The Quran, while unique in many ways, carried the same message as the previous scriptures and messengers which is the worship of the One True God, Allah. Quran was not the first divinely revealed book nor the only but it is the last.
In the previous post we mentioned that Waraqah
bin Naufal was a Christian who studied the earlier scriptures in Hebrew. Quran confirms the previous scriptures with
specific mention of the Torah and the Injeel given to Moses and Jesus (peace be
upon them) respectively.
وَمَلَـئِكَتِهِ
وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ لاَ نُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ أَحَدٍ مِّن رُّسُلِهِ وَقَالُواْ
سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا غُفْرَانَكَ رَبَّنَا وَإِلَيْكَ الْمَصِي
“The Messenger (Muhammad)
believes in what has been sent down to him from his Lord, and (so do) the
believers. Each one believes in Allah, His Angels, His Books, and His
Messengers. (They say,) ‘We make no distinction between one another of His
Messengers’ — and they say, ‘We hear, and we obey. (We seek) Your forgiveness,
our Lord, and to You is the return (of all)’”
[Quran - Baqarah - 2:285]
It is a principle of faith for a Muslim to believe in
all these scriptures and all the prophets that were sent from Adam to Abraham
to Moses to David to Jesus and Muhammad (peace be upon them all).
Allah Almighty, in His infinite wisdom, chose to
reveal divine scriptures from time to time culminating in the final revelation,
Quran. As people evolved certain changes were made to the law but the
overriding principle was always the worship of the One True God, Allah. This
was the message of Abraham, Moses and Jesus and indeed Muhammad (peace be upon
them all).
God imparted knowledge to Moses for the good of
Israelites, and inscribed on the tablets 'detailed precepts' of faith in His
oneness and the code of righteous conduct.
وَكَتَبْنَا
لَهُ فِى الاٌّلْوَاحِ مِن كُلِّ شَىْءٍ مَّوْعِظَةً وَتَفْصِيلاً لِّكُلِّ شَىْءٍ
فَخُذْهَا بِقُوَّةٍ وَأْمُرْ قَوْمَكَ يَأْخُذُواْ بِأَحْسَنِهَا سَأُوْرِيكُمْ
دَارَ الْفَـسِقِينَ
“And We wrote for him on
the Tablets the exhortation all things and the explanation for all things (and
said): Hold unto these with firmness, and enjoin your people to take the better
therein. I shall show you the home of the rebellious.” [Quran
- A'raaf 7:145]
The Injeel Revealed
by Allah
َزَّلَ عَلَيْكَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ
بِٱلْحَقِّ مُصَدِّقًا لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ وَأَنزَلَ ٱلتَّوْرَٰةَ
وَٱلْإِنجِيلَ
" It is He Who has
sent down the Book to you with truth, confirming what came before it. And He
sent down the Tawrah and the Injil." [Quran - Aal-Imraan 3:3 ]
Jesus
Was Given the Injeel
وَقَفَّيْنَا
عَلَى ءاثَـرِهِم بِعَيسَى ابْنِ مَرْيَمَ مُصَدِّقاً لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ مِنَ
التَوْرَاةِ وَءَاتَيْنَـهُ الإِنجِيلَ فِيهِ هُدًى وَنُورٌ وَمُصَدِّقاً لِّمَا
بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ مِنَ التَّوْرَاةِ وَهُدًى وَمَوْعِظَةً لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ
"And in their footsteps We sent Jesus, the Son
of Mary, confirming the law that had come before him. We gave him the Gospel,
therein was guidance and light and confirmation of the law that had come before
him, a guidance and an admonition to those who fear Allah."
[Quran - Maa-idah 5:46]
قَالَ
إِنِّى عَبْدُ اللَّهِ ءَاتَانِىَ الْكِتَـبَ وَجَعَلَنِى نَبِيّاً
"I am indeed a servant of Allah, He gave me the
Book and made me a prophet."
[Quran - Maryam - 19:30]
There is a need to expound further on the Torah and
the Injeel which we will in-sha-Allah cover in a later post.
The Arabs at the time of Prophet Muhammad (peace be
upon him) were idol worshippers. The idea of someone meeting an angel and getting
divine revelation was unheard of. While this was something new to pagan Arabs,
the Jews and Christians had divine scriptures. Allah relates in Quran regarding
the previous scriptures and confirms it was revealed by Allah. The message was
that Almighty Allah has previously sent down revelation, divine guidance,
scripture which in any case foretold the coming of a messenger Muhammad ﷺ.
The Arabs on the other hand knew that the words of
Quran recited by Prophet Muhammad ﷺ were no ordinary words, but of them were
leaders who felt threatened and were stubborn. In their quest to smother the
message of Islam, their interaction with Jews and Christians affirmed that
specifically the Jews were awaiting a Prophet and Muhammad ﷺ matched that
description.
Muslims accept the
previous scriptures and the timeline is very clear regarding the Torah and the
Injeel. This timeline has an important bearing on the development of nations
and how and when Judaism and Christianity came into existence. A pivotal person
in history is none other than Abraham (peace be upon him). The claim that
Abraham (peace be upon him) was a Jew or a Christian is clarified in Quran.
يأَهْلَ
الْكِتَـبِ لِمَ تُحَآجُّونَ فِى إِبْرَهِيمَ وَمَآ أُنزِلَتِ التَّورَاةُ
وَالإْنْجِيلُ إِلاَّ مِن بَعْدِهِ أَفَلاَ تَعْقِلُونَ
"Oh people of the
Book! Why do you dispute about Ibrahim, when the Torah and the Injeel was not
revealed until after him? Have you no understanding?" [Quran - Aal-Imraan 3:65 ]
Divine revelation was a continuation of the system of
Allah from the earliest of time and continued until the final revelation,
Quran. The message was and is consistent that there is only One God, Allah. All the
scriptures carried this message. All the Prophets and Messengers that were sent
by Allah carried this message. Quran did not bring a new message but a
continuation of this message that there is none worthy of worship, except
Allah.
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Did you know?
1. Quran consists of 114 Chapters of which the shortest has only 3 verses
2. The word verse is not the correct translation of the word "ayah" but only used for ease of understanding. The correct translation for "ayah" is "sign".
3. The real Bani Israeel were not Jews - They were the Children of Prophet Jacob (upon whom be peace) and Moses (peace be upon him) was from their offspring
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