Informed Comment Homepage

Thoughts on the Middle East, History and Religion

Header Right

  • Featured
  • US politics
  • Middle East
  • Environment
  • US Foreign Policy
  • Energy
  • Economy
  • Politics
  • About
  • Archives
  • Submissions

© 2025 Informed Comment

  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Old Testament

__socrates

  • Page
  • History
Wikis > Dictionary of Islam > Old Testament
OLD TESTAMENT.
Al-‘Ahdu ‘l-‘Atiq العيد العتيقMuhammad, in his Qur’an, professes to receive all the inspired books of the Old Testament. (See Surah ii. 130: “We believe in God, and what has been revealed to us, and what has been revealed to Abraham, and Ishmael, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the Tribes, and what was brought unto the Prophets from their Lord: and we will not distinguish between any of them. and unto Him are we resigned” (i.e. Muslims). But there is no evidence that Muhammad had ever seen the Jewish Scriptures, as now received by both Jews and Christians. In the Qur’an, be mentions the Taurat of Moses, the Zabur (Psalms) of David, and makes several references to the historical portions of the Old Testament; but Jonah is the only name amongst the writers of the prophetical books (either greater or minor), of the Old Testament scriptures, mentioned in the Qur’an.
Muslim writers say there have been 124,000 prophets, but only eight of these have been apostles to whom the Almighty has revealed books, and that only one hundred portions, or suhuf, and four, books, or kutub, have been given to mankind. Ten portions to Adam, the first of the prophets, fifty to Seth (not once mentioned in the Qur’an), thirty to Idris or Enoch, and ten to Abraham. One book to Moses, another to David, another to Jesus, and the fourth to Muhammad.
Six of the prophets are said to have brought in new laws which successively abrogated the preceding, namely Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad.
The following Old Testament characters are mentioned by name in the Qur’an:-
Aaron, Harun; Abel, Habil, Cain, Qabil, Abraham, Ibrahim; Adam, Adam, Korab, Qarun, David, Da’ud, Goliath, Jalut; Enoch, Idris, Elias, Ilyas, Elijah, Alyasa, Ezra, ‘Uzair, Gabriel Jibril, Gog, Yajuj, Magog, Majuj; Isaac, Ishaq, Ishmael, Isma’il, Jacob, Ya’qub, Joseph, Yusuf, Job, Aiyub, Jonah, Yunus, Joshua, Yusha; Korah. Qarun; Lot, Lut, Michael, Mika’il, Moses, Musa, Noah, Nuh Pharaoh, Firaun, Solomon, Sulaiman, Saul, Talut.
The following incidents of. Old Testameuit history are related in the. Qur’an, with a strange want of accuracy and a large admixture of Talmudic fable:-
Aaron makes a calf. Surah xx. 90.
Cain and Abel. Surah v. 30.
Abraham visited by angels. Surah xi. 72, xv. 51.
Abraham ready to sacrifice his son. Surah xxxvii. 101.
Adam, his fall Surah vii. 18, ii. 34.
Korah and his company. Surah xxviii. 76, xxix. 88, xl. 25.
Creation of the world. Surah xvi. 3, xiii. 3, xxxv. 1, 12.
David’s praise of God. Surah xxxiv. 10.
Deluge. Surah liv. 9, lxix. 11, xi. 42.
Jacob goes to Egypt. Surah xii. 100.
Jonah and the fish. Surah vi. 86, x. 98, xxxvii. 139, lxviii. 48.
Joseph’s history. Surah vi. 84, iii, 1, xl. 36.
Manna and qauils given. Surah vii. 160, xx. 82.
Moses strikes the rock. Surah vii. 160.
Noah’s ark. Surah xi. 40.
Pharaoh. Surah ii. 4, x; 76, xliii. 45, xl. 36.
Solomon’s judgment. Surah xxi. 78.
Queen of Sheba. Surah xxvii. 22.
The compiler of the Kasifu ‘z-Zunur, (ed. Flügel, vol. ii. p. 458, article, Taurat) attempts an account of the Old Testament scriptures.
He divides the whole into four sections. and gives the names of the books as follows:-
(1) The Taurat, or the Five Books of Moses.
(2) Yusha’ (Joshua).
Sifru ‘l-Hukkam (Judges).
Shami’il (Samuel).
Sifru ‘l-Muluk (Kings).
(3) Sha’ya (Isaiah).
Irmiya (Jeremiah).
Hizqil (Ezekiel).
Yunus (Jonah).
(4) Ta’rikh. A history from Adam to the building of the Temple.
Mazamir (Psalms).
Aiyub (Job).
Amsal (Proverbs).
Ahbaru ‘i-Hukkam qabla ‘l-Muluk (Ecclesiastes)
Nasha id li-Sulaiman (Song of Solomon).
Hikmah (Wisdom).
An-Nawah (Lamentations).
Urdshair (Esther).
Danyal (Daniel).
‘Uzair (Esdras).
[PROPHETS, TAURAT, ZABUR.]

Based on Hughes, Dictionary of Islam

 
Tweet
Share
Reddit
Email

Primary Sidebar

Support Independent Journalism

Click here to donate via PayPal.

Personal checks should be made out to Juan Cole and sent to me at:

Juan Cole
P. O. Box 4218,
Ann Arbor, MI 48104-2548
USA
(Remember, make the checks out to “Juan Cole” or they can’t be cashed)

STAY INFORMED

Join our newsletter to have sharp analysis delivered to your inbox every day.
Warning! Social media will not reliably deliver Informed Comment to you. They are shadowbanning news sites, especially if "controversial."
To see new IC posts, please sign up for our email Newsletter.

Social Media

Bluesky | Instagram

Popular

  • Israel's Netanyahu banks on TACO Trump as he Launches War on Iran to disrupt Negotiations
  • Iran's Hypersonic Missiles Hit Israeli Refinery, Military Sites, as Israel does the same to Tehran
  • A Pariah State? Western Nations Sanction Israeli Cabinet Members
  • Israel: Will Ultra-Orthodox Jews' Opposition to Conscription Bring down Netanyahu's Gov't
  • Will Iran reply to Israeli Attacks with "War of Attrition?" Will its Nuclear Red Line Hold?

Gaza Yet Stands


Juan Cole's New Ebook at Amazon. Click Here to Buy
__________________________

Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires



Click here to Buy Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires.

The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam


Click here to Buy The Rubaiyat.
Sign up for our newsletter

Informed Comment © 2025 All Rights Reserved