Prophet or Plagiarist 100926

8/4/2019 Prophet or Plagiarist 100926

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Tice 1

Stephen Tice

Dr. Marci Mitchell

ENGL 2331.V01

February 25, 2006

Prophet or Plagiarist

The stories of Joseph in the Koran and the Bible are remarkably similar, so much in fact

that Sura 12 "Yusuf" must be a derivative work. From a scholarly viewpoint that's a problem.

Either Mohammed or Allah, (whoever authored the Koran), was clearly guilty of plagiarism and

possibly historical revision. Should intellectual dishonesty be excused? No, it should be exposed.

Throughout this paper, the quotations on the left are from Genesis chapters 37 and 39-50 about

the life of Joseph and the quotations on the right are from Sura 12 of the Koran:

Joseph Yusuf

And he dreamed yet another dream, andtold it his brethren, and said, Behold, Ihave dreamed a dream more; and,behold, the sun and the moon and the

eleven stars made obeisance to me.

When Yusuf said to his father: O myfather! surely I saw eleven stars and thesun and the moon -- I saw them makingobeisance to me.

And he told it to his father, and to hisbrethren: and his father rebuked him,and said unto him, What is this dreamthat thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thymother and thy brethren indeed come tobow down ourselves to thee to theearth? (Gen. 37:9-10)

He said: O my son! do not relate yourvision to your brothers, lest they devise aplan against you; surely the Shaitan isan open enemy to man. (Sura 12.4-5)

The pattern of presentation throughout Sura 12 is an echo of the original older text in

Genesis. Sura 12 is more than a paraphrase, which is problem enough since it was not attributed.

Allowing for language differences--the wording is remarkably similar. Surely there is no need

for a deity or its agents (angel or jinn) to quote from an earthly text if they are a citing "a divine

Koran that exists in Paradise" (World Masterpieces 868).

note: lockstepphraserepetitiofrom Gen

to the Yustory


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Tice 2

Time and again throughout the Sura, words and phrases are used that are closely the

same. I've underlined them to make it easy to see. It would be very interesting to compare

original languages. The Koran quite likely will show close transliteration instead of translation.

In the following passages, "slay . . . cast him into" is an example. The following verse has a close

translation where Joseph's brother Reuben says not to kill him. Note the similarity of form.

Come now therefore, and let us slayhim, and cast him into some pit, and wewill say, Some evil beast hath devouredhim: and we shall see what will becomeof his dreams.

Slay Yusuf or cast him (forth) into someland, so that your father's regard may beexclusively for you, and after that youmay be a righteous people.

And Reuben heard it, and he delivered

him out of their hands; and said, Let usnot kill him. (37:20-21)

A speaker from among them said: Do

not slay Yusuf, and cast him down intothe bottom of the pit if you must do (it),(so that) some of the travellers may pickhim up. (12.9-10)

It's bad enough when it happens once, but this happens repeatedly. Sura 12 opens with no

attribution, in the form of royal or divine proclamation: "Surely We have revealed it -- an Arabic

Quran -- that you may understand. We narrate to you the best of narratives, by Our revealing to

you this Quran, though before this you were certainly one of those who did not know" (12.2-3).

The capitalization in the text of "Our" indicates divine promulgation, yet the pattern of

plagiarism draws clearly on the written text of Genesis. For instance, in the next passage the Sura

indicates that "the blood is false," but does not say that it was from a goat. The Sura translation is

unclear without reference to the original text. Not something a deity would overlook, no doubt.

And they took Joseph's coat, and killed akid of the goats, and dipped the coat in

the blood; (37:31)

And they brought his shirt with falseblood upon it. He said: Nay, your souls

have made the matter light for you, butpatience is good and Allah is He Whosehelp is sought for against what youdescribe. (12.18)

close Genewithminochang

Whywoulan annotnameReub

In Arabshould

"false"be"goat?"

If so, ita moreobviouscopy.


