Early Muslim Scholars and the Bible

[Gary]

Early Muslim Scholars and the Bible

It is very significant that, in the early centuries of Islam, the authenticity of the Old and New Testaments was freely acknowledged and their identity as the Tawraat and Injil of the Qur’an was never disputed.

Even though the Bible did not take the form of the Qur’an, Muslim scholars accepted it, partly because they knew the Jews and Christians had known no other scripture and partly because the book is an awesome record of God’s dealings with his people from Adam to Jesus Christ.

After all, if the Bible does not contain the original books, where did it come from? Why would the Jews and the Christians over so many centuries forge a book of such holy teachings in defiance of the very books of God if they had them in their hands?

The attitudes of some of the great Muslim scholars of the earlier centuries of Islam can be contrasted with the prejudicial arguments set forth in modern Muslim publications.



Next post.... Ali Tabari

 

[Gary]

Ali Tabari and the Bible

Ali Tabari and the Bible

He was a well-known physician at the court of the Abbasid Caliph Mutawakkil about two hundred and fifty years after Muhammad’s death and wrote a defence of the Prophet of Islam including a study of numerous Biblical prophecies which he believed all referred to him.

He freely taught that the first book which came into existence was the Tawraat of the Jews and that it was in their possession. He taught the same about the Injil which he likewise conceded was in the hands of the Christians. When speaking of their contents, however, he outlined the contents of the Old and New Testaments respectively.

Next post.... Abu Hamid al-Ghazzali

 

[Gary]

Abu Hamid al-Ghazzali and the Bible

Abu Hamid al-Ghazzali and the Bible

He is one of the most original thinkers the Muslim world has ever known and is generally regarded as its greatest theologian.

He wrote a long exposition on the Trinity and, although he lived some five centuries after Muhammad when other radical scholars such as Ibn Hazm were attacking the integrity of the Bible text, he also freely accepted its authenticity. He argued only that the Christians had misinterpreted their scriptures.

He died in the year 1111 AD.

Next post..... Fakhruddin Razi

 

[Gary]

Fakhruddin Razi and the Bible

Fakhruddin Razi and the Bible

Another great and famous theologian, he lived a hundred years after al-Ghazzali and died in 1209 AD.

He was quite emphatic about the Biblical text - that it had not been changed and that the teaching and narratives of the Qur’an were perfectly consistent with those of the Bible.

 

[Gary]

Conclusion - Muslim Scholars and the Bible

Conclusion - Muslim Scholars and the Bible

These great scholars only perpetuated the position the Qur’an itself takes on the former scriptures - that they are the authentic Word of God and have not been changed.

Source for these posts: -here-