Mere Islam

Sunday, December 30, 2007

Isaiah Prophecy...About the Revelation of the Qur'an?

I've always found verses 11 and 12 from the 29th chapter of the Old Testament Book of Isaiah to be rather amazing:
11 And the vision of the whole is to you, As words of the sealed book, That they give unto one knowing books, Saying, `Read this, we pray thee,' And he hath said, `I am not able, for it [is] sealed;' 12 And the book is given to him who hath not known books, Saying, `Read this, we pray thee,' And he hath said, `I have not known books.' [Young's Literal Translation]
Compare this to the first revelation of the Qur'an found in Sahih al-Bukhari. Interestingly, the Hebrew word that is here translated as "Read" is Qara', which means to call out, recite, read, proclaim or invite—and in the Arabic Bible it translated as Iqra'. Additionally, the phrase "I have not known books" is often translated as "I am not learned" (KJV), "I don't know how to read" (NIV), "I cannot read" (NASB). Various translations of these two verses, including Arabic and Hebrew, can be found here: 11 and 12.

Most importantly, if you read the entire context, it's about the hardheartedness of the people of Israel and how they're overly concerned with the "commandment of men"—which is both a Muslim and Christian criticism of the Rabbinic Judaism of the time. Due to this, God will "do a marvelous work Among this people, A marvelous work and a wonder"—meaning a book (i.e. revelation) will be given to the unlettered people who cannot read.

Food for thought...for those who reflect.

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3 Comments:

At 12/30/2007 02:36:00 PM, Blogger Omar said...

Thanks, that is an amazing fact.

 
At 12/30/2007 05:10:00 PM, Blogger Abdul said...

Interesting comparison. hmm. Dont know if theres any significance to it or its just erroaneous and random link between the Quran and the Old Testament. Dont know.

 
At 1/08/2008 02:22:00 PM, Blogger Kay said...

Salaam 3alaykum,

I use to practice Christianity (I'm a Muslim revert). I never had this verse pointed out to me before when I was Christian (New Testament was more emphasized in my upbringing). I am very intrigued. Thanks so much for pointing it out: you've sparked my interest in digging deeper into this verse.

Wa 3alaykum is-salaam!

 

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