A CLEARLY PREDOMINANT CURRENT in both Qur'anic discourse and ∼adzth literature is one that demeans bedouins, who are referred to as a ‘riib. Concerning other people and races, Lewis has already noted that while the Qur'an reveals a clear “consciousness of difference,” on the other hand it actually “expresses no racial or colour prejudice.”This supports the earlier view of Goldziher that Surat Āl ‘Imrān (3), v. 110, “refers to the religious community, not the Arab nation.“ Together with this, Goldziher and a few later scholars have noted the existence of another current in Qur'anic exegesis that presents the terms shu'ūb (peoples) and qabii'il (tribes) in Surat al-l:lujurāt (49), v. 13, as referring to non-Arabs ( mawālī, ‘ajam) and Arabs, respectively, with the overall meaning of the verse taken as a basis for the promotion of universal equality among all Muslims. The material on these points, as well as other related ones, is important and merits further examination.

Several Qur'ānic verses mention the a ‘rāb in contexts of blasphemy, hypocrisy, unbelief, unwillingness to fight for the cause of Islam, and the tendency to convert or submit to that religion only under duress rather than out of true devotion to it. In fact, only one verse, Sūrat al-Tawba (9), v. 99, goes so far as to concede the possibility that a nomad can be a sincere believer: “And some of the bedouins believe in God and the Last Day.“.

However, there is a clear early tendency in Qur'ānic exegesis to interpret the relevant verses as slandering or praising particular tribes and individuals: i.e. the view is adopted that the verses do not apply to bedouins as a whole, though at the same time, the names of the intended tribes and/ or individuals are by no means agreed upon. From ‘Abd al-Razzāq (d. 211/826) we learn of an isolated attempt, in the form of a tradition by QaUida (d. 117- 18/735- 36), to assert ex-plicitly that Sūrat al-l:lujurāt ( 49), v. 14, did not refer to all a ‘rāb, but only to certain groups (ṭawā ‘if) of them .8 And both Ṭabar! (d. 310/922) and Tabarsl (d. 548/1153) take the trouble to explain the differences between ‘arabī (as a sedentary Arab) and a ‘rābī (as a bedouin) in the context of their commentaries on Sūrat al-Tawba (9) , vv. 97- 99.