The Christian Bible and Islamic Quran chare a surprising number of similar themes and ideas as a result of their shared religious heritage and birthplaces; an example of this is found in the Bible’s “Sermon on the Mount” parable from the Mathew Gospel and the Quran’s “Lord of Mercy”. It is important to note that the Lord of Mercy referenced by the Koran can include a number of passages, as Allah is directly references as the Lord of Mercy many times; unless specified otherwise, this report will refer primarily to the opening of the Koran for simplicity. Both are a reflection of the cultural phenomena occurring during their times; Jesus grew up in a world dominated by the Roman Empire, while Muhammad in a rural, tribal area in present day Saudi Arabia. Both societies were impoverished, which could account for the emphasis on the poor achieving ever-lasting life. The cultural influences that gave us the Lord’s Prayer from the Sermon on the Mount directly influenced the creation of the Lord of Mercy, as they were still present in Muhammad’s day. It is also highly possible that the Christian groups of the Prophet’s day introduced Muhammad to the prayer, as the only difference between the two is the wording. Therefore, both are remarkable examples of early religious rhetoric and mark the key similarities between Islam and Christianity.
The Sermon on the Mount is a perfect example of the parables and metaphors Jesus used to communicate his message to his followers. The central theme to the sermon is that mankind is precious and there is hope for life after death. Jesus made a clear point to say, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Kasteren).” Here and in his following remarks, Jesus is seeking to convey that those that are considering in the bottom rungs of society have a wealth in heaven that cannot be compared to the wealth on Earth. These became known as the Beatitudes, and would later form a very important core in Christian philosophy and teachings. Jesus also sought to show that eternal life belongs to those who follow a righteous path. Jesus used another string of metaphors when comparing man to the “salt of the earth, a city on a hill, etc.” to convey his message that mankind is a force of good and light, as he says, “You are the light of the world (Kasteren).”
The importance of Jesus beginning with the Beatitudes should not be ignored. Jesus would have caught the attention of the audience because of its applicable nature to the impoverished people in Israel and Judea, and it also set his speech up well in a rhetorical sense as well (Puchner et al.). He then continued on to explain why he was giving the speech and what he was there for, essentially saying that he had not come to abolish the Law but fulfill it. This has to do with the political pressures of the time and opposition to Jesus. Jesus’ pause to describe why his had come was a brief pause in his rhetoric, but it immediately would have established credibility with his audience, knowledgeable of the Jewish law and prophecies. Jesus then continued to describe his commandments and the reasoning behind them, which would have further built upon his credibility because of both its logical appeal and emotional appeal. For example, Jesus says, “Love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you (Kasteren).” In a region where persecution is an everyday occurrence, this would have had very special impact. Perhaps some of the most important phrases came from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, but its most valuable treasure for Christians is the Lord’s Prayer, commonly referred to as the “Our Father”. This is repeated in every Catholic mass and is a very important teaching in Christianity. It involves asking God to forgive his followers as man is expected to forgive those that trespass against them. In addition, the Our Father asks for God to “deliver us from evil”.
The Our Father is comparable to the Muslim prayer “The Opening”, also referred to as the Lord of Mercy (Khalidi). The Opening describe God as “most merciful and compassionate”. It is also how most of the chapters in the Koran begin, making it very important when reading the book. The structure of the prayer is very different from the Our Father, but the idea is very, very similar. The Opening asks God to lead the faithful down a straight path, and to protect them from evil, just like the Our Father does. For example, the Our Father says, “and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil”, while The Opening says, “Guide us on the straight path, the path of those who have received your grace; not the path of those who have brought down wrath, nor of those who wander astray.” While it is slightly different, the overall message is the same.
