A Comparative Study of
Three Accounts in the Qur'an and the Torah
by Hadi Qabil
Translated by: A.N. Baqirshahi
The accounts of the prophets are the
best examples for men and their lives are the best ideals of the history
that the believers should benefit from them. Accordingly, to narrate the
accounts of the prophets in the revealed scriptures are of great
importance, which constitute a sizable portion of the Torah and the
Qur'an. Unfortunately these accounts in the Torah have been distorted
and as a result of which, tarnished the beauty of the lives of these
nobles. Even some of them have been treated less than ordinary people.
While when these accounts are contrasted with the similar accounts in
the Qur'an. The greatness of these men and the beauty of the Qur'an come
to the fore plainly. What follows is the comparison of the accounts of
three prophets (s) viz. Lot, Job and David as related in the Qur'an and
the Torah.
The Account of Lot in the Torah.
'The Lord appeared to Abraham at the
sacred trees of Mamre. ...he looked up and saw three men standing there.
...he ran out to meet them. ...he said, "Sirs, please do not pass by my
home without stopping; I am here to serve you. Let me bring some water
for you to wash your feet; you can rest here beneath this tree. I will
also bring a bit of food; it will give you strength to continue your
journey. ..."
They replied, "Thank you; we accept."
He took some cream, some milk, and the
meat, and set the food before the men. There under the tree he served
them himself, and they ate.
One of them said, "Nine months from now
I will come back, and your wife Sarah will have a son."
Abraham and Sarah were very old, and
Sarah had stopped having her monthly periods. So Sarah laughed to
herself.
Then the Lord asked Abraham, "Why did
Sarah laugh and said, 'Can I really have a child when I am so old?' Is
anything too hard for the Lord?
Then the men left and went to a place
where they could look down at Sodom, ...And the Lord said, "I will not
hide from Abraham what I am going to do. ...
Then the Lord said to Abraham, "There
are terrible accusations against Sodom and Gomorrah, and their sin is
very great. I must go down to find out whether or not the accusations
which I have heard are true."
Abraham approached the Lord and asked.
"Are you really going to destroy the innocent with the guilty? He said,
"I will not destroy it if there are ten." after he had finished speaking
with Abraham.
When the two angels came to Sodom that
evening, Lot was sitting at the city gate. As soon as he saw them, he
got up and went to meet them. He bowed down before them and said, "Sirs,
I am here to serve you. Please come to my house. You can wash your feet
and stay the night. In the morning you can get up early and go on your
way.” But they answered, "No, we will spend the night here in the city
square.” He kept on urging them, and finally they went with him to his
house. Lot ordered his servants to bake some bread and prepare a fine
meal for the guests When it was ready, they ate it.
Before the guests went to bed, the men
of Sodom surrounded the house. All the men of the city, both young and
old, were there. They called out to Lot and asked, "Where are the men
who came to stay with you tonight? Bring them out to us!" The men of
Sodom wanted to have sex with them.
Lot went outside and closed the door
behind. He said to them, "Friends, I beg you, don't do such a wicked
thing! Look, I have two daughters who are still virgins. Let me bring
them out to you, and you can do whatever you want with them. But don't
do anything to these men; they are guests in my house, and I must
protect them.”
But they said, "Get out of our way, you
foreigner! Who are you to tell us what to do? Out of our way, or we will
treat you worse than them." They pushed Lot back and moved up to break
down the door. But the two men inside reached out, pulled Lot back into
the house, and shut the door. Then they struck all the men outside with
blindness, so that they couldn't find the door.
The two men said to Lot, "If you have
anyone else here -- sons, daughters, sons-in-law, or any other relatives
living in the city -- get them out of here, because we are going to
destroy this place. The Lord has heard the terrible accusations against
these people and has sent us to destroy Sodom."
Suddenly the Lord rained burning
sulphur on the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Because Lot was afraid to
stay in Zoar, he and his two daughters, moved up into the hills and
lived in a cave. The elder daughter said to her sister. "Our father is
getting old, and there are no men in the whole world to marry us so that
we can have children. Come on, let's make our father drunk, so that we
can sleep with him and have children by him." That night they gave him
wine to drink, and the elder daughter had intercourse with him. But he
was so drunk that he didn't know it.
