​The Construction of Narrative: How Islam Borrowed Rituals and Myths from Ancient Religions

1. The Night Journey and Five Prayers: Borrowed from Persian Zoroastrianism

The story of the Isra and Mi'raj—the prophet’s ascension to the seven heavens on the back of a mythical creature (Al-Buraq)—is a cornerstone of Islamic tradition. Yet, the historical surprise is that this narrative is adapted in precise detail from the "Arda Viraf Namag" (The Book of Arda Viraf), a sacred text of Persian Zoroastrianism that predates Islam by centuries:

The Zoroastrian Narrative: The book tells the story of a Zoroastrian pious soul named "Viraf," who ascended to the spiritual realm. Guided by holy spirits, he crossed a narrow bridge (mirroring the concept of the Sirat bridge in Islam) and ascended through the seven heavens to witness paradise and its bliss. He then descended to hell to observe the torments of the wicked, met the supreme deity Ahura Mazda, and returned to Earth in a single night to write down what he saw.

Structural Blueprint: Furthermore, Zoroastrianism enforces praying five times a day at specific intervals that completely match the Islamic prayer times. It also requires washing the face, hands, and feet with water for purification before prayer—the exact ritual known in Islam as Wudu (ablution).

2. The Miracles of Jesus and the Companions of the Cave: From Apocryphal Christian Gospels

The Quran contains specific stories and miracles regarding Jesus (Isa) that are entirely absent from the canonical Gospels recognized by the Church. Instead, they are found word-for-word in popular apocryphal Christian texts that circulated widely in the Levant and the Arabian Peninsula:

Speaking in the Manger and Clay Birds: The narrative that Jesus spoke as an infant in the cradle to defend his mother, and that he fashioned birds out of clay, blew life into them, and made them fly, is taken directly from an ancient text known as the "Infancy Gospel of Thomas."

The Myth of the Seven Sleepers (Ahlu-l-Kahf): The story of the young men who slept for hundreds of years in a cave with their dog to protect their faith is a famous Syriac Christian legend known historically as "The Seven Sleepers of Ephesus." Written in the fifth century to encourage persecuted Christians, the Quranic text simply adopted this fictional tale as if it were a historical fact.

3. Stories of the Prophets: Adapted from Jewish Folklore (The Midrash)

Many details and stories attributed to biblical prophets in the Quran were not taken from the official Hebrew Bible (Torah) itself. Instead, they were borrowed from Jewish folklore, rabbinic commentaries, and allegorical stories that were passed down orally among Jewish rabbis and Arab tribes (The Midrash and Haggadah):

Abraham Destroying the Idols: The famous story where Abraham destroys his people's idols, hangs the axe on the neck of the largest one, and is subsequently thrown into a blazing fire only to miraculously survive, does not exist in the Old Testament. It originates from an ancient Jewish commentary book called the "Midrash Rabbah."

Solomon, the Hoopoe, and the Queen of Sheba: The detailed conversation between King Solomon and the hoopoe bird, and his subsequent testing of the Queen of Sheba, is taken from a Jewish book of myths and Targums known as the "Targum Sheni of Esther."

4. Creation Myths and the Flood: From Sumerian and Babylonian Civilizations

Several mythological concepts about the origin of the universe and humanity were carved onto clay tablets in Mesopotamia thousands of years before the rise of Abrahamic monotheism:

The Epic of Gilgamesh and Noah's Flood: The story of a great global deluge, the construction of a massive ark sealed with pitch, and the carrying of pairs of every living creature to save life from the wrath of the gods, is found in identical detail in ancient Sumerian and Babylonian tablets (the famous story of Utnapishtim).

Creation from Clay: The concept of fashioning the first human being out of clay or sticky mud is a purely Sumerian and Babylonian doctrine. The ancient Mesopotamian deities were believed to have sculpted humans from the earth to serve them and do their labor.

5. The Scale of Deeds on Judgment Day: From Ancient Egyptian Religion

The concept of a literal, physical scale (Al-Meezan) on Judgment Day—where a person’s good deeds are placed on one side and their sins on the other to determine their fate ("Then those whose scales are heavy, they are the successful")—is an ideological recycling of a purely ancient Egyptian concept:

The Weighing of the Heart: Ancient Egyptians believed in the "Tribunal of Osiris," where the heart of the deceased was placed on a scale balanced against the "Feather of Truth" (Ma'at). The tip of the scale determined the soul's eternal fate. Islam inherited this exact spiritual architecture and geometrical visualization of the afterlife.

