Appleby 1 Morgan Appleby Professor Justin Robinson English 102: Section B4 17 February 2012

The Qur'an's Similarities to the Christian Bible It is obvious that despite the major differences between Islam and Christianity, they are more similar than people think because of both of the religions' basic principles. According to scriptures of the Quran and the Holy Bible, the religions are very similar regarding their beliefs of having one God, the word they worship, having a son of God or one main profit, sins, forgiveness, and simply having a savior. Many of the religions' similarities are explained through their scriptures or from what is considered the word itself. Muslims, the followers of Islam, believe that the Quran is the word of God. The Qur'an, in Arabic, is translated as the recitation (Holy Quran 5). It's basically Islam's bible. It has the same first testament as the Christian Bible, containing the Torah and many of the same prophets. For example, Muslims believe that Jesus was a prophet, but he wasn't the son of God. They believe he wasn't crucified; he was just killed. Instead, they praise Muhammad which is considered to be the greatest and final prophet from God (Jurji 4). Similar to Christians' ten commandments, Islam has the five pillars. They are very similar, and both can be considered to be a code of ethics to follow. For example, while the ten commandments state thou shalt have no other gods before me, one the Qur'an's five pillars says know therefore that there is no god but God (Quran: The Final Testament, Authorized English Version, Sura 2: 163). Another example includes the commandment of thou shalt not commit adultery; the Qur'an's five pillars follow the same thing by saying you shall not commit adultery, and it goes on saying surely, it's a shameful deed and an evil way

Appleby 1 (Quran: The Final Testament, Authorized English Version, Sura 4:17). The ten commandments and the five pillars relate in other beliefs, as well, such as murder, taking God's name in vain, putting God first, stealing, lying, and honoring one's parents (Quran: The Final Testament, Authorized English Version, Sura 29:27). These are just a few of the many, many similarities that the Qur'an and the Holy Bible share. Although there is a countless amount of similarities between the Qur'an and the bible, there are some differences on important principles between the Qur'an and the bible. When it comes to sin and forgiveness, Islams believe that if you believe in God and stop committing your sins, you will be forgiven while Christians believe that you have to believe Jesus died on the cross for our sins in order to be forgiven for your sins. For example, the Qur'an says that "if you refrain from committing the gross sins that are prohibited for you, we will remit your sins, and admit you an honorable admittance" and to "proclaim: 'If you love God, you should follow me.' God will then love you, and forgive your sins" (Quran: The Final Testament, Authorized English Version, Sura 3:31). The Bible, on the other hand, says "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life" (The Holy Bible: New International Version, John 3:16). When it comes to the treatment of a woman, the Qur'an says that if you experience rebellion from the women, you shall first talk to them, then deserting them in bed, then you may beat them. If they obey you, you are not permitted to transgress against them" (Quran: The Final Testament, Authorized English Version, Sura 4:34). The bible says "husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her" (The Holy Bible: New International Version, Eph. 5:25). That is one of the most important differences between the religions. While there are some differences between the the religions, there is a massive amount of similarities between the Qur'an and the Holy Bible. Sura, a chapter in the Qur'an, is one of the

Appleby 1 main chapters that relates to the Christian bible. The Qur'an shoes that they both agree that the creation of the earth happened in six days (Naik 5). They both include the creation of the sun and moon and agree that the sun was created after the first day (Naik 5). They agree that the vegetation was created on the third day (Naik 5). They both include Moses, Abraham, and Noah and the flood (Naik 5). Both religions believe in a heaven and an earth (Naik 5). The Quran says "Praise be to God, who created the heavens and the earth, and made the darkness and the light" (Quran: The Final Testament, Authorized English Version, Sura 6:1), and the Holy Bible says the same thing by saying that "in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" (The Holy Bible: New International Version, Gen. 1:1). Both religions also believe in one God. The Quran says that "your god is one god; there is no god but He, Most Gracious, Most Merciful," and it also says "say, 'O followers of the scripture, let us come to a logical agreement between us and you: that we shall not worship except God; that we never set up any idols besides Him, nor set up any human beings as lords beside God.'" (Quran: The Final Testament, Authorized English Version, Sura 3:64). The Christian Holy Bible pretty much says the same exact thing when Jesus said worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only" in Matthew 4:10 and when Apostle Paul said that "We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and that there is no God but one" in 1 Corinthians 8:4 (The Holy Bible: New International Version). Both religions believe in a hell; they also both mention there being fire and paying for your sins. When it comes to hell, the Qur'an says "Surely, those who disbelieve in our revelations, we will condemn them to the hellfire. Whenever their skins are burnt, we will give them new skins. Thus, they will suffer continuously" (Quran: The Final Testament, Authorized English Version, Sura 4:56), and the bible says if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire" (The Holy Bible: New International Version, Rev. 20:15) It also says "But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars - their place will be in

Appleby 1 the fiery lake of burning sulfur; this is the second death" (The Holy Bible: New International Version, Rev. 25:15). They both even mention there being water in heaven. The Qur'an says "As for those who believe and lead a righteous life - we never burden any soul beyond its means - these will be the dwellers of Paradise. They abide in it forever. We will remove all jealousy from their hearts. Rivers will flow beneath them, and they will say, 'God be praised for guiding us. We could not possibly be guided, if it were not that God has guided us. The messengers of our Lord did bring the truth.' They will be called: 'This is your Paradise. You have inherited it, in return for your works'" (Quran: The Final Testament, Authorized English Version, Sura 7:42) while the Bible say that "nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life. Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and His servants will serve Him. They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads" (The Holy Bible: New International Version, Rev. 24: 27). When comparing the verses in both the Qur'an and the bible, it is clear that the similarities are incredible and can alone explain how similar the religions are. Most of the principles and beliefs that are portrayed in the Qur'an and the Christian bible are exactly the same. Aside from the Islams view on Jesus not being the son of God, their treatment of women, and how to be forgiven of sins, the differences in no way amount to the astounding amount of similarities.

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Works Cited

Holy Quran, Very Briefly Explained. IslamicVideo, 2007. YouTube. Web. 16 Feb. 2012 Jurji, Edward, ed. The Great Religions of the World. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1945. Print. Naik, Dr. Zakir. Scientific Comparison between Quran and Bible. QuranicStudies.com. Quranic Studies, 06 Dec. 2003. Web. 16 Feb. 2012 Quran: The Final Testament [Authorized English Version]. Trans. The Holy Bible: New International Version. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Bible, 1984. Print.