Parallelism: Conclusion

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Parallelism Between the Qur'an
and Judeo-Christian Scriptures
Introduction
Talking Baby Jesus
Sanhedrin 37a
The Raven & the Burial of Abel
The Quranic Version of Trinity‎
Jesus Christ & the Clay Birds
Mary & Zachariah
Mary, Jesus & the Palm Tree
Satan & His Refusal to Prostrate
The Queen of Sheba
Abraham & the Idols
The Wealth of Korah
Conclusion

For the full article with many more examples than are included in this series, see

As had been stated in the introduction, similarities between the Qur'an and previous Abrahamic scriptures have been noticed since the inception of Islam. These Quranic narratives, however, often do not always follow their Judeo-Christian forebearers. Three possible explanations are usually offered for this:

  1. The original Judeo-Christian scriptures have been corrupted (common Muslim apologetic claim).
  2. The Qur'an imperfectly borrowed from the Judeo-Christian scriptures and/or used extra-Biblical sources.
  3. The Qur'an was corrupted.

None of the apocryphal and exegetical Judeo-Christian texts support the Muslim contention of corruption of the earlier Judeo-Christian scriptures. Such arguments fail to distinguish between between older mainstream texts and others which are self evidently late and whose development can be traced over the centuries leading up to Islam. Moreover, there do not exist any earlier Christian texts which accord with the orthodox Sunni Muslim view of Jesus and early Christianity.

The charge of a scheme to corrupt the Christian and Jewish scriptures in just such a way as to hide the true versions of events, which are later correctly recounted in the Qur'an, would have required a conspiracy of hundreds of different individuals working across immense distances of time and space in different linguistic and religious traditions; it can be dismissed prima facia as a groundless conspiracy theory.

The parallelism, however, between the Qur'an and late antique Judeo-Christian literature is undeniable. These parallelisms are either apocryphal, heretical, commentaries by religious figures, or mere folk tales. As such, and even on the basis of evidence in the Islamic tradition itself, the parallelisms between the Qur'an and Judeao-Christian seem to stem not from divine revelation, but from mundane religious contact.

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