List of people in both the Bible and the Quran

Summary

The Bible and Quran have many characters in common, many of which are mentioned by name, whereas others are merely referred to. This article is a list of people named or referred to in both in the Bible and the Quran.

Identified by name in the Quran edit

Image Bible (English) Quran (Arabic) Rabbinic (Hebrew) Notes Bible Verse Quaranic Verse
  Aaron Hārūn/
Haarūn
Aharon Exodus 7:1 Quran 19:28[1]
  Abraham Ibrāhīm/
Ebraheem/
Ebrahim/
Ibrāheem
Avraham Genesis 17:3–5 Quran 2:124
  Adam Ādam Adam Genesis 5:2 Quran 3:59
  Amram ʿImrān/'Emrān Amram Islamic tradition holds both Amram and Joachim are named the same. Although Islamic studies of the beginning of the 20th century tended to note genealogical discrepancies, in more recent Islamic Studies of the 21st century the general consensus is that the Quran does not make a genealogical error but instead makes use of typology.[2] This is supported by the figurative speech of the Quran and the Islamic tradition, as words like "sister" and "daughter" can indicate extended kinship, descendance or spiritual affinity.[3][4][5][6] Exodus 6:20 Quran 3:33
  King David Dāwūd/Dāūd Dawid 1 Samuel 17:58 Quran 2:251
  The Apostles al-Hawariyyūn Mark 3:16–19 Quran 61:14[7]
  Elijah (Elias) Ilyās/Elyās Eliyyahu 2 Kings 1:8 Quran 37:123
  Elisha al-Yasaʿ Elishaʿ Also can be pronounced Alīsaʿ 1 Kings 19:16 Quran 6:86
  Enoch Idrīs Chanokh Idris is not universally identified with Enoch, many Muslim scholars of the classical and medieval periods also held that Idris and Hermes Trismegistus were the same person.[8][9] Genesis 5:24 Quran 19:56
  Ezekiel Ḥizkīl
"Dhul-Kifl"
Yechezkel Ezekiel 1:3 Quran 38:48
  Ezra ʿUzair Ezra Ezra 7:1 Quran 9:30
  Gabriel Jibrīl Gavri'el Luke 1:19 Quran 2:97
  Gog and Magog Ya'juj wa-Ma'juj Gog U-Magog Ezekiel 38:2 Quran 21:96
  Goliath Jālūṭ Golyat 1 Samuel 17:4 Quran 2:251
  Isaac Isħāq Yitzhak Genesis 17:19 Quran 19:49
Ishmael Ismāʿīl Yishmaʿel Genesis 16:11 Quran 38:48
  Jacob Yaʿkūb Yaʿkov Genesis 32:1 Quran 19:49
  Jethro Shoʿeib Yitro Exodus 3:1 Quran 26:177
  Jesus ʿĪsā Yeshua Matthew 1:16 Quran 3:59
  Joachim or Heli ʿImrān Yehoyaqim Islamic tradition holds both Joachim and Amram are named the same, though the Quran only refers to Joachim with the name of Amram and calls Mary the sister of Aaron,[10] Muslims see this as connecting the two women from two prophetic households in spirit. This question was actually reported to have been put across to Muhammad to which he replied: "The (people of the old age) used to give names (to their persons) after the names of Apostles and pious persons who had gone before them".[11] Luke 3:23
  Job ʾAyyūb Iyyov Job 1:1 Quran 6:84
  John the Baptist Yaḥyā Yohanan Yaḥyā means 'living' as opposed to Yūḥānna ('graceful'), which comes from Hebrew Yoḥanan. Luke 1:13 Quran 19:7
  Jonah Yūnas/
Yūnes/
Yūnus/
Yūnis

"Dhun-Nun"
Yonah Possibly derived from Greek Ionas Jonah 3:4 Quran 37:139
  Joseph Yūsif Yosef Genesis 30:24 Quran 6:84
  Lot Lūṭ Lot Genesis 11:27 Quran 66:10
  Lot's wife Lūṭ's wife She is nameless both in the Bible and in the Quran. Genesis 19:26  Quran 26:170
  Mary Maryam Mariam Matthew 1:16 Quran 19:34
  Miriam Mūsā's sister Miriam Exodus 6:20 Quran 28:11
  Michael Mīkāīl Mikhael Revelation 12:7 Quran 02:98
  Moses Mūsā Moshe Exodus 6:20 Quran 33:7
  Noah Nūḥ Nukh Genesis 5:29 Quran 33:7
  Pharaoh Firʿawn Paroh Exodus 1:11 Quran 20:60
  Queen of Sheba Queen of Sabaʾ; Bilqīs Malkat Saba She is nameless both in the Bible and in the Quran, but the name Bilqīs or Balqīs comes from Islamic tradition. 1 Kings 10:1 Quran 27:29
  Saul the King Ṭālūt Sha'ul Literally 'Tall'; Meant to rhyme with Lūṭ or Jālūṭ. 1 Samuel 17:33 Quran 2:247
  Devil or Satan Shaitān / Iblīs HaSatan Iblīs, literally 'despaired'; Possibly derived from Greek Diabolus. Genesis 3:14 Quran 7:11
  Solomon Sulaymān Shlomoh 1 Kings 10:23 Quran 34:12
  Zechariah Zakariyyā Zekaryah Luke 1:13 Quran 19:7
  Zimri (prince) As-Samiriyy Zimri ben Salu Al-Samīri is arguably derived from Eastern Syriac 'Zamri, which is derived from Hebrew Zimri. Numbers 25:14 Quran 20:85

