About Quran 25:5 and Quran 6:25

Question

Assalamualaikum

Someone(a non muslim) pointed on these 2 verses:

Quran 25:5

And they say, “Tales of the ancients; he wrote them down; they are dictated to him morning and evening.”

Quran 6:25

Among them are those who listen to you; but We place covers over their hearts, to prevent them from understanding it, and heaviness in their ears. Even if they see every sign, they will not believe in it. Until, when they come to you, to argue with you, those who disbelieve will say, “These are nothing but myths of the ancients.”

and told me these verse shows the story of previous Prophets was popular in arabia and it is possible that Muhammad (p.b.u.h) copied these into the Quran.

How should I answer?

Were the legends of former people really very popular among the Arabs?

I heard our prophet was ummi and had no knowledge about sculpture which came before him but if these stories were common in arabia it's also possible for him to know this.

Sorry to say,but this is affecting my iman.

Answer 1

In general, yes, many Jewish and Christian legends were also known in Arabia.

Both, Jews and Christians were present in Arabia and also in the personal reach of the prophet; half or even more of the inhabitants of Medina were Jewish, and Christian reverts were also among Muhammad's companions.

Most Christian Arabs knew it from oral tradition rather than from reading because many people were not able to read at all, and furthermore, the scriptures were written in Aramaic. This language was commonly spoken where today are Syria, Jordania, Iraq and Kuwait but it was a foreign language in Arabia. As a former merchant, Muhammad was probably able to speak some Aramaic but he would not have been able to read the Gospel or the Torah although it seems that he learned to read Arabic a bit in his later life.

It is extremely unlikely that Muhammad (p.b.u.h) knew the scriptures in detail but it is indeed likely that he had knowledge of some oral traditions. Hence, we cannot say that he must have been a prophet just because it was absolutely impossible for an Arab of his time to know the numerous legends that are quoted in the Quran.

The major difference between Christians who decided to follow him and Christians who decided not to follow him was that the first trusted him and acknowledged him as a prophet whereas the others the others did not believe that he is a prophet. This is reflected in the two verses you cited.

On the other hand, the (possible) knowledge of legends does no way prove that Muhammad (p.b.u.h) is not a prophet. All other (Jewish and pre-Jewish) prophets did know legends of the past, and none of them has ever been blamed for knowing them. The prophets who preceeded Muhammed (p.b.u.h) brought the answer to the questions of his people in his time as well as the general questions of humanity before God and announce His answer. This was exactly what Muhammad (p.b.u.h) did.