Among the books considered to be revealed by God in the Quran, the three mentioned by name are the Tawrat, the Arabic-language name for the Torah within its context as an Islamic holy book believed by Muslims to have been given by God to the prophets and messengers amongst the Children of Israel; the Zabur (Psalms) revealed to Dawud (David); and the Injil (Gospel) revealed to Isa (Jesus). The Quran mentions the Torah, Psalms, and Gospel as being revealed by God in the same way the Quran was revealed to Muhammad, the final prophet and messenger of God according to Muslims.
The Islamic methodology of () refers to interpreting the Qur'an with/through the Bible. This approach adopts canonical Arabic versions of the Bible, including the Tawrat and the Injil, both to illuminate and to add exegetical depth to the reading of the Qur'an. Notable Muslim (commentators) of the Bible and Qur'an who weaved biblical texts together with Qur'anic ones include Abu al-Hakam Abd al-Salam bin al-Isbili of Al-Andalus and Ibrahim bin Umar bin Hasan al-Biqa'i.
Quran
The term "Bible" is not found in the Quran; instead the Quran refers to specific books of the Bible, including the Torah (), Psalms () and Gospel (). The Quran also refers to , meaning scrolls, along with the term (Quran 3:23). means "the book" and is found 97 times in the Quran.
Sources
References to the Bible, in the modern sense, are often fragmentary, since Muslims do not refer to the biblical canon of Chalcedonian churches. First references to the biblical canon can be found from the 9th century onwards, in Muslim writings. Ibn Qutaybah ( 889), for example, included a translation of Genesis 1–3. Imam al-Qasim ibn Ibrahim (860) included a large portion of the Book of Matthew in his Refutation of Christians. Most Christians Muslims encountered in early years have been Nestorians, Melkites and Jacobites. According to a hadith, Ubayy ibn Ka'b, a Jewish convert, referred to a story of the Torah which is absent in today's canon.
Torah ()
The Quran mentions the word (Torah) eighteen times, and confirms that it was the word of God. When referring to traditions from the Tawrat, Muslims have not only identified it with the Pentateuch (the five books of Moses), but also with the other books of the Hebrew Bible.
However, some Muslims also believe that there were additions and subtractions in the Torah, according to their interpretation of Surat Al-Baqarah verse 79 of the Qur'an which, although does not mention the word Torah, says: "Woe to those who write the book with their own hands in exchange for a small amount of money, woe to them by what their hands have written and Woe to them from what they were doing". However, the early quranic exegete Al-Tabari referred to the Torah in his words as "the Torah that they (the Jews) possess today".
Psalms ()
Surah An-Nisa 4:163 of the Quran states: "and to David We gave the Zabur". Therefore, Islam affirms that the Zabur attributed to David, in which is called the Book of Psalms were inspired by God. The Quran mentions the word three times (Quran 17:55; 21:105).
Gospel ()
When the Quran speaks of the Gospel, Muslims believe it refers to a single volume book called "The Gospel of Jesus": supposedly an original divine revelation to Jesus Christ. Accordingly, Muslim scholars reject the Christian canonical Gospels, which they say are not the original teachings of Jesus and which they say have been corrupted over time. Some scholars have suggested that the original Gospel may be the Gospel of Barnabas.
Muhammad and the Bible
Deuteronomy 18:18
Deuteronomy 18:18 has often been considered a prophecy of the coming of Muhammad by Muslim scholars. Al-Samawal al-Maghribi, a medieval Jewish mathematician who converted to Islam, pointed to Deuteronomy 18:18 in his book Confutation of the Jews as a prophecy fulfilled by the appearance of Muhammad. Samawal argued in his book that since the children of Esau are described in Deuteronomy 2:4–6 and Numbers 20:14 as the brethren of the children of Israel, the children of Ishmael can also be described the same way. Some Muslim writers, like Muhammad Ali and Fethullah Gülen, have interpreted several verses in the Quran as implying that Muhammad was alluded to in Deuteronomy 18:18, including Quran 46:10 and 73:15.