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 Muslims refuting
these claims (see here).
I think what these Christians fail to realize 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. There is nothing unbelievable or astonishing about that.
Take for example the argument regarding Thomas's Infancy Gospel and how it also contains the
story of Jesus in the cradle similar to the one found in the Qur'an (Surah 19:28-34). Christians
object to this story because it is not found in the Bible.
In response to this we reply back by saying "lack of evidence does not necessarily imply
evidence of absence". The author of John's Gospel makes it clear that Jesus did many things
(possibly miracles as well) which weren't recorded (John 21:25), therefore there is a good reason
for us to believe that this miracle of Jesus was also not recorded.
I agree with John's logic; however I don't hold his Gospel to be authoritative.
It is very reasonable to believe that this story of Jesus did not find its way into the Gospels.
Someone might argue back that the Gospels teach that Jesus' ministry began later in life while
the Qur'an seems to indicate that it happened shortly after he was born.
Well first of all, this begs the question that whatever the Gospels have said is true.
Secondly, it would be possible to harmonize between the two if it is necessary. Perhaps, Jesus 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 God (if you can believe that a baby can
speak then why not believe in a virgin birth?) and then later on in the future Jesus began
preaching full time and this is what the Gospel authors spoke about.
Also, the author of the article states:

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: "He has given me the Book..." That is past tense. When do you think that Jesus
received his book? Has he received the Book while in the womb, before he was even
born?

Imam Qurtubi cites several opinions of the meaning of Jesus' statement and the strongest one is
that Jesus was intending to say that God has decreed that the Book (Gospel) will be revealed to
him. So it is in the past tense in the verse since it is referring to the act of decreeing.
Similar figure of speech is found in Surah 108:1, where God says that He has given (in the past
tense) the Prophet (peace be upon him) a river in heaven. Obviously, once the verse was revealed
to the Prophet (peace be upon him) he was still on planet earth and didn't have the river in his
possession. However, the verse is trying to signify the reality of Allah's promise and decree.
Thus, logically speaking there is no reason why we should believe that these arguments are
threatening to the Qur'an's credibility.
I would like to advance three more arguments:-

1) Stating information that already exists does not imply

plagiarism
Just because the Qur'an mentions stories about Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) or David
(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 Qur'an simply came to confirm their authenticity, especially when we take into consideration
that this is one of the functions of the Qur'an. (Surah 5:48)

2) How did Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) Avoid

Errors if He Were Plagiarizing?
If the Prophet (peace be upon him) were copying from the Bible blindly then we would expect to
see that he would have also copied some of the errors in the Bible.
The Bible mistakenly calls the king that lived during the time of Joseph 'Pharaoh' (e.g. see the
book of Genesis, Chapter 41, Verses 14, 25 & 46) while he really shouldn't be called
Pharaoh. This is because the Egyptians did not call their ruler "Pharaoh" until the 18th Dynasty
(c. 1552 - 1295 BC) in the New Kingdom Period.

But the Qur'an correctly labels him only as 'king' (The Holy Qur'an, Chapter 12, Verses 43, 50,
54, 72 & 76) The Bible's use of the term 'Pharaoh' is an anachronism, while the Qur'an's usage of
the term 'king' isn't.
For an excellent online article to read on the issue please refer to the article "Qur'anic Accuracy
Vs. Biblical Error: The Kings & Pharaohs Of Egypt", available here.
The Psalmist 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 Sun's heat. The Qur'an says no such thing. As a matter of fact, the Qur'an indirectly
goes against this by speaking about the darkness found in the depth of the seas in Chapter 24,
Verse 40. Thus, the Qur'an speaks about some places in which there is no light.
The Bible contains genealogies scattered throughout the Old Testament, (especially in books
such as 2 Chronicles)which imply that the first human being was created sometime between
6,200 and 7,300 years ago(Dr. Walt Brown., In the Beginning: Compelling Evidence for
Creation and the Flood, (7th Edition), Source).
However, this is an archaeological error since there are human fossils that predate this early date:
The fossilized skulls of two adults and one child discovered in the Afar region of
eastern Ethiopiahave been dated at 160,000 years, making them the oldest
known fossils of modern humans, orHomo sapiens. (Robert Sanders,
"160,000-year-old fossilized skulls uncovered in Ethiopia are oldest
anatomically modern humans", UC Berkley News, 11 June, 2003, Source)
Scientists have unearthed three 160,000-year-old human skulls in Ethiopia that are
the oldest known and best-preserved fossils of modern humans' immediate
predecessors. (Rick Callahanm, "160,000-Year-Old Skulls Found", CBS News, June
11 2003, Source)
Human fossils found 38 years ago in Africa are 65,000 years older than previously
thought, a new study says 'pushing the dawn of "modern" humans back
35,000 years. (Hillary Mayell, "Oldest Human Fossils Identified", National
Geographic News, February 16, 2005, Source)

However, the Qur'an and authentic hadith are silent on this issue. Surely, we would expect to
have seen the Prophet (peace be upon him) copying from these genealogies since they are so
scattered across the Bible.

