How would you answer the claims that the incidents like the Deluge of Noah (Nuh) and the Red Sea being split into two are mentioned in the Sumerian, Babylonian and Egyptian resources and that they were copied from those resources?
It is claimed that the Torah copied the incidents like the Deluge of Noah (Nuh), Hz. Musa (Moses) being admitted to the palace of the Pharaoh in a basket and the Red Sea being split into two from the ancient Sumerian, Egyptian and Babylonian resources. How true is this claim?
Submitted by on Sat, 17/03/2018 - 15:55
Dear Brother / Sister,
The Incident of the Deluge and the other incidents are narrated in a similar way in the Sumerian, Assyrian-Babylonian records, Greek mythology, the epics of Satapatha, Brahmana and Mahabharata of India, in some legends narrated in Wales of Britain, Edna legends of Scandinavia, legends of Lithuania and even stories of Chinese origin apart from the Torah and the Gospel.
How can such detailed and coherent knowledge about the Deluge can exist in different cultures that are so distant from one another and from the region of the Deluge?
The answer to the question is clear: That the same incident is mentioned in the inscriptions of those communities that could not have contacted one another in the ancient times is actually a clear evidence that those people received information from a divine resource. It seems that the Deluge, which is one of the biggest incidents of destruction in history, was narrated by various prophets sent to different civilizations so that people would take lessons and information about the deluge settled in various cultures.
Although the incident of the Deluge and the story of Nuh are narrated in many cultures and religious resources, they underwent a lot of changes and became different from the original forms due to the distortion of the resources, misquotations and deliberate changes. The researches regarding the issue show that the only narration that is in compliance with the current scientific findings among the narrations that narrate the same thing but that have some differences is the narration in the Quran.
Allah did not leave any nation without a prophet; He sent nations prophets to convey them the divine message. Therefore, it is wrong to claim that Sumerians lived without a prophet. For, it is stated in a hadith that 124.000 prophets were sent to human beings to convey them the divine message.
Besides, the biggest cause of all prophets is to convey people tawhid (oneness) and the truths of belief. Therefore, it is normal that some issues mentioned in the Sumerian epics also exist in the Torah, Psalms, Gospel and Quran. For, the cause of the prophets is the same; their addressees are people and the owner of those religions is Allah. There is nothing to find strange in it.
Questions on Islam
- Prophet Nuh [Noah] (Peace be upon him)
- It is said that some scientific and historical facts that are mentioned in the Qur'an, coming from various cultures and nations of the world. How can you clarify this?
- How can it be explained that the life of the Prophet Nuh (Noah) is narrated as a whole in the Torah but briefly and in bits in the Quran?
- Did the Flood of Noah cover the whole world? Did the humankind continue from Hz. Nuh (Noah)?
- Did Hz. Nuh (Noah) continue the duty of prophethood after the deluge too?
- How did the Prophet Idris go to Babylon and Egypt?
- The Quran tells us that the wives of Hz. Nuh and Hz. Lut were unbelievers. Was it permissible to marry unbelievers in their shari’ah?
- Is the claim that Hz. Maryam belongs to other cultures true?
- How many nations and tribes were destroyed? Where, how and why?
- Question 59: How were microorganisms taken to Hz. Nuh’s (Noah’s) Ark and placed? How did Hz. Nuh fit gigantic dinosaurs like Seismosaurus and T-Rex in his Ark?
