Qur’an and Bible

In this chapter the general issues of interpretation involving the differences and similarities between the Qur’an and the Old and New Testaments are critically discussed. Allegory and typology are discussed as overall hermeneutic categories and as ways of describing and approaching the Bible and the Qur’an. Reflections are offered here on the nature of the “Prophetic discourse” represented in the Qur’an, and questions of genre and contemporary approaches to scriptural reading are put forward. The appellatory nature of Prophetic speech in the Qur’an offers some of the clearest points of comparison and contrast with biblical texts, along with narrative passages and their relation to history.