Are Muslims obligated to read the Bible?

[Balthasar21]

Hi Abdul Fattah & Vpb:

There is an abundance of evidence in the Koran that Muslims must believe in the Books that came before.

e.g. 4:136 - O ye who believe! Believe in Allah and His Messenger, and the scripture which He hath sent to His Messenger and the scripture which He sent to those before (him). Any who denieth Allah, His angels, His Books, His Messengers, and the Day of Judgment, hath gone far, far astray.

6:155-156 - And this is a Book which We have revealed as a blessing: so follow it and be righteous, that ye may receive mercy: Lest ye should say: "The Book was sent down to two Peoples before us, and for our part, we remained unacquainted with all that they learned by assiduous study:"

The Koran clarifies these scriptures repeatedly as including the Torah and Gospel, for example:

5:44 - Lo! We did reveal the Torah, wherein is guidance and a light, by which the prophets who surrendered (unto Allah) judged the Jews, and the rabbis and the priests (judged) by such of Allah's Scripture as they were bidden to observe, and thereunto were they witnesses. So fear not mankind, but fear Me. And My revelations for a little gain. Whoso judgeth not by that which Allah hath revealed: such are disbelievers.

5:46 - And in their footsteps We sent Jesus the son of Mary, confirming the Law that had come before him: We sent 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.

5:48 - To thee We sent the Scripture in truth, confirming the scripture that came before it, and guarding it in safety: so judge between them by what Allah hath revealed, and follow not their vain desires, diverging from the Truth that hath come to thee. To each among you have we prescribed a law and an open way. If Allah had so willed, He would have made you a single people, but (His plan is) to test you in what He hath given you: so strive as in a race in all virtues. The goal of you all is to Allah; it is He that will show you the truth of the matters in which ye dispute;

The Koran admonishes persons to not simply believe but study and follow the previous books.

6:155-156 - And this is a Book which We have revealed as a blessing: so follow it and be righteous, that ye may receive mercy: Lest ye should say: "The Book was sent down to two Peoples before us, and for our part, we remained unacquainted with all that they learned by assiduous study:"

10:94 - If thou wert in doubt as to what We have revealed unto thee, then ask those who have been reading the Book from before thee: the Truth hath indeed come to thee from thy Lord: so be in no wise of those in doubt.

Actually, Muslims are not just directed to read, study and believe these Books, but they were encouraged to also copy them that all nations may believe.

6:89 - 90 - These were the men to whom We gave the Book, and authority, and prophethood: if these (their descendants) reject them, Behold! We shall entrust their charge to a new people who reject them not. Those were the (prophets) who received Allah's guidance: Copy the guidance they received; Say: "No reward for this do I ask of you: This is no less than a message for the nations."

Regards,
Grenville

Things that make one go hummmmmmmmmm

 

[vpb]

4:136 - O ye who believe! Believe in Allah and His Messenger, and the scripture which He hath sent to His Messenger and the scripture which He sent to those before (him). Any who denieth Allah, His angels, His Books, His Messengers, and the Day of Judgment, hath gone far, far astray.

{ يَا أَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ آمِنُواْ بِٱللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَٱلْكِتَابِ ٱلَّذِي نَزَّلَ عَلَىٰ رَسُولِهِ وَٱلْكِتَابِ ٱلَّذِيۤ أَنزَلَ مِن قَبْلُ وَمَن يَكْفُرْ بِٱللَّهِ وَمَلآئِكَتِهِ وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ وَٱلْيَوْمِ ٱلآخِرِ فَقَدْ ضَلَّ ضَلاَلاً بَعِيداً }

(O ye who believe) O you who believed on the day of the covenant and disbelieved thereafter! (Believe) now (in Allah and His messenger) it is also said that Allah called them by the name of their forefathers who had believed in the past. This verse was revealed regarding 'Abdullah Ibn Salam, Asad and Usayd the sons of Ka'b, Tha'labah Ibn Qays and Salam and Salamah, the nephews of 'Abdullah Ibn Salam, and Yamin Ibn Yamin. These were the believers from among the people of the Torah. It was said about them: O you who believe in Moses and the Torah, believe in Allah and His Messenger Muhammad (and the Scripture which He hath revealed unto His messenger) Muhammad, i.e. the Qur'an, (and the Scripture which He revealed aforetime) before Muhammad and the Qur'an upon all past prophets. (Whoso disbelieveth in Allah and His angels and His scriptures and His messengers and the Last Day) resurrection after death, (he verily hath wandered far astray.) When this verse was revealed all the people mentioned above embraced Islam.

6:155-156 - And this is a Book which We have revealed as a blessing: so follow it and be righteous, that ye may receive mercy: Lest ye should say: "The Book was sent down to two Peoples before us, and for our part, we remained unacquainted with all that they learned by assiduous study:"

6:155

{ وَهَـٰذَا كِتَابٌ أَنزَلْنَاهُ مُبَارَكٌ فَٱتَّبِعُوهُ وَٱتَّقُواْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ }

(And this is a blessed) comprises mercy and forgiveness for the person who believes (Scripture) i.e. the Qur'an (which We have revealed) which We have sent Gabriel with (So follow it) follow its lawful and unlawful, commands and prohibitions (and ward off (evil)) ward off other than it, (that ye may find mercy) and not be tormented.


6:156

{ أَن تَقُولُوۤاْ إِنَّمَآ أُنزِلَ ٱلْكِتَابُ عَلَىٰ طَآئِفَتَيْنِ مِن قَبْلِنَا وَإِن كُنَّا عَن دِرَاسَتِهِمْ لَغَافِلِينَ }

(Lest ye should say) so that you will not say, O people of Mecca, on the Day of Judgement: (The Scripture was revealed only to two sects) the people of two religions (before us) i.e. the Jews and Christians, (and we in sooth were unaware) ignorant (of what they read) their reading of the Torah and the Gospel;

5:44 - Lo! We did reveal the Torah, wherein is guidance and a light, by which the prophets who surrendered (unto Allah) judged the Jews, and the rabbis and the priests (judged) by such of Allah's Scripture as they were bidden to observe, and thereunto were they witnesses. So fear not mankind, but fear Me. And My revelations for a little gain. Whoso judgeth not by that which Allah hath revealed: such are disbelievers.

{ إِنَّآ أَنزَلْنَا ٱلتَّوْرَاةَ فِيهَا هُدًى وَنُورٌ يَحْكُمُ بِهَا ٱلنَّبِيُّونَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَسْلَمُواْ لِلَّذِينَ هَادُواْ وَٱلرَّبَّانِيُّونَ وَٱلأَحْبَارُ بِمَا ٱسْتُحْفِظُواْ مِن كِتَابِ ٱللَّهِ وَكَانُواْ عَلَيْهِ شُهَدَآءَ فَلاَ تَخْشَوُاْ ٱلنَّاسَ وَٱخْشَوْنِ وَلاَ تَشْتَرُواْ بِآيَاتِي ثَمَناً قَلِيلاً وَمَن لَّمْ يَحْكُم بِمَآ أَنزَلَ ٱللَّهُ فَأُوْلَـٰئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْكَافِرُونَ }

(Lo! We did reveal the Torah) to Moses, (wherein is guidance) from error (and a light) the explanation of stoning, (by which) by the Torah (the Prophets who surrendered (unto Allah)) those who surrendered to Allah from the time of Moses to the time of Jesus, in the interval of which there were 1,000 prophets (judged the Jews) the forefathers who were Jews, (and the rabbis) He says: those who judged between them were the godly men of knowledge and the ascetics (and the priests) all the other men of knowledge ((judged) by such of Allah's Scripture as they were bidden to observe) by that which they acted upon and called other people to, as in the Book of Allah, (and thereunto) i.e. about the legal ruling of stoning (were they witnesses. So fear not mankind) regarding the display of the traits and description of Muhammad and the legal ruling of stoning, (but fear Me) for concealing them. (And barter not My revelations) through concealment of the traits and description of Muhammad (pbuh) and the verse of stoning (for a little gain) for a paltry portion in your means of living. (Whoso judgeth not by that which Allah hath revealed) Allah says: whoever does not show that which Allah has shown in the Torah regarding the traits and description of Muhammad and the verse of stoning: (such are disbelievers) in Allah, the messenger and the Scripture.

5:46 - And in their footsteps We sent Jesus the son of Mary, confirming the Law that had come before him: We sent 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.

{ وَقَفَّيْنَا عَلَىٰ آثَارِهِم بِعَيسَى ٱبْنِ مَرْيَمَ مُصَدِّقاً لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ مِنَ ٱلتَوْرَاةِ وَآتَيْنَاهُ ٱلإِنجِيلَ فِيهِ هُدًى وَنُورٌ وَمُصَدِّقاً لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ مِنَ ٱلتَّوْرَاةِ وَهُدًى وَمَوْعِظَةً لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ }

(And We caused Jesus, son of Mary, to follow in their footsteps, confirming that which was (revealed) before him) as regards the declaration of Allah's divine Oneness and some laws, (and We bestowed on him the Gospel wherein is guidance) from error (and a light) an exposition on stoning, (confirming that which was (revealed) before it in the Torah) regarding Allah's divine Oneness and the legal ruling of stoning (a guidance) from error (and an admonition unto) and a caution for (those who ward off (evil)) those who ward off disbelief, idolatry and indecencies.

5:48 - To thee We sent the Scripture in truth, confirming the scripture that came before it, and guarding it in safety: so judge between them by what Allah hath revealed, and follow not their vain desires, diverging from the Truth that hath come to thee. To each among you have we prescribed a law and an open way. If Allah had so willed, He would have made you a single people, but (His plan is) to test you in what He hath given you: so strive as in a race in all virtues. The goal of you all is to Allah; it is He that will show you the truth of the matters in which ye dispute;

{ وَأَنزَلْنَآ إِلَيْكَ ٱلْكِتَابَ بِٱلْحَقِّ مُصَدِّقاً لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ مِنَ ٱلْكِتَابِ وَمُهَيْمِناً عَلَيْهِ فَٱحْكُم بَيْنَهُم بِمَآ أَنزَلَ ٱللَّهُ وَلاَ تَتَّبِعْ أَهْوَآءَهُمْ عَمَّا جَآءَكَ مِنَ ٱلْحَقِّ لِكُلٍّ جَعَلْنَا مِنكُمْ شِرْعَةً وَمِنْهَاجاً وَلَوْ شَآءَ ٱللَّهُ لَجَعَلَكُمْ أُمَّةً وَاحِدَةً وَلَـٰكِن لِّيَبْلُوَكُمْ فِي مَآ آتَاكُم فَاسْتَبِقُوا الخَيْرَاتِ إِلَىٰ الله مَرْجِعُكُمْ جَمِيعاً فَيُنَبِّئُكُم بِمَا كُنتُمْ فِيهِ تَخْتَلِفُونَ }

(And unto the have We revealed the Scripture) We have sent you Gabriel with the Qur'an (with the Truth) to make plain the Truth and falsehood, (confirming) the statement of Allah's divine Oneness and some laws (whatever Scripture was before it) whatever Scriptures were before it, (and a watcher over it) a witness upon all the Scriptures before it; it is also said: a witness upon the ruling of stoning; and it is also said: a watcher over all previous Scriptures. (So judge between them) between the Banu Qurayzah and the Banu'l-Nadir and the people of Khaybar (by that which Allah hath revealed) by that which Allah has exposited to you in the Qur'an, (and follow not their desires) regarding the application of whipping and discarding stoning (away from the Truth which hath come unto thee) after the exposition that has come to you. (For each We have appointed a divine law) for each prophet among you We have exposited a divine law (and a traced out way) obligations and practices. (Had Allah willed He could have made you one community) He has made you follow one divine law. (But that He may try you) test you (by that which He hath given you) of Scripture, obligations and practices, such that He says: I have prescribed all this for you, so let not delusion creep into your minds. (So vie one with another in good works) so vie, O Community of Muhammad (pbuh) with other nations, in obligations, practices and righteous works; it is also said that this means: hasten, O Community of Muhammad (pbuh) to perform acts of obedience. (Unto Allah ye will all) all nations (return, and He will then inform you of that wherein ye differ) where you contravene in relation to religion and divine laws.

10:94 - If thou wert in doubt as to what We have revealed unto thee, then ask those who have been reading the Book from before thee: the Truth hath indeed come to thee from thy Lord: so be in no wise of those in doubt.

{ فَإِن كُنتَ فِي شَكٍّ مِّمَّآ أَنزَلْنَآ إِلَيْكَ فَاسْأَلِ ٱلَّذِينَ يَقْرَءُونَ ٱلْكِتَابَ مِن قَبْلِكَ لَقَدْ جَآءَكَ ٱلْحَقُّ مِن رَّبِّكَ فَلاَ تَكُونَنَّ مِنَ ٱلْمُمْتَرِينَ }

(And if thou) O Muhammad (art in doubt concerning that which We reveal unto thee) concerning that with which We sent Gabriel, i.e. the Qur'an, (then question those who read the Scripture) i.e. the Torah ((that was) before you) 'Abdullah Ibn Salam and his followers. The Prophet (pbuh) did not ask nor was he ever in doubt about the Qur'an. Rather, Allah was addressing with these words the people of the Prophet. (Verily the Truth from thy Lord) i.e. Gabriel with the Qur'an from your Lord, containing the events of past nations (hath come unto thee) O Muhammad. (So be not thou of the waverers) be not of the doubters.

6:89 - 90 - These were the men to whom We gave the Book, and authority, and prophethood: if these (their descendants) reject them, Behold! We shall entrust their charge to a new people who reject them not. Those were the (prophets) who received Allah's guidance: Copy the guidance they received; Say: "No reward for this do I ask of you: This is no less than a message for the nations."

6:89

{ أُوْلَـٰئِكَ ٱلَّذِينَ آتَيْنَاهُمُ ٱلْكِتَابَ وَٱلْحُكْمَ وَٱلنُّبُوَّةَ فَإِن يَكْفُرْ بِهَا هَـٰؤُلاۤءِ فَقَدْ وَكَّلْنَا بِهَا قَوْماً لَّيْسُواْ بِهَا بِكَافِرِينَ }

(Those are they) We told you about of the prophets (unto whom We gave the Scripture) which Gabriel brought down from heaven (and command) knowledge and understanding (and prophethood. But if these) the people of Mecca (disbelieve therein) in their way and religion, (then indeed We shall entrust it to) We have given success to follow the way and religion of the prophets to (a people) in Medina (who will not be disbelievers therein) in the way and religion of the prophets.


