The Concept of Revelation and Prophethood in the Book of Exodus: A Comparative Study in Light of the Holy Qur'an
Abstract
A prominent discourse advanced by Christian missionaries, Jewish rabbinic scholars, and specially 19th- and 20th-century Orientalists posits that Islam lacks an independent divine origin, claiming instead that it is an eclectic derivation from preexisting Judeo-Christian traditions available in the socio-religious environment of Late Antique Arabia. This paper subjects that borrowing hypothesis to rigorous textual and theological scrutiny through a comparative analysis of primary scriptures, focusing on the foundational concepts of Revelation (Waḥy) and Prophethood (Nubuwwah). Because the Book of Exodus (Sefer Shemot) serves as the legal and theological core of the Hebrew Bible—housing the Decalogue, the Covenant, and the Mosaic paradigm—it constitutes the definitive text for such an investigation. Through critical textual examination, this study demonstrates profound, irreconcilable theological divergencies between the two corpuses. The Book of Exodus frequently portrays revelation through material theophanies, localized apparitions (e.g., the burning bush, pillars of cloud and fire), and attributes serious moral and theological shortcomings to prophetic figures depicting Moses (Mūsā) as hesitant, impatient, and violent, and Aaron (Hārūn) as complicit in the Golden Calf idolatry. In sharp contrast, the Qur'an presents a transcendent, de-anthropomorphized model of revelation rooted in absolute divine transcendence (Tanzīh) and systematically exonerates the prophets through the doctrine of prophetic impeccability (‘Iṣmat al-Anbiyā’). By contextualizing the Qur'anic discourse as a corrective critique (Muhaymin) rather than a derivative reproduction, this paper refutes the claim of environmental borrowing and illustrates the theological distinctiveness and internal autonomy of the Qur'anic narrative.
Keywords: Revelation (Waḥy), Prophethood (Nubuwwah), Book of Exodus, Qur'anic Critique, Biblical Criticism, Orientalism, Prophetic Infallibility (‘Iṣmat al-Anbiyā’).
