Hadith about height of Adam and later generations explained

Hadith about height of Adam and later generations explained

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم الحمد لله وحده و الصلاة و السلام على من لا نبي بعده و على آله و أصحابه أجمعين

Here is a brief response to two objections on hadith for allegedly contradicting historical and related information; i.e. Adam's height of 60 cubits and about relation between the height of successive human generations. 

Some have raised questions about hadith description of Adam’s height and statement about the height of his progeny. 

The hadith goes as:

عن أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه، عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم، قال: " خلق الله آدم وطوله ستون ذراعا، ثم قال: اذهب فسلم على أولئك من الملائكة، فاستمع ما يحيونك، تحيتك وتحية ذريتك، فقال السلام عليكم، فقالوا: السلام عليك ورحمة الله ، فزادوه: ورحمة الله، فكل من يدخل الجنة على صورة آدم، فلم يزل الخلق ينقص حتى الآن "

The Prophet said, "Allah created Adam, making him 60 cubits tall. When He created him, He said to him, "Go and greet that group of angels, and listen to their reply, for it will be your greeting (salutation) and the greeting (salutations of your offspring." So, Adam said (to the angels), As-Salamu Alaikum (i.e. Peace be upon you). The angels said, "As-salamu Alaika wa Rahmatu-l-lahi" (i.e. Peace and Allah's Mercy be upon you). Thus the angels added to Adam's salutation the expression, 'Wa Rahmatu-l-lahi,' Any person who will enter Paradise will resemble Adam (in appearance and figure). People have been decreasing in stature since Adam's creation.(Sahih Bukhari, Book 55 Hadith 543)

Two points are important here:

1. Adam’s height

2. Relation between the heights of successive human generations

It is said that historic information contends against both these assertions. 

We deal the two briefly below;

1. Height of Adam:

The height of Adam was sixty cubits according to this hadith but other hadith reports clarify that it was so in the heavens. 

عن أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه، قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: «إن أول زمرة يدخلون الجنة على صورة القمر ليلة البدر، ثم الذين يلونهم على أشد كوكب دري في السماء إضاءة، لا يبولون ولا يتغوطون، ولا يتفلون ولا يمتخطون، أمشاطهم الذهب، ورشحهم المسك، ومجامرهم الألوة الأنجوج، عود الطيب وأزواجهم الحور العين، على خلق رجل واحد، على صورة أبيهم آدم، ستون ذراعا في السماء

Allah's Apostle said, "The first group of people who will enter Paradise, will be glittering like the full moon and those who will follow them, will glitter like the most brilliant star in the sky. They will not urinate, relieve nature, spit, or have any nasal secretions. Their combs will be of gold, and their sweat will smell like musk. The aloes-wood will be used in their centers. Their wives will be houris.All of them will look alike and will resemble their father Adam (in statute), sixty cubits tallin the heavens."

(Sahih Bukhari, Book 55 Hadith 544) Commonly used translation misses the translation of the last two words in the original- highlighted in red in Arabic above. See Ustadha Aisha Bewley’s translation, Hadith 3149 HERE

 

Scholars like Imam Abu al-‘Abbas al-Qurtubi[1] and lately Shaykh Anwar Shah al-Kashmiri[2] have said that it means the inmates of Paradise will have the height of their father Adam who was sixty cubits in the heavens. 

This clarifies the first point that Adam’s height was 60 cubits in the Paradise according to this hadith and it does not say anything about his height after he landed on this planet. More on it follows under the next point.

2. Relation between the heights of successive human generations

The hadith also has the following statement towards its end;

فكل من يدخل الجنة على صورة آدم، فلم يزل الخلق ينقص حتى الآن

Normally it is translated as;

“Any person who will enter Paradise will resemble Adam (in appearance and figure). People have been decreasing in stature since Adam's creation.”

It is said that “ancient records or the fossil beds” do not support any such assertion. While that may be true we need to see if the hadith has been understood the right way in the first place?

Some scholars actually contend that it does not even mean this in the first place. Commenting on the highlighted phrase one of the greatest living scholars of our day Mufti Taqi Usmani states:

ليس معناه أن قامات الناس لم تزل تنقص في كل قرن، بل المراد أن الجسم الإنسان لم يزل ناقصاً بعده. ويؤخذ هذا مما قدمناه عن شيخ مشايخنا الكشميري رحمه الله أن ستين ذراعاً إنما كانت مقدار قامة آدم عليه السلام في الجنّة، فلما نزل عنها عاد إلى القصر، ولم يزل أبناؤه يولدون بقرب من هذه القامة إلى يومنا الآن، وإنما يرجعون إلى أصل قامتهم حينما يعودون إلى الجنّة. فقوله عليه السلام: "لم يزل ينقص": معناه: أنه لم يزل يولد ناقصاً، والله سبحانه وتعالى أعلم

