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Does The Qur'an Mentioning Stories Found In Previous

Writings Threaten Its Credibility? 

By

 

Bassam Zawadi

 

Christians love to keep pointing out that stories found in Islamic sources could actually also be

found in earlier sources (see here) and by Allah's grace there have also been uslims refuting

these claims (see here)!

 

I think what these Christians fail to reali"e is that Islam does teach that it has come to confirm

the truth of the previous scriptures! Indeed# some true stories could have found their way into the

Bible or other apocryphal books! $here is nothing unbelievable or astonishing about that!

$ake for e%ample the argument regarding $homas's Infancy &ospel and how it also contains the

story of esus in the cradle similar to the one found in the ur'an (urah *+,-./01)! Christians

ob2ect to this story because it is not found in the Bible!

 

In response to this we reply back by saying 3lack of evidence does not necessarily imply

evidence of absence3! $he author of ohn's &ospel makes it clear that esus did many things

(possibly miracles as well) which weren't recorded (ohn -*,-4)# therefore there is a good reason

for us to believe that this miracle of esus was also not recorded!

I agree with ohn's logic5 however I don't hold his &ospel to be authoritative!

It is very reasonable to believe that this story of esus did not find its way into the &ospels!

omeone might argue back that the &ospels teach that esus' ministry began later in life while

the ur'an seems to indicate that it happened shortly after he was born!

 

6ell first of all# this begs the 7uestion that whatever the &ospels have said is true!

 

econdly# it would be possible to harmoni"e between the two if it is necessary! 8erhaps# esus did

this initially as a baby in order to vindicate his mother from the false accusations levelled againsther and show that his birth was indeed a miracle from &od (if you can believe that a baby can

speak then why not believe in a virgin birth9) and then later on in the future esus began

 preaching full time and this is what the &ospel authors spoke about!

 

Also# the author of the article states,

 

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 Muhammad was about 40 years old when he received his first revelation and it took

about 23 years until it was complete. But here, as a newborn, Jesus supposedly already

declares !"e has given me the Book...! #hat is past tense. $hen do you think that Jesus

received his book% "as he received the Book while in the womb, before he was even

born%

Imam urtubi cites several opinions of the meaning of esus' statement and the strongest one is

that esus was intending to say that &od has decreed that the Book (&ospel) will be revealed to

him! o it is in the past tense in the verse since it is referring to the act of decreeing!

 

imilar figure of speech is found in urah *:.,*# where &od says that ;e has given (in the past

tense) the 8rophet (peace be upon him) a river in heaven! <bviously# once the verse was revealed

to the 8rophet (peace be upon him) he was still on planet earth and didn't have the river in his

 possession! ;owever# the verse is trying to signify the reality of Allah's promise and decree!

 

$hus# logically speaking there is no reason why we should believe that these arguments are

threatening to the ur'an's credibility!

 

I would like to advance three more arguments,/

 

1) Stating inor!ation that already e"ists does not i!#ly

#lagiaris! 

ust because the ur'an mentions stories about 8rophet oses (peace be upon him) or =avid

(peace be upon him)# which are also found in the Bible does not necessarily imply that it was

copied from the Bible! It is very possible that those true stories were maintained in the Bible and

the ur'an simply came to confirm their authenticity# especially when we take into consideration

that this is one of the functions of the ur'an! (urah 4,1.)

 

$) %o& did Pro#het Muha!!ad #ea(e be u#on hi!) void

*rrors i %e Were Plagiari+ing? 

If the 8rophet (peace be upon him) were copying from the Bible blindly then we would e%pect tosee that he would have also copied some of the errors in the Bible!

 

$he Bible mistakenly calls the king that lived during the time of oseph '8haraoh' e,g, see the

boo- o .enesis/ Cha#ter 01/ erses 10/ $2 3 04) while he really shouldn't be called

8haraoh! $his is because the >gyptians did not call their ruler 38haraoh3 until the *.th =ynasty

(c! *44- / *-+4 BC) in the ?ew @ingdom 8eriod!

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But the ur'an correctly labels him only as 'king' The %oly Qur'an/ Cha#ter 1$/ erses 05/ 26/

20/ 7$ 3 74) $he Bible's use of the term '8haraoh' is an anachronism# while the ur'an's usage of 

the term 'king' isn't!

 

or an e%cellent online article to read on the issue please refer to the article 3ur'anic Accuracys! Biblical >rror, $he @ings 8haraohs <f >gypt3# available here!

 

$he 8salmist says that nothing can escape the sun's heat (read this)# mistakenly showing that he

didn't understand the vastness of the universe and how things in the universe are not affected at

all by the un's heat! $he ur'an says no such thing! As a matter of fact# the ur'an indirectly

goes against this by speaking about the darkness found in the depth of the seas in Chapter -1#

erse 1:! $hus# the ur'an speaks about some places in which there is no light!

 

$he Bible contains genealogies scattered throughout the <ld $estament# (especially in books

such as - Chronicles)which imply that the first human being was created sometime betweenD#-:: and E#0:: years agoDr, Walt 8ro&n,/ In the Beginning: Compelling Evidence for

Creation and the Flood, 7th *dition)/ Sour(e),

 

;owever# this is an archaeological error since there are human fossils that predate this early date,

 

$he fossili"ed skulls of two adults and one child discovered in the Afar region of 

eastern >thiopiahave been dated at 146/666 years/ !a-ing the! the oldest

-no&n ossils o !odern hu!ans/ or  "omo sapiens! 9obert Sanders/

:146/666;year;old ossili+ed s-ulls un(overed in *thio#ia are oldest

anato!i(ally !odern hu!ans:/ UC Berkley News, 11 <une/ $665 , Sour(e)

S(ientists have unearthed three 146/666;year;old hu!an s-ulls in *thio#ia that are

the oldest known and best/preserved fossils of modern humans' immediate

 predecessors! 9i(- Callahan!/ :146/666;=ear;>ld S-ulls Found:/ CBS News/ <une

11 $665/ Sour(e)

;uman fossils found 0. years ago in Africa are D4#::: years older than previously

thought# a new study says '#ushing the da&n o :!odern: hu!ans ba(- 

52/666 years! %illary Mayell/ :>ldest %u!an Fossils Identiied:/ National 

eographic News/ February 14/ $662/ Sour(e) 

;owever# the ur'an and authentic hadith are silent on this issue! urely# we would e%pect to

have seen the 8rophet (peace be upon him) copying from these genealogies since they are so

scattered across the Bible!

