对于一部经典要被认定为神圣启示，它对现实的描述——过去、现在和未来——就必须完全准确。《古兰经》中有许多关于先前先知及其民族的故事，其中一些细节是可以考证其准确性的。

For a scripture to qualify as divinely revealed it must be totally accurate in its descriptions of reality: the past, the present and the future. The Qur’aan has many stories about previous prophets and their peoples. Some of these stories have elements in them that can be checked out for their accuracy.

《古兰经》在历史描述上精确性的一个例子，体现在约瑟夫（Yoosuf，即约瑟）的故事中。他被卖为奴隶到埃及，后来却成为政府中的重要官员，这使他得以将全家接到埃及，并使他们在那里获得尊荣。大多数历史学家都认为，以色列的子孙进入埃及时，埃及北部由希克索斯人统治。希克索斯人是闪族入侵者，自古王国兴起以来，他们是第一批统治该国的非埃及人。 《古兰经》在提到与穆萨（Moses）对抗的埃及统治者时，始终称之为“法老”（Pharaoah）。自公元前14世纪的阿孟霍特普四世（Amenhotep IV）统治时期起，每一位埃及统治者都被称为这一头衔，而在此之前则不然。约瑟夫生活的年代，至少早于阿孟霍特普四世两百年。《古兰经》始终将约瑟夫时代的统治者称为“al-malik”，即“国王”。

One example of the Qur’aan’s precision in its historical descriptions is in the story of Prophet Yoosuf (Joseph), who was sold as a slave in Egypt, but rose to become an important official in the government, which made it possible for him to bring his whole family to live there in honor. Most historians agree that the entry of the Children of Israel into Egypt occurred when the northern half of the country was ruled by the Hyksos, Semitic invaders who were the first nonEgyptians to rule that country since the rise of the Old Kingdom. The Qur’aan always calls the Egyptian ruler who confronted Moses by the title of “Pharaoah.” Every Egyptian ruler was called by this title starting from the reign of Amenhotep IV in the 14th century BC, but not before that. Yoosuf lived at least two hundred years before Amenhotep IV. The Qur’aan consistently refers to the ruler in Yoosuf’s time, as “ al-malik,” the king:

值得注意的是，《圣经》把约瑟时代的统治者称为“法老”（Pharaoah），这是一个时代错乱，是在摩西之后数个世纪才撰写旧约书卷的抄写者插入的。50

It should be noted that the Bible refers to the ruler of Joseph’s time as “Pharaoah,” which was an anachronism inserted by the scribes who wrote the books of the Old Testament centuries after Moses.50

一些批评者抓住某些细节，试图攻击《古兰经》的历史准确性。一个著名的例子是玛利亚（阿拉伯语：Maryam）抱着婴儿耶稣，在一个偏僻的地方分娩后出现时，她的族人对她所说的话。

Some critics have seized on certain details to try attack the Qur’aan’s historical accuracy. A famous example is the statement of her people to Mary (Ar.Maryam) when she appeared with the baby Jesus after giving birth to him in an isolated place:

批评者认为，作者混淆了两位历史人物：耶稣的母亲玛利亚（Mary）和亚伦的姐姐米利暗（Miriam）。这种混淆，实际上源于他们不了解阿拉伯人如何运用自己的语言。《古兰经》把先知胡德称为“阿德的兄弟”。

The critics argue that the author confused two historical figures: Mary, the mother of Jesus, and Miriam, the sister of Aaron. The confusion here is really a result of their ignorance about how the Arabs use their language. The Qur’aan refers to Prophet Hood as the brother of ‘Aad:

阿拉伯人以部族的始祖来称呼部族。‘Aad部族是‘Aad这个人的后裔。胡德并不是那个人在字面意义上的兄弟，他也不是其部族每个成员在字面意义上的兄弟，而这是阿拉伯人用来表示与某个民族有关联的一种说法。麦尔彦是哈伦的后裔，因此她被称为哈伦的妹妹。与此类似的用法还有：《新约》称施洗者约翰的母亲伊利莎白为哈伦的女儿。53

The Arabs refer to tribes by the patriarch from whom they are descended. The tribe of ‘Aad was descended from a man named ‘Aad. Hood was not literally that man’s brother, nor was he literally the brother of every member of his tribe, but this is an expression used by the Arabs to indicate association with a people. Mary was a descendant of Aaron. That is why she is referred to as the sister of Aaron. In a similar usage, the New Testament refers to Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist as a daughter of Aaron.53