The Quran: With or Against the Bible?
A Topic-by-Topic Review for the Investigative MindBy Ejaz NaqviiUniverse, Inc.
Copyright © 2012 Ejaz Naqvi, MD
All right reserved.ISBN: 978-1-4759-0774-2Contents
• Author's Note...........................................................................xvii• Before We Start.........................................................................xix• Introduction to the Quran...............................................................1• Section 1 God...........................................................................21Chapter 1 Allah = God..........................................................................23Chapter 2 The Nature of God....................................................................28Chapter 3 God Is Kind and Loving...............................................................38Chapter 4 God, the Creator.....................................................................43Chapter 5 Praise the Lord......................................................................51Chapter 6 Attributes of God....................................................................56• Section 2 The Quran on the Quran........................................................67Chapter 7 The Quran: God's Revelation..........................................................69Chapter 8 Why Was the Quran Revealed?..........................................................80Chapter 9 Recitation, Translation, and Interpretation of the Quran.............................86• Section 3 The Quran and Science.........................................................91Chapter 10 The Universe and Astronomy..........................................................93Chapter 11 The Earth, and Plant and Animal Kingdom.............................................112Chapter 12 Humans and Human Embryology.........................................................126• Section 4 The Quran on Prophets, scriptures, and People of the Book.....................135Chapter 13 The Prophets........................................................................137Chapter 14 Adam and Noah.......................................................................145Chapter 15 Abraham: The Father of Monotheistic Religions.......................................154Chapter 16 Moses (Musa, Moshe).................................................................179Chapter 17 Jesus (Isa) and Mary (Maryam).......................................................202Chapter 18 Muhammad............................................................................224Chapter 19 scriptures and People of the Book...................................................244• Section 5 The Quran and Eschatology.....................................................267Chapter 20 Life and Death......................................................................269Chapter 21 The Day of Judgment.................................................................276Chapter 22 The Hereafter: Paradise and Hell....................................................286• Section 6 The Quran and Daily Life......................................................301Chapter 23 Pillars of Islam....................................................................303Chapter 24 Jihad (To Strive)...................................................................322Chapter 25 Women and the Family................................................................332Chapter 26 Personal Behavior and Code of Conduct...............................................350• In Closing..............................................................................366• Bibliography............................................................................368
Chapter One
Allah = God
"Allah" is the Arabic word for "God." The word "Allah" is derived from two words: Al (the) and Ilah (deity), meaning "the deity" or simply, "God." Thus even though many people, including Muslims, may believe it is a proper name for God in Arabic, it literally means "the God," or "the sole God." The etymological origins of the word "Allah" are also found in other languages and appear in the Hebrew Bible (Elohim) and the Aramaic Bible (Elaha). Most English translations of the Bible have translated Elohim as God. Some in the West believe that Allah in the Quran is different than the "God" of the Bible. However, a close analysis of the Quran and the Bible and an examination of various cultural practices would argue against such a belief. According to Columbia Encyclopedia, Arabic speakers of all Abrahamic faiths, including Christians and Jews, use the word "Allah" to mean "God." These include Mizrahi Jews, Eastern Orthodox Christians, and Eastern Catholic Christians. Many others share this view. Whereas many communities in the biblical and Quranic stories took on many deities as their god/s, the Quran and the Bible emphasize, over and over, that there is no god but God (the singular deity). Allah was also used in pre-Quranic Mecca by pagans as a deity, but one who had associates and was not considered the sole divine power. This polytheistic view was thoroughly rejected by Prophet Muhammad and the Quran. Muslims believe that the Quran is the final word from Allah, who is the Lord of the Worlds, the Creator of the universe, All-Knowledgeable, All-Powerful, All-Compassionate, and All-Merciful—the attributes shared by both the Quran and the Bible in reference to God.
Arabic translations of the Bible use Allah as the translation for the Hebrew Elohim. Thus "God," "Allah," and "Elohim" refer to the same deity.
