What are the Tawrat, Zabur and Injil?
- Introduction
- I. The Muslim Understanding of the 3 Holy Books.
- A. Some Say Tawrat equals the Pentateuch
- B. Some Say Tawrat equals the Old Testament
- C. Some Say Tawrat equals a Lost Book
- D. Some Say Injil equals a Lost Book
- E. Some Say Injil equals the Gospels of New Testament
- F. Some Say Injil equals the New Testament:
- G. All (?) Say Zabur equals the Psalms of Hazrat Dawud (David)
- H. Some Say Tawrat, Zabur and Injil equals the Bible
- II. The Koran's Testimony about the Previous Scriptures.
- A. The Tawrat
- B. The Zabur
- C. The Injil
- D. Tawrat, Zabur, and Injil together
- E. Other Prophetic Voices
- F. Conclusions
- III. The Testimony of the New Testament:
- A. "Law" (i.e. Torah or Tawrat) as the entire Old Testament.
- B. "Prophets" as generic for any part or all of Old Testament.
- C. "Law" and "Prophets" used for the total Old Testament Revelation.
- D. One Remarkable Statement.
- The Hebrew Old Testament Arrangement
- E. Conclusions.
- IV. The Interval Between the Giving of the Injil and the Koran.
- A. The Law:
- B. The Prophets:
- C. The Psalms:
- D. The Gospel:
- Summary
What are the Tawrat, Zabur and Injil?
Introduction
It is common knowledge that Muslims recognize four remaining holy books out of a total of 104 revelations, of which 100 are missing. Although Muslims are often taught that the 3 remaining books previous to the Koran have been altered, still, Muslims for the most part, respect those 3 holy books. The 3 holy books are known as the Tawrat, Zabur, and Injil.This paper will not deal with the Muslim belief in abrogation of previous scriptures, nor will it major on the Muslim belief in the corruption of the scriptures by Jews and Christians. The purpose of this paper is to examine the various opinions held regarding these 3 holy books. How did they come up with that understanding?
Let it be stated here that this author has confidence that the Tawrat, Zabur and Injil extant today amongst Jews and Christians (i.e. the Holy Bible), are the same as those books originally given by almighty Allah.
Muslim belief about the previous holy books has been in part shaped by the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)'s interaction with Jews and Christians of his time. Some of these Jews and Christians were his earlier converts. The prophet's first wife, Khadijah was known as a Christian before converting to Islam, as was her cousin Waraka (or Warqa), who was considered a serious Bible student and perhaps even a translator of Scripture. So it would be beneficial to try to understand exactly what the Koran says about those holy books, and also what Jews and Christians of that time would have thought about the books. In doing this, we will also look at the holy Injil's use of various titles for different Scriptures.
I. The Muslim Understanding of the 3 Holy Books.
General Muslim understanding today of the Tawrat, Zabur, and Injil, is somewhat simplistic. Each is thought to be a revelation in the form of a written book that was given through Hazrat Musa, Dawud, and Isa (peace be upon them) respectively. But there is some divergence of opinion:- Some Say Tawrat equals the Pentateuch:
- Some Say Tawrat equals the Old Testament:
The religious dissociation of Abraham and other religious personalities from the main body of Jews and Christians was an inevitable consequence of two strands among Jews and Christians. The Qur'an continuously praises the one strand, and condemns the other, e.g., 'From among them (i.e., the People of the Book) there is an upright group but most of them perpetrate misdeeds' (V, 66). They were asked to live up to the Torah and the Evangel (V, 68), but, like the proprietors of all organized religious traditions, Jews and Christians quarrelled among themselves and each claimed that the keys of salvation were firmly in their exclusive grasp: 'The Jews say the Christians have nothing to stand on and the Christians say the Jews have nothing to stand on, and they both read the Book' (II, 120). (Fazlur Rahman, Islam, pg. 27)
It may be inferred from the preceding quote from Fazlur Rahman that the Scriptures of the Jews and Christians may be summed up in the words Torah (or Tawrat) and Evangel (or Injil), i.e. the Old Testament and the New Testament. This thinking is partly due to the Koran's own testimony, more of which will be seen later. The same belief is expressed by A.J. Arberry, noted English Muslim in his introduction to his translation of the Koran:
In many passages it is stated that the Koran had been sent down 'confirming what was before it', by which was meant the Torah and the Gospel; the contents of the Jewish and Christian scriptures, excepting such falsifications as had been introduced into them, were therefore taken as true and known. (Arberry, The Koran Interpreted, pg. xi.)
- Some Say Tawrat equals a Lost Book:
But it was lost before Islam was preached. What passed as "The Law" with the Jews in the Apostle's time was the mass of traditional writing which I have tried to review in this Appendix. (Ali,Ibid., pg. 285.)
