Life and Miracles of Moses in the Quran Text and the Bible Text - Essay Example

?Variations in Narrating the Life and Miracles of Moses between the Qur’an Text and the Bible Text The figure of Moses is very prominent in both the texts popularly read by Muslims and Christians alike. The Muslim’s Qur’an and the Christian’s Bible significantly mention about the life and works of Prophet Moses. For the Christian believers, Moses is not a foreign figure; in fact, he is considered as one of the great prophets of the old-testament God. For the Muslim communities as well, Musa is not a strange character; in fact, he is compared to Prophet Mohammad in several ways (cf Elkayam 77). In spite of the similarity in terms of citing Moses in the two texts, the Qur’an and the Bible have still varied narrations concerning the prophet-messenger’s life and miracles. This paper discusses the differences in picturing out Moses between the Qur’an text and the Bible text. It examines their variations with respect to the prophet’s (1) birth, (2) encountering the burning bush, (3) facing the Pharaoh, (4) dividing the Red Sea, (5) striking the rock, and (6) reaction to Israelite’s idolatry. First, the Qur’an and the Bible have different detailed narratives concerning the birth of Moses. In the Qur’an, for instance, the text informs its readers that it was Allah who instructed the mother of Musa (Islam’s name for Moses) to cast him onto the river water. In the Bible, however, the text suggests that it was the mother of the said prophet who decided to hide Moses for three months since she “saw him that he was a goodly child” (Ben-Chanan 103). Here, the main difference between the two texts under discussion is the decision-maker who opted on what to do with the prophet-child. It must be remembered that the historical circumstance in which the baby Moses was born was that every Hebrew male child must be put to death by the order of the Egyptian pharaoh himself. Both the Qur’an and the Bible appear to support, although implied, this historical account. In the former (i.e., in Sura), the words of Firon’s wife -- Islam’s Firon is equivalent to Christian’s Pharaoh -- are strongly indicative: “[D]o not slay him [i.e., Musa]” (qtd. in Ben-Chanan 100). And in the latter (i.e., in Exodus), the words of Moses’ mother is clearly suggestive: “hid him three months” (qtd. in Ben-Chanan 101). The term “hid” implies danger for someone’s life, otherwise, there is no need for hiding that person from the sight of the enemy. Further, the Qur’an and the Bible significantly differ from the account pertaining to the woman who adopted baby Moses. In the Qur’an text, the woman who took Moses as her own child was the wife of Firon. In the Bible, on the other hand, the woman who adopted the prophet-child was the daughter of the Pharaoh. Moreover, the Qur’an narrates Firon’s wife as uttering the line “do not slay him” while the Bible speaks of the Pharaoh’s daughter saying “she had compassion on him.” That is to say, the two texts also vary on the impression made by the woman who adopted the prophet-child. Second, the two texts in question have varied narratives concerning Moses’ experienced with the burning bush. In the Qur’an, for example, the text speaks of Musa being with his family at the time when he saw the fire. According to the Bible, however, Moses was alone by himself when he sighted the burning bush (Ben-Chanan 114). Thence, the difference between the two texts is the company or solitude that the said prophet was with or without. Also, the Qur’an names the place in which Musa was standing on the sacred ground with the burning bush as Tuva Valley while the Bible names the location as Horeb (Ben-Chanan 114). It appears that the two place-names are far from similar, thus, the two texts vary from their accounts of the terrain wherein the prophet was standing on the holy ground: one is in the valley while the other is on the mountain. Moreover, the Qur’an and the Bible have different stories pertaining to the role of Aaron in Moses’ godly mission. In the former, it was Musa who petitioned to Allah that Arun (Islam’s name for Aaron) be given the role of a spokesperson. In the latter, it was Moses who pleaded to God to choose another well-versed man for the great mission instead of himself. Here, the two texts seem to suggest that Moses was not a gifted speaker and that Aaron was a better spokesperson than the prophet. But they vary largely on who picked Aaron as the prophet’s spokesman. Finally, the two texts differ on the number of signs (i.e., plagues) in which God will show to the Egyptians as His punishment for their stone hearts. In the Qur’an text, Allah tells Musa that He will send nine signs to Firon. In the Bible text, meanwhile, the Lord informs Moses that He will bring ten plagues to Egypt's pharaoh and native inhabitants. Third, it is fascinating that the two texts under discussion have different versions on the relationship between the Israelite’s God and the Egyptian Deity. In the Qur’an text (i.e., Sura), for example, Musa implicitly tells Firon that their God is the same. Ben-Chanan says that Musa spoke the line found in Sura 7:105 which refers to “Allah as Pharaoh’s God” (121). In the Bible, on the other hand, the God of the Hebrew Moses and the God of the Egyptian Pharaoh appear to be distinct divine Deities. In the Judeo-Christian text, perhaps the Deities between the Hebrew and the Egyptian are far from similar, if not enemy onto another. Further, the Qur’an and the Bible vary on their accounts concerning the death of the first-born child in Egypt. In the former, Allah merely informs Musa of giving “good news to the believers” (qtd. in Ben-Chanan 121). It is unclear of what this good news is. Of course, it speaks of the salvation of the first-born, however, it fails to provide a detail of how these children will be saved from the angel of death. In the latter, however, the Hebrew people are instructed by God through Moses to paint the lamb’s blood on the door posts of their houses in order for their first-born children to be redeemed from utter destruction. Finally, the Qur’an mentions about the Tower of Babel and about Qaroun (also known as Haman) while