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"The Bible and The
Quoran"
By Steven Malik Shelton
It should come as no surprise that the Christian Bible has been
revised many times, and consequently, there are numerous
versions of the Bible. In contrast to this, the Qur'an has only
one version and that is the one revealed to Prophet Muhammad
('s) by Allah Most High.
The Quran has a direct connection to the prophet to whom it was
revealed, while the Bible was no direct connection to any of the
prophets to whom it is attributed.
It is a fact that the first five books of the Bible.[ i.e.
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy] which are
all linked or attributed to prophet Moses [upon whom be peace]
were penned at least five hundred and as many as 700 hundred
years after his death. It is also a fact that the men who penned
the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John actually never met
Jesus [upon whom be peace]. And these Gospels were written down
over a time span of 70 to 110 years after Jesus' ministry [peace
be upon his noble personage].
The first Bible was translated from Hebrew into Greek and
appeared in Alexandria in 300 BC [some 500 to 700 years after
the demise of Moses.] This Bible was written by 70 religious
scholars from Jerusalem and it suffered from so many
errors that in 382 AD, Pope Damascus sought a revision. The Pope
appointed his secretary, Jerome, the job of re-writing it or
revising it. Jerome's Latin version became known as the Vulgate
Bible or "Common Bible'' .
In 1382 AD, the followers of John Wycliffe finished a version
known as "God's Law'' which was the first Bible
translated into English: but Wycliffe was condemned by the
Church for heresy.
In 1522 AD, Martin Luther's New Testament in German appeared.
Within ten years William Tyndale hatched another version: copies
of this version were put to the torch, and so was Tyndale.
Another production called the Geneva Bible, was penned in 1560.
It is also known as the Breeches Bible.
In the sixteenth century, reformers separated a group of
disputed books of the Bible. Such Books are called
apocryphal from the Latin word apocryphus which means ''secret''.
There was a split among the Christians in the sixteenth century,
with the Protestants accepting 66 books of the Bible as
authentic, and rejecting the remaining 7: while the counter
reformation Douay version retained all 73 which are accepted by
Catholics.
In 1604, at a conference in Hampton Court, King James
appointed 54 scholars to form a version of the Bible for use in
all English Churches. It was completed in 1611 and became known
as ''The King James Version'' or ''The
Authorized Version''.
By 1885 usage and ''new sources'' led to the Revised Version
with more than 35,000 changes! And throughout the twentieth
century several ''standard'' and ''revised standard''
versions were published.
In the 1950's a council was held by 81 theological scholars of
the highest eminence, in which the King James Authorized Version
of the Bible was examined and found to contain numerous errors
and interpolations.
Let us now turn our attention to the connection [or lack of
connection] between the prophets and the books of the Bible that
have been attributed to them.
In the period falling between the fourth and second century
B.C., various authors wrote down the Biblical scriptures [from
unknown sources] of those prophets who had preceded them by
several centuries. For instance, in 300 B.C. an unknown writer
penned a book, attributed it to prophet Jonah [upon whom be
peace] and compiled it into the Bible.
In Addition, the ''Psalms of David'' as presented in the
Bible were not written [in their entirety] by prophet David, but
were produced from sources unknown.
In short, none of the books of the Bible have been found to have
any relation to the prophets to whom they have been assigned.
The Qur'an
The last [and seal] in the procession of divinely revealed
scriptures is the Qur'an.  Qur'an
is an Arabic word which means reading or recitation, or that
which is meant to be read and recited.
Allah [God] says of His final Revelation:
'' It is He Who revealed to thee the Scripture, the Qur'an, in
truth, confirming what is in hand of the scriptures
that went before it. And He revealed the Taurat and the Injeel
before this as guidance to mankind. And He revealed the
Criterion of judgement between right and wrong''.[ Al Qur'an
3: 3-4]
And
also:
''But
most of them follow only conjecture. Indeed conjecture does not
avail anything against the truth. Verily Allah [God] knows what
they do.
And the Qur'an cannot be produced by anyone other than
Allah [God].
