Koranic Allusions: The Biblical, Qumranian, and Pre-Islamic Background to the Koran

Scholars have long known that the text of the Koran shows evidence of many influences from religious sources outside Islam. For example, stories in the Koran about Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and other characters from the Bible obviously come from the Jewish Torah and the Christian Gospels. But there is also evidence of borrowing in the Koran from more obscure literature.In this anthology, the acclaimed critic of Islam Ibn Warraq has assembled scholarly articles that delve into these unusual, little-known sources. The contributors examine the connections between pre-Islamic poetry and the text of the Koran; and they explore similarities between various Muslim doctrines and ideas found in the writings of the Ebionites, a Jewish Christian sect that existed from the second to the fourth centuries. Also considered is the influence of Coptic Christian literature on the writing of the traditional biography of Muhammad. For anyone with an interest in the early history of Islam, this erudite anthology will prove to be informative and enlightening.

Ibn Warraq is the highly acclaimed author of Why I Am Not a Muslim; Defending the West; and Virgins, What Virgins? and Other Essays. He is also the editor of Which Koran?, Leaving Islam, What the Koran Really Says, The Quest for the Historical Muhammad, and The Origins of the Koran.