# Where Did the Qur’an’s Jesus Stories Come From? > Qur’an 3:49 and 19:23–30 tell of clay birds, a palm, and an infant who speaks. The Infancy Gospel of Thomas and Pseudo-Matthew tell those episodes. - Canonical: https://apologetics.wiki/islam/where-did-the-qurans-jesus-stories-come-from - Religions: Islam - Denominations: none - Beliefs: none - Tags: islam, jesus, quran - Updated: 2026-10-19 - Author: [Paul Ambrose](https://apologetics.wiki/author/hi-its-paul) The Qur’an tells three episodes about Jesus that the four Gospels do not tell: he speaks from the cradle, he makes a bird from clay and breathes into it, and Mary gives birth under a palm that feeds her. Those episodes are in books Christians did not receive as Scripture. The Infancy Gospel of Thomas, in the First Greek Form on New Advent, has the clay sparrows. The Arabic Gospel of the Infancy has the cradle speech. Pseudo-Matthew, chapter 20, has the palm. The Muslim reading is that the Qur’an confirms what was true in the memories of Jesus. The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John do not contain these scenes. ## Key Points - [Qur’an 3:46](https://quran.com/ali-imran/46) says he will speak to the people in the cradle and in maturity. [Qur’an 19:29–33](https://quran.com/maryam/29) has the infant say he is the servant of Allah, given the Scripture, and made a prophet. - [Qur’an 3:49](https://quran.com/ali-imran/49) and [Qur’an 5:110](https://quran.com/al-maidah/110) say Jesus designed from clay the form of a bird, breathed into it, and it became a bird by God’s permission. - [Qur’an 19:23–25](https://quran.com/maryam/23) places the birth pains at the trunk of a palm and tells Mary to shake the trunk so that ripe dates fall. - The [Infancy Gospel of Thomas, First Greek Form, section 2](https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0846.htm), says the child fashioned twelve sparrows from soft clay on the Sabbath, clapped his hands, and the sparrows flew. - The [Arabic Gospel of the Infancy, section 1](https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0806.htm), says that while he lay in the cradle he told Mary, “I am Jesus, the Son of God, the Logos.” - [Pseudo-Matthew, chapter 20](https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0848.htm), says the child told the palm to bend and to open a spring. [Jesus in the Qur’an and the Gospels](/islam/jesus-in-the-quran-and-the-gospels) is the wider comparison. [The Lost Gospels](/non-canonical/the-lost-gospels) is how this site treats books the churches did not receive. ## The Cradle [Qur’an 19:29–30](https://quran.com/maryam/29), Saheeh International: > So she pointed to him. They said, “How can we speak to one who is in the cradle a child?” [Jesus] said, “Indeed, I am the servant of Allāh. He has given me the Scripture and made me a prophet.” [Qur’an 19:31–33](https://quran.com/maryam/31) continues: he is blessed, prayer and zakah are enjoined on him, he is dutiful to his mother, and peace is on him the day he was born, the day he dies, and the day he is raised. [Qur’an 3:46](https://quran.com/ali-imran/46) says he will speak in the cradle and in maturity and will be of the righteous. [Qur’an 5:110](https://quran.com/al-maidah/110) remembers that he spoke to the people in the cradle and in maturity. Luke’s Gospel has the infant Jesus in a manger, and it has him at twelve in the temple. It does not have a newborn defending his mother with a speech. [Luke 2:41–52](/bible/luke/2) is the temple scene, when he is twelve. The [Arabic Gospel of the Infancy of the Saviour, section 1](https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0806.htm), on New Advent, says: “Jesus spoke, and, indeed, when He was lying in His cradle said to Mary His mother: I am Jesus, the Son of God, the Logos, whom you have brought forth, as the Angel Gabriel announced to you; and my Father has sent me for the salvation of the world.” The scene is the same kind of scene: an infant speaking from the cradle to Mary. The words are not the same. The infancy book says “Son of God, the Logos,” and that the Father sent him for the salvation of the world. The Qur’an says “the servant of Allah,” a prophet, given the Scripture. A Muslim can say the Qur’an keeps the true memory and corrects the titles. The Christian claim is that the four Gospels, which tell the birth without this speech, are the books the church received, and that calling Jesus the Son is what those Gospels say. [John 1:1](/bible/john/1/1) says the Word was God. Jesus is God. This page does not date the Arabic infancy book. The New Advent English does not open with a century. The comparison is the episode and the