SHAFAQNA-
Introduction
The Abrahamic religions believe that the source of the universe is the Only One Allah(SWT). He possesses all virtues and presents religions to man according to His own wisdom so that the religions, as a detached intelligence, can bring to perfection the man’s thoughts, rational and theoretical perceptions.
This is why we must consider the Abrahamic religions very syncretistic and consistent in principles, doctrines and beliefs that confirm one another. As the principles lay stress on realities and consistent bases of the world, these religions are consistent in themselves and do not contain any instability. For example, each of the following theories such as the source of the universe is either unique and needless or it is not self-existent; man is charged with a duty and responsiblity or he is free and in suspense; judgement day is an absolute reality or…. and other theories, they are consistent and invariable.
However, the necessity of such insight is the consistency of the holy religions, at least, in the field of essential beliefs. In this article, we are going to manifest some of these consistencies and then show you how differenceshave been imposed on the Torah and the Gospel. We do this researsh according to the viewpoints of the Holy Quran .
The Bible
All books which are considered holy according to the Christian Church constitute “The Holy Bible” which itself is divided into two parts: Old Testament and New Testament while the second one begins with four Gospels and contains the book “Acts” and some other compilations attributed to the Prophets(A.S) and finally it ends with the Apocalypse. The first part (i.e. Old Testament) is abbreviated by two letters of “O.T” and the New Testament by two letters of “I.M” The well-known Old Testament includes thirty-six books and compilations. Christians believe they have been written by the Jewish Prophets from Moses (A.S) to Jesus (A.S). The New Testament which is believed by the world famous Christians, includes twenty-seven books and short letters. According to Christians some of them have been written by Jesus(A.S)’s students and the rest of them by the leaders of the first ages of Christianity. From one point, the New Testament has been divided into two parts:
1) Historical books such as Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and Acts
2) Scholarly books including the letters of the leaders of the very beginning of Christianity
As the precepts (Ahkam) of some parts of Christians’ beliefs have been mentioned in these letters, they are called scholarly books which contain Paul’s letters who is the founder of present day Christianity. The Christian Church calls the set of the compilations (i.e. Old and New Testaments) as “The Bible” which is derived from the Greek word “Biblous” meaning book.
The Bible includes the Christians’ beliefs and religious principles that are called “Canon” which means scale in Greek so it can be considered as the balance of the Christians’ beliefs … . So the Bible that the Christians have consists of both the old Testament, including the Torah and some various compilations, and the New Testament including the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John), Acts, numerous letters and the Apocalypse. In this research, we will mostly focus on the New Testament especially the Christians’ four Gospels.
The Structure of Christianity
Christianiny is divided into three great religions : Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant among which Catholic is the most important and other two religions are of lesser importance. In addition to the above mentioned religions, Christianity includes 150 other religions. Nowadays the largest Christian sect is Catholic (according to quantity and not quality) whose leader is the Pope II. “… Today, there are about 360 sects of Christianity and each of them have specific beliefs and each are bigot toward other religions”.
The Main Rites of Christianity
1- Babtism : It means the holy ceremonial washing in order to purify from sins that we call it ” The water of repentance. ” The ceremony is performed for a Christian person’s readiness to have the honour of entering the divine world.
2- Lord’s Supper : It is the most important rite of Christianity and includes eating bread and drinking wine to recall one’s own promise with Jesus (A.S). It originates from the last night of Jesus (A.S)’s life when he ate bread and drank wine with his Disciples. This ceremony was always performed on Sundays but was stopped later on and now it is performed only once a year.
3- The ceremony of the young adults’ enterance into the group of Christians and membership in the church.According to the ceremony, the young adults go near a priest and then ask forgiveness and also strengthen their promise and faith toward His way and teachings and as a result they have the right to attend in the ceremony of Lord’s Supper.
4- Confessing sins formally to a priest and asking forgiveness (This ceremony is not common among Protestants).
5- The marriage contract which should be performed according to the church rules and ceremonies.
6- Chrismation :It is a ceremony in which a priest make a person in a dying state ready for the Day of Judgement by saying special prayers and using the holy olive oil.
7- Believing in the ranks of the Christian clergymen and respecting their postions from the Pope to local priests is the basic necessity of Christianity.About the confession ceremony, a researcher says :”In 1354 when I travelled to Italy , I stayed in Rome for three days and went to Peter’s cathedral …There,I saw priests who were purchasing the sins. In the main hall the believers had fallen on the priests’ knees and were confessing their sins. At the same time, an old man came in along with his wife and sat beside the priest. To confess easily a curtain was put up and then they began to confess their sins slowly so that others could not hear them. After a while the old man and his wife came out while they were happy and smiling as though they had the paper of entering paradise in their hands.”
The Exact Number of the Gospels
Mr. ‘Abdul Ahad (a Christian converted to Islam) says in his book “Al-Injill Wa Al-Salib” that: “A lot of people from different countries had gathered in Niqiah conference in 325 A.D. They were more than two thousand representatives of clergymen who had brought tens of the Gospels and hundreds of religious letters in order to survey them.
They chose four Gospels from among more than forty Gospels and twenty-one letters among uncountable ones. At the end of the conference they decided to approve the available Gospels in the New Testament and rejected all other Gopels and ordered to burn them. In this regard one of the researchers says :” … Some of the Gopels (the false ones) are still preserved intact (such as St. Thomas, St. Jack and two Fikorm). However, some of the Gospels have partly become ruined and the whole book is not available today , but, there are other Gospels which have completely become ruined and just their names have been mentioned in books contemporary to their time.
To study the reasons for choosing the four Gospels (Matthew, Luke, John and Mark) Instead of the other Gospels should be discussed in another place but here we will briefly refer to one saying that : “Religious disagreements have come to an end, the Bibles have now a distinct number, the king Kostantin who worshipped idols has converted to Christianity and he wants to unite Christians on the base of one belief and union (ie Bibles).
In 325 A.D, he also organized a conference in Niqiah where the beliefs were approved by the majority of those present. Thus, the available Gospels in the New Testament were recognized officially but other Gospels were announced to be illegal. (The word “Gospel” has been borrowed from Greek. As Tolsto explains in the introduction of his Gospel, the word “Gospel” is derived from two words “EV” meaning Good, and “Angelion” which means news and therefore these two words beside each other mean good news).
The Four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John)
Wiliam Edi, the commentator of the Gospel, says in his commentary: “Certainly, Jesus (A.S) has not compiled the Gospels, rather it is the history of his life that we study. At the beginning of the New Testament, language was the means of transferring the Gospels to the next generations and none of the Gospels were written until twenty years after Jesus (A.S)’s ascension and John wrote the fourth Gospel fifty years after Jesus (A.S)’s ascension.”
John Nass, the author of “Jam’a Al-Adian” says:” So much is certain that Jesus(A.S) has not compiled his teachings but he trusted his students and dispersed them all around the world in order to teach people of what they themselves have learnt from Jesus (A.S). One point agreed by all researchers and the men of church is that the present Gospels are neither indited nor dictated by Jesus (A.S). Since the word here is about the accuracy of attributing the Gospels to their real owners, so we proceed to the viewpoints stated by the researchers and the church masters.
The Church Viewpoint
“… The church believes the authors of the Gospels are the Disciples or their relatives and tries to disseminate this belief that the real author of all books is Allah (SWT) who dictated his word to the authors by the Holy Spirit.” “…The first books of the New Testament are called “Gospel” which means “good news” in Greek language.
