Āl-‘Imrān 3:183

The issue

The reports tell that a group of Jews (including Ka‘b Ibn al-Ashraf, Mālik Ibn al-Siyīf, Wahb Ibn Yahūdhā, Finhās. Ibn‘zūr, and others) entered into a discussion with Muhammad. To prove that Muhammad’s prophecy was true, they required him to bring an “offering that would be consumed by fire.” They explained the reason behind their request, saying, “God, in the Torah, had commanded us not to believe in any prophet until he performed that miracle…just like the prophets of Israel used to bring an offering and when the prophet prayed, fire would come down from heaven to consume it.” It seemed that this occurrence during an offering was a widespread belief in the Arabian Peninsula. It also might have been believed by some pagans, as we can see from this account: “[W]hen someone brought an offering, and it was accepted, fire from heaven would come down and consume it.”

Why did the Jews request an offering that would be “consumed by fire?” This argument made by the Jews seems to originate in the recorded history of Israel. When in the presence of prophets, fire would come down to the people. The Torah informs us that after Moses and Aaron had presented the offering, “the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. Fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar…” (Lev. 9.23-24).

Therefore, this was an established belief among the Jewish community that originated from times past when fire was a sign that a sacrifice was accepted (Lev. 6.13). After the prophet Elijah had offered the sacrifice on Mount Carmel and called upon the Lord, “...the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench” (1 Kings 18.38). “[W]hen Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple” (2 Chron. 7.1).

Fire coming down from heaven was evidence of God’s acceptance of man’s sacrifice (Judg. 6.21; 1 Kings 18.38). It was also sent to establish a religious covenant. On other occasions, fire accompanied divine manifestations (Gen. 15.17; Exod. 3.2). The rabbinical literature states that when the Lord wanted to intervene in human issues, fire would come down from heaven. When Muhammad settled in Medina, he wanted the Jews to follow him as a prophet.

Most likely the Jews of Medina were expecting him to perform the sign of the offering as evidence to the truth of his message. But when Muhammad did not perform this sign, while still insisting on his message, the Jews of Medina went to Muhammad to request that he perform the sign. So, a group was delegated to go and ask him to show them “a sacrifice which fire devours.”

This request tested Muhammad’s honesty according to the standards of the Torah. However, Muhammad did not seem to be acquainted with that detail. Therefore, when asked by the Jews to bring an offering, knowing that their request was based on a scriptural standard, he became certain that unless he performed this miracle, it would be impossible to win them to his side. Since he was unable to bring an offering that would be “a sacrifice which fire devours,” he answered them, “There have come to you apostles before me with manifest signs, and with what ye talk about; why then did ye kill them, if ye speak the truth?”

By this answer, Muhammad both confessed the authenticity of the standard of proof requested by the Jews and made an accusation against them that has no basis. Muhammad’s insistence that there were prophets who brought “a sacrifice which fire devours” but were still rejected by the Jews does not agree with the recorded history of the Jewish people: prophets who brought “a sacrifice which fire devours” were offering the sacrifice with fire, not performing miracles to prove the truth of their prophecy.

Muhammad did not mention the names of the prophets who brought “a sacrifice which fire devours” and were killed by the Jews. Later, commentators pulled information from Jewish history in an attempt to offer an explanation. One of them believed that the murdered prophets to whom Muhammad referred were Isaiah, John the Baptist, and Zechariah. However, upon biblical review, we find the following disparities:

• Isaiah: The son of Amoz, Isaiah was the most prominent of the Hebrew prophets. He was active in the eighth century BC. He was killed as a martyr during the reign of Manasseh, son of Hezekiah (c. 643 BC). The exact date of his death is not known. He was buried in northern Palestine and later his remains were moved to Constantinople in AD 442.

• John the Baptist: Herod killed him because of Herodias’ plot.

• Zechariah: More than one Zechariah can be found in the Bible. Three of the most prominent were Zechariah, son of the high priest Jehoiada, who was killed in the temple by the order of Joash (ninth century BC); Zechariah, son of Berechiah (fifth century BC); and Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist.

The assumption made by the commentators that these men were the ones referenced by Muhammad in this verse seems to be based upon either hearsay or a superficial reading of the biblical accounts. The deaths of all of these men were in no way related to sacrifices and burnt offerings. Even though Muhammad was unable to refute the biblical standard, he still needed to rid himself of the Jews’ request. Therefore, he responded with an accusation that they had killed whoever performed this miracle in the past. However, this is not a convincing response. Even if his accusation was accurate, he still bore the burden of proof: to prove his prophecy true by bringing “a sacrifice which fire devours.”

Performing this miracle would have confirmed Muhammad’s prophecy and, in turn, would have obliged the Jews to believe in him according to their own conditions of proof, which he himself testified as to its authenticity. Muhammad performing the miracle ? Jews follow Muhammad’s religion Had Muhammad been honest in his message, he certainly would have tried to bring “a sacrifice which fire devours,” or any other sign immediately.