Of Holy Men, Holy Books
The Torah, Bible & Qur'an
by Henry Velez; Editor

INTRO: Holy Books and Authors 
We will begin with a brief acquainting between the Torah (in addition to the Old Testament), The Bible (Old and New Testament combined), the Qur'an and each respective author. We will then look at how each book is related and the conclusions which can be drawn from them. 

The Torah: Comprised of the first five books of the Bible, also known as the 'Books of Moses'. They are; 

GENESIS (BERESHIT)

Creation, Adam and Eve, Noah and the Flood, the Patriarchs and the Matriarchs, and ends with the descent of Jacob and his family to Egypt. 
The commandment of circumcision, the promise to Abraham that he would receive the Land of Israel and that his descendants would be a blessing to the rest of the world. 

EXODUS (SHMOT)

The Hebrew title of this Book refers to the names of the Jews who entered Egypt. 
The exile, the gradual enslavement and suffering. The birth of Moses and his initial prophecies, the ten plagues and the Exodus from Egypt. 
The Revelation at Mt.Sinai, where the Jewish people received the Written and the Oral Torah. 
The building of the Mishkan, a portable Temple which housed the two tablets of stone on which the Ten Commandments were inscribed. 

LEVITICUS (VAYIKRA)

G-d calls to Moses and teaches him the laws of the Priests, the Temple, the sacrifices and the Festivals. 
Much of the Jewish code of morality and ethics appears in Vayikra, including the famous statement "Love your neighbor as yourself." 

NUMBERS (BAMIDBAR)

The travels, battles and struggles of the Jewish People during their 40 year sojourn in the desert after the Exodus from Egypt. 
Begins with a census of the 12 tribes and describes the formation of their camp. 
The rebellion of Korach, his demise, and the sending of 12 spies into Israel. 
The capture of the East Bank of the Jordan river and the subsequent settlement there of the Tribes of Reuven, Gad and half of Menashe. 

DEUTERONOMY (DEVARIM)

Final address of Moses to the Jewish People before his death. This prophetic farewell includes rebuke, encouragement and warnings for their future. 
Commandments that apply only in Israel. 
Commandments that govern the interaction with other nations. 
Moses writes 13 copies of the complete Torah, giving one to each tribe and placing one in the Holy Ark. 
The Five Books of Moses close with the death of "the greatest of all prophets" and "the most humble of all men," Moses. 

The Bible: Comprised of all 'canonized' sixty-six books, penned by forty authors over a span of time ranging from Moses (B.C.) all the way to the disciple John (A.D.). The Bible is divided into two separate collections of books;

THE OLD TESTAMENT: Thirty-nine books, from Genesis to Malachi, which include the Torah chronicling the history of God at work with His chosen nation, Israel. It follows the lineage from Adam through Abraham (the Patriarch), to Isaac (son of the Promise), to Jacob, Judah, to David (anointed King), to Solomon, to Hezekiah, to Eliud, to Eliazar and the generations in between. Several of the books are prophetic, poetic, historic, geneological, or judicial in nature.

THE NEW TESTAMENT: These twenty-seven books begin with an account of the above genealogy, picking it up from Eliazar, father of Matthan, father of Jacob, father of Joseph.. the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus (Isa), who is called Christ. (see Matt. 1:1-17) Of interesting note is the following scripture;

Matt 1:17
17 Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Christ.

The New Testament begins with four eyewitness accounts from the disciples of Jesus during His time in the earth, as well as account for the crucifixion and resurrection. The book of Acts chronicles the beginning of spreading God's new covenant with both Jews and Gentiles. Next come twenty-one letters of doctrinal instruction from the apostles and is concluded with the Revelation of the disciple John. 

The Qur'an: Comprised of 114 Suras (chapters) with each sentence lineated by number for reference. Was taken by dictation from Muhammad (for he himself was illiterate) while in trances he believed were words spoken to him by the angel Gabriel. Born approximately ~570 A.D., Muhammad was the son of Abdulla, son of Ishmael. 

The 114 Suras: At the age of 40, after 6 months of meditation in the desert, Muhammad had what became known as his "night of power".. the voices claiming to be the angel Gabriel. Having been raised as a boy by a travelling merchant (Abdul Muttalib), Muhammad had already had much exposure in his travels to the public sermons of the Christian and Judaic beliefs. The Christian church of believers was already into it's 6th century of evangelization.

By ~632 A.D., at the age of 62 he had completed the Qur'an and declared it as the approved and faultless book of Islam. 

How The Three Are Related

Chronological Sequence: 
Torah => Old Testament => New Testament => Qur'an 
The Judaic religion holds as true and faultless the Torah and Old Testament. It is considered perfect both in it's inspired origin (from God) and in it's pain-stakingly, accurate maintenance in reproduction over the years. For a small idea of how detailed this process is, see Replicating The Torah . 

The Christian religion holds as true and faultless the Torah, Old Testament and New Testament as one completed work of God's word, penned through Divine inspiration through men of faith. Jesus is seen as not only the Messiah prophesied throughout the Old Testament, but as God Incarnate Eternal, offered up as a perfect sacrifice to satisfy the Law in fulness for the forgiveness of men's sins. (The New Covenant) This new covenant is actually seen as the completion of God's promise to Abraham, not as an arbitrary change in the mind of God.

