Islamic holy books
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Islamic holy books are the texts which Muslims believe were dictated by God to various Islamic prophets throughout the history of mankind. All these books, in Muslim belief, promulgated the code and laws of Islam. Muslims believe the Qur'an, the final holy scripture, was sent because all the previous holy books had been either corrupted or lost.[1] Nonetheless, Islam speaks of respecting all the previous scriptures in their original forms. Belief in all the revealed books is an article of faith in Islam and a Muslim must believe in all the scriptures to be a Muslim.
Major books
The Qur'an mentions at least three main Islamic scriptures by name, which came before the Qur'an:
- Torah (al-Tawrāt): According to the Qur'an, the Torah was revealed to Moses,[2] but Muslims believe that the current Pentateuch, although it retains the main message,[3] has suffered corruption over the years. Moses and his brother Aaron used the Torah to preach the message to the Bany-Israil Children of Israel. The Qur'an implies that the Torah is the longest-used scripture, with the Jewish people still using the Torah today, and that all the Hebrew prophets would warn the people of any corruptions that were in the scripture.[4]
- Psalms (al-Zabur): The Qur'an mentions the Psalms as being the holy scripture revealed to David. Scholars have often understood the Psalms to have been holy songs of praise.[5] The current Psalms are still praised by many Muslim scholars,[6] but Muslims generally assume that some of the current Psalms were written later and are not divinely revealed.
- Gospel (al-Injil): The Gospel was the holy book revealed to the prophet Jesus, according to the Qur'an. Although many lay Muslims believe the Injil refers to the entire New Testament, scholars have pointed out that it refers not to the New Testament but to an original Gospel, written by God, which was given to Jesus.[7] Therefore, according to Muslim belief, the Gospel was the message that Jesus, being divinely inspired, preached to the Children of Israel. The current canonical Gospels, in the belief of Muslim scholars, are not divinely revealed but rather are documents of the life of Jesus, as written by various contemporaries, disciples and companions. These Gospels, in Muslim belief, contain portions of Jesus's teachings but don't represent the original Gospel, which was a single book written not by a human but by God.[8]
Other 'Texts' of the Prophets
The Qur'an also mentions two ancient 'scrolls' and another possible 'book':
- Scrolls of Abraham: The Scrolls of Abraham are believed to have been one of the earliest bodies of scripture, which were vouchsafed to Abraham,[9] and later used by Ishmael and Isaac. Although usually referred to as 'scrolls', many translators have translated the Arabic Suhuf as 'Books'.[10] The Scrolls of Abraham are now considered lost rather than corrupted, although some scholars have identified them with the Testament of Abraham, an apocalyptic piece of literature available in Arabic at the time of Muhammad.
- Kitab of Yahya: There is an allusion to a Kitab or Book of Yahya[11] (who is also known as 'John the Baptist'). It is possible that portions of its text appear in some of the Mandaean scriptures such as the Genzā Rabbā (German translation available here) or the Draša d-Iahia "The Book of John the Baptist" (text; German translation). Yahya is revered by the Mandaeans and by the Sabians (who are mentioned in the Qur'an as people who 'shall have their reward with God' - just like Jews and Christians).[12][13]
See also
References
- ^ Concise Encyclopedia of Islam, Cyril Glasse, Holy Books
- ^ Qur'an 53:36
- ^ Qur'an 87:18-19
- ^ Qur'an 5:44
- ^ Encyclopedia of Islam, Psalms
- ^ Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Holy Qur'an: Text, Translation and Commentary; Martin Lings, Mecca; Abdul Malik, In Thy Seed
- ^ Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Holy Qur'an: Text, Translation and Commentary, Appendix: On the Injil
- ^ Encyclopedia of Islam, Injil
- ^ Qur'an 87:19
- ^ Marmaduke Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Qur'an; Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Holy Qur'an: Text, Translation and Commentary
- ^ Qur'an 19:12
- ^ Qur'an 2:62
- ^ Qur'an 5:69
- ^ Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Holy Qur'an: Text, Translation and Commentary
- ^ Numbers 21:14