We believe in the scriptures, which are the books Allah Almighty revealed to His messengers and prophets (peace be upon them). The books we know of them are the Scrolls of Ibrāhīm, the Scrolls of Mūsa, the Torah, the Psalms, the Gospel, and the Qur’an. We believe in what we know of them and what we do not know.
We believe that all these books are the speech and revelation of Allah Almighty which He sent down to His messengers (peace be upon them) through the trustworthy Angel Jibrīl (peace be upon him); they comprise the divine laws, information, admonitions, and commands and prohibitions. Each book, at its time, was the revelation that should be adopted and taken as a criterion by the nation to which it was sent down.
We believe that some of them are better than others. Allah Almighty wrote the Torah with His own Hand.
We know with certainty that belief in the scriptures is the third among the pillars of faith. We believe in all of them and are not like those who believe in some of them and disbelieve in others.
We believe that Allah Almighty did not pledge to preserve the scriptures preceding the Qur’an; rather, He, Exalted be He, left their preservation to the people among whom they were revealed. Hence, they were subject to distortions, loss, and forgetfulness. The fabricators wrote them and falsely attributed them to Allah, the Exalted. They wrote and recited these books to further confuse people and mislead them into believing that they were revealed by the Almighty Lord.
We believe that the glorious Qur’an is the greatest, most perfect, and noblest among the divine books, and it is the last one, which Jibrīl (peace be upon him) brought down to Prophet Muhammad's heart, in a clear Arabic language. Allah Almighty chose for it the noblest language. This is because Arabic is the most eloquent, clearest, and broadest of all languages. Hence, Allah, the Exalted, revealed the noblest Book in the noblest language to the noblest Messenger through the noblest Angel in the noblest land in the noblest month of the year, Ramadan. So, it is perfect from all aspects. The first Qur’anic words revealed by Allah Almighty are: {Read in the name of your Lord Who created.} [Surat al-‘Alaq: 1] Among the last revealed verses is the verse that reads: {This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you and have approved for you Islam as religion.} [Surat al-Mā’idah: 3] The Qur’an was sent down to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) by successive revelation over the course of his prophethood. It includes Makkan and Madīnan surahs, which amount to 114. The greatest among them is Surat al-Fātihah; as for Surat al-Ikhlās, it equals one third of the Qur’an; and the greatest verse is the Verse of Al-Kursi.
Allah Almighty praises this noble book, and made it a source of light, guidance, and mercy for the believers, as well as an exhortation and a cure for the illnesses of their hearts and bodies.
We believe that this glorious book is the most perfect and most comprehensive among all divine books and it comprises such reasoning, proofs, and examples that establish the argument against mankind till the Day of Judgment. This noble Qur’an contains all what was in the previous divine books, and more. It comprises all what people need, including the fundamentals of faith, laws, arguments, wisdom, exhortations, and information, and it is at the peak of eloquence and clarity. One of the strongest proofs that this Qur’an is the word of Allah is the fact that Prophet Muhammad (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) was an unlettered man who could not read or write; yet, the greatest and most eloquent book was revealed to him.
We believe that the Qur’an is a dazzling miracle in terms of its words and meanings, and Allah Almighty challenged all humans and jinn to produce the like of it, or ten surahs like its surahs, or even one surah.
We believe that this Qur’an is the word of Allah, which was revealed by Him, not created, and that it is preserved in people's chests and written in mus'hafs and recited in mosques. This does not contradict it being the speech of Allah, the Exalted. His speech is one of His attributes, and His attributes are not part of the creation, for if this were the case, they would be subject to the same things applying to created beings, such as changing and perishing.
We believe that Allah has undertaken to preserve the Qur’an and did not leave that to people. Allah, Exalted be He, made some of its verses definite and some ambiguous, and He Almighty clarifies that the people of deviation pursue the ambiguous verses of the Qur’an, while the faithful believe in it altogether, with its definite and ambiguous verses.
