Assessing the newest research on the historicity of the Qur’an

By Dr. Jay Smith

November 23, 2018

The ‘Inimitability’ of the Qur’an

What Muslims claim

• The Qur’an is uncreated and exists eternally on clay tablets in heaven (S.85:22)

• The Qur’an was sent down to Muhammad between 610 and 632 AD

• The Qur’an was finally completed by Uthman in 652 AD

• The Qur’an is unchanged in the last 1400 years

The ‘Inimitability’ of the Bible

What Christians claim

• The Bible was created, as it was written by man

• The Bible was not sent down to anyone, but inspired by God

• The Bible was complete in its original form

• The Bible has been changed in the last 2000 years, and we know where, and say so

Our remit today

What we will attempt to do

• We cannot critique an ‘uncreated’ or a ‘sent down’ Qur’an

• We can only critique an archaic, ‘complete’, and ‘unchanged’ Qur’an

• Thus, we would want to find:

  • 1 Qur’an

  • Dated from the mid-7th century (652 AD)

  • Complete (i.e. all 114 Surahs)

  • Unchanged (exactly like the 1924 ‘Hafs’ Qur’an used today)

Where we plan to go…