There is a common held conviction among Muslims that the Bible has become corrupted. They believe that the Bible has been changed. Almost every Christian-Muslim dialogue begins with the Muslim allegation of Bible corruption. Because of this erroneous belief, Muslims are taught to reject the Holy Bible as the Word of God. Unless this misconception is cleared at the very beginning, a meaningful dialogue with Muslims will not be possible.
The objective of this work is to demonstrate that the accusations raised against the Holy Bible by Muslims are not only false but also meaningless in light of what the Qur’an, the true authority in Islam, actually teaches about the Holy Bible. We will use the Qur’an – Islam’s own sacred book – to prove the integrity of the Bible. This article is essential for all who desire to engage in the preaching of the Gospel to the Muslims. However, it is also equally essential for the individual Muslim who sincerely aspires to know what his own sacred book reveals about the Bible.
Of course, Christians do not need the Qur’an to establish the credibility of the Bible. However, since Muslims believe in the Qur’an, it is used here exclusively for the purpose of proving to Muslims that their own sacred book confirms the integrity of the Holy Bible. The Bible teaches Christians to be always ready to make a defense, so we will use this article to do just that.
1 Peter 3:15: “Always be ready to make a defense before everyone that demands of you a reason for the hope in you.”
Christians know for sure that it is not Allah, the deity worshipped by Muslims who inspired the writings of the Holy Bible. The true source who both inspired the writings of the Holy Bible and revealed it to mankind is none other than Jehovah God. However, in order to explain to Muslims what the Qur’an teaches about the integrity of the Bible, we have to go along – at least for the duration of this article – with the Qur’an’s claim that the Bible was sent to mankind by Allah.
The Qur’an states that the Torah, the Psalms and the Gospel were all revealed by Allah. In other words, they are the Words of Allah.
THE REFERENCE OF THE TORAH IN THE QUR’AN
The Arabic word for Torah is Taurat or Tawrat:
Surah 5:44: “Lo! We did reveal the Torah, wherein is guidance and a light.” (Pickthall)
“Surely We revealed the Taurat in which was guidance and light.” (Shakir)
THE REFERENCE OF THE PSALMS IN THE QUR’AN
The Arabic word for Psalms is Zabur or Zaboor:
Surah 4:163: “We have sent thee inspiration, as We sent it to Noah and the Messengers after him: we sent inspiration to Abraham, Ismail, Isaac, Jacob and the Tribes, to Jesus, Job, Jonah, Aaron, and Solomon, and to David We gave the Psalms.” (Yusuf Ali)
“…and to Dawood (David) We gave the Zaboor (Psalms).” (Hilali-Khan)
THE REFERENCE OF THE GOSPEL IN THE QUR’AN
The Arabic word for Gospel is Injil or Injeel:
Surah 3:2-4: “Allah! There is no god but He…It is He Who sent down the Law (of Moses) and the Gospel (of Jesus) before this, as a guide to mankind.” (Yusuf Ali)
Surah 5:46: “And We caused Jesus, son of Mary, to follow in their footsteps, confirming that which was (revealed) before him in the Torah, and We bestowed on him the Gospel wherein is guidance and a light, confirming that which was (revealed) before it in the Torah – a guidance and an admonition unto those who ward off (evil).” (Pickthall)
“And We sent after them in their footsteps Isa, son of Marium, verifying what was before him of the Taurat and We gave him the Injeel in which was guidance and light.” (Shakir)
All these Qur’anic verses explicitly acknowledge that the Torah, the Psalms and the Gospel are the “Words of Allah.” And the Qur’an adds that they contain “guidance and light” for “mankind.” Thus, Allah himself testifies in the Qur’an that there is guidance and light in the Torah and the Gospel. A careful consideration of Allah’s purpose in sending the Torah and the Gospel to mankind can help us discern why it is both vital and absolutely necessary for the integrity of these Scriptures to be kept intact and maintained as such for all eternity.
Since Allah sent the Torah and the Gospel as “guidance and light for mankind,” would it make sense to believe that he would allow his guidance and light to become corrupted? To do so would result in the opposite of his intended purpose for the Torah and the Gospel. It would now lead people into spiritual darkness. For Allah to send the Torah and the Gospel with the command to obey them but then to later permit them to become a false guide through corruption would result in his leading astray untold millions of sincere believers. This is especially true when the command to obey the Torah and the Gospel can still be found in the Qur’an today.
Before we proceed on in our discussion, it is important to familiarize ourselves with a couple of terms that are used in the Qur’an. One: The Qur’an uses the term “People of the Book” to describe the Jews and Christians. Two: The Qur’an uses the Arabic term Al-Kitab for the Bible. According to the Arabic–English Dictionary, the term Al-Kitab is translated as follows: (1) Bible (2) Holy Writ (3) Holy Scripture (4) Scripture (5) Book.
The Arabic term, Al-Kitab is translated as the following in the various English translations of the Qur’an: Bible, Scripture(s), Revelation(s) and Book(s).
In our compilation of this article, we extracted many essential verses from the Qur’an. Not only do these Qur’anic verses support the integrity of the Bible but they also prove why the Bible will always remain as the unchanged Word of God. All these essential verses from the Qur’an along with appropriate commentaries are reproduced here in this article. And we have enumerated these supporting Qur’anic verses as Testimonies. Let us now begin our discussion by considering the numerous Testimonies of the Qur’an that prove why the Bible has not been changed, will not be changed and cannot be changed in the course of time.
TESTIMONY NUMBER ONE
Muslims claim that the Torah and the Gospel in our present Bible have become corrupted. Let us see what Allah himself testifies in the Qur’an:
Surah 10:64: “No change can there be in the words of Allah. This is indeed the supreme felicity.” (Yusuf Ali)
None can change the Words of Allah. This is indeed the Supreme Triumph. (Pickthall)
The above Qur’anic verse clearly states that there can be no changing to the “Words of Allah.” As shown at the beginning of this article, the Qur’an itself testifies that the Torah, the Psalms and the Gospel are the “Words of Allah.” As such, Allah guarantees that they cannot be changed. From the very beginning of its compilation, the contents of the Bible consist of nothing else but the Torah, the Psalms and the Gospel. Since the Qur’an testifies that these Scriptures are the very “Words of Allah,” then there can be no changing to the Bible. If it does, then the Qur’an is wrong.
