Harut and Marut: the two angels of Babylon
Who were Hārūt and Mārūt? The Qur’an’s sober account of two angels at Babylon who warned before they taught, and the later legend that…
Explainers and essays on the history, scripture and thought of the Abrahamic traditions. Browse every topic.

Who were Hārūt and Mārūt? The Qur’an’s sober account of two angels at Babylon who warned before they taught, and the later legend that…

What does ‘only begotten Son’ mean in John 3:16? The Greek word, the creed of Nicaea, and the Qur’an’s answer that God neither begets…

Gog and Magog in Ezekiel, Revelation and the Qur’an, and the deceiver of the last days: the Antichrist of the New Testament and the…

Can a Muslim marry a Christian or a Jew? The Qur’an’s rule, the rights Islamic law gave the wife, and how Jewish and Christian…

Who is Saul in the Qur’an? The story of Ṭālūt, Israel’s first king, his test at the river and David’s victory over Goliath, beside…

Who built the Kaaba? The Qur’an’s account of Abraham and Ishmael, and the history of the House from the Quraysh to the Umayyads.

The Tawrah, the Zabur and the Injil: how the Qur’an honours the scriptures given to Moses, David and Jesus, and how it stands as…

The Gospel of Barnabas echoes the Islamic account of Jesus, but its manuscripts and text are late medieval. Why the Qur’an’s account of Jesus…

Is Allah the same God as the God of the Bible? The Arabic word, the Arabic Bible, and the Qur’an’s declaration that the God…

Abraham’s firstborn son in Genesis and the Qur’an: the promise to Ishmael, the Kaaba, and why most Muslim scholars hold that he was the…

What does Messiah mean? Mashiach, Christos and al-Masīḥ: the anointed one in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and the Qur’an’s account of Jesus as Messiah.

Are Judaism and Christianity the same religion? What divides them, which Bible each reads, and whether Christians keep the law: short, sourced answers.