Muhammad the Borrower Still!

It is not our view that God was the author of the Qur'an but at the same time we do not believe that it was fraudulently composed by Muhammad consciously as its author. A study of its sources will confirm that this statement is true in one sense: “That Mohammed was really the author and chief contriver of the Koran is beyond dispute” (Sale, The Preliminary Discourse to the Koran, p. 68). Nevertheless it is not true to say that Muhammad deliberately forged the book as a revelation and, as a pious impostor, consciously attributed it to Allah. His subjective sincerity forbids such a conclusion.

There is no concession to Islam in these statements. Watt rightly adds: "To say that Muhammad was sincere does not imply acceptance of the Qur'an as a genuine revelation from God; a man may without contradiction hold that Muhammad truly believed that he was receiving revelations from God but that he was mistaken in this belief" (op. cit.). Another writer puts the matter well when he says:

We can conclude by saying that our Christian sense of honesty and fairness demands that we give credit where credit is due and that we allow Muhammad a considerable degree of personal sincerity in his subjective confidence that the Qur'an was a revelation from God himself. Nevertheless we find that the actual process of the revelation was equally subjective and characterised in good measure by Muhammad's own personal temperament. The final form it takes tells us as much about his own personality as it does about anything else and an analysis of the development of the Qur'anic text will show ultimately just how much the finished product bears the mark of its human mediator rather than its alleged divine author. (A study of its origins and sources, which follows, will prove conclusively that Muhammad was the real author of the book, notwithstanding his sincerity). (Gilchrist, Muhammad and the Religion of Islam, The Nature of Muhammad's Prophetic Experience, B. Muhammad's Concept of Revelation, 3. The Esoteric Nature of Muhammad's Experiences; bold emphasis ours)

So I [Muhammad] read it, and he [Gabriel] departed from me. And I awoke from my sleep, and it was though these words were written on my heart. (Tabari: Now none of God's creatures was more hateful to me than an (ecstatic) poet or a man POSSESSED: I could not even look at them. I thought, Woe is me poet or POSSESSED - Never shall Quraysh say this of me! I will go to the top of the mountain and throw myself down that I may kill myself and gain rest. So I went forth to do so and then) when I was midway on the mountain, I heard a voice from heaven saying ‘O Muhammad! thou are the apostle of God and I am Gabriel.’ (The Life of Muhammad: A Translation of Ibn Ishaq’s Sirat Rasul Allah, with introduction and notes by Alfred Guillaume [Oxford University Press, Karachi, Tenth impression 1995], p. 106; bold and capital emphasis ours)

We know indeed that it grieves thee the things they say; yet it is not thee they cry lies to, but the evildoers - it is the signs of God that they deny. S. 6:33 Arberry

And if they call you a liar, say: My work is for me and your work for you; you are clear of what I do and I am clear of what you do. S. 10:41 Shakir

And they say: "O you (Muhammad SAW) to whom the Dhikr (the Qur'an) has been sent down! Verily, you are a mad man (jinn-possessed [majnoonun]). Why do you not bring angels to us if you are of the truthful ones?" S. 15:6

Did He not find you as an orphan and give you shelter? Did He not find you wandering about and give you guidance? And did He not find you in need AND MAKE YOU RICH? S. 93:6-8 Muhammad Sarwar

They ask you (O Muhammad) about the spoils of war. Say: "The spoils are for Allah AND THE MESSENGER." So fear Allah and adjust all matters of difference among you, and obey Allah and His Messenger (Muhammad SAW), if you are believers... And know that out of all the booty that ye may acquire (in war), a fifth share is assigned to Allah,- AND TO THE MESSENGER, and to near relatives, orphans, the needy, and the wayfarer,- if ye do believe in Allah and in the revelation We sent down to Our servant on the Day of Testing,- the Day of the meeting of the two forces. For Allah hath power over all things. S. 8:1, 41