 

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$hus# when we investigate the claim of whether the 8rophet (peace be upon him) plagiari"ed

from the Bible or not we can see that the evidence further supports his 8rophethood and does not

discredit it!

 

urthermore# the assertion of udeo/Christian borrowing raises a number of 7uestions! amal

Badawi puts forward the following si% 7uestions,*! 6hy is it in spite of the abundance of historical material on uhammad's (peace be upon

him) life# and in spite of the e%tensive research on his life for centuries by his severe

critics# that it was not possible to discover the mysterious teacher(s) through whom

uhammad (peace be upon him) might have learned all that9

-! It is known that uhammad (peace be upon him) was opposed# ridiculed and persecuted

for nearly *0 years by his own contemporaries! 6ith this magnitude of severe enemies#

was it not possible for them to prove to the masses that uhammad's (peace be upon

him) claim of revelation was sheer fabrication9 6as it not possible for them to reveal and

name the person whom they alleged to be the human source or sources of his teachings9

>ven some of his adversaries who had made this assertion# changed their minds later onand accused him# instead# of magic or being possessed by evil!!! etc!

0! uhammad's (peace be upon him) was raised among his people and every aspect of his

life was e%posed to them# especially by the openness that characterises tribal life in the

desert! ;ow could the multitudes of his contemporaries# including many of his close

relatives who knew him so well# how could they believe in his truthfulness if they had

any doubt that he was claiming credit for ideas taught to him by some other teachers

without bothering to give them credit9

1! 6hat kind of teacher might have taught uhammad (peace be upon him)  a coherent and

complete religion that changed the face of history9 6hy didn't he or they (if any) speak 

against the alleged student who continued learning from them# while ignoring them andclaiming some other divine source for his teachings9

4! ;ow could many ews and Christians amongst his contemporaries become uslims and

 believe in his truthfulness if they knew he was copying from their scriptures or learning

from their priests or rabbis9

D! It is known that some of the ur'Fnic revelations to uhammad (peace be upon him)  in

the presence of people! $he ur'Fn was revealed over the span of -0 years# where then

that was mysterious# perhaps invisible teacher of uhammad (peace be upon him)9 ;ow

could he have hidden himself for so long9 <r how could uhammad (peace be upon

him) who was constantly surrounded by companions# how was he able to make fre7uent

secret visits to that mysterious teacher or teachers for -0 years without even being caughtonce9

 

5) I It Is .ood *nough To 9eute The Qur'an Then It Is

lso .ood *nough To 9eute The 8ible 

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Christians who put forth these arguments don't reali"e how self referentially incoherent their 

argument actually is!

$he assertion that allegedly 3numerous3 stories in the uran are 3borrowed3 from ewish

$almudic sources and Christian apocryphal writings appears to be based on the dubious

underlying presumption that similarity implies 3borrowing!3 or e%ample# consider thesimilaritiesGparallels between certain Biblical stories and those found in the ?ear >astern

literature!

ome notable e%amples,

/  &enesis creation story and &numa &lish5 (ee here and here)

/  $he flood story (&enesis D/.) and 'trahasis and (il)amesh * ee here and here)

/  Israel's ancestors and the +ui te%ts (ee here)

/  Biblical laws (>%odus -*/-0) and the Code of "ammurabi (laws *+4/-*1)

/  Biblical te%ts (the $en Commandments and the structure of =euteronomy) and

the "ittite -uerainty treaties and assal $reaty of >sarhaddon (ee here and here)

/  Book of 8roverbs (--,*E/-1,--) and the nstruction of 'menemope (ee here and here)

$he latter are undoubtedly far earlier than the Biblical accounts and both direct and indirect

connections have been posited between the two! $he parallels in the last e%ample are particularly

striking# with most scholars agreeing that 8roverbs --,*E/-1,-- and 'menemope are clearlyconnected in some way (reminder, 'menemope is older than 8roverbs)!

6e can# however# be reasonably certain that Christian apologists will not conclude based on the /

at times striking / similarities that the Biblical authors 3borrowed3 their stories from their much

older ?ear >astern counterparts! ;owever# in the case of the uran not even a slight

consideration and reasonableness is granted! Indeed# how much clearer can their hypocrisy and

double standards be9

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Did The Quran Plagiari+e Fro! The Inan(y .os#el o Tho!as?

 

By

 

Bassam Zawadi

 

everal Christian polemicists keep putting forth this argument (H#H#H#H)!

 

et the problem that many of these Christians don't reali"e is that they are employing double

standards! Christian apologists are continuously answering critics who claim that Christianity

was influenced by paganism and several of its myths! ;owever# Christian apologists are either 

replying back saying,

 

/  This is an a(t o Satan's de(e#tion any of the early church writers such as Irenaeus#

ustin artyr and $ertullian claimed that the similarities between Christianity and

 paganism were a atanic attempt at 3diabolical mimicry3# which means that atan

 purposely ensured that stories similar to what would be included into the future &ospels

would be pre/recorded in pagan sources so that it appears that Christians copied from the

earlier pagan sources! $hey view this as some kind of pre/emptive strike from atan

against Christianity! It's also possible that atan's deception could be that he is whispering

into the ears of skeptics and tempting them to opt for the belief that Christianity was

influenced by pagan myths!

 

/  Si!ilarity does not e@ual sa!eness Christian apologists would claim that 2ust because

there are similar features between one story and another that doesn't necessarily imply

that they are the same story# since it's very likely that a story told could be similar to

another story in certain aspects# yet not totally the same!

 

; There is no eviden(e that #ious Christians &ould have (o#ied o #agan

sour(es Christian apologist am hamoun said (bold emphasis mine),

 

If mith wants to prove that Christianity borrowed from these pagan religions# not

the other way# then he must establish the following,

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•  ;e must provide some pre/Christian evidence# whether archaeological

inscriptions# artifacts etc!# showing that these pagan stories e%isted before the time

of esus!

