Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Christianity and Islam According to the Bible and the Quran by Naser Al Moghamis

Published by Dar-us-Salam in 2002, Christianity and Islam According to the Bible and the Quran is of a book in comparative religions that presents examples of the differences between Christianity and Islam only through verses from the Bible and the Quran. It is rich with good examples that I could not include all in this short summary.



God

In the Bible:  ".. for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed" (Exodus 31:17) (KJV)
In the Quran: "And indeed We created the heavens and the earth and all between them in six days and nothing of fatigue touched us" (50: 38)

In the Bible: "Your name will no longer be Jacob, Israel, because you have struggles with God and with men and have overcome" (Genesis 32:28) "
In the Quran: "They have not estimated Allah His Rightful Estimate. Verily, Allah is All-Strong, All-Mighty" (22:74)

In the Bible: So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, "It is because I saw God face to face" (Genesis 32: 30)
In the Quran: "No vision can grasp Him, and He grasps all vision" (6: 103)

In the Bible: "… trembled because he (God) was angry. Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth" (2Samuel 22:8,9)
In the Quran: "There is nothing like Him; and He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer." (42: 11)

In the Bible:  "then know that God has wrong me and drawn his net around me. Though I cry, "I've been wronged!" I get no response; though I call for help, there is no justice" (Job 19: 6,7)
In the Quran: "Truly, Allah wrongs not mankind in aught, but mankind wrong themselves" (10: 44)

In the Bible: "Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, as a man wakes from the stupor of wine" (Psalm 44:23)
In the Quran: "Allah, none has the right to be worshiped but He, the Ever Living, the One who sustains and protects all that exists. Neither slumber no sleep overtakes Him" (2: 255)

In the Bible:  "This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son" (Exodus 4:22)
God married Jerusalem and his wife became a prostitute. (Ezekiel 16:3-32)
In the Quran: "Say (O Muhammad): He is Allah, the One and the Only; Allah, to whom the creatures turn for their needs; He begets not, nor was he begotten; and there is none like him" (112: 1-4)


The Prophets

In the Bible:  On that same day the Lord told Moses, … this is because both of you broke faith with me in the presence of the Israelites" (Deuternomy 32: 48)
In the Quran: "Peace be upon Moses and Aron. Verily, thus We reward the good-doers. Verily, they were two of Our believing slaves (37: 122)

In the Bible:  "So all the people took off their ear-rings and brought them to Aron. He took what they handed him and made it into an idol" (Exodus 32: 3)
In the Quran: "And We granted him his brother Aron, a Prophet, out of Our mercy" (19: 53)

In the Bible:  "That night they got their father to drink wine…. So both of Lot's daughters became pregnant by their father" (Genesis 19: 33)
In the Quran: "And Lot, We gave him right judgment and knowledge.. And We admitted him to Our Mercy; truly, he was of the righteous" (21: 74- 75)

In the Bible:  "As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his hearth after other gods" (1 Kings 11: 4)
In the Quran: "And to David we gave Solomon. How excellent a salve. Verily, he was ever oft-turning in repentance" (38: 30)

In the Bible:  "One evening David got up from his bed and walked around the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing… David sent messengers to get her. She came to him and he slept with her" (2 Samuel 11:2-26)
In the Quran: "Be patient (O Muhammad) of what they say, and remember Our slave David, endowed with power. Verily, he was ever oft-returning in all matters and in repentance" (38: 17)

In the Bible:  "After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth" (Job 3:1)
"for he (Job) says, it profits a man nothing when he tried to please God" (Job 34: 9)
In the Quran: "And remember our slave Job, when he invoked his Lord (saying): "Verily Satan has touched me with distress and torment….. Truly, We found him patient. How excellent a slave! Verily, he was ever oft-returning in repentance! " (38: 41-44)

In the Bible:  Jesus said "a wicked and adulterous generation" (Matthew 12:39), "You snakes! You blood of vipers! (Matthew 23:33), "I have come to bring file on earth" (Luke 12:49)
In the Quran: "And when Jesus came with clear proofs, he said: "I have come to you with wisdom" (43: 63)
We have sent Jesus son of Mary, and gave him the Injeel (Gospel), and placed compassion and mercy in the hearts of those who followed him" (57: 27)

Women

In the Bible: "A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man. For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; neither was man created for woman, but woman for man " (1 Corinthians 11:7-8)
In the Quran:  "Never will I allow to be lost the work of any of you, male or female. You are one of another" (3: 195)