Thus, when we investigate the claim of whether the Prophet (peace be upon him) plagiarized
from the Bible or not we can see that the evidence further supports his Prophethood and does not
discredit it.
Furthermore, the assertion of Judeo-Christian borrowing raises a number of questions. Jamal
Badawi puts forward the following six questions:
1. Why is it in spite of the abundance of historical material on Muhammad's (peace be upon
him) life, and in spite of the extensive research on his life for centuries by his severe
critics, that it was not possible to discover the mysterious teacher(s) through whom
Muhammad (peace be upon him) might have learned all that?
2. It is known that Muhammad (peace be upon him) was opposed, ridiculed and persecuted
for nearly 13 years by his own contemporaries. With this magnitude of severe enemies,
was it not possible for them to prove to the masses that Muhammad's (peace be upon
him) claim of revelation was sheer fabrication? Was it not possible for them to reveal and
name the person whom they alleged to be the human source or sources of his teachings?
Even some of his adversaries who had made this assertion, changed their minds later on
and accused him, instead, of magic or being possessed by evil... etc.
3. Muhammad's (peace be upon him) was raised among his people and every aspect of his
life was exposed to them, especially by the openness that characterises tribal life in the
desert. How 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 credit?
4. What kind of teacher might have taught Muhammad (peace be upon him) a coherent and
complete religion that changed the face of history? Why didn't he or they (if any) speak
against the alleged student who continued learning from them, while ignoring them and
claiming some other divine source for his teachings?
5. How could many Jews and Christians amongst his contemporaries become Muslims and
believe in his truthfulness if they knew he was copying from their scriptures or learning
from their priests or rabbis?
6. It is known that some of the Qur'nic revelations to Muhammad (peace be upon him) in
the presence of people. The Qur'n was revealed over the span of 23 years, where then
that was mysterious, perhaps invisible teacher of Muhammad (peace be upon him)? How
could he have hidden himself for so long? Or how could Muhammad (peace be upon
him) who was constantly surrounded by companions, how was he able to make frequent
secret visits to that mysterious teacher or teachers for 23 years without even being caught
once?

3) If It Is Good Enough To Refute The Qur'an Then It Is

Also Good Enough To Refute The Bible

Christians who put forth these arguments don't realize how self referentially incoherent their
argument actually is.
The assertion that allegedly "numerous" stories in the Quran are "borrowed" from Jewish
Talmudic sources and Christian apocryphal writings appears to be based on the dubious
underlying presumption that similarity implies "borrowing." For example, consider the
similarities/parallels between certain Biblical stories and those found in the Near Eastern
literature.
Some notable examples:
-

Genesis creation story and Enuma Elish; (See here and here)

The flood story (Genesis 6-8) and Atrahasis and Gilgamesh (See here and here)

Israel's ancestors and the Nuzi texts (See here)

Biblical laws (Exodus 21-23) and the Code of Hammurabi (laws 195-214)

Biblical texts (the Ten Commandments and the structure of Deuteronomy) and
the Hittite Suzerainty treaties and Vassal Treaty of Esarhaddon (See here and here)

Book of Proverbs (22:17-24:22) and the Instruction of Amenemope (See here and here)

The latter are undoubtedly far earlier than the Biblical accounts and both direct and indirect
connections have been posited between the two. The parallels in the last example are particularly
striking, with most scholars agreeing that Proverbs 22:17-24:22 and Amenemope are clearly
connected in some way (reminder: Amenemope is older than Proverbs).
We can, however, be reasonably certain that Christian apologists will not conclude based on the at times striking - similarities that the Biblical authors "borrowed" their stories from their much
older Near Eastern counterparts. However, in the case of the Quran not even a slight
consideration and reasonableness is granted. Indeed, how much clearer can their hypocrisy and
double standards be?

Did The Quran Plagiarize From The Infancy Gospel of

Thomas?
By
Bassam Zawadi

Several Christian polemicists keep putting forth this argument (*,*,*,*).

Yet the problem that many of these Christians don't realize 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. However, Christian apologists are either
replying back saying:
-

This is an act of Satan's deception: Many of the early church writers such as Irenaeus,
Justin Martyr and Tertullian claimed that the similarities between Christianity and
paganism were a Satanic attempt at "diabolical mimicry", which means that Satan
purposely ensured that stories similar to what would be included into the future Gospels
would be pre-recorded in pagan sources so that it appears that Christians copied from the
earlier pagan sources. They view this as some kind of pre-emptive strike from Satan
against Christianity. It's also possible that Satan'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.