wording, not a guess about which copy a preacher in Mecca held. ## The Clay Birds [Qur’an 3:49](https://quran.com/ali-imran/49) says Jesus will say that he designs from clay the form of a bird, breathes into it, and it becomes a bird by Allah’s permission, and that he heals the blind and the leper and gives life to the dead by the same permission. [Qur’an 5:110](https://quran.com/al-maidah/110) recalls the same bird, the same healings, and the same permission. The Gospel of John tells a sign at Cana, healings, and the raising of Lazarus. It does not tell a clay bird. [John 2:1–11](/bible/john/2) is the wedding at Cana, the first sign John numbers. The [Infancy Gospel of Thomas, First Greek Form, section 2](https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0846.htm): > And having made some soft clay, He fashioned out of it twelve sparrows. And it was the Sabbath when He did these things. And Jesus clapped His hands, and cried out to the sparrows, and said to them: Off you go! And the sparrows flew, and went off crying. The child in that account is five years old, at a stream, and the charge is that he profaned the Sabbath. The Qur’an does not mention the Sabbath or the number twelve. It does have clay formed into a bird, breath, and a living bird, by God’s permission. The shapes of the stories match at the clay and the living bird. They do not match in age, Sabbath, or the words spoken to the birds. Calling the Qur’an a copy of one paragraph would ignore those differences. Leaving the infancy book unmentioned would ignore the clay birds, which the four Gospels never tell. The New Advent page prints this as the First Greek Form. That English text does not give a century for the book, so this page does not assign one. What the edition shows is an infancy account set apart from the four Gospels. [What Is the Apocrypha?](/christianity/what-is-the-apocrypha) is a different set of books, the ones Catholic and Orthodox churches debate. These infancy texts are not that set. [The Lost Gospels](/non-canonical/the-lost-gospels) is the page for writings the major churches did not receive as Scripture. ## The Palm [Qur’an 19:22–26](https://quran.com/maryam/22) says Mary withdrew to a remote place, the pains drove her to the trunk of a palm, a voice from below told her not to grieve because a stream was beneath her, and she was to shake the trunk so that ripe dates would drop. She was then to eat, drink, and, if she saw anyone, say she had vowed a fast from speech. The speaker “from below her” is not named in the verse itself. The next scene is the cradle speech. [Pseudo-Matthew, chapter 20](https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0848.htm), says that on the third day of the journey Mary was worn out by the heat, sat under a palm, and wished for its fruit. Joseph said the tree was too high and that they needed water more. “Then the child Jesus, with a joyful countenance, reposing in the bosom of His mother, said to the palm: O tree, bend your branches, and refresh my mother with your fruit.” The palm bent, they gathered the fruit, and Jesus told it to open a vein of water from its roots. A spring came forth. The Qur’an has a palm, dates shaken down, and a stream. Pseudo-Matthew has a palm, fruit brought down by the child’s word, and a spring from the roots. The journey in Pseudo-Matthew is the flight, with the child already born. The Qur’an places the palm at the birth. The scenes are not the same paragraph. They share a palm that feeds Mary and water that appears, in a birth story the Gospel of Luke tells without a palm. [Luke 2:1–7](/bible/luke/2) is the manger in Bethlehem. The preface on the New Advent page says bishops asked Jerome to translate a Hebrew volume, and it calls the infancy material apocryphal. That preface is the document’s claim about itself. It is not an independent date. What the chapter contains is the palm, the command, the fruit, and the spring. Muslims can say these books preserved a true memory that the Qur’an confirms and corrects, and that the four Gospels left the miracles out. The Christian claim is the other way: the books the apostles’ churches received tell the birth, the cross, and the resurrection, and the infancy books add scenes those Gospels do not have. Where the wording agrees, it agrees with the infancy books, including titles the Qur’an then changes, as the cradle speech shows. [Jesus in the Qur’an and the Gospels](/islam/jesus-in-the-quran-and-the-gospels) quotes what both texts say about his identity. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Did Jesus Make Birds From Clay? [Qur’an 3:49](https://quran.com/ali-imran/49) and [Qur’an 5:110](https://quran.com/al-maidah/110) say he did, by Allah’s permission. The four Gospels do not tell it. The Infancy Gospel of Thomas, First Greek Form, section 2, tells twelve clay sparrows that flew when the child clapped his hands. ### Did Jesus Speak From the Cradle? [Qur’an 19:29–33](https://quran.com/maryam/29) says the infant answered that he is the servant of Allah and a prophet. The Arabic Gospel of the Infancy, section 1, says the infant told Mary he is Jesus, the Son of God, the Logos. Luke tells a birth and a twelve-year-old in the temple, not this speech. ### What Is the Palm in Qur’an 19? [Qur’an 19:23–25](https://quran.com/maryam/23) puts the birth pains at a palm and has dates fall when Mary shakes the trunk, with a stream beneath her. Pseudo-Matthew, chapter 20, has the child command a palm to bend and to yield a spring, on the journey after the birth. ## Passages Quoted on This Page ### Qur’an 3:46 Saheeh International. [Open on quran.com](https://quran.com/ali-imran/46) > He will speak to the people in the cradle and in maturity and will be of the righteous. ### Qur’an 19:29-33 Saheeh International. [Open on quran.com](https://quran.com/maryam/29) > So she pointed to him. They said, "How can we speak to one who is in the cradle a child?" [Jesus] said, "Indeed, I am the servant of Allāh. He has given me the Scripture and made me a prophet. And He has made me blessed wherever I am and has enjoined upon me prayer and zakāh as long as I remain alive And [made me] dutiful to my mother, and He has not made me a wretched tyrant. And peace is on me the day I was born and the day I will die and the day I am raised alive." ### Qur’an 3:49 Saheeh International. [Open on quran.com](https://quran.com/ali-imran/49) > And [make him] a messenger to the Children of Israel, [who will say], 'Indeed I have come to you with a sign from your Lord in that I design for you from clay [that which is] like the form of a bird, then I breathe into it and it becomes a bird by permission of Allāh. And I cure the blind [from birth] and the leper, and I give life to the dead - by permission of Allāh. And I inform you of what you eat and what you store in your houses. Indeed in that is a sign for you, if you are believers. ### Qur’an 5:110 Saheeh International. [Open on quran.com](https://quran.com/al-maidah/110) > [The Day] when Allāh will say, "O Jesus, Son of Mary, remember My favor upon you and upon your mother when I supported you with the Pure Spirit [i.e., the angel Gabriel] and you spoke to the people in the cradle and in maturity; and [remember] when I taught you writing and wisdom and the Torah and the Gospel; and when you designed from clay [what was] like the form of a bird with My permission, then you breathed into it, and it became a bird with My permission; and you healed the blind [from birth] and the leper with My permission; and when you brought forth the dead with My permission; and when I restrained the Children of Israel from [killing] you when you came to them with clear proofs and those who disbelieved among them said, "This is not but obvious magic." ### Qur’an 19:23-25 Saheeh International. [Open on quran.com](https://quran.com/maryam/23) > And the pains of childbirth drove her to the trunk of a palm tree. She said, "Oh, I wish I had died before this and was in oblivion, forgotten." But he called her from below her, "Do not grieve; your Lord has provided beneath you a stream. And shake toward you the trunk of the palm tree; it will drop upon you ripe, fresh dates. ### Qur’an 19:29-30 Saheeh International. [Open on quran.com](https://quran.com/maryam/29) > So she pointed to him. They said, "How can we speak to one who is in the cradle a child?" [Jesus] said, "Indeed, I am the servant of Allāh. He has given me the Scripture and made me a prophet. ### Luke 2:41–52 King James Version. > [2:41] Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover. [2:42] And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast. [2:43] And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. [2:44] But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day’s journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance. [2:45] And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. [2:46] And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. [2:47] And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers. [2:48] And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. [2:49] And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business? [2:50] And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them. [2:51] And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. [2:52] And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man. ### John 