Monday, January 07, 2008

Muhammad instructed to consult with the Jews and Christians

The [tenth] sura concludes with reassurance for Muhammad and affirmations of Allah’s sovereignty, in verses 94-109. Allah tells Muhammad to “ask those who have been reading the Book from before thee” if he doubts the revelations he has been receiving (v. 94). The Tafsir al-Jalalayn says that this means that Muhammad should “question those who read the Scripture, the Torah, before you, for it is confirmed [therein] with them and they can inform you of its truth.” This assumes, of course, that uncorrupted versions of the Jewish (and Christian) Scriptures were available in Muhammad’s day – a contention that creates immense difficulties for the Islamic claim that they were corrupted at all, since copies exist from that era, and they are not different from the Jewish and Christian Scriptures as they exist today.

From HERE.

2 comments:

JohnG. said...

And what do islamic traditions and islamic comments say about this verse?

Abu Daoud said...

I have never heard a coherent response. But ultimately asking questions about the meaning of the Quran is not something Muslims are supposed to do.