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Jewish legends about Cain in the Qur’an

The Qur’an may contain content from Jewish, Christian, and pagan Arab sources. One candidate is the story after Cain killed his brother Abel:

“Then Allah sent a raven, who scratched the ground, to show him how to hide the shame of his brother. "Woe is me!" said he; "Was I not even able to be as this raven, and to hide the shame of my brother?" then he became full of regrets-” (Qur’an 5:31)

The details of this story are not part of the Bible. We may ask if it is possible to find original sources older than the Qur’an.

Jewish resources outside Hebrew Scriptures

The verse is derived from Jewish sources [1] The writer of the Qur’an may have used some Jewish legends.

Midrash Tanhuma-Yelammedenu

In the Jewish legend Tanhuma, most elements of the Qur’an verse can be recognized : “After Cain slew Abel, the body laid outstretched upon the earth, since Cain did not know how to dispose of it. Thereupon the Holy One, blessed be he, selected two clean birds and caused one of them to kill the other. The surviving bird dug the earth with its talons and buried its victim. Cain learned from this what to do. He dug a grave and buried Abel. It is because of this that birds are privileged to cover their blood.” (Tanhuma Bereshit 10) [2]

Genesis Rabba

Genesis Rabba is a Talmudic-era Midrash on the Book of Genesis. It is also called Bereishit Rabbah.

And who buried him? Said Rabbi Eleazar ben Pedat: the birds of the sky and temple-acceptable animals buried him, and the Holy One of Blessing gave them two blessings as their reward, one for the slaughter and one for the covering of the blood. [3]

Not a raven, but birds mentioned at the funeral of Abel. This makes that this Genesis Rabba text has a weak relation with the Qur’an verse.

Pirke De-Rabbi Eli'ezer

In Pirke De-Rabbi Eli'ezer chapter 21, Adam and Eve use a raven by burying their murdered son. The Qur’an text seems to be inspired by the Talmud [4]:

“The dog which was guarding Abel's flock also guarded his corpse from all the beasts of the field and all the fowl of the heavens. Adam and his helpmate were sitting and weeping and mourning for him, and they did not know what to do (with Abel), for they were unaccustomed to burial. A raven (came), one of its fellow birds was dead (at its side). (The raven) said: I will teach this man what to do. It took its fellow and dug in the earth, hid it and buried it before them. Adam said: Like this raven will I act. He took the corpse of Abel and dug in the earth and buried it.” [5]

Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5

The context of Qur’an 5:31 is connected with the following verse:

“On that account: We ordained for the Children of Israel that if any one slew a person - unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land - it would be as if he slew the whole people: and if any one saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people. Then although there came to them Our messengers with clear signs, yet, even after that, many of them continued to commit excesses in the land.” (Qur’an 5:32).

In Qur’an 5:32 we can read that killing one person is equivalent to killing all mankind. Muslims believe that the Qur’an came to Muhammad, who died in 632 AD. However, this concept already existed in 220 AD in the Jewish Mishna Sanhedrin 4:5:

In Qur’an 5:32 we can read that the killing of one person is equal to killing all mankind. Muslims believe that the Qur’an is from Muhammad, who died in 632 AD. However, this concept already existed in 220 AD in the Jewish Mishna Sanhedrin 4:5:

“Genesis 4:10 says, “the bloods of your brother cry out” - not “blood,” but “bloods,” meaning both his blood and that of his descendants. Another understanding of “bloods” is that Abel’s blood was splattered on the trees and rocks. Only one man, Adam, was originally created in order to teach us that if one destroys a single life, it’s as if he destroyed an entire world, while if one saves a single life, it’s as if he saved an entire world. ” (Sanhedrin 4:5) [6]

The Mishna comments on the story of Cain and Abel on the text "your brother's blood cries out." See Genesis 4:10: “And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of your brother's blood calls to me from the ground. An indication that the Qur’an borrowed from a pre-existing concept in Jewish sources.

Qur’an compared with earlier resources

A scholar of Arabic language and literature with an interest in the Qur’an has published a study in which he concludes that “the Qur'anic retelling of the story of Cain and Abel draws from both Jewish and Christian traditions” [7] One of his conclusions is: “Since the bird tradition appears in various rabbinical sources and versions, it is hard to deny that its origin is ultimately Jewish indeed .” [8] The Qur’an copied not only from Jewish sources, but also from pre-existing Christian content. The role of the self in Cain's sin, his regret rather than repentance, and the story's choice of words are indicative of a Syriac Christian background. [9]

Muslim response

Muslims have answered claims that the Qur’an was compiled from earlier sources. They say that Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, Pirke De-Rabbi Eli'ezer and Midrash Tanhuma are post-Islamic compilations. Therefore, it should be very likely that the Qur'an story is the source of the accounts of Cain and Abel that found in these Jewish texts. However, some Muslims admit that this may have been the source of the Qur'an narration of Cain and Abel, though they assume that the parallels are not necessarily establish borrowing. [10]

Conclusion

The assumption of some Muslim scholars that the parallel of Qur’an 5:31 with Jewish sources does not necessarily lead to borrowing cannot be verified. Many Jewish sources are dated before or after the origin of the Qur’an. It can be proven with convincing evidence that the Jewish legend Sanhedrin 4:5, which predates the Qur’an by more than 4 centuries, uses a concept also found in Qur’an 5:31. It supports the suggestion that the Qur'an was compiled from pre-existing sources.

Notes

  1. Joel Kramer, Cain, in: Encyclopaedia Judaica, Second Edition, Volume 4, Blu-Cof, MacMillan, Detroit, 2007, 341.
  2. Samuel A. Berman, Midrash Tanhuma-Yelammedenu: An English Translation of Genesis and Exodus from the Printed Version of Tanhuma-Yelammedenu with an Introduction, Notes, and Indexes, KTAV Publishing House, 1996, 31-32.
  3. Bereishit Rabbah 22, Sefaria.Org.
  4. Abraham Geiger, Was hat Muhammad aus dem Judenthume aufgenommen, F. Baaden, Bonn, 1833, 103-105.
  5. Gerald Fiedlander, Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, London, 1916, Chapter 21.
  6. Rabbi Jack Abramowitz, Mishna Yomit, Orthodox Union, OuTorah.Org.
  7. Joseph Benzion Witztum, The Syriac Milieu Of The Quran: The Recasting Of Biblical Narratives, Princeton University, 2011, 153.
  8. Ibid, 119.
  9. Ibid, 152.
  10. Islamic Awareness, On the Sources of the Story of Cain and Abel in the Quran, Islamic-Awareness.Org, 2006.