Similarity does not equal sameness: Christian apologists would claim that just 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 evidence that pious Christians would have copied off pagan
sources: Christian apologist Sam Shamoun said (bold emphasis mine):
If Smith wants to prove that Christianity borrowed from these pagan religions, not
the other way, then he must establish the following:

He must provide some pre-Christian evidence, whether archaeological

inscriptions, artifacts etc., showing that these pagan stories existed before the time
of Jesus.
He must also show that such stories were not just in circulation, but that they
were circulating in first century Palestine.
He must then demonstrate that God-fearing, monotheistic Jews such as
Christ's followers would be interested in plagiarizing such myths in the first
place. (Sam Shamoun, The Alleged Pagan Origins of Christianity: Examining
More of Abdullah Smith's Continuing Intellectual Suicide Mission, Source)

They 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.
So Christian polemicists putting forth the claim that the Qur'an plagiarized from the Infancy
Gospel need to be consistent and:
-

Prove that this is not merely a Satanic attempt where Satan tried to ensure that the story
of Jesus 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. Or that Satan 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 Qur'an and Infancy Gospel is that the Qur'an plagiarized the
story.

Prove that the story found in the Qur'an and Infancy Gospel are the same and not merely
similar.

Using Sam Shamoun's similar words: "Demonstrate that a God-fearing, monotheistic

believer such as Muhammad (peace be upon him) would be interested in plagiarizing
such myths in the first place."

It appears that Christians have no way of performing all the above three tasks, hence why do they
apply double standards?
For instance, let's look at the third point mentioned above regarding Shamoun's comment.
We know that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was a sincere person. Almost everyone who has
studied the life of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) would non-hesitantly admit that
the Prophet (peace be upon him) was sincere. Regardless of whether he was sincerely right or
wrong or whether any another aspects of his character could be criticized, they would admit that
he was at least subjectively sincere and believed that he was receiving revelations from God.

W. Montgomery Watt states:

His 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 suppose Muhammad an impostor
raises more problems than it solves. Moreover, none of the great figures of history is
so poorly appreciated in the West as Muhammad. (W. Montgomery Watt,Mohammad at
Mecca, Oxford 1953, p. 52)
Sir William Muir said:
It is strongly corroborative of Mahomet's sincerity that the earliest converts to Islam
were not only of upright character, but his own bosom friends and people of his
household; who, intimately acquainted with his private life, could not fail otherwise to
have detected those discrepancies which ever more or less exist between the professions
of the hypocritical deceiver abroad and his actions at home. (Sir William Muir, The Life
of Mahomet, page 54)

And:
I agree with Sprenger in considering 'the faith of Abu Bakr the greatest guarantee of the
sincerity of Mohammed in the beginning of his career' - and, indeed, in a modified
sense, throughout his life. (Ibid., page 56)
J.W.H. Stobart said:
Abu Bakr was a man of the purest character. His friendship for Mahomet, and
unwavering belief in his mission, are a strong testimony to the sincerity of the
prophet. (J.W.H. Stobart, Islam and its Founder, page 209)
Tor Andrae said:
The genuineness and sincerity of Mohammed's piety, and the honesty of his belief in
his religious call, are indisputable. (Tor Andrae, Mohammed: The Man and his Faith,
page 185)
John Gilchrist said:
We can safely reject the view that Muhammad was a deliberate
impostor. Throughout 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
was receiving were coming to him from above. (John Gilchrist, Muhammad and The

Religion of Islam, Chapter: A Study of Muhammad's Personality: An Assessment of

His Personality)
Arthur Glyn Leonard said:
If ever a man on this earth found God, if ever a man devoted his life to God's
service with a good and great motive, it is certain that the Prophet of Arabia
(Muhammad) is the man. Muhammad was not only the greatest but truest man that
humanity has ever produced. (Arthur Glyn Leonard, Islam, her moral and spiritual
value: A Rational and Psychological Study, pages 18-19)

Here we see that even non-Muslim critics of Muhammad (peace be upon him) had to at least
admit that he was sincere and believed he was receiving revelation from God. In that case, it is
difficult to imagine that the Prophet (peace be upon him) knowingly plagiarized material and
included it into the Qur'an.
Now citation of scholars isn't enough and it's important to also look at some evidence pointing to
the Prophet's (peace be upon him) sincerity. Let us see some highlights of the Prophet's (peace be
upon him) life, which make it clearly evident that he was truly sincere.
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) bore a son by the name of Ibrahim. Approximately
a year and a half after his birth he died. The Prophet (peace be upon him) was very distressed by
the death of his son. The day the Prophet's (peace be upon him) son died there was an eclipse:

Saheeh Bukhari
Volume 2, Hadith no. 153
Narrated Al-Mughira bin Shu'ba:
"The sun eclipsed in the life-time of Allah's Apostle on the day when (his son) Ibrahim
died. So the people said that the sun had eclipsed because of the death of Ibrahim. Allah's
Apostle said, "The sun and the moon do not eclipse because of the death or life (i.e. birth)
of some-one. When you see the eclipse pray and invoke Allah."

Notice how the companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him) erroneously believed that the
sun had eclipsed due to the death of his son. If Muhammad (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. However, we see that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was forthright

and denied that this was the case and that the sun and the moon do not eclipse because of the
death of anyone. Here, we see that the Prophet (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 Prophet (peace be upon him) migrated
from Mecca to Medina. The Meccans were planning to assassinate the Prophet (peace be upon
him), thus the Prophet (peace be upon him) had bodyguards to guard him until Allah revealed the
following verse:
Surah 5:67
O Messenger! deliver what bas been revealed to you from your Lord; and if you do it not,
then you have not delivered His message, and Allah will protect you from the
people; surely Allah will not guide the unbelieving people.

