One of the most troubling verses in the Qur’an for Muslims is Surah 10:94. This Qur’anic verse reveals that Muhammad had serious doubts about the revelations he was receiving. He had doubts whether these revelations were genuinely from God or not. Is it not shocking to learn that Muhammad is the first person to doubt the Qur’an? To address this dilemma, Allah revealed Surah 10:94.Muhammad was commanded to seek the guidance of those who read the Holy Bible to overcome his doubts. Two different translations are provided below:
Surah 10:94: So if you (O Muhammad) are in doubt concerning that which We have revealed unto you . . . ask those who are reading the Book(Torah and theGospel) before you. Verily, the truth has come to you from your Lord. So be not of those who doubt it.” (Hilali-Khan)
But if you are in doubt as to what We have revealed to you, ask those who read the Book before you; certainly the truth has come to you from your Lord, therefore you should not be of the disputers. (Shakir)
The only “Book” (singular)containing both the Torahand the Gospel is the Holy Bible. And the only people who have been reading both the Torah and the Gospel at the time of Muhammad were the Christians. The Jews do not read the Gospel. The entire Bible consisting of both Torah and the Gospel is the only source of divine guidance for Christians. For Allah to command Muhammad to consult the Christians, the Bible must have remained pure and unaltered in any way. Otherwise, Allah would not have given this commandment to Muhammad. It would certainly be futile to seek clarification from a people whose Scriptures had become corrupted. To paraphrase Surah 10:94, Allah is simply saying:
“Muhammad, if you have doubts about the Qur’an, consult the people who read the Bibleto clear your doubts.”
Let us analyze the full implication of Surah 10:94.This Qur’anic verse testifies that the Bible is the divine standard by which Muhammad can determine the credibility of the Qur’an. It is the divine standard by which he can verify if the Qur’an is true or not. It serves as the judge for Muhammad to determine if the revelations he was receiving are genuinely from God or not. Surah 10:94proves that the authorization of the Biblewas crucial for Muhammad to verify the validity of the Qur’an.
Since the Bible is the standard of truth with which the Qur’an must agree with, it stands above the judgment of the Qur’an. It is the Qur’an that has to be verified in the light of the previous Scriptures and not the other way around. Since it is the Bible that evaluates the Qur’an, it is far greater in authority than the Qur’an. Can the Qur’an evaluate the Book that evaluates it? Contrary to the claim of the Muslims that the Qur’an was sent to replace the Bible, Allah commanded Muhammad to consult the Bible – long after the arrival of the Qur’an. Therefore, Surah 10:94 not only confirms the credibility of the Bible as the authoritative Word of God, but it also reveals that it was never the intention of Allah for the Qur’an to supersede or to abrogate or to replace the Bible.
Surah 10:94 belongs to Surah Jonah (Yunos) which is a late Meccan Surah. What should be troubling for Muslims is the fact that Muhammad was having serious doubts about the revelations he was receiving almost a decade after receiving them. The nature of Muhammad’s doubt is indeed serious. He doubted the very legitimacy of the Qur’an itself. He doubted the very source that is supposed to eliminate doubts and build faith. This is extremely troubling. Read once again the words of Allah:
Surah 10:94: But if you (Muhammad) are in doubt as to what We have revealed to you, ask those who read the Book before you. (Pickthall)
All these evidences prove that the Bible is the standard of gold by which the Qur’an is to be evaluated. As Muslims are not above Muhammad, it is also mandatory for them to submit to this commandment of Allah in Surah 10:94. This fact is verified in the following Tafsir on Surah 10:94.
Al-Muntakhab fi Tafsir al-Qur’an al-Karim on Surah 10:94:
If you O Muhammad or any of your followers are in doubt of what has been inspired to you, then ask those who have been reading and perusing the Book before you.
Are Muslims not amazed to learn that Allah’s greatest Prophet is commanded to seek the guidance of ordinary Christians to clear his doubts? Why? Because the Bible eliminates doubts and restores faith. In fact, the life of Muhammad hangs on the balance if he fails to heed this commandment of Allah to consult the Christians. He will be among those who perish. Allah sternly warned Muhammad of the consequences in the very next verse:
Surah 10:95: And do not be of those who reject the Signs (Verses) of Allah, or you shall be of those who will perish. (Syed Vicar Ahamed)
The only cure for Muhammad was the Bible.That is the only remedy Allah could rely on to save his Prophet from destruction. Since the revelation of the Qur’an was still in progression, why did not Allah inspire an appropriate faith-strengthening verse in the Qur’an for Muhammad to overcome his doubts? Why did Allah appeal to the Bibleto solve this predicament? The fact that Allah had to appeal to the Bible as the only solution to solve the crisis of his Prophet proves that the Bible is irreplaceable. The restoration of Muhammad’s faith rested solely on the Bible. It was the only solution to solve the otherwise insoluble problem. Will Allah permit such an essential Book to become corrupted as Muslims claim? Will he not protect the very foundation upon which the credibility of the Qur’an depends on? If you destroy the foundation, you destroy everything that is built on it.
Well Muslims, is it not shocking to learn that your Prophet, the very recipient of the Qur’an, had serious doubts about the revelations he was receiving – years after he began receiving them? Does it not astonish you to learn that the only solution is the Bible for your Prophet to overcome his doubts? For Muhammad to trust the Qur’an, he has to first trust the Bible. So must you!
While Muhammad was commanded to seek the guidance of the People of theBook to clear his doubts, neither the Jews nor the Christians were ever commanded to see the guidance of Muhammad. Instead of turning to Muhammad, Allah admonished them to consult their own inspired Scriptures.The following Qur’anic verses clearly testify to this truth. With reference to the Jews, Allah questioned Muhammad:
Surah 5:43: But why do they come to you for judgment when they have the Torah, which enshrines God’s own judgment? (W. Khan)
Similarly, the Christians were commanded to judge by what was revealed to them:
Surah 5:47: “The followers of the Gospels (the New Testament) must judge according to what God has revealed in it. Those who do not judge by the laws of God are evil doers. (M. Sarwar)
The above two Qur’anic verses can still be found in the Qur’an today. And the message in these two Qur’anic verses still remains the same today. This means that even now, the Qur’an admonishes the Jews and the Christians to follow the guidance of their own Scriptures. If Muslims truly believe in the Qur’an, they will not be deceived by those who falsely claim that the Bible has become corrupted. Read the Qur’an and the Qur’an will direct you to the Bible – the eternal Word of God.
Shalom
Max Shimba Ministries
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