Do Muslims read the Bible?

[DippedinJannah]

My question might be better put as "do Muslims typically read parts of the Bible"?

I reverted from Christianity so I am already very familiar with the Old and New Testament.

In the Old Testament, the Torah has much corruption and I think it's mostly replaced by the Quran. Many of the other books are Jewish history or prophecy which is not particularly relevant. But what about the Psalms? It has been a while since I have read them but I think many of them would still be relevant to Muslims.

It seems to me that of all the books in the Bible, the Psalms are the book that is least corrupted and most relevant to Muslims. Thoughts?

 

[Ramadhan]

Brother, do you have information which part of psalms is still the pure original and which part is addition/corrupted/changed/etc?

If you do, please tell us, and then I will learn about psalms in the bible.

I personally don't read bible, but I sometimes was forced to when getting into discussions with christians, and to show them how false their belief is.

 

[Ramadhan]

Here are some opinion from scholars regarding reading other scriptures:

Ruling on obtaining the previous scriptures​

Is it permissible for a Muslim to obtain the Injeel (Gospel) to find out the words of Allaah to His slave and Messenger ‘Eesa (Jesus – peace be upon him)?

Praise be to Allaah.
It is not permissible to obtain any of the previous scriptures which came before the Qur’aan, such as the Injeel (Gospel or New Testament), Tawraat (Torah or Old Testament) and others, for two reasons.
The first reason is that anything in them that is beneficial has been explained by Allaah in the Qur’aan.
The second reason is that the Qur’aan frees us from any need for these books. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“It is He Who has sent down the Book (the Qur’aan) to you (Muhammad) with truth, confirming what came before it [Aal ‘Imraan 3:3]
“And We have sent down to you (O Muhammad) the Book (this Qur’aan) in truth, confirming the Scripture that came before it and Mohaymin (trustworthy in highness and a witness) over it (old Scriptures). So judge among them by what Allaah has revealed [al-Maa’idah 5:48]
So whatever good may be in the previous books is to be found in the Qur’aan.
With regard to the questioner’s statement that he wants to find out what Allaah said to His slave and Messenger ‘Eesa, this information is to be found in what Allaah has told us in the Qur’aan. So there is no need to look elsewhere. Moreover, the Injeel (Gospel) that is extant today is distorted. The evidence for that is the fact that there are four Gospels which contradict one another; there is no one Gospel which can be relied upon.

But the seeker of knowledge who has sufficient knowledge to be able to tell truth from falsehood, may be allowed to read (the previous scriptures) in order to refute the falsehood found therein or to leave the followers of the scriptures with no excuse for not knowing that they are false.​

Majmoo’ Fataawa wa Rasaa’il Fadeelat al-Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him), vol. 1, p. 32-33
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orruption of the Tawraat (Torah) and Injeel (Gospel) What sura in the Quran is related or mentions about the curruption of the Torah and Gospel?


