Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah.
A Muslim must believe that the Torah, Gospel, and Psalms are Books that Allah originally revealed to His prophets. However, ordinary Muslims should not possess or read these books merely for curiosity, because they have undergone alteration and distortion, and reading them may lead a person either to believe falsehood or reject the truth.
Belief in the revealed Books means believing that Allah revealed Books to His prophets containing commands and prohibitions, admonitions and reminders, accounts of earlier nations, and information about the Hereafter, including Paradise and Hell.
Among these Books are the Torah, Gospel, and Psalms. A Muslim believes that they were originally from Allah and that Allah revealed them to His prophets.
However, this belief does not mean that a Muslim considers everything found in the books currently available to be authentic. These books have undergone alteration, change, and distortion, and therefore they cannot be treated as though everything in them is preserved revelation.
A Muslim should not possess the Torah, Gospel, or Psalms, nor read them merely out of curiosity, because this may pose a danger to their faith.
The books available today contain both truth and falsehood. Someone who reads them without sufficient knowledge may fall into one of two errors: believing what is false or rejecting what is true.
It was reported that the Prophet ﷺ saw some of the Torah with Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, and became angry, saying:
“Are you in doubt, O son of al-Khattab? I have brought you a clear and pure message. If Moses were alive, he would have no choice but to follow me.”
Therefore, the safer approach for ordinary Muslims is not to read or possess these books. Allah has sufficed Muslims with the Qur’an, which He revealed as guidance for humanity and preserved from alteration.
The ruling is different for a scholar who is firmly grounded in Islamic knowledge, capable of distinguishing truth from falsehood, and who needs to consult these books for a legitimate Islamic purpose.
A scholar may need to refer to the Torah, Gospel, or other scriptures to respond to the People of the Book, expose alterations that occurred in their scriptures, establish the evidence against them, and clarify the truth and guidance contained in the Qur’an.
An example is the incident involving the Jews who denied the ruling of stoning. The Prophet ﷺ requested the Torah and examined it, finding in it the evidence for the ruling they had denied.
Thus, the prohibition is not intended to cover every form of consultation in every circumstance. Rather, it is primarily intended to protect those who do not possess the knowledge necessary to distinguish truth from falsehood.
If a Muslim has a copy of the Torah, Gospel, or Psalms, they should not keep or circulate it without a legitimate need, because doing so may cause harm.
According to a ruling attributed to Shaykh ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Bāz, رحمه الله, such books may be disposed of by burying them in a clean place or burning them, in order to prevent anyone from being misled by them, while avoiding disrespect toward any names of Allah or remnants of genuine revelation that may be contained in them.
A Muslim believes that the Torah, Gospel, and Psalms were originally Books revealed by Allah, but does not believe that everything contained in them today is authentic because they have undergone alteration and distortion.
Therefore, ordinary Muslims should not read or possess these books merely for curiosity, because this may lead to believing falsehood or rejecting truth.
As for a qualified scholar who needs to consult them for a legitimate Islamic purpose, such as establishing the evidence against the People of the Book, responding to their doubts, and explaining the alterations in their scriptures, this is permissible to the extent of the need.
And Allah knows best.