The books were written by four different authors and each of them is a separate book that explains about Jesus (A.S)’s life and teachings ….Christians know the books as the word of Allah (SWT) and they believe Allah (SWT) guided the authors of the Gospels by the Holy Spirit in such a way that their books are absolutely true!.” Today Christianity of the world admits the holiness of the Bible and believe that its contents are Allah (SWT)’s commands that He dictated them to the authors by the Holy Spirit .”
Some Researchers’ Viewpoints
Many researchers are still in doubt about the accuracy of attributing the Gospels to the attributed persons (i.e. luke, Mark, John, Matthew). And on the basis of contradictions among the Gospels, some of them believe that their contents were collected by unknown people who published them under the patronage of some respected men among Christians and they hereby resorted to disseminate their own pre-made thoughts. “… The clergymen and leaders of the church collected the Gospels under the name of the respected men in order to validate them among the people, while there is no relationship between the real authors of the Gospels and the attributed authors …. According to some researches which are often confirmed directly or indirectly by the Church, the authors of the Gospels are not certainly known and the chosen names for the Gospels are imaginary and symbolic .”
In this regard, Mr. Carl Kaotski says : “It is most certain that with the exception of a few books which belong to primitive Christianity the rest of the books were not written by those attributed people. The books were written much before the time that their authors have claimed and also in many cases the main texts have been impudently distorted in the next revisions by additions. The last point to be mentioned is that it is confirmed today that the Gospels and none of the books which belong to the earlier Christianity have not been written by the contemporary writers of Jesus (A.S).
A Russian philosopher named “Tareof” who has taught in the religious academy of Moscow says in his book ” The historical philosophy of the Gospel” published in 1903, that:” The Gospels are neither history nor historical documents they can not be even considered as calendar .” Some researchers have hesitated about the existence of Jesus (A.S) himself. They say: “There is no reliable historical resource which confirm Jesus (A.S)’sexsitence.” It is now better to proceed to the historical background of the Gospels : “The available manuscript of the New Testament is more ancient than that of the Old Testament.
The oldest manuscript belongs to the fourth centuty and is preserved In the Vatican. The most ancient translation which is in Aramese language (spoken in Syria) belongs to the end of second century and is entitled “The Simple Translation.” Two other translations in Egyptian which relate to the third and fourth centuries are available too. There is another translation in Latin which was finished in about 400 A.D.”
“… The only books trusted by the Christian researchers are those in Latin that were discovered by Mr. Terotri. The experts think they have been written in 180 A.D. In the discovered papers, the books of the New Testament have been attributed to the same present names of writers.” The only evidences that Christians rely on them are the following manuscripts:
1. The available manuscript in the second Pope’s library in the Vatican and experts believe it has been written in the fourth century .
2. The Sinaese manuscript that was preserved in Leningrad library for sometime and is probably written in fourth century. Some researchers guess that the above manuscript is the same one which Dr. Tishindorf discovered in St. Catrine and then sent it to the Leningrad library.
3. The manuscript in Alexandria which is still preserved in the treasury of England. It is estimated that it was written in 500 A.D. It is now opprtune to proceed to the debate between Iman Reza (A.s) and a Christian scholar: “
When Jesus(A.S) ascended and his Gospel disappeared, the christians went to their own scholars and asked them What are we to do now? Jesus(A.S) was killed and his only Gopel was lost too. You are our scholars so you must think of a remedy.” Luke and Mark answered:” The Gospel is in our hearts and every time we will present a part of it to you. Do not worry about it and do not leave the synagogues. When we write the Gospel, we will inform and recite it to you. ” Then luke, Mark, John and Matthew gathered and compiled the present Gospels while these four persons were not Jesus(A.s)’s students… .” Some researcher’s viewpoints regarding the Gospels were mentioned above but studying them needs much more time.
Common Beliefs between the Holy Quran and the New Testament
Monotheism
The essential basis of the orders of the Holy Quran is Monotheism which is emphasized everywhere in the Holy Quran itself. The following verses are as examples:
1-Say: “He, God, is One ,…, And there is none like unto Him.” (Al-Ikhlas, 1 and 4)
2-“And commanded thy Lord hath that thou shalt worship not (any one) but Him …”(Al-Asra, 23) and many other verses.
The above mentioned basis has also been emphasized in the Gospel and other parts of the New Testament including:
1- ” And this is eternal life, to know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ (A.S) whom you have sent.” (John 17:3)
2-“… And one of the scribes… came forward to question him, “which is the chief commandment of all?” Jesus (A.S) answered him, “The chief one is, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord … .”(Mark 12:29-30) .
3- “It is written , ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve him alone’.” (Luke 4:8)
4-” Now concernig food that has been dedicated to idols, we know that no idol really exsits, that there is no God but one. Even if there are so-called gods either in heaven or on earth, such as in-deed there are many gods and many lords, for us there is one God … .” (The First Epistle of Paul to the
Corinthians 8:5-7)
The Origins of Polytheism and Heterogenity with Monotheism
Despite the monotheistic definitions available in the Gospels, there are some heterogeneous words involved in polytheism in some Gospels that are as follows:
1-“… And we have believed and have grown certain that you are the Holy One of God.” (John 6:70)
2-” I and the Father are One… And understand that the Father is in Me and I am in the Father.” ( John 10:31 and 39)
3-” She responded, “Yes, Lord, I have faith that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come in to the world.” (John 11:27)
4-“… Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father in Me?… Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me.” (John 14:10-11)
And such beliefs are numerous in the New Testament. This is the same issue of the Trinity and one of the basic principles of Christianity by which the masters of the Church are confused. In this contents, Gary wolff says:” It must be said the uncomprehensive relations among the members of the Trinity (the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit does not seem reasonable.
This issue has always confused divine men (Illahiyon). According to the teachings of the Church God is one but in spite of this,the above ‘three persons’ are inseparable because the Trinity is inseparable, however, each part of the Trinity is independent.”
William M. Miller, a christian scholar, says in this regard: “… These Gospels are not inconsistent with each other! but are complementary. They are like four photographs of one person taken from four different sides. I know that you are going to ask now, If God is One then how it is possible for Jesus (A.S) to be the Son of God? To answer this question, it must be said that these two issues are secrets, which their understanding dose not seem reasonable, of course, in our limited intelligence.
The rationalistic inability is obvious in the above issue and thus we should discuss the issue of the Trinity in another place. Here, we just refer to a Quranic verse in this regard: ” O’ People of the Book! overstep not in your religion, and say not upon God except the Truth; Verily; Verily, the Messiah Jesus(A.S), son of Mary, is only an apostle of God and His Word which He conveyed unto Mary, and a Spirit (proceeding) from Him; Believe therefore in God, and His apostles, and say not (that there are) three (gods); Desist! It is good for you; Verily, Verily, God! (there is) only One God! Far be it from His (Absolute)-purity that there be for Him a son; His is whatever is in the Heavens and whatever is in the Earth; God is sufficient as a Protector.(An-Nisa, 171)
The Jesus (A.S)’s Nativity according to the Holy Quran
A part of Surah Maryam describes the Jesus (A.S)’s Nativity as follows:
“And mention in the Book (Quran) about Mary (also) when she withdrew herself from her family (in the house) eastward, then she took a veil (coverherself) from them; then sent We unto Our Spirit, then he (the Spirit)
appeared unto her a man sound (in form).
