The Qur'an
from the Arabic verb qara‘a = read/recite The Qur’an from the Arabic verb qara‘a = read/recite Concept of Tanzil = ‘sent down‘
Use of the Qur‘an Folk Islam Arabic language Careful use of the book No critique allowed Qur´an as a guideline Different translations/ interpretations
Comparison Bible and Qur‘an Number of books Number of Chapters Number of Authors Period of writing Length of the book Order/Arrangement Content
Comparison Bible and Qur‘an Number of books 66 1 Number of Chapters Number of Authors Period of writing Length of the book Order/Arrangement Content 5
Comparison Bible and Qur‘an Number of books 66 1 Number of Chapters 1189 114 Number of Authors Period of writing Length of the book Order/Arrangement Content 6
Comparison Bible and Qur‘an Number of books 66 1 Number of Chapters 1189 114 Number of Authors Period of writing Length of the book Order/Arrangement Content Some names of the Suras: The Cow Mary Cattle Joseph The Prophets Iron Muhammad Qur‘an is divided into 30 parts – for reading during Ramada Qur‘an is divided into 30 parts – for reading during Ramadan 7
Comparison Bible and Qur‘an Number of books 66 1 Number of Chapters 1189 114 Number of Authors more than 40 Period of writing Length of the book Order/Arrangement Content 8
Comparison Bible and Qur‘an Number of books 66 1 Number of Chapters 1189 114 Number of Authors more than 40 Period of writing more than 1400 years 23 years Length of the book Order/Arrangement Content 9
Comparison Bible and Qur‘an Number of books 66 1 Number of Chapters 1189 114 Number of Authors more than 40 Period of writing more than 1400 years 23 years Length of the book ~ 5 times size of Qur’an 80% of NT Order/Arrangement Content 10
Comparison Bible and Qur‘an Number of books 66 1 Number of Chapters 1189 114 Number of Authors more than 40 Period of writing more than 1400 years 23 years Length of the book ~ 5 times size of Qur’an 80% of NT Order/Arrangement chronological by length of chapters Content 11
Comparison Bible and Qur‘an Number of books 66 1 Number of Chapters 1189 114 Number of Authors more than 40 Period of writing more than 1400 years 23 years Length of the book ~ 5 times size of Qur’an 80% of NT Order/Arrangement chronological by length of chapters Content God´s acts in history direct speech of Allah
The Qur´an contradicts the Bible Noah had only one son – and he drowned in the flood (Sura 11:42-43) (Gen 6 + 7) The father of Abraham in the Qur´an was Azar (Sura 6:74) (Gen 11:31) Moses was adopted by Pharaoh´s wife (Sura 28:89) (Exod. 1:5-10) Pharaoh told Haman to build a lofty tower so that he „may go up to the God of Moses“ (Sura 28:38) (Gen 10:32-11:4) Mary, the mother of our Lord Jesus, was the sister of Aaron and the daughter of Imran (Sura 19:17-28)
NT Apocrypha Jewish Talmud Eastern Sources Pagan Arabian Past The Hanifites
The Compilation of the Qur’an from a Christian perspective Many different Manuscripts 632 - 636 Different Sources Muhammad 610 - 632 Collection and revision into one document All other manuscripts burnt
Possible uses of the Qur´an for Christians: To learn from it To ask questions To help Muslims see the internal problems in their book To argue from the Qur´an (only if you know it very well!) To use as a bridge to the Bible by using common stories from it But: the Qur´an has no authority for Christians. No need to use the Qur´an to prove the Bible!