“None can change the Words of Allah” says the Qur’an. In total violation to the teachings of their own sacred book, Muslim apologists claim that the Jews and the Christians corrupted their Scriptures. Two very important points are taught in the Qur’an. One: The Torah, the Psalms and the Gospel are the “Words of Allah.” Two: “None can change the Words of Allah.” Whether Muslims agree or not, they are now compelled to make a choice here. They must now choose between believing the lies propagated by Muslim apologist who claim that simple humans corrupted the incorruptible “Words of Allah” and believing Allah’s clear testimony in the Qur’an which states that the Holy Bible cannot be corrupted.
If the claim that the Jews and the Christians altered the Bible is true, then they must surely be more powerful than Allah. Not only would this prove Allah’s defeat at the hands of weak humans but it also proves that the Qur’an’s testimony to the authenticity of the Torah and the Gospel is false. To believe in the corruption of the Bible is the same as rejecting the teachings of the Qur’an. Surely, God has the power to preserve his Word.
It would therefore require a denial of the Qur’an itself to believe that the Bible has been changed through corruption. If the claim of corruption is true, then the promises of Allah in the Qur’an to preserve his Word become a lie. This not only makes Allah a liar but it would also make the Qur’an false.
Knowing that their position is impossible to defend, Muslims conjure up another lie. They try to wriggle out of this difficulty by claiming that it is not the original Torah and Gospel revealed by Allah that has become corrupted but only the Torah and the Gospel in the Bible. How can this be true when the only existing Torah and Gospel at the time when Allah authenticated these Scriptures in the Qur’an are the very ones that were already existing in the Bible? A simple comparison of our Bible with the Bibles that existed during the time of Muhammad shows that nothing has changed. It is for this reason Allah could say:
Surah 5:66: If they had observed the Torah and the Gospel and what was revealed to them from their Lord, they would surely have been nourished from above and from below. (Wahiduddin Khan)
And this command of Allah can still be found in the Qur’an. Can you imagine the length that Muslims are willing to go to maintain the lie that only the Torah and the Gospel in our present Bible have become corrupted? This claim by Muslims is a preposterous lie. This can be seen by the fact that whenever Muslims say that the coming of Muhammad is prophesied in the Jewish and Christian Scriptures, the only Torah and the only Gospel they quote to support their claim is from the Torah and the Gospel which are recorded in our present Bible. Will they be quoting the Torah and the Gospel from our present Bible to authenticate Muhammad’s prophethood if they had any reason to believe that these are not the Torah and the Gospel that were originally revealed by Allah? If Muslims are sincere in their belief that the Torah and the Gospel in our present Bible are different from the originals, why do they still quote from these Scriptures to support their claim that the coming of Muhammad is prophesied in the Bible? Are not Muslims then guilty of validating Muhammad’s prophethood on the basis of Scriptures that have become false through corruption?
Apart from the Bible, Muslims cannot produce a single copy of the supposedly original Torah and Gospel to back their claim. So where are these Scriptures? After all, if the Scriptures of Allah are not even supposed to suffer a minuscule change in them, can they truly become lost completely? Will Allah’s claim to preserve his Scriptures make any sense if at the same instance these Scriptures are permitted to become lost? What good is Allah’s preservation of his Scriptures if they are not preserved from becoming lost? Surely, preservation from corruption would make no sense if it does not include preservation from loss. So where are the original uncorrupted Torah and Gospel?
While not having a single copy of the alleged original Torah and Gospel and at the same instance claiming that the Torah and the Gospel in the Bible have become corrupted, Muslims are forced to accept the following blasphemous conclusion. They have to admit that these two essential Scriptures of Allah have either become lost or they have become corrupted. Thus, by denying the Torah and the Gospel in our present Bible, Muslims themselves are guilty of proclaiming that the Qur’an is not the Word of God. The Qur’an’s clear testimony that the “Words of Allah” cannot become lost or corrupted is now shown to be false by Muslims themselves.
The dilemma for Muslims is that even if we were to accept that the original Torah and Gospel are not the ones recorded in the Bible, then the fact that these originals are now lost proves that the Qur’an is false since it assures us that the “Words of Allah” will be preserved forever.
However, the truth is that besides the Torah and the Gospel which are preserved in the Bible, no such authentic Torah or Gospel as claimed by Muslims exists. Otherwise, Muslims would be quoting from these so called originals to support their claim that Muhammad is prophesied in the Scriptures of the Jew and Christians. That is why the only Torah and Gospel which Muslims refer to are the ones recorded in the Bible. These are the originals. Islam falls apart if Muslims are unwilling to accept this simple fact since the only alternative left for them is to accept the indisputable conclusion that Allah lied in the Qur’an. He lied that he will preserve his Word.
Interestingly, Muslims are willing to accept certain parts of the Bible as authentic. They are willing to accept as authentic parts of the Torah and the Gospel which they believe prophesies about the coming of Muhammad. The fact that Muslims are willing to accept certain parts of the Torah and the Gospel in the Bible as the authentic “Words of Allah” while rejecting the rest as corrupted is an undeniable proof of their admission that parts of the “Words of Allah” have become corrupted. At the same instance, it is also an admission that the only available Torah and the Gospel are the ones found in our present Bible. This reveals that their claim of corruption is actually directed to the original “Words of Allah.” So no matter how hard they attempt to cover their lies, they still end up denying Allah and the Qur’an.
Therefore, in reality Muslims are actually accusing the original “Words of Allah” of becoming corrupted. This is blasphemy. Can the “Words of Allah” become corrupted? “No” says the Qur’an while Muslims say, “Yes.” This means that each time Muslims charge the Torah and the Gospel in the Bible with corruption, they are also at the same instant claiming the Qur’an to be false.
But, why are Muslims so adamant in promoting the idea that our Bible has become corrupted. Why do they resort to such dishonesty even though the Qur’an confirms the integrity of the Bible? In fact, many verses of the Qur’an testify to the authenticity and integrity of the Scriptures of the Jews and the Christians. As such, the Bible has to be perfect at the time of the Qur’an’s revelation. Since the Qur’an testifies that God’s Word cannot be altered or corrupted, it rules out any possibility of the Bible ever becoming corrupted at a later point in time. The reason for such insistence on the claim of Bible corruption is because when later generation of Muslims ventured into neighboring Christian lands, they found that the teachings of the Bible were contrary to the version that Muhammad had taught them.
