Muhammad, the last of Allah's prophets, was sent to present Allah's revelation in its final form and for the last time. This was necessary because the message delivered by the previous prophets and messengers had been corrupted or distorted by their followers. They had been mixed with philosophical speculations, superstitions, myths, and neglect. Therefore, Islam is not a new religion - it is a restatement of the original religion of Allah in its purest form, and is designed to provide humanity with the uncorrupted message of Allah.

The Qur'an is the last and final revelation of Allah sent to His Last Messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him) for the whole mankind. All the previous revelations of Allah (although most of them are corrupt and altered by men now) foretold about the coming of the Last Messenger of Allah and the Book Al-Qur'an, which is the final revelation from God.

Despite the disastrous human interference in the holy writings of the Torah and the Gospel, as admitted by the Bible's publishers, the scriptures still contain a goodly portion of the original truth. So much so that those who truly believe and follow the Bible, even in its present form, will certainly be guidede to Islam (Qur'an 2:121). Those who honestly follow the teachings of Moses and Jesus (may God bestow blessings and peace upon them), even in their current state, will be led to the completion and fulfillment of what their creator expects of them. This has been the experience of many free-minded followers of the Bible. One such example is Mr. Sulayman Shahid Mufassir, who is a former ordained Christian minister and who recounts the Biblical guidance which led him to the light of Islam.

The Bible contains a vivid preview of the person and mission of Muhammad (peace be upon him) that is so distinct and unmistakable that many a sincere Jew and Christian was happy to accept him as the prophet when he appeared. But over the subsequent centuries of theological antagonism, preceded and accompanied by the editing, rewriting and dogmatizing of portions of the scriptural record, that written portrait has become obscured as with a thick layer of dust. When the centuries-old encrustations of dogma and sectarian hermeneutics are removed, many well-known, little understood verses of the Bible serve as signposts for the serious scholar.

The Muslims believe that the original Torah (The book revealed to Moses, pbuh) and Gospel (The book revealed to Jesus, pbuh) were revealed by Almighty God. When Jesus began to call the Jews to return to sincere and devoted service to God, the Torah of Moses had been subjected to serious instances of careless copying and dogmatic editing, but Jesus confirmed in his preaching whatever remained intact of the divine revelation. He said, "Do not suppose that I have come to abolish the Law (Torah) and the prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to complete. I tell you this: so long as heaven and earth endure, not a letter, not a stroke, will disappear from the Law until all that must happen has happened" [1]. The essence of the Torah was confirmed in the Gospel. Six hundred years after the Gospel, when it had similarly suffered through careless copying and editing, Muhammad resumed the prophetic mission and confirmed whatever had remained of both the Torah and the Gospel. He received from God the clarified book, the Qur'an, which would be protected forever from error and distortion, and which would, therefore, serve as the protector of the ultimate reference (muhaimin) of all previous revelations [2].

The Bible does not now contain the Torah and Gospel as they were divinely revealed. Bibilical scholars themselves have recognized the human nature and composition of the book [3]. However, we may expect to find within its pages some portion of the Torah and the Gospel, although careful study is necessary in order to make the message comprehensible [4]. An amazing feature of the Bible, even in its present form, is that it indicates the divine revelation would progress through a number of message-bearers or prophets and be completed finally in one man, one particular prophet whose message would be so comprehensive and whose mission would be so universal that no further prophets would ever be needed.

REFERENCES

[1]    Matthew 5:17, 18 in the New English Bible.
[2]    Surah Al-Maida (5): verses 44-48, Al-Qur'an
[3]    Curt Kuhl, The Old Testament: Its Origin and Composition (London, 1961), pp. 47, 51, 52.
[4]    James Hastings, Dictionary of the Bible (New York, 1963), pp. 340, 567-569.