Waraqa ibn Nawfal was a Christian in Mecca and the cousin of Khadija, the Prophet Muhammad’s first wife. He is remembered in Islamic history as the first person to confirm Muhammad’s prophethood after the initial revelation. Some Hadiths report that Waraqa wrote the Gospel in Hebrew.
Sahih al-Bukhari. Hadith 3. As narrated by Aisha
“…Khadija then accompanied him to her cousin Waraqa bin Naufal bin Asad bin ‘Abdul ‘Uzza, who, during the pre-Islamic Period became a Christian and used to write the writing with Hebrew letters.“
However, this claim is weak, since no Christian, Jewish, or secular records from Mecca or Arabia mention Waraqa’s literacy or his writing of the Gospel.
This raises important questions: Why would Waraqa write the Gospel in Hebrew? How did he become fluent in that language? When Allah revealed His message to Muhammad, it was in Arabic, because the people of Mecca and the surrounding areas spoke Arabic. The Qur’an itself confirms this in chapters such as Surah Fussilat and Surah Yusuf.
Quran 41:3; “˹It is˺ a Book whose verses are perfectly explained—a Quran in Arabic for people who know“
Quran 12:1; “Indeed, We have sent it down as an Arabic Quran1 so that you may understand.“
If Allah gave Waraqa the ability to write the Gospel in Hebrew, perhaps it was meant for Hebrew speakers. But since no Arabs spoke Hebrew, who was this Gospel really intended for?
One plausible answer is that Waraqa wrote for Jewish communities. But this seems unlikely, since Jews at that time (late 6th–early 7th century) followed the Torah, not the Gospel. Another possibility is that he wrote for Christian friends or converts. Yet this also seems improbable, because the small Christian community(converts) in Mecca spoke Arabic, not Hebrew.
Islamic historiography suggests that Mecca was a multilingual city, with Arabic as the main language and exposure to Syriac, Aramaic, and possibly Greek through trade. Hebrew, however, was not part of daily communication. The most reasonable explanation is that Waraqa either came into contact with Hebrew literature or interacted with Jewish‑Christian groups, which may have given him some knowledge of the language.