Here is another interesting verse. I just posted a response to a comment on a rather old post, Islam and Tahriif, and this verse came to my mind.
One thing that is particularly important is that in the second part of the verse we have a definition of those who are lost:
...whoever disbelieves in Allah and his angels and his books and his messengers and the last day has gone far astray.
Interesting to notice the plural kutubihi which is formed by the plural of kitaab (book) with the attached pos. pronoun, which here because it follows the preposition "bi" (to believe IN) becomes "kutubihi". Believe in his books. How can Muslims believe in his books if they aren't anywhere to be found, other than the Quran?
6 comments:
Could that refer the the Quran itself? The Bible is a book but we also refer to the books within it (i.e. Matthew, Timothy, Luke, John). No?
Nope, the Quran is only a book, as we see earlier in the same verse where it says to believe in the "kitaab", the book (singular). If one wanted to use the a plural for the Quran is would have to be al suwar--the surahs.
That aya also undermines the whole concept of the "corruption" of the previous Scriptures. If the previous Scriptures are corrupt, why then believe them?
Don,
can you elaborate?
Okay, can I play Muslim's advocate?
Couldn't it just mean, "Believe in the books that I sent previously, now lost or corrupted, but still containing things of value"?
Duffy: most Muslims believe that the previous Scriptures (Torah, Injil, etc.) which they acknowledge came from God have been corrupted to excise references to Muhammad and Islam. The Qur'an itself does not support this concept, and this aya (verse) tells us that Allah expects his followers to believe them.
Ayat which deal with this more directly are 32:24, 3:48-51, 5:46-48. I deal with this in more detail here.
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