Holy Books in Islam (AQA GCSE Religious Studies A (8062))
Revision Note
Written by: Glenn Millington
Reviewed by: Bridgette Barrett
The Torah & The Scrolls of Ibrahim
The Authority of other Holy Books
Islam was not viewed as a new religion in Arabia, or to the world, but was the perfection of previous revelations sent by Allah
Islam was considered the perfection because the holy book the Qur’an is considered to be the unaltered word of Allah
‘Those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered prophet, whom they find written in what they have of the Torah and the Gospel’ (Qur’an 7: 157)
‘Surely We wrote in the Psalms, after the exhortation, that the earth shall be inherited by My righteous servants’ (Qur’an 21: 105)
The Qur’an has complete authority and is seen as the perfect word of God as revealed to Muhammad (pbuh)
The Torah, Psalms and Gospels are also holy books, which are mentioned in the Qur’an but they are believed to contain some errors and do not have the same authority
Some scholars believe these earlier books to be ‘lost’ and no longer existing in any form
The holy books of Islam
The Torah (Tawrat)
The Tawrat is the Arabic word for the Torah, which are the revelations given to Musa (Moses) by Allah on Mount Sinai
It is mentioned 18 times in the Qur’an. Muslims believe that the revelation was given directly to Musa, rather than through Angel Jibril
The book was written in Hebrew, which he gave to the Jews
Some Muslims believe that The Tawrat does not exist in its original language or its original text
It was put together by the followers of Moses a long time after his death
The compilers changed the text, so some is the Word of Allah and some is human addition
Despite concerns over changes to the text, the Qur’an refers to the Tawrat as ‘guidance and light’, revealed by Allah, and is clearly very important
The Qur’an says that it contains the ‘judgement of Allah’ (Quran 5: 43)
The Tawrat also contains the Ten Commandments which are the basic rules for religious life
Muhammad’s (pbuh) nightly prayers reinforce the importance of the early scripture
In the prayer he puts his life in Allah’s hands (the creator and lord of everything, the source of the Tawrat, the Gospels and the Qur’an) and asked for protection from Shaytan
The Qur’an also seems to suggest that the Torah was not only taught by Musa, but by all prophets and priests
The Scrolls of Ibrahim
Very little is actually known about the Scrolls of Ibrahim (often called Suhuf)
This account is said to have been written in Hebrew and is referred to in the Qur’an, but is now lost
These are thought to be the oldest scriptures within Islam, which were revealed to Ibrahim
Ibrahim is termed ‘the upright one’, always faithful to Allah
The revelations were said to have been received by Ibrahim on the first day of Ramadan and contained parable like stories about worship, reflections and building a livelihood
The scrolls were written on parchment but perished over time. It is generally agreed that they were not ‘a book’, rather they were individual revelations
The Psalms & The Gospels
The Psalms
The Zabur (Psalms) of Dawud (David) are a collection of prayers to Allah (some refer to them as poems)
Dawud was a great king, whose people were God-fearing and righteous
In Surah 4:163 it says, ‘We gave Dawud the Zabur’
They contain lessons of guidance for the people and he recited them in song version
A fragment of an Arabic translation of Psalm 78 from the second century CE was found in Damascus, Syria
One important message in the Zabur is the idea of the Masih (Messiah)
The Masih was to be a symbol of hope for the future in a world where many had failed to obey Allah’s commands
Isa also referred to what had been said about the Masih in the Gospel of Luke, ‘Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms (Zabur)’
Isa taught in a way which allowed people to understand the scriptures. For Muslims, Isa was the Messiah and will return
The Gospels
The message in the Injil (Gospels) was revealed by Allah to Isa (Jesus) but was lost and are distorted
Muslims highly respect Isa because there are revelations in the Qur’an about him
There are some things about Isa (Jesus) that Christians and Muslims agree on but there are some distinct differences
Muslims believe that Isa was born of a virgin mother
They believe that he was the Masih (Messiah)
Like Christians, Muslims believe that the Gospels relate to ‘good news’ about Isa (Jesus) written by his disciples
However, Muslims believe that he was not the son of Allah (as Allah can have no partners) but he was a follower of Allah
They believe that Isa was not crucified. In fact he did not die, rather he ascended to heaven
Muslims believe that he did not die to save sins (Allah is all compassionate, so He will forgive sins, so this sacrifice would have been unnecessary)
Muslims believe that the gospels in their current form contain mistakes because they were written by disciples many years after the death of Isa
Muslims believe that the Injil prophecies the coming of the prophet Muhammad (pbuh)
Although the Psalms and Gospels are important holy books in Islam, they are not the direct word of Allah and contain errors and are corrupted
Worked Example
Explain two Muslim beliefs about holy books
Refer to sacred writings or another source of Muslim belief and teaching in your answer
[5 marks]
Answer:
Muslims believe that the Injil (gospels) was revealed to Isa (Jesus). They believe that they are important holy books because they were written about Isa who is considered to be a very important prophet but not the son of God. They also believe that Isa is the Masih (Messiah) and will return. The Qur’an states, ‘We sent.. Our messengers and followed (them) with Jesus … and gave him the Gospel’ (57: 27)
Muslims believe that holy books are important because they were written by important prophets within Islam and contain teachings which help to guide Muslims within their lives. The Qur’an states, ‘Indeed, We sent down the Torah, in which was guidance and light.’ (5:44)
Commentary
To achieve 5 marks for this response you need to provide 2 detailed explanations of relevant and accurate beliefs. In this example, the first response explains how the gospels are important because they were revealed to Jesus, who for Muslims is an important prophet. In the second example, is an explanation of the Muslim belief that holy books contain guidance for Muslims about how to live their lives
To achieve the extra mark there needs to be relevant and accurate reference to sacred writing or another source of Muslim belief and teaching in either of the examples. In the responses above there is a reference to sacred writing from the Qur’an for both. It is only necessary to provide the reference on one of the examples to achieve the extra mark
Examiner Tips and Tricks
Questions relating to Holy Books can relate to the Qur’an but can also relate to The Tawrat, The Zabur, The Injil or The Suhuf of Ibrahim.
Remember that books prior to the Qur’an are important as they contain early messages about the religion of Islam and relate to the main prophets of Islam. However, the Qur’an is viewed as the direct word of Allah and gives Muslims clarity about earlier teachings from books that have been lost, distorted or interpreted inaccurately by humans
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