After this verse was revealed the Prophet (peace be upon him) told his bodyguards to stop
guarding him for he received a promise from God that he would be protected. (See Sunan Al
Tirmidhi [Hadith Number 3046] Sheikh Al-Albani said it is authentic from the way of Aisha
in Saheeh Al-Tirmidhi under Hadith Number 3046; Al-Mustadrak fi al Saheehayn [Hadith
Number 3221]: Imam Al Dhahabi said it is authentic as well as Al-Hakim;U'mdat
Altafseer (an abridged commentary on Ibn Kathir's commentary) [Volume 1, page 710]:
Ahmad Shakir said the narration is authentic.)
If Muhammad (peace be upon him) did not sincerely believe that he was a Prophet of Allah
would he have ordered such a thing especially when he knew that his life was in actual danger
and shouldn't take any risks? The answer is no.
Allah Almighty revealed the following verse:
Surah 17:79
And during a part of the night, pray Tahajjud beyond what is incumbent on you; 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 Qur'an and to pray after sleeping a
little, (a largess for thee) a merit for you; it is also said that this means: you alone are
enjoined to do so. (Ibn Abbaas,Tanwr al-Miqbs min Tafsr Ibn 'Abbs, Commentary
on Chapter 17, Verse 79)

My question is why would the Prophet (peace be upon him) make a prayer late into the night
compulsory upon himself in exclusion to the rest of the Muslims? Why would he do that to
himself? Doesn't this show that the Prophet (peace be upon him) sincerely believed in and
followed the revelation that he was receiving besides making them up?
Also an incident occurred with Aisha, the wife of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in
which she was falsely accused of committing adultery and she and the Prophet (peace be upon
him) had to wait in distress for the verse from the Qur'an to come down to vindicate Aisha of the
crime. (Read the story in Qur'anic commentaries under Chapter 24, Verse 11)
Now if the Prophet (peace be upon him) were the author of the Qur'an he would have quickly
(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. However, his sincerity shows that he did not make
up the Qur'an, but was waiting to receive revelation from Allah Almighty.
The Arabs were challenged to produce something like the Qur'an, then ten Surahs (chapters)
similar to it, and then one Surah similar to it:
Surah 2:23
And if ye are in doubt as to what we have revealed from time to time to our servant then
produce a surah like thereunto; and call your witnesses or helpers (if there are any)
besides Allah if ye are truthful.
Surah 52: 33-34
Or do they say: "He fabricated the (message)" nay, they have no faith! Let them then
produce a saying like unto it, If (it be) they speak the truth!

The question I would like to ask is which insincere prophet would author a book and challenge
the best of Arab poets to find discrepancies in it? Would any sensible layman in mechanics
challenge the mechanics of BMW or Mercedes to critique him and expose him? Doesn't this
show that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was so confident about the revelations he was
receiving?
Yes, one may think that Prophet Muhammad (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.

So wouldn't this then according to Christian standards serve as evidence that the Prophet (peace
be upon him) did not plagiarize?
Just because the Qur'an mentions stories about Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) or David
(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 Qur'an simply came to confirm their authenticity, especially when we take into consideration
that this is one of the functions of the Qur'an. (Surah 5:48). There is no reason to think otherwise
regarding the story of Jesus in the cradle.
The Christian might object and say that the Qur'an came to confirm the Gospel and Torah and
that the story of Jesus in the cradle or making a bird from clay is not found in the Bible, rather it
is found in an apocryphal book. However, as we have clearly clarified Islam teaches that the
Gospels that Christians adhere to today only contain some truth, while other truth is missing.
Hence, it's possible that the cradle story is true, yet hasn't found its way into the Bible.
The 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 "lack of evidence does not necessarily
imply evidence of absence". The author of John's Gospel makes it clear that Jesus did many
things (possibly miracles as well) which weren't recorded (John 21:25), therefore there is a good
reason for us to believe that it's at least possible that this miracle of Jesus was also not recorded.
Someone might argue back that the Gospels teach that Jesus' ministry began later in life, while
the Qur'an seems to indicate that it happened shortly after he was born.
Well first of all, this begs the question that whatever the Gospels have said is true.
Secondly, it would be possible to harmonize between the two claims if it is necessary. Perhaps,
Jesus 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 God (if you can believe
that a baby can speak then why not believe in a virgin birth?) and then later on in the future Jesus
began preaching full time and this is what the Gospel authors were referring to.
Furthermore, just because the Infancy Gospel was authored in the second century that does not
exclude the possibility that it might have included stories circulating during the first century.
There is much doubt surrounding this book and where it has obtained its information from:
No final judgment about the original form and content is possible.

Even if the earliest version of this gospel

Koester, Ancient Christian Gospels, page 311-312)

remains

uncertain (Helmut

The individual stories themselves, however, may derive from the end of the first
century-though there is no possibility of proving so early an origin for any of them.
(F. Lapham, An Introduction to the New Testament Apocrypha, page 129)

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 Jesus (peace be upon him) speaking in the cradle is a forgery.

