Biblical figures in the Koran

As we know, the Koran contains numerous passages in which figures from the Old and New Testaments are mentioned. These are not merely allusions, as the Koranic text contains so many, but stories - usually brief - in which this material is employed in support of Muḥammad's preaching. Most of them feature characters with stereotyped traits, characters who are evoked several times, in different suras and therefore at different times in the Muḥammadian apostolate. The repetition of their appearance in the Quran, particularly in long, medium or brief passages of the Meccan suras, but also in allusive passages, was intended to produce an effect on the audience of the revelations. The binary opposition (good versus evil, belief versus disbelief, submission to God or rebellion against Him, etc.) with which he was confronted placed him in a situation where he had to make an ethical or theological decision about his own position.