Mohammads was published from Berlin between 1861 - 1865. Both the scholars dealt rather extensively with the Qur’ân, its composition, style and history and the nature of Qur’ânic wahy, attempting mainly to substantiate the theory of the Prophet’s supposed authorship of the Qur’ân and his borrowings from Judaism and Christianity.

It was also about this time that another scholar who became more famous in the field of Qur’ânic studies was emerging on the scene. He was Theodore N?ldeke (1836 - 1931) of Germany. In 1856 he obtained the degree of Ph.D. by writing a thesis in Latin on "the History of the Qur’ân". In 1858 the Paris Academy announced a prize for the best research monograph on the same subject. Among others, A. Sprenger, T. N?ldeke and A. Amari (of Italy) participated in the competition and the three jointly received the award, its value being doubled for dividing it among them. Most of what Sprenger wrote on the subject was incorporated in his Das Leben etc. N?ldeke translated and enlarged his Latin essay into German and published it in 1860 under title Geschichte des Qorans. (1) Amari’s essay was translated into French under title Memoire sur la Chronologie du Coran (Chronological Arrangement of the Qur’ân).

Of all these works, N?ldeke’s Geschichte etc. proved to be the most successful in influencing subsequent orientalist studies on the subject. In fact, it may be said that all the orientalist works that subsequently appeared on the Qur’ân till the middle of the twentieth century were in some form or other elaborations and extensions of N?ldeke’s ideas and assumptions. It is therefore worthwhile to indicate here briefly his main lines of approach. (2)

Taking his cue from the basic facts of the gradual revelation of the Qur’ânic, the composition of the sûrahs by a combination of the passages