Historical Errors in the Quran: Difference between revisions

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{{main|Mary the sister of Aaron in the Quran}}Mary the mother of Jesus was born in the first century BCE and was not related to Moses and his family whose story is set 1500 years earlier. Miriam was the sister of Moses and Aaron and daughter of Amram (Imran). The Quran appears to confuse these two characters, as it describes Mary, the mother of Jesus, as the "Sister of Aaron" and her mother as the "wife of Imran" in context where the "Imran" being discussed is evidently Miriam's father. A possible source of this confusion is the fact that both Miriam and Mary had the same name in Arabic, or were at least similar enough sounding for the original distinction to have been lost or neglected (the word used in either case in the Quran is the same and is pronounced ''maryam'').{{Quote|{{Quran|19|27-28}}|Then she brought him to her own folk, carrying him. They said: O Mary! Thou hast come with an amazing thing. '''O sister of Aaron!''' Thy father was not a wicked man nor was thy mother a harlot.}}{{Quote|{{Quran|66|12}}|And Mary, '''daughter of 'Imran''', whose body was chaste, therefor We breathed therein something of Our Spirit. And she put faith in the words of her Lord and His scriptures, and was of the obedient.}}{{Quote|{{Quran|3|33-36}}| Lo! Allah preferred Adam and Noah and the Family of Abraham '''and the Family of 'Imran''' above (all His) creatures. They were descendants one of another. Allah is Hearer, Knower. (Remember) when the '''wife of 'Imran''' said: My Lord! I have vowed unto Thee that which is in my belly as a consecrated (offering). Accept it from me. Lo! Thou, only Thou, art the Hearer, the Knower! And when she was delivered she said: My Lord! Lo! I am delivered of a female - Allah knew best of what she was delivered - the male is not as the female; and lo! I have named her Mary, and lo! I crave Thy protection for her and for her offspring from Satan the outcast.}}

Some modern academic scholars cite evidence that this could be a case of typology (deliberate literary allusion between characters - see main article). This may be the best explanation, although the verses would still be misleading as historical statements. {{Muslim||2135|reference}} seeks to explain the coincidence based on alleged customary forms of address (to explain "sister of Aaron") or naming customs (to explain why Imran named his daughter Mary), depending on interpretation of the hadith. Either interpretation only reduces part of the coincidence. Even if a naming custom could increase the odds that this father-daughter pair would share names with some earlier biblical family, a further coincidence would still be required if her father happened to be named the same as the father (Imran) in the particular biblical family alluded to when his daughter is addressed as "sister of Aaron". Another attempted explanation is that simply by coincidence this Imran actually had a son called Aaron as well as a daughter named Mary.

Historically, Judaism has been a strict form of monotheism. The Quran, by contrast, describes the Jews as practitioners of polytheism by stating that they hold ''Uzair'' (Ezra) to be the son of God. This is compared directly with the Christian doctrine which hold Jesus to be the son of God. This appears to be a confusion resulting from conflating the alternative senses in which Jewish and Christian theologians have employed and understood the word "son".{{Quote|{{Quran|9|30}}|The Jews say, "Ezra is the son of Allah "; and the Christians say, "The Messiah is the son of Allah." That is their statement from their mouths; they imitate the saying of those who disbelieved [before them]. May Allah destroy them; how are they deluded?}}

{{Quote|{{Quran|87|9-19}}|So remind, if the reminder is useful! He who fears God will take heed but the wretched one will turn away from it, the one who will roast in the great fire. There he will neither die nor live. Blessed be the one who purifies himself and recall the name of his Lord and prays. But you prefer the life of this world, while the world to come is better and more permanent. <b>This is in the most ancient scriptures, the scriptures of Abraham and Moses.</b>}}

The Qur'an presents a version of the Syrian legend of Alexander the Great as a great king who helps a tribe of people build a massive wall of iron between two mountains. The Quran then states, along with the hadith, that this wall and the tribes it traps will remain in place until the Day of Judgement. Modern satellites and near comprehensive exploration of the Earth's surface, however, have yet to reveal any trace of such massive structure.

