The Prophet's first interactions with the People of the Book based on the dating and audience of Surah Qalam

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 PhD graduate, Department of Quranic Sciences and Hadith, Faculty of Theology and Islamic Studies, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.

2 Assistant Professor, Department of Quranic Sciences and Hadith, Faculty of Theology and Islamic Studies, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.

10.30512/kq.2024.21707.3898

Abstract

Although the dating of Surah Qalam indicates differences among the commentators who consider it Meccan or Meccan-Madani, there is almost no difference between them about the audience of this surah. Everyone agrees on the issue that the audience of this surah are the polytheists of Mecca. They even consider the revelation of the verses that introduce exceptions and civility to be related to the polytheists of Mecca. Meanwhile, the collection of words in the field of literature, as well as the reference to the two stories of "Ashab al-Jannah" and "Saheb Al-Hout", which are related to the People of the Book, indicate the presence of another group of audience alongside the polytheists of Mecca. Using the method of historical reconstruction, the audience analysis of Surah Qalam provides information about the audience of this Surah, which has been neglected by commentators and Quran scholars. The findings of this research indicate that Jews from the Namousian sect werr present next to the polytheists of Mecca as the secondary audience of this surah. The words of this surah, which is about writing, the story of the owners of the garden, which refers to the people of the book, the intertextuality of the story of the owner of Al-hout with the Torah, and the consistency of the middle verses of this surah with the People of the Book all confirm the presence of this minority in the first verses of revelation in Mecca, and there are signs of the Prophet's interaction with them.

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References

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Ketab-E-Qayyem
Volume 15, Issue 2 - Serial Number 33
September 2025
Pages 103-124

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History

  • Receive Date: 29 May 2024
  • Revise Date: 14 November 2024
  • Accept Date: 17 November 2024

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