The Incident of the "Satanic Verses" (Qissat al-Gharaniq)

The episode that triggered the early return of the Abyssinian emigrants — and a case study in reliability discipline. The orientalist term “satanic verses” (coined by Sir William Muir) corresponds to the Islamic name Qissat al-Gharaniq (“story of the cranes”).

The authentic version (Version 1 — Sahih Bukhari, EP 016)

In Ramadan of the 5th year, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ recited Surah al-Najm (53) in full. Its power so moved the whole gathering — Muslim and pagan alike — that when he prostrated at its final verse, everyone fell into sajdah with him, except al-Walid ibn al-Mughira (or Umayyah ibn Khalaf), who raised dust to his forehead. This authentic report mentions no shaytan. Exaggerated as “the Quraysh have accepted Islam,” the news reached Abyssinia and drew the emigrants back.

The disputed versions (Versions 2 & 3)

These add that Shaytan interjected two lines praising al-Lat, al-Uzza and Manat as “exalted cranes whose intercession is hoped for” — mistaken by the pagans for Quran, prompting the joint prostration.

• Found only in tertiary works (al-Tabari’s Tafsir, al-Wahidi’s Asbab al-Nuzul) — not in Bukhari, Muslim, the Six Books, Musnad Ahmad, Ibn Ishaq or Ibn Hisham.
• The chain (via Urwah ibn al-Zubayr, a tabi’i, not a Companion) is broken — it does not reach the Prophet ﷺ. Al-Tabari expressly reported everything he heard, authentic or not.

Reliability verdict

Yasir Qadhi holds the Bukhari version authentic and sufficient; the “cranes” additions rest on weak, broken chains and need no far-fetched tale to explain the mass prostration — the eloquence of Surah al-Najm suffices. (See schema §5 — legends are recorded but not asserted.)

Cross-references

The Migrations to Abyssinia · Muhammad ﷺ · Quraysh · Jahiliyyah (pre-Islamic Arabia) · Seerah (and why we study it)

Sources

• S004 — Yasir Qadhi Seerah EP 016 (three versions & isnad analysis).