Scripture

A core belief of Islam is that God (exalted is He) has books that He revealed to His prophets wherein He clarified His command, prohibition, promise, and threat as well as informing of past, present, and future incidents. Muslims believe they are the literal word of God (exalted is He) that manifested from Him without any manner as an indication of His divine speech and He revealed them to his chosen messengers via revelation. From amongst these books are: Al-Tawrāh which was given to Moses, Al-Injīl which was given to Jesus, Al-Zabūr which was given to David, and the Quran which was given to Muhammad (may God’s peace and blessings be upon all of them). In addition, the Quran speaks about scriptures given to other prophets, “the scrolls of Abraham and Moses”[1] and “We believe in Allah and what has been revealed to us; and what was revealed to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and his descendants; and what was given to Moses, Jesus, and other prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them. And to Allah we all submit.”[2] Muslim theologians hold that these earlier scriptures have not been preserved in their original forms or languages, and the Quran describes parts of them being changed over time (2:79; 5:13).

The Quran, revealed to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ over 1,400 years ago, is considered as God’s final and unaltered word, serving as the ultimate everlasting guide for all of humanity. It is a succinct and comprehensive foundational guide for all aspects of life. Muslims believe that the Quran is the noblest book that God revealed to the noblest of His prophets, Muhammad ﷺ, that it is the last of the divine books to be revealed, that it is an abrogator of all the previous books, and its ruling is permanent until the Day of Resurrection. They believe that it is not possible for change or alteration to overcome it, and it is the greatest sign of the prophethood of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ because it is the greatest of his miracles.  One of the oldest manuscripts of the Quran is held at Birmingham University, England and has been radiocarbon-dated to between 568 and 645 CE with 95.4% accuracy, a range that includes the life of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. The manuscript matches the copies of the Quran that are widespread available today.[3]

One of the numerous miracles of the Quran is its bold mention of future events, that if were never to occur would have placed the entire validity of the Quran into question. The examples of this are many and cannot be dismissed as a mere fluke, like the promise of victory at the Battle of Badr before the battle occurred (54:45) and the disbelief of Abu Lahab (an uncle of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ) before he died (Surah 111). One striking example is the promise of victory to the Byzantium Empire over the Persian Empire which even prompted some of the companions of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ (may Allah be pleased with them) to place bets with the Quraysh[4] on it. Allah (exalted is He) says:

“The Byzantines have been defeated

in the nearest land. But they, after their defeat, will be victorious

within three to nine years.”[5]

[1] Quran 87:19.

[2] Quran 2:136

[3] https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/facilities/cadbury/birmingham-quran-mingana-collection/birmingham-quran

[4]  The Prophet’s ﷺ own tribe, who opposed him at the time. The account of the wager is in Jami’ al-Tirmidhi 3193 and 3194.

[5] Quran 30:2–4.