Rurouni_Phoenix
@rurouniphoenix.bsky.social
Independent Researcher. Founder and chief moderator of r/AcademicQuran. I study the Bible and the Quran in their cultural contexts from an academic perspective.
Turns out in the Mahabharata there's similar story to the episode of the crystal floor in Solomon's Palace in Targum Sheni Esther and the Quran, though the exact connection if any is unclear.
(Source Geybels and Van Herck, Humour and Religion, pp. 38-39)
(Source Geybels and Van Herck, Humour and Religion, pp. 38-39)
October 29, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Turns out in the Mahabharata there's similar story to the episode of the crystal floor in Solomon's Palace in Targum Sheni Esther and the Quran, though the exact connection if any is unclear.
(Source Geybels and Van Herck, Humour and Religion, pp. 38-39)
(Source Geybels and Van Herck, Humour and Religion, pp. 38-39)
Sahih Bukhari (3409, 4736 and 6614; cf. Sahih Muslim 2652 A-D)
records an exchange between Moses and Adam which seems reminiscent of a late antique Jewish Aramaic poem (ShBM 40).
Source: Laura Suzanne Lieber, Jewish Aramaic Poetry pp. 147-149
records an exchange between Moses and Adam which seems reminiscent of a late antique Jewish Aramaic poem (ShBM 40).
Source: Laura Suzanne Lieber, Jewish Aramaic Poetry pp. 147-149
October 28, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Sahih Bukhari (3409, 4736 and 6614; cf. Sahih Muslim 2652 A-D)
records an exchange between Moses and Adam which seems reminiscent of a late antique Jewish Aramaic poem (ShBM 40).
Source: Laura Suzanne Lieber, Jewish Aramaic Poetry pp. 147-149
records an exchange between Moses and Adam which seems reminiscent of a late antique Jewish Aramaic poem (ShBM 40).
Source: Laura Suzanne Lieber, Jewish Aramaic Poetry pp. 147-149
Read this claim in and Evangelical book about Muslim dreams of Jesus. First: is it true that the Assyrian Church of the East is Nestorian? Second, doesn't it seem kind of like low-key prejudice that they think that the ACE theology is the reason why the church has faltered?
October 25, 2025 at 11:59 PM
Read this claim in and Evangelical book about Muslim dreams of Jesus. First: is it true that the Assyrian Church of the East is Nestorian? Second, doesn't it seem kind of like low-key prejudice that they think that the ACE theology is the reason why the church has faltered?
ChatGPT casually making crap up again. This time misidentifying a homily by Jacob of Serugh:
September 21, 2025 at 4:05 PM
ChatGPT casually making crap up again. This time misidentifying a homily by Jacob of Serugh:
m. Shevuot 4.13 seems to echo a common structure of late antique cosmological oaths, a formula which also appears in the Quran:
July 22, 2025 at 4:05 PM
m. Shevuot 4.13 seems to echo a common structure of late antique cosmological oaths, a formula which also appears in the Quran:
Like Balai, Pseudo-Narsai and other late antique Christian authors, Theodoret of Cyrus uses the imagery of wolves to refer to Joseph's brothers, which may have influenced the wolf imagery in Q 12:15
(Sources: Hill, Comm. Ps. v. 2, pp. 45-46 Witztum, Syriac Milieu, pp. 202-203)
(Sources: Hill, Comm. Ps. v. 2, pp. 45-46 Witztum, Syriac Milieu, pp. 202-203)
July 2, 2025 at 4:12 PM
Like Balai, Pseudo-Narsai and other late antique Christian authors, Theodoret of Cyrus uses the imagery of wolves to refer to Joseph's brothers, which may have influenced the wolf imagery in Q 12:15
(Sources: Hill, Comm. Ps. v. 2, pp. 45-46 Witztum, Syriac Milieu, pp. 202-203)
(Sources: Hill, Comm. Ps. v. 2, pp. 45-46 Witztum, Syriac Milieu, pp. 202-203)
In his Homily on the Order of Creation, Narsai describes Adam as an heir appointed by God to rule over the created world. The idea of Adam as an heir is reminiscent of Quranic depictions of Adam as a Khalifa (literally a successor and/or ruler):
(Translation by @younan.bsky.social)
(Translation by @younan.bsky.social)
June 25, 2025 at 4:13 PM
In his Homily on the Order of Creation, Narsai describes Adam as an heir appointed by God to rule over the created world. The idea of Adam as an heir is reminiscent of Quranic depictions of Adam as a Khalifa (literally a successor and/or ruler):
(Translation by @younan.bsky.social)
(Translation by @younan.bsky.social)
Similarly to other Syriac Church Fathers and the Quran, Narsai describes the sky/firmament as a roof and as being nearby and decorated with stars (similar to Q 21:32 and Q 67:5, although lacking the detail of it as a guard against satanic incursion)