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Tice 3

Plagiarism is bad enough, whether human or divine, but revisionism is a more serious

matter. In the next set of passages, the sweep of the narrative jumps chapter 38 of Genesis. It is

interesting to see that reference to Ishmael, (the likely progenitor of the Arabs), is left out.

Clearly though, the Koran summarizes and tracks the much larger narrative from Genesis.

And the Midianites sold him into Egyptunto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's,and captain of the guard. (37:36)

And they sold him for a small price, afew pieces of silver, and they showed nodesire for him.

And Joseph was brought down to Egypt;and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh,captain of the guard, an Egyptian,bought him of the hands of theIshmeelites, which had brought himdown thither. (39:1)

And the Egyptian who bought him saidto his wife: Give him an honorableabode, maybe he will be useful to us, orwe may adopt him as a son. And thusdid We establish Yusuf in the land andthat We might teach him theinterpretation of sayings; and Allah is the

master of His affair, but most people donot know. (12.20-21)

Though it's obvious in the Koran that the narrative follows the Genesis text, there are

additions and revisions that must be intentional. More dialogue is included in Sura 12 concerning

the attempted seduction of Joseph. To what purpose? It could be a way of dramatizing an

otherwise dull summary, but if the dialogue in the Koran has been dramatized, then the actual

events related may also be questioned.

And it came to pass after these things,that his master's wife cast her eyes uponJoseph; and she said, Lie with me.(39:7)

And she in whose house he was soughtto make himself yield (to her), and shemade fast the doors and said: Comeforward. He said: I seek Allah's refuge,surely my Lord made good my abode:Surely the unjust do not prosper. (12.23)

There are a number of variations that might be simply due to translation differences; such

as in the following, where Joseph leaves his garment in the hands of the seductress in the Genesis

account, but Yusuf's shirt is ripped in the Sura. In the Sura the garment being torn becomes a

legal issue during the next several verses, which may be just more dramatization, or possibly an

object lesson in how to detect infidelity.

Why noname thEgyptia...Or thIshmaili


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Tice 4

And she caught him by his garment,saying, Lie with me: and he left hisgarment in her hand, and fled, and gothim out. (39:12)

And they both hastened to the door, andshe rent his shirt from behind and theymet her husband at the door. She said:What is the punishment of him whointends evil to your wife exceptimprisonment or a painful chastisement?(12.25)

In Genesis, Joseph is imprisoned because he was framed. In the Sura, he's put in prison as

protective custody seemingly through the orchestrations of Allah, to keep him from yielding to

temptation. The implication is that women and men are likely to lose control of their passions.

And Joseph's master took him, and puthim into the prison, a place where theking's prisoners were bound: and he wasthere in the prison. (39:20)

He said: My Lord! the prison house isdearer to me than that to which theyinvite me; and if Thou turn not away theirdevice from me, I will yearn towardsthem and become (one) of the ignorant.(12.33)

It would be interesting to see what type of moral lesson is taught in the Madrasa or preached in

Mosques as a result of the Sura 12 presentation. The story turns to dream interpretation.

And they dreamed a dream both ofthem, each man his dream in one night,each man according to the interpretationof his dream, the butler and the baker ofthe king of Egypt, which were bound inthe prison. (40:5)

And two youths entered the prison withhim. One of them said: I saw myselfpressing wine. And the other said: I sawmyself carrying bread on my head, ofwhich birds ate. Inform us of itsinterpretation; surely we see you to be of

the doers of good.

And they said unto him, We havedreamed a dream, and there is nointerpreter of it. And Joseph said untothem, Do not interpretations belong toGod? tell me them, I pray you. (40:8)

He said: There shall not come to you thefood with which you are fed, but I willinform you both of its interpretationbefore it comes to you; this is of what myLord has taught me; surely I haveforsaken the religion of a people who donot believe in Allah, and they are deniersof the hereafter: (12.36-37)

Close paraphrasing continues in the story about Joseph's time in prison. Regarding dream

interpretation, the role of the prophet in the Koran differs than that in the Bible. The Sura

explains the role as predictive in verse 37 above, but the role of the prophet is to convey a

message from God in chapter 40 verse 8 of Genesis. The underlined phrasing of the narrative

again indicates that the Sura has been copied from the Genesis account in the following passages.

notethe lock stlinkingof phrasesas evidencof plagiaryor forgery


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Tice 5

Yet within three days shall Pharaoh liftup thine head, and restore thee unto thyplace: and thou shalt deliver Pharaoh'scup into his hand, after the formermanner when thou wast his butler.

