Introduction

The traditional account of Islam’s beginnings is well known: in 610 CE, the Arab merchant Muḥammad received revelations through the angel Gabriel while meditating in a cave near Mecca. These revelations, preserved in the Qur’an, established a new faith distinct from Judaism and Christianity, which spread with unprecedented rapidity. Yet historians of religion have increasingly noted the complexity of this origin story. The earliest textual, epigraphic, and numismatic evidence suggests that Islam did not emerge in isolation, but in the midst of intense theological contestation in late antiquity.

A provocative hypothesis is that Islam, or at least its central theological core, may be traced not only to the Arabian milieu of the 6th–7th centuries but also to the aftermath of the Council of Nicaea (325 CE). At Nicaea, the Roman state suppressed rival Christologies, particularly Arianism, and marginalised Jewish-Christian sects such as the Ebionites. These non-Trinitarian groups, however, did not vanish; instead, they migrated to the empire’s frontiers, including Arabia. The Qur’an’s polemics against the Trinity, its portrayal of Jesus as a prophet but not divine, and its affirmation of strict monotheism bear striking similarities to these suppressed traditions.

 

This essay investigates the question: Did Islam begin at Nicaea?

While Islam cannot be reduced to a byproduct of Christian heresy, evidence from archaeology, epigraphy, and textual criticism reveals significant continuities between pre-Nicene and post-Nicene theological dissent and the Qur’an’s theological program. Islam, as it emerged, appears less as an unprecedented revelation and more as the crystallisation of earlier non-Trinitarian and Jewish-Christian currents that survived beyond the reach of Roman orthodoxy.

 

1. The Council of Nicaea and the Suppression of Heresy

The Council of Nicaea in 325 CE marked the first ecumenical attempt to impose theological uniformity within the Roman Empire. Convened by Emperor Constantine, the council sought to resolve the Arian controversy. Arius, a presbyter of Alexandria, denied the co-eternity of the Son, teaching instead that the Father created the Logos and thus was subordinate. Athanasius and his allies insisted that the Son was “of one substance” (homoousios) with the Father.

The Nicene Creed condemned Arianism and affirmed the full divinity of Christ. This decision was not merely theological but political, as Constantine recognised doctrinal unity as integral to imperial stability. The suppression of Arianism was accompanied by the exile of bishops, the burning of Arian texts, and imperial patronage of Trinitarian orthodoxy.

 

Beyond Arianism, other groups also fell under condemnation. Jewish-Christian sects such as the Ebionites and Nazarenes, described by Epiphanius of Salamis in his Panarion, rejected the divinity of Christ, upheld Torah observance, and revered Jesus as a human prophet.

 

These sects, already marginal in the second and third centuries, became increasingly vulnerable after Nicaea, when deviation from orthodoxy invited imperial sanction.

Thus, Nicaea functioned as a watershed: theological diversity within early Christianity was pruned, and dissenters were driven either underground or beyond the empire’s borders.

 

2. Surviving Currents: From Empire to Periphery

The suppression of heterodox groups within the empire did not eradicate them. Archaeological, textual, and epigraphic evidence indicates their survival in peripheral zones.

Arian Christianity flourished for centuries among “barbarian” tribes outside Roman control.

 

Ulfilas (c. 311–383), an Arian bishop, translated the Bible into Gothic, ensuring the endurance of Arian theology among the Goths, Vandals, and Lombards.3 Even in the eastern provinces, Arian influence persisted into the sixth century.

 

Jewish-Christian sects such as the Ebionites lingered in Syria and Transjordan. Epiphanius (c. 375) attests to their presence in these regions, describing them as Torah-observant Christians who denied Christ’s divinity.

 

While patristic sources present them polemically, modern scholarship suggests that such groups preserved older traditions of a human messiah. Their emphasis on strict monotheism and continuity with Judaism resonates with the Qur’an’s Christology.