Some Christians such as the early Islamic critic Tisdall tried to suggest that Prophet Muhammad
(peace be upon him) plagiarized the story from Mary-the Copt who back in Egypt had access to
the story of Jesus 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 Gospel (Injil Al-Tufuliyyah). However,
this assertion is not convincing because:
1) Possibility does not equal probability.
2) No motive has been provided for Muhammad (peace be upon him) to plagiarize the story
and doesn't fit in with his overall character as a sincere person, for his sincerity is
recognized by almost all people who have studied his life (more on this below).
3) The Qur'anic verse about Jesus in the cradle was revealed in Mecca, while the Prophet
(peace be upon him) met Mary-the Copt only during the Medinan period.
Now the Christian may reply back and say:
"Obviously we cannot prove with 100% certainty that Muhammad plagiarized from the
Infancy Gospel, since when dealing with history we are forced to work with probabilities.
What we are saying is that the probability that Muhammad plagiarized from the Infancy
Gospel is so high that it is more reasonable to assume that he did than to suggest
otherwise. To suggest otherwise is to be prejudice"
I of course agree that we are only dealing with probabilities when it comes to history, however
probabilities are dependent upon certain variables. One 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 Prophet (peace be upon him) did not
plagiarize based on the convergence of the following points: 1) His sincerity and truthfulness; 2)
his illiteracy; 3) lack of ready access to Jewish and Christian documents; 4) improbability of the
presence of the Infancy Gospel of Thomas in the Hijaz 5) The many striking differences between
the Quranic stories and the parallels in the Judeo-Christian documents, with a virtual lack of

verbal similarities; 6) and the many more differences between the Quranic story and the account
in the Infancy Gospel of Thomas
We need to bare in mind that similarity between a Qur'anic account and a Biblical (or nonBiblical) story is not proof of the former borrowing from the latter. They could have the same
source as well. Why could it not be that a certain event occurred and eventually came to be
recorded either in a Biblical or a non-Biblical writing and later Allah revealed to Muhammad
(peace be upon him) the story as well? If a priori we reject the possibility of Muhammad's (peace
be upon him) prophethood then we would have no choice but to look for a non-divine solution
(i.e. that Muhammad (peace be upon him) either directly or indirectly borrowed a certain story).
But if we are open to the possibility of revelation, miracles and Muhammad'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 Muhammad (peace be upon him) or that he received the information
through fresh revelation. Only by a priori denying the possibility of revelation and miracles can
we come to this conclusion. We need to ensure that we are not appealing to the fallacy of false
cause when examining this issue.
From a purely historical perspective, we cannot say with confidence that the story of Jesus
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. Now, at the same time, neither could we say with confidence
and certainty that this story existed in the first century. From a purely historical perspective, we
would have to conclude: WE DON'T KNOW. May be it was in existence (either orally or in a
written form) in the first century, or it was not. There is no evidence to speak against its existence
(oral or written) in the first century, nor any positive evidence to "demonstrate" its existence in
the first century (oral or written). All we know is that it existed in a written form in the fifth/sixth
century (in a manuscript of the InfancyGospel of Thomas) and that there may be evidence of its
existence during the time of Ireaneus (180 AD).[1] Given 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 inauthentic/contaminated) oral traditions from the
first century finding their way into documents which were not included in the canonical list of
writings. Non-canonical documents may very well contain first century traditions, though
identifying these traditions and determining their extant is not historically possible. The
canonical documents cannot possibly consist of all or a big sample of traditions floating around
in the first century.
Also, Muslims do accept this story as a genuine miracle from the life of Jesus (peace be upon)
simply because the Quran says so. For the very same reason we accept the miracle of Jesus'
virgin birth and the miracle of his healing the sick and the miracle of raising the dead. Miracles
are accepted on faith. Christians ALSO accept the miracle of the virgin birth on faith, among
other miracles mentioned in the gospels.
Furthermore, Jesus making a clay bird and giving that bird life is not more "grand" than Jesus
actually raising dead men and walking on water. None of these stories are more "legendary" than