Well there can be only two possible responses to this discovery. Muslims had to either accept that their Prophet had erred in his teachings or to believe on the presupposition that the Bible itself had been changed. Regrettably, they chose the latter course. Therefore, Muslims base their belief on a presupposition and then seek “evidences” to justify it. Thus, before a Muslim even picks up a Bible, he is led to believe it is no longer the Word of God. Sadly for Muslims, they have to insist that the Bible was changed, otherwise they cannot remain a Muslim!
A sincere study of the evidences proves that the Muslim’s assumption of Bible corruption is based purely on conjecture. When these evidences are honestly and objectively examined, the only conclusion that can be reached is that the Bible which we have in our possession today is the same as it was originally revealed by God. Yes! The Bible that we have today is the authentic uncorrupted Word of God.
We will now consider further evidences in the Qur’an that confirm the integrity of the Bible. In the later part of this article, we will also provide evidences that exist for the Bible’s textual history in the oldest manuscripts that are available to us to prove just how strong the verifications are in favor for the authenticity of the Bible.
TESTIMONY NUMBER TWO
The following Qur’anic verse gives further proof that God’s Word cannot be changed.
Surah 6:115: “Perfected is the Word of thy Lord in truth and justice. There is naught that can change His words. He is the Hearer, the Knower.” (Pickthall)
Perfect are the words of thy Lord in truthfulness and justice; no man can change His words; He is the All-hearing, the All-knowing. (Arberry)
Muslims who claim that the Bible has become corrupted must also be willing to accept that the above Qur’anic verse is false to its claim. This Qur’anic verse states very plainly, without any clause or qualification, that none can change the “Word of thy Lord.” In other words, under no circumstance can anyone or anything change the Scriptures of Allah. And this means that it will remain unchanged for all eternity. Therefore, should the Bible become corrupted at any time – past, present and future – then the statement of Allah in the above Qur’anic verse becomes false at the same instant.
The Qur’an also states very clearly that Allah is “All-hearing” and “All-knowing.” This indicates he is listening and he knows and he is watching over his Word. So who changed the Torah, the Psalms and the Gospel without the knowledge of Allah? Therefore, either the Qur’an is right and Allah’s Word cannot be changed, or the Qur’an is wrong and the Torah, the Psalms and the Gospel have been changed. It cannot be both ways.
This is not just an issue about the integrity of the Bible but also an issue that is integral to the integrity of Allah himself. If Allah is powerless to protect the Torah, the Psalms and the Gospel which the Qur’an unquestionably acknowledges as the inspired Words of Allah, how can Muslims then trust him with their eternal salvation? Salvation is very much dependent on the integrity of the Scriptures. Without the integrity of the Scriptures, there can be no salvation. Muslims say that Allah is Great (Akbar) and Powerful (Al Qawie) and yet at the same instant they believe that he is unable to protect his Holy Word from distortion by defiant humans. It is utterly evil for someone to believe that an all-powerful God would allow his Holy Word to become corrupted at the hands of weak human beings.
Some Muslims claim that the above Qur’anic verse applies only to the preservation of the Qur’an. To make such a claim is to distort the meaning of this Qur’anic verse. If Allah’s intention is only to preserve the Qur’an, he would have stated emphatically: “No one can change the Qur’an.” But the Qur’an does not say that. The above Qur’anic verse states very clearly in Arabic that it is the “Kalimah of thy Lord” (Word of thy Lord) that will remain unchanged. This means every Word of Allah.
And the Qur’an itself testifies that the Bible (Al-Kitab) which consists of the Torah, Psalms and the Gospel is the divine “Word of thy Lord.” Therefore, when Allah says “nothing can change his words,” it means not a single word in any of the Scriptures of Allah. To say Allah’s words were changed in the Bible but not in the Qur’an would make the above Qur’anic verse a preposterous lie because it shows that, at least, some of Allah’s words can be changed. This would mean Allah lied in the Qur’an. Either that or we could believe that these Muslims who claim the Bible is changed are the ones who are lying. What Muslims fail to understand is that it is either all or nothing.
Additionally, take note of Allah’s declaration in this Qur’anic verse, “Perfected is the Word of thy Lord in truth and justice.” At the time when this Qur’anic verse was revealed, the Qur’an was still in the process of compilation. Would it not be a little premature to testify that the Qur’an is already the “Perfected Word of thy Lord” even before its completion? The Qur’an was very much incomplete when this verse was revealed and it is impossible to see how this verse can be used to prove its exclusive preservation. This is the language of hypothesis and presupposition.
TESTIMONY NUMBER THREE
Time and again the Qur’an testifies that no one can change the Words of God.
Surah 18:27: “And recite (and teach) what has been revealed to thee of the Book of thy Lord; none can change His Words, and none wilt thou find as a refuge other than Him.” (Yusuf Ali)
“…there is none who can alter His words.” (Shakir)
Once again Allah declares that “none can change or alter his Words.” In their desperation to fault the Bible, some Muslim apologists state that the above verse applies only to the integrity of the Qur’an. The absurdity of such reasoning can be easily exposed.
To illustrate: Assume you purchased an insurance policy that covers the cost of the damages of all your houses in the event of a disaster. And you were guaranteed that all the houses are included in the policy. The policy is signed and documented on paper. Say, in time two of your houses were damaged by fire. However, when you filed your papers to make your claim, you are told by the insurance company that you are mistaken. They now tell you that the policy covers only the third undamaged house. Would you accept this? Would you not use the document that details the terms of the policy to sue the company? Absolutely! And would you not logically conclude that this company is a fraud?
This is exactly the same when Muslims make the absurd claim that Allah’s pledge to protect his Scriptures does not cover the first two Books but only the third. By doing so, they are portraying Allah as a fraud. Well, do we have a written document that states with absolute certainty that Allah will protect all his Scriptures? Yes, we have! We have the Qur’an.
