Why does the Qur'an call Christians 'Nasara'?
c. c. 600 – c. 632
Place: arabia · coming soon
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Both readings are hypotheses. The word's Syriac/Persian background (nasraye) is attested, for example in Sasanian inscriptions.
The Qur'an calls Christians al-Nasara rather than a word based on 'Christ'. De Blois argues the name echoes the Nazoraeans and points to a Jewish-Christian group. Griffith argues it reflects ordinary Syriac and Persian usage, where Christians were called 'Nasraye', and that the Qur'an uses it rhetorically for Christians in general.
People named here
- Nazoraeans
Where scholars disagree
For
- François de Blois — BSOAS 2002
Against
- Sidney H. Griffith — 'Al-Naṣārā in the Qur'an: A Hermeneutical Reflection' (2011)
Links
Influence
In
Did Jewish-Christian groups survive to shape the Qur'an?
De Blois links 'Nasara' to Nazoraeans; Griffith disagrees.
related
scholarly hypothesis
Report and reading
Out
Whether Qur'anic Nasara = Nazoraeans.
refers_to
scholarly hypothesis
Sources
- François de Blois, 'Naṣrānī (Ναζωραῖος) and ḥanīf (ἐθνικός): Studies on the Religious Vocabulary of Christianity and of Islam', BSOAS 65.1 (2002), 1–30
Cambridge UP. Accessed 2026-11-11.
- Sidney H. Griffith, 'Al-Naṣārā in the Qur'ān: A Hermeneutical Reflection', in G. S. Reynolds (ed.), New Perspectives on the Qur'an (2011)
Routledge. Accessed 2026-11-11.
- Wikipedia: Nasara
Wikipedia contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0). Accessed 2026-11-11.