Said she: ” Verily I fly for refuge in The Beneficent (God) from thee, (be gone from me) if thou art God-fearing.” Said he:” I am only a messenger (Angel) of thy Lord: so that I give to thee a son purified”. Said she: ” How can there be unto me a son while hath not touched me (any) man and nor was I unchaste!” Said he: ” So shall it be; thy Lord sayeth, It is easy for Me, and that We will make him a sign (miracle)(of Ours) unto the people and a Mercy from Us; It is a matter (already) decreed.”
So she conceived him and retired with him (away from her people) to a remote place. And the threos (of child birth) forced her to betake herself unto the trunk of a palm-tree. She said: ” Oh! Had I died ere this, and had been lost in oblivion totally forgotten! ” Then (a voice) called out unto her from beneath her; “Grieve not thou, verily thy Lord hath caused from beneath thee (to follow) a stream!” And shake towards thee the trunk of the palm-tree, it will drop on thee dates fresh (and) ripe. Then eat and drink and refresh the eye. Then if thon seest any man say: ‘Verily I have vowed unto the Beneficent (God) a fast so never shall I speak today unto any man.” And she came with him unto her people carrying him (with her). Said they: ” O’ Mary! Indeed thou hath come with an unusual thing!.”
” O’ sister of Aaron! thy father was not a bad man, nor was thy mother an unchaste woman!” But she pointed out him. They said:” How can we speak unto one who is (yet) a child in the cradle.” He (Jesus miraculously) said: ” Verily I am a servant of God; He hath given me a book and made me a Prophet!” (Maryam,16-30).
The Jesus (A.S)’s Nativity according to the New Testament
“The birth of Jesus (A.S) came about this way : when His mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. But as Joseph, her finance, was fair-minded and did not want to disgrace her publicly, he planned to breakwith her secretly. But while he was considering this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David , be not afraid to take Mary as your wife, for what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you are to call Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”All this took place in fulfilment of what the Lord had said through the prophet, ” Behold ! The virgin will be with child and shall bear a son, and they will name Him Immanuel,” which means, God with us.” (Matt. 1:18-35)
Luke narrates the birth of Jesus (A.S) as follows:
“… In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy the Angel Gabriel was sent by God to Nazareth, a town of Galilee, to a virgin named Mary, who was engaged to Joseph, adescendant of David. The angel, as he approached her, said,” Greetings, favoured one.The Lord is with you.”
But she was troubled at his message and reflected what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, “Have no fear, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And lo, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son and you will call Him Jesus. He shall be great and will be called son of the Highest, and the Lord God will give him the throne of His father David. He will be king over the house of Jacob for ever; there will be no end to His kingdom.” Mary asked the angel, ” How will this be, since I have no husband?” The angel answered her,” The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore that holy offspring will be called the son of God.” (Luke 1:26-36)
The Common Points Regarding the Jesus (A.S)’s Nativity
As it is apparent by comparing the Holy Quran and the Gospel we see common points between them that some of them are as follows:
1- The appearance of the Angel Gabriel before Maryam and giving her good tidings about conceiving Jesus(A.S)
2- The virgin Mary
3- Mary’s fear while seeing the Angel
4- Jesus(A.S), a fatherless child
But the disagreements among them are as follows:
1- Mary s’ engagement to Joseph
2- calling Jesus (A.S) as the son of God
The Holy Quran has referred to the above disagreements. The Qurun documentarily rejects existence of any husband for Mary and calling Jesus (A.S) as the son of God is one of the main differences between the Quran and the Gospels which has been repeatedly rejected by the Quran that says Jesua (A.S) is only a servant of God and also His prophet.
It is now better to refer to some parts of the Gospel of “Barnabas” which has a great similarity with the word of the Holy Quran: ” In these last year a virgin called Mary, of the lineage of David, of the tribe of Judah, was visited by the angel Gabriel from God. This virgin, living in all holiness without any offence, being blameless, and abiding in prayer with fastings, being one day alone, there entered into her champer the angel Gabriel, and he saluted her, saying: “God be with thee, O Mary.” The virgin was affrighted at the appearance of the angel; but the angel comforted her, saying “Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favour with God, who hath chosen thee to be mother of a prophet, whom he will send to the people of Israel in order that they may walk in his laws with truth of heart.”
The virgin Answered:” Now how shall I bring forth sons, seeing I know not a man? ” The angel answered: “O Mary, God who made man without a man is able to generate in thee man without a man,because with him nothing is impossible.” Mary answered:” I know that God is almighty, therefore his will be done.” The angel answereed:” Now be conceived in thee the prophet, whom thou shalt name Jesus …”. (The Gospel of Barnabas 1:1-9)
” Mary having known the will of God, fearing the people, lest they should take offence at her being great with child, and should stone her as guilty of fornication, chose a companion of her own linege, a man by name called Joseph, of blameless life … .” (The Gospel of Barnabas 2:1)
According to the above mentioned Gospel, there is not obvious disagreement beween this Gospel and the Holy Quran, and we do not see here any sign of two disagreements stated before; because firstly, the
Gospel of Barnabas does not say that Jesus (A.S) is the son of God. And secondly, it ponits out that Mary’s engagement with Joseph was after(and not before) her pregnancy.
The Prophetic Mission of Jesus (A.S)
The Holy Quran says : “And (appoint him) an Apostle to the children of Israel (and who will declare) that now I have come unto you with a sign from your Lord … .” ( AL-e-Imran , 49) and or ” He (Jesus miraculously) said :’ Verily I am a servant of God; He hath given me a book (Evangel) and made me a prophet! ” (Maryam, 30). The prophethood of Jesus (A.S) has been referred in many verses of the Holy Quran. Jesus (A.S) has also been referred in the Gospel with the same title as follows : ” … for the works which My father has given me to accomplish – the activities in which I am engaged – these are my evidence that the father has sent me . And the father who sent Me has Himself testified on My behalf; only His voice you never yet heard, neither have you seen His form, nor do you even have His message living within you, because you do not believe the One whom He sent.” (John 5:36-38)
” … Jesus (A.S) replied, ‘This is God’s work, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” (Of course, there are also other verses regarding the Jesus (A.S)’s prophethood that we just mention their addresses in the Gospel of John as follows:”6:29; 7:17,29,34; 8:32,43; 9:4; 16:5″).
The unity among God and Jesus has been repeatedly emphasized in different parts of the Gospel which refers to the belief of the trinity that is one of the basic principles of Christianity. Some of these verses are as
follows:
“… I and the Father are One…” (John 10:30)
“… Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father in Me? The words that I give to you all, I do not speak just from Myself; the Father who dwells in Me carries on His works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me … .” (John 14:10-11).
Now, the masters of the Church are responsible for finding the solution for the issue of the Jesus (A.S)s’ prophethood and unity and also the issue of the Trinity. Perhaps they answer: ” By the man’s weak intelligence, it is much certain that the above issues do not seem reasonable for him.”
The Miracles of Jesus (A.S)
In this regard, the Holy Quran says : “Out of clay will I make for you like the figure of a bird, and I will breathe into it, and it shall become a flying bird by God’s permission; and I shall heal the blind and the leper and
will raise the dead to life by God’s permission.” (Al-e-Imran, 49).
