Brannon M. Wheeler is a scholar of religious studies and Professor in the department of History at the United States Naval Academy. [1]
Wheeler received his PhD from the University of Chicago in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations in 1993. [2] He was a senior Fulbright Research Fellow for Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia in 2004. [2] He has been a visiting scholar at numerous universities in the US, Europe, and the Middle East. [3]
The Quran, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God (Allāh). It is organized in 114 chapters which consist of individual verses. Besides its religious significance, it is widely regarded as the finest work in Arabic literature, and has significantly influenced the Arabic language. It is the object of a modern field of academic research known as Quranic studies.
Islamic–Jewish relations comprise the human and diplomatic relations between Jewish people and Muslims in the Arabian Peninsula, Northern Africa, the Middle East, and their surrounding regions. Jewish–Islamic relations may also refer to the shared and disputed ideals between Judaism and Islam, which began roughly in the 7th century CE with the origin and spread of Islam in the Arabian peninsula. The two religions share similar values, guidelines, and principles. Islam also incorporates Jewish history as a part of its own. Muslims regard the Children of Israel as an important religious concept in Islam. Moses, the most important prophet of Judaism, is also considered a prophet and messenger in Islam. Moses is mentioned in the Quran more than any other individual, and his life is narrated and recounted more than that of any other prophet. There are approximately 43 references to the Israelites in the Quran, and many in the Hadith. Later rabbinic authorities and Jewish scholars such as Maimonides discussed the relationship between Islam and Jewish law. Maimonides himself, it has been argued, was influenced by Islamic legal thought.
Lut, also known as Lot in the Old Testament, is a prophet and messenger of God in the Qur'an. According to Islamic tradition, Lut was born to Haran and spent his younger years in Ur, later migrating to Canaan with his uncle Abraham. He was sent to the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah as a prophet, and was commanded to preach to their inhabitants on monotheism.
Yusuf is a prophet and messenger of God mentioned in the Qur'an and corresponds to Joseph, a person from the Hebrew and Christian Bible who was said to have lived in Egypt before the New Kingdom. Amongst Jacob's children, Yusuf reportedly had the gift of prophecy through dreams. Although the narratives of other prophets are presented in a number of suwer, Joseph's complete narrative appears in only one: Yusuf. Said to be the most detailed narrative in the Quran, it mentions details that do not appear in its biblical counterpart.
Shuaib, Shoaib, Shuayb or Shuʿayb is an ancient Midianite Prophet in Islam, and the most revered prophet in the Druze faith. Shuayb is traditionally identified with the biblical Jethro, Moses' father-in-law. Shuaib is mentioned in the Quran a total of 11 times. He is believed to have lived after Abraham, and Muslims believe that he was sent as a prophet to a community: the Midianites, who are also known as the Aṣḥāb al-Aykah, since they used to worship a large tree. To the people, Shuaib proclaimed the straight path and warned the people to end their fraudulent ways. When the community did not repent, God destroyed the community.
Al-Khidr is a figure not mentioned by name in the Quran. He is described in Surah Al-Kahf, as a righteous servant of God possessing great wisdom or mystic knowledge. In various Islamic and non-Islamic traditions, Khidr is described as an angel, prophet, or wali, who guards the sea, teaches secret knowledge and aids those in distress. He prominently figures as patron of the Islamic saint ibn Arabi. The figure of al-Khidr has been syncretized over time with various other figures including Dūraoša and Sorūsh in Iran, Sargis the General and Saint George in Asia Minor and the Levant, Samael in Judaism, Elijah among the Druze, John the Baptist in Armenia, and Jhulelal in Sindh and Punjab in South Asia. He is commemorated on the holiday of Hıdırellez.
Dhu al-Qarnayn, appears in the Qur'an, Surah al-Kahf (18), Ayahs 83–101, as one who travels to the east and west and sets up a barrier between a certain people and Gog and Magog. Elsewhere, the Qur'an tells how the end of the world will be signaled by the release of Gog and Magog from behind the barrier. Other apocalyptic writings predict that their destruction by God in a single night will usher in the Day of Resurrection.