The trumpet blowing in {{Quran|18|99}} is referred to many other times in the Qur'an as happening on judgement day (see {{Quran|27|87}}, {{Quran|69|13}} and {{Quran|39|68}}), with the word 'yawm' يوم being used in Q18:99 and 18:100, meaning on that ''day''<ref>[http://arabiclexicon.hawramani.com/search/%D9%8A%D9%88%D9%85?cat=50 Lane's Lexicon dictionary - يوم]</ref> specifically. {{Quote|{{Quran|18|96-101}}|Bring me pieces of iron!’ When he had levelled up between the flanks, he said, ‘Blow!’ When he had turned it into fire, he said, ‘Bring me molten copper to pour over it.’

<b>That day</b> We shall let them surge over one another, the Trumpet will be blown, and We shall gather them all, and on <b>that day</b> We shall bring hell into view visibly for the faithless.

Those whose eyes were blind to My remembrance and who could not hear.}}Another passage confirms that this wall was supposedly still intact and that its future opening will be associated with other apocalyptic events.{{Quote|{{Quran|21|95-97}}|But there is a ban on any population which We have destroyed: that they shall not return,

Then will the true promise draw nigh (of fulfilment): then behold! the eyes of the Unbelievers will fixedly stare in horror: "Ah! Woe to us! we were indeed heedless of this; nay, we truly did wrong!"}}''See the full context of the other verses as mentioned above with the trumpet blowing on judgement day:''

{{Quote|{{Quran|27|83-90}}|83. On that day We shall resurrect from every nation a group of those who denied Our signs, and they will be held in check.

87. <b>The day when the trumpet is blown, whoever is in the heavens and whoever is on the earth will be terrified, except such as Allah wishes, and all will come to Him in utter humility.</b>

90. But whoever brings vice—they shall be cast on their faces into the Fire [and told:] ‘Shall you not be requited for what you used to do?’..}}{{Quote|{{Quran|69|13-18}}|<b>13. When the Trumpet is blown with a single blast</b>

16. and the sky will be split open—for it will be frail on that day—

18. That day you will be presented [before your Lord]: none of your secrets will remain hidden...}}{{Quote|{{Quran|39|67-70}}|67. They do not regard Allah with the regard due to Him, yet the entire earth will be in His fist on the Day of Resurrection, and the heavens, scrolled, in His right hand. Immaculate is He and exalted above [having] any partners that they ascribe [to Him].

We find in Surah Al-Kahf, ({{Quran|18|83-101}}), a story about a powerful prophet of Allah 'Dhul-Qarnayn' (meaning 'The Two horned one'), who along with other tasks, builds the massive wall of iron mentioned above. This is a retelling of a common antiquity story based of Alexander the Great.<ref>Van Bladel, Kevin, “''[https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Qur_an_in_its_Historical_Context/DbtkpgGn4CEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA175&printsec=frontcover The Alexander legend in the Qur‘an 18:83-102″, in "The Qur’ān in Its Historical Context]''", Ed. Gabriel Said Reynolds, New York: Routledge, 2007.</ref> However, this is not the real/historical Alexander, who was a polytheist with no relation to the Judaeo-Christian religion,<ref>''[https://ddd.uab.cat/pub/karanos/karanos_a2022v5/karanos_a2022v5p51.pdf Religion and Alexander the Great.]'' Edward M. Anson. Karanos 5, 2022 51-74. </ref> but rather a legendary version later recast as monotheist by Christians, whose connections and evidence for this can be seen in the main article.  

The companies / factions (l-aḥzābu) is a term used collectively for the list of destroyed cities also in {{Quran|38|12-14}}, with each people (umma) getting their own separate messenger (e.g. {{Quran|13|7}}).<ref>Durie, Mark. ''The Qur’an and Its Biblical Reflexes: Investigations into the Genesis of a Religion (pp. 127).'' Lexington Books.</ref> However given the similar locations of past Arab groups, it is easy to see how they were confused.

