Material for the Evaluation of the Sources of the Qur'an


  • The Origins of the Qur'an - An Enquiry into the Sources of Islam by W. Goldsack

  • Judaism and Islam by Abraham Geiger

  • Jewish Foundations of Islam by Charles Cutler Torrey

  • The Original Sources of the Qur'an by W. St. Clair Tisdall (Comprehensive, 287 pages, 1905)

    • The Sources of Islam is Tisdall's earlier book (from 1900) on the same topic. It contains already most of the important material, but being only a third in size (about 100 pages) it is not as thoroughly documented as the later edition (it also has a few minor mistakes that have been corrected in the later edition), but this is the version that has been reprinted many times, probably because it is much quicker to read.

    A Word to the Wise: Being a defence of the "Sources of Islam" in response to two Muslim reactions to his above book.

  • The Influence of Animism on Islam by Samuel M. Zwemer

  • Legends, Myths and Fables incorporated into the Qur'an

  • Apocryphal gospels in the Quran is a short introductory article by James Arlandson.

  • The Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg does not directly discuss Islam, but is a valuable resource for possible sources.

    • Further individual articles

  • Surah Mariam: The Curse of the Apocrypha
  • Joseph the Carpenter in Islam
  • Surah 18: From Alexander to the Messiah
  • Solving a Quranic Puzzle investigates possible sources for the mysterious claim that Jews have been turned into apes for breaking the Sabbath.
  • Jesus' Ministry and Miracles in the Qur'an (Part 1, Part 2A, Part 2B)
  • From Jonah to Pharaoh? – Part I: What was the Sign of Jonah?, Part II: What was the Sign of Pharaoh?
    reveals a surprising connection between the sign of Jonah in the Bible and the sign of Pharaoh in the Qur'an
  • Abraham and the Idols
  • Abraham and the Flame of the Chaldeans: How the Quran Turns a Fable into Reality
  • Solomon and the Queen of Sheba: [Comparison of Targum and Qur'an], [Did the Jews copy from the Qur'an?]
  • Midrash in the Qur'an (Mainly on the story of Abraham)
  • Moses and the Magicians of Pharaoh
  • Haman in the Qur'an
  • On the literary sources of Haman in the Qur'an and the Tower of Babel (Part 1A, Part 1B, Part 2)
  • The Rock that Gave Birth to a Camel & The Mysterious Body on Solomon's Throne
  • The Christianity of the Qur'an: [Part 1]
  • The Qur'an's view of Christians
  • The story of Adam and Iblis
  • The story of Cain and Abel, An Inspired Apocryphal Fable?, Cain and Abel in the Qur'an
  • The Fellows of the Cave (Sura 18)
  • Jesus speaking in the cradle and making birds from clay
  • Reflections on the story of Talut
  • I am all the prophets
  • Abdullah ibn Sa`d Ibn Abi Sarh
  • Waraqa bin Nawfal
  • The Qur'an and Galen's embryology
  • Is the Quran An Implicit Endorsement and Continuation of Arab Paganism?
  • Did Muhammad Plagiarize the Poetry of Imrau'l Qais?
  • Allah and the Pen; the attitude of the angels at the creation of Adam
  • The Identity of the Injeel
  • Syriac Influence on the Style of the Kur'an
  • Did Mohammed Know Slavonic Enoch?
  • Muhammad confusing Torah and Talmud
  • Allah's Use of Plural Pronouns [Part V]

  • Newsgroup discussion "Could Satan have impersonated Gabriel?" - Question, Elrabaa, Katz, Elrabaa / Lomax, Katz / Lomax

    • Is the Qur'an a Miracle? contains several chapters discussing legendary sources of the Qur'an.

    Myth in the Qur'an

    Biblical Stories in the Qur'an

    Related Topics:

  • The name "Allah"
  • The Bible versus the Book of Mormon (maybe some observations are releveant?)

    • Other Qur'an issues
    Answering Islam Home Page