Surveying and Criticizing the Mythological Approach to the Stories of Quran

The present article addresses the fundamental question: Has myth found its way into the Qur'anic narratives? The necessity of addressing this question lies in the fact that if the presence of myth in Qur'anic stories is accepted, a significant portion of the Qur'an's claim to realism would be seriously challenged, thereby opening the door to further claims regarding the realism of Qur'anic propositions.
In the context of this article, myth is defined as a baseless legend, yet so embellished that it is taken by humans to be real. The discussion of the infiltration of myth into Qur'anic stories can be traced, albeit indirectly, in the works of some earlier exegetes such as Fakhr al-Razi. However, the first independent and challenging work in this field belongs to Dr. Muhammad Ahmad Khalafallah. In his view, the Qur'an does not seek to deny myth per se; rather, it seeks to deny the attribution of myth to the Prophet himself. In the present article, this approach is critiqued under the label of the "mythological approach."
The research methodology of this article is based on an intra-textual study and a comparative examination of the relevant Qur'anic verses and their exegeses (tafasir).