Muslims in the West like to talk about Islam as the religion of all of the Prophets of God. They don’t believe that Islam started in the 7th century. That was simply the ummah of Muhammad. Islam is the oldest religion on the planet and it was adhered to by Adam, Noah, and essentially every righteous figure that Muslims read about in the Old Testament and then of course John the Baptist, Mary, and Jesus in the New Testament.
The Quranic testimony is quite different though. Yes, prophetic figures of the Biblical tradition are claimed, but what about others? What about the other prophets?
Throughout the Quran, three mysterious prophetic figures are mentioned. These figures are Salih, Hud, and Shuayb. Muslims know who these three are but they’re new names to Christians. To my knowledge, they don’t exist in pre-Quranic literature.
These figures are mentioned in Surah 7 of the Quran and in a couple other chapters. Not much is said about them, though they are repeatedly referenced. It’s also a bit odd that there messages to their audiences are very close in wording, at least in the first sentence.
And to the ‘Aad [We sent] their brother Hud. He said, “O my people, worship Allah; you have no deity other than Him. Then will you not fear Him?”
– Surah 7:65
And to the Thamūd [We sent] their brother Salih. He said, “O my people, worship Allah; you have no deity other than Him. There has come to you clear evidence from your Lord. This is the she-camel of Allah [sent] to you as a sign. So leave her to eat within Allah’s land and do not touch her with harm, lest there seize you a painful punishment.
– Surah 7:73
And to [the people of] Madyan [We sent] their brother Shu‘ayb. He said, “O my people, worship Allah; you have no deity other than Him. There has come to you clear evidence from your Lord. So fulfill the measure and weight and do not deprive people of their due and cause not corruption upon the earth after its reformation. That is better for you, if you should be believers.
– Surah 7:85
I think a good question that should be posed to Muslims in dialogue is, why should we accept these people as Prophets? They’re foreign to the previously existing tradition. When a Christian asks a Muslim why they should believe in Muhammad, the Muslim will have answers. He’ll talk about the Quran being scientific, supposed prophecies about Muhammad in the Bible and other arguments.
We could also confront them with these figures and ask them if they’re a religion based on Biblical Prophets, why are they accepting non-Biblical prophets. It’s worth asking.
I listened to a speech by Fred Donner once about the origins of Islam. His theory is that it was originally a monotheistic revival movement with an ecumenical spirit which included Christians and Jews. He says that eventually Christians and Jews were kicked out of this movement until it was completely Islamic. It may even be a bigger tent than Christianity and Judaism because if we’re going to include these three mysterious prophets, it goes beyond the Biblical tradition.
The next time I see a dawah booth I’m going to field test this. I know it’ll catch them off guard but I’m interested in how they’ll respond. For Christians who are looking to learn more about these figures, take a brief read of Surah 7 in the Quran. I’m not a Hadith expert but I don’t think these three appear that much in the Hadith. If I’m wrong, I’m willing to be corrected on this.
So whenever a Muslim tells you that Islam is the religion of Jesus, Moses, and Abraham, simply ask them: “What about Salih, Hud, and Shuayb?”
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