the other. Thus, on the face of it, there would appear to be no reason to suspect the story of Jesus
making a clay bird and miraculously giving it life. Just 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 "legend," then how is Jesus' raising of
Lazarus not a legend? JUST BECAUSE A STORY IS NOT FOUND IN THE CANONICAL
GOSPELS IT DOES NOT FOLLOW THAT IT IS A LEGEND.
Third, modern scholars are far more cautious on the question of the "sources" of the Quran than
the earlier generation of scholars and writers, such as Tisdall and Geiger. The predominant stance
of modern scholars is that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is unlikely to have had possession of
actual written documents, be it Biblical documents or non-canonical Judeo-Christian writings.
The reason being the lack of direct quotations from the latter in the Quran and the so many
differences between the Quranic stories and their Biblical (canonical and non-canonical)
counterparts. Instead, the common view is that Muhammad (peace be upon him) "must" have
been reliant upon Biblical and non-Biblical traditions orally, which he then altered and reshaped
to suit his own needs. Such a hypothesis is quite possible only if we a priori dismiss the
possibility of Muhammad (peace be upon him) receiving revelation from God.
In a recent essay on the question of Quranic sources, Gerhard Bowering (Professor of Islamic
Studies at YaleUniversity) writes (Essay: "Recent Research On The Construction of The Quran."
In,
"The
Qur'an
in
its
Historical
Context,"
p.
70
(bold
added):
"No single collection of biblical writings, normative, apocryphal or midrashic,
however, has been identified as the major source in which the Qur'an may have
been rooted.1 To the best of our present knowledge, the Bible had not been translated
into Arabic by the time of Muhammad, either in its entirety or in the form of single
books.2 It is generally believed that Muhammad gathered his biblical knowledge
principally, if not exclusively, from oral sources.3 This oral lore was communicated
to Muhammad in his mother tongue, but its original forms were in Syriac, Aramaic,
Ethiopian and Hebrew materials, as evidenced by the vocabulary of foreign origin to be
found in the Arabic Qur'an.4 This foreign vocabulary formed an integral part of
Muhammad's proclamation and was understood by his audience in Mecca and Medina
whom he addressed in eloquent Arabic.5"
and (p. 83, bold mine):
"During his lifetime, Muhammad had a good number of his Qur'anic proclamations
copied down by scribes, but there is no evidence that he used foreign written source
materials for the composition of the Qur'an. Until the appearance of evidence to the
contrary, one has to support the position that it was oral information on which the
Qur'an drew directly, even if behind this oral information there was a core of
passages extracted from written traditions that were translated into Arabic from

one or the other of its sibling languages. This core, however, has not yet come to light
in a distinct form. The almost total absence in the Qur'an of direct parallels with the
normative, midrashic or apocryphal biblical traditions 60 makes it impossible to
argue for a direct dependence on written sources. Essential sections of the Qur'anic
message were received from the oral lore of a variety of religious communities who
were rooted in the widely dispersed and non-normative Jewish and Christian
traditions. Not a single written source, whether scriptural or liturgical, however, has
been identified that would satisfy the search for an underlying Ur-Qur'an, whether
postulated as a Christian hymnal or a Syro-Aramaic lectionary, that served as a
written source book for the Qur'an." [2]
As an example, we may actually point to Jesus' clay-bird miracle in the Infancy Gospel
of Thomas, which states:
When this boy, Jesus, was five years old, he was playing at the ford of a rushing stream.
(2) He was collecting the flowing water into ponds and made the water instantly pure. He
did this with a single command. (3) He then made soft clay and shaped it into twelve
sparrows. He did this on the sabbath day, and many other boys were playing with him.
(4)But when a Jew saw what Jesus was doing while playing on the sabbath day, he
immediately went off and told Joseph, Jesus' father: "See here, your boy is at the ford and
has taken mud and fashioned twelve birds with it, and so has violated the sabbath."
(5)So Joseph went there, and as soon as he spotted him he shouted, "Why are you doing
what's not permitted on the sabbath?"
(6)But Jesus simply clapped his hands and shouted to the sparrows: "Be off, fly away,
and remember me, you who are now alive!" And the sparrows took off and flew away
noisily.
(7)The Jews watched with amazement, then left the scene to report to their leaders what
they had seen Jesus doing.
Compare the above with the Quranic account. In two locations the Quran mentions this miracle.
In Surah 3:49, we read:
"And (appoint him) an apostle to the Children of Israel, (with this message): "'I have
come to you, with a Sign 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 ...
Then in Surah 5:110 we read:
Then will Allah say: "O Jesus the son of Mary! Recount My favour to thee and to thy
mother. Behold! I strengthened thee with the holy spirit, so that thou didst speak to the
people in childhood and in maturity. Behold! I taught thee the Book and Wisdom, the
Law and the Gospel and behold! thou makest out of clay, as it were, the figure of a bird,
by My leave, and thou breathest into it and it becometh a bird by My leave ...

If Muhammad (peace be upon him) was copying from the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, or reliant
upon it even indirectly, why were its crucial details omitted? The Quran does not mention the
"soft" clay, the "twelve sparrows," Jesus' "clapping of hands" and his "crying" to the sparrows:
"Be off..." It does not mention Jesus (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 Quran
(the
sabbath
story).
If the Quran was dependent upon the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, why would its Author omit so
much - He omitted everything except for mentioning the miracle of the clay-bird?
The Quran only states that Jesus made a bird from clay and it transformed into an actual bird
when he breathed into it. The Quran then emphasizes that this was God's miracle, done through
Jesus (peace be upon him). Thus, it is highly unlikely that Muhammad (peace be upon him) had a
copy of the Infancy Gospel of Thomas in his lap and was copying directly from it.
Could it be that Muhammad (peace be upon him) acquired this story indirectly, as it was
circulating orally (with its ultimate source being the Infancy Gospel of Thomas)? This is
"possible." Though 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 exciting details in its written form and a
total absence of its framework? That seems quite improbable.