6. The Rituals of Hajj and the Kaaba: Transferred from Arabian Paganism

When Islam was established, it did not abolish the pre-existing pagan practices of the people of Mecca. Instead, it "Islamized" them, providing a monotheistic cover to guarantee social and political acceptance:

Pre-Islamic Pagan Rituals: Before the arrival of Islam, polytheistic Arabs performed Tawaf (circling the Kaaba seven times), kissed the Black Stone, ran between the two hills of Safa and Marwa, entered the state of Ihram, chanted talbiyah, and threw pebbles at stone pillars (stoning the devil).

All of these rituals were originally performed to venerate pagan idols like Hubal, Al-Lat, and Al-Uzza. Islam adopted these rituals in their entirety, changing only the theological justification from idol worship to the worship of the God of Abraham. This clever adaptation preserved Mecca’s and the Quraysh tribe's economic and political centrality.

7. The Psychology of Blessings and Liquid Veneration: Ritual Intertextuality

The overlap extends to daily ritualistic practices and primitive behaviors that reflect a shared ancient human consciousness rooted in "Magical Thinking":

The Sanctification of Animal Excretions (Camel Urine vs. Cow Urine): In Islamic tradition, certain texts sanction the consumption of camel urine for medicinal remedies (The Hadith of the Urayniyyah). Concurrently, we find the exact same behavioral pattern in Hinduism, where cow urine (Gomutra) holds a highly sacred status and is consumed as a purifying therapeutic drink. This proves that ancient pastoral societies instinctively gravitated toward sanctifying the animal most vital to their economy, transforming its biological excretions into a "sacred remedy."

Sacred and Healing Waters (Zamzam vs. The Ganges and Holy Water): Muslims venerate Zamzam water, believing it possesses supernatural healing properties. This sanctification of water is mirrored across global religions; Orthodox and Catholic Christians revere "Holy Water" inside churches to cure illnesses and exorcise demons. Similarly, in Hinduism, bathing in and drinking from the sacred Ganges River is believed to wash away sins and heal physical bodies.

Reciting Over Water (Ruqyah vs. Blessed Water in Christianity): The Islamic practice of reciting Quranic verses and blowing onto water (Ruqyah) for healing is a ritual replicated precisely in Eastern and Folk Christianity, where priests pray and recite liturgy over water to bless it for believers. Historically, this practice traces back to ancient Babylonian and Egyptian magic.

8. Shared Practical Legislation and Eschatology

The Fasting of Ashura and the "White Days" (Judaism and Mandaeism): The Prophet adopted the fast of Ashura directly from the Jewish Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) upon seeing them celebrate the salvation of Moses. Furthermore, fasting on the "White Days" (the 13th, 14th, and 15th of each lunar month) is a ritual found identically among the Mandaeans (Sabians) of Iraq, who followed lunar phases for ancient biological beliefs.

The Concept of the "Awaited Mahdi" (Zoroastrian and Buddhist Messianism): The apocalyptic narrative where a holy savior (The Mahdi) appears at the end of times to restore justice is a replication of the Zoroastrian savior Saoshyant, born to eradicate cosmic evil, and the future Maitreya Buddha. Human societies facing crisis historically invent the "awaited savior" archetype as a psychological coping mechanism.

Circumcision (An Ancient Egyptian Ritual): Islamic jurisprudence considers male circumcision to be part of the natural disposition (fitrah). However, ancient Egyptian wall carvings and mummies conclusively prove that the Pharaohs practiced circumcision thousands of years before Abraham or Islam as a hygienic rite of passage into manhood, which was later adopted by Semitic tribes.

The scientific methodology of the history of religions and anthropology proves that ideas do not descend from an isolated vacuum. Islam was born in a complex geographical and historical crossroads where major trade routes and cultures intersected (Persian, Byzantine, Jewish, Christian, and Arabian Paganism).

This literal and striking overlap in creation myths, celestial journeys, daily rituals like prayer and ablution, the pilgrimage, the scales of judgment, and liquid veneration is not evidence of a "unified divine source," as traditional apologists claim. Rather, it is definitive proof of human authorship and historical intertextuality. Islam is simply a late chapter in a long sequence of human mythological and legislative evolution; it borrowed from those who came before and formulated its traditions based on what the human mind had collected and understood in the seventh century.