2- The Holy Bible (2)

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20 Lessons Bible Course20 Lessons Bible Course20 Lessons Bible Course20 Lessons Bible Course Topic : Bible 2.

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2. The Holy Bible (2)

1. The Bible in the Quran

It is significant that the Quran upholds the Bible as the revealed and inspired Word of God. The usual term in the Quran for these previous scriptures is al-kitab (the book),and Jews and Christians are identified as Ahl al-Kitab (people of the book). Thefollowing terms are also used with reference to parts of the Bible:

1. Tawrat Torah, the first five books of the Bible2. Zabur the Psalms3. Sahaif-e-anbia the books of the prophets4. Injil the Gospel, the New Testament

In both Islamic and Christian terminology, the word Torah generally refers to therevelation given to Hazrat Musa. However, it is also used to describe the completecollection of Jewish scriptures, collectively named by Christians as the Old Testament.Similarly, the Injil refers to the Holy Scriptures which Christians call the NewTestament.

The Quran emphasises that the Tawrat, the Zabur, the Sahaif, and the Injil are all Godsbooks, His word, His light, and Furqan (criterion). In other words, they are the basis of Gods judgement of humankind. Sura 2:97 reads, To Gabriel for he brings down therevelation to thy heart By Gods will, a confirmation Of what went before. [1] So, boththe Tawrat and the Injil are endorsed by the Quran to give direction. They are, insight tomen, And guidance and Mercy. [2]

2. The Holy Injil as a standard

Christians are told to judge according to the Injil, If any do fail to judge By (the light of)what God Hath revealed, they are (No better than) Unbelievers. [3] Would the Quransurely command Christians to judge by the Injil if there were any reason to believe that itwas not authentic in every way?

3. Gods Word never changes

The Quran claims that no one can alter the word of God, In the past: no change Wiltthou find in The practice (approved) of God. [4] Long before the Quran, the Bibledeclared in similar words, The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of ourGod stands forever. [5]

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The Zabur describes Gods revelation in the Bible beautifully, The law of the LORD isperfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise thesimple. [6]

4. The Quran does not suggest alteration

In the Quran there is no suggestion that the Biblical text has been altered or corrupted.The word tahrif is never used with reference to the Bible. The Quran occasionallyaccuses the Jews of concealing the truth but it never makes this accusation at anyScripture. In no way does the Quran imply that the text of the Bible has been corrupted.

5. The Bible not corrupted

Before the Prophet of IslamSome claim that the Injil and the Tawrat were corrupted before the rise of Islam. If thatwere so, why does the Quran affirm that the message of Islam was simply a confirmationof the previous Scriptures? According to the Quran, which was written approximatelysix hundred years after the writing of the Injil; the Tawrat and the Injil were in pure formin the time of the Prophet of Islam. Had the Injil not been genuine and totally accurate atthis time, then the Quran would not have instructed Christians to judge by which Godhad revealed in the Gospel.

After the Prophet of Islam

Others maintain that the Tawrat and the Injil were changed sometime after the Prophet of Islam began preaching. However, this charge contradicts the Quran since it claims to bethe guardian of the previous inspired books. [7] Thus, anyone who asserts that there hasbeen corruption of the text of the Tawrat or of the Injil also charges the Quran withfailure in its role as guardian!

If the pre-Islamic Scriptures had been corrupted, the Quran would not have commandedMuslims:

Say ye: We believe in God, and the revelation Given to us, and to Abraham, and

Ismail, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes, and that given to Moses and Jesus, and that given to(all) Prophets from their Lord: We make no difference between one and another of them:and we bow to God (in Islam). [8]

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The history corner

Numerous manuscript copies of all parts of the Bible, written centuries before the time of the Prophet of Islam, are available today. For example, the Dead Sea Scrolls, which werewritten before 68 A.D. contain every book of the Old Testament, except the book of Esther. [9] Some of the oldest Greek manuscripts of the entire New Testament, found inCodex form, are also accessible. Two such examples are the Codex Alexandrinus and theCodex Sinaiticus. These manuscripts date from the fourth and fifth centuries A.D. andmay be studied in the British Museum in London. Another early manuscript from thesame era is the Codex Vaticanus, found in the Vatican Library. There are in variouslibraries manuscript portions of the New Testament which date back to the secondcentury which may also be studied. The reliability of the present-day Bible may beverified by comparison with such documents.

The modern translations are basically the same in content as those present in the time of the Prophet of Islam. They do not differ in any belief or doctrine. God has preserved hisWord in the past and is able to preserve it in the future.

References

1. [1] All Quranic references are taken from The Holy Quran: Text, Translationand Commentary, by Abdullah Yusuf Ali. C.f. Quran 2:101, 3:23, 5:44, 40:53-54, 2:53, 21:48, 2:87, 5:46

2. [2] Quran 28:43, c.f. 3:3-4, 6:92

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[3] Quran 5:474. [4] Quran 48:235. [5] All Bible references are taken from the Holy Bible: The New International

Version. Isaiah 40:8 6. [6] Psalm 19:7 7. [7] Quran 5:488. [8] Quran 2:1369. [9] F.F. Bruce, Second Thoughts on the Dead Sea Scrolls (Grand Rapids, Wm B.

Eerdmans Publishing Co, 1964) p.28

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2- The Holy Bible (2)