The Birth of Jesus
The birth of Jesus is described very differently in the Bible and in the Quran. In the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, Jesus is born in Bethlehem. Mary and Joseph come from Nazareth, and the birth takes place during the time of the Roman emperor Augustus. Luke connects their journey to Bethlehem with a census. When they arrive, there is no room for them, and Jesus is born and placed in a manger.
Matthew also gives further details about what happened after the birth. Wise Men, or Magi, come from the East after seeing a star. They travel to Jerusalem and then to Bethlehem, where they find Jesus and worship Him. King Herod becomes afraid when he hears about the birth of a new king. He eventually orders the killing of the male children in Bethlehem and its surrounding area.
The Quran gives a completely different description. In Surah Maryam, Mary gives birth to Jesus while she is alone in a remote place. She is sitting beneath a palm tree and suffers from the pain of childbirth. She is then told to shake the trunk of the palm tree, causing fresh dates to fall for her to eat. A stream of water is also provided for her.
The Quranic account does not mention Bethlehem. It does not mention Mary and Joseph travelling there because of a census, it does not mention the manger, the Wise Men, or King Herod and his reaction to the birth. The entire setting is different. Instead of the birth taking place in Bethlehem within the historical circumstances described by Matthew and Luke, the Quran places Mary alone beneath a palm tree in a remote location.
The difference is therefore not simply a matter of leaving out a few details. The Quran gives a different setting and a different description of the circumstances of Jesus’s birth. This is presented as an error in the Quranic account.
Pharaoh’s Daughter and Moses
The story of Moses being rescued from the Nile provides another example. According to Exodus, Pharaoh had ordered the killing of the Israelite male children. Moses’s mother placed him in a basket and put the basket among the reeds beside the river. Pharaoh’s daughter then came down to the river to bathe with her maidens.
The biblical account specifically says that Pharaoh’s daughter saw the basket among the reeds. She sent one of her servants to bring it to her, and when the basket was opened, she saw the child. She recognized that he was one of the Hebrew children, but instead of allowing him to be killed, she decided to save him.
Moses’s sister was watching from a distance. She approached Pharaoh’s daughter and offered to find a Hebrew woman who could nurse the child. Pharaoh’s daughter agreed. Moses’s own mother was then brought to nurse him. Later, Pharaoh’s daughter took Moses as her son.
The Quran describes the event differently. Surah Al-Qasas says that Pharaoh’s people picked up Moses and that he became an enemy and a source of grief for them. The passage then mentions Pharaoh’s wife, who says that the baby could be a source of joy and suggests that they should not kill him and could perhaps adopt him as a son.
The difference is important because the biblical account clearly identifies Pharaoh’s daughter as the person who discovered Moses, took him from the water, arranged for him to be nursed, and adopted him. The Quran instead gives Pharaoh’s wife the important role of protecting the child and asking that he be spared.
The two accounts therefore do not give the same explanation of who rescued and adopted Moses. The biblical narrative identifies Pharaoh’s daughter, while the Quranic narrative focuses on Pharaoh’s wife. This is presented as another error in the Quran.
Saul and Gideon
Another example concerns Saul and Gideon, who are two separate people in the Bible. Their stories belong to different periods of Israel’s history.
Gideon appears in the Book of Judges. At that time Israel was being oppressed by the Midianites. God chose Gideon to lead Israel against them. Gideon initially hesitated and asked God for signs. Eventually, he gathered an army, but God reduced the number of soldiers so that Israel’s victory would not be attributed simply to having a larger army.
One of the important parts of Gideon’s story is the test at the water. God tells Gideon to bring the men down to the water and observe how they drink. Some kneel down to drink directly from the water, while others bring the water to their mouths with their hands. The number of men who pass the test is reduced to only 300. This event is recorded in Judges 7.
Saul, however, is a completely different person. He appears much later in the biblical story, in 1 Samuel. Saul becomes the first king of Israel. His father is Kish, and his story begins when he is searching for his father’s lost donkeys. The prophet Samuel eventually anoints him as king. Saul later leads Israel in battles against its enemies, including the Philistines. His reign eventually ends because of his disobedience to God.
The Quran introduces Talut in Surah Al-Baqarah as the king chosen to lead the Israelites. Talut is generally identified with the biblical Saul. The Quran then describes an important test involving a river. Talut tells his army that Allah will test them with the river. Those who drink their fill will not remain with him, while those who take only a small amount will be allowed to continue.
The problem is that this river test belongs to the story of Gideon, not Saul. In the Bible, Saul and Gideon are separate people who lived at different times and had different roles. The Quranic account places the river test associated with Gideon into the story of Talut, who corresponds to Saul.
The result is a merging of elements from two different biblical figures into one narrative. This is presented as an error in the Quranic account.
Zechariah’s Muteness
The story of Zechariah provides another example where the Quran gives a different account from the Gospel of Luke. Zechariah was an elderly priest who had no child. According to Luke, an angel appeared to him while he was serving in the temple and announced that his wife Elizabeth would have a son. The child would be John.
Zechariah was surprised by the announcement because both he and Elizabeth were advanced in age. He asked for a sign. The angel Gabriel told him that, because he had not believed the words that had been spoken to him, he would become unable to speak. Gabriel specifically says that Zechariah would remain silent until the things announced had taken place.
The Gospel then continues with Elizabeth becoming pregnant. Luke records that she remained in seclusion for five months. Later, Mary visits Elizabeth. The pregnancy continues, and John is eventually born. When the child is about to be named, the people expect him to be named after his father. Elizabeth says that his name will be John. They then turn to Zechariah because he cannot speak. He asks for a writing tablet and writes, “His name is John.” At that moment, his ability to speak returns, and he begins praising God and prophesying.
The Quran gives a much shorter account. In Surah Maryam, Zechariah asks God for a sign after being told that he will have a son. The response is that his sign will be that he will not be able to speak to people for three nights, even though he is healthy.
The difference is therefore very specific. The Quran gives three nights as the period of Zechariah’s inability to speak, while the biblical account connects his silence with the fulfilment of the prophecy and shows him remaining unable to speak until after John’s birth.
This creates a direct difference in the timeline of the two accounts. The Quran gives three nights, while the biblical narrative places Zechariah’s silence within the much longer period leading up to the birth and naming of John. This is presented as another error in the Quran.
Haman in Egypt
The fifth example concerns Haman. The Bible and the Quran both mention a man called Haman, but they place him in completely different historical periods.
In the Book of Esther, Haman is a powerful official in the Persian Empire. He serves under King Ahasuerus. Haman is introduced as the son of Hammedatha the Agagite and is described as being promoted above the other officials. His conflict with Mordecai eventually leads him to develop a plan against the Jewish people.
The entire story takes place in the Persian setting. Haman is connected with the royal court, the Persian king, Mordecai, Esther, and the Jewish population living under Persian rule. His historical setting therefore belongs to the period of the Persian Empire.
The Quran places a man named Haman in a completely different period. In the Quranic account, Haman is associated with Pharaoh and Moses in Egypt. Surah Al-Qasas mentions Pharaoh, Haman, and their soldiers together and describes them as sinful. Haman is presented as one of Pharaoh’s important officials during the time when the Israelites were living under Pharaoh’s rule.
This creates a major chronological difference. The biblical Haman belongs to the Persian period and is connected with King Ahasuerus, while the Quranic Haman is placed in ancient Egypt during the lifetime of Moses and Pharaoh.
The two figures therefore occupy completely different historical settings. One is a Persian official in the Book of Esther, while the other is presented as an official of Pharaoh in Egypt. This placement of Haman in the Egyptian period is presented as a significant historical and chronological error in the Quran.