Rather it is a confirmation of that which is in the
hand of earlier scripture and a fuller explanation of the
Scripture wherein there is no doubt from the Lord of the
worlds''.[Al Qur'an 10: 36-37]
Spiritual enlightenment is progressive: Allah [God] reveals
Himself to mankind through scriptural revelations at times that
He appoints and ordains. He sends His Messages when mankind is
morally, spiritually, and intellectually suited
to receive His Messages: And He sends them at the best of all
times and at the best of all places.
The superiority of the Qur'an [God's last book of Messages] is
that it is the fulfilment, the completion, and the perfection of
all previous Messages which were but earlier forms of Islamic
guidance appropriate to the people to whom the
Messages where revealed.
As such, Islam is not a new religion, for Islam has always
existed in one form or another.
Prophet Muhammad [upon whom be peace] did not invent Islam, nor
was Islam introduced primarily through him: although Islam was
completed and perfected through his agency, and its call made
universal and established with a
realistic and viable formula for [and to] all humanity.
It is one of the 7 articles of faith [which is used as a
standard to distinguish belief from disbelief] that a Muslim
must believe in all of the Books and Messengers of God. He must
also have a strong faith and abiding belief in all of God's
Messengers and Prophets.
Some of the Prophets mentioned in the Qur'an are Adam, Noah,
Moses, David, Solomon, Jesus, and Muhammad.
Islam accepts and honours all of God's messengers. We are not to
accept some and reject others. Likewise, it is essential that Muslims
believe in all of the scriptures which Allah made available to
Mankind.
Adam had a book or a series of Revelations known as the Suhuf.
Moses came with the Taurat. David was the recipient of the
Zaboor. Jesus the received the Injeel, and Muhammad the Qur'an
.[Peace be upon all of these noble
Messengers]
As I touched upon earlier, all of these books of Revelation
[with the exception of the Qur'an], although pure and true
in their original form and content, have over the centuries
become changed, fabricated, and corrupted.
The Qur'an is the only book of Divine Revelation that has been
totally safeguarded and which retains its original form and
pristine purity. Even the enemies of Islam grudgingly concede
this fact.
Allah [swt] challenges both men and jinns [creatures with the
capacity to choose between good and evil] to produce a chapter
like the Quran: and if they cannot-and it is of a surety that
they cannot- will they then not believe?
The Qur'an is not solely an intellectual book, yet it appeals to
the highest standards of Man's intellect, his logic, and his
ability to reason. The Qur'an is not a book of poetry, yet it
contains the finest prose and rhythmic, melodic verses ever
written. The Qur'an is not exclusively a book of science, but it
puts forth the most sublime and intricate testimony
pertaining to scientific truths and realities; many of which
have just been recently discovered, although the Qur'an was
revealed centuries before these truths were verified by
subsequent knowledge and insight. The Qur'an is not merely a
book of psychology or sociology, yet it fully explains the
motive, intention and purpose of Man. It reveals the workings of
his behaviour and exposes his secret as well as his open
passions and desires as no other book has done before or since.
Yet, with all of this, the Qur'an is a clear book which reveals
the highest truths and most exalted realities
in such a perspicuous manner that even a child can understand.
And only the most mentally jaded and spiritually dead can ignore
or refuse to acknowledge it.
Indeed, Allah reveals in the Qur'an:
''Had
We sent down this Quran on a mountain, verily thou would have
seen it humble itself and cleave asunder for fear of Allah, such
are the similitude's which We propound to men, that they may
reflect.''
Also in
sura 10:37 Allah appeals to man thus:
''
This Qur'an is not such as can be produced by other than Allah,
on the contrary it is a confirmation of revelations that went
before it and a fuller explanation of the Book- wherein there is
no doubt-From the Lord of the worlds.''
And
again in 10:57-58 Allah speaks to us in His Mercy:
''
Oh Mankind ! There hath come to you a direction from your Lord.
And a healing for the diseases in your hearts,-and for those who
believe a Guidance and a Mercy. Say; 'In the Bounty of Allah and
in His Mercy, in that let them rejoice: that is far better than
the wealth they hoard.''
Allah
[God] gives us powers of reason, critical deduction and
discernment. There is something inherent in the truth, that when
a person hears it, it will strike a familiar harmonious chord
and echo sublimity in the soul.
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