Parables and Shared Stories
Three traditions
remember
Abraham, Noah, Moses, Joseph, Jonah, Mary (peace be upon them): Jews, Christians and Muslims remember the same people. Each tradition tells them in its own words. We set them side by side, and say plainly where they differ.
In this series
12 minEpisode 1: Abraham and the idolsThe first to reason his way to the One God. Jews, Christians and Muslims all call him father, and all three call him the friend of God.
10 minEpisode 2: Adam and EveA garden, a tree, a mistake, and what came after. Three traditions remember the first couple, and draw very different lessons.
10 minEpisode 3: Noah and the floodOne man warns; an ark; a flood; a promise to all life.
10 minEpisode 4: Abraham’s sacrificeA father, a son, a mountain and a ram. God tests Abraham (peace be upon him), and stops the knife.
10 minEpisode 5: Joseph“The best of stories”: a pit, a prison, a palace and forgiveness. The longest shared story, and the gentlest.
10 minEpisode 6: Moses and PharaohA baby in the river; a voice from a bush; a king who would not listen; a sea that opened.
10 minEpisode 7: Moses and the hidden guideMoses (peace be upon him) travels with a mysterious guide on one condition: ask no questions. A story about how little any of us sees.
10 minEpisode 8: Jonah and the great fishA prophet runs from his mission, is thrown from a ship and swallowed by a great fish. In the darkness, he prays. Is anywhere too dark to pray?
10 minEpisode 9: Solomon and the antA king who stopped his army for an ant, and a proverb that sends the lazy to learn from one. Wisdom that reaches the smallest creatures.
10 minEpisode 10: The Sleepers in the CaveYoung believers flee persecution, fall asleep in a cave, and wake to a changed world.
11 minEpisode 11: Mary and the birth of JesusA young woman chosen above all women. Honoured by Christians and Muslims as the virgin mother of Jesus (peace be upon him), and the only woman named…
10 minEpisode 12: Job: protest and patienceA good man loses everything: his children, his wealth, his health.
5 minEpisode 13: To what shall I compare it?Every tradition teaches in pictures: a tree, a seed, a lamp, a lost sheep.
New · Stories of the ProphetsMeet all 26, from Adam to MuhammadEach prophet's own page: the name in three scripts, a one-minute snapshot, and the Torah, Gospel and Qur'an side by side.Open Stories of the Prophets →Twelve shared stories
Parables
Mashal in Hebrew, matla in Aramaic, mathal in Arabic: one family of words for “parable”.
On screen
Films that live in these stories' world. Prophets are never pictured on our pages.
Watch more: Three traditions remember
8 films and talks, chosen for this page. They play here.
Dr Edward Kessler: "The Sacrifice of Abraham's Son in Judaism, Christianity and Islam"
Study of Religions, UCC, Ireland · 54 min
The Biblical Story of Jonah, Explained
Jewish Learning Institute · 6 min
Jewish Learning Institute: the biblical story of Jonah, explained.
You Will Never Be As Alone Or Desperate As Yunus (as) | Khutbah by Omar Suleiman
Yaqeen Institute · 18 min
The REAL Story of Noah's Flood in the Words of the Bible
Jewish Learning Institute · 6 min
Jewish Learning Institute: Noah's flood in the words of the Bible.
Stories of the Prophets EP2: The Steadfastness of Nuh
Qalam Institute · 11 min
Qalam Institute: the steadfastness of Nuh, from Stories of the Prophets.
Mona Siddiqui - Mary in Christian-Muslim Relations
CRASSH Cambridge · 43 min
The Story of Joseph, Explained
Jewish Learning Institute · 5 min
Jewish Learning Institute: the story of Joseph, explained.
Surah Yusuf: Introduction Part I
Nouman Ali Khan - Official - Bayyinah · 37 min
Nouman Ali Khan: Surah Yusuf, an introduction.
- More films and talks on F-ILMWatch free