Like the Holy Quran, the four Gospels have also mentioned the miracles of Jesus (A.S)for many times that are almost the same as the Quran. The folliwing verses of the Gospels will elucidate Jesus (A.S)’s miracles:
“… When He had come down from the hill, great crowds followed Him. And a leper came up and knelt before Him… Reaching out His hand He touched him saying, ‘I am willing. Be cleansed’. And instantly his leprosy was
cleansed.” ( Matt.8)
“… While Jesus was walking away, two blind men followed Him, crying out, ‘Son of David, pity us!’ Then when He had entered the house, the blind men came up to Him and Jesus said to them, ‘Do you believe I can do
this?’ They answered Him, ‘Yes, Lord.” He then touched their eyes and said, ‘According to the measure of your faith it shall be to you.’ And their eyes were opened. “( Matt. 9)
“… Jesus replied to them, “Go and report John what you hear and see: the blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised and… .” (Matt. 11)
The main contradiction between the Quran and the Gospel is that according to the Quran Jesus’s miracle is due to God’s permission, but, it is said in the Gospel that Jesus’s miracle refers to His own power. So, it is much certain that the Quran lays too much strees on monotheism but the second seems to emphasize polytheism.
Jesus (A.S) as Kalimat Allah (the Word of Allah)
The word of Allah is the title attributed to Jesus (A.S) by the Holy Quran in several verses that some are as follows:
“… Verily, Allah giveth thee the glad tidings of a Word from Him; whose name shall be Messiah, Jesus, son of Maryam … .” (Al-e-Imran, 45)
“… Verily, Allah giveth thee the glad tidings of (a son) Yahya (John)(who shall be) the confimer of a word from Allah … .” (Al-e-Imran, 39)
“… Verily, Verily, the Messiah Jesus, son of Mary, is only an apostle of God and His Word … .”(An- Nisa, 171)
In this regard, we read the following verses in the Gospel of John:
” In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. This is the one who was in the beginning with God. Through Him every thing came into being and without Him nothing that exsits came into being. In Him was Life, and the Life was the Light of men…And the Word became man and lived for a time among us, and we viewed His glory- such glory as the only-begotten Son receives from His Father- abounding in grace and truth. John testified about Him and cried out, ‘This was the One of whom I said, He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because He was before me.’ For from His abundance all of us have received more and more grace; for while the Law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”
In this contents, there is a similarity between the Holy Quran and the Gospel because both of them have regarded Jesus (A.S) as the Word of Allah and have referred to John’s testimony about Jesus’s legitimacy. But the contradiction between the two texts relates to the monotheistic aspects as the Quran knows Allah the unique power in the universe while the Gospel believes that Jesus is parallel to God and His son. In order to prove the Jesus’s greatness and holiness the Holy Quran has allocated different verses to Jesus (A.S) and abiut 175 Quranic verses including 3163 words equal to the whole words of the Quran. But the secret of the Quran in calling Jesus the word of Allah itself is a discussion which needs to be commented, and in this regard the commentators have stated their opinions as the following is one of them:
” The Word refers to Jesus, the son of Maryam. He has been referred by the Word to remember that He is an unusual creature and so deserves only to be attributed as the Word although all creatures are indeed the word of God.”
The Disciples of Jesus (A.S)
A group of people have been called “The Disciple” by the Holy Quran. As it is obvious from the contents of the Quranic verses, they were specific and directly instructed Jesus (A.S)’s students as if they accompanied Him
while traveling or at home:
“… The Disciples said ‘We are the helpers towards God! We believe in God!” (Al-e-Imran, 52)
“… And when I, revealed unto the disciples, ‘Believe in Me and Mine Apostle (Jesus)’ said they, We believe,… .” (Al-Maidah, 111)
“… As said Jesus, Son of Mary unto (his) disciples: ‘Who (among you) will be my helpers unto (the work) of God?’ said the disciples (of Jesus): ‘We are the helpers (in the cause) of God!” (As-Saff, 14)
The Gospels have also mentioned the diciples in different verses for many times. The following verse is an example:
“… Calling His 12 disciples to Him He gave them power over depraved spirits to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every malady. Now these are the names of the 12 disciples: first, Simon, called peter, and his brother Andrew; James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew, the tax collector; James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. These 12 Jesus sent out with the charge: ‘Do not go to the Gentiles … And as you go, preach that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick; raise the dead; cleanse lepers;expel demons … .” (Matt. 10:1-9)
Jesus (A.S)’s Confirmation of Legitimacy of The Torah
In this regard, the Holy Quran says: “And We caused to follow in their
footsteps, Jesus son of Mary, confirming the law (The Torah) which wasbefore him, and We gave him the Evangel… .” (Al-Maidah, 46)
The same meaning can be found in the Gospel for example, “… Do not suppose that I came to annul the Law (The Torah) or the prophets. I did not come to abolish but to complete them; for I assure you, while heaven and
earth endure not one iota or one projection of a letter will be dropped from the Law until all is a accomplished. Whoever, therefore, abolishes the least significant of these commands and so teaches the people, he shall be of least significance … .” (Matt. 5:17-20)
“… But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for the smallest part of a letter of the Law (The Torah) to become invalid… .” (Luke 16:17)
“…For if you believed Moses you would believe Me, since he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My teachings?” (John 5:46)
The Common Ethical Instructions between the Holy Qur’an and the Gospel
As The Torah contains laws regarding moral and physical conduct, the whole Gospel includes the instructive orders of Jesus Christ (A.S) that were compiled by the four writers of the Gospels (i.e. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John ). Some of the ethical instructions of the Gospels are the same as the Quranic admonitions, including:
Helping without Waiting to Requite and Alms Giving in Secret
The following Quranic verses are in this regard:
“And if ye give alms openly (even so ) it is well, and if ye hide Pit and give it to the poor, it will be better still for yourselves; and (it) will remove from you some of your sins, and verily God is aware of all that ye do.” (Al-Baqarah, 271)
” O’ ye who believe! render not your charities worthless by obligation and injury (laid on them) like one who spendeth his wealth to be seen of men and believeth not in God and the last day of Judgment … .” (Al-Baqarah, 264)
The Gospel also includes some other verses in this regard:
“Be careful not to perform your good works publicly to be noticed by the people; else you forefit reward from your Father who is in the heaven. Thus, when you give charity, do not blow a trumpet ahead of you as the
hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to gain glory from men. Passure you, they have reward. But when you practice charity, your left hand must not know what your right is doing, so that your charity will be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” (Matt. 6:1-5)
“and when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and at the street corners to be seen by the people … When you fast, do not be sad-faced like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces to show others their fasting.” (Matt. 6:16)
Greeting While Entering
The Holy Quran says: “… And when ye enter houses greet ye your people with a salutation from Allah … .” (An-Nur, 61)
The following verse from the Gospel has the same meaning:
” And when you enter a house, greet the people of the house… .”(Matt. 87)
Forgiving Others’ Mistakes
The following Quranic verse is in this regard:
“… And they should pardon and turn away (overlook); What! Love ye not that God should forgive you? and God is oft-Forgiving, All-Merciful.” (An-Nur, 22)
The Gospel has some verses in this regard as follows:
“… For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will forgive you too; but if you do not forgive people, neither will your heavenly Father forgive your trespasses.”(Matt. 6:14-15)
” And whenever you stand praying and you have a grievance against anyone, forgive him so that your Father in heaven may forgive your trespsses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.” (Mark 11: 25-26)
“… But I say to you, Do not resist injuries, but whoever strikes you on the right cheek turn to him the other as well. And if anyone wants to sue you for your tunic, let him have your robe as well. And whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.” (Matt. 5:39-41)
Revering the Parents
The Holy Quran says: “And commanded thy Lord hath that thou shalt worship not (any one) but Him, and goodness to parents … .” (Bani-Israel, 23)
In this regard, the Gospel includes the following verses:
“… For God has commanded, ‘Honour your father and mother’ and ‘He who curses father or mother must suffer death’.” (Matt. 11:4)
“… Honour your father and mother, and love your neighbour as yourselr.” (Matt. 19:20)
“… For Moses said, ‘Honour your father and your mother’ and ‘Whoever curses fathet or mother, let him be executed’.” (Mark 7:10)
Demanding Honour from Allah and not Man
The following Quranic verse is in this regard:
” Those who take the disbelievers for (their) friends rather than believers; Do they seek honour for them? Then, Verily, All honour (as a whole) belongeth (only) to God.” (An-Nisa, 139)
The Gospel has a verse too with the same meaning.
