It is an article of faith for every Muslim to believe in all the prophets and messengers of Allah and all unadulterated revelations of God. Some of these scriptures are still extant today but not in their pristine form as a result of human alteration. The Qur’an is the only divine scripture which has stood the test of time because Allah has taken upon Himself the responsibility of preserving it. He, the Exalted says:
Indeed, it is We who have sent down the Reminder [i.e. the Qur’an], and indeed, We will be its guardian. (Quran 15:9)
Other revealed scriptures before the advent of Prophet Muhammad, such as the Old Testament and the Gospel, were recorded long after the demise of the prophets to whom they had been revealed. In contrast, the entire Quran was written down in its complete form during the lifetime of Muhammad on pieces of palm bark, leather parchment and bone, and arranged in the order designated by the Prophet. In addition, tens of thousands of the Prophet’s companions committed it to memory as it was being revealed. The Quran is still memorized and read in its original Arabic text, and it continues to be taught and learned by millions of people the world over. In fact, with every succeeding generation of Muslims, the number of those who commit the whole Quran to memory has incredibly increased. There is no other book, religious or otherwise, which has been given this unparalleled care in recorded history.
The Quran presents all the prophets of Allah as belonging to one single brotherhood; all had a similar prophetic mission and conveyed the same basic message, namely, the invitation to the worship of Allah alone. The source of their message was one: Allah, or Almighty God. Even if the other Scriptures agree with the Quran in the fundamental aspects of the religion, they address a specific people. Due to this, its rulings and regulations are particular to them. It is attributed to Jesus in the Bible that he himself said:
I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house (children) of Israel. (Matthew 15:24)
On the other hand, the Quran was revealed to humanity at large and not to any specific nation. Allah says:
We have not sent thee but as a universal (Messenger) to men, giving them glad tidings, and warning them (against sin), but most men understand not. (Quran 34:28)