Narrated Abu Huraira… Allah made the Prophet wealthy through conquests… (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 3, Book 37, Number 495)

O Prophet! We have made lawful to thee thy wives to whom thou hast paid their dowers; and those whom thy right hand possesses out of the captives of war whom Allah has assigned to thee; and daughters of thy paternal uncles and aunts, and daughters of thy maternal uncles and aunts, who migrated (from Makkah) with thee; and any believing woman who gives herself to the Prophet if the Prophet wishes to wed her;- this only for thee, and not for the Believers (at large); We know what We have appointed for them as to their wives and the captives whom their right hands possess;- in order that there should be no difficulty for thee. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. Thou mayest defer (the turn of) any of them that thou pleasest, and thou mayest receive any thou pleasest: and there is no blame on thee if thou invite one whose (turn) thou hadst set aside. This were nigher to the cooling of their eyes, the prevention of their grief, and their satisfaction - that of all of them - with that which thou hast to give them: and Allah knows (all) that is in your hearts: and Allah is All- Knowing, Most Forbearing. It is not lawful for thee (to marry more) women after this, nor to change them for (other) wives, even though their beauty attract thee, except any thy right hand should possess (as handmaidens): and Allah doth watch over all things. S. 33:50-52

Narrated Aisha:
I used to look down upon those ladies who had given themselves to Allah’s Apostle and I used to say, "Can a lady give herself (to a man)?" But when Allah revealed: "You (O Muhammad) can postpone (the turn of) whom you will of them (your wives), and you may receive any of them whom you will; and there is no blame on you if you invite one whose turn you have set aside (temporarily)." (33.51) I said (to the Prophet), "I feel that your Lord hastens in fulfilling your wishes and desires." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 6, Book 60, Number 311)

Narrated Qatada:
Anas bin Malik said, "The Prophet used to visit all his wives in a round, during the day and night and they were ELEVEN IN NUMBER." I asked Anas, "Had the Prophet the strength for it?" Anas replied, "We used to say that the Prophet was given the strength of thirty (men)." And Sa'id said on the authority of Qatada that Anas had told him about nine wives only (not eleven). (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 1, Book 5, Number 268)

Narrated Abdullah ibn Umar
Ghaylan ibn Salamah ath-Thaqafi accepted Islam and that he had ten wives in the pre-Islamic period who accepted Islam along with him; so the Prophet told him to keep four and separate from the rest of them.
Ahmad, Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah transmitted it. (Al-Tirmidhi, Number 945: taken from the Alim CD-ROM Version)

Narrated Al-Harith ibn Qays al-Asadi
I embraced Islam while I had eight wives. So I mentioned it to the Prophet. The Prophet said: Select four of them. (Sunan of Abu Dawud, Book 12, Number 2233)

Narrated 'Urwa from 'Aisha:
The wives of Allah's Apostle were in two groups. One group consisted of 'Aisha, Hafsa, Safiyya and Sauda; and the other group consisted of Um Salama and the other wives of Allah's Apostle. The Muslims knew that Allah's Apostle loved 'Aisha, so if any of them had a gift and wished to give to Allah's Apostle, he would delay it, till Allah's Apostle had come to 'Aisha's home and then he would send his gift to Allah's Apostle in her home. The group of Um Salama discussed the matter together and decided that Um Salama should request Allah's Apostle to tell the people to send their gifts to him in whatever wife's house he was. Um Salama told Allah's Apostle of what they had said, but he did not reply. Then they (those wives) asked Um Salama about it. She said, "He did not say anything to me." They asked her to talk to him again. She talked to him again when she met him on her day, but he gave no reply. When they asked her, she replied that he had given no reply. They said to her, "Talk to him till he gives you a reply." When it was her turn, she talked to him again. He then said to her, “Do not hurt me regarding Aisha, AS THE DIVINE INSPIRATIONS DO NOT COME TO ME ON ANY OF THE BEDS EXCEPT THAT OF AISHA.” On that Um Salama said, “I repent to Allah for hurting you.” Then the group of Um Salama called Fatima, the daughter of Allah's Apostle and sent her to Allah's Apostle to say to him, “Your wives request to treat them and the daughter of Abu Bakr on equal terms.” Then Fatima conveyed the message to him. The Prophet said, “O my daughter! Don’t you love whom I love?” She replied in the affirmative and returned and told them of the situation. They requested her to go to him again but she refused. They then sent Zainab bint Jahsh who went to him and used harsh words saying, “Your wives request you to treat them and the daughter of Ibn Abu Quhafa on equal terms.” On that she raised her voice and abused 'Aisha to her face so much so that Allah's Apostle looked at 'Aisha to see whether she would retort. 'Aisha started replying to Zainab till she silenced her. The Prophet then looked at 'Aisha and said, “She is really the daughter of Abu Bakr.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 3, Book 47, Number 755)