 “It does not mean the height of people has not ceased decreasing with every generation, rather it means the human body has not ceased to be imperfect thereafter. This is taken from what has reached us from the teacher of our teachers (Anwar Shah) al-Kashmiri, may Allah have mercy on him, that sixty hands was the height of Adam in the Paradise and when he fell from it he became short and to this day of ours his children have not ceased to be on almost the same (short) height. And they will return to their original height when they go back to Paradise. So the saying of Prophet (May peace be upon him), "they have not stopped being short" means that have they not stopped being born imperfect i.e. on the same short height. Allah the Perfect and Almighty knows best!”[3]

Simply put in the Paradise Adam’s height was 60 cubits however on Earth it was reduced from its original perfect height and it continues that way to this day. However, when humans will eventually return to Paradise they will attain the same height.

This not gives the plain unquestionable understanding of the last phrase it also tells us that Adam’s height seized to be 60 cubits after his landing on the Earth.

Indeed Allah knows the best!

-- by Waqar Akbar Cheema

---

[1] Al-Qurtubi, Abu al-Abbas, al-Mufhim lima Ashkala fi Talkhis Kitab Muslim, 23/45

[2] Al-Kashmiri, Anwar Shah, Fayd al-Bari, Vol.6 p.5

[3] Usmani, Muhammad Taqi, Takmila Fath al-Mulhim, Vol.6, p.158

Pre Islamic Arab Christians Use the Word Allah

Christianity

The Aramaic word for "God" in the language of Assyrian Christians is ʼĔlāhā, or Alaha. Arabic-speakers of all Abrahamic faiths, including Christians and Jews, use the word "Allah" to mean "God".^[7] The Christian Arabs of today have no other word for "God" than "Allah".^[15] (Even the Arabic-descended Maltese language ofMalta, whose population is almost entirely Roman Catholic, uses Alla for "God".) Arab Christians for example use terms Allāh al-ab (الله الأب) meaning God the Father, Allāh al-ibn (الله الابن) mean God the Son, and Allāh al-rūḥ al-quds (الله الروح القدس) meaning God the Holy Spirit. (See God in Christianity for the Christian concept of God.)

Arab Christians have used two forms of invocations that were affixed to the beginning of their written works. They adopted the Muslim bismillāh, and also created their own Trinitized bismillāh as early as the 8th century CE.^[37] The Muslim bismillāh reads: "In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful." The Trinitizedbismillāh reads: "In the name of Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, One God." The Syriac, Latin and Greek invocations do not have the words "One God" at the end. This addition was made to emphasize the monotheistic aspect of Trinitian belief and also to make it more palatable to Muslims.^[37]

According to Marshall Hodgson, it seems that in the pre-Islamic times, some Arab Christians made pilgrimage to the Ka‘bah, a pagan temple at that time, honoring Allah there as God the Creator.^[38]

Some archaeological excavation quests have led to the discovery of ancient Pre-Islamic inscriptions and tombs made by Arabic-speaking Christians in the ruins of a church at Umm el-Jimal in Northern Jordan, which contained references to Allah as the proper name of God, and some of the graves contained names such as "Abd Allah" which means "the servant/slave of Allah".^[39][40][41]

The name Allah can be found countless times in the reports and the lists of names of Christian martyrs in South Arabia, as reported by antique Syriac documents of the names of those martyrs from the era of the Himyarite & Aksumite kingdoms.^[42][43]

A Christian leader named Abd Allah ibn Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad was martyred in Najran in 523 AD, and he had worn a ring that said "Allah is my lord".^[43][44]

In an inscription of Christian martyrion dated back to 512 AD, references to Allah can be found in both Arabic and Aramaic, which called him "Allah" and "Alaha", and the inscription starts with the statement "By the Help of Allah".^[43][45][46]

In Pre-Islamic Gospels, the name used for God was "Allah", as evidenced by some discovered Arabic versions of the New Testamentt written by Arab Christians during the Pre-Islamic era in Northern and Southern Arabia.^[43][47][48]

Pre-Islamic Arab Christians have been reported to have raised the battle cry "Ya La Ibad Allah" (O slaves of Allah) to invoke each other into battle.^[49]

"Allah" was also mentioned in pre-Islamic Christian poems by some Ghassanid and Tanukhid poets in Syria and Northern Arabia.^[50][51][52]

