BELIEF IN THE REVEALED BOOKS

Thus the Quran, and also the Hadith, very clearly confirm the Muslim belief in four heavenly books. The Quran mentions no other such heavenly books, though it mentions many prophets, some of them by name, and attributes many divine revelations to them. David, to whom God revealed the Psalms, was gifted with great eloquence and a beautiful voice. All gifts were given to the prophets according to the needs of the world and the times in which they lived. The Psalms were intended to be sung for the worship of God and the celebration of God’s greatness. The Psalms are still extant and have been incorporated into the Bible. However, their present form may possibly be different from the original. Nonetheless, to a great extent, the Psalms retain their original state. The Injil (Gospel) The Injil is the revelation given to Prophet Jesus. The term Injil is derived from a Greek word, which, when translated into English means ‘gospel’ and it occurs twelve times in the Quran. In Muslim belief Jesus, the son of Mary, is considered to be the Prophet immediately preceding the Prophet of Islam. His birth was miraculous and by the grace of God he was endowed with a life-giving spirit. Both he and his pious mother, Mary, are mentioned in the Quran many times. ‘We sent after them Jesus, the son of Mary, and bestowed on him the Gospel; and We ordained in the hearts of those who followed him compassion and mercy.’ (57: 27) This particular verse of the Quran very clearly states that the Prophet Jesus was given the real Gospel, which stressed the compassion and mercy of God. Most of the time, whenever mentioned in the Quran, Gospel is coupled with the Torah or the law given to Moses. But there is always emphasis on the continuity of revelation and its culmination with the final revelation that is the Quran. 'He has sent down the Book to you with truth, which fulfils (the predictions) in the Scriptures that preceded it: He sent down the Torah and the Gospel.' (3: 3) 'God will instruct him in the Book and in wisdom and in the Torah and in the Gospel.' (3: 48)