29 July, 2019
Q
Hello.
I study religion. I am a Christian from birth.
I have 5 questions about Islam. Can you answer?1. Quran. This book was sent down because old writings such as the Torah, the Bible, according to Muslims, were lost or changed by people.
What is the evidence of the immutability of the Qur'an?
1 my Muslim friend told me that it would be better if I studied the Christian texts before the Qur'an. Because the information about the prophets in the Quran is not fully disclosed.
Muslims do not know a single book of the Old Testament, with the exception of the books of Moses and David. They are amazed when they find in the New Testament the four Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, the multitude of the Epistles and the mysterious book called The Revelation of John the Divine (Apocalypse). For them, the fact that the Bible consists of 66 books is completely unexpected. Therefore, it is especially important to explain to them with love and patience that the Word of God includes two parts: 39 books of the Old Testament and 27 books of the New Testament.
Among the treasures of Christians there are ancient manuscripts that belong to the historical era, many generations preceding the emergence of Islam. Among them:
The Code of Alexandria, named after the city in which it was written. This was presented to the English King Charles I by the Patriarch of Constantinople Cyril in 1628 AD. Cyril brought him with him from Alexandria, where he had previously been the patriarch. Written in Greek, it contains all the books of the Bible, both Old and New Testaments. On the first page, in the margins, it is indicated that the entire book was entirely copied by hand from a noble Egyptian woman named Takla in about 325 AD. On this remark, Patriarch Kirill personally noted that, in his opinion, the date is correct. The document is written in clear handwriting on parchment, each sheet is divided into two columns, and each column contains 50 lines. It is currently in the British Museum in London.
The Vatican Codex is named so as it is stored in the Vatican library. It is written on excellent parchment in a small clear standard font. Each page has three columns with 42 lines in each. This list contains all the books of the Bible in Greek. Scientists believe that it is written about 300 AD.
The Sinai Code, competing with the Vatican in age and perhaps even slightly older than the latter. Comparison of these texts is very important. This is called Sinai due to the fact that it was found on Mount Sinai in the monastery of St. Catherine by the scientist Tischendorf in 1844. The list is written in large, clear standard handwriting on thin parchment, with four columns on each page. It was presented to scientists as a gift to the Russian monarkh Alexander and remained in Russia until the revolution, when it was sold to the British Museum in London, in which it is kept until now.
The Efremov manuscript is located in the National Library of Paris. It contains all the books of the Bible in Greek. It is written on parchment with beautiful handwriting without punctuation and spaces, the first letter of each line more than any other. It refers to approximately 450 AD.
All these ancient manuscripts give an answer to those who would like to consider the Holy Scriptures of Christians as fakes, and show that it is authentic because it is written before the Koran. The Bible that we use today is no different from ancient copies.
The Koran confirms the authenticity of the Holy Scriptures. Those who read it are amazed by its so clear evidence that no explanation is required. This testimony is repeated several times in the suras of the Qur'an, as can be seen from the passages below:
Surely We revealed the Taurat in which was guidance and light; with it the prophets who submitted themselves (to Allah) judged (matters) for those who were Jews, and the masters of Divine knowledge and the doctors, because they were required to guard (part) of the Book of Allah, and they were witnesses thereof; therefore fear not the people and fear Me, and do not take a small price for My communications; and whoever did not judge by what Allah revealed, those are they that are the unbelievers. (5.44)
And We sent after them in their footsteps Isa, son of Marium, verifying what was before him of the Taurat and We gave him the Injeel in which was guidance and light, and verifying what was before it of Taurat and a guidance and an admonition for those who guard (against evil). (5.46)
And We have revealed to you the Book with the truth, verifying what is before it of the Book and a guardian over it, therefore judge between them by what Allah has revealed, and do not follow their low desires (to turn away) from the truth that has come to you; for every one of you did We appoint a law and a way, and if Allah had pleased He would have made you (all) a single people, but that He might try you in what He gave you, therefore strive with one another to hasten to virtuous deeds; to Allah is your return, of all (of you), so He will let you know that in which you differed. (5.48)
In the first place it says about the authenticity of the Torah, that it provides us with the correct guide against errors and light in the analysis of the cases to be disassembled by the prophets, in accordance with God's Book entrusted to them, whose veracity they are witnesses. In the second place, it is said that Christ confirmed the authenticity of the Torah and that His teaching — guidance, light and warning — confirms what was previously recorded in God's books. In the third, the Qur'an states that Revelation was announced to Muhammad, thereby proving that Holy Scripture existed before him and that he had to be his keeper, and that he should execute judgment on the basis of God's instructions, thereby confirming the authenticity of both Covenants.
