200 Questions about the Bible and the Qur'an

A Comparison of the Holy Books Showing Important Similarities and Differences

Dan Wickwire

• Publisher: Aneko Press
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9781622455232
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Islamic Theology

Would you like objective answers to important spiritual questions, answered directly by the Bible and the Qur'an? This book addresses 200 spiritual questions every Muslim believer should consider and uses scripture as the answers to the questions. Clarifying notes are added if needed, though rarely, instead letting the Holy Books speak for themselves.200 Questions about the Bible and the Qur'an answers questions such as these:
Is it accepted that the Holy Bible is the Word of God? (Tevrat, Zebur & Injil)
Does God want to protect all of His Holy Books from change and corruption? (Purpose /Niyet)
Are the "God" of the Bible and the "Allah" of the Qur'an one and the same entity?
In the Holy Books when God refers to Himself, does He ever speak in the first person plural "We"?
Does God look on believers as being merely His slaves or servants?
Is the Holy Spirit accepted as God?
Is it accepted that Christ is the one and only mediator between God and man?
Is it accepted that Christ is alive today and that he will come again?
Is Muhammad's self-proclamation of being a prophet a valid test or proof of prophethood?
Does a holy God take small sins seriously?
Is a person's salvation contingent upon their own good works? (Ameller)
Will everyone have to spend a period of time suffering in hell?
Are women required to wear a veil outside the home?
Did God create people in His own image and likeness?
Did God promise the land of Palestine specifically to the Jews?

9

Are people who claim that the Bible has been changed or corrupted actually guilty of blaspheming the character and nature attributes of God by implying that (1) God didn’t know, (2) God didn’t care, or (3) God couldn’t do anything about the Bible being changed? (El-Alim, Er-Rahman, Er-Rahim, El-Kadir)

Bible Yes / Yes Qur’an

Psalm 94:8-9 – (8) Understand, ye brutish among the people: and ye fools, when will ye be wise? (9) He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? He that formed the eye, shall he not see?

Isaiah 14:24, 27 – (24) As I have purposed, so shall it stand. (27) For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it?

Hebrews 4:12-13 – For the Word of God is quick and powerful.

Baqara 2:20, 255 – (20) Allah has power over all things. (255) Allah! there is no god but Him, the Living, the Eternal. Neither slumber nor sleep overtakes Him ... His Throne embraces the Heavens and the earth, and it tires Him not to uphold them both.

Nisa 4:158 – Allah ... hears and sees all things.

Taha 20:5, 51-52 – (5) The Compassionate God, Who is established on the throne... (51) What then is the state of previous generations?... (52) The knowledge of that is with my Lord (recorded) in a book. My Lord never errs, nor forgets.

10

Are people who claim that the Bible has been changed or corrupted actually guilty of exalting Satan above God by implying that Satan won the battle for the Bible over God-Almighty? (El-Aziz, El-Galib, El-Jebbar, El-Muktedir)

Bible Yes / Yes Qur’an

Psalm 94:7-9 – (7) Yet they say, The LORD shall not see, neither shall the God of Jacob regard it. (8) Understand, ye brutish among the people: and ye fools, when will ye be wise? (9) He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? He that formed the eye, shall he not see?

Hebrews 4:12-13 – (12) For the Word of God is quick and powerful ... (13) Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight.

Yunus 10:21 – Some plot against Our revelations ... Surely our angels are recording your intrigues.

Hijr 15:9 – We have, without doubt, sent down the Reminder, and We preserve it.

Taha 20:5, 51-52 – (5) The Compassionate God, Who is established on the throne ... (51) What then is the state of previous generations? ... (52) The knowledge of that is with my Lord (recorded) in a book. My Lord never errs, nor forgets.

11

Would God have a double standard for His Holy Books to protect some of them but not all of them? (El-Adl, El-Hadi, El-Mumim, El-Muksit)

Bible No / No Qur’an

Psalm 12:6-7 – (6) The words of the Lord are pure words, as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. (7) Thou shalt keep them, O Lord, thou shalt preserve them from this generation forever.

Psalm 111:7-9 – (7) The works of his hands are verity and judgment; all his commandments are sure. (8) They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness. (9) …he hath commanded his covenant for ever......