The similarities are the direct result of Christianity influencing Islam, as it came centuries later. Many believe that the prophet Muhammad was influenced heavily by Judaism and Christianity, as his hadiths and scriptures from the Koran provide protection for other “People of the Book”. The influence of Christianity on the fledgling Islamic religion is not entirely clear, but it is clear that any literary analysis of the two prayers shows a clear and striking similarity. Both are centered around asking God for forgiveness based on forgiving others. In addition, the scriptures from both religions include similar themes, though the cultural differences between the two are noticeable. For instance, the Koran includes the use of Jinns, or genies, which would be regarded as superstition by the Christians.
The largest difference is the focus of The Opening on the awesomeness and power of Allah, whereas the Sermon on the Mount does not. This is a trend throughout the Koran, and it has heavily influenced Muslims’ views about Allah. In comparison, some believe that the message that Jesus left has led to a greater focus about God’s love in contrast to the force of his anger and wrath. This message is hinted at by the rhetoric used in both prayers, as the Lord’s Prayer is a little softer in nature and in tone.
The most striking difference is that the Sermon on the Mount occurs later on in the Gospel of Mark. This is because the gospels were written almost as a historic record of Jesus and his teachings. The Koran, on the other hand, was written more to be the defining guide of Islam. The Bible was compiled from many different books and gospels, all mostly correlating the same information, though not all did. Thus, the Sermon on the Mount is lost in the pages of the Bible, hidden among the numerous parables and stories of the account of Jesus and his miracles. The Opening, however, is the literal opening verses of the Quran. The placement in a literary context makes it clear the different functions of the different books for the different religions. The Opening is a highly effective tool because it makes the Koran function as if it is a prayer, much the same way Homer’s The Iliad opens with, “Sing O Goddess, of the wrath” An invocation is a great tool to build legitimacy and credibility behind the Koran due to its purpose, something which the biblical canon lacks because of the nature of its creation. The Sermon on the Mount was purportedly the result of Jesus’ followers asking Jesus how they should pray, which gave them the Lord’s Prayer after Jesus outlined the ways the followers should live. While the Gospel of Luke does include the Lord’s Prayer, it is the Gospel of Matthew that provides the most detail about the Sermon on the Mount.
It is interesting to note that throughout the Koran, Allah is referred to as the most merciful, the most kind, etc. The cultural perception of God in Islam is very different from that of Christianity, based upon the construction of each religion’s holy texts. For example, Islam literally means “submission” in Arabic, and the Koran presents him as an all-powerful being with the capability of denying access to the promised heaven. The Bible, as a collection of stories, presents God in a loving light, while focusing on the lighter aspects of God especially when compared to the God of the Old Testament. It is important to note that neither representation is better than the other, but that both were influenced heavily by the geo-political situation surrounding each religion’s respective prophets and the personality of the prophets themselves. It will remain unclear as to the total extent of this as no one alive today was there to analyze the development of both religions, but similar phenomena has occurred in the recent past. Examples of this include the growth of the Church of Scientology and the Church of Latter-Day Saints, which can provide evidence of how the external situation can affect development and growth of a religious movement. For instance, the rise of Jesus and Christianity coincided with a completely different epoch in human history compared to the rise of Islam. Christians had to flee from persecution from the strong centralized government that was the Roman Empire, while the early Muslims built their own empire.
Other differences between the two scriptures can be explained by the difference in language. Language is the clearest indicator of the cultural values of a group of people. This is because every language is remarkably different in terms of idioms and grammatical structure. Sometimes, this demonstrates a different method of thinking about language or other things. It does not take a linguist to see that language groups that are very far apart on the common language tree also have very different cultures. Language can display how cultures influence others; for example, many words in Portuguese and Arabic were given by the Arabic invaders of the Iberian Peninsula. Thus, the differences between the Lord’s Prayer and The Opening can be attributed to the differences in language structure, grammar, and syntax. For proof of this, one only has to look at the epithets to Allah in the Koran. Allah is frequently referred to as the most powerful, most magnificent, and so on. This mirrors the epithets given to the Turkish sultans later on after their invasions, and describes the relationship between language and culture (Murphey).
