This is an iconic book, the author has done a deep research on two holy books and compare their postulates, theories and claims on the basis of modern science. Readers will get lot of informations in both the Holy scriptures and their feasibility with scientific discoveries. Worth to read. ( )

Great ( )

Read the Arabic version.

I think the book deserves 4/5 but the translation wasn't that strong, and there were also quite a few typos, so I'd give it 3.5/4 for that.

Nice read though. Some parts are nicer than others. ( )

This is an apologetic. It takes scientific discoveries and shoehorns them into Quranic verses by redefining them and using very creative interpretations of what they might mean. Then it attempts to show that it is easier to do this with the Quran than the Bible.

I am Muslim, and I prefer the Quran to the Bible for various reasons (yes, I have read them both in their entirety). However, I have always been annoyed by the apologetics. It's post facto reasoning - we know that some scientific fact is real, and we know the Quran is unerring and should mention it someplace, so the only task left is to find a likely verse and explain it extremely creatively.

This is not a new tactic in faith discussions, and it is only when it comes to science that I find that it really irks me. (For example, feminist reinterpretations of the Quran I find highly convincing. See Mernissi and Wadud for examples.)

I don't think faith should try to use science to bolster itself. Somehow this seems like dishonesty and cheating. I especially think it's funny when one faith says it's more scientific than another (as is true with this book, which is an Islamic self-justification comparing itself to Christianity, which, surprise, comes up short). Faith and science are at odds. One requires proof, the other requires you to accept something without proof.

Anyhow, for the above reason, I disliked this book, which was given to me as a present while I lived in Egypt. ( )

Dr. Bucaille's book is an extremely important one. Not so much for his interpretations of the Quran, but more so because of his criticisms and reflections on the Bible.
His research is meticulous, that cannot be denied. He learnt Arabic for the sole purpose of examining the Quran, and his research into the Bible is thorough. It is clear that he knows his Biblical history. Also, he quotes many theologians, including the Vatican Council.
His conclusions are that the Bible contains historical errors that have largely been ignored for centuries, as well as some contradictions. Mainly his criticisms are towards the contradictory genealogies of Jesus given in the Bible, as well as the statements on the flood of Noah. Bucaille then delves into the history of the Old Testament, as well as into the authors of the Gospels.
He concludes that the Old Testament went through centuries of oral tradition and repetition, where it picked up embellishments along the way, and lost its original veracity. He also finds that the Gospels were written long after the death of Jesus, and that the Gospel authors plagiarized from each other.

The second half of the book consists of his interpretations on specific verses from the Quran. He provides scientific data to back up his statements, but at the end of the day, a scientist sees science just as others will interpret the verses in their own ways. However, he does make an important statement with this book, which he repeats often and is the clear purpose for writing the book: that the Bible has outright falsehoods within it, whereas he was unable to find similarly glaring inconsistencies in the Quran. He is of the opinion of St. Augustine, that God could not teach man things that do not correspond to reality.

Whether or not his interpretations of the Quran are correct, I cannot say. But what I can say, is that the kernel of the book does not lie in these interpretations, but in his conclusions, where he makes a powerful statement. ( )