Are
the angel Gabriel of the Qur'an the same as the angel Gabriel who spoke to Mary
the mother of Jesus?
Dedicated
to every Muslim Honest and Pious
“so that you may know the truth concerning the things about which you haveINTRODUCCION
PART 1>
Two thousand years ago a Christian doctor converted
to the gospel and began serving God in promoting God's good news to all
families on earth. His name was Luke. This man certainly had a missionary
heart. We don't know exactly how or where he met the first extraordinary
Christian missionary of the first century called the apostle Paul, then Saul,
originally from a city in the Roman province of Galatia, modern-day Turkey. It
is certain that on one of his initial missionary journeys the apostle Paul
joined him in his extraordinary mission.
Both had a burning heart to share the good news of
Jesus' salvation, and through preaching they got to know much of the Western
world then dominated by the Roman Empire. By preaching they made many friends
among Jews and non Jews of their world at that time. One of them was
Theophilus, we don't know exactly who he was, but apparently educated in the
truth according to Jewish tradition. Luke dedicated one of his research papers
to it on the life of Jesus and the impact of the gospel on that world. His
first words emphasize, "that you may know the truth of the things in which
you have been instructed."
Today I return to this same dedication to each
honest and piaous muslin people, so that they may know the truth in those
things in which they have been instructed to be pious people and followers of
God.
There is a social psychological syndrome called Stockholm syndrome. A
kidnapped person can live a long time isolated from their original physical,
social, emotional and even spiritual circle only to be isolated by illicit
means such as a kidnapping. Living with their captors for a long time will
create the effect of the victim becoming the victimizer. He will get used to
such a situation that he will consider it regular and even normal. Over time he
will become another victimizer. If the victim raised children in that
condition, the indicated syndrome would be transferred to them as a normal
situation.
There is a lot of this phenomenon in especially
sectarian religious movements. An entire community could accept for centuries
and even millennia certain rules of conduct violated by its narrative,
psychosocial and even religious contour. He will do so by believing imaginary
gods and prophets, following norms of behavior imposed by the norms of a
particular religious tradition that is nothing more than a refuge house for a
Stockholm Syndrome but on a colossal, frightening global level. This somewhat
illustrates the dark power behind religions. I am not an enemy of religions, I
am a friend of the truth. My task is to investigate to find the knowledge that
helps me find the truth of certain questions that hide behind them imaginary
and real challenges. It pains me to think that there are millions of people who
suffer without realizing it from something similar to Stockholm syndrome but to
barbaric dimensions, accepting as truth myths and statements that are
ultimately invented by men. Fertile field for a sociology of religions. I do
not discount the power of revelation that is demonstrated through facts. This
same work is a process of revealing things hitherto hidden for millions of
people, who had not imagined similar ways of thinking. Abel Gómez Sánchez
START
I
have asked this question to many of my Muslim friends with the intention of
inviting serious reflection on the true nature of the Qur’an and its content. Is
the angel Gabriel of the Qur’an the same angel Gabriel who has spoke to Mary,
the mother of Jesus? The immediate response has generally been, “Of course, the
angel Gabriel of the Qur’an is the same angel Gabriel who spoke to Mary to be
the mother of Jesus.” This seemingly easy and logical answer however requires
careful and honest examination. It invites us to ask additional questions about
the nature of Allah of the Qur’an and the God of the Bible, questions about the
moral, missional and spiritual nature of the two angels called Gabriel. Are
they the same angel? Are they the same God who sent him? Do they both have the
same divine authorization? Are your messages complementary or consistent in
unity and content? Is the latter essential?
In
islam, the idea is promoted that Muslim means above all to be submitted to God.
A Muslim is someone who lives submission to God in his laws and ordinances.
What would the reader do if we discovered that the angel Gabriel in the book of
the Qur’an is not who he appears to be, an angel submitted to God delivering
revelations from God. What happens if upon closely examining the angel Gabriel
we find an angel rebelling against God? What would be the logical result of
this discovery? What will the reader be willing to do if he discovers that in
order to be a true Muslim he needs to turn his back on Muhammad, his book the
Qur’an and his angel Gabriel because they DO NOT submit to God?
