A study of the Quran makes it clear, that the New and Old Testament traditions are manifest in various forms in the sacred book of Muslims. This paper presents the phenomenon of these biblical borrowings, giving the references in the Quran to the biblical persons and main themes. One finds many of the Old and New Testament stories of the prophets sometimes in precise forms where the Quranic records are relative identical with the Biblical versions. On other fragments the Quranic narra- tives contain elements of Biblical traditions mixed with folklore and fables extracted from the Talmud and in some cases (such as the story of Abraham and the idols) the sources are entirely Midrashic-Haggadic or Apocryphal. It is worth to be pointed out that the influence of orthodox Christianity on the Quran was slight but apocryphal and heretical Christian legends are clearly visible in the various Quranic fragments. Probably it is a result of Muhammad’s journeys between Syria, Hijaz, and yemen.

Scholars have adopted a number of different theories explaining the phenomenon of the biblical borrowings found in the Quran. For example it is said about Muham- mad’s dependence upon Jewish teachers and thus an overarching Jewish influence on Islam. It is generally admitted that Muhammad had opportunity to come into contact with yemenite, Abyssinian, Ghassanite, and Syrian Christians, especially heretic.

Analyzes of the Quran in the light of parallel passages in the Bible, Talmud and Apocrypha permits us to formulate an idea that early Islamic revelations were com- pilation of Muhammad inspiration with repetition of information coming to his ears, some of it Biblical and true to history, the rest predominantly mythical and fictitious. This thesis is not accepted by Muslim scholars, who maintain that the Qur’an is the divine word of God without any interpolation.

The Koran became an inspiration to the Russian poet Alexander Pushkin (1799–1837), made obvious in many of his works, such as Imitations of the Koran, The Prophet, and In a Secret Cave. Pushkin studied the translation of the Koran carefully and used many verses of its Surahs in his texts. Many of his contemporary poets and followers were influenced by his poetry, like Ivan Bunin (1870–1953), who continued the traditions of Pushkin. Bunin repeated many thoughts from Koranic discourse and placed them in his poems that were full of faith and spirituality. He wrote many of them at the beginning of the 20th century1, before his emigration to France in 1918, for example: Mohammed in Exile, Guiding Signs and For Treason. It has been noted that Bunin was quoting verses from the Koran to create an intertextual relationships between some Surahs and his poems, showing a great enthusiasm to mystical dimension of Islam. We find this aspect in many works, such as The Night of al-Qadr, Tamjid, Black Stone of the Kaaba, Kawthar, The Day of Reckoning and Secret. It can also be said that a spiritual inspiration and rhetoric of Koran were not only attractive to Pushkin and Bunin, but also to a large group of Russian poets and writers, including Gavrila Derzhavin, Mikhail Lermontov, Fyodor Tyutchev, Yakov Polonsky, Lukyan Yakubovich, Konstantin Balmont, and others.

Im Koran wird eine Religionsgemeinschaft der Sabier genannt. Damit können aus lautlichen Gründen nicht die südarabischen Sabäer gemeint sein, wie man früher geglaubt hat. Heute werden nach Meinung vieler Gelehrter die Mandäer mit den Sabiern in Verbindung gebracht. Die Berichte über die Sabier stimmen aber weitgehend nicht mit den religiösen Vorstellungen und rituellen Handlungen der Mandäer überein. In der Literatur der Mandäer kommt die Selbstbezeichnung „Sabier“ nicht vor. Deshalb verbergen sich hinter diesem Namen mit großer Wahrscheinlichkeit die Elchasaiten oder eine samaritanische Sekte. Die Verwendung des Namens machte aber die Mandäer unangreifbar und sie konnten als Sabier des Korans und Besitzer eines Buches, das von Johannes geoffenbart wurde, bis auf den heutigen Tag im Herzen der islamischen Welt als einzige gnostische Religionsgemeinschaft überleben.