The Qur'an references the Thamud as a people who lived before the time of Pharaoh, implying they existed long before Moses before being destroyed:{{Quote|{{Quran|40|28-37}}|And a believing man from the family of Pharaoh who concealed his faith said [...] And he who believed said, "O my people, indeed I fear for you [a fate] like the day of the companies - Like the custom of the people of Noah and of 'Aad and Thamud and those after them. And Allah wants no injustice for [His] servants.}}However, historical and archaeological evidence shows that the Thamud were an ancient but extinct Arabian people who existed from the 8th century BCE to the 5th century CE.<ref name=":2">[https://www.britannica.com/topic/Thamud Thamūd] (ancient Arabian tribe) - Peoples of Asia - Britannica

{{Quote|{{Quran|26|57-59}}|2=We brought them [the people of Pharaoh] out of gardens and springs and treasures and a noble place. Thus it was; and We caused the Israelites to inherit them [= the gardens and the springs etc.].}}

{{Quote|{{Quran|17|103-104}}|He [Pharaoh] wished to chase them away from the land (al-arḍ), but We drowned him and all who were with him. And after him We said to the Israelites, “Dwell in the land! And when the announcement of the next world comes to pass, We shall bring you forward as a motley crowd.”}}

{{Quote|{{Quran|28|4-6}}|4 Pharaoh became haughty in the land and divided its people into factions, seeking to weaken a party among them by slaying their sons and sparing their women. He was one of those who wreak mischief.

Selah, Walid. [https://www.academia.edu/28915104/End_of_Hope_Suras_10_15_Despair_and_a_Way_Out_of_Mecca ''End of Hope: Suras 10-15, Despair and a Way Out of Mecca.''] Qur' anic Studies Today. Edited by Angelika Neuwirth and Michael A. Sells. pp. 105-123. </ref> in line with the principle of messenger uniformitarianism.<ref>Durie, Mark. ''The Qur’an and Its Biblical Reflexes: Investigations into the Genesis of a Religion (pp. 135-142)  (pp. 281-294 Kindle Edition)''. 5.3 Messenger Uniformitarianism. Lexington Books. 2018.</ref> And the true believers will survive and inherit their land,<ref>''Inheriting Egypt: The Israelites and the Exodus in the Meccan Qurʾān,'' Nicolai Sinai, in: Islamic Studies Today: Essays in Honor of Andrew Rippin, edited by Majid Daneshgar and Walid A. Saleh, Leiden: Brill 2016, ''pp 208-209 & 211-214''</ref> which this story seeks to validate as part of a repeated pattern in history. However in later parts of the Qurʾān we see that actual events followed a different course: the Qur'anic community was “expelled” from its “homes” (Q 3:195 and elsewhere) and forced to “emigrate” (hājara) to Medina<ref>Ibid. pp. 213</ref> - who Muhammad now identifies his followers with the Israelites leaving Egypt, and comes up against Jewish traditions who recognize this story - with many Meccan verses extended and undergoing revisions during this period.<ref>Neuwirth, Angelika. The Qur'an and Late Antiquity: A Shared Heritage (Oxford Studies in Late Antiquity) (p. 232 Kindle Edition).</ref> Critics contend this creative adaption of biblical material to suit current needs, has simply added another historical inaccuracy into the Qur'an.

'''Then afterwards We drowned the rest'''.}}{{Quote|{{Quran|6|84}}|2=And We gave him Isaac and Jacob and guided them, as We had <b>guided Noah before them, and of his descendants, David and Solomon and Job and Joseph and Moses and Aaron.</b> Thus We reward those who are upright and do good.}}{{Quote|{{Quran|17|2-3}}|We gave Moses the Book, and made it a guide for the Children of Israel—[saying,] ‘Do not take any trustee besides Me’—<br><b>descendants of those whom We carried [in the ark] with Noah.</b> Indeed, he was a grateful servant.}}The word used for descendants/offspring/seed etc. is 'dhurrīyat' ذرية,<ref>Quran Dictionary - Root ذ ر ر  ''(See [https://lexicon.quranic-research.net/data/09_c/016_cr.html ذر] & [https://lexicon.quranic-research.net/data/09_c/017_crO.html ذرأ])''

And Q11:48 we are told that nations/peoples (umam) will come from those with Noah, with some of them being blessed and others will be punished - usually taken by exegetes as reference to future [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punishment_narratives_in_the_Quran punishment narratives] on peoples/nations, or individual judgements,<ref>See commentaries on [https://quranx.com/tafsirs/11.48 ''Q11:48'']</ref> another statement not given to any of the other prophets.

