A Human Tradition That Replaced the Torah in Jewish Religious Law

In Judaism, the Quran affirms that God revealed the Torah to Moses as guidance and law for the Children of Israel. The Torah was clear, authoritative, and complete for its time. However, centuries after Moses, a separate body of teachings emerged—eventually forming the Talmud. While highly respected in Jewish communities, the Talmud represents human commentary, not divine revelation, and mirrors the pattern seen in other religions where human traditions replaced God’s scripture.

The Torah: God’s Law to the Children of Israel

The Quran recognizes Moses as a prophet and messenger, and the Torah as divine scripture containing commandments, prohibitions, judicial principles, and moral guidance. The Children of Israel were repeatedly warned to uphold only what God revealed.

The Talmud: Mishnah and Gemara

Over time, rabbis and scholars developed extensive oral teachings, debates, and interpretations. These were later written down as:
• Mishnah (200 CE): A compilation of Jewish oral laws.
• Gemara (200–500 CE): Rabbinic commentary explaining the Mishnah.

Together, they form the Talmud, which eventually became the central authority in Judaism—often surpassing the Torah itself.

Parallels With Hadith & Sunna

Just as Hadith and Sunna replaced Quranic authority in later Islamic history, the Mishnah and Gemara took precedence over the Torah. Both systems share the same pattern:
• Divine scripture → human tradition → religious authority → distortion of the original message.
This shift resulted in new doctrines and legal systems not found in the revealed scripture.

The Bible’s Testimony

The Hebrew Bible records repeated cycles where the Children of Israel were punished for abandoning God’s law. Books such as Judges, Kings, Jeremiah, and Chronicles show that whenever Israel replaced God’s commandments with human inventions, they faced corruption, defeat, and exile. The message is consistent: God’s blessings followed obedience, and suffering followed deviation.

The Quran’s Perspective

The Quran confirms the Torah as a true scripture but warns against adding human teachings to divine revelation. It states: “They write the scripture with their own hands and say, ‘This is from God,’ to gain a meager profit.” (2:79)

This describes the elevation of human interpretation above divine law, paralleling the rise of Talmudic authority.

The Central Issue: Human Authority Replacing Divine Revelation

The concern is not the historical or cultural value of the Talmud, but its elevation to the status of religious law. When rabbinic rulings override the Torah, it transforms scholars into lawgivers and tradition into doctrine—contradicting the Quranic principle that God alone is the source of religious authority.

Why Talmud Belongs Under False Gods

A ‘false god’ in the Quranic sense is anything obeyed instead of God’s revelation. When the Talmud becomes the primary legal authority, it functions as a false god—not through intent, but through effect. This mirrors similar developments in Christianity (Nicene Creed) and Islam (Hadith and Sunna).

Conclusion

The Talmud is a monumental scholarly work, but not divine revelation. Its authority within Judaism marks a shift from God’s scripture (the Torah) to human tradition. The Quran calls all communities—Jewish, Christian, and Muslim—back to the faith of Abraham: worshiping God alone, upholding original revelation, and avoiding human additions that distort divine guidance.

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