Narrated Muadha:

'Aisha said, “Allah's Apostle used to take the permission of that wife with whom he was supposed to stay overnight if he wanted to go to one other than her, after this Verse was revealed:--

‘You (O Muhammad) can postpone (the turn of) whom you will of them (your wives) and you may receive any (of them) whom you will; and there is no blame on you if you invite one whose turn you have set aside (temporarily).’ (33.51)” I asked Aisha, “What did you use to say (in this case)?” She said, “I used to say to him, ‘If I could deny you the permission (to go to your other wives) I would not allow your favor to be bestowed on any other person.’” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 6, Book 60, Number 312)

… He replied. ‘I have not provided you with means of conveyance but Allah has provided you with it, and by Allah, Allah willing, if ever I take an oath to do something, and later on I find that it is more beneficial to do something different, I will do the thing which is better, and give expiation for my oath.’ (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 4, Number 361)

Narrated 'Aisha:
A man asked permission to enter upon the Prophet. When the Prophet saw him, he said, "What an evil brother of his tribe! And what an evil son of his tribe!" When that man sat down, the Prophet behaved with him in a nice and polite manner and was completely at ease with him. When that person had left, 'Aisha said (to the Prophet). "O Allah's Apostle! When you saw that man, you said so-and-so about him, then you showed him a kind and polite behavior, and you enjoyed his company?" Allah's Apostle said, "O 'Aisha! Have you ever seen me speaking a bad and dirty language? (Remember that) the worst people in Allah's sight on the Day of Resurrection will be those whom the people leave (undisturbed) to be away from their evil (deeds).” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 8, Book 73, Number 59o)

- This is an act of Satan's deception: Many of the early church writers such as Irenaeus, Justin Martyr and Tertullian claimed that the similarities between Christianity and paganism were a Satanic attempt at "diabolical mimicry", which means that Satan purposely ensured that stories similar to what would be included into the future Gospels would be pre-recorded in pagan sources so that it appears that Christians copied from the earlier pagan sources. They view this as some kind of pre-emptive strike from Satan against Christianity. It's also possible that Satan's deception could be that he is whispering into the ears of skeptics and tempting them to opt for the belief that Christianity was influenced by pagan myths.

- Prove that this is not merely a Satanic attempt where Satan tried to ensure that the story of Jesus eating [sic] in the cradle didn't find its way into any first century sources because he knew that many historians in the future would adopt a historical method that would drive them to say that this story is a forgery. Or that Satan is currently the one responsible whispering into the ears of skeptics that the obvious conclusion to derive from a story being found in both the Qur'an and Infancy Gospel is that the Qur'an plagiarized the story.

If Muhammad was copying from the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, or reliant upon it even indirectly, why were its crucial details omitted? The Quran does not mention the "soft" clay, the "twelve sparrows," Jesus' "clapping of hands" and his "crying" to the sparrows: "Be off..." It does not mention Jesus asking the sparrows to remember him and the sparrows noisily flying. In fact, the entire framework of the story is absent in the Quran (the sabbath story).

