36 Al-Faruqi, "A Comparison of the Islamic and Christian Approaches to Hebrew Scripture," J.B.R., XXXI (1963), 285-287, 290n. 20.
Al-Faruqi's distinction between the Christian and Muslim views of revelation is similar to that given here, but with a significant difference in the interpretation of the Christian view. According to him, in Christianity, revelation is an "event", whereas in Islam it is an "idea". This difference derives from the fact that the "Christian" view he presents is that of Modern theology, with which he is dialoguing, which rejects the identification of the Bible with revelation. On the other hand, Evangelical theology insists that revelation is both event and idea, both historical and scriptural, the latter being the divinely inspired record and interpretation of the former. The terms used here were chosen to reflect the difference between the two views, both as concerns the nature and the mode of revelation. This difference is also reflected in the Arabic words used in the two communities to express the idea "Word of God"; Muslims use the concrete noun kalam - the "speaking" or the "utterance" of God; Christians use the abstract noun kalimah - the "Word" in the sense of the "message" of God.
37 Besides the articles of al-Faruqi cited above, see e.g. Amir Ali, "Christianity From the Islamic Standpoint," Christianity: Some Non-Christian Appraisals, ed. by D. W. McKain (N.Y.: McGraw Hill, 1964), pp. 225-241.
38 See Muhammad Rasjidi et al., "Christian Mission in the Muslim World: Indonesia," International Review of Missions, LXV (Oct. '76), 435-438, 444-447.
39 Abd-al-Rahman Azzam, The Eternal Message of Muhammad, trans. by C. E. Farah (N.Y.: Mentor Books, 1964), pp. 56-81.