إسرائيليات
Isrāʾīliyyāt
Topic
Muslim scholars separate the Quran’s own stories from the later tales, many from Jewish and Christian lore, that entered commentaries (isrāʾīliyyāt).
What it means
The commentaries of the first centuries often add detail to the Quran’s stories from what was told by Jews and Christians who became Muslims. The Prophet is reported to have said: “Narrate from the Children of Israel; there is no harm” (Sahih al-Bukhari), and also “do not believe the People of the Book and do not disbelieve them” (Sahih al-Bukhari).
Often misunderstood as
That Islam teaches every fable that appears in Muslim books.
What the sources say
Ibn Kathir and Ibn Taymiyya set the rule: accept only what agrees with the Quran and sound hadith, reject what contradicts them, and suspend judgement on the rest. A report in Sahih al-Bukhari of a monkey stoned for adultery is a saying of a follower, Amr ibn Maymun, and not of the Prophet, and many scholars have criticised it. The Quran’s own accounts are brief and give no such details.