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Are the birth accounts of Jesus the same in the Koran and the Bible?

35 (Remember) when the wife of ‘Imran said: My Lord! I have vowed unto Thee that which is in my belly as a consecrated (offering). Accept it from me. Lo! Thou, only Thou, art the Hearer, the Knower! 36 And when she was delivered she said: My Lord! Lo! I am delivered of a female - Allah knew best of what she was delivered - the male is not as the female; and lo! I have named her Mary, and lo! I crave Thy protection for her and for her offspring from Satan the outcast. 37 And her Lord accepted her with full acceptance and vouchsafed to her a goodly growth; and made Zachariah her guardian. Whenever Zachariah went into the sanctuary where she was, he found that she had food. He said: O Mary! Whence cometh unto thee this (food) ? She answered: It is from Allah. Allah giveth without stint to whom He will. 38 Then Zachariah prayed unto his Lord and said: My Lord! Bestow upon me of Thy bounty goodly offspring. Lo! Thou art the Hearer of Prayer. 39 And the angels called to him as he stood praying in the sanctuary: Allah giveth thee glad tidings of (a son whose name is) John, (who cometh) to confirm a word from Allah lordly, chaste, a prophet of the righteous. 40 He said: My Lord! How can I have a son when age hath overtaken me already and my wife is barren ? (The angel) answered: So (it will be). Allah doeth what He will. 41 He said: My Lord! Appoint a token for me. (The angel) said: The token unto thee (shall be) that thou shalt not speak unto mankind three days except by signs. Remember thy Lord much, and praise (Him) in the early hours of night and morning. 42 And when the angels said: O Mary! Lo! Allah hath chosen thee and made thee pure, and hath preferred thee above (all) the women of creation. 43 O Mary! Be obedient to thy Lord, prostrate thyself and bow with those who bow (in worship). 44 This is of the tidings of things hidden. We reveal it unto thee (Muhammad). Thou wast not present with them when they threw their pens (to know) which of them should be the guardian of Mary, nor wast thou present with them when they quarrelled (thereupon). 45 (And remember) when the angels said: O Mary! Lo! Allah giveth thee glad tidings of a word from him, whose name is the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, illustrious in the world and the Hereafter, and one of those brought near (unto Allah). 46 He will speak unto mankind in his cradle and in his manhood, and he is of the righteous. 47 She said: My Lord! How can I have a child when no mortal hath touched me ? He said: So (it will be). Allah createth what He will. If He decreeth a thing, He saith unto it only: Be! and it is. Surah 3:35-47

These verses of the Koran makes these claims, not consistent with the Bible.
  • ‘Imran is the name given to Mary’s father (no name given in the Bible)
  • Zachariah is Mary’s legal guardian.
  • Allah miraculously fed Mary food.
However, the Bible agrees with these claims about Mary, made by the Koran.
  • Zachariah and his wife Elizabeth gave birth to a son named John.
  • Elizabeth is revealed as Mary’s cousin.
  • Both Mary and Elizabeth are pregnant at the same time with children promised to them by God.
  • An angel came to Mary to announce the birth of a son.
  • Mary would give birth to a son named Jesus, the Messiah.
  • Mary will give birth even though she is a virgin.
Let’s look at another section that relates the Mary story: Surah 19:16-40:

Relate in the Book (the story of) Mary, when she withdrew from her family to a place in the East. She placed a screen (to screen herself) from them; then We sent her our angel, and he appeared before her as a man in all respects. She said: “I seek refuge from thee to ((Allah)) Most Gracious: (come not near) if thou dost fear Allah.” He said: “Nay, I am only a messenger from thy Lord, (to announce) to thee the gift of a holy son. She said: “How shall I have a son, seeing that no man has touched me, and I am not unchaste?” He said: “So (it will be): Thy Lord saith, ‘that is easy for Me: and (We wish) to appoint him as a Sign unto men and a Mercy from Us’:It is a matter (so) decreed.” So she conceived him, and she retired with him to a remote place. And the pains of childbirth drove her to the trunk of a palm-tree: She cried (in her anguish): “Ah! would that I had died before this! would that I had been a thing forgotten and out of sight!” But (a voice) cried to her from beneath the (palm-tree): “Grieve not! for thy Lord hath provided a rivulet beneath thee; “And shake towards thyself the trunk of the palm-tree: It will let fall fresh ripe dates upon thee. “So eat and drink and cool (thine) eye. And if thou dost see any man, say, ‘I have vowed a fast to ((Allah)) Most Gracious, and this day will I enter into not talk with any human being’” At length she brought the (babe) to her people, carrying him (in her arms). They said: “O Mary! truly an amazing thing hast thou brought! “O sister of Aaron! Thy father was not a man of evil, nor thy mother a woman unchaste!” But she pointed to the babe. They said: “How can we talk to one who is a child in the cradle?” He said: “I am indeed a servant of Allah. He hath given me revelation and made me a prophet; “And He hath made me blessed wheresoever I be, and hath enjoined on me Prayer and Charity as long as I live; “(He) hath made me kind to my mother, and not overbearing or miserable; “So peace is on me the day I was born, the day that I die, and the day that I shall be raised up to life (again)”! Such (was) Jesus the son of Mary: (it is) a statement of truth, about which they (vainly) dispute.
It is not befitting to (the majesty of) Allah that He should beget a son. Glory be to Him! when He determines a matter, He only says to it, “Be”, and it is.

These verses of the Koran makes these claims, not consistent with the Bible.
  • Mary withdrew to the East to receive the announcement. The Bible says the angel Gabriel came to her in Nazareth, the town of Galilee. Her hometown.
  • Mary feels child birth pains under a palm tree. God drops dates on her lap to soothe the pain.
  • It's not clear where the baby is born.  The Bible places Mary in Bethlehem for the birth (Luke 2). 
  • Mary brings the Christ child to her hometown. The town is excited and amazed. Jewish tradition would say that anyone who gives birth outside of marriage would be shunned. The Bible says nothing directly about this time.
  • Mary asks the Christ child to speak and he does. The Bible never quotes Jesus until the age of twelve.
However, this section of the Koran makes these claims about Mary that are found in the Bible.
  • An angel came to Mary to announce the birth of a son.
  • Mary will give birth to a child even though she is a virgin.
  • Jesus came as a sign and a vision of Mercy among men.
The Gospels were written by people who knew Jesus and Mary personally and the Koran was written by Muhammad 600 years after the fact. Who is going to be more accurate?