"Elohim" is derived from Eloah (singular form), which is an expanded form of the Northwest Semitic noun il. It refers to the one God of Israel. The word "elohim" (with a lowercase e), on the other hand, is generally used in the Hebrew Bible to indicate plural pagan gods. Elohim is the first name for God used in the Torah: "In the beginning, God (Elohim) created heavens and the earth." Genesis 1:1. According to Jewish scholars, "Elohim" is the name given to God, the Creator, and generally implies power and justice. There is some argument that the similarities of the words "Allah," "Elah," and "Elohim" do not necessarily mean that these words refer to the same deity. The word "Eloah" is most often used in the book of Job (in debates between Job and his friends), and less so in Deuteronomy (32:15) and Psalms (50:22, 114:7, and 139:19).
Another divine name used in the Hebrew Bible is "Yahweh," a proper name for the God of Israel. It is derived from a Hebrew word that's transcribed into Roman letters as YHVH. It is the most frequently used name of God in Tanakh, the Jewish Bible consisting of the Torah (teaching, or law), Nevi'im (Prophets), and Ketuvim (Writings). YHWH is considered to be an unutterable name of God of Israel and is often referred to as "tetragrammation" ("the four letters") since it's derived from four Hebrew letters: Yod, Hey, Vav, and Hey. The name YHVH implies God's mercy and the condescension of Almighty God. Bible describes Yahweh as the one true God who delivered Israel from Egypt and gave the Ten Commandments. Yahweh is also translated as Jehovah in English.
"I (am) Jehovah thy God, who hath brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of a house of servants." Exodus 20:2 (translation from Darby; the King James, New Living Translation, and other modern translations have used "I am the LORD, your God" instead).
According to biblical accounts, God appeared to Moses and Abraham with different names, but it did not change the fact that He is the same God, regardless of what names He was called.
"And God said to Moses. "I am Yahweh—The Lord, I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as El-Shaddai, God Almighty, but I did not reveal my name Yahweh to them. And I reaffirmed my covenant with them." Exodus 6:2–3
(El-Shaddai is often used in the Torah and means "God, the Almighty.")
Allah, or God, is mentioned by various other attributes in the Quran, such as Ar-Rehman (The Most Compassionate), Ar-Rahim (The Most Merciful), Al-Khaliq (The Creator), and Al-Nur (The Light), among many other attributes. It is said that Allah has ninety-nine "names" in the Quran, although this actually refers to some of the qualities or attributes of God. Reading the attributes alone, one can conclude that the God in the Bible and the Quran have many of the same attributes.
Indeed Allah is the most often-repeated word used for God in the Quran. The following translators of the Quran have used the Arabic word Allah when translating the Quran into English, perhaps believing there is no corresponding word in English: Pickthall, Abdullah Yousuf Ali, Farooq-i-Azam Malik, Fakhry, Shakir, and Muhammad Ali.
Many other translators, especially in the modern times, have used the word "God" in translations for Allah. These include Asad, Yuksel, Pooya Yazdi, Al Ghazali, Emerick, Haleem, and Ali Unal.
The following verse is an example of the translations by the first group mentioned above:
"And your Allah is One Allah. There is no god but He, Most Gracious, Most Merciful." 2:163
If Allah is indeed a proper name, this translation does not seem very clear. However, if we take Allah as the Arabic word (and not a proper name) for God, here is how the same verse would be translated, with a much more clear message.
"And your God is One God. There is no god but He, Most Gracious, Most Merciful." 2:163
Therefore, when a verse is translated as "there is no god but Allah," it does not imply that "there is no God except the Arabic, or the Quranic, Allah." It simply means that "there is no god but God"—a more appropriate translation. (It is also the title of one of Reza Aslan's books, No god but God.)
Many passages in both the Quran and the Bible refer to the same historical events, like the creation of Adam, the floods in Noah's era, Abraham's sons Ishmael and Isaac, Moses and the Israelites, and so on. This would once again indicate that the Allah mentioned in the Quran and the God (or Yahweh) in the Bible is the same deity.
For these reasons, I am in agreement with the latter group of translators mentioned above, who have translated "Allah" to mean "God." And since Allah and God refer to the same deity, the words "Allah" and "God" in this book are used interchangeably.
