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Parallels Between the Qur'an and Late Antique Judeo-Christian Literature: Difference between revisions
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Parallels Between the Qur'an and Late Antique Judeo-Christian Literature (view source)
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'''''5. The Qur'an contains stories absent in the Judeo-Christian scriptures, thus the charge of borrowing is erroneous.''''' | '''''5. The Qur'an contains stories absent in the Judeo-Christian scriptures, thus the charge of borrowing is erroneous.''''' | ||
As documented in detail in this article, a great number of non-Biblical stories in the Quran are now known to have | As documented in detail in this article, a great number of non-Biblical stories in the Quran are now known to have antecedents in late antique Jewish and Christian apocrypha and exegesis. This is rather suggestive that all or almost all Quranic examples have such an origin. This conclusion would naturally extend to imply that Biblical stories were similarly circulating in the environment in which the Quranic materials were first composed. | ||
==Flood waters boiled from an oven== | ==Flood waters boiled from an oven== | ||
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===Jewish Folklore=== | ===Jewish Folklore=== | ||
This story of the raven and the burial of Abel has led many scholars to the conclusion that the Qur'an integrated Jewish folklore because this account is not in the Old Testament or the Torah, though there is uncertainty. It used to be supposed that a Jewish source known as ''Pirke de-Rabbi Elizer'' was a precursor to the story (there, it is Adam who learns from the raven how to bury his son). As Witztum notes however, ''Pirke de-Rabbi Elizer'' has been demonstrated to be a post-Islamic midrash, sometimes reflecting Islamic tradition so that it is not clear which tradition influenced the other.<ref>Joseph Witztum, ''Syriac Millieu'', p. 116</ref> A more likely | This story of the raven and the burial of Abel has led many scholars to the conclusion that the Qur'an integrated Jewish folklore because this account is not in the Old Testament or the Torah, though there is uncertainty. It used to be supposed that a Jewish source known as ''Pirke de-Rabbi Elizer'' was a precursor to the story (there, it is Adam who learns from the raven how to bury his son). As Witztum notes however, ''Pirke de-Rabbi Elizer'' has been demonstrated to be a post-Islamic midrash, sometimes reflecting Islamic tradition so that it is not clear which tradition influenced the other.<ref>Joseph Witztum, ''Syriac Millieu'', p. 116</ref> A more likely antecedent for the Quranic story which is supported by many scholars is the ''Midrash Tanhuma'', particularly the ''Tanhuma Yelammedenu'', which existed in some form by the sixth century CE.<ref>Myron B. Lerner, "The works of Aggadic Midrash and Esther Midrashim" in Eds. Sefrai et. al. (2006) [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Aed5DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA150 The literature of the Sages: Second Part] Netherlands: Royal van Gorcum and Fortress Press, p.150</ref> There, it is Cain who learns how to bury his brother, like in the Quranic version, although from two birds instead of one raven (Tanhuma Bereshit 10). | ||
{{Quote|Tanhuma Bereshit 10 in S. A. Berman, Midrash Tanhuma-Yelammedenu: An English Translation of Genesis and Exodus from the Printed Version of Tanhuma-Yelammedenu with an Introduction, Notes, and Indexes (Hoboken, 1996), pp. 31-32|After Cain slew Abel, the body lay outstretched upon the earth, since Cain did not know how to dispose of it. Thereupon, the Holy One, blessed be He, selected two clean birds and caused one of them to kill the other. The surviving bird dug the earth with its talons and buried its victim. Cain learned from this what to do. He dug a grave and buried his brother. It is because of this that birds are privileged to cover their blood.}} | {{Quote|Tanhuma Bereshit 10 in S. A. Berman, Midrash Tanhuma-Yelammedenu: An English Translation of Genesis and Exodus from the Printed Version of Tanhuma-Yelammedenu with an Introduction, Notes, and Indexes (Hoboken, 1996), pp. 31-32|After Cain slew Abel, the body lay outstretched upon the earth, since Cain did not know how to dispose of it. Thereupon, the Holy One, blessed be He, selected two clean birds and caused one of them to kill the other. The surviving bird dug the earth with its talons and buried its victim. Cain learned from this what to do. He dug a grave and buried his brother. It is because of this that birds are privileged to cover their blood.}} | ||
