Faculty Publications

Document Type

Article

Publication Version

Published Version

Journal/Book/Conference Title

Polish Journal of Biblical Research

Volume

19-20

Issue

37-40

First Page

7

Last Page

26

Abstract

The arrival of the first Muslims in Palestine had profound effects for the country’s Jewish population. The decline of Christian rule, and the appearance of a new religion by a monotheistic prophet from Arabia, initially led to close relations among the country’s Jews and first Muslims. Many Jews sought to explain the ministry of Muhammad (ca. 610- 632 C.E.) through eschatology and viewed his message as a sign that the end of days was near. Muslims, moreover, initially held a similar theological understanding of the eschaton, which may have been influenced by their contacts with Jews. The Islamic reverence for the biblical Promised Land, and the construction of the Dome of the Rock—a shrine in which Jews played a major role—contributed to development of the eschatological views of both faiths in the early decades of Islam. This study explores some of the early literary and archaeological evidence of Jewish and Muslim eschatological beliefs and contacts, as well as selected Christian accounts that also document this period. These writings include what are likely the earliest literary witnesses to Muhammad and the first Islamic dynasties at a time when the text of the Qur’an was still in flux. During this period, membership in the Muslim community was quite fluid and included those who embraced monotheism.

Department

Department of History

Original Publication Date

3-2022

Object Description

1 PDF file (20 pages)

Repository

UNI ScholarWorks, Rod Library, University of Northern Iowa

Copyright

©2022 Enigma Press. Permission to post the article to the institutional repository granted by the publisher.

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

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