In this article, I will be examining a tradition attributed to Muhammad within the Hadith literature which says that Muhammad very clearly at one point enunciated his affirmation and credence to the Torah, as it existed during his lifetime.
However, we must first note a very important point within this discussion: namely that the term Tawrah (as it is used in the Qur'an) can refer to the Hebrew Bible in general, rather than just the Pentateuch (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy).
"... Al-Bukhari recorded it from 'Abdullah bin 'Amr. It was also recorded by Al-Bukhari [up to the word] forgoes. And he mentioned the narration of 'Abdullah bin 'Amr then he said: ‘It was common in the speech of our Salaf that they describe the Books of the People of the Two Scriptures as the Tawrah, as some Hadiths concur. Allah knows best.’" (Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Vol. 4, pg. 179)
There is a particular narration in the hadith collection known as Sunan Abu Dawud which sheds light on this particular issue:
There is considerable debate amongst Muslims as to whether this hadith is reliable or not. Many answer in the negative due to the fact that one of the narrators in the hadith's isnad chain of transmission is Hisham bin Sa'd, who has a reputation amongst scholars of Hadith for being an unreliable and untrustworthy narrator. I would say that this idea is a half-truth. I am by no means a scholar of hadith, but based off of my research using an online Hadith database that contains the chains of transmission for every hadith within the major collections, there is a mixed bag of those who favor and who don't favor Hisham bin Sa'd. In particular, the 20th century hadith scholar Al-Albani graded this hadith as "hasan" and viewed Hisham bin Sa'd as a relatively reliable narrator.
However, Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah also seemed to have viewed this narration as authentic, since he quotes it in one of his books, without falsifying it as unreliable due to Hisham bin Sa'd being a part of the isnad chain (Ighathat al-Lafhan, Vol. 2, pg. 351).
Due to the debate over the trustworthiness (or lack thereof) of Hisham bin Sa'd, I think Christians would be better off leaving this hadith alone for the time being and seeker better sources. In particular, the following tradition as recorded by one of Islam's early historians and biographers, Ibn Ishaq:
"The apostle wrote to the Jews of Khaybar according to what a freedman of the family of Zayd b. Thabit told me from 'Ikrima or from Sa'id b. Jubayr from Ibn 'Abbas: 'In the name of God the compassionate the merciful from Muhammad the apostle of God friend and brother of Moses who confirms what Moses brought. God says to you O scripture folk, and you will find it in your scripture "Muhammad is the apostle of God; and those with him are severe against the unbelievers, merciful among themselves. Thou seest them bowing, falling prostrate seeking bounty and acceptance from God. The mark of their prostrations is on their foreheads. That is their likeness in the Torah and in the Gospel like a seed which sends forth its shoot and strengthens it and it becomes thick and rises straight upon its stalk delighting the sowers that He may anger the unbelievers with them. God has promised those who believe and do well forgiveness and a great reward." I adjure you by God, and by what he has sent down to you, by the manna and quails He gave as food to your tribes before you, and by His drying up the sea for your fathers when He delivered them from Pharaoh and his works, that you tell me, do you find in what he has sent down to you that you should believe in Muhammad? If you do not find that in your Scripture, then there is no compulsion upon you. "The right path has become plainly distinguished from error" so I call you to God and His Prophet' (313). (Alfred Guillaume, The Life of Muhammad, pg. 256)
[Note: Guillaume's book is a translation of Ibn Ishaq's work Sirat Rasul Allah]
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