Status of the Talmud in Islam

 

بِسۡمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحۡمٰنِ الرَّحِیۡمِ

اَلۡحَمۡدُ لِلّٰہِ رَبِّ الۡعٰلَمِیۡنَ

‌السَّلَامُ ‌عَلَيْكَ ‌أَيُّهَا ‌النَّبِيُّ ‌وَرَحْمَةُ ‌اللهِ ‌وَبَرَكَاتُهُ

In the Name of Allah, the Rahman, the Merciful

All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of the worlds

Peace be upon you, you who are the Prophet, and the mercy of Allah and His blessing

Allah says,

فَقَدۡ اٰتَیۡنَاۤ اٰلَ اِبۡرٰہِیۡمَ الۡکِتٰبَ وَالۡحِکۡمَۃَ وَاٰتَیۡنٰہُمۡ مُّلۡکًا عَظِیۡمًا

Surely, We gave the Family of Abraham the Scripture and the Wisdom and We gave them a great kingdom

(Surah 4, Ayah 54)

Allah Most High gave the Torah to Prophet Moses عليه السلام at Mount Sinai. It was the Scripture, a written text. But He also gave him the Hikmah or “wisdom”, an unwritten teaching which the Jews refer to as the Oral Torah. The Talmud preserves much of the Oral Torah. Some Muslims have mistakenly swallowed a Christian narrative that the Talmud is a fabrication of the Rabbis and there is nothing in it that is divine, even referring to it as “Satanic”. Undoubtedly there is content in the Talmud that is objectionable from an Islamic perspective, especially what the Rabbis have said about the Messiah Jesus عليه السلام

However, much of what the Talmud says is remarkably similar to what is said in the Quran and Sunnah. I believe that Talmudic content in accordance with Islamic teaching and theology is originally from God and that the Rabbinic narrative concerning the Oral Torah is ultimately true. Some Jewish sects denied the Oral Torah, such as the Sadducees and modern-day Karaites. Their heresy is similar to the “Quran-only” movement that appeared in the 20^th century. These sola scriptura heretics, commonly known as Hadith-rejecters, are easily refuted by the conjunction of the Hikmah with the Kitab in many passages of the Quran. In other words, Allah has said that He gives something additional to the Scripture, namely, the Wisdom, its compliment or supplement. One of the orthodox Sunni beliefs which the Quran-only movement tend to reject is the doctrine of the Punishment of the Grave. While there are indications of it in the Quran, it is clearly spelled out in the Hadith. A Jewess once told the Prophet's wife, our mother A'ishah رضى الله عنها

أَعَاذَكِ اللهُ مِنْ عَذَابِ الْقَبْرِ‏

that is “Allah grant you refuge from the punishment of the grave”. When our Mother A'ishah رضى الله عنها asked the Prophet صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم concerning this which she had hitherto been unaware of he صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم affirmed it. However, the Punishment of the Grave is not explicitly affirmed in the Torah or the other Scriptures, but it is found in the Talmud:

קָשָׁה רִימָּה לַמֵּת כְּמַחַט בַּבָּשָׂר הַחַי

The maggots that eat the flesh of the deceased are as painful to the dead as a needle in the flesh of the living (Shabbat 152a)

The Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم taught something similar when he said:

كَسْرُ عَظْمِ الْمَيِّتِ كَكَسْرِهِ حَيًّا

Breaking the bone of the deceased is like breaking the bone of one who is alive (Sunan Abi Dawud)

The Talmud speaks of the practice of fasting on Monday and Thursday (Taanit 12a), which was regularly observed by the Holy Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم

كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَصُومُ ثَلاَثَةَ أَيَّامٍ مِنَ الشَّهْرِ الاِثْنَيْنِ وَالْخَمِيسِ وَالاِثْنَيْنِ مِنَ الْجُمُعَةِ الأُخْرَى

The Apostle of Allah, peace be upon him, would fast three days of the month; Monday, Thursday and the Monday of the next week (Sunan Abi Dawud)

Among Orthodox Jews, this is a custom they call Behab—an acronym that refers to fasting on Monday, Thursday and then the next Monday of the month, although it is today rarely observed by them.