Islam - The Summit of Religious Evolution — Page 31
31 according to Christian interpretation, and such belief existed during his stay in Judea, it was imperative that his every word and action would have been recorded and preserved to properly document this unique period in the history of mankind. In spite of the fact that the New Testament was compiled by the Romans for political purposes, amid great protests from impartial Church leaders, it is still regarded as scripture by the Church. Without dwelling on this subject any longer, suffice it to say that the current New Testament is not 100% reliable, especially in view of the new discoveries, which are now coming to light. These discoveries predate the oldest writings that form the basis of the current Biblical to at least 1,000 years. 35 An objective analysis of the situation, especially keeping our basic assumptions in view, indicates the process through which the Biblical documents have gone through were by Divine design. They cannot be considered otherwise. Another interesting observation in this realm is that Aramic (old Hebrew), the language that Jesus spoke, is not in common use now. In spite of its shortcomings, it must be admitted, however, that a continuous narrative, in which the story of one Prophet is linked with that of another, is to be found only in the Bible. In reconstructing the stories of the Prophets, the help derived from the Bible is invaluable. No other book revealed before the Quran can provide this help. To answer the question whether earlier teachings and earlier Prophets did or did not foretell the coming of a perfect Teaching and a perfect Prophet after them, one has to turn to the Bible. THE QURAN Unlike the Old and the New Testaments, the Quran has been preserved in its entirety. The Quranic revelations were memorized and recorded immediately and simultaneously upon their revelation. God revealed the Quran to the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) over a period of about 23 years. The revelations were conveyed to the Prophet in small segments by the angel Gabriel who made the Prophet recite the revealed verses in his presence. From the very outset, the Prophet employed two independent but mutually complementary methods for preserving the revelations. The two methods used for this purpose were memorization and inscription. In addition to independently ensuring the transmission of the revelation, the two methods also served as internal checks, thus ensuring its accurate preservation. Islamic traditions record that the Prophet employed four principal teachers whom he personally instructed in memorizing the revelation. By this method, even the correct pronunciation of the message was preserved. These teachers would then help others in their memorization. Moreover, as the revelations were received, they were also recited in the five daily prayers. In effect, the main mode of preservation and transmission of the Quranic