The Bible - ''From the Creation to the Flood'' : An Islamic Perspective
[A5] Paperback - 132 pages,
by Jay R Crook.
Description :
From the Creation to the Flood, a volume in The Bible: An Islamic Perspective series, is an analysis of stories found in the first ten chapters of Genesis, comparing them with references to them in the Qur'an and in Surabadi's 11th-century Quranic Commentary. Other ancient sources, especially Mesopotamian, also contribute to the study.
The two Biblical creation stories are compared with those of the Qur'an and Surabadi and earlier sources, and some more general questions about the Creation considered.
Other topics include: the Biblical and Islamic versions of Adam's creation, the Naming, Adam's rib, the events of Eden and the Fall, Cain and Abel (murder or ritual sacrifice?), and Adam's last days. After an examination of the Enoch-Idris stories and the fallen angels Harut and Marut of the Qur'an and Islamic tradition, the author turns to the colourful saga of Noah, his Ark, and the Flood, finishing with the disquieting ethnic overtones of the story of Noah's curse and his descendants.
About the Author.
Jay R. Crook (Muhammed Nur) was born in upstate New York, the second son of a clergman, but spent his formative years in the New York metropolitan area. A chance acquaitance awakened his interest in Islamic culture and civilisation, and he soon embraced Islam. After completing his military service and saving some money, he traveled to East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) to study for a few years. He wound up spending most of his working life in the Middle East, especially in Iran and Saudi Arabia. Hired by the Peace Corps as a field representative, he finished in 1971 as Deputy Director in the Iran program. He then enrolled in the Doctoral Program of Persian Literature for Foreigners at Tehran University and received his Ph.D. in 1978.
His doctoral thesis was A Comparison of the Qur'anic Stories of Surabadi With the Bible. Much revised and expanded, it has become the core of The New Testament: an Islamic Perspective and its companion volume The Old Testament: an Islamic Perspective. Subsequent to leaving Iran in 1980, he worked as an English teacher in the U.S. and Saudi Arabia before retiring in 1997. He now resides in the American Southwest and has translated several books from Persian into English, including Kashifi’s The Royal Book of Spiritual Chivalry and Imam al-Ghazali’s The Alchemy of Happiness.
