What does the Koran say about the previous scriptures?
The Tawrat
The term Tawrat is simply the Arabic equivalent for the Hebrew Torah, normally understood as the law of Moses (Hazrat Musa). The Koran gives abundant testimony to the Tawrat, so much so, that it is mentioned more than any other part of the Bible:
It was We who revealed the Law (to Moses): therein was guidance and light. By its standard have been judged the Jews, by the Prophets who bowed (as in Islam) to God's Will, by the Rabbis and the Doctors of Law: For to them was entrusted the protection of God's 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 the Tawrat ("guidance and light"), and as having been revealed by Allah. Also a quotation from the Tawrat is 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 term Tawrat refers not only to the books of Hazrat Musa (pbuh), but to the entire Hebrew Scriptures, especially in verses that mention the Tawrat and Injil together:
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 the Tawrat, Injil, and Koran. The second verse mentions only two, but implies Muslims, whom the others should emulate. This particular understanding of Tawrat is borne out in the Hadith:
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 Qur'an, 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 the Zabur had also been sent down, but perhaps in his thinking he was including it under the Tawrat, i.e. the Jewish Scriptures. Another tradition makes an apparent quote from the Tawrat, a prophecy regarding the Prophet:
Ka'b, quoting the Torah, said we find written, "Muhammad God's 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 God's 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 the Hadith claims to come from the Tawrat as 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 of Haidar (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 the Tawrat, backing up the idea of the Tawrat sometimes being used to refer to the entire Hebrew Scriptures, that is, the Old Testament.
