Al-Tabari’s notes about the trustworthiness of the Bible
“Believe in that which I sent down in confirmation of what is with you, O Jews. And what is with them is the Torah and the Evangel”
In a previous post (1) I had shown how the Sira (biography of the prophet) by Ibn Ishaq demonstrated that the prophet of Islam regarded the Torah and the Gospel as trustworthy. In this blog site you will also find confirmation of this from the Hadith (2). In order to assure that my interpretations are not biased from my background, I’ve initiated efforts to discuss and present what the understanding of respected classic Muslim Sunni scholars. After reviewing the opinions attributed to Ibn Abbas (3), I plan to review the commentary of Tabari.
Who is Al Tabari?
Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn Jarīr al-Ṭabarī (born c. 839, Āmol, Ṭabaristān [Iran]—died 923, Baghdad, Iraq), (was a) Muslim scholar, author of enormous compendiums of early Islamic history and Qurʾānic exegesis, who made a distinct contribution to the consolidation of Sunni thought during the 9th century (approximately 250 years after the Hijra). He condensed the vast wealth of exegetical and historical erudition of the preceding generations of Muslim scholars and laid the foundations for both Qurʾānic and historical sciences. His major works were the Qurʾān Commentary and the History of Prophets and Kings (Taʾrīkh al-Rusūl wa al-Mulūk).(4)
As documented in the Encyclopedia reports, Al Tabari was not only a respected Sunni scholar. He was pivotal on Qur’anic and historical sciences. Two of his major works were the Al-Tabari Qur’an commentary and the History of Prophets and Kings. In his commentary, Al-Tabari reviews the words and phrases on each ayat (verse) of the different sura’s (chapters) in the Qur’an. Al-Tabari compiles and compares different reports (hadiths) from the Prophet Of Islam, his companions and his followers.
Why is Al-Tabari’s opinion important?
Today’s opinion from mainstream islam apologists is that all of the books of the Bible (including the Torah, Gospel / Injil and the Psalms / Zabur) are not trustworthy.
The Torah and the Gospel, or the Two Testaments, are two holy books that we as Muslims believe in, but the available manuscripts of these sacred scriptures that exist with us are not wholly Divine revelation. This is something that Christians and Jews also confirm. The scriptures were compiled and written many years after Moses and Jesus, upon whom be peace. The New Testament was written throughout a duration of time, by Mathew, Luke, and so on. The dates of their writings are also available. […] It is for this reason that the Torah and the Gospels that exist are not Divine scriptures that Almighty God had sent down, but rather writings of different people in different times. Even though parts of the true original Old and New Testament exist within today’s Bible, or else it would have been just a normal book. (5)
Though I am not a scholar, I have looked at historical evidence of the transmission and transmission of the books of the Bible. I do not take lightly the arguments of Muslims, who claim the Torah, the Injil and the Zabur where not trustworthy at the time of the prophet. However, while studying the Qur’an and the classic Muslim exegesis, I’ve come to realize that not everyone in histosty of the Islamic scholar world have agreed about this issue. In fact, it seems like a group of the oldest Islamic exegesis documents do not agree with today’s most common muslim apologetic view. Instead of referring to these books as not trustworthy, they simply claim that these books hold clear proof of the prophethood of nabi Muhammad.
Looking at Surah 2:41 according with Al-Tabari’s eyes
And believe in that which I have sent down in confirmation of what is with you, and be not the first to disbelieve in it. And sell not My signs for a little price; and fear Me. (6)
Surah 2:41 is the first verse from the Qur’an in which Al-Tabari’s commentary makes reference to the books revealed before the Qur’an. Al-Tabari presents the following interpretation to the verse:
The interpretation of the verse is thus: (…) Their selling of it is their failing to inform the people of what there is about Muhammad in their Book, and that it is written in it that he is the unlettered prophet whom they find written down with them in the Torah and the Evangel;(…)(7)
With regards to the Torah and the Gospel (here translated or referred to as Evangel) it is clear that Al-Tabari claims that The People of the Book (i.e. Christians and Jews) could easily find prophecies foretelling the arrival of Prophet Muhammad. Regardless whether this claim is true or not, it would make no sense for Al-Tabari to make a comment criticizing Christians and Jews for not looking or accepting words of the Torah and Gospel, if they were corrupted at the time this verse was revealed.