the Bible mentions them in other books which are not included in the Moses’ narrative. Ben-Chanan argues that the story of the Tower of Babel occurred “ten generations earlier” with respect to Moses’ time (122). Meaning to say, the text in question confuses the time-period between two events that happened in different time-frame. Moreover, the account of Qaroun transpired “long after Moses died on earth” (Ben-Chanan 122). Kaltner further notes that the name Haman appeared in Qur’an for several times often associating him to the “figure of Pharaoh” (135). Fourth, pertaining to the account of Moses dividing the Red Sea, the Qur’an and the Bible have different stories at certain extent. It is noteworthy that the two texts in question have varied lengths in narrating the story of dividing the said sea. True, even R. Ghattas and C. Ghattas observe that the Qur’an in contrast to the Bible “condenses a lot of details from the end of Genesis through Exodus” (23). In fact, the Bible contains a more lengthy discussion of the prophet’s miracle at the Red Sea in contrast to the Qur’an. In Exodus 14, for instance, there are seven verses describing the story of Moses and the Hebrew people near the Red Sea while “Pharaoh [and his soldiers] drew nigh.” Meanwhile, Sura 26 only consists of three verses in which Musa and his people “are being overtaken.” What makes the Bible lengthy in narrating the division of the Red Sea is due mainly to the detailed description of the Hebrew people who blamed Moses for placing them onto the wilderness merely to die. The two texts also vary in picturing out Moses and his God. In the Exodus-Bible, Moses implicitly speaks of the Lord as the God of the Hebrew: “[S]ee the salvation of the LORD” (qtd. in Ben-Chanan 127). That is, the prophet mentioned God in the objective manner. In the Sura-Qur’an, however, Musa speaks of Allah in the personal sense: [S]urely my Lord is with me” (qtd. in Ben-Chanan 127). Thence, it seems that Musa is comforting himself amidst the danger that is confronting him and his people. The most interesting variation between the Qur’an and the Bible is the way God instructed Moses pertaining to the division of the Red Sea. In the former, Allah tells Musa to “[s]trike the sea with thy rod” (qtd. in Ben-Chanan 128). Here, the prophet-messenger is commanded to violently strike the sea. In the latter, on the other hand, God tells Moses to “[l]ift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea” (qtd. in Ben-Chanan 128). In Exodus, the messenger of God is instructed to mildly lift up his hand over the Red Sea. Fifth, Ben-Chanan states that the Qur’an and the Bible have various accounts pertaining to smiting the rock and thereby producing spring water for thirsty Hebrews. The central variation between the two texts is the number of events that took place when Moses struck the rock. In the Qur’an text, there is only one event concerning Musa’s spring-water miracle (Ben-Chanan 131). That is, Musa created twelve spring waters at once. Sura 2:60 and Sura 7:160 narrate the same narrative of smiting the “rock with your staff, so out flowed from it twelve springs” (qtd. in Ben-Chanan 128). In the Bible text, however, there are three distinct events that transpired upon smiting the rock mountain (Ben-Chanan 131). In Exodus 15, for instance, Moses and the Hebrew people came to the land called Elim and from there they saw “twelve wells of water” (qtd. in Ben-Chanan 129). Meaning to say, there were already existing spring wells -- twelve in numbers -- when they arrived at said place. Since the twelve spring waters already exist according to the Bible text, it follows that there is no need to cite these twelve springs as a reference to the twelve tribes of Israel. Here, another variation of the two texts under discussion emerges; one speaks of the twelve springs as direct representations of “each tribe [that] knew its drinking place” while the other speaks of the twelve springs without any direct reference to the tribes of Israel. Finally, the Qur’an and the Bible have varied narratives to the story of creating the golden calf. In the former, the text pictures the Hebrew people as being influenced by certain Samiri group in moulding a golden-calf idol. That is to say, the people of Israel formed a golden calf through the persuasion of the non-Israelite tribe rather than from the Hebrew tribe itself. In the latter, nonetheless, it was the Hebrews who asked Aaron to produce a god through gold and jewelry. In contrast to the Qur’an’s account, the Bible informs its readers that the people of Israel were the ones who initiated the scheme of forming a golden idol. The two texts under discussion also consist of different accounts when Moses heard the unholy event (i.e., the creation of the golden idol). In the Qur’an text, the prophet-messenger instructs the transgressing people to commit suicide due to their unforgivable sins. In the Bible text, however, it was the Levi tribe who killed the sinful people as their punishment for moulding a god out of gold and mundane stuff. Nevertheless, Seale remarks that the Qur’an and the Bible are similar in this particular idolatry narrative with respect to the “kill[ing] of the offending kith and kin” (17). In Qur’an’s to slay yourselves (i.e., to commit suicide) implies to kill “his brother, his friend, his neighbour” (qtd. in Seale 17). Although, the language used in the two texts is obviously far from similar. Works Cited Ben-Chanan, Ami. Qur’an-Bible Comparison: A Topical Study of the Two Most Influential and Respectful Books in Western and Middle Eastern Civilizations. New York: Trafford, 2011. Print. Elkayam, Asher. The Qur’an and Biblical Origins: Hebrew, Christian and Aramaic Influences in Striking Similarities. New York: Xlibris, 2009. Print. Ghattas, Raouf, and Carol Ghattas. A Christian Guide to the Qur’an: Building Bridges in Muslim Evangelism. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2009. Print. Kaltner, John. Ishmael Instructs Isaac: An Introduction to the Qur’an for Bible Readers. Collegeville: Liturgical, 1999. Print. Seale, Morris. Qur’an and Bible: Studies in Interpretation and Dialogue. New York: Croom Helm, 1978. Print. Read More