- Roots of Islam 3 . . .
MOST REASONABLY INFORMED CHRISTIANS are probably aware that the Koran draws some of its ideas from
the bible. Few are perhaps aware just how much of it comes from the bible. I wasn’t, until I sat down to read
it. After I started reading, I was totally dumbfounded by the sheer extent of the copying!
Let’s consider one sura (chapter) only—sura 2: [Sura 1 is a very short introductory chapter of just a few verses.
After this the Koran places the suras in descending order of length, the longest at the beginning and then
getting shorter at the end. There is no attempt at chronology or systematizing according to content or them,
in the way that the bible does. Its all mixed together—one of the many things that makes reading the Koran a
real challenge for western readers. Imagine a bible where the chapters were arranged in order of length!)
In the first sura alone (admittedly it’s a long one) we find the following mentions that have fairly obviously
been taken somehow or other from either the Old or the New Testaments:
- • The Hereafter, the Last Day of Judgment, the torment of the damned, Hell, the fire for the
unbelievers, the day of Resurrection
• Satan, the enemy and tempter
• The tree in Paradise which Adam and his wife are forbidden to eat from
• God’s covenant with Israel
• Sacrifice of ‘the yellow cow’ (compare the red heifer in Numbers)
• Direct references to the bible as the Tauraat (Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel)
• Delivery from Pharaoh
• Parting of the Red Sea and drowning of the Egyptians
• Moses, the golden calf, the manna and the quails in the desert
• Moses strikes water from the rock
• The Sabbath
• Jesus, the son of Mary
• The angels Jibrael (Gabriel) and Mikael
• Abraham and his offspring: Ishmael his son; Jacob; Isaac; the twelve sons of Jacob
• The Israelites’ request that God should give them a king. Appointment of Taloot (Saul) as king
• The ‘wooden box’ containing artifacts from Moses and Aaron (= the Ark of the Covenant)
• Gideon’s water-drinking test on the eve of battle
• Jaloot (Goliath) killed by David
In addition to these specific references to biblical people and events, we also find repetition of biblical
concepts—like-for-like principle in administration of justice; the importance of faith without which good deeds
will not save you; the Covenant with the Jews.
And then there are specific laws and biblical precepts such as—forbidden to eat dead animals, blood, pork,
meat sacrificed to other gods; no sex during menstruation and need for postmenstrual purification rituals;
private, secret charity better than public charity; the fear of Allah.
And that’s just in one chapter! The next chapter continues with Eve, John the Baptist and his father Zechariah,
Noah, and much more besides. And so it goes on.
One interesting thing about all these Biblical allusions is that they are virtually devoid of context. There are
many passing references to biblical characters and events, but no attempt to fit them into a cohesive
narrative. In the bible they are all part of a framework, the gradual playing out over time of God’s grand plan
of salvation through history. In the Koran they are just there, sitting in a glorious vacuum, as if no further
explanation were deemed necessary. I think its fair to say that if you—or a Moslem for that matter—really
wants to fully UNDERSTAND the Koran, the only way to do that is to read the bible as well!
So what conclusions can we draw?
1. CS Lewis was right in describing Islam as a Christian heresy. Islam was never really a ‘new’ religion, any
more that Mormonism or Jehovah’s Witnesses can really claim to be really new. They are all offshoots, or
modifications, of Christianity and Judaism, from which the key message, the ‘offence of the gospel’ as Paul
calls it, has been deleted.
2. Muhammad clearly identified as being the same personal God as Yahweh in the Old Testament, or God
the Father as Christians know Him. Allah was worshipped in Arabia long before the time of Muhammad, along
with several other ‘gods and goddesses’, but no one had suggested that he was Yahweh under another name.
This was a key theme of Muhammad’s message.
- This is still a sensitive point for many Moslems. Last week I was reading of a current controversy in
Malaysia, a predominantly but not exclusively Moslem nation, over Christians choosing to use the name
Allah for the Christian God (something that Christians have frequently chosen to do at different times
and in different places through the course of history.) Some Moslems find this offensive and object to it;
if so, they need to study the Koran a bit more deeply!
3. You can’t understand the Koran without reading the bible. A lot of what is mentioned here—the golden
calf, the delivery from Pharaoh, and much else—simply has no meaning without the biblical background.
When Muhammad mentions the golden calf he seems to be talking to people who are familiar with the story
of the golden calf in the book of Exodus. If you don’t read Exodus, the allusion means nothing.
4. There’s more in the Koran from the Old Testament than from the New. There were many Jews living
Medina at the time of Muhammad, and it’s easy to imagine Muhammad in social chatter with the Jewish
community picking up the stories. He was illiterate (it is generally accepted) and so couldn’t have read the
actual Old Testament first-hand for himself.)
5. If Islam is a Christian heresy, then what is the core of the heresy? As with most heresies it’s the denial of
the things that really matter. Denial of the atoning sacrifice of the Son of God. Without that there’s no real
basis for forgiveness and reconciliation, just an arbitrary and capricious God who accepts or rejects according
to his mood of the day.
6. Seen from a Jewish standpoint, the question of the heresy is more difficult. Actually Islam and Judaism
are extraordinarily similar, and its quite difficult to come up with really substantive points of difference
(though neither side, I suspect, would be happy at hearing that.)
7. When we seek for an Islamic understanding of Judaism from the Koran it becomes, as it often does, a bit
confused and self-contradictory. We are told in the second sura that Abraham wasn’t actually a Jew, he was a
Moslem. Well that’s a bit odd! After all, how do you define a Jew? Most Jews would probably say, a
descendant of Abraham. On this basis, a Jew is, by definition, whatever Abraham was. You can change the
name, call a Jew a Moslem; but mere changing of names has no effect on substance.
8. Can we get any further? Muhammad was comfortable with the notion that the Torah had been given by
God. In a sense much of the Koran is embellishment and commentary on the Torah, not dissimilar to the
commentaries being issued by the Jewish scribes and Pharisees. The Jewish theological seminaries or yeshivas
had been hounded out of Palestine by the Christians and were now located in Iraq. The 8th century centres of
Islamic learning were also in Iraq, not thirty miles away. More mysteries.
9. Finally, a quick look at the word Islam. The ordinary meaning of the Arabic word islam is “submission”.
Now, of course, it’s become a proper name with a capital letter—Islam, describing a religion. But when did
the change occur? When did islam change from being something you do to being Islam, something you’re a
part of? It’s very unclear. But quite important. After all, if all it’s saying is ‘Submit to God!’ then in that sense
we’re all Moslems!
THESE ARE MY QUICK THOUGHTS on Islam, Muhammad and the Koran. In the final post I’ll look at the
morality of Islam. What does it really say? War or compassion? Violence or charity? We’ll see . . .
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