The "mass of traditional writing" to which he refers is the Talmud (Ali, Ibid., pg. 284.) (see section on Interval Between Christ and Muhammad for more).
So in Ali's opinion, the Tawrat no longer exists.
- Some Say Injil equals a Lost Book:
The Injil (Greek, Evangel=Gospel) spoken of by the Qur'an is not the New Testament. It is not the four Gospels now received as canonical. It is the single Gospel which, Islam teaches, was revealed to Jesus, and which he taught. Fragments of it survive in the received canonical Gospels and in some others, of which traces survive (e.g., the Gospel of Childhood or the Nativity, the Gospel of St.Barnabas, etc.). (Ali, Ibid., pg. 287.)
- Some Say Injil equals the Gospels of New Testament:
Three sections of the Bible are cited by the Koran as being Divinely revealed: the Pentateuch, or Books of Moses (Tawrat); the Psalms of David (Zabur); and the Gospels of Jesus (Injil)...
However, the Gospels and Psalms have found no place in an Islamic canon and their contents are mostly ignored and unknown to Muslims. Moreover, the Gospel poses particular difficulties in Islam. Leaving aside the distinction between direct revelation from God, which is the case of the Koran (in Arabic tanzil, which corresponds to sruti in Sanskrit), and secondary inspiration (in Arabic ilham, the equivalent of smrti in Sanskrit), which is the case of the Gospels, the Christian Gospel clashes with Islamic understanding of doctrine on several points, most importantly regarding the nature of Jesus...
Muslims believe that the New Testament as used by Christians is incorrect and has, somehow, been falsified. (Glasse, Ibid., pg. 72.).
So there is divergence, but it is only a matter of degree. Because of supposed corruption, some Muslims refuse to accept the New Testament as the Injil.
- Some Say Injil equals the New Testament:
Injil is used in the Qur'an, and in the Traditions, and in all Muhammadan theological works of an early date, for the revelations made by God to Jesus. But in recent works it is applied by Muhammadans to the New Testament. (Hughes, Dictionary of Islam, pg. 211.)
For some Muslims it is difficult to conceive of the fact that Hazrat Isa (pbuh) did not speak or write the Injil. A multiplicity of authors for the various New Testament books is a new concept to them.
- All (?) Say Zabur equals the Psalms of Hazrat Dawud (David):
- Some Say Tawrat, Zabur and Injil equals the Bible:
The Imam Ibn-al-Qayyim said, "God (may He be praised and glorified) sent His messengers and revealed His books that people may measure with the justice on which Heaven and earth have dwelt." (Azzam, The Eternal Message of Muhammad, pg. 102.)
In commenting on this quote, Azzam says, "By books is meant the ones revealed by God: the Bible, the Koran." (Azzam, Ibid., pg. 102n.) Azzam equated the other three heavenly books with none other than today's Holy Bible.
II. The Koran's Testimony about the Previous Scriptures.
A. The Tawrat.The term Tawrat is simply the Arabic equivalent for the Hebrew Torah, normally understood as the law of Moses (Hazrat Musa). The Koran gives abundant testimony to the Tawrat, so much so, that it is mentioned more than any other part of the Bible:
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 God's Will, by the Rabbis and the Doctors of Law: For to them was entrusted the protection of God's Book, and they were witnesses thereto: Therefore fear not men, but fear Me, and sell not my Signs for a miserable price. If any do fail to judge by (the light of) what God hath revealed, they are (no better than) Unbelievers. We ordained therein for them: "Life for life, eye for eye, nose for nose, ear for ear, tooth for tooth, and wounds equal for equal.".... (surah 5:47,48a)
From this quotation it can be seen that the holy Koran highly esteems the Tawrat ("guidance and light"), and as having been revealed by Allah. Also a quotation from the Tawrat is given, which seems to be from Exodus 21:23-25,
But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise. (Ex. 21:23-25)
In al-Koran it sometimes appears that the term Tawrat refers not only to the books of Hazrat Musa (pbuh), but to the entire Hebrew Scriptures, especially in verses that mention the Tawrat andInjil together:
He hath revealed unto thee (Muhammad) the Scripture with truth, confirming that which was (revealed) before it, even as He revealed the Torah and the Gospel (3:3, Pickthall)
Ye People of the Book! Why dispute ye about Abraham, when the Law and the Gospel were not revealed till after him? Have ye no understanding? (surah 3:65)
Three "people of the book" are in view in these verses -- Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Their respective "books" in a nutshell are the Tawrat, Injil, and Koran. The second verse mentions only two, but implies Muslims, whom the others should emulate. This particular understanding of Tawrat is borne out in the Hadith :
Abu Harairah said: When the Prophet (may peace be upon him) went to his bed, he used to say: O God! Lord of the heavens, Lord of the earth, Lord of everything, Who splittest the grain and the kernel, Who hast sent down the Torah, the Injil and the Qur'an, I seek refuge in Thee from the evil of every evil agent whose forelock thou seizest...(Sunan Abu Dawud, vol. 3, pg. 1403.)
