Islam – Fundamentals of Faith

Introduction

Earlier in the series of articles, the basic principles of the Islamic faith were highlighted. The perfect Muslim believes in them and in what is stated in the Holy Qur’an regarding the creation of the heavens, earth and man. His behaviour and conduct in everyday life should reflect such a belief. He will, therefore, accept and abide by the Holy Qur’an, the authenticity of which he has no doubt. He will not be satisfied with reading it unless he can understand it, nor by reciting it melodiously without grasping its meaning. In fact, he adopts it as a book of codes with which he can govern his daily life. He accepts what is declared to be lawful and refrains from what is forbidden. He acts on what it instructs, and abstains from what is not permitted. 

Other religions may be confined to their respective places of worship. Islam however, is not confined to the mosque. In fact, its impact and influence pervade all places the mosque, the home, the streets and government offices: It is a religion to be observed at times of war as well as peace. Islam is an unalienable factor in the life of every Muslim. He is guided by its teachings on every aspect of life as it informs him of what is lawful and what is forbidden. All actions of a Muslim can be classified under one of the following five categories: Lawful, Recommended, Obligatory, Forbidden and Reprehensible. Whereas other religions may only include forms of worship and may not include politics and acquisition of knowledge, that is not the case with Islam. Salient aspects are summarised:

Fundamental Principles to Embrace Islam:

Anyone wishing to embrace Islam has to accept its intellectual principles with total conviction right from the start. This means he will have developed the faith within himself. The principles he has to accept are outlined briefly as follows: 

• This material world is not the ‘all’ and ‘end of all’ of existence and life in this world is only a part of eternal life.
• Man existed even before he was born and will continue to exist after death; he did not create himself but had been created before he was conscious of his human existence.
• The inanimate objects around him couldn’t have created him, as he is a rational being and they are not; everything in this universe has been created from nothingness by the one God, God the Almighty.
• God is the only one who grants life and causes death. It is He who created everything, and if He wishes. He will destroy and obliterate it.
• Almighty God does not resemble His creation in any way. He existed before this creation and He is eternal and has unlimited knowledge.
• He is completely just in a way that cannot be assessed in human terms; it is He who has laid down what we call the laws of nature.
• He has created everything according to a well-defined measure before all creation, thus all the phenomena of activity, inactivity, consistency and inconsistency that we can observe in both animate and inanimate beings have been clearly defined and distinct boundaries have been set.
• Man has been bestowed with the power of intellect to deal with whatever matters he is presented with and he has been given the power of reasoning with which he can make his own choice and will power to enable him to achieve what he wants.
• God has created an eternal life beyond this temporary life, where the doer of good will be rewarded with a life in paradise and the wrongdoer will be punished and exist in hell. This God is One. No one else may be worshipped but Him; no one can take us nearer to Him to plead on our behalf without His permission. Thus, we should worship God alone, in all sincerity and purity. 
• All the material beings that we can see and feel which have been created by Him. He has also created unseen beings, some animate and others inanimate, which we cannot see. Among the unseen beings are the angels, who have been created for absolute good; and then there are the Satans, who have been created as dark and negative forces. 
• Apart from these there is a third category of unseen beings, the jinn, who are divided into Satans and ‘good’ or ‘obedient’ jinn and from amongst human beings.
• God selects certain people to whom the Shari’a (Divine Law) is revealed, so that they can guide humanity towards it, these people are the prophets. 
• This divine law is contained in all the books revealed from God. God takes us through progressive “steps” in each book until the final book, the Holy Qur’an. Books that preceded it were either distorted or got lost and forgotten. The Holy Qur’an, however, has remained intact. The last of these prophets is Muhammad bin Abdullah, an Arab of the Quraysh tribe. With him there was an end to all the previous divine messages and religions. There has been no other prophet since his time. The Holy Qur’an is the constitution of Islam. Whoever endorses the fact that it has been revealed by God and believes in it completely, is a Mu’min (believer). Iman (faith) in this sense can only be seen by God because human beings cannot penetrate into human hearts and know what is in them. Therefore, it is essential, in order to be accepted in the fold of Islam, that a man declare his faith.

Declaration of Faith: 

An individual can pronounce his/her ‘faith in Islam’ by pronouncing: “I bear witness that there is no God but Allah and I bear witness that Muhammad is the Prophet of God.” The moment he pronounces this statement of faith he becomes a Muslim and is entitled to all the rights enjoyed by Muslims; he also agrees to perform all the duties (ibadat) enjoined upon him by Islam. 

Duties (ibada) of A Muslim:

The ibadat (duties) of a Muslim are the prescribed forms of worship. There are only a few and they are easy to perform and do not require much effort or exertion. There are four, as outlined below: 

1. Salah (Prayer): A Muslim has to pray two rak’ats (prostrations) at dawn, during which time he has communion with his Lord. He asks Him of His goodness and seeks refuge in Him from His punishment. Before making these prostrations, a Muslim has, to perform wudu (ablutions): he washes his face, hands and feet, or takes a bath if he is in a state of ritual impurity. Besides the dawn prayer, he has to pray at four other times four rak’ats at midday; four rak’ats in the afternoon; three rak’ats at sunset; four rak’ats at night: These are obligatory (faradh) prayers, the performing of which will not, on the whole, take more than half an hour per day. There is no particular place or person required for the performance of these prayers, and it is not necessary for a Muslim to have an intermediary when he prays, as he prays directly to his Lord. 
2. Fasting (Saum): In a certain month during the year a Muslim has to fast. This is known as the period of Ramadan. Breakfast is consumed before dawn, lunch is taken after sunset, and during the day all Muslims abstain from food and water and must not have sexual intercourse. Ramadan is a month of self-purification for every Muslim when he purifies his body and soul. It is also a month to fulfill the desire to do good and be generous, and to reflect the brotherhood of man in the material life. 
3. Zakah (alms): A Muslim has to give 2.5 % of his wealth as alms to the poor and needy. He does this on an annual basis, once his own needs and those of his family have been met. This financial support paid by every Muslim comes as a great source of comfort’ and assistance to the poor, the sick and the needy. It thus helps to alleviate poverty and establishes a form of social security.
4. Congregations: Islam has arranged certain periodical gatherings for Muslims. They congregate together five times a day to offer prayer. There need be no disruption of work for anyone whatever his trade or profession. Those who miss the congregation can pray at home, though they will, in fact deprive themselves of the joyful reward of praying together in a group. Then there is the weekly congregation on Fridays for Jum’a prayer. This lasts for less than an hour, and it is compulsory for all male Muslims to attend. Besides the above, there are mass congregations held twice a year on the occasion of the two Eid’s (festivals). Attendance is not compulsory and they last less than an hour. Finally, there is the annual world congregation known as the Hajj. It is a kind of mammoth public gathering, held once a year at Makkah. This congregation provides guidance in all aspects: spiritual, physical and intellectual. A Muslim is expected to attend once in his lifetime, but only if he is able to do so. These are the duties and acts of worship enjoined upon every Muslim.

Avoiding Evil Acts:

Apart from the above, abstention from certain modes of behaviour are also deemed as ibadah (worship). These are actions which any sensible person would deplore, such as killing without a valid reason, intruding on the rights of others, aggressive behaviour and all forms of injustice, any kind of intoxication which would affect the brain, adultery, since it destroys honour and dignity and violates the sanctioned form of blood relationship. Other forms of forbidden behaviour include usury, lying, betrayal and deserting any form of military service which seeks to glorify the Divine Writ, making false oaths or producing false witnesses and, above all, disobedience to one’s parents or dismissing them and neglecting their needs. However, God forgives a Muslim who fails to carry out some of his duties and disobeys some of the Islamic laws but repents and asks for pardon. On the other hand, a Muslim who does not repent will be considered as a rebel, who will be punished in the next world. This punishment will, however, be only temporary and will not be equal to that of a non-believer. As for a Muslim who refuses to acknowledge any basic Islamic principle or belief, rejects his duties and Islamic regulations or denies even the smallest detail outlined in the Holy Qur’an, he will be considered as an apostate deprived of his Islamic identity. Apostasy is similar to a crime of high treason, from the Islamic point of view. Unless a person gives up his un-Islamic beliefs and repents, he will be given a death sentence. 

Total Acceptance of Faith-No Hypocrisy:

Faith has to be accepted in totality and, therefore, a denial of any aspect is deemed as a denial of the whole. Therefore, anyone who accepts 99% of the faith but denies 1% is considered an infidel. You may come across Muslims who are non-believers. They can be compared with someone who joins a political party or a society, attends all its meetings, pays his subscription and does whatever is required of a member, but nonetheless refuses to accept its principles and remains unconvinced. It may seem that such a person has joined the party or society simply to find out what’s going on or to create trouble. Such a Muslim is a hypocrite hypocrisy is defined as “outward profession of faith and concealment of disbelief”. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), used to say that a hypocrite can be recognised in three ways: failure to keep his promise, lying and betraying anyone’s trust. A hypocrite pronounces statements of faith and performs his religious duties, yet deep and down he remains unconvinced. Such a person may be considered a Muslim by the outside world but not by God, Who knows what is hidden in our hearts and innermost beings.

The Believing Muslim:

One is a believing Muslims if he/she fully believes in the intellectual and theoretical basses of Islam. The fundamental of faith and acts/ worship are:

1. Giving full testimony to the existence of Allah (God) and declares He has neither associate nor intermediary.
2. Belief in the Al-Ghayb, angels, all Prophets and all revealed Holy Books, including Qur’an.
3. Belief in destiny.
4. Belief in the Hereafter 
5. Expression of the statements of faith (Shahada, kalimah). 
6. Performance of the obligatory prayers. 
7. Fasting in the month of Ramadan; 
8. Payment of zakat (alms);
9. Performance of Hajj (pilgrimage) to Mecca once in a lifetime, if this is possible.
10. Abstention from everything that is forbidden by Muslim consensus. 

Generally speaking, adhering to the Iman (Faith) is more beneficial to us we feel better and enjoy tremendous rewards. This is why, even though it may be hard to stick to these laws 100%, we feel better in ourselves if we follow them. Our Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) summed up the characteristics of a true Muslim in an eloquent sentence which states the essence of faith and action in a nutshell: “You should worship God as if you can see him.” This means we must strive to be in total awareness of God’s presence all the time this is the very essence of Islam to be God conscious in all our actions, whether or not they are serious. God is watching us constantly and is aware of our every move. This is why anyone who is truly God conscious will obey His laws, and he will not despair either, knowing that God is with him all the time. A person who is strengthened in this way will not need to ask for help from anyone because he can always ask God to fulfill his needs. And, if anyone disobeys God’s laws, as it is in his nature to sin, provided he asks for forgiveness, God will forgive him. This is just a brief introduction to Islam and in to following chapters we shall be looking into all aspects of faith in detail.

A Sinner Muslim:

If a Muslim fails to perform some of his obligations and is remiss in practice or commits some such actions as are forbidden, yet he believes in the liability of all obligations and the impropriety of all unlawful deeds, he will continue to be a Muslim though he will be a sinner. [The concept of Takfeer i.e. declaring a non-practicing Muslim, to be ‘apostate’ and liable to be killed; by some extremist groups, calling themselves as ‘True Muslims only’, is rejected.]

Islam Covers all aspects of Life

Besides being a religion of worship, Islam also contains a set of civil and criminal codes of law; it includes international law, rules and regulations of administration, principles of ethics and the science of politics. You can open any book on Islamic Jurisprudence and you will find these topics discussed, worship in some religions may only take the form of prayer. But Islam includes every action done for the good of the people, with the intention of dedication to God besides prayer and fasting. 

If religion is thought to be separate from the realm of knowledge, then Islam can be described as a religion of learning because the very first word of Divine Revelation was “Iqr’a” “Recite” or “Read”. It did not say, “Fight” nor did it say, “Accumulate money and possessions” or, “Renounce the world”. “Read” was the first word revealed in the Holy Qur’an, followed by a discourse on knowledge. The biggest gift God has granted to mankind is the gift of knowledge, knowledge of what man did not know. No other blessing can match it be it in the form of wealth, physical strength or fame and glory. 

Knowledge

It is necessary for every member of an Islamic society, if he can, to acquire every area of knowledge needed. No other religion on earth except Islam considers the acquisition of knowledge as a religious duty. It therefore exhorts its followers to learn the sciences of chemistry, medicine, aviation, etc. Islam is also the religion of’ ‘riches’. God has described wealth as khair (good). But man’s attachment to wealth is described as follows: “And violent is he in his love of wealth” (Qur’an;100:7). Muslims should therefore seek to be rich, but they should acquire their wealth lawfully and this wealth should not become an obsession. 

Wealth

Every Muslim should understand that wealth and everything else in this universe are at his disposal. He may seek to derive good from everything he finds around him. However, he should not become attached to what he finds and seek to glorify him through it. If he does so, he will become a slave of wealth and consequently he will worship it besides God. God has made wealth as a means of benefit. But if you hoard your wealth, you become a slave and a captive of it, Our Prophet (peace be upon him) says, “miserable is the slave of money.” 

As for clothes, Islam considers all garments as a means of covering the body to protect it from different weather conditions. But, as with wealth, if you glorify your clothes and hoard them without wearing them, you become their slave. Our Prophet (peace be upon him) says, “Miserable is the person who is obsessed with his clothing.”

Power and Justice

Islam is also a religion of might and power but not based on injustice. It is also a religion of this world and the life hereafter. “Our Lord! Give us good in this world and good in the hereafter.” (Qur’an;2:201). Islam enjoins on its followers to be true to their faith and follow Divine guidance, while, at the same time, being the most advanced, sophisticated, strong, rich and well informed people in the world.

Dawah/ Preaching

Besides all this, every Muslim should be aware of another duty he should perform: to convey the Message of Islam to others, and to call others to the path of God with wisdom and beautiful preaching. He should not compel or force anyone to accept Islam. “Let there be no compulsion in religion.” (Qur’an;2:256) He should present the salient features of Islam in a way that appeals to both the head and the heart. 

Man of Intellect

Muslims should be living examples of the glorious principles of Islam. They should not present a perverted and distorted picture of it. The Muslim missionary should be a man or woman of intellectual qualities and one who understands the needs and response, mood and wavelength of those to whom he is talking. He should also understand that Islam does not shun dialogue or debate. Everything is argued out on the basis of proof, thus anyone who speaks against Islam should be asked to give evidence. Say, “Bring forth your argument if you are telling the truth.” (Qur’an;2:111).

If anyone invokes, besides God, any other god, he has no authority therefore. (Qur’an;23: 117) 

It is impossible to give proof against the Oneness of God. 

If such Muslim missionaries take up the task, the whole world will accept the religion of God. For God has revealed this religion and He will preserve it:

“We have without doubt, sent down the message; and We will assuredly guard it (from corruption)” (Qur’an;15:9). 

Faith in the Holy Scriptures: 

The future is for Islam. However, it is now up to us Muslims to seek the privilege of spreading the Message of Islam and thus attain reward in this world and in the life hereafter. If we fail to do so, God may assign this task to others who will come into the fold of Islam and take up the WORK of dawah. May God the Almighty make us worthy of our religion and grant us success in our task. And may He pardon us and grant mercy to us. In conclusion our prayer is all praise be to God, Lord of all the Worlds! Each of Six Articles of Islamic Faith were discussed in the DJ issues earlier this year, except Belief in the Holy Scriptures, the divine books.

Muslims believe in the Holy Qur’an and in all the other revealed books mentioned in it. These are, The Book (Scrolls) of Abraham, The Book of Moses, (Torah Old Testament), the Psalms of David and the Gospel (Injeel) of Jesus (The New Testament contains four Gospels, according to Mark, Mathew, Luke and John but none according to Jesus Christ). The Holy Qur’an was revealed to confirm the true and original message and to expose the distortions made in earlier messages: “And unto thee (0 Prophet) have we revealed this Divine Writ setting forth the truth, confirming the truth of whatever there still remains of earlier revelations and determining what is true therein” (Qur’an;5:48). Muslims, therefore, believe in the other revealed books in the light of Qur’an, wherever they differ with what is said in the Holy Qur’an, those contradictions are rejected.

The Testament/ Scrolls of Abraham

Quran mentions that the law of righteousness and godliness is not a new law, the spiritual truths have been renewed and reiterated again and again in the previous scriptures from Abraham to Moses: and this is In the Books of the earliest (Revelation), The Books of Abraham and Moses.(Quran;87:18-19); Or has he not been notified about what was in the books of Moses and of Abraham who always kept his word: (Quran;53:36-37). There is a book in Greek, which has been translated by Mr. G.H. Box, called the Testament of Abraham (published by the Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge, London, 1927). It seems to be a Greek translation of a Hebrew original. The Greek Text was probably written in the second Christian century, in Egypt, but in its present form it probably goes back only to the 9th or 10th Century. It was popular among the Christians. Perhaps the Jewish Midrash also refers to a Testament of Abraham.

God has informed us about what is mentioned in the Scrolls of Abraham and is repeated in the Scrolls of Moses:

“That no bearer of burdens shall be made to bear another’s burden…” (Qur’an;53:38). 

“To happiness (in the life to come) will indeed attain he who attains to purity (in this world), and remembers his Sustainer’s name and prays (unto Him). But nay, (O men), you prefer the life of this world, although the life to come is better and more enduring. Verily (all) this has indeed been (said) in the earlier revelations – the revelations of Abraham and Moses. (Qur’an;87:14-18). 

The Torah:

Torah is often restricted to signify the first five books of the Old Testament, also called the Law or the Pentateuch. These are the books traditionally ascribed to Prophet Moses (peace be upon him), the recipient of the original revelation from God on Mount Sinai. Jewish, Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestant canons all agree on their order as: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The written Torah, in the restricted sense of the Pentateuch, is preserved in all Jewish synagogues on handwritten parchment scrolls that reside inside the ark of the Law. They are removed and returned to their place with special reverence. Readings from the Torah (Pentateuch) form an important part of Jewish liturgical services. The term Torah is also used to designate the entire Hebrew Bible. Since for some Jews the laws and customs passed down through oral traditions are part and parcel of God’s revelation to Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) and constitute the “Oral Torah,” Torah is also understood to include both the Oral Law and the Written Law. Rabbinic commentaries on and interpretations of both Oral and Written Law have been viewed by some as extensions of sacred oral tradition, thus broadening still further the meaning of Torah to designate the entire body of Jewish laws. 

Torah comprise of those commandments and instructions revealed to Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) starting with his appointment of Messengers-ship till his death, spread over forty years. Allah says: We gave Moses the Holy Book (Torah) and the criterion of right and wrong so that you might be rightly guided (Quran;2:53). It includes the Ten Commandments given by God on the stone tablets, while Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) got the remaining commandments written, twelve copies were prepared and handed over to each of the twelve tribes. One copy was given in protective custody to the Levite, which is called Torah. This was intact in the form of Book till the first destruction of Jerusalem (586 B.C). The Levites’ copy of Torah along with stone tablets was kept in the box of the covenant. It was so much ignored that during repairs of Temple the Hilki’ah, the chief priest found it and presented it to king. It is due to this apathy that few copies of Torah lying in the Temple were lost forever, during destruction of the Temple by Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. After a captivity of many years, this restoration was begun (536 B.C.), Ezra (Prophet Uzair, peace be upon him) with the help of other notables arranged the entire history of Children of Israel which is now available in the form of first seventeen books of Old Testament. 

In the broadest sense Torah (Taurat) is claimed to be the substance of divine revelation to Israel, the Jewish people: God’s revealed teaching or guidance for mankind. The actual Torah revealed to Moses is scattered in the books, which can be identified to begin with the phrases, wherever the writer writes; the God said to Moses or Moses said, the Lord your Lord says and ends with other events. Wherever the author gets in to his explanations and exegesis, it becomes difficult for a normal reader to distinguish the Torah from the exegesis. However, the experts of revealed scriptures can distinguish the divine revelations with some accuracy. The Quran considers these scattered phrases as Torah and verifies them. If these scattered phrases are compiled and compared with Quran, it may be found that apart from some differences in parts, there is no difference in their basic teachings

Allah says: And, verily, (the essence of) this (revelation, i.e. Quran) is indeed found in the ancient books of divine wisdom (as well) (Quran;26:196,link 2:42, 61:6); (O Children of Israel) Believe in My revelations which are confirming your scriptures; do not be the first one to deny My revelations, and do not sell them for a petty price, fear Me and Me alone (Quran;2:41). 

Hence it becomes evident that the original source of both the books (Bible and Quran) is the same. Allah says: We have sent thee inspiration as We sent it to Noah and the Messengers after him; We sent inspiration to Abraham Ishmael Isaac Jacob and the Tribes to Jesus Job Jonah Aaron and Solomon and to David We gave the Psalms.(Quran;4:163).

“But how is it that they ask thee for judgement seeing that they have the Torah, containing God’s injunctions” (Qur’an;5:43)

“Verily it is we who bestowed from on high the Torah, wherein there was guidance and light” (Qur’an;5:44).

“And among the Divine commandments it contains are: And We ordained for them in that (Torah): a life for a life, and an eye for an eye, and a nose for a nose, and an ear for an ear, and a tooth for a tooth, and a (similar) retribution for wounds” (Qur’an;5:45). 

The Torah also contains the glad tidings about the coming of our Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him): 

“Those who shall follow the (last) Apostle, the unlettered Prophet whom they shall find described in the Torah that is with them” (Qur’an;7:151). 

“And the Torah describes the believers as follows: Muhammad is God’s Apostle; and those who are (truly) with him are Firm and unyielding towards all deniers of the Truth, (yet) full of mercy towards one another. Thou canst see them bowing down, prostrating themselves in prayer, seeking favour with God and (His) goodly acceptance: their marks are on their faces, traced by prostration. This is their parable in the Torah” (Qur’an;48:29). 

The Psalms:

The book of Psalms in the Bible is widely known for the sacred song or poems. When the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek (the Septuagint), in the original Hebrew text the book had no name, it was titled Psalterion, referring to a stringed instrument that would accompany such songs. The collection contains much devotional poetry of a high order. Its 150 psalms, ranging in subject from songs of joyous faith and thanksgiving to songs of bitter protest and lamentation, rank among the immortal poems of all time. They have had a profound influence on the liturgies of Judaism and Christianity. Their dating and authorship are highly problematic. The distinction of King and Prophet David (peace be upon him) was the Zabur (Psalms), some of which are still extant. Though their present form is different from the original and they do undoubtedly also include Psalms not written by David. 

About the original Psalms, Allah says:

“And so to David We gave the Psalms” (Qur’an;4:163).

It is mentioned in the Psalms that the righteous will inherit the earth. God Almighty says in the Holy Qur’an:

“Before this We wrote in the Psalms, after the Message (given to Moses): “My servants the righteous shall inherit the earth.” (Qur’an;21:105).

The earth in this verse may perhaps mean paradise, as is understood in another verse: And they will exclaim: “All praise is due to God, who has made His promise to us come true, and has bestowed upon us in this land (of bliss) as our portion, so that we may dwell in paradise as we please.’’ (Qur’an;39:74). 

Injeel (The Gospel)

According to Islamic traditions, Injeel (Gospel) is the name given to those revealed discourses and sayings of Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him) during the last two and half or three years as prophet of God for the Israelites. There is no authentic information available about their recording and compilation before his accession. The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are not actually Gospels but Gospel (Injeel) is the sayings and discourses of Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him) recorded in these books in uncorrupted form. The only method to distinguish them from other narratives, comments and exegesis is that wherever the author writes, Jesus said or Jesus taught. may help to extract part of Gospel i.e. Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. (Matthew;22:37); Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfill them Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these Commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; (Gospel-Mathew;5:17-20). 

The Quran calls the original revelations (now almost extinct, distorted) of God to Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him) as Injeel (Quran;5:46). Hence some parts of original Injeel (Gospel) may be retrieved through critical comparison of selected sayings of Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him) matching with the narratives in Quran on similar subject being the standard Criterion (Al-Furqan) (Quran;25:1, 2:185, 3:4)

Allah says:

“ and We vouchsafed unto him the Gospel, wherein there was guidance and light, confirming the truth of whatever there still remained of the Torah…”(Qur’an;5:46). 

And that the Gospel contains the Divine Laws:

“Let then, the followers of the Gospel judge in accordance with what God has revealed therein”(Qur’an;5:47).

We are also informed that the Gospel comprises the amended laws of the Torah: 

“And (I have come) to confirm the truth of whatever there still remains of the Torah and to make lawful unto you some of the things which (aforetime) were forbidden to you.” (Qur’an;3:50). 

The Gospel (Injeel), like the Torah, conveys the glad tidings of the advent of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and a description of the believers. Thus we believe in the books that the Almighty has revealed, and we respect the prophets. May God bless them all.  

The Holy Qur’an

The Holy Qur’an is the Last Divine Book the miracle revealed to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Anyone who alleges that the Holy Qur’an was compiled by Muhammad, refuses to acknowledge him as a prophet, but is virtually describing him as a ‘God’. The Muslims say, “There is no God except God and Muhammad is His Servant and His Messenger.” The Holy Qur’an is a book which cannot be compiled by any human being, nor can it be revealed by anyone but God. Therefore, anyone who says that Muhammad (pbuh) produced the Holy Qur’an is attributing Divinity to him. 

There is no second book to supplement Quran: Abu Said al-Khudri said, Ishaq ibn Isa told me that Abdul Rahman ibn Zaid told us that his father said about Ata ibn Yasar who said that Abu Hurayrah said: “We were sitting down writing what we heard from the prophet. He entered the room and asked us: What are you writing? We said: We are writing what we hear from you. He said: Another book next to the book of Allah? We said: It is what we hear from you. He said: Then write the book of Allah, uphold the book of Allah, no other books but the book of Allah, uphold the book of Allah. [The earlier communities were misguided when they wrote the books with the Book of God (Taqayed-al-Alm by Alkhateeb Baghdadi 1/34)]. Abu Hurayrah said: “So we collected all that we wrote and burnt it”. Then we asked the prophet: Can we talk about you? He said: Yes, you can and feel no shame about it, and whoever lies about me deliberately his seat in hell will be secured. Abu Hurayrah said: Can we talk about Bani Israel? He said: Yes, you can and feel no shame about it. [Musnad Ahmad, Hadith Number 10611]. Similarly, there are 45 Hadiths which mention that Prophet (pbuh) did not want any other book to be written except Quran, this policy was strictly implemented by Four Rightly Guided Caliphs especially by Umer Al Khattab and companions, narrated in 16 Hadiths. Ambiguity if any was cleared through this action. The great deviation occurred much later in the 2nd and 3rd century Hijra.

The Unlettered Prophet, born in Backward Area:

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was illiterate. He never knew how to read or write and never went to school – in fact there was no school in his town at that time. The country he was born in had not known much of civilization or progress. How, then, could such a person produce a work like the Holy Qur’an? He came to Islam from a village surrounded by dark mountains and the wilderness of the desert a remote place, unheard of at that time. No one in that village had any knowledge of the philosophy of Greece and Rome, nor of the literature of India and Iran. It was a village, devoid of any academic tradition and activity. There was no one even with a minimum level of education and knowledge. And our Prophet did not travel from his village, except to go to Busra in Syria, another village, slightly bigger than his own, where he only stayed for a few days. So, how could someone, with such a background produce a work like the Holy Qur’an? 

Remarkable Background:

Biographies have been written about men of genius, and the history of nations in different periods has also been written. But no other book has the same remarkable background as the Holy Qur’an. Mozart composed a piece of music when he was less than ten years old, and the well-known Arab poet, Bashshar ibn Burd wrote a poem at a very early age. Likewise, Shakespeare has left us a rich collection of master piece, in fact he was not counted as an eminent literary figure during his lifetime. 

Unusual Book, Unusual Person & Circumstances:

Great achievements have been produced; an unknown youth may write an excellent story or evolve a scientific theory because he is a genius. But ingenuity is not something only possessed by educated people or university graduates. It may appear in the most unexpected quarters. Those who become well-known in the scientific field or in literature or the arts may have been a century ahead of their times, excelling their contemporaries by fifty or even one hundred per cent. However, their excellence will be bound by certain limits and constraints. But no one, in the entire history of mankind, has lived in circumstances similar to those in which Muhammad (peace be upon him) lived, and at the same time has managed to convey a masterpiece to the world similar to the Holy Qur’an. 

Excellent Literary Values, Law, Knowledge of Nature, Science & Metaphysics:

The Holy Qur’an excels in both its literary values and its unique treatment of law. It contains an entire legal system which is perfect in every detail. As for the theology therein, and the knowledge of the unseen, it gives information which is not known to anyone information which the human intellect is unable to perceive. It reveals laws and phenomena pertaining to nature which were unknown to anyone, not only during the time of the Prophet” some of these laws were discovered only 1300 years later, while others still remain undiscovered. 

Unbeatable Challenge:

The Holy Qur’an challenges all mankind. Men and the jinn were asked to produce ten chapters or at least one, like the chapters of the Holy Qur’an, but they failed to produce even one chapter. This challenge is still open, and the inability still continues. The illimitability of the book is now established beyond doubt. Its excellence is noticeable in every chapter. It would be incorrect to say it can be observed in some and not in others. 

Unique Captivating Aspects for Each Reader:

We may liken it to a beautiful woman whose beauty is not attributed to or dependent on any single aspect of her appearance neither her eyes, nor her limbs or specific dimension of her body. It is the composite whole which makes her beautiful. However, it is possible that a person reading the Holy Qur’an may be enamored by the particular part he is concerned with. 

One well-known government official declared his faith in Islam when he heard the verse: 

Does man think that We cannot (resurrect him and) bring his bones together again? Yes indeed. We are able to make whole his very fingertips! (Qur’an;75:3-4). 

This verse made the official think about the reason why the Almighty referred to the fingertips in particular. What is their significance? Indeed, the fingertips consist of the various patterns of fingerprints. There are no two people whose fingerprints are identical. No doubt it is a Divine act of creation that remained unknown until its discovery in recent times. This is further proof that the Holy Qur’an is a Divine book, revealed to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). 

Source of Everlasting Knowledge for All Times:

There are more facts and information that remain undiscovered yet are written about in the Holy Qur’an. Every now and then scholars find some new information in it which contributes to human knowledge in general and to the better understanding of Islam by all. It is therefore essential that the Holy Qur’an should be reinterpreted. The man of literature should interpret it according to his field of study, likewise the legal specialist, the astronomer, the psychiatrist, the social scientist and the historian. Each may interpret it in the light of his particular area of study and prove that it is the word of God. 

The Living Miracle:

Once the miracles of earlier prophets had happened, they were over. But the miracle of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is ever present and it is renewed every day. The miracles of the earlier prophets served as proof of the message, while in the case of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), his message itself was a miracle. May peace be upon him and all the Prophets and Messengers. 

The Qur’an is the criteria (Furqan) to judge right from falsehood. Muslims, therefore, believe in the other revealed books in the light of Qur’an, wherever the old scriptures differ with what is narrated in the Holy Qur’an, those contradictions are not accepted as being a human fabrication or error. Moreover, they were for a specific people, for a specific period, but the Qur’an is the last scripture for humanity till eternity, so now humanity has to believe in Qur’an as a source of divine guidance.

Reference: 

1. Mostly Based upon “A general introduction to ISLAM” “Ta’rif-e-Aam bi-Din il-Islam” Originally written in Arabic By: Shaikh Ali Al-Tantawi
2. https://SalaamOne.com/islam-2/islam/
3. https://Quran1book.blogspot.com