Legends and the Quran

This article considers the relation of the Qur'an, the central religious text of Islam, and myths and legends. "Myths are narratives that serve to explain and describe the experienced world by laying bare its archetypal patterns; they are often staged in a cosmic or supernatural framework so as to manifest binding truths, to generate meaning and provide guidance. Legends, raising no such universal claim, may be understood as narratives of pious imagination celebrating an exemplary figure."

Whether the Qur'an contains myths or legends is a hyper-sensitive and controversial question since "the term 'myth,' in particular, is sometimes thought to be irreconcilable with the concept of revelation." The Qur'an contains many religious accounts considered legendary or derivative by non-Muslim historians. Most of this literature was created hundreds of years after the events they document, therefore they are not considered to have any historical accuracy. The content is usually Jewish folklore rejected by Jewish scholars. Historians and source critics think that Muhammad mistook these accounts for being orthodox Jewish and Christian beliefs and therefore incorporated them into the Qur'an. Critics of Islam therefore conclude that the Qur'an cannot be from God because it contains these unhistorical legends.

The Qur'an's response

During Muhammad's lifetime, non-Muslims accused Muhammad of borrowing from "tales of the ancients" to compose the Qur'an. Because Muslims believe that the Qur'an was not revealed all at once, the Qur'an quotes these critics.

But the misbelievers say: "Naught is this but a lie which he has forged, and others have helped him at it." In truth it is they who have put forward an iniquity and a falsehood. And they say: "Tales of the ancients, which he has caused to be written: and they are dictated before him morning and evening." Say: "The (Qur'an) was sent down by Him who knows the mystery (that is) in the heavens and the earth: verily He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful." (Qur'an ^{[Quran 25:4-6]}) --translated by Yusuf Ali

Satan and Adam

In the Qur'an, Satan originally has favor with God. When God creates Adam, he commands all the angels to bow to him. Satan refuses to worship Adam and is therefore rebuked by God. The apocryphal Jewish work Life of Adam and Eve also contains this narrative.

Quran

Behold! thy Lord said to the angels: "I am about to create man, from sounding clay from mud moulded into shape; "When I have fashioned him (in due proportion) and breathed into him of My spirit, fall ye down in obeisance unto him." So the angels prostrated themselves, all of them together: Not so Iblis: he refused to be among those who prostrated themselves. (God) said: "O Iblis! what is your reason for not being among those who prostrated themselves?" (Iblis) said: "I am not one to prostrate myself to man, whom Thou didst create from sounding clay, from mud moulded into shape." ^{[Quran 15:28]}

The Life of Adam and Eve

Then Michael came; he summoned all the troops of angels and told them, "Bow down before the likeness and the image of the divinity." And then, when Michael summoned them and all had bowed down to you, he summoned me [Satan] also. And I told him, "Go away from me, for I shall not bow down to him who is younger than me; indeed, I am master prior to him and it is proper for him to bow down to me. [2]

Additionally, some confusion comes from the Qur'anic passage because in it God speaks to the angels, implying that Satan is an angel while elsewhere in Islam Satan is called a jinn instead. The Life of Adam and Eve considers Satan an angel. If this was a source of the Qur'an, it explains why Satan is implied to be an angel.

Animal names

According to the Qur'an, God dictates the names of the animals to Adam. This element is similar, but the opposite of Genesis, that tells about the naming of the animals but says that Adam named them. There is a document written later than Genesis and before the Qur'an that might link these two accounts.

The wisdom of Adam displayed itself to greatest advantage when he gave names to the animals. . . . But without the gift of the holy spirit, Adam could not have found names for all.

The Holy Spirit is present in the Qur'an also. While the term originated among Christians who believed the Holy Spirit to be the divine work of God within humans, Muslims believe the Holy Spirit is a name for the angel Gabriel who speaks to prophets on behalf of God. Thus if Muhammad heard this story, he would have interpreted it to mean that God told Adam the names.

Killing all mankind

The Qur'an says that because of the murder of Abel by Cain,

. . . That if any one slew a person - unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land - it would be as if he slew the whole people: and if any one saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people. . . . Qur'an ^{[Quran 5:32]} --Translated by Yusuf Ali

The Qur'an does not tell the reason for the connection between Abel and this proverb, but the Jewish Mishnah does.

For this reason, man [i.e. the first human being] was created alone to teach that whoever destroys a single life is as though he had destroyed an entire universe, and whoever saves a single life is as if he had saved an entire universe. (Mishnah Sanhedrin, 4:5)

Note that the Mishnah is respected by most Jews as human commentary, not divine.

Abraham idol wrecker

A Jewish depiction of Abraham smashing the idols

The Qur'an has the same story as the Midrashic about Abraham smashing idols contained in Midrash Bereishit 38:13 and Surah 21 in the Qur'an. Abraham's father was an idolater but Abraham is a devout monotheist. Abraham breaks many idols and the people try to burn him until God rescues Abraham.

