The Zabur
This term "Zabur" is the Arabic equivalent of the Hebrew zimra, 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 and song". It along with zamir (song) and mizmor (psalm) is a derivative of zamar, meaning "sing, sing praise, make music". (Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, vol. 1, pg. 245.)

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:

The Muslim Understanding of the 3 Holy Books
General Muslim understanding today of the Tawrat, Zabur, and Injil, is somewhat simplistic. Each is thought to be a revelation in the form of a written book that was given through Hazrat Musa, Dawud, and Isa (peace be upon them) respectively. But there is some divergence of opinion:

What are the Tawrat, Zabur and Injil?
It is common knowledge that Muslims recognize four remaining holy books out of a total of 104 revelations, of which 100 are missing. Although Muslims are often taught that the 3 remaining books previous to the Koran have been altered, still, Muslims for the most part, respect those 3 holy books. The 3 holy books are known as the Tawrat, Zabur, and Injil.

OLDEST COPY OF THE QURAN AS KNOWN TODAY

The many variant reading caused Muslim soldiers from Iraq who followed Ibn Masud's collection, and soldiers of Syria who took Ubay's collection to be the correct one, to accuse each other of lying.
Uthman's reaction in 653 AD is recorded in the following Hadith: "Uthman sent a message to Hafsa saying, 'Send us the manuscripts of the Quran so that we may compile the Quranic materials in perfect copies and return the manuscripts to you'. Hafsa sent it to Uthman, Uthman then ordered Zaid bin Thabit, Abdullah bin Az-Zubair, Said bin Al-As and Abdur Rahman bin Harith bin Hisham to rewrite the manuscripts in perfect copies. Uthman said to the three Quraishi men, 'In case you disagree with Zaid bin Thabit on any point in the Quran, then write it in the dialect of Quraish as the Quran was revealed in their tongue.' They did so, and when they had written many copies, Uthman returned the original manuscripts to Hafsa. Uthman sent to every Muslim province one copy of what they had copied, and ordered that all the other Quranic materials whether written in fragmentary manuscripts or whole copies, be burned. Zaid bin Thabit added, 'A verse from Surah 33, Alizab, (verse 23) was missed by me when we copied the Quran and I used to hear Allah's Apostle reciting it. So we searched for it and found it with Khuzaima bin Thabit Al-Ansari...'" (Bukhari, VI, No.510)

VARIANT READINGS IN THE QURAN

A number of Hadith mention that several of Muhammad's (p.b.u.h.) companions wrote down their own collections of the revelations. ("Itqan I" by Suyuti, p.62)
The most well known among them are: Ibn Masud He claimed to have learned some seventy Surahs directly from the prophet. Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) told other people to learn the Quran from him and three others. (Bukhari, 6, No.521) However, Surah 1, 113 and 114 were missing in his collection. (Fihrist, I, pages 53-57)
Ubay bin Kab The prophet's secretary in Medina. He is one of the other three mentioned above whom the prophet recommended as a teacher of the Quran. His collection contained two additional Surahs and an otherwise unknown verse. ("Itqan I" by Suyuti, p.65; "Masahif" by Ibn Abi Dawud, pages 180-181, also "Geschichte des Quran's" by Noeldeke, pages 33-38) His text was widely used in Syria before the appearance of Uthman's text.

THE MAN WHO WROTE DOWN THE FIRST OFFICIAL COPY OF THE QURAN

The revelations given to Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) were not written down by himself: "Narrated al Bara: There was revealed 'Not equal are those believers who sit and those who strive and fight in the cause of Allah' (Surah 4, Nisaa, verse 95). The prophet said: 'Call Zaid for me and let him bring the board, the ink pot and the scapula bone.' Then he said: 'Write: Not equal are those believers...'" (Bukhari,VI, No.512)

FIRST WRITTEN ACCOUNTS OF THE QURAN

The revelations Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) received were written down during his lifetime on different writing materials. However, they were not bound into one single book. This is confirmed by a report that says "when people came to Medina to learn about Islam, they were provided with copies of the chapters of the Quran, to read and learn them by heart." ("Sahifa Hammam ibn Munabbih," by Hamidullah, 1979, p.64)

MEMORIZATION OF THE QURAN

During the time revelations were received by the prophet of Islam, the Muslims were encouraged to memorize them: "Narrated Uthman bin Affan: The prophet said: 'The most superior among you are those who learn the Quran and teach it.'" (Bukhari, VI, No. 546, all of Bukhari's English translations in this comparison are taken from: "The translation of the meaning of Sahih al-Bukhari", 9 volumes, by Khan Muhammad Mushin, Istanbul, 1978)

THE BEGINNING OF THE QURAN

Revelations were given to Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) from around 610 AD. until shortly before his death in 632 AD. They lasted about 23 years. ("'Ulum Al-Quran", by Ahmad von Denffer, 1985, pages 54-55)

   

The History

Home > The Koran > THE HISTORY OF THE QURAN AND THE INJIL

STORY OF THE QURAN AND THE INJIL

By Abdullah Ibrahim

To study and understand history has always been a vital tool in developing a correct view on a wide variety of matters. In order to confirm the validity of the Injil, which is known as the New Testament, it will be necessary to look at its history and that of the Quran. In the Holy Book of Islam Christians are referred to as the people of the Injil. (Surah 5, Al Ma'idah, 47, all references refer to "The Meaning of The Holy Qur'an by Abdullah Yusuf 'Ali, Amana Publications, U.S.A., 1989) The literal meaning of the word is "Good News," or "Gospel". It is used in three ways:

Taorah

The Written Law consists of the books of the Hebrew Bible, the Tanakh. The term "Bible" is more commonly used by non-Jews, as are the terms "Old Testament" and "New Testament." The appropriate term for Jews to use for the Hebrew Bible is "Tanakh." Tanakh is an acronym for Torah, Nevi'im (Prophets) and Ketuvim (Writings).