Surah 10:64: The Word of God shall never change. That is the supreme triumph. (W. Khan)
Surah 6:115: No one can change His Words. (S. V. Ahamed)
Surah 18:27: There is none who hath power to change His Words. (Sale)
The above three Qur’anic verses are simple and clear to understand. They clearly state that the “Word of God” cannot be changed by anyone. They do not say that the Qur’an cannot be changed but the “Word of God” cannot be changed. Well, are the Torah and the Gospel acknowledged as the “Word of Allah” in the Qur’an? Most certainly! Are the Torah and the Gospel revealed by Allah? Absolutely! How can these Scriptures then become corrupted? And for the benefit of our Muslim readers, we will provide a further Qur’anic verse to reaffirm this point:
Surah 3:3: “He has verily revealed to you this Book, in truth and confirmation of the Books revealed before, as indeed He had revealed the Torah and the Gospel.” (Ahmed Ali)
In view of the undeniable fact that the Torah and the Gospel are the Words of Allah and since no one can change the Words of Allah, how can Muslims then claim that the promised protection does not include the Scriptures of the Jews and Christians. Are they are not bearing false witness against Allah? Are they are not lying against the Qur’an which says over and over again, “No one can change His Words.”?
The Qur’an not only authenticates the Scriptures of the Jews and Christians as the revealed Words of Allah but it also commands Muslims to believe in them. If Muslims continue to believe that these Scriptures have become corrupted, then they are committing a very serious error of invalidating the promises and commandments of Allah in the Qur’an. They can either believe that Allah failed in his promises to protect his revealed Scriptures or they can believe that the Bible is the preserved Word of God. They cannot have it both ways.
In order to maintain the deceit that the Bible has become corrupted, Muslims blasphemously deny the present Torah and Gospel as the revealed Scriptures of Allah. Of course, Muslims will tell you that they believe in the Torah and Gospel, but in the once uncorrupted Torah and Gospel which they claim existed before. Do Muslims really understand the absurdity of what they are saying? When Allah said, “No one can change His Words,” it means not a single Scripture of Allah can be changed at any time. In other words, from the time they were revealed, the Torah and Gospel are meant to be preserved forever by Allah. As such, there cannot be such a thing as a once existing uncorrupted Torah and Gospel. What Muslims fail to understand is that in order for the Qur’an to be true, the Torah and Gospel have to be available at all times and have to remain uncorrupted for all eternity.
Can Allah’s guarantee to preserve the Torah and Gospel be true if these Scriptures are not available in their original form today? Can the Torah and Gospel truly be the eternal Words of Allah if they have become completely lost? Would it make sense for Allah to promise that the Torah and Gospel will remain eternally untouched by corruption if he at the same instance he allows them to become eternally lost? For the Qur’an to be true, the Torah and Gospel must not only be available today but they must available to us without having become corrupted. That is what Allah guaranteed in the Qur’an. Nothing less than that. Therefore, there cannot be such a thing as a once upon a time uncorrupted Scriptures of Allah. That very statement is a fallacy. Muslims are guilty of blasphemy when they say this.
Now consider another example. Suppose a man who owns three well-built houses tells you that nothing can destroy his houses. Say, in time a storm destroyed two of his houses. Now, would the claim that nothing could destroy his houses be true? It does not matter if it is House No 1 or House No 2, as long as a single house is destroyed, his claim will be utterly false. Is not Allah making exactly the same claim in the Qur’an as this man in the illustration?
Surah 6:115: Nothing can change His Words. (Ali Quli Qara’i)
Therefore, if the Torah and the Gospel are truly destroyed through corruption as Muslims wants us to believe, then the claim of Allah will be equally false like that of the man in this illustration. In fact, it does not matter if it is the Torah or the Gospel, as long as a single Scripture of Allah is corrupted, Allah’s claim will become false. And Muslims are willing to go as far as labeling Allah a fraud by insisting that he only meant to preserve the Qur’an and not the Bible. To say that the Bible has been permitted by Allah to become corrupted is to believe that Allah lied in the Qur’an. Again, this would make the Qur’an false since it states that God’s Word cannot be changed.
During the course of Muhammad’s prophetic career (610 C.E. – 632 C.E.), he received the Qur’an piecemeal over a period of 23 years. This means that the Bible, which was in circulation during that period of time, could not have been corrupted. Otherwise, the Qur’an cannot make the bold claim that “none can change His Words.” The question that Muslims must answer is that since the Qur’an says that the Scriptures of the Bible is from Allah and Allah’s words cannot be changed, how did the Bible become corrupted? Any Muslim who even contemplates to answer this question will find himself calling Allah a liar and the Qur’an a lie. In fact, the Qur’an Allah testifies that not a single word or sentence that comes from Allah can be changed.
Surah 50:29: “The sentence that cometh from Me cannot be changed, and I am in no wise a tyrant unto the slaves.” (Pickthall)
According to this Qur’anic verse, not a sentence of Allah can be changed. Imagine, if not even a sentence of Allah can be changed, can a Book of Allah be changed? And in total violence of the teachings of the Qur’an, Muslims make the absurd claim that the Bible has been changed. They deliberately choose to ignore the true meaning of this Qur’anic verse.
Muslims do not believe the Bible has been changed because they have found evidences to merit such a belief. They believe it has been altered because they have to in order to maintain the conviction that the Qur’an is the Word of God. If the Bible is the unchanged Word of God, then the Qur’an automatically fails because it contradicts the Bible in numerous vital areas. Thus, before a Muslim even picks up a Bible he is led to believe it is no longer an authentic book. The dilemma for Muslims is that they are in trouble when they believe that the Bible has been changed and they are still in trouble when they believe it is not.
TESTIMONY NUMBER FOUR
In the following Qur’anic verse, Allah’s pledge to protect his “Words” from corruption is specifically addressed to the Apostles who came “before” the time of Muhammad. Allah promised the Apostles that “there is none that can alter the Words of Allah.” Here, Allah is giving evidence to the fact that the Scriptures in their possession, which were revealed “before” the time of the Qur’an, cannot be altered.
