WE BELIEVE IN THE BOOKS OF ALLAH
Then Allaah sent Adam(alayhi salaam) to the earth, He gave him a firm promise: "We said:
"Get down all of you from this place (the Paradise), then whenever there comes to you Guidance from Me, and whoever follows My Guidance, there shall be no fear on them, nor shall they grieve." (Q2[Baqarah]:38)
In fulfillment of this promise, Allaah sent messengers and with some of these messengers, He sent Books as sources of guidance for mankind to enable them attain success and happiness in this world and the Hereafter. Part of the obligations of faith which all believers must satisfy, is the belief in all of these Books. This is the third article of faith in Islaam. Eeman (belief) in the Books of Allaah comprises of four matters:
Believe that those Books were truly revealed from Allaah.
Many people have denied that Allaah ever revealed any books. They say:
"Nothing did A11aah send down to any human being (by inspiration)."(Q6[An'aam]:9 I)
According to their claims all the Books claiming divinity were the handiwork of men. However, Allaah has
consistently pointed out the fact that He revealed Books for man's guidance. Allaah says:
"Allaah! La ilaha ilia Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He), the Ever Living, the One Who sustains and protects all that exists. It is He Who has sent down the Book (the Qur'an) to you (Muhammad SAW) with truth, confirming what came before it. And he sent down the Taurat (Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel). Aforetime, as a guidance to mankind, And He sent down the criterion [of judgement between right and wrong (this Qur'an)J." (Q3[Aal- Imraan]:2-4)
Aside from textual proofs, human reason also makes it obligatory upon a reasonable mind to believe that Allaah actually revealed Books. First, without the revealed Books, the messages of the prophets would have been lost upon their death and the people afterwards would be left to live in the dark without guidance. In this way, the primary aim of sending the messengers with messages from Allaah would be lost.
Moreover, if Books did not accompany those prophets, it would have been too easy for the kufaar to belie them and deny their messages. All these facts make it obligatory to believe in the Books and those who deny this have been promised torments by Allaah:
"Truly, those who disbelieve in the Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) of Allaah, for them there is a severe torment; and Allaah is All-Mighty, AIIAble of Retribution." (Q3[Aal-lmraan]:5)
Belief in the books specifically mentioned in the Qur'aan
One must specifically believe in the Books mentioned in the Qur'aan. These are The Tawrah revealed to Prophet Musa (alayhi salaam); The Zaboor revealed to Prophet Dawud (alayhi salaam), The Injeel revealed to Prophet Eesaa (alayhi salaam) and The Qur'aan revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (salallahu alayhi wa sallam). Apart from these, reference is equally made in the Qur'aan to Suhoof of lbraheem and Musa (alayhima salaam).
As regard the books that the Jews and the Christians possess today, which they call the Torah, Gospel and Psalms, may contain some of those original revelations but there is no question that they have been distorted. Hence, to believe in the Torah of Musa (peace be upon him), for example, does not mean that a Muslim believes in the first five books of the Old Testament. The two are different books although the later may possess some of what was in the original Tawrah.
Some misguided people have also tried to give some other books some kind of divine link. Such are the Veda which is the scriptures of the Hindus. This is in spite of the fact that the Hindus themselves are not making any pretensions that their Veda is from Allaah, This is because the Veda is considered to be the creation of neither human nor god. Other such books include the Talmud of the Jews and "In the light of the truth" of the Grail Message. A sincere Muslim is not under any obligation to believe in them rather his mark of faith is a disbelief in them. One must believe in everything Allaah has revealed, whether it be in the Qur'aan or in the previous books. For example if the Qur'aan states something, then the Muslim must believe in it. He has no choice in this matter. If he rejects any statement in it, he has negated his beliefs in the Books of Allaah. Allaah says:
"Then do you believe in a part of the Scripture and reject the rest? Then what is the recompense of those who do so among you, except disgrace in the life of this world, and on the Day of Resurrection they shall be consigned to the most grievous torment. And Allah is not unaware of what you do." (Q2[BaqarahJ: 85)
Acting upon the rUlings contained in them that have not been abrogated One must act in accordance with rules and regulations in the non-abrogated revelation i.e. the Qur'aan. One must be pleased with them and submit to them completely. This is so even if the person does not completely grasp the wisdom behind those rules and regulations.
