“Prophets” and their Wrongful Killing: Homily or Hymn? Hearing a Qur’ānic Term and Refrain in the Light of Syriac Tradition

The Qur’ān names a number of individuals who are also known from the Bible. These biblio-qur’ānic figures include the heroic and malevolent, human and otherwise. Among these figures are a number of individuals whom Islamic tradition would consider as prophets. Their qur’ānic mentions range from detailed narratives to brief allusions. “Prophet” is rendered by the Arabic word nabiyy. The Qur’ān employs two plural forms of this term: the broken Arabic plural (anbiyā’) and the common Semitic plural (nabiyyūn/nabbiyyīn). In contrast to general Arabic usage, in the Qur’ān, it is the sound – and common Semitic – plural form of the word that is most employed, with nabiyyūn/nabiyyīn appearing 3x more frequently than anbiyā’. And, in four of its five occurrences, anbiyā’ occurs in a refrain of “killing the prophets without right”. This paper examines the Qur’ān’s employment of anbiyā’ vs. nabiyyūn against a presumed background of Syriac Christian polemics.