Seminary Professor says Christian, Islamic End of Days 'Strikingly' Similar
The fact that some of the end times predictions in the Quran and Bible are very similar - if not identical - may surprise many Christians as well as Muslims, a Christian expert on Islam says
The similarities between the Quran’s eschatological language and that of the
Bible are “very striking,” but that does not imply that the God of the Bible revealed those statements to Muhammad, says an Islam expert of Southwestern Baptist Theological Semianry (SWBTS).
Samuel Shahid, a professor of Islamic studies at Southwestern in Fort Worth, Texas, has recently published a new book based on his three-year-long research on the Christian and Islamic eschatology, entitled The Last Trumpet: A Comparative Study in Christian-Islamic Eschatology.
The fact that some of the end times predictions in the Quran and Bible are very similar - if not identical - may surprise many Christians as well as Muslims, says Shahid, who contends that the book was written with both audiences in mind.
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According to Quran, the end of time is to come “suddenly,” like the “twinkling of an eye.” Its passages also state that only Allah has the knowledge of “the Hour” when the blaring of trumpets can be heard. Such Quranic statements about the end times would sound familiar to Christians, Shahid said.
He went on to say that these statements were undoubtedly not “revealed,” but “borrowed” from the Bible.
In addition to Christian eschatological influences it had received, his in-depth comparative analysis revealed other influences on the Quran - such as Judaism, Zoroastrianism, apocalyptic materials, apocryphal materials and even Christian legends.
"When we talk about Islamic paradise and we compare it with the Zoroastrian paradise, you will be amazed to see the similarities between the two," he said.
Shahid also noted a story from the Quran featuring a person whom many Muslims believe is the historical figure Alexander the Great.
”In my research, I came across what is called the Syrian-Christian legend of Alexander the Great, and I found out that this story is the story that is recorded in the Quran itself,” Shahid said. “And this one predates the Quran
at least by 200 years.”
Shahid also differentiates between the writings of Islamic traditions and Quran; that the former is open to interpretation and the latter is taken literally, as the “revealed word of God.”
“I am not here really to argue with Muslims about that,” he said, in the face of such different approaches taken to the two sources. “But there must be an answer."
“Some Muslims will find out some material that they were not aware of which has to do with their own Islam,” Shahid said. “Very few people, whether they are Christians or Muslims, have a good idea about Islamic eschatology. They have general knowledge about it, but there are so many details that very few know about.”
Other chapters in Shahid¹s book compare Christian and Islamic views of heaven, paradise, hell, the "day of judgment" and the Antichrist.
Shahid, born and raised in Lebanon, has served on the Southwestern faculty since 1998. He also serves as the director of Good News for the Crescent World, a non-profit organization, which aims at reaching out to Muslims. A notable speaker on Islam, he is the author of more than 45 books in both English and Arabic.