1. ^ Jump up to:^a b Thomas E. Burman, Religious Polemic and the Intellectual History of the Mozarabs, Brill, 1994, p. 103
2. Jump up^ Marshall G. S. Hodgson, The Venture of Islam: Conscience and History in a World Civilization, University of Chicago Press, p. 156
3. Jump up^ James Bellamy, ‘Two Pre-Islamic Arabic Inscriptions Revised: Jabal Ramm and Umm al-Jimal’, Journal of the American Oriental Society, 108/3 (1988)
4. Jump up^ Enno Littmann, Arabic Inscriptions (Leiden, 1949)
5. Jump up^ Rick Brown, International Journal of Frontier Missions, (23:2 Summer 2006), page 80.
6. Jump up^ Ignatius Ya`qub III, The Arab Himyarite Martyrs in the Syriac Documents (1966), Pages: 9-65-66-89
7. ^ Jump up to:^a b c d Rick Brown, Who was ‘Allah’ before Islam? (2007), page 8.
8. Jump up^ Alfred Guillaume& Muhammad Ibn Ishaq, (2002 [1955]). The Life of Muhammad: A Translation of Isḥāq’s Sīrat Rasūl Allāh with Introduction and Notes. Karachi and New York: Oxford University Press, page 18.
9. Jump up^ Adolf Grohmann, Arabische Paläographie II: Das Schriftwesen und die Lapidarschrift (1971), Wien: Hermann Böhlaus Nochfolger, Page: 6-8
10. Jump up^ Beatrice Gruendler, The Development of the Arabic Scripts: From the Nabatean Era to the First Islamic Century according to Dated Texts (1993), Atlanta: Scholars Press, Page:
11. Jump up^ Frederick Winnett V, Allah before Islam-The Moslem World (1938), Pages: 239–248
12. Jump up^ Michael Macdonald, Personal Names in the Nabataean Realm-Journal Of Semitic Studies (1999), Page: 271
13. Jump up^ Irfan Shahîd, Byzantium and the Arabs in the Fourth Century, Dumbarton Oaks Trustees for Harvard University-Washington DC, page 418.
14. Jump up^ Irfan Shahîd, Byzantium and the Arabs in the Fourth Century, Dumbarton Oaks Trustees for Harvard University-Washington DC, Page: 452
15. Jump up^ A. Amin & A. Harun, Sharh Diwan Al-Hamasa (Cairo, 1951), Vol. 1, Pages: 478-480
16. Jump up^ Al-Marzubani, Mu'jam Ash-Shu'araa, Page: 302

The Sincerity of the Prophet Muhammad explored

We know that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was a sincere person. Almost everyone who has studied the life of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) would non-hesitantly admit that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was sincere. Regardless of whether he was sincerely right or wrong or whether any another aspects of his character could be criticized, they would admit that he was at least subjectively sincere and believed that he was receiving revelations from God.

W. Montgomery Watt states:

His readiness to undergo persecutions for his beliefs, the high moral character of the men who believed in him and looked up to him as leader, and the greatness of his ultimate achievement - all argue his fundamental integrity.  To suppose Muhammad an impostor raises more problems than it solves.  Moreover, none of the great figures of history is so poorly appreciated in the West as Muhammad. (W. Montgomery Watt, Mohammad at Mecca, Oxford 1953, p. 52)

Sir William Muir said:

It is strongly corroborative of Mahomet's sincerity that the earliest converts to Islam were not only of upright character, but his own bosom friends and people of his household; who, intimately acquainted with his private life, could not fail otherwise to have detected those discrepancies which ever more or less exist between the professions of the hypocritical deceiver abroad and his actions at home. (Sir William Muir, The Life of Mahomet, page 54)

And:

I agree with Sprenger in considering 'the faith of Abu Bakr the greatest guarantee of the sincerity of Mohammedin the beginning of his career' - and, indeed, in a modified sense, throughout his life. (Ibid., page 56)

J.W.H. Stobart said:

Abu Bakr was a man of the purest character. His friendship for Mahomet, and unwavering belief in his mission, are a strong testimony to the sincerity of the prophet. (J.W.H. Stobart, Islam and its Founder, page 209)

Tor Andrae said:

The genuineness and sincerity of Mohammed's piety, and the honesty of his belief in his religious call, are indisputable. (Tor Andrae, Mohammed: The Man and his Faith, page 185)

John Gilchrist said:

We can safely reject the view that Muhammad was a deliberate impostor. Throughout the twenty-three year period of his assumed ministry, he held to the unflinching conviction that he was called to be a prophet and that the revelations he was receiving were coming to him from above. (John Gilchrist, Muhammad and The Religion of Islam, Chapter: A Study of Muhammad's Personality: An Assessment of His Personality)

Arthur Glyn Leonard said:

If ever a man on this earth found God, if ever a man devoted his life to God's service with a good and great motive, it is certain that the Prophet of Arabia (Muhammad) is the man. Muhammad was not only the greatest but truest man that humanity has ever produced. (Arthur Glyn Leonard, Islam, her moral and spiritual value: A Rational and Psychological Study, pages 18-19)

Here we see that even non-Muslim critics of Muhammad (peace be upon him) had to at least admit that he was sincere and believed he was receiving revelation from God. In that case, it is difficult to imagine that the Prophet (peace be upon him) knowingly plagiarized material and included it into the Qur'an.

