Christians: Adherents to the Christian faiths abide by the Christian Bible.
The Christian Bible comprises the Jewish scriptures, which Chris-
tians traditionally refer to as the Old Testament, as well as docu-
mented writings from the period of Jesus (pp) and just afterward,
which are referred to as the New Testament. The New Testament
includes four versions of the life of Jesus (pp); each one was written
by one of the saints of the Christian faith (St. John, St. Mark,
St. Matthew, and St. Luke). The Bible also contains letters from
Jesus’s (pp) early disciples to various communities and groups; these
letters elaborate on the teachings of Jesus (pp).
Muslims: Muslims abide by the Qur’aan. Muslims believe that it is
God’s last and final revelation to mankind. The Qur’aan affirms
the revelation of the book to Prophet Moses (pp) which is referred
to in the Qur’aan as the Torah. It also affirms the revelations to
Jesus (pp), who came to confirm Moses’ (pp) teachings and to
expand on such teachings in the Gospel, which is called in the
Qur’aan theInjeel(a word that is used by Christian Arabs to refer
to the Bible). Muslims are taught that Islam came to affirm the
teachings of all the Prophets of God, including the patriarch and
father of all prophets, Prophet Abraham (pp), and all of his chil-
dren and grandchildren, including Prophets Ishmael (pp), Isaac
(pp), Jacob (also known as Israel [pp]), David (pp), Solomon (pp),
and the many prophets who preceded the last three (i.e., Moses
[pp], Jesus [pp], and Muhammad [pp]). The Qur’aan and the reli-
gion of Islam are believed to affirm the messages of Moses (pp) and
Jesus (pp) and to expand upon them through the teachings of
Prophet Muhammad (pp) in his dual role as the spiritual Prophet
and the head of the state. Conceptually, Islam popularizes a Judeo-
Christian-Islamic culture and law that are rooted in the teachings of
all prior prophets from Abraham (pp) to Moses (pp) and Jesus (pp).
A Muslim is required to believe in all of God’s prophets, who are all
looked upon as equal. The Qur’aan reveals:
2:136 Say: ‘‘We believe in God, and in that which has been
bestowed from on high upon us, and that which has been
bestowed upon Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and
their descendants, and that which has been vouchsafed to
Moses and Jesus; and that which has been vouchsafed to all
the [other] prophets by their Sustainer: we make no distinction
between any of them. and it is unto Him that we surrender
ourselves.’’The Faith-Based Judeo-Christian-Islamic Foundation 17