•  ;e must also show that such stories were not 2ust in circulation# but that they

were circulating in first century 8alestine!

•  %e !ust then de!onstrate that .od;earing/ !onotheisti( <e&s su(h asChrist's ollo&ers &ould be interested in #lagiari+ing su(h !yths in the irst

#la(e, Sa! Sha!oun/ !he "lleged #agan $rigins of Christianity:  E%amining 

 &ore of "'d(llah Smith)s Contin(ing Intellect(al S(icide &ission/ Sour(e)

 

$hey also have other responses such as appealing to chronology and trying to illustrate that it is

Christianity that influenced many of these pagan beliefs and not the other way around!

o Christian polemicists putting forth the claim that the ur'an plagiari"ed from the Infancy

&ospel need to be consistent and,

/  8rove that this is not merely a atanic attempt where atan tried to ensure that the story

of esus eating in the cradle didn't find its way into any first century sources because he

knew that many historians in the future would adopt a historical method that would drive

them to say that this story is a forgery! <r that atan is currently the one responsible

whispering into the ears of skeptics that the obvious conclusion to derive from a story

 being found in both the ur'an and Infancy &ospel is that the ur'an plagiari"ed the

story!

/  8rove that the story found in the ur'an and Infancy &ospel are the same and not merely

similar!

/  Jsing am hamoun's similar words, 3=emonstrate that a &od/fearing# monotheistic

 believer such as uhammad (peace be upon him) would be interested in plagiari"ing

such myths in the first place!3

It appears that Christians have no way of performing all the above three tasks# hence why do they

apply double standards9

or instance# let's look at the third point mentioned above regarding hamoun's comment!

6e know that the 8rophet (peace be upon him) was a sincere person! Almost everyone who has

studied the life of the 8rophet uhammad (peace be upon him) would non/hesitantly admit that

the 8rophet (peace be upon him) was sincere! Kegardless of whether he was sincerely right or 

wrong or whether any another aspects of his character could be critici"ed# they would admit that

he was at least sub2ectively sincere and believed that he was receiving revelations from &od!

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6! ontgomery 6att states,

 

;is readiness to undergo persecutions for his beliefs# the high moral character of the men

who believed in him and looked up to him as leader# and the greatness of his ultimate

achievement / all argue his fundamental integrity! To su##ose Muha!!ad an i!#ostor

raises !ore #roble!s than it solves,  oreover# none of the great figures of history isso poorly appreciated in the 6est as uhammad! W, Montgo!ery Watt/ &ohammad at 

 &ecca/ >"ord 1A25/ #, 2$)

 

ir 6illiam uir said,

 

It is strongly corroborative of Maho!et's sin(erity that the earliest converts to Islam

were not only of upright character# but his own bosom friends and people of his

household5 who# intimately ac7uainted with his private life# could not fail otherwise to

have detected those discrepancies which ever more or less e%ist between the professions

of the hypocritical deceiver abroad and his actions at home!  Sir Willia! Muir/ !he *ife

of &ahomet / #age 20)

 

And,

I agree with prenger in considering 'the faith of Abu Bakr the greatest guarantee o the

sin(erity o Moha!!ed in the beginning of his career' / and# indeed# in a modified

sense# throughout his lie, Ibid,/ #age 24)

!6!;! tobart said,

Abu Bakr was a man of the purest character! ;is friendship for ahomet# and

unwavering belief in his mission# are a strong testimony to the sin(erity o the

#ro#het, <,W,%, Stobart/ Islam and its Fo(nder / #age $6A)

$or Andrae said,

 

The genuineness and sin(erity o Moha!!ed's #iety/ and the honesty o his belie in

his religious (all/ are indis#utable, Tor ndrae/ &ohammed: !he &an and his Faith/

#age 1B2) 

ohn &ilchrist said,

 

We (an saely ree(t the vie& that Muha!!ad &as a deliberate

i!#ostor, $hroughout the twenty/three year period of his assumed ministry# he held to

the unflinching conviction that he was called to be a prophet and that the revelations he

&as re(eiving &ere (o!ing to hi! ro! above, <ohn .il(hrist/ &(hammad and !he

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 +eligion of Islam/ Cha#ter Study o Muha!!ad's Personality n ssess!ent o 

%is Personality)

 

Arthur &lyn Leonard said,

 

If ever a man on this earth found &od# if ever a man devoted his life to &od'sservice &ith a good and great !otive/ it is (ertain that the Pro#het o rabia

Muha!!ad) is the !an, uhammad was not only the greatest but truest man that

humanity has ever produced! rthur .lyn eonard/ Islam , her moral and spirit(al 

val(e: " +ational and #sychological St(dy/ #ages 1B;1A)

 

;ere we see that even non/uslim critics of uhammad (peace be upon him) had to at least

admit that he was sincere and believed he was receiving revelation from &od! In that case# it is

difficult to imagine that the 8rophet (peace be upon him) knowingly plagiari"ed material and

included it into the ur'an! 

 ?ow citation of scholars isn't enough and it's important to also look at some evidence pointing to

the 8rophet's (peace be upon him) sincerity! Let us see some highlights of the 8rophet's (peace be

upon him) life# which make it clearly evident that he was truly sincere!

 

$he 8rophet uhammad (peace be upon him) bore a son by the name of Ibrahim! Appro%imately

a year and a half after his birth he died! $he 8rophet (peace be upon him) was very distressed by

the death of his son! $he day the 8rophet's (peace be upon him) son died there was an eclipse,

 

Saheeh 8u-hari 

olume -# ;adith no! *40

 

 ?arrated Al/ughira bin hu'ba,

 

3$he sun eclipsed in the life/time of Allah's Apostle on the day when (his son) Ibrahim

died! o the people said that the sun had eclipsed because of the death of Ibrahim! Allah's

Apostle said# 3$he sun and the moon do not eclipse because of the death or life (i!e! birth)

of some/one! 6hen you see the eclipse pray and invoke Allah!3

 

 ?otice how the companions of the 8rophet (peace be upon him) erroneously believed that the

sun had eclipsed due to the death of his son! If uhammad (peace be upon him) were a false

 prophet and insincere# he would have easily used the opportunity to take advantage of the

situation and affirmed what his companions were saying and that is that the sun was eclipsing

due to the death of his son! ;owever# we see that the 8rophet (peace be upon him) was forthright

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and denied that this was the case and that the sun and the moon do not eclipse because of the

death of anyone! ;ere# we see that the 8rophet (peace be upon him) was sincerely speaking the

truth instead of using the chance to impress the people by affirming their statements!