O my two mates of the prison! as for oneof you, he shall give his lord to drinkwine; and as for the other, he shall becrucified, so that the birds shall eat fromhis head, the matter is decreedconcerning which you inquired. (12.41)

40:14 But think on me when it shall bewell with thee, and shew kindness, I praythee, unto me, and make mention of meunto Pharaoh, and bring me out of thishouse: (40:13-14)

And he said to him whom he knew wouldbe delivered of the two: Remember mewith your lord; but the Shaitan causedhim to forget mentioning (it) to his lord,so he remained in the prison a fewyears. (12.42)

I find the phrase above "make mention of me unto Pharoah" (Gen. 40:14) quite notable

since it shows how plagiarism can have completely different phrasing and still convey the same

idea. The source phrase "Remember me with your lord" (Sura 12 42) would be hard to present as

evidence of copying without the much clearer ties in the previous verses (40:13 & 12.41). The

phrasing and sequence of verses throughout Sura 12 is conclusive evidence of copying phrases

directly from the text of Genesis chapters 37-50.

And the ill favoured and lean fleshedkine did eat up the seven well favouredand fat kine. So Pharaoh awoke. (41:4)

And the king said: Surely I see seven fatkine which seven lean ones devoured;and seven green ears and (seven)others dry: O chiefs! explain to me mydream, if you can interpret the dream.

(12.43)

As regards the sequence of copied phrases, if Sura 12 were an authentic independent

account, then portions would likely appear out of sequence. The Sura simply tracks the Genesis

account directly. Additional material has been added in and reworked.

And it came to pass in the morning thathis spirit was troubled; and he sent andcalled for all the magicians of Egypt, andall the wise men thereof: and Pharaoh

told them his dream; but there was nonethat could interpret them unto Pharaoh.(41:8)

They said: Confused dreams, and we donot know the interpretation of dreams.(12.44)

Some of the attempts to summarize the material simply didn't work. Without the source

narrative in Genesis 41:8, Sura 12.44 makes no sense. It's the same situation between Genesis

41:13 and Sura 12.45 following, which is vague without the Genesis source.

more clearevidencethat theYusufrendering

ollows thegramaticalsequencerom Genes


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Tice 6

And it came to pass, as he interpreted tous, so it was; me he restored unto mineoffice, and him he hanged. (41:13)

And of the two (prisoners) he who hadfound deliverance and remembered aftera long time said: I will inform you of itsinterpretation, so let me go: (12.45)

Sura 12 proceeds in lockstep fashion with Genesis through the remainder. There are

clearly errors in the Sura in places, but it's the little details that are the key. Though the broader

text has additional material, there is an underpinning of similar marker phrases throughout. The

evidence mounts. Copied phrases, lockstep sequence, and dependent passages indicate that the

underlying source of Sura 12 in the Koran is the Genesis account--not Mohammed--and not

Allah, (except for the additional material and revisions).

And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I havedreamed a dream, and there is none thatcan interpret it: and I have heard say ofthee, that thou canst understand adream to interpret it. (41:15)

Yusuf! O truthful one! explain to usseven fat kine which seven lean onesdevoured, and seven green ears and(seven) others dry, that I may go back tothe people so that they may know.(12.46)

Moses is generally accepted as the writer of Genesis. There is a plausible way that he

would know of the details of Joseph's life. Joshua was Moses' protege and became leader of the

Israelites after his death. Joshua was also a descendent of Joseph--10 generations later (1Ch.