Table of contents

• Contents
• Is it accepted that the Word of God is eternal and unchangeable? (Lev-i Mahfuz)
• Is it accepted that the Holy Bible is the Word of God? (Tevrat, Zebur & Injil)
• Did God choose to communicate the written oracles of God in the Bible specifically through the agency of the Jews?
• Did God give the prophets of the Bible the ability to do obvious miracles as a confirmation that they were sent by God?
• Does God want to protect all of His Holy Books from change and corruption? (Purpose /Niyet)
• Is God able to protect all of His Holy Books from change and corruption? (Power / Kudret)
• Would God ever allow Satan, demons or mankind to thwart His own purpose and power by changing and corrupting the actual text of the Holy Books which He sent? (Tahrif bi’l-lafz)
• Would it be possible for men to verbally distort the Holy Books by misquoting them or by interpreting them wrongly? (Tahrif bi’l-ma’na)
• Are people who claim that the Bible has been changed or corrupted actually guilty of blaspheming the character and nature attributes of God by implying that (1) God didn’t know, (2) God didn’t care, or (3) God couldn’t do anything about the Bible being changed? (El-Alim, Er-Rahman, Er-Rahim, El-Kadir)
• Are people who claim that the Bible has been changed or corrupted actually guilty of exalting Satan above God by implying that Satan won the battle for the Bible over God-Almighty? (El-Aziz, El-Galib, El-Jebbar, El-Muktedir)
• Would God have a double standard for His Holy Books to protect some of them but not all of them? (El-Adl, El-Hadi, El-Mumim, El-Muksit)
• Is the Word of God the universal and unchangeable standard by which God will judge all of mankind on the day of judgment? (El-Hakem, El-Hakk, El-Hafiz, El-Hasib)
• Are believers allowed to believe in one part of the Scripture while disbelieving in another part of Scripture?
• Does God want believers today to read and obey all of the Holy Books which He has sent?
• Is obedience to the Word of God the primary condition for a person to receive blessing in their life?
• Are people who refuse to read and obey the Bible actually under the curse of being a non-believer? (Kâfir)
• Is it accepted that the canon of Scripture was closed with the end of the book of Revelation?
• In order for the Qur’an to be considered as the Word of God, would it need to be in complete harmony with the historical Scripture as it was previously recorded in the Bible?
• Does the Qur’an contain fundamental doctrinal and historical discrepancies which are diametrically opposed to what is found in the Bible?
• Is the concept of inspiration or revelation the same in the Qur’an as it is in the Bible?
• Would Jews or Christians accept the Qur’an as the Word of God?
• After God has sent a Holy Book would He ever later feel the need to annul or abrogate some of its verses? (Mensuh & Nesih)
• If the Qur’an came down from the “Lord of the Worlds” and was ratified by a group of demons would this be a good sign that it came from God?
• Would a Holy Book have a felt need to repeatedly deny that it is from Satan?
• Do Jews, Christians and Muslims all believe that there is only one true God? (Vahdet-i Vüjüd)
• Are most of the character and nature attributes of Allah which are found in the Qur’an in agreement with the attributes of God which are found in the Bible? (Esmaül-Husna)
• Are the “God” of the Bible and the “Allah” of the Qur’an one and the same entity?
• Is God’s eternal and unchangeable name “Yahweh”?
• Are there verses in the Holy Books about God being holy? (el-Kuddus)
• Among the character and nature attributes of God, does God reveal Himself as the Father?
• Is God proud and is pride a character attribute of God? (el-Mütekebbir)
• Among the character and nature attributes of God, does God reveal Himself as the Savior?
• In the Holy Books when God refers to Himself, does He ever speak in the first person plural “We”?
• Is the concept of the Trinity acceptable? (Father, Son & Holy Spirit)
• Would God ever falsely accuse Jesus of doing something wrong or would Jesus ever lie to God to cover up something he did wrong?
• Is God a distant, transcendental God who rarely ever shows His great power or leaves His fingerprints on human history?
• Has God ever shown Himself visibly to people on earth? (Theophany or Ru’yetullah)
• Does God ever speak directly to people today aside from His written revelation?
• Does the infinite God desire to have a close and loving relationship with finite man such that men are called the “Children of God”?
• Is the love of God unconditional? (el-Vedud)
• Does God look on believers as being merely His slaves or servants?
• Does God show any favoritism among people and prefer some above others?
• Does God especially hate certain sinners and want to send some of them to hell?
• Is God the author of good and evil and responsible for doing both? (Hayır & Sher)