In the comment of 2:79, Al-Tabari confirms that people tampered the scriptures
Confusion may arise from this. Surah 2:79 reads as follows:
So woe to those who write the scripture with their hands, then say: ‘This is from God’. That they may sell it for a little price; so woe to them for what their hands have written, and woe to them for their earnings. (8)
Tabari’s opinion about the meaning of the verse is:
According to the narrations from those whose opinions I have mentioned, the meaning of this verse is: The chastisement – which is the drinking of pus by the inhabitants of Gehenna in the lowest part of hell – will be upon the Jews who wrote falsehood with their hands and then said: ‘This is from God’ (9)
Let me point to the following facts drawn from this comment:
1. Al-Tabari believed that there were some books or writings men made which a group of people claimed to be from God, while in reality it wasn’t from God.
2. Note that this is only referred to Jews and not to Christians.
3. It would be a non-sense and a contradiction to the Qur’an saying that all Jews did this. It is obvious that only a group of Jews would have done this. Else this verse would contradict the
Qur’an and the Hadith references to those “good Jews” who did convert to Islam, for example Abdullah Ibn Salam.
The interpretation of other verses provide confirmation
In the commentary of Tabari we find Sura 2:76 reading: And when they meet those who believe, they say: ‘We believe’; and when they go into seclusion with one another, they say: ‘Do you relate to them what God has revealed to you, that they may thereby dispute with you before your Lord? Have you no understanding?’(10)
In relation to the phrase “what God has revealed to you” Al-Tabari states the following opinion, after presenting the opinion from Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, Ibn Zaid and Al-Suddi:
(…) In this case, it necessarily follows that they censured each other for what they disclosed to the Messenger of God and his Companions when they said to them: ‘We believe in Muhammad and what he has brought’. For they said this because they had found it in their scriptures, and they were informing the Companions of the Messenger of God if this. (…)
So His words <> are a statement by God about the Jews who censured their brothers for telling the Companions of the Messenger of God what God had revealed to them, when they said to them: ‘Do you not understand, O people, that your telling the Companions of the Prophet that it is in your scriptures that he is the prophet who is sent as a proof for them against you before your Lord which they will bring as evidence against you? (11)
So this commentary clearly confirms to us, the books they had were trustworthy.
What are the take home notes from this article?
1. There is no doubt that Muslims claimed that some Jews produced certain books with their own hands saying they came from God, when it wasn’t so.
2. That claim may be aligned with historical records. Orthodox Jews put together the commentaries of what they called the oral Torah into codexes since the 3rd century CE (e.g Mishnah)
3. Not all Jews historically agreed with the comments of the Oral Torah being the Word of God.
4. Not all Jews participated of this act.
5. It is claimed that several people were able to believe in the prophethood of Mohammed by reviewing what were in the Books preceding the revelation of the Qur’an.
6. Islam could not criticize Jews and Christians, in the way it’s done, unless their books were Trustworthy.
7. Historical records give assurance that the books of the Bible available in the time of Muhammad are essentially the same as what we have today.
8. Do not take lightly what I present here. Go and check. Is it true that the prophet of Islam is foretold in the books of the Bible? I urge you to study and check. Do not simply assume, the Bible is corrupted.
Footnotes
(1) http://jtruthtobelieve.blogspot.com/2014/10/critical-and-rational-evaluation-of.html. See section “III. Understanding why The Qur'an differs from the Previous Scriptures”
(5) http://www.askthesheikh.com/the-torah-and-the-bible-are-riddled-with-mistakes-so-how-can-they-be-sent-down-by-god/(6) “The commentary on the Qur’an” Abu Ja’far Muhammad B. Jarir Al-Tabari. Being an abridged translarion of Jami’ al-bayan ‘an ta’wil ay al-Qur’an. Volume I, Oxford University Press, 1987. ISBN 0-19-9201142-0. Page 273
(7) Same reference as (6), page 276
(8) Same reference as (6), page 412
(9) Same reference as (6), page 413
(10) Same reference as (6), page 406
(11) Same reference as (6), page 408
Thanks for sharing!
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