Similarities do exist in both religions as a whole. The Koran mentions the mercy of God many times; he is not always depicted as such a strong, infinite being. Every chapter of the Bible does as well, and Jesus made it a point to mention how loving and forgiving God is. The Koran makes frequent mention of Allah as being merciful. One of the best examples is the Surah Ar-Rahman, which makes frequent references of Allah’s merciful and gracious nature. The keyword is “gracious”; the implication is that Allah is kind and merciful solely because he chooses to be so, marking a difference in the Christian teachings that God loves mankind. This Surah, like many passages from the Koran, explain that Allah will cut down those who oppose him, while also describing his merciful nature. This dualism is not typically found in Jesus’ sermons, as the Christian religions have relegated the role of punisher to the Devil, something which the Muslims believe in as well.
Other verses in the Koran are meant to clearly display the mercy of Allah. Allah is described as having told Adam that if he had brought all of the sins of the world in front of Allah, he would still have been forgiven (i Pamphlets). This is a massive departure from the Christian texts, which depict the fall of Adam and Eve as one of vengeance and terror. Other verses also are meant to display Allah’s mercy, such as those that say that Muhammad was sent as “mercy for mankind”. This also corresponds to the Christian belief that Jesus was sent to save humanity from eternal sin and damnation; thus, there is a clear correlation between the two religions as a result of the intended reason for Jesus and Muhammad to deliver their messages. The only difference is that Muhammad is only a prophet, though he is the greatest and most exalted of them all in the Islamic religion. It is also very interesting to note that Islam has the same prophets as Christianity and Judaism, meaning that the three share a unique yet common religious heritage.
Many believe that the Koran is not a peaceful text due to some of the verses included within which support stoning and killing. However, in this case the Koran is also not so different from the Bible. The Old Testament is very much a part of the Bible and in it God commands the Israelites to murder and pillage their way into the promise land. Contrasting this of course is Jesus’ message of love and peace. The Quran does not have a composed system quite like the Beatitudes that Jesus left his followers; however, the core of Islam is centered on the Five Pillars, which are: giving alms to the poor, the pilgrimage to Mecca, fasting during Ramadan, reciting the Muslim profession of faith, and the daily prayer five times a day. Only giving alms to the poor is on the same level. The Koran does not place nearly the same emphasis on loving one’s neighbor as the Bible does, but that does not mean anything bad. Rather, the focus is simply on another aspect of God.
Therefore, there is a strong similarity between the message in the Koran that Allah is the Lord of Mercy and the Sermon on the Mount delivered by Jesus. Jesus delivered his sermon roughly six hundred years before the prophet Muhammad did, and the fact that there was a large community of Christians and Jews in Muhammad’s community may have caused the similarity between the religions to exist. The common message is one of reconciliation between the Allah/God and mankind, as humans are expected to strive for perfection under the watchful gaze of a loving god. There are numerous differences between the two that are likely the result of the difference in culture that the founders of their respective religious movements shared, and this is crucial in understanding the development of each religion in its own way. The Sermon on the Mount and the Koran share a common purpose. They were meant to educate the followers of both religions on how to act so that they may enjoy the fruits of eternal life in heaven; though they say different things, understanding the overall message reveals that the two are not that different after all.
Works Cited:
Pamphlets, i. “Islamic pamphlets.” Islamic Pamphlets. 2006. Web. 4 Jan. 2017.
Kasteren, Van. “CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: The Eight Beatitudes.” Catholic Encyclodpedia. 2012. Web. 4 Jan. 2017.
Khalidi, Tarif. The Qurʼan. New York: Penguin Group (USA), 2010. Print.
Murphey, Rhoads. Exploring Ottoman Sovereignty: Tradition, Image and Practice in the Ottoman Imperial Household, 1400-1800. London: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2008. Print.
Puchner, Martin, et al. Norton Anthology of Western Literature: Volume 1. Eds. Suzanne Conklin Akbari and Wiebke Denecke. 9th ed. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2014. Print.
