Legends and the Qur'an
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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." [1]
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."[1] The Qur'an contains many religious accounts considered legendary by non-Muslim historians.[citation needed] 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.[2] Critics of Islam therefore conclude that the Qur'an cannot be from God because it contains these unhistorical legends.
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[edit] 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 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 25:4-6) --translated by Yusuf Ali | ” |
[edit] 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.
| “ | 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. This is actually a grammatical rule in the arabic language, for instance in this case Satan was a lone jinn in the group of angels hence when the angels were asked to prostrate by God, God's command was also directed to Satan as he was part of the group of the angels despite being a jinn himself.
[edit] 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.[3] | ” |
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.
[edit] 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 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.
| “ | We find it said in the case of Cain who murdered his brother, "The voice of thy brother's bloods crieth" (Gen. 4:10). It is not said here blood in the singular, but bloods in the plural, that is, his own blood and the blood of his seed. Man was created single in order to show that to him who kills a single individual it shall be reckoned that he has slain the whole race, but to him who preserves the life of a single individual it is counted that he hath preserved the whole race.
Mishnah Sanhedrin, 4:5) |
” |
Note that the Mishnah is respected by most Jews as human commentary, not divine.
[edit] Abraham idol wrecker
The Qur'an has the same 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?"[4] |
| 21.57 | "after ye go away and turn your backs" | "the woman rushed out into the street"[5] |
| 21.58 | So he broke them to pieces, (all) but the biggest of them | "he broke them all except the largest"[6] |
| 21.62 | They said, "Art thou the one that did this with our gods, O Abraham?" | "'What hast thou done?' they demanded, angrily."[7] |
| 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."[8] |
| 21.65 | "Thou knowest full well that these (idols) do not speak!" | "'They cannot speak,' said Terah."[9] |
| 21.68 | They said, "Burn him and protect your gods, | Let them be bound and cast into the furnace[10] |
| 21.69 | We said, "O Fire! be thou cool, and (a means of) safety for Abraham! | "Abraham walked unharmed in the flames"[11] |
| 21.70 | We made them the ones that lost most! | "Twelve men in all perished . . . Haran was burned to ashes at once"[12] |
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." [13] | ” |
[edit] 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?" 28:12 | ” |
| “ | The Holy One, Blessed is He, said: "Shall the mouth that will one day speak to me suckle from anything unclean?" [14] | ” |
[edit] 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.[15] | ” |
[edit] 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. 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." [16] | ” |
[edit] Flying mountain
Both the Talmud and the Qur'an 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." 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! [17] | ” |
[edit] 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 . . . ? [18] | ” |
[edit] Alexander the Great
It is widely held, at least among secular scholars, that the character of Dhul-Qarnayn in the Qur'an corresponds to Alexander the Great. Dhul-Qarnayn is a figure who was well-known in the lore of the early medieval dwellers of the Arabian Peninsula, and is mentioned in the Qur'an. Dhul-Qarnayn is regarded by some Muslims as a prophet. The Qur'an indicates that the people (at least Jewish rabbis), during Muhammad's time, already knew tales of a person of great power by the name of Dhul-Qarnayn.
The story of Dhul-Qarnayn as described in the Qur'an follows very closely some passages of the Alexander Romance, a thoroughly embellished compilation of Alexander's exploits from Hellenistic and early Christian sources, which underwent numerous expansions and revisions throughout Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Historically, Muslim scholars have endorsed the identification of Dhul-Qarnayn with the Alexander the Great, although competing theories have been proposed, some recently (see Dhul-Qarnayn for details). Orientalist scholars, studying ancient Christian legends about Alexander the Great, independently came to the conclusion that Dhul-Qarnayn is an ancient epithet for Alexander the Great. As a result, the identity of Dhul-Qarnayn has become a matter of great controversy in modern times.
Other evidence points that Dhul-Qarnayn is based on Cyrus the Great. See Cyrus the Great in the Qur'an (theory).
[edit] 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.
| “ | 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."3:37 | ” |
| “ | And Mary was in the Temple nurtured like a dove and received food from the hand of an angel. [19] | ” |
and
| “ | they cast lots with arrows, as to which of them should be charged with the care of Mary. 3:44 | ” |
| “ | [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.[20] | ” |
The Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew describes Mary sitting below a palm tree with Jesus and miraculously receiving its fruit.
| “ | But (a voice) cried to her from beneath the (palm-tree): "Grieve not! for thy Lord hath provided a rivulet beneath thee. 19:24 | ” |
| “ | 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. [21] | ” |
[edit] Jesus creates birds
In the Qur'an, Jesus forms birds out of clay,
| “ | I fashion for you out of clay the likeness of a bird, and I breathe into it and it is a bird 3.49:1 | ” |
This parallels an episode in the apocryphal Infancy Gospel of Thomas where he does the same:[22]
| “ | [Jesus] then made soft clay and shaped it into twelve sparrows.[23] | ” |
The Infancy Gospel of Thomas was written, at the earliest, in the second century or, at the latest, in the sixth century.
[edit] 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.
| “ | 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; 19:29 | ” |
| “ | 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." | ” |
[edit] References
- ^ a b Encyclopedia of the Qur'an, myth, legends and the Qur'an
- ^ Joseph Campbell. The Masks of God:Occidental Mythology
- ^ Louis Ginzberg. The Legends of the Jews: From the Creation to Jacob. chapter 4 The Johns Hopkins University Press: 1998.
- ^ Gertrude Landa. Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends. 1919. p94
- ^ Gertrude Landa. Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends. 1919. p94
- ^ Gertrude Landa. Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends. 1919. p94
- ^ Gertrude Landa. Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends. 1919. p95
- ^ Gertrude Landa. Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends. 1919. p95
- ^ Gertrude Landa. Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends. 1919. p94
- ^ Gertrude Landa. Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends. 1919. p97
- ^ Gertrude Landa. Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends. 1919. p97
- ^ Gertrude Landa. Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends. 1919. p97
- ^ Abraham. Jewish Encyclopedia
- ^ Shemot Rabbah 1:25
- ^ The Apocryphon of Jannes and Jambres the Magicians, E.J. Brill, 1994 p. 30
- ^ Sanhedrin 110a. See also Pesachim 119a
- ^ Avodah Zarah 2b
- ^ Muhammad Asad. The Message of the Qur'an. The Book Foundation: 2003. Footnote on 18.7
- ^ Gospel of James 8:1 online source
- ^ Gospel of James 8:6 online source
- ^ Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew chapter 20 online source
- ^ Rev. W. St. Clair-Tisdall, The Sources of Islam: A Persian Treatise, translated and abridged by Sir William Muir, T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh, Scotland. 1901
- ^ Robert J. Miller, ed., The Complete Gospels: Annotated Scholars Version (Sonoma, CA: Polebridge Press 1992), pp. 363-372. or online [1]
See
- Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends The Star Child The story of Abraham smashing the idols