Otherwise,
if the result of our analysis is that both angels are the same angel, then
therefore they come from the same God and therefore their messages are
revelation from God; that means we can have confidence that Allah is God who
has sent his prophet called Mohammad and again also his angel Gabriel. In this
case Allah is the God that the Qur’an claims to be, and this is a true holy
book. Any presumption however on this subject needs to be demostrated, and this
book is an effort to help the reader discover the truth regarding the initial
question. Are the angel Gabriel from the book of the Qur’an and the Bible the
same angel? What is the truth regarding this matter? Someone once said that
lies taste sweet and the truth is usually bitter. Jesus said that the truth
brings us freedom. His precise words are: ““If you continue in my word, you are truly my
disciples; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will
make you free.” [1][2]. ”
In
other words, we only have two options in relation to this matter regarding the
two angels mentioned: either they are the same angel or they are not, because
in the latter case one of them pretends to be the same angel Gabriel who spoke
with Mary but is not. is the same; and therefore Gabriel is a false angel; an
imposter Let me explain, both are the same angel or they are two different
angels, and in the latter case one of them is an impostor because he pretends
to have the identity of the other; and this other is the true angel Gabriel. If
the two are not the same then one is false. The question is worth asking, who
is interested in presenting the later angel Gabriel as equal to the initial
Gabriel of the gospel of Luke? What are your true intentions? How could we
identify the fake angel if it exists? Only that would explain the divergences
between the messages of both angels called the same. I intend to decipher this
dilemma regarding the angel Gabriel by examining both writings, the Qur’an and
the Christian Bible.
The
Muslim assumption, however, is that both angels are the same angel, with the
same name and the accounts or events are the same, and with the same
characters, and therefore it is the same revelation. So much so that according to the Qur'an the
task of the angel Gabriel is to confirm the message of the previous messengers,
and this includes the initial message of the angel Gabriel. Is this
confirmation made by the angel Gabriel the Second? I try to show the nature of
this assumption.
The
real revelation requires showing unity, complementarity, continuity and
confirmation; it does not allow any contradiction. If they are the same angel,
the messages must adjust because they come from the same God, confirming the
divine purpose over time, and confirming their unity or continuity in content.
The nature of the revelation of those who claim to be messengers of God must be
reviewed, that is a task and duty of every faithful believer. As it is obvious
and verifiable that Mohammad makes use of sources prior to Islam to present his
Surah 19, where the annunciation to Mary was narrated, comparing the primary
documents with this narration becomes mandatory. The scrutiny of both documents
becomes not only necessary but mandatory.
It
is not enough to analyze the oldest available documents of the Qur'an,
including the Saná, or the manuscript of the University of Birmingham, etc. We
need to turn to the earliest manuscripts of the original account of the
Annunciation, and these are in the earliest copies of the Gospels of Matthew
and Luke, and subsequent copies.
Regarding
the gospel of Luke: the purpose of the gospel of Luke is still valid, since
this same document says, " so that you may know well the truth of the things
in which you have been instructed."[3] This
truth includes the truth regarding the angel Gabriel sent by God to visit Mary
in preparation for the coming of Jesus and everything he said in connection
with it. How did those events occur? With whom did the angel Gabriel speak in
those days? What was the content of your messages then? What is the importance
of such a revelation for people today of any race and nation and next
generations? What good news did the initial angel Gabriel bring to humanity?
What were your statements regarding the person of Jesus himself? What documents
should I consult to answer these questions with confidence? There are many
questions, I will try to answer them for the reader's examination. The search
for the truth in this matter requires our logical and pragmatic sense, applying
research criteria applied to any literary work on any topic.
Note:
Manuscript of Saná, at Stanford
University.
