Jesus in the Quran and the Bible The three most influential books in human history, the holy books of the three main Abrahamic religions, share a common though checkered history. With a string of familiar figures and incidents, each book builds upon its predecessor, sometimes retaining the exact nature of the story and sometimes giving it a new version. Each book seems to have been influenced by its specific purpose and the circumstances of the time it was revealed, with the stories meeting the demands of the day. I believe that the Quranic treatment of Jesus was to establish a firm monotheistic belief. Jesus, the central character of the New Testament, makes a prominent appearance in the Quran. His purpose in the New Testament differs considerably from that in the Quran as can be observed in the level of importance attributed to him in the two texts. While Jesus is the protagonist of the New Testament, the Quran makes no such observations. The Quran claims to undo the distortions (called tafrih in Arabic) that had crept into the Injil (the Gospels) and the Torah. It further claims to restore the monotheistic nature of the Abrahamic religion, and thus directly refutes the Biblical depiction of Jesus. But this certainly does not mean that they do not share common beliefs or stories about Jesus (Isa in Arabic). In fact both the books agree totally on the 2 events leading to the birth of Jesus including the concept of virginal conception of Mary. Sura Maryam of the Quran specifically talks about this virginal conception as well as how God has chosen Mary “above the women of all nations” (3.42). Similarly the Gospel by Luke shows the angel Gabriel visiting Mary and telling her that “The holy Sprit will come upon yo... ... middle of paper ... ...d. Nowhere in the New Testament is there a mention of Ahmad. The Quran and the Bible deal with Jesus during two different periods and with different purposes. It is interesting to note how the two largest religions of the world share so much in common and yet are so different. Yet for the purpose of their followers, both the religious texts are perfect in their own way. Works Cited The New Oxford Annotated Bible: New Revised Standard Version with the Apocrypha. Eds. Michael D. Coogan, et al. 3rd Ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001. The Meaning Of The Holy Quran. Trans. Abdullah Yusuf Ali. 11th Ed. Beltsville, Md.: Amana Publications, 2006.
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Show MoreThere are four Gospels in the new testament; Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Each one writing his perspective story about Jesus, his teachings, his works, his sacrifice, and his resurrection. At the same time, they each seem to elaborate on specific elements of Jesus. The gospel of Matthew writes about the bloodline, the ancestors of Jesus. The gospel of Mark, writes about Jesus as a servant to God. The gospel of Luke, writes about Jesus being the son of a human. The gospel of John, writes about Jesus being the son of God. Having an understanding on the focus of each gospel will help the reader know Jesus and his works better. However, this essay will concentrate on “The Gospel According to Mark,” written in Bruce Manning Metzger, translator of, The New Oxford Annotated Bible, Revised Standard Version with The Apocrypha (p. 1791). The gospel of Mark is documentation of
One similarity that both Prophets have in common is they believe in only one true God. Muhammad for instance, only believes in Allah, which he describes as a divine individual over anyone else. According to a article of faith Muhammad states “ He is God: there is no god other than Him. It is He who knows what is hidden
Few men have impacted the world in the way that Jesus and Muhammad have. They are the two prominent names in Christianity and Islam. These men were born in separate times. However, they served very similar purposes during their lives. Together, they have influenced the lives of more people in the last two thousand years than any others. Both are considered the main pillars of their respective religions and are highly regarded figures amongst their followers. Jesus was responsible for the promotion of Christianity, while Muhammad helped to spread the word of Islam. Both Jesus and Muhammad became known for the role they played in the establishment and strengthening of each religion and their messages are still being carried out today.
Concerning sacred texts, the Christianity traditions use the bible to be their text. This bible text contains two sections the Old Testament and the New Testament. For example, in the Old Testament part, it contains the text words like: Tanakh that means the Hebrew bible, Tarah which means the Pentateuch, Nevism which means the prophet, and Ketuvin that means writings. All these Christian texts were believed to have been chosen from Greek translation that was done by the Jews in the Egypt in the third century BCE. The Christian people also believed that these sacred texts set the stage for the advent of the messiah who is called Jesus Christy. On the other hand, the Islamic sacred text is different; it is a Quran that is believed to be a sacred scripture and was recited by the Muhammad. The Muslim also alleged that the Quran contains the message from their prophet Muhammad. This sacred text contains 144 chapters called surah and it ranges from 280 to 6 verses. Another Islam sacred text is the hadiths. This is the collection of sayings that talks more about the deeds of the prophet Muhammad. The Islam religion also valued this hadiths not to be like the Quran which was written by Muhammad
Any decent argument tackles its oppositions, but truly strong arguments refutes the opposing side without any chances for the latter to be correct. Because Islam is the newest religion at the time, the religion has the ability to combat both Judaism and Christianity. By saying “We sent Jesus…to confirm the Torah that had been sent before him: We gave him the Gospel with guidance, light, and confirmation of the Torah,” the Islamic faith says the Jews interpreted the Torah wrong, which is why the “People of the Book” received the Gospel through Jesus (Haleem 865). After the setup of the argument, the Qur’an drives the point of Jesus saying “I would never say what I had no right to say,” meaning he takes back what he says in the Gospel or confirms that the words in the Gospel are lies (Haleem 869). Having a firsthand account of the major religious figure in Christianity, Islam discredits Christianity, because Jesus rejects what he said in the Gospel and then proceeds to tell one of the major tenants of Islam. By saying that the first group of people got God’s word wrong sets up the argument Islam is superior, because Islam claims it got the word right and will guide them and “give [them] the good news and warn [them]” (Haleem 863). Islam ends the arguments of other religions by completely discrediting the sources. In a linear time line,
Jesus’s Crucifixion and Resurrection are both highly important events that take place in the Gospels, or the major Christian books of the Bible, the sacred text of multitudes of religions. Many Christians around the world believe that Jesus was crucified and then rose from the dead after his death at the hands of his own people, the Jews. In the New Testament of the Bible, there are four Gospels each with their own personal account of Jesus’s death and Resurrection. These four accounts vary slightly, but remain very alike each other within those two important events through shared imagery and explanation of the main elements. Yet in the Quran, things are a little different in
Christianity and Islam have several similar aspects. Both religions praise the same God, although they each have a different given name. Muslims refer to their god as Allah, and Christians simply refer to their god as God. Both religions are monotheistic, and both even have a set of religious laws that all who are righteous abide by. Muslims follow the Five Pillars of Islam, while Christians follow the Ten Commandments. Both religions even have their own religious texts: The Bible and The Koran. Christian missionaries declare that The Bible consists of true narratives based on actual revelations, and establish that the Prophet Muhammad is an imposter. However, it is extremely possible that The Bible is nothing more than a book of plagiarized stories taken from various ancient texts. The Koran seems to correct mistakes in the Bible and make true of its falseness, gives the true version of what really happened in the stories of Joseph, Noah, and Jesus.