Defensive warfare in Islam

Muhammad's messages began to change in character. Early in his
career a group of twelve converts to Islam from the Khazraj tribe of the city
of the Medina gathered with Muhammad in the city of Al-'Aqaba, made
what is known as the first covenant of 'Aqaba: a pledge of fealty to the
Prophet of Islam. One of them explained: "We gave allegiance to the apostle that we would associate nothing with God, not steal, not commit fornication, not kill our offspring, not slander our neighbor, not disobey him in
what was right; if we fulfilled this paradise would be ours; and if we committed any of those sins we should be punished in this world and this would
serve as expiation; if the sin was concealed until the Day of Resurrection,
then it would be for God to decide whether to punish or to forgive."14
There was nothing in this pledge about warring for Islam. But a year
later, around the year 622, that was to change. Originally, explained Ibn
Ishaq, "the apostle had not been given permission to fight or allowed to shed
blood He had simply been ordered to call men to God and to endure
insult and forgive the ignorant. The Quraysh had persecuted his followers,
seducing some from their religion, and exiling others from their country.
They had to choose whether to give up their religion, be maltreated at
home, or to flee the country, some to Abyssinia, others to Medina."
But now the time for forgiveness was over:
When Quraysh became insolent towards God and rejected His
gracious purpose, accused His prophet of lying, and ill treated
and exiled those who served Him and proclaimed His unity,
believed in His prophet, and held fast to His religion, He gave
permission to His apostle to fight and to protect himself against
those who wronged them and treated them badly.15
Then Ibn Ishaq explains the progression of Qur'anic revelation about warfare. First, he explains, Allah allowed Muslims to wage defensive warfare:
Assuredly God will help those who help Him. God is Almighty.
Those who if we make them strong in the land will establish
prayer, pay the poor-tax, enjoin kindness, and forbid iniquity.

THE TRUTH ABOUT MUHAMMAD
To God belongs the end of matters.16
 The meaning is: "I have
allowed them to fight only because they have been unjustly
treated while their sole offence against men has been that they
worship God. When they are in the ascendant they will establish prayer, pay the poor-tax, enjoin kindness, and forbid iniquity, i.e. the Prophet and his companions all of them."17
"When they are in the ascendant," in other words, they will establish an
Islamic state, in which Muslims will pray regularly, pay the poor-tax
(zakat), and institute Islamic laws ("forbid iniquity"). But that was not
Allah's last word on the circumstances in which Muslims should fight:
Then God sent down to him: "Fight them so that there be no more
seduction," i.e., until no believer is seduced from his religion. "And the
religion is God's," i.e., until God alone is worshipped.18
The Qur'an verse Ibn Ishaq quotes here (2:193) commands much more
than defensive warfare: Muslims must fight until "the religion is God's" —
that is, until Allah alone is worshipped. Later Islamic law, based on statements of Muhammad, would offer non-Muslims three options: conversion
to Islam, subjugation as inferiors under Islamic law, or warfare.

14. Ibid., 199.
15. Ibid., 212-213.
16. Quran 22:39-40.
17. Ibnlshaq, 212-213.
18. Qur'an 2:193, Ibn Ishaq, 212-213.

The followers of Muhammad during his lifetime are known as his
Companions. The Companions fall into two groups: al-Muhajiroun,
or the emigrants from Mecca, and al-Ansar (helpers), the inhabitants
of Medina who took in those emigrants after the Muslims' flight
(hijra) from Mecca to Medina.'The Aws and Khazraj were two
Ansari tribes.

"Fight in the name of Allah and in the way of Allah. Fight against
those who disbelieve in Allah. Make a holy war, do not embezzle the
spoils; do not break your pledge; and do not mutilate (the dead) bodies; do not kill the children. When you meet your enemies who are
polytheists, invite them to three courses of action. If they respond to
any one of these, you also accept it and withhold yourself from doing
them any harm. Invite them to (accept) Islam; if they respond to you,
accept it from them and desist from fighting against them If they
refuse to accept Islam, demand from them the Jizya. If they agree to
pay, accept it from them and hold off your hands. If they refuse to pay
the tax, seek Allah's help and fight them." Muslim, book 19, no. 4294

Refuting the claim Allah is a Moon God or that Islam has Pre Islamic Pagan Practices

Refuting the claim Allah is a Moon God:

Pagan origin arguments usually divide into 2:

1) Those arguments like moon God, Hubal, Rahman, etc. These are more than sufficiently addresses in the Islamic awareness website:

http://www.islamic-awareness.org/Quran/Sources/Allah/moongod.html

2) Those arguments which show that the Quraysh did similar practices. For instance, the Quraysh used to do Hajj, but they did it naked. They also used to do the talbiyah differently. The Ka'bah was special to them, etc. 