6:90

{ أُوْلَـٰئِكَ ٱلَّذِينَ هَدَى ٱللَّهُ فَبِهُدَاهُمُ ٱقْتَدِهْ قُل لاَّ أَسْأَلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ أَجْراً إِنْ هُوَ إِلاَّ ذِكْرَىٰ لِلْعَالَمِينَ }

(Those) prophets whom We have told you about (are they whom Allah guideth) to the most noble of character traits, (so follow their guidance) follow their most noble character, such as patience, endurance, good will, contentment, and other similar traits. (Say) O Muhammad, to the people of Mecca: (I ask of you no fee) no wage (for it) for Allah's divine Oneness or for the Qur'an. (Lo! It) the Qur'an (is naught but a Reminder) an admonition (to (His) creatures) the Jinn and human beings.




From tafsir of Ibn Abbas.

 

[Woodrow]

Things that make one go hummmmmmmmmm

We do not question that the true word had been given to the Jews and the Christians. What we do believe is that what is presented today is not the word that was given to the People before, although it is labeled as such and the adherents of either or both do believe they are the same as what was given.

The problem is there is many gaps in the continuity of both and there are discrepancies between the various versions of each, that exist today.

 

[vpb]

Actually, Muslims are not just directed to read, study and believe these Books, but they were encouraged to also copy them that all nations may believe.

I totally understand you ,when you make such points, but we've been trying to tell you that, the Injeel and Torah were books that Allah sent, and these books taught the same thing as Qur'an does, the Oneness of Allah. But through time these scriptures got corrupted. And that's why Qur'an was sent, to confirm these books. And there is no logic at all of following the bible or torah , bc Qur'an was sent to correct these altered scriptures? how would it make sense to leave Qur'an which was sent to do that, and start follow the nowdays bible and torah???

 

[doorster]

ahlan

Hi Abdul Fattah & Vpb:

There is an abundance of evidence in the Koran that Muslims must believe in the Books that came before. Regards,
Grenville

first of all, Do you believe in Quraan and Muhammad? if so why are you preaching to Muslims and not pagans?

e.g. 4:136 - O ye who believe! Believe in Allah and His Messenger, and the scripture which He hath sent to His Messenger and the scripture which He sent to those before (him). Any who denieth Allah, His angels, His Books, His Messengers, and the Day of Judgment, hath gone far, far astray.

4:136. O You who believe! believe In Allâh, and his Messenger, and the Book which He has sent down to his Messenger, and the Scripture which He sent down to those before, and Whosoever disbelieves In Allâh, his angels, his Books, his Messengers, and the Last day, Then indeed He has strayed far away.

I do not see any thing about reading here

6:155-156 - And this is a Book which We have revealed as a blessing: so follow it and be righteous, that ye may receive mercy: Lest ye should say: "The Book was sent down to two Peoples before us, and for our part, we remained unacquainted with all that they learned by assiduous study:"

6:155. and this is a blessed Book (the Qur'ân) which we have sent down, so follow it and fear Allâh, that you may receive Mercy.
6:156. lest you (Arab pagans) should say: "The Book was only sent down to two sects before us (the Jews and the Christians), and for Our part, we were In fact unaware of what they studied."
Again, it is pagans and Not Muslims being addressed

The Koran clarifies these scriptures repeatedly as including the Torah and Gospel, for example:

perhaps you are confusing something called koran with Holy Quraan?

I shall come back to deal withthe rest of the ayaat later.

ma'asalama

edit:

I shall come back to deal with the rest of the ayaat later.

scratch that as our family, on our father's advice are blocking this site from our home computers when our computer savvy brother comes home tomorrow.

enjoy!

 

[MustafaMc]

Very Good Hi Islamirama:

You acknowledge that Muhammad is to teach you. Well why do you refuse to do as he has instructed you.

He instructed Muslims to read the Books that were sent before. He knew of these Books and had sufficient confidence in them to recommend them to Muslims. However, your Islamic tradition teaches you that the Books which Mohammed recommended that you should read were corrupted.

So who is teaching you - Islamic tradition or Mohammed? You can choose to follow Islamic tradition; I will follow Mohammed in this regard.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Grenville.

Grenville, I have missed this thread for quite some time. Can you quote the chapter and verse of the Quran or hadith compiler and number where you drew this conclusion. If you have already done so on another post, please refer me to it.

I just found the verses at post#198.

 

[vpb]

Grenville, I have missed this thread for quite some time. Can you quote the chapter and verse of the Quran or hadith compiler and number where you drew this conclusion. If you have already done so on another post, please refer me to it.

it's very common with non-muslims that they read verses and hadiths (and of course in english), and they draw conclusions.

I think to christians it doesn't matter wether an ordinary christian comments on a biblical verse. Do christians have "tafsir" of the bible?

 

[MustafaMc]

190 replies to answer just a single question??? ;D;D

Yes, and I have not seen a single shred of evidence to support their claims!

 

[MustafaMc]

Hi Abdul Fattah & Vpb:

There is an abundance of evidence in the Koran that Muslims must believe in the Books that came before.

e.g. 4:136 - O ye who believe! Believe in Allah and His Messenger, and the scripture which He hath sent to His Messenger and the scripture which He sent to those before (him). Any who denieth Allah, His angels, His Books, His Messengers, and the Day of Judgment, hath gone far, far astray.

We believe that Allah revealed scriptures to Moses, David, and Jesus. We have fragments of these yet today that we can identify as being consistent with the Quran. To believe in the existence of His Books does not mean we should read them.

6:155-156 - And this is a Book which We have revealed as a blessing: so follow it and be righteous, that ye may receive mercy: Lest ye should say: "The Book was sent down to two Peoples before us, and for our part, we remained unacquainted with all that they learned by assiduous study:"

This verse explains that the current revelation negated the pagan Arab's prior excuse before Allah that no revelation came to them. It further explains that these pagans were unacquainted with the prior revelations. It can be assumed that it applied to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) prior to revelation of the Quran.

The Koran clarifies these scriptures repeatedly as including the Torah and Gospel, for example:

5:44 - Lo! We did reveal the Torah, wherein is guidance and a light, by which the prophets who surrendered (unto Allah) judged the Jews, and the rabbis and the priests (judged) by such of Allah's Scripture as they were bidden to observe, and thereunto were they witnesses. So fear not mankind, but fear Me. And My revelations for a little gain. Whoso judgeth not by that which Allah hath revealed: such are disbelievers.

5:46 - And in their footsteps We sent Jesus the son of Mary, confirming the Law that had come before him: We sent 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.

5:48 - To thee We sent the Scripture in truth, confirming the scripture that came before it, and guarding it in safety: so judge between them by what Allah hath revealed, and follow not their vain desires, diverging from the Truth that hath come to thee. To each among you have we prescribed a law and an open way. If Allah had so willed, He would have made you a single people, but (His plan is) to test you in what He hath given you: so strive as in a race in all virtues. The goal of you all is to Allah; it is He that will show you the truth of the matters in which ye dispute;

Here it clearly states what I said above about using the Quran as the "gold standard" for comparison.

The Koran admonishes persons to not simply believe but study and follow the previous books.

6:155-156 - And this is a Book which We have revealed as a blessing: so follow it and be righteous, that ye may receive mercy: Lest ye should say: "The Book was sent down to two Peoples before us, and for our part, we remained unacquainted with all that they learned by assiduous study:"

10:94 - If thou wert in doubt as to what We have revealed unto thee, then ask those who have been reading the Book from before thee: the Truth hath indeed come to thee from thy Lord: so be in no wise of those in doubt.

It seems that this verse instructs Muhammad that if he doubted where the revelations to him were coming from to ask those knowledgeable about prior revelations. The incident that comes to my mind was with the initial revelation in the Cave of Hira. Muhammad, was afterwards severely frightened and went to his wife Khadija for comfort. They soon went to Khadijah's cousin, Waraqah, a Christian who knew the scriptures. When Muhammad (pbuh) told Waraqah what happened to him, Waraqah confirmed that it was the same angel that brought revelation to Moses. (from The Sealed Nectar)

Actually, Muslims are not just directed to read, study and believe these Books, but they were encouraged to also copy them that all nations may believe.

6:89 - 90 - These were the men to whom We gave the Book, and authority, and prophethood: if these (their descendants) reject them, Behold! We shall entrust their charge to a new people who reject them not. Those were the (prophets) who received Allah's guidance: Copy the guidance they received; Say: "No reward for this do I ask of you: This is no less than a message for the nations."

Commentary in The Majestic Quran: "Thus the mission of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is set in context: Islam is not a departure from Allah's earlier messages to mankind, and the Prophet (pbuh) has simply been sent to remind humanity of what all the earlier Prophets (pbut) taught."

Nowhere, in any of these verses are Muslims commanded to read prior scriptures (e.g.Bible) and seek guidance from them.

 

[vpb]

Yes, and I have not seen a single shred of evidence to support their claims!

All verses I've seen from them are just verses that make people obligated to read Qur'an .

 

[MustafaMc]

All verses I've seen from them are just verses that make people obligated to read Qur'an .

Yes, brother, when read from the proper perspective in context of the other verses and in reference to the instances of revelation, the Quranic verses in question point to the reliance upon the Quran as the true guidance and the standard by which to judge the other scriptures.

A big difference between the Bible and the Quran is that we have record of the circumstances of revelation through hadith that sheds additional understanding on the Quran. We also have volumes of books written on the biography of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) from authentic hadith that give us a detailed record of his life. In contrast we know very little about the life of Prophet Jesus (pbuh).

If you have read the NT gospels, you will know that the 4 gospels are very similar to our hadith - though not as extensive. The gospels are narratives about the life of Jesus (pbuh) with relatively few quotations. In contrast, every word of the Quran was spoken by Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) as communicated to him by the Angel Gabriel. I am sure that you are aware that relatively few hadith, Hadith Qudsi, are revelations of Allah that are not part of the Quran. The hadith and sunnah are very important to show us how to live our lives, but they are not, in general, considered God's Word like the Christians hold the 4 gospels and letters by Saul/Paul.

BTW I suppose that you know that they equate Muhammad (pbuh) not with Jesus (pbuh), but rather with Paul. They hold the letters (Romans, I & II Corinthians, Gallations, etc.) written by a reformed persecutor of Christians as to be the "inspired Word of God" and they hold the Quran as no more than myth and fables.

 

[Walter]

Hi MustafaMc and Vpb:

Thank you for your detailed responses. I had a long day and will respond to your posts tomorrow – God willing.

Regards,
Grenville

 

[Abdul Fattah]

Hi Grenvill I will try answering by putting a tafsir (= explenation of teh Qur'an) next to the quoted verses. InshaAllah the meaning will be clear then.

4:136 - O ye who believe! Believe in Allah and His Messenger, and the scripture which He hath sent to His Messenger and the scripture which He sent to those before (him). Any who denieth Allah, His angels, His Books, His Messengers, and the Day of Judgment, hath gone far, far astray.

The Order to Have Faith after Believing

Allah commands His faithful servants to adhere to all the elements of faith, its branches, pillars and cornerstones. This is not stated as mere redundancy, but from the view of completing faith and the continual maintenence of it. For instance, the believer proclaims in every prayer,

[اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ ]

(Guide us to the straight way.) which means, make us aware of the straight path and increase us in guidance and strengthen us on it. In this Ayah [4:136], Allah commands the believers to believe in Him and in His Messenger, just as He said elsewhere,

[يأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ اتَّقُواْ اللَّهَ وَءَامِنُواْ بِرَسُولِهِ]

(O you who believe! Have Taqwa of Allah, and believe in His Messenger, ). Allah's statement,

[وَالْكِتَـبِ الَّذِى نَزَّلَ عَلَى رَسُولِهِ]

(and the Book which He has sent down to His Messenger,) refers to the Qur'an, while,

[وَالْكِتَـبِ الَّذِى أَنَزلَ مِن قَبْلُ]

(and the Scripture which He sent down to those before (him) refers to the previously revealed divine Books. Allah then said,

[وَمَن يَكْفُرْ بِاللَّهِ وَمَلَـئِكَتِهِ وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الاٌّخِرِ فَقَدْ ضَلَّ ضَلَـلاً بَعِيداً]

(and whosoever disbelieves in Allah, His Angels, His Books, His Messengers, and the Last Day, then indeed he has strayed far away.) meaning, he will have deviated from the correct guidance and strayed far away from its path.

