Israʼiliyyat (inArabic:إسرائیلیات "Israelisms") is a sub-genre oftafsīr andḤadīth which supplements Quranic narratives.[1]Isra'iliyyat may derive fromJewish,Christian orZoroastrian sources.[2] In the early years,Isra'iliyyat were widely accepted.[3][4][5] Only by the time ofIbn Taymiyyah andIbn Kathīr, the termIsra'iliyyat began to denote content considered dubious or as un-Islamic.[6][7] In modern times,Turkish Quran commentators still allow for usage ofIsra'iliyyat, while they are rejected by half of theArab Quran commentators.[8]
TheQaṣaṣ al-anbiyāʾ usually contain the same materials, but avoided criticism of foreign import.[9] WhetherQaṣaṣ al-anbiyāʾ is a subdivision ofIsrailiyyat or the other way around, remains a scholarly debate.[10]
Israiliyyat frequently appear inQur'anic commentaries,Sufi narratives andIslamic literature.[11] They are used to offer more detailed information regarding earlier prophets mentioned in the Bible and the Qur'an.[12]
The first known use of the termIsra'iliyyat is in a writing of the 10th-century historian and geographeral-Masudi (d. 345/946), in hisMurūğ al-ḏahab, as he discusses traditions concerning the creation of the world. In this context, al-Masudi states that he is relying on stories from Israelite's, orIsra'iliyyat. Al-Masudi often citesWahb ibn Munabbih when discussing biblical history and prophetic narratives.[13] Al-Masudi's usage
clearly indicates that the termisrāʾīliyyāt was known in the IV/X sec. and that it was used to refer to a genre of prodigious stories about cosmogony and Biblical history of questionable reliability.[14]
The next known usage is in the writings of Ibn al-Murağğā, in a text written around 430/1040, also in the context of narratives sourced from Wahb. In this case, Ibn al-Murağğā was directly citing a book of Wahb's entitled theKītāb al-isrāʾīliyyāt (Book of Israelisms).Al-Ghazali also uses the term in relation to the name of a book, but one that is not connected to Wahb's name.[15] Whether Wahb composed a document by such a name is disputed (others instead attribute a similar text toHammad ibn Salama (d. 783)[16]). In addition to these, a few initial occurrences of the term can also be found in the works ofAbu Bakr al-Turtushi,Abu Bakr ibn al-Arabi (a pupil of Turtushi),Ibn al-Jawzi, and some others. What these usages indicate is that before the 13th and 14th centuries, usage of the term was not systematic (though well-attested), that the term was used in a few different senses (especially in terms of a book name, or as references to unreliable traditions about cosmogony or prophets originating among Israelite's).[17]
Until the 14th century, the termIsra'iliyyat did not play a significant role and was not systematically used. It was only untilIbn Taymiyya (d. 1328) that theIsrā'īlīyāt came to be understood as a collection of unreliable traditions of supposed Jewish origin, related to earlier narrators, such asWahb ibn Munabbih andKa'b al-Ahbar, whose authority was still retained by earlier Sunni scholars, such asAl-Tabari.[18]
Nevertheless, it was Ibn Taymiyya's studentIbn Kathīr who first systematically used the term for traditions that he vehemently rejected.[5][19] He treats not only the traditions themselves, but also the narrators, such as ʿAbdallāh ibn ʿAbbās, disparagingly. But it was not until the 20th century that the systematic use ofIsrā'īlīyāt became established. They are often criticized, especially today in the Arab world, and viewed as “un-Islamic”. Only in the Turkish regions areIsrā'īlīyāt occasionally used and tolerated.[20] However, Arabic contemporary exegesis generally sees them as foreign to Islam and believes that elements such as the perspectives on prophetic figures, contradict or appear to contradict certain theological beliefs.[21] The strong criticism of this literature is amodern phenomenon and stands in contrast to the intensive use of these texts in pre-modern times.[22] For that reason, political rather than traditional motivations have been proposed as a motivator for the contemporary usage of the labelIsrā'īlīyāt.[23]
There is no clear evidence regarding the exact manner by which Biblical, Talmudic, or other religious themes might have entered Islamic literature. Muslim sources indicate a number of individuals who converted to Islam from Judaism among the first generations of Muslims and were transmitters ofIsrā'īlīyāt. These include such names asKa’b al-Ahbar andAbd Allah b. Salam. Some sources also suggest that “Muslims studied with practicing Jews,” though the nature and extent of such coeducation is not clear. Biblical events and exegetical commentaries of Jewish origin may also have entered Islamic tradition via educated Christians ofEastern churches such as those of Abyssinia and/or through various local populations ofJews in the Yemen andthe Arabian Peninsula.[24]
Notable individuals to whom the transmission of stories ofIsra'iliyyat are:[25]
