Comparison of the Bible and the Quran - Coursework Example

Compare The Holy Bible and the Quran with regard Moses, Abraham, Jesus Christ, and the Virgin Mary The Holy Bible and the Quran both revere Moses, Abraham, Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary .In the Bible and the Quran, it is stated that Moses was sent by God to Egypt to save the children of Israel from slavery and pharaoh’s brutality. Both the Bible and the Quran add; that Moses was brought up in pharaoh’s home having been spared from death, as every Israelite boy child was killed by pharaoh at the time Moses was born. Eventually Moses saved the children of Israel and pharaoh ended up drowning in the red sea while pursuing the children of Israel. The Bible and the Quran mentions the two wives of Abraham-Hagar and Sarah. Sarah was the official wife who bore Isaac. Isaac was the father of Israelites and Hagar was a servant lady who gave birth to Ishmael, the father of Arabs. The two books also talk about Mary giving birth to Jesus Christ without having consummated with any man. However the biggest difference between the two holy books is on Jesus’ divinity, and on the son Abraham intended to sacrifice. Was it Isaac or Ishmael? Also on the lady who took care of Moses when he was picked up from the river. While the bible states that Jesus was the son of God who descended to earth in order to save mankind from sins, and that Jesus died on the cross and resurrected on the third day, the Quran refutes all these claims. The following is the comparison of the holy bible and the Quran with regard to: Moses, Abraham, Jesus Christ, and the Virgin Mary. In both the Bible and the Quran, the story of Moses begins by his birth, where by his mother puts him in the river, he is picked up from the river-according to the bible by pharaoh’s daughter and the Quran by pharaoh’s wife while newly born (“Bible & Koran” Web). The two books also state that when Moses grows up, he kills according to the bible, an Egyptian and the Quran, a man and then flees to Egypt. In both books, God’s voice from a burning bush gives Moses the inspiration to plead with the Pharaoh to let Israelites go to the Promised Land. Furthermore, both books tell of Moses’ hesitation to take on this divine mission until his brother Aaron was called to help him (“Bible & Koran” Web). In the bible and the Quran, Moses and Aaron goes to preach to pharaoh about releasing the children of Israel. After so much tussling, pharaoh releases them. Furthermore both books state that Moses goes to Israel via red sea. On reaching the red sea, he strikes it with his stick and it separates in to two. Pharaoh meets his death in the red sea while pursuing the Israelites he had released (Exodus 15: 4). In the two holy books, Abraham breaks with the past and moves on with new commands from God. Abraham was a believer and a friend of God. Abraham believed God, and it was for him for righteousness “and he was called the friend of God” (James 2:23).”For Allah took Abraham for a friend” (The Women 125). In the two holy books Abraham broke the idols of the idolaters (Exodus 34:12-13; The Prophets 56-58). In the two scriptures Abraham fathered children. For instance, they both say Ishmael and Isaac were Abraham’s sons. In the bible and in the Quran, Ishmael is born of a slave lady. The bible and the Quran also say; angels who were going to destroy the people of Sodom and Gomorrah first passed by lot’s cousin Abraham. When the angels were at Abraham’s home, they promised him of a son about which his wife doubted, since she was so old (Genesis18:1-15; 22:1-20; Hud11:69-74). In both the bible and the Quran the story of Jesus Christ begins with an angel appearing to his mother referred to as virgin Mary in both the bible and the Quran promising her of a son named Jesus/Isa. She retorts how can she have a son when no man touched her (Quran 21:91; Mathew1:18-21).The two holy books assert that Jesus Christ was sent as a prophet/messenger (Luke 7:16; Quran 61:6). It is agreed in both books that Jesus Christ performed the miracle of delivering food to his disciples directly from his lord (Mark 14:12-17; Quran5:114). Furthermore, the bible and the Quran say Jesus Christ used to pray to God (Luke5:16; Mathew 26:39; Quran 4:172).The Bible and the Quran assert the powerlessness of Jesus Christ over God, the bible says “By myself I can do nothing judge only as I hear”... (John 5:30) and the Quran says” In blasphemy indeed are those that say that gods Christ the son of Mary. Say: who then has the least power against Allah, if his will were to destroy Christ the son of Mary, his mother, and all every one that is on earth? For to Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth, and all that is between”..In the two scriptures Jesus said he is a servant: The bible says I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him”. And the Quran says, “he said am indeed a servant of Allah: He has given me revelation and made me a prophet”. Both the bible and the Quran proclaim Jesus Christ to be sinless. In the Quran, Jesus is sinless and says, he was sent by Allah (Quran 18:19). While in the bible” He committed no sin, no guile was found on his lips (1 Peter 2:22).finally the ascension of Jesus and his second coming is agreed to by both scriptures. About ascension the Quran asserts that he was not killed but raised up by Allah up to himself (Quran 4:158) while the bible says, he died on the cross and resurrected on the third day and he will come back just in the same way he resurrected (Acts 1:9-11). In these two books Mary is preferred to other women. The Bible says “the angel went to her and said, Greetings, you are highly favoured! The lord is with you” (Luke 1:28) and the Quran” Behold! The angels said:”O Mary! Allah has chosen you and purified you-chosen you above the women of all nations. In both versions Mary was visited by angel who gave her a promise of a child (Luke 1:29-31; Quran3:45)’. It is also said that at the same time, Mary gave birth to Jesus her relative Elizabeth also became pregnant miraculously.(Luke 1:36-37; Quran 19:4-9). In the versions Mary is considered a chaste lady (Quran and bible). Despite the above mentioned similarities, differences abound in the bible and the Quran about Moses, Abraham, Jesus Christ and virgin Mary. they are as follows: In the bible it is said the daughter of pharaoh took care of Moses in the cradle while in the Quran it is pharaoh’s wife who took care of him. Sharing Moses, the, Bible and Quran. In the bible: Moses kills an Egyptian and the Quran he kills a man. In the bible Abraham tried to sacrifice his son Isaac while in the Quran it is Ishmael. Furthermore, in the bible Isaac is the blessed son while Ishmael is the son associated with calamities. The Quran reveres both children of Abraham as a prophet. In the bible Jesus Christ is considered as son of God and later becoming God himself while the Quran considers him as a human being with human needs calling him a god\son of god is blasphemous (Quran 112:1-3). Jesus Christ in the bible died and resurrected in the third day. According to the Quran however, he was raised unto Allah (Sura 4:157-158). In the bible after Jesus’ birth he was put in a craal. This version is totally different from the Quran’s (Quran 3). In summation there are several similarities between the bible and the Quran as concerns; the story of Moses, Abraham, Jesus Christ and the virgin Mary. Moreover there are also a number of differences as far as these personalities are concerned. The most pronounced difference is on Jesus. The bible emphasises on Jesus’ divinity and incarnation as the basis of Christianity. For instance Jesus Christ being in the trinity as son of God and eventually turning into man to come to the world and die for people’s sins. The Quran on the other hand considers Christ as one of the greatest prophets of Allah and refuting his divinity and incarnation terming them as blasphemous. Works Cited “Bible & Koran.” Abraham/ Ibrahim,/Ishmael/ Ismail and Isaac/ Ishaq. Ikon, 2010. Web. 4 Nov. 2015. . The New Jerusalem Bible. Ed. Susan Jones. New York: Doubleday, 1985. Print. The Quran. Trans. by Tarif Khalidi. New York: Viking, 2008. Print. Read More