Moses in the Qur’an

Abstract

Abstract In Islam, the Qur’ān is viewed as the word of Allah. The Qur’an is not narrative nor is there a chronicler. Rather, Allah speaks in the first or third person. The Qur’ān consists generally of short themes, and the so-called “punishment chronicles” are among those which recur the most. The story of Musa (Moses in the Hebrew Bible and Christian New Testament) is repeated in different variations 122 times among the Qur’ān’s narratives. This article provides a plot-based chart of Musa’s narrative, which maps out the stories dedicated to different themes. This applies not only to the internal context of the Qu'rān, but also to the overall context of the general narrative of the Abrahamic religions. The article also draws parallels between episodes in the life of episodes of the Prophet Muhammad’s life and the story of Musa in the Qur’ān.