Belief in Divine Books
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يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ آمِنُواْ بِاللّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَالْكِتَابِ الَّذِي نَزَّلَ عَلَى رَسُولِهِ وَالْكِتَابِ الَّذِيَ أَنزَلَ مِن قَبْلُ وَمَن يَكْفُرْ بِاللّهِ وَمَلاَئِكَتِهِ وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِ فَقَدْ ضَلَّ ضَلاَلاً بَعِيدًا (١٣٦:٤)
Believers! have faith in God and His prophet, in the Book He has revealed to His prophet, and also in the books He has previously revealed and [remember that] he who denies God, His angels, His books and His prophets and the Last Day has strayed far. (4:136)
Just as the Almighty has sent prophets to guide mankind, similarly He has revealed His Books to these prophets for this purpose. The purpose of these Books is that people have with them the written guidance of God in His very words so that they can judge between what is right and what is wrong through these Books and are able to resolve their differences through them and in this manner they are able to adhere to the truth regarding their religion. The Qur’ān says:
وَأَنزَلَ مَعَهُمْ الْكِتَابَ بِالْحَقِّ لِيَحْكُمَ بَيْنَ النَّاسِ فِيمَا اخْتَلَفُوا فِيهِ (٢ : ٢١٣)
And with these [Prophets], He sent down His Book as the decisive truth so that it may settle these differences between people. (2:213)
وَأَنزَلْنَا مَعَهُمُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْمِيزَانَ لِيَقُومَ النَّاسُ بِالْقِسْطِ (٢٥:٥٧)
And with these [Messengers] We sent down Our Book which is the Judge [between the right and the wrong] so that [through it] people are able to adhere to justice [regarding religion]. (57:25)
At this point of time, the anthology of books found in the Bible shows that apparently these Books were given to each and every prophet in some form or the other. Just as the Qur’ān (87:19) mentions the Torah and the Gospel, it also refers to the scripture of Abraham (sws). The above quoted verses (2:213; 57:25) also corroborate this premise. All these Books are Books of God. Thus the Qur’ān requires of the Muslims to broadly profess faith in these Books without any discrimination. Out of these, however, four Books occupy exceptional importance: The Torah, The Psalms, The Gospels, The Qur’ān. The following paragraphs introduce these Books...
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Belief in Divine Books
Re: Belief in Divine Books
If somebody says God has revealed a book to me. Then goes on to write a book. The book then claims that the author is a prophet. This is circular logic.
Is there any independent test to know that the person and the book are genuine? Can somebody enlighten me.
Is there any independent test to know that the person and the book are genuine? Can somebody enlighten me.
Re: Belief in Divine Books
Smart,
If you are interested in the book and its origin, you might first try to read the book.
If you are interested in the book and its origin, you might first try to read the book.
Re: Belief in Divine Books
Agreed, I must read the book. What after that? How to establish the credibility, independently of the author / book?
Re: Belief in Divine Books
Smart,
First you read the book, then you establish the credibility of the author based on your understanding of what you have read. You might either conclude that the book is of divine origin or you might conclude it is not. Either way, the question will be answered.
First you read the book, then you establish the credibility of the author based on your understanding of what you have read. You might either conclude that the book is of divine origin or you might conclude it is not. Either way, the question will be answered.
Re: Belief in Divine Books
I liked your answer
I think that the quran and bible both say that the our hearts will recognize the truth. I think that all wisdom teachings are from Allah and if we really look into their messages, we will eventually find the same truths.
I think that the quran and bible both say that the our hearts will recognize the truth. I think that all wisdom teachings are from Allah and if we really look into their messages, we will eventually find the same truths.