ʿAddās of Nineveh and the Prophet Muḥammad: A Comparative Study of Sīra Narratives and Biblical Traditions

Abstract

This study examines the figure of ʿAddās of Nineveh, a Christian slave in Meccan society during the Prophet Muḥammad’s period. While traditional Sīra sources state that ʿAddās welcomed and recognised Muḥammad as a prophet, these accounts are embedded within sīra narrative conventions that systematically privilege figures portrayed as expressing positive attitudes toward the Prophet. As a result, they provide limited insight into his background and the motivations underlying his attitude, and they diverge in their accounts of his alleged conversion to Islam. Employing a historical-comparative methodology that combines isnād analysis with internal historical criticism, this article analyses sīra narratives alongside tafsīr literature and Christian traditions, including biblical materials. It investigates ʿAddās’s origins in Nineveh, his Christian Syriac milieu, and his subsequent enslavement in Mecca. The study argues that his familiarity with the Old and New Testaments, particularly references to God, the angel Gabriel, and the Prophet Jonah, helps explain his sympathetic response to the Prophet Muḥammad’s message. At the same time, the extant sīra sources do not offer sufficient evidence to support a definitive conclusion regarding ʿAddās’s conversion to Islam. Rather, the available evidence more securely supports interpreting ʿAddās as an early example of Christian engagement with Islam, illustrating the role of biblical knowledge in shaping perceptions of the Prophet within Meccan society.