 

Another instance occurred after the 8rophet (peace be upon him) migrated

from ecca to edina! $he eccans were planning to assassinate the 8rophet (peace be uponhim)# thus the 8rophet (peace be upon him) had bodyguards to guard him until Allah revealed the

following verse,

 

Surah 247

 

< essengerM deliver what bas been revealed to you from your Lord5 and if you do it not#

then you have not delivered ;is message# and llah &ill #rote(t you ro! the

#eo#leE surely Allah will not guide the unbelieving people!

 

After this verse was revealed the 8rophet (peace be upon him) told his bodyguards to stop

guarding him for he received a promise from &od that he would be protected! See S(nan "l 

!irmidhi  %adith Gu!ber 5604H Shei-h l;lbani said it is authenti( ro! the &ay o isha

in Saheeh "l!irmidhi  under %adith Gu!ber 5604E "l&(stadrak fi al Saheehayn %adith

Gu!ber 5$$1H I!a! l Dhahabi said it is authenti( as &ell as l;%a-i!EU)mdat 

 "ltafseer  an abridged (o!!entary on Ibn athir's (o!!entary) olu!e 1/ #age 716H

h!ad Sha-ir said the narration is authenti(,)

 

If uhammad (peace be upon him) did not sincerely believe that he was a 8rophet of Allah

would he have ordered such a thing especially when he knew that his life was in actual dangerand shouldn't take any risks9 $he answer is no!

 

Allah Almighty revealed the following verse,

 

Surah 177A

 

And during a part of the night# pray $aha22ud beyond what is incumbent on you5 maybe

your Lord will raise you to a position of great glory!

 

Ibn Abbaas states in his commentary!

 

(And some part of the night awake for it) to recite the ur'an and to pray after sleeping a

little# (a largess for thee) a merit for you5 it is also said that this !eans you alone are

enoined to do so, Ibn bbaas/!anw-r al&i.'/s min !afs-r I'n )"''/s, Co!!entary

on Cha#ter 17/ erse 7A)

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y 7uestion is why would the 8rophet (peace be upon him) make a prayer late into the night

compulsory upon himself in e%clusion to the rest of the uslims9 6hy would he do that to

himself9 =oesn't this show that the 8rophet (peace be upon him) sincerely believed in and

followed the revelation that he was receiving besides making them up9 

Also an incident occurred with Aisha# the wife of 8rophet uhammad (peace be upon him) in

which she was falsely accused of committing adultery and she and the 8rophet (peace be upon

him) had to wait in distress for the verse from the ur'an to come down to vindicate Aisha of the

crime! 9ead the story in Qur'ani( (o!!entaries under Cha#ter $0/ erse 11)

 

 ?ow if the 8rophet (peace be upon him) were the author of the ur'an he would have 7uickly

(instead waiting for more than a month and causing distress for himself) made up a verse

vindicating his beloved wife and also saved himself from the distress of having people

suspecting his own wife for cheating on him! ;owever# his sincerity shows that he did not makeup the ur'an# but was waiting to receive revelation from Allah Almighty!

 

$he Arabs were challenged to produce something like the ur'an# then ten urahs (chapters)

similar to it# and then one urah similar to it,

 

Surah $$5

 

And if ye are in doubt as to what we have revealed from time to time to our servant then

 produce a surah like thereunto5 and call your witnesses or helpers (if there are any)

 besides Allah if ye are truthful! 

Surah 2$ 55;50

 

<r do they say, 3;e fabricated the (message)3 nay# they have no faithM Let them then

 produce a saying like unto it# If (it be) they speak the truthM

 

$he 7uestion I would like to ask is which insincere prophet would author a book and challenge

the best of Arab poets to find discrepancies in it9 6ould any sensible layman in mechanics

challenge the mechanics of B6 or ercedes to criti7ue him and e%pose him9 =oesn't thisshow that the 8rophet (peace be upon him) was so confident about the revelations he was

receiving9

 

es# one may think that 8rophet uhammad (peace be upon him) was sincerely wrong# however 

the point that I am trying to make is that it is most reasonable to assume that he was at least

sincere!

 

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o wouldn't this then according to Christian standards serve as evidence that the 8rophet (peace

 be upon him) did not plagiari"e9

 

ust because the ur'an mentions stories about 8rophet oses (peace be upon him) or =avid

(peace be upon him)# which are also found in the Bible does not necessarily imply that it was

copied from the Bible! It is very possible that those true stories were maintained in the Bible andthe ur'an simply came to confirm their authenticity# especially when we take into consideration

that this is one of the functions of the ur'an! (urah 4,1.)! $here is no reason to think otherwise

regarding the story of esus in the cradle!

 

$he Christian might ob2ect and say that the ur'an came to confirm the &ospel and $orah and

that the story of esus in the cradle or making a bird from clay is not found in the Bible# rather it

is found in an apocryphal book! ;owever# as we have clearly clarified Islam teaches that the

&ospels that Christians adhere to today only contain some truth# while other truth is missing!

;ence# it's possible that the cradle story is true# yet hasn't found its way into the Bible!

 

$he Christian would still insist that this story is not found in the Bible and that this is

 problematic! In response to this we reply back by saying 3lack of evidence does not necessarily

imply evidence of absence3! $he author of ohn's &ospel makes it clear that esus did many

things (possibly miracles as well) which weren't recorded (ohn -*,-4)# therefore there is a good

reason for us to believe that it's at least possible that this miracle of esus was also not recorded!

 

omeone might argue back that the &ospels teach that esus' ministry began later in life# while

the ur'an seems to indicate that it happened shortly after he was born!