7:22-27). No doubt Joseph's story was a point of pride in the tribe of Ephraim, to which Joshua

belonged. When they were camped out on the Exodus there was likely plenty of time to recount

the tales in the evening while camped. The matter of Joseph's first encounter with Pharaoh must

have been particularly interesting to Moses, who grew up in the royal household of Egypt.

The seven good kine are seven years;and the seven good ears are seven

years: the dream is one.

He said: You shall sow for seven yearscontinuously, then what you reap leave it

in its ear except a little of which you eat.

And the seven thin and ill favoured kinethat came up after them are sevenyears; and the seven empty ears blastedwith the east wind shall be seven yearsof famine. (41:26-27)

Then there shall come after that sevenyears of hardship which shall eat awayall that you have beforehand laid up instore for them, except a little of what youshall have preserved: (12.47-48)

Compare the phrases: "seven years of famine" and "seven years of hardship."


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Tice 7

Behold, there come seven years of greatplenty throughout all the land of Egypt:(41:29)

Then there will come after that a year inwhich people shall have rain and inwhich they shall press (grapes). (12.49)

An odd variation arises tracking through the verses. Sura 12.49 breaks with the general

narrative of both accounts that describes "7 years of Plenty" followed by "7 years of famine."

Perhaps this is merely a transcription error in the Koran. It's funny that it tracks with Genesis

41:29, which highlights the error. Compare the phrases: "there come ... seven years" with "there

will come ... a year."

Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appointofficers over the land, and take up thefifth part of the land of Egypt in theseven plenteous years. (41:34)

He said: Place me (in authority) over thetreasures of the land, surely I am a goodkeeper, knowing well. (12.55)

It's almost comic to see in the Koran that they followed the sequence of the Genesis

account so closely, but decided to flip some points. In the above verses, Joseph has become

humble having spent so long in prison and as a slave. Yusuf is almost the exact opposite

promoting himself in front of a king. Is Joseph better seen as a humble son of Israel (Jacob) or a

proud prophet of Islam? No doubt in Islam a prophet is expected to have a certain amount of

boldness . . . but which is the true Joseph, the son of Israel or the prophet of Islam?

Thou shalt be over my house, andaccording unto thy word shall all mypeople be ruled: only in the throne will Ibe greater than thou. (41:40)

And thus did We give to Yusuf power inthe land -- he had mastery in it whereverhe liked; We send down Our mercy onwhom We please, and We do not wastethe reward of those who do good.(12.56)

Now this is good in Sura 12:56, since there is no doubt that Allah is giving the account of

Yusuf: "We did give to Yusuf power in the land" (12:56). This is not pharaoh or Mohammed

speaking, nor can it be an angel or jinn. Either the account of Yusuf has come from Mohammed

as a poorly plagiarized story or Allah is a false god. There are too many errors. I suppose it's

possible that it could have come from a jinni, but demons and false gods go hand in hand.


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Tice 8

And Joseph's ten brethren went down tobuy corn in Egypt. (42:3)

And Yusuf's brothers came and went into him, and he knew them, while they didnot recognize him. (12.58)

Without benefit of side by side comparison above, it would be hard to equate the phrases:

"Joseph's ten brethren went down" and "Yusuf's brothers came and went in." Without the

sequential tracking it would be hard to catch the similarity, since the surrounding events are not

exact. Yet the clear evidence has to be considered. How much of the Koran is plagiarism?

Then Joseph commanded to fill theirsacks with corn, and to restore everyman's money into his sack, and to givethem provision for the way: and thus didhe unto them. (42:25)

And he said to his servants: Put theirmoney into their bags that they mayrecognize it when they go back to theirfamily, so that they may come back.(12.62)

Again we have evidence of plagiarism as underlined above where "Joseph commanded" is

rendered as "he said to his servants." His reason for doing so is exactly opposite as follows:

And he said unto his brethren, Mymoney is restored; and, lo, it is even inmy sack: and their heart failed them, andthey were afraid, saying one to another,What is this that God hath done unto us?(42:28)

And when they opened their goods, theyfound their money returned to them.They said: O our father! what (more) canwe desire? This is our property returnedto us, and we will bring corn for ourfamily and guard our brother, and willhave in addition the measure of a camel(load); this is an easy measure. (12.65)

When a plagiarized text gives the opposite sense, we have to ask if that's intentional.

