Why a Muslim Can Read the Bible with 4 Best Proofs
C.J Ahmed-13.04.2023
Comparative religion is the study of various religious scriptures and comparing them with the teachings in the Quran and the authentic hadiths. There is n othin g haram I n readin g the bible or a ny other scripturebecause learning what other religions teach can help a Muslim have a good grasp in other religions and can help him do dawah or defend his stance in Islam against detractors who criticize Islam. Allah(swt) asks Muhammad (sal) to challenge the Jews to bring the Torah and recite it infront of him
“A Jew and a Jewess were brought to Allah's Messenger (sal) on a charge of committing an illegal sexual intercourse. The Prophet (sal) asked them. "What is the legal punishment (for this sin) in your Book (Torah)?" They replied, "Our priests have innovated the punishment of blackening the faces with charcoal and Tajbiya." `Abdullah bin Salam said, "O Allah's Messenger (sl), tell them to bring the Torah." The Torah was brought, and then one of the Jews put his hand over the Divine Verse of the Rajam (stoning to death) and started reading what preceded and what followed it. On that, Ibn Salam said to the Jew, "Lift up your hand." Behold! The Divine Verse of the Rajam was under his hand. So Allah's Apostle ordered that the two (sinners) be stoned to death, and so they were stoned. Ibn `Umar added: So both of them were stoned at the Balat and I saw the Jew sheltering the Jewess.” (Bukhari)
In the above hadith, The Torah was read to Abdullah bin Salam ho was a Jewish Saahabi and if reading th Torah was wrong, the Prophet(sl) would have forbidden Abdullah bin Slam (rali) from litening or reading the Torah.
A group of Jews came and invited the Messenger of Allah (sal) to Quff. So he visited them in their school.
They said: AbulQasim, one of our men has committed fornication with a woman; so pronounce judgment upon them. They placed a cushion for the Messenger of Allah (sal) who sat on it and said: Bring the Torah. It was then brought. He then withdrew the cushion from beneath him and placed the Torah on it saying: I believed in thee and in Him Who revealed thee. He then said: Bring me one who is learned among you. Then a young man was brought. (Abu-Dawud-Grded Sahih by Albani)
It should be noted that the prophet (sal) was unlettered and it was due to this a young man was brought to recite the Torah.
The prophet (sal) also told that Muslims can narrate stories etc from the people of the book.
4) Abdullah ibn Amr reported: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Convey from me, even a single verse. Narrate from the children of Israel, for there is no blame in it” (Bukhari)
If reading the Torah or the bible is haram, the prophet (sal) would not have told to narrate from the Jews an the Christians.
Some scholars argue that reading the scriptures of other religions is haram base on the following hadith,
Jaabir ibn ‘Abdullah (rali) that ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab (rali) came to the Prophet (sal) with some written material he had got from one of the people of the Book. He read it to the Prophet (sal), and he got angry and said: “Are you confused (about your religion), O son of al-Khattaab? By the One in Whose hand is my soul, I have brought it (the message of Islam) to you clear and pure. Do not ask them about anything, lest they tell you something true and you disbelieve it, or they tell you something false and you believe it. By the One in Whose hand is my soul, if Moosa were alive, he would have no option but to follow me.” (Ahmad (14736); classed as hasan by al-Albaani in Irwa’ al-Ghaleel, 6/34. This hadith has several weaknesses in its narrators but based on collaborating reports is comes to the grade of hasan (good).)
In the above hadith, the prophet criticised Umar (rali) from reading the books of the Jews and the Christians because Umar (rali) might get confused and that cannot be said to all the others because Abdullah bin Salam (rali) was allowed to read and isten to the Torah. Whoever Allah (swt) guides, no one can lead him astray. A llah (swt) says,
“And whom Allah guides, there is none that can lead him astray” (Quran-39:37)
As long as it does not cause ny doubts in you, there is nothing wrong in reading the scriptures of other religions. Ibn Hajr gave his opinion as follows,
“unlike the one who is well versed in knowledge. For him it is permissible to read in the Torah and Gospel, especially when he needs to refute an opponent. This is indicated by the fact that the imams (leading scholars), both in the past and more recently, quoted from the Torah to prove to the Jews that they should believe in Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) on the basis of what they found in their book. If they did not believe that it was permissible to read it, they would not have done that and persisted in doing so, generation after generation.” (Fath al-Bari (13/525-526)
Ibn Taymiyyah also sid the following,
“If it so happens that there are some of the people of the Book who convert to Islam, and they have knowledge of what they have in their language and can translate it to us in Arabic, that may be useful when debating with the Jews and Christians or talking to them, as ‘Abdullah ibn Salaam, Salmaan al-Faarisi, Ka‘b al-Ahbaar and others did; they transmitted what they had of knowledge. In that case we may quote what they have that is in harmony with what the Messenger brought, and that will be proof against them in some ways and against others in other ways, as we have explained elsewhere.” (Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa (4/109-110))
It is clear that reading the bible or any other religious scripture is not haram in Islam because it helps a Muslim sharpen his ability to argue and sharpens his intellect and shrewdness.
