The Bible and the Qur'an are the two most read books in human history. Both are scriptures of faith — the Bible for Christianity, the Qur'an for Islam — and both are revered by roughly half of the world's population between them. This comparison explains, neutrally and factually, where they come from, how they are built, what they share, and where they differ.
At a glance
| Bible | Qur'an | |
|---|---|---|
| Religion | Christianity (also sacred in Judaism for its Old Testament) | Islam |
| Language of origin | Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek | Arabic |
| Period of composition | Roughly 1000 BC – 100 AD, many human authors over a millennium | 610 – 632 AD, revealed to Muhammad over 23 years |
| Structure | 66 books (Protestant) in Old and New Testaments; chapters and verses added later | 114 surahs of unequal length, ordered roughly longest to shortest |
| Length | About 780,000 words | About 77,000 words — roughly one tenth of the Bible |
| Central figure | Jesus Christ, presented as the Son of God and saviour | Muhammad, presented as the final prophet; Jesus (Isa) is a major prophet born of a virgin |
| View of itself | A library of many genres: history, law, poetry, prophecy, letters | The direct speech of God (Allah), verbatim revelation |
| Translations | Hundreds, of unequal status and style | Translations are interpretations; only the Arabic text is the Qur'an in worship |
Shared ground: the same world
The Qur'an presupposes the biblical world. Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Lot, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, Solomon, Job, Jonah and John the Baptist all appear in both books — the Qur'an retells many of their stories, sometimes matching the Bible, sometimes differing in detail. Mary (Maryam) has an entire surah named after her, and Jesus (Isa) is mentioned more often by name in the Qur'an than Muhammad is.
Both books teach one creator God, the resurrection of the dead, a final judgment, heaven and hell, charity, fasting and prayer, and both honour Abraham as a model of faith. Muslims, like Christians, regard themselves as heirs of Abraham — "People of the Book" is the Qur'anic term for Jews and Christians.
Key differences
Who is Jesus?
The central theological divide. The New Testament presents Jesus as divine — God the Son, crucified and risen. The Qur'an honours Jesus as Messiah and virgin-born prophet, but explicitly denies both the crucifixion (Qur'an 4:157) and the divinity of Christ (Qur'an 5:17, 5:72).
How is the book revealed?
The Bible was written by dozens of human authors over a millennium, and Christians believe God inspired their writing. The Qur'an is, in Muslim belief, the literal speech of God transmitted through one prophet — Muhammad's role is recitation, not authorship.
What about earlier scriptures?
The Qur'an affirms the Torah (Tawrat), the Psalms (Zabur) and the Gospel (Injil) as genuine revelations, while holding that their current texts have been altered or misinterpreted — a doctrine called tahrif. Christianity makes no parallel claim about the Qur'an.
Reading both for yourself
The fairest comparison is a direct one. Both texts are free to read online in respected public domain translations — the King James Version for the Bible and Marmaduke Pickthall's translation for the Qur'an.
This page is a neutral educational comparison written for general readers. It is not an argument for any faith.