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In reading the Qur'an, I noticed this passage:

Qur'an 9:30 The Jews say, "Ezra is the son of Allah "; and the Christians say, "The Messiah is the son of Allah ." That is their statement from their mouths; they imitate the saying of those who disbelieved [before them]. May Allah destroy them; how are they deluded?

Is there any basis for the claim? Did Jews believe Ezra to be the son of God when the Qur'an was written?

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    I'm sorry if this is off-topic. I don't believe the claim at all, but I want confirmation -- and this is the only place I know for asking. – StackExchange saddens dancek Sep 28 '11 at 5:09
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    Maybe it comes from the notion that Ezra was the one who translated the Torah into Ashurit and gave it taamim (trope) and nedukot (vowels)? – Adam Mosheh Jan 10 '12 at 18:11
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    i dont think Islam or Christianity should be up for discussion in this forum. – rabbi Jan 14 '14 at 23:28
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    @rabbi You may bring that up on Mi Yodeya Meta if you want, but as far as I know everyone agrees with that... – Double AA♦ Jan 15 '14 at 2:55
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    This verse has been cited as proof that the Koran is a fraud. Indeed the claim that Jews ascribe any sort of divinity to Ezra is preposterous. Muslim apologists have attempted to defend the verse by saying that it refers to some local heretical sect of Jews who did have such beliefs. (Of course, there's no reason to believe that such a sect actually existed.) – Ephraim Jan 15 '14 at 6:36
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+500

I had never heard of this claim before. It certainly doesn't fit with everything I understand about Judaism.

The Wikipedia article on Uzair (Qur'anic Arabic for Ezra, apparently) contains a great deal of interesting information about this claim in the Qur'an, including why it's incompatible with actual Jewish beliefs and some suppositions about how it got into the Qur'an anyway. I think the following quotation from Exodus Rabba 29 makes the former point pretty ably:

'I am the first and I am the last, and beside Me there is no God' I am the first, I have no father; I am the last, I have no brother. Beside Me there is no God; I have no son."

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  • If you translate the Arabic verse there in the Quran then you will come to know that it is a claim of some Jews and not something which forms the core belief of Judaism. FYI: cmje.org/religious-texts/quran/verses/009-qmt.php#009.030 – Maxood Feb 21 '12 at 10:32
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    Do some jews really claim that or is the muslim just made this up? – user4951 May 2 '12 at 11:04
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    @JimThio I have never heard of this claim except from here. Ever. If any Jews had ever claimed this, you can bet there would at least be historic Rabbinic authorities mentioning it as a false belief. I can't comment on the last part of your sentence. – Hod - Monica's Army May 15 '12 at 18:41
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    @JimThio Even if, I find it strange that he chose Ezra, who, although important, is not seen as fundamental as say, Moses. – Hod - Monica's Army May 17 '12 at 3:10
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    @maxood, this question is not, "what does this verse in the Qur'an mean," but, "has this claim in the Qur'an about Jews ever been true?" – Seth J Dec 27 '12 at 1:35
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No. This concept is completely foreign to Judaism. The other religion mentioned derived the concept from paganism, not Judaism.

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    Do you have a source for the second part of your answer? – Seth J Sep 28 '11 at 15:31
  • I agree with you that the notion is completely foreign to Judaism. But if you read the Arabic verse then it merely states this notion as a "claim", and not a part of Jewish faith. FYI: cmje.org/religious-texts/quran/verses/009-qmt.php#009.030 – Maxood Feb 21 '12 at 10:34
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    @maxood, this question is not, "what does this verse in the Qur'an mean," but, "has this claim in the Qur'an about Jews ever been true?" – Seth J Dec 27 '12 at 1:36
  • @SethJ As i said before: "it is not a claim by the Quran but a certain number of Jews used to debate with the Christians in those days at a particular event." – Maxood Dec 27 '12 at 8:53
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    @Maxood where is this claim made other than in the Quran? If it cannot be sourced anywhere else, it is by definition a claim made by the Quran. You are perhaps assuming that the Quran is true. This is not an assumption you will find shared by non-Muslims. – yoel Dec 27 '12 at 11:00
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No more so than the belief that we are all G-d's children. Ezra is, however, compared to Moses (Sanhedrin, bottom of 21b; See also Yad Rama ad loc Sanhedrin 36a and Gittin 59a (comparing Ezra to Moses as a national leader and the greatest Torah scholar of his generation).

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    Welcome to Mi Yodeya! +1 for the first part. Please consider adding a source for the second. – Hod - Monica's Army Dec 26 '12 at 21:49
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The concept of anyone being the son of God is very foreign to Judaism, as well as the majority of Jews.

Also, that's not what that verse says (but interpreting the Quran is off-topic here).

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    Hello Al Ummat and welcome to Mi Yodeya! Thank you for adding this information. – Monica Cellio Apr 7 '13 at 2:26
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    I agree with Al Ummat – Ammar Asjad May 22 '13 at 12:01
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Rabbi Tovia Singer, in response to this claim, said that some Jews in Egypt probably did believe Ezra was the son of G-d but that everyone has their “crazies,” and that this should not be attributed to mainstream Judaism which is strictly monotheistic.

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It's an absurd concept that has no historical basis. Islam came along 600 years or so after the fall of the Second Temple so it isn't even like the Quran has any historical/archeological basis to that claim. It is like claiming that the rabbis distorted the words of the Torah to make Lot look like a non-righteous man (Islamic doctrine does not agree with Jewish doctrine that Lot slept with his daughters).

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    Sources for your claims would increase the value of this post. – Double AA♦ May 13 '13 at 15:28
  • so it isn't even like the Quran has any historical/archeological basis Maybe Muhammad was describing what he saw in his time? – user9907 Jun 17 '16 at 2:52

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