The parallels are real and deserve a serious answer: both stories have precedents in late-antique Christian literature. But resemblance alone does not establish borrowing, and the Quran presents both accounts with significant differences, theological correction, and a purpose that is not simply to retell Christian legends.
The objection in its strongest form
Critics point out that the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, probably composed in the second century, describes the young Jesus making birds from clay and causing them to fly. The Quran likewise reports Jesus forming a bird from clay and bringing it to life. Similarly, the story of the Companions of the Cave resembles the Christian account of the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus, a late-antique legend about young believers who sleep for generations after fleeing persecution.
That makes literary or oral contact possible. The Quran appeared in a world where Jewish and Christian stories circulated in Syriac, Arabic, and oral forms. A Muslim should not pretend that these similarities do not exist.
What the Quran actually says
"I create for you from clay the likeness of a bird, then I breathe into it and it becomes a bird by Allah's permission."
Quran 3:49
The Quran's account is not identical to the Infancy Gospel story. Its focus is not a childhood marvel or a display of independent divine power. Jesus' miracle is repeatedly qualified by "by Allah's permission," and it appears as a sign confirming his prophethood. This directly opposes the Christian theological use of such stories to support divine sonship.
"And when you created from clay, by My permission, the likeness of a bird, then you breathed into it and it became a bird, by My permission."
Quran 5:110
The Quran also gives no names, dialogue, or entertaining detail from the apocryphal narrative. It extracts a theological point: prophets perform signs only through God's power. A revelation can confirm that a reported event occurred while rejecting later additions and presenting its meaning differently.
The Cave story is not a simple reproduction
The Quran's account of the Companions of the Cave shares a broad motif with the Seven Sleepers, but it handles the story in a strikingly different way. It says people disputed their number, warns against pointless speculation, and emphasizes God's knowledge rather than the legend's local details.
"They remained in their cave for three hundred years, and added nine."
Quran 18:25
The surrounding passage centers on resurrection, steadfast faith, humility about the unseen, and God's preservation of His servants. It does not give the companions' names, the city's name, or a dramatic martyrdom narrative. The shared tradition may show that the event was known in the late-antique religious environment, but it does not prove that Muhammad (PBUH) copied a written source.
What the evidence establishes
These parallels establish that the Quran engaged with stories circulating before or around its time. They do not establish dependence, since a common oral source, independent preservation of an older event, or revelation correcting popular retellings are also possible. The Quran's distinctive wording, omissions, corrections, and strict monotheistic framing fit its claim to be a criterion over earlier reports, not merely a translation of an apocryphal book.
So the argument raises a historical question, but it does not settle it. Similarity is evidence of contact or shared tradition; it is not, by itself, evidence of plagiarism or a refutation of revelation.