If
I want to do a study on the philosopher Plato and I have a copy of one of his
works that comes from the third century BC, and another that comes from the 7th
century AD, it is obvious that the first work will be of greater interest
because it is older. I will be able to compare both writings, find variants if
there are any, apart from checking their authorship and content. Certainly
there are few questions about Plato's works today despite the great time
difference between the time of the available copies and the time of origin of
the initial manuscript. If there is another work or document outside the
authorship of Plato that shows similar content to such work of Plato mentioned
here even in part, we must analyze whether the information is entirely original
or if there are ultimately consistent points that show the taking of materials.
Is this plagiarism? Techniques such as content analysis, documentary analysis,
comparative studies, textual criticism, etc., will be applied to verify the
influence of Plato on such writing. If the claim is that it is the same author
although with a different name, higher criticism will be able to confirm it
through the use of various writing techniques, various comparative studies,
examination of style and examination of content and other methods.
It
is necessary to explain first that the documents best known and appreciated by
Christians in relation to the story of Jesus are the so-called gospels. These
are the gospel of Matthew, Mark, Luke and the gospel of John. Luke and Matthew
are doing known as the infancy gospels of Jesus. They are not the only ones
that the Christian community has produced. There are many gospels with mentions
of Jesus' childhood and they are mostly pseudo- Christian, influenced by the
doctrines of generally sectarian groups on the periphery of the apostolic
Christian faith, and outside of it. Whether we want to admit it or not, these
two gospels - Matthew and Luke - are the oldest and most reliable sources of
the work of the angel Gabriel that we have in relation to the annunciation and
birth of Jesus. The Christian ecclesiastical consensus has only admitted four
gospels as reliable or worthy representatives of the story of Jesus and his
teaching: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Many gospels were rejected as part of
the Christian canon as uninspired or apocryphal. The Qur’an appears seven
centuries later and it is certain that the Muslim version of the annunciation
to Mary contained in Surah 19 comes influenced by these primary documents and
those called apocryphal and even esoteric. Well, we conclude this. It is
the most logical thing to think about this matter. A deep study let us verify
this.
We
can ask, Where did Mohammad obtain the information regarding Mary's
annunciation if not from these gospels? The reader can find at the end of this
document a copy of the main stories of Jesus' childhood, that is, the gospel of
Luke and Matthew. The answer to this question is sure to be, “Well, Mohammad
received revelation from the angel Gabriel, and since he is the same angel from
the gospel of Luke, he has the information we need and gave it to his prophet
Mohammad.” Understand, seven centuries later in the written narrative of the
gospel of Luke. The reader must however recognize that this statement is
equivalent to saying that the revelation given by the second Gabriel is as
valid as the first revelation, as the Qur'an effectively assumes in Surah 2:97,
by stating,
“ If there is someone who is an enemy
of Gabriel - he is the one who, authorized by God, revealed it to your heart,
in confirmation of the previous messages, as direction and good news for
believers -…”
This
authorization of divine origin from the second angel Gabriel declared here is a
notable assumption of Islam that need been
corroborated. This Surah says two essential things regarding the second angel
Gabriel: first that he came authorized by God, in the same way as the first
angel Gabriel came in the gospel of Luke.
This declaration says exactly the same thing in Luke 1: 19 and 26,
“he been sent to speak to you, and to give
you this good news", "in
the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city in Galilee called
Nazareth ."[4]
The second thing it says is
that the later message of the angel Gabriel is a revelation that comes as confirmation of the previous messages, and
this includes the message of the first angel Gabriel - as presented in the
gospel of Luke and Matthew. This does not deny the character of authentic
revelation of the message of the first angel Gabriel, as narrated in the gospel
of Luke and Matthew. On the other hand, a link is established between both
revelations that has the purpose of making the revelation of the Qur’an evident
and confirming its authority. For this it is necessary to turn to the authority
of the revelation of Scripture.
Apart from the internal
testimony of the gospel of Luke that emphasizes the authority of the first
angel Gabriel, the Qur’an itself certainly endorses that authority of the
message of the first angel Gabriel. However, although the Qur’an recognizes the
validity of the revelation of the first angel Gabriel this not necessarily mean that was revealed by the
later angel Gabriel - that of Muhammad - as authentically revealed, or
revelation of God. It is an assumption that must also be proven or discarded.