• Would God be described as the greatest plotter or schemer of them all? (Makara)
• Is God responsible for casting enmity and hatred among people of different faiths?
• Is it God’s heart to harden some men’s hearts and lead them astray?
• Is God’s character and behavior ever capricious or whimsical?
• Is it forbidden to prostrate oneself before anyone other than God Himself?
• Did God issue a command contrary to His own eternal law ordering all of the angels to “Prostrate yourselves before Adam”?
• Is the Holy Spirit accepted as God? (Ruh-ül Kudüs)
• Does the Holy Spirit have the power to create?
• Are the Holy Spirit and the angel Gabriel one and the same?
• Is blasphemy against the “Holy Spirit” the one and only unpardonable sin?
• Are the Holy Books focused upon the things of the Spirit?
• Does God’s Holy Spirit indwell believers and empower them with spiritual gifts?
• Can spiritual gifts be imparted from one believer to another by the laying on of hands?
• Does God give the followers of Jesus the ability to do the same kind of miracles that Jesus did through the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling within them?
• Does God give some believers the gift of speaking in an unknown tongue or language through the power of the Holy Spirit?
• Is there a clear-cut distinction between angels (Melek) being the servants of God and Demons (Jinn) being the servants of Satan?
• Would it be possible for Satan to repent and become good?
• Would it be possible for some Demons to repent and become good? (Jinn)
• Are there verses in the Holy Books about casting demons out of people?
• Is Satan’s power of deception depicted as being weak or ineffective?
• Is Satan considered to be the prince or ruler of this world?
• Is it accepted that Christ was born of a virgin?
• Is it accepted that Christ was sinless?
• Is it accepted that Christ possessed supernatural wisdom and knowledge?
• Is it accepted that Christ possessed supernatural power to do miracles and give life to the dead?
• Is it accepted that Christ is entitled to command faith and obedience from all men?
• Is it accepted that Jesus Christ is identified as being the Messiah? (the Anointed One)
• Is it accepted that Christ is referred to as the Word of God? (Logos / Kalimullâh)
• Is it accepted that Christ pre-existed as the Word of God before he was born?
• Is it accepted that God’s eternal Word took on a human body in the incarnation of Jesus Christ? (Kenosis or Hûlul)
• Is it accepted that Christ is Divine or God in the flesh?
• Is it accepted that Christ created the world?
• Is it accepted that Christ is the one and only mediator between God and man?
• Is it accepted that Christ is the Son of God?
• In the Holy Books when the term “Son of God” is used, is it used in the sense of a physical son being born from out of a sexual union?
• Was Christ actually worshipped by people and did He accept their worship as being valid?
• Is it accepted that Christ can forgive people’s sins?
• Is it accepted that Christ has the keys to death and hell?
• Is it accepted that Christ is the Saviour of the world?
• Is it accepted that believing in Christ as Saviour and Lord is the only means of obtaining eternal life?
• Is it accepted that Christ’s blood was shed as a sacrificial atonement for the sins of the world?
• In the Holy Books is it stated by the prophets that the Messiah (Jesus) would die?
• Did Jesus himself foretell that he would be killed by the Jews?
• Is it accepted that Christ physically died on the cross and that he arose from the dead?
• Is it accepted that Christ is alive today and that he will come again?
• Are there any verses in the Bible which predict or foretell the coming of Muhammad?
• In order for Muhammad to be qualified as a prophet to communicate the written oracles of God, would he have needed to be a Jew who was literate?
• Is Muhammad’s self-proclamation of being a prophet a valid test or proof of prophethood?
• Was the message of Muhammad in complete agreement with the message of Jesus and the other prophets?
• Did God give Muhammad supernatural power to do obvious miracles like Jesus and the other prophets as a confirmation that he was sent by God?
• Did Muhammad have a prophetic gift to be able to predict or foretell the future like Jesus and the other prophets?
• Would the God of Abraham ever condone Muhammad’s kissing the Black Stone at the Ka’ba or condone his honouring other Arab pagan deities?
• Would Muhammad have been considered to be a normal human being who needed to repent and ask forgiveness for his sins?
• Would Muhammad be considered to be the last and the greatest of the prophets?
• When Adam and Eve sinned, did it cause a fundamental separation between God and man which resulted in a need for man to be saved from God’s judgment against sin?
• Are there verses about people being born with a sin nature? (Original Sin)
