Ṣuḥuf Ibrāhīm

The Ṣuḥuf Ibrāhīm (Scrolls of Abraham) refer to the sacred revelations believed in Islam to have been bestowed upon Prophet Ibrāhīm (AS). The Qurʾān mentions these scriptures explicitly in Q. 87:18–19: “Indeed, this is in the former scriptures, the scriptures of Abraham and Moses.” Another reference occurs in Q. 53:36–37, where the Qurʾān recalls the teachings conveyed through the scriptures of Ibrāhīm (AS), emphasizing moral responsibility, faithfulness, and devotion to Allah. Although the actual text of these scrolls has not survived, Islamic tradition regards them as among the earliest divine revelations granted to humanity.

Classical Muslim scholars interpreted the Ṣuḥuf Ibrāhīm as collections of wisdom, ethical guidance, and religious instruction revealed before the Tawrāh. Exegetes such as al-Ṭabarī and Ibn Kathīr explained that these scrolls contained exhortations concerning sincerity, justice, accountability, asceticism, and remembrance of Allah. Some traditions narrated in ḥadīth literature suggest that the scrolls were revealed during the early days of Ramaḍān and included concise moral teachings directed toward righteous living. However, unlike the Qurʾān or the Tawrāh, the precise content and structure of the Ṣuḥuf Ibrāhīm remain unknown.

The figure of Ibrāhīm (AS) occupies a central place in Islam as a prophet, patriarch, and model of pure monotheism (ḥanīfiyyah). The attribution of divine scriptures to him reinforces his role as a recipient of revelation and a guide for humanity. Muslim scholars often linked the Ṣuḥuf Ibrāhīm with the universal message of submission to Allah that united all prophets. In Islamic theology, belief in these scrolls’ forms part of the broader doctrine of faith in revealed books (kutub samāwiyyah), alongside the Tawrāh, Zabūr, Injīl, and Qurʾān.

Modern scholarship examines the Ṣuḥuf Ibrāhīm within the context of Qurʾānic studies, biblical traditions, and Late Antique religious literature. Researchers explore possible parallels between the Qurʾānic references and Jewish, Christian, or apocryphal Abrahamic writings, though no direct textual identification has been conclusively established. The Ṣuḥuf Ibrāhīm thus remain an important symbol of primordial revelation in Islam, representing the continuity of divine guidance through successive prophets and scriptures.

## References

1 Qurʾān 53:36–37; 87:18–19. 2 Reuven Firestone, “Abraham,” in Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān, ed. Jane Dammen McAuliffe (Leiden: Brill, 2001), 1:20–28. 3 A. J. Wensinck and Pierre Lory, “Ibrāhīm,” in Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd ed. (Leiden: Brill, 1960–2009). 4 Ehsan Yarshater, ed., “Abraham,” Encyclopaedia Iranica (New York: Encyclopaedia Iranica Foundation, 1982). 5 Fred Skolnik and Michael Berenbaum, eds., “Abraham,” Encyclopaedia Judaica, 2nd ed. (Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2007). 6 William M. Brinner, Lives of the Prophets (Leiden: Brill, 2002). 7 Gabriel Said Reynolds, The Qurʾān and the Bible: Text and Commentary (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2018). 8 John Kaltner and Younus Mirza, The Bible and the Qurʾān: Biblical Figures in the Islamic Tradition (London: Bloomsbury, 2018).