Were the Gospel, Psalms and Torah, like the Quran, transformed into books later and reproduced?
- For example, did the apostles compile the Bible (Gospel) in the form a book after Jesus died?
Submitted by on Thu, 25/05/2023 - 16:35
Dear Brother / Sister,
The heavenly books other than the Quran were revealed once as a whole. (See Razi, the interpretation of al-Furqan, verse 32)
The whole Torah was revealed to the Prophet Musa (Moses) in writing in tablets, once as a whole.
The Psalms were revealed to the Prophet Dawud (David) all at once.
The Gospel, on the other hand, was sent down once as a whole, but it was not made into a written book when Jesus was alive because the short duration of the preaching of Jesus and the conditions of the time he lived were not suitable for it.
The earliest copies of the Gospel were written in the 70’s AD. Therefore, the truths conveyed by Jesus could not be recorded immediately; and later, human words were mixed into the Gospels and hence the original of the book was distorted.
As for the Quran, it was sent down in 23 years; it was written down completely during the life of the Prophet (pbuh); it was compiled in the form of a book (mushaf) during the caliphate of Abu Bakr (ra).
Our Prophet (pbuh) had the revelation scribes dictate the revealed verses, and they were also memorized by the Companions.
As each chapter of the Quran was revealed, the Prophet (pbuh) informed the scribes of revelation where it would be placed, and they wrote it in the place shown by him because the Quran was not revealed as a whole, nor was it sent down in the order as it was written in the mushaf.
Sometimes, verses belonging to another surah (chapter) were sent down before a chapter was completed. As a matter of fact, the verses that were first revealed (sent down) were not included in the first chapter, but were placed in the 96th chapter of the Quran, al-Alaq.
While the revealed verses were memorized by the Prophet (pbuh) and Muslims, they were also written by the revelation scribes upon the order of the Prophet (pbuh). The four caliphs (Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Ali), Zayd bin Thabit, Ubayy bin Ka’b, Khalid bin Abi Sufyan were some of the Companions appointed by the Prophet as revelation scribes.
The revelation scribes wrote the verses of the Quran on thin stones, shoulder blades, palm branches and leather because there was no paper. Our Prophet (pbuh) read the verses and had the revelation scribes read them in order to check whether the revealed verses were written correctly.
Thus, the Quran was preserved by being written and memorized in the time of the Prophet (pbuh).
In short, the Quran is a divine book that was sent down to the last Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in Arabic in about twenty-three years verse by verse and sometimes in the form of chapters (surahs); its meaning and words belong to Allah.
Questions on Islam
- Why did Allah send the Quran as the last book?
- How was the Gospel revealed/sent down to Hz. Isa (Jesus)?
- Could you name all the books sent by Allah SWT?
- Since the prophet was illiterate, how did He check the revelation scribes?
- Why was the Quran not compiled as a book while the Prophet was alive?
- Were the books that were sent before the Quran (the Torah, the Psalms and the Gospel) distorted and changed?
- Will you answer the claims related to the Quran, the Gospel and Islamic contradictions?
- Do both the meaning and the words of the Bible (Gospel) and the Torah, like the Quran, belong to Allah?
- How many types of Divine Books are there? What are their names?
- How was the Quran were protected from distortion?