The Prophetic Vocation in the Qur’an: Kerygmatic and Theonomic Visions of Prophetology

This dissertation examines the Qur’an’s presentation of the function and authority of prophets; that is, its construction of definitions of prophethood, which I refer to as its prophetology. The dissertation’s core thesis is that the Qur’an does not have just one vision of prophetology—rather it evinces two primary paradigms of the prophetic vocation. I refer to these as the Qur’an’s “kerygmatic” and “theonomic” paradigms of prophethood. First I situate the Qur’an’s broader presentation of prophethood within the history of prophetic activity as a whole and demonstrate its connection to developments within the context of Late Antiquity. Second I outline the contours of these two paradigms. I argue that its sequential recollection of earlier prophetic figures (what I call “messenger-reports”)—the building blocks of much of the kerygmatic paradigm—suggest a typological reading of prophets as preachers of an eschatological message, but also demonstrate a certain adaptability in its understanding of prophethood. The kerygmatic paradigm itself is also constructed through a set of recurrent motifs that limit the role of prophets to proclaiming this eschatological message. The theonomic vision, however, emphasizes the authority of a prophet over his community, delineating communal and legal norms, directing his community in armed struggles, and emphasizing the centrality of his person and status.