(Translation by @younan.bsky.social)
(Translation by @younan.bsky.social)
June 21, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Similarly to other Syriac Church Fathers and the Quran, Narsai describes the sky/firmament as a roof and as being nearby and decorated with stars (similar to Q 21:32 and Q 67:5, although lacking the detail of it as a guard against satanic incursion)
(Translation by @younan.bsky.social)
(Translation by @younan.bsky.social)
Q 28:15's detail of Moses killing the Egyptian with his fist may be inspired by rabbinical traditions such as one attributed to Rabbi Yitzhak in Leviticus Rabbah 32.4 where Moses kills the Egyptian by beating him with his fist (see second photo):
June 19, 2025 at 4:07 PM
Q 28:15's detail of Moses killing the Egyptian with his fist may be inspired by rabbinical traditions such as one attributed to Rabbi Yitzhak in Leviticus Rabbah 32.4 where Moses kills the Egyptian by beating him with his fist (see second photo):
Saqib Hussain on how Job serves as a stand-in for the persecuted Muslim community on Mecca in Sura Sad (Q 38) (Theology of Prophecy, pp. 156-157)):
June 17, 2025 at 4:06 PM
Saqib Hussain on how Job serves as a stand-in for the persecuted Muslim community on Mecca in Sura Sad (Q 38) (Theology of Prophecy, pp. 156-157)):
Saqib Hussain on how Sura Sad (Q 38) may be subtly rejecting the kind of fatalistic wisdom traditions found in such Biblical texts as Job and Ecclesiastes (Theology of Prophecy, pp. 157-158):
June 17, 2025 at 12:35 AM
Saqib Hussain on how Sura Sad (Q 38) may be subtly rejecting the kind of fatalistic wisdom traditions found in such Biblical texts as Job and Ecclesiastes (Theology of Prophecy, pp. 157-158):
the works of such authors as Ephrem and Jacob. Tofighi comes short of outright stating that Balaam is the figure in question, rather she views that the Quran utilizes language evocative of Balaam to refer to an unknown figure:
June 15, 2025 at 4:05 PM
the works of such authors as Ephrem and Jacob. Tofighi comes short of outright stating that Balaam is the figure in question, rather she views that the Quran utilizes language evocative of Balaam to refer to an unknown figure:
On pp. 103 – 104 and 116, Tofighi states that while it is not clear that the individual in question in al-Araf is Balaam, the early Muslim exegetes were not incorrect to assume vv. 175-176 was about him given the similarities between the language and what shows up in
June 15, 2025 at 4:05 PM
On pp. 103 – 104 and 116, Tofighi states that while it is not clear that the individual in question in al-Araf is Balaam, the early Muslim exegetes were not incorrect to assume vv. 175-176 was about him given the similarities between the language and what shows up in
In “The Qur’anic Reception of Balaam”, Fatima Tofighi argues that the Apostate in Q 7:175-176 seems to line up with late antique Christian depictions of Balaam particularly in the works of Ephrem the Syrian and Jacob of Serugh:
June 15, 2025 at 4:05 PM
In “The Qur’anic Reception of Balaam”, Fatima Tofighi argues that the Apostate in Q 7:175-176 seems to line up with late antique Christian depictions of Balaam particularly in the works of Ephrem the Syrian and Jacob of Serugh:
The Maghazi of Musa ibn Uqba attributes a statement to Muhammad which is similar to that of an unnamed prophet in Sahih Bukhari 6929. Both of these sayings echo Jesus' statement in Luke 23:34 for God to forgive those crucifying him for they do not know what they are doing:
June 13, 2025 at 4:08 PM
The Maghazi of Musa ibn Uqba attributes a statement to Muhammad which is similar to that of an unnamed prophet in Sahih Bukhari 6929. Both of these sayings echo Jesus' statement in Luke 23:34 for God to forgive those crucifying him for they do not know what they are doing:
Found a reference to the South Arabian name of God Rahmana (the Merciful One) in Simeon beth Arsham's Second Letter to the Himyarites in Sebastian Brock and Susan Harvey's Holy Women of the Syriac Orient (p. 108)
June 13, 2025 at 4:07 PM
Found a reference to the South Arabian name of God Rahmana (the Merciful One) in Simeon beth Arsham's Second Letter to the Himyarites in Sebastian Brock and Susan Harvey's Holy Women of the Syriac Orient (p. 108)
In Q 7:16–17, Iblis tells God he will lie in wait for humanity along the straight path of God to assail them as revenge for being cast out of Paradise for refusing to prostrate before Adam. A similar thought also occurs in Theodoret of Cyrus’s Commentary on the Psalms (142.2):
