The Three Abrahamic Testaments: How the Torah, Gospels, and Qur'an Hold the Keys for Healing Our Fears (Islamic Encounter Series) - Softcover

Naqvi, Ejaz

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1940468477 ISBN 13: 9781940468471

Publisher: White Cloud Press, 2017

Synopsis

The question remains: Why can’t we all just get along? Violence pours into our lives everyday through the media from around the world and in our neighborhoods. Religion, which should be a source of peace, is often right at the center of this violence. And the three Abrahamic faiths of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are engaged in complex relations of reciprocity and recrimination.

In this volatile climate, a Muslim doctor, Ejaz Naqvi, writes as a champion for seeing the Three Testaments―the Torah, the New Testament, and the Qur’an―as sources of peace for all humanity. A healer by profession, Dr. Naqvi shows how the Three Abrahamic Testaments share major values and beliefs (oneness of God, the golden rule) while not diminishing differences between the three faiths. His message is simple: You don’t have to be wrong form me to right.

About this title

Review

“The Three Abrahamic Testaments is a unique contribution to interfaith understanding. Written by a committed, believing Muslim scientist and scholar, it offers a helpful and honest comparison of the Qur’an with the Hebrew Bible and New Testament that is neither polemical, apologetic nor triumphalist. It acknowledges both similarities and differences in a spirit of improving understanding and respect for the dignity of believers of other faiths. Dr. Ejaz Naqvi does not ignore differences between the Bible and the Qur’an, nor does he try to reconcile them. There are various ways to treat differences. Historically, religious thinkers have tended to assume that if there is a discrepancy between scriptures, one scripture must be right and the others are wrong. Based on this simplistic thinking, one religion must therefore hold the key to divine truth while the others are false religions and provide no benefit. Dr. Naqvi provides a deeper and much more spiritual and sophisticated analysis by demonstrating how differences need not be threatening but in fact enlightening. He shows that different versions of the same message appeal to different communities and stimulate discussion so that we can learn to know and respect one another better. From the grand perspective, all three scriptures convey the identical vital concern for ethics, compassion, and the need to respond to the divine will. This book will become a primary tool for interfaith understanding through scriptural reasoning and the comparative study of religious text.” –Rabbi Reuven Firestone, Regenstein Professor in Medieval Judaism and Islam, Hebrew Union College

“At a time of perceived conflict between Muslims and Christians across the globe, Naqvi’s book reminds us all of the shared mores and values―not to mention myths and stories―that bind the Qur’an and the Bible together as a single unbroken revelation. This is not just a candid and thought-provoking review of major topics in both the Bible and the Qur’an, but also a much-needed corrective to the negativity and conflict that have marred relations between the Abrahamic traditions.” –Reza Aslan, author of New York Times bestsellers, Zealot and No god but God and Beyond Fundamentalism

“Once again, Dr. Naqvi separates facts from fiction in this systematic review of the Abrahamic scriptures. As self-interested forces threaten to divide us based on faith, his book is a timely corrective. It debunks the easy accusations that would incriminate religious teachings in the spread of prejudice and hate. As in his first book, The Quran: With or Against the Bible?, the reader is invited to ponder rather than impose received opinion. The book’s format is easy to grasp, yet it addresses complex issues, including gender and jihad. The Three Abrahamic Testaments makes a significant contribution to understanding among Jews, Christians and Muslims in our overly polarized world.” –Michael Wolfe, author of The Hadj: One Thousand Roads to Mecca and Taking Back Islam

“Open your heart – open your mind – open this book. The Three Abraham Testaments is a college textbook and bestseller rolled into one. Use it like a coffee table book. Start on any page, savor a kernel and set aside the rest for later. Or read until you are so moved that you must pause to digest. The scriptural references and wisdom quotes are stand-alone gems. The ‘Time to Ponder’ and ‘Discussion Points for Dialogue and Healing’ provide ready-made talking points for book groups, classroom settings and conversations over the dinner table. There is no hierarchy in this book except that the Holy One is the Creator and Sustainer of all. By eliminating hierarchy, Dr. Ejaz Naqvi has side-stepped the major competitive questions of ‘whose religion is right’ and ‘whose religion is best.’ Instead, he touches upon the essence of all three Abrahamic faiths and the religious streams that spring from them.” –Rabbi Pamela Frydman, founding rabbi of Or Shalom Jewish Community and author of Calling on God: Sacred Jewish Teachings for Seekers of All Faiths

“Dr. Naqvi has created another well presented overview of the Abrahamic traditions by exposing us to a greater view of the Qu’ran and the Islamic tradition. I highly recommend this resource for congregations as a way to expose their congregants to the comparative teachings of Islam, Christianity and Judaism and to ask, “What do you believe?” and “Why?” By starting with what we have in common, we can learn much more than taking a stance of opposition or superiority. Then, invite some Muslim families to come to your congregation to share more about what their lives are like. I know your whole congregation will be enriched.” –Rev. William McGarvey, Executive Director, Interfaith Council of Contra Costa County, California

“It is more than refreshing to probe a book that does not neutralize or sensationalize the difference found in the Abrahamic religious traditions. The Three Abrahamic Testaments is an important contribution to interfaith dialogue and understanding. It provides an inspiring model for how that dialogue might be engaged in a way that is both informative and healing. Dr. Naqvi celebrates the differences while challenging the reader to engage in what is no less than a transformative experience. The discussion and reflective questions found throughout this book invite the reader to become a lively part of the dialogue this book so powerfully presents. We are most grateful for the obvious energy and deep respect Dr. Naqvi displays in this fine work. –Rev. Thomas P. Bonacci, C.P., Co-founder of The Interfaith Peace Project of Northern California

About the Author

Ejaz Naqvi is chief of Chronic Pain Program and director of Graduate Medical Education at Kaiser Permanente in the San Francisco East Bay area. He is the immediate past president of Islamic Center of Zahra in Pleasanton, CA, and has been actively involved in lecturing on Islam around the country. He lives in Walnut Creek, CA.

About this edition

• Publisher: White Cloud Press
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 1940468477
• ISBN 13: 9781940468471
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288