Khaleel Mohammed’s book, David in the Muslim Tradition.... helps to reveal the “biblical subtext” of the Qur?an. Mohammed shows how Muslim interpretations shifted over time from acknowledging David’s sin, to granting it was a minor error, to finally absolving David of any transgression. Mohammed identifies three reasons for this shift in attitude: (1) an increasing skepticism toward material of Jewish and/or Christian origins (isra?iliyyat); (2) the rise of the doctrine of prophetic inerrancy (); and (3) the doctrine of the corruption of earlier biblical scriptures (ta?rif). He demonstrates that Islamic creedal principles and skepticism regarding other sources led to the declining importance of the Bible as a source for Muslim commentators.