Lord, Rabb, and Adonai
Another word used in the Quran for God is "Rabb," often translated as "Lord" or "Sustainer" in English, though some translators (e.g., Farooq-i-Azam Malik) have maintained that there is no English equivalent of the word. The word "Adonai" is used in the Hebrew Bible, usually side by side with Yahweh, and is often translated as "Lord" in English. Strictly speaking, "Adonai" is the plural of Adon, meaning lord and master, which became the replacement for YHWH, considered too holy to utter. Despite the linguistic origins, Adonai refers to a singular deity.
Is the God of the Quran the Same as the God of the Bible?
The doctrine of Trinity notwithstanding, the religious scholars of monotheistic faiths generally believe they worship the same God, the One who created the universe, the One who sent the prophets, the One who is eternal and will be the Master on the Day of Judgment.
Points to Remember
• Many Muslims and people of other faiths often think of "Allah" as a proper name of God. However, it is the Arabic word used for God, the singular deity. Many modern Quran translators have used "God" rather than retain
• "Allah" in their translations.
• "Elohim" is the Hebrew word for God. Yahweh is a personal, unutterable name of God, though it is often translated as "God" or "Lord" in English translations of the Holy Bible.
• Many non-Muslims, including Christians and Jews in the Arab world, use "Allah" to mean God. The Arabic versions of the Bible translate "Elohim" as "Allah."
• The God mentioned in the Bible and the Quran refers to the same deity, whether using the words "Allah," "Elohim," or "Yahweh."
Time to Ponder
• If the Torah, the Gospel, and the Quran refer to the same God, why do we not see the same name across all scriptures? Why was "Allah" not used in the Hebrew Bible, or "Elohim" not used in the Quran for God? Did God want us to remember Him in our own languages? If so, does it imply that how or what we call Him is not as important?
• Does the Quran insist that we know Him as Allah only? Does calling Him "God," instead, somehow imply one is lowering His status?
• Is the "God of Muslims" different than the "God of Jews" and the "God of Christians"? If one believes such a dogma, what's the theological evidence to support it?
Chapter Two
The Nature of God
God's Existence
The question "Is there a God?" has probably existed in the minds of people since ancient times, and humans have gone back and forth in their argument. One of the fundamental beliefs among the monotheistic faiths, and for that matter most other religions, revolves around the existence of God, who created everything and to whom we shall all return. All scholars of monotheistic faiths agree that God's nature and His whereabouts are beyond finite human cognition. However, His signs are all around us. The Quran frequently invites man to ponder over the nature and the signs of His existence. The Quran further argues that the pondering should lead one to conclude that the universe and everything in it was created with an intelligent design by a supreme Creator, and that such creation was not fortuitous, for an accidental birth could not have resulted in such a complex yet orderly universe, in perfect harmony.
"Verily in the heavens and the earth, are Signs for those who believe. And in the creation of yourselves and the fact that animals are scattered (through the earth), are Signs for those of assured Faith. And in the alternation of Night and Day, and the fact that Allah sends down Sustenance from the sky, and revives therewith the earth after its death, and in the change of the winds, are Signs for those that are wise." 45:3–5
"Say: `It is He Who has created you (and made you grow), and made for you the faculties of hearing, seeing, feeling, and understanding.'" 67:23
Similarly, Paul's invitation to study for signs of God in nature is apparent from this passage in the New Testament:
"For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse." Romans 1:20
The Quran's emphasis on pondering will be discussed in more detail in chapter 11.
The complex universe, from galaxies to biological cells, reveals intricate checks and balances that simply could not have evolved without supreme intelligence, leading to the only logical conclusion that the signs of God exist in "nature." Agnostics and atheists argue that natural phenomenon could be explained by "science." The question then is, who created the laws of science? Do scientific processes that explain the natural phenomena exclude the presence of, and the design by, God?
In his book The Creator, Brig. Aftab Ahmad Khan, a retired Pakistani army officer and an ardent student of Semitic religions, compares the concept of the existence of God to light and sound. He explains how light is real and has a source like the sun or electricity. Darkness, on the other hand, is simply the absence of light—a perception, not a reality. Similarly, sound is real; it has a measure, and silence is simply an absence of sound and a mere perception. Thus absence of God is a perception, and the existence of God is a reality with clear signs.
