reynolds-the-quran-in-its-historical-context-2

386 Gerald Hawtingidea that Mani referred to himself as the "seal of the prophets" is likely to betively late and influenced by Islam rather than reflecting a title really usedMani. 43 Mani grew up in a Jewish-Christian community and his ideas mustlarge extent have been influenced by, positively or negatively, that cmnn1unlity.We might envisage a similar formation for the Qur'anic messenger. 44Did the Qur' iinic messenger regard himself as an angel?LUling argued that Mul)ammad lived in a Jewish-Christian community inand that his ideas about prophets and prophecy reflected those of his vvlllllJ.Ulll')LUling stressed, for example, what he understood as the occurrence of the "v''l'-atisfi~:d with the religion of the community to which he belongs while at thetime accepting and sharing some of its ideas and beliefs.Did Gnostic Jewish Christianity survive?· As stated at the beginning, it has not been my intention to relate the dispute alludedto in the Qur'an about whether God's messengers must be angels or men to anyone particular sect or group. I have had the more limited aim of arguing that theQur' anic material can be better understood if it is situated in the context of the S()rtof speculations and ideas referred to above. Nevertheless, the predominance ofGnostic-type ideas and of Jewish-Christian groups in the comparative materialthat has been adduced naturally raises the question of whether such groupscontinued to e.xist around the time when Islam began to emerge.The survival of Jewish Christianity into Islamic times was the focus of a well- .lmown, intense and at times polemical argument between Samuel Stem andShlomo Pines in connection with the interpretation of material presented as a refutationof orthodox Christian beliefs in the Tathbft data 'it al-nubuwwa of Qa