About the Book
September 2026
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Illuminating Scriptural Connections invites readers into a bold and revelatory dialogue between two of the world’s foundational scriptures. For the first time, the Torah’s fifty-four weekly portions are viewed through the lens of the Qur’an, uncovering both the variations between the two texts as well as the shared stories, prophets, principles, and visions that illuminate a deeper spiritual kinship between Judaism and Islam.
Rick Sopher and Abdulla Galadari show that the Qur’an has something meaningful to add to each weekly portion. The Qur’an designates the Torah as a source of “guidance and light” and responds to the Torah’s central narratives, from creation and prophecy to law, covenant, and divine mercy. Many commentaries compare key biblical narratives, such as Abraham’s intended sacrifice, Joseph’s life story, and Moses’s leadership, revealing the Qur’an’s perspectives. Sometimes the Qur’an upholds the Torah’s understandings; at other times it accentuates its own motifs and messages. Additionally, sometimes the Qur’an appears to engage with some early rabbinic traditions, and sometimes later Jewish literature seems to engage with the Qur’an too.
Along the way, the authors confront texts viewed as sources of tension between the two faiths. They argue that the belief that the Qur’an is hostile to all Jews is rooted in textual misunderstandings. The Qur’an both esteems certain Jews and sharply criticizes others. Muhammad’s encounters with Jewish communities, especially in Madinah later in his life, shaped the Qur’an’s portrayal.
Engaging both scripture and history, Illuminating Scriptural Connections underscores the shared linguistic heritage of Hebrew and Arabic, and challenges assumptions of opposition to demonstrate instead a profound reciprocity of ideas. It opens new spaces for interfaith understanding and connection, showing that the spiritual DNA of Judaism and Islam are intertwined far more closely than centuries of misunderstanding have allowed us to see.
Praise
“An extraordinary resource reflecting sophisticated scholarship and accessible erudition, Illuminating Scriptural Connections is a perfect tool for bringing communities together to dig deeply into the fascinating similarities and no less important distinctions between the great religious civilizations of Judaism and Islam. Learn and consider the many parallels in narratives, values, spiritual aspirations, religious commitments, and actions such as prayer, fasting, pilgrimage, and celebration.”—Reuven Firestone, Regenstein Professor in Medieval Judaism and Islam at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Los Angeles
“In an era when religious difference is too often weaponized, this groundbreaking work offers something transformative: a scriptural foundation for cooperation, mutual respect, and peace rooted in concrete textual evidence that Jewish and Muslim communities share far more than what divides them: a common reverence for the One God, shared prophets, overlapping sacred wisdom, and a commitment to deep spirituality and divine truth.”—Mehnaz M. Afridi, professor of religious studies and director of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Interfaith Education Center at Manhattan University
“An inspirational masterpiece born of friendship and shared seeking—a Muslim scholar and a Jewish scholar journeying together to uncover the deep connections between the Torah and the Qur’an and the sacred uniqueness of each faith—foundations for the healing our world so desperately needs.”—Rabbi Yakov Nagen, director – Ohr Torah Blickle Institute for Interfaith Dialogue
“By offering a framework for understanding the Qur’an as part of an ongoing commentary on the Torah, and by combining scholarly depth with accessibility, Illuminating Scriptural Connections is sure to advance both intertextual study and Jewish-Muslim dialogue.”—Imam Sayed Razawi, Chief Imam of Scotland, director-general of the Scottish Ahlul-Bayt Society, and leader of the 2025 Drumlanrig Accords between rabbis and imams
“At a time of resurgent prejudice and ignorance about Judaism and Islam, Illuminating Scriptural Connections is a deeply important and invaluable work.”—Ed Kessler, founder and president, Woolf Institute, Cambridge
“A textured, knowledgeable, well-documented account of the Qur’an’s relationship with the Torah that brings the two scriptures into conversation in creative, original ways.”—Walid Saleh, professor in the Department for the Study of Religion at the University of Toronto