The Events of The Day of Judgement (Qiyamat)
Nature Changes While the Day of Judgement is Approaching
The Holy Quran has the following verses in this regard: “When the heavens cleave asunder, And when the stars disperse, And when the seas be comingled, And when the graves be overturned (to be vacated).” (Al-Infitar, 1-4)
“… When the sun is folded, And when the stars darken, And when the mountains are removed (as scattered dust).” (At-Takwir, 1-3)
In the Gospel attributed to Mark, we see the following verse in this regard : “… The sun will be darkened and the moon will not shed her light, the stars will be falling from heaven and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.” (Mark 13:24-27)
The Acts of the Apostles too has the following verse in the same regard:
“… The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before that great and conspicuous day of the Lord arrives.” (2:20)
The Angels’ Role in the Day of Judgement
The Quran includes the following verses in this regard:
“And cometh (the command of) thy Lord, with the angels in ranges arrayed.” (Al-Fajr, 22)
” And thou shalt see the angels circling around the ‘Arsh (The Throne of
Absolute Authority).” (Az-Zumur, 75)
The following verses from the Gospel are in the same regard: “… And then shall He send out the angels and gather His chosen from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of heaven. “(Mark 13:27)
“… When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will be seated on the throne of His glory, and all nations will be gathered before Him.” (Matt. 25:31-32)
The Knowledge of the Day of Reckoning in the Monoply of Allah
The following two verses from the Holy Quran are in this ergard:”… And with Him is the knowledge of the Hour (of Reckoning, and unto Him shall ye all be returned.” (Az-Zukhruf, 85)
” Ask thee the people about the Hour (of Judgment). Say thou: ‘The knowledge of it is only with God.” (Al-Ahzab, 63)
And the Gospel includes the following verse in the same regard: “… But about the exact date and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard; keep wide awake and pray; for you do not know the time.” (Mark 13:30-33)
The Blowing of the Trumpet
The Quranic verses in this regard are the following two verses: “The Day when the Trumpet shall be blown, and ye shall come forth in (huge) groups.” (An-Naba, 18)
“… And is blown the Trumpet, when lo! from the grave unto their Lord they (all) hasten.” (Yasin, 51)
The Gospel attributed to John has the following verse in this regard: “… for the time is coming when all who are in the graves will hear His voice and will come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have practiced evil to the resurrection of condemnation.” (John 5: 27-29)
The First Episle of Paul to the Corinthians includes a verse with the same meaning as follows:
“… in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet call. For the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised imperishable … .” (15:52)
The following verse from the Second General Epistle of Peter is in this regard: “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. Then with a tremendous roar the heavens will pass away, the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and the works in it will be burned up.” (3:10-11)
Separating Good and Evil in the Day of Judgement
The sample Quranic verse in this regard is as follows:” And the day when arriveth the Hour (of Judgment), on that day shall (they) be separated from one another. And as to those who believed and did good deeds, they shall be in the garden, made happy. And as to those who disbelieved and belied Our signs and the meeting of the hereafter, these shall be brought over to the chastisement.” (Ar-Room, 14-16)
The following verse from the Gospel has the same meaning: ” When the Son of Man comes in His Glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will be seated on the throne of His Glory, and all nations will be gathered before Him. And He will separate them from one another as a shepherd parts the sheep from the goats.” (Matt. 25:31-33)
The People of Right Hand and The People of Left Hand
The Holy Quran includes the following verse in this regard: “And the People of Right hand Oh! What (a happy state shall) the people of the Right hand (be in)! Amid thornless lote-trees, And banana-trees (with fruits) piled one above another, And shade spread out… And the People of the Left hand, Ah! What (a wretched state shall) the people of the Left hand (be in)! In scorching wind and scalding water, And in the shadow of a black smoke.” (Al-Waqiah, 27-43)
The following verses are from the Gospel in the same regard: “And He will separate them from one another as a shepherd parts the sheep from the goats; and He will place the sheep at His right and the goats at His left. ‘The king will then say to those at His right, ‘Come, My father’s blessed ones, inherit the kingdom that has been prepared for you from the foundation of the world;… Then will He say to those at His left, ‘Begone
from Me, accursed ones, to the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” (Matt. 25:32-41)
The Day of Judgement as the Day of Reckoning and Reward
The following two verses from the Quran are in this rehard: “Man shall e informed on that day of whatsoever he put before and whatsoever he put behind!” (Al-Qiyamat, 13)
” On that day shall come out people (from their graves) in (scattered) groups, to be shown their own deeds. Then he who hath done an atom-weight of good shall see it. And he who hath done an atom-weight of evil
shall see it.” (Al-Zilzal, 6-8)
The Gospel includes a verse in this regard too, exactly with the same meaning.
The Length of the Day of Judgement
The Quran includes the following verse in this regard:” And they ask thee to hasten on the chastisement and never doth God fail His promise; And verily, there is a day with thy lord as a thousand years, of what ye reckon (them).” (Al-Hajj, 47)
The Second General Epistle of Peter has the same meaning verse as follows:
” At present, however, the heavens and the earth are by the same word stored up for burning, and reserved for the Day of Judgement and the destruction of godless people. But do not overlook this one fact, dear friends, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day.” (3:7-8)
Worships
The Holy Quran says in this regard as follows:
” Verily Prayer is, (imposed) upon the believers as (a) timed Ordinance.” (An-Nisa, 103)
The Gospel has also emphasized on the prayer in several verses:
” He was praying in a certain place and, when He ceased, one of His disciples said to Him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray as Johh, too, taught his discipels. He said to them, ‘When you pray, say: ‘Father, your name be held holy. Your kingdom come. Daily grant us our food for the coming day. And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive every one indebted to us. And bring us not into temptation.” (Luke 11:1-4)
” And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and at the street corners to be seen by the people.” (Matt. 6:5)
The Gospel of Barnabas, too, has repeatedly referred to the issue of worshipping in the following verses:
” Whe he had finished the prayer of dawn… .” (106:198)
“… For in every idle word man sinneth, and our God blotteth our sin by reason of prayer. For that prayer is the advocate of the soul; prayer is the medicine of the soul; prayer is the defence of the health; prayer is the
weapon of faith; prayer is the bridle of sense; prayer is the salt of the flesh that suffereth it not to be corrupted by sin.” (119:10-16)
“Make prayer unceasingly… .” (36:8)
Supplication (Du’a)
In this regard, the Quran has the following verse:
” Call ye on your Lord, humbly and secretly; Verily loveth not God the transgressors. “(Al-A’raf, 55)
And the following verse is from the Gospel attributed to Matthew: Ask and it will be given you; seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you. For every one who asks receives, and the seeker finds, and to him who knocks it is opened.” (7:7-8)
And the following verse is from the Gospel attributed to Mark:<o:p</o:p
” I tell you, therefore, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it and it will be yours.” (11:24)
Fasting
The following Quranic verse is in this regard:
“O’ ye who believe! Fasting has been ordained unto you as it was ordained unto those before you so that ye guard yourself (against evil).” (Al-Baqarah, 183)
The Gospel includes the following verses:
” When you fast, do not be sad-faced like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces to show others their fasting. I assure you, they have received their full reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that no one except your heavenly Father who is there in the secet place may notice your fasting. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” (Matt. 6:16-18)
” John’s disciples and the Pharisees were observing a fast; so they came and said to Him, ‘Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?’ Jesus replied to them, ‘Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is in their company? So long as the bridegroom is with them they can not fast, but a time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and then will be their day to fast.” (Mark 2:8-20)
“… Whereupon Satan will seek to cause that he shall not fast in any wise, under pretext of sickness… .” (Barnabas 107:17)
But the way of performing prayer and fasting has not been elucidated in the Christianity even briefly in the present Gospels and so its difference with that of Islam can not be determined. In other words, the Gospels just show the existence of prayer and fasting in the Christianity (without elaborating the way of performing them).