Here we respond by saying that these were originally instituted by Abraham, but the Quraysh came and introduced their kufr into it. Islam came and either 1) Eliminated it entirely or 2) Rectified the practice by boosting out the kufr elements from them. 

MY RESPONSE

What is the Black Stone? Black Stone (al-Hajr al-Aswad) is a Holy Stone placed in the Holy Ka'ba.

What is it for? When Muslims go for pilgrimage to Makkah this acts as starting point for circumambulating the Holy Ka'ba and has some symbolic significance.

As I mentioned it marks the start point of the circumambulation (tawaaf) of the Holy Ka'ba. Those who circumambulate in the immediate place around Ka'ba kiss it while those who cannot make up-to it just wave their hands towards it while there are people who circle the Ka'ba even from the first, second floors as well. They follow the mark parallel to the Black Stone as the start point of the tawaaf. Had there been something too special in this stone itself than it would have been mandatory for each and every pilgrim to physically touch and kiss which is not the case.

As its serves as a mark to something important so its just as if a soldier or some other person returns to his homeland after a long time so he kisses the soil of his land or shows admiration for some landmarks. Its his love, his affection for his homeland and nothing more. For itself soil is nothing, same way Black Stone for itself is nothing.

Do Muslims worship the Black Stone? No Muslims don't! The purpose of the Black Stone has been described above. Further there is more historic evidence that its not an object of Worship. In one of most sad events of Islamic history the city of Makkah was sacked by the Qaramatians in the year 930 C.E. They killed many pilgrims, desecrated the holy sites and took away the Black Stone to their seat of Power at Al-Hasa in Bahrayn. It was restored in the year 952 C.E. thus for about quarter of a century the stone was displaced from its location yet neither did Muslims turn to Al-Hasa for prayers during that period neither were the obligations of Salah (ritual prayers) and Hajj (obligatory pilgrimage) suspended. If it were an object of worship much consternation would have followed the unfortunate event.

Why kiss it? And we Muslims kiss it just because of Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) did it.

Read the following Hadith, it makes the whole thing crystal clear.

عَنْ عَابِسِ بْنِ رَبِيعَةَ عَنْ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ

أَنَّهُ جَاءَ إِلَى الْحَجَرِ الْأَسْوَدِ فَقَبَّلَهُ فَقَالَ إِنِّي أَعْلَمُ أَنَّكَ حَجَرٌ لَا تَضُرُّ وَلَا تَنْفَعُ وَلَوْلَا أَنِّي رَأَيْتُ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يُقَبِّلُكَ مَا قَبَّلْتُكَ

Narrated 'Abis bin Rabia: 'Umar came near the Black Stone and kissed it and said "No doubt, I know that you are a stone and can neither benefit anyone nor harm anyone. Had I not seen Allah's Apostle kissing you I would not have kissed you."
(Bukhari Hadith 1494)

Similar has been narrated about the First Caliph, Abu Bakr (RA). See Suyuti's Tarikh Al-Khulafa 1/35 cf. Ilal al-Darqutni

Catholic concept of Mary:

Contrary to the Islamic concept of showing respect to this stone what the Christians do is much more than this.

Firstly, making the idols of any holy person and its revering is no way comparable to Muslim's kissing the shapeless stone which for itself signifies nothing.

Secondly, Catholics do pray 'To Jesus through Mary' thus believing in her as at least an intercessor. See THIS

I am saying 'at least' because this is something no catholic would ever deny. There were and still are people who openly called Mary, 'the Mother God', not merely 'Mother of God'. And even today there are people still who revere and venerate her as "GOD". And such people claim to be Catholics .

So showing veneration to the statue of Mary (May ALLAH bestow His blessings upon her) is nothing less than idol worship. No Muslims, even the most lunatic of them has any such belief about the Black Stone or the Holy Ka'ba. Thus such a concordance is nothing but mere absurdity.

Islam doesn't claim to bring everything new with it, so of course there is going to be these Pre Islamic practices from before. However Muslims do prayer differently, fast differently, etc. 

did the Prophet Muhammad copy off the Bible, Jewish, Christian apocryphal sources?

did the Prophet Muhammad copy off the Bible, Jewish, Christian apocryphal sources?

