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Refutations

Did the Qur’an Borrow Luqman’s Wisdom from Ahiqar? Full Refutation of the Claim

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Refuting the Claim: Did the Qur’an Borrow the Story of Luqman from Ahiqar?

Table of Contents

The Point of Doubt

The Claim of the SkepticsThe skeptics — such as Hamed Abdel Samad, who brought up this doubt — claim that there is a story of a legendary Assyrian character named Ahiqar, from which the Qur’an allegedly transmitted the story of Luqman the Wise, due to the similarity between them in the issue of advices.

Response

First: The Narration in Al-Bidayah Wa al-Nihayah

is the story of luqman s advice to his son transferred
is the story of luqman s advice to his son transferred

Concerning the NarrationThe narration mentioned in Al-Bidayah wa al-Nihayah by Ibn Kathir: even if we assume for the sake of argument that the narration is authentic, it is still not acceptable because there are unknown people in the chain — namely, the elders of the people of Asim bin Umar bin Qatada.
Important Hadith PrincipleFor reference: unknown narrations are not authentic.
What Actually Happened in the NarrationThe Messenger of Allah ﷺ did not transmit the magazine/booklet of Luqman that the man brought.

Rather, the man presented it to him — meaning he read it to him while the Prophet ﷺ listened — and the Prophet ﷺ said that it was good speech.

Then the Prophet ﷺ presented to him the story of Luqman mentioned in the Qur’an.

The man then said that it was good speech, and he left.

It is said that men from his people later said that they saw that he died as a Muslim.

Second: Luqman in the Qur’an Is Different

Core PointLuqman mentioned in the Holy Qur’an is different from the other stories mentioned by the Arabs.

Third: The Syriac Manuscripts Are Late

The Chronology ProblemThe oldest Syriac manuscripts about the story — which were leaked to the Arabs by Syriac Christians — date back to the 12th and 13th centuries AD.

Some of them were copied in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries AD.

A manuscript has been presented dating back to the year 1697 AD.

The Obvious QuestionHow could the Messenger ﷺ travel to the future, take the story, return to the past, and then include it in the Qur’an?

Conclusion

SummaryThe claim that the Qur’an borrowed the story of Luqman from the story of Ahiqar is weak for three main reasons:
  1. The narration used in the argument is not reliable because it contains unknown narrators.
  2. Even if accepted for argument’s sake, the narration does not show that the Prophet ﷺ copied anything; it only shows that he listened to a text and then presented the Qur’anic account.
  3. The Syriac manuscript evidence being used is centuries later than the Qur’an, creating a serious chronological problem for the borrowing claim.