6:155-156 - And this is a Book which We have revealed as a blessing: so follow it and be righteous, that ye may receive mercy: Lest ye should say: "The Book was sent down to two Peoples before us, and for our part, we remained unacquainted with all that they learned by assiduous study:"

The Command to Follow Allah's Straight Path and to Avoid All Other Paths

`Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn `Abbas commented on Allah's statements,

[وَلاَ تَتَّبِعُواْ السُّبُلَ فَتَفَرَّقَ بِكُمْ عَن سَبِيلِهِ]

(And follow not (other) paths, for they will separate you away from His path.), and,

[أَنْ أَقِيمُواْ الدِّينَ وَلاَ تَتَفَرَّقُواْ فِيهِ]

((Saying) that you should establish religion and make no divisions in it.) [42:13], and similar Ayat in the Qur'an, "Allah commanded the believers to adhere to the Jama`ah and forbade them from causing divisions and disputes. He informed them that those before them were destroyed because of divisions and disputes in the religion of Allah.'' Similar was said by Mujahid and several others. Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal recorded that `Abdullah bin Mas`ud said, "The Messenger of Allah drew a line with his hand (in the sand) and said,

«هَذَا سَبِيلُ اللهِ مُسْتَقِيمًا»

(This is Allah's path, leading straight.) He then drew lines to the right and left of that line and said,

«هَذِهِ السُّبُلُ لَيْسَ مِنْهَا سَبِيلٌ إِلَّا عَلَيْهِ شَيْطَانٌ يَدْعُو إِلَيْه»

(These are the other paths, on each path there is a devil who calls to it.) He then recited,

[وَأَنَّ هَـذَا صِرَطِي مُسْتَقِيمًا فَاتَّبِعُوهُ وَلاَ تَتَّبِعُواْ السُّبُلَ فَتَفَرَّقَ بِكُمْ عَن سَبِيلِهِ]

(And verily, this is My straight path, so follow it, and follow not (other) paths, for they will separate you away from His path.)[6:153]'' Al-Hakim also recorded this Hadith and said; "Its chain is Sahih, but they did not record it.'' Imam Ahmad and `Abd bin Humayd recorded (and this is the wording of Ahmad) that Jabir said; "We were sitting with the Prophet when he drew a line in front of him and said,

«هَذَا سَبِيلُ الله»

(This is Allah's path.) He also drew two lines to its right and two lines to its left and said,

«هَذِهِ سُبُلُ الشَّيْطَان»

(These are the paths of Shaytan.) He then placed his hand on the middle path and recited this Ayah;

[وَأَنَّ هَـذَا صِرَطِي مُسْتَقِيمًا فَاتَّبِعُوهُ وَلاَ تَتَّبِعُواْ السُّبُلَ فَتَفَرَّقَ بِكُمْ عَن سَبِيلِهِ ذَلِكُمْ وَصَّـكُمْ بِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ ]

(And verily, this is My straight path, so follow it, and follow not (other) paths, for they will separate you away from His path. This He has ordained for you that you may have Taqwa.) Imam Ahmad, Ibn Majah, in the Book of the Sunnah in his Sunan, and Al-Bazzar collected this Hadith. Ibn Jarir recorded that a man asked Ibn Mas`ud, "What is As-Sirat Al-Mustaqim (the straight path)'' Ibn Mas`ud replied, "Muhammad left us at its lower end and its other end is in Paradise. To the right of this Path are other paths, and to the left of it are other paths, and there are men (on these paths) calling those who pass by them. Whoever goes on the other paths will end up in the Fire. Whoever takes the Straight Path, will end up in Paradise.'' Ibn Mas`ud then recited the Ayah;

[وَأَنَّ هَـذَا صِرَطِي مُسْتَقِيمًا فَاتَّبِعُوهُ وَلاَ تَتَّبِعُواْ السُّبُلَ فَتَفَرَّقَ بِكُمْ عَن سَبِيلِهِ]

(And verily, this is My straight path, so follow it, and follow not (other) paths, for they will separate you away from His path.)'" Imam Ahmad recorded that, An-Nawwas bin Sam`an said that the Messenger of Allah said,

«ضَرَبَ اللهُ مَثَلًا صِرَاطًا مُسْتَقِيمًا، وَعَنْ جَنْبَي الصِّرَاطِ سُورَانِ فِيهِمَا أَبْوَابٌ مُفَتَّحَةٌ، وَعَلَى الْأَبْوَابِ سُتُورٌ مُرْخَاةٌ وَعَلَى بَابِ الصِّرَاطِ دَاعٍ يَدْعُو: يَا أَيَّهَا النَّاسُ هَلُمُّوا ادْخُلُوا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ جَمِيعًا وَلَا تَفَرَّقُوا وَدَاعٍ يَدْعُو مِنْ فَوْقِ الصِّرَاطِ فَإِذَا أَرَادَ الِإنْسَانُ أَنْ يَفْتَحَ شَيْئًا مِنْ تِلْكَ الْأَبْوَابِ قَالَ وَيْحَكَ لَا تَفْتَحْهُ فَإِنَّكَ إِنْ فَتَحْتَهُ تَلِجْهُ فَالصِّرَاطُ الإِسْلَامُ وَالسُّورَانِ حُدُودُ اللهِ وَالْأَبْوَابُ الْمُفَتَّحَةُ مَحَارِمُ اللهِ وَذَلِكَ الدَّاعِي عَلَى رَأْسِ الصِّرَاطِ كِتَابُ اللهِ، وَالدَّاعِي مِنْ فَوْقِ الصِّرَاطِ وَاعِظُ اللهِ فِي قَلْبِ كُلِّ مُسْلِم»

(Allah has given a parable of the straight path, and on the two sides of this path, there are two walls containing door ways. On these door ways, there are curtains that are lowered down. on the gate of this path there is a caller heralding, `O people! come and enter the straight path all together and do not divide. ' There is also another caller that heralds from above the path, who says when a person wants to remove the curtain on any of these doors, `Woe to you! Do not open this door, for if you open it, you will enter it. The (straight) path is Islam, the two walls are Allah's set limits, the open doors lead to Allah's prohibitions, the caller on the gate of the path is Allah's Book (the Qur'an), while the caller from above the path is Allah's admonition in the heart of every Muslim.) At-Tirmidhi and An-Nasa'i also recorded this Hadith, and At-Tirmidhi said, "Hasan Gharib.'' Allah's statement,

[فَاتَّبِعُوهُ وَلاَ تَتَّبِعُواْ السُّبُلَ]

(so follow it, and follow not (other) paths...) describes Allah's path in the singular sense, because truth is one. Allah describes the other paths in the plural, because they are many and are divided. Allah said in another Ayah,

[اللَّهُ وَلِيُّ الَّذِينَ ءامَنُواْ يُخْرِجُهُم مِّنَ الظُّلُمَـتِ إِلَى النُّورِ وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ أَوْلِيَآؤُهُمُ الطَّـغُوتُ يُخْرِجُونَهُم مِّنَ النُّورِ إِلَى الظُّلُمَـتِ أُوْلَـئِكَ أَصْحَـبُ النَّارِ هُمْ فِيهَا خَـلِدُونَ ]

(Allah is the Wali (Protector or Guardian) of those who believe. He brings them out from darknesses into light. But as for those who disbelieve, their supporters are Taghut (false deities), they bring them out from light into darknesses. Those are the dwellers of the Fire, and they will abide therein forever.) [2:257]

Praising the Tawrah and the Qur'an

After Allah described the Qur'an by saying,

[وَأَنَّ هَـذَا صِرَطِي مُسْتَقِيمًا فَاتَّبِعُوهُ]

(And verily, this is My straight path, so follow it...) He then praised the Tawrah and its Messenger,

[ثُمَّ ءاتَيْنَا مُوسَى الْكِتَـبَ]

(Then, We gave Musa the Book...) Allah often mentions the Qur'an and the Tawrah together. Allah said,

[وَمِن قَبْلِهِ كِتَـبُ مُوسَى إِمَاماً وَرَحْمَةً وَهَـذَا كِتَـبٌ مُّصَدِّقٌ لِّسَاناً عَرَبِيّاً]

(And before this was the Scripture of Musa as a guide and a mercy. And this is a confirming Book in the Arabic language.) [46:12]. Allah said in the beginning of this Surah,

[قُلْ مَنْ أَنزَلَ الْكِتَـبَ الَّذِى جَآءَ بِهِ مُوسَى نُوراً وَهُدًى لِّلنَّاسِ تَجْعَلُونَهُ قَرَطِيسَ تُبْدُونَهَا وَتُخْفُونَ كَثِيراً]

(Say: "Who then sent down the Book which Musa brought, a light and a guidance to mankind which you have made into paper sheets, disclosing (some of it) and concealing (much)") [6:91], and

[وَهَـذَا كِتَـبٌ أَنزَلْنَـهُ مُبَارَكٌ]

(And this is a blessed Book which we have sent down. ..) [6:92] Allah said about the idolators,

[فَلَمَّا جَآءَهُمُ الْحَقُّ مِنْ عِندِنَا قَالُواْ لَوْلا أُوتِىَ مِثْلَ مَآ أُوتِىَ مُوسَى]

(But when the truth has come to them from Us, they say: "Why is he not given the like of what was given to Musa") [28:48]. Allah replied,

[أَوَلَمْ يَكْفُرُواْ بِمَآ أُوتِىَ مُوسَى مِن قَبْلُ قَالُواْ سِحْرَانِ تَظَـهَرَا وَقَالُواْ إِنَّا بِكُلٍّ كَـفِرُونَ]

("Did they not disbelieve in that which was given to Musa of old" They say: "Two kinds of magic [the Tawrah and the Qur'an], each helping the other!" And they say: "Verily, in both we are disbelievers.") [28:48] Allah said about the Jinns that they said,

[يقَوْمَنَآ إِنَّا سَمِعْنَا كِتَـباً أُنزِلَ مِن بَعْدِ مُوسَى مُصَدِّقاً لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ يَهْدِى إِلَى الْحَقِّ]

("O our people! Verily, we have heard a Book sent down after Musa, confirming what came before it, it guides to the truth.") [46:30] Allah's statement,

[تَمَامًا عَلَى الَّذِى أَحْسَنَ وَتَفْصِيلاً]

(...complete for that which is best, and explaining all things in detail...") means; `We made the Book that We revealed to Musa, a complete and comprehensive Book, sufficient for what he needs to complete his Law.' Similarly, Allah said in another Ayah,

[وَكَتَبْنَا لَهُ فِى الاٌّلْوَاحِ مِن كُلِّ شَىْءٍ]

(And We wrote for him on the Tablets the lesson to be drawn from all things. ) [7:145] Allah's statement,

[عَلَى الَّذِى أَحْسَنَ]

(for that which is best,) means: `as a reward for his doing right and obeying Our commands and orders.' Allah said in other Ayat,

[هَلْ جَزَآءُ الإِحْسَـنِ إِلاَّ الإِحْسَـنُ ]

(Is there any reward for good other than what is best)[55:60],

[وَإِذِ ابْتَلَى إِبْرَهِيمَ رَبُّهُ بِكَلِمَـتٍ فَأَتَمَّهُنَّ قَالَ إِنِّى جَـعِلُكَ لِلنَّاسِ إِمَامًا]

(And (remember) when the Lord of Ibrahim tried him with (certain) commands, which he fulfilled. He (Allah) said (to him), "Verily, I am going to make you an Imam for mankind.") [2:124] and,

[وَجَعَلْنَا مِنْهُمْ أَئِمَّةً يَهْدُونَ بِأَمْرِنَا لَمَّا صَبَرُواْ وَكَانُواْ بِـَايَـتِنَا يُوقِنُونَ ]

y(And We made from among them (Children of Israel), leaders, giving guidance under Our command, when they were patient and believed with certainty in Our Ayat.) [32:24] Allah said;

[وَتَفْصِيلاً لِّكُلِّ شَىْءٍ وَهُدًى وَرَحْمَةً]

(and explaining all things in detail and a guidance and a mercy) praising the Book that Allah sent down to Musa, while,

[ثُمَّ ءاتَيْنَا مُوسَى الْكِتَـبَ تَمَامًا عَلَى الَّذِى أَحْسَنَ وَتَفْصِيلاً لِّكُلِّ شَىْءٍ وَهُدًى وَرَحْمَةً لَّعَلَّهُم بِلِقَآءِ رَبِّهِمْ يُؤْمِنُونَ - وَهَـذَا كِتَـبٌ أَنزَلْنَـهُ مُبَارَكٌ فَاتَّبِعُوهُ وَاتَّقُواْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ ]

(. ..that they might believe in the meeting with their Lord. And this is a blessed Book (the Qur'an) which We have sent down, so follow it and have Taqwa so that you may receive mercy.) This calls to following the Qur'an. Allah encourages His servants to follow His Book (the Qur'an) and orders them to understand it, adhere to it and call to it. He also describes it as being blessed, for those who follow and implement it in this life and the Hereafter, because it is the Firm Rope of Allah.

The Koran clarifies these scriptures repeatedly as including the Torah and Gospel, for example:
5:44 - Lo! We did reveal the Torah, wherein is guidance and a light, by which the prophets who surrendered (unto Allah) judged the Jews, and the rabbis and the priests (judged) by such of Allah's Scripture as they were bidden to observe, and thereunto were they witnesses. So fear not mankind, but fear Me. And My revelations for a little gain. Whoso judgeth not by that which Allah hath revealed: such are disbelievers.

Do Not Feel Sad Because of the Behavior of the Jews and Hypocrites

These honorable Ayat were revealed about those who rush into disbelief, deviating from the obedience of Allah, His Messenger, prefering their opinions and lusts to what Allah has legislated,

[مِنَ الَّذِينَ قَالُواْ ءَامَنَّا بِأَفْوَهِهِمْ وَلَمْ تُؤْمِن قُلُوبُهُمْ]

(of such who say, "We believe'' with their mouths but their hearts have no faith.) These people pretend to be faithful with their words, but their hearts are empty from faith, and they are the hypocrites.

[مِّنَ الَّذِينَ هَادُواْ]

(And of the Jews...) the enemies of Islam and its people, they and the hypocrites all,

[سَمَّـعُونَ لِلْكَذِبِ]

(listen much and eagerly to lies...) and they accept and react to it positively,

[سَمَّـعُونَ لِقَوْمٍ ءَاخَرِينَ لَمْ يَأْتُوكَ]

(listening to others who have not come to you,) meaning, they listen to some people who do not attend your meetings, O Muhammad. Or, the Ayah might mean, they listen to what you say and convey it to your enemies who do not attend your audience.

