Scriptures Before the Qur'an

Scriptures Before the Qur'an

Shahul Hameed

As far as I know, there were four holy books so far (The Torah, the Psalms, the Bible and the Qur'an). Can you please tell me if there may have been other books given to other prophets, even if they are no longer valid?

In the Name of Allāh, Most Gracious, Most Merciful;

All praise and thanks are due to Allāh, May Allāh blessings and peace be upon His Messenger.

Humanity needs Divine Guidance to lead a meaningful life on earth; and so God – Allah Almighty, out of His infinite Mercy has communicated with us in order to guide us. From the very earliest times, people have been in search of answers for eternal questions, and the One Who could give satisfactory an answer is God. So from the earliest times, revelation as a divine guidance has played a significant part in human progress.

Allah promised people that He would send prophets with guidance to help “mend their ways” and “lead righteous lives on the earth” as a salvation in Hereafter. This promise was given by God to all the children of Adam, as Allah Almighty says in the Glorious Qur'an, which means:

“O ye children of Adam! Whenever there come to you apostles from amongst you, rehearsing My signs unto you, - those who are righteous and mend (their lives), - on them shall be no fear nor shall they grieve.”

 [Al-A`raf, 7:35].

Accordingly, God sent His Messengers with guidance to people living in different parts of the world in different stages in human history, to help them lead a life of truth and justice:

“We verily sent Our messengers with clear proofs, and revealed with them the Scripture and the Balance, that mankind may observe right measure ...”

[Al-Hadid, 57:25].

The basic message of all prophets (peace be upon them) from God, and hence of all scriptures they brought, is one and the same message from God to humanity –to worship Allah:

· “We have certainly sent to every nation a Messenger (proclaiming): “Worship Allah, and shun false gods.” [An-Nahl, 16:36].

· “And We have not sent before you any Prophet except that We revealed to him that none has the right to be worshipped in truth but Me so worship Me.”

[Al-Anbiyā', 21:25].

· “And We will not punish a people until We have sent a Messenger.”

[Al-Isrā', 17:15].

All these prophets came to the people who lived in different lands in different periods of history. All the prophets were not given Books; in fact only to a few of them did Allah reveal His Books of Guidance.

Among those who received Books, were the four mentioned in the Glorious Qur'an: Moses, David, Jesus and Muhammad (peace be on them all). The Books were the Tawrat (Torah) given to Moses (Musa), The Zabur (Psalms) given to David (Dawud), the Injil (Gospel) given to Jesus (`Isa) and the Qur'an given to Muhammad (peace be upon them all).

Apart from these, Abraham (Ibrahim) is mentioned as the recipient of Suhuf or scrolls.

All the teachings contained in the former Scriptures that were meant to be of lasting value and importances are included in the Qur'an. The Qur'an also gives some accounts, although selective, of what the earlier scriptures contained.

The Scrolls (Suhuf) of Abraham:

In two surahs, Al-A`la (87) and An-Najm (53) that belongs to first Makkan period, there is a mention of the "scrolls" (suhuf) of Abraham and Moses, and some reference to some of its contents:

“But those will prosper who purify themselves, And glorify the name of their Guardian-Lord, and (lift their hearts) in prayer. Day (behold), ye prefer the life of this world; But the Hereafter is better and more enduring. And this is in the Books of the earliest (Revelation), - The Books of Abraham and Moses.” 

[Al-A`la, 87:14-19].

“Seest thou one who turns back, Gives a little, then hardens (his heart)? What! Has he knowledge of the unseen so that he can see? Nay, is he not acquainted with what is in the Books of Moses- And of Abraham who fulfilled his engagements? - Namely, that no bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another; That man can have nothing but what he strives for; That (the fruit of) his striving will soon come in sight: Then will he be rewarded with a reward complete; That to thy Lord is the final Goal…” 

[An-Najm, 53:33-42].


The Torah (Tawrat) of Moses:

The Qur'an mentions the scriptures given to Moses in several places:

“It was We who revealed the law (to Moses): therein was guidance and light”

 [Al-Ma'idah, 5:44].

“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, but if anyone remits the retaliation by way of charity it is an act of atonement for himself and if any fail to judge by (the light of) what God has revealed they are (no better than) wrongdoers”

[Al-Ma'idah 5:45].

The Psalms (Zabur) of David:

It also mentions the Psalms, called "Zabur":

“And verily We have written in the Psalms, after the Reminder: My righteous slaves will inherit the earth” 

(Al-Anbiyaa', 21:105).