In the Bible: "And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner" (I Timothy 2: 14)
In the Quran:  "And he (Satan) swore by Allah to them both (Adam and Eve) (saying): "Verily, I am one of the sincere well wishers for you both" (7:21-22)

In the Bible: "If a woman does not cover her head, she should have her hair cut off.… A man ought to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man. For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. For this reason, and because of the angels, the woman ought to have a sign of authority on her head" (1 Corinthians 11:6-10)
In the Quran: "And when you ask them (the wives of the Prophet) for anything you want, ask them from behind a curtain: that is purer for your hearts and for their hearts" (33-53)
"O! Prophet! Tell you wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to draw their clocks all over their bodies. That will be better that they should be known so as not to be annoyed" (33: 59)

In the Bible: "Now I wasn’t you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of every woman is man" (1 Corinthians 11:3)
"I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent" (Timothy 2:12)
In the Quran: "And they (women) have rights(over their husbands) similar to the rights against them, in kindness" (2:22)

In the Bible: "If a man takes a wife and, after lying with her, dislikes her and slanders her and gives her a bad name, saying "I married this woman, but when I approached her, I didn’t find proof of her virginity," then the girl's father and mother shall bring proof…. If, however, the charge is true and no proof of the girl's virginity can be found, she shall be brought to the door of her father's house and there the men of her town shall stone her to death" (Deuteronomy 22:13-21)
In the Quran: "For those who accuse their wives, but have no witnesses except themselves, let the testimony of one of them be four testimonies swearing by Allah that he is the one who speaks the truth. And the fifth the invoking of the curse of Allah on him if he is of those who tell a lie. But it shall avert the punishment from her, if she bears witness four times by Allah that he is telling a lie. And the fifth should be that the Wrath of Allah be upon her if he speaks the truth" (24: 6-9)

In the Bible: "I found one upright man among a thousand, but not one upright woman among them all" (Ecclesiastes 7: 28)
In the Quran: "And Allah set forth an example to those who believe: The wife of Pharaoh, when she said: "My Lord! Build for me a home in Your Paradise….. and Mary the daughter of Imarn who guarded her chastity" (66:11,12)

Sins and Forgiveness

In the Bible: "If a person sings and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord's commands, even though he does not know it… he is to bring to the priest as a guilt offering a ram from the flock, one without defect and of the proper value. In this way the priest will make atonement for him.. and he will be forgiven" (Leviticus 5:17-18)
In the Quran: "And whoever does evil or wrongs himself but afterwards seeks Allah's forgiveness, he will find Allah oft-forgiving, Most Merciful" (4: 110)

"And there is no sin for you in the mistakes that you make unintentionally, but what your hearts intend" (33:5)

Racism

In the Bible: "Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard. When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent. Ham the father of Canaan, saw his father's nakedness and told his two brother's outside. When Noah awoke from his wine and found out what his youngest son had done to him, he said, "Curses be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers" (Genesis 9: 20-25) In the Quran: "O mankind! We have created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another, Verily, the most honorable of you with Allah is that who is the most pious of you" (49: 13)

War

In the Bible: "This is what the Lord Almighty says: "Now go, attach the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys" (1 Samuel 15: 2,3)
In the Quran: "Allah does not forbid you to deal justly and kindly with those who fought not against you on account of religion nor drove you out of your homes" (60:8-9)

Languages

In the Bible: "But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building. The Lord said, "if one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other" (Genesis 11:1-7)
In the Quran: "And among His sings in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the difference of your languages and colors. Verily, in that are indeed signs for men and sound knowledge" (30:22)

Forbidding Evil

In the Bible: "Whoever corrects a mocker invites insult; whoever rebukes a wicked man insures abuse. Do not rebuke a mocker or he will hate you" (Proverbs 9:7-8)
In the Quran: "Those among the Children of Israel who disbelieved were cursed by the tongue of David and Jesus, son of Mary. That was because they disobeyed and ere ever transgressing beyond bounds. They used not to forbid one another from the wickedness they did" (5: 78-79)
"And the believers, men and women, are protecting friends one of another; they enjoin the right and forbid the wrong" (9:71)

Bribery

In the Bible: "A bribe is a charm to the one who gives it; wherever he turns he succeeds" (Proverbs 17:8)
In the Quran: "And eat up not one another's property unjustly, nor give bribery to the rulers" (2:188)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Gen32:30 Jews have no issue with phrase "face to face" . But Romans believe God appeared on earth with "finite form" when reading such phrase as they failed to read what God declared to those who saw Him face to face (Exodus 33:20).
Read Deut 5:4 and Deut 4:12 for better understanding.