Comparative religion is the study of various religious scriptures and comparing them with the teachings in the Quran and the authentic hadiths. There is n othin g haram I n readin g the bible or a ny other scripturebecause learning what other religions teach can help a Muslim have a good grasp in other religions and can help him do dawah or defend his stance in Islam against detractors who criticize Islam. Allah(swt) asks Muhammad (sal) to challenge the Jews to bring the Torah and recite it infront of him
- “All food was lawful to the Children of Israel, except what Israel made unlawful for himself before the Taurat (Torah) was revealed. Say (O Muhammad SAW): "Bring here the Taurat (Torah) and recite it, if you are truthful." (Al-Quran-3:93)
- Narrated Ibn `Umar:
“A Jew and a Jewess were brought to Allah's Messenger (sal) on a charge of committing an illegal sexual intercourse. The Prophet (sal) asked them. "What is the legal punishment (for this sin) in your Book (Torah)?" They replied, "Our priests have innovated the punishment of blackening the faces with charcoal and Tajbiya." `Abdullah bin Salam said, "O Allah's Messenger (sl), tell them to bring the Torah." The Torah was brought, and then one of the Jews put his hand over the Divine Verse of the Rajam (stoning to death) and started reading what preceded and what followed it. On that, Ibn Salam said to the Jew, "Lift up your hand." Behold! The Divine Verse of the Rajam was under his hand. So Allah's Apostle ordered that the two (sinners) be stoned to death, and so they were stoned. Ibn `Umar added: So both of them were stoned at the Balat and I saw the Jew sheltering the Jewess.” (Bukhari)
In the above hadith, The Torah was read to Abdullah bin Salam ho was a Jewish Saahabi and if reading th Torah was wrong, the Prophet(sl) would have forbidden Abdullah bin Slam (rali) from litening or reading the Torah.
- Narrated Abdullah Ibn Umar:
A group of Jews came and invited the Messenger of Allah (sal) to Quff. So he visited them in their school.
They said: AbulQasim, one of our men has committed fornication with a woman; so pronounce judgment upon them. They placed a cushion for the Messenger of Allah (sal) who sat on it and said: Bring the Torah. It was then brought. He then withdrew the cushion from beneath him and placed the Torah on it saying: I believed in thee and in Him Who revealed thee. He then said: Bring me one who is learned among you. Then a young man was brought. (Abu-Dawud-Grded Sahih by Albani)
It should be noted that the prophet (sal) was unlettered and it was due to this a young man was brought to recite the Torah.
The prophet (sal) also told that Muslims can narrate stories etc from the people of the book.
4) Abdullah ibn Amr reported: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Convey from me, even a single verse. Narrate from the children of Israel, for there is no blame in it” (Bukhari)
If reading the Torah or the bible is haram, the prophet (sal) would not have told to narrate from the Jews an the Christians.
Some scholars argue that reading the scriptures of other religions is haram base on the following hadith,
Jaabir ibn ‘Abdullah (rali) that ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab (rali) came to the Prophet (sal) with some written material he had got from one of the people of the Book. He read it to the Prophet (sal), and he got angry and said: “Are you confused (about your religion), O son of al-Khattaab? By the One in Whose hand is my soul, I have brought it (the message of Islam) to you clear and pure. Do not ask them about anything, lest they tell you something true and you disbelieve it, or they tell you something false and you believe it. By the One in Whose hand is my soul, if Moosa were alive, he would have no option but to follow me.” (Ahmad (14736); classed as hasan by al-Albaani in Irwa’ al-Ghaleel, 6/34. This hadith has several weaknesses in its narrators but based on collaborating reports is comes to the grade of hasan (good).)
In the above hadith, the prophet criticised Umar (rali) from reading the books of the Jews and the Christians because Umar (rali) might get confused and that cannot be said to all the others because Abdullah bin Salam (rali) was allowed to read and isten to the Torah. Whoever Allah (swt) guides, no one can lead him astray. A llah (swt) says,
“And whom Allah guides, there is none that can lead him astray” (Quran-39:37)
As long as it does not cause ny doubts in you, there is nothing wrong in reading the scriptures of other religions. Ibn Hajr gave his opinion as follows,
“unlike the one who is well versed in knowledge. For him it is permissible to read in the Torah and Gospel, especially when he needs to refute an opponent. This is indicated by the fact that the imams (leading scholars), both in the past and more recently, quoted from the Torah to prove to the Jews that they should believe in Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) on the basis of what they found in their book. If they did not believe that it was permissible to read it, they would not have done that and persisted in doing so, generation after generation.” (Fath al-Bari (13/525-526)
Ibn Taymiyyah also sid the following,
“If it so happens that there are some of the people of the Book who convert to Islam, and they have knowledge of what they have in their language and can translate it to us in Arabic, that may be useful when debating with the Jews and Christians or talking to them, as ‘Abdullah ibn Salaam, Salmaan al-Faarisi, Ka‘b al-Ahbaar and others did; they transmitted what they had of knowledge. In that case we may quote what they have that is in harmony with what the Messenger brought, and that will be proof against them in some ways and against others in other ways, as we have explained elsewhere.” (Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa (4/109-110))
It is clear that reading the bible or any other religious scripture is not haram in Islam because it helps a Muslim sharpen his ability to argue and sharpens his intellect and shrewdness.