What is the Islamic Belief concerning the four Holy Books of Allah?
Belief in the Holy Books (heavenly books) that Allah sent down is a fundamental tenet of Islam. Notice that the fundamental pillar is called “al-kutub,” not “al-kitaab.” We must ask ourselves why Islam titles one of its fundamental beliefs as “the books” (plural) instead of a singular “book.” These four holy books are the Tawrat, the Zabur, the Injeel and the Qur’an. The Tawrat is the Old Testament or the Law of Prophet Musa (pbuh). The Zabur is the Psalms of Prophet Daoud (pbuh). The Injeel is the New Testament or the Gospel of Isa al-Masih (pbuh). In order to be a true Muslim believer, one has to believe in all the Holy books (the Scriptures of Allah) and this belief is well supported in the Qur’an.
Even though this is a major belief of Islam, we must ask the question, “Who told the believers not to read the earlier Scriptures but to read (or recite) the Qur’an only?” A few common reasons are presented for not reading these previous Scriptures. First and foremost, an allegation is made that the previous Scriptures (the Bible) were corrupted (changed), therefore one does not need to read them. Secondly, the allegation is made that the Qur’an came as a better revelation than the previous revelations; therefore one should follow the newer one. A more recent argument has been that “Allah revealed the Old Testament (the Tawrat), then the New Testament (the Injeel), and finally the Last Testament (the Qur’an), therefore the previous Scriptures should not be read.”
The man of the story had lived his whole life without tasting the three forgotten fruits growing on the hybrid tree—because he never took the time to investigate.
What is the Islamic Belief concerning the four Holy Books of Allah?
Belief in the Holy Books (heavenly books) that Allah sent down is a fundamental tenet of Islam. Notice that the fundamental pillar is called “al-kutub,” not “al-kitaab.” We must ask ourselves why Islam titles one of its fundamental beliefs as “the books” (plural) instead of a singular “book.” These four holy books are the Tawrat, the Zabur, the Injeel and the Qur’an. The Tawrat is the Old Testament or the Law of Prophet Musa (pbuh). The Zabur is the Psalms of Prophet Daoud (pbuh). The Injeel is the New Testament or the Gospel of Isa al-Masih (pbuh). In order to be a true Muslim believer, one has to believe in all the Holy books (the Scriptures of Allah) and this belief is well supported in the Qur’an.
Even though this is a major belief of Islam, we must ask the question, “Who told the believers not to read the earlier Scriptures but to read (or recite) the Qur’an only?” A few common reasons are presented for not reading these previous Scriptures. First and foremost, an allegation is made that the previous Scriptures (the Bible) were corrupted (changed), therefore one does not need to read them. Secondly, the allegation is made that the Qur’an came as a better revelation than the previous revelations; therefore one should follow the newer one. A more recent argument has been that “Allah revealed the Old Testament (the Tawrat), then the New Testament (the Injeel), and finally the Last Testament (the Qur’an), therefore the previous Scriptures should not be read.”
The man of the story had lived his whole life without tasting the three forgotten fruits growing on the hybrid tree—because he never took the time to investigate.