The Jews Alter and Change the Law, Such As Stoning the Adulterer

[يُحَرِّفُونَ الْكَلِمَ مِن بَعْدِ مَوَضِعِهِ]

(They change the words from their places by altering their meanings and knowingly distorting them after they comprehended them,

[يَقُولُونَ إِنْ أُوتِيتُمْ هَـذَا فَخُذُوهُ وَإِن لَّمْ تُؤْتَوْهُ فَاحْذَرُواْ]

(they say, "If you are given this, take it, but if you are not given this, then beware!") It was reported that this part of the Ayah was revealed about some Jews who committed murder and who said to each other, "Let us ask Muhammad to judge between us, and if he decides that we pay the Diyah, accept his judgement. If he decides on capital punishment, do not accept his judgement.'' The correct opinion is that this Ayah was revealed about the two Jews who committed adultery. The Jews changed the law they had in their Book from Allah on the matter of punishment for adultery, from stoning to death, to a hundred flogs and making the offenders ride a donkey facing the back of the donkey. When this incident of adultery occurred after the Hijrah, they said to each other, "Let us go to Muhammad and seek his judgement. If he gives a ruling of flogging, then implement his decision and make it a proof for you with Allah. This way, one of Allah's Prophets will have upheld this ruling amongst you. But if he decides that the punishment should be stoning to death, then do not accept his decision.'' There are several Hadiths mentioning this story. Malik reported that Nafi` said that `Abdullah bin `Umar said, "The Jews came to Allah's Messenger and mentioned that a man and a woman from them committed adultery. Allah's Messenger said to them,

«مَا تَجِدُونَ فِي التَّوْرَاةِ فِي شَأْنِ الرَّجْمِ؟»

(What do find of the ruling about stoning in the Tawrah) They said, `We only find that they should be exposed and flogged.' `Abdullah bin Salam said, `You lie. The Tawrah mentions stoning, so bring the Tawrah.' They brought the Tawrah and opened it but one of them hid the verse about stoning with his hand and recited what is before and after that verse. `Abdullah bin Salam said to him, `Remove your hand,' and he removed it, thus uncovering the verse about stoning. So they said, He (`Abdullah bin Salam) has said the truth, O Muhammad! It is the verse about stoning.' The Messenger of Allah decided that the adulterers be stoned to death and his command was carried out. I saw that man shading the woman from the stones with his body.'' Al-Bukhari and Muslim also collected this Hadith and this is the wording collected by Al-Bukhari. In another narration by Al-Bukhari, the Prophet said to the Jews,

«مَا تَصْنَعُون بِهِمَا؟»

(What would you do in this case) They said, "We would humiliate and expose them.'' The Prophet recited,

[قُلْ فَأْتُواْ بِالتَّوْرَاةِ فَاتْلُوهَا إِن كُنتُمْ]

(Bring here the Tawrah and recite it, if you are truthful.) So they brought a man who was blind in one eye and who was respected among them and said to him, "Read (from the Tawrah).'' So he read until he reached a certain verse and then covered it with his hand. He was told, "Remove your hand,'' and it was the verse about stoning. So that man said, "O Muhammad! This is the verse about stoning, and we had hid its knowledge among us.'' So the Messenger ordered that the two adulterers be stoned, and they were stoned. Muslim recorded that a Jewish man and a Jewish woman were brought before Allah's Messenger because they committed adultery. The Messenger of Allah went to the Jews and asked them,

«مَا تَجِدُونَ فِي التَّوْرَاةِ عَلى مَنْ زَنَى؟»

(What is the ruling that you find in the Tawrah for adultery) hThey said, "We expose them, carry them (on donkeys) backwards and parade them in public.'' The Prophet recited;

[قُلْ فَأْتُواْ بِالتَّوْرَاةِ فَاتْلُوهَا إِن كُنتُمْ]

(Bring here the Tawrah and recite it, if you are truthful.) So they brought the Tawrah and read from it until the reader reached the verse about stoning. Then he placed his hand on that verse and read what was before and after it. `Abdullah bin Salam, who was with the Messenger of Allah , said, "Order him to remove his hand,'' and he removed his hand and under it was the verse about stoning. So the Messenger of Allah commanded that the adulterers be stoned, and they were stoned. `Abdullah bin `Umar said, "I was among those who stoned them and I saw the man shading the woman from the stones with his body.'' Abu Dawud recorded that Ibn `Umar said, "Some Jews came to the Messenger of Allah and invited him to go to the Quff area. So he went to the house of Al-Midras and they said, `O Abu Al-Qasim! A man from us committed adultery with a woman, so decide on their matter.' They arranged a pillow for the Messenger of Allah and he sat on it and said,

«ائْتُونِي بِالتَّوْرَاة»

(Bring the Tawrah to me.) He was brought the Tawrah and he removed the pillow from under him and placed the Tawrah on it, saying,

«آمَنْتُ بِكِ وَبِمَنْ أَنْزَلَك»

(I trust you and He Who revealed it to you.) He then said,

«ائْتُونِي بِأَعْلَمِكُم»

(Bring me your most knowledgeable person.) So he was brought a young man... '' and then he mentioned the rest of the story that Malik narrated from Nafi`. These Hadiths state that the Messenger of Allah issued a decision that conforms with the ruling in the Tawrah, not to honor the Jews in what they believe in, for the Jews were commanded to follow the Law of Muhammad only. Rather, the Prophet did this because Allah commanded him to do so. He asked them about the ruling of stoning in the Tawrah to make them admit to what the Tawrah contains and what they collaborated to hide, deny and exclude from implementing for all that time. They had to admit to what they did, although they did it while having knowledge of the correct ruling. What made them go to the Prophet for judgement in this matter was their lusts and desires, hoping that the Prophet would agree with their opinion, not that they believed in the correctness of his judgment. This is why they said,

[إِنْ أُوتِيتُمْ هَـذَا]

(If you are given this,) referring to flogging, then take it,

[وَإِن لَّمْ تُؤْتَوْهُ فَاحْذَرُواْ]

(but if you are not given this, then beware!) and do not accept or implement it. Allah said next,

[وَمَن يُرِدِ اللَّهُ فِتْنَتَهُ فَلَن تَمْلِكَ لَهُ مِنَ اللَّهِ شَيْئاً أُوْلَـئِكَ الَّذِينَ لَمْ يُرِدِ اللَّهُ أَن يُطَهِّرَ قُلُوبَهُمْ لَهُمْ فِى الدُّنْيَا خِزْىٌ وَلَهُمْ فِى الاٌّخِرَةِ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌسَمَّـعُونَ لِلْكَذِبِ أَكَّـلُونَ لِلسُّحْتِ]

(And whomsoever Allah wants to put in Fitnah, you can do nothing for him against Allah. Those are the ones whose hearts Allah does not want to purify; for them there is a disgrace in this world, and in the Hereafter a great torment. They (like to) listen to falsehood, to devour Suht) `Suht' refers to bribes, as Ibn Mas`ud and others stated. The Ayah states that if one is like this, how can Allah cleanse his heart and accept his supplication Allah said to His Prophet ,

[فَإِن جَآءُوكَ]

(So if they come to you...) so that you judge between them,

[فَاحْكُمْ بَيْنَهُمْ أَوْ أَعْرِضْ عَنْهُمْ وَإِن تُعْرِضْ عَنْهُمْ فَلَن يَضُرُّوكَ شَيْئاً]

(either judge between them, or turn away from them. If you turn away from them, they cannot hurt you in the least.) meaning, there is no harm if you do not judge between them. This is because when they came to you to judge between them, they did not seek to follow the truth, but only what conformed to their lusts. We should mention here that Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid, `Ikrimah, Al-Hasan, Qatadah, As-Suddi, Zayd bin Aslam, `Ata' Al-Khurasani, and several others said that this part of the Ayah was abrogated by Allah's statement,

[وَأَنِ احْكُم بَيْنَهُمْ بِمَآ أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ]

(And so judge among them by what Allah has revealed.)

[وَإِنْ حَكَمْتَ فَاحْكُم بَيْنَهُم بِالْقِسْطِ]

(And if you judge, judge with justice between them.) and with fairness, even if the Jews were unjust and outcasts from the path of fairness,

[إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُقْسِطِينَ]

(Verily, Allah loves those who act justly.)

Chastising the Jews for Their Evil Lusts and Desires, While Praising the Tawrah

Allah then chastises the Jews for their false ideas and deviant desires to abandon what they believe is true in their Book, and which they claim is their eternal Law that they are always commanded to adhere to. Yet, they do not adhere to the Tawrah, but they prefer other laws over it, although they believe that these other laws are not correct and do not apply to them. Allah said,

[وَكَيْفَ يُحَكِّمُونَكَ وَعِندَهُمُ التَّوْرَاةُ فِيهَا حُكْمُ اللَّهِ ثُمَّ يَتَوَلَّوْنَ مِن بَعْدِ ذلِكَ وَمَآ أُوْلَـئِكَ بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ ]

(But how do they come to you for decision while they have the Tawrah, in which is the decision of Allah; yet even after that they turn away. For they are not believers.) Allah next praises the Tawrah that He sent down to His servant and Messenger Musa, son of `Imran,

[إِنَّآ أَنزَلْنَا التَّوْرَاةَ فِيهَا هُدًى وَنُورٌ يَحْكُمُ بِهَا النَّبِيُّونَ الَّذِينَ أَسْلَمُواْ لِلَّذِينَ هَادُواْ]

(Verily, We did send down the Tawrah [to Musa], therein was guidance and light, by which the Prophets who submitted themselves to Allah's will, judged the Jews.) and these Prophets did not deviate from the law of the Tawrah, change or alter it,

[وَالرَّبَّانِيُّونَ وَالاٌّحْبَارُ]

(And (also) the Rabbaniyyun and the Ahbar...) wherein Rabbaniyyun refers to the worshippers who are learned and religious, and Ahbar refers to the scholars,

[بِمَا اسْتُحْفِظُواْ مِن كِتَـبِ اللَّهِ]

(for to them was entrusted the protection of Allah's Book,) meaning, they were entrusted with the Book of Allah, and they were commanded to adhere to it and not hide any part of,

[وَكَانُواْ عَلَيْهِ شُهَدَآءَ فَلاَ تَخْشَوُاْ النَّاسَ وَاخْشَوْنِ وَلاَ تَشْتَرُواْ بِـَايَـتِى ثَمَناً قَلِيلاً وَمَن لَّمْ يَحْكُم بِمَآ أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ فَأُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الْكَـفِرُونَ]

(and they were witnesses thereto. Therefore fear not men but fear Me and sell not My verses for a miserable price. And whosoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed, such are the disbelievers.) There are two ways to explain this Ayah and we will mention the later.

Another Reason Behind Revealing these Honorable Ayat

Imam Ahmad recorded that Ibn `Abbas said, "Allah sent down the Ayat,

[وَمَن لَّمْ يَحْكُم بِمَآ أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ فَأُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الْكَـفِرُونَ]

(And whosoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed, such are the disbelievers,)

[فَأُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الظَّـلِمُونَ]

(Such are the unjust,) and,

[فَأُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الْفَـسِقُونَ]

(Such are the rebellious.) about two groups among the Jews. During the time of Jahiliyyah, one of them had defeated the other. As a result, they made a treaty that they would pay blood money totaling fifty Wasaq [of gold] (each Wasaq approx. 3 kg) for every dead person from the defeated group killed by the victors, and a hundred Wasaq for every dead person the defeated group killed from the victors. This treaty remained in effect until the Prophet came to Al-Madinah and both of these groups became subservient under the Prophet . Yet, when the mighty group once suffered a casualty at the hands of the weaker group, the mighty group sent a delegation demanding the hundred Wasaq. The weaker group said, `How can two groups who have the same religion, one ancestral lineage and a common land, have a Diyah that for some of them is half of that of the others We only agreed to this because you oppressed us and because we feared you. Now that Muhammad has come, we will not give you what you asked.' So war was almost rekindled between them, but they agreed to seek Muhammad's judgement in their dispute. The mighty group among them said [among themselves], `By Allah! Muhammad will never give you double the Diyah that you pay to them compared to what they pay to you. They have said the truth anyway, for they only gave us this amount because we oppressed and overpowered them. Therefore, send someone to Muhammad who will sense what his judgement will be. If he agrees to give you what you demand, accept his judgment, and if he does not give you what you seek, do not refer to him for judgement.' So they sent some hypocrites to the Messenger of Allah to try and find out the Messenger's judgement. When they came to the Messenger , Allah informed him of their matter and of their plot. Allah sent down,

[يأَيُّهَا الرَّسُولُ لاَ يَحْزُنكَ الَّذِينَ يُسَارِعُونَ فِى الْكُفْرِ]

(O Messenger! Let not those who hurry to fall into disbelief grieve you,) until,

[الْفَـسِقُونَ]

(Such are the rebellious.) By Allah! It is because of their problem that Allah sent down these verses and it is they whom Allah meant.'' Abu Dawud collected a similar narration for this Hadith. Abu Ja`far Ibn Jarir recorded that Ibn `Abbas said that the Ayah in Surat Al-Ma'idah,

[فَاحْكُمْ بَيْنَهُمْ أَوْ أَعْرِضْ عَنْهُمْ]

(either judge between them, or turn away from them...) until,

[الْمُقْسِطِينَ]

(Those who act justly.) was revealed concerning the problem of blood money between Bani An-Nadir and Bani Qurayzah. The dead of Bani An-Nadir were being honored more and they received the full amount of Diyah, while Qurayzah received half the Diyah for their dead. So they referred to the Messenger of Allah for judgement and Allah sent down these verses about them. The Messenger of Allah compelled them to adhere to the true judgement in this matter and made the Diyah the same for both groups and Allah knows best about that matter.'' Ahmad, Abu Dawud and An-Nasa'i also recorded this Hadith from Abu Ishaq. Al-`Awfi and `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn `Abbas said that these Ayat were revealed about the two Jews who committed adultery, and we mentioned the Hadiths about this story before. It appears that both of these were the reasons behind revealing these Ayat, and Allah knows best. This is why Allah said afterwards,

[وَكَتَبْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ فِيهَآ أَنَّ النَّفْسَ بِالنَّفْسِ وَالْعَيْنَ بِالْعَيْنِ]

(And We ordained therein for them: Life for life, eye for eye) until the end of the Ayah, which strengthens the opinion that the story of the Diyah was behind revealing the Ayat as we explained above. Allah knows best. Allah said,

[وَمَن لَّمْ يَحْكُم بِمَآ أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ فَأُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الْكَـفِرُونَ]

(And whosoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed, such are the disbelievers.) Al-Bara' bin `Azib, Hudhayfah bin Al-Yaman, Ibn `Abbas, Abu Mijlaz, Abu Raja' Al-`Utaridi, `Ikrimah, `Ubaydullah bin `Abdullah, Al-Hasan Al-Basri and others said that this Ayah was revealed about the People of the Book. Al-Hasan Al-Basri added that this Ayah also applies to us. `Abdur-Razzaq said that Ath-Thawri said that Mansur said that Ibrahim said that these Ayat, "Were revealed about the Children of Israel, and Allah accepted them for this Ummah.'' Ibn Jarir recorded this statement. `Ali bin Abi Talhah also stated that Ibn `Abbas commented on Allah's statement,

[وَمَن لَّمْ يَحْكُم بِمَآ أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ فَأُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الْكَـفِرُونَ]

(And whosoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed, such are the disbelievers,) "Whoever rejects what Allah has revealed, will have committed Kufr, and whoever accepts what Allah has revealed, but did not rule by it, is a Zalim (unjust) and a Fasiq (rebellious) and a sinner.'' Ibn Jarir recorded this statement. `Abdur-Razzaq said, "Ma`mar narrated to us that Tawus said that Ibn `Abbas was asked about Allah's statement,

[وَمَن لَّمْ يَحْكُم]

(And whosoever does not judge...) He said, `It is an act of Kufr.' Ibn Tawus added, `It is not like those who disbelieve in Allah, His angels, His Books and His Messengers.' Ath-Thawri narrated that Ibn Jurayj said that `Ata' said, `There is Kufr and Kufr less than Kufr, Zulm and Zulm less than Zulm, Fisq and Fisq less than Fisq.''' Waki` said that Sa`id Al-Makki said that Tawus said that,

[وَمَن لَّمْ يَحْكُم بِمَآ أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ فَأُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الْكَـفِرُونَ]

(And whosoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed, such are the disbelievers,) "This is not the Kufr that annuls one's religion.''

[وَكَتَبْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ فِيهَآ أَنَّ النَّفْسَ بِالنَّفْسِ وَالْعَيْنَ بِالْعَيْنِ وَالاٌّنْفَ بِالاٌّنْفِ وَالاٍّذُنَ بِالاٍّذُنِ وَالسِّنَّ بِالسِّنِّ وَالْجُرُوحَ قِصَاصٌ فَمَن تَصَدَّقَ بِهِ فَهُوَ كَفَّارَةٌ لَّهُ وَمَن لَّمْ يَحْكُم بِمَآ أنزَلَ اللَّهُ فَأُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الظَّـلِمُونَ ]

(45. And We ordained therein for them "Life for life, eye for eye, nose for nose, ear for ear, tooth for tooth, and wounds equal for equal. " But if anyone remits the retaliation by way of charity, it shall be for him an expiation. And whosoever does not judge by that which Allah has revealed, such are the unjust.) This Ayah also chastises and criticizes the Jews because in the Tawrah, they have the law of a life for a life. Yet, they defied this ruling by transgression and rebellion. They used to apply this ruling when a person from Bani An-Nadir was killed by a Qurayzah person, but this was not the case when the opposite occurred. Rather, they would revert to Diyah in this case. They also defied the ruling in the Tawrah to stone the adulterer and instead came up with their own form of punishment, flogging, humiliation and parading them in public. This is why Allah said in the previous Ayah, t

[وَمَن لَّمْ يَحْكُم بِمَآ أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ فَأُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الْكَـفِرُونَ]

(And whosoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed, such are the disbelievers.) because they rejected Allah's command with full intention and with transgression and rebellion. In this Ayah, Allah said,

[فَأُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الظَّـلِمُونَ]

(such are the unjust.) because they did not exact the oppressed his due rights from the oppressor in a matter which Allah ordered that all be treated equally and fairly. Instead, they defied that command, committed injustice and transgressed against each other.

5:46 - And in their footsteps We sent Jesus the son of Mary, confirming the Law that had come before him: We sent 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.

Allah Mentions `Isa and Praises the Injil

Allah said,

[وَقَفَّيْنَا]

(and We sent...) meaning, We sent

[عَلَى ءَاثَـرِهِمْ]

(in their footsteps) meaning the Prophets of the Children of Israel,

[بِعَيسَى ابْنِ مَرْيَمَ مُصَدِّقاً لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ مِنَ التَوْرَاةِ]

(`Isa, son of Maryam, confirming the Tawrah that had come before him,) meaning, he believed in it and ruled by it.

[وَءَاتَيْنَـهُ الإِنجِيلَ فِيهِ هُدًى وَنُورٌ]

(and We gave him the Injil, in which was guidance and light) a guidance that directs to the truth and a light that removes the doubts and solves disputes,

[وَمُصَدِّقاً لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ مِنَ التَّوْرَاةِ]

(and confirmation of the Tawrah that had come before it,) meaning, he adhered to the Tawrah, except for the few instances that clarified the truth where the Children of Israel differed. Allah states in another Ayah that `Isa said to the Children of Israel,

[وَلاٌّحِلَّ لَكُم بَعْضَ الَّذِي حُرِّمَ عَلَيْكُمْ]

(. ..and to make lawful to you part of what was forbidden to you.) So the scholars say that the Injil abrogated some of the rulings of the Tawrah. Allah's statement,

[وَهُدًى وَمَوْعِظَةٌ لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ]

(a guidance and an admonition for those who have Taqwa.) means, We made the Injil guidance and an admonition that prohibits committing sins and errors, for those who have Taqwa of Allah and fear His warning and torment. Allah said next,

[وَلْيَحْكُمْ أَهْلُ الإِنجِيلِ بِمَآ أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ فِيهِ]

(Let the people of the Injil judge by what Allah has revealed therein.) meaning, so that He judges the people of the Injil by it in their time. Or, the Ayah means, so that they believe in all that is in it and adhere to all its commands, including the good news about the coming of Muhammad and the command to believe in and follow him when he is sent. Allah said in other Ayat,

[قُلْ يَـأَهْلَ الْكِتَـبِ لَسْتُمْ عَلَى شَىْءٍ حَتَّى تُقِيمُواْ التَّوْرَاةَ وَالإِنجِيلَ وَمَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكُمْ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ]

(Say "O People of the Scripture! You have nothing (guidance) until you act according to the Tawrah, the Injil, and what has been sent down to you from your Lord.'') and,

[الَّذِينَ يَتَّبِعُونَ الرَّسُولَ النَّبِىَّ الأُمِّىَّ الَّذِى يَجِدُونَهُ مَكْتُوبًا عِندَهُمْ فِى التَّوْرَاةِ]

(Those who follow the Messenger, the Prophet who can neither read nor write whom they find written with them in the Tawrah...) until,

[الْمُفْلِحُونَ]

(...successful.) Here, Allah said,

[وَمَن لَّمْ يَحْكُم بِمَآ أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ فَأُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الْفَـسِقُونَ]

(And whosoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed, such are the rebellious.) meaning, the rebellious and disobedient of Allah who prefer falsehood and abandon truth. We mentioned before that this Ayah was revealed about the Christians, and this is evident from the context of the Ayah.

5:48 - To thee We sent the Scripture in truth, confirming the scripture that came before it, and guarding it in safety: so judge between them by what Allah hath revealed, and follow not their vain desires, diverging from the Truth that hath come to thee. To each among you have we prescribed a law and an open way. If Allah had so willed, He would have made you a single people, but (His plan is) to test you in what He hath given you: so strive as in a race in all virtues. The goal of you all is to Allah; it is He that will show you the truth of the matters in which ye dispute;

Praising the Qur'an; the Command to Refer to the Qur'an for Judgment

Allah mentioned the Tawrah that He sent down to His Prophet Musa, the one whom He spoke directly to, praising it, commanding that it should be implemented, before it was abrogated. Allah then mentioned the Injil, praised it and commanded its people to adhere to it and follow it, as we stated. He next mentioned the Glorious Qur'an that He sent down to His honorable servant and Messenger. Allah said,

[وَأَنزَلْنَآ إِلَيْكَ الْكِتَـبَ بِالْحَقِّ]

(And We have sent down to you the Book in truth...) meaning, with the truth that, no doubt, is coming from Allah,

[مُصَدِّقاً لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ مِنَ الْكِتَـبِ]

(confirming the Scripture that came before it) meaning, the Divinely Revealed Books that praised the Qur'an and mentioned that it would be sent down from Allah to His servant and Messenger Muhammad . The Qur'an was revealed as was foretold in the previous Scriptures. This fact increased faith in the previous Scriptures for the sincere who have knowledge of these Scriptures, those who adhered to Allah's commands and Laws and believed in His Messengers. Allah said,

[قُلْ ءَامِنُواْ بِهِ أَوْ لاَ تُؤْمِنُواْ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ أُوتُواْ الْعِلْمَ مِن قَبْلِهِ إِذَا يُتْلَى عَلَيْهِمْ يَخِرُّونَ لِلاٌّذْقَانِ سُجَّدًا - وَيَقُولُونَ سُبْحَانَ رَبِّنَآ إِن كَانَ وَعْدُ رَبِّنَا لَمَفْعُولاً ]

(Say: "Believe in it or do not believe (in it). Verily, those who were given knowledge before it, when it is recited to them, fall down on their faces in humble prostration.'' And they say: "Glory be to our Lord! Truly, the promise of our Lord must be fulfilled.'') meaning that they say, the promise of our Lord, concerning the coming of Muhammad by the words of His previous Messengers, will certainly be fulfilled. Allah's statement,

[وَمُهَيْمِناً عَلَيْهِ]

(and Muhayminan over it) means entrusted over it, according to Sufyan Ath-Thawri who narrated it from Abu Ishaq from At-Tamimi from Ibn `Abbas. `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn `Abbas said, "Muhaymin is, `the Trustworthy'. Allah says that the Qur'an is trustworthy over every Divine Book that preceded it.'' This was reported from `Ikrimah, Sa`id bin Jubayr, Mujahid, Muhammad bin Ka`b, `Atiyyah, Al-Hasan, Qatadah, `Ata' Al-Khurasani, As-Suddi and Ibn Zayd. Ibn Jarir said, "The Qur'an is trustworthy over the Books that preceded it. Therefore, whatever in these previous Books conforms to the Qur'an is true, and whatever disagrees with the Qur'an is false.'' Al-Walibi said that Ibn `Abbas said that Muhayminan means, `Witness'. Mujahid, Qatadah and As-Suddi said the same. Al-`Awfi said that Ibn `Abbas said that Muhayminan means, `dominant over the previous Scriptures'. These meanings are similar, as the word Muhaymin includes them all. Consequently, the Qur'an is trustworthy, a witness, and dominant over every Scripture that preceded it. This Glorious Book, which Allah revealed as the Last and Final Book, is the most encompassing, glorious and perfect Book of all times. The Qur'an includes all the good aspects of previous Scriptures and even more, which no previous Scripture ever contained. This is why Allah made it trustworthy, a witness and dominant over all Scriptures. Allah promised that He will protect the Qur'an and swore by His Most Honorable Self,

[إِنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا الذِّكْرَ وَإِنَّا لَهُ لَحَـفِظُونَ ]

(Verily, We, it is We Who have sent down the Dhikr and surely, We will guard it (from corruption).) Allah said,

[فَاحْكُم بَيْنَهُم بِمَآ أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ]

(So judge between them by what Allah has revealed.) The Ayah commands: O Muhammad! Rule between the people, Arabs and non-Arabs, lettered and unlettered, by what Allah has revealed to you in this Glorious Book and what it approves of for you from the Law of the previous Prophets, as Ibn Jarir said. Ibn Abi Hatim reported that Ibn `Abbas said, "The Prophet had the choice to judge between them or to turn away from them and refer them to their own Law. Then this Ayah was revealed,

[وَأَنِ احْكُم بَيْنَهُمْ بِمَآ أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ وَلاَ تَتَّبِعْ أَهْوَآءَهُمْ]

(So judge between them by what Allah has revealed, and follow not their vain desires. ..) and he was commanded to judge between them by our Book.''. Allah's statement

[وَلاَ تَتَّبِعْ أَهْوَآءَهُمْ]

(and follow not their vain desires...) This means the ideas they promote, because of which they turned away from what Allah revealed to His Messengers. This is why Allah said,

[وَلاَ تَتَّبِعْ أَهْوَآءَهُمْ عَمَّا جَآءَكَ مِنَ الْحَقِّ]

(And follow not their vain desires, diverging away from the truth that has come to you.) The Ayah commands: Do not diverge from the truth that Allah has ordained for you, to the vain desires of these miserable, ignorant people. Allah's statement,

[لِكُلٍّ جَعَلْنَا مِنكُمْ شِرْعَةً وَمِنْهَـجاً]

(To each among you, We have prescribed a law and a clear way.)

[لِكُلٍّ جَعَلْنَا مِنكُمْ شِرْعَةً]

(To each among you, We have prescribed a law) Shir`at meaning, a clear path, as Ibn Abi Hatim recorded from Ibn `Abbas.

[وَلَوْ شَآءَ اللَّهُ لَجَعَلَكُمْ أُمَّةً وَحِدَةً]

(If Allah willed, He would have made you one nation.) This is a general proclamation to all nations informing them of Allah's mighty ability. If Allah wills, He would make all mankind follow one religion and one Law, that would never be abrogated. Allah decided that every Prophet would have his own distinct law that is later abrogated partially or totally with the law of a latter Prophet. Later on, all previous laws were abrogated by the Law that Allah sent with Muhammad , His servant and Messenger, whom Allah sent to the people of earth as the Final Prophet. Allah said,

[وَلَوْ شَآءَ اللَّهُ لَجَعَلَكُمْ أُمَّةً وَحِدَةً وَلَـكِن لِّيَبْلُوَكُمْ فِى مَآ ءَاتَـكُم]

(If Allah willed, He would have made you one nation, but that (He) may test you in what He has given you.) This Ayah means, Allah has instituted different laws to test His servants' obedience to what He legislates for them, thus, He rewards or punishes them according to their actions and what they intend. `Abdullah bin Kathir said that the Ayah,

[فِى مَآ ءَاتَـكُم]

(In what He has given you.) means, of the Book. Next, Allah encouraged rushing to perform good deeds,

[فَاسْتَبِقُواْ الْخَيْرَتِ]

(so strive as in a race in good deeds.) which are obedience to Allah, following His Law that abrogated the laws that came before it, and believing in His Book, the Qur'an, which is the Final Book that He revealed. Allah said next,

[إِلَى الله مَرْجِعُكُمْ]

(The return of you (all) is to Allah Therefore, O people, your return and final destination is to Allah on the Day of Resurrection,

[فَيُنَبِّئُكُم بِمَا كُنتُمْ فِيهِ تَخْتَلِفُونَ]

(then He will inform you about that in which you used to differ.) Allah will inform you about the truth in which you used to differ and will reward the sincere, as compensation for their sincerity, and will punish the disbelieving, rebellious people who rejected the truth and deviated from it to other paths, without proof or evidence to justify their actions. Rather, they have rejected the clear evidences, unequivocal proofs and established signs. Ad-Dahhak said that,

[فَاسْتَبِقُواْ الْخَيْرَتِ]

(So strive as in a race in good deeds.)is directed at the Ummah of Muhammad , but the first view is more apparent. Allah's statement,

[وَأَنِ احْكُم بَيْنَهُمْ بِمَآ أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ وَلاَ تَتَّبِعْ أَهْوَآءَهُمْ]

(And so judge between them by what Allah has revealed and follow not their vain desires,) emphasizes this command and forbids ignoring it. Allah said next,

[وَاحْذَرْهُمْ أَن يَفْتِنُوكَ عَن بَعْضِ مَآ أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ إِلَيْكَ]

(but beware of them lest they turn you far away from some of that which Allah has sent down to you. ) meaning; beware of the Jews, your enemies, lest they distort the truth for you in what they convey to you. Therefore, do not be deceived by them, for they are liars, treacherous and disbelievers.

[فَإِن تَوَلَّوْاْ]

(And if they turn away,) from the judgement that you pass in their disputes, and they defy Allah's Law,

[فَاعْلَمْ أَنَّمَا يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ أَن يُصِيبَهُم بِبَعْضِ ذُنُوبِهِمْ]

(then know that Allah's will is to punish them for some sins of theirs.) meaning, know that this will occur according to the decree of Allah, and because out of His wisdom they have deviated from the truth, and because of their previous sins.

