Bismillah: In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful.
Belief in Revealed Scriptures, or “kutub”, is the third principle
of Iman. Although the literal meaning of “kutub” is books, this concept is different from our understanding of
written books or existing scriptures.
Within Islam, a sacred “book” refers to a unified body of revelation,
given by God, in oral language, to a specific prophet. Although each prophet models how to implement God’s guidance
in human life, the prophet is a pure channel in the process of revelation, relaying God’s message in unaltered form
to human beings.
The fact that “kutub” is in the plural means that Muslims accept
not only the Quran, but also the scriptures revealed to previous prophets. Muslims believe in the scrolls of Adam, Enoch,
Seth and Abraham, the Torah of Moses, the Zaboor (Psalms) of David, and the Injil (Gospel) of Jesus. However, belief in the
absolute authenticity of these previous scriptures is reserved for their original, oral revelations, as distinct from their
present written forms. Muslim belief, in many ways, parallels modern biblical scholarship, viewing the Old and New Testaments
as scriptures developing over periods of time and conveying the varying perspectives of their human scribes.
Although Muslims consider much of the previous revelation to have been lost,
they must still respect Jewish and Christian sacred books in their present, written forms: the Quran refers to portions of
these scriptures as containing their original “light of guidance.” To abuse the Torah or Bible is to commit a
serious sin.
Muslims regard the Quran as the final revealed scripture, sent to re-establish
God’s guidance, restored to its original content, restated in its most comprehensive form, and protected from any future
alteration. Muslims understand that God has promised to protect the Quran, and point to the historical witness of the huffaz,
those who have memorized the entire scripture and have preserved it in unbroken succession for over 1400 years. Muslims believe
that the written, Arabic form of the Quran preserves the original, oral revelation in its exactness, as it was compiled in
book form shortly after the Prophet’s passing and verified by contemporaries who had memorized the revelation in his
presence.
The Quran, as sacred scripture, is a special type of communication. It cannot
be approached in the conventional way that one would read an essay or philosophical treatise. Nor can one experience it simply
as a form of literature or poetry.
Outwardly, the Quran contains three types of knowledge: knowledge of God
and His creation, knowledge of the moral guidance necessary to live a righteous life, and knowledge of the ultimate fate of
those previous generations, both those who followed guidance and those who did not.
Yet to access the significance of this revealed knowledge, one must
read scripture in a state of faith, with the attitude of humility and with the openness of one’s heart and mind. Belief
in scared scriptures is thus not a static concept, but one that involves ongoing participation in God’s revelation of
guidance.
To recite sacred scripture with a heart full of faith moves the believer
outside of the fixed boundaries of time and space and allows the believer to hear and respond to the word of God in the immediate
present. Thus the light of revealed scriptures remains an everlasting link of mercy and direct communication between God and
His servants.
Barbara (Masumah) Helms
