The Islamic Qur'an cannot be called the Muslim Bible

Years ago when I began my personal faith journey, I knew little about the teachings of the different faiths of the world.  I had some understanding of Christianity from by CCD lessons as a child as well as a basic understanding of Islam from the Islamic history course I took in college, but when I began pursuing my journey, I was soon made aware little I knew about both faiths, and how I knew even less about Buddhism, Mormonism, and the other faiths of the world.  For years, I had viewed the Qur'an as the "Muslim Bible."  I simply figured that the Bible was the "Book of the Christians," the Qur'an was the "Book of the Muslims," and that was it.  However, a year into studying both books, I came to an important realization: The Qur'an and the Bible are nothing alike.  

The Bible is divided into two main books: the Old Testament, and the New Testament.  The Old Testament shows us how mankind fell out of God's Grace, and that God laid out a plan to redeem us, which is fulfilled in the New Testament. Christians believe that God inspired specific men to write his words, using their experiences and language to convey his message through the millennia.  The result was a collection of 66 books written over 1500 years.  The first 39 books are the Old Testament.  The The Old Testament is often divided into three sections: Law (Torah), the Prophets (Navi’im), and Writings (Ketuvim).  The remaining 27 are the New Testament.  The Old Testament was written during the time of God’s covenant with Moses and the New was written after God came to Earth, upon the advent of the New Covenant initiated by Jesus and prophesied in Jeremiah 31:31-33.  

The Bible is written in many genres.  For instance, the book of Psalms is written as poetry.  The book of Romans on the other hand, is an epistle that explores Christian doctrine.  Even the same author can write different books.  For example, the Gospels are biographical accounts about the life and ministry of Jesus.  The Gospel of John and the Book of Revelation were written by the same author, the Apostle John.  However, John’s Gospel is historical & biographic whereas Revelation is prophetic.  In truth, the Bible's central theme is Jesus.  The Old Testament lays out the prophecies of His coming and His purpose in coming, and the New Testament shows us how Jesus fulfilled the Messianic prophecies made in the Old Testament.  The Bible is not the "Why" of the Christian faith, it's the "What."  

The Qur'an on the other hand, is much different.  Muhammad, the founder of Islam, dictated the Qur'an to his followers over a period of 23 years. It is believed by Muslims that the Qur'an was dictated to Muhammad by the Angel Gabriel.  After his death, Muhammad's revelations were collected into a book that ultimately became the Qur'an.  It was originally written in Classical Arabic (a language no longer natively spoken) and in truth, was the first book ever published in Arabic society.  The majority of Muslims believe that the Qur'an is eternal, that it was not composed at a specific time, but revealed piecemeal to Muhammad over 23 years.  The recitations were arranged in 114 Surah's, but the are not organized by date revealed, but by length.  Qur'anic verses that had been dictated over the years are often found side by side with no obvious connection, which is why the Islamic Hadith collections are often needed to provide further detail.  The Qur'anic narratives are fractured and often pick up stories in the beginning, middle, or end, and in many cases do not carry on their own conclusions.  

Though Muslims believe that the Torah and Gospels are inspired scripture, they believe that the Qur'an is Allah's final revelation to mankind.  Unlike the Bible, which is written in many genres, the Qur'an is written in one uniform style.  The diverse language of the Bible also illustrates that God does not view one people or one language with superiority over all others.  God can teach through statesmen (Moses), fishermen (Peter), theologians (Paul), and through his own incarnation.  The Qur’an only came through one person, Muhammad.  The Bible came through many.  

The final major difference that must be acknowledged is that Muslims view the Qur'an in a much different manner than Christians view the Bible.  The majority of Muslims believe that the nature of the Qur'an is Eternal.  The Qur’an holds a place in the hearts of Muslims that is beyond the estimation of most Westerners.  To Muslims, the Qur’an is the Eternal Word of Allah himself.  It is the closest thing to God incarnate.  To Christians, the Eternal Word is Jesus, which is very clearly displayed in the first chapter of the Gospel of John: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God  All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be...And the World became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory."  John 1:1-3; 14.  To Christians, Jesus is the Eternal Word of God.  So in a sense, the Qur’an holds the same place to Muslims that Jesus holds to Christians.  

This view is explained by Islamic professor Yusuf K. Ibish who wrote: "I have not yet come across a Western man who understands what the Qur'an is.  It is not a book in the ordinary sense, nor is it comparable with he Bible.  It is an expression of Divine Will.  If you want to compare it with anything in Christianity, you must compare it with Christ himself.  Christ was the expression of the Divine among men, the revelation of Divine Will.  That is what the Qur'an is.  If you want a comparison for the role of Muhammad, the better one in that particular respect would be Mary.  Muhammad was the vehicle of the Divine.  The Qur'an was divinely inspired, then when it was compiled, and what we have now is the Expression of God's Will among men."   

Muslim scholar Seyyed Hossein Nasr likewise writes that "The Word of God in Islam is the Qur'an; In Christianity it is Christ.  To carry this analogy further one can point to the fact that the Qur'an, being the World of God, therefore corresponds to Christ in Christianity and the form of this book, which is like the content is determined by the dictum of Heaven, corresponds in a sense to the body of Christ.  The form of the Qur'an is the Arabic language, which religiously is as inseparable from the Qur'an as the body of Christ is from Christ himself."

When I came to understand how the Bible and Qur'an were nothing alike, I came to the realization that I had a lot to learn.  When it came to understanding the two faiths, I had to understand the similarities, but also the differences.  Even if there are many similarities, one difference can change the entire dynamic.  This is why it is important that we understand both.  By understanding the views held on both the Qur'an and the Bible, both sides can obtain a deeper understanding of what is different religious adherents believe in, and what they themselves believe in.  Once that understanding is reached, they can better pursue the path to spiritual truth and determine which was is actually the right way.  However, if they choose to go down that road to spiritual truth, they will have to accept that the answers they find may not be the answers that they expect.  Therefore prior to making that journey, they will have to accept the lesson that I myself was taught long ago: "It Doesn't Matter Who is Right, but What is Right."  

Sources:

Geisler, Norman L. & Abdul Saleeb.  Answering Islam: The Crescent in Light of the Cross."  Grand Rapids MI: Baker Books, 2003.  

Qureshi, Nabeel.  No God but One: Allah or Jesus?  A Former Muslim Investigates the Evidence for Islam and Christianity.  Grand Rapids MI: Zondervan, 2016.

Qureshi, Nabeel.  Seeking Allah: Finding Jesus: A Devout Muslim Encounters Christianity.  Grand Rapids MI: Zondervan, 2014.