Surah al-Ahqāf

Another man asked about the words of Allah Most High:

“And before it was the Book of Moses, as a guide and a mercy.”

He said: “From the explicit texts of the Quran and hadith, we have heard only that the scripture preceding ours was the Gospel.” Another replied: “Jesus was a follower of Moses, and the Gospel merely relaxes the rulings, making them easier than those in the Torah.” A man objected to this, saying: “Jesus had a law different from that of Moses.” He cited as evidence His words:

“To each of you We have prescribed a law and a way.”

The other asked: “What, then, is to be made of His words:

‘And when Jesus, son of Mary, said, “O Children of Israel, I am Allah’s Messenger to you, confirming the Torah that came before me”’?”

He replied: “This is no proof.”

Shaykh al-Islām—may Allah have mercy on him—answered:

Allah has told us in the Quran that Jesus said to them:

“And to make lawful for you some of what was forbidden to you.”

Thus, we know that he made some of it lawful, not all of it. Allah also tells us that He taught the Messiah the Torah and the Gospel, saying:

“And He will teach him the Book and wisdom, the Torah and the Gospel.”

It is well known that, had he not followed some of what was in the Torah, his learning it would not have been