u/alizardstatee

Salam, I ask these questions with sincerity

Lately I have been reading a lot about the origins of monotheism and the Quran from academic sources, this has left me with many questions. For example, the Quran presents a narrative of Mary, mother of Jesus, youth which is suspiciously similar to the Protevangelium of James which we know to be a forgery as it was falsely attributed to James the brother of Jesus. I am finding it difficult to reconcile as to why the Quran would present a forgery as historical fact? Especially when Mary was a poor Nazareth girl who wouldn’t have been allowed to live in a temple as no such tradition exists in Judaism.

A similar issue exists for the story of Dhul Qarnayn and earlier Syriac Christian texts or stories in the Quran to do with Jesus’ youth that are the same as rejected infancy gospels. It almost seems like the Quran is drawing upon the religious environment of the 7th century rather than existing as a piece of text that is uncreated, has instead always existed?

I would love to hear how you guys reconcile these things as I am having doubts over my faith due to these questions.

I am very sympathetic towards Islam and I ask this question with sincerity.

My question is why does the Quran in 3:37 present what appears to be an adaptation of the Protevangelium of James, a 2nd-century apocryphal Christian text, in which Mary is raised in the Temple, fed miraculously by angels, and overseen by Zechariah? Given that this narrative has no basis in canonical Jewish or Christian scripture but appears in earlier apocryphal work, that we know to be a forgery as it was falsely attributed to James, how should we understand its presence in a text believed to be a direct divine revelation with no human literary sources?

I am really struggling with this so I would love to hear your thoughts