Comparative Between the Bible and the Quran - Research Paper Example

Order 327715 Topic: Comparative paper between the Bible and the Quran Introduction: Bible The Bible is a book of revelation- a communication from God to man. God reveals his purpose and plan for humanity. It is the product of literature conforming to oral traditions. The “authors” are many but one finds the oneness and systematic unfolding of God’s will for salvation for mankind. The Bible has two sections, Old Testament and the New Testament. The former is in Hebrew and the latter is in Greek languages. Some sections of the Old Testament and some words in the New Testament are written in Aramaic language. During the 3rd century B. C. the Hebrew Old testament was translated into Greek. In the 2nd century A.D. Bible was translated into Latin. In the 14th century A.D., it was translated into English. Before the printing press was invented, copies of the Bible were made by handwriting. New Testament saw the light of the day as a printed version in English in 1525 A.D. Introduction: Quran Quran means “Recitation.” Quran is not a book and it does not reach one in written form. In the written form, it is not Quran. In the written form and read by the eye is called “mushaf.” Quran has only one version-Arabic. Different translations should not be misunderstood as different versions. Translations do not hold the original authenticity. The Quran is divided into 30 equal parts, called “Juz” in the Arabic language. Muslim children learn Quran from a very young age. What is important about Quran is the memorization and further oral transmission. The tradition began from the Angel Gabriel. God is in direct conversation with mankind in Quran, speaks in first person about our own creation, creation of the universe. Quran describes God’s nature exactly. God is one. He is the Creator, Sustainer and the Owner of Universe. Not tolerance, but willing acceptances need to govern the inter-religious relationships. The differences are not in the revelations. They relate to the human understanding of the revelations. Every human argument has a counter-argument. The nature of the human mind is to argue and confuse. Realized souls transcend the mind-barrier. In that realm, differences cease and supreme bliss reigns. The Noah of the Bible and the Noah of the Quran, at the transcendental levels, are one and the same. The Immutable Power was there, in the beginning, before all God’s creation; before Earth, before living beings, before all bodily life, before the invention of any language. The Bible declares: “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. Through Him all things were made, without Him nothing was made that has been made.” (John 1:1) All the great messengers of Truth have revealed the same Path, the same profound Knowledge to mankind from time to time, as the Supreme Knowledge is Immutable and Eternal, and Noah’s story is but one example of such similar identities. Noah’s story in the Bible and the Quran: The theme of the story of Noah is the objective of creation. Calamitous conditions prevailed on Plant Earth; it is God’s will to teach a lesson to the evil forces and at the same time save the good souls from the destruction that will be unleashed by the floods. It raises serious question about the then prevailing conditions in the society as to warrant such a calamitous action by God! Noah did according unto all that the (Genesis 7:5) Lord commanded him. God tells Noah that in seven days it shall rain for 40 days and 40 nights, and that everything on earth will perish. The flood starts, and it covers even the mountains. In the Genesis narration, Noah saves his family and representatives of all animal species in groups of two or seven from the flood. (Gen: 6:19) “References to Noah’s Ark are found in the Hebrew Bible and the Quran. Christians believe, the Christian Church to be Noah’s Arc. Noah, as mentioned in Genesis lives for a total of 950 years and the flood comes in his six hundredth year.”(Genesis 6:11-12) “The flood story in Genesis contains the element of Noah’s drunkenness.” (6:9-8:22) The Qur’anic version of the story mentions about a group of 72 others (even though none reproduces after the flood.).Allah instructs Nuh to build an ark for a flood that he shall shortly be sending on the earth. Nuh builds an ark but is ridiculed by his people. He receives the mandate from God, and his sons re-populate the earth. The Quran has 43 references to Noah, in 28 suras (chapters). It has description about flood. (Sura 11) “As per Quran, Noah is 950 years old at the time of the flood and he has spent all those years preaching about one God. The tradition maintains that 83 people are willing to become Muslim and seek peace with God. These 83 are saved with Noah. Mankind’s stubbornness and refusal to change ultimately brings the wrath of God on the unbelievers. The theme of the story in Quran is the unity as revealed by All-merciful Allah and the duty of the man to seek peace with him.”(Sura 71) The one unifying argument about both the stories is, ignore the minor differences in the details of the Noah’s story and reach out to the essential. The important theme about both the revealed scriptures, Bible and Quran, is the concern of God for humanity. His ardent desire to save the humankind from evil forces! To save the saner forces and to punish the evil, the eternal power reveals in the human garb, from time to time and takes appropriate measures as per the demand of the situation. It is the duty of the mankind to understand the importance of the wake-up call, remain related to the divine forces and obey the instructions of the Supreme Creator. Both the texts teach the creation of the world by one Power, omniscient God, who guides the destiny of humanity and sets out the moral code for them. The creation of Noah’s Ark is the fulfillment of God’s design to save the saner forces from the evil as evident from both the scriptures, Bible and Quran. Differences in religious issues need to be ignored, because no revelation can be a matter of dispute; their improper understanding or misinterpretation by the human minds could result in misgivings. Both the stories related to Noah’s Ark, needs to be understood in the light of the above observation.(Genesis 6:5-9-19 and mainly Surah 11.25-48 as well as Surahs 7.59-64, 10.71-73, 23.23-28, 26.105-121, 54.9-16, and all of 71.)Whether the flood was global or local-this is the bone of contention between the Christians and Muslims. Christian opinion further confuses the issue. Some sections of Christians wonder whether there was a flood at all. They treat it as an allegory to keep one on the path of faith in God. Science intervenes in between to say that there is no geological evidence for a recent, global flood. The Quran focuses entirely on the dialogue between Noah and the wicked but Genesis mentions no dialogue. In the Qur’an, Noah has a son who rejects him along with his mother and dies in the flood while some people outside his family are faithful and join him. Genesis counts three sons, Noah’s wife and sons’ wives, who all board the Ark but not others. One’s practical approach must be to agree on the issues on which there are no misunderstandings or disagreements. Be silent on other issues-either believe or disbelieve. Read them if you wish; do not read them if you do not wish. This is the practical example of mutual tolerance, which is applicable in the secular world also. Winston Churchill said during the II World War, “It is better to have the world united, than the world divided. But it is better to have the world divided, than the world destroyed.” Silence is the greatest virtue that can be practiced, when one senses tension on any issue, for human history is the witness—contentious issues have never been solved through violence or wars! Conclusion: The differences and contentions about Noah’s flood etc. may not be a major issue as for the relationship between two faiths, but as we all know a tiny spark on religious misunderstandings may lead to a wild fire. The mind-level human sentiments are easily inflamed. This story about the flood and Noah’s Ark is one of the most read stories in the Bible. It involves tragedy and it is a story of salvation. The story of destruction of mankind and its re-growth kindles deep curiosity and gives the grim reminder as to what could have been the conditions and sufferings of all those affected, when a gigantic flood drowns them all. It raises serious questions about the then prevailing conditions in the society as to warrant such an action by God! It also instructs humanity to be away from the evil influences and lead a divine life, surrendering everything at the hands of the All-Merciful! He knows what is good for us in the given circumstances of life! ****************** Works Cited: New American Bible Copyright © 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC The Holy Quran, Arabic Text, Arabic Pronunciation, English text by A. Yusu Read More