Muhammad, the Quran, and Islam.

• Author: Rippin, A.
• Position: Review

By N. A. NEWMAN, Hatfield, Pa.: INTERDISCIPLINARY BIBLICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE, 1996. Pp. xvii + 425. $19.95 (paper).

Within this book is a mine of information which many students and researchers interested in the Qur an and the life of Muhammad will find of interest. Unfortunately, the material is presented in a barely digested form and the purpose of the overall book is conceptually unclear, if not totally confused.

The author's preface explains that a synthesis of the Qur an with the story of the life of Muhammad as told in the Sira has not been developed sufficiently. He feels that there are benefits which might accrue by doing so, specifically in ascertaining details about the origins and sources of Islam. To illustrate the latter point, Newman provides two examples but neither demonstrates very well what he intends to accomplish. The examples conjoin biblical material with material of the Islamic tradition but how this has anything to do with the life of Muhammad remains unclear.

Regardless, the book proceeds to trace through the life of Muhammad, tying Qur anic passages to events in the prophet's life. This entails, of course, the postulation of a chronology of the text of the Qur an, which appears to be confirmed by the perception of a congruence between events recounted in the Sira and the content of certain verses of the Qur an. That such an approach ignores all the recent research on the complex relationship between the Sira and the Qur an seems of no consequence to Newman. Muhammad's life is examined, starting with the period "birth to ministry" and then moving to sections on Muhammad's call, opposition to him, the hijra, the break with the Jews, and "Victory and Death."

While the framework within which all this data is put may well be questionable, the raw material which is referenced (over half the book is footnotes) makes the work of considerable value. Most of the significant secondary studies (primarily nineteenth and early twentieth century European) along with a good number of primary sources (mainly in translation) are correlated with the discussions of specific Qur anic passages. Many readers will find this helpful.

Perhaps the most significant contribution of the work, however, is to be found in the appendices. Appendix A (pp. 32948) provides a full chart of the correspondences...