The Ruling on Possessing the Torah and the Gospel and Reading in Them

This is a letter received from a listener. He says: Your brother, Saud Abd al-Rahman al-Faraj, says: In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy. Peace be upon you, and Allah’s mercy and blessings. After that: I have questions, and I hope for answers from you. May you be rewarded.
First: He asks, is the secret habit and taking pleasure in it permissible or forbidden?
The presenter: This has been answered. This question was answered by His Eminence Shaykh Abd al-Aziz in the letter he replied to the listener (H. S. M. S. Ghawani) in the beginning of this episode, in the explanation of the saying of Allah the Exalted: [Al-Mu’minun:5].
His second question says: Is it permissible to read the Gospel if it falls into my hands? And if it is permissible, where can I find it in Riyadh?
Answer: As for the first, the answer has already been given. The secret habit, which is: self-stimulation by hand, this is forbidden and an abomination. The answer regarding it has already been given, that it is not permissible, that it is aggression, and that it has many harms.
As for what concerns the Gospel or the Torah, for example, it is not recommended to read them or possess them except for a student of knowledge who wants to refute the falsehoods and lies contained in them. Indeed, the Torah and the Gospel have been altered, and much has been changed in them, and much has been distorted in them by those misguided Jews and Christians. So these two books should not be possessed, because one’s mind may be confused by reading them, and something of that may become unclear to him, thereby harming his religion. As for the student of knowledge who needs them to refute a doubt, or to denounce an evil, or to clarify the truth, or to refute the Jews and Christians, all of this is permissible if he is among the people of knowledge, taking from them what he needs when necessary to refute falsehood and denounce evil, as many of the people of knowledge did, may Allah have mercy on them. As for the general public, they have no need for that, and it is not recommended for them to possess them or seek them in any place; because Allah has made us self-sufficient, and to Him belongs praise and grace, with His noble Book, the Qur’an. He has made us self-sufficient regarding all the previous books, so we have no need for them. Rather, we must focus on the Book of Allah, and reflect upon the Book of our Lord, for in it is guidance. It is narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) disapproved of Umar when he saw something of that in his hand, something of the Torah, and said: . This is narrated from him, peace and blessings be upon him. So the point is that we have no need for the Torah and the Gospel, nor for possessing them, nor for referring to them, especially the general Muslim public. As for the people of knowledge, they may need something of that in some cases when refuting a doubt raised by the Christians or Jews, or raised by others who argue with the Torah and the Gospel, or claim that the Torah and the Gospel contain such and such, and the student of knowledge wants to clarify the matter and refute the doubt of the one who raised it. As the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) requested the Torah when the Jews raised the issue of stoning to him. He requested it, and they brought it, and he found in it the verse of stoning to argue against them with it. So the conclusion is that it is not recommended for the general Muslim public to buy them, possess them, or refer to them. Rather, that is an abomination in the case of the general people. And Allah has sufficed us and healed us by sending down His noble Book, the Qur’an, which contains the news of those before us, and the judgment of what is between us. In it is sufficiency, and it is the best book and the finest book, and praise be to Allah. As for the people of knowledge, they may need something of that, but they have their own status, and they are the people of knowledge in that matter. Yes.
The presenter: Thank you, His Eminence Shaykh Abd al-Aziz.