The Common Examples between the Quran and the Gospel
Now, we refer to the common examples between two texts of the Quran and the Gospel and will see the similarities between them in the following verses:
1- “Is he therefore better who hath laid his foundation on fear of God and (His) good-will, or he who layeth his foundation on the brink of a crumbling hollowed bank, so it crumbled down with him into the fire of Hell; and God guideth not people (who are) unjust. “(Al-Bara’at, 109)
“Everyone, then, who listens to these sayings of Mine and puts them into practice will be like a thoughtful man who built his house on the rock. The rains came down, the floods rose, the winds blew and beat upon that house, but it never collapsed, for it was based on the rock. And every one who hears these sayings of Mine and fails to practice them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rains came down, the floods rose, the winds blew and beat upon that house and it collapsed. And the wreck of it was complete.” (Matt. 7:24-27)
2- “Verily those who belie Our signs and in pride turn away from them, shall not open for them the gates of heaven nor shall they enter the Garden (of Paradise) until the camel passeth through the eye of the needle; thus do We recompense the guilty.” (Al-A’raf, 40)
“… I say to you again, it is easier for a camel to pass through a needle’s eye than for a wealthy person to enter the kingdom of God.” (Matt. 19:24)
3- “O’ ye people! A parable is set forth (unto you) so listen ye unto it! Verily, those whom ye call upon besides God can never creat (even) a fly, even though they all gather (themselves) together for it.” (Al-Hajj, 73)
“… For all creatures united together could not create a single new fly from nothing, and this it is to create.” (Barnabas 63:14)
The Prophets in the Quran and the Gospel
Comparing with the Gospel, the Holy Quran has allocated many verses to the prophets and has elucidated the biography of some of them such as Adam(A.S), Noah(A.S), Ibrahim(A.S), Lot(A.S),
Moses(A.S), Jesus(A.S) and Muhammad(S).
But the Gospels have just mentioned the biography of some of the Prophets as Jesus(A.S), John(A.S) and other prophets either have not been referred at all or only their names have been referred much briefly.
But the New Testament includes more issues in this regard (of course not as the Quran) and we will see how the prophets are introduced in both the Quran and the New Testament:
Adam (A.S)
The following verses are from the New Testament:
” … For Adam was first formed,the Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman, since she was deceived, experienced the transgression.” (The First Epistle of Paul to Timothy 2:13-14)
“… Only I am afraid that, just as the serpent beguiled Eve with his craftiness, so your thoughts may be corrupted from a sincere and pure devotion of Christ).” (The Second Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians 11:3)
“… and not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And for what reason did he murder him? Because his own deeds were wicked and those of his brother were
righteous.” (The First General Epistle of John 3:12)
According to the Quran, the following verses are about Adam(A.S):
“… O’ men! take shelter in your Lord Who has created you from a single self and created from it, its pair…” (An-Nisa, 1)
” Then whispered Satan evil suggestions unto the two (Adam and Eve)…Then he instigated them both by deceit…” (Al-A’raf, 20 and 22)
“And recite unto them the story of the two sons of Adam with truth, when they both offered an offering but it was accepted from one of them and was not accepted from the other; Said he, ‘I shall certainly slay thee’ (the other one) said, ‘Verily, Verily, God doth accept (an offering only) from those who guard (themselves against evil)’.” (Al-Maidah, 30)
Noah (A.S)
The New Testament includes the following verses regarding Noah(A.S):
“By faith Noah, when he was divinely instructed about things that were not yet in sight, devoutly constructed the ark for the saving of his family, through which he condemned the world, while he fell heir to the righteousness that springs from faith.” (The Epistle of Paul to the Hebrews 11:7)
” …When God’s patience was waiting while Noah was constructing an ark in which a few, in fact eight souls, were brought safely through the water.” (The First General Epistle of Peter 3:20)
The following verse about Noah(A.S) is included in the Quran:
“… said We, ‘carry (thou O’ Noah) in it two of each kind, a pair, and thy family, except him on whom the sentence hath already been passed, and those who believe;’ And there believed not with him but a few.” (Hud, 40)
It is necessary to note that the Holy Quran has mentioned Noah(A.S) much more than the New Testament.
Ibrahim(A.S)
We see the following verses in the New Testament about Ibrahim(A.S):
“… The God of glory appeared to our father Ibrahim when he was in Mesopotamia previous to his settling in Haran, and told him, ‘Get away from your country and your relations and come to the land I will show you.’
Then Ibrahim went out from the Chaldean country and settled in Haran, and from there, after his father’s death, God transferred him to this land where you now live. He gave him no heritable property in it, no, not a foot of it, but promised to give it for a possession to him and his offspring after him, though at the time he had no child. But God spoke as follows:
‘Your offspring will be aliens in a foreign land and the people of that land will subject and ill-treat them 400 years.
And the nation whom they serve,’ God said, ‘I shall judge, and afterward they will come out and worship Me in this place.’ He also gave him the covenant of circumcision, and he became the father of Isaac and circumcised him the eighth day; Isaac became the father of Jacob, and
Jacob became the father of the 12 patriarchs.” (Acts 7:3-10)
“…’I have appointed you a father of many nations’ -all this in the presence of God, in whom he believed, who makes the dead live and calls into existence what has no being. For Ibrahim kept hoping in faith, when hope was gone, that he would be the father of many nations, just as he had been told, ‘So shall your offspring be.’ And there was no weakening of his faith, even when he recognized the impotence of his own body at the age of 100, as well as Sarah’s inability to bear. He did not in unbelief hesitate about Gods’ promise but, empowered by faith, he rendered praise to God in the complete conviction that He was able to make good His promise.” (The Epistle of Paul to the Romans 4:17-21)
” By faith Ibrahim, when he was tested, brought Isaac as an offering. Yes, the recipient of the promises offered his only son, of whom it had been said, ‘Through Isaac you are to have your descendants’.” (The Epistle of Paul to the Hebrews 11:17-18)
” Was not our father Ibrahim made righteous by his works when he offered up his son Isaac on the alter?” (The General Epistle of James 2:21)
” When every one had departed from the temple, the priests closed the temple and went away. Then Ibrahim took the axe and cut off the feet of all the idols, except the great god Baal. At its feet he placed the axe, amid the ruins which the statues made, for they, through being old and composed of pieces, fell in pieces.