Qur'an surah and verse	Qur'an quote	Midrash
21.51	"What are these images, to which ye are (so assiduously) devoted?"	"Then why do you pray to them and worship them?"
21.57	"after ye go away and turn your backs"	"the woman rushed out into the street"
21.58	So he broke them to pieces, (all) but the biggest of them	"he broke them all except the largest"
21.62	They said, "Art thou the one that did this with our gods, O Abraham?"	"'What hast thou done?' they demanded, angrily."
21.63	He said: "Nay, this was done by - this is their biggest one! ask them, if they can speak intelligently!"	"I? Nothing," answered Abraham. "See, the largest idol . . . It seems to me that he has been angry and has killed all the others. Ask him why he did this."
21.65	"Thou knowest full well that these (idols) do not speak!"	"'They cannot speak,' said Terah."
21.68	They said, "Burn him and protect your gods,	Let them be bound and cast into the furnace
21.69	We said, "O Fire! be thou cool, and (a means of) safety for Abraham!	"Abraham walked unharmed in the flames"
21.70	We made them the ones that lost most!	"Twelve men in all perished . . . Haran was burned to ashes at once"

The Qur'an does not explain what it means that the idolaters lost more than Abraham, but the Midrash explains. The story is accepted by Jews as non-historical and created by Jews who were warning of following the Greek gods. Elements of the story probably have roots in the Apocalypse of Abraham and the Book of Jubilees. Abraham's father's name is Azar in the Qur'an and Terah in the Midrash and Bible

. . . though some of the later Arab writers give the name . . . as Teraḥ. Others claim that Azar was his real name, while Teraḥ was his surname (Nawawi, "Biographical Dict. of Illustrious Men," p. 128; but see Jawaliḳi, "Al-Mu'arrab," ed. Sachau, p. 21; "Z. D. M. G." xxxiii. 214). Still a third class of authorities say that Azar means either "the old man" or "the perverse one."

However Shia Muslims believe that Azar is Abraham's Uncle, and that he looked after Abraham like a son when his biological father died.

Moses' milk

God forbids Moses from suckling from a foster mother in both the Qur'an and Talmud .

And We had already forbidden foster suckling mothers for him, until [his sister] said: Shall I show you a household who will rear him for you and take care of him?" ^{[Quran 28:12]}

The Holy One, Blessed is He, said: "Shall the mouth that will one day speak to me suckle from anything unclean?"

Pharaoh's magicians

Pharaoh's magicians in the Bible magically turn their staffs into snakes, but the Qur'an says this was only a trick and that the magicians convert and follow Moses. Ambrosiaster, a 4th century biblical commentary, also says the magic was a trick and they converted:

Jannes and Jambres were two brothers, magicians and enchanters of the Egyptians, who through phony magic thought to resist God's mighty acts. But worsted by Moses they confessed in pain from their sores that God was active in Moses.

Korah's keys

The Qur'an describes Korah as exceedingly wealthy in the same way as the Talmud.

Korah was one of Moses' people, but he betrayed them and oppressed them. We gave him so many treasures that the keys would certainly weigh down a company of men possessed of great strength. ^{[Quran 28:76]}

And Rabbi Levi said: "The keys to Korah's treasure house was a load for 300 white mules and the keys and locks were leather."

Flying mountain

Both the Qur'an and the Talmud tell the story of God raising a mountain over the Israelites

We raised the mountain over them as if it had been a canopy, and they thought that it was going to fall on them. (We said): "Hold firmly to what We have given you." ^{[Quran 7:171]}

The Holy One, blessed is He, raised a mountain over Israel as though it were a dome. And He said to them: if you hold to the Torah all is well, but if not you will be buried here!

The Cave

The story of men protected by sleeping in a cave is taken from a Jewish legend, according to Muhammad Asad, though was understood by the earliest Islamic scholars as a Christian legend.

As already mentioned, the majority of the classical commentators rely on this Christian legend in their endeavour to interpret the Qur'anic reference (in verses 9-26) to the Men of the Cave. It seems, however, that the Christian formulation of this theme is a later development of a much older oral tradition -a tradition which, in fact, goes back to pre-Christian, Jewish sources. This is evident from several well-authenticated ahddrth (mentioned by all the classical commentators), according to which it was the Jewish rabbis (ahbdr) of Medina who induced the Meccan opponents of Muhammad to "test his veracity" by asking him to explain, among other problems, the story of the Men of the Cave. Referring to these ahddrth, Ibn Kathir remarks in his commentary on verse 13 of this surah: "It has been said that they were followers of Jesus the son of Mary, but God knows it better: it is obvious that they lived much earlier than the Christian period-for, had they been Christians, why should the Jewish rabbis have been intent on preserving their story . . . ?