Monophysite and Nestorian Christians also shaped the late antique religious landscape. Though distinct from Arians and Ebionites, these groups represented non-Nicene theological alternatives. Archaeological discoveries of monasteries in the Gulf (Sir Bani Yas, Jubail) and inscriptions in Syriac confirm their presence in pre-Islamic Arabia.

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Thus, the empire’s theological exclusions created a diaspora of dissenting communities whose ideas circulated in the Near East and Arabian Peninsula.

 

3. Arabia in Late Antiquity: A Religious Palimpsest

Far from being a religious vacuum, Arabia in the sixth century was a crossroads of competing traditions.

Judaism was well established in Himyar (modern Yemen), where inscriptions and coinage attest to a Jewish kingdom in the fifth to sixth centuries.

The massacre of Christians at Najran under the Himyarite king Yusuf Asʾar Yathʾar (dhu Nuwas) in 523 illustrates the political weight of Judaism in Arabia.

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Christianity also penetrated Arabia. Excavations at Najran, al-Hira, and the Gulf coast reveal churches, monasteries, and inscriptions in Syriac and Greek.

 

Byzantine and Ethiopian interventions in Yemen during the sixth century reinforced Christian influence, with the martyrdom of Najran’s Christians later celebrated in Syriac texts.

 

Hanifs, described in Islamic tradition and pre-Islamic poetry, represent Arab monotheists unaffiliated with Judaism or Christianity. Their historical existence is debated, but their presence reflects a wider late antique quest for monotheism outside established traditions.

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This religious plurality created a fertile soil for the Qur’an’s message. Significantly, the Qur’an engages directly with Jews and Christians, often in polemical tones, suggesting that Muhammad’s audience was already conversant with biblical traditions.

 

4. “Muhammad” Before Muhammad: Coins and Inscriptions

One of the most contested questions in critical Islamic studies is the early use of the term Muḥammad.

Coins: Arab-Byzantine coins from the late seventh century feature the inscription MHMT but also retain Christian symbols, such as crosses.

 

Some scholars argue that Muḥammad here may function as a title meaning “the praised one” rather than the name of a historical individual.

 

Inscriptions: The Dome of the Rock (691 CE), commissioned by the Umayyad caliph ʿAbd al-Malik, contains Qur’anic-like inscriptions affirming Jesus’ prophethood but denying his divinity: “Messiah Jesus, son of Mary, was only a messenger of God.”

These inscriptions repeatedly invoke “Muhammad is the servant of God and His messenger” but without narrative detail.

Their theological focus is clearly anti-Trinitarian rather than biographical.

 

Manuscripts: The Ṣanʿāʾ palimpsest, one of the earliest Qur’anic manuscripts, reveals textual variation and lacks explicit reference to Muhammad beyond a handful of formulaic invocations.

 

The Qur’an itself uses the name Muhammad only four times, raising questions about whether the figure had yet been fully historicised.

Only in the Abbasid period (eighth–ninth centuries) do we encounter elaborate biographies (sīra) and hadith collections that construct a detailed prophetic persona. This suggests that the figure of Muhammad was progressively systematized as part of a broader theological and political consolidation.

 

5. Qur’anic Christology: Echoes of Suppressed Theologies

The Qur’an’s portrayal of Jesus aligns more closely with pre-Nicene and non-Nicene traditions than with Nicene orthodoxy.

• Denial of divinity: The Qur’an insists that Jesus is not divine: “They disbelieve who say, ‘God is the Messiah, son of Mary’” (Quran, chapter 5, verse 72). This echoes Arian and Ebionite subordinationist Christologies.

• Affirmation of prophethood: Jesus is honoured as a prophet and messenger (Quran, chapter 19, verse 30), resonating with Jewish-Christian views of him as a human messiah.

• Virgin birth without incarnation: The Qur’an accepts the virgin birth (Quran, chapter 19, verse 20–21) but denies the incarnation, again consistent with adoptionist Christologies.

