5. Ahli sejarah seperti Manfred Ullman dan Franz Rosenthal meragui bahan yang merujuk kepada Ibnu Kaladah. Mereka menganggapnya sebagai tokoh legenda104, yang mempunyai kiasan sastera kepada watak-watak ciptaan rekaan. Profesor Gerald Hawting, dalam esei beliau The Development of the Biography of al-Harith ibn Kalada and the Relationship between Medicine and Islam, menulis:
5. Historians such as Manfred Ullman and Franz Rosenthal are skeptical about the material referring to bin Kalada. They refer to him as a legendary figure104, which has literary allusions to characters of fictitious creation. Professor Gerald Hawting, in his essay The Development of the Biography of al-Harith ibn Kalada and the Relationship between Medicine and Islam, writes:
Dalam sumber-sumber terkemudian ini, maklumat tentang al-Harith adalah terpecah-pecah, rujukan kepada profesionnya sebagai doktor tidak konsisten dan, apabila ada, cenderung bersifat sampingan, serta nampaknya terdapat sedikit maklumat tentang sifat perubatannya atau butiran tentang kehidupannya.105 Dari perspektif ini, penggunaan riwayat sejarah yang tidak boleh dipercayai atau tidak muktamad mengenai "profesion sebagai doktor" Ibn Kaladah berfungsi melemahkan hujah bahawa Nabi ﷺ meniru tabib abad ke-7 tersebut.
In these latter sources the information about al-Harith is fragmentary, references to his profession as a doctor are not consistent and, where they occur, tend to be incidental, and there seems to be little information about the nature of his medicine or detail about his life.105 From this perspective, using unreliable or inconclusive historical narratives concerning bin Kalada’s “profession as a doctor” serve to weaken the argument that the Prophet ﷺ copied the 7th century physician.
6. Tiada bukti yang jelas wujudnya sebuah sekolah perubatan yang besar pada abad ke-6 mahupun ke-7. Ahli perubatan dan ahli sejarah, Plinio Prioreschi, dalam bukunya A History of Medicine, menegaskan bahawa tiada sumber Parsi yang menyokong dakwaan bahawa Jundishapur memainkan peranan penting dalam sejarah perubatan.106
6. There appears to be no evidence of a major medical school in either the 6th or 7th century. The academic medic and historian Plinio Prioreschi in his book A History of Medicine highlights that there are no Persian sources that substantiate the claim that Jundishapur played a significant role in the history of medicine.106
7. Terdapat laporan sejarah yang menyatakan bahawa bin Kalada memeluk Islam dan dianggap sebagai salah seorang sahabat Nabiﷺ. Ahli etnografi dan ahli linguistik, William Brice dalam bukunya An Historical Atlas of Islam, menulis: Dia memeluk Islam dan telah memperoleh status sebagai salah seorang Sahabat Nabiﷺ.107.
7. There are historical reports stating that bin Kalada converted to Islam and was considered a companion of the Prophetﷺ. Ethnographer and linguist, William Brice in his book An Historical Atlas of Islam, writes: He was converted to Islam and had acquired the status of one of the Prophet's Companions.107.
Pensyarah dan novelis, Abubakr Asadullah menyatakan pendirian yang serupa: Menurut hampir semua sumber tradisional, doktor Arab pertama yang diketahui ialah al-Harith ibn Kalada, lulusan Junishapur dan seorang Yahudi yang memeluk Islam, sezaman dengan Nabi Muhammad ﷺ 108.
Lecturer and novelist, Abubakr Asadullah expresses a similar position: According to nearly all traditional sources, the first known Arab physician was al-Harith ibn Kalada, a graduate of Junishapur and a Jewish convert to Islam, a contemporary of Prophet Mohammad ﷺ 108.
Oleh itu, kemungkinan Nabi ﷺ menyalin daripada Ibnu Kaladah adalah amat tidak mungkin, kerana tidaklah munasabah untuk mendakwa bahawa seorang doktor yang berpendidikan akan memeluk Islam dan mengikuti risalah Nabi ﷺ sekiranya dia mengetahui atau mengesyaki bahawa Nabi ﷺ telah menyalin karyanya mengenai embriologi. Walau bagaimanapun, perlu diingat bahawa terdapat ketidakpastian sama ada Ibnu Kaladah benar-benar memeluk Islam, dan riwayat-riwayat yang berkaitan dengan keislamannya tidak sahih. 109.
In light of this, the Prophet ﷺ copying bin Kalada is highly improbable as it is irrational to assert that an educated physician would convert to Islam, and follow the Prophet’s ﷺ message, had he known or suspected the Prophet ﷺ of copying his work on embryology. However, it must be noted that there is uncertainty as to whether bin Kalada embraced Islam and reports relating to his conversion are not authentic. 109.
