Intertextuality of Quran with Jewish and Christian Literature

▮Muhammed Rashid AT
 

It is undeniable that the Qur’an narratives have some similarities with earlier traditions like Christian Bible, Hebrew Bible and also with extra Biblical Christian texts like Cave of treasures ,extra Biblical Jewish texts like Genesis Rabbah. But, does it mean that these earlier scriptures are the 'sources‘ of the Quran as claimed by early western scholars like Abraham Geiger?, or it simply mean that similarities found between are just the result of a shared message of a single divine authorship?.

Unlike early western scholarship, 21st century western scholars have came to admit that holy Quran is a 'text of it’s own' having its own distinctive nature which retells the narratives of earlier scriptures correctly. Sidney Griffith remarks that “Quran is a scripture which portrays earlier discourses in a new setting,as shaped,trimmed and re-formulated for an essentially new narrative”. Holy Quran electrifies this point in the verse:

وَأَنزَلْنَآ إِلَيْكَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ بِٱلْحَقِّ مُصَدِّقًۭا لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ مِنَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ وَمُهَيْمِنًا عَلَيْه “

Which says that “we have revealed to you this book with the truth, as a confirmation of previous scriptures and a supreme authority on them”.

Now consider the Quran story of prostration of the angels to Adam (AS),and how it affirms and rejects the elements of earlier traditions with ‘surgical precision’. We could find the story in the verses

 [15:28-31]

"وَإِذْ قَالَ رَبُّكَ لِلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةِ إِنِّى خَـٰلِقٌۢ بَشَرًۭا مِّن صَلْصَـٰلٍۢ مِّنْ حَمَإٍۢ مَّسْنُونٍۢ"

"فَإِذَا سَوَّيْتُهُۥ وَنَفَخْتُ فِيهِ مِن رُّوحِى فَقَعُوا۟ لَهُۥ سَـٰجِدِينَ"

"فَسَجَدَ ٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةُ كُلُّهُمْ أَجْمَعُونَ"

Which means that Remember, O Prophet when your Lord said to the angels, “I am going to create a human being from sounding clay moulded from black mud, So when I have fashioned him and had a spirit of My Own creation breathed into him, fall down in prostration to him, So the angels prostrated all together".

Even though Bible narrates not this story, post biblical Christian text mentions it, but in a different manner. For example In Cave of Treasures, Syriac Christian text of 6th century, it deifies Adam(AS) with crown of 'glory' and king dress, and that is what slowly resulted in the deification of Jesus(AS).

In contrast,the Rabbinic Jews told this story in a way to undermine this Christian theological `deification’. In Genesis Rabbah of 5th century, it says that angels misunderstood Adam as `god’ and started to prostrate but God put Adam to sleep, showing angels that Adam is a mere man.

 Here the Quran affirms the factual elements like angels prostrated to Adam (AS) at God’s command as mentioned in Christian text and Adam is just his vicegerent (Khalifa ),not 'god' as mentioned in the Jewish renditions, while rejecting the false elements of both Christian and Jewish renditions with surgical precision by maintaining its own theological outlook.

Even though the previous scriptures are corrupted (Muharraf)at a large extent, there are some commonalities in between Quran and these scriptures. These commonalities point out to the single divine authorship that is of Allah. How could the prophet Muhammad(S) who has not studied Christian and Jewish traditions, he himself author the miraculous Quran??.

Evidently Quran quotes: You Prophet had not read before the Qur’an any scripture, nor did you write one with your right hand. In that case, those who speak falsehood would have doubted (29:48).

Even the hostile foes of prophet’s age came to admit that prophet (S) wasn't able to read and write. Then how could possibly he bring these early scriptures as the sources of the Quran?. Nonetheless,it is nothing other than the shared message of single divine authorship that we see in the Intertextuality of Quran with earlier scriptures.