Muhammad
Quraysh delegation to Yathrib

The leaders of the Quraysh sent Nadr ibn al-Harith and Uqba ibn Abi Mu'ayt to Yathrib to seek the opinions of the Jewish rabbis regarding Muhammad. The rabbis advised them to ask Muhammad three questions: recount the tale of young men who ventured forth in the first age; narrate the story of a traveler who reached both the eastern and western ends of the earth; and provide details about the spirit. If Muhammad answered correctly, they stated, he would be a Prophet; otherwise, he would be a liar. When they returned to Mecca and asked Muhammad the questions, he told them he would provide the answers the next day. However, 15 days passed without a response from his God, leading to gossip among the Meccans and causing Muhammad distress. At some point later, the angel Gabriel came to Muhammad and provided him with the answers.

In response to the first query, the Qur'an tells a story about a group of men sleeping in a cave (Qur'an 18:9–25), which scholars generally link to the legend of the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus. For the second query, the Qur'an speaks of Dhu al-Qarnayn, literally "he of the two horns" (Qur'an 18:93–99), a tale that academics widely associate with the Alexander Romance. As for the third query, concerning the nature of the spirit, the Qur'anic revelation asserted that it was beyond human comprehension. Neither the Jews who devised the questions nor the Quraysh who posed them to Muhammad converted to Islam upon receiving the answers. Nadr and Uqba were later executed on Muhammad's orders after the Battle of Badr, while other captives were held for ransom. As Uqba pleaded, "But who will take care of my children, Muhammad?" Muhammad responded, "Hell!"
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