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 Durie (2018) notes the violence of the Qur'an shares more commonality with contemporary late antique religious (primarily Christian) violence and warfare rather than being directly biblically based.<ref>Durie, Mark. ''The Qur’an and Its Biblical Reflexes: Investigations into the Genesis of a Religion.'' Lexington Books. 2018. Pp. 229 -237.  (Kindle Edition: pp. 423-439).  6.9 Stories of Fighting Prophets</ref>
-Covering the continuity and similarities between late antique religious violence & warfare and the Qur'an (and other Islamic traditions) is too big a topic to cover here; perhaps the most in-depth academic work looking at the continuity between this and Islam is Thomas Sizgorich's ''Violence and Belief in Late Antiquity: Militant Devotion in Christianity and Islam'',<ref>Thomas Sizgorich. ''Violence and Belief in Late Antiquity: Militant Devotion in Christianity and Islam (Divinations: Rereading Late Ancient Religion).'' 2008. University of Pennsylvania Press.</ref> however Sinai (2017) notes alongside similar ideas and theology, there are some direct textual references.{{Quote|Sinai, Nicolai. Qur'an: A Historical-Critical Introduction (The New Edinburgh Islamic Surveys) (pp. 301-302). Edinburgh University Press. Kindle Edition.|That the Qur’anic community’s access to Biblical notions of militancy was mediated by late antique Christian discourse is indicated by an intriguing intertextual overlap. According to Q 3: 169–170, those who have been ‘killed in the path of God’ are not dead but ‘alive with their Lord’, rather than having to spend the remaining time until the Resurrection in a state of slumber (similarly Q 2: 154).<sup>39</sup><b> Tor Andrae has pointed out that the phrase ‘alive with their Lord’ (ayāun inda rabbihim) corresponds exactly to the Syriac phrase h. ayyē lwāth alāhā, which a sixth-century Syriac Christian writer (Mar Ishay) applies to the martyrs.</b><sup>40</sup> Furthermore, Mar Ishay contrasts the true fate of the martyrs with unfounded prior opinion: ‘they are believed to be already dead’.<sup>41</sup> The same contrast is found in the two Qur’anic passages just cited.<sup>42</sup> It could be objected that the parallel demonstrates merely that the Qur’an is familiar with the widespread Christian idea that martyrs are granted prompt access to paradise but that this does not establish a Christian precedent for the Qur’anic application of this idea specifically to those who actively enact – rather than just suffer – violence. However, as Sizgorich reminds us, a Christian martyr was by no means seen merely as a passive victim of persecution but rather as someone who actively ‘defeats the power of the Roman state’.<sup>43</sup>}}{{Quote|{{Quran|3|169}}|And never think of those who have been killed in the cause of Allah as dead. Rather, they are alive with their Lord, receiving provision}}{{Quote|{{Quran|2|154}}|Do not say that those who are killed in the way of God, are dead, for indeed they are alive, even though you are not aware.}}See also {{Quran|2|154}}.
+Covering the continuity and similarities between late antique religious violence & warfare and the Qur'an (and other Islamic traditions) is too big a topic to cover here; perhaps the most in-depth academic work looking at the continuity between this and Islam is Thomas Sizgorich's ''Violence and Belief in Late Antiquity: Militant Devotion in Christianity and Islam'',<ref>Thomas Sizgorich. ''Violence and Belief in Late Antiquity: Militant Devotion in Christianity and Islam (Divinations: Rereading Late Ancient Religion).'' 2008. University of Pennsylvania Press.</ref> however Sinai (2017) notes alongside similar ideas and theology, there are some direct textual references.{{Quote|Sinai, Nicolai. Qur'an: A Historical-Critical Introduction (The New Edinburgh Islamic Surveys) (pp. 301-302). Edinburgh University Press. Kindle Edition.|That the Qur’anic community’s access to Biblical notions of militancy was mediated by late antique Christian discourse is indicated by an intriguing intertextual overlap. According to Q 3: 169–170, those who have been ‘killed in the path of God’ are not dead but ‘alive with their Lord’, rather than having to spend the remaining time until the Resurrection in a state of slumber (similarly Q 2: 154).<sup>39</sup><b> Tor Andrae has pointed out that the phrase ‘alive with their Lord’ (ayāun inda rabbihim) corresponds exactly to the Syriac phrase h. ayyē lwāth alāhā, which a sixth-century Syriac Christian writer (Mar Ishay) applies to the martyrs.