''The names are also attested outside of the Qurʾan and are partly classified as Old South Arabian (on Wadd see Horovitz, KU, 150; on Nasr, known from epigraphic testimonies in southern and northern Arabia, see KU, 144; on Yaghūth and Yaʿūq see KU, 153, and generally Wellhausen 1897: 19–22).''</ref> It is far fetched even on the Quran's own terms to place Arab idols back in the time of Noah, not least since all the disbelievers of Noah's time were supposedly destroyed by the flood.  

{{Quote|{{Quran|41|13}}|If they turn away, say ‘I warn you of a thunderbolt like the thunderbolt of ʿĀd and Thamūd’}}{{Quote|{{Quran|15|2-5}}|Leave them to eat and enjoy and to be diverted by longings. Soon they will know<br> And not We destroyed any town but (there was) for it a decree known.<br> No people can hasten or delay the term already fixed for them.}}

Cf: {{Quran|7|97-98}}, {{Quran|17|68-69}}, {{Quran|16|45}}.

* Pharoah's people are drowned in {{Quran|10|90}}, {{Quran|2|50}},  {{Quran|26|66-68}}, {{Quran|7|136}}, {{Quran|89|10-13}}.

* The people of ''al-Rass'' are mentioned in destroyed people's lists in {{Quran|25|38}} (also mentioning many unnamed people's in-between them) and {{Quran|50|12}}. In traditional Islamic scholarship this is usually taken to refer to a 'well' though its location is disputed, with some saying Ṣāliḥ (who went to Thamūd) being their warner, whilst others say it was Shuʿayb who went to Madyan, and others Hanzala b. Safwān who is not mentioned in the Qur'an.<ref>See commentaries on [https://quranx.com/Tafsirs/50.12 Q50:12] and [https://quranx.com/tafsirs/25.38 Q25:38]</ref> Modern academic scholarship has identified the ''aṣḥāb al-Rass'' with another potential group on the Arabian peninsular further down on the West Coast by the Red sea known as the Arsians.<ref>Neuwirth, Angelika. The Qur'an: Text and Commentary, Volume 2.1: Early Middle Meccan Suras: The New Elect (p. 164). Yale University Press. Kindle Edition. ''The aṣḥāb al-Rass are new (on them KU, 94ff.), they will only be encountered once more (in Q 25:38). Puin (2005: 329–331) has been able to identify them, on the basis of pre-Islamic and Islamic geographical literature, with a people called Arsae in the Ptolemaic account of Arabia (c. AD 150) who “resided immediately north of Iambia, the holy Yanbuʿ . . . . The Semitic equivalent of the letter sequence ARS would be ʿ-r-s, the natural pronunciation of which is /ars/ or /aras/. It is then only a small step from here to ar-Rass, understood in Arabic and provided with an assimilated article.” The Arabic form of the name al-Rass is similarly secondary to that of al-ayka for Leuke Kome, but it is not first qurʾanic, but already attested by the ancient Arabic poet Zuhayr (see above Literary Criticism). Aṣḥāb al-Rass is translated as “the Arsians” in reference to the name of the people in Ptolemaic geography.'' See more discussions on al-Rass also on Ibid. pp.145-146, pp.159 & pp.171.</ref>

* Similarly the people of Layka ({{Quran|26|176}}, {{Quran|15|78}}, {{Quran|38|13}}, {{Quran|50|14}}) are said to have been destroyed, which traditional Islamic exegesis on traditionally associated with the prophet Shu'yab and/or a separate Midianite group,<ref>E.g. see traditional Islamic commentaries on [https://quranx.com/Tafsirs/26.176 Q26:176] and [https://quranx.com/tafsirs/15.78 Q15:78]</ref> though modern academic research has suggested it was referring to the Arabian port town of 'Leuke Kome'.<ref>Neuwirth, Angelika. ''The Qur'an: Text and Commentary, Volume 2.1: Early Middle Meccan Suras: The New Elect (p. 131).'' Yale University Press. Kindle Edition.

