Can We Use Stories of People of the Book to Elaborate on Quranic Narratives?
Answered by Shaykh Dr. Muhammad Abu Bakr Badhib
Question
Can we take stories from the People of the Book to know more details about the stories mentioned in the Quran?
Answer
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful,
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of all worlds, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger sent as a mercy to the worlds, our Master and Prophet, Muhammad, and his Family and Companions.
General Ruling
It is generally impermissible to rely on stories from the People of the Book to elaborate on Quranic narratives unless they are supported by authentic reports from the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), his Companions, or reliable sources. This caution arises because much of what the People of the Book narrate contains falsehoods, alterations, and misinterpretations. Even if some stories are accurate, their reliability is minimal due to the prevalence of unreliable information among them, as noted by scholars and preservers of Islamic teachings. [[Ibn Kathir, Tafsir al-Quran al-‘Azim; Qasimi, Mahasin al-Ta’wil ; Tayyar, Sharh Muqaddima fi Usul al-Tafsir li Ibn Taymiyya]
“Ibn Kathir explained why Isra’iliyyat (biblical traditions) are abandoned in Islamic scholarship. He highlighted the risk of fabricated attributions to the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) among the Children of Israel due to their historical issues, lack of critical preservation, indulgence in alcohol, and distortion of divine texts. The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) permitted narrating from them in matters that reason may permit, saying: ‘Narrate from the Children of Israel, and there is no harm’ [Bukhari]. However, what reason rejects or judges to be false is not accepted.” [[Ibn Kathir, Tafsir al-Quran al-‘Azim]
Narrated by Ibn ‘Abbas (Allah be pleased with him), he said:
“O Muslims, how can you ask the People of the Book when your Book, which was revealed to your Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), contains the most recent news from Allah? You read it; it has not been altered. Allah has told you that the People of the Book altered what Allah revealed and changed the scripture with their own hands, saying it was from Allah ‘to purchase thereby a small gain.’ Does not the knowledge that has come to you forbid you from asking them? By Allah, we have not seen any of them asking about what was revealed to you.” [Bukhari]
“Your Book” refers to the Quran. “The most recent news from Allah” means the closest books to you revealed by Allah, the Mighty and Majestic. “It has not been altered” means it has not been mixed with anything else, nor has it been changed or altered. “Forbids you” means it suffices you and enriches you.
Sunna
Jabir Ibn Abdullah reported: “Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) copied a book from the Torah in Arabic and brought it to the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace). As the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) began to read, his expression changed. A man from the Ansar said, ‘Woe to you, O Ibn al-Khattab! Do you not see the face of the Messenger of Allah?’ The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, ‘Do not ask the People of the Book about anything, for they will not guide you and have gone astray. You will either deny the truth or affirm the false. By Allah, if Moses were among you, he would have no choice but to follow me.’” [Haythami, Kashf al-Astar ‘an Zawa’id al-Bazzar; Ahmad; Ibn Abi Shayba, al-Musannaf]
‘Aisha (Allah be pleased with her) cited the following verse of the Quran when she was presented with some books from the People of the Book: “Is it not enough for them that We have sent down to you the Book, (which is) recited to them. Surely in this (Quran) is a mercy and reminder for people who believe.” [Quran, 29:51] [Ibn Abi Hatim al-Razi, Tafsir]
Murra Hamdani said: “Abu Qurra Kindi brought a book from the Levant and handed it to Abdullah Ibn Mas‘ud (Allah be pleased with him). He looked at it, called for a basin, then for water, and he soaked it therein, saying: ‘Those before you were destroyed because they followed (other) books and abandoned their own.’ Husayn then said, and Murra added: ‘Had it been from the Quran or the Sunna, he would not have erased it, but it was from the books of the People of the Book.’” [Darimi]
From the foregoing, it is evident that the prohibition against seeking knowledge from the People of the Book stems from two reasons: The first is that Allah has enriched this Umma with the knowledge and guidance revealed to His Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace), and His law has abrogated what preceded it; thus, he is the foremost to be followed by his Umma. The second is that what is with the Jews and Christians cannot be distinguished between its truth and falsehood due to the alterations, changes, and falsehoods they have introduced.
