Who Really Has the Corrupted Gospels?

“Because of that, We decreed upon the Children of Israel that whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption [done] in the land - it is as if he had slain mankind entirely. And whoever saves one - it is as if he had saved mankind entirely.” Quran 5:32

Commentary of Jewish Rabbis on Genesis 4:10 in the Mishnah (c. 2nd-3rd Century AD):

“The Lord said, ‘What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.’” Genesis 4:10 (Torah)

“‘The voice of your brother’s blood [demei] cries out to Me from the ground’ (Genesis 4:10). The verse does not state: Your brother’s blood [dam], in the singular, but rather: ‘Your brother’s blood [demei],’ in the plural. This serves to teach that the loss of both his brother’s blood and the blood of his brother’s offspring are ascribed to Cain. The mishna notes: Alternatively, the phrase ‘your brother’s blood [demei],’ written in the plural, teaches that that his blood was not gathered in one place but was splattered on the trees and on the stones. The court tells the witnesses: Therefore, Adam the first man was created alone, to teach you that with regard to anyone who destroys one soul from the Jewish people, i.e., kills one Jew, the verse ascribes him blame as if he destroyed an entire world, as Adam was one person, from whom the population of an entire world came forth. And conversely, anyone who sustains one soul from the Jewish people, the verse ascribes him credit as if he sustained an entire world.” Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5 (Rabbinic Commentary c. 190-230 AD)

Islamic Studies scholar Gabriel Said Reynolds:

“5:32 A connection between this verse and the account of Abel’s murder which precedes it is suggested by ‘that is why’ (Ar. min ajal dhālika). The nature of the connection between the two, however, is clear only in light of a discussion in the Mishnah over the reason Genesis 4:10 speaks of the shedding of Abel’s ‘bloods’ (pl., Hb. dāmīm) and not his ‘blood’ (sing.)”

“The precept that killing one soul is like killing all souls is directly linked here to the creation of man ‘one and alone in the world,’ but the larger context is the discussion of the ‘bloods’ of Abel. The Qurʾān seems to have picked up on that larger context. It is also noteworthy that the Qurʾān refers to God’s decreeing (Ar. katabnā ʿalā) something for Israel which is found not in the Bible but in the Mishnah. And it should not be missed that all of this is connected to the Qurʾān’s anti-Jewish polemic: the decree ‘whoever kills a soul’ is imposed only on the Israelites, whom the Qurʾān (anachronistically) blames for the murder of Abel (see further Witztum, Syriac Milieu, 122–24).” Gabriel Said Reynolds, The Qurʾan and the Bible, p. 199

“And [mention] when We raised the mountain above them as if it was a dark cloud and they were certain that it would fall upon them, [and Allāh said], ‘Take what We have given you with determination and remember what is in it that you might fear Allāh.’” Quran 7:171 Quran 2:63

Commentary of Jewish Rabbis on Exodus 19:17 in the Talmud (c. 5th-6th Century AD):

“Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.” Exodus 19:17 (Torah)

“‘And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet God; and they stood at the lowermost part of the mount’ (Exodus 19:17). Rabbi Avdimi bar Ḥama bar Ḥasa said: the Jewish people actually stood beneath the mountain, and the verse teaches that the Holy One, Blessed be He, overturned the mountain above the Jews like a tub, and said to them: If you accept the Torah, excellent, and if not, there will be your burial.” Babylonian Talmud (Rabbinic Commentary c. 450-550 AD)

Islamic Studies scholar Gabriel Said Reynolds:

“2:63 The Qurʾān here returns to the story of the Israelites. The Mount is Mt. Sinai, where God gave the Law to Israel. The idea of ‘raising the Mount’ above Israel—which may be difficult to picture—reflects an interpretation of Exodus 19:17 (cf. Deu 4:10) preserved in the Babylonian Talmud (cf. 4:154; 7:171):

And they stood under mount: R. Abdimi b. Ḥama b. Ḥasa said: This teaches that the Holy One, blessed be He, overturned the mountain upon them like an [inverted] cask. (b. Shabbat, 88a; cf. Avodah Zarah, 2b)” Gabriel Said Reynolds, The Qurʾan and the Bible, p. 51

The Quran says people cast Abraham into a fire for smashing idols but Allah saved him:

“So he smashed them into pieces, except the biggest of them, so they might turn to it ˹for answers˺. They protested, ‘Who dared do this to our gods? It must be an evildoer!’ Some said, ‘We heard a young man, called Abraham, speaking ˹ill˺ of them.’ They demanded, ‘Bring him before the eyes of the people, so that they may witness ˹his trial˺.’ They asked, ‘Was it you who did this to our gods, O Abraham?’ He replied ˹sarcastically˺, ‘No, this one—the biggest of them—did it! So ask them, if they can talk!’ So they came back to their senses, saying ˹to one another˺, ‘You yourselves are truly the wrongdoers!’ Then they ˹quickly˺ regressed to their ˹original˺ mind-set, ˹arguing,˺ ‘You already know that those ˹idols˺ cannot talk.’ He rebuked ˹them˺, ‘Do you then worship—instead of Allah—what can neither benefit nor harm you in any way? Shame on you and whatever you worship instead of Allah! Do you not have any sense?’ They concluded, ‘Burn him up to avenge your gods, if you must act.’ We [Allah] ordered, ‘O fire! Be cool and safe for Abraham!’” Quran 21:58-69

This isn’t in the Bible or Torah, but it’s in the commentary of Jewish Rabbis on Genesis 11:28-31 in the Midrash (c. 5th Century AD):

“One time, a certain woman came, carrying a dish of fine flour in her hand. She said to him: ‘Here, offer it before them.’ He arose, took a club in his hand, shattered all the idols, and placed the club in the hand of the largest among them.”

“He [Nimrod] said to him: ‘You are saying mere words. I bow down only to fire. I will cast you into it, and let that God to whom you bow down come and rescue you from it.’ Haran was there and he was conflicted. He said: ‘Either way [I will know what to do]; If Abraham is victorious, I will say: I am with Abraham, and if Nimrod is victorious, I will say: I am with Nimrod.’ When Abraham descended into the fiery furnace and was rescued, they said to him [Haran]: ‘With whom are you?’ He said to them: ‘I am with Abraham.’ They took him and cast him into the fire and his innards were scorched. He emerged and died in the presence of Teraḥ his father.” Genesis Rabbah 38:13 (Rabbinic Commentary, c. 5th Century AD)

Genesis 11:28-31 in the Torah/Bible only mentions the city of Ur, no fire:

“While his father Terah was still alive, Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, in the land of his birth. Abram and Nahor both married. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milkah; she was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milkah and Iskah. Now Sarai was childless because she was not able to conceive. Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Harran, they settled there.” Genesis 11:28-31 in the Torah/Bible

But translations like this Aramaic one (c. 4th Century AD) interpreted the city of “Ur” as fire because Ur is also the name for fire in Hebrew: “ur: Fire, light” Hebrew Lexicon:

“28. And Haran died during the lifetime of Terah his father in the land of his birth, in the furnace of fire of the Chaldeans. 29. And Abram and Nahor took wives for themselves. The name of the wife of Abram was Sarai, the name of the wife of Nahor was Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah and the father of Iscah. 30. And Sarai was barren; she had no children. 31. And Terah took Abram his son and Lot, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife, and went forth with them from the furnace of the fire of the Chaldeans, to go to the land of Canaan; and they arrived at Haran and dwelt there. 32. And the days of the life of Terah were (two) hundred and five years; and Terah died in Haran.” Targum Neofiti, Aramaic Translation of Genesis 11:28-32 (c. 4th Century AD)

Fanning the Flames: The Legend’s Evolution Until Its Absorption Into the Quran

150 BC: Abraham starts a house fire burning idols and his brother dies trying to save them.

“Abram arose by night, and burned the house of the idols, and he burned all that was in the house, and no man knew it. 13. And they arose in the night and sought to save their gods from the midst of the fire. 14. And Haran hasted to save them, but the fire flamed over him, and he was burnt in the fire, and he died in Ur of the Chaldees before Terah his father, and they buried him in Ur of the Chaldees.” Book of Jubilees (Noncanonical Genesis Retelling, c. 150 BC)

1st Century AD: People cast Abraham into a furnace of fire without harm.

“And they took him and built a furnace and kindled it with fire, and put bricks burned with fire into the furnace. Then Jectan the prince being amazed (lit. melted) in his mind took Abram and put him with the bricks into the furnace of fire. But God stirred up a great earthquake, and the fire gushed forth of the furnace and brake out into flames and sparks of fire and consumed all them that stood round about in sight of the furnace; and all they that were burned in that day were 83,500. But upon Abram was there not any the least hurt by the burning of the fire.” Biblical Antiquities 6 (Noncanonical Jewish Legends, c. 1st Century AD)

Harvard scholar James Kugel:

“It was apparently only after the punning equation of Ur with fire had gotten about—thanks to this motif—that interpreters took the further step of incorporating this ‘fire’ into another, entirely separate motif, the one seen above, ‘Abraham Rescued from Chaldea.’ They began to claim that Abraham had been saved not just from (unspecified) Chaldean animosity to his monotheism (as witnessed in Judith, Jubilees, and other early sources) but from a fire—eventually, a fire that the Chaldeans had built for him (on the model of Dan. 3:19-23). Thus was born the hybrid ‘Abraham Saved from Fire.’ That Abraham in this new motif became a martyr willing to surrender his very life for his beliefs may also suggest a post-Jubilees dating: the theme of Jewish martyrdom became particularly characteristic of midrashic creations from the period of the Roman persecutions.” Kugel, Traditions of the Bible (1998), p. 269

Muhammad Orders Killing Lizards for Blowing on Abraham’s Fire

3359. Narrated Umm Sharik: Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) ordered that house-lizards should be killed and said, “It (i.e., the house-lizard) blew (the fire) on Ibrahim (Abraham)” Sahih Bukhari 3359 (Darussalam Vol. 4, p. 349)