On Wednesday, May 16, Muslims all around the world will start commemorating the holy month of Ramadan by fasting from dawn to sunset for a month. A previous faith column, “Ramadan helps to purify body, soul of Muslims,” was published last June (available online) and shed some light on the details of Ramadan and its benefits.
The verse in the Quran that obligates fasting in this month is the 183rd verse in the second chapter in which God states: “O you who believe! Fasting has been ordained upon you as it was ordained upon those before you, in the hope that you might become ever conscious of God.”
In the above verse, God tells us that fasting was an obligation on those before Muslims as well. “Those before” primarily refers to the two other Abrahamic faiths, Judaism and Christianity. A simple search online brings up a countless number of articles listing verses from Jewish and Christian scriptures speaking about fasting. One such article is called, "The Fast of Ramaḍān in the Bible and the Qur’ān” by Shibli Zaman.
This is just one of Quranic verses that establish directly or indirectly the status of the prequels of the Quran, the Torah and the Bible as revealed by God. In chapter 3, verse 3, God says in the Quran, "It is He (God) Who has sent down the Book (the Qur’an) to you (Prophet Muhammad ) with truth, confirming what came before it. And he sent down the Taurat (Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel).”
Islam recognizes that Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus are true messengers of God sent to guide humanity. They received revelation and were given scriptures that are as authentic in their original form as Muslims believe the Quran to be.
Why do Muslims not follow the teachings of the previous scriptures? There are at least two reasons for that. Firstly, according to Islamic belief, each new scriptures either confirms or updates the law of the previous scriptures. This is exemplified in the statements of Prophet Jesus as mentioned in the Quran (3:50) when he said: "And [I have come] confirming what was before me of the Torah and to make lawful for you some of what was forbidden to you. And I have come to you with a sign from your Lord, so fear Allah and obey me.”
Secondly, Muslims believe in the previous scriptures in their original forms as opposed to the current ones. The reason for this are the changes that have undoubtedly occurred in the Bible and the Torah. The addition of rabbinic commentary within the general definition of Torah complicates and confuses between word of God and word of man. With regard to the Bible, none can deny the implausibility of hundreds of versions of the Bible all being authentic. Translation from the classical language of Bible into others also leads to the possibility on some message being “lost in translation.” The intention here is to explain a perspective and not to disrespect any tradition.
The Quran also mentions a fourth scripture revealed to Prophet David called the “Zaboor.” Some Christians who are familiar with the Islamic description for Zaboor equate it to the Book of Psalms in the Bible.
The Quran is unique among the scriptures with regard to human distortion. There is only ONE version of the Quran in the entire world. The original language in which the Quran was revealed, the Arabic language is still alive and well. Although there are differences in translations, the existence of the original allows one to refer back to for accurate understanding.
In conclusion, Muslims believe that God does not communicate directly to all humans. He has communicated through Messengers and Messages (scriptures). Muslims do not consider their faith to be complete without believing in ALL scriptures revealed by God.
Jawad Rasul is the imam of the Islamic Society of Augusta. He can be reached at (706) 210-5030. Learn more at www.isaugusta.com.