 

 

See also Ibid. pp.145-146, 149, 152, 159, 164, 261, 335</ref>

There is more evidence of Hāmān being out of place in the Qur'an, with the story linking ancient Persian elements to Moses and the Pharoah. We see for example in the Torah [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2011%3A1-9&version=NIV Genesis 11:1-9] with the 'Tower of Babel' story (where a tower to the heavens is built by a rebellious people but they are blocked by god) seemingly inserted into the ancient Egyptian setting, as was common in Late Antiquity where Babylonian and Egyptian courts were often interchangeable in story retellings<ref>Silverstein, Adam J.. ''Veiling Esther, Unveiling Her Story: The Reception of a Biblical Book in Islamic Lands'' (Oxford Studies in the Abrahamic Religions) (p. 32). OUP Oxford. Kindle Edition.</ref> (regardless of historical accuracy).{{Quote|1=[https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2011%3A1-9&version=NIV The Book of Genesis 11:1-9]|2=1 Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 2 As people moved eastward,[a] they found a plain in Shinar[b] and settled there <u>3 They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”</u> 5 But the Lord came down to see the city and <u>the tower</u> the people were building. 6 The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.” <u>8 So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city.</u> 9 That is why it was called Babel[c]—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.}}As Silverstein (2012) states these 'Hāmāns' are in fact related, and notes there are other common Mesopotamian elements in the Qur'an and Islamic exegesis that support association between them.<ref>''The Qur'anic Pharaoh.'' Adam Silverstein. Taylor and Francis. Found in: ''pp467 - pp477. New Perspectives on the Qur'an. The Qur'an in its Historical Context 2''. Edited By Gabriel Reynolds. Imprint Routledge. DOI <nowiki>https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203813539</nowiki> eBook ISBN9780203813539</ref>{{Quote|{{Quran|28|38}}|“Firʿawn said: ‘O Haman! Light me a (kiln to bake bricks) out of clay, and build me a lofty tower (ṣarḥ), that I may ascend to the god of Moses:  though I think (Moses) is a liar!’ ” }}{{Quote|{{Quran|40|36-37}}|"Firʿawn said: ‘O Haman! Build me a lofty tower (ṣarḥ), that I may reach the asbāb – the asbāb of the heavens, so that I may ascend to the god of  Moses: though I think (Moses) is a liar!’ ”}}

{{Quote|{{Quran|95|1-3}}|By the fig and the olive, and Mount Sinai, <b>and by this city (of Makkah), a haven of peace</b>}}

{{Quote|Durie, Mark. 2018. Lexington Books. <i>The Qur’an and Its Biblical Reflexes: Investigations into the Genesis of a Religion</i> (pp. xxv - xxvi).|In other respects the Biblical timeline has been flattened, so the Qurʾan displays little awareness of stages in the history of Israel. For example, in Q5:20–21 Mūsā addresses his people before they enter the holy land, telling them to remember that Allāh had appointed prophets and kings among them in the past, even though in the Biblical account there were no kings of Israel until some time after Canaan was settled. In spite of this previous account, elsewhere the Qurʾan describes how the people of Israel, after Allāh had drowned “Pharaoh’s people” (and not just his army) in the sea, did not move on toward a promised land, but took over the farms, gardens, and buildings of the Egyptians, succeeding them (Q44:25–28; cf. Q7:136–37).}}{{Quote|{{Quran|5|20-21}}|And when said Musa to his people, "O my people, remember (the) Favor (of) Allah upon you when He placed among you Prophets and <b>made you kings</b> and He gave you what not He (had) given (to) anyone from the worlds. "O my people! <b>Enter the land,</b> the Holy, which (has been) ordained (by) Allah for you and (do) not turn on your backs, then you will turn back (as) losers."}}

Critics argue this missed opportunity to explain the history of the world and what happened elsewhere with the prophets (i.e. the Quran only recalls local tales like a human with knowledge limited to the vicinity would, where it would have looked to someone in living in Arabia at the time, that monotheism was all over the world as the surrounding Byzantine (Roman), Sasanian (Persian) Empires in the North and former Himyarite Kingdom and Aksumite Empire in the South were ''(See: [[Pre-Islamic Arab Religion in Islam#General Judeo-Christian Monotheism in Arabia]]'')), along with the lack of historical evidence of these other messengers where we would expect it, is damning.  