Praise be to Allaah.
Allaah says about the Jews (interpretation of the meaning): “Do you (faithful believers) covet that they will belive in your religion in spite of the fact that a party of them (Jewish rabbis) used to hear the Word of Allaah (the Tawraat), then they used to change it knowingly after they understood it?” [al-Baqarah 2:75]
Qutaadah said: “The phrase ‘then they used to change it knowingly after they understood it’ refers to the Jews, who used to hear the words of Allaah, then they altered it after they had understood what it meant.”
Abu ‘Aaliyah said: “They took what Allaah had revealed in their Book describing Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and changed its meaning.” Ibn Zayd said: “The phrase ‘[they] used to hear the Word of Allaah (the Tawraat), then they used to change it’ refers to the Tawraat which Allaah revealed to them; they changed it, making what it permitted forbidden, and what was forbidden allowed, changing the truth to falsehood and falsehood to truth…” [Tafseer Ibn Katheer]
Allaah also said (interpretation of the meaning): “Among those who are Jews, there are some who displace words from (their) right places and say: ‘We hear your word (O Muhammad) and disobey,’ and ‘Hear and let you (Muhammad) hear nothing.’ And Raa’ina [in Arabic this means, ‘Be careful, listen to us and we listen to you,’ whereas in Hebrew it means ‘an insult.’] with a twist of their tongues and as a mockery of the religion (Islam). And if only they had said, ‘We hear and obey,’ and ‘Do make us understand,’ it would have been better for them, and more proper, but Allaah has cursed them for their disbelief, so they believe not except for a few.” [al-Nisaa’ 4:46]
The phrase “[they] displace words from (their) right places” means that they misinterpret them and understand them in a way that Allaah did not intend, doing this deliberately and inventing lies against Allaah. [Tafseer Ibn Katheer]
Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “So because of their breach of their covenant, We cursed them, and made their hearts grow hard. They change the words from their (right) places and have abandoned a good part of the Message that was sent to them. And you will not cease to discover deceit in them, except a few of them. But forgive them, and overlook (their misdeeds). Verily, Allaah loves al-Muhsineen (good-doers).” [al-Maa’idah 5:13]
The phrase “because of their breach of their covenant, We cursed them” refers to the fact that they broke the Covenant which had been made with them, so Allaah cursed them, i.e., He kept them away from following the True Guidance. “[We] made their hearts grow hard” means that they will not benefit from any preaching because their hearts are so hard. “They change the words from their (right) places” means that they play havoc with the words of Allaah and misinterpret His Book, taking it to mean things that were never meant and attributing to Allaah things that He never said; may Allaah protect us from that.
“[They] have abandoned a good part of the Message that was sent to them” means that they stopped following its teachings because they did not want to follow them. Al-Hasan said: “They did not adhere to their religion or keep their duties towards Allaah, without which no deeds are acceptable to Him; their fitrah (innate nature) was not sound and their deeds were not righteous.” [Tafseer Ibn Katheer]
So it becomes quite clear that the ways in which the Children of Israel tampered with the Tawraat and Injeel include the following:
Changing Omitting Adding things and attributing to Allaah words that He did not say Misinterpreting the words of Allaah. When Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was sent, the original Tawraat and Injeel had already been altered and distorted. Allaah revealed the Qur’aan to His Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and guaranteed that He Himself would preserve it, as He says (interpretation of the meaning): “Verily We: it is We Who have sent down the Dhikr (i.e., the Qur’aan) and surely, We will guard it (from corruption).” [al-Hijr 15:9]
This distinguishing feature was not found in any Book before the Qur’aan. From the time of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) until the present (more than fourteen hundred years) the Qur’aan has stayed the same, and not a single letter of it has been changed, as ancient manuscripts and the hearts of generation after generation of people who have memorized the entire text and earned the title of “haafiz” bear witness. We ask Allaah to guide us to the true and straight path. And Allaah knows best.


Islam Q&A
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid
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[DippedinJannah]

Brother, do you have information which part of psalms is still the pure original and which part is addition/corrupted/changed/etc?

If you do, please tell us, and then I will learn about psalms in the bible.

No, of course not. To me, most of the Psalms seem like simple prayers to God, which is why I think they are the last corrupt. But of course, I understand your point, brother. Thank you.

 

[Riana17]

I personally don't read bible, but I sometimes was forced to when getting into discussions with christians, and to show them how false their belief is.

Salam, I agree with this but I prefer not to read, I better read the Quran over and over again, trying atleast 2pages per day

 

[Who Am I?]

I also was a Christian before converting to Islam, and I still have my Bible and don't plan on getting rid of it. Before I converted, I used to read both the Bible and the Qu'ran side by side for comparison. Being educated in Christian schools my whole life, I too am familiar with the OT and NT, and a lot of the Qu'ran is very similar to the Old Testament.

I memorized several of the Psalms and Proverbs as a kid at school, and it is something that I still quote from time to time. I do not want to forget them, because even ignoring the religious aspect of it, there is some good life advice to be found there, just as there is from some surahs in the Qu'ran.

 

[Sothis Girl]

Yes I did read Bible when I was a teenager, even though I'm raised muslim. And also Ahmad Deedat's "The Choice".
I even debated my uncle who's a Christian, that time, about the bible. He couldn't answer LOLOLOL

 

[Signor]

if I am jot wrong Torah or the Old Testament Has been superseded by New Testament or The Bible,And After then they both got replaced by Holy Quran(correct me if i am wrong). What is the point of reading the bible again?
Btw,I did read it for research purposes and to know Christianity in its holy scriptures form.

Asslamo Alaikum