Do Muslims believe word for word in all earlier scriptures?

Yes, Muslims believe word for word in everything God actually revealed. They do not, however, believe in what people later added to these scriptures or removed from them.

Belief in the earlier scriptures is part of the core of Islam. A Muslim believes in what God gave to Abraham (as), Moses (as), Jesus (as) and all the other prophets. He makes no distinction between God’s messengers, as the verses above say.

The key word is revealed. The belief is in what God actually sent down. There can be no error in that. So a Muslim believes in it completely, word for word, and not merely in a general message.

Yet not everything handed down today as holy scripture is revealed in this sense. Even the followers of these scriptures have found passages that contradict each other. They have also found passages that people later added or removed. Such changes are not the word of God, and the belief does not extend to them.

The last verse above warns precisely against passing off human words as God’s word. A Muslim therefore reads the earlier scriptures with respect and with care. He honours in them what comes from God and separates it from what people have added.