If the Quran was dependent upon the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, why would its Author omit so much - He omitted everything except for mentioning the miracle of the clay-bird?

The Quran only states that Jesus made a bird from clay and it transformed into an actual bird when he breathed into it. The Quran then emphasizes that this was God's miracle, done through Jesus (peace be upon him). Thus, it is highly unlikely that Muhammad had a copy of the Infancy Gospel of Thomas in his lap and was copying directly from it.

Could it be that Muhammad acquired this story indirectly, as it was circulating orally (with its ultimate source being the Infancy Gospel of Thomas)? This is "possible." Though one wonders, is it likely that the written story would later transmit orally in such a way that it was completely stripped from all the exciting details in its written form and a total absence of its framework? That seems quite improbable.

… ‘The plain verses are the mother of the Book; the rest are obscure.’¹

I heard a scholar above suspicion mentioning that these verses were sent down about the people of Najran when they came to the apostle to ask him about Jesus the son of Mary. (The Life of Muhammad: A Translation of Ibn Ishaq’s Sirat Rasul Allah, with introduction and notes by Alfred Guillaume [Oxford University Press, Karachi, Tenth impression 1995], p. 257; bold emphasis ours)

1. Sura 3.5. (Ibid.)

A deputation from the Christians of Najran came to the apostle. There were sixty riders, fourteen of them from their nobles of whom three were in control of affairs, namely (a) the ‘Aqib the leader of the people, a man of affairs, and their chief adviser whose opinion governed their policy, ‘Abdu’l– Masih by name; (b) the Sayyid, their administrator who saw to transport and general arrangements, whose name was al-Ayham; and (c) their Bishop, scholar, and religious leader who controlled their schools, Abu Haritha b. ‘Alqama, one of B. Bakr b. Wa’il.

Abu Haritha occupied a position of honour among them, and was a great student, so that he had an excellent knowledge of their religion, and the Christian kings of Byzantium had honoured him and paid him a subsidy and gave him servants, built churches for him and lavished honours on him, because of his knowledge and zeal for their religion…

The names of the fourteen principal men among the sixty riders were: ‘Abdu’l-Masih the ‘Aqib, al-Ayham the Sayyid; Abu Haritha b. ‘Alqama brother of B. Bakr b. Wa’il; Aus; al-Harith; Zayd; Qays; Yazid; Nubayh; Khuwaylid; ‘Amr; Khalid; ‘Amr; Khalid; ‘Abdullah; Johannes; of these the first three named above spoke to the apostle. They were Christians according to the Byzantine rite, though they differed among themselves in some points, saying He is God; and He is the son of God; and He is the third person of the Trinity, which is the doctrine of Christianity. They argue that he is God because he used to raise the dead, and heal the sick, AND DECLARE THE UNSEEN; AND MAKE CLAY BIRDS AND THEN BREATHE INTO THEM, SO THAT THEY FLEW AWAY; and all this was by the command of God Almighty, ‘We will make him a sign to men.’ They argue that he is son of God in that they say he had no known father; AND HE SPOKE IN THE CRADLE and this is something that no child of Adam has ever done. They argue that he is the third of three in that God says: We have done, We have commanded, We have created and We have decreed, and they say, If He were one he would have said I have done, I have created, and so on, but He is He and Jesus and Mary. Concerning all these assertions the Quran came down.

When the two divines spoke to him the apostle said to them, ‘Submit yourselves.’ They said, ‘We have submitted.’ He said: ‘You have not submitted, so submit.’ They said, ‘Nay, but we have submitted before you.’ He said, ‘You lie. Your assertion that God has a son, your worship of the cross, and your eating pork hold you back from submission.’ They said, ‘But who is his father, Muhammad?’ The apostle was silent and did not answer them. So God sent down concerning their words and their incoherence the beginning of the sura of the Family of ‘Imran up to more than eighty verses… (Ibid., pp. 270-272; bold, capital and underline emphasis ours)

This sura is composed of 200 verses. It was revealed in Madina after sura 8, al-Anfal (The Booty). Commentators are generally agreed that the first eighty-odd verses were revealed concerning the Christian delegation of Najran, an ancient town in South Arabia.