The Gospel (Injil) of Jesus:

The Qur'an refers to the scripture given to Jesus as the "Injil":

“Muhammad is the messenger of Allah and those with him are hard against the disbelievers and merciful among themselves. Thou (O Muhammad) seest them bowing and falling prostrate (in worship) seeking bounty from Allah and (His) acceptance. The mark of them is on their foreheads from the traces of prostration. Such is their likeness in the Torah and their likeness in the Gospel like as sown corn that sendeth forth its shoot and strengtheneth it and riseth firm upon its stalk, delighting the sowers that He may enrage the disbelievers with (the sight of) them. Allah has promised, unto such of them as believe and do good works, forgiveness and immense reward” 

[Al-Fath, 48:29].

The early scriptures, besides carrying the same basic message about Allah, the Master of the worlds, as well as about His creation, humanity, also brought specific instructions addressed directly to particular communities living in specific periods in history such as the Jews and Christians. Scriptures before the Qur'an were in many of their details situation-oriented and relevant to their particular frameworks.

It is also significant that the earlier scriptures were not meant for all time, as Allah Almighty in His infinite wisdom would reveal His complete Guidance at the right time, when humankind is mature to receive it. That is to say, the Guidance of God would attain its finality, when it would be universally applicable and relevant for all future time. And Allah Almighty sent Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) as the Last Messenger of God to humanity with the Final form of Divine Guidance called the Qur'an.

The basic message of the Glorious Qur'an is the same as the basic message of the previous revelations and books, and the directives and instructions, by which it provides guidance for humanity, are of a universal nature: “Worship Allah, and shun false gods.”. They apply for all times to come and in all situations. This revelation corresponds to humankind's position on earth and in history. Humankind has reached, in its development, the stage when universal principles need to be applied to safeguard his purposeful existence. [See this ]

From the foregoing it is clear that there were prophets other than the ones mentioned by name in the Qur'an; and that some of them have also received Books of Guidance from Allah.

Wallahu`alam

[Excerpted from Islam Online-Ask about Islam, on 18 October 2006]

Abrogation and the Qur'an

Ahmad Saad

As-salamu `alaykum, Sometime ago I started reading the Qur'an. I have both a German and an English translation of its meanings. I started reading and found it very interesting but at one point I just had to stop! In Surah 2-62 it says "Verily, those who believe and those who are Jews and Christians and Sabians, whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day and does righteous good deeds shall have their reward with their Lord, on them shall be no fear nor shall they grieve."

There is a footnote to this verse and it says that this verse was abrogated by another surah stating that whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will never be accepted of him, and in the hereafter, he will be one of the losers.

Now my question is: As far as I know, there are — besides — other two statements about the Qur'an: Firstly, it is the word of God, every little bit of it and has not been changed since the time that it was revealed to Muhammad (peace be upon him). Unlike the Bible where man added changes, the Qur'an is the unchanged word of God and is valid for all of mankind and for all time. Secondly, there is no contradiction in the Qur'an. So, with these two statements, I do not understand how these two surahs can be found in ONE book. If God decided to change some of his commandments, why was not it erased completely from the Qur'an so that there would be no confusion among the people about it!

Now, we have the eternally valid word of God...but some of it is no longer valid? Thinking about this problem, I always end up with two thoughts: Not everything in the Qur'an is valid for all times. In that case, why keep to it at all since you can say, "Ah, this surah is no longer valid!" Secondly, that the Qur'an is not free of contradictions. In that case, how can it be 100 percent the words of God? I already asked some Muslims about it but they could not give me an answer that satisfied me. I would be very grateful if you could help me to understand this issue.

Thank you very much and keep doing what you're doing! May God bless you! ~~~ Stefanie .

Salam Stefanie,

Let me first thank you for your detailed question and all the thoughts you have presented therein.

Let's first agree on certain points, which I believe you are aware of.

First, no one can offer a correct explanation of the Qur'an except scholars who have mastered all sciences that qualify them to understand its occasions of revelation, linguistic style, structure, and all other imports and aspects. Even with their near-perfect explanation, we can still safely say that their explanations are not totally perfect; rather, they are subject to error just like the product of any human mind.

This is simply God's words are beyond the limitations of a human mind, hence, man can comprehend and grasp only some aspects of those words but not all of them, otherwise God's words will be limited and restricted.