Many polemics such as David Wood, Robert Spencer, Iraqi Sam Shamoun, Pakistani Ibn Warraq, etc bring forth this arguement that the Prophet Muhammad copied off Gnostic Christians, Jews, The Jewish Talmud, the Christian apocryphal sources and the Bible. But is this true? Let's see.

For example Robert Spencer claims that the Prophet Muhammad copied off Christian Apocryphal source "The Infancy Gospel" and Gnostic Christians about the Crucifixion of Jesus (See Truth about Muhammad pages 54-55).

As for Revelations about Aisha, Bassam Zawadi has already refuted that arguement:

Also an incident occurred with Aisha, the wife of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in which she was falsely accused of committing adultery and she and the Prophet (peace be upon him) had to wait in distress for the verse from the Qur'an to come down to vindicate Aisha of the crime. (Read the story in Qur'anic commentaries under Chapter 24, Verse 11)

Now if the Prophet (peace be upon him) were the author of the Qur'an he would have quickly (instead waiting for more than a month and causing distress for himself) made up a verse vindicating his beloved wife and also saved himself from the distress of having people suspecting his own wife for cheating on him. However, his sincerity shows that he did not make up the Qur'an, but was waiting to receive revelation from Allah Almighty.

As for The Zanyab Bint Jash issue (this has already been refuted earlier in the Blog) and the Quran 66 (This issue has already been refuted also in this blog). So there is no reason to reinvent the wheel. The Quran has criticises Muhammad and it doesn't fit a man's psychology to author a book that critizes himself. For example the Prophet Muhammad wasn't allowed to take Charity (See Earlier in this blog), He has to Pray the Night Prayers (Only he has to do this, nobody else has to do this (Ibn Abbaas, Tanwîr al-Miqbâs min Tafsîr Ibn 'Abbâs, Commentary on Chapter 17, Verse 79), the Quran critizes the Prophet for turning away a blind man (See Quranic commentaries on Quran 80, etc etc). 

See this more detailed refutations against the Quran copying off the Bible, Jewish/Christian apocryphal sources: http://www.islamic-awareness.org/Quran/Sources/

The stories in the Quran that are also allegedly found in the Jewish, Christian apocryphal sources are different from one another. So if the Prophet Muhammad was copying off these stories from either listening to Jews and Christians reciting these stories or from reading if off somewhere, he would have copied the entire stories, However there are several differences from the Jewish/Christian apocryphal accounts and the Quran accounts of these stories.

As for the Quran 4:157, the Quran doesn't say someone else was crucified instead of Jesus, or that Jesus cruficixion was just an illusion. rather there are different theories as to what the Quran is talking about. So it can't be argued that the Prophet Muhammad heard the Gnostic Christians say someone else was crucified instead of Jesus and their ideas were put into the Quran. Rather The Quran and the Prophet Muhammad never said anything like that. For more on the Origins of the Subsitution theory of the Crucifixion see Shabir Ally;s debate with Mike Liconia and William Lane Craig

Most of the critics of Islam, say that the Prophet Muhammad was sincere. If he was sincere he would not have knowingly included information heard from Jews and Christians into the Quran.

I of course agree that we are only dealing with probabilities when it comes to history, however probabilities are dependent upon certain variables. One could not say that something is probable or improbable without working with some kind of background information. I contend that it is more reasonable to state that it is probable that the Prophet (peace be upon him) did not plagiarize based on the convergence of the following points:  1) His sincerity and truthfulness; 2) his illiteracy; 3) lack of ready access to Jewish and Christian documents; 4) improbability of the presence of the Infancy Gospel of Thomas in the Hijaz 5) The many striking differences between the Quranic stories and the parallels in the Judeo-Christian documents, with a virtual lack of verbal similarities; 6) and the many more differences between the Quranic story and the account in the Infancy Gospel of Thomas

We need to bare in mind that similarity between a Qur'anic account and a Biblical (or non-Biblical) story is not proof of the former borrowing from the latter. They could have the same source as well. Why could it not be that a certain event occurred and eventually came to be recorded either in a Biblical or a non-Biblical writing and later Allah revealed to Muhammad (peace be upon him) the story as well? If a priori we reject the possibility of Muhammad's (peace be upon him) prophethood then we would have no choice but to look for a non-divine solution (i.e. that Muhammad (peace be upon him) either directly or indirectly borrowed a certain story). But if we are open to the possibility of revelation, miracles and Muhammad's (peace be upon him) prophethood, then the mere fact that two stories are the same or similar does not by itself negate the prophethood of Muhammad (peace be upon him) or that he received the information through fresh revelation.

