at-tauraat wal injeel

[mquran]

Salaamun alaikum all,

I read somewhere on this forum a question asking what at-tauraat and al-injeel are. I'd like to raise the subject here, if I may.

Lets go off on a tangent first and ask, 'what is as-salaat'. Well, I say 'as-salaat' is the ritual prayer practised by Sunnis. Most people reading this would be shocked. 'Why', do you take as-salaat to be ritual prayers when the context clearly denies this?' they would say. Good point, but why are people doing this with at-tauraat and al-injeel ? Why dissect salaat to the bone and leave at-tauraat and al-injeel alone ?

At-tauraat and al-injeel when translated as 'torah and evangel' i.e. the Old and New Testaments and thus accepted as 'previous revelations' also yields another issue. The issue of Quranic exegesis. Can the Quran be interpreted correctly using the OT and NT ?

If we to perform the same operation we performed on 'as-salaat' on at-tauraat and al-injeel, we would find the following

1. Allah says at-tauraat contains 'hukum Allah'/Allah's ordainments, judgements, law' (Quran 5/43). If we say that the OT contains God's laws, then we would have to yield to some racist, barbaric laws.

2. In the Quran, you won't find anywhere at-tauraat revealed to Musa. The first 5 books of the OT are attributed to Musa. At-tauraat rather is taught to Isaa and Isaa does 'confirm/tasdiq'. What it means to 'tasdiq' should be checked Quranically as well.

3. 5/47 says that let the people of al-injeel judge by it. Does the NT contain ANY judgements which are Quranic ? If so, what seperates it from any other document also having Quranic elements ?

4. 5/46 says that al-injeel is a 'sermon for al-muttaqeen'. The Quran itself is guidance for al-muttaqeen. If the Quran is fully detailed, why would al-muttaqeen need anything else ?

5. 5/66 says if they establish at-tauraat and al-injeel, they would find God's provisions from above and below. Once again, contentually, you will find that this has nothing to do with the old and new testaments.

6. 48/29 contains descriptions of the people with Muhammad ar-rasulullah. 2 of these descriptions are said to be in at-tauraat and al-injeel. Neither the OT nor the NT contain this.

7. 9/111 yields a bargain made by Allah in at-tauraat and al-injeel, that Allah purchases the lives of the believers and thier wealth in return for the garden. Once again, you won't find this in the OT and NT.

My conclusion At-tauraat and al-injeel cannot be the OT and NT. Accepting them as such is acceptance without evidence. While the Quran itself gives tests of its authenticty , the OT and NT doesn't recognise itself at all. Accepting it without evidence and without recourse to the Quranic text is dangerous for tafseer purposes.

I would expect a counter-argument going like 'well, the Quran authenticates what is correct in the OT and NT'. That's good, but does it mean you're authorised to take the information which ISN'T authenticated as well ? The Quran doesn't only authenticate, but ASSERTS that at-tauraat and al-injeel contain

1. descriptions of Muhammad's followers (48/29)
2. promise made by Allah (9/111)

and neither OT nor NT has it.

My current view is that at-tauraat and al-injeel are both modes of operations practised by Isa. Once we understand that and practise it, we would be following the example of Isaa and achieve his victories (23/50 and 61/14).

Please comment and criticse.

thanks and salaam.