"Another theme that runs throughout many of the surahs of the Quran

is sacred history and narratives that pertain to prophets of old and their peoples. This sacred history confines itself almost completely to the Abrahamic tradition and the Israelite prophets, although some Arab prophets not found in the Bible are also mentioned. The import of this sacred history is meant, however, to be universal, since the Islamic revelation is addressed to all of humanity rather than to a particular people, as is the case with Judaism. For Muslims, the sacred history narrated in the Quran was revealed by God to the Prophet; it is not simply a compilation of reports heard from Jewish or Christian sources. There is in fact a subtle difference between Biblical and Quranic accounts of sacred history. While the Biblical accounts have a more historical nature, Quranic sacred history is more ahistorical and is revealed primarily to teach ethical and spiritual lessons. Quranic sacred history is seen more as events within the human soul rather than as just historical events in the world. All human beings possess within their being, for example, the qualities of Moses and those of Pharaoh, the beauty of Joseph and the conniving of his brothers; the sacred history is a means of teaching Muslims about their own souls as well as about good and evil and the ultimate triumph of good over evil, if one takes recourse in God, seeks His Help, and has confidence in Him throughout the trials of life, as did prophets of old.

--from the "General Introduction" to The Study Quran: A New Translation and Commentary, Seyyed Hossein Nasr editor-in-chief; Caner K. Dagli, Maria Massi Dakake, Joseph E. B. Lumbard, general editors; Mohammed Rustom, assistant editor. (New York, NY: HarperOne, An Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, [2015]), xxvii.