On the issue of abrogation, we need to understand one focal point, which is that Allah Almighty's knowledge covers everything. It is not subject to change because it is not limited by the boundaries of time. This means that when Allah Almighty reveals something in the Qur'an and later on gives a fresh command that adjusts the old one or cancels it, He surely knows already that He is going to reveal something to adjust the old command or cancel it. In other words, the new command is not new to Him; it is new to us because we have no access to His knowledge and we are bound by time limitations.

In the light of this, we can understand that Allah Almighty has already had knowledge that He is going to give a new command at a certain point in the life of people telling them to change their way of life or correct certain concepts in ways that suit the new stage. Behind this, there is surely great divine wisdom, which sometimes we are aware of and sometimes we are not.

To illustrate this, let's think about a father whose five-year-old child asks him about the origin of life; where do males and females come from? At this point of the child's age, the most suitable answer will be something like "We come from Adam and Eve." Later on when the child grows up, the simple answer will be abrogated by telling him about the mechanism of production and fertilization. This example gives a bit of an idea about how this process of abrogation works.

Another example: When a teacher is teaching a certain book for his students, he already knows the contents of what he is teaching. To the students, the information he is giving every time is new but to him it is not. Besides, he may give a certain rule at one time and later on speaks about other things that contradict this rule. When one of the students says, "Excuse me, sir! This contradicts what you said last time," the teacher will simply tell him, "There are exceptions to every rule and this is one of the exceptions. Today's example is meant to make you aware of the exceptions to last time's rule." Of course, the exception is new to the student but it is not new to the teacher who has already known it a long time ago.

As for Allah, His infinite knowledge neither has a beginning nor an end. Yet, here we need to ask, if that is what abrogation is like, what is the benefit or the wisdom of doing that?

In fact, scholars have counted a number of wisdoms behind abrogation. First, abrogation can happen as a way of gradual legislation that aims at making things easy for people.

Sometimes, Allah Almighty commands that a certain strict thing should be observed and then alleviates it to make the life of people easier. An example of this is when Allah Almighty commanded that anyone who wants to speak to the Prophet (peace be upon him) should offer something in charity. Later on, Allah (Glory be to Him) removed this requirement and just encouraged people to establish prayer and do good deeds.

But one may ask, "What is the point of this?" The answer is, there are much wisdom behind it, one of which is to make people aware of the fact that Allah is merciful to them and that He looks after them and cares for their well-being. Another wisdom is to refine the souls of people and train them on how to observe to higher levels of morality.

For instance, if your child is not studying hard and spending much time playing, you can discipline him saying, "You are not allowed to play anymore for the coming month." Later on, you may see that he has complied with the command and became very good in his studies, so what you do is to alleviate the restrictions and allow him to play for a certain number of hours. In this way, you create a balance in his life. In this exact way, Allah Almighty trains us on how to lead a life of balance.

Sometimes, abrogation comes to establish a certain ruling that needs to be established gradually because it is difficult for people to apply it completely. Suppose that you want a drug addict to give up drugs, it would be unpractical to ask him to give up right away. The most practical way will be to train him how to give up bit by bit. The same is applied in the Qur'an when Allah Almighty commanded the believing community to give up wine: He did not do that at one shot. Rather, Allah Almighty first spoke about wine and that it may be beneficial for some people (i.e. traders) but it has some greater harm. Later on, a new instruction came prohibiting any drunken man to engage in prayer and, in fact, that was stage two. Then, when the community was fully prepared to receive a final decision and were able to apply the law, Allah Almighty told them to avoid drinking wine completely and never approach it.

Focusing more on the verse you referred to in your question, I would like to mention one more wisdom of abrogation, which is correcting ideas and removing misunderstandings. For instance, Allah Almighty gives a rule that whoever does a good deed will get a reward for it in this life and in the hereafter. Some people may understand that the hereafter reward is also given to non-believers and therefore Allah Almighty explains this in another place in the Qur'an saying that a condition for reward in the hereafter is to believe in Allah Almighty and adopt Islam. One of the examples that fall into this category is the example you have referred to.

Another important point is that the Qur'an is interlinked which means that verses explain and expound one another. In some places where Allah Almighty says that those Jews, Christians, and Sabians who believe in Allah and the Last Day should fear no harm on the Day of Judgment, He actually refers to a rule that needs further elaboration, mentioned elsewhere in the Qur'an. This elaboration exists in the following surah wherein Almighty Allah explains that the accepted way of Allah being Islam is the way that should be followed by anyone who wants to be safe on the Day of Judgment.