Surah 6:34: “Rejected were the Apostles before thee: with patience and constancy they bore their rejection and their wrongs, until Our aid did reach them: there is none that can alter the Words (and decrees) of Allah. Already hast thou received some account of those Apostles.” (Yusuf Ali)
Messengers before you were also denied but they were steadfast in the face of the denial and injury they suffered until Our help arrived. There is no changing the Words of Allah. And news of other Messengers has come to you. (A. Bewley)
In the above Qur’anic verse, Allah assured the Apostles who lived “before” the time of Muhammad that “there is no changing the Words of Allah.” The Scriptures that were given to the Apostles “before” the time of Muhammad is not the Qur’an but the Holy Bible. When the Qur’an says “none can alter the Words of Allah,” it simply means that nothing, no one, nobody, not a soul can change or alter the Scriptures of Allah. In other words, no one can corrupt the Holy Bible. Now, if at the same instance some Muslim scholars, apologists, imams, muftis or your Muslim neighbors were to tell you that Allah’s earlier Scriptures have been changed, who do you choose to believe? Do you believe the Qur’an is true in its statement that nobody can change the Words of God or do you believe that the Qur’an is false and the Words of God can be changed?
When the Qur’an says “none can alter the Words of Allah,” it means nothing, no one, nobody, not a soul can change or alter the earlier Scriptures of Allah. In other words, no one can corrupt the Holy Bible. Now, if at the same instance some Muslim scholars, apologists, imams, muftis or your Muslim neighbors were to tell you that Allah’s earlier Scriptures have been changed, who do you choose to believe? Do you believe the Qur’an is true in its statement that nobody can change the Words of God or do you believe that the Qur’an is false in its statement that nobody can change the Words of God?
For Muslims to believe that the Bible was corrupted by the Jews or Christians amounts to a very serious denial of the teachings of the Qur’an. A Muslim who denies the teachings of the Qur’an would no longer be qualified as a Muslim. Muslims cannot deny the Bible and continue to remain a Muslim. To attack the Bible is to attack the standing of the Qur’an which validates the authority, authenticity and infinity of the Bible.
According to the Qur’an:
(1) No one can change the Word of Allah.
(2) The Bible, which consists of the Torah, the Psalms and the Gospel, is the Word of Allah.
(3) So, no one can change the Bible.
Since the Bible is supposed to be the Word of Allah, it is to be protected and kept pure through all eternity by the power of Allah. This is promise of Allah in the Qur’an. In addition, the Qur’an emphatically states that for Muslims to be assured of their salvation, they must believe in the Scriptures of the Bible:
Surah 2:4: And those who believe in what is sent down to you, and what was sent down before you (such as the Torah, Gospel and Psalms, and the Scrolls of Abraham); and in the Hereafter they have certainty of faith. (Ali Ünal)
Yes! For Muslims to “have certainty of faith,” they must believe in the Holy Bible. This means they must believe in all the teachings that are inspired within its pages. The Bible was completed more than five centuries before the arrival of the Qur’an. If someone wrote a book today that contradicts a historical document written at the time when the event occurred, the person who wrote the second book centuries later has the burden to prove that the older document was false. He also has to prove that his newly forwarded facts are true. The document written at the time of the event would not have to prove itself against a latter document. This is true to the principles of the science of history. And history is on the side of the Bible.
TESTIMONY NUMBER FIVE
To say that the Bible has become corrupted means that the contents of the Bible have become corrupted. And the Torah, which consists of the five major Books of Moses, is an essential part of the Bible. This would then mean, if not all, at least a substantial portion of the Torah must have become corrupted. As such, Allah would have warned us to refrain from either reading or consulting these “corrupted Scriptures” in the Bible. However, we do not find a single warning or restriction against the Bible in the Qur’an. In fact, the opposite is true. In the Qur’an, Allah encourages us to “read” and “study” the Scriptures of the Bible. And Allah admonishes: “Bring the Torah and study it, if you are men of truth.”
Surah 3:93: “Say: Produce the Torah and read it (unto us) if ye are truthful.” (Pickthall)
Say: “Bring ye the Torah and study it, if ye be men of truth.” (Malik)
And this admonition to “read” and “study” the Scriptures of the Bible is not restricted to just the Torah but it encompasses the entire Scriptures of the Bible. In fact, the Qur’an insists that the entire Bible is an indispensable Book for Muslims. And especially so in times of personal crisis regarding their faith. Even Muhammad was commanded by Allah to “ask those who have been reading the Book from before him” to clear his doubts about the reliability of the Qur’an. Consider now the authoritative strength given to the Bible in the following verse which was revealed specifically for Muhammad:
Surah 10:94: “If thou wert in doubt as to what We have revealed unto thee, then ask those who have been reading the Book from before thee: the Truth hath indeed come to thee from thy Lord: so be in no wise of those in doubt.” (Yusuf Ali)
But if you (Muhammad) are in doubt as to what We have revealed to you, ask those who read the Book before you. Verily the Truth from thy Lord hath come unto thee. So be not thou of the waverers. (Pickthall)
“The Book from before thee” refers to the Scriptures of the “People of the Book.” The Qur’an describes the Jews and the Christians as the “People of the Book.” Now, why would Allah command Muhammad to refer to the Scriptures of the Jews and the Christians if these Scriptures have indeed become corrupted? In fact, the command in Surah 10:94 enforces upon Muhammad the obligation to recognize the Holy Bible as the only source of divine illumination that is available to Muslims to determine the validity of the Qur’an. No other options existed for Muhammad.
Although Muhammad was addressed in this Qur’anic verse, the command given here applies equally to all Muslims. Allah is commanding Muslims to seek clarification from those who read the Bible when they have serious doubts about the Qur’an. In other words, it is telling them to consult the Bible to clear any doubts that they may have regarding the reliability of the Qur’an. Allah is commanding Muslims to consult the Bible as a means of establishing the truth. Thus, instead of warning Muslims to refrain from either reading or consulting the Bible, the Qur’an encourages them to seek guidance from it. And especially so at a critical time when their faith is undermined by doubts and uncertainties.
Hence, as long as the Qur’an exists and Muslims read it, the Bible should be at hand to clear any disbelief that might arise with reference to the Qur’an. It would be absolutely absurd for Allah to command Muslims to seek guidance from a people whose Scriptures had become corrupted. If the claim of corruption is really true, it would be extremely foolish for Allah to direct Muslims to seek guidance from those who study the Bible.
How would Muslims today apply the commandment given to them in Surah 10:94? In order for Muslims today to obey this essential command from Allah to consult the Bible when they are in doubt, it would be absolutely necessary for the Bible to remain uncorrupted. Thus, the above Qur’anic verse is yet another existing proof why the Bible will continue to remain as the uncorrupted Word of God. It has to for the benefit of Muslims. According to the Qur’an itself, the Bible is the standard of authenticity by which the Qur’an is measured.
