Previous Books and the Miracle of the Qur'an and Its Descent in Parts

The questioner:
I ask Allah of you, O Shaykh, were the previous scriptures, such as the Torah and the Gospel, miracles like the Qur'an?

The Shaykh:
The Qur'an is well known, and Allah knows best. This is a matter I am more familiar with. They were commanded to memorize it but did not; rather, they wrote it with their own hands and said, "This is from Allah." Yes, by Allah, they write the book with their hands and say, "This is from Allah." We ask Allah for safety from that.

The questioner:
But in their essence and their wording, they are not a miracle like the Qur'an.

The Shaykh:
There is no evidence indicating that they are miracles. Rather, Allah made this a special distinction for His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and the inimitability of the Qur'an was made specific to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), as a miracle for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).

Another questioner:
Some books on the sciences of the Qur'an have mentioned differences between the Qur'an and the previous scriptures. Among these differences is that the Qur'an was revealed in parts, whereas the previous scriptures were revealed all at once. They also stated that the Qur'an is a miracle in its wording, unlike the previous scriptures. The first difference is the legal basis.

The Shaykh:
And I do not know, by Allah, what I have is a harm; it requires tracking down the texts.

Another questioner:
They took it from the saying of Allah the Exalted, according to their view, and they said: . It is as if they had agreed that the previous scriptures were revealed.

The Shaykh:
This necessitates that it may be a large group, or that some of it was revealed separately. It is not permissible to attribute to Allah what is not known, because the messengers are all those who can be counted, or those who can count the prophets. Allah says: "Indeed, We have sent a messenger with it and revealed to them a Book and the balance." In some hadiths, it was found that the messengers were three hundred and a few, and the prophets were twelve thousand, but this is a hadith that contains weakness. The point is that no one can count them from Allah; some of them We have narrated to you, and some of them We have not narrated to you. Therefore, the claim that they all constitute a single group requires evidence from the Infallible. Yes.
Its wording and its meaning are entirely from the wording. Some scholars say that its wording is from the Prophet and its meaning is from Allah, but that is not good. Rather, its wording and its meaning are from Allah. Allah says: "O My servants, all of you have gone astray except those whom I have guided, so seek guidance from Me and I will guide you," to the end of it. All of this is speech whose wording and meaning are connected. There is no harm in people engaging in the remembrance of Allah, the glorification of Allah, charity, and other forms of good. That is sufficient.

The questioner:
But if it happens, and he repeats the prayer a second time, he should be strongly rebuked.

The Shaykh:
I do not know of anything specific in this matter. The Messenger said, "Pray and supplicate until it is lifted from you." If we take the generality of this, I do not know of anything [specific].

The questioner:
He was silent.

The Shaykh:
Because we did not specify a particular correction. But he said, "If you find that, then turn to His remembrance, His supplication, and seeking His forgiveness." That is, this and that. Along with the prayer: remembrance, supplication, seeking forgiveness, charity, takbir, and freeing slaves.