it would be necessary to write two treatises similar to the one on which I am now engaged, of which the respective subjects would be (1) the points of contact between Islam and the ancient tradition of the Arabs, and (2) the points of contact between Islam and Christianity ; and only in this way could certainty on these points be attained. But these investigations would, on the one hand, lead us too far away from our particular subject,

CSO-o-

7 On this Elpherar says : ............... JL.U

" By that which we have sent down to thee, the Quran is meant; those who have read before thee may instruct thee, that thon art foretold in the Law which they have ; " and again ; ^A*^ J^ ($* ("\ I** ,yi*> &W*\ j |!L> y) iU\ tU* " He means the believers among the possessors pf the Scriptures, e.g., 'Abdu'llah ben Salam and his fellows."