Revelation is doing confirmed where there are unity and continuity. There
should be no contradiction between the revelation of the first Gabriel and the
second Gabriel, if they are the same angel.
The revelation of the second
Gabriel has cannot be independent of the first angel Gabriel because the same
Qur’an affirms that both are the same angel and it involves the same events
linked to the annunciation to Mary. This is not another Mary, another
Zechariah, much less another Jesus or another angel called Gabriel. They are
the same characters in general but with clearly distorted messages as the
reader can verify for himselves. Even the narrative is another and considering
the muslin assumption: they are the same angel, although in different times,
the message of both cannot contradict each other but rather affirm or
complement each other, but there cannot be contradictions that would give
well-founded reasons for suspicion. If the role of the angel Gabriel of the Qur’an
is to confirm the message of the first Gabriel as the Qur’an claims it does [5],
the value of a revelation in this first Gabriel is confirmed, hence the need
for its safekeeping. The presence of confirmation [6]gives
the seal of authorization to the Qur'an but its absence on the other hand
unmasks it as a spurious document and as a false revelation.
Perhaps
the reader will wonder, But are these documents reliable? Isn't it true that
they are corrupt? The higher critics in charge of evaluating the content and
authenticity of biblical documents consider these documents reliable. The
variations or variants are minor and do not affect the central message of the
gospels. The variants are justifiable if we consider the human factor present
in the effort to preserve documents considered sacred. The message from heaven
in the mouth of the angel Gabriel, for example, was delivered to people of
different education and occupation, or social status, both men and women. They
received those messages and revelations. Critics can tell when a document is
true or false. There are no epigraphs (originals) of any biblical document,
there are only copies, and people who loved their job as scribes wrote these.
We can be one hundred percent certain of the purpose of the angel Gabriel's
visit to Mary and of his message and mission. There
are variants in existing copies, but these variants do not change the central
message of the documents.
The
variants are understandable and even inevitable but they never distort the
message of the Gospel or the messengers sent by God. This does not apply to the
translations of certain modern sects whose variations really are intentional
and not are involuntary which change the central doctrine of the Gospel and of
Scripture itself; for example the Bible of Jehovah's Witnesses. These are not
true v intentional corruptions coming from religious movements that want to
pass themselves off as Christians and are coming from certain false apostles in
order to change the Christian message. Its purpose is not to preserve the
Christian message, but to change it.
On
the other hand, the concept of revelation from a biblical perspective does not
nullify the personal creativity or culture of the writer. This is what is
called for some scholars dynamic
inspiration. The gospel of Mark shows certain crudeness in the way phrases
are doing defined or constructed. John and especially the gospel of Luke stand
out in the stylization of their words and phrases. We know that Lucas was a
doctor
We
know that Lucas was a doctor with a refined writing style, very observant in
detail and with an orderly mind and accustomed to reports.
Mark
to whom the gospel is doing attributed was apparently the nephew of a fisherman
apostle of Jesus named Peter; his main source. Paul's style is deep and
argumentative; Paul was a theologian and teacher. The reader must consider the
statement of the Qur'an that,
“ We gave Moses the Scripture and sent messengers after him.
We gave Jesus, son of Mary, clear tests and strengthened him with the Holy
Spirit. Did you have to be haughty whenever an envoy came to you with something
you did not want? You denied some, you killed others [7].
What
the messengers prior to Islam received was a revelation from God, that is, a
message that comes from God; According to the use of “we gave”, this message was clear evidence of God's will. Why
should we doubt these messengers and their messages? Does the Qur’an also say:
“Say:
'We believe in God and in what was revealed to us, in what was revealed to
Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob and the tribes, in what Moses, Jesus and the
prophets received from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them
and submit ourselves to Him.[8]
It is obvious that such we belief would make no sense if the
Gospel or Scripture were truly corrupt, or unreliable. This phrase only makes
sense in their reliability. On the other hand, does not the Qur'an also say, He
has revealed to you the Scripture with the Truth, in confirmation of the
previous messages [9]? So the Qur’an affirms
the Truth contained and revealed in the messages delivered by the messengers
that God sent in the past, before the rise of Islam. It testifies to ensuring
its continuity. These messengers include the work of angels identified as
Gabriel and Michael, the prophets, the apostles, etc.