June 7, 2025 at 4:05 PM
In Q 7:16–17, Iblis tells God he will lie in wait for humanity along the straight path of God to assail them as revenge for being cast out of Paradise for refusing to prostrate before Adam. A similar thought also occurs in Theodoret of Cyrus’s Commentary on the Psalms (142.2):
Khaleel Mohammed makes an interesting observation in David in the Muslim Tradition, noting a parallel between Sirach 47:11's portrayal of David and Q 93-94's depiction of Muhammad having his burden removed and position elevated:
June 5, 2025 at 11:44 PM
Khaleel Mohammed makes an interesting observation in David in the Muslim Tradition, noting a parallel between Sirach 47:11's portrayal of David and Q 93-94's depiction of Muhammad having his burden removed and position elevated:
2 Samuel 11 based on similar phraseology used elsewhere in the commentary when discussing David’s sin with Bathsheba and murder of Uriah, such as in his comments on Psalm 32. What is notable about Theodoret’s Interpretation of Psalm 119:176 Is how he connects this verse to
May 29, 2025 at 6:31 PM
2 Samuel 11 based on similar phraseology used elsewhere in the commentary when discussing David’s sin with Bathsheba and murder of Uriah, such as in his comments on Psalm 32. What is notable about Theodoret’s Interpretation of Psalm 119:176 Is how he connects this verse to
In his commentary on the Psalms (119.85) Theodoret of Cyrrhus Interprets Psalm 119:176 as referring to a prayer uttered by David after he had committed a sin Theodoret applies this verse to David’s specific situation and to all mankind:
May 29, 2025 at 6:31 PM
In his commentary on the Psalms (119.85) Theodoret of Cyrrhus Interprets Psalm 119:176 as referring to a prayer uttered by David after he had committed a sin Theodoret applies this verse to David’s specific situation and to all mankind:
In his Demonstrations (7. 13 – 14), Aphrahat mentions the parable of the lost sheep and of David’s sin as illustrations of the mercy of God towards repentant sinners.although he does not combine the two stories, Aphrahat mentions them in relatively close proximity to each other:
May 29, 2025 at 6:31 PM
In his Demonstrations (7. 13 – 14), Aphrahat mentions the parable of the lost sheep and of David’s sin as illustrations of the mercy of God towards repentant sinners.although he does not combine the two stories, Aphrahat mentions them in relatively close proximity to each other:
I could be wrong, but Q 3:55 sounds like it might be echoing the Peshitta's rendering of Psalm 74:3 when it talks about how the followers of Jesus will be placed above those who disbelieve:
May 23, 2025 at 8:02 PM
I could be wrong, but Q 3:55 sounds like it might be echoing the Peshitta's rendering of Psalm 74:3 when it talks about how the followers of Jesus will be placed above those who disbelieve:
Klaus von Stosch and Muna Tatari (Mary in the Qur'an, pp. 173-174) provide a possible reason why Sura 3 mentions more than one angel in the context of the Annunciation (it may have to do with anti-pagan polemics which @jricole.bsky.social may find interesting):
May 22, 2025 at 1:07 PM
Klaus von Stosch and Muna Tatari (Mary in the Qur'an, pp. 173-174) provide a possible reason why Sura 3 mentions more than one angel in the context of the Annunciation (it may have to do with anti-pagan polemics which @jricole.bsky.social may find interesting):
It should also be noted however that shortly after the parable of the lost sheep in Matthew 18 Jesus gives some guidelines for handing down church discipline for those who have fallen into sin, which include the erring party being approached by one or two witnesses:
May 21, 2025 at 7:15 PM
It should also be noted however that shortly after the parable of the lost sheep in Matthew 18 Jesus gives some guidelines for handing down church discipline for those who have fallen into sin, which include the erring party being approached by one or two witnesses:
by the rich man. @gabrielsaidr.bsky.social believes this is an example in which the Quran turns a parable into an actual event, much like how the story of Noah’s lost son may have been influenced by Ezekiel 14 (or perhaps Midrash Tehillim 1.10 as I have argued in another post).
May 21, 2025 at 7:15 PM
by the rich man. @gabrielsaidr.bsky.social believes this is an example in which the Quran turns a parable into an actual event, much like how the story of Noah’s lost son may have been influenced by Ezekiel 14 (or perhaps Midrash Tehillim 1.10 as I have argued in another post).