Notes related to the narratives reported from the People of the Book:
1. Isra’iliyyat: People of the Book Tales
The stories of the People of the Book are the accounts transmitted from them, not through the Quran or the authentic sunna of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace). These include stories related by Ka‘b al-Ahbar—who was among the Jewish scholars before converting to Islam—and Wahb Ibn Munabbih, which have been given attention by them. These stories are referred to by scholars as “Isra’iliyyat,” and some commentators have used them in interpreting the Quran, representing the Jewish and Christian influences in it, as well as the cultural impact of both Judaism and Christianity. They are called “Isra’iliyyat” predominantly because most of them are either from the tales of the Children of Israel or from their books. [al-Muqaddima al-Asasiyya fi ‘Ulum al-Quran; ‘Itr, ‘Ulum al-Quran; ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn ‘Abd al-‘Aziz al-‘Aql, Madkhal ila ‘Ulum al-Shari‘a]
2. Companions’ Caution
The curiosity about the stories and narrations of the People of the Book began during the era of the Companions. Although the Companions were interested in knowing some details from the People of the Book, they did not ask them about everything nor accepted everything from them. They were cautious about what was presented to them as long as it was possible to be either true or false, in compliance with the command of the Chosen One (Allah bless him and give him peace): “Do not believe the People of the Book, nor disbelieve them, but say:
‘Say, (O believers,) “We believe in Allah and what has been revealed to us.’’” [Quran, 2:136] [Bukhari]
The Companions stayed within the permissible bounds defined by the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) in his statement:
“Convey from me even if it is just one verse, and narrate about the Children of Israel without restraint, and whoever deliberately lies about me should take his place in the Fire.” [Ahmad]
They did not contradict the previous instruction of the Messenger of Allah not to fully believe or disbelieve the People of the Book, allowing them to narrate about the wonders that befell the Children of Israel for lessons and admonitions, provided they verified their truthfulness and knew they were not fabricated. They were also instructed to be cautious about the narratives from the People of the Book that could be either true or false, and anything contradicting our law was open to being disbelieved. [Tayyar, Sharh Muqaddima fi Usul al-Tafsir li Ibn Taymiyya; Muhammad Ismail al-Muqaddam, Fiqh Ashrat al-Sa‘a]
3. Expansion in the Successors Era
In the era of the Followers (Successors), the acceptance of narratives from the People of the Book expanded, and Isra’iliyyat narratives became more prevalent due to the many who converted to Islam.
4. Prophet’s Permissions
The Companions were restrained in their narration about the Children of Israel, and the permissions given by the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) removed any suspicions of an absolute prohibition. However, they remained mindful of the reasons behind the prohibition, which included corruption and alteration of the text.
5. Companion’s Approach
What the Companions permitted themselves to take from the People of the Book was often from those among them who had converted to Islam, such as Abdullah Ibn Salam and Ka‘b al-Ahbar. This is different from receiving information from scholars and monks who remained within their original faiths. The principle with these converts was that they were careful not to narrate what was evidently false or contradicted the Quran and the fundamentals of Islam. They reported what supported the truth brought by the Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace).
6. Critical Analysis
The Companions did not uncritically accept what they heard from the People of the Book. Even the information they took from those among the People of the Book who had embraced Islam was scrutinized. This is highlighted by what Sa’ib Ibn Yazid reported: that he heard Umar Ibn al-Khattab telling Ka‘b al-Ahbar, “You must abandon these narratives, or I will send you to the land of the monkeys.” [Abu Zar‘a al-Dimashqi, al-Tarikh]
Sa‘id ibn Jubayr reported that I told Ibn ‘Abbas that Nawf al-Bikali claims that Moses, the companion of the Children of Israel, is not the same Moses who was the companion of Khidr. Ibn ‘Abbas replied: “The enemy of Allah lies. I heard Ubayy Ibn Ka‘b saying that he heard the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) saying: ‘Moses stood addressing the Children of Israel and was asked: “Who is the most knowledgeable among people?” He said: “I am the most knowledgeable.” Allah disapproved of his failure to attribute the knowledge back to Him and revealed to him that a servant among His servants at the junction of the two seas was more knowledgeable than you…’” [Tirmidhi]
Nawf al-Bikali was the son of a woman who was from the people of Ka‘b al-Ahbar and he narrated Isra’iliyyat.