The next day, the elder daughter said
to her sister, "I slept with him last night; now let's make him drunk
again tonight, and you sleep with him. Then each of us will have a child
by our father." So that night they made him drunk, and the younger
daughter had intercourse with him. Again he was so drunk that he didn't
know it. In this way both of Lot's daughters became pregnant by their
own father. The elder daughter had a son, whom she named Moab. He was
the ancestor of the present-day Moabites. The younger daughter also had
a son, whom she named Benammi. He was the ancestor of the present-day
Ammonites.l
Analysis of the Account of Lot in
the Torah.
In this account Torah narrates the
story of the Prophet Abraham ('a), the presence of the angels in the
Prophet's house, the matter of Sarah's son, the destruction of Lot's
people, and the visit of the Angeles with Lot, in a language
incompatible with the spirit of the divine faiths and the
characteristics of the Prophets. In this story certain ill-deeds are
ascribed to the prophets who are actually immune from any sin. Anyhow,
following points could be drawn:
- In this story God is considered as a
visible body, descended from the sky and attended a feast in Abraham's
house, and Abraham also washed His feet and served Him with roasted
calf.
- In the first stance, God appeared to
Abraham in the form of three persons, then Abraham addressed him in
singular pronoun and later addressed him (them) in plural pronoun. It
is not known whether they were men, angels or God. According to the
Torah they were God who surprisingly ate food over there as well!
- In the following verse: "I must go
down to find out whether or not the accusations which I have heard are
true." it implies that God does not know unless he comes down to find
out! Here the attribute of ignorance is attributed to God!
- Torah accused the Prophet of God of
drinking wine and having intercourse with his chaste daughters. Even
an ordinary man may not commit such shameful let alone the Prophet of
God. Surprising point is that from the progeny of The Prophet Lot, two
sons (illegitimate sons) remained. One of them became the ancestor of
the present-day Moabites and the other who was Benammi became the
ancestor of the presnt-day Ammonies.
The Account of Lot in the Qur’an
"Our messengers came to Abraham with
the good tidings; they said, 'Peace!' 'Peace,' he said; and presently he
brought a roasted calf. And when he saw their hands not reaching towards
it, he was suspicious of them and conceived a fear of them. They said,
'Fear not; we have been sent to the people of Lot.’
And his wife (Sarah) was standing by;
she laughed, therefore We gave her the glad tidings of Isaac, and after
Isaac, of Jacob.
She said, 'Woe is me! Shall I bear,
being an old woman? This assuredly is a strange thing.’
They said, 'What, dost thou marvel at
God's command? The mercy of God and His blessings be upon you, O people
of the House! Sure He is All-laudable, All-glorious.’
So, when the awe departed from Abraham
and the good tidings came to him, he was disputing with us concerning
the people of Lot; Abraham was clement, compassionate, penitent.
‘O Abraham turn away from this; thy
Lord's command has surely come, and there is coming upon them a
chastisement not to be turned back.'
And when Our messengers came to Lot, he
was troubled on their account and distressed for them, and he said,
'This is a fierce day.'
And his people came to him, running
towards him; and erstwhile they had been doing evil deeds. He said, ' O
my people, these are my daughters; they are cleaner for you. So fear
God, and do not degrade me in my guests. What, is there not one man
among you of a right mind?'
They said, 'Thou knowest we have no
right to thy daughters, and thou well knowest what we desire.'
He said, ' O would that I had power
against you, or might take refuge at a strong pillar!
They said, 'Lot, we are messengers of
thy Lord. They shall not reach thee; so set forth, thou with thy family,
in a watch of the night, and let not anyone of you turn round, excepting
thy wife; surely she shall be smitten what will smite them (your
people). Their promised time is the morning; is the morning not nigh?'
So when Our command came, We turned it
uppermost nethermost, and rained on it stones of baked clay, one on
another, marked with thy Lord, and never far from the evildoers.[2]
Analysis of the Account of Lot in
the Qur’an.