[وَإِنَّ كَثِيراً مِّنَ النَّاسِ لَفَـسِقُونَ]

(And truly, most men are rebellious.) Therefore, the majority of humans are disobedient to their Lord, defiant of the truth and deviate away from it. Allah said in other Ayat,

[وَمَآ أَكْثَرُ النَّاسِ وَلَوْ حَرَصْتَ بِمُؤْمِنِينَ ]

(And most people will not believe even if you desire it eagerly,) and,

[وَإِن تُطِعْ أَكْثَرَ مَن فِى الاٌّرْضِ يُضِلُّوكَ عَن سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ]

(And if you obey most of those on the earth they will mislead you far away from Allah's path.) Muhammad bin Ishaq reported that Ibn `Abbas said, "Ka`b bin Asad, Ibn Saluba, `Abdullah bin Surya and Shas bin Qays said to each other, `Let us go to Muhammad to try and misguide him from his religion.' So they went to the Prophet and said, `O Muhammad! You know that we are the scholars, noblemen and chiefs of the Jews. If we follow you, the Jews will follow suit and will not contradict us. But, there is enmity between us and some of our people, so we will refer to you for judgement in this matter, and you should rule in our favor against them and we will believe in you.' The Messenger of Allah refused the offer and Allah sent down these Ayat about them,

[وَأَنِ احْكُم بَيْنَهُمْ بِمَآ أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ وَلاَ تَتَّبِعْ أَهْوَآءَهُمْ وَاحْذَرْهُمْ أَن يَفْتِنُوكَ عَن بَعْضِ مَآ أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ إِلَيْكَ]

(And so judge between them by what Allah has revealed and follow not their vain desires, but beware of them lest they turn you far away from some of that which Allah has sent down to you.) until,

[لِقَوْمٍ يُوقِنُونَ]

(for a people who have firm faith.)'' Ibn Jarir and Ibn Abi Hatim recorded this Hadith. Allah continues,

[أَفَحُكْمَ الْجَـهِلِيَّةِ يَبْغُونَ وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ مِنَ اللَّهِ حُكْماً لِّقَوْمٍ يُوقِنُونَ ]

(Do they then seek the judgement of (the days of) ignorance And who is better in judgement than Allah for a people who have firm faith) Allah criticizes those who ignore Allah's commandments, which include every type of righteous good thing and prohibit every type of evil, but they refer instead to opinions, desires and customs that people themselves invented, all of which have no basis in Allah's religion. During the time of Jahiliyyah, the people used to abide by the misguidance and ignorance that they invented by sheer opinion and lusts. The Tatar (Mongols) abided by the law that they inherited from their king Genghis Khan who wrote Al-Yasiq, for them. This book contains some rulings that were derived from various religions, such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Many of these rulings were derived from his own opinion and desires. Later on, these rulings became the followed law among his children, preferring them to the Law of the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger . Therefore, whoever does this, he is a disbeliever who deserves to be fought against, until he reverts to Allah's and His Messenger's decisions, so that no law, minor or major, is referred to except by His Law. Allah said,

[أَفَحُكْمَ الْجَـهِلِيَّةِ يَبْغُونَ]

(Do they then seek the judgement of (the days of) ignorance) meaning, they desire and want this and ignore Allah's judgement,

[وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ مِنَ اللَّهِ حُكْماً لِّقَوْمٍ يُوقِنُونَ]

(And who is better in judgement than Allah for a people who have firm faith) Who is more just in decision than Allah for those who comprehend Allah's Law, believe in Him, who are certain that Allah is the best among those who give decisions and that He is more merciful with His creation than the mother with her own child Allah has perfect knowledge of everything, is able to do all things, and He is just in all matters. Al-Hafiz Abu Al-Qasim At-Tabarani recorded that Ibn `Abbas said that the Messenger of Allah said,

«أَبْغَضُ النَّاسِ إِلَى اللهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، مَنْ يَبْتَغِي فِي الْإِسْلَامِ سُنَّةَ الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ، وَطَالِبُ دَمِ امْرِىءٍ بِغَيْرِ حَقَ لِيُرِيقَ دَمَه»

(The most hated person to Allah is the Muslim who seeks the ways of the days of ignorance and he who seeks to shed the blood of a person without justification.) Al-Bukhari recorded Abu Al-Yaman narrating a similar Hadith, with some addition.

The Koran admonishes persons to not simply believe but study and follow the previous books.
6:155-156 - And this is a Book which We have revealed as a blessing: so follow it and be righteous, that ye may receive mercy: Lest ye should say: "The Book was sent down to two Peoples before us, and for our part, we remained unacquainted with all that they learned by assiduous study:"

Praising the Tawrah and the Qur'an

After Allah described the Qur'an by saying,

[وَأَنَّ هَـذَا صِرَطِي مُسْتَقِيمًا فَاتَّبِعُوهُ]

(And verily, this is My straight path, so follow it...) He then praised the Tawrah and its Messenger,

[ثُمَّ ءاتَيْنَا مُوسَى الْكِتَـبَ]

(Then, We gave Musa the Book...) Allah often mentions the Qur'an and the Tawrah together. Allah said,

[وَمِن قَبْلِهِ كِتَـبُ مُوسَى إِمَاماً وَرَحْمَةً وَهَـذَا كِتَـبٌ مُّصَدِّقٌ لِّسَاناً عَرَبِيّاً]

(And before this was the Scripture of Musa as a guide and a mercy. And this is a confirming Book in the Arabic language.) [46:12]. Allah said in the beginning of this Surah,

[قُلْ مَنْ أَنزَلَ الْكِتَـبَ الَّذِى جَآءَ بِهِ مُوسَى نُوراً وَهُدًى لِّلنَّاسِ تَجْعَلُونَهُ قَرَطِيسَ تُبْدُونَهَا وَتُخْفُونَ كَثِيراً]

(Say: "Who then sent down the Book which Musa brought, a light and a guidance to mankind which you have made into paper sheets, disclosing (some of it) and concealing (much)") [6:91], and

[وَهَـذَا كِتَـبٌ أَنزَلْنَـهُ مُبَارَكٌ]

(And this is a blessed Book which we have sent down. ..) [6:92] Allah said about the idolators,

[فَلَمَّا جَآءَهُمُ الْحَقُّ مِنْ عِندِنَا قَالُواْ لَوْلا أُوتِىَ مِثْلَ مَآ أُوتِىَ مُوسَى]

(But when the truth has come to them from Us, they say: "Why is he not given the like of what was given to Musa") [28:48]. Allah replied,

[أَوَلَمْ يَكْفُرُواْ بِمَآ أُوتِىَ مُوسَى مِن قَبْلُ قَالُواْ سِحْرَانِ تَظَـهَرَا وَقَالُواْ إِنَّا بِكُلٍّ كَـفِرُونَ]

("Did they not disbelieve in that which was given to Musa of old" They say: "Two kinds of magic [the Tawrah and the Qur'an], each helping the other!" And they say: "Verily, in both we are disbelievers.") [28:48] Allah said about the Jinns that they said,

[يقَوْمَنَآ إِنَّا سَمِعْنَا كِتَـباً أُنزِلَ مِن بَعْدِ مُوسَى مُصَدِّقاً لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ يَهْدِى إِلَى الْحَقِّ]

("O our people! Verily, we have heard a Book sent down after Musa, confirming what came before it, it guides to the truth.") [46:30] Allah's statement,

[تَمَامًا عَلَى الَّذِى أَحْسَنَ وَتَفْصِيلاً]

(...complete for that which is best, and explaining all things in detail...") means; `We made the Book that We revealed to Musa, a complete and comprehensive Book, sufficient for what he needs to complete his Law.' Similarly, Allah said in another Ayah,

[وَكَتَبْنَا لَهُ فِى الاٌّلْوَاحِ مِن كُلِّ شَىْءٍ]

(And We wrote for him on the Tablets the lesson to be drawn from all things. ) [7:145] Allah's statement,

[عَلَى الَّذِى أَحْسَنَ]

(for that which is best,) means: `as a reward for his doing right and obeying Our commands and orders.' Allah said in other Ayat,

[هَلْ جَزَآءُ الإِحْسَـنِ إِلاَّ الإِحْسَـنُ ]

(Is there any reward for good other than what is best)[55:60],

[وَإِذِ ابْتَلَى إِبْرَهِيمَ رَبُّهُ بِكَلِمَـتٍ فَأَتَمَّهُنَّ قَالَ إِنِّى جَـعِلُكَ لِلنَّاسِ إِمَامًا]

(And (remember) when the Lord of Ibrahim tried him with (certain) commands, which he fulfilled. He (Allah) said (to him), "Verily, I am going to make you an Imam for mankind.") [2:124] and,

[وَجَعَلْنَا مِنْهُمْ أَئِمَّةً يَهْدُونَ بِأَمْرِنَا لَمَّا صَبَرُواْ وَكَانُواْ بِـَايَـتِنَا يُوقِنُونَ ]

y(And We made from among them (Children of Israel), leaders, giving guidance under Our command, when they were patient and believed with certainty in Our Ayat.) [32:24] Allah said;

[وَتَفْصِيلاً لِّكُلِّ شَىْءٍ وَهُدًى وَرَحْمَةً]

(and explaining all things in detail and a guidance and a mercy) praising the Book that Allah sent down to Musa, while,

[ثُمَّ ءاتَيْنَا مُوسَى الْكِتَـبَ تَمَامًا عَلَى الَّذِى أَحْسَنَ وَتَفْصِيلاً لِّكُلِّ شَىْءٍ وَهُدًى وَرَحْمَةً لَّعَلَّهُم بِلِقَآءِ رَبِّهِمْ يُؤْمِنُونَ - وَهَـذَا كِتَـبٌ أَنزَلْنَـهُ مُبَارَكٌ فَاتَّبِعُوهُ وَاتَّقُواْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ ]

(. ..that they might believe in the meeting with their Lord. And this is a blessed Book (the Qur'an) which We have sent down, so follow it and have Taqwa so that you may receive mercy.) This calls to following the Qur'an. Allah encourages His servants to follow His Book (the Qur'an) and orders them to understand it, adhere to it and call to it. He also describes it as being blessed, for those who follow and implement it in this life and the Hereafter, because it is the Firm Rope of Allah.

The Qur'an is Allah's Proof Against His Creation

Ibn Jarir commented on the Ayah, "The Ayah means, this is a Book that We sent down, so that you do not say,

[إِنَّمَآ أُنزِلَ الْكِتَـبُ عَلَى طَآئِفَتَيْنِ مِن قَبْلِنَا]

("The Book was sent down only to two sects before us.") This way, you will have no excuse. Allah said in another Ayah,

[وَلَوْلا أَن تُصِيبَهُم مُّصِيبَةٌ بِمَا قَدَّمَتْ أَيْدِيهِمْ فَيَقُولُواْ رَبَّنَا لَوْلا أَرْسَلْتَ إِلَيْنَا رَسُولاً فَنَتِّبِعَ ءايَـتِكَ]

(Otherwise, they would have suffered a calamity because of what their hands sent forth, and said: "Our Lord! Why did You not send us a Messenger We would then have followed Your Ayat.'')[28:47].'' The Ayah,

[عَلَى طَآئِفَتَيْنِ مِن قَبْلِنَا]

(to two sects before us) refers to the Jews and Christians, according to `Ali bin Abi Talhah who narrated it from Ibn `Abbas. Similar was reported from Mujahid, As-Suddi, Qatadah and several others. Allah's statement,

[وَإِن كُنَّا عَن دِرَاسَتِهِمْ لَغَـفِلِينَ]

("...and for our part, we were in fact unaware of what they studied.") meaning: `we did not understand what they said because the revelation was not in our tongue. We, indeed, were busy and unaware of their message,' so they said. Allah said next,

[أَوْ تَقُولُواْ لَوْ أَنَّآ أُنزِلَ عَلَيْنَا الْكِتَـبُ لَكُنَّآ أَهْدَى مِنْهُمْ]

(Or lest you should say: "If only the Book had been sent down to us, we would surely, have been better guided than they.") meaning: We also refuted this excuse, had you used it, lest you say, "If a Book was revealed to us, just as they received a Book, we would have been better guided than they are.'' Allah also said.

[وَأَقْسَمُواْ بِاللَّهِ جَهْدَ أَيْمَـنِهِمْ لَئِن جَآءَهُمْ نَذِيرٌ لَّيَكُونُنَّ أَهْدَى مِنْ إِحْدَى الاٍّمَمِ]

(And they swore by Allah their most binding oath that if a warner came to them, they would be more guided than any of the nations (before them).) [35:42] Allah replied here,

[فَقَدْ جَآءَكُمْ بَيِّنَةٌ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ وَهُدًى وَرَحْمَةٌ]

(So now has come unto you a clear proof from your Lord, and a guidance and a mercy.) Allah says, there has come to you from Allah a Glorious Qur'an revealed to Muhammad , the Arab Prophet. In it is the explanation of the lawful and unlawful matters, guidance for the hearts and mercy from Allah to His servants who follow and implement it. Allah said;

[فَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّن كَذَّبَ بِآيَـتِ اللَّهِ وَصَدَفَ عَنْهَا]

(Who then does more wrong than one who rejects the Ayat of Allah and Sadafa away therefrom) This refers to the one who neither benefited from what the Messenger brought, nor followed what he was sent with by abandoning all other ways. Rather, he Sadafa from following the Ayat of Allah, meaning, he discouraged and hindered people from following it. This is the explanation of As-Suddi for Sadafa, while Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid and Qatadah said that Sadafa means, he turned away from it.

10:94 - If thou wert in doubt as to what We have revealed unto thee, then ask those who have been reading the Book from before thee: the Truth hath indeed come to thee from thy Lord: so be in no wise of those in doubt.