Not identified by name in the Quran edit

Sarah, Hagar, Zipporah, Elizabeth, Raphael, Cain and Abel, Korah, Joseph's brothers, Potiphar and his wife, Eve, Jochebed, Samuel, Noah's sons, and Noah's wife are mentioned, but unnamed in the Quran.

In Islamic tradition, these people are given the following names:

Image Bible (English) Arabic Notes
  Abel Habil
Benjamin Binyamīn
  Cain Qabil
Canaan Kan'an It is not clear if Canaan and Kan'an are the same person, as he is Nuh's son rather than his grandson.[12]
  Elizabeth ʾIlīṣābāt or Elīsābāt
Eve Hawah
  Hagar Hajar
Ham Ham
Japheth Yafes
Jochebed Yūkābid
  Joshua Yusha-bin-Noon
Korah Qārūn
Potiphar Azeez
Raphael Isrāfīl
Samuel Samu'il
  Sarah Sara
Shem Sam

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Qu'ran 19:28
  2. ^ Michael Marx: Glimpses of a Mariology in the Qur'an; in: A. Neuwirth, Nicolai Sinai, Michael Marx (Hrsg.): The Qur'ān in Context. Historical and Literary Investigations into the Qur'ānic Milieu. Leiden 2011. pp. 533–563.
  3. ^ Arent Jan Wensinck: Maryam. In: A. J. Wensinck, J. H. Kramers (Hrsg.): Handwörterbuch des Islam. pp. 421–423.
  4. ^ A. J. Wensinck (Penelope Johnstone), "Maryam" in C. E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W. P. Heinrichs & Ch. Pellat (Eds.), The Encyclopaedia Of Islam (New Edition), 1991, Volume VI, p. 630. Maryam is called a sister of Hārūn (sūra XIX, 29), and the use of these three names 'Imrān, Hārūn and Maryam, has led to the supposition that the Kur'ān does not clearly distinguished between the two Maryams, of the Old and the New Testaments. The Kur'ān names two families as being especially chosen: those of Ibrāhim and of 'Imrān (sūra III, 32). It is the family of 'Imrān, important because of Moses and Aaron, to which Maryam belongs. It is not necessary to assume that these kinship links are to interpreted in modern terms. The words "sister" and "daughter", like their male counterparts, in Arabic usage can indicate extended kinship, descendance or spiritual affinity. This second 'Imrān, together with Harun, can be taken as purely Kur'ānic... Muslim tradition is clear that there are eighteen centuries between the Biblical 'Amram and the father of Marya.
  5. ^ B. F. Stowasser, Women In The Qur'an, Traditions, And Interpretation, 1994, Oxford University Press: New York, p. 393-394.
  6. ^ Aliah Schleifer, Mary The Blessed Virgin Of Islam, 1998, op. cit., p. 36.
  7. ^ Quran 61:14
  8. ^ W.F. Albright, Review of Th. Boylan, The hermes of Egypt, in Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 2 (1922), 190-8
  9. ^ H. T. Halman, "Idris," in Holy People of the World: A Cross-Cultural Encyclopedia (ABC-CLIO, 2004), p. 388
  10. ^ Clooney S.J., Francis X., "What Islam really teaches about the Virgin Mary", America, December 18, 2015
  11. ^ 60 hadith found in 'The Book on General Behaviour (Kitab Al-Adab)' of Sahih Muslim.
  12. ^ Yoreh, Tzemah (22 November 2014). "Noah's Four Sons". TheTorah.com. Retrieved 7 August 2023.

Bibliography edit

  • Wheeler, Brannon (2006). "Dhu Al-Qarnayn". In Leaman, Oliver (ed.). The Qur'an: An Encyclopedia. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9780415326391.