Islamic mythology is the body of myths associated with Islam and the Quran. Islam is a religion that is more concerned with social order and law than with religious ritual or myths. The primary focus of Islam is the practical and rational practice and application of the Islamic law. Despite this focus, Islamic myths do still exist. The Oxford Companion to World Mythology identifies a number of traditional narratives as "Islamic myths". These include a creation myth and a vision of afterlife, which Islam shares with the other Abrahamic religions, as well as the distinctively Islamic story of the Kaaba.
Adam, in Islamic theology, is believed to have been the first human being on Earth and the first prophet of Islam. Adam's role as the father of the human race is looked upon by Muslims with reverence. Muslims also refer to his wife, Ḥawwāʾ, as the "mother of mankind". Muslims see Adam as the first Muslim, as the Quran states that all the Prophets preached the same faith of Islam.
The Islamic prophet Muhammad's views on Jews were formed through the contact he had with Jewish tribes living in and around Medina. His views on Jews include his theological teaching of them as People of the Book, his description of them as earlier receivers of Abrahamic revelation; and the failed political alliances between the Muslim and Jewish communities.
This is an incomplete table containing prophets, sometimes called messengers, of the Abrahamic religions.
Jane Dammen McAuliffe is an American educator, scholar of Islam and the inaugural director of national and international outreach at the Library of Congress.
Luqman or Lokman, Lukman was a wise man after whom Luqman, the 31st surah (chapter) of the Qur'an, was named. There are many stories about Luqman in Persian, Arabic and Turkish literature.
The Quran states that several prior writings constitute holy books given by God to the prophets and messengers amongst the Children of Israel, in the same way the Quran was revealed to Muhammad. These include the Tawrat, believed by Muslims to have been given by God to the prophets and messengers amongst the Children of Israel, the Zabur revealed to David (Dawud); and the Injil revealed to Jesus (Isa).
Prophets in Islam are individuals in Islam who are believed to spread God's message on Earth and serve as models of ideal human behaviour. Some prophets are categorized as messengers, those who transmit divine revelation, most of them through the interaction of an angel. Muslims believe that many prophets existed, including many not mentioned in the Quran. The Quran states: "And for every community there is a messenger." Belief in the Islamic prophets is one of the six articles of the Islamic faith.
In Islam, Simon Peter, known in Arabic as Shamoun as-Safa or Shamoun ibn Hammoun, was one of the original disciples of Jesus Although Jesus's disciples have not played a major role in Islamic theology, they are notable in that they are the only group of disciples specifically identified in the Quran. Peter's figure is important as he is generally regarded as the successor of Jesus who led the faithful after the crucifixion, and therefore is similar to the Christian view of Peter as the 'Prince of the Apostles'.
Ishmael is regarded by Muslims as an Islamic prophet. Born to Abraham and Hagar, he is the namesake of the Ishmaelites, who were descended from him. In Islam, he is associated with Mecca and the construction of the Kaaba within today's Masjid al-Haram, which is the holiest Islamic site. Muslims also consider him to be a direct ancestor to Muhammad. His paternal half-brother was Isaac, the forefather of the Israelites.
Quranic studies is the academic application of a diverse set of disciplines to study the Quran, drawing on methods including but not limited to ancient history, philology, textual criticism, lexicography, codicology, literary criticism, comparative religion, and historical criticism.
Todd Lawson is an Emeritus Professor of Islamic thought at the University of Toronto.
Was hat Mohammed aus dem Judenthume aufgenommen? is a foundational work of modern Quranic studies by Abraham Geiger. It was originally written in Latin to earn Geiger a doctorate at the University of Marburg, but was soon republished in German in 1833. In 1898, an English translation of the work was undertaken by F.M. Young and published under the title Judaism and Islam: A Prize Essay. According to some historians, Geiger's work represents the beginning of the modern academic discipline of studying the Quran, and it is the earliest academic Western work which continues to be cited in new studies today.