Of course, the prophet knew that the Zabur had also been sent down, but perhaps in his thinking he was including it under the Tawrat, i.e. the Jewish Scriptures. Another tradition makes an apparent quote from the Tawrat, a prophecy regarding the Prophet:
Ka'b, quoting the Torah, said we find written, "Muhammad God's messenger, My chosen servant, is not rough, or coarse, or loud-voiced in the streets, he does not requite evil with evil, but forgives and pardons. His birthplace will be in Mecca, his place of emigration in Taiba, his kingdom in Syria, and his people will be those who are devoted to praising, who praise God in prosperity and adversity, who praise God in every
alighting-place, who declare God's greatness on every rising ground, who watch for the sun and observe the prayer when its time comes, who tie their lower garments round their middle, who perform ablution at their extremities, who crier summons in the open air, who are the same in fighting as they are in prayer, who make a low sound at night like the buzzing of bees." (Mishkat Al-Masabih, vol. 2, pg. 1237.)
The section in bold-type is of interest because of its parallel to Isaiah 42:1-4:
Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations. He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his law the islands will put their hope.
The rest of the quote from the Hadith claims to come from the Tawrat as well. If you compare with the rest of Isaiah 42, you do seem some parallels. For example, Isa. 42:11 speaks of the "desert" and "Kedar", probably being the Arabian desert and the territory of Haidar (Kedar), the forefather of the Prophet (pbuh). As well, Isa. 42:10-12 speak of a lot of people praising God, many of whom live in the Arabian desert. Now back to the real point of all this... This tradition refers to the book of Isaiah as being part of the Tawrat, backing up the idea of the Tawratsometimes being used to refer to the entire Hebrew Scriptures, that is, the Old Testament.
This term "Zabur" is the Arabic equivalent of the Hebrew zimra, translated in the King James Version as "psalm" in Ps. 81:2 and 98:5. The Hebrew word has the meaning "song, music", as in Ex. 15:2, "The Lord is my strength and song". It along with zamir (song) and mizmor (psalm) is a derivative of zamar , meaning "sing, sing praise, make music". (Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, vol. 1, pg. 245.)
In the Koran, the Zabur is mentioned by name only three times:
...And to David We gave the Psalms. (surah 4:163)
And it is your Lord that knoweth best all beings that are in the heavens and on earth: We did bestow on some Prophets more (and other) gifts than on others: and We gave to David (the gift of) the Psalms. (surah 17:55)
Before this We wrote in the Psalms, after the Message (given to Moses): "My servants, the righteous, shall inherit the earth." (surah 21:105)
The last reference is of interest because of the quotation from Psalm 37:29 which says, "the righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it forever." Many Muslims scholars think that it also has reference to Exodus 32:13, "...it will be their inheritance forever."
Well-known Christian apologist, C. G. Pfander went as far to say that al-Koran's reference to the Psalms is actually a reference to the third division of the Hebrew Scriptures, known as theWritings or Kethubim: "as it begins with the Psalms, it is so styled in the Gospel (Luke 24:44) and in the Qur'an alike". (The Balance of Truth, pg. 51.)
