Question: If as muslims we are to believe in all the revealed books, and the Bible asks that we believe that Prophet Jesus is the son of God, of course this is shirk. How do we explain the former to kids? I guess my question is do we tell them we believe in only parts of the Bible?

Answer: In the Holy Quran, we (as Muslims) have been ordered to believe in all the previous books revealed by Allah to all the past Prophets and Messengers. This is a fundamental belief of every Muslim and is known as an article of our faith. Howbeit, belief in these scriptures does not mean that we are to believe in what exists today as the bible etc.

Allah Has mentioned in the Holy Quran that He Has revealed books to the previous Messengers and so, as believers we must believe in them. It therefore means that we must believe that books were sent to these messengers which contained guidance to these nations. This however, does not mean that we are to believe in what is presented to us today as the bible as the true words of Allah. Many scholars of the bible in Christendom accept the fact that the bible has been changed from its original form and many new things were put into it while many verses were also taken out. As such what is presented today as the bible is not the Injeel (Gospel) which was revealed to Jesus. Instead, it is the narrators' account of the life and mission of the Prophet Jesus based on what they received from other narrators and writers. It is for this reason one would find that no two versions of the bible are the same.

The true gospel of Jesus contains the true teachings of Tauheed (the oneness of Allah), the prophethood of Jesus and along with many other teachings, mention has been made of the coming of the final Prophet, Muhammad (s.a.s). Further to this understanding, it is also important to know that the Holy Quran (as the final revealed scripture) has abrogated the teachings of all other scriptures. Hence, we have been asked to simply believe in the fact that books were revealed to the previous prophets. As for actions and guidance, a Muslim is ordered to follow only the Holy Quran and no other previous scripture.


And Allah knows best.
Mufti Waseem Khan