Abstract:

Ibn Ishaq’s rhetorical use of genre in his edited biography of the life of the Prophet Muhammad instances the authority accorded by the early Muslim community to Biblical forms familiar to them. The genre in question is the “universal history” modeled by the Genesis-through-Kings saga contained in the Hebrew Bible. At the “center” of this saga stands the Deuteronomic restatement of Mosaic law; likewise, at the “center” of Ibn Ishaq’s biography stands a restatement of Qur’anic legislation contained in the Prophet’s “Farewell Sermon.” Ibn Ishaq’s biography subtly accomplishes both Muslim Biblical interpretation and legal interpretation by means of a rhetorical use of allusion.

Author: Peter Matthews Wright