contradictions in the bible

[aabassi]

Assalamu 'Alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu

Imam SAHIB,

I have been reading a topic posted about the bible, how the pope has changed it, and parts of it is not true. This is the link ashraf786.proboards15.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=1131753908

Well i know the Quran-al-kareem is the only true word of God, but why do we consider the bible and the jews torah as ''ahle-kitab'' when it is not the word of God ?These books being the heavenly books sent down by Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta'ala) ?

[Imam]

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem,

Assalamu 'Alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu,

Praise be to Allah the Lord of the Worlds, and Endless Blessings be upon His Messenger the last Prophet (Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam).

What one must realise is that there are no ahl-al-kitab in this day and age. Because ahl-al-kitab, means people of the book, and in this sense, it could mean the christians who believe in the 'injil', the jews who belive in the 'torah', those who believe in the 'zuboor', and ourselves who believe in the Qur'an.

Out of these followers, there are only the Musliums, who are also known as the ahl-al-kitab, who have preserved and safegarded the Qur'an. Allah the Almighty says:

'inna nahnu nazalnaz zikra wa inna lahu la hafizun'

'It is we who have descended the Qur'an, and it is we who are its guardians.'

Unlike all the rest of the books, which were sent down upon previous prophets, whether they were in the form of commandments, or psalms, have all been altered, tampered with, or changed. Except the Qur'an.

Now the thing to take note of is that there were at one time those ahl-e-kitab, centuries ago who used to believe in the original scripts, yet those original scripts do not remain anywhere in the world today. Therefore those people will also no longer be regarded as the ahl-al-kitab, as the kitab has been changed.

My friend what you are saying is correct. How can such people be ahl-e-kitab? The Messenger of Allah (Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam) also has stated, and it has been narrated in the Bukhari, that:

'the yahud had made distortions in their books (tahrif)'.

Similar narrations can also be found in the book of li'an, in al-Bukhari.

However, we must consider ourselves lucky that we are from the community of the final Messenger (Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam), and we should do all we can in appreciation, to show that there does exist a community that is true, that does not tamper with its books, does not write false stories against their prophets, and definitely does not associate any partners with God.

May Allah the Almighty keep us all firm upon the religion of Islam, and may He help us to preserve the esteem, greatness, and nobility, of His books, His messengers, and Himself.

Wallahu A'lamu Biththawaab.

M. Waseem Ashrafi.