The Bible versus the Koran

By Nigel Tomes

THE BIBLE: Consider the following facts--As of 2011

• · The entire Bible has been translated into 469 of the world’s languages
• · Plus the New Testament is available in an additional 1,231 languages
• · Plus portions of Scripture (e.g. John’s gospel) are in another 827 tongues
• · The whole Bible (or large parts of it) is available in 2,527 languages
• · Bible translations exist in languages known to 98% of the world's people

THE KORAN: Consider Islam’s sacred book--the Koran (Qur’an)

• . Translations of the Koran (Qur’an) are available in only 55 languages
• · By 1915 the Koran existed in only 12 European & 10 Oriental languages
• · A Chinese translation of the Koran did not appear until 1927
• · A Chinese New Testament was published in 1813, the whole Bible in 1823.

The Bible--the world’s most translated book; The Koran is one of the least translated

The contrast is stark—the Bible has been translated into the tongue of most of the world’s people. The Muslims’ Koran has been translated from Arabic into only a few of the world’s tongues. The Bible is the world’s most translated book; the Koran is one of the least (compared to Islam’s size). Why the difference? It reflects different realizations about God.

The Koran is not Translatable

Islam teaches that their holy book, the Koran is not translatable; it is only divinely inspired in Arabic. They are taught that the Koran was written in heaven in Arabic and transmitted without error to the Prophet Mohammed in Arabic. Prof. Andrew Walls says Islam considers the Koran “the direct speech of God, delivered in Arabic…unaltered and unalterably fixed in heaven forever.” Technically the Koran can be translated into other dialects. But Moslems believe the Koran’s “revelation ceases to be the Word of God…if the Koran is translated from Arabic into any (other) language,” Harvard Prof. Tibawi explains. A translation of the Koran loses its sacred character; it is merely an “interpretation.” Muslims learn Arabic in order to recite prayers and read the Koran. For them Arabic is the language of God; God speaks only in Arabic and hears prayers only in Arabic. Their Scripture is not translatable; Islam’s God (Allah) is not a God of translation. If you want to know God (Allah), or pray to God, you must learn Arabic.

No unique, holy Language

Contrast Islam’s view with the Bible. Scripture reveals that God does not have His own divine dialect—the “language of God”—in which He communicates with humanity. God does not force us to learn His language; He speaks our dialect. Charles Kraft declares, “God could have constructed a heavenly language and required that we all learn that language…[But instead] God has…no holy language…that he endorses to the exclusion of all others.”

God spoke to the Pharisee Saul in Hebrew, his own mother-tongue (Acts 26:14). And God is not limited to Hebrew as if that were the only sacred tongue. On the day of Pentecost, Jews from every nation heard God’s magnificent works proclaimed in their own dialects (Acts 2:6, 11). Andrew F. Walls points out the “crowd of Dispersion Jews hears the wonderful works of God, not in the sacred language of the temple…but in…their real mother tongues (Acts 2:11).”

“God speaks my language!”

At Pentecost God gave diverse tongues to the 120 disciples. God respected the linguistic diversity of the Jerusalem pilgrims. The hearers at Pentecost could have declared “God speaks my language!” When God speaks to us in our dialect, our secular tongue becomes a sacred language! God doesn’t make it difficult, forcing us to learn His language. No, He speaks our dialect. This is why the Bible has been translated into so many languages.

Every language sacred when the Bible translated into it

This principle—that there is no unique sacred language—is the foundation of Bible translation. African scholar, Lamin Sanneh says, “Muslims believe that Christians have no revealed language for revelation and so are divided by the languages of the world.” They are wrong! It is not that “Christians have no revealed language.” Rather, God can be revealed in all dialects! All languages become sacred, “the language of God,” when Scripture is translated into them.

Today the entire Bible has been translated into 470 languages, the New Testament into another 1,200 tongues and John’s gospel into 800 more dialects. At least part of Scripture has been rendered in 2,500 languages. This huge accomplishment resulted from the realization that “the Christian Scriptures are not, like the Qur’an [Koran], the Word of God only when delivered in the original languages…The Word of God can be spoken in any language under heaven.” Our God is the God of translation.