In spite of the Qur’an’s validation for the authenticity of the Bible, Muslims continue to claim that the Bible has become corrupted. Yet, when it comes to the Qur’an, they say it remains pure and unadulterated because of Allah’s protection upon it. Do Muslims believe in two Allahs? One who could protect his Scriptures and the other who could not?
TESTIMONY NUMBER SIX
The following Qur’anic verse confirms yet once again that Allah will guard his Word or Message from corruption.
Surah 15:9: “We have, without doubt, sent down the Message; and We will assuredly guard it (from corruption).” (Yusuf Ali)
In their desperation to fault the Bible, we find Muslims falsely asserting that the above Qur’anic verse applies only to the integrity of the Qur’an. This deception can be easily exposed when we consider Allah’s intended purpose for revealing this verse in the Qur’an. Allah is stating a divine principle here. He is saying that since he is the originator of “the Message,” he “will assuredly guard it.” Who does the Qur’an say is the originator of “the Message” in the Torah and the Gospel? Is it not Allah? It is important to note that the verses, which immediately follow the above Qur’anic verse, provide vital evidences that “the Message” mentioned here involves principally “the Message” that was sent to the apostles “before” the time of Muhammad.
It is important to note that the verses, which immediately follow the above Qur’anic verse, provide vital evidences that “the Message” mentioned here involves principally “the Message” that was sent to the apostles “before” the time of Muhammad.
Surah 15:10-11: “We did send apostles before thee amongst the religious sects of old: But never came an apostle to them but they mocked him.”(Yusuf Ali)
Let us now read the texts in full:
Surah 15:9-11: We have without doubt sent down the Message and We will assuredly guard it (from corruption). We did send apostles before thee amongst the religious sects of old: But never came an apostle to them but they mocked him. (Yusuf Ali)
Take note of the words of Allah. Immediately after saying, “We have without doubt sent down the Message,” Allah adds, “We did send apostles before thee.” The immediate reference to the “apostles” that were sent before the time of Muhammad suggests that Allah’s assurance to guard “the Message” from corruption involves principally the Scriptures that he gave to those who were sent before Muhammad. Thus, the context itself supports the view that Allah’s pledge to protect “the Message” includes the Scriptures that were given to the prophets and apostles before the arrival of Muhammad. Therefore, the promised protection applies equally to all the Scriptures that were revealed and delivered by Allah. We will now provide more evidences from the Qur’an itself to prove this truth even more conclusively.
It must be noted that Surah 15:9 does not say that only the Qur’an will be exclusively guarded as Muslims try to claim. But rather it says that “the Message” will be guarded. In fact, the word Qur’an is not even mentioned at all in this verse. The Arabic word for “Message” is “Zhikri.” That Allah’s divine protection from corruption includes the Holy Bible can be seen by the fact that the earlier Biblical Scriptures are also referred to as the “Zhikri” (Message) of Allah” in the Qur’an. Consider now the following Qur’anic verses:
Surah 21:105: Before this We wrote in the Psalms, after the Message (Zhikri) (given to Moses):“My servants the righteous shall inherit the earth.” (Yusuf Ali)
Surah 16:43: “And before thee also the apostles We sent none but men, to whom We granted inspiration: If ye realise this not, ask of those who possess the Message (Zhikri).” (Yusuf Ali)
There are many more similar verses in the Qur’an but the above is sufficient to prove our point. These passages in the Qur’an establish the fact that the Scriptures which the Jews and Christians possessed at the time of Muhammad were part of that “Message” which Allah promised to preserve. The Qur’an confirms the fact that the Bible contains “the Message” of Allah in it. Therefore, since the Bible consists of “the Message” of Allah, it is included in its entirety in the pledge made by Allah to preserve his “Message.” To believe in the corruption of the Bible is to believe in the failure of Allah to guard his “Message” which means Allah is guilty of breaking his divine promise of ensuring their preservation. This is a very serious accusation against Allah by Muslims. Are Muslims willing to accept this? Further evidences from the Qur’an:
Surah 40:53-54: We did aforetime give Moses the Book of Guidance and We gave the book in inheritance to the Children of Israel, – A Guide and a Message (Zhikraa) to men of Understanding. (Yusuf Ali)
All the above Qur’anic verses establish the truth that the revelation given to Moses, David and the Apostles, which the Jews and Christians had in their possession at the time of Muhammad, had all been sent down by Allah. They are his “Message.” Thus his promised preservation applies to them primarily.
What evidences do Muslims have that Surah 15:9 is even about the Qur’an rather than the books of the Bible? Read Surah 15:9 carefully and see if you can find any evidence in it to prove that it is speaking exclusively about the preservation of only the Qur’an. We will now look at another important Qur’anic verse that confirms that the Bible is the “Message” of Allah:
Surah 21:7: “Before thee, also, the messengers We sent were but men, to whom We granted inspiration: If ye realise this not, ask of those who possess the Message (Zhikri).” (Yusuf Ali)
(O Muhammad), even before you We never sent any other than human beings as Messengers, and to them We sent revelation. Ask the People of the Book if you do not know. (Maududi)
“…then ask the people of the reminder (Jews and Christians).” (Farook Malik)
Observe carefully the proclamation of Allah to Muhammad, “If ye realise this not, ask of those who possess the Message.” Since Muhammad was told to “ask of those who possess the Message,” this would automatically exclude the Message given to Muhammad in the Qur’an. Who then are these people who possess “the Message” of Allah? The translation of the above Qur’anic verse by Farook Malik clearly identifies that these were the Jews and Christians who were contemporaries of Muhammad.
This clearly identifies who were the original possessors of Allah’s “Message.” Allah is telling Muhammad to learn from the Jews and Christians who possess his “Message” if he is unaware of certain essential truths. Thus, the Qur’an recognizes both the validity and the availability of uncorrupted Bibles at the time of Muhammad. It could therefore command Muhammad to seek confirmation for the authority of Allah’s “Message” from the Jews and Christians.
For Allah to command Muhammad to go to the Jews and Christians proves beyond any doubt that “the Message” in their possession must have remained uncorrupted. As such, we can be sure that in harmony with Allah’s promise, “the Message” will continue to be protected by Allah for all eternity. If Muslims cannot recognize this simple fact then they must accept the fact that Allah is a deceiver. Additionally, this Qur’anic verse also states very clearly that the messengers who came before Muhammad were inspired (wahi) by Allah. Therefore, “the Message” they wrote were “the Message” of Allah.
