Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Evangelical
Christianity and the Making of the Quran

Christianity and the Making of the Quran

Last updated on: March 16, 2023 at 7:14 am by Philip Jenkins

0 Comments

Christianity and the Making of the Quran 2023-03-16T07:14:55-04:00 Philip Jenkins

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I have just read a very good book that throws major new light on the history of religion(s), the making of Scripture, and the relationship between Christianity and Islam. It has substantially changed my mind on points on which I have long held quite different views.

The book is Stephen J. Shoemaker, Creating the Qur’an: A Historical-Critical Study (University of California Press, 2022). Among other things, Shoemaker is a leading scholar of the apocryphal and alternative gospels of the Virgin Mary, which is highly relevant to the present book because ideas from those Christian writings appear conspicuously in the Quran. I used his work extensively in my own book The Many Faces of Christ: The Thousand-Year Story of the Survival and Influence of the Lost Gospels (Basic Books, 2015). Through the years, I have often touched on those Christian resonances in the Quran, arguing for example that the famous Sura 97, al-Qadr, “The Night of Power” originated in a Christmas liturgy or hymn, or that the Quran directly quotes the Epistle of James. And there are plenty of other examples.

Like most people, I have explained these parallels or borrowings by assuming that Muhammad and his contemporaries had extensive access to alternative Christian traditions, which must have been freely available in his day, roughly the 620s. (Jewish ideas were also widely available, and influential). Those other traditions then informed the making of the Quran, which (I assumed) must have been substantially complete by the time of Muhammad’s death in 632. I also attach a lot of weight to the verses in Sura 5, al-Ma’idah (82-84), in which God declares that

the nearest in affection towards the believers are those who say, “We are Christians.” That is because among them are priests and monks, and they are not arrogant. And when they hear what was revealed to the Messenger, you see their eyes overflowing with tears, as they recognize the truth in it. They say, “Our Lord, we have believed, so count us among the witnesses. And why should we not believe in God, and in the truth that has come to us, and hope that our Lord will include us among the righteous people?”

So when they accepted Islam, those converted priests and monks presumably brought a lot of texts and treasures to the new faith, and these were duly translated and absorbed into the Quran. Obviously there was later editing and selection before the text as we have it, but basically that was the story.

Shoemaker makes nonsense of that approach, both in terms of place and time. Here is the description of the book:

Creating the Qur’an presents the first systematic historical-critical study of the Qur’an’s origins, drawing on methods and perspectives commonly used to study other scriptural traditions. Demonstrating in detail that the Islamic tradition relates not a single attested account of the holy text’s formation, Stephen J. Shoemaker shows how the Qur’an preserves a surprisingly diverse array of memories regarding the text’s early history and its canonization. To this he adds perspectives from radiocarbon dating of manuscripts, the linguistic history of Arabic, the social and cultural history of late ancient Arabia, and the limitations of human memory and oral transmission, as well as various peculiarities of the Qur’anic text itself. Considering all the relevant data to present the most comprehensive and convincing examination of the origin and evolution of the Qur’an available, Shoemaker concludes that the canonical text of the Qur’an was most likely produced only around the turn of the eighth century.

Read that last part again:

Shoemaker concludes that the canonical text of the Qur’an was most likely produced only around the turn of the eighth century.

I scarcely know where to start in describing such a rich and well-researched book, but here are some leading points. First, the Christian resonances and memories in the Quran are not just incidental. Rather, they assume an audience totally familiar with Christianity as it existed in Late Antiquity, with its alternative scriptural traditions. Second, and no less important, there is essentially zero evidence for any Christian presence whatever in the central Hijaz, the area in which Muhammad was living and working. Those Christian “priests and monks” were just not there to become converts, certainly in nothing like the numbers suggested by that passage I quoted earlier. Could Muhammad have had contact with such ideas elsewhere, on trading trips? Sure, but to nothing like the extent demanded here. So where is this Christian world with its knowledgeable audience? And just as important, when do we find such an audience?

Furthermore, Shoemaker looks at the landscape described in the Quran, the social, economic and environmental landscape, and shows how totally different it was from anything like the Central Hijaz. To take an obvious point, it assumes the presence of fishermen and seagoing ships. On the other hand, the picture exactly fits more fertile regions to the north, in Syria/Palestine, and/or Mesopotamia.

I am brutally summarizing Shoemaker’s argument here, but what he argues is that Muhammad existed in the 620s, and preached a message very much like what we know from conventional history. But the Quran in anything like the form we know it was mainly written in the world of Syria/Palestine/Mesopotamia as it existed around the year 700, long after the Arab Muslims had conquered and occupied the region. Or to quote the words of a very much later scholar, Al-Suyūṭī, “The Qur’an was revealed in three places: Mecca, Medina, and Syria.” It is in the late seventh century, presumably, when we find all those Christian clergy and monks accepting Islam.

As I say, I am only scratching the surface of the book, but here is an example that I find compelling. In its Sura 19:22–28, the Quran

gives a highly compressed account of the birth of Jesus that depends on a distinctive combination of Christian Nativity traditions that is uniquely found—outside the Qur’an—only in the liturgical practices of a particular Marian shrine just outside Jerusalem, the Kathisma church. In the vast world of late ancient Christianity, it is only at this church that we find combined the two early Christian traditions that appear in the Qur’an’s account of the Nativity: Christ’s birth in a remote location (rather than in Bethlehem) and Mary’s refreshment by a miraculous palm tree and spring. For good measure, one must add, the liturgical traditions of this same shrine also explicitly name Mary as the sister of Aaron, just as in the Qur’an’s Nativity account, at last providing a clear solution to this “well-known puzzle” of the Qur’an. The correspondence between this Qur’anic passage and the traditions and liturgical practices of the Kathisma church is simply too close to be mere coincidence: clearly the Qur’an knows, and expects its audience to know, this particular configuration of Christian Nativity traditions.

That is not just “drawing generally from Christian ideas,” that is taking directly from the practices of one specific monastery. This example is very convincing, and the book offers much more in the same vein.

Assuming that every part of Shoemaker’s argument is correct, this in no sense invalidates the faith of Islam, or even the value of the Quran, any more than Higher Criticism of the Bible destroys or undermines the Christian faith. But like the Biblical example, it demands real consideration of how we view the scripture. From a Christian perspective, we can see how reading the Quran also gives us a remarkable insight into the thought world of the Eastern Christianity of that era. If Shoemaker is correct, we can use the Quranic text to reconstruct that Syrian/Palestinian Christian world of Late Antiquity in some detail, and more fully understand the range and diversity of its literary resources.

That late seventh century context is multiply striking. As I have mentioned, my forthcoming book is on the iconoclasm controversy in the Byzantine world. This officially began in the 720s, and it is commonly believed that it was at least in part a response to the rigid Islamic piety reflected in that faith’s stern prohibition of images. The emperor responsible for the new policy, Leo III, was from the border region of Commagene. But if Shoemaker is right, then Leo and his contemporaries must have been very keenly aware of the religious tumult in neighboring Syria at the turn of the century, with such a fluid and dynamic relationship between the faiths.

On a related topic, I have suggested elsewhere that among the texts and writings that converted Christian clergy brought over to Islam were some key apocalyptic works with a vehemently anti-Jewish tone, which duly found their way into the Islamic hadith. If we assume that those clerical conversions are under way at the end of the seventh century, that fits the chronology of those works very well. There is a great deal to absorb here.

Read Shoemaker’s book and judge for yourself. Amazingly, the whole text is free as a pdf.

Previous Post

March 15, 2023

Women’s Religious Journals and Accidents of Primary Source Survival

Next Post

March 17, 2023 The court martial of Irish Catholics in Mexico: Los San Patricios and the largest public execution in U.S. military history

Recent Comments

0 | Leave a Comment

"I love horror but would have to acclimate back to Lovecraft and especially Machen. Have ..."

Terry

Fairies, Witches, Folk Horror, and the ..."

"Very good point about MacDonald.I am certainly a Machen fan!"

philipjenkins

Fairies, Witches, Folk Horror, and the ..."

"The Scottish author George MacDonald integrated fairy world into his fiction in a way that ..."

Terry

Fairies, Witches, Folk Horror, and the ..."

"I like the idea that we can have different streams. The coffee analogy is genius."

