Within the assigned
segments of reading, there are marked differences between the God of the Qur'an
and the God of Genesis, as well as the texts themselves and how they interact
with themselves.
Whereas Genesis attempts
to portray God and all that happens within the text from the point of view of a
silent observer, the Qur'an is very emphatic of the fact that it is from the
point of view of a human (Prophet) receiving directions from his God. The God
of Genesis demands little of humankind, and gives little guidance other than
requiring them to hold to the covenant. On the other hand, the God of the Qur’an
"sent verses down to you [people] clarifying the right path" (Suras
24:34). He is very clear as to how one should enter houses, treat
unbelievers, and even how to dress. (Suras 24:27, 24:31, 24:60) Apart from
being more precise in his commandments, the god of the Qur’an is also very
clearly omniscient (as is repeated many times throughout the reading) – “God
knows everything you do openly and everything you conceal.” (Suras 24:29) This
is a sharp change from Genesis, wherein God actually goes both into Eden and
into Sodom, looking for humans. This clearly displays that he is not omniscient
– if he were, he would not have had to “check” Sodom for the ten noble souls
that would have saved the city, nor would he have had to call to Adam to find
where Adam was within the Garden.
The Qur’an is also
specific about its own origin. Where Genesis is presented as the narrative of
an unfolding story, the Qur’an is very clear in that it itself exists, even
about the time during which it was revealed to humanity, “in the month of Ramadan”
(Suras 2:185). The Qur’an also recognizes the fact that some could consider it
false, saying “if [the Qur’an] had been from anyone other than God, they would
have found much inconsistency in it.” (4:82). This quote is speaking about those
simple folk that can “barely understand what they are told” (4:78), showing
that, compared to God, all of us are easily misled. There is no comparable
awareness of self in Genesis. It is presented as a simple truth-filled story
that has been passed on.
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ReplyDeleteGabriel makes an excellent observation when he points out that Genesis is a story which has been passed on. Throughout Genesis it is clear that the text is written by an outside observer, not God or one of the numerous humans who pass through the story. As Professor Fitzsimmons pointed out in class, Genesis was originally written as a single long scroll. From these facts one can gather that Genesis was once an oral tradition, which was eventually recorded. By comparison, the Qu’ran was not passed along by word of mouth, but rather “[written] [sic] on a preserved tablet” (85:21). Understanding this difference in formatting helps me make sense of the other differences between the Qu’ran and Genesis which Gabriel explores in the post.
ReplyDeleteTo contribute to Gabe's point that the Qur'an differs greatly from the Bible, the Qur'an is also a self referential text, which is something that we noted in class is distinctively uncharacteristic of the Bible. "[The disbelievers] used to say, ,'If only we had a scripture like previous people, we would be true servants of God,' yet now they reject [the Qur'an]. They will soon realize," (37:167-170). This goes along with Gabe's important distinction that the Bible is narrated by an invisible observer while the Qur'an shows the relationship between God and humans. The Qur'an is therefore a more interactive text, using prophets as active participants in the word of God.
ReplyDeleteThe most interesting part of the vast difference between the Qur'an and Genesis,in my opinion, is how a "believer," as the Qur'an would call him/her, learns from the text. Since the Qur'an is completely didactic, as Gabe states, a follower knows how to enter a house, greet another, dress him-/herself appropriately, etc. Whereas in Genesis, a follower does not have clearly numerated, divine instruction, and therefore must extract guidance through what God or Abraham or others do righteously in the narrative.
ReplyDeleteI'd also like to add to Gabe's assertion that the Qur'an is very different from the Bible. In the Bible, God asserts his power in such a way that everyone on the earth follows his rules. For example, when "all flesh had corrupted its way on the earth," God killed everyone except for Noah. While not necessarily in the most caring way, the God of the Bible made sure that everyone on earth held up to his standards. However, in the Qur'an, God says to "not grieve over the [disbelievers]' (15:88). The God of the Qur'an accepts that there will be faithless people.
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ReplyDeleteI think that the Qu'ran, as everyone else has asserted, presents a very different deity than we read of in the Bible. I would like to note that while the content that we read for Monday was different than the narrative presentation in the Bible; there are narrative surahs within the Qu'ran which seems to more closely resemble the Bible. Overall I would assert that the most apparent difference between the two is the manner by which the deity of the Qu'ran considers the good and not good. The deity of the Bible accepts that the "evil" in the hearts of humans exists but usually manages to squash it quite effectively. The deity of the Qu'ran seems more content to wait for an undeclared day of reckoning for judgement to be passed. Here in surah 27 "people [who] had no faith in Our Revelations......when we gather from every community a crowd of those who disbelieved in Our signs and they will be led in separate groups ...the verdict will be give against them." I choose to interpret the use of "against" as a sign of a negative repercussion. Overall the two deities share similar goals, the growth and success of the human creation but furthermore a community of as many individuals who are willing, to walk the true path. Yet I feel the deity of the Bible is more ready to intervene while the deity of the Qu'ran takes a 'wait and see' approach.
DeleteI definitely agree with all of those who have commented before me. Gabriel makes a great point bringing up the differences between the styles and goals of the Qur'an and Genesis. For me, I found this very clearly in the specific instructions of the Qur'an as to how people should dress, act, interact, etc. (Sura 24). In Genesis, I found that God got to the root of his demands and desires for humankind, often not addressing these day to day concerns. I thought this was an interesting difference between the two texts, because it illuminates the goals of each text with respect to the "believers."
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