Wiztum comments that "Since the bird tradition is found in several rabbinic sources and versions it is hard to deny the possibility that ultimately its origin is indeed Jewish." Nevertheless, he argues that the Quranic version is earlier than those we find in Jewish sources, including the Tanhuma which most probably continued evolving long after the Quran appeared. While the story is present in the ''Tanhuma-Yelammedenu'' version of the Midrash Tanhuma, it is absent in its parallel version, the Buber ''Tanhuma''. The details in the Quranic version are also simpler, and the extra details in the Tanhuma may reflect similar considerations as occured to Quranic commentators. Witztum concludes, "Is it possible that the midrashic sources reflect tafsir traditons in this instance? Perhaps."<ref>Joseph Witztum, ''Syriac Millieu'' pp. 117-122</ref> | Wiztum comments that "Since the bird tradition is found in several rabbinic sources and versions it is hard to deny the possibility that ultimately its origin is indeed Jewish." Nevertheless, he argues that the Quranic version is earlier than those we find in Jewish sources, including the Tanhuma which most probably continued evolving long after the Quran appeared. While the story is present in the ''Tanhuma-Yelammedenu'' version of the Midrash Tanhuma, it is absent in its parallel version, the Buber ''Tanhuma''. The details in the Quranic version are also simpler, and the extra details in the Tanhuma may reflect similar considerations as occured to Quranic commentators. Witztum concludes, "Is it possible that the midrashic sources reflect tafsir traditons in this instance? Perhaps."<ref>Joseph Witztum, ''Syriac Millieu'' pp. 117-122</ref> | ||
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{{Quote|Dormition of Mary<ref>Stephen Shoemaker, [https://www.academia.edu/1057321/Christmas_in_the_Qur%C3%A4n_the_Qur%C3%A4nic_account_of_Jesuss_nativity_and_Palestinian_local_tradition Christmas in the Qur’an: the Qur’anic Account of Jesus’ Nativity and Palestinian Local Tradition] Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam 28, 11-39 (2003) pp. 19-21</ref>|And the child stopped [nursing from] your breast, this one who is greater than all things, and he said to Joseph, ‘My father, why don’t you climb this date-palm and bring it to her, so that my mother might eat from it, as was said about it. And I will feed you: not only you, but also the fruit that comes forth from it. I will not be hungry even for one day.’ And the child turned and said to the date-palm, ‘Incline your head with your fruit, and satisfy my mother and father.’ And it inclined immediately.}} | {{Quote|Dormition of Mary<ref>Stephen Shoemaker, [https://www.academia.edu/1057321/Christmas_in_the_Qur%C3%A4n_the_Qur%C3%A4nic_account_of_Jesuss_nativity_and_Palestinian_local_tradition Christmas in the Qur’an: the Qur’anic Account of Jesus’ Nativity and Palestinian Local Tradition] Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam 28, 11-39 (2003) pp. 19-21</ref>|And the child stopped [nursing from] your breast, this one who is greater than all things, and he said to Joseph, ‘My father, why don’t you climb this date-palm and bring it to her, so that my mother might eat from it, as was said about it. And I will feed you: not only you, but also the fruit that comes forth from it. I will not be hungry even for one day.’ And the child turned and said to the date-palm, ‘Incline your head with your fruit, and satisfy my mother and father.’ And it inclined immediately.}} | ||
A different story found in the ''Arabic Infancy Gospel'' (also known as the Syriac Infancy Gospel), is sometimes cited as a possible | A different story found in the ''Arabic Infancy Gospel'' (also known as the Syriac Infancy Gospel), is sometimes cited as a possible antecedent of the Quranic tale that Jesus spoke in infancy. However, academic scholars tend to doubt that it is pre-Islamic. The ''Arabic Infancy Gospel'' combines elements from the ''Childhood of the Saviour'', ''Protoevangelium of James'', and ''Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew''. | ||
See also the sirah passage quoted in the section below about Jesus and the Clay Birds, in which three Christians are narrated as having informed Muhammad that Jesus spoke in the cradle as well as other miracles. | See also the sirah passage quoted in the section below about Jesus and the Clay Birds, in which three Christians are narrated as having informed Muhammad that Jesus spoke in the cradle as well as other miracles. | ||