Revisionism is a far more serious charge than plagiarism. Anyone who would recast an historical

account to have its opposite sense, would likely tell outright lies. On the evidence here,

Mohammed can be charged not only with plagiarism, but also as a false prophet. By his own

words: "Know that we send down to the unbelievers devils who incite them to evil" (Mary 19.83

884). A lying prophet does not speak the words of God. "We cast the truth against the falsehood,

so that it breaks its head, and lo! it vanishes; and woe to you for what you describe" (Prophets

21.18). Let his own words judge him.


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Tice 9

The following comparisons simply show that the Sura is continuing to track in lock step

with Genesis. As before, compare the underlined portions:

And put my cup, the silver cup, in thesack's mouth of the youngest, and his

corn money. And he did according to theword that Joseph had spoken. (44:2)

So when he furnished them with theirprovisions, (someone) placed the

drinking cup in his brother's bag. Then acrier cried out: O caravan! you are mostsurely thieves. (12.70)

And when they were gone out of the city,and not yet far off, Joseph said unto hissteward, Up, follow after the men; andwhen thou dost overtake them, say untothem, Wherefore have ye rewarded evilfor good?

They said while they were facing them:What is it that you miss?

Is not this it in which my lord drinketh,and whereby indeed he divineth? yehave done evil in so doing. (44:4-5)

They said: We miss the king's drinkingcup, and he who shall bring it shall havea camel-load and I am responsible for it.

(12.71-72)

It's amusing to consider that Israel's family might have used camels instead of donkeys (12.72).

And they said unto him, Wherefore saithmy lord these words? God forbid that thyservants should do according to thisthing: (44:7)

They said: By Allah! you know for certainthat we have not come to make mischiefin the land, and we are not thieves.(12.73)

In the verses above, the oath stands out as a marker. In the Genesis account it is rendered

"God forbid," but in the Sura it is "By Allah!" Again the Sura is locked to the source in Genesis,

along with the rest of the underlined text. Below, I have to wonder why they would bother with

changing the penalty in the Sura? Why follow a text closely, but intentionally alter it?

With whomsoever of thy servants it befound, both let him die, and we also willbe my lord's bondmen. (44:9)

They said: The requital of this is that theperson in whose bag it is found shallhimself be (held for) the satisfactionthereof; thus do we punish thewrongdoers. (12.75)

I suppose there is no reason to expect consistency in plagiarism or revisionism. Perhaps in the

tribal culture of the day, the penalty would just obviously have been death, so it need not have

been stated (17.5).


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Tice 10

In verse 76,Mohammed again lapses into divine commentary speaking as Allah. Having

demonstrated that Sura 19 is a plagiary or worse, we can ask whether Mohammed is insane or

possessed? The commentary in the Sura suggests possession, almost like saying behind every

soothsayer is a demon: "above every one possessed of knowledge is the All-knowing one" (76).

Then they speedily took down everyman his sack to the ground, and openedevery man his sack. (44:11)

So he began with their sacks before thesack of his brother, then he brought itout from his brother's sack. Thus did Weplan for the sake of Yusuf; it was not(lawful) that he should take his brotherunder the king's law unless Allahpleased; We raise the degrees ofwhomsoever We please, and aboveevery one possessed of knowledge isthe All-knowing one. (12.76)

And he searched, and began at theeldest, and left at the youngest: and thecup was found in Benjamin's sack.(44:12)

They said: If he steal, a brother of his didindeed steal before; but Yusuf kept itsecret in his heart and did not disclose itto them. He said: You are in an evilcondition and Allah knows best what youstate. (12.77)

Knowing that there is plagiarism in the Sura, it can be used to compare cultural

expressions. For hair to turn gray (Gen. 44:29) and for eyes to become white (Sura 12.84) both

indicate age and/or shock. In this case the sense of the text has likely not been changed, but

translated into different cultural expressions:

