Islam teaches that God entrusted revelations to such prophets as Abraham, Moses, Jesus and many others – in fact, 124,000. Much of that message was lost. But enough remains to show that the fundamental message is there is a single, unique Being.
“Muslims hold that all prophets are sinless (ma’sum) and any wrongs attributed to them in the Qur’an are regarded as ‘errors’ rather than sin” (Esack, 151). You might be surprised at the number of references and allusions to biblical stories that are in the Koran.
There are nearly 70 references to Abraham. The Law of Moses is referenced 140 times. Moses supposedly foretold the coming of Muhammad (Koran 7:156). The psalms are referenced several times with Psalm 37:29 being the only explicit quotation in the Koran.
The Gospel is found referenced many times. The focus in the Koran on Jesus is actually on “Jesus’ avowal of his own divinity” (Esack, 154) or lack thereof. According to Esack, Muslims believe Jesus will come again – as the Messiah – He will descend to the Holy Land, destroy all the symbols of “corrupted” Christianity and then His community will merge with the Muslim community and then, forty years later, Jesus will die a physical death and be buried at Medina next to Muhammad.
Farah writes (104): “[Islam] is the same religion which Allah had previously revealed unto Abraham, who is considered the ‘first Muslim’ after Adam.” He writes that the purpose of Muhammad’s mission “was not to replace but rather to complement the mission of his predecessors.”
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It is true that many Muslims believe that the Law, the Psalms, and the Gospels were corrupted textually and therefore, are not trustworthy. Ahmed goes on to write: “these religious systems wandered from the straight path and eventually needed further divine instruction. Islam came at the end, filling in all the gaps, correcting all the errors, dotting the is and crossing the ts” (25).
This position, expressed by Ahmed and modern Muslim scholars is not tenable on the face of it. Mohammed did not hold that position, or he could not have referred to it as he did – to settle certain disputes between himself and the Jews. In other Suri, he urges Jews and Christians to “observe the Law and the Evangel [the Gospel, p.h.], and that which hath been sent down to you from your Lord” (5:72). Had Mohammed held these books to be corrupt, how could he have urged people to read it and follow it?
In point of fact, the Qur’an nowhere affirms that the Law, the Psalms, and the Gospels are corrupted. This may very well be the bridge over which Christians should travel in trying to convert a Muslim.
–Paul Holland