8. Sumber-sumber tradisional yang mengupas tentang Ibn Kalada turut menyampaikan maklumat berkaitan Nabi ﷺ, termasuk mukjizat baginda dan kefasihan luar biasa wacana al-Quran. Salah satu sumber tersebut ialah Ta’rikh al-Rusul wa’l-Muluk 110. Ia menekankan pelbagai aspek kehidupan dan akhlak Nabi ﷺ, termasuk kejujuran baginda. Oleh kerana sumber ini digunakan untuk maklumat sejarah yang sahih, sebagai wawasan, dan sebagai rujukan tentang Ibn Kalada, akal menuntut agar ia juga dianggap boleh dipercayai dalam perbincangannya mengenai keperibadian Nabi ﷺ yang tidak dapat dipertikaikan. Oleh itu, menerima sumber-sumber sejarah yang mengupas tentang Ibn Kalada sama dengan menerima kebenaran Nabi ﷺ, sekali gus menafikan sebarang dakwaan tentang penyalinan dan plagiarisme.
8. The traditional sources that elaborate on bin Kalada also convey information relating to the Prophet ﷺ , including his miracles and the supernatural eloquence of the qur’anic discourse. One of these sources is Ta’rikh al-Rusul wa’l-Muluk 110. It underlines various aspects of the life and character of the Prophetﷺ including his truthfulness. Since this source is used for sound historical information, insight, and as a point of reference on bin Kalada, reason necessitates that it also be viewed as reliable with regard to its discussion on the unquestionable integrity of the Prophet ﷺ. Therefore, to accept the historical sources that elaborate on bin Kalada would be tantamount to accepting the truthfulness of the Prophetﷺ, thereby undermining any claim of copying and plagiarisation.
9. Bin Kalada berasal dari al-Ta’if, sebuah bandar yang baru bersentuhan dengan Islam pada tahun ke-8 kalendar Islam, dan pada tempoh inilah sumber-sumber sejarah Islam pertama kali menyebut tabib tersebut. Oleh itu, mustahil untuk mendakwa bahawa Nabi Muhammad ﷺ menyalin pandangan Bin Kalada mengenai perkembangan manusia kerana surah ke-23 al-Quran dan ayat-ayatnya yang merujuk kepada embriologi sudah diwahyukan ketika Bin Kalada bertemu dengan Nabi Muhammad ﷺ.
9. Bin Kalada was from al-Ta’if, a town which came into contact with Islam only in the 8th year of the Islamic calendar, and it was during this period that Islamic historical sources first mention the phycisian. Therefore, it would be impossible to suggest the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ copied Bin Kalada’s views on the developing human because chapter 23 of the Qur’an and its verses referring to embryology had already been revealed by the time Bin Kalada met the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
10. Hubungan antara Ibn Kalada dan tradisi Hellenistik diragui oleh ahli sejarah. Gerald Hawting menjelaskan bahawa disebabkan tradisi keilmuan pada Zaman Kegemilangan, ahli sejarah dan penulis biografi pada masa itu berusaha mencari hubungan dengan institusi yang mapan seperti Jundishapur, untuk mengaitkan Islam dengan ilmu pengetahuan pada zaman itu: Dalam konteks ini… [Hawting melihat]… suatu motif bagi penghuraian hubungan al-Harith ibn Kalada dengan Parsi dan tradisi Hellenistiknya. 112.
10. The link between bin Kalada and the Hellenistic tradition is doubted by historians. Gerald Hawting explains that due to the scientific tradition in the Golden Age, historians and biographers of the time sought links to established institutions such as Jundishapur, to associate Islam with the science of the day: In this context… [Hawting sees]… a motive for the elaboration of the links of al-Harith ibn Kalada with Persia and its Hellenistic tradition. 112.
Berdasarkan perkara ini, sama ada Ibn Kaladah mempunyai hubungan rasmi dengan pandangan Galen dan Aristotle mengenai perkembangan embrio manusia masih belum dapat dipastikan, dan oleh itu menerima tesis plagiarisme melalui Ibn Kaladah tidak mempunyai banyak nilai. Untuk perbincangan panjang mengenai topik ini, sila rujuk esei Khalid al-Khazaraji dan Elias Kareem bertajuk Was al-Harith bin Kaladah the Source of the Prophet's Medical Knowledge.113.
In view of this, whether bin Kalada had any formal link to Galen’s and Aristotle’s view on the development of the human embryo remains inconclusive and so adopting the plagiarisation thesis via bin Kalada does not carry much weight. For a lengthy discussion on this topic please refer to Khalid al-Khazaraji’s and Elias Kareem’s essay Was al-Harith bin Kaladah the Source of the Prophet’s Medical Knowledge.113.