Wisdom and the Decalogue (Q 17:22–39)

Abstract Chapter 6 examines the passage Q 17:22–39 (Sūrat al-Isrāʾ). This is evidently a qur’anic reformulation of the Decalogue, which is then referred to as ḥikmah. The chapter looks separately at both the Jewish and Christian discourses around the Decalogue. In Christian discourse, pre-existing Jewish discourses around the connection between the Decalogue and wisdom can be seen evolving into an equation of the Decalogue with natural law, with echoes of the wisdom tradition remaining. Multiple connections can be observed between the Qur’an’s conceptualization of the Decalogue and its Christian antecedents, strongly suggesting that when the Qur’an then refers to its Decalogue as ḥikmah, it is alluding to the wisdom/natural law nexus in Christian discourse. As for the Jewish tradition, the chapter explores the links between the Decalogue and Jewish mysticism (merkabah), which also finds echoes in Q 17.