 

6ell first of all# this begs the 7uestion that whatever the &ospels have said is true! 

econdly# it would be possible to harmoni"e between the two claims if it is necessary! 8erhaps#

esus did this initially as a baby in order to vindicate his mother from the false accusations

levelled against her and show that his birth was indeed a miracle from &od (if you can believe

that a baby can speak then why not believe in a virgin birth9) and then later on in the future esus

 began preaching full time and this is what the &ospel authors were referring to!

 

urthermore# 2ust because the Infancy &ospel was authored in the second century that does not

e%clude the possibility that it might have included stories circulating during the first century!

 

$here is much doubt surrounding this book and where it has obtained its information from,

Go inal udg!ent about the original or! and (ontent is #ossible,

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*ven i the earliest version o this gos#el re!ains un(ertain %el!ut

oester/ "ncient Christian ospels/ #age 511;51$)

The individual stories the!selves/ ho&ever/ !ay derive ro! the end o the irst

(entury;though there is no #ossibility o #roving so early an origin or any o the!,

F, a#ha!/ "n Introd(ction to the New !estament "pocrypha/ #age 1$A)

 

If there is even a possibility that some of the stories contained in this book could have come from

the first century and be true# then Christians have no right to claim with a certainty that this story

of esus (peace be upon him) speaking in the cradle is a forgery!

 

ome Christians such as the early Islamic critic $isdall tried to suggest that 8rophet uhammad

(peace be upon him) plagiari"ed the story from ary/the Copt who back in >gypt had access to

the story of esus in the cradle# since it was either popular and she heard the story or she read the

Coptic translation from the Arabic version of the Infancy &ospel ( n/il 'l#ufuliyyah)! ;owever#

this assertion is not convincing because,

*)  8ossibility does not e7ual probability!

-)   ?o motive has been provided for uhammad (peace be upon him) to plagiari"e the story

and doesn't fit in with his overall character as a sincere person# for his sincerity is

recogni"ed by almost all people who have studied his life (more on this below)!

0)  $he ur'anic verse about esus in the cradle was revealed in ecca# while the 8rophet

(peace be upon him) met ary/the Copt only during the edinan period!

 ?ow the Christian may reply back and say,

 

3<bviously we cannot prove with *::N certainty that uhammad plagiari"ed from the

Infancy &ospel# since when dealing with history we are forced to work with probabilities!

6hat we are saying is that the probability that uhammad plagiari"ed from the Infancy

&ospel is so high that it is more reasonable to assume that he did than to suggest

otherwise! $o suggest otherwise is to be pre2udice3

 

I of course agree that we are only dealing with probabilities when it comes to history# however  probabilities are dependent upon certain variables! <ne could not say that something is probable

or improbable without working with some kind of background information! I contend that it is

more reasonable to state that it is probable that the 8rophet (peace be upon him) did not

 plagiari"e based on the convergence of the following points, *) ;is sincerity and truthfulness5 -)

his illiteracy5 0) lack of ready access to ewish and Christian documents5 1) improbability of the

 presence of the Infancy &ospel of $homas in the ;i2a" 4) $he many striking differences between

the uranic stories and the parallels in the udeo/Christian documents# with a virtual lack of 

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verbal similarities5 D) and the many more differences between the uranic story and the account

in the Infancy &ospel of $homas

 

6e need to bare in mind that similarity between a ur'anic account and a Biblical (or non/

Biblical) story is not proof of the former borrowing from the latter! $hey could have the same

source as well! 6hy could it not be that a certain event occurred and eventually came to berecorded either in a Biblical or a non/Biblical writing and later Allah revealed to uhammad

(peace be upon him) the story as well9 If a priori we re2ect the possibility of uhammad's (peace

 be upon him) prophethood then we would have no choice but to look for a non/divine solution

(i!e! that uhammad (peace be upon him) either directly or indirectly borrowed a certain story)!

But if we are open to the possibility of revelation# miracles and uhammad's (peace be upon

him) prophethood# then the mere fact that two stories are the same or similar does not by itself 

negate the prophethood of uhammad (peace be upon him) or that he received the information

through fresh revelation! <nly by a priori denying the possibility of revelation and miracles can

we come to this conclusion! 6e need to ensure that we are not appealing to the fallacy of false

cause when e%amining this issue!

rom a purely historical perspective# we cannot say with confidence that the story of esus

making a clay bird and miraculously giving it life is a fabrication! It could be that this story was

in circulation in the first century! ?ow# at the same time# neither could we say with confidence

and certainty that this story e%isted in the first century! rom a purely historical perspective# we

would have to conclude, W* D>G'T G>W! ay be it was in e%istence (either orally or in a

written form) in the first century# or it was not! $here is no evidence to speak against its e%istence

(oral or written) in the first century# nor any positive evidence to 3demonstrate3 its e%istence in

the first century (oral or written)! All we know is that it e%isted in a written form in the fifthGsi%th

century (in a manuscript of the Inan(y.os#el o Tho!as) and that there may be evidence of itse%istence during the time of Ireaneus (*.: A=)!1H &iven the fact that oral traditions continued to

 be valued and in circulation even after the writing of the canonical gospels# we cannot a priori

rule out the real possibility of authentic (and inauthenticGcontaminated) oral traditions from the

first century finding their way into documents which were not included in the canonical list of

writings! ?on/canonical documents may very well contain first century traditions# though

identifying these traditions and determining their e%tant is not historically possible! $he

canonical documents cannot possibly consist of all or a big sample of traditions floating around

in the first century!

Also# uslims do accept this story as a genuine miracle from the life of esus (peace be upon)simply because the uran says so! or the very same reason we accept the miracle of esus'

virgin birth and the miracle of his healing the sick and the miracle of raising the dead! iracles

are accepted on faith! Christians AL< accept the miracle of the virgin birth on faith# among

other miracles mentioned in the gospels!

 

urthermore# esus making a clay bird and giving that bird life is not more 3grand3 than esus

actually raising dead men and walking on water! ?one of these stories are more 3legendary3 than

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the other! $hus# on the face of it# there would appear to be no reason to suspect the story of esus

making a clay bird and miraculously giving it life! ust because it is found in a non/canonical

document does not by itself follow that this tradition could not go back to the first century!