• Polemic against Trinity: The Qur’an explicitly rejects Trinitarian formulations (Quran, chapter 4, verse 171and chapter 5, verse 116), addressing Jesus and Mary but showing little awareness of Nicene technicalities. This suggests engagement with popular, perhaps heterodox, versions of Christianity rather than elite theology.

 

These parallels imply that the Qur’an’s Christology represents not a novel invention but a refracted continuation of suppressed theological currents from the post-Nicene period.

 

6. From Heresy to Scripture: The Formation of Islam

Did Islam begin at Nicaea? Not in the literal sense. But the theological decisions of Nicaea created the conditions under which Islam could emerge. By declaring Arianism and Jewish-Christianity heretical, the council pushed non-Trinitarian traditions to the periphery, where they mingled with Arabian monotheism and Jewish traditions.

 

When the Qur’an arose in the early seventh century, it crystallised these currents into a new scripture. Its anti-Trinitarian polemic, affirmation of Jesus’ prophethood, and insistence on pure monotheism represent the culmination of trajectories set in motion by Nicaea.

 

The Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates later institutionalised this theology, constructing a prophetic biography for Muhammad and codifying the Qur’an as scripture. In this sense, Islam represents both continuity with earlier heretical traditions and a transformation into a distinct religious civilisation.

 

Conclusion

The question “Did Islam begin at Nicaea?” is best answered with nuance. Islam did not literally originate at the council, nor can it be reduced to a Christian heresy.

Yet the Council of Nicaea decisively shaped the religious environment of late antiquity by marginalising non-Trinitarian groups whose theology resonates with the Qur’an.

These groups, Arians, Ebionites, Nestorians, migrated to the empire’s peripheries, including Arabia, where their influence contributed to the theological DNA of Islam.

 

The Qur’an, as the earliest Islamic text, reflects this inheritance: uncompromising monotheism, denial of Christ’s divinity, reverence for him as prophet, and polemic against the Trinity.

 

Archaeological evidence, inscriptions, coins, and manuscripts further support the idea that early Islam was less about the biography of a prophet and more about the consolidation of a non-Trinitarian monotheism.

 

Thus, while Islam cannot be said to have “begun” at Nicaea, it cannot be fully understood without it. Nicaea pruned the Christian tree, but the cut branches found new soil in Arabia, where they grew into a new, world-shaping tradition.

 

Footnotes

1. Eusebius of Caesarea, Life of Constantine, trans. Averil Cameron and Stuart Hall (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1999), 3.6–13.

2. Epiphanius of Salamis, Panarion, trans. Frank Williams (Leiden: Brill, 1987), 29.7–18.

3. Heather, Peter, The Goths (Oxford: Blackwell, 1996), 127–34.

4. Epiphanius, Panarion, 30.2–7.

5. J. F. Healey, Aramaic Inscriptions and Documents of the Roman Period (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009), 214–17.

6. Christian Robin, “Judaism and Christianity in Arabia before Islam,” in The Qurʾān in Context, ed. Angelika Neuwirth, Nicolai Sinai, and Michael Marx (Leiden: Brill, 2010), 91–115.

7. Irfan Shahîd, Byzantium and the Arabs in the Fifth Century (Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks, 1989), 105–11.

8. Robert Hoyland, Arabia and the Arabs: From the Bronze Age to the Coming of Islam (London: Routledge, 2001), 145–56.

9. Gerald Hawting, The Idea of Idolatry and the Emergence of Islam (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999), 58–65.

10. Oleg Grabar, “The Coinage of the Early Islamic State,” in The Formation of Islam: Religion and Society in the Near East, 600–1800, ed. Chase F. Robinson (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996), 7–22.

11. Moshe Sharon, Corpus Inscriptionum Arabicarum Palaestinae, vol. 1 (Leiden: Brill, 1997), 99–102.

12. Behnam Sadeghi and Mohsen Goudarzi, “Ṣanʿāʾ 1 and the Origins of the Qurʾān,” Der Islam 87, no. 1–2 (2012): 1–129.

13. Qur’an 5:72 (translation: A. J. Arberry, The Koran Interpreted [Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1964]).

 

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