Qur'an and the 'Other' Holy Books
Most North Americans have heard of the Qur’an. Muslims believe that the archangel Gabriel revealed the Qur’an to Muhammad over time, from A.D. 610 to 632. But did you know that Muslims actually believe in the existence of four holy books? They do not trust in the first three, however, and believe the Qur’an to be the final revelation from Allah.
Those four books are:
- Torah (Tawrat) — containing the original Law from Moses (the prophet Musa). Moses’ name is actually included in the Qur’an 136 times — more than that of any other prophet.
- Psalms (Zabur) — holding revelation in the form of songs and chants, given to David (the prophet Dawud).
- Gospel (Injeel) — delivered to Jesus (the prophet Isa). According to the website The Islamic Quotes, Muslims believe that the original text of Injeel pointed to Muhammad’s coming.
- Quran — believed to be the last holy book and the only one without error, written in Arabic (“the language of heaven”).
Promoting disbelief
As one Pakistani Muslim put it, reflecting the widespread belief of Muslims worldwide:
“God sent the Torah to Moses, the Psalms to David, and the Gospel to Jesus. But Christians and Jews have radically changed them.”
That conviction is based on the Qur’an itself:
"We sent Jesus, son of Mary, in their footsteps, to confirm the Torah that had been sent before him: We gave him the Gospel with guidance, light, and confirmation of the Torah already revealed; a guide and lesson for those who take heed of God. … We sent to you [Muhammad] the Scripture with the truth, confirming the Scriptures that came before it, and with final authority over them" (Qur’an 5:46-48, emphasis added).
According to the website Quran Reading:
"Allah Almighty sent many books on different messengers but … most of Allah’s revelations have been lost or altered. They have been combined with legend, folklore, and personal desires to create something very much unlike what Allah originally revealed.
"The only book which is in its original form till now and will be till the Day of Judgment is the Holy Quran. . . . The Quran that we use to study today is exactly the same as the one used over a thousand years ago. And since the Quran is in Arabic, we always have one, standardized version of it."
Addressing false teaching
No wonder so many Muslims question when Christians refer to the Bible as their authority: The seed has already been repeatedly sown against its reliability. For this reason, Brother Rachid even created a full episode in his Apologia teaching series called “Is the Bible Distorted?” In that episode, he taught how Muslims accuse the Bible of distortion without any evidence, and without even reading it.
According to Brother Rachid, the Qur’an does not clearly state that the Bible was distorted. Instead, in Surah 4:47, the prophet believes in and agrees with the Bible of his time. And Christians can point to how ancient manuscripts from the prophet’s time are unchanged today.
So Brother Rachid asks piercing questions:
- Why would God allow His Word to be distorted? And would He allow the Bible to be distorted yet protect the Qur’an from the same fate?
- Many of the early Christians died as martyrs. Why would Christians die for a distorted faith?
Fear of the Bible?
The constitutions of many Arabic-speaking countries offer some (or much) freedom of worship, which should protect Bible-reading. But because of these faulty teachings about the Bible, life on the streets can look quite different.
For example, in Algeria in 2021, a pastor and another man were fined and sentenced to two years in prison for “shaking the faith” of Muslims by selling Christian books in their bookstore. While their sentence was later reduced, the incident points to the concern of Muslims over the power of this holy book that they say does not have the truth of its original revelation.
In 2019, a persecution watchdog organization warned visitors to Saudi Arabia to only bring their personal Bibles, and not display them in public.
Voice of the Martyrs published a world map in 2019, listing countries where it’s most difficult to own or bring a Bible — many of them Muslim-majority nations. If God’s Word were not powerful, these governments would not fear it as much as they do.
God's Word accomplishes God's purpose
As God spoke through the prophet Isaiah:
“As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”
— Isaiah 55:10-11
Won’t you join us in praying regularly for the Holy Spirit to empower the Word of God as it reaches human hearts? And for open channels to share that life-changing Word?
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Sources: “Prophets mentioned in the Quran,” Feb. 17, 2018, onepathnetwork.com; “Everything You Need to Know About The 4 Holy Books in Islam,” The Islamic Quotes; “The Four Revealed Books in Islam – The Books of Allah,” Quran Reading; U.S. Report on Religious Freedom in Middle East, May 20, 2013, Wilson Center; “Algeria: Religious freedom to be scrutinized at the UN,” Nov. 7, 2022, Human Rights Without Frontiers; “Christians risk arrest if they display Bible in Saudi Arabia, persecution watchdog group warns,” Oct. 26, 2019, christianpost.com; “Bibles: Dangerous, Illegal, Covert,” April 20, 2019, lovepackages.org.