Islam - The Summit of Religious Evolution — Page 17
17 The Islamic concept of angels is consistent with that of Judaism and Christianity. The names of some of the angels that the Muslims believe in are also mentioned in the Bible: • Jibrail Gabriel in the Bible • Mikau Michael in the Bible • Israfeel Raphael in the Bible • Izrail Israel in the Bible BELIEF IN THE PROPHETS Belief in all prophets is a fundamental article of Islamic faith. After Adam, the first known prophet, God continued to guide mankind through a number of prophets who appeared in all nations of the world for their guidance. In addition to believing in the prophets mentioned in the Quran, the Muslims also believe in the Israelite prophets mentioned in the Bible. They also believe in the prophets of other religions such as Zoroaster, Hinduism, Buddhism etc. The Quran mentions only twenty five prophets by name while the Bible mentions about fifty. Most of the Quranic prophets can be identified with their Biblical counterparts and are given in Appendix II. The prophets are appointed by God and are His authorized spokesmen. They serve as a channel of communication between the divine and human worlds. The prophets have a mission and a mandate from God, which they carry out despite great opposition. The basic function of the prophets is to reform the people among whom they are raised and to bring them closer to God. BELIEF IN THE REVEALED BOOKS The Muslims not only believe in all the earlier prophets but also believe in the books revealed to them. The Quran mentions the following five revealed books: SUHAF (Scrolls) of Abraham 11 TAURAT (Torah) of Moses 12,13 ZABUR (Pslams) of David 14 INJEEL (Gospel) of Jesus Christ 15 QURAN of Prophet Muhammad 16 Except for the Quran, none of the other revealed books were authentically preserved during the lifetime of their respective prophets. The absolute accuracy and authenticity of these books, therefore, is questionable.