Moreover, our Lord made the Qur’an a judge and a criterion over all previous scriptures, and He Almighty states that this book narrates to us the stories of the past nations and judges between the People of the Book concerning things over which they differed.
We believe that this noble Qur’an is the word of the Lord of the worlds, and that it was brought down by the Trustworthy Spirit. This is common knowledge in Islam, and all Muslims, including the scholars and the laymen, unanimously agree over this. No one among them disputes it. Allah Almighty testifies that this Qur’an is from Him, and so did the angels testify that it is a revelation from an All-Wise and Praiseworthy Lord. Likewise, the People of the Book living at the Prophet's time gave a similar testimony, and Allah Almighty mentions this testimony in His Book. Also, some of the jinn bore witness that this Qur’an is a revelation from Allah and that it is consistent with what Mūsa (peace be upon him) came with. Moreover, the Quraysh disbelievers testified that this Qur’an is not the word of human beings and that it differs from their speech.
We believe that the divine knowledge, Shar‘i rulings, and noble ethics contained in the Qur’an are all consistent with people's natural disposition and the teachings brought by the prophets (peace be upon them). All the principles and teachings emphasized by the Qur’an are the very principles and teachings which were emphasized and preached by the messengers (peace be upon them).
The noble Qur’an is consistent with what Allah Almighty wants from the people and what the people want from their Lord. This is because Allah is the Creator and He knows the needs of His servants and what is best for their religion, bodies, property, and homes. He Almighty gives no command but it serves the best interest and He lays down no prohibition but it seeks the maximum caution and protection.
And the noble Qur’an accords with reason. Hence, after Allah Almighty mentions the main prohibitions in Surat al-An‘ām, He concludes them with the phrase: {so that you may understand.}
The proofs offered by the noble Qur’an are too clear, eloquent, and cogent, and they are easily understandable to everyone. No one can refute or reject them. This does not apply to any human speech. Moreover, its proofs cannot, by any means, lead to falsehood.
The noble Qur’an is the word of the Lord of the worlds. Nonetheless, it is easy for everyone to understand. It was not usual that a person could write a book that addresses everyone and is easy for anyone to understand. This is only true in the case of this noble Book.
The noble Qur’an is preserved against any change or alteration. Allah, the Exalted, determined it to be lasting and enduring till the Day of Judgment. This lastingness, permanence, and lack of change indicate that it is a revelation from the All-Wise and Praiseworthy Lord. As it endures and continues to be preserved and new sciences and discoveries emerge, we do not find any contradiction between it and any scientific fact; rather, all sciences agree with all that is mentioned in the Qur’an, like the creation of the heavens and the creation of mankind.
The Qur'an guides to what is most upright and includes all goodness. It tells about the Creator and the creation, the worldly life and the Hereafter, humankind and jinn, the commands and prohibitions, ethics and duties, and Paradise and Hellfire. It includes faith, deeds, and recompense.
The noble Qur'an is a cure for diseases. No human speech is known to contain a cure for diseases of the heart and body, as this glorious Qur'an, which is the speech of the Lord of all the worlds.
The Qur'an relates to us the stories of the past nations as they took place, though their stories were not familiar to the people of Makkah. However, Allah Almighty relates them to us. This confirms that this is a revelation from an All-Wise, Praiseworthy Lord.
The glorious Qur'an is characterized by the utmost eloquence and it comprises information about the unseen, as well as divine laws brought by an unlettered Messenger who could not read or write. This confirms that this is a revelation from an All-Wise, Praiseworthy Lord. A surah of the Qur'an would be revealed at sporadic times and different places; nonetheless, it is recited as if it were revealed once altogether. On the other hand, people's style and talent would usually undergo change and variation if they author books over a long period of time.
Allah Almighty gave the Sunnah to the Messenger (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) as He gave him the Qur'an. If one looks into the Qur’an and the Sunnah, he will see some marked variance between them.
The Qur’an directed the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) to the due course of action.