In confirmation of the Torah and the Gospel, the Quran continues to urge its followers to carry them further:
Say: O followers of the Book! you follow no good till you keep up the Taurat and the Injeel and that which is revealed to you from your Lord; and surely that which has been revealed to you from your Lord shall make many of them increase in inordinacy and unbelief; grieve not therefore for the unbelieving people. (5.68)
The Koran also admonishes believers in the Gospel to obey the commandments contained in their books, and describes those who neglect them as unjust and wicked.
And the followers of the Injeel should have judged by what Allah revealed in it; and whoever did not judge by what Allah revealed, those are they that are the transgressors. (5.47)
O you who believe! believe in Allah and His Apostle and the Book which He has revealed to His Apostle and the Book which He revealed before; and whoever disbelieves in Allah and His angels and His apostles and the last day, he indeed strays off into a remote error. (4.136)
From the foregoing, it becomes clear that:
a) The Koran calls upon the people to carry on the commands of the Torah and the Gospel. This is an unconditional recognition of the authenticity of these books and their integrity, asserting the believer in salvation, which is righteousness, and containing authoritative instructions about human behavior.
b) The Koran tells all believers, including Muslims, to trust the Koran and the Book, which was a revelation to people before him, that is, the Torah and the Gospel. It contains a clear call for Muslims to accept and trust the Torah and the Gospel, this is contained in the following verses:
These are they to whom We gave the book and the wisdom and the prophecy; therefore if these disbelieve in it We have already entrusted with it a people who are not disbelievers in it. These are they whom Allah guided, therefore follow their guidance. Say: I do not ask you for any reward for it; it is nothing but a reminder to the nations. (6,89.90)
The Qur'an recognizes the competence of the Bible in properly assessing things in the spiritual field:
And how do they make you a judge and they have the Taurat wherein is Allah's judgment? Yet they turn back after that, and these are not the believers. (5.43)
This verse shows that one who obeys the commandments of the Bible does not need any other book. And accordingly, who turned away from God's book, knowing that it contains truth, is called infidel.I am convinced that the Bible is unchanged. Prove to me the opposite of what was said in the Quran, and prove to me the immutability of the Quran!2. Everything in our world, all our actions, are predetermined by Allah.
And Allah has created you and what you make. (37.96)
Indeed, all things We created with predestination. (54.49)
What is the point of living if we know that our actions are predetermined by Allah and we do not have the right to freedom of action?3. Allah does not want a man to know him. In Islam, a person should not seek to seek the knowledge of God Himself.
Why live for God, if the meaning of life in Islam is observance of Sharia?4. How can Islam wage wars and still be a religion of peace?
Allah does not want a man to know him. In Islam, a person should not seek the knowledge of God Himself.
Why live for God, if the meaning of life in Islam is the observance of Sharia?
How can Islam be the religion of peace, if at the very beginning Islam was spreading in merciless bloody wars?5. Reincarnation.
Why does Islam reject reincarnation if Allah can do everything?Thanks in advance!
Answer
Short Answer: Through the Quran God wished to complete His Guidance for mankind by perfecting His earlier books of guidance such as the Torah, the Psalms, and the Gospel. Given the conditions and circumstances in which these books were revealed and later used by their handlers, it was understandable that they were tampered with and not preserved in their original purity. But when the time was ripe, and the dawn of modern literate society was in the offing, stricter measures could be implemented for the preservation of the Final Book of Revelation. The role of the Quran among others is to confirm the truth that remains in the earlier scriptures. This means that Muslims can get all the guidance they need from the Quran. It is not required of them to study all the earlier scriptures.
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Salam dear brother,
Thank you for your questions and for contacting Ask About Islam.
The immutability of the Quran
Your first question is about the immutability of the Quran.
You have said that the Quran was sent down because old writings such as the Torah and the Gospels according to Muslims, were lost or changed by people.
