BELIEF IN THE REVEALED BOOKS

‘And We wrote for him upon the Tablets an admonition and details of all things, then [bade him], ‘Hold fast to them; and command your people to follow them in their best sense’. (7: 145) But when Moses went back to his people with the Law inscribed on the Tablets, they had meanwhile turned away from God and the Truth and he became very angry. He prayed for them and they repented. ‘When his anger had subsided, Moses took up the Tablets upon which was inscribed a pledge of guidance and mercy for those who fear their Lord.’ (7: 150-154). The Towrah, as originally revealed to Moses, must have been in the Hebrew language. But there is no copy of the original Book given to Moses extant today. As a matter of fact, during their long and turbulent history, the Jews repeatedly lost their revealed books. The Old Testament is considered by today’s Jews as the Book revealed by God. But it cannot simply be equated with the Towrah mentioned in the Quran. The reason for this is the Old Testament contains also the Zabur, (Psalms) the book of guidance given to the Prophet David. The Zabur is mentioned in the Quran as a revelation separate from the Towrah. The Zabur (Psalms) The term Zabur is the Arabic equivalent of the Hebrew word ‘zimr’, which is usually translated into English as ‘Psalm’. It was the book of revelation given to the Prophet David. In the Hebrew and Christian scriptures it is a part of the Old Testament. David was a prophet, but he was also a great ruler. He was divinely inspired to sing hymns praising God and His creation in his melodious and sonorous voice. These hymns now constitute the Psalms. In the Quran, the Psalms is mentioned by name only three times: ‘…And to David We gave the Psalms.’ (4: 163) ‘'Your Lord knows best about everyone in the heavens and on the earth. We gave some prophets more than others: We gave David the Psalms." (17: 55) 'We have already written in the Psalms following the Reminder, 'My righteous servants shall inherit the earth.' (21: 105) Historians agree that the Quran, the last of the divine books has been preserved from human interpolation.