Belief in Allah’s ﷻ Books

This article focuses on the third pillar of Iman – the revealed Books.

• Belief in Allah’s Books is the third pillar of Iman. Muslims firmly believe in all of the Divine Books that Allah ﷻ revealed to His Messengers and Prophets. In the Qur’aan, Allah ﷻ instructs the believers:

قُولُوٓا۟ ءَامَنَّا بِٱللَّهِ وَمَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْنَا وَمَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَىٰٓ إِبْرَٰهِـۧمَ وَإِسْمَـٰعِيلَ وَإِسْحَـٰقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ وَٱلْأَسْبَاطِ وَمَآ أُوتِىَ مُوسَىٰ وَعِيسَىٰ وَمَآ أُوتِىَ ٱلنَّبِيُّونَ مِن رَّبِّهِمْ لَا نُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ أَحَدٍۢ مِّنْهُمْ وَنَحْنُ لَهُۥ مُسْلِمُونَ ( سورة البقرة : ١٣٦ )

“Say, “We have believed in Allah and what has been revealed to us and what has been revealed to Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the Descendants [Al-Ashaat] and what was given to Moses and Jesus and what was given to the prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and we are Muslims… to Him.” (Soorat al-Baqarah:136)

• Muslims believe in the revealed books that are mentioned by name in the Qur’aan, they are,

1. At-Tawraah
2. Al-Injeel
3. Az-Zaboor
4. Suhuf Ibraaheem
5. Suhuf Moosaa

• They also believe that there are other revealed books that are not mentioned in the Qur’aan. The names of those of those books and the Prophets to whom they were sent are unknown. These revealed books were altered after the demise of the respective prophets to whom they were given.
• Not a single word has been deleted or added to the Qur’aan ever since it was revealed, because Allah ﷻ promised to preserve it forever. Allah ﷻ says in the Qur’aan

إِنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا ٱلذِّكْرَ وَإِنَّا لَهُۥ لَحَـٰفِظُونَ ( سورة الحجر: 9)

“Indeed, it is We who sent down the message, and indeed, We will be its guardian.” (Soorat al-Hijr :9)

The Qur’aan and other revealed Books

• The Qur’aan is the last Book that was revealed by Allah ﷻ and there will never be any other divine book after it. The laws contained in the Qur’aan have abrogated the laws in all other divine books.
• Believing in the Qur’aan means believing that it is the Word of Allah ﷻ revealed to the Prophet ﷺ over a period of 23 years and that everything it contains is truth. It has no spelling mistakes, no grammatical errors and there are no contradictions in it. Muslims do not deny even a single letter of the Qur’aan. If anyone thinks that the Qur’aan has mistakes or errors, then such a person cannot be a Muslim. Allah ﷻ says in the Qur’aan:

أَفَلَا يَتَدَبَّرُونَ ٱلْقُرْءَانَ ۚ وَلَوْ كَانَ مِنْ عِندِ غَيْرِ ٱللَّهِ لَوَجَدُوا۟ فِيهِ ٱخْتِلَـٰفًۭا كَثِيرًۭا (سورة النساء : ۸۲)

“Then do they not reflect upon the Qur’aan? If it had been from other than Allah, they would have found within it much contradiction.” (Soorat an-Nisaa:82)

What we learn from the lesson:

1. Allah ﷻ revealed Divine Books to some of His Messengers and Prophets ﷺ .
2. The Qur’aan has never and will never be changed.
3. There are no mistakes or contradictions in the Qur’aan.

“Discussion:”

1. What makes the Qur’aan different from all other Divine Books ?
2. Why is the Qur’aan so special ?
3. What is the main message of the Qur’aan ?