Contrary to the lies propagated by Muslim apologists, if God’s standards are consistent, then his promised preservation will be applied to all his divine Books equally. God cannot guard just one of his Books and leave the others to be tampered with. We cannot trust a God who treats his divine Books with partiality. We cannot trust a God who protects some of his Books and allow others to become corrupted. This is especially true when it is reinforced in the promise of Allah: “None can change the Words of Allah. This is indeed the Supreme Triumph.” (Surah 10:64).
“This is indeed the Supreme Triumph.” This expression means that the most excellent, the most majestic victory of Allah is his capability to preserve his Scriptures. The authenticity of Allah is very much dependent on his capability to maintain the authenticity of his Scriptures. Since the Scriptures of the Bible are recognized as the “Words of Allah” in the Qur’an, will Allah allow anything or anyone to change his “Messages” in the Bible? The Bible was completed about six hundred years before the arrival of the Qur’an. Therefore, if it is at all possible for the Christians or Jews to alter the “Words of Allah,” then Muslims must accept the fact that Allah lied in the Qur’an. They must accept the fact that he lied when he testified: “We will assuredly guard it from corruption.” (Surah 15:9). The Muslim’s position is simply too dangerous for them to maintain. Allah says: “Nobody can change my Word.” In defiant, Muslims say: “No, it was changed.” Who should we believe? Allah or Muslims?
We will look at Surah 16:43 once again, but this time to highlight another significant point from this verse:
Surah 16:43: The apostles We sent before you were but men whom we inspired with revelations and with Scriptures. Ask the People of the Book, if you know not. (Dawood)
It can be seen that time and again Allah commands Muhammad to consult the Jews and Christians on matters that are crucial for his salvation. One such matter was the divine inspiration of Apostles. They were inspired to write the previous Scriptures. The only Scriptures that the Qur’an recognizes are the ones recorded in the Holy Bible. Would it be logical for Allah to command Muhammad to consult a people who studied corrupted Scriptures? But it gets better than that. In the following Qur’anic verse, Allah commands Muhammad to “ask” the Messengers/Apostles who were sent before his time. In other words, Muhammad was commanded by Allah to consult the Messengers/Apostles who lived and died before his time. According to Islamic theology, the last Messenger who was sent before Muhammad was Jesus Christ. No other Messengers or Apostles were sent between the time of Jesus and Muhammad. So, how can Muhammad consult them when they were already dead?
Surah 43:44-45: The Qur’an is a reminder to you and to your people and you will soon be questioned about it. You can ask Our Messengers whom We sent before you if We had commanded them to worship other gods besides the Beneficent God?” (Muhammad Sarwar)
The (Qur’an) is indeed the message, for thee and for thy people; and soon shall ye (all) be brought to account. And question thou our Apostles whom We sent before thee; did We appoint any deities other than (God) Most Gracious, to be worshipped? (Yusuf Ali, Original 1938)
Since all the Messengers/Apostles, had already passed away before the time of Muhammad, how could Allah then command Muhammad to consult them? How could this be possible? The only way for Muhammad to inquire from the Messengers/Apostles who had died before his time is by consulting their writings. Would this be possible if what they wrote in the Scriptures had become corrupted? Muslims have to decide. Either the Bible is the uncorrupted Word of God or Allah is suffering from schizophrenia. How can Allah command Muhammad to consult dead persons? This is not said with the intent to insult but to stress the ridiculous position of Muslims when they accuse the Bible of corruption or falsification.
TESTIMONY NUMBER SEVEN
Surah 2:136: Say (O Muslims): ‘We believe in Allah and that which is revealed unto us and which was revealed unto Abraham, and Ishmael, and Isaac and Jacob, and the tribes and that which Moses and Jesus received, and that which the prophets received from their Lord. We make no distinctions between any of them, and unto Him we have surrendered.” (Pickthall)
If the claim of corruption is true, then why are Muslims today still commanded to believe in the earlier Scriptures that were given to the prophets before the time of Muhammad? Every Muslim readers of the Qur’an – in the past and in the present – are commanded by Allah to make this “Declaration of Faith” to believe in all the revealed Scriptures of Allah. Muhammad received the Qur’an piecemeal for a period of twenty-three years. It is important to note that Surah 2 (Al-Baqarah) is a Medinan Surah. [1] This means that even more than thirteen years after Muhammad began to receive his revelations, the Muslims there were still commanded to believe in the Scriptures of the Jews and Christians.
These Scriptures of the Jews and Christians are more accurately known as the Hebrew Scriptures and the Christian Greek Scriptures respectively. Therefore, contrary to the belief of many Muslims, this Qur’anic verse proves that the Scriptures given to the Jews and Christians were never meant to be abrogated by the arrival of the Qur’an. Since the commandment to believe in the Hebrew and Christian Greek Scriptures were given even after the arrival of the Qur’an, proves that the Bible remained as the authentic Word of Allah. Thus, Allah himself confirms the integrity of the Bible in the Qur’an.
The above “Declaration of Faith” not only commands Muslims to believe in the earlier Scriptures but also to make “no distinctions” between the various Scriptures of Allah. Therefore, the amount of faith that Muslims have in the Qur’an must also likewise be given to the Bible. But, how can Muslims continue to obey this command today when they are taught by their religious leaders that the Bible in our possession has become corrupted? How can Muslims believe in something that they have no knowledge of? To believe in the Bible as commanded by Allah, Muslims have to know and understand the contents of these Scriptures. These Scriptures must be read to be believed and accepted as the Word of God.
The obedience to this command of Allah is only possible if authentic copies of the Bible are within the reach of every sincere Muslim who wants to obey him. As testified in the above Qur’anic verse, the commitment to believe in the previous Scriptures is laid upon every single Muslim by Allah. Since this is a standing order in the Qur’an, can any Muslim continue to believe in the validity of this Qur’anic verse if the Bible is no longer the authentic Word of God today? Can Muslims today expect Allah to require them to believe in something that is no longer available? Or in something that has become corrupted? To reject the Bible as the Word of God would then lead to a rejection of this “Declaration of Faith” in the Qur’an. In turn, this means Muslims are guilty of rejecting one of the most important requirements of Allah in the Qur’an.
