In the current world that we live in there are many voices
saying what is in the Qur’an, and even what is not in the Qur’an. The media,
the government, religious leaders of different faiths all bombard us telling us
what the Qur’an really teaches.
In this well written book by James R. White puts the
Qur’an next to the Bible to compare what the Qur’an really says in relation to
what the Bible has recorded. He explores the life of Muhammad, and his claims
of being visited by the angel Gabriel, and his ongoing revelations that later
would be complied in the following years after his death into what we now know
as the Qur’an.
“We will invest
great effort to examine the text fairly and honestly. If we do so more closely
than might seem necessary, as Christians we must. Just as we ask the Muslim to
handle the Bible fairly and listen to it in its own context, so as lovers of
truth and consistency we extend the same courtesy.”[1]
White does an excellent job of comparing what the Qur’an
says about important topics for the Christian, such as what the Qur’an says
about the Trinity, Jesus, Mary, the cross, how one is saved and the Holy Spirit.
The author supplies many footnotes to back up what is stated in the book, along
with a glossary of Arabic terms, a Bible & Qur’an reference index and a
subject index, all for further study.
White shows us from the Qur’an that the Muslims do not
believe in the Trinity (referred to as “three”) by breaking down Surah
4:166-172 and showing that the belief of the Muslims that there is not a Trinity
(who they identify wrongly as Allah, Mary, and Jesus) and to disagree with
Allah will lead them to Hell!
White then takes the time to address every text in context
in the Qur’an that mentions Jesus (referred to as “Isa ibn Mariam” or just
“Isa”, the name Isa appears twenty-five times in the Qur’an). The Qur’an
appears to have confused Mary the mother of Jesus, with Miriam the sister of
Moses (Surah 19:27-29). The Qur’an wrongly asserts that Jesus spoke as a newborn
infant (Surah 19:30-33) claiming to be a prophet.
The author then takes some time using external evidence, including
people who deny that Jesus is God, to show that the crucifixion of Jesus is a historical
fact. The Qur’an has only one verse (ayah) that denies the death and
crucifixion of Jesus (Surah 4:157), giving the impression that it only looked
like Jesus dying on the cross, further proving their point that it wasn’t really
Jesus who died on the cross.
James White shows from extensive research in a fair and
balanced way the shortcomings of the Qur’an, and thus emphasizing the veracity
of the Bible. I give What Every ChristianNeeds to Know About the Qur’an five stars out of five.
[1] James R.
White, What Every Christian Needs to Know
About the Qur’an (Bloomington, MN: Bethany House, 2013), 76.
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