"Injil" is Arabic for euaggelion in Greek, evangel or gospel in English. The term occurs twelve times in the holy Koran:
We sent after them Jesus son of Mary, and bestowed on him the Gospel; and We ordained in the hearts of those who followed him Compassion and Mercy. (surah 57:27)
This particular reference is of interest for several reasons. First, it states that Hazrat Isa was given the Gospel by God, from which Muslims infer that the real Gospel (i.e. real New Testament) came from the mouth and pen of the prophet Isa. Second, as an aside, God made Christians to have two distinctive qualities -- compassion and mercy. It is reminicent of the heading of most surahs of the Koran, and the common formula for blessing and beginning any good work: Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim, "In the name of Allah, most gracious, most merciful". It seems that Christians are said to have the character of Allah! What a testimony the holy Koran gives regarding followers of Hazrat Isa! Third, this verse is the only one out of twelve specific mentions of the Injil or Gospel in the Koran that does not also mention the Tawrat (Law). The Injil is almost always coupled with the Tawrat (see also 3:3, 48, 65; 9:111; 5:49, 50, 69, 71, 113):
Muhammad is the Apostle of God; and those who are with him are strong against Unbelievers, (but) compassionate amongst each other. Thou wilt see them bow and prostrate themselves (in prayer), seeking Grace from God and (His) Good Pleasure. On their faces are their marks, (being) the traces of their prostration. This is their similitude in the Tawrat; and their similitude inthe Gospel is: Like a seed which sends forth its blade, then makes it strong; it then becomes thick, and it stands on its own stem, (filling) the sowers with wonder and delight... (surah 48:29)
The verse states that the Prophet's Companions were a mixture of humililty and strength. Strong against enemies of God, humble toward God and other believers. It says that their humble prostration in prayer is like that found in the Tawrat (cp. Numbers 16:22, "Moses and Aaron fell facedown..."). Then it says that the strength and victory of Muslims is like that spoken of in theGospel, apparently referring to the parables of Isa:
...A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain -- first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head... ...like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade. (Mark 4:26-28, 31-32)
The group of Muslims started off small but grew quickly to become an international force. However, the main point we need to see is that this is one of ten Koranic references which couple theLaw and the Gospel closely together, implying that the totality of the Jewish and Christian Scriptures can be summed up in the phrase "the Law and the Gospel". One more example:
Those who follow the messenger, the Prophet who can neither read nor write, whom they will find described in the Torah and the Gospel (which are) with them. (surah 7:157, Pickthall)
Another interesting verse. It states that the coming of the Prophet is prophesied in the Book of the Jews, and in the Book of the Christians. From the Torah, Muslims usually refer to Deut. 18:15 as indicating Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh),
The Lord you God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him. (Dt. 18:15)
It is explained that only Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) qualifies to fulfill this because the phrase, "from among your own brothers" is taken to mean "from among those who are brothers to you Jews, that is, Ishmaelites for example". They see it as significant that the Prophet was not a Jew. As far as Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) being prophesied in the Injil goes, it is helpful to look at another Koranic verse:
And remember, Jesus, the son of Mary, said: "O Children of Israel! I am the apostle of God (sent) to you, confirming the Law (which came) before me, and giving Glad Tidings of an Apostle to come after me, whose name shall be Ahmad." (surah 61:6)
This verse does not have the word Injil or Gospel but it does give the idea that news of the coming of Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) is in the Injil. This verse also reinforces the "law and gospel" couplet pattern in the Koran. Muslim scholars look to an emended version of verses in John's Gospel to support this Koranic statement:
"Ahmad", or "Muhammad", the Praised One, is almost a translation of the Greek word Periclytos. In the present Gospel of John, xiv. 16, xv. 26, and xvi. 7, the word "Comforter" in the English version is for the Greek word "Paracletos", which means "Advocate", "one called to the help of another, a kind friend", rather than "Comforter". Our doctors contend that Paracletos is a corrupt reading for Periclytos, and that in their original saying of Jesus there was a prophecy of our holy Prophet Ahmad by name. Even if we read Paraclete, it would apply to the holy Prophet, who is "a Mercy for all creatures" (xxi. 107) and "most kind and merciful to the Believers" (ix. 128). (Ali, Ibid., pg. 1540, footnote.)
Muhammad often addresses Christians in the Koran, such as,
Let the People of the Gospel judge by what God hath revealed therein. If any do fail to judge by (the light of) what God hath revealed, they are (no better than) those who rebel. (surah 5:50)
Christian leader Michael Nazir-Ali in commenting on the preceding ayat makes an observation which is perhaps worth as much as everything else that has been said:
The point here is not what Muhammad [pbuh]thought the Injil to be...but what in fact it was at his time. He is, in the above passage, exhorting the Christians of his day to look into the Injil for guidance. Now, if these Christians had responded to such an exhortation and had looked into their Injil or evangel into what would they have looked? The answer is quite obvious: They would have looked into their New Testament (which is also ours)...(Nazer-Ali, Islam: A Christian Perspective, pg. 14.)
D. Tawrat, Zabur, and Injil together.
Nowhere in the Koran are these three books mentioned together. They are not even mentioned within the same surah. To find all three together, you have to go to the Hadith,:
Abu Huraira told that when God's messenger once asked Ubayy b. Ka'b how he recited in the course of the prayer and he recited Umm al-Qur'an [the first surah of the Koran], he said, "By Him in whose hand my soul is, nothing like it has been sent down in the
Torah, the Injil, the Zabur, or the Qur'an, and it is seven of the oft-repeated verses and the mighty Qur'an which I have been given." (Mishkat Al-Masabih, pg. 454.)
This tradition neatly encapsulates the Muslim belief in four heavenly books. The Koran mentions no other such heavenly books, but it does mention biblical prophets who are not contained in the Pentateuch, Psalms, or New Testament.