While most westerners know the story of Joseph as a passage from the end of the book of Genesis in the Bible or the Torah, understanding the story and its intricacies in sura 12 of the Qur’an proves equally important. Joseph’s story in Genesis emphasizes his personal abilities and God rewarding him and his people’s loyalty and faith amidst hardship. The Qur’an takes the same plot and enforces the theme of monotheism and Joseph’s prophetic role in its spread. The Qur’an’s interpretation serves as a more influential religious text in the context of its body of belief, whereas the Biblical story of Joseph, with its thematically intriguing story line and embellishments, comparatively serves a greater literary purpose. By reading and understanding both passages, one can gain a clearer knowledge of what is regarded as important to the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic faiths.
The basic beliefs of both Christians and Muslims are practically the related. Both the Christian and Islamic religion believes that a God, Jesus, The Holy Spirit, and Mary exist ("Basic Beliefs"). In addition, both religions believe and agree on the life of Abraham and the stories of Jesus, David, and Moses.
Both Christianity and Islam mirror Judaism. From Judaism, Christianity and Islam took hold of the concepts of monotheism, prophecy, resurrection, and a belief in the existence of heaven and hell. Both religions also have a sacred text; Christians consider the Bible the inspired word of God, His words written and spoken through his followers. However Muslims hold the belief that the Koran is the literal spoken breath of God. Mohammed was merely transcribing the words of Allah, much as a court reporter does. With this knowledge they hold to be true Muslims hold the Koran and Islam at a higher level of truth and authenticity then the beliefs held by Christians and the Bible.
Islam and Christianity have different scriptures, with Christianity using Bible and Islam the Quran. An account of works and life of Jesus are offered by both texts. Islamic theology’s important part is belief in Jesus, and Muslims consider the Christian Gospels as changed, while Christians view Gospels to be commanding and the Quran to be a late, apocryphal or fabricated work. Though the two religions believe in Jesus’s virgin birth, the Quaranic and Biblical accounts differ.
...about in the New Testament. Jesus came in the flesh to become the perfect, unblemished and unspotted sacrifice that took away the guilt of sins from whoever believes. Christ to the Christian had provided what the Old Testament sacrifices couldn’t, a once and for all, non- repetitive sacrifice by dying on the Cross. Although, the Islamic view does not believe that Christ’s death brought about atonement for sin as he was viewed as the final sacrifice; there are similar rituals that both faiths did when it comes to sacrifices whether it be finding an animal without spots or blemishes, taking care of the animal until slaughter and they give what is meant for God and eat the rest. In both texts, the Bible and Quran they do agree that Jesus lived a sinless, holy and followed God’s commends but was Jesus the final sacrifice? Or was mankind supposed to bear our sins alone.
The position that women have in religious scripture has given them a lesser spot in society. When God created a man it made sense to create his partner, the female. Because the man is created first and then the women from his rib, the female gender in religious scripture has been discriminated on. This is shown in the various books of the Old and New Testaments, teachings of Jesus Christ, and the Qur’an. First, the Old Testament illustrates women as the corrupter of men. Next, the teachings of Jesus show more equality among genders even though the New Testament does not. Finally, the Qur’an depicts women as having a subservient role to men allowing men to take advantage.
Jesus and Mohammed both are two huge historic religious figures. However, even though they are both very respectable in their religion they have many differences. Mohammed was born in Mecca and was an orphan. At the age of 40 he was appointed by God as a prophet. Jesus, however, was born in Bethlehem to the virgin Mary. The angel Gabriel proclaimed him as the “Son of the most High”. Jesus worked as a carpenter and at the age of 30 began his public ministry. Jesus and Mohammed both began their ministry late in life, but Jesus was appointed as a savior from the beginning and Mohammed was not. Although both men had different view of God’s nature they both believed that there was only one true God. They
... completion to the writings of the three holy books of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Islam is a religion that has brought peace, enlightenment, and unity to the faithful. I feel that this book could guide Muslims and non-Muslims in forming clear views on specific Islamic religious issues.