We may also compare the story about Jesus (peace be upon him) speaking in the cradle where it
says in the Infancy Gospel:

"... Jesus spake when he was in the cradle, and said to his mother: "Mary, I am Jesus the
Son of God, the Word, which thou didst bring forth according to the declaration of the
angel Gabriel, and My Father hath sent me for the salvation of the world."

While in the Qur'an it states:

Surah 19:28-34

"O sister of Aaron! Thy father was not a wicked man nor was thy mother a harlot. Then
she pointed to him. They said: How can we talk to one who is a child in the cradle? He
said: "I am indeed a servant of Allah. He has given me the Book and has made me a
prophet. And has made me blessed wheresoever I may be, and has enjoined 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. Peace on me the day I was born,
and the day I die, and the day I shall be raised alive! Such was Jesus, son of Mary: (this
is) a statement of the truth concerning which they doubt.

Notice that in the Infancy Gospel Jesus tells his mother that he is the Son of God. That is absent
from the Qur'an. Christians may argue back that this is because Muhammad (peace be upon him)
did not agree with this label, however notice that in the Infancy Gospel Jesus also tells his
mother that he is the word. The Qur'an also refers to Jesus (peace be upon him) as a word from
Allah. There's no reason why Muhammad (peace be upon him) wouldn't have had Jesus saying to
his mother that he is a word from Allah if he was indeed plagiarizing, since that could be
possibly harmonized with the Qur'an. There's also no mention of angel Gabriel in the Qur'an.

Similarity between the Quranic account and the story in the Infancy Gospel of Thomas would
only be "problematic" for Muslims if the possibility of God's revelation is a priori dismissed. If it
is not a priori dismissed, then we have no problem. Muhammad (peace be upon him) did receive
this story, lacking all details added to it in the written Christian record, through revelation from
Allah.
Notes:
[1] But there is an earlier reference from Irenaeus, as Cameron notes:

In his citation, Irenaeus first quotes a non-canonical story that circulated about the
childhood of Jesus and then goes directly on to quote a passage from
the infancy narrative of the Gospel of Luke (Luke 2:49). Since the Infancy Gospel
of Thomas records both of these stories, in relative close proximity to one another, it
is possible that the apocryphal writing cited by Irenaeus is, in fact, what is now
known as the Infancy Gospel of Thomas. Because of the complexities of the
manuscript tradition, however, there is no certainty as to when the stories of
the Infancy Gospel of Thomas began to be written down.(cited here)
[2] In a footnote, Bowering writes:

60 To stress again, only a very small number of Qur'anic verses parallels small
passages of the apocryphal gospels, and only one Qur'anic verse, Q 21:105, is a
direct quotation from the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), namely Psalm 37:29. The
earliest known Muslim Arabic citation from the New Testament is the passage of
John 15:23-16:1 which is presented in summary form by Ibn Ishaq (d. 767 CE) in
Muhammad's biography, see F. Wstenfeld (ed.), Das Leben Muhammeds nach
Muhammad Ibn Ishaq, 1, 149-50. For the small harvest of parallels between
Qur'anic passages and the Syriac liturgy, see E. Graf, "Zu den christlichen
Einflssen im Koran," Festschrift Joseph Henninger: Studia Instituti
Anthropos Bonn, Al-Bahith 28, 1976, 121-44.

Recommended Reading
http://www.call-tomonotheism.com/does_the_qur_an_mentioning_stories_found_in_previous_writings_threaten_it
s_credibility_

Appendix

Shamoun responds over here.

Shamoun states:
On what basis does Muhammad's subjective sincerity constitute proof for the divine
origin of his teaching if the same conclusion does not hold for these other men?
This is nothing more than a red herring. I never argued that Muhammad's (peace be upon him)
sincerity constituted proof for the divine origin of his teaching. Rather, I said that this at least
illustrates that he didn't knowingly plagiarize something and attributed it directly to God as being
spoken by Him. This is what I said:
In that case, it is difficult to imagine that the Prophet (peace be upon him) knowingly
plagiarized material and included it into the Qur'an.
And:

