What is the Islamic Attitude Towards Previous Divine Scriptures?

In principle, all divinely revealed scriptures emanate from one and the same source namely Almighty God, as such they convey a basic message that is common to them all. Generally, they all convey the necessity of believing in God, the need for divine authority to guide human conduct, values of morality and justice, and accountability in the hereafter. This is exemplified in the Qurʾān from the following verse:  

Considering this, the Qurʾān confirms the divine authority of all the previously revealed books belonging to the Abrahamic faiths: the Torah(Tawrāt), Psalms (Zabūr) and Gospel (Injīl), as the following verse reads:    

More specifically, in a reference to the Torah, the Qurʾān confirms its authority as a source of inspiration and guidance.   

It is thus observed that the holy Prophet is bound by the guidance that is found in the Torah. Further confirmation of the basic harmony of the divinely revealed laws can be found in the Qurʾānic verse which in reference to the previous prophets, directs the Prophet of Islam to follow their guidance. The verse says:    

Based on this and similar proclamations in the Qurʾān, Muslim scholars unanimously agree that all the revealed religions are different manifestations of an essential unity.^[5] This is of course not to say that there are no differences between them. Since each one of the revealed religions was addressed to different nations at differentpoints of times, they each have distinctive features that set them apart from the rest. The Shariah has retained many of the previous laws, while it has in the meantime abrogated or suspended others.  

Is there alteration (taḥrīf) in previous divine scriptures? 

Alteration of scriptures can occur in the following forms:

1. Misinterpretation of the verses of the Scriptures.

2. Changing in the meaning of the books of God according to one’s own personal or factional interests.

3. Adding one’s own words into the divine text of the scriptures revealed by God which later have become the parts of the divine revelations.

4. Not guarding the original language of the books in which they had been revealed.

The Qurʾān mentions that alteration has occurred in previously revealed divine scriptures. For instance, the Qurʾān states: 

The context of this verse highlights alteration of divine scriptures that were revealed to the Jews.  Firstly, it shows that the Jews tampered with the text of the scriptures. Secondly, they misinterpreted the Scripture and thereby distorted the meaning of the verses of the Book. Lastly, they were in the company of the Prophet and listened to the conversations which took place, and then misreported and misrepresented what they had heard to others. 

Elsewhere, the Qurʾān also mentions that alteration has occurred in the form of jealousy (baghyan) and extremism (ghuluww). For example, the Qurʾān mentions: 

Building on the previous discussion of taḥrīf, this verse signifies that rather than following what was revealed by God, the people of the book (i.e., those who the previous scriptures was revealed to) went against the true message of God and instead followed their own ways out of jealousy. 

Furthermore, the Qurʾān also mentions extremism (ghuluww), whereby the Christians altered the verses of their scriptures and exaggerated the status of Prophet Jesus and propounded the doctrine of the trinity. As can be deciphered in the following verse: 

A point to note is that the Qurʾān confirms that Muslims must believe in the original, untampered previous scriptures which were releveled to selected prophets, but not the current existing books which have been subject to taḥrīf. 

Despite the notion of taḥrīf, one may find numerous instances where the Bible is compatible with the Qurʾān. This overlap between the Qurʾān and the Bible can be a source of dialogue and unity between both Muslims and Christians.  

Are laws mentioned in previous divine scriptures applicable to Muslims? 

It is important to know that Prophet Muhammad was ordered to follow the message of the previous scriptures as a source of guidance for necessary articles of faith such as belief in one God, prophethood and the afterlife. 

However, there is a consensus amongst Muslims that the laws mentioned in previous scriptures are not applicable to Muslims, unless they are maintained by the Shariah that was revealed to Prophet Muhammed. This is because some of the laws mentioned in previous scriptures are abrogated by the Qurʾān, which all Muslims believe is the final revelation of God. 

The Qurʾān refers to the laws of the previous revelations which have either been upheld or abrogated by Shariah and these can be seen in the following three examples. 

1. We can see in the following verse that a previously ordained act, i.e., fasting, was upheld by the Shariah. The Qurʾān commands Muslims to fast (in Ramadhan) just as fasting was commanded for people of the previously revealed books. 

To give a similar example in the sunnah, which confirms the ruling of a previous religion, we may refer to the hadith that makes sacrifice by slaughtering animals lawful for Muslims. The Prophet said: 

2. The Qurʾān or the Sunnah may refer to a ruling of the previous revelation but at the same time abrogate and suspend it, in which case the ruling is to be abandoned and discontinued.  An example of this can be found in the Qurʾān where a reference is made to the prohibition of certain varieties of food to the Jews, while at the same time prohibitions are lifted from the Muslims. 

The second portion of this text clearly removes the prohibitions that were imposed on the Jews.

3. The Qurʾān or the Sunnah may refer to a ruling of a previous revelation without clarifying the position as to whether it should be abandoned or upheld. Unlike the first two forms, the present situation has given rise to differences of opinion. To give an example, we read in the Qurʾān in a reference to the law of retaliation that was enacted in the Torah. 

Here there is no clarification as to whether the same law has to be observed by the Muslims. In yet another passage in the same chapter the Qurʾān stresses the enormity of murder in the following terms: 

Once again, this verse narrates a law of a previous revelation but does not specify whether this also constitutes a part of the Islamic Shariah. Generally, we find consensus on the present situation that the foregoing is the part of the Islamic Shariah, and the mere fact that the Qurʾān refers to it is sufficient to make the law of retaliation binding on the Muslims. In this regard, the correct view is that the Shariah only abrogates rules that are disagreeable to its teachings. Overall, the Qurʾān confirms the rulings of the previous scriptures insofar as these rulings have not been abrogated or prohibited. Thus, we see an overlap of laws from previously revealed books and the Qurʾān, such that these laws become an integral part of Shariah.^[14] 

^{[1] Quran 42:13}

^{[2] Quran 2:4}

^{[3] Quran 5:44}

^{[4] Quran 6:90}

^{[5] Mohammed Hashim Kamali, Principles of IslamicJurisprudence. (Islamic texts society, 2003), 307}

^{[6] Quran 4:46}

^{[7] Quran 3:19}

^{[8] Quran 4:171}

^{[9] Quran 2:183}

^{[10] Mishkat, Hadith no 1476}

 ^{[11] Quran 6:146}

^{[12] Quran 5:48}

^{[13] Quran 5:32}

^{[14] Al-Ghazali, al-Muṣtasfā min ‘ilm al-uṣūl, (Dāral-Thaqāfa, 2018), 136.}