According to the Qur'an Lot was the
first who believed in the Prophet Abraham and then left his city
Chaleada to Palestine and remained in Sodom. People of that city were
idolaters and had a very bad habit, that is, they would leave their
women and have sex with boys. Lot was assigned to guide them and prevent
them of such evil deed. But his efforts had no result, then he informed
them of coming upon them a chastisement But the people of Lot said:
"Then bring us the chastisement of God, if thou speakest truly".
Then they threaten Lot and said: "If
thou givest not over, Lot, thou shalt assuredly be one of the expelled.
Anyhow, Lot's efforts had no result and the chastisement of God came
upon them. As narrated, first the angels came to the Prophet Abraham.
The Prophet did not know that they were angels, thus he prepared flood
for them. But they refrained from taking food hence, he was suspicious
of them and conceived a fear of them. They said, 'fear not; we have been
sent to the people of Lot.' We give a good tiding of a child for you and
your wife. Then they came to Lot and said, set forth, thou with thy
family, in a watch of the night, and let not any one of you turn round,
excepting thy wife. The following points can be drawn from this story of
the Qur' an:
- The messengers were angels,
therefore they refused to take food.
- The Prophets are infallible and God
always help them in their problems.
- In the Qur'an Prophets are described
by respectful expressions and reverent attributes.
- Every thing is known to God and He
has dominance over all human deeds
Concluded that there are a lot of
differences between the Qur’anic approach towards this story and that of
the Torah and it is wrong to say that the Qur'an has taken its stories
from the Bible and Torah. The Qur'an is God's words and is free from any
wrong expression.
The Account of Job in the Torah.
Can 't you see it is God who has done
this? He has set a trap to catch me. I protest against his violence, but
no one hears my cry for justice. God has blocked the way, and I can't
get through; He has hidden my path in darkness. He has taken away all my
wealth and destroyed my reputation. He batters me from every side. He
uproots my hope and leaves me to wither and die. God is angry and rages
against me; he treats me like his worst enemy.
[3]
Analysis of the Account of Job in
the Torah.
In this account Prophet Job has leveled
an implausible accusation against God. The Prophet Job in this story is
considered to be the weakest person. Following points can be drawn:
- God in this account is one who set a
trap to catch Job and blocked the way for him, tormenting him with
words, and uproots his hope. Surprisingly such complains against God
is leveled by a Prophet not an unbeliever or one who is deviated from
the path of God!
- The prophet of God Job is restless
and complaining against God. He sees himself in perdition state.
The Account of Job In the Qur'an
Remember our servant Job; when he
called to his Lord, 'Behold, Satan has visited me with weariness and
chastisement.’ Surely We found him a steadfast man. How excellent a
servant he was! He was a penitent.[4]
Analysis of the Account Job In the
Qur'an
The Qur'an first describes the
characteristics of Prophet Job by saying that he was an excellent
servant with great patience as well as being a steadfast man. Even on
his illness he says that Satan tried to tempt him by saying that had God
loved him He would not have made him ill. Then he says that he takes
refuge to God from the temptation of the Satan.
According to the Qur'an God is kind,
blessing, and supporter of his Prophet Job and other prophets. He never
forgets His servants, particularly His Prophets. There are two different
approaches towards these stories. Therefore it is implausible to hold
that the Qur'an has taken its stories from the Torah.
The Account of David in the Torah.
One day, late in the afternoon, David
got up from his nap and went to the palace roof. As he walked about up
there, he saw a woman having a bath. She was very beautiful. So he sent
a messenger to find out who she was and learnt that she was Bathsheba,
the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite. David sent
messengers to fetch her; they brought her to him and he made love to
her. (She had just finished her monthly ritual of purification.) Then
she went back home. Afterwards she discovered that she was pregnant and
sent a message to David to tell him.
David then sent a message to Joab "Send
me Uriah the Hittite." So Joab sent him to David. When Uriah arrived,
David asked him if Joab and the troops were well, and how the fighting
was going. Then he said to Uriah, "Go home and rest a while." Uriah
left, and David sent a present to his home. But Uriah did not go home;
instead he slept at the palace gate with the king's guards. When David
heard that Uriah had not gone home, he asked him, "You have just
returned after a long absence; why didn't you go home?"