The reason being the lack of direct quotations from the latter in the Quran and the so many differences between the Quranic stories and their Biblical (canonical and non-canonical) counterparts. Instead, the common view is that Muhammad (peace be upon him) "must" have been reliant upon Biblical and non-Biblical traditions orally, which he then altered and reshaped to suit his own needs. Such a hypothesis is quite possible only if we a priori dismiss the possibility of Muhammad (peace be upon him) receiving revelation from God.

In a recent essay on the question of Quranic sources, Gerhard Bowering (Professor of Islamic Studies at Yale University) writes (Essay: "Recent Research On The Construction of The Quran." In, "The Qur'an in its Historical Context," p. 70 (bold added):
 

"No single collection of biblical writings, normative, apocryphal or midrashic, however, has been identified as the major source in which the Qur'an may have been rooted.1 To the best of our present knowledge, the Bible had not been translated into Arabic by the time of Muhammad, either in its entirety or in the form of single books.2 It is generally believed that Muhammad gathered his biblical knowledge principally, if not exclusively, from oral sources.3 This oral lore was communicated to Muhammad in his mother tongue, but its original forms were in Syriac, Aramaic, Ethiopian and Hebrew materials, as evidenced by the vocabulary of foreign origin to be found in the Arabic Qur'an.4 This foreign vocabulary formed an integral part of Muhammad's proclamation and was understood by his audience in Mecca and Medina whom he addressed in eloquent Arabic.5"

and (p. 83, bold mine):

"During his lifetime, Muhammad had a good number of his Qur'anic proclamations copied down by scribes, but there is no evidence that he used foreign written source materials for the composition of the Qur'an. Until the appearance of evidence to the contrary, one has to support the position that it was oral information on which the Qur'an drew directly, even if behind this oral information there was a core of passages extracted from written traditions that were translated into Arabic from one or the other of its sibling languages. This core, however, has not yet come to light in a distinct form. The almost total absence in the Qur'an of direct parallels with the normative, midrashic or apocryphal biblical traditions 60 makes it impossible to argue for a direct dependence on written sources. Essential sections of the Qur'anic message were received from the oral lore of a variety of religious communities who were rooted in the widely dispersed and non-normative Jewish and Christian traditions. Not a single written source, whether scriptural or liturgical, however, has been identified that would satisfy the search for an underlying Ur-Qur'an, whether postulated as a Christian hymnal or a Syro-Aramaic lectionary, that served as a written source book for the Qur'an." [2]

As an example, we may actually point to Jesus' clay-bird miracle in the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, which states:

When this boy, Jesus, was five years old, he was playing at the ford of a rushing stream. (2) He was collecting the flowing water into ponds and made the water instantly pure. He did this with a single command. (3) He then made soft clay and shaped it into twelve sparrows. He did this on the sabbath day, and many other boys were playing with him.
(4)But when a Jew saw what Jesus was doing while playing on the sabbath day, he immediately went off and told Joseph, Jesus' father: "See here, your boy is at the ford and has taken mud and fashioned twelve birds with it, and so has violated the sabbath."
(5)So Joseph went there, and as soon as he spotted him he shouted, "Why are you doing what's not permitted on the sabbath?"
(6)But Jesus simply clapped his hands and shouted to the sparrows: "Be off, fly away, and remember me, you who are now alive!" And the sparrows took off and flew away noisily.
(7)The Jews watched with amazement, then left the scene to report to their leaders what they had seen Jesus doing.

Compare the above with the Quranic account. In two locations the Quran mentions this miracle. In Surah 3:49, we read:

"And (appoint him) an apostle to the Children of Israel, (with this message): "'I have come to you, with a Sign from your Lord, in that I make for you out of clay, as it were, the figure of a bird, and breathe into it, and it becomes a bird by Allah's leave ...

Then in Surah 5:110 we read:

Then will Allah say: "O Jesus the son of Mary! Recount My favour to thee and to thy mother. Behold! I strengthened thee with the holy spirit, so that thou didst speak to the people in childhood and in maturity. Behold! I taught thee the Book and Wisdom, the Law and the Gospel and behold! thou makest out of clay, as it were, the figure of a bird, by My leave, and thou breathest into it and it becometh a bird by My leave ...

If Muhammad (peace be upon him) was copying from the Infancy Gospel of Thomas or any other Jewish/Christian apocryphal source or even the Bible, or reliant upon it even indirectly, why were its crucial details omitted? A lot of details in these so called Pre Islamic Jewish and Christian sources are missing in the Quran. The Quran does not mention the "soft" clay, the "twelve sparrows," Jesus' "clapping of hands" and his "crying" to the sparrows: "Be off..." It does not mention Jesus (peace be upon him) asking the sparrows to remember him and the sparrows noisily flying. In fact, the entire framework of the story is absent in the Quran (the sabbath story).

