Surah 87. Al-Ala, Ayah 19

These two names are given here only as examples of earlier prophetic revelations, thus stressing, once again, the twofold fact of continuity in mankind's religious experiences and of the identity of the basic truths preached by all the prophets. (Cf. also 53:36 ff.) The noun suhuf (sing. sahifah), which literally denotes "leaves [of a book]" or "scrolls", is synonymous with kitab in all the senses of this term (Jawhari): hence, in the above context, "revelations".

No Book of Abraham has come down to us. But the Old Testament recognises that Abraham was a prophet (Gen. xx. 7). There is a book in Greek, which has been translated by Mr. G.H. Box, called the Testament of Abraham (published by the Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge, London, 1927). It seems to be a Greek translation of a Hebrew original. The Greek Text was probably written in the second Christian century, in Egypt, but in its present form it probably goes back only to the 9th or 10th Century. It was popular among the Christians. Perhaps the Jewish Midrash also refers to a Testament of Abraham.

The original Revelation of Moses, of which the Present Pentateuch is a surviving recension. See Appendix 11, The present Gospels do not come under the definition of the "earliest" Books. Nor could they be called "Books of Jesus': they were written not by him, but about him, and long after his death.