First, the Quran contains some explicit regulations regarding matters of personnel and social morality, but, unlike the Bible, in general the Muslim Scripture does not function as a legislative handbook. In the Bible, aside from the Book of Leviticus, which contains all the rules a true Christian is to observe, there are many other laws and commandments a Christian must uphold. In all there are 613 laws contained in the Old Testament of the Bible. The second detail that needs to be noted is that, "The Quran repeatedly labels Christians as "People of the Book" and views their original Books as coming from God,"1 as put by Msgr. Joseph M. Champlin in the St. Anthony Messenger. This means that the Quran recognizes that Christians belong to the same God and share some of the same beliefs as the people of Islam. Already, it's clear to see some distinct similarities as well as some differences between the two religions. Although, they both use their own version of the Holy Book, many of the prophets and people contained in the Books are the same. On the other hand the Quran contains fewer Books and doesn't serve as a legislative handbook.
Already mentioned in the above paragraphs are some of the people contained in each religion's Holy Book. When observing this closer, one can't help but notice that a few of these "main" characters are shared between the Bible and Quran. One of the most notable is Abraham. According to Msgr. Joseph M. Champlin, "Christians marvel at his trust of God, his faith, his obedience, and his dedication."2 For Muslims, Abraham is regarded as a great prophet and one of God's special messengers. During the days of their pilgrimage to Mecca, Muslims observe several rituals commemorating events in Abraham's lifetime. It's simple to see that to both religions, Abraham is held in a special light and looked upon with great admiration and respect.
In each Holy Book, there seems to be a person that stands out from and above the rest as an ambassador of the religion.