What we have to verify is
the continuity of the message of the messengers of the Book is that continuity
respected or assured by the later angel Gabriel? What the book of the Qur'an
states will only be the result of the revelations of the angel Gabriel of
Muhammad. We must check whether these revelations show unity or continuity with
the previous messengers, or whether for some obscure reason they have been
changed. Is the Qur'an the product of an angel faithful to God, or the product
of an unfaithful or phony angel who has changed the message of the first
Gabriel? If the latter is confirmed, for what dark purposes has the angel of
the Prophet Muhammad changed or altered the message of the previous messengers?
So the argument of
corruption of Scripture has little weight and is not justified in any way. It
is clear that the Muslim narrative of Mary's annunciation, Surah 19, is based
in some way on material from the Gospel of Luke, where several points of convergence,
although also of discordance, can be seen. We may to see some points in common between
both accounts. First, the visitation of an angel called Gabriel as on the
gospel of Luke. But in the case of the book
of Qur’an Gabriel is a humanized angel who assumes the role with the same name
of the angel Gabriel of the Book. The emphasis here is the authorization of the
messenger or the visitation by God. Also the supernatural pregnancy of Mary
through the Spirit, although in the Qur’an it is a Spirit – the angel Gabriel
himself – humanized in the likeness of a perfect man, the place of Jesus'
birth, an attempt to diminish the supernaturalism of the original annunciation
, and a deification of the angelic. Then we have the name of the baby Jesus,
from there the similarities fade and become great differences.
The divergences include
enormous silences and I would say concealments of the fundamental revelation of
the Gospel of Luke regarding the character and mission of Jesus. With all due
respect, chapter 19 of the Qur’an is a corruption of the original story but
from which we can rescue some valuable information about the authenticity or
falsehood of the later angel Gabriel.
By
consulting the first chapter of the gospel of Luke, the reader will recognize
from the beginning how the gospel of Luke was doing originally addressed to
someone named Theophilus. We know almost nothing about who Theophilus was, the
initial recipient of the gospel. Some scholars think he was a new Christian. Other
people believe that he was a sympathizer Jew for the Christian message but
without yet declaring himself a Christian or follower of Jesus. In this case,
he has was instructed in pure Judaism, knowing the prophets and everything
related to the Messiah. He had heard extraordinary things about Jesus but
required a first-hand source of information with authentic testimonies of
Jesus' life and teaching. Jesus was Jewish and had grown up surrounded by Jews.
The Israel’ prophets were Jews, his first
followers were jews. The first pastors or apostles he prepared to continue his
ministry were all Jews.
During
Jesus' ministry, there was a strong rejection of Jesus especially from the
ruling class in Israel. The claims of Jesus, especially to be the Son of God,
were rejected, as is currently the case in Judaism and in many world religions,
and even pseudo- Christian sects. What would Theophilus do about Jesus if he
had a more reliable or first-hand source of information? Lucas went to primary
sources of information, in his words,
“ Since many have
already tried to put in order the history of the things that have been most
true among us, 2 just as they were taught to us by those who from
the beginning saw them with their eyes and were ministers of the word.”[10]
There
is no doubt that Luke followed a similar method. He used these reliable
sources. Explaining this procedure of
the gospel of Luke we can read in a study Bible,
In the early church, both written and oral traditions regarding Jesus
were transmitted from believer to believer with great fidelity. eyewitnesses and ministers of the word. Included
here are not only the disciples or apostles who were with Jesus from the
beginning, but all those who in one way or another were witnesses of the
ministry of Jesus and his disciples.[11]
As
a result of this research process through the Gospel of Luke we can better
understand the message of the gospel of Jesus and his person. Exactly what many
need today. Do not limit yourself within your religious bubble, with the data
received about Jesus without any relation to the original documents. We must
use all the information available, analyze it, study it, and recognize the
revelation delivered there.
