Islam: A Guide for Jews and Christians - Electric Scotland

“ AND MUHAMMAD IS HIS MESSENGER” t 55
others, the opening verses of sura 74. Either might well be the
earliest revelation in the Quran, but neither could possibly be
Muhammad’s first public utterance. We really cannot say what
happened when Muhammad initially took to the public ways as a
prophet; all we are sure of is that there are no verses in the Quran
that explain to the Meccans that what they were about to hear
were the newly revealed words of God. Whatever that earliest revelation,
Muhammad was apparently uncertain of the source of this
voice in his head, or perhaps of what he was expected to do in
consequence. Only after psychological support from his wife and
help from one of her relatives who knew something about Judaism
and Christianity did Muhammad have the courage to venture into
the public places of Mecca and announce this message whose
name was Islam.
Imagining Revelation
Scattered through the early suras, and echoed and amplified in the
biographical tradition, are allegations that Muhammad was someone
unusual but familiar to his fellow Meccans, a poet or a seer
(21:5; 69:41–42), with a demonic jinn as his muse (7:184; 68:2;
81:22). Poets and seers were not always identical in ancient Arabia,
but nothing in the Quran suggests that the Meccans cut the
distinction very fine when it came to Muhammad. Something about
the style of his utterances—the frequent oaths, the insistent rhyme
or assonance, the emotive verse, the highly wrought language, the
often enigmatic expressions—and perhaps something about his
personal demeanor as well—“O you wrapped in a cloak!” (74:1)—
reminded them of a well-known type, a public crier who was inspired,
possessed by a higher force. Muhammad spent considerable
time thereafter attempting to correct this impression, which
he eventually did, but it was his reputation as a charismatic bard
that first seized the Meccans’ attention and got him his first
hearing.
The early Meccan suras betray all the indices of oral composition:
a notable, even insistent, rhyme scheme, intense rhythmic