All of the previous revelations of Allaah have been abrogated by the final revelation, the Qur'aan. There is no need for any Muslim to turn to the remnants of any of the previous scriptures. Everything that he needs for his guidance is contained in the Qur'aan as well as the Sunnah of the Prophet (salalahu alayhi wa sallam):
"And We have sent down to you [0 Muhammad] the Book (thiS Qur'an) in truth, confirming the Scripture that came before it and Mohayminan (trustworthy in highness and a witness) over it (old Scriptures). So judge between them by what Allah has revealed'" (Q5[Maidah]: 48)
Unlike the previous revelations which were distorted by the earlier people, the Qur'aan, which is meant to be a guidance for all times until the day of Resurrection, as opposed to the earlier scriptures has been guaranteed protection from any tampering, mistakes or distortions. Allaah says: "Verily We: It is We Who have sent down the Dhikr the books of allah.
Every Muslim must have the general belief that Allaah sends down revelation to His slaves on earth through His Messengers, Just as he believes in all the prophets and messengers without exception; he must also believe in all the Books that were revealed by Allaah, without exception; whoever denies any Book is a disbeliever. He must say, as Allaah and His Messenger have commanded,
"Say: "I believe in whatsoever Allaah has sent down of the Book" (Q42[al-Shoora]:1S)
In addition, he must also believe in the six Books of revelation that were specifically mentioned in the Our'an, namely the Qur'aan, the Taurat (Torah), the Injeel (Gospel), the Zaboor (Psalms), and the Scriptures of Ibraaheem and' Moosa.
As-suhuf of ibrahim and Musa: These scriptural pages of Ibraaheem (alayhi sal/am) and Musa (alayhi salaam) are mentioned in Soorat al-A'laa (QB7:19):
"The Scriptures of Ibraaheem and Musa";
and in Soorat al-Najm (QS3:36- 37):
"Or is he not informed with what is in the Pages (Scripture) of Musa, Eand of Ibraaheem who fulfilled (or conveyed) all that (Allaah ordered him to do or convey)."
Az-Zaboor: This is the Book that was given to Daud (alayhi sallam) (Q17[lsraa]:55), Allaah connects the Zabur to the Book that is with Him and from which comes all the revelations to mankind:
"And indeed We have written in Zabur (Psalms) after (We have already written in) AI-Lauh AI-Mahfuz (the Book, that is in the heaven with Allaah), that My righteous slaves shall inherit the land (i.e. the land of Paradise)." (Q21[al-Ambiyaa]:105)
At-Taurat: this was the book that was revealed to Musa (alaayhi salam) and it formed the basis for much of what the jews do. Allah says:
"verily, we did send down the Taurat (Torah) to musa, Therein was guidance and light, by which the prophets who submitted themselves to Allah's will, judged the Jews. (Q5(Al-Maaidah):44)
Al-Injeel: This is another of the Books that Allaah revealed to the People of the Book through the Prophet 'Iesa (alayhi sal/am), Allaah says:
"And in their footsteps, We sent 'Iesa (Jesus), son of Maryam, confirming the Taurat (Torah) that had come before him, and We gave him the Injeel (Gospel), in which was guidance and light and confirmation of the Taurat (Torah) that had come before is a guidance and an admonition for al- Muttaqun [the pious]." (Q5[al-Maaidah]:46)
What happened to these Books?