Thereupon, Ibrahim, going forth from the temple, was seen by certain men, who suspected him of having gone to thieve something from the temple. So they laid hold on him, and having arrived at the temple, when they saw their gods so broken in pieces, they cried out with lamentation:
‘Come quickly, O’ men, and let us slay him who hath slain our gods! ‘There ran together there about ten thousand men, with the priests, andquestioned Ibrahim of the reason why he had destroyed their gods.
Ibrahim answered: ‘Ye are foolish! Shall then a man slay God? It is the great God that hath slain them. See you not that axe which he hath near his feet? Certain it is that the desireth no fellows.’ Then arrived there the father of Ibrahim, who, mindful of the many discourses of Ibrahim against their gods, and recognizing the axe wherewith Ibrahim had broken in pieces the
idols, cried out: ‘It hath been this traitor of a son of mine, who hath slain our gods! for this axe is mine.’ And he recounted to them all that had passed between him and his son. Accordingly the men collected a great quantity of wood, and having bound Ibrahim’s hands and feet, put him upon the wood, and put fire underneath. ‘Lo! God, through his angel, commanded the fire that it should not burn Ibrahim his servant. The fire blazed up with great fury, and burned about two thousand men of those who had condemned Ibrahim to death (Barnabas 28)
“… It needs must be that there is a God who hath life and power more than man, since he maketh man, and man without God could not make man. Thereupon,
The following verses from the Quran are about Ibrahim(A.S):
” And when said Ibrahim: ‘My Lord! make this city secure, …, ‘O’ Our Lord! Verily I have housed a part of my offspring in a valley uncultivable, nigh unto Thy Holy House…” (Ibrahim, 35 and 37)
“… and gave they the glad tidings unto him of a son blessed with knowledge. Then came forward his wife in grief, she smote her face and said she (what! I) an old barren woman? Said they: ‘Thus sayeth thy Lord: Verily He is the All-Wise, the All-Knowing.” (Az-Zariyat, 28-30)
” Then glanced he, casting glance at the stars, then said he: ‘Verily, sick I am (of your worshipping these)’, So they turned away turning their backs. Then he turned unto their gods secretly and said: “What! eat ye not? What aileth you that ye speak not?” Then he attacked them in secret, striking with his right hand. Then came they (the worshippers) hastening unto him.
Said he, ‘What! worship ye what ye ( yourselves) hew out?’ And God hath created you and (also) what ye make (the idols). Said they:’Erect for him a building (furnace) and fling him in the flaming fire!’ So they desired a plot against him, but We brought them low. And said he: ‘Verily, I am going unto my Lord, He will guide me;’ ‘O’ my Lord! Grant me a righteous (son)!’
So We gave him the glad tidings of a son extremely forbearing. And when (the son) reached (the age of) working with him, said he: ‘O’ verily I saw in a dream that I sacrifice thee…” (As-Saffat, 88-102)
” The faith of your Father Ibrahim…” (Al-Hajj, 78)
” And of Ibrahim who fully discharged (his mission)?” (An-Najm ,37)
Lot (A.S)
The New Testament includes the following verses regarding the prophet Lot(A.S):
” It was similar, too, in Lot’s days- they ate and drank, they bought and sold, they planted and built; but on the day when Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.” (Luke 17:28-29)
“… for day after day as that righteous man lived among them, his upright soul was tortured at seeing and hearing their lawless doings…” (The Second General Epistle of Peter 2:8)
The following Quranic verses are also about Lot(A.S):
“So the (violent) blast seized them (while) entering upon the dawn, Thus did We turn it upside down and rained down on them stones of baked clay…” (Al-Hijr, 73-74)
” And when our messengers (the angels) came unto Lot, he was grieved for them and felt his arm straitened to protect them and said: ‘This is a distressful day.’ And came his people rushing unto him; for aforetime they did evil deeds…” (Hud, 77-78)
Jonah (A.S)
The Gospel attributed to Matthew includes the following verse about Jonah(A.S):
“… For as Jonah was for three days and three nights in the belly of the sea-monster…” (Matt. 12:40)
“… Remember that God determined to destroy Nineveh because he did not find one who feared God in that city; the which was so wicked that God, having called Jonah the prophet to send him to that city, he would fain for fear of the people have fled to Tarsus, wherefore God caused him to be cast into the sea, and received by a fish and cast up nigh to Nineveh. And
he preaching there, that people was converted to repentance, so that God had mercy on them.” (Barnabas 63:5-9)
” And verily Jonah was (one) of the apostles. When he fled unto a ship fully laden, And they drew lots, and he was of those who were cast off. And the fish swallowed him while he was blamed. So if it were not that he was of those who glorify Us, He would certainly have been detained in its belly to the Day (of Resurrection) when they shall be raised; And We cast him
forth on the naked shore and he was sick. And caused We to grow (to give shade) over him, a plant of gourd. And We sent him unto a hundred thousand (people) or (even) more were they. And believed they, so We gave them provision till a time.” (As-Saffat, 140-148)
Joseph (A.S)
“… Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of the 12 patriarchs. The patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt, but God was with him. He rescued him out of all his troubles and granted him favour and wisdom in the presence of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who appointed him governor over Egypt and over his entire household. Then a famine and great distress came over all Egypt and Canaan, so that our fathers failed to find nourishment; but when Jacob learned that there was wheat in Egypt, he sent our fathers there on the first trip. And on their second trip Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph’s family was made known to Pharaoh. Joseph then sent and invited his father Jacob and the whole family, comprising 75 souls. So Jacob came down to Egypt, where he and our fathers died.” (Acts 7:8-15)
The Holy Quran has a Surah entitled “Joseph” (Yusuf) that some of its verses about Joseph himself come below:
“Said he (Jacob): O’ my (dear) son! (Beware!) Relate thou not thy dream unto thy brothers, lest they plot against thee a plot…” ( Yusuf, 5)
” When said they: ‘Surely Joseph and his (own) brother are dearer to our father than we…” (Yusuf, 8)
” And he of Egypt who purchased him said unto his wife, ‘Give him an honorable place, maybe he may profit us…” (Yusuf, 21)
“And when he (Joseph) attained his prime (maturity) We gave him authority (apostleship) and knowledge…” (Yusuf, 22)
” Said he: ‘Set me (in authority) over the treasuries of the land; Verily I am a (faithful) keeper, knowing well (its management). Thus we did establish Joseph in the land…” (Yusuf, 55-56)
“Then shall come aftet that seven years of hardship (famine)…” (Yusuf, 48)
” And came the brothers of Joseph and entered they unto him, and he knew them but they knew him not.” (Yusuf, 58)
“They said: ‘Art thou indeed Joseph?’ Said he: ‘I am Joseph and this is my Brother…” (Yusuf, 90)
“And come ye unto me with all your family.” (Yusuf, 93)
Moses (A.S)
“In that period Moses was born, beautiful in God’s sight, and was nurtured in his parental home three months. And when he was exposed, the daughter of Pharaoh adopted him and brought him up to be her own son.So Moses was educated in all the science and learning of the Egyptians, and had ability in speech and in deeds. When he was 40 years old he resolved to look after his brothers, the Israelites and, seeing one treated unfairly, he defended him and avenged the wronged person by slaying the Egyptian; for he supposed his brothers would understand that God would grant them deliverance through him; but they failed to understand. The next day he
appeared to them as they were fighting, and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers; why are you mistreating each other?’