This
initial question -Is the angel Gabriel mentioned in the Qur’an the same angel
Gabriel who spoke with Mary, the mother of Jesus?- inquires about the
authenticity and credibility of the angel who, according to Muhammad, revealed
to him the message that formed the book of the Qur’an. To confirm such
authority and credibility of this angel, it
is mandatory that both angels called the same, that is, Gabriel, are the same being.
The only way we can guarantee the legitimacy of the Qur’an is by verifying the
authenticity of the later angel Gabriel. It is a way of checking whether the
foundation or pillar of the Qur’an associated with angelic activity is solid or
not. Is the assumption that the angel Gabriel of the Qur’an is the same angel
Gabriel of the gospel of Luke legitimate or is it false ? What documentary
source does the Qur’an use for its argument about the angel Gabriel? Could
there be any other source, as we point out below, older than the Qur’an itself? Do the messages from
both sources confirm or contradict each other? Is there continuity, math and
unity in your messages or is there contradiction? Muhammad's saying, “and
remember what the Christian Bible says about Mary” [12]. This
reveal his access to Christian or pseudo-Christian documents. So
without a doubt, Muhammad at some point had in his hands some biblical
translation of the gospels of Scripture. Points of convergence or divergence could
be doing explained with the influence of
spurious sources of Jesus' childhood such as the Arabic Gospel of Jesus and other
writings, example in 36: 1-2
We
undoubtedly need a solid and reliable starting point as a solid aid to this
investigation.
This is the message received by the messengers before Islam and
who gave the Scripture, in the form of the Torah, or the Gospel. It is not the
whim of this author to affirm this. The Qur’an itself confirms the Truth of
Scripture and therefore the authenticity
of the first angel Gabriel. When the Qur’an says:
“ We believe in God and in what has
been revealed to us, in what was revealed to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob and
the tribes, in what Moses, Jesus and the prophets received from their Lord.
"We make no distinction between any of them and submit to Him."[13]
Sincerely or insincerely, Muhammad
here recognizes the importance of the spiritual authority that supports the
messages received or found in Scripture. In other words, these messages are
revelation from God. We can be sure
that this first angel Gabriel was truly an angelic being sent and authorized by
God. The angel Gabriel of the initial revelation about Jesus does not need to
prove its authenticity because it is doing
affirmed in Scripture and confirmed in the Qur’an at least in Surah 2: 99.
We should not doubt his claims and messages. The reliable nature of the
writings and messages of Scripture is doing supported by the Qur'an, apart from
the testimony of the Scripture itself. His messages are Truth [14]and direction for men. It is not allowed to make distinction
between any of them (Surah 2:136), we must believe in them and what God has
revealed through them. Otherwise, we would be very perverse beings.[15]
So
considering that the Scripture and the Qur'an together endorse the work and
message of God's messengers throughout history, this will serve as a criterion
in this document to judge the work, and any subsequent revelation of the
Scripture and the message of the messengers of the past that gave rise to the
Torah , and the Gospel. It is worth clarifying that in the absence of the Qur’an,
Scripture is sufficient as confirmation of the authority of the first angel
Gabriel. Why? For even in the absence of confirmation such as that exhibited or
presumed in the Qur'an, the authority of the revelation of scripture is already
declared and accepted by a prior community with ample advance notice.
Now,
we know that there are good angels and there are evil ones. The first they
submit to God and the latter are rebellious and perverse. The former deserve to
be called messengers of God and those must be declared demons, because evil
angels are liars and perverse, even if they dress in light. It is not easy to
distinguish the two because they appear to be angels of Light. One thing is
certain however, where there is deceit, lies and falsehood there is the deceptive
work of Satan. If an angel who claims to come from God uses deception and lies,
we can be certain that he does NOT come from God. Satan is the Father of lies,
says Jesus[16], and those who serve him use his same methods. Dicen que creen en la revelación que contienen, pero
la verdad del caso es que no respetan ni creen en esa revelación. No confirman
tal revelación como dicen hacerlo –lo
que descubre su mentira- , dicen confirmar esa revelación pero en verdad no
creen en ella ; lo que habla de su incredulidad,
amenazan a los que hacen distinción ni se someten a esa revelación; y eso habla de su rebeldía y arrogancia.
