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Religion / branch / eraPhase 1 · Adam to IsaMain personality

Judaism (Religion of Bani Isra'il)

اليهودية

Torah revealed to Musa c. 13th century BCE (disputed); later development through the Babylonian exile (586 BCE) and Second Temple period date disputed

The religion of the Children of Israel, rooted in the Torah revealed to Musa and the revelations to later prophets, including the Zabur to Dawud. The Quran honours the original Torah as guidance and light while criticising later alteration (tahrif) and deviation by some of its followers.

Biography

The Quran describes the Torah (Tawrat) as revealed by Allah, containing 'guidance and light', by which the prophets, rabbis and scholars judged (5:44). Allah took a covenant from the Children of Israel (2:40; 5:12), favoured them, and sent among them many prophets after Musa: Harun, Dawud (who received the Zabur, 4:163; 17:55), Sulayman, Ilyas, al-Yasa, Yunus, Zakariya, Yahya and finally Isa.

The Quran also records repeated lapses: worship of the calf while Musa was on the mountain (7:148; 20:85-97), refusal to enter the Holy Land (5:21-26), violation of the Sabbath (7:163-166), killing of some prophets (2:61; 3:112), and alteration of scripture by some of them, whether by changing words from their places, concealing, or writing with their own hands and saying 'this is from Allah' (2:75; 2:79; 4:46; 5:13). It mentions that a group said 'Uzayr is the son of Allah' (9:30). At the same time it affirms that 'among the people of Musa is a community who guide by truth' (7:159) and that the People of the Book are not all alike (3:113).

Historically, the Hebrew Bible took its final form over centuries; the destruction of the First Temple and the Babylonian exile (586 BCE), the Second Temple period, and the Roman destruction of the Temple (70 CE) shaped Judaism, after which Rabbinic Judaism, centred on the Torah and Talmud, became normative. Muslim exegetes often connect 17:4-8 (two episodes of corruption and punishment) with such destructions, though the identification is interpretive.

Islamic lens: Judaism is a branch with a genuine revealed root (Torah, Zabur), whose transmitted texts and practices are believed to have undergone partial alteration, and which did not accept Isa or Muhammad ﷺ. Jews are 'People of the Book' (Ahl al-Kitab), with specific rulings in Islamic law.

Sources & explanation

۞ Qur'an

5:44 3:3 17:2 2:40 5:12 4:163 17:55 2:75 2:79 4:46 5:13 9:30 7:148 7:159 3:113 5:20 2:246 17:4

Links open quran.com.

📜 Hadith verified on sunnah.com

  • Sahih al-Bukhari 3456 Sahih

    You will follow the ways of those before you span by span; when asked 'the Jews and the Christians?', the Prophet ﷺ said 'Who else?'

  • Sahih al-Bukhari 1330 Sahih

    'Allah cursed the Jews and the Christians because they took the graves of their prophets as places of worship.'

  • Sahih Muslim 153 Sahih

    Any Jew or Christian of this Ummah who hears of the Prophet ﷺ and dies without believing in what he was sent with will be among the people of the Fire.

💬 Explanation Unverified

Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza's perspective

Methodological note (not a direct quote): Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza's widely known approach is to build narratives primarily on the Quran and Sahih Hadith, to set aside Israiliyat (Judeo-Christian lore absorbed into later tafsir) and weak or fabricated narrations, and to avoid sectarian framing. Applied to this node: The Quran's balanced framing would be followed: the original Torah is honoured, specific alterations are criticised, and Israiliyat are not used as a source of Islamic belief except where they agree with authentic texts.

Empires in their lifetime

  • New Kingdom of Egypt c. 1570 – c. 1069 BCE
    The Exodus narrative is set against New Kingdom Egypt.
  • United Kingdom of Israel c. 1047 – c. 930 BCE
    Religion of the Children of Israel in this period.
  • Kingdom of Judah c. 930 – 587 BCE
    The Babylonian exile after Judah's fall shaped later Judaism.
  • Neo-Babylonian Empire 626 – 539 BCE
    The Babylonian exile (from 587/586 BCE) shaped later Jewish scripture and practice.
  • Achaemenid Persian Empire 550 – 330 BCE
    Cyrus permitted the return from the Babylonian exile and the rebuilding of the Temple.
  • Hasmonean kingdom c. 141 – 37 BCE
    A Jewish kingdom of the Second Temple period.
  • Himyarite Kingdom 110 BCE – c. 578 CE
    The Himyarite elite converted to Judaism in the late 4th century.
  • Herodian kingdom of Judea 37 – 4 BCE
    Herod rebuilt the Second Temple.
  • Khazar Khaganate c. 650 CE – c. 969 CE
    The Khazar ruling elite converted to Judaism; the scale of conversion is debated.

Further references

  • Quran 5:44
  • Quran 2:75
  • Quran 2:79
  • Quran 5:13
  • Quran 9:30
  • Quran 7:159
  • Quran 4:163
  • Quran 17:4-8

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