If the Quran was dependent upon the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, why would its Author omit so much - He omitted everything except for mentioning the miracle of the clay-bird?

The Quran only states that Jesus made a bird from clay and it transformed into an actual bird when he breathed into it. The Quran then emphasizes that this was God's miracle, done through Jesus (peace be upon him). Thus, it is highly unlikely that Muhammad (peace be upon him) had a copy of the Infancy Gospel of Thomas in his lap and was copying directly from it.

Could it be that Muhammad (peace be upon him) acquired this story indirectly, as it was circulating orally (with its ultimate source being the Infancy Gospel of Thomas)? This is "possible." Though one wonders, is it likely that the written story would later transmit orally in such a way that it was completely stripped from all the exciting details in its written form and a total absence of its framework? That seems quite improbable.

DID THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD COPY OFF THE CHRISTIANS WHO WERE IN MECCA? 

Muhammad (peace be upon him) wasn't sincere and knowingly includes information into the Qur'an, while claiming to the people that they are the direct words uttered by God. Unless, Shamoun illustrates that the Prophet (peace be upon him) wasn't sincere I see no reason to interact with arguments based on false assumption. 

REFUTING WIFE BEATING IN ISLAM

Qur'an (4:34) - "Men are the maintainers of women because Allah has made some of them to excel others and because they spend out of their property; the good women are therefore obedient, guarding the unseen as Allah has guarded; and (as to) those on whose part you fear desertion, admonish them, and leave them alone in the sleeping-places and beat them; then if they obey you, do not seek a way against them; surely Allah is High, Great."

EXPLNATION OF THE QURANIC VERSE: 
http://www.letmeturnthetables.com/2008/06/does-islam-allow-wife-beating.html

Muslim (4:2127) - Muhammad struck his favorite wife, Aisha, in the chest one evening when she left the house without his permission.  Aisha narrates, "He struck me on the chest which caused me pain."

EXPLANATION: http://www.letmeturnthetables.com/2008/06/does-islam-allow-wife-beating.html

Muslim (9:3506) - Muhammad's father-in-laws (Abu Bakr and Umar) amused him by slappinghis wives (Aisha and Hafsa) for annoying him.  According to the Hadith, the prophet of Islam laughed upon hearing this.

EXPLANTION: THIS IS ABU BAKR AND UMAR IBN KHATTABS DOING NOT THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD. SO THIS IS SOMETHING THAT SHOULD BE BLAMED ON ABU BAKR AND UMAR IBN KHATTAB NOT THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD. 

Abu Dawud (2141) - "Iyas bin ‘Abd Allah bin Abi Dhubab reported the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) as saying: Do not beat Allah’s handmaidens, but when ‘Umar came to the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) and said: Women have become emboldened towards their husbands, he (the Prophet) gave permission to beat them."  At first, Muhammad forbade men from beating their wives, but he rescinded this once it was reported that women were becoming emboldened toward their husbands.  Beatings are sometimes necessary to keep women in their place.

Abu Dawud (2142) - "The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: A man will not be asked as to why he beat his wife."

THIS IS A WEAK HADITH: http://www.letmeturnthetables.com/2008/06/does-islam-allow-wife-beating.html

Abu Dawud (2126) - "A man from the Ansar called Basrah said: 'I married a virgin woman in her veil. When I entered upon her, I found her pregnant. (I mentioned this to the Prophet).' The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: 'She will get the dower, for you made her vagina lawful for you. The child will be your slave. When she has begotten (a child), flog her'"  Dont think this narration is authentic. 

THIS HADITH HASN'T BEEN PROVEN TO BE AUTHENTIC, WEAK HADTIH 

Ibn Ishaq/Hisham 969 - Requires that a married woman be "put in a separate room and beaten lightly" if she "act in a sexual manner toward others."  According to the Hadith, this can be for an offense as petty as merely being alone with a man to whom she is not related.

Kash-shaf (the revealer) of al-Zamkhshari (Vol. 1, p. 525) - [Muhammad said] "Hang up your scourge where your wife can see it"

THESE COME FROM WEAK SOURCES, SO THEY AREN'T RELAIBLE, MUSLIM SCHOLARS DON'T ACCEPT THESE NARRATIONS. 

THE OTHER STATEMENTS ARE NOTHING BUT THE FALLACY OF APPEAL TO AUTHORITY. PROPHET MUHAMMAD IS OUR FINAL AUTHORITY AND HE SAID SEVERAL TIMES DONT WEAK YOUR WIVES, WOMEN: