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Discuss the Influence of the Gnostic Gospels

in the Qurans Presentation of the People of

the Book

As established in many previous essays, religion influence from outside cultures

onto a specific religion is very common. Islam is no exception. The Arabian Peninsula

was at the crossroads of trading routes, which would introduce the religions of many

cultures to the Arabian people. Christianity, in all its forms, would have been one of

these influences. The Gnostic Gospels influenced the Quranic narratives.

Surprising to many, Mary and Jesus are mentioned frequently in the Quran.

However, these narratives concerning the two can differ dramatically from the New

Testament. One must ask where those other influences came from. We can find most of

the stories in the Gnostic Gospels. The Infancy Gospel of Thomas establishes miracles

and wondrous deeds that Jesus performed when he was young. Although the Quran

does not have boyhood deeds mentioned, there is an infant narrative presented. In Surah

19, we receive a word from Jesus while in a cradle. He established himself as a servant

and a prophet, honored Mary, and predicted that he would be raised after death. There is

no direct parallel found in the Gospel of Thomas, but Muhammad didnt need it. He

could have heard the stories that Thomas presented and used a similar strategy. In both

accounts, Jesus speaks incredible wisdom at a young age.

Muhammad could have gotten some of his Mary narrative from the Infancy

Gospel of James. This gospel has proved to be very important even to the Catholic faith

because in it we find the concept for the Immaculate Conception. The gospel of James

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begins with the birth of Mary, an answer to prayer from her mother Anna. Although

Anna is not explicitly in the Quran, Surah 3 holds a parallel to the gospel of James. In

both stories, Mary is consecrated for holy use and taken to the Temple. The Quran

offers a much briefer story than James does, but Muhammad doesnt need it. All he

needed to do was connect his revelations to a common Christian tradition.

The birth of Jesus is also taken from James. The gospel of James speaks of Jesus

being born of light. This would have caused Mary no pain and would have kept her

virginity intact. Surah 19 gives us the Quranic version of the birth. It states that Mary

began to feel the pains of childbirth but that Allah provided water and dates to ease her

pain. We hear of no more pain after this provision. In both accounts, Mary was cared for

during the birth of Jesus so that she would not feel pain.

Analyzing these similarities challenges a commonly believed view, however. I do

not believe that Muhammad was illiterate. He knew of several creations stories, as

established in previous essays; he knew of the origins and stories of Jewish patriarchs.

This essay shows that he also knew of other Christian texts after the formation of the

canon. A Muslim might respond that Gabriel revealed all this to Muhammad because of

the errors in Judaism and Christianity. This would allow for common stories. This also

allowed Muhammad to get involved in an intense struggle between catholic Christians

and heretical Christians. As stated in the introduction, Arabia was a center for trade

routes. Muhammad had a successful trader as a first wife and he was raised by his uncle,

another successful trader. I think this allowed Muhammad to become very educated. By

using enough Jewish sources, he could establish a shared origin with the Jews. By using

enough Christian text, he could show a common love and respect for Jesus and Marry.

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And by using enough other Christian sources, such as the gospels of Thomas and

James, he could seem transcendent above the common religions. He showed his belief

that those religions were flawed. The Gnostic Gospels greatly influenced the way

Muhammad presented Mary and Jesus.

A