Question Summary:
Is it permissible for Muslims to purchase and read the English translation of the Torah?

Question Detail:

Recently there was launched the very first Islamic translation of the Torah. The knowledge within is with quranic quotation to prove that the knowledge is not just valid for Jews but for Islam as well. This knowledge is due to the new generation thinkers- those who are here to carry Islam to an evolutionary level. It is set not just to prove that it is the leading religion –but the knowledge will raise us to becoming a ‘superior nation’- making us the leading group among all of creation. This book is advertised as such. I would like to ask if it’s permissible to purchase and read this Torah book?

Answer :

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
 
To have faith in the divine scriptures that were sent down by Allah Ta‘ālā to his prophets is an integral part of Muslim belief. These scriptures include the Torah, Injīl and Zabūr. We believe Allah Ta‘ālā sent these books to earlier prophets and placed in them orders and prohibitions, admonitions and reminders, reports of the past and prophecies of the future, glad tidings of paradise and warnings of hell, and so on. Allah Ta‘ālā sent these books as a light and guidance for the peoples to whom they were sent. As Allah Ta‘ālā states in the Qur’an:
إنا أنزلنا التوراة فيها هدى ونور
“Verily, We sent down the Torah, in which is guidance and light.” (Qur’an, 5:44)
However, unlike the Qur’an which Allah Ta‘ālā has Himself assured will be preserved for this ummah (Qur’an, 15:9), the preservation of earlier scriptures was entrusted to the learned men from the peoples to whom they were sent (Qur’an, 5:44). As a consequence, through time, these books were corrupted and distorted. Allah Ta‘ālā says:
فويل للذين يكتبون الكتاب بأيديهم ثم يقولون هذا من عند الله
“Destruction to those (Jews) who write the book with their hands and then they say: ‘this is from Allah…’” (Qur’an, 2:79)
Because of this, the book presently referred to as the “Torah”, meaning, the first five books of the Old Testament, cannot be regarded as the original Torah that was revealed unto Mūsā (‘alayhissalām). Although some sections of it may conform to the original Torah, other sections were certainly distorted and corrupted. This is why part of the function of the Qur’an was to stand as a “guardian” (muhaymin) against the accrued errors of previous scriptures. Allah Ta‘ālā says:
وأنزلنا إليك الكتاب بالحق مصدقا لما بين يديه من الكتاب ومهيمنا عليه
“We have sent down to you [O Muhammad (sallAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam)] the Book with truth, confirming the book before it, and a guardian of it.” (Qur’an, 5:48)
The passages of the Torah fall into three categories: first, those passages which are in clear opposition to the Qur’an and hadiths; second, those passages which are confirmed by the Qur’an and hadiths; and third, those passages which are neither confirmed nor rejected by the Qur’an and hadith. The first category of passages must be rejected, the second is accepted, and with respect to the third, which forms the bulk of the present “Torah,” we are to hold a neutral position, neither believing in any of it nor denying any of it. It is reported in Sahīh al-Bukhārī:
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ، قَالَ : كَانَ أَهْلُ الْكِتَابِ يَقْرَءُونَ التَّوْرَاةَ بِالْعِبْرَانِيَّةِ، وَيُفَسِّرُونَهَا بِالْعَرَبِيَّةِ لِأَهْلِ الْإِسْلَامِ، فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم لَا تُصَدِّقُوا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ وَلَا تُكَذِّبُوهُمْ وَقُولُوا آمَنَّا بِاللَّهِ وَمَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْنَا
“The Ahl al-Kitāb would recite the Torah in Hebrew and interpret it in Arabic for the Muslims, so the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: ‘Do not believe the people of the book and do not belie them, but say: ‘We believe in Allah and what was revealed to us.’”
Furthermore, the Qur’an and Sunnah are sufficient for our guidance. By looking in the Torah or earlier scriptures, we subject ourselves to the wrath of Allah Ta‘ālā and His Messenger (sallAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam), as it gives the impression that we are searching for guidance elsewhere. Consider the following report:
عَنْ جَابِرٍ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ، أَنَّ عُمَرَ بْنَ الْخَطَّابِ رِضْوَانُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ أَتَى رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم بِنُسْخَةٍ مِنْ التَّوْرَاةِ ، فَقَالَ : يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ، هَذِهِ نُسْخَةٌ مِنْ التَّوْرَاةِ ، فَسَكَتَ، فَجَعَلَ يَقْرَأُ وَوَجْهُ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ يَتَغَيَّرُ، فَقَالَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ رَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ عَلَيهِ : ثَكِلَتْكَ الثَّوَاكِلُ، مَا تَرَى بِوَجْهِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَنَظَرَ عُمَرُ إِلَى وَجْهِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ : أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنْ غَضَبِ اللَّهِ، وَمِنْ غَضَبِ رَسُولِهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم رَضِينَا بِاللَّهِ رَبًّا، وَبِالْإِسْلَامِ دِينًا، وَبِمُحَمَّدٍ نَبِيًّا، فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم : " وَالَّذِي نَفْسُ مُحَمَّدٍ بِيَدِهِ، لَوْ بَدَا لَكُمْ مُوسَى فَاتَّبَعْتُمُوهُ وَتَرَكْتُمُونِي، لَضَلَلْتُمْ عَنْ سَوَاءِ السَّبِيلِ، وَلَوْ كَانَ حَيًّا وَأَدْرَكَ نُبُوَّتِي لَاتَّبَعَنِي "
“On the authority of Jābir (may Allah be pleased with him): ‘Umar (may the pleasure of Allah be upon him) produced a copy of the Torah to the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace), and he said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, this is a copy of the Torah,’ and he remained quiet. Then he began to read (it) whereupon the face of the Messenger of Allah changed, so Abū Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) said: ‘May the bereaved mothers lose you! Do you not see the face of the Messenger of Allah?!’ So ‘Umar looked at the face of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace), and he said: ‘I seek refuge in Allah from the anger of Allah and from the anger of His Messenger. We are content with Allah as Lord, Islam as religion and Muhammad as Prophet.’ The Messenger of Allah said: ‘By the One in Whose hand is the soul of Muhammad! Had Mūsā appeared before you and you followed him and you abandoned me, you would have strayed from the straight path. If he was alive and he witnessed my prophethood, he would have followed me.’” (Sunan al-Dārimī) [1]
As a consequence, some of the Fuqahā have mentioned that it is not permissible to look in the “Torah,” regardless of whether non-Muslims have translated it for us or Muslims. [2]
Hence, our advice is that this new translation should not be supported by, or spread amongst, Muslims. Instead, we should assert as did ‘Umar (radiy Allāhu ‘anhu) when he saw displeasure on the face of Rasūlullāh (sallAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam): “We are content with Allah as Lord, Islam as religion and Muhammad as Prophet.”
[1]
مسند الدارمي المعروف بسنن الدارمي، دار المغني. ١:٤٠٣
قال محققه: الحديث حسن
[2]
وَاخْتَارَ سَيِّدِي عَبْدُ الْغَنِيِّ مَا فِي الْخُلَاصَةِ، وَأَطَالَ فِي تَقْرِيرِهِ، ثُمَّ قَالَ: وَقَدْ نُهِينَا عَنْ النَّظَرِ فِي شَيْءٍ مِنْهَا سَوَاءٌ نَقَلَهَا إلَيْنَا الْكُفَّارُ أَوْ مَنْ أَسْلَمَ مِنْهُمْ.
رد المحتار، ايج ايم سعيد، ١:١٧٥
 
And Allah Ta‘ālā Knows Best
Zameelur Rahman
Student Darul Iftaa
UK
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.
www.daruliftaa.net