Well before Prophet Muhammad (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam}was sent, the original Taurat and Injeel had already been altered and dist6rtecl': 'A1laah says:
"They change the words from their (right) places and have abandoned a good part of the Message that was sent to them. And you will not cease to discover deceit in them, except a few of them. But forgive them, and overlook (their misdeeds). Verily, Allaah loves al-Muhsineen (good doers)."( Q5[al-Maa'idah]:13)
Ibn Katheer (RAH) explained that this means that they play havoc with the words of A1laah and misinterpret His Book, taking it to mean things that were never meant and attributing to AlIah things that he never said; may Allaah protect us from that. They also stopped following its teachings because they did not want to follow them, {Tafseer Ibn Katheer)
So it becomes quite clear that the ways in which the Children of' lsrael tampered with the Taurat and Injeel include the following. changing, omitting, adding things and attributing to Allaah words that He did not say and misinterpreting the words of Allaah. Allaah says:
"Do you (faithful believers) covet that they will believe in your religion in spite of the fact that a party of them (Jewish rabbis) used to hear the Word of Allaah (the Tauraat), then they used to change it knowingly after they understood it?" (Q2[al-Baqarah]:75)
Qutaadah (RAH) said:
"This refers to the Jews, who used to hear the words of Allaah, then they altered it after they had understood what it meant." Added Ibn Zayd: " They changed it, making what it permitted forbidden, and what was forbidden allowed, changing the truth to falsehood and falsehood to truth ... [Tafseer Ibn Katheer]
How should the Muslim view these Books? The Muslim views the contents of the 'Books' available today in three ways: he affirms that whatever agrees with the Qur'an and Sunnah in them is true; then he knows that whatever in them that contradicts the Qur'an and Sunnah is falsehood or abrogated laws and finally, that what neither contradicts nor agrees with the Qur'an and Sunnah, may be truth or falsehood. He must also know that the Qur'an supercedes all previous Books as it was revealed for mankind until the Day of Judgement while the earlier Books were given to specific nations and for a limited period in history. Allaah reminds those who had earlier received His Revelations:
"0 Children of Israel! Believe in what I have sent down (this Qur'an), confirming that which is with you, [the Taurat (Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel)], and be not the first to disbelieve therein ... (Q2[al-Baqarah]:41)
Even Musa & 'Eesa would follow the Qur'an & Sunnah! Jaabir (RA) reported that 'Umar ibn al-Khattaab (RA) brought a copy of the Torah to Allaah's Messenger (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) saying: 'Messenger of Allaah, this is a copy of the Torah.' When he received no reply, he began to sense the obvious displeasure of Allaah's Messenger. So, Abu Bakr said:
'Confound you, can you not see how Allaah's Messenger is looking?' So, 'Umar looked at the Prophet's face and said: "I seek refuge in Allaah from the anger of Allaah and His Messenger. We are satisfied with Allaah as our Lord, with Islaam as our Deen, and with Muhammad as Prophet." Then Allaah's Messenger (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: "By Him in whose hand Muhammad's soul is, were Musa to appear to you and you were to follow him and abandon me, you would err from the right way. Were he alive and came in touch with my Prophetic mission, he would follow me. "(Darimee)
When Jesus descends to earth, he will follow the Prophet's mission. He will rule by following the Qur'an and the Sunnah. Abu Hurayrah (RA) narrated that the Messenger of Allaah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: "What would you do when the son of Maryam [Jesus) descends amongst you and leads you as one amongst you?" Ibn Abi Dhi'b said: 'Do you know what the words: 'He would lead you as one amongst you' mean? I said: 'Explain these to me.' He said:
'He would lead you according to the Book of your Lord and the Sunnah of your Messenger.'" (Muslim)
The Qur'an that was revealed to Muhammad
When the previous books were distorted and altered because of men's desires, it was no longer possible to rely , on them. With Islaam, Allaah abrogated all previous laws (sharee'ahs). and with the Qur'an all previous Books were abrogated. Allaah sent Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) as the final Messenger and Seal of the Prophets (Q33:40),
and the Qur'an is the last revelation for mankind till the Day of Judgement. Allaah says:
"And who believe in (the Qur'an and the Sunnah) which has been sent down (revealed) to you (Muhammad) and in those [the Taurat (Torah), the Injeel (Gospel), etc.] which were sent down before you ... (Q2[al-Baqarah]:4).
Notice that Allaah did not mention any revelation coming after the Qura'an; and your Lord did not forget!
The Qur'an is flawless, it has not been and will not be tampered with; indeed falsehood cannot approach it (Q41[Fussilat]:41-42)
It is a book of guidance and a mercy (Q10[Yunus]:37) and it is the final authority over the previous books (Q5[al-Maaidah]:48).
It is obligatory to believe in and follow the Qur'aan (Q6[al-An'aam]:155), especially since Allaah has guaranteed to preserve the Qur'aan and protect it from alteration and distortion. He
says:
"Verily We: it is We Who have sent down the Dhikr (i.e., the Qur'aan) and surely, We will guard it (from corruption). "(Q15[al-Hijr]:9)
Since the time of Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) [more than fourteen hundred years] the Qur'aan has stayed the same, and not a single letter of it has been Changed, as ancien], manuscripts and the hearts of generation after generation of people who have memorized the entire text and earned the title of "haafiz" bear witness. The Book of Allaah; in it is news of those who came before you; news of what is to come after you; the ruling on that which is between you; it is the decisive criterion, and is not jest. Whoever seeks guidance from other than it will be sent astray by Allaah. It is the mighty rope of Allaah, the wise Reminder, and the Straight Path. With it, inclinations do not deviate nor tongues become confused. Whoever speaks by it is truthful; whoever applies it is rewarded; whoever judges by it is just; and whoever calls to it is guided to a straight path!