Borrowed Revelation: How the Qur’an’s Gaps Are Filled by Jewish and Christian Sources

April 15, 2025

The Qur’an claims to be the final, pure, and direct word of God — untouched by human hands, independent of prior scriptures.

“This is a book sent down… confirming what came before it.” (Qur’an 2:2, 2:41)

But a closer look reveals something uncomfortable:

📜 The Qur’an is heavily dependent on Jewish, Christian, and apocryphal traditions.
Not only does it borrow stories — it borrows altered versions of stories, often from non-canonical, legendary, or Talmudic sources.

And when you examine this carefully, the narrative of a “pure” and “original” revelation collapses.

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1. Biblical Stories — Retold with Distortion

Let’s start with the obvious. The Qur’an constantly references Biblical figures:

• Adam, Noah, Abraham, Joseph

• Moses, David, Solomon

• Mary, Jesus

But it does so without credit, without context, and without consistency.

Many Qur’anic retellings differ in bizarre ways from the Biblical originals. For example:

• Abraham is thrown into a fire by Nimrod (Surah 21:68–69) — a detail not found in the Bible, but in Jewish midrash (e.g., Genesis Rabbah 38:13).

• Jesus speaks as a baby (Surah 19:29–30) — found not in the New Testament, but in the Arabic Infancy Gospel, an apocryphal text.

• Solomon commands birds and jinn (Surah 27:17–22) — not in the Bible, but found in Second Targum of Esther and Jewish folklore.

These aren’t just “similar” stories. They’re direct imports from non-canonical Jewish and Christian sources circulating in Arabia in the 6th–7th centuries.

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2. The Qur’an Adopts Apocryphal Myths — Not Canonical Scripture

Many stories that appear in the Qur’an are not from the Torah or the Gospels — but from later legends and oral tales.

Examples:

• The Seven Sleepers of the Cave (Surah 18:9–26): A Christian legend from the 6th century, not found in the Bible.

• The Bird of Clay brought to life by Jesus (Surah 3:49): From the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, a 2nd-century apocryphal text.

• The death of Abel and Cain’s burial with the help of a crow (Surah 5:31): Again, not in the Bible — but present in Jewish folklore like Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer.

If Allah was revealing original truth, why rely on already-circulating myths?

Why not correct them — instead of recycling them?

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3. Borrowing Without Attribution — Then Claiming Authority

The Qur’an never credits Jewish or Christian sources.
Instead, it insists it’s merely “confirming” what came before — while simultaneously contradicting or replacing it.

This leads to a logical impasse:

• The Qur’an borrows content from the Bible and apocryphal literature

• Then it changes key elements (characters, timelines, theology)

• Then it claims superiority over the originals it just distorted

That’s not divine revelation.
That’s literary dependency combined with revisionism.

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4. Theological Incoherence from Selective Borrowing

When the Qur’an lifts stories from other scriptures but alters them, it creates theological confusion:

• Jesus is virgin-born and miracle-working — but not divine?

• Abraham almost sacrifices his son — but it’s Ishmael, not Isaac?

• Mary is called “sister of Aaron” — but she lived 1,400 years later?

The Qur’an seems unaware of the broader Biblical narratives it’s referencing — or chooses to reinterpret them for polemical ends.

This results in a mishmash of theology:

• Partial Jewish law

• Partial Christian messianism

• Wrapped in 7th-century Arabian tribal monotheism

All the while claiming to be eternal, unchanging, and original.

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5. Why This Matters

Muslim scholars claim the Qur’an is:

• Unique in language and content

• Unmatched in truth

• Unaffected by human tradition

But the evidence tells a different story:

• The Qur’an is full of borrowed tales

• Repackaged with errors, contradictions, and omissions

• Dependent on pre-Islamic religious texts for authority and structure

If the Qur’an were truly divine, why copy apocryphal myths?
If Muhammad were truly a prophet, why present folklore as revelation?

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Conclusion: Revelation — or Compilation?

The Qur’an doesn’t exist in a vacuum.
It’s the product of a religious culture filled with:

• Jewish oral stories

• Christian legends

• Arab folklore

• Apocalyptic expectation

It takes bits and pieces — some historical, some mythical — and binds them into a patchwork text.
Then it claims divine origin.

But when a revelation has visible seams, borrowed ideas, and edited theology, the conclusion is hard to escape:

The Qur’an isn’t a revelation from heaven.

It’s a compilation from earth — with a prophet acting more like an editor than a messenger.