A Comparison of Prophethood in the Qur’an and Bible.

[فداء الرسول]

A Comparison of Prophethood in the Qur’an and Bible.


3Prophethood is a concept that is common to all three Abrahamic faiths with the Prophets playing a crucial role in God’s plan for mankind. A significant chunk of both the Qur’an and Bible is dedicated to the Prophets so their stories warrant special attention. This article will discuss the nature of Prophethood and
contrast its portrayal in the Qur’an and Bible.


NATURE OF PROPHETHOOD

Throughout the Qur’an Prophethood is described in extremely noble terms:

…Allah sent the prophets as bringers of good tidings and warners and sent down with them the Scripture in truth to judge between the people concerning that in which they differed. [Chapter, 2, verse 213]

And whoever obeys Allah and the Messenger – those will be with the ones upon whom Allah has bestowed favour of the prophets, the steadfast affirmers of truth, the martyrs and the righteous. And excellent are those as companions. [Chapter 4, verse 69]

Likewise the Bible also describes Prophethood in highly noble terms:

“…Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.” [2 Chronicles 20:20]

“Although the Lord sent prophets to the people to bring them back to him, and though they testified against them, they would not listen.” [2 Chronicles 24:19]

PURPOSE OF SENDING PROPHETS

Out of His love and mercy for mankind God did not leave us without guidance. In order to bring us closer to Him, God selected certain human beings to act as Prophets. From the above passages we can conclude that both the Qur’an and Bible define Prophets as those who were sent as teachers and guides in order to bring mankind closer to God.

As we have seen, both the Qur’an and Bible paint a very noble and honourable picture for the concept of Prophethood. So we should expect God’s Prophets to embody these ideals by being the best people in character, with their behaviour and lives representing a practical example for us to follow in order to come closer to God. This makes perfect sense in order to fulfil the goals and objectives of Prophethood as it is defined in both Scriptures
.COMPARISON BETWEEN THE QUR’AN AND BIBLE

There is a lot of overlap between both Scriptures when it comes to the stories of the Prophets, with many events and themes being shared. Unfortunately when it comes to the character of the Prophets, the Scriptures are radically different. We will now look at some examples of specific Prophets in both the Qur’an and Bible and compare them:Prophet Aaron and idolatry

The Bible says:

So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” [Exodus 32:3-4]

The Qur’an says:

And Aaron had already told them before [the return of Moses], “O my people, you are only being tested by it, and indeed, your Lord is the Most Merciful, so follow me and obey my order.” They said, “We will never cease being devoted to the calf until Moses returns to us.” [Chapter 20, verses 90-91]

The Bible tarnishes Aaron with involvement in the worst of sins, idolatry. This is a violation of the First Commandment, “You shall have no other gods before me”, the very Law that God tasked Moses and Aaron to impart on the Israelites. Contrast this with the Qur’an, which outright rejects these claims by stating that Aaron is innocent of such slander.Prophet David and adultery and murder

The Bible says:

One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “Isn’t this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (She had purified herself from her uncleanness.) Then she went back home. The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.”… In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. In it he wrote, “Put Uriah in the front line where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die.”… When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. [2 Samuel 11:2-26]

The Qur’an says:

And We had certainly given to David and Solomon knowledge, and they said, “Praise [is due] to Allah, who has favored us over many of His believing servants.” [Chapter 27, verse 15]And We strengthened his kingdom and gave him wisdom and discernment in speech. [Chapter 38, verse 20]