Confirmation of the Torah Among the People

Jesus Christ (a.s.) verified the Torah of his time: “And confirming what is before me,” just as the Qur’an in its time verified the authentic heavenly books: “He has sent down to you the Book with the truth confirming what was [revealed] before it, and He had sent down the Torah and the Evangel.”(433) However, this does not guarantee that the Torah and the Evangel had remained free from distortion until that time.

One cannot say that Jesus Christ (a.s.) verified the Torah that God had revealed to Moses (a.s.) and which was with himself, not the Torah that was available to the people, because the Qur’an, which is more important than the Evangel and was revealed hundreds of years after it, verified the Torah that was available to the Children of Israel: “O Children of Israel… And believe in that which I have sent down confirming that which is with you”(434) “And when they are told, ‘Believe in what God has sent down,’ they say, ‘We believe in what was sent down to us,’ and they disbelieve what is besides it, though it is the truth confirming what is with them.”(435)

Yes, the Qur’an verified the Torah that was with the Jews and the Evangel that was with the Christians, not a special Torah and Evangel that was with the Prophet (s.a.w.): “O you who were given the Book! Believe in what We have sent down confirming what is with you.”(436) The phrase “confirming what is with you” is meant to create a spirit of flexibility and acceptance, and if the verification of a special Torah that was with the Prophet (s.a.w.) was intended, it would never create a spirit of compromise, acceptance, and flexibility in the addressees.

Indeed, the phrase “confirming what is with you” is speaking to the People of the Book based on “best argumentation” (jadal aḥsan); meaning, “I verify the same book that is with you and have not brought anything new, except in the realm of religious law and methodology (sharʿa wa minhāj).” Thus, according to both transmitted and rational evidence, the verification refers to the Torah that was available to the people.

However, considering the Qur’an’s explicit mention of the “distortion” of the Torah: “Among those who are Jews are those who distort words from their [proper] places”,(437) and also that wherever there is mention of verification, before or after it there are expressions like “sent down” and “God sent down”,(438) it becomes clear that the verification concerns the Torah that was revealed to Moses (a.s.) and was with them, but had not been affected by distortion (interpretation by personal opinion, concealment, and the like). Therefore, He says: “Say, ‘Bring the Torah and read it, if you are truthful’.”(439) This means that if you bring the Torah that you have in your homes, it will verify my words. Thus, it is possible that some truths, like the characteristics of the Noble Prophet (s.a.w.), were in the current Torah of the Jews, but they removed, interpreted according to their personal opinions and prejudices, or concealed them.

In summary, the fundamental axis of the Prophet’s (s.a.w.) verification is the authentic heavenly book. Since what is available to people is a mixed book, not pure, the Prophet (s.a.w.) verifies its pure parts and explicitly points out the distortion in its mixed parts. With this analysis, both the scope of verification and the realm of non-verification become clear.