</b><sup>40</sup> Furthermore, Mar Ishay contrasts the true fate of the martyrs with unfounded prior opinion: ‘they are believed to be already dead’.<sup>41</sup> The same contrast is found in the two Qur’anic passages just cited.<sup>42</sup> It could be objected that the parallel demonstrates merely that the Qur’an is familiar with the widespread Christian idea that martyrs are granted prompt access to paradise but that this does not establish a Christian precedent for the Qur’anic application of this idea specifically to those who actively enact – rather than just suffer – violence. However, as Sizgorich reminds us, a Christian martyr was by no means seen merely as a passive victim of persecution but rather as someone who actively ‘defeats the power of the Roman state’.<sup>43</sup>}}{{Quote|{{Quran|3|169}}|And never think of those who have been killed in the cause of Allah as dead. Rather, they are alive with their Lord, receiving provision}}{{Quote|{{Quran|2|154}}|Do not say that those who are killed in the way of God, are dead, for indeed they are alive, even though you are not aware.}}Sinai (2017) similarly notes strong ideological parallels a 6th century hagiographical text (the Panegyric on Macarius, Bishop of Tkow by Pseudo-Dioscorus of Alexandria) of a 5th-century martyr, Egyptian Bishop Macarius of Tkow who was martyred for opposing the council of Chalcedon. Citing Michael Gaddis's summary of the document, ‘He was both willing to die for his faith, and willing to kill for it.’ he notes the same idea in {{Quran|9|111}} … they fight in the way of Allah, kill, and are killed.. <ref>Ibid. (Kindle Edition. pp. 299).</ref>  As well as citing English historian of the Byzantine Empire James Howard-Johnston "''..James Howard-Johnston draws attention to a passage in the Chronicle of Theophanes Confessor (d. 818), which reports that at about the same time when the Qur’an promised those ‘killed in the path of God’ immediate entry to paradise, the Byzantine emperor Heraclius similarly announced that those fighting the Sasanians would be recompensed with eternal life. In Heraclius’s address as reported by Theophanes Confessor, we find some of the same general ingredients that are noticeable in Qur’anic calls to militancy…''"<ref>Ibid. (Kindle Edition. pp. 301).</ref> He notes these similarities are likely caused by being on the fringes of the Roman empire.<ref>Ibid. (Kindle Edition. pp. 301).</ref>
-Sinai (2017) similarly notes strong ideological parallels a 6th century hagiographical text (the Panegyric on Macarius, Bishop of Tkow by Pseudo-Dioscorus of Alexandria) of a 5th-century martyr, Egyptian Bishop Macarius of Tkow who was martyred for opposing the council of Chalcedon. Citing Michael Gaddis's summary of the document, ‘He was both willing to die for his faith, and willing to kill for it.’ he notes the same idea in {{Quran|9|111}} … they fight in the way of Allah, kill, and are killed.. <ref>Ibid. (Kindle Edition. pp. 299).</ref>  As well as citing English historian of the Byzantine Empire James Howard-Johnston "''..James Howard-Johnston draws attention to a passage in the Chronicle of Theophanes Confessor (d. 818), which reports that at about the same time when the Qur’an promised those ‘killed in the path of God’ immediate entry to paradise, the Byzantine emperor Heraclius similarly announced that those fighting the Sasanians would be recompensed with eternal life. In Heraclius’s address as reported by Theophanes Confessor, we find some of the same general ingredients that are noticeable in Qur’anic calls to militancy…''"<ref>Ibid. (Kindle Edition. pp. 301).</ref> He notes these similarities are likely caused by being on the fringes of the Roman empire.<ref>Ibid. (Kindle Edition. pp. 301).</ref>
 Neuwirth (2024) also notes the influence of Christian martyrdom stories on the sudden conversion and prayers/asking for forgiveness to God of Pharaoh's magician's, who are originally opponents of Moses until he shows them proof of his prophecy via a miracle in the face of a sudden and violent death as threatened by the arrogant ruler (e.g. in {{Quran-range|26|50|51}} and {{Quran-range|20|71|73}}).<ref>Neuwirth, Angelika. ''The Qur'an: Text and Commentary, Volume 2.1: Early Middle Meccan Suras: The New Elect (p. 204).'' Yale University Press. Kindle Edition.