The Islamic religion holds as true and faultless the Qur'an and, according to Muhammad.. declares only portions of the Old and New Testaments to be valid. Much of the New Testament, penned by the Apostle Paul, is considered tainted and inaccurate from the Islamic view. The Qur'an, however, is viewed as Allah's (the One God) perfect revelation through his final prophet, Muhammed.. passed via the angel Gabriel. This is despite the fact that much of the Qur'an declares the Jews and Christians to be cursed and untrustworthy, casting aside the promises of God to Jews and Christians by way of His faithfulness, not theirs. 

THE DISCREPENCIES: 

As can be seen here, there are differences of conviction as to who possesses the complete Word of God. From the Judaic perspective, the Christian Messiah either has not yet come or is only of relevance to the Gentiles. (non-Jews). This would leave, for them, the Old Covenant of animal sacrifice to cover sins still in effect, since they do not see Jesus as Messiah, atonement for man. The laws of Moses remain unfulfilled and must be adhered to by strength of the flesh, not by Spirit.

From the Christian perspective, all words of the Old Testament are true and come to completion in the New Testament, with Jesus as the fulfillment of God's promises to Abraham's seed. Among those promises/prophecies being;

Gen 22:15-18
15 The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time
16 and said, "I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son,
17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies,
18 and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me."

Isa 7:10-14
10 Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz,
11 "Ask the LORD your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights."
12 But Ahaz said, "I will not ask; I will not put the LORD to the test."
13 Then Isaiah said, "Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God also?
14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

Isa 9:6-7
6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.

Jer 23:5-6
5 "The days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land.
6 In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness. 

From the Islamic perspective, both the Old and New Testament are incomplete, innacurate or submissive to the words of Muhammad.. for he is considered God's final and only true prophet. This places Islam in direct contradiction with both Judaic and Christian beliefs for Muhammad claims that not only was the crucifixion a hoax, but that the Jews are responsible and to be punished for such an action. See reference;

Qur'an 4. Women (Surah Nisaa/An-Nisaa)
004.157 And because of their saying: We slew the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, Allah's messenger - they slew him not nor crucified him, but it appeared so unto them; and lo! those who disagree concerning it are in doubt thereof; they have no knowledge thereof save pursuit of a conjecture; they slew him not for certain.

004.158 But Allah took him up unto Himself. Allah was ever Mighty, Wise.

004.159 There is not one of the People of the Scripture but will believe in him before his death, and on the Day of Resurrection he will be a witness against them -

004.160 Because of the wrongdoing of the Jews We forbade them good things which were (before) made lawful unto them, and because of their much hindering from Allah's way, 

SUMMARY:

What we find then, is..

Islam; Muhammad (& Islam) finds himself relying on the holy writings and history of the Judaic Torah.. yet denying in principle the claims of God's Almighty sovereignty. For Muhammad to claim God's revelations through His Old Testaments prophets exist via the Torah in error.. the implication is that God is/was not able to communicate or preserve His word to mankind through His chosen people, the Jews. (Until, according to Muhammad, Gabriel dictated yet again, with changes.) Also holding to the claim that God's New Testament is in error. For otherwise Muhammad would have to agree with Jesus that Jesus (Isa) actually is the final Prophet and only Son of God according to the following passage;

Heb 1:1-5
1 In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways,
2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.
3 The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
4 So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.
5 For to which of the angels did God ever say, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father"? Or again, "I will be his Father, and he will be my Son"? 

While Islam/Muhammad does agree in general that Jesus is a true prophet, they disagree with Jesus' own claims to be Deity in the following passages;

John 8:51-59
51 I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death."
52 At this the Jews exclaimed, "Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that if anyone keeps your word, he will never taste death.
53 Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?"
54 Jesus replied, "If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me.
55 Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and keep his word.
56 Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad."
57 "You are not yet fifty years old," the Jews said to him, "and you have seen Abraham!"
58 "I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!"
59 At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.

Matt 26:62-66
62 Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, "Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?"
63 But Jesus remained silent. The high priest said to him, "I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God."
64 "Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied. "But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven."
65 Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, "He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy.
66 What do you think?" "He is worthy of death," they answered. 

Christianity; While seeing many bits of similarity between the Qur'an and the Bible, so very much which is crucial to the Christian belief is contrary to the message of Muhammad. For Christians believe Jesus to be deity, more than prophet and inerrant in all His teachings. Christianity also sees the purpose of Jesus' sacrifice as a means of salvation to man. Islam presents no such salvation, only that of works by which Allah is not required to grant anything except at Allah's arbitrary whim. Christians see Jesus as the atoning Messiah to both the Jew and Gentile;

Rom 10:8-13
8 But what does it say? "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart," that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming:
9 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
11 As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame."
12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile-- the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him,
13 for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." 

Judaism; Since the words of the Torah are held as the accurate and true words of God, neither can Judaism embrace the position that Muhammad is the final, all-encompassing prophet of God. While the Qur'an does pay homage to the Torah, Psalms and the Law.. it is always in submission to the words of Muhammad. To follow in the way of Islam, a Jew would have to call into question any prophet from the Old Testament that contradicted Muhammad.

THE RESOLUTION (?)

A man with strong conviction in the faith of Judaism, Islam or Chrisitanity, who would want assurance that he is following in the way of the Creator has quite the decision to make in regards to these three faiths. 

It is my belief that, according to one's belief.. God is a merciful God.. full of grace and longsuffering to all that seek peace with Him. He will answer one's prayers and respond to the humble man's request for wisdom and salvation. It is with this belief I offer this last verse to all men of all faiths that they might seek directly He who is the Creator of all things..

Ps 51:10-17
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you.
14 Save me from bloodguilt, O God, the God who saves me, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.