Yes, one may think that Prophet Muhammad (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.
So wouldn't this then according to Christian standards serve as evidence that the Prophet
(peace be upon him) did not plagiarize?
Even Shamoun is aware of this, for he said earlier in his article:
Nor does it follow that Muhammad's sincerity proves that the Quran is from God, as even
Zawadi realizes.
So Shamoun earlier in his article states that I realize that Prophet Muhammad's (peace be upon
him) sincerity isn't proof that the Qur'an is the word of God. Then a few paragraphs later,
Shamoun asks:
On what basis does Muhammad's subjective sincerity constitute proof for the divine
origin of his teaching if the same conclusion does not hold for these other men?
This is extremely confusing! Why is Shamoun asking this question when he already
acknowledges that I never made this claim? Shamoun is very confused and needs to make up his
mind what he wants to argue!
Shamoun said:
Finally, the issue is not that Muhammad plagiarized the Arabic Infancy Gospel of
Thomas. Rather, the argument is that Muhammad heard Christians referring to this story
and therefore decided to include it in his Quran since he erroneously assumed that it was
an actual miracle performed by the historical Jesus.
But that is precisely the problem. If the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was truly
sincere then he couldn't have done that! The Qur'an is not like the Bible. If it was then someone
could argue that Muhammad (peace be upon him) sincerely believed that he was inspired to write
the contents of the Qur'an. But that is not the case. Rather, Islam teaches that the actual words in
the Qur'an were spoken by God. Muhammad (peace be upon him) taught this. If the Prophet
Muhammad (peace be upon him) taught that Allah spoke the Qur'an, but then he went ahead and
wrote it himself knowingly, then this just goes to show that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be
upon him) wasn't sincere. However, I have argued that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon
him) was indeed sincere, hence we must rule plagiarism and knowingly writing the Qur'an
from his own mind out of the question. The critic would need to offer another explanation
instead.
Shamoun said:

There is actually no need to disprove this since in actuality it is not that Satan made sure
that the story of Jesus speaking in the cradle wasn't written in any first century
documents. Rather, my conviction is that Satan may have actually influenced Muhammad
to adopt fables such as this one from these Christian apocryphal sources in order to dupe
Christians of Muhammad's time to believe that the Quran acknowledges the miraculous
life and ministry of Jesus.
Shamoun is free to have his "convictions", but the point is that he cannot prove them nor could
he disprove the Biblical mimicry argument.
Shamoun mentions the story found in Ibn Ishaq:
The names of the fourteen principal men among the sixty riders were: 'Abdu'l-Masih the
'Aqib, al-Ayham the Sayyid; Abu Haritha b. 'Alqama brother of B. Bakr b. Wa'il; Aus; alHarith; Zayd; Qays; Yazid; Nubayh; Khuwaylid; 'Amr; Khalid; 'Amr; Khalid; 'Abdullah;
Johannes; of these the first three named above spoke to the apostle. They were Christians
according to the Byzantine rite, though they differed among themselves in some points,
saying He is God; and He is the son of God; and He is the third person of the Trinity,
which is the doctrine of Christianity. They argue that he is God because he used to raise
the dead, and heal the sick, AND DECLARE THE UNSEEN; AND MAKE CLAY
BIRDS AND THEN BREATHE INTO THEM, SO THAT THEY FLEW AWAY; and all
this was by the command of God Almighty, 'We will make him a sign to men.' They
argue that he is son of God in that they say he had no known father; AND HE SPOKE
IN THE CRADLE and this is something that no child of Adam has ever done. They
argue that he is the third of three in that God says: We have done, We have commanded,
We have created and We have decreed, and they say, If He were one he would have said I
have done, I have created, and so on, but He is He and Jesus and Mary. Concerning all
these assertions the Quran came down.
Ibn Ishaq said that Muhammad bin Ja'far bin Zubair bin Al Awaam told him the story, but
Muhammad bin Ja'far came a generation after the Prophet's death and we have not been informed
where Muhammad bin Ja'far got this story from and how accurate its wording really is.
Shamoun said:
The foregoing explains why Muhammad's version of this apocryphal fable lacks "the
exciting details" found in the "written form" and why "its framework" is missing.
Well, as I already stated this is technically speaking a "possibility":
Could it be that Muhammad (peace be upon him) acquired this story indirectly, as it was
circulating orally (with its ultimate source being the Infancy Gospel of Thomas)? This

is "possible."

Shamoun then says:

The problem that Zawadi faces is that the Islamic sources which were just cited
emphatically prove that Muhammad took the very exact story which he heard from this
Christian group and included it within the Quran. This explains why the Quran's story of
Jesus creating clay birds is identical to the version narrated by the Christians from
Najran, i.e. Muhammad acquired his information directly from the Christians who had
obviously derived it from the apocryphal Christian Gospels which they had either read or
heard.
"Emphatically prove"? This is where Shamoun's bias clearly kicks in, since he assumes that
Muhammad (peace be upon him) is a false prophet and isn't willing to grant the possibility that
the Qur'an revealed the story of Jesus in response to the Najrani Christians and would very likely
word it the same way the Najrani Christians would.
This is also assuming that the story is reliable. Furthermore, Ibn Ishaq is not presenting the
actual words of the Najrani Christians, but is ONLY SUMMARIZING what they said and
talked about with the Prophet. How could Shamoun say with any shred of confidence that "the
Quran's story of Jesus creating clay birds is identical to the version narrated by the Christians
from Najran"?
Shamoun proceeds on to the second part of his article, however I haven't seen Shamoun
presenting any real arguments with any measure of substance that would call for responding to
them. This is because Shamoun's arguments are based on the assumption that Muhammad (peace
be upon him) wasn't sincere and knowingly includes information into the Qur'an, while claiming
to the people that they are the direct words uttered by God. Unless, Shamoun illustrates that the
Prophet (peace be upon him) wasn't sincere I see no reason to interact with arguments based on
false assumption.