In the following paragraphs, certain physiological phenomena are discussed that can trigger the curious minds to ponder whether these phenomena are accidental or a result of intelligent design. Human breast milk has a unique composition, with perfect balance in regards to the amounts of fluid, electrolytes, and other key nutrients—not more, not less than what a baby needs. Were it not for this perfect mix, the newborn would be in shortage or excess of either the fluids or the nutrients. Newborns have no teeth and can only swallow liquids, and no one taught them how to drink the only form of nutrition available: mother's milk. How did they learn to suckle mother's milk starting at birth? How does the process of evolution explain that? Were human babies at one time in the evolutionary process not able to suckle milk at birth? If so, the babies would have died, cutting off the human reproductive cycle. Moreover, human milk is low in iron, not enough to meet the needs of the newborn. However, the newborn liver has enough iron stores, acquired during pregnancy, to last about six months. That's about the amount of time before babies can begin to digest some form of solid food, rich in iron. Coincidence? Moreover, human milk is rich in antibodies (immunoglobulin A), especially in the first few days, to protect the newborn baby from infections during birth, when the baby passes through the birth canal—a place with a rich bacterial environment. Another coincidence?
How does the mother's birth canal learn to relax and open up when the baby is ready to be born? We know a head-down position is a very important factor in dilating the birth canal when the time is right. True, it can all be explained by physiological processes, but does a scientific explanation confirm evolution or intelligent design? Who put all this in motion? Another physiological phenomenon to ponder: during fetal life, lungs are formed but are not expanded, as the fetus does not breathe. If he or she did, he or she would have drowned in the fluid in which he or she lives (which serves as a shock absorber). So how does he or she get his or her oxygen and get rid of the dangerous carbon dioxide? There exists a unique system of dual blood supply from the mother through the umbilical arteries and veins, bypassing the need to exchange these gases through breathing. Is there evidence to show that at some point, the above mentioned phenomena did not exist, and humans somehow "learned" or evolved to fix these problem that otherwise existed? If humans existed at one time without these "corrective" or evolutionary mechanisms, it would have made reproduction impossible.
The oxygen cycle is another example of symbiosis—a process whereby two organisms exist in a mutually beneficial state. By far the largest reservoir of oxygen on earth is found in the silicate and oxide minerals in the crust and mantle of the earth (99.5 percent). Less than 0.4 percent is released in the atmosphere we breathe. The main source of the atmospheric oxygen is photosynthesis, a process by which plants on earth and the oceans produce oxygen that's critical to sustain human life. Is that a coincidence or the result of an intelligent design?
The subject of signs of God and the Quran and science will be discussed in more detail in section 3.
God Is One
The existence of God and the Oneness of God are inseparable concepts, representing the most fundamental teaching of the scriptures. "There is no god, but God" is the first half of Muslim's testimony (Shahada) to Islam. Anyone who associates other gods with Allah is considered a mushrik, a polytheist, or a pagan. It is considered a major sin. In the Quran, the Oneness of God, or Wehdat, is repeatedly emphasized. Some of the very basic teachings from the Quran about God are that there is no god but God, that there is only one God, that He has no partners, and that there is no one else worthy of worship.
The Quran further teaches that God is Omnipresent and Omnipotent. He is our Guardian, Helper, the Most Kind, the Most Merciful, the Most Loving, the Judge, the Most High, All-Knowing, the Hearer of all, the Seer of all, the Most Generous, All-Wise, the Majestic, the First, the Last, the Light, the Guide, and the Almighty. Scholars point out that these and other attributes of God are themselves a testimony to His Oneness. The complex doctrine of Trinity notwithstanding, the Bible and the Quran are congruent on many of these key beliefs.
"Your God is one God; there is no one worthy of worship except Him, the Compassionate, the Merciful." 2:163
"And God has said: `Do not take to worshipping two (or more) deities.' He is the One and Only God: hence, `of Me, of Me alone stand in awe!'" 16:51 (Asad)
"Do not associate another deity with Allah, lest you sit back, condemned, forsaken. Your Lord has decreed to you that: You shall worship none but Him." 17:22–23 (Shakir)
(Continues...)
Excerpted from The Quran: With or Against the Bible?by Ejaz Naqvi Copyright © 2012 by Ejaz Naqvi, MD. Excerpted by permission of iUniverse, Inc.. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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