In personal conversation, the translator (Safi Kaskas) told me he loves Jesus and seeks to follow Him every day. While he seeks to lead fellow Muslims to also love and follow Jesus, Safi remains a Muslim, with the conviction that the Qur’an is God’s final revelation to humanity, as reflected in the statement in his written introduction reflecting the Muslim view that “We’re dealing with the translation of the words of God, the Qur’an.”
What is remarkable in this translation is that Safi has rejected the widely-held Muslim belief that the Bible has been corrupted and should not be read by Muslims, and instead embraced what the Qur’an itself says regarding the Taurat and Injil (the Christian Bible)—that the Bible is God’s word and that Muslims should seek understanding from those who read the Bible: “So if you are in doubt about what We have revealed to you, ask those who have been reading the Book (revealed) before your time” (10:94, emphasis added).
In fact Safi’s new translation of the Qur’an, and the accompanying references to the Bible which he and Dr. Hungerford compiled, are driven by the conviction (shared by Safi and a few others) that the Qur’an was written as in introduction to the Bible for Arab peoples, rather than as a replacement book, and that the Qur’an can ONLY be properly understood by being read alongside the Bible on which the Qur’an relies for the “rest of the story.” And as the verse referenced above suggests, reading the Qur’an alongside the Bible is best done by Muslims with Christians.
As Christians and Muslims read the Bible and Qur’an together, I believe God will lead unprecedented numbers of Muslim families and communities to also discover, fall in love with, and follow the Jesus of the Bible, the Prince of Peace, to whom the Qur’an itself points as the “Straight Path” in which Muslims pray daily for Allah to guide them (1:06).
Christians and Muslims will also find Safi’s introduction a most illuminating glimpse into the complexities of translating anything
– from Arabic with a Middle Eastern worldview
– into English with a Western worldview.
Alert Christians wanting to better understand their Muslim neighbors, and read the Bible with them, will find an invaluable resource in this new Qur’an with References to the Bible: A Contemporary Understanding.
This volume is already heavily discounted by the host ministry, Bridges to Common Ground. However by special arrangement Mission Network is able to offer
- free shipping on cases of 18 (suggested donation of $7.50/book=$135/case), and
- two for the price of one ($20 for 2 copies) for those intending to post an Amazon review and/or ask a friend to post one.
A leader in guiding Muslims to follow Jesus (a friend of 40 years) wrote me regarding this Qur’an with Bible References:
Years ago when I began to carefully study John’s Gospel, I discovered there are different levels of meaning. It became clear that to understand these deeper levels of meaning it is necessary to understand the books of the Old Testament.
When God reassigned us from Bible Translation for Tribal Peoples to work with Muslims, we started inductive Qur’an studies. It quickly became clear to me that Qur’an depends heavily on the other Books.
It is my studied opinion that Qur’an intends readers to be totally familiar with Tawrat, Zabbur and Injil. I believe Safi Kaskas is right; Qur’an cannot be properly understood apart from understanding the other Books.
I believe the best way for Muslims to understand Qur’an is to read it together with the other Books, and this new Contemporary Qur’an with Bible References will help them do so.
Watch this 7-minute video of Dr. Kaskas and Dr. Hungerford interviewing each other:
Email Special.Offers@theMissionNetwork.org for either of these discounts:
- Two copies for $20 plus your Amazon review, OR
- Cases of 18 copies at $7.50/book ($135 total), shipping included.
Please include your:
– Name,
– U.S. Shipping Address,
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– A. How many cases of 18 you’d like (suggested donation $7.50/book = $135/case), OR
– B. If you’d like 2 copies (suggested donation $20 plus an Amazon review),
– How much you intend to donate,
– Sphere of influence (how you’ll distribute these books), and
– How you learned about this offer.
Thank you!
