8 Main Differences Between the Bible And the Quran

We all know that Islam, Christianity, and Judaism are divine legislations. Still, the question that bounces into my mind is: What are the differences between the present Bible and the Quran? I tried to find an answer and there are eight main differences that I found between the two books. Let’s explore them…

Here we will learn the following:

Linguistic Meaning of Both
Identification and Description of God in Both
Revelation of Both
Preservation of Both
The Author of Both
Statuses of Prophets and Messengers in Both
Salvation in Both
Scientific facts in Both
Conclusion

Differences Between the Bible And the Quran:

There are many Differences Between the Bible And the Quran such as:

1- Linguistic Meaning of the Bible And the Quran
2- Identification and Description of God in the Bible And the Quran
3- Revelation of the Bible And the Quran
4- Preservation of the Bible And the Quran
5- The Author of the Bible And the Quran
6- Statuses of Prophets and Messengers in the Bible And the Quran
7- Salvation in the Bible And the Quran
8- Scientific Facts in the Bible And the Quran

1- Linguistic Meaning of the Bible And the Quran

The word Bible is derived from the Latin word “bíblia” which means “books”, therefore the current Bible is a group of collected books. The Bible contains 86 books in the Orthodox version, 81 books in the Ethiopian version, 76 books in the Charismatic version, 73 in the Catholic version, 66 in the Protestant version.

The word Quran literally means “recitation”. Muslims believe that the words of the Quran are the words of Allah that were revealed to Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings upon him) by the Angel Gabriel in Arabic and then transferred by the Prophet (PBUH) recited to his companions and followers.

2- Identification and Description of God in the Bible And the Quran

According to Islam, God is One, Unique, Perfect, Ever Living, All-Wise and He is the Most Powerful who created the universe and all living beings. To Him belongs all the perfect/good attributes.

Referring to the present Bible context, we found that God has been described in one verse of it as follows: “By the seventh day God had finished his work that he had been doing, so on the seventh day he rested from all his work………….on it he rested from all the work….”

While in Quran, the Only One God says (interpretation of the meaning): “Indeed, We created the heavens and the earth and everything in between in six Days, and We were not ˹even˺ touched with fatigue.”
(Quran 50/38)

3- Revelation of the Bible And the Quran

As mentioned in the present Bible context, some certain books were revealed by God to the Prophets through dreams and visions and certain historical accounts were written down into the Biblical context by people. It has been mentioned also that the word of God came directly to the Prophets and they would write down the messages or communicate with their followers to write them down. The Biblical contexts also included the words of the Prophets that would not necessarily be directly instructed by God. Still, those words were included as well.

On the contrary, the Quran is, solely, the word of God and no human words were included at all. Allah, the One and Only God, has guaranteed to preserve the Quran Himself as He said:

“Verily, We, it is We Who have sent down the Dhikr (i.e. the Quran) and surely, We will guard it (from corruption).”

4- Preservation of the Bible And the Quran

Interestingly, the Christians confess that the present Bible writers were corrupted, hence how can we trust that they were corrupted in some religious matters and not the others? Furthermore, the scribes specify that their “pens” turned the words of God into lies. To illustrate, one of their references mentioned:

“The present Bible was written over a span of 1500 years, by 40 writers. Unlike other religious writings, the present Bible reads as a factual news account of real events, places, people, and dialogue. Historians and archaeologists have repeatedly confirmed its authenticity. Using the writers’ own writing styles and personalities, God shows us who He is and what it is like to know him.”

On the other hand, the Qur’an has been preserved from alteration since its revelation had not been changed since it started up to date, while the present Bible contains many changes and variations in each of its versions.

5- The Author of the Bible And the Quran

As narrated and authenticated, The Quran had been, literally, dictated by God while the present Bible was written by humans according to their writing styles and personalities.

The following paragraph is a part of an article that has been found published on Wikipedia among a series of articles that have been posted in regards of the present Bible’s history:

“According to the viewpoint of the majority, the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, collectively referred to as the Synoptic Gospels, are the primary sources of historical information about Jesus and of the religious movement he founded. The fourth Gospel, the Gospel of John, differs greatly from the first three.”

