ABSTRACT
Even the most cursory reading of the Qurʾān discloses its multiple affinities with the Bible and with biblical lore, a fact that scholars have long discussed (Geiger 1833; Horovitz 1926; Speyer 1931). In fact, one of the most immediate things one notices about the interface between the Qurʾān and the biblical tradition is the Islamic scripture’s seemingly pervasive assumption that its audience is thoroughly familiar with the stories of the biblical patriarchs and prophets, to whose words and deeds the text regularly alludes, confident of audience recognition without any need for even the most rudimentary form of introduction. What is more, in a number of places the Qurʾān says explicitly that it confirms the veracity of the scripture (al-kitāb) that came before it, the Torah, the Psalms and the Gospel in particular (e.g. Q 3:184; 5:44–8), albeit that there are also verses that suggest that Jews had distorted or altered their scriptures (Q 2:75; 4:46; 5:13, 41) 1 and that in contrast to Christian views the Gospel is a single scripture given to Jesus (Q 3:48; 5:46). In numerous instances in which the Qurʾān calls attention to the distinctive features of the vocation of God’s previous messengers and prophets prior to Muḥammad, it regularly bids him and his followers to recall or remember (idhkur) the scriptural accounts of those whose stories are recorded in the Bible: they include Adam, Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, Miriam, David, Solomon, even Job and Jonah, along with Zachariah, John the Baptist, Mary and Jesus, son of Mary, just to mention the major figures.
