What Does the word ‘Musaddiq’ Mean in Reference to the Qur’an and Previous Scriptures?

Question:

Assalamualaikum,

I just need clarification on what the Qur’an actually means when it comes to confirming the scriptures in the Prophet’s time (Allah bless him and give him peace). How can we reconcile this with the fact that the Tanakh contradicts the Qur’an and Sunnah in certain particulars i.e. the life of the Prophets, some contradictory and possibly false laws, the Messianic age (one sole Messianic figure being directly from the line of David and not two where one is from a virgin birth and one from the line of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), etc.

Now one may say that the Qur’an does implicitly and explicitly confirm the corruption of the previous scriptures. If that’s the case and they have been corrupted then what exactly does it mean when the Qur’an confirms or “musaddiq” said scriptures?

Answer:

Wa ‘alaykum assalam wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh,

I pray you are well.

The Scriptures Agree On The Fundamentals 

The term ‘musaddiq’ means that the Qur’an affirms what is in the Torah in general. Not everything in the Torah, however, is corroborated by the Qur’an. The Qur’an affirms the concept of the Oneness of God, the identities and teachings of certain prophets, the morals and actions ordered by God, such as not lying, the impermissibility of fornication and interest, etc.

There are also other elements that come into this, such as the signs and descriptions of the Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace). These were altered and removed in the lifetime of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) by the Jews of Medina. However, we have many narrations of a number of them admitting this, and there are historical records of Jews and Christians who accepted Islam due to the descriptions of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) that they found in the manuscripts.

This corroboration was meant to indicate the continuity of revelation from the same God. Meaning, that the timeframe that the Torah was meant to last until had expired, and the new law revealed to the final Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) is what must be implemented (Alusi, Ruh al Ma’ani).

The Corruption of the Biblical Texts

If the current texts differ with the Qur’an then it is because they have been altered. The inconsistencies in the Torah have been recognized by many people. Right from the beginning, in Genesis, there are contradictions. Was the cosmic beginning watery or dry? Were birds created from water or earth? Were animals created before humans or after? There are many more examples.

The earliest complete manuscript is from the 13th century AD, a long time after the Torah was revealed. So the contradictions are not within the Qur’an; rather within the current form of the Torah.

The Qur’an confirmed the moral and theological truths in the Torah – which, now, can only be accurately known through the Qur’an – and the signs that pointed to the Prophet Muhammad is the final Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace). Not finding these explicit statements in the Torah now is not surprising.

I pray that clarifies matters.

[Shaykh] Abdul-Rahim

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat began his studies in Arabic Grammar and Morphology in 2005. After graduating with a degree in English and History he moved to Damascus in 2007 where, for 18 months, he studied with many erudite scholars. In late 2008 he moved to Amman, Jordan, where he continued his studies for the next six years in Sacred Law (fiqh), legal theory (Usul al-fiqh), theology, hadith methodology, hadith commentary, and Logic. He was also given licenses of mastery in the science of Quranic recital and he was able to study an extensive curriculum of Quranic sciences, tafsir, Arabic grammar, and Arabic eloquence.