Part 3: Jewish Legends in the Qur’an
The Myth Recycling Continues
Islam claims the Qur’an is the literal, unfiltered, word-for-word speech of Allah — eternal, perfect, and completely independent of any human origin. But once again, just like we saw with Christian legends and Gnostic texts, the Qur’an borrows heavily from earlier Jewish folklore and rabbinic tales — including midrashic fables, Talmudic embellishments, and oral storytelling traditions circulating well before the 7th century.
In this part, we expose how various passages in the Qur’an are not original revelations, but retellings — sometimes distorted, sometimes embellished — of non-biblical Jewish myths.
1. Abraham Destroys the Idols (Qur’an 21:51–68)
In the Qur’an, Abraham smashes the idols of his people but leaves the largest idol untouched:
“So he broke them into pieces, except the biggest of them, so they might turn to it.” (Qur’an 21:58)
This story is not found anywhere in the Bible. Instead, it appears in the Jewish Midrash Bereshit Rabbah 38:13, a 5th-century CE rabbinic text:
“He took a stick and broke all the idols, and put the stick in the hands of the biggest one. When his father returned, he asked, ‘What happened?’ Abraham replied: ‘The largest idol smashed the others.’”
The Qur’anic version mimics this tale closely — even retaining the irony and sarcasm of Abraham’s response.
🧠 Analysis: This midrash was never considered historical scripture by Jews. Yet it shows up in the Qur’an as if it were fact — again calling into question whether the Qur’an is narrating history or simply adapting pre-Islamic folklore.
2. The Death and Resurrection of a Man (Qur’an 2:259)
The Qur’an tells of a man who passed by a ruined town and doubted how God could bring it back to life:
“So Allah caused him to die for a hundred years, then revived him…” (Qur’an 2:259)
This is a clear retelling of a story found in the Babylonian Talmud (Sanhedrin 91b) — where the prophet Ezra questions the resurrection, falls asleep, and wakes up after many years to see Jerusalem restored. The parallel in storyline is undeniable.
🧠 Analysis: The Talmudic story is an imaginative legend used by rabbis to teach resurrection. In the Qur’an, it’s passed off as historical revelation — again, lifting rabbinic fiction into “divine scripture.”
3. Harut and Marut, the Babylonian Angels (Qur’an 2:102)
The Qur’an describes two angels, Harut and Marut, sent to Babylon who taught people magic:
“...and what was sent down to the two angels in Babylon, Harut and Marut…”
This story has no Biblical parallel but shows up in Jewish mystical and apocalyptic writings, particularly in the Talmud (Yoma 67b) and the Book of Enoch. In Jewish lore, angels fell from heaven to teach humans forbidden knowledge — including sorcery.
🧠 Analysis: This myth is from non-canonical Jewish mystical texts, not revelation. The Qur’an imports the characters and inserts them as if it were an actual event decreed by Allah.
4. Solomon and the Magic Ring (Qur’an 38:34)
The Qur’an alludes to Solomon losing his kingdom temporarily due to a mysterious test, and then regaining it:
“And We certainly tried Solomon and placed on his throne a body; then he returned.”
There’s no explanation in the Qur’an — but the clue comes from a Jewish legend in the Targum of Esther (1:2) and Midrash where a demon named Asmodeus steals Solomon’s magic ring and usurps his throne. Solomon wanders as a beggar before finally returning to reclaim it.
🧠 Analysis: Again, the Qur’an relies not on Scripture, but on Jewish fantasy literature to tell stories that have no historical or scriptural basis — and yet frames them as divine truth.
5. The Cow and the Murder Mystery (Qur’an 2:67–73)
The Qur’an tells the story of the Israelites being instructed to sacrifice a cow in order to solve a murder:
“...Strike the dead man with a piece of the cow. Thus does Allah bring the dead to life…”
This peculiar story is lifted from Midrash Tanchuma, Parashat Chukat 4, where a similar narrative unfolds to teach moral lessons through ritual sacrifice. It’s a rabbinic allegory — not scripture.
🧠 Analysis: The Qur’an imports this legend verbatim, complete with the drama, confusion, and symbolic sacrifice, turning Jewish moral instruction into “revelation.”
6. The Ant and Solomon (Qur’an 27:18–19)
Solomon hears an ant warning other ants to avoid his army:
“O ants, enter your dwellings that you not be crushed by Solomon and his soldiers…”
This charming tale is a well-known Jewish fable in the Talmud (Gittin 68a) and Second Targum of Esther, in which Solomon understands the speech of animals — including ants and birds.
🧠 Analysis: Like Aesop’s fables, this was known as a fictional tale used to illustrate Solomon’s wisdom — not as literal history. Yet the Qur’an absorbs it as a true prophetic event.
Conclusion: The Qur’an — A Tapestry of Tales, Not a Divine Dictation
If the Qur’an were truly the unaltered speech of a divine being, it should not contain folk stories, rabbinic legends, and midrashic anecdotes — especially ones written hundreds of years before Islam, and often known as non-literal, non-canonical teaching tools.
Yet here we are — with story after story borrowed, reshaped, and reframed.
If the Jewish sources hadn’t existed, Muslims might claim originality. But the pre-Islamic availability of these tales kills the “divine origin” narrative. The Qur’an reads not as a transcendent revelation, but as a patchwork of mythological recycling — stitched together from human sources known to Jews and Christians long before Muhammad’s time.
This is not revelation. This is rehash.
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