Followed by a discussion to understand which of the scriptures of the Torah, the Gospels and the Quran is more authentic based on collection and recording of their texts, here is the inquiry into the texts of the Torah, the Gospels and the Quran to understand which of the texts is more authentic with our today’s knowledge:
The Pentateuch
As far the criticism is concerned, the Pentateuch provides what is probably the most obvious example of adaptations made by the hand of man. These were made at different times in the history of the Jewish people, taken from oral traditions and texts handed down from preceding generations. It was begun in Tenth or Ninth century B.C. with the Yahvist tradition which took story from its very beginnings. The latter sketches Israel’s own particular destiny was concluded in the Sixth century B.C. with the Sacerdotal tradition that is meticulous in its precise mention of dates and generations. However, there has been found the most evident incompatibilities in the texts of Genesis with our present day knowledge in the following:
- The creation of the world and its stages.
- The date of the creation of the world and the date of the man’s appearance on earth.
- The description of the flood.
At the very beginning Genesis has stated that God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters. To mention the existence of water in this period was quite imagination, while there is indication in the book that the initial stage of the formation of the universe a gaseous mass existed and to place water in it is an error. Then God created man in His own image, He created him, male and female followed by creations of the beasts according to their kinds and the cattle according to their kinds, and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.
The idea that successive phases of the Creation is to incite people to religious observation could have been compressed into the space of one week is one cannot be defended from a scientific point of view, while today we are perfectly aware that the formation of the universe and the earth took place in stages that lasted for very long periods.
The flood is an historical event and how it has been explained in Genesis can be an appropriate element to verify and understand the authenticity of the texts in it:
Man’s corruption had become widespread. So God had decided to annihilate him along with all other living creatures. He warned Noah and told him to construct the Ark into which he was to take his wife, three sons and their wives along with other living creatures. However, there are two descriptions: one source says that Noah was to take one pair of each species, while the other says that he was ordered to take seven males and seven females from each of the so called ‘pure’ animal species, and a single species from the ‘impure’ species. Further, rainwater is given as the agent of the flood in one passage, but in another, the flood is given a double cause: rainwater and the waters of the earth, while according to one source the flood lasted for forty days, but according to the other, one hundred and fifty.
According to Genesis, the flood affected the whole of the human race and all living creatures created by God on the face of the earth were destroyed, and humanity was reconstituted by Noah’s three sons and their wives, which is also incompatible to the present day data as there was no break in the human civilizations that had been in the other parts of the earth. Thus the flood could have been no destruction affecting the whole of humanity except the disbelieving people of Noah.
The Gospels
Each of the four Gospels contains a large number of description of events that may be unique to one single Gospel or common to several if not all of them raise serious problems. However, the contradictions can be discovered in the description of episode of Jesus in the texts between the Gospels, while the two genealogies of Jesus given in the Gospels and the untruths implied in them are quite conclusive:
The descriptions of the Passion differ from one evangelist to another, particularly between John and the first three Gospels. The Last Supper and the Passion in John’s Gospel are both very long, twice as long as Mark and Luke, and one and a half times as long as Matthew’s texts. John records a very long speech of Jesus to his disciples, and this crowning speech, Jesus announces that he will leave his last instructions and gives them his last spiritual testament, but there is no trace of this in the other Gospels, while the same process is in the other way by Matthew, Mark and Luke who relate the Jesus’s prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, but John does not mention it. However, it may be surprising to many that John’s Gospel makes no reference to the institution of the Eucharist during the Last Supper with his apostles, while many experts may not consider him an author of the Gospel being it the fourth one.
An imaginary description is given in the portrayal of the abnormal phenomena to have accompanied Jesus’s death in Matthew’s Gospel, while the events that followed the resurrection provided material for contradictory and even absurd description on the part of all the evangelists. The list of women who came to the tomb is not exactly the same in each of the three Synoptic Gospels. In John only one woman came but she speaks in plural, as if she were accompanied. In Matthew the Angel predicts to the women that they will see Jesus in Galilee, and a few moments later Jesus joins them beside the tomb, but in Luke, probably the source is altered the Angel says: “Remember how he told you, while he was in Galilee.” Luke refers to the three appearances, John places two appearances at an interval of one week and Matthew records only one appearance in Galilee. Thus these facts contradict the mention of Jesus’s appearances.
