The description of the Prophet in earlier scriptures

Sha'rawi holds that the People of the Book knew the Prophet's description and time from their scriptures, and that their rejection was not from ignorance but from self-interest and fear for their leadership ^{1 3}. He holds that part of the Torah was distorted, and that the verses about the Prophet were distorted in particular ⁴. See al-A'raf 157 and distortion of scripture.

He notes that the rabbis used to invoke the coming prophet against the people of Medina and said they would believe in him, and when he came from outside their people they rejected him ^{1 2}. He holds that the rejection came from fear of losing economic and political leadership ⁶.

He distinguishes Quraysh, who had no link with earlier scriptures, from the People of the Book, who knew the message was true, so the latter should have been the first to believe, not the first to disbelieve ³.

He relates that Abdullah ibn Salam said he knew the Prophet as he knows his own son ³. He relates a wordplay in a word God asked the Children of Israel to say, which he says they changed; the explanation here is his telling ⁵.

This is Sha'rawi's reading, including his account of distortion. No study of the transmission of the Torah or the Gospel texts and no accounts from the People of the Book's own traditions are set out here. The wordplay he reports has not been checked.