The Corpora of Isrāʾīliyyāt
Narrative enlargements and exegetical explanations are usually considered at the origin of the so-called isrāʾīliyyāt. With this name early literature recalls traditions and material about biblical stories and Jewish and Christian sacred history, ranging from the creation of Adam to Jesus. Hadith criticism and opinions emerging with Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn Kathīr, and from the end of the nineteenth century onwards have raised doubts upon this material and its circulation in Islamic literature. The significance of these reports, spread all over Islamic literary genres, has also prompted discussion relating to their origin and continues to attract studies on the developments of isrāʾīliyyāt throughout medieval times. Along with this, its exegetical relation with the contents of the Qur’an on patriarchs and prophets has attracted attention by Muslim exegetes and Western scholars.