Muslims shave heads & refuse wine due to Judaism

We're back with our dear friend from London, England, Paul. It was he who coined the phrase 'The Jerusalem Thesis' which a number of us have been using and coming to terms with in the last few weeks. Paul's returned to expand on that thesis, this time looking at antecedents to different Islamic and Qur'anic practices and beliefs which can be found in Judaism, and more specifically, at times in Jerusalem itself. In this episode Paul looks specifically at two practices, the shaving of heads during the time of the pilgrimage (the Hajj), and the prohibition against drinking any alcohol. He begins with the reference in the Bible, Numbers 6:1-5, and verse 18, where we are introduced to the 'Nazarite Vow', a vow of dedication to God by Jewish men. The vow was only carried out by non-Levite men, and demanded that they isolate themselves, but at the beginning of that time they must first shave off their hair. While they were in isolation, they were not permitted to drink or even touch any wine or grapes. According to Numbers 6:18, upon completion of their time of isolation, they once again shaved off their hair so that they can see exactly how much hair had grown during that time, and then burned it in the offering. Samson is a good example of this Nazarite vow in the Bible. In the New Testament, in Acts 18:18 the apostle Paul shaved off his hair at Canchreae while traveling with Aquila and Priscilla. So, has Islam copied these two practices? Yes, indeed Paul says. There are two specific references to the shaving of the head, in Surah 2:196 and in Surah 48:27, both of which suggest the reasons for the shaving are similar to that which we find with the Numbers 6 Nazaritic vow. When it comes to wine, Paul says that whereas the Nazarite vow the prohibition is very clear in the Numbers account, in the Qur'anic accounts there is a sequence of increasing more prohibitive injunctions. To begin with wine is first encouraged in the Qur'an. Further on it then one finds a warning against drunkenness. Finally the Qur'an forbids it altogether, though in Surahs 55 and 56 it reappears in abundance in paradise, with rivers of it which someone could swim in! In conclusion Paul asks whether the shaving of heads and the provision of wine could have been borrowed from this Nazaritic vow of Numbers 6? Just as nothing about the Hajj fits Mecca, could also these customs also fit the Jews in Jerusalem better than what we find historically in Mecca? © Pfander Centre for Apologetics - US, 2021 (54,830) Music: 'Reaching the Sky', by Alexander Nakarada, from filmmusic-io