• Are all men including the prophets guilty of having committed sin? (Jesus excepted)
• Was Mary, the mother of Jesus, considered to have any divine endowments and should she be venerated as the Mother of God?
• Does a man’s sin separate him from a holy God, and as a natural consequence, is it understood that sinners are condemned to go to hell?
• Does a holy God take small sins seriously?
• Is it a proper punishment to cut off the hands of a thief?
• Would it sometimes be ok for a believer to lie or deceive others in order to protect themselves? (Taqiyya or Kitman)
• Is homosexuality viewed as a sin which is forbidden and condemned?
• Are abortion and murder viewed as sins which are forbidden and condemned?
• Can the punishment for sin be erased by doing good works? (Sevap)
• Is a person born as a Christian or a Muslim?
• Is a person’s salvation contingent upon their own good works? (Ameller)
• Is God’s provision of salvation from the penalty of sin always dependent upon the ransom of a blood sacrifice? (Kefaret)
• Can God’s provision of salvation only be received by grace through faith in the sacrificial atonement of the Lamb of God? (Jesus Christ)
• In order for a person to obtain eternal life is it first necessary for them to hear and understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ and believe that God sent Him to be the Messiah, the Savior of the world?
• Is it accepted that belief in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord is the only way for a person’s sins to be forgiven and to obtain eternal life?
• Is water baptism required of a believer today?
• Is circumcision required of a male believer today?
• Are there verses which command people to be holy, and is holiness a pre-requisite for entering into heaven?
• Can people choose to become the children of God through an exercise of their own free will and volition?
• Is a person’s fate totally predetermined or predestined by God? (Kader or Kısmet)
• Does God use a scale of balances to measure a person’s good and bad works to determine whether they will go to heaven or to hell? (Terazi)
• In order for a person to be able to enter into the kingdom of God, is it first necessary to have a spiritual rebirth and be “born again”?
• Does God give the promise or guarantee of eternal life to all true believers in Christ?
• Are the words “prophet” and “prophecy” used primarily in reference to a person who by the gift of God has knowledge of future things? (Nebi)
• Is detailed information given concerning future events at the end of the world? (Eschatology / Gayb Haber)
• Are there prophetic verses predicting the coming of a powerful satanic world ruler who will come in the last days? (Antichrist / Mehdi)
• Will there be a day of judgment when God will raise each and every person from the dead and judge whether they will go to heaven or to hell? (Ahiret Günü)
• Will everyone have to spend a period of time suffering in hell?
• If a person goes to hell, is there ever a possibility of getting out later on and going to heaven?
• Is the resurrection body a physical body of flesh, bone and blood?
• Will there be sexual relationships and marriage in heaven? (Houris)
• Is the universal church considered to be the “Bride of Christ”?
• Does God want believers today to live under the law? (Shariah)
• Is it forbidden for a believer to drink wine?
• Is it forbidden for a believer to eat pork?
• Does God expect believers to fast today?
• Does God prefer that prayer and fasting be done openly where you can be seen by others?
• Does God want people to fast during the day and feast at night for one month out of every year? (Ramadan)
• Does God expect believers to tithe and give alms? (Zekat)
• Does God want to listen to ritual prayers said over and over again five times a day at the same time every day? (Namaz)
• Does God expect believers to make a pilgrimage to a holy place at least once in their lifetime? (Hajj)
• Does God still want people today to offer animal sacrifices once a year? (Kurban)
• If a Muslim has a question about something in the Bible, would it be appropriate for him to ask a Christian or a Jew about it?
• If a person has reservations about something in one of the Holy Books, should the believer avoid asking honest questions if he might not like the answers?
• Aside from divine revelation, are the traditional sayings and interpretations of men considered to be trustworthy and needed to properly understand the Holy Books? (Sola Scriptura / Hadith)
• Does God expect believers to actively worship together and propagate their faith today?
• Does God want believers to break up into various sects, denominations and splinter groups?
• Are there verses in the Holy Books which encourage people to be joyful and happy here in this life on earth?
• Are there examples in the Holy Books where God gives physical healing to people?