Contradictions are present until the very end of the descriptions because neither John nor Matthew refer to Jesus’s ascension. Mark and Luke are the only to speak of it. In Mark, Jesus was ‘taken up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God’ without any precise date being given in relation to his resurrection. Luke, the only one evangelist provided an undisputed text of the ascension episode, ‘he parted from them, and was carried up into heaven’. The evangelist places the event at the end of the resurrection and appearance to the eleven apostles: the details of the Gospel description imply that the ascension took place on the day of the resurrection.
The Quran
The creation of the universe is not a mystery to us what we know with our modern science as well as what we know from the Quran, making it distinct from what is found in the Torah: the first creation account is divided into seven days during which God creates light (day 1); the sky (day 2); the earth, seas, and vegetation (day 3); the sun and moon (day 4); animals of the air and sea (day 5); and land animals and humans (day 6). God rested from His work on the seventh day of creation, the Sabbath. The Quran does not describe the creation of the universe in a sequence rather giving verses scattered all over it to make a general reflection to the aspect of the events of creation, and to get a clear idea from the scattered verses across a large number of surahs brought them together, while there are differences and resemblances to the Bible but supported by the discovery of the modern science.
The Quran does not provide a continuous narration of the flood as well, while a number of surahs talk about the punishment inflicted upon the disbelieving people of Noah. When the command had come he was asked to embark in the Ark in the name of God with a pair of two from every kind, and his family (those who believed with him). Then the waves came between them and the disbelieving people were drowned including Noah’s son. The disbelieving people of Noah were drowned upon reaching the predestined water level pouring down from the sky and gushing out of springs from the earth, and when the water had subsided, the command had been fulfilled and the Ark rested on the Judi. Thus, the disbelieving people of Noah were punished inflicted upon the flood like a complete destruction of many other communities and was made it a sign for the people of the world. In fact, the description of flood in the Quran is very general, which is different from that contained in the Bible. The first basic difference between the two is about the cataclysm of the flood. The Quran presents it a punishment inflicted upon the disbelieving people of Noah, while the Bible presents it as a universal leaving no disbelievers in any parts of the earth. There is also mention of time when it occurred and the duration the flood lasted for in the previous scriptures, while there is no mention of time and duration of flood in the Quran. According to the Bible the Ark rested on the mountain of Arafat but the Quran says ii rested on the Judi.
The Quran has straightforward verses to confirm the birth of Jesus to be a son of Mary, which is a sign of God for the people of the world as well as his death. He was a messenger of God and a prophet supported by the clear proof, who had come to the Children of Israel with the Gospel, while he was taught the Torah as well. There has been commandment for him to establish the salat prayer and to pay the zakat, while he had brought a god news of a messenger to come after him. God sent down a feast from the heaven for the disciples of Jesus, which is also a sign of God being the best Provider for all of us. He had neither been killed nor had he been crucified except he had been raised to God is the truth about him, which many of us may confuse for following the assumption. The Jews had been made to think that they had killed or crucified Jesus which means that they had tortured his body after his death or after leaving of his soul from his body. However, the death of Jesus can be confirmed from his own statement that he obeyed his Lord’s command and asked his disciples to worship God what he witnessed as long as he had been among themselves but after him God has been Watcher over them is a direct evidence that he would not come back before a day of the Resurrection when the souls will be reinstated into bodies for the final Judgment to pay in full of their reward.
Conclusion
This study is made on certain areas or episodes that are well known to many of us to uncover the truths and untruth in the texts of the existing scriptures. The information around the creation of the universe, the appearance of man on the earth and the flood to punish the disbelieving people of Noah collected from the Pentateuch shows improbabilities and incompatibilities in its texts, and the description of the episode of Jesus’s life between the Gospels shows contradictions in the texts, while all these are presented in light of the Quran shows that the description around the creation of the universe, the appearance of man on the earth and the flood to punish the disbelieving people of Noah are very general having no contradiction with our present day knowledge, while the description of episode of the Jesus’s life is precise including his birth and death not to have any doubt in our hearts, even though there has been misinterpretation around us about his second coming. However, any impartial readers belonging to any religions/faiths even it is very difficult to be, would make inquiry into the texts of the Torah, the Gospels and the Quran to understand which of the texts is more authentic with our today’s knowledge based on knowing details of the relevant subject matter in each scripture. It is mention-worthy that as Muslims those who have believed what has been sent down to them and what has been sent down before of them are on guidance from their Lord to become successful in the Hereafter.
Peaceful Friday, salaam and God bless.
Tafazzal (08/22/2025).