Previous books Attest to the Truth of the Qur'an

Allah said:

[الَّذِينَ يَتَّبِعُونَ الرَّسُولَ النَّبِىَّ الأُمِّىَّ الَّذِى يَجِدُونَهُ مَكْتُوبًا عِندَهُمْ فِى التَّوْرَاةِ وَالإِنجِيلِ]

(Those who follow the Messenger, the Prophet who can neither read nor write whom they find written of with them in the Tawrah and the Injil.)(7:157) They are as certain of this as they are about who their children are, yet they hide it and distort it. They did not believe in it despite its clear evidence. Therefore Allah said:

[إِنَّ الَّذِينَ حَقَّتْ عَلَيْهِمْ كَلِمَةُ رَبِّكَ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ - وَلَوْ جَآءَتْهُمْ كُلُّ ءايَةٍ حَتَّى يَرَوُاْ الْعَذَابَ الاٌّلِيمَ ]

(Truly, those, against whom the Word (wrath) of your Lord has been justified, will not believe. Even if every sign should come to them, until they see the painful torment.) meaning they would not believe in a way that they might benefit from that belief. This is when they believe at a time one may not be able to benefit from his belief. An example is when Musa prayed against Fir`awn and his chiefs, saying:

[رَبَّنَا اطْمِسْ عَلَى أَمْوَلِهِمْ وَاشْدُدْ عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ فَلاَ يُؤْمِنُواْ حَتَّى يَرَوُاْ الْعَذَابَ الاٌّلِيمَ]

(Our Lord! Destroy their wealth, and harden their hearts, so that they will not believe until they see the painful torment.)(10:88) And Allah said:

[وَلَوْ أَنَّنَا نَزَّلْنَآ إِلَيْهِمُ الْمَلَـئِكَةَ وَكَلَّمَهُمُ الْمَوْتَى وَحَشَرْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ كُلَّ شَىْءٍ قُبُلاً مَّا كَانُواْ لِيُؤْمِنُواْ إِلاَّ أَن يَشَآءَ اللَّهُ وَلَـكِنَّ أَكْثَرَهُمْ يَجْهَلُونَ ]

(And even if We had sent down unto them angels, and the dead had spoken unto them, and We had gathered together all things before their very eyes, they would not have believed, unless Allah willed, but most of them behave ignorantly.) (6:111) Allah then said:

[فَلَوْلاَ كَانَتْ قَرْيَةٌ ءَامَنَتْ فَنَفَعَهَآ إِيمَانُهَا إِلاَّ قَوْمَ يُونُسَ لَمَّآ ءَامَنُواْ كَشَفْنَا عَنْهُمْ عَذَابَ الخِزْىِ فِى الْحَيَوةَ الدُّنْيَا وَمَتَّعْنَاهُمْ إِلَى حِينٍ ]

(98. Was there any town (community) that believed (after seeing the punishment), and its faith (at that moment) saved it (from the punishment)-- except the people of Yunus; when they believed, We removed from them the torment of disgrace in the life of the (present) world, and permitted them to enjoy for a while).

Actually, Muslims are not just directed to read, study and believe these Books, but they were encouraged to also copy them that all nations may believe.
6:89 - 90 - These were the men to whom We gave the Book, and authority, and prophethood: if these (their descendants) reject them, Behold! We shall entrust their charge to a new people who reject them not. Those were the (prophets) who received Allah's guidance: Copy the guidance they received; Say: "No reward for this do I ask of you: This is no less than a message for the nations."

Ibrahim Receives the News of Ishaq and Ya`qub During His Old Age

Allah states that after Ibrahim became old and he, and his wife, Sarah, lost hope of having children, He gave them Ishaq. The angels came to Ibrahim on their way to the people of Prophet Lut (to destroy them) and they delivered the good news of a child to Ibrahim and his wife. Ibrahim's wife was amazed at the news,

[قَالَتْ يوَيْلَتَا ءَأَلِدُ وَأَنَاْ عَجُوزٌ وَهَـذَا بَعْلِى شَيْخًا إِنَّ هَـذَا لَشَىْءٌ عَجِيبٌ - قَالُواْ أَتَعْجَبِينَ مِنْ أَمْرِ اللَّهِ رَحْمَتُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَـتُهُ عَلَيْكُمْ أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ إِنَّهُ حَمِيدٌ مَّجِيدٌ ]

(She said (in astonishment): "Woe unto me! Shall I bear a child while I am an old woman, and here is my husband, an old man Verily! This is a strange thing!'' They said: "Do you wonder at the decree of Allah The mercy of Allah and His blessings be on you, O the family [of Ibrahim]. Surely, He (Allah) is All-Praiseworthy, All-Glorious.'') [11:72-73] The angels also gave them the good news that Ishaq will be a Prophet and that he will have offspring of his own. In another Ayah, Allah said;

[وَبَشَّرْنَـهُ بِإِسْحَـقَ نَبِيّاً مِّنَ الصَّـلِحِينَ ]

(And We gave him the good news of Ishaq a Prophet from the righteous.)[37:112], which perfects this good news and completes the favor. Allah said,

[بِإِسْحَـقَ وَمِن وَرَآءِ إِسْحَـقَ يَعْقُوبَ]

(of Ishaq, and after him, of Ya`qub...) [11:71], meaning, this child will have another child in your lifetime, so that your eyes are comforted by him, just as your eyes will be comforted by his father. Certainly, one becomes jubilant and joyous when he becomes a grandfather, because this means that his offspring will continue to exist. It was also expected that if an elderly couple had children, due to the child's weakness, he would have no offspring. This is why Allah delivered the good news of Ishaq and of his son Ya`qub, whose name literally means `multiplying and having offspring'. This was a reward for Ibrahim who left his people and migrated from their land so that he could worship Allah alone. Allah compensated Ibrahim with better than his people and tribe when He gave him righteous children of his own, who would follow his religion, so that his eyes would be comforted by them. In another Ayah, Allah said; a

[فَلَمَّا اعْتَزَلَهُمْ وَمَا يَعْبُدُونَ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ وَهَبْنَا لَهُ إِسْحَـقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ وَكُلاًّ جَعَلْنَا نَبِيّاً ]

(So when he turned away from them and from those whom they worshipped besides Allah, We gave him Ishaq and Ya`qub, and each one of them We made a Prophet.) [19:49] Allah said here,

[وَوَهَبْنَا لَهُ إِسْحَـقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ كُلاًّ هَدَيْنَا]

(And We bestowed upon him Ishaq and Ya`qub, each of them We guided,) Allah said;

[وَنُوحاً هَدَيْنَا مِن قَبْلُ]

(and before him, We guided Nuh...) meaning, We guided Nuh before and gave him righteous offspring, just as We guided Ibrahim and gave him righteous children.

Qualities of Nuh and Ibrahim

Each of these two Prophets had special qualities. When Allah caused the people of the earth to drown, except those who believed in Nuh and accompanied him in the ark, Allah made the offspring of Nuh the dwellers of the earth thereafter. Ever since that occurred, the people of the earth were and still are the descendants of Nuh. As for Ibrahim, Allah did not send a Prophet after him but from his descendants. Allah said in other Ayat,

[وَجَعَلْنَا فِى ذُرِّيَّتِهِمَا النُّبُوَّةَ وَالْكِتَـبَ]

(And We ordained among his (Ibrahim's) offspring prophethood and the Book.) [29:27],

[وَلَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا نُوحاً وَإِبْرَهِيمَ وَجَعَلْنَا فِى ذُرِّيَّتِهِمَا النُّبُوَّةَ وَالْكِتَـبَ]

(And indeed, We sent Nuh and Ibrahim, and placed in their offspring Prophethood and the Book.) [57:26], and,

[أُولَـئِكَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِم مِّنَ النَّبِيِّيْنَ مِن ذُرِّيَّةِ ءادَمَ وَمِمَّنْ حَمَلْنَا مَعَ نُوحٍ وَمِن ذُرِّيَّةِ إِبْرَهِيمَ وَإِسْرَءِيلَ وَمِمَّنْ هَدَيْنَا وَاجْتَبَيْنَآ إِذَا تُتْلَى عَلَيْهِمْ ءايَـتُ الرَّحْمَـنِ خَرُّواْ سُجَّداً وَبُكِيّاً ]

(Those were they unto whom Allah bestowed His grace from among the Prophets, of the offspring of Adam, and of those whom We carried (in the ship) with Nuh, and of the offspring of Ibrahim and Isra'il and from among those whom We guided and chose. When the verses of the Most Beneficent (Allah) were recited unto them, they fell down prostrating and weeping.) [19:58] Allah said in this honorable Ayah here,

[وَمِن ذُرِّيَّتِهِ]

(and among his progeny...) meaning, We guided from among his offspring,

[دَاوُودَ وَسُلَيْمَـنَ]

(Dawud, Sulayman...) from the offspring of Nuh, according to Ibn Jarir. It is also possible that the Ayah refers to Ibrahim since it is about him that the blessings were originally mentioned here, although Lut is not from his offspring, for he was Ibrahim's nephew, the son of his brother Maran, the son of Azar. It is possible to say that Lut was mentioned in Ibrahim's offspring as a generalization. As Allah said,

[أَمْ كُنتُمْ شُهَدَآءَ إِذْ حَضَرَ يَعْقُوبَ الْمَوْتُ إِذْ قَالَ لِبَنِيهِ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ مِن بَعْدِى قَالُواْ نَعْبُدُ إِلَـهَكَ وَإِلَـهَ آبَآئِكَ إِبْرَهِيمَ وَإِسْمَـعِيلَ وَإِسْحَـقَ إِلَـهًا وَاحِدًا وَنَحْنُ لَهُ مُسْلِمُونَ ]

(Or were you witnesses when death approached Ya`qub When he said unto his sons, "What will you worship after me'' They said, "We shall worship your God, and the God of your fathers, Ibrahim, Isma`il, Ishaq, One God, and to Him we submit.'') [2:133]. Here, Isma`il was mentioned among the ascendants of Ya`qub, although he was Ya`qub's uncle. Similarly Allah said,

[فَسَجَدَ الْمَلَـئِكَةُ كُلُّهُمْ أَجْمَعُونَ - إِلاَّ إِبْلِيسَ أَبَى أَن يَكُونَ مَعَ السَّـجِدِينَ ]

(So the angels prostrated themselves, all of them together. Except Iblis -- he refused to be among those to prostrate.) [15:30-31]. Allah included Iblis in His order to the angels to prostrate, and chastised him for his opposition, all because he was similar to them in that (order), so he was considered among them in general, although he was a Jinn. Iblis was created from fire while the angels were created from light. Mentioning `Isa in the offspring of Ibrahim, or Nuh as we stated above, is proof that the grandchildren from a man's daughter's side are included among his offspring. `Isa is included among Ibrahim's progeny through his mother, although `Isa did not have a father. Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that Abu Harb bin Abi Al-Aswad said, "Al-Hajjaj sent to Yahya bin Ya`mar, saying, `I was told that you claim that Al-Hasan and Al-Husayn are from the offspring of the Prophet , did you find it in the Book of Allah I read the Qur'an from beginning to end and did not find it.' Yahya said, `Do you not read in Surat Al-An`am,

[وَمِن ذُرِّيَّتِهِ دَاوُودَ وَسُلَيْمَـنَ]

(and among his progeny Dawud, Sulayman...) until,

[وَيَحْيَى وَعِيسَى]

(and Yahya and `Isa...) Al-Hajjaj said, `Yes.' Yahya said, `Is not `Isa from the offspring of Ibrahim, although he did not have a father' Al-Hajjaj said, `You have said the truth.''' For example, when a man leaves behind a legacy, a trust, or gift to his "offspring'' then the children of his daughters are included. But if a man gives something to his "sons'', or he leaves a trust behind for them, then that would be particular to his male children and their male children. Allah's statement,

[وَمِنْ ءابَائِهِمْ وَذُرِّيَّـتِهِمْ وَإِخْوَنِهِمْ]

(And also some of their fathers and their progeny and their brethren,) [6:87], mentions that some of these Prophets' ascendants and descendants were also guided and chosen. So Allah said,

[وَاجْتَبَيْنَـهُمْ وَهَدَيْنَـهُمْ إِلَى صِرَطٍ مُّسْتَقِيمٍ]

(We chose them, and We guided them to a straight path.)

Shirk Eradicates the Deeds, Even the Deeds of the Messengers

Allah said next,

[ذلِكَ هُدَى اللَّهِ يَهْدِى بِهِ مَن يَشَآءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ]

(This is the guidance of Allah with which He guides whomsoever He wills of His servants.) meaning, this occurred to them by Allah's leave and because He directed them to guidance. Allah said;

[وَلَوْ أَشْرَكُواْ لَحَبِطَ عَنْهُمْ مَّا كَانُواْ يَعْمَلُونَ]

(But if they had joined in worship others with Allah, all that they used to do would have been of no benefit to them.) This magnifies the serious danger of Shirk and the gravity of committing it. In another Ayah, Allah said;

[وَلَقَدْ أُوْحِىَ إِلَيْكَ وَإِلَى الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكَ لَئِنْ أَشْرَكْتَ لَيَحْبَطَنَّ عَمَلُكَ]

(And indeed it has been revealed to you, as it was to those (Allah's Messengers) before you: "If you join others in worship with Allah, surely your deeds will be in vain.'') [39:65] `If' here does not mean that this would ever occur, as is similar in Allah's statement;

[قُلْ إِن كَانَ لِلرَّحْمَـنِ وَلَدٌ فَأَنَاْ أَوَّلُ الْعَـبِدِينَ ]

(Say: "If the Most Beneficent had a son, then I am the first of Allah's worshippers.'') [43:81], and

[لَوْ أَرَدْنَآ أَن نَّتَّخِذَ لَهْواً لاَّتَّخَذْنَـهُ مِن لَّدُنَّآ إِن كُنَّا فَـعِلِينَ ]

(If We intended to take a pastime (a wife or a son, etc.) We could surely have taken it from Us, if We were going to do (that)) [21:17], and,

[لَّوْ أَرَادَ اللَّهُ أَن يَتَّخِذَ وَلَداً لاَّصْطَفَى مِمَّا يَخْلُقُ مَا يَشَآءُ سُبْحَـنَهُ هُوَ اللَّهُ الْوَحِدُ الْقَهَّارُ ]

(If Allah willed to take a son, He could have chosen whom He pleased out of those whom He created. But glory be to Him! He is Allah, the One, the Compelling.) [39:4] Allah said,

[أُوْلَـئِكَ الَّذِينَ ءَاتَيْنَـهُمُ الْكِتَـبَ وَالْحُكْمَ وَالنُّبُوَّةَ]

(They are those whom We gave the Book, Al-Hukm, and prophethood.) We bestowed these bounties on them, as a mercy for the servants, and out of our kindness for creation.

[فَإِن يَكْفُرْ بِهَا]

(But if they disbelieve therein...) in the prophethood, or the three things; the Book, the Hukm and the prophethood,

[هَـؤُلاءِ]

(They...) refers to the people of Makkah, according to Ibn `Abbas, Sa`id bin Al-Musayyib, Ad-Dahhak, Qatadah, As-Suddi, and others.

