Scripture
Three books, one listening ear
The Torah, the Bible and the Qur'an, each in its own words: how each came to be, how it is built, how it is honoured, and what it sounds like when it is read aloud.
Choose a book
Jews, Christians and Muslims each say God has spoken. Here each book is described the way its own readers describe it, with the manuscripts, the music and the reading it is known by.
State Library of Victoria · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0ScriptureThe Torah and the Hebrew BibleתורהTeaching given at Sinai, as Jews hold: hand-written on a scroll, chanted every week.
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Wikimedia Commons · CC0ScriptureThe BibleThe Word of God, as Christians say: the Old Testament and the New, read aloud in church every Sunday.
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Brooklyn Museum · Wikimedia Commons · No known restrictionsScriptureThe Qur'anالقرآنThe Word of Allah, as Muslims believe: recited before it is read, by heart, in Arabic.
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One player for all three: tap a verse to hear it, repeat it, slow it down or share it.
Keep exploring
Watch more: Three books, one listening ear
8 films and talks, chosen for this page. They play here.
Discovering Sacred Texts: Judaism
British Library · 10 min
Discovering Sacred Texts: Christianity
British Library · 13 min
Discovering Sacred Texts: Islam
British Library · 8 min
Hearing: Reading the Torah and Singing its Praises
The Jewish Theological Seminary · 3 min
The Jewish Theological Seminary: reading the Torah aloud and singing its praises.
University of Birmingham Qur’an manuscript among world’s oldest
University of Birmingham · 3 min
The 1976 Qur’an Exhibition at the British Museum - Dr Muhammad Isa Waley
Everyday Muslim · 23 min
Prof John Barton on reading the Bible as Jews and Christians
TheCCJUK · 14 min
Psalm 130 (chant: Walford Davies) | The Choir of Trinity College Cambridge
The Choir of Trinity College Cambridge · 3 min
- More films and talks on F-ILMWatch free