And if ye take this also from me, andmischief befall him, ye shall bring downmy gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.(44:29)

And he turned away from them, andsaid: O my sorrow for Yusuf! and hiseyes became white on account of thegrief, and he was a repressor (of grief).(12.84)

When Joseph reveals who he is to his brothers, buried in the structure of the parallel texts

underlined, there is another flip. Instead of Joseph's brothers being speechless, they speak asking

him if he is "indeed Yusuf?" (note: see also next page)

And Joseph said unto his brethren, I amJoseph; doth my father yet live? And hisbrethren could not answer him; for theywere troubled at his presence.

He said: Do you know how you treatedYusuf and his brother when you wereignorant? (12.89)

12


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Tice 11

And Joseph said unto his brethren,Come near to me, I pray you. And theycame near. And he said, I am Josephyour brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.(45:3-4)

They said: Are you indeed Yusuf? Hesaid: I am Yusuf and this is my brother;Allah has indeed been gracious to us;surely he who guards (against evil) andis patient (is rewarded) for surely Allahdoes not waste the reward of those whodo good. (12.90)

Here's another flip in the narratives below between the Sura and Genesis. Joseph's mother

had died (Gen. 48:7). No mention is made of that in the Sura (12.99). A Muslim apologist might

explain that Joseph had many mothers, since Jacob (Israel) had married 4 wives, so that it could

be correct to say parents, plural, but I doubt it.

And as for me, when I came fromPadan, Rachel died by me in the land ofCanaan in the way, when yet there wasbut a little way to come unto Ephrath:and I buried her there in the way ofEphrath; the same is Bethlehem. (48:7)

Then when they came in to Yusuf, hetook his parents to lodge with him andsaid: Enter safe into Egypt, if Allahplease. (12.99)

In conclusion, Sura 19 "Yusuf" is certainly at least a plagiary of the Genesis chapters

about Joseph. The plagiarism has been amply demonstrated. One type of evidence is the repeated

use of similar phrasing as in Genesis. Another type is use of direct transliterations of Genesis

texts. Dissimilar phrases (that are cultural translations) about the same event have also been

shown. Small otherwise unnoticeable connecting words have been rendered the same frequently

in both texts. Most importantly a lock step sequencing of the verses of Sura 19 tracks directly

with Genesis all the way through the Sura. Certainly, plagiarism can not be attributed to God.

The side by side comparisons of the texts is a very powerful forensic method. During the

course of this investigation, many notable differences have been shown that indicates intentional

revision of the story of Joseph's life. The purpose of such revision is unclear. Disturbingly, in

several places the text is ascribed to Allah. That presents the unpleasant options that Mohammed

was either mad, possessed, or both. What that might imply about a major world religion with

over a billion followers is alarming. The matter now needs to be referred to more expert review.

12


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Tice 12

In light of the facts of this presentation, two quotes from the closing section of Sura 19

are worth remembering:

Until when the apostles despaired and the people became sure that they were

indeed told a lie, Our help came to them and whom We pleased was delivered;

and Our punishment is not averted from the guilty people. In their histories there

is certainly a lesson for men of understanding. It is not a narrative which could be

forged, but a verification of what is before it and a distinct explanation of all

things and a guide and a mercy to a people who believe. (12.110-111)

This comes from a madman. What Mohammed wrote was self-delusion. Sura 19 is exactly a

forgery of the story of Joseph in Genesis and not verification. Let the Prophet of Islam be judged

by his very own words.


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Tice 13

Works Cited

The Bible. King James Version.

M. H. Shakir's translation. Sura 19 "YUSUF," The Holy Qur'an. Electronic Text Center,University of Virginia Library. Tahrike Tarsile Qur'an, Inc., Elmhurst, New York 2-24-06

< http://etext.virginia.edu/koran.html > "The Koran." The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces. Ed. M. Mack. Expanded ed.

New York: Norton, 1997. 868-888.

Prophet or Plagiarist 100926

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