But despite of refference by Muhammad Asad in his book of verse 9-26 to the cave story, the verse does not imply any similarity with the cave event.There is a widely agreement among the muslim scholar that chapter 9 of the quran revealed as a sign of warning to pagan maccans and to give moral boost to the Prophet Muhammad and his followers.Below the verse of quran 9-26:

"But Allah did pour His calm on the Messenger and on the Believers, and sent down forces which ye saw not: He punished the Unbelievers; thus doth He reward those without Faith." ^{[Quran 9:26]}

Mary's care

Several elements of Mary's story in the Qur'an, her miraculous food and finding a husband, are absent in the Bible but present in the Gospel of James.

God cares for Mary

Quran

Every time that he entered (Her) chamber to see her, He found her supplied with sustenance. He said: "O Mary! Whence (comes) this to you?" She said: "From Allah: for Allah Provides sustenance to whom He pleases without measure."^{[Quran 3:37]}

Gospel of James

And Mary was in the Temple nurtured like a dove and received food from the hand of an angel.

Casting lots to care for Mary

Quran

they cast lots with arrows, as to which of them should be charged with the care of Mary. ^{[Quran 3:44]}

Gospel of James

[L]et every one of them bring his rod, and he by whom the Lord will show a sign will be the husband of Mary.

Mary receives miracles from baby Jesus

The Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew describes Mary sitting below a palm tree with Jesus, Jesus talking to Mary when he is a baby and baby Jesus performing miracles to nourish Mary with dates from a palm tree and a stream of water.

Quran chapter 19

So she conceived him, and she retired with him to a remote place. And the pains of childbirth drove her to the trunk of a palm-tree: She cried (in her anguish): "Ah! would that I had died before this! would that I had been a thing forgotten and out of sight!" But (a voice) cried to her from beneath the (palm-tree): "Grieve not! for thy Lord hath provided a rivulet beneath thee; "And shake towards thyself the trunk of the palm-tree: It will let fall fresh ripe dates upon thee. ^{[Quran 19:22]}

Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew chapter 20

And it came to pass on the third day of their journey, while they were walking, that the blessed Mary was fatigued by the excessive heat of the sun in the desert; and seeing a palm tree, she said to Joseph: Let me rest a little under the shade of this tree. Joseph therefore made haste, and led her to the palm, and made her come down from her beast. And as the blessed Mary was sitting there, she looked up to the foliage of the palm, and saw it full of fruit, and said to Joseph: I wish it were possible to get some of the fruit of this palm. And Joseph said to her: I wonder that thou sayest this, when thou seest how high the palm tree is; and that thou thinkest of eating of its fruit. I am thinking more of the want of water, because the skins are now empty, and we have none wherewith to refresh ourselves and our cattle. Then the child Jesus, with a joyful countenance, reposing in the bosom of His mother, said to the palm: O tree, bend thy branches, and refresh my mother with thy fruit. And immediately at these words the palm bent its top down to the very feet of the blessed Mary; and they gathered from it fruit, with which they were all refreshed. And after they had gathered all its fruit, it remained bent down, waiting the order to rise from Him who bad commanded it to stoop. Then Jesus said to it: Raise thyself, O palm tree, and be strong, and be the companion of my trees, which are in the paradise of my Father; and open from thy roots a vein of water which has been hid in the earth, and let the waters flow, so that we may be satisfied from thee. And it rose up immediately, and at its root there began to come forth a spring of water exceedingly clear and cool and sparkling. And when they saw the spring of water, they rejoiced with great joy, and were satisfied, themselves and all their cattle and their beasts. Wherefore they gave thanks to God.

Jesus creates birds

In the Qur'an, Jesus forms birds out of clay,

Quran

I fashion for you out of clay the likeness of a bird, and I breathe into it and it is a bird ^[Quran []]

This parallels an episode in the apocryphal Infancy Gospel of Thomas where he does the same:

Infancy Gospel of Thomas

[Jesus] then made soft clay and shaped it into twelve sparrows.

The Infancy Gospel of Thomas was written, at the earliest, in the second century or, at the latest, in the sixth century.

Jesus speaks in the cradle

The Injilu 't Tufuliyyah or the Gospel of the Infancy of Jesus Christ, contains an Arabic translation of the Infancy Gospel of Thomas and additional narratives. This contains a narrative of Jesus speaking while an infant, also contained in the Qur'an.

Quran

But she pointed to the babe. They said: "How can we talk to one who is a child in the cradle?" He [Jesus] said: "I am indeed a servant of Allah: He hath given me revelation and made me a prophet; And He hath made me blessed wheresoever I be, and hath enjoined on me Prayer and Charity as long as I live; (He) hath made me kind to my mother, and not overbearing or miserable; ^{[Quran 19:29]}

Infancy Gospel of Thomas

Jesus spake when he was in the cradle, and called out to his mother Mary:— "Verily I am Jesus, the Son of God, the Word, whom thou hast given birth to according to the good tidings given thee by the Angel Gabriel, and my Father hath sent me for the Salvation of the World."

See also

• Origin and development of the Qur'an
• Source criticism
• Biblical narratives and the Qur'an

External links

• Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends The Star Child The story of Abraham smashing the idols