[فَقَدْ وَكَّلْنَا بِهَا قَوْماً لَّيْسُواْ بِهَا بِكَـفِرِينَ]

(then, indeed We have entrusted it to a people who are not disbelievers therein.) This Ayah means, if the Quraysh and the rest of the people of the earth - Arabs and non-Arabs, illiterate and the People of the Scripture - disbelieve in these bounties, then We have entrusted them to another people, the Muhajirun and Ansar, and those who follow their lead until the Day of Resurrection,

[لَّيْسُواْ بِهَا بِكَـفِرِينَ]

(who are not disbelievers therein.) They will not deny any of these favors, not even one letter. Rather, they will believe in them totally, even the parts that are not so clear to some of them. We ask Allah to make us among them by His favor, generosity and kindness. Addressing His servant and Messenger, Muhammad , Allah said;

[أُوْلَـئِكَ]

(They are...) the Prophets mentioned here, along with their righteous fathers, offspring and bretheren,

[الَّذِينَ هَدَى اللَّهُ]

(those whom Allah had guided.) meaning, they alone are the people of guidance,

[فَبِهُدَاهُمُ اقْتَدِهْ]

(So follow their guidance.) Imitate them. This command to the Messenger certainly applies to his Ummah, according to what he legislates and commands them. While mentioning this Ayah, Al-Bukhari recorded that Mujahid asked Ibn `Abbas, "Is there an instance where prostration is warranted in [Surah] Sad'' Ibn `Abbas said, "Yes.'' He then recited,

[وَوَهَبْنَا لَهُ إِسْحَـقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ]

(...And We bestowed upon him Ishaq and Ya`qub...) until,

[فَبِهُدَاهُمُ اقْتَدِهْ]

(...So follow their guidance.) He commented, "He (our Prophet, Muhammad ) was among them.'' In another narration, Mujahid added that Ibn `Abbas said, "Your Prophet was among those whose guidance we were commanded to follow.'' Allah's statement,

[قُل لاَّ أَسْأَلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ أَجْراً]

(Say: "No reward I ask of you for this.'') means, I do not ask you for any reward for delivering the Qur'an to you, nor anything else,

[إِنْ هُوَ إِلاَّ ذِكْرَى لِلْعَـلَمِينَ]

("It is only a reminder for the `Alamin (mankind and Jinns).'') so they are reminded by it and guided from blindness to clarity, from misguidance to guidance, and from disbelief to faith.

You're welcome to disagree and hold a different interpretation of those verses, but this is an extract of Tafsir ibn Kathir, one of the most accepted and followed tafsirs known to all muslims. It can be found at: http://www.tafsir.com

I realize this ended up in an extremely long post, but it was the only way to clear false interpretations of the Qur'an. I think this clearly settles the issue on what the Islamic stand is regarding this, so I'm going to close this topic now lest this tafsir be buried under further spam. If there are follow up questions regarding the tefsir. Or there are other things about this you wish to discus you can pm me to request to re-open the thread.

Edit: Only 3 minutes after closing it I got a lot of requests to open re-open the thread from several brothers with convincing argumenents, So I reopened it.
the reason I closed it was because I was afraid it would lead into people giving there personal interpretation of those verses, which for Muslims is forbidden. But I geuss that was a bit preemptive of me.

 

[vpb]

Thank you for your detailed responses. I had a long day and will respond to your posts tomorrow – God willing.

I don't know what are you going to reply, but I'm sure , till now , no one has seen any evidence here to support your claims, apart from 'quoted verses out of context'. We already showed you the commenting of the verses, of all the verses u quoted, and I don't know what is there more left to say . We muslims are obligated to go to Qur'an and Sunnah for every thing we need to know. For it is the book which has made truth clear from error, and Qur'an and Sunnah is enough for us.
I also want to mention the point again that Qur'an teaches the same thing as the Injeel (Gospel) sent to Jesus, and Torah to Moses. So since we believe bible and torah are corrupted, and Qur'an is sent to confirm the last two ones, there is no logical reason to go and read the Bible, cuz Qur'an already is sent for that.



But we look forward to your further comments, if there is anything left for u to clarify

A big difference between the Bible and the Quran is that we have record of the circumstances of revelation through hadith that sheds additional understanding on the Quran. We also have volumes of books written on the biography of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) from authentic hadith that give us a detailed record of his life. In contrast we know very little about the life of Prophet Jesus (pbuh).

Actually, if we would start drawing information from "Quran and Sunnah" and "nowdays Bible", you would get a much longer biography of Jesus from Qur'an and Sunnah than from the nowdays Bible. With all respect to christians, the biography of Jesus (the God that they believe in), is very incomplete, which I would not be happy with, of not having a explanation of who Jesus a.s was.

BTW I suppose that you know that they equate Muhammad (pbuh) not with Jesus (pbuh), but rather with Paul. They hold the letters (Romans, I & II Corinthians, Gallations, etc.) written by a reformed persecutor of Christians as to be the "inspired Word of God" and they hold the Quran as no more than myth and fables.

1. Muhammed saws was a Messenger from Allah, while Paul was someone who used to chase and kill christians and suddenly became inspired to write the word of God.
2. We know every single detail about Muhammed saws, even how he had shower, while we know nothing about Paul nothing, but few words.
3. Applying the system of verifying the authenticity of hadith to the bible, would return the state of bible as daif (weak) . There is no information to prove the authenticity of the "statements made by Jesus" in the bible.
4. Muhammed recieved a direct revelation, while Paul just wrote what he thought was right.
5.Bc they hold Qur'an as myth or fables , it doesn't bother me, Allah has made truth clear from error, if they want to believe or not that's up to them.
6.(with all respect to christians), Bible contains errors in every single field , wether prophetic , scientific, psychological or social .
7. People have been challenged to bring a surah (chapter) like of that Qur'an, and no one has been able to do it.

so I don't mind if they equate Muhammed with Paul or not, or Qur'an is a myth or not, truth has been made clear from error. Whomsoever believes it, will find the reward with Allah, who doesn't , will not. inshaAllah.

 

[vpb]

I just passed over this saying of Ibn Abbas in the Tafsir of Ibn Kathir and I thought of pasting it here, since it's connected to the topic.

Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Surah Al-Baqara, "Woe unto Those Criminals among the Jews".

Az-Zuhri said that `Ubadydullah bin `Abdullah narrated that Ibn `Abbas said, "O Muslims! How could you ask the People of the Book about anything, while the Book of Allah (Qur'an) that He revealed to His Prophet is the most recent Book from Him and you still read it fresh and young Allah told you that the People of the Book altered the Book of Allah, changed it and wrote another book with their own hands. They then said, `This book is from Allah,' so that they acquired a small profit by it. Hasn't the knowledge that came to you prohibited you from asking them By Allah! We have not seen any of them asking you about what was revealed to you.'' This Hadith was also collected by Al-Bukhari.

 

[MustafaMc]

I just passed over this saying of Ibn Abbas in the Tafsir of Ibn Kathir and I thought of pasting it here, since it's connected to the topic.

Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Surah Al-Baqara, "Woe unto Those Criminals among the Jews".

Az-Zuhri said that `Ubadydullah bin `Abdullah narrated that Ibn `Abbas said, "O Muslims! How could you ask the People of the Book about anything, while the Book of Allah (Qur'an) that He revealed to His Prophet is the most recent Book from Him and you still read it fresh and young Allah told you that the People of the Book altered the Book of Allah, changed it and wrote another book with their own hands. They then said, `This book is from Allah,' so that they acquired a small profit by it. Hasn't the knowledge that came to you prohibited you from asking them By Allah! We have not seen any of them asking you about what was revealed to you.'' This Hadith was also collected by Al-Bukhari.

Subhan'Allah, Brother, this hadith clearly demonstrates the Muslim position on the scriptures revealed prior to the Quran. There is no need for anyone to search further and to lift Quranic verses out of context in order to twist the meaning to try and prove differently.

Muslims are under absolutely no compulsion to read the Bible, the Torah or the books of any other religion. In fact, I strongly discourage reading of the Bible unless one is thoroughly knowledgeable of the Quran. The Quran must be used as the standard by which one judges whether something in the Bible is from Allah or not. If one is not knowledgeable of the Truth revealed in the Quran, he or she may become misled away from the Straight Way.

 

[vpb]

Muslims are under absolutely no compulsion to read the Bible, the Torah or the books of any other religion. In fact, I strongly discourage reading of the Bible unless one is thoroughly knowledgeable of the Quran. The Quran must be used as the standard by which one judges whether something in the Bible is from Allah or not. If one is not knowledgeable of the Truth revealed in the Quran, he or she may become misled away from the Straight Way.

Exactly, I mean what's the logic behind reading bible if the Qur'an was sent specially to correct the books that were changed through time (Injeel[Bible]) and Torah). Let's take for example AntiVirus programs, when you connect to internet, the old database of information for viruses (in your computer) is checked with the new database of viruses (on internet), and if it is old, then the database is updated with more information from the new database on internet. So how could you go back to read Bible if Qur'an is sent? It's like telling the software to change the new database which has the new correct information, to the old one. It would mess up everything. Common sense is needed to answer to the question of this thread.

Maybe Christians are the one who should read Qur'an.

As Allah says in the Qur'an:

3:3. It is He Who sent down to thee (step by step), in truth, the Book, confirming what went before it; and He sent down the Law (of Moses) and the Gospel (of Jesus) before this, as a guide to mankind, and He sent down the criterion (of judgment between right and wrong).

 

[Walter]

Hi Everyone:

I had to complete an urgent project. I apologise for not responding yesterday as planned.

Hi Vpb:

It seems that the Tafsir is essentially a well respected commentary. The Bible has many well respected commentaries; however, one person’s commentary is still one person’s opinion.

We should agree on the following when trying to find the truth.

a) An opinion may be scholarly based and generally accepted, but it is still an opinion.

b) All human opinions are biased and can be challenged as new information becomes available.

c) Intellectually honest scholars acknowledge their biases and must consciously minimise this bias in the presentation of their research.

I will reference the Tafsir in my research, but it should not conflict with a commonsense reading of the Qu’ran.

Let us now examine my statements and the supporting verses.

1. Muslims must believe the books that came before

4:136 - O ye who believe! Believe in Allah and His Messenger, and the scripture which He hath sent to His Messenger and the scripture which He sent to those before (him). Any who denieth Allah, His angels, His Books, His Messengers, and the Day of Judgment, hath gone far, far astray.

Vpb, MustafaMc, and Abdul Fattah: your detailed responses and tafsirs supported my assertion that Muslims had to BELIEVE the Books.

2. The Books included the Torah and Gospel

5:44 - Lo! We did reveal the Torah, wherein is guidance and a light, by which the prophets who surrendered (unto Allah) judged the Jews, and the rabbis and the priests (judged) by such of Allah's Scripture as they were bidden to observe, and thereunto were they witnesses. So fear not mankind, but fear Me. And My revelations for a little gain. Whoso judgeth not by that which Allah hath revealed: such are disbelievers.

5:46 - And in their footsteps We sent Jesus the son of Mary, confirming the Law that had come before him: We sent 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.

Vpb, MustafaMc, and Abdul Fattah: your detailed responses supported my assertion that the Books included the Torah and the Gospel. Abdul Fattah, your tafsir actually included an account proving that the Torah was available during Mohammed’s time and that Mohammed used it. Your response also showed that Mohammed was concerned that persons were misinterpreting what was written, as was Jesus.

(Bring here the Tawrah and recite it, if you are truthful.) So they brought the Tawrah and read from it until the reader reached the verse about stoning.

Also, MustafaMc, 5:48 clearly states “and follow not their vain desires”. This seems to indicate that you must not follow their corrupt behaviour. It does not support your assertion that Muslims are not to read the Books. The tafsirs clearly show that Mohammed trusted the Books enough to use them as shown above.

3. The Koran admonishes persons to not simply believe but study and follow the previous books.

6:155-156 - And this is a Book which We have revealed as a blessing: so follow it and be righteous, that ye may receive mercy: Lest ye should say: "The Book was sent down to two Peoples before us, and for our part, we remained unacquainted with all that they learned by assiduous study:"

Here we seem to have a difference of opinion. Therefore let us therefore examine the context.

6:154: Moreover, We gave Moses the Book, completing (Our favour) to those who would do right, and explaining all things in detail,- and a guide and a mercy, that they might believe in the meeting with their Lord.
155: And this is a Book which We have revealed as a blessing: so follow it and be righteous, that ye may receive mercy:
156: Lest ye should say: "The Book was sent down to two Peoples before us, and for our part, we remained unacquainted with all that they learned by assiduous study:"
157: Or lest ye should say: "If the Book had only been sent down to us, we should have followed its guidance better than they." Now then hath come unto you a clear (sign) from your Lord,- and a guide and a mercy: then who could do more wrong than one who rejecteth Allah's signs, and turneth away therefrom? In good time shall We requite those who turn away from Our signs, with a dreadful penalty, for their turning away.

I believe that the Book in 156 is the same Book referred to in 154 and 157. I welcome your opinions.

4. Muslims are given the primary responsibility of copying and distributing the Books sent before that all nations may believe.

6:89 - 90 - These were the men to whom We gave the Book, and authority, and prophethood: if these (their descendants) reject them, Behold! We shall entrust their charge to a new people who reject them not. Those were the (prophets) who received Allah's guidance: Copy the guidance they received; Say: "No reward for this do I ask of you: This is no less than a message for the nations."

Since there seems to be some disagreement, let us therefore again look at the context to identify who these men were..

Guidance is given to Abraham:
6:83 - That was the reasoning about Us, which We gave to Abraham (to use) against his people: …

Then his descendants also found in the Old Testament of the Bible:
6:84 - We gave him Isaac and Jacob: all (three) guided: and before him, We guided Noah, and among his progeny, David, Solomon, Job, Joseph, Moses, and Aaron: thus do We reward those who do good:

Then into the New Testament:
6:85 - And Zakariya and John, and Jesus and Elias: all in the ranks of the righteous:

So the Book appears to be the Bible.

Let me suggest that we simply present our evidence and stop the accusations of taking verses out of context. If the verses are taken out of context, then provide some evidence so that we may all benefit. Do not simply make unsupported assertions in which no one benefits.

Regards,
Grenville

 

[MustafaMc]

As far as I am concerned the question asked in the title "Are Muslims obligated to read the Bible?" has been definitively answered in the negative. No further discussion is warranted.

 

[doorster]

as MustafaMC said,

As far as I am concerned the question asked in the title "Are Muslims obligated to read the Bible?" has been definitively answered in the negative. No further discussion is warranted.

and I concurred