WI: Jewish Muhammad

I mean, even an TTL half sibling of Muhammad born to a Qaynuqa woman could end up quite similar to our Prophet Muhammad. What defined Muhammad more than his parents was his lack of parents, since he got orphaned at a young age when his mom dies. He never even met his father, as Abdullah ibn Abu Talib died returning from a caravan trip as his pregnant wife Amina gave birth to Muhammad in Makkah. It's a fool's game to try analyze long-dead people psychologically, but you could make the case that the deaths of his parents and subsequent death of the grandfather who cared for him deeply impacted Muhammad - maybe being the reason why Islam became so concerned with the plight of the poor, slaves, orphans, women and other social outcasts.


In any case, if you want a softer POD, you could have Khadija's cousin Waraqa ibn Nawfal be Jewish instead of Christian like OTL. When Muhammad runs home after the terrifying experience of receiving the first revelation at the cave of Hira, his wife Khadija consoles him and asks for her cousin to hear his story because she thought it sounded like the scripture stuff he was always going on about. In the traditional accounts, Waraqa is the one who tells Muhammad that the multi-winged massive alien being of light he saw in the cave was the Archangel Gabriel and that God had given him revelation. A Jewish Waraqa might instead tell him that he's meant to redeem Judaism, not preach a new faith.

That could be pretty interesting, though I am wondering what direction Muhammad might try and take with that Judaism. Maybe he will try and reform it with the Rabbis or something
 
I just wondered how this would go with Ethiopia granted its signifance to the Jewish background and such. You think Muhammad would be interested in it?
 
Honestly I don't see this Jewish Arab expansion being as successful as Islam. Islam was as successful, because local Christians in Levant and North Africa wasn't entire hostile to Muslims replacing Constantinoble. But Christians was far more antagonistic toward Jews, and they would have supported continued rule from Constantinoble over a jewish takeover.
 
If Muhammad had converted, he'd have probably been absorbed into Mizrahi Judaism. (Which is fairly distinct from both Ashkenazi and Sephardi Judaism.)

If he's raised as Jewish, I and Joshua think you might just see a Jewish Arabian Peninsula, the conquest of Jerusalem from the Christians/Romans, and the rebuilding of the Temple. But nothing like the OTL Islamic conquests, we will say that is unlikely.

Judaism and Zoroastrianism might do pretty well together, though the Jewish-Christian relationship would be fascinating to see.
 
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about the successor of !Muhammad, why not his son or daughter? ok, about daughter they will be sidelined by their husband which is also his companion. so, the surviving Ibrahim?
 
I wonder if a Jewish Muhammed, and his successors, would incorporate as many Arabiantribal customs in to the religion as they did. Examples being the veil and more for women. There would be no ban on alcohol, though of course there would be the kosher food rules rather than halal.
 
I wonder if a Jewish Muhammed, and his successors, would incorporate as many Arabiantribal customs in to the religion as they did. Examples being the veil and more for women. There would be no ban on alcohol, though of course there would be the kosher food rules rather than halal.

Good question, but remember that the Jewish tribes of the Hijaz were incredibly Arabized, with Arab cultural practices being deeply ingrained in the Jews of Khaybar and Madinah. For example, I can't think of another place in the world around this time besides the Hijaz where Jewish people were regularly intermarrying with pagans (which is how OTL Muhammad ended up with Jewish ancestry.) The Jews of Yemen were a more distinct group from the surrounding Arabs, perhaps a holdover from the times when they controlled their own kingdom there in the form of Himyar, but the Jews of the Hijaz are quite hard to distinguish from Arabs in many ways.

I would think that Arab culture still shapes alt-Arabian Judaism in this TL.
 
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