Differences Between Bible and Qur'an

It is clear to any reader that the Qur’an and the Hebrew Bible differ greatly. It’s not some huge secret; they aren’t even written in similar styles. While both narratives refer to similar material, Genesis is a much more chronological narrative, while the Qur’an is a conversation. While they are different, there are some important aspects that they share. For example, both texts agree upon the idea that God has the power to create what he wants, and he has the power to make things go his way. God has a plan. He shows this in Genesis by telling people what’s not right and having them figure it out, or just by flooding the earth and taking care of business. In the Qur’an, it’s put much more simply: “God schemes (Qur’an 10:21).” The occurrences in the account of Joseph differ greatly between the Qur’an and Genesis. These proceedings, by how they occur, show how the will of God is carried out throughout the story. Through the events that unfold in the story of Joseph, the plan of the God in the Qur’an is much more clear than the plan of the God in Genesis, simply because he consistently must put events back on track.

The events in Genesis and the Qur’an differ, if only in small ways, and show the presence of God’s plan. One of these events is how Joseph comes to be a slave. In the Qua’ranic version of his brother’s treachery, they “throw him into a hidden depth of a well (Qur’an 12:10).” There is no talk of selling Joseph as a slave, but, incidentally, he is still found and taken as a slave. When this happens, the Qur’an makes sure to mention to the reader that “God was well aware of what they did (Qur’an 12:19).” Even though the brothers didn’t intend for Joseph to be a slave, it was an important step in the chronology of the story. He had to be taken as a slave for events in the future to take place, allowing for God’s plan to continue. Had this not occurred, Joseph would not have been sent to jail and met the man whose dream he explained through whom he met the king. God had to make a slight correction to the way things were going. The Qur’an makes this clear by telling the reader he’s around. Even though it wasn’t the brothers’ intention, it had to happen. God’s interference and presence in general at this time shows that he is aware of what’s happening and what needs to happen for actions to unfold the way he wishes. In the Genesis account, there is no such variation from God’s script. Joseph’s brothers straight up “sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver (Genesis 37:28).” God doesn’t even make an appearance in this section of the story in Genesis, presumably because his plan is going accordingly; there is no need for him to interfere or change what’s going on. Because of his lack of presence, it seems to the reader just as though the story is being told. It’s much more cut and dry. The God in the Qur’an is obviously present and controlling events while the God in Genesis is hidden and not mentioned, watching from afar. Because of this, it is much more evident that the God in the Qur’an has a plan; he’s making sure it goes accordingly the entire time.

The Qur’anic account of how Joseph ends up in prison is quite different than that of Genesis, but they have the same result, showing how God has these things planned out. Josephs prison sentence is again an important narrative device; without this experience, Pharaoh would never have come to know Joseph, and Joseph would never have ended up in his place of power from which he helps Egypt. This makes it important that the incarceration occurs. This isn’t a problem in Genesis when Joseph is practically dragged there by an “enraged” and betrayed husband (Genesis 39:19). Since it’s in the logical order of events and happens without obvious involvement, the Genesis God remains behind the scenes and unheard from. He needn’t say anything if what he wants to happen is already going down. This is not the case in the Qur’an. In this version of the story, Joseph is cleared of all charges. The husband, finding evidence to suggest his wife’s guilt, doesn’t blame Joseph for a thing. Here, the Qur’anic God faced a problem: Joseph needs to go to jail, but he isn’t accused of anything. How will this problem be solved? This hitch is, as it turns out, easily remedied. Again, the Qur’anic God shows up to set things right. His quick fix this time? He “protected [Joseph]” from the hoards of women who want him by imprisoning him anyway (Qur’an 12:34). Even though the events were different, they ended up having the same result. In Genesis, the flow of the story makes sense and is logically what would happen, letting God off the hook. There’s nothing for him to fix, and no reason for him to step in. However, in the Qur’an, God had some damage control to do. To make proceedings follow the path that was needed for his plan to be carried out, God had Joseph imprisoned anyway. He became involved in the story to do this, showing evidence of his plan.

Joseph had to endure a series of occurrences to end up in the place of power he achieved as part of God’s plan. The very first step in the order of these events was his brothers wanting to get rid of him in some way. Again, this isn’t really an issue in Genesis, since he goes ahead and tells his brothers all about his great dream, making himself look quite arrogant. This makes them incredibly angry and causes them to decide to teach him a lesson, starting off the chain reaction that is the rest of the story. God isn’t there. He watches from afar. Apparently, happenings unfold as planned. But, yet again, something gets a bit off track in the Qur’anic version of the story. Jacob tells Joseph not to tell his brothers the dream. So he doesn’t. So where is their motivation to relieve the world of Joseph? Problem. Solution? They want to get rid of him anyway, out of jealousy. His brothers don’t like that he’s the favorite, that “Joseph…[is] dearer to [their] father than they are (Qur’an 12:8).” The favoritism that he has been given by God since birth is the factor that causes this particular event. Quite a suave solution, if I do say so myself. The events are back to where they are supposed to be. Again, these are different cases with the same outcome, the outcome that needed to happen for God’s plan for Joseph to continue. The plan of the Qur’anic God is just much more obviously present because extraneous circumstances keep requiring his attention to protect it, while the Genesis God doesn’t need to reveal himself, making his plan less noticeable.

In comparing the two texts, Genesis and the Qur’an, side by side, many differences can be discerned, especially in the account of Joseph. These differences include the way in which Joseph became a slave, the reason for his incarceration, and why his brothers decided to dispose of him. Although these differences are interesting in themselves, what’s more important is what they show the reader about God and his plan for the world, or, in this case, Joseph specifically. Both texts agree that he has a plan, and yet this is much more evident in the Qur’an. This is shown through the differences in the stories. The Genesis God is absent from these events; his plan is probably going off without a hitch. Because the readers don’t hear from him, his plot remains hidden and the readers continue to be unaware of his goals. However, the God in the Qur’an shows up every time something goes the slightest bit amiss to put things back to how they should be. He has a plan, and he can’t let little upsets like Joseph’s innocence stop it from working. Even though both Gods are schemers, it’s much more obvious in the Qur’an that a plan is being carried out because it always needs fixing.