The brochure we were handed as we walked into the library had an interesting couple of paragraphs.* The Sacred exhibits are being featured by the Library right now and they include the scriptures and other documents of the world's great religions. The brochure's comments that I want to focus on are here.
This page states that the completed text of the Qur'an came together rather quickly -- within 20 years of the Prophet Mohammad's death, while the Old Testament and New Testament of the Bible took hundreds or thousands of years. Oral tradition is also alluded to.
In fact, the Old Testament DID take hundreds of years because the time span over which it was written. However, the scribes and monks who helped to preserve the manuscripts used maticulous procedures to create copies of the originals. This is well documented. Old Testament manuscripts found as a part of the Dead Sea scrolls compare to within 99+% of other manuscripts on which translations of the Old Testament are based.
The New Testament Gospels on the other hand was written within 25 years of Jesus' death. All letters included in the New Testament were written by 85 AD. Thus because of the multiple Gospel accounts, the veracity and reliability of the account of Jesus' life and teaching are strong.
Work on dating the writings which are included in the Qur'an are continuing. However, the latest research seems to conclude that these writings were written approximately 150 years or more after the death of the Prophet Mohammad.
The above is a summary of a vast amount of research which has been and is being done right now and well documented on the web.
The following is a partial list of resources for further study of biblical and literary criticism.
Historical Collaboration of Sacred Texts
A New Chronology (of Old Testament times)
Is the Qur'an the Word of God?
Conclusion for much of the research above
To see a preview of the Sacred Exhibits, click here.
* Prepared by The Moroccan British Society.
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