Wahidi reports:

“Commentators have said that a delegation from Najran consisting of sixty horsemen came to the Messenger of God. Among them were fourteen of their notables. Three of these fourteen held special authority among their people. They were al-‘Aqib, ‘Abd al-Masih by name, who was the leader of the people and guardian of their affairs, and whose opinion was never opposed. The other was called al-Ayham who was the sayyid (chief) of the people and their leader. The third was Abu Harithah b. ‘Alqamah who was their bishop and religious leader (imam), and the head of their religious school (midras). He attained high honor among his people because he studied all their (sacred) books, so that he acquired great learning. Even Byzantine kings honored him, bestowing on him great wealth and building churches for him because of his great wisdom. These men came to the Messenger of God in his mosque at the time of the midafternoon prayers. They were clad in Yamani attire, garments and mantles. They were equal in elegance and beauty to the men of the tribe of Banu al-Harith b. Ka‘b. Those of the companions of the Messenger of God who saw them exclaimed, ‘We have never seen a delegation like them!’ When the time for their prayers had come, they arose and prayed in the mosque of the Messenger of God, and the Prophet said, ‘Let them pray.’ They thus prayed facing east. Then al-Sayyid and al-‘Aqib spoke with the Messenger of God and he said to them, ‘Accept islam!’ They answered, ‘We have been muslims long before you!’ He replied, ‘You do not tell the truth! Your claim that God has a son, your worship of the cross and your eating of the swine prevent you from being muslims.’ They retorted, ‘If Jesus were not the son of God, then who is his father?’ They thus debated with the Prophet concerning Jesus. He argued, ‘Do you not know that there is no child but that he must resemble his father?’ ‘Yes,’ they said. He continued, ‘Do you not know that our Lord is living and will never die, while Jesus is subject to extinction?’ They said, ‘Yes.’ The Prophet argued further, ‘Do you not know that our Lord has control over all things which He alone preserves and sustains?’ ‘Yes,’ they said. He said, ‘Does Jesus possess the power to do any of these things?’ ‘No,’ they answered. He then continued, ‘It is our Lord who formed Jesus in the womb as he willed [cf. verse 6, below]. Our Lord, moreover, neither eats, drinks, nor does he void. Do you not know,’ he went on, ‘that the mother of Jesus bore him in the same manner as women bear children, and delivered him as they do, and that he was then nurtured as would any child. Then he ate, drank, and voided.’ They consented saying, ‘Yes.’ The Prophet concluded, ‘How could it then be as you say!’ But they were silent. Thus God sent down concerning them the first eighty-odd verses of this sura” (Wahidi, pp. 90-91).

Tabari begins his commentary on this sura with the following general statement:

"It is related that God begins in revealing the opening of this sura as He does with the negation of divinity of any being other than He, and describes Himself as He does at its beginning [i.e., verse I] as an argument against a group of Christians who came to the Messenger of God from Najran. They debated with him concerning Jesus and manifested unbelief in God. God, therefore, sent down the first eighty-odd verses of this sura CONCERNING THEM and Jesus, and as an argument for His Prophet against them and any others who may have held similar views. Yet these men persisted in their rejection of faith and grave error. The Prophet called them to the mubahalah [i.e., praying to God and invoking His curse on those who are in the wrong; see verse 59, below], but they refused. They asked instead that he accept from them the jizyah poll tax. This he did, and they returned to their country. However, even if it may be true that they were primarily intended by God in this argument, nevertheless, any other people who share their rejection of faith in God by taking other beings beside Him as lords and gods worthy of worship, are likewise included in this divine reproof. They are also subject to the proof of the criterion (furqan) by which God judged between them and His Messenger” (Tabari, VI pp. 150-151).