If one wishes to dismiss this story of clay/bird miracle as a 3legend#3 then how is esus' raising of 

La"arus not a legend9 <JST 8*CJS* ST>9= IS G>T F>JGD IG T%* CG>GIC.>SP*S IT D>*S G>T F>>W T%T IT IS *.*GD,

$hird# modern scholars are far more cautious on the 7uestion of the 3sources3 of the uran than

the earlier generation of scholars and writers# such as $isdall and &eiger! $he predominant stance

of modern scholars is that uhammad (peace be upon him) is unlikely to have had possession of 

actual written documents# be it Biblical documents or non/canonical udeo/Christian writings!

$he reason being the lack of direct 7uotations from the latter in the uran and the so many

differences between the uranic stories and their Biblical (canonical and non/canonical)

counterparts! Instead# the common view is that uhammad (peace be upon him) 3must3 have

 been reliant upon Biblical and non/Biblical traditions orally# which he then altered and reshapedto suit his own needs! uch a hypothesis is 7uite possible only if we a priori dismiss the

 possibility of uhammad (peace be upon him) receiving revelation from &od!

In a recent essay on the 7uestion of uranic sources# &erhard Bowering (8rofessor of Islamic

tudies at aleJniversity) writes (>ssay, 3Kecent Kesearch <n $he Construction of $he uran!3

In# 3$he ur'an in its ;istorical Conte%t#3 p! E: (bold added),

 

3Go single (olle(tion o bibli(al &ritings/ nor!ative/ a#o(ry#hal or !idrashi(/

ho&ever/ has been identiied as the !aor sour(e in &hi(h the Qur'an !ay have

been rooted!* $o the best of our present knowledge# the Bible had not been translatedinto Arabic by the time of uhammad# either in its entirety or in the form of single

 books!- It is generally believed that Muha!!ad gathered his bibli(al -no&ledge

#rin(i#ally/ i not e"(lusively/ ro! oral sour(es,5 This oral lore &as (o!!uni(ated

to Muha!!ad in his !other tongue/ but its original or!s &ere in Syria(/ ra!ai(/

*thio#ian and %ebre& materials# as evidenced by the vocabulary of foreign origin to be

found in the Arabic ur'an!1 $his foreign vocabulary formed an integral part of 

uhammad's proclamation and was understood by his audience in ecca and edina

whom he addressed in elo7uent Arabic!43

and (p! .0# bold mine),

3=uring his lifetime# uhammad had a good number of his ur'anic proclamations

copied down by scribes# but there is no evidence that he used foreign written source

materials for the composition of the ur'an! Jntil the appearance of evidence to the

contrary# one has to su##ort the #osition that it &as oral inor!ation on &hi(h the

Qur'an dre& dire(tly/ even i behind this oral inor!ation there &as a (ore o 

#assages e"tra(ted ro! &ritten traditions that &ere translated into rabi( ro!

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one or the other o its sibling languages ! $his core# however# has not yet come to light

in a distinct form! The al!ost total absen(e in the Qur'an o dire(t #arallels &ith the

nor!ative/ !idrashi( or a#o(ry#hal bibli(al traditions 46 !a-es it i!#ossible to

argue or a dire(t de#enden(e on &ritten sour(es, *ssential se(tions o the Qur'ani(

!essage &ere re(eived ro! the oral lore o a variety o religious (o!!unities &ho

&ere rooted in the &idely dis#ersed and non;nor!ative <e&ish and Christiantraditions, Got a single &ritten sour(e/ &hether s(ri#tural or liturgi(al/ ho&ever/ has

been identiied that &ould satisy the sear(h or an underlying Jr;Qur'an/ &hether

#ostulated as a Christian hy!nal or a Syro;ra!ai( le(tionary/ that served as a

&ritten sour(e boo- or the Qur'an,3 $H

As an e%ample# we may actually point to esus' clay/bird miracle in the Infancy &ospel

of $homas# which states,

6hen this boy# esus# was five years old# he was playing at the ford of a rushing stream!

(-) ;e was collecting the flowing water into ponds and made the water instantly pure! ;edid this with a single command! (0) ;e then made soft clay and shaped it into twelve

sparrows! ;e did this on the sabbath day# and many other boys were playing with him!

(1)But when a ew saw what esus was doing while playing on the sabbath day# he

immediately went off and told oseph# esus' father, 3ee here# your boy is at the ford and

has taken mud and fashioned twelve birds with it# and so has violated the sabbath!3

(4)o oseph went there# and as soon as he spotted him he shouted# 36hy are you doing

what's not permitted on the sabbath93

(D)But esus simply clapped his hands and shouted to the sparrows, 3Be off# fly away#

and remember me# you who are now aliveM3 And the sparrows took off and flew away

noisily!(E)$he ews watched with ama"ement# then left the scene to report to their leaders what

they had seen esus doing!

Compare the above with the uranic account! In two locations the uran mentions this miracle!

In urah 0,1+# we read,

3And (appoint him) an apostle to the Children of Israel# (with this message), 3'I have

come to you# with a ign from your Lord# in that I make for you out of clay# as it were#

the figure of a bird# and breathe into it# and it becomes a bird by Allah's leave !!!

$hen in urah 4,**: we read,

$hen will Allah say, 3< esus the son of aryM Kecount y favour to thee and to thy

mother! BeholdM I strengthened thee with the holy spirit# so that thou didst speak to the

 people in childhood and in maturity! BeholdM I taught thee the Book and 6isdom# the

Law and the &ospel and beholdM thou makest out of clay# as it were# the figure of a bird#

 by y leave# and thou breathest into it and it becometh a bird by y leave !!!

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If uhammad (peace be upon him) was copying from the Infancy &ospel of $homas# or reliant

upon it even indirectly# why were its crucial details omitted9 $he uran does not mention the3soft3 clay# the 3twelve sparrows#3 esus' 3clapping of hands3 and his 3crying3 to the sparrows,

3Be off!!!3 It does not mention esus (peace be upon him) asking the sparrows to remember him

and the sparrows noisily flying! In fact# the entire framework of the story is absent in the uran(the sabbath story)!