But the one who was mistreating his neighbor pushed him away with the words, ‘Who appointed you ruler and judge over us? You want to kill me, perhaps, in the way you killed the Egyptian yesterday? At this remark Moses fled and became an alien in the land of Median, where he became the father of two sons. And at the completion of 40 years there appeared to him in the mount Sinai wilderness an angel in the flame of a burning thorn bush.
When Moses saw it he marveled at the sight and as he approached to look at it closely, the Lord’s voice came saying, ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Ibrahim, Isaac, and Jacob.’ Moses was so frightened that he didnot dare to look. The Lord said to him, ‘Unite the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground. I have certainly observed the ill-treatment of My people in Egypt, and I have heard their groaning and have come down to deliver them. So come now, I will send you into Egypt.’ This Moses whom they disowned by saying, ‘Who has appointed you a ruler and Judge?’ him God sent both to be a ruler and to be a redeemer with the help of the angle who appeared to him in the bush.
It was he who led them out, performing wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, at the Red Sea, and in the wilderness 40 years. This is the same Moses who told the Israelites, ‘God will raise up from your brothers a prophet like me.’
This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fore fathers; he received the living messages to impart to us. To him our fathers did not want to submit; they pushed him aside and in their hearts turned back to Egypt, saying to Aaron, ‘Make us gods that will go before us; for this Moses who led us out of Egypt, we do not know what has befallen him.’ They made a calf in those days and brought sacrifice to the image, and rejoiced in the works of their hands. But God turned and abandoned them to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets,’ O’ house of Israel, did you offer Me victims and sacrifices for 40 years in the wilderness? You carried Moloch’s tent and your god Romp Han’s star-idol, figures you made to worship them. So I shall deport you beyond Babylon.’ (Acts 7:20-44)
The name of Moses (A.S) has been repeated for 136 times in the Quranic verses that some of them are as follows:
” And revealed We unto the mother of Moses, saying: ‘Give him suck; and if thou fearest for him, launch him on the River … And took him up Pharaoh’s people.” (Al-Qasas, 8)
” And when he reached the (age of) strength and was full-grown, We granted him wisdom and knowledge; Thus do we recompense those who do good. And he entered the city at a time when unvigilant were its people, and found he therein two men fighting: the one, of his own party; and the other of his enemies; And the one of his own party sought his help against the one who was of his enemies, and Moses smote him with his fist and passed (death) on him; Said (Moses):
‘This is of the Satan’s doing; verily, he is an enemy, an open misleader … And in the morn he, in the city, passed full of fear apprehending when lo! he who sought his help the day before, (again) crying out unto him for help. Said unto him Moses: ‘Verily thou art an open hot-head.’ And when he intended to seize him who was the enemy of them both, said he: ‘O’ Moses! Dost thou intend to kill me as didst thou kill one the day before?” (Al-Qasas, 15-19)
” And when he turned his face towards (The land of) Midian … . “(Al-Qasas, 22)
” Said he: ‘Verily, I intend to wed to thee one of these two daughters of mine…” (Al-Qasas, 27)
“… perceived he on the side of the mount “Tur” a fire … When came he unto it, (he) was called (by a voice) from the right side of the valley, in the blessed spot, from the Tree, saying: ‘O’ Moses! Verily I, am God, the Lord of the worlds.” (Al-Qasas, 29-30)
” So when he came unto it (the fire) a voice called: ‘O’ Moses! Verily I; I (alone) am thy Lord! So take off thy shoes! Verily thou art in the sacred valley of ‘Tuba’.” (Ta Ha, 11-12)
” Then he brought forth (from the fire) for them (the image of) a calf, a (mere) body; which (also) gave out the lowing sound; Then they said: ‘This is your god…” (Ta Ha, 88)
John (A.S)
” … there was a certain priest named Zechariah, of the week of the priestly service named after Abuja and his wife Elizabeth, of Aaron’s daughters. Both lived uprightly before God, blamelessly walking in accordance with all the commandments and injunctions of the Lord. They had no child because Elizabeth was barren, and both were getting up in years.
Administering his priestly service before the Lord in the sequence of his series, as customary among the priests, it fell to him by lot to enter the Lord’s temple for the burning of incense. And at the hour of incense the whole concourse of people were praying outside. But an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense, and when Zechariah saw him, he was troubled and fear got hold of him. But the angel said to him, ‘Have no fear, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard.
Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, whom you will call John. He will afford you joy and happiness and many will be glad at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord. He will drink no wine or liquor at all, and from his birth he will be filled with the Holy spirit. Many of the sons of Israel will be turn to the Lord their God, before whom he shall go forth in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the obstinate to the wisdom of the righteous, to prepare a people who are ready for the Lord.’ Then Zechariah said to the angel, ‘In what way can I be assured of this, for I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years? Then angel answered him, ‘I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to announce these glad tidings to you. Behold! You will be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at the proper time.’ After those days his wife Elizabeth conceived…” (Luke 1:5-24)
” …Then they motioned to his father, what he wanted him to be called and he, requesting a writing tablet, wrote, ‘His name is john.’ This surprised them all. And instantly his mouth was opened and his tongue was loosed, and he spoke in praise of God.” (Luke 1:62-64)
The following Quranic verses are also about John A.S):
” There did Zachariah pray to his Lord; said he, ‘Lord! grant me from unto thee a goof offspring; Verily, Thou art the Hearer of Prayer.” (Al-e-Imran, 38)
” Then called unto him the angels while he stood praying in the sanctuary; ‘Verily, God giveth thee the glad tidings of (a son) Yahya (John)(who shall be) the confirmer of a Word from God … . “(Al-e-Imran, 39)
“Said he, ‘O’ My Lord! How can there be a son (born) to me, when indeed old age hath affected me and my wife is barren?” Said he, ‘Even so God doeth whatsoever He liketh’.” (Al-e-Imran, 40)
” Said he, ‘My Lord! appoint thou a sign for me;’ Said He, ‘The Sign for Thee shall be that thou shalt not speak unto men for three days except by signs.” (Al-e-Imran, 41)
” Then he went out (of the sanctuary) unto his people and made signs unto them (with hid hands) that they should glorify (God) morning and evening. (The Lord said unto Zachariah’s son) ‘O’ Yahya! Hold thou the Book fast!’ and We granted him wisdom (apostleship) while yet a
child.” (Maryam, 11-12)
Epilogue
” Hast thou not (O’ Our Apostle Muhammad!) seen those (the Jews) who have been given a portion of the Book.” (Al-e-Imran, 23)
The study that we had so far on the New Testament especially the Gospels and their relation with the Holy Quran improved the above Quranic verse which specifies that the people of the Book have just a part of the main revealed book and not all of it, and, it shows that The Torah and the Gospel have been altered.
On the other hand, the verse indicates that all of their contents are not wrong because as we read before, some beliefs available in the New Testament have a specific similarity with the Holy Quran. ” The words, ‘those who are given a portion of the book’, refer to the people of the Book. This changed phrasing points to a well-known historical fact: The Jews and the Christians do not have in their hands the complete books; what they have got is only some portions of the revealed Scriptures.
They have altered, changed and edited the books so extensively that the major part of the original has been lost for ever. The last sentence too alludes to this fact: ‘and what they have forged deceives them in the matter of their religion.’ The verse, in short, says-and Allah knows better-that the Jews and the Christians turn back from the judgment of the Book of Allah, being deceived by their own claim, and misled by what they have themselves forged; they demonstrate, by their behaviour, that they do not need the Book of Allah.