These instances demonstrate that the Companions evaluated the Isra’iliyyat stories they heard against what was revealed in the Quran and Sunna. Whatever was consistent with these sources was accepted as truth, and what contradicted them was rejected.
7. No Confirmation in Islam
The Companions were lenient with narratives from the People of the Book that neither found confirmation nor denial in Allah’s Book or the Sunna of our Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), especially if they contained a valid meaning. For example, Abdul Rahman Ibn Hatib said:
“We sat with Ka‘b al-Ahbar in the mosque as he was narrating to us when Umar came and sat on the edge of the gathering and called out to him, saying: ‘Woe to you, O Ka‘b, you frighten us.’ Ka‘b replied: ‘By Him in whose hand is my soul, on the Day of Judgment the Hellfire will approach with its deep breaths and sighs until it exhales so fiercely that no prophet, no truthful person, and no martyr will remain standing on their knees; every prophet, every truthful person, and every martyr will say: ‘O Allah, I ask You to only hold me accountable for myself today,’ and if you, O Ibn al-Khattab, had the deeds of seventy prophets, you would still fear not escaping it.’ ‘Umar said: ‘By Allah, indeed it is a severe matter.’” [Ibn Abi Shayba, al-Musannaf]
The meaning of what Ka‘b al-Ahbar narrated is essentially correct. Thus, such narratives are neither explicitly believed nor disbelieved. This caution is necessary because such a narrative might be denied even though it is true, or it might be accepted even though it is false. This is what the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) intends by saying:
“Do not believe the People of the Book, nor disbelieve them, but say: ‘We believe in Allah and what has been revealed to us.’” [Quran, 2:136] [Bukhari]
8. Categories
Thus, the Isra’iliyyat fall into three categories:
- Acceptable: Those that agree with the truth from our infallible sources and are consistent with established facts.
- Rejected: These are narratives known to be false or contradict something from the teachings of the infallible Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace). Such narratives are not valid for transmission.
- Neutral: These are neither accepted nor rejected outright. They are held in abeyance; we neither believe nor disbelieve them. Rather, they are paused, and their narration is permissible based on the aforementioned principles… This category generally contains narratives of little to no benefit in terms of religious value. If there were any beneficial knowledge pertinent to the religious obligations of the believers, this complete and comprehensive Shari‘a would have clarified it. [Ibn Kathir, Tafsir al-Quran al-‘Azim; Tayyar, Sharh Muqaddima fi Usul al-Tafsir li Ibn Taymiyya]
9. Acceptance Criteria
Following the approach of the Companions in dealing with the narratives of the People of the Book protects against the falsehoods often found in those stories, such as the deficiencies, oddities, and myths attributed to the prophets. For instance, some of their narratives that do not have a sound chain of transmission nor appropriately relate to the dignified statuses of the noble prophets include claims like Prophet Ayyub (Job) (peace be upon him) suffering to the extent that his flesh fell off due to severe illness, worms emerged from his body, and he was shunned by both friends and strangers, enduring until only his wife remained by his side. It was claimed that his trial was so great that he was eventually expelled from his home and thrown onto a dunghill. [Sabuni, Raw’i‘ al Bayan Tafsir Ayat al-Ahkam]
10. Broader Perspectives
When some of the stories mentioned in the Noble Quran coincide with some of the remnants of truths and historical facts present in the narratives of the People of the Book, the Quran often presents additional aspects of these stories unknown to the People of the Book. For example, the story of Mary (peace be upon her) includes details unknown to them, as Allah says:
“This is news of the unseen that We reveal to you (O Prophet). You were not with them when they cast lots to decide who would be Mary’s guardian, nor were you there when they argued (about it).” [Quran, 3:44]
Overall, the narratives in the Quran provide a broader perspective than what is known to the Jews, Christians, Arabs, and others around the world.
