Abstract

In an oft-cited verse regarding the status of the Bible in Islam, the Qur’an instructs Muhammad, “If you are in doubt as to the nature of what We have sent down to you, then ask those who have been reading the Scripture before you; Truth has come to you from your Lord, so do not become a skeptic” (Qur’an 10:94). ¹ Early on, as we can thus see, the Islamic tradition recognized the Jewish sacred book as a kindred spirit. This was not without reason. After all, Islam teaches that all of the prophets mentioned in the Bible and many of the teachings included therein are valid. Indeed, Muslims understand Islam itself to be, at heart, a renewed expression of the religion that had been earlier given to Moses and Abraham.