If the uran was dependent upon the Infancy &ospel of $homas# why would its Author omit so

much / ;e omitted everything e%cept for mentioning the miracle of the clay/bird9

$he uran only states that esus made a bird from clay and it transformed into an actual birdwhen he breathed into it! $he uran then emphasi"es that this was &od's miracle# done through

esus (peace be upon him)! $hus# it is highly unlikely that uhammad (peace be upon him) had a

copy of the Infancy &ospel of $homas in his lap and was copying directly from it!

Could it be that uhammad (peace be upon him) ac7uired this story indirectly# as it was

circulating orally (with its ultimate source being the Infancy &ospel of $homas)9 $his is3possible!3 $hough one wonders# is it likely that the written story would later transmit orally in

such a way that it was completely stripped from all the e%citing details in its written form and a

total absence of its framework9 $hat seems 7uite improbable!

6e may also compare the story about esus (peace be upon him) speaking in the cradle where it

says in the Infancy &ospel,

3!!! esus spake when he was in the cradle# and said to his mother, 3ary# I am esus theon of &od# the 6ord# which thou didst bring forth according to the declaration of the

angel &abriel# and y ather hath sent me for the salvation of the world!3

6hile in the ur'an it states,

Surah 1A$B;50

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3< sister of AaronM $hy father was not a wicked man nor was thy mother a harlot! $hen

she pointed to him! $hey said, ;ow can we talk to one who is a child in the cradle9 ;e

said, 3I am indeed a servant of Allah! ;e has given me the Book and has made me a prophet! And has made me blessed wheresoever I may be# and has en2oined upon me

 prayer and almsgiving so long as I remain alive# And (has made me) dutiful toward her

who bore me# and hath not made me arrogant# unblest! 8eace on me the day I was born#and the day I die# and the day I shall be raised aliveM uch was esus# son of ary, (this

is) a statement of the truth concerning which they doubt!

 ?otice that in the Infancy &ospel esus tells his mother that he is the on of &od! $hat is absent

from the ur'an! Christians may argue back that this is because uhammad (peace be upon him)

did not agree with this label# however notice that in the Infancy &ospel esus also tells hismother that he is the word! $he ur'an also refers to esus (peace be upon him) as a word from

Allah! $here's no reason why uhammad (peace be upon him) wouldn't have had esus saying to

his mother that he is a word from Allah if he was indeed plagiari"ing# since that could be possibly harmoni"ed with the ur'an! $here's also no mention of angel &abriel in the ur'an!

imilarity between the uranic account and the story in the Infancy &ospel of $homas wouldonly be 3problematic3 for uslims if the possibility of &od's revelation is a priori dismissed! If it

is not a priori dismissed# then we have no problem! uhammad (peace be upon him) did receive

this story# lacking all details added to it in the written Christian record# through revelation fromAllah!

Gotes

O*P 8ut there is an earlier reeren(e ro! Irenaeus/ as Ca!eron notes

In his (itation/ Irenaeus irst @uotes a non;(anoni(al story that (ir(ulated about the

(hildhood o <esus and then goes dire(tly on to @uote a #assage ro!

the inan(y narrative o the .os#el o u-e u-e $0A), Sin(e the Inan(y .os#el

o Tho!as re(ords both o these stories/ in relative (lose #ro"i!ity to one another/ it

is #ossible that the a#o(ry#hal &riting (ited by Irenaeus is/ in a(t/ &hat is no&-no&n as the Inan(y .os#el o Tho!as, 8e(ause o the (o!#le"ities o the

!anus(ri#t tradition/ ho&ever/ there is no (ertainty as to &hen the stories o

the Inan(y .os#el o Tho!as began to be &ritten do&n,(ited here)

O-P In a ootnote/ 8o&ering &rites

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46 To stress again/ only a very s!all nu!ber o Qur'ani( verses #arallels s!all

#assages o the a#o(ry#hal gos#els/ and only one Qur'ani( verse/ Q $1162/ is a

dire(t @uotation ro! the %ebre& 8ible >ld Testa!ent)/ na!ely Psal! 57$A, The

earliest -no&n Musli! rabi( (itation ro! the Ge& Testa!ent is the #assage o 

<ohn 12$5;141 &hi(h is #resented in su!!ary or! by Ibn Isha@ d, 747 C*) inMuha!!ad's biogra#hy/ see F, WKsteneld ed,)/ Das eben Muha!!eds na(h

Muha!!ad Ibn Isha@/ 1/ 10A;26, For the s!all harvest o #arallels bet&een

Qur'ani( #assages and the Syria( liturgy/ see *, .ra/ :Lu den (hristli(hen

*inlKssen i! oran/: Fests(hrit <ose#h %enninger Studia Instituti

nthro#os 8onn/ l;8ahith $B/ 1A74/ 1$1;00,

 

9e(o!!ended 9eading

 

http,GGwww!call/to/

monotheism!comGdoesQtheQ7urQanQmentioningQstoriesQfoundQinQpreviousQwritingsQthreatenQitsQcredibilityQ 

 

##endi" 

hamoun responds over here!

hamoun states,

1n what basis does Muhammads sub/ective sincerity constitute proof for the divine

ori)in of his teachin) if the same conclusion does not hold for these other men%

$his is nothing more than a red herring! I never argued that uhammad's (peace be upon him)

sincerity constituted proof for the divine origin of his teaching! Kather# I said that this at least

illustrates that he didn't knowingly plagiari"e something and attributed it directly to &od as being

spoken by ;im! $his is what I said,

 n that case, it is difficult to ima)ine that the rophet *peace be upon him knowin)ly

 pla)iaried material and included it into the 5uran.

And,

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6es, one may think that rophet Muhammad *peace be upon him was sincerely wron),

however the point that am tryin) to make is that it is most reasonable to assume that he

was at least sincere.