“And whoever desires a religion other than Islam, it shall not be accepted from him, and in the hereafter he shall be one of the losers.” [Al-`Imran, 3:85]

Now, we clearly see that there is no contradiction between the two statements because they complement each other. If one says, why doesn't Allah make each one self-explanatory without need to the other statement? We simply tell the asker that because both statements are considered the same word of Allah, and we should take the word of Allah as a total entity wherein no part can stand on its own without referring to the whole. In the light of this, we can also understand the sayings of some scholars who said that the whole Qur'an is treated as one verse.

Allah Almighty Knows best.

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Excerpted with modifications from Islam Online - Asked About Islam - published on 04 Feb 2007

Al-Qur'an, Abrogation, and Islam

Al-Qur'an, Abrogation, and Islam 

Ahmad Saad

Question: Assalamu’ alaikum! Recently I read your answer about abrogation in the Qur’ān , and there is a point that I couldn't understand. I was always under the impression that abrogation mentioned in the Qur’ān  referred to the Qur’ān 's supremacy over older scriptures, and I understood that because older scriptures were particular to their regions while the Qur’ān  was meant for all mankind. The point about alcohol did not bother me, because none of the statements about alcohol in the Qur’ān invalidates the others. I always read verse 85 of Surah Al `Imran to mean “And whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will never be accepted of him; and in the hereafter, he will be one of the losers." Please clarify this point for me.

In the Name of Allāh, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise and thanks are due to Allāh, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

Let's focus first on the nature of abrogation, since we always think that abrogation means cancellation. In the first instance with the revelation of Al-Qur’ān, it means an abrogation, total cancellation or amendment of the previous scriptures. But as far as in the context of the Qur’ān and other particular verses it would mean as an amendments, revocation or progression in setting up legal rulings.

As it had been indicated in one of my previous answers on this topic, people may not be ready yet to receive a full and final ruling on an issue; and therefore Allāh Almighty, out of His mercy, trains them little by little and introduces them to the ruling in a gradual way.

It is undoubtedly the Qur’ān itself is an abrogation of all previous scriptures. This statement is true when we take the word "abrogation" to refer to the above-mentioned two meanings: cancellation and amendment.

When the Qur’ān was revealed, it declared its cancellation of many of the previous ruling details that were suitable for the previous messages because they were limited to certain regions and certain people. For instance, the Torah established that people who wanted to repent from a sin was to end their life as a way of showing total repentance to Allāh. When the Qur’ān  was revealed, it declared that repentance can be achieved without people taking their own life, but rather by doing the following: quitting the evil deed, feeling remorse over it, resolving never to repeat it, and — if the sin involved harming other people — making suitable amends for them.

Of course this last approach better suits the universality of the message of the Qur’ān  and better copes with the real nature of human beings who would fall into sins every now and then.

Besides, it shows that the message of the Qur’ān is the message of balance. The Qur’ān has kept certain rulings that were originally revealed by Allāh to previous believing nations because such rulings are still suitable for application, like the "eye for eye, tooth for tooth" ruling. However, the Qur’ān gives some amendments there as it acknowledges the fact that wronged people may forgive the ones who harmed them; and in such cases, people should accept this. In this way, Islam promotes a peaceful society.

With that said, we can simply realize the fact that the Noble Qur’ān itself constitutes an abrogation, in either meaning of previous scriptures, by means of cancellation sometimes and amendment some other times.

Of course, this proves the Qur’ān’s position as the final revelation from Allāh and the last testament, so to say, sent to show humankind the way to their Lord. Allāh Almighty says what means:

“And unto you have We revealed the Scripture with the truth, confirming whatever scripture was before it, and a watcher over it.” [Al-Ma'idah, 5:48]

This brings us to the verse you referred to:

“And whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will never be accepted of him; and in the hereafter, he will be one of the losers." [Al-`Imran, 3:85]

The verse, as it appears in the Arabic text, refers clearly to Islam as a religion. This cannot be understood as referring just as "submission", because submission is one of the aspects of the religion of Islam but not all of them.

In fact, the word "Islam" comes from the Arabic root s-l-m, and from these three letters, we can deduce three words with three meanings that correlate to each other: submission, purity, and peace. The Islamic meaning of the word "Islam" comprises all three aspects; that is, the word "Islam" means submitting oneself to the will of Allāh and worshipping Him purely without associating anyone with Him, therefore reaching the level of peace and harmony in this life and in the hereafter.