The fact is that through the Quran God wished to complete His Guidance for mankind by perfecting His earlier books of guidance such as the Torah, the Psalms, and the Gospel. Given the conditions and circumstances in which these books were revealed and later used by their handlers, it was understandable that they were tampered with and not preserved in their original purity. But when the time was ripe, and the dawn of modern literate society was in the offing, stricter measures could be implemented for the preservation of the Final Book of Revelation.
The 66 books of the Bible
You have mentioned in some detail how the 66 books of the Bible were preserved in the Code of Alexandria, the Code of Vatican, etc. But you have not responded to the Muslim objection to the claimed inerrancy of the contents of the 66 books themselves.
Muslims are commanded in the Quran to believe in all the books of revelation and the prophets to whom they were revealed. But this does not mean that the 66 books of the Bible exist in the form of their original revelation.
For instance, the Bible books in their original language are not extant now. Only translations are available; and how faithful these translations are, nobody knows. Their authorship is doubtful or unknown.
For instance, it is believed that Moses is the author of the first five books of the Old Testament from Genesis to Deuteronomy. But we may read of the death of Moses in Deuteronomy, which Moses could not have written:
And Moses the servant of the Lord died there in Moab, as the Lord had said. He buried him in Moab, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, but to this day no one knows where his grave is.Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone.The Israelites grieved for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days, until the time of weeping and mourning was over. (Deuteronomy 34:5-8)
In the Book of Jeremiah we read how Prophet Jeremiah scolded the scribes for tampering with the Book of God:
“How can you say, ‘We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us’? But behold, the lying pen of the scribes has made it into a lie.” (Jeremiah 8:8)
Can we say that the “lying pen of the scribes” ended with Jeremiah?
See how Jesus denounces all the hypocrites, but most particularly the scribes of his own times: Read Matthew 23:13 to 36.
And most importantly the Gospels were written decades after the disappearance of Jesus. The first Gospel to be written was Mark and that too thirty years after Jesus’ time, not in Jesus’ language of Aramaic but in the western language of Greek!
The foregoing in a nutshell points to the unreliability of the Bible as it is extant today. And yet they contain much of the truth of the revealed books, alongside a lot of spurious matter too.
Allah’s promise that The Quran will remain uncorrupt
But the Quran’s story is different. It is extant in its original language in the form the Prophet left it with his companions. Unlike the Bible, the Quran was in the hands and hearts of the people from the moment its verses were revealed. And unlike the Bible, the Quran was never kept away from the people on the plea that they would misunderstand its message unless interpreted by the priests.
From the Prophet’s own times, there were thousands of believers who had learned the Quran by heart, and the number of the huffaz (=those who have memorized the whole of the Quran) have been multiplying since. For these reasons, nobody could change a word of the Quran even if they wanted to do so. And what is more, Allah has promised in the Quran that He will protect it from corruption or interpolation:
“We have without doubt sent down the Message; and We will assuredly guard it (from corruption).” (Quran 15:9)
The Islamic approach to the earlier books
The following verse is significant as regards the Islamic approach to the earlier books:
“And unto thee [O Prophet] have We vouchsafed this divine writ, setting forth the truth, confirming the truth of whatever there still remains of earlier revelations and determining what is true therein. Judge, then, between the followers of earlier revelation in accordance with what God has bestowed from on high, and do not follow their errant views, forsaking the truth that has come unto thee. Unto every one of you have We appointed a [different] law and way of life. And if God had so willed, He could surely have made you all one single community: but [He willed it otherwise] in order to test you by means of what He has vouchsafed unto, you. Vie, then, with one another in doing good works! Unto God you all must return; and then He will make you truly understand all that on which you were wont to differ.” (Quran 5: 48)
The above verse clearly says that the role of the Quran among others is to confirm the truth that remains in the earlier scriptures. This means that Muslims can get all the guidance they need from the Quran. It is not required of them to study all the earlier scriptures.
And Allah knows best.
I hope this helps.
Salam and please keep in touch.
Please continue feeding your curiosity, and find more info in the following links:
The Quran Completes What Was Missing in My Faith
The Quran: A Message to Humanity?
The Quran in Focus (Special Folder)
