Christians of that day, contained evidence of the
doctrine and claims of Mahomet. It clearly intimates that the Pentateuch and the
Gospel were current amongst the Jews and Christians of Mahomet's time,
"by" or "amongst them,"—عند همThose Scriptures are likewise spoken of here by God to Moses as that which
would be an authoritative source of reference. It is therefore clear that the
Sacred Scriptures, as possessed by the Jews and Christians generally in the 7th
century were, according to the teaching of the Corân, authentic, genuine, and
free from corruption.
Assuming for a moment the supposition to have been
well founded, that an attempt had been made by some of the Jews to tamper with
their Scriptures, and erase passages containing testimony to Mahomet, would the
just and truthful Jews here spoken of have joined in such an attempt, or at all
permitted it? Would not they at least have preserved, and handed down to
posterity uncorrupted, the rolls of the Books of Moses? And as Mahomet appealed
to certain supposed prophecies of himself, and other evidences favourable to his
mission in those Scriptures, would not these pious Jews who embraced Islam have
carefully
