What is "isra'iliyyat"

In hadith studies, Isra'iliyyat (اسرائیلیات "of the Israelites") is the body of narratives originating from Jewish and Christian traditions, rather than from other well-accepted sources that quote the Islamic prophet Muhammad. These narratives are found mainly in works of Qur'anic commentaries and history compilations. They contain information about earlier prophets mentioned in the Bible and the Qur'an, stories about the ancient Israelites, and fables allegedly or actually taken from Jewish sources.

Muslim scholars generally classify the narratives of the Isra'iliyyat into three categories:

• Those considered to be true because the revelation to Muhammad confirms them.
• Those considered to be false because the revelation to Muhammad rejects them.
• Those not known to be either true or false.