However, the Quran had been written in the Sacred Tablet, then descended to the House of Honor, and then it was revealed to Prophet Muhammad via the Angel Jibriel during, approximately, twenty-three years, as it was not revealed to him all at once. The strategy of not revealing the whole Quran all at once yet concluded great wisdom, for if it were wholly revealed at one time, people would not have been able to abide by and act upon it.

For more clarifications,read the following articles:

6- Statuses of Prophets and Messengers in the Bible And the Quran

The present Bible’s context underestimates the Prophets and Messengers and mentions false, improper acts that are allegedly done by those noble people. For example:

It is said that Lut had committed incest with his daughters: ” Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father.”
Genesis (19: 30 _37)

Solomon married seven hundred wives and worshiped idols: ” And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart.”
Kings 1(11:3_5)

Noah was a drunkard who used to lay naked: “And he drank of the wine, and was drunk; and he was uncovered within his tent.”
Genesis ( 9:20_21)

On the other hand, The Quran distinguishes Messengers and Prophets with all qualities of goodness, kindness, patience, piety, faith and morals.

For Noah, ‘’Peace be upon Noah among all people.”
[Quran 37:79]

For Ibrahim, “Abraham was gentle, kind, penitent. ”
[Quran 11:75]

For Lot, “ And Lot—We gave him judgment and knowledge, and We survived him from the town that practiced the abominations. They were wicked and perverted people. ”
[Quran 21:74]

7- Salvation in the Bible And the Quran

According to Christianity; we have all been born with a sinful nature. According to the present Bible, humanity can achieve salvation only by grace of God alone, that you’re saved through faith in God (Jesus) only.

But when we read some verses from the present Bible, we find that these verses destroy such a belief:
Luke 1:47, Matthew 27:46 and Matthew 26:39

In the verse above, Mary said she rejoiced in God her Savior and also in the verses above, Jesus cried and prayed to God to be saved from death and Hebrews 5:7 said God saved Jesus from death.

On the contrary, the Muslim belief is that everyone is actually born innocent and a human whether to collect good or bad deeds along his life. In the case of granting mostly bad deeds, the Quran outlines a different way to Salvation. It states that your good deeds should outweigh your bad ones. In Islam, we do not believe that Jesus has been crucified for the salvation of sinners! Simply because God grants us forgiveness out of his grace and He does not need a price to be a Forgiver – just fulfilling repentance conditions grants a sinner a forgiveness. This is crystal clear in Jesus’ teachings as stated in the Bible as he said: “I came to call sinners to repent.”. It is also declared in his statement: “Repent for the kingdom of God is near.” It is just that simple, and always. Allah does not need to sacrifice any of his creations to bear the sins of any other, despite being unjust, God forbid, if he would have done!

To know more about original sin and repentance you may refer to the following articles:

8- Scientific facts in the Bible And the Quran

In reference to the scientific point of view, the Quran always corrects biblical corruptions and restores the Pure Gospel of Jesus in the form of the Last and Final Testament “Al-Quran”.

Here is an example:

It is stated in the present Bible that: The flat Earth is established and can never move?! The Sun hurries back to where it rises?!
The Psalm 104:5 Psalm 93:1 Psalm 96:10 and Ecclesiastes 1:5 verses from the NIV Bible.

On the other hand, Allah states in the Quran that the planets in space rotate and move, read the following Noble Verse:

“It is He Who created the night and the day, and the sun and the moon, all (the celestial bodies) swim along, each in its orbit with its own motion.” (The Noble Quran, 21:33)” So, it is another proof that the Quran had not been copied out of any of the biblical writings.

To know more about the scientific miracles in the Quran, refer to the following article:

Scientific Miracles in Quran – Most Authenticated with References

Conclusion – It is your turn, you have to decide!

Now, you have some major differences supported by quotations out of the two books and there are two paths ahead of you; that of light, ration-based, i.e., Islam, the message of all Prophets through history, and a kind of a man-made way out of doubts and uncertainty. It is your turn now to choose between them; your eternal happiness matters!

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