90 OBJECTIONS AGAINST THE PRESENT

67. M. Unfortunately I do not recollect one at the present moment.

C. And no wonder, for none such exists. The verb "to annul" (نَسَخ) is used only twice in the Qur'an, and on each occasion it refers not to the Bible but to certain verses of the Qur'an itself, which1 are declared to be "annulled." Your learned men declare that there are 225 verses thus annulled in the Qur'an, though they are not agreed which they are. Do you still read these annulled verses?

68. M. We do, for we read the whole Qur'an.

C. If then you read verses which the Qur'an states to be annulled, and think yourselves bound to do so, why should you deem yourselves free from the obligation to read the Taurat and Injil, which the Qur'an does not declare to be annulled, but which you find the Qur'an commanding you to profess belief in? (Surah II., Al Baqarah, 130: "Say ye: We believe in God, and that which hath been sent down to us, and that which hath been sent down to Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the tribes, and that which hath been given to Moses and to Jesus, and that which was given to the prophets from their Lord. No difference do we make between any of them: and to God are we resigned.") You see that the idea that the Gospel is annulled is not supported by the

1 Vide Surahs II., Al Baqarah, 100; and XXII., Al Haji, 51: see also XVI., An Nahl, 103.
AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE 91
Qur'an. Nor do I know any one of your authoritative traditions1 by which it is confirmed.

69. M. It stands to reason that such is the case. As the Taurat was annulled by the descent of the Zabur (Psalms) upon David, and as the Zabur were annulled by the descent of the Injil upon Jesus, so the Injil was annulled by the descent of the Qur'an upon Muhammad.

[In reply, quote the Ten Commandments and ask after each, Has this been abrogated? If not, how can you say that the Taurat was annulled?

With regard to the Sabbath, show how and why the Sunday is observed—the first day of every week—instead of Saturday.] Then add:—

C. Can you quote any verse of the Qur'an to prove that the various books you mention did successively annul one another?

70. M. No; but all Muslims know that it is so.

C. The verses in which the Qur'an speaks of the Bible 2 are very numerous, and the whole of the teaching which they give is contrary to this view, for the Qur'an speaks of the Torah, the Zabur and the Injil as all still of authority in Muhammad's

1 I have never met with any such authoritative tradition in my own reading, nor has any Muhammadan to whom I have appealed been able to produce one. "Not a single tradition of this nature is found in Sihah Sitta, which contains six books by six great Imams and Traditionalists. No Sunni Muhammadan can dare to doubt these books. The Mishkatu'l Masabih and the Talkhizu's Sihah are abridged from these six books." (Rev. Ahmed Shah.)
2 All collected in Sir W. Muir's Testimony of the Coran.