I
invite the reader to spend eighty-six stations or short reflection articles on
this topic and their corresponding paragraphs. The last four stations
correspond to the first two chapters of the gospel of Luke and Matthew I note
that some stations have more paragraphs than others. Each station has its own
sources for the reader to verify.
I
recommend the reader to have a Bible in their hand and compare and analyze the
references to the Qur’an or other sources in detail. In this edition the Hadih
are not included for reasons of space and because the main question is about
the Qur’an and its main actors: Mohammad and the angel Gabriel. I identify the
angel Gabriel of the Qur’an here as later or second Gabriel in most cases. The
angel Gabriel who spoke to Mary in the Gospel of Luke is identified as the
first, original, initial, or earlier angel, especially since the documentary
history of this visitation comes from Judeo-Christian sources that predate the
formation of the Qur’an by at least six centuries. The sources mentioned are
the gospel of Matthew and Luke, especially the gospel of Luke.[17]
The versions of the Bible and the Qur’an used are duly doing reported in the footnotes of each page. For the reader's information regarding the Quran, I go to two versions: the Spanish version by Julio Cortéz , published by the Fátima Az-Zahra Islamic Cultural Center , and the English version called Holy Cur'an , Arabic text and English Translation , translated by Maulawi Sher ' Ali published by Islam International Publications Limited , in 2021. For the Christian Bible I generally use the The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989. If is another version we will be indicated at the footer of the page.
[1] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989), Jn 8:31–32.
[2]Gospel of John 8:31
[3] Reina Valera Revised (1995) Bible Text (Miami: United Bible Societies , 1998), Luke 1:4.
[4]In my personal opinion, this emphasis on the authority of the angel Gabriel in the book of the Quran is caused by the clear statements of the Gospel of Luke on the authorization of the first angel Gabriel. Muhammad is forced in his written story of the annunciation to Mary in Surah 19 to make it clear that his angel is also authorized by God. In doing so he elevates the angel Gabriel to the same stature of divine authority that the initial angel Gabriel, the one in Luke's gospel, possesses. He even declares that they are both about the same angel. There was no other way to defend the messages of the second angel Gabriel as authorized by God. For matters of divine authorization Muhammad resorts to this resource every time he wants to defend the authorization of his message and his messengers; turn to the authority of Scripture and that of its inspired messengers.
[5]For example in Surah 2.87 and Surah 2:9, because the phrase in confirmation of the messages above (2:97) includes the angel Gabriel first as messenger, and so does the phrase “ We gave Moses the Scripture and sent messengers after him” (2:87).
[6]The term “confirmation” includes acceptance of the previous authority that precedes it, implies complement of a previous revelation, continuity, fulfillment, or unity with the revelation given or known, adding one truth to another.
[7] Surah 2: 87. Note that the rebelliousness of the recipients does not nullify the character of the message.
[8] Surah 2: 136. What Jesus received he also received through Mary and the initial revelation of the angel Gabriel. Gabriel confirmed what the prophets had spoken regarding the Messiah, his eminent coming, the existence of his precursor, who we know later was called John the Baptist. See Malachi 3:1, 5, Isaiah 40:3, Matthew 3:3.
[9] Surah 3:3.
[10] Reina Valera Revised (1995) Bible Text (Miami: United Bible Societies , 1998), Luke 1:1–2.
[11]Eduardo
A. Hernandez, Lockman Foundation , Study Bible:
NASB. (La Habra
, CA: Editorial Funacion , Publishing House for La Fundacion Biblical Lockman ,
2003), Luke 1:2.
[12] Surah 19:16
[13] Surah 2:136
[14] Surah 2. 176
[15]Surah 2: 99. I use the same words from the Quran to emphasize the gravity of rejecting divine revelation.
[16]John 8:38
[17] I
include a copy of chapter one and two of both gospels in the end. been instructed.[1]
