Origin of the terms “īmān” and “kufr”

Studying Aramaic, I have been quite surprised to discover that so many Qurʾānic terms already appeared in the Syriac Bible (Peshitta), predating the Qurʾān by a few centuries.

This is astonishing because it gives us a glimpse into a living Aramaic tradition that reaches back to Jesus, showing the deep Semitic overlap of vocabulary. It also helps us imagine what terms Jesus and his earliest followers, who were native Aramaic speakers, would have used. After all, Jesus’ own Aramaic and Syriac are two closely related dialects of the same language.

1) Example of “imān”

The Syriac word ܗܝܡܢܗ (haymānāh) means “faith,” directly paralleling the Qurʾānic إيمان (īmān), both coming from the root “alif-mīm-nūn”.

Here’s a short phrase from the Syriac Bible (Acts 18:8) that uses the active participle (ism faʿil):

ܘܰܡܗܰܝܡܢܺܝܢ ܒ݁ܰܐܠܳܗܳܐ (wa muhaymīnīn bi-Alaha)

Translation: “and they were believers in God”

The Arabic equivalent would be: ومؤمنون بالله (wa muʾminūn bi-Allah).

Even the word for God is basically the same.

2) Example of “kufr”

The Syriac word ܟܦܪܐ (kafrā/kaprā) means “to deny, disbelieve,” just like the Qurʾānic كفر (kufr), both coming from the root “kāf-fā-rā”.

Here’s a short phrase from the Syriac Bible (Revelation 3:8) that uses the past tense with the pronoun “anta”:

ܘܰܒ݂ܫܶܡܝ ܠܳܐ ܟ݁ܦ݂ܰܪܬ݁ (wa bi-shammi lā kafart)

Translation: “and you have not disbelieved in my name”

The Arabic equivalent would be: وباسمي ما كفرت (wa bi-ismī mā kafarta).

Even the word for “name” is basically the same.

Conclusion

The usage is strikingly similar to Qurʾānic vocabulary. The Syriac Bible is full of such usage. Now imagine the contrast, how foreign Greek theological terms would have sounded to Jesus. The Semitic roots of Qurʾānic vocabulary place it much closer to the linguistic world of Jesus than to the later Greek formulations that dominated Christian linguistic culture.