For the above Qur’anic verse to have any real meaning to Muslims today, they must stop their baseless claim that the Bible in our possession has become corrupted. To deny the Bible as the Word of God will without fail lead to the denial of the Qur’an. Muslims strongly argue that the Qur’an must be perfect because Allah would preserve his Word unfailingly. Yet, if the Torah and the Gospel are the Scriptures of Allah, how can Muslims then dare to accuse Allah of failing to preserve them? Is this not an act of blasphemy against Allah?
If Allah failed to preserve his inspired Word in the first instance (Torah) and in the second instance (Gospel), why should Muslims trust him with the third (Qur’an)? Since it is Allah who orders Muslims to “make no distinctions” between any of his Scriptures, can we then expect Allah to make the very same distinctions that he himself forbids? Will he then make the distinction of only protecting the Qur’an while permitting his other Scriptures to become corrupted?
To believe in the integrity of Allah, one has to believe in the integrity of all the Scriptures of Allah. By this it means that the Bible will be equally preserved by Allah without distinction. If the claim of corruption is true, it would then mean that Muslims who are living today will no longer be able to follow the commandment given in the above Qur’anic verse. And this would actually mean that parts of the Qur’an are no longer valid for Muslims today. Can Muslims now claim the Qur’an to be the eternal word of God when some of its instructions are no longer possible to be implemented today? Certainly not! This is especially true when the command to obey the Scriptures that were given to the earlier prophets can still be found in the Qur’an today.
TESTIMONY NUMBER EIGHT
Muslims are groomed from young to deny the Bible as the Word of God. Since Muslims believe that the Qur’an is superior to all the other Revelations of God, they make influenced distinctions in favor of the Qur’an over the Bible. However, they fail to understand that according to the Qur’an, a Muslim cannot deny any of the revealed Books of Allah. Additionally, he is commanded not to make any distinctions between the various revealed Books of Allah. The Qur’an clearly states that all the revealed Books of Allah are to be equally esteemed and accepted without distinction by Muslims.
Surah 3:84: Say: “We believe in Allah, and in what has been revealed to us and what was revealed to Abraham, Ismail, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes, and in (the Books) given to Moses, Jesus, and the prophets, from their Lord: We make no distinction between one and another among them, and to Allah do we bow our will (in Islam).” (Yusuf Ali)
Muslims who believe that the protection of Allah is confined to the Qur’an only, should seriously contemplate the words of the above Qur’anic verse. This verse makes it clear that Allah’s assurance to protect “His Words” would include every single one his revealed Scriptures. Allah states: “We make no distinction between one and another among them.” Should Allah protect some and leave others to become corrupted, then he is certainly making partial distinctions. And the Qur’an recognizes only four Scriptures of Allah by name. They are the Torah, the Psalms, the Gospel and the Qur’an.
It is important for Muslims to take note of the fact that in this Qur’anic verse, Allah is commanding Muslims to believe “in the Books given to Moses, Jesus, and the prophets.” This is only possible if uncorrupted copies of the original Scriptures that were “given to Moses, Jesus, and the prophets” were available to Muslims at the time when this Qur’anic verse was revealed. And they must be identical to the originals in every detail. Otherwise it would be impossible for Muslims to obey this commandment of Allah.
And since the command for Muslims to believe “in the Books given to Moses, Jesus, and the prophets” still exists in the Qur’an today, it proves that this commandment to believe in the previous Scriptures of Allah is still mandatory for present-day Muslims. This is only possible if Allah ensured that uncorrupted copies of the original Books are still available for Muslims today. Otherwise, this Qur’anic verse has no meaning at all for Muslims in our day. But where can Muslims find these Scriptures of Allah today? The Books of Allah such as the Torah, the Psalms and the Gospel can only be found in the Bible. And for Muslims to believe in them today as required by Allah, the Bible must be kept free from corruption.
The Qur’anic verse in Surah 3:84 is emphatically pointing to the fact that it will be impossible for Muslims to “believe in Allah” without believing in the “Books of Moses, Jesus, and the prophets.” And equally important is the fact that this Qur’anic verse commands Muslims to “make no distinction between” the various Books of Allah. This means that they are all held to be equally true and equally preserved.
Actually Surah 3:84 needs no explanation. Its message is crystal clear. It simply states that it is mandatory for Muslims to believe not only in the Qur’an but also in the previous Books of Allah. To believe in the previous Books of Allah, one must know what it is and understand what it says. In other words, it involves reading, studying and understanding of what are written in them. The Torah, the Psalms and the Gospel are among the Books of Allah that comprise the Scriptures of the Bible. Ask yourself, will a Muslim be able to read the Torah, the Psalms or the Gospel in the Bible if the original messages in them are lost or corrupted?
For Muslims to truly confess their belief in the earlier revealed Books of Allah, they must accept them as the uncorrupted Word of God. The teachings of the Qur’an do not give Muslims the personal right to deny the Bible as the Word of God. Can any Muslim who deny the earlier Books of Allah, stand before the judgment seat of Allah and truly testify that he believes in these Books? Can he do so when he has not even touched or studied or valued them as the Word of God? In direct violation to Allah’s commandment, Muslims are taught to renounce the previous Scriptures of Allah. A failure to believe in the previous Books of Allah amounts to a rejection of the Islamic “Declaration of Faith.” This means a rejection of Islam. A Muslim cannot be a Muslim and at the same time deny the Bible as the Word of God.
The Six Pillars of Faith in Islam:
(1) Belief in Allah
(2) Belief in His Angels
(3) Belief in His Books
(4) Belief in His Messengers
(5) Belief in the Day of Judgment (Resurrection)
(6) Belief in Divine destiny
We can be confident that Allah’s protection encompasses all of his Holy Books. It will be improper for the one telling Muslims not to make any distinction between his Books, to do so himself. Thus, we can be certain of Allah’s impartial preservation of all his revealed Scriptures. If he preserves one, he will preserve the other. That is why Allah commands Muslims to “believe in the Books given to Moses, Jesus, and the prophets.” In other words, Allah is telling Muslims to accept the Bible that we have today in our possession as the uncorrupted Word of God. The Qur’an maintains that the Bible is the Word of God and it makes no distinction between any of the Books of Allah. Muslims who