The Bible and the Qur'an: How Muslims View Earlier Scriptures

Many Christians and Jews are surprised to learn that a Muslim cannot be a Muslim without believing in the Torah and the Gospel. Muslims do not see the Bible as a rival book from a rival religion, but as connected to revelations that came from the same God who later revealed the Qur’an. That connection is real — and so are the differences in how the two faiths understand their scriptures.

Scriptures Muslims are asked to believe in

Belief in God’s revealed books is one of the six articles of Islamic faith. The Qur’an names several of them: the Tawrah (Torah) given to Moses, the Zabur (Psalms) given to David, and the Injil (Gospel) given to Jesus, as well as the scrolls of Abraham. About the Gospel, it says:

وَقَفَّيْنَا عَلَىٰٓ ءَاثَٰرِهِم بِعِيسَى ٱبْنِ مَرْيَمَ مُصَدِّقًۭا لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ مِنَ ٱلتَّوْرَىٰةِ ۖ وَءَاتَيْنَٰهُ ٱلْإِنجِيلَ فِيهِ هُدًۭى وَنُورٌۭ وَمُصَدِّقًۭا لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ مِنَ ٱلتَّوْرَىٰةِ وَهُدًۭى وَمَوْعِظَةًۭ لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ ﴿٤٦﴾

And We sent, following in their footsteps, Jesus, the son of Mary, confirming that which came before him in the Torah; and We gave him the Gospel, in which was guidance and light and confirming that which preceded it of the Torah as guidance and instruction for the righteous.

Guidance and light — the same words the Qur’an uses for the Torah (Qur’an 5:44). Muslims speak of these scriptures with reverence, and they believe in every prophet who brought them, from Abraham to Jesus (peace be upon them all).

What Muslims mean by “the Gospel”

When the Qur’an speaks of the Injil, it means the message God revealed to Jesus himself. That is not quite the same as the four Gospels in the New Testament, which Christians themselves describe as accounts of Jesus’ life and teaching written by his followers. The Gospel of Luke, for example, opens by explaining that its author set out to write an orderly account based on what had been handed down by eyewitnesses (Luke 1:1-3).

Christians believe that God guided these human authors, so that their words are truly His word: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God” (2 Timothy 3:16, KJV). Muslims understand revelation differently. For them, revelation is God’s own speech, given to a prophet word for word.

How the Qur’an relates to earlier scriptures

The Qur’an describes itself as confirming the earlier scriptures and as a criterion or guardian over them:

وَأَنزَلْنَآ إِلَيْكَ ٱلْكِتَٰبَ بِٱلْحَقِّ مُصَدِّقًۭا لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ مِنَ ٱلْكِتَٰبِ وَمُهَيْمِنًا عَلَيْهِ ۖ فَٱحْكُم بَيْنَهُم بِمَآ أَنزَلَ ٱللَّهُ ۖ وَلَا تَتَّبِعْ أَهْوَآءَهُمْ عَمَّا جَآءَكَ مِنَ ٱلْحَقِّ ۚ لِكُلٍّۢ جَعَلْنَا مِنكُمْ شِرْعَةًۭ وَمِنْهَاجًۭا ۚ وَلَوْ شَآءَ ٱللَّهُ لَجَعَلَكُمْ أُمَّةًۭ وَٰحِدَةًۭ وَلَٰكِن لِّيَبْلُوَكُمْ فِى مَآ ءَاتَىٰكُمْ ۖ فَٱسْتَبِقُوا۟ ٱلْخَيْرَٰتِ ۚ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ مَرْجِعُكُمْ جَمِيعًۭا فَيُنَبِّئُكُم بِمَا كُنتُمْ فِيهِ تَخْتَلِفُونَ ﴿٤٨﴾

And We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], the Book in truth, confirming that which preceded it of the Scripture and as a criterion over it. So judge between them by what Allah has revealed and do not follow their inclinations away from what has come to you of the truth. To each of you We prescribed a law and a method. Had Allah willed, He would have made you one nation [united in religion], but [He intended] to test you in what He has given you; so race to [all that is] good. To Allah is your return all together, and He will [then] inform you concerning that over which you used to differ.

Muslims believe that, over the centuries, the original revelations given to earlier prophets were not preserved in their exact original wording, and that parts were lost, mixed with human words or reinterpreted. Classical scholars differed on how much of this was a change of the text itself and how much was a change of interpretation. But they agreed that the Qur’an, preserved word for word, is the standard by which Muslims judge what they read (see The Qur’an Is God’s Word, Preserved Unchanged).

This is a serious difference, and we state it plainly. But it is not a dismissal. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ gave his companions a careful and humble rule for what they heard from the earlier scriptures:

Narrated Abu Huraira: The people of the Scripture (Jews) used to recite the Torah in Hebrew and they used to explain it in Arabic to the Muslims. On that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "Do not believe the people of the Scripture or disbelieve them, but say:-- "We believe in Allah and what is revealed to us

In other words, where the Bible agrees with the Qur’an, Muslims recognise the truth in it; where it contradicts the Qur’an, Muslims follow the Qur’an; and where the Qur’an is silent, they neither confirm nor deny, out of respect for what may have come from God.

Shared stories, shared echoes

Anyone who reads both books will find many of the same people and stories: Adam and Eve, Noah and the flood, Abraham’s faith, Joseph and his brothers, Moses and Pharaoh, Mary and the birth of Jesus. Sometimes the echoes are very close. The Qur’an even quotes a promise from the Psalms:

وَلَقَدْ كَتَبْنَا فِى ٱلزَّبُورِ مِنۢ بَعْدِ ٱلذِّكْرِ أَنَّ ٱلْأَرْضَ يَرِثُهَا عِبَادِىَ ٱلصَّٰلِحُونَ ﴿١٠٥﴾

And We have already written in the book [of Psalms] after the [previous] mention that the land [of Paradise] is inherited by My righteous servants.

Compare the Psalm: “The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever” (Psalm 37:29, KJV).

There are differences in detail, too. The Qur’an presents every prophet as a person of upright character, so, for example, it is not Aaron who makes the golden calf but a man it calls the Samiri (Qur’an 20:85). Muslims see these differences as part of the Qur’an’s role in confirming and correcting what came before.

Different kinds of books

The Bible is a library: dozens of books written in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek by many authors over many centuries, and Christian churches do not all agree on exactly which books belong in it. The Qur’an is a single book, revealed in Arabic to one man over about twenty-three years, memorised by his companions and written down during his lifetime. Muslims regard every word of it as God’s speech (see What Is the Qur’an?).

Neither description is meant as a criticism. They simply explain why Christians and Muslims approach their scriptures in different ways.

Reading with respect

Muslims are commanded to believe in all God’s books and to speak to the People of the Scripture in the best manner (Qur’an 29:46). We invite Christian and Jewish readers to open the Qur’an and listen for the familiar voices of the prophets they already love — and we hope Muslims will read with equal care what their neighbours hold sacred.