Uriah answered, "The men of Israel and
Judah are away at the war, and the Covenant Box is with them; my
commander Joab and his officers are camping out in the open. How could I
go home eat and drink, and sleep with my wife. By all that's sacred, I
swear that I could never do such a thing!"
The next morning David wrote a letter
to Joab and sent it by Uriah. He wrote: "Put Uriah in the front line,
where the fighting is heaviest, then retreat and let him be killed." So
while Joab was besieging the city, he sent Uriah to a place where he
knew the enemy was strong. The enemy troops came out of the city and
fought Job's forces; some of David's officers were killed, and so was
Uriah.
When Bathsheba heard that her husband
had been killed, she mourned for him. When the time of mourning was
over, David sent for her to come to the palace; she became his wife and
bore him a son. But the Lord was not pleased with what David had done.
The Lord sent the Prophet Nathan to
David. Nathan went to him and said, "There were two men who lived in the
same town; one was rich and the other poor. The rich man had many cattle
and sheep, while the poor man had only one lamb, when he had bought. He
took care of it, and it grew up in his home with his children. He would
feed it with some of his own food, let it drink from his cup, and hold
it in his lap. The lamb was like a daughter to him. One day a visitor
man didn't want to kill one of his own animals to prepare a meal for
him; instead he took the poor man's lamb and cooked a meal for his
guest."
David was very angry with the rich man
and said, "I swear by the living Lord that the man who did this ought to
die! For having done such a cruel thing, he must pay back four times as
much as he took." "You are that man," Nathan said to David.
Analysis of the Account of David in
the Torah.
Torah doesn't consider David a Prophet
of God but holds that he was a just king, having the Book of Psalm.
Torah leveled the worst accusation against David and put him parallel
with the lewd persons with such characteristics. How can these Prophets
be the ideal and guide for their people. How can their words and prayers
be as the divine Books. Following points can be drawn from this story:
- In the Torah David is considered as
a lewd person.
- Undermining the social and divine
rule, David went to his palace roof and watched a woman who was having
a bath in her house.
- By seeing that woman he sent a
messenger to fetch her; brought her to him and made love to her.
- He had sex with that married woman,
and so she became pregnant. while adultery is strongly prohibited in
the Torah, and death sentence is prescribed for one who commits such
an act.
- To prevent disclosure of his
offense, David indulged himself in another offense, he called Uriah,
that woman's husband, from the battlefront and asked him to go home
and sleep with his wife. But Uriah refused to do so by saying that how
could I go home, eat and drink, and sleep with my wife while my
commander and his officers are camping out in the open. Then David
makes a secret plan to kill him. To do so he wrote a letter to Joab
and asked him to put Uriah in the front line, where the fighting is
heaviest, then retreat and let him be killed. Then Uriah was killed
and David was pleased by hearing such news. Such story about the
Prophet David is unfounded and implausible. How an officer of David is
so loyal that he refuses even to sleep with his wife for his friends
are in front line, fighting with enemy, while David who is the Prophet
of God and the Guide of people attempts his life. It means David is
motivated by his sensual passions and is lower than his officer Uriah.
Torah does not recognize David as Prophet but considers him as a Just
and highly positioned king who is the founder of a great synagogue.
Moreover, the Psalm of David which covers the supplications of David
is considered to be a part of Torah. The question is that how the
supplication and sayings of such person as described in Torah should
be included in the Old Testament.
- An ordinary person didn't come to
David, but the Prophet Nathan came to David and told him the story of
that rich and poor men.
- David first ordered death sentence
of that rich man for killing a lamb.(Is it plausible to issue death
sentence to a man for killing a lamb!)
- Upon issuing such he contradicted
his former order and said: he must pay back four times as much as he
took.
- David confessed his sin against
Uriah's wife!
- God forgives him (that crime and sin
is easily pardoned).
- While David is pardoned he was
subjected to certain punishment.
