"The Book revealed before Mahomet," is explained by Jelalooddeen to mean the Pentateuch; but there seems no reason to confine the reference to it. Here, as in many other passages, the word is obviously used in its widest sense, and intends the Scriptures in use among Christians as well as Jews.

The object of God, in referring Mahomet to that Scripture and its possessors, in order to be satisfied of the inspiration of the Corân, is explained by Baidhâwi thus: "for verily it (i.e. the Corân which We have revealed unto thee) is held as certain amongst them, proved in their books, in the same manner as that which We have revealed to thee. The object is to prove this, and to call in the testimony of the antecedent books."

فانه محقق عندهم ثابت في كتبهم على نحو ما القينا اليك والمراد تحقيق ذالك والإستشهاد بما في الكتب المتقدمة

signification of, "who are in the habit of reading" that Scripture.

The Scriptures are thus appealed to as books notoriously in use amongst the Jews and Christians: and Mahomet is desired to make enquiry from those who were accustomed to read them without limitation to any particular tribe, or people, or country, in order to satisfy his doubts. The enquiry is not confined for instance to the Jews of Yemen, Medîna, or Kheibar; or to the Arab Christian tribes, such as the Bani Hârith of Najrân, the Bani Tay of Tayma, or the Bani Hanîfa of Yemâma. The Prophet is referred without distinction to all within reach who used to read the Divine Scripture previously revealed, whether Abyssinians, Syrians, Arabs, or Egyptians, whether subjects of the Ghassânide kingdom, of Hîra, of Constantinople, or of Persia.

It is the Jewish and Christian Scriptures thus in current use throughout the civilized world in the time of Mahomet, which by being so appealed to, for the purpose of silencing the doubts of the Prophet, are stamped by the Corân not only as inspired, but as genuine, pure, and free from corruption.