The Qur'aan mentions the stories of many prophets and nations of old. The Prophet (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) had no recourse to such information. He had lived amongst the Quraysh for forty years, and during this time had never studied under any priest or monk nor had he read any history.
Yet, despite his illiteracy, all of a sudden he started to inform his people of the histories of the previous nations from the creation of the Heavens and the Earth to the building of the Ka'bah by Ibraaheem, from the creation of Aadam to the flood of Nooh, from the splitting of the Nile by Moosaa to the virgin birth of 'Eesaa, from the camel of Saalih to the whale of Yoonus.
From where did he obtain all of this knowledge? "Say: If Allaah had willed, I would not have recited (the Qur'aan) to you, nor would He have made it known to you. Verily, I lived amongst you a lifetime before this (revelation started). Have you no sense?!" (Q10[Yunus]:16) In other words, the fact that the Prophet (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) had spent forty years of his life amongst the people of Makkah, during which time he was not known for any literary activity was a very powerful factor that proved that his revelation was not from himself, but from Allaah.
The Qur'aan mentions the stories of the people of old as a sign of Muhammad's prophethood:
"This is part of the 'news of the unseen, which We inspire you with, You were not with them (the Israelites) when they cast lots with their pens as to which of them should be charged with the care of Mary, and neither were you with them when they disputed." (Q3[Aal-lmraan] :44)
And also,
"This is the news of the unseen which we reveal unto you. Neither you nor your people knew them before this ... " (Q 11 [Hud]:49)
"We relate to you the best of all stories through Our revelations to you of the Quraan. And before this (revelation), you were among those who knew nothing of this!" (Q12[Yusuf]:3)
At the conclusion of the same story, Allaah says:
"This is part of the news of the unseen that We reveal by inspiration to you. You were not present with them when they arranged their plans (nor were you present) when they plotted together!" (Q 12[Yusuf]:102)
likewise, after mentioning the stories of a number of prophets, Allaah says:
"And you (0 Muhammad) were not on the western side (of the mountain) when we made clear to Moosaa the commandment, nor were you among those present! But we created generations (after Moosaa), and long were the ages that passed over them! And (neither) were you a dweller amongst the people of Madyan, reciting Our verses to them, but We were the ones sending Messengers! And neither were you at the side of (Mount) Toor when We called ... " (Q28[Qasas]:44-46)
There are many verses of this nature in the Qur'aan.
The purpose of the Stories
One of the primary purposes of these stories is to guide the remnants of the previous nations to the truth. The Christians, for example, are told that 'Eesaa preached pure monotheism, and the Jews are told to reflect upon their own religion, and the religion that the Prophet (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) brought. They are reminded that only Allaah knows the past,
"Or were you present when death approached Jacob?" (Q2[Yusuf]:133)
Other purposes of these stories is to establish belief in the prophets (as this is one of the fundamentals of faith); to affirm the patience of the Prophet (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) and the believers (by mentioning how the prophets of old were treated by their peoples); to explain the methodology of calling to the way of Allaah (all the prophets began their call by preaching the true worship of Allaah, tawheed); and to guide the Muslims to better morals, since each story of the Qur'aan contains much wisdom and guidance to benefit from. The stories in the Qur'aan, therefore, are one of the signs of the truthfulness of the Prophet (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) and another aspect of the I’jaaz of the Qur'aan.
This article was culled from the publications of Deen Communication Limited