Encyclopedia of Islam

holy books

---

Just as Christians had to define their beliefs in 

relation to the Torah (the Old Testament), Mus-

lims had to do so in relation to both the Torah 

and the Gospel. Because the received form of the 

earlier scriptures has been altered, or corrupted, 

however, Muslims must look primarily to the 

Quran for guidance. With a few exceptions, they 

have not consulted the Old and New Testaments 

either in matters of religious belief or practice. 

Nevertheless, as a result of being People of the 

Book, Jews and Christians were allotted legal 

rights under Islamic law as “protected” subjects 

(ahl al-dhimma). When Muslims encountered 

other peoples in the Middle East and Asia, despite 

wars and confrontations, they eventually came to 

recognize Zoroastrians, Hindus, and Buddhists 

as also being religious communities that had 

received holy books. In today’s global culture, 

traditional Islamic belief in a universal book from 

which all holy books are ultimately derived has 

provided a basis for engaging in 

dialogUe

 across 

religious and cultural boundaries.

See also a

rabic

 

langUage

 

and

 

literatUre

; b

Ud

-

dhism

 

and

 i

slam

; c

hristianity

 

and

 i

slam

; 

dhimmi

;

J

Udaism

 

and

 i

slam

; s

hiism

; 

tafsir

.