1:1 King James Version. > In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ### John 2:1–11 King James Version. > [2:1] And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: [2:2] And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage. [2:3] And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. [2:4] Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come. [2:5] His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. [2:6] And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece. [2:7] Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim. [2:8] And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it. [2:9] When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom, [2:10] And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now. [2:11] This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him. ### Qur’an 19:22-26 Saheeh International. [Open on quran.com](https://quran.com/maryam/22) > So she conceived him, and she withdrew with him to a remote place. And the pains of childbirth drove her to the trunk of a palm tree. She said, "Oh, I wish I had died before this and was in oblivion, forgotten." But he called her from below her, "Do not grieve; your Lord has provided beneath you a stream. And shake toward you the trunk of the palm tree; it will drop upon you ripe, fresh dates. So eat and drink and be contented. And if you see from among humanity anyone, say, 'Indeed, I have vowed to the Most Merciful abstention, so I will not speak today to [any] man.'" ### Luke 2:1–7 King James Version. > [2:1] And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. [2:2] (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) [2:3] And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. [2:4] And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) [2:5] To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. [2:6] And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. [2:7] And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. ## Sources Numbered to match the HTML References list. Item 1 is `#ref-1` under `#references`. Scripture links to the King James Version on this site. 1. [Qur'an, 3:46; 3:49; 5:110; 19:22–33](https://quran.com/ali-imran/49) (Saheeh International, as published on Quran.com. Words in square brackets are part of that translation. The link is 3:49.) 2. [Infancy Gospel of Thomas, First Greek Form, section 2](https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0846.htm) (English in the Ante-Nicene Fathers collection on New Advent. The clay sparrows are in section 2 of the First Greek Form.) 3. [Arabic Gospel of the Infancy of the Saviour, section 1](https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0806.htm) (English on New Advent. The cradle speech is section 1.) 4. [Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew, chapter 20](https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0848.htm) (English on New Advent. The palm, the dates, and the spring are chapter 20. The preface’s claim that Jerome translated the book is the document’s own claim.) 5. [Gospel of Luke, 1–2](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/luke/1). King James Version 6. [Gospel of John, 2:1–11](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/2). King James Version ## See Also - [Did Jesus Die on the Cross?](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/did-jesus-die-on-the-cross) — The Qur'an is widely read as saying Jesus was not crucified. The Gospels, Paul, and two Roman-era historians say he was. - [Did Jesus Pray Like a Muslim?](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/did-jesus-pray-like-a-muslim) — No. Jesus fell on his face and prayed to the Father. That is not the five daily prayers, toward the Sacred Mosque, that the Qur’an times. - [Do Muslims Believe in Jesus?](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/jesus-in-the-quran-and-the-gospels) — Yes. Muslims believe Jesus was born of Mary and is the Messiah. They do not believe he is God or that he died on the cross. Jesus in the Qur’an and the Gospels is that comparison. - [Does Jesus Do What Only God Does?](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/does-jesus-do-what-only-god-does) — The Qur'an says God gives life to the dead, is the First and the Last, and comes with the angels. The Gospel says Jesus does those things. - [Does Qur’an 5:75 Mean Jesus Is Not God?](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/jesus-ate-food-quran-5-75) — Qur’an 5:75 says Jesus and Mary ate food. Eating shows a body. Genesis 18 says the LORD ate with Abraham. The Son took flesh and remained God.