Page 63 - World Religions I - Islam

 Two angels who came down to test the people at Babel by performing deeds of magic.14

Divine Books (or Revelations)
The Islamic holy books are the revelations which most Muslims believe were dictated by God to various prophets.

• A Muslim must believe in all the scriptures revealed by God.
o While there may be as many as eleven holy books, the Qur'an mentions three specific scriptures which
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came before: Tawrat, Zabur, and Injil.

o Muslims believe the Qur'an was sent as the final holy scripture because all of the previous books had
been either corrupted or lost (a concept known as Tahreef). The claim that mankind corrupted God's holy
scriptures calls into question God's omniscience and omnipotence, and is contradictory to what the
Qur'an claims. Refer to Appendix C to investigate this claim more closely.
• The Tawrat was revealed to Moses and was used by both Moses and Aaron to preach the message to the
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Children of Israel (Banu- Israil).
o "It was We who revealed the law (to Moses): therein was guidance and light. By its standard have been
judged the Jews, by the prophets who bowed (as in Islam) to Allah's will, by the rabbis and the doctors of
law; for to them was entrusted the protection of Allah's book, and they were witnesses thereto." -Al-
Ma'idah (The Table Spread) 5:44
• The Qur'an mentions the Zabur, often interpreted as being the
o Book of Psalms - the holy scripture revealed to King David.
o "We have sent thee inspiration...and to David We gave the
 Psalms." - An-Nisa' (Women) 4:163
• The Injil is the holy book revealed to Isa (Jesus), according to the
o Qur'an. Although many Muslims believe the Injil refers to the entire New Testament, scholars have
pointed out that it refers instead to an original Gospel, written by Allah, which was given to Isa.
o The current canonical Gospels, according to Muslim scholars, are not divinely revealed but rather are
documents of the life of Isa, as written by various contemporaries, disciples and companions.
 These Gospels contain portions of Isa's teachings but do not represent nor contain the original
Gospel, which has been corrupted, lost, or taken to up heaven.
o The Gospel does not have a place in Islamic canon and its contents are mostly ignored and unknown to
Muslims.17
 The Gospel poses particular difficulties in Islam, clashing with understanding of doctrine - most
importantly regarding the nature and mission of Jesus.
• The Qur'an also mentions two ancient scrolls and another possible book.
o The Scrolls of Abraham are believed to have been one of the earliest bodies of scripture, entrusted to
Abraham and later used by Ishmael and Isaac. The Scrolls of Abraham are now considered lost rather
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than corrupted.
o There is an allusion in the Qur'an to the Kitab (Book) of Yahya, also known as John the Baptist.19

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