He is said to have controlled many jinn who created buildings/structures ({{Quran|34|12-13}}), and had army of birds (and jinn) he could speak to ({{Quran|27|16}}), and travelled to other nearby kingdoms (notably the Queen of Sheba in Yemen) which he could travel in 'the blink of an eye', and get under his control ({{Quran|27|38-40}}).

{{Quote|{{Quran|105|1-5}}|Have not you seen how dealt your Lord with (the) Companions (of the) Elephant? Did He not put their scheme into ruin? and send against them flocks of birds. Which hit them with stones of baked clay, thus making them like chewed-up straw?}}

Found in Chapter 3 of: Fisher, Greg. Arabs and Empires before Islam (p. 151-152). OUP Oxford. Read on internet archive for free [https://archive.org/details/arabs-and-empires-before-islam-by-fisher-greg/page/151/mode/1up here].</ref> however states it is plausible that an elephant attacked Mecca citing elephants with mahouts (riders) inscriptions in the Najrān region (~800km South from Mecca).<ref>[https://www.academia.edu/37672841/_%E1%B8%A4imyar_Aks%C5%ABm_and_Arabia_Deserta_in_Late_Antiquity_The_Epigraphic_Evidence_dans_Arabs_and_Empires_before_Islam_edited_by_Greg_Fisher_Oxford_University_Press_2015_pp_127_171_chapter_3_ H˙imyar, Aksūm, and Arabia Deserta in Late Antiquity. The Epigraphic Evidence.] Christian Julien Robin.  

There are also practical and logistical issues with the account, which sees it difficult to accommodate an elephants(s) in the hot desert environment of South and Central Arabia. Elephants require significant amounts of food and water 149-169 kg (330-375 lbs) of vegetation daily,<ref>[https://seaworld.org/animals/all-about/elephants/diet/ All About Elephants.] Diet & Eating Habits. Seaworld.org</ref> in fact typically sixteen to eighteen hours, or nearly 80% of an elephant’s day is spent feeding.<ref>Ibid.</ref> Elephants consume grasses, small plants, bushes, fruit, twigs, tree bark, and roots,<ref>Ibid.</ref> and drink 68.4 to 98.8 litres (18 to 26 gallons) of water daily, potentially up to 152 litres (40 gallons).<ref>Ibid.</ref> On top of that elephants have especially weak feet unsuited for desert terrain.<ref>[https://www.elephant.se/elephant_foot_and_nail_problems.php ''Elephant feet and nail problems.''] Elephant Encyclopedia - information and database - established 1995. Absolut elephant. elephant.se.</ref> They also unlike most hairless mammals have no natural defense against the sun, so must regularly bathe themselves in mud to avoid sunburn.<ref>[https://tsavotrust.org/five-interesting-facts-about-an-elephants-skin/ Five interesting facts about an elephant’s skin.] Tsavo Trust

''...According to some reports it was interrupted by the outbreak of an epidemic before the campaign reached Mecca, an event that was interpreted early on in the sense of a miraculous salvation of Mecca, as reflected already in the pre-Islamic poets...''Neuwirth, Angelika. The Qur'an: Text and Commentary, Volume 1: Early Meccan Suras: Poetic Prophecy (pp. 61). 2022. Yale University Press.</ref> and storytellers as word of far-off battles spread, then turned into salvation history by Muhammad as a reason to follow his message (i.e. Allah saved their town), and fear him, to convince them to heed his warnings.  

These are very unlikely to be added by Christians after the fact, as of course didn't happen, so would not naturally be words one would want attributed to their saviour.<ref>Sanders, E.. The Historical Figure of Jesus (p. 202). Penguin Books Ltd. Kindle Edition.  

''Before moving on to a consideration of the specific criteria that historians use with the Gospel traditions, let me stress again here, in conclusion, my simple point about our rules of thumb. The earliest sources that we have consistently ascribe an apocalyptic message to Jesus. This message begins to be muted by the end of the first century (e.g., in Luke), until it virtually disappears (e.g., in John), and begins, then, to be explicitly rejected and spurned (e.g., in Thomas). It appears that when the end never did arrive, Christians had to take stock of the fact that Jesus said it would and changed his message accordingly. You can hardly blame them.''</ref> We can therefore see the the earliest sources of Jesus and his followers do not align with the Qur'anic portrayal, who of course could not have preached this given Allah would know it was not the end of the world.