Tabari then relates the tradition already cited from Wahidi, but on the authority of Ibn Ishaq, who reported in turn on the authority of Muhammad b. Ja‘far b. al-Zubayr. He adds that the men of Najran who spoke to the prophet were adherents of the “king’s religion,” perhaps meaning that they were Melkites.

Tabari asserts further that “Christians were nonetheless in disagreement among themselves, some saying that Jesus is God, others that he is the son of God, and, still others, that he is ‘the third of three’ [see Q. 5:73]. These are the claims of the Christians. They have argued in support of the claim that Jesus is God from the fact that he used to raise the dead, cure diseases AND FORETELL UNKNOWN THINGS. HE ALSO USED TO FASHION OUT OF CLAY THE SHAPE OF A BIRD, THEN BREATHE INTO IT, AND IT BECAME A BIRD (Q. 3:49 and 5:110). All this, however,” Tabari continues, “was by God’s permission, to make Jesus a sign for humankind. Christians have likewise argued that Jesus is the son of God in that they say that he had no known father. HE ALSO SPOKE IN THE CRADLE (Q. 3:46, 5:110 and 19:29), a thing which none of the children of Adam had done before him. They have contended that Jesus is ‘the third of three’ on the basis of God’s saying ‘We did,’ ‘We commanded,’ ‘We created’ and ‘We have decreed.’ They thus argue that had God been only one, He would have said, ‘I did,’ ‘I commanded,’ ‘I decreed’ and ‘I have created.’ This refers, therefore, to God, Jesus and Mary. It is concerning all these claims that Qur’anic verses were sent down. Thus, God informed His Prophet of their claims” (Tabari, VI, pp. 152-153). (Ayoub, The Qur’an and Its Interpreters: The House of ‘Imran [State University of New York (SUNY) Press, Albany 1992], Volume II, pp. 1-4; capital and underline emphasis ours)

We need to bare in mind that similarity between a Qur'anic account and a Biblical (or non-Biblical) story is not proof of the former borrowing from the latter. They could have the same source as well. Why could it not be that a certain event occurred and eventually came to be recorded either in a Biblical or a non-Biblical writing and later Allah revealed to Muhammad (peace be upon him) the story as well? If a priori we reject the possibility of Muhammad's prophethood then we would have no choice but to look for a non-divine solution (i.e. that Muhammad either directly or indirectly borrowed a certain story). But if we are open to the possibility of revelation, miracles and Muhammad's prophethood, then the mere fact that two stories are the same or similar does not by itself negate the prophethood of Muhammad or that he received the information through fresh revelation. Only by a priori denying the possibility of revelation and miracles can we come to this conclusion. We need to ensure that we are not appealing to the fallacy of false cause when examining this issue.

- Similarity does not equal sameness: Christian apologists would claim that just because there are similar features between one story and another that doesn't necessarily imply that they are the same story, since it's very likely that a story told could be similar to another story in certain aspects, yet not totally the same.

- There is no evidence that pious Christians would have copied off pagan sources: Christian apologist Sam Shamoun said (bold emphasis mine):

- He must provide some pre-Christian evidence, whether archaeological inscriptions, artifacts etc., showing that these pagan stories existed before the time of Jesus.

- He must also show that such stories were not just in circulation, but that they were circulating in first century Palestine.

- He must then demonstrate that God-fearing, monotheistic Jews such as Christ's followers would be interested in plagiarizing such myths in the first place. (Sam Shamoun, The Alleged Pagan Origins of Christianity: Examining More of Abdullah Smith's Continuing Intellectual Suicide Mission, Source)

This Surah was revealed to suit the requirements of the changed conditions which were now different from those prevailing at the time of the revelation of Al-i-'Imran and An- Nisa… (Syed Abu-Ala' Maududi's Surah Introductions to the Qur'an)