-o wouldnt this then accordin) to 7hristian standards serve as evidence that the rophet 

*peace be upon him did not pla)iarie%

>ven hamoun is aware of this# for he said earlier in his article,

 +or does it follow that Muhammads sincerity proves that the 5uran is from (od, as even

 8awadi realies.

o hamoun earlier in his article states that I reali"e that 8rophet uhammad's (peace be upon

him) sincerity isn't proof that the ur'an is the word of &od! $hen a few paragraphs later#

hamoun asks,

1n what basis does Muhammads sub/ective sincerity constitute proof for the divine

ori)in of his teachin) if the same conclusion does not hold for these other men%

$his is e%tremely confusingM 6hy is hamoun asking this 7uestion when he already

acknowledges that I never made this claim9 hamoun is very confused and needs to make up his

mind what he wants to argueM

hamoun said,

 9inally, the issue is not that Muhammad pla)iaried the 'rabic nfancy (ospel of 

#homas. :ather, the ar)ument is that Muhammad heard 7hristians referrin) to this story

and therefore decided to include it in his 5uran since he erroneously assumed that it was

an actual miracle performed by the historical Jesus.

But that is precisely the problem! If the 8rophet uhammad (peace be upon him) was truly

sincere then he couldn't have done thatM $he ur'an is not like the Bible! If it was then someone

could argue that uhammad (peace be upon him) sincerely believed that he was inspired to write

the contents of the ur'an! But that is not the case! Kather# Islam teaches that the actual words in

the ur'an were spoken by &od! uhammad (peace be upon him) taught this! If the 8rophet

uhammad (peace be upon him) taught that Allah spoke the ur'an# but then he went ahead and

wrote it himself knowingly# then this 2ust goes to show that the 8rophet uhammad (peace beupon him) wasn't sincere! ;owever# I have argued that the 8rophet uhammad (peace be upon

him) was indeed sincere# hen(e &e !ust rule #lagiaris! and -no&ingly &riting the Qur'an

ro! his o&n !ind out o the @uestion, $he critic would need to offer another e%planation

instead!

hamoun said,

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#here is actually no need to disprove this since in actuality it is not that -atan made sure

that the story of Jesus speakin) in the cradle wasnt written in any first century

documents. :ather, my conviction is that -atan may have actually influenced Muhammad 

to adopt fables such as this one from these 7hristian apocryphal sources in order to dupe

7hristians of Muhammads time to believe that the 5uran acknowled)es the miraculous

life and ministry of Jesus.

hamoun is free to have his 3convictions3# but the point is that he cannot prove them nor could

he disprove the Biblical mimicry argument!

hamoun mentions the story found in Ibn Isha7,

#he names of the fourteen principal men amon) the si;ty riders were 'bdulMasih the

'<ib, al'yham the -ayyid= 'bu "aritha b. 'l<ama brother of B. Bakr b. $ail= 'us= al

 "arith= 8ayd= 5ays= 6aid= +ubayh= >huwaylid= 'mr= >halid= 'mr= >halid= 'bdullah=

 Johannes= of these the first three named above spoke to the apostle. #hey were 7hristiansaccordin) to the Byantine rite, thou)h they differed amon) themselves in some points,

 sayin) "e is (od= and "e is the son of (od= and "e is the third person of the #rinity,

which is the doctrine of 7hristianity. !hey arg(e that he is od 'eca(se he (sed to raise

the dead, and heal the sick, "N0 0EC*"+E !1E UNSEEN2 "N0 &"3E C*"4 

 BI+0S "N0 !1EN B+E"!1E IN!$ !1E&, S$ !1"! !1E4 F*E5 "5"42 and all 

this was 'y the command of od "lmighty , $e will make him a si)n to men. #hey

ar)ue that he is son of (od in that they say he had no known father=  "N0 1E S#$3E 

 IN !1E C+"0*E and this is something that no child of "dam has ever done. #hey

ar)ue that he is the third of three in that (od says $e have done, $e have commanded,

$e have created and $e have decreed, and they say, f "e were one he would have said  have done, have created, and so on, but "e is "e and Jesus and Mary. Concerning all 

these assertions the 6(ran came down.

Ibn Isha7 said that uhammad bin a'far bin Zubair bin Al Awaam told him the story# but

uhammad bin a'far came a generation after the 8rophet's death and we have not been informed

where uhammad bin a'far got this story from and how accurate its wording really is!

hamoun said,

#he fore)oin) e;plains why Muhammads version of this apocryphal fable lacks !the

e;citin) details! found in the !written form! and why !its framework! is missin).

6ell# as I already stated this is technically speaking a 3possibility3,

7ould it be that Muhammad *peace be upon him ac<uired this story indirectly, as it was

circulatin) orally *with its ultimate source bein) the nfancy (ospel of #homas% !his

is 7possi'le87 

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hamoun then says,

#he problem that 8awadi faces is that the slamic sources which were /ust cited 

emphatically prove that Muhammad took the very e;act story which he heard from this

7hristian )roup and included it within the 5uran. #his e;plains why the 5urans story of 

 Jesus creatin) clay birds is identical to the version narrated by the 7hristians from +a/ran, i.e. Muhammad ac<uired his information directly from the 7hristians who had 

obviously derived it from the apocryphal 7hristian (ospels which they had either read or 

heard.

3>mphatically prove39 $his is where hamoun's bias clearly kicks in# since he assumes that

uhammad (peace be upon him) is a false prophet and isn't willing to grant the possibility that

the ur'an revealed the story of esus in response to the ?a2rani Christians and would very likely

word it the same way the ?a2rani Christians would!

$his is also assuming that the story is reliable! urthermore# Ibn Isha7 is not #resenting thea(tual &ords o the Garani Christians/ but is >G= SJMM9ILIG. &hat they said and

tal-ed about &ith the Pro#het, ;ow could hamoun say with any shred of confidence that 3 the

5urans story of Jesus creatin) clay birds is identical to the version narrated by the 7hristians

 from +a/ran39

hamoun proceeds on to the second part of his article# however I haven't seen hamoun

 presenting any real arguments with any measure of substance that would call for responding to

them! $his is because hamoun's arguments are based on the assumption that uhammad (peace

 be upon him) wasn't sincere and knowingly includes information into the ur'an# while claiming

to the people that they are the direct words uttered by &od! Jnless# hamoun illustrates that the

8rophet (peace be upon him) wasn't sincere I see no reason to interact with arguments based on

false assumption!