al-
nabi al-ummi
) by the Judaizing cousin of his wife was critical in boosting his
resolve at the outset of his mission.
30
The learned Ka'b al-Ahbir (d.
), to
whom the vast majority of the early Muslim apocalyptic traditions are traced,
belonged to one such anti-Rabbinic Jewish group in the Yemen whose priests
bore the title of
bahr
(Hebrew,
haber
).
31
A rare apocalyptic figure named in the Qur'an is Idris. He is mentioned
twice among the prophets (Q.
:
,
:
),
32
and is an apocalyptic figure:
‘He was a true man (
siddiq
), a Prophet; we raised him to a high place’ (Q.
:
). Idris is commonly identified in Sunni tradition with Enoch. He is,
however, more likely a composite figure that combines Enoch (via Mani-
chaeanism) with the Zadokite Doresh ha-Torah (Interpreter of the Law) of
the Essenes. The latter connection is strongly suggested by the ‘Zadokite’
epithet,
siddiq
, and by root
drs[h]
common to Idris and Doresh.
Ezra is mentioned once in the Qur'an in the diminutive form of 'Uzayr. By
the time of
Ezra and in the subsequent literature, Ezra the scribe had
become Ezra the prophet.
33
Ezra was identified with Enoch and appears as
the key figure in the mystical speculations of the Jewish communities of
Arabia.
34
At the beginning of
Ezra, which circulated not only in Syriac but
also in Arabic, Ezra is clearly presented as a second Moses
35
and it is as the
messianic ‘prophet like Moses’ that he enters into Islam. The assertion in the
Qur'an (
:
) that ‘the Jews say 'Uzayr is the son of God as the Christians
say the Messiah is the son of God’ should be understood in this light.
According to Ibn Hazm,
36
the Jews referred to in this verse were the Sadducees
of the Yemen who, as we have seen, were the bearers of the Essene apocalyptic
tradition. Furthermore, the unnamed person, whom God caused to die on
the outskirts of the ruined city but brought back to life a hundred years later
to witness the resurrection of his donkey (Q.
:
), was commonly identified
as Ezra
37
even though Jeremiah was sometimes preferred and the ruined city
was taken to mean Jerusalem.
38
This verse, as we shall see, formed the basis
for the apocalyptic conception of the centennium in early Islam.
The tradition that secrets had been written in a book and kept secret also
112
Judaism, Christianity and Islam
begins with
Ezra.
39
In the later Judaeo-Christian lore, Ezra appears as the
revealer of magico-astrological secrets.
40
Muslim tradition combined this with
the legend of the book thrown to the sea by Daniel.
41
Messianism entered Islam through Christianity. The Paraclete is referred
to in the Verse
:
of the Qur'an, where Jesus son of Mary presents himself
to the children of Israel as the messenger of God who confirms the Torah and
is the ‘bearer of good tidings of a messenger who shall come after me and
whose name shall be Ahmad (
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