Do Muslims believe in the bible [Reply 1]?

First of all, we should affirm that Muslims believe in Jesus (peace be upon him) as a Messenger from Allah. In fact, this belief represents one of the pillars of the faith. In addition, Muslims believe that Jesus was supported by the Injeel which was revealed by Allah to him. However, the Injeel was exposed to manipulation and alteration. Since we do not know which parts were added to the original text, we believe in the provisions confirmed by the Qur’an and Sunnah and reject whatever contradicts them.

Based on this principle, Muslims believe in the miracles of Jesus which were mentioned in the Qur’an. Allah says: (And He will teach him the Scripture and wisdom, and the Torah and the Gospel. And will make him a messenger unto the children of Israel, (saying): Lo! I come unto you with a sign from your Lord. Lo! I fashion for you out of clay the likeness of a bird, and I breathe into it and it is a bird, by Allah's leave. I heal him who was born blind, and the leper, and I raise the dead, by Allah's leave. And I announce unto you what ye eat and what ye store up in your houses. Lo! herein verily is a portent for you, if ye are believers. And (I come) confirming that which was before me of the Torah, and to make lawful some of that which was forbidden unto you. I come unto you with a sign from your Lord, so keep your duty to Allah and obey me . Lo! Allah is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him. That is a straight path. ) (Aal `Imran 3: 48-51)

In his response to your question, Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states:

Bible contains both the genuine teachings of the Prophet Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) as well as those added to it by later Christians. We, as Muslims, are to believe in everything that Jesus taught. Since we have no way of knowing which of those teachings are genuine other than through their confirmation by the Final Revelation, namely, the Qur'an, we reject everything that is contradicted by the Qur’an, while confirming everything that has been attested by the same.

As for those teachings which are neither confirmed nor contradicted by the Qur'an, we do not reject them entirely, we only say, (We believe in what has been revealed to you and what has been revealed to us from our Lord and your Lord; our Lord and your Lord is One. ) (Al-`Ankabut 29: 46)

As for the miracles of Jesus, the Qur'an confirms them; so every Muslim must believes in them.

A Muslim also is told beyond a shadow of doubt in the Qur'an that Prophet Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) is innocent of the later dogmas of Christianity such as Trinity, Incarnation, Original Sin, etc. as Jesus never taught them; they were added on by the Christians as they came under the influence of pagan religions and cults they came into contact with. May Allah help us all to cling to the pure monotheism (tawhid) preached by all prophets and messengers from Adam to Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon them all).

Thus, believing in Jesus and his miracles is essential for the faith of any Muslim. This, however, does not mean believing whatever contained in the present Gospel for it does not represent totally the original word of Allah.

IslamOnline

Also read: Reply 2