</ref> Both Jewish and Christian traditions present individual “anti-Moses” sorcerers named Jannes and Jambres, who continue to appear in later interpretations; citing Nora Schmid, she notes that, although there is no explicit textual reference and the magicians are typically depicted in a negative light, they came to be associated with penance and martyrdom in Christian tradition - in the Qurʾan, this idea is developed further: the forgiveness that Jannes and Jambres either did not receive or only partially received in earlier sources is ultimately granted.<ref>Ibid. pp. 251-252</ref>{{Quote|Neuwirth, Angelika. The Qur'an: Text and Commentary, Volume 2.1: Early Middle Meccan Suras: The New Elect (p. 204). Yale University Press. Kindle Edition.|V. 72–73 qālū lan nuʾthiraka ʿalā mā jāʾanā mina l-bayyināti wa-lladhī faṭaranā fa-qḍi mā anta qāḍin innamā taqḍī hādhihi l-ḥayāta l-dunyā / innā āmannā birabbinā li-yaghfira lanā khaṭāyānā wa-mā akrahtanā ʿalayhi mina l-siḥri wallāhu khayrun wa-abqā] Conversion scene as later in Q 26:50–51. The sorcerers renounce their allegiance to Pharaoh on the basis of the obvious evidence (bayyināt) and give preference to the Creator God, they submit to their worldly fate and hope for the forgiveness of their sins and what they have been forced to do by the ruler—they are a role model for the community, which is also subject to pressure from outside. The request for forgiveness of sins before a violent death is a topos of Christian martyr stories. The entire scene, leaving the context of ‘ancient’ Egypt, reflects the notion of Christian martyrdom stories. Khaṭāyā (singular khaṭīʾa) also lets a Syriac terminus technicus ring through, but the word can be derived from the Arabic root KhṬʿ (“to miss a goal”) (see FVQ, 123ff.). The idea of the forgiveness of sins is prominent in the Christian liturgy—not only through the Lord’s Prayer. In addition to khaṭīʾa, there is the genuine Arabic dhanb, dhunūb.}}
+=== Martyrs sidestep judgement day ===
+The barzakh as the usual place after death
+{{Quote|Reynolds, Gabriel Said. Allah: God in the Qur'an (pp. 71-72). Yale University Press. Kindle Edition.|In other words (and unlike Christian thinking), according to the Qur’an the reward or punishment of humans does not take place immediately upon death. At death, the soul falls into a sort of sleep. The period between the death of humans and their resurrection from the dead—a period known as barzakh in Islamic tradition—is merely a time of waiting for the Day of Judgment.5 This does not mean, however, that nothing will happen to the dead during this time. In fact, certain Islamic traditions relate that a “torture of the grave” will take place during barzakh. According to these traditions two angels known as Munkir and Nakir (not found in the Qur’an) will impose punishments upon sinners in their tombs. Some accounts relate that these angels will ask certain questions of the dead about the Islamic faith, and for each wrong answer the angels will strike them with a hammer. Another tradition relates that while bodies lie in the tomb, souls will be taken away and dwell mysteriously all together under the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem—in a spot known as the “Well of Souls.” One legend reports that if you descend into the chamber below the rock in the dome and put your ear to the rock wall, you will hear the dead speaking. What the Qur’an itself teaches is that on the Day of Judgment the soul will be awoken, the body will be raised, and the two will be united. At this, the individual, regaining consciousness, will feel as though only a moment has passed. Thus, if most Christians believe in something that might be called “immediate retribution” (that souls will be sent to heaven or hell after an individual judgment after death), most Muslims believe that a “delayed retribution” will take place only after the collective resurrection of the dead on the Day of Judgment.}}
 ==Parallels in the hadith==
 The [https://www.reddit.com/r/AcademicQuran/ /r/AcademicQuran] SubReddit are also compiling a list of Talmudic Parallels with the hadith listed here ''[https://www.reddit.com/r/AcademicQuran/wiki/talmudparallels/ talmudparallels],'' and also linked Levi Jacober's 1935, Ph.D. dissertation ''<nowiki/>'[https://www.academia.edu/78766406/The_traditions_of_al_Bukh%C4%81r%C4%AB_and_their_aggadic_parallels The traditions of al-Bukhārī and their aggadic parallels]''', which collects the numerous traditions of al-Bukhari which bear a striking similarity to the aggadic (non-legalistic exegesis which appears in the classical rabbinic literature of Judaism) traditions to be found chiefly in the Talmud and the Midrashim for those interested in this topic further.