- That woman, Bathsheba, Uriah' s wife
with such a record as described in Torah, became the mother of the
Prophet of God, Solomon!
The Account of David In the Qur'an.
And remember our servant David, the man
of might; he was a penitent. We strengthened his kingdom, and gave him
wisdom and speech decisive. Has the tiding of the dispute come to thee?
When they scaled the Sanctuary, when
they entered upon David, and he took fright at them; and they said,
'Fear not; two disputants we are - one of us has injured the other; so
judge between us justly, and transgress not, and guide us to the right
path.
Behold, this my brother has ninety-nine
ewes, and I have one ewe. So he said, "Give her into my charge"; and he
overcame me in the argument.'
Said he, "Assuredly he has wronged thee
in asking for thy ewe in addition to his sheep; and indeed many
intermixes do injury one against the other, save those who believe, and
do deeds of righteousness -- and how few they are!"
And David thought that We had only
tried him; therefore he sought forgiveness of his Lord, and he fell
down, bowing, and he repented.
Accordingly We forgave him that, and he
has a near place in our presence and a fair resort.
"David, behold, We have appointed thee
a viceroy in the earth; therefore judge between men justly, and follow
not caprice, lest it lead thee astray from the way of God. Surely those
who go astray from the way of God - there awaits them a terrible
chastisement, for that they have forgotten the Day of Reckoning."
And We gave unto David Solomon; how
excellent a servant he was! He was penient.[6]
Analysis of The Account of David In
the Qur'an.
According to the Qur'an all the
Prophets are infallible and free from any sin. The Qur'an narrates the
story as it happened and praises David very much. Anyhow following
points can be extracted:
- The Qur'an never mentions the matter
of the marriage of David with Uriah's wife, Thus, we can not comment
upon it, Some of our Traditions have dealt with this story among which
some are unfounded while some others are true. For instance there is a
tradition from Imam Rida on this matter. It is said that one day Imam
Rida said to 'Ali bin Jahm: What do you know about David, the Prophet
of God? He narrated the story according the Torah. Imam Rida got angry
and said: "You accused the Prophet of God of being weak in his
prayer and like children he was runnig after the birds. Then you
accused him of indulging in indecency and murder. 'Ali bin Jahm asked,
then, what was 'the sin of David upon which he sought God's pardon as
the Qur'an refers to it? The Imam replied: At that time, when the
women were losing their husbands, they never marry again for it was
unusual to do so. David was the first who was allowed to marry to such
women (so that to break such wrong tradition). Thus, when Uriah was
killed, he married to his wife. This act of David was not plausible
for the people.[7]
Imam' Ali ('a) said: if anybody, comes to me and says that the
Prophet David married to Uriah, I would punish him twice. One
punishment for insulting the prophethood, and second one for Islam
(accusation of a faithful man to an unlawful act).
[8]
- God praises the Prophet David in the
Qur'an as follows:..."And remember our servant David, the man of
might,. He has a penitent. With him We subjected the mountains to give
glory, at evening and sunrise, and the birds, duly mustered, every one
to him reverting; We strengthened his kingdom, and gave him wisdom.
and speech deci.sive.”[9]
- The Qur'an speaks about the Divine
visitation of God with David. By divine visitation God wants to
display the spirit of satisfaction, submission, and sincerity of his
Prophets, and introduce him as their guide. There are ample of ahadith
dealing with this issue.
Notes:
- Good News Bible, (Today's English
Version), The Bible Society of India, Genesis. 18-20.
- The Qur'an, (An English translation
by A.J. Arbery), Collier Books, Macmillan Publishing Company, New
York, the verses: Hud:71-85.
- Op. cit. Good News Bible, Job. 19.
- Op; cit. The Qur'an, 38: 40-45
- Op. cit. Good News Bible, Samuel, 11
- Op. cit. Tlle Qur'an, 38: 16 -30
- Nural-Thaqalayn, vol. 4. P. 445.
- Majma .al-Bayan, vo1. 8. P. 473.
Message of Thaqalayn - Vol. 3, Nos. I &
2, Spring & Summer 1417/1996 |