Published on 15th January, 2003

The Bible and the Qur'an

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 Musa ('a) 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 Prophet Isa ('a) and these Gospels were written down over a time span of 70 to 110 years after the ministry of Prophet Isa ('a).

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 Prophet Musa ('a). 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. 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 Yunus ('a) 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 Daud ('a), 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 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 (swt) 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 ('s) 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.

The Prophets

Some of the Prophets mentioned in the Qur'an are Adam, Nuh, Musa, Daud, Sulayman, Isa, and Muhammad ('s). 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. Prophet Adam ('a) had a book or a series of Revelations known as the Suhuf. Prophet Musa ('a) came with the Taurat. Prophet Daud ('a) was the recipient of the Zaboor. Prophet Jesus ('a) the received the Injeel and Prophet Muhammad ('s) the Qur'an. 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 Surah 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 (swt) 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.