A.All (?) SayZaburequals the Psalms of Hazrat Dawud (David): TheZaburorPsalms, does not seem to be a big issue. Except for the comment by Cyril Glasse above about the Psalms, very little is said or discussed about this matter. A.Some SayTawrat, Zabur and Injilequals the Bible: To top this all off, reference must be made to Abd-al-Rahman Azzam, respected Muslim leader and founder of the Arab League, as well as one who was instrumental in steering Malcolm X towards a more orthodox Islam: 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,Bybooksis meant the ones revealed by God: theBible, the Koran.(Azzam,Ibid.,pg. 102n.) Azzam equated the other three heavenly books with none other than todays Holy Bible. II. The Korans Testimony about the Previous Scriptures. A. TheTawrat. The termTawratis simply the Arabic equivalent for the HebrewTorah, normally understood as the law of Moses (Hazrat Musa). The Koran gives abundant testimony to theTawrat, so much so, that it is mentioned more than any other part of the Bible: It was We who revealed theLaw(to Moses): therein was guidance and light. By its standard have been judged the Jews, by the Prophets who bowed (as in Islam) to Gods Will, by the Rabbis and the Doctors of Law: For to them was entrusted the protection of Gods 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 theTawrat(guidance and light), and as having been revealed by Allah. Also a quotation from theTawratis 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 termTawratrefers not only to the books of Hazrat Musa (pbuh), but to the entire Hebrew Scriptures, especially in verses that mention theTawratandInjiltogether: 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 theTawrat,Injil, andKoran. The second verse mentions only two, but implies Muslims, whom the others should emulate. This particular understanding ofTawratis borne out in theHadith: 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 Quran, 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 theZaburhad also been sent down, but perhaps in his thinking he was including it under theTawrat, i.e. the Jewish Scriptures. Another tradition makes an apparent quote from theTawrat, a prophecy regarding the Prophet: Kab, quoting the Torah, said we find written, Muhammad Gods 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 Gods 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 theHadithclaims to come from theTawratas 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 ofHaidar(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 theTawrat, backing up the idea of theTawratsometimes being used to refer to the entire Hebrew Scriptures, that is, the Old Testament. A.TheZabur. This term Zabur is the Arabic equivalent of the Hebrewzimra, 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 andsong. It along withzamir(song) andmizmor(psalm) is a derivative ofzamar, meaning sing, sing praise, make music. (Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, vol. 1, pg. 245.) In the Koran, theZaburis 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-Korans reference to the Psalms is actually a reference to the third division of the Hebrew Scriptures, known as theWritingsorKethubim: as it begins with the Psalms, it is so styled in the Gospel (Luke 24:44) and in the Quran alike. (The Balance of Truth, pg. 51.) A.TheInjil.
Posted on: Wed, 06 Aug 2014 05:30:44 +0000
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