The Revelation and Compilation of Torah: A Critical Review of a Few Prominent Muslim Scholars

Abstract

Muslim scholars have generally assumed that the Torah was all revealed at once to Prophet Musa [Moses], peace be on him, which is why the Muslim discourse on the Torah generally lacks discussion on its codification. However, some of the Muslim scholars took the position that, like the Qur’an, the Torah was revealed gradually. The present paper examines the views of four eminent scholars – ‘Ubaydullah Sindhi, Abu ’l-A‘la Mawdudi, Amin Ahsan Islahi and Javed Ahmad Ghamidi – and tries to build a comprehensive theory about the revelation and codification of the Torah as well as about critical analysis of the content of the Pentateuch. It concludes that the principles which Muslim tradition has developed for ascertaining authenticity of traditions and for interpretation of the Qur’anic verses and Prophetic traditions as well as for reconciliation of apparently conflicting texts can be very beneficial in developing a coherent Muslim theory for Biblical criticism.