Ma`rifat Adyan

Considering the central position of the holy texts in the two religions of Islam and Christianity, it is necessary to carry out comprehensive studies about the holy texts of these two great religions. In this regard, comparative studies have a special place in explaining this. Using the analytical-descriptive and critical method, this research examines the manuscripts of the New Testament and the Holy Quran and seeks to compare the validity and reliability of these two texts from the perspective of manuscript criticism. Examining the oldest manuscripts of the New Testament indicates that the New Testament underwent changes by the copyists and these changes were not simply caused by the mistakes of the copyists, and in some cases, these texts underwent changes due to the emphasis on the theological teachings disputed by the first Christians. On the other hand, there is very little difference between the manuscripts of the Holy Quran, and if we want to examine the New Testament and the Quran solely in terms of the reliability of their manuscripts, the copyists of the Quran paid much more attention and effort to preserve this book. However, the copyists of the New Testament have freely changed the text in many cases.