Bearing this in mind, we find that we cannot limit the word "Islam" to mean mere submission, because anyone can submit themselves to their idol or god. Christians submit themselves to Jesus; lovers submit themselves to their beloved ones, and so on.

Allāh tells us about this fact:

“Yet of mankind are some who take unto themselves (objects of worship which they set as) rivals to Allāh, loving them with a love like (that which is the due) of Allāh (only).” [Al-Baqarah 2:165]

Therefore, the word mentioned in verse 85 of Surat Al-`Imran refers to Islam as a religion, not just something we submit to. We need to understand it as meaning the following: Any religion sought other than Islam will not be accepted. This becomes more understandable when we bear in mind that Islam is the religion of all prophets from Adam to Muhammad (Sallallāhu `Alayhi Wa Sallam) .All of them came with the same message and for the same mission: to guide people to the way of their Creator.

The core of that message is to bear witness that there is no god worthy of worship except Allāh. This is what we actually mean when we say that Islam is the religion of all messengers and prophets. Yes, the details of each ruling sent with each prophet particular to his time differed, but the core of the message and the main religion, which is Islam, is the same. This becomes clear when we understand the following words of Prophet Muhammad (Sallallāhu `Alayhi Wa Sallam):

"And prophets are consanguine brothers; their religion is one and their mothers are many" [Al-Bukhari]

This means that they came with the same religion — Islam — at different periods of time (expressed by the word "mothers").

In light of this, we can understand that Allāh Almighty says that any path sought other than Islam, which encompasses complete monotheism and total acceptance of all prophets from Adam to Muhammad, will not be accepted. Rather, we have to accept all messengers and purely worship Allāh as the only Lord.

Therefore any change in the core of the message or any humanly fabricated version falsely ascribed to Allāh and claimed to be true is totally rejected and never accepted by Allāh Almighty.

[Excerpted with modifications from Islam Online, Asked about Islam, published 5 April 2007]

Abrogation and Al-Qur'an

Sano Koutoub Moustapha

How Is It Possible that Verses of the Qur'an Could Be Abrogated?

Question: As-Salamu `alaykum. I am sad to say that this is the first time that I have read the Qur’an, and I am reading it in English, so I am a little confused about something. I am only in the seventh surah and already I have read two verses that are said to have been ’abrogated’, ’cancelled’ or ’amended.’ Why and how did the commentators or interpreters come to the conclusion that these verses were to be cancelled due to other verses? I find it hard to believe that anything in the Qur’an needs to be amended or cancelled! Could you please shed some light on this topic? Thank you.


In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

On the nature of abrogation, many people incline to think that abrogation means cancellation. It is not the case. In the first instance with the revelation of Al-Qur'an, it means an abrogation, total cancellation or amendment of the previous scriptures. But as far as in the context of the Qur’an and other particular verses it would mean as an amendments, revocation or progression in setting up legal rulings.

Dr. Sano Koutoub Moustapha, Professor of Fiqh and its Principles, International Islamic University, Malaysia, states:

“The word of abrogation is a translation of the word "naskah" which should mean the revocation and replacement of a legal ruling with another legal ruling, not to mean the cancellation or amendment as in the English sense.

Hence, there is no cancellation or abrogation but there was always revocation or progression in setting up legal rulings. It is apt to take the that meaning because the Qur’an was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w in a gradual manner, so as to enable the people to have a better understanding of its meanings and teachings Allah s.w.t clearly stated in the Qur’an says as follows :

“And (it is) a Qur’an that We have divided, that you may recite it unto mankind at intervals, and We have revealed it by (successive) revelation.” [Al-‘Isra’: 106]

On the basis of the verse, one must not bother the mind with the comments which claims that few verses have been abrogated, it is meant as a progression in settling the issues. One should continue to read and study the Qur’an which is the Kalam Allah. Certainly, there is no doubt that what is in the Mushaf – the printed copy of the Qur’an today is considered the Qur’an, which contain valuable virtues."

May Allah guide us all to the Straight Path! Allah Almighty Knows best.
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1. Excerpted with modifications from Islam Online, Asked about Islam, published on 31 Mar 2004.
2. Dr. Sano Koutoub Moustapha, Professor of Fiqh and its Principles, International Islamic University, Malaysia.

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