Full Lecture: Orated by Professor Neil Hamson at the University of Birmingham, Dubai, 2024

 

“The Qur’an: A Constructed Scripture Rooted in Biblical and Apocryphal Traditions”

 

INTRODUCTION

• Thesis: The Qur’an is not a uniquely divine text revealed in a vacuum. It is a late product of Near Eastern monotheistic synthesis, with clear borrowing from earlier religious traditions, and may not have been originally intended to become the basis of a new religion.

• Evidence will include:

  • Biblical parallels

  • Jewish/Christian apocrypha and Midrash

  • Quranic manuscript analysis

  • Hadith and early Islamic historiography

  • Linguistic traces (Syriac, Hebrew, Aramaic)

  • Rebuttals to common defences

 

I. LINGUISTIC AND CULTURAL CONTEXT OF THE QUR’AN’S COMPOSITION

A. The Religious Melting Pot of 6th–7th Century Arabia

• Jews and Christians lived in Mecca, Medina, Najran, and Yemen.

• Nestorian, Ebionite, and Monophysite Christianity were widespread.

• The Qur’an uses theological terms not native to Arabic, suggesting exposure to foreign religious lexicons:

  • Injil (Gospel) - from Greek Evangelion

  • Sakinah (Divine Presence) - Hebrew Shekhinah

  • Rahman (Merciful) - from Syriac Rachmana

  • Furqan (salvation/judgment) - from Syriac Purqana

 

II. PARALLEL TEXTS: BIBLE VS QUR’AN

A. Creation & Fall of Adam

Bible: Genesis 2 - 3
Qur’an: Chapters 2 Verses 30 - 39, 7 Verses 11 - 25, 20 Verses 115 - 123

Concept                               Bible                                      Qur’an

Garden.                                 Garden of Eden                  Paradise

Forbidden Tree                   Tree of Knowledge            Tree unnamed

Tempter                                 Serpent                                  Iblis (Satan)

Expulsion                              Result of sin                        Result of disobedience

 

Observation: Names and structure altered, but core storyline identical.

 

B. Cain and Abel

Bible: Genesis Chapter 4 Verses 1 - 16
Qur’an: Chapter 5 Verses 27 - 31

• Qur’an adds a crow teaching Cain to bury Abel, not found in Bible.

• This element comes from Jewish Midrash (Tanhuma Bereshit 10).

C. Abraham Destroys Idols

Qur’an: Chapter 21 Verse 57 - 70
No such story in the Bible.

Source: Found in Genesis Rabbah 38:13 - a Jewish Midrash centuries earlier than the Qur’an.

D. Jesus Speaks from the Cradle

Qur’an: Chapter 19 Verses 29 - 33
No such story in New Testament.
Found in the Infancy Gospel of Thomas (2nd century Christian Apocrypha).

E. Seven Sleepers of Ephesus

Qur’an: Chapter 18 Verses 9 - 26 (Ashab al-Kahf)
Christian Legend, Jacob of Serugh, Syriac homilies.

 

III. QUR’ANIC MANUSCRIPT EVIDENCE

A. Sanaa Manuscript (1972)

• Found in Yemen: palimpsest - lower text erased, overwritten by a later version.

• Radiocarbon dating: 671 CE ± 30 years (possibly pre-canonical).

• Shows verses omitted or worded differently than modern Qur’an.

  • E.g., Chapter 2 Verse 196 and 9 Verse 9 show variation in grammar and structure.

• Gerd Puin: "What is found here is evidence of a scripture in flux."

B. Six Canonical Readings (Qira'at)

• Variants: Hafs, Warsh, Qalun, Duri, etc.

• Differences include:

  • Pronouns, verbs, and sometimes entire clauses.

  • Surah 2:184: “feeding a poor person” vs “feeding poor persons.”

Suggests editorial process, not divine uniformity.

 

IV. HADITH AND EARLY ISLAMIC SOURCES

A. Compilation Not from Prophet, but Later Caliphs

Sahih Bukhari 4987:
Zayd ibn Thabit said, “I started collecting the Qur’an from palm stalks, thin stones, and the hearts of men…”
After Prophet’s death.

Sahih Bukhari 4986:
Uthman standardized the Qur’an, burning others.

B. Lost Verses

Sahih Muslim 2286 - A verse about stoning for adultery was in the Qur’an but lost.
Umar (Caliph): “Had it not been that people would say ‘Umar added,’ I would write it.”

Suggests loss, human decisions, and editorial discretion - not divine preservation.

 

V. REBUTTALS TO COMMON APOLOGETIC CLAIMS

1. “The Qur’an is Miraculous in Language”

Response: Syriac homilies and Hebrew poetry often use similar structure, rhyme, and metaphor.

• Qur’an 112 (Tawhid): stylistically similar to Syriac Psalmic poetry.

• Many phrases are loan-translations.

2. “The Qur’an Confirms the Bible”

Response: It contradicts key tenets:

• Denies crucifixion (Chapter 4 Verse 157)

• Alters stories (Isaac vs Ishmael sacrifice)

• Changes chronology

This is reinterpretation, not confirmation.

3. “Muhammad was illiterate, so couldn’t write this”

Response:

• “Ummi” = Gentile, not necessarily illiterate. (Cf. Qur’an Chapter 2 Verse 78)

• He may have recited texts he heard from Christians and Jews.

• Waraqah ibn Nawfal, cousin of Khadijah, was a Christian priest who helped Muhammad.

 

VI. STRUCTURAL EVIDENCE: A LITURGICAL LECTIONARY?

• Luxenberg & Puin suggest the Qur’an was originally a Christian lectionary (scripture reading guide).

• Repeated stories, sudden interjections, and liturgical formulae indicate a compilation of sermons and hymns.

• Surahs often open with oaths: “By the fig and the olive…” (Surah 95) — similar to Syriac monastic poetry.

 

VII. CONCLUSION

• Qur’an is not original, but a composite of:

  • Jewish Midrash

  • Christian Apocrypha

  • Syriac liturgy

  • Oral storytelling

• Manuscript evidence and Hadith show redaction, loss, and human compilation.

• Theological framework appears developed post-factum, not divinely revealed as a final word.

 

Academic Position: The Qur’an, when stripped of theological reverence, is a Late Antique religious document, reflecting the theological and literary culture of its time - not a perfect divine revelation.

 

Suggested Academic Sources:

• Christoph Luxenberg, The Syro-Aramaic Reading of the Qur'an

• Gabriel Said Reynolds, The Qur’an and the Bible

• Gerd Puin, Observations on Early Qur’anic Manuscripts in San’a

• John Wansbrough, Qur’anic Studies

• François Déroche, The Qur’an and its Manuscripts

• Patricia Crone, Hagarism: The Making of the Islamic World

• Alphonse Mingana, Syriac Influence on the Style of the Koran