• Are there verses where God encourages believers to use music, dance and singing in their worship?
• According to the manifest purpose of God, is it right for a man to have more than one wife at the same time?
• Could a man possibly deal equally with his wives if he had more than one wife at the same time?
• Is a temporary or interim marriage allowable? (Mut’ah / Law of Desire)
• In the Holy Books are wives viewed as being a sex object, a commodity or a possession of their husbands?
• Is it permissible for a man to buy or capture slave girls and have sex with them?
• Are women required to wear a veil outside the home?
• Are women’s rights equal to men’s?
• Is it ever permissible for a man to beat his wife?
• Is it permissible for a Christian or a Muslim to marry people of a different faith?
• If a person gets a divorce from their spouse for a reason other than adultery, are they allowed to remarry?
• Is it the object of a Christian to act like Christ and the object of a Muslim to act like Muhammad?
• In the Holy Books is there a prominent theme that one particular faith should have the goal to forcefully dominate all other religions?
• In religious affairs, should the use of force and compulsion ever be sanctioned?
• Does God encourage believers today to fight and war against people of different beliefs till their own religion triumphs? (Holy War / Jihad)
• If a person becomes an apostate from their own mother religion or decides to change their religion, should they be killed?
• Is fighting against family, friends or even brethren sometimes prescribed?
• Does God want believers today to kill others of a different faith even if it goes against their own conscience?
• Is striving and fighting against people of a different faith seen as something that is basically good?
• Would God have encouraged Muhammad to start multiple wars of aggression to spread Islam?
• In the Holy Books, is fighting against people of the Scripture encouraged?
• Is aggressive and offensive warfare and fighting against nonbelievers encouraged in the Holy Books for believers today? (Jihad)
• Would God encourage believers today to pillage and plunder people of a different faith?
• Does God want believers today to use terror and harshness against their enemies?
• Would God want believers today to carry out the law of retribution? (an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth / Kısas)
• Would a holy God encourage believers to take revenge into their own hands?
• Would a holy God encourage believers to curse their enemies?
• Does God consider the Jews to be under a curse or damned as a nation?
• Are those who fight considered better than those who don’t fight?
• Do the Holy Books encourage warfare by stating that punishment in hell is promised to noncombatants and by giving a guarantee of entrance into heaven as a reward for those who fight and die in the cause of God or Allah? (Jihad)
• After creating the world, did God rest on the seventh day to leave an important example for mankind to follow? (Sabbath or Shabbat)
• Did God create people in His own image and likeness?
• When God expelled Adam and Eve from the garden of Eden, did He pronounce that there would be enmity between the man and the woman?
• In the story of the flood, after one of Noah’s sons drowned, did Noah’s ark come to rest upon Mt. Judi?
• Did God say that the promise of blessing upon Abraham’s descendants would specifically come through the lineage of Isaac and not Ishmael?
• Did Abraham ever travel to Mecca to offer a sacrifice at the Ka’ba?
• Was Abraham ready to offer up his only legitimate son İsaac as a sacrifice unto God?
• Was Abraham’s son Ishmael considered to be a prophet?
• Was it Abraham who was thrown into a fire because he refused to worship idols?
• When Moses asked to see God’s glory, did God actually allow Moses to see the backside of God in a humanlike form?
• Did Haman live in the same time period as Moses and Pharaoh?
• Did God institute the Passover feast to commemorate the firstborn of Israel being saved as the death angel passed over them during the last of 10 plagues which God sent upon Egypt?
• When going out to war was it Saul (Talut) who tested his soldiers by how they drank water?
• Was Jesus born in a stable in Bethlehem?
• Did three wise men from the East follow the Messiah’s star to Bethlehem where they found the baby Jesus and prostrated themselves before him in worship?
• Do the writers of the Holy Books ever quote Jewish fables as though they were actual historical events?
• Did Jesus ever do any recorded miracles as a child?
• Did seven men and a dog actually wake up in a cave after sleeping there for 309 years?
• Did Solomon actually gather together an army of demons (jinn), humans and birds to do battle?
• Did God actually turn people into apes for breaking the sabbath?
• Did God promise the land of Palestine specifically to the Jews?