Lisa Clark Diller

How Do You Take Your Evangelicalism?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category abolitionism Abortion Abraham Joshua Heschel Abraham Kuyper Abraham Lincoln Academia Activism Adam Renberg Advent Adventist africa African American Religion Agnes Howard Albert Camus American History American Religious History American Revolution American West Anabaptists Ancient History Andrea Turpin Andrei Tarkovsky Anglicanism Annales Ansley Lillian Quiros anti-Catholicism Antisemitism Anxious Bench apologetics Apparitions Arash Azizi Archaeology archives art Artificial Intelligence Asia Asian Americans Augustine Authors Bad Bunny Baptism Baptists Barack Obama Battle of Hastings Benjamin Franklin Bernard-Henri Levy Beth Allison Barr Beth Moore Bethany Mannon Bible Bill Cunningham Billy Graham Black Music Bob Dylan Body Boenhoffer Books Breastfeeding Bruce Springsteen C.S. Lewis Calvinism Cancel Culture Capitalism Carmelites Catholicism Cedric Robinson Cesar Chavez Charismaticism charity Charles Dickens Charles Lindbergh Che Guevara Chicago Children Chinese Christianity Chris Gehrz Christ Christian death Christian Higher Education Christian life Christian Nation Christian Nationalism Christianity Today Christmas Church life Church Practice cinema Civil Religion Civil Rights Movement Civil War civility Classics Climate Change Cold War Colonial Mexico colonialism Comer Communism community complementarianism Conference on Faith and History Congregationalism Conspiracies Conspiracy Conversion Narratives Coronavirus Costa Rica Council of Nicaea Covid-19 Creation Critical Race Theory Crusades Culture culture wars Daniel K. Williams David Barton David Swartz Death Ways death with dignity DEI democracy Democratic Party Devotion Digital Age Diplomacy discipleship diversity Donald Trump Drama Dua Lipa Early Church early modern Early modern Catholicism Easter Eastern Christianity economic exploitation Education elections Elie Wiesel Elizabeth II Elizabeth Taylor emotions Empire Engineering England enslavement Entertainment Episcopal Church Erica Ramirez eschatology Eurocentrism Evangelicalism Evangelicals Exegesis Family Feminism Film Flannery O'Connor folk music Food Foreign Policy founding fathers Franciscans Franciscus Junius fundamentalism Funerals G.K. Chesterton Gender Genocide genre geography George W. Bush George Washington George Whitefield Global Christianity Global church Grief Guadalupe guest post Guest Post gun control gun violence Gustavo Gutierrez Hamid Dabashi Harold John Ockenga Harvest Hate Hawaiian Christianity Healing health care Heather Cox Richardson Hell Heresy Hermeneutics Higher Education Hinduism Hippocratic oath Historical Fiction Historical Methodology Historical Profession Historical Profession Historical Theology Historical Thinking historiography Holidays Holocaust horror movies Human rights Humanitarian Work humanities Hummingbirds Hungary hymns Imago Dei Immigration Injustice Interviews Iran Islam Islamophobia Israel Ivan's Childhood Jacob Randolph James Bratt Janine Giordano Drake Japanese history Japanese Literature Jean Paul Sartre Jesse Miranda Jesus Jesus Christ Jimmy Carter Joan Baez Joan Didion Joanne Freeman João B. Chaves Joao Chaves Joey Cochran John Calvin John Fea John Tillotson John Turner Johnny Cash Jonathan Edwards Jonathan Tran Joseph Smith Josh Howerton Journalism Jr. Judaism Jürgen Moltmann Just War Justice Justin Brierley Karl Barth Katelyn Beaty koi ponds Kris Kristofferson Kristin Kobes Du Mez Latin American Religious History Latino Americans Lectio Divina Leisure Lent Leonard Cohen liberal arts liberalism Liberation Theology Linda Ronstadt Lisa Clark Diller Literature Lou Reed Lynchings Lynneth Miller Renberg Mainline Protestantism Malcolm Foley Marilyn Monroe Maritime history Mark Noll Marriage Martin Luther Martin Luther King Martyrdom Marxism Mary Masih Alinejad mass shootings material culture medieval Christianity Medieval Ethiopia Melissa Borja memory Mennonites Mental Health Mental Illness Methodism Mexican Americans Mexicans Mike Madrid Miles Mullin Min Jin Lee Miscarriage Missionaries Mister Rogers Mitt Romney modernity Monasticism Mormonism Motherhood Mothers of the Church Moving Music Musicals Nadya Williams Nahua Christianity Native Americans Natsume Sōseki New Contributor New England New Year New York Nico Non-Violent Protest Orthodoxy pacifism Paleo Evangelicals Palestinians Parenting Patti Smith Paul Kingsnorth Pedro Calderón de la Barca Pentecostalism Philip Jenkins Phillis Wheatley physician-assisted suicide pilgrimage Pilgrims pluralism Plutocracy Poetry Politics Pope Francis Pope Leo XIV post-modernism prayer preaching Presbyterians prosperity gospel Protest Public history Publishing Puritans purity culture Quakers race Race Massacres Racial Capitalism racial reconciliation racialization Racism Raha Bahloulipour Re-Enchantment reading Reformation Refugees religion and the university religion and war Religious Freedom Religious Nones Religious Pluralism Religious Symbols religious violence Republican Party Revival Rita Coolidge Ritual Roger Williams Roman Catholic church Royalty Russell Moore same-sex marriage Sarah Irving-Stonebraker Scandinavia Science Science and Technology Scopes trial Scriptural Interpretation secularism Selena Quintanilla seminary Seventh-Day Adventists sexual morality Sexuality Sikhs Silence slaveholders theology Slavery Slavoj Zizek social justice Social Media Southern Baptist Convention Southern Religion Spain Spiritual Autobiography Spiritual but not religious Spiritual Discipline Sports Stanley Hauerwas Suffering Summer Camps Sunday Night Odds and Ends Supernatural Supreme Court Syriac Christianity Tal Howard Taylor Swift Teaching Technology Television Thanksgiving The Beatles The Mission theater TheoBros Theology Thomas Dixon Thomas Jefferson Thomas Kidd Thomas Merton Tim Gloege Tim Walz Tom Holland Tourism tradition Tragedy Translation Transnationalism Travel Trump Ukraine Uncategorized Unitarians United Methodist Church US History Vanessa Chan Velvet Underground Verónica A. Gutiérrez Veronica Gutierrez Vikings Violence Virgin Mary Virtue Virtue ethics Visions Voting War WCTU Wendell Berry Westminster Assembly White Evangelicalism Wildfires Winnie the Pooh Witches women Women in Ministry Women's and Gender Studies Work Worship writing Yasunari Kawabata Zena Hitz

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What was the primary agricultural tool in Biblical times?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Stone hoe Wooden rake Iron plow Bronze sickle