11. Quranic Perspective and Guidance
The reason that has sparked curiosity about the narratives of the People of the Book is their focus on certain details that the Quran does not mention because the Quran often omits many details of the stories; it is not a book of entertainment or history, but rather a book of guidance. The Quran uses stories primarily for moral lessons and reinforcing ideas. Meanwhile, the People of the Book focus on the minutiae, such as what Wahb Ibn Sulayman narrated from Shu‘ayb al-Jaba’i: The name of the mountain of the Kahf was “Banjlus,” the cave’s name was “Hayzam,” and the dog’s name was “Humran.” [Tabari, Jami‘ al-Bayan]
This illustrates the concerns of the People of the Book with questions like: What is the dog’s name? What is its color? What is the name of the cave or the valley? The Quran, as we know, mentions none of this; its purpose is to convey lessons and morals. [Barhami, al-Qasas al-Qurani]
An example of this is what Ibn Kathir mentioned when interpreting the verse: “He replied, ‘It is my staff! I lean on it, and with it, I beat down (branches) for my sheep and have other uses for it.’” [Quran, 20:18] He explained that this means Moses had various practical needs for the staff. However, some have gone to great lengths to suggest that the staff had miraculous properties: it illuminated at night, guarded the sheep while he slept, and when planted, it turned into a tree to shade him, among other extraordinary feats. Yet, it is evident that it was not so, for if it had been, Moses would not have been startled and fled from it when it transformed into a serpent. All such claims are from Isra’iliyyat narratives. [Ibn Kathir, Tafsir al-Quran al-‘Azim]
Conclusion
It is better to avoid engaging with Isra’iliyyat and to refrain from delving into matters that distract from the Quran and hinder the contemplation of its wisdom and laws. [‘Itr, ‘Ulum al-Quran al-Karim; al-Muqaddima al-Asasiyya fi ‘Ulum al-Quran; Sa‘di, Dirasat fi Tamyiz al-Umma al-Islamiyya wa Muwqif al-Mustashriqin minha]
May Allah bless the Prophet Muhammad and give him peace, and his Family and Companions.
And Allah knows best.
[Shaykh] Dr. Muhammad Abu Bakr Badhib
Shaykh Dr Muhammad Abu Bakr Badhib is a prominent Islamic scholar from Yemen born in Shibam, Hadhramaut, in 1976. He received his degree in Shari‘a from Al-Ahqaf University, a master’s degree from the Islamic University of Beirut, and a PhD in Usul al-Din from Aligarh Muslim University (AMU).
He studied under great scholars such as Shaykh al-Habib Ahmad Mashhur al-Haddad, Shaykh Fadl Ba‘ fadl, Habib Salim al-Shatiri, Habib Ali Mashhur bin Hafeez, and others. He has served as the Director of Publications at Dar al-Fiqh, the former Deputy Director of Cultural Relations at Al-Ahqaf University, a former Assistant for Employee Affairs at Atiyah Iron Company, a researcher at the Sunna Center affiliated with the Dallah al-Baraka Foundation, and a researcher at Al-Furqan Foundation’s Makka al-Mukarrama and Madina al-Munawwara Encyclopedia branch.
Currently, he is a researcher at Al-Furqan Foundation’s Makka al-Mukarrama and Madina al-Munawwara Encyclopedia branch, teaches traditionally through the Ijaza system at Dar al-Fuqaha in Turkey, supervises the Arabic department at Nur al-Huda International Institute (SeekersGuidance), and is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Manuscript House in Istanbul.
His works include “The Efforts of Hadhramaut Jurists in Serving the Shafi‘i School,” “Contributions of Hadhramaut Scholars in Spreading Islam and its Sciences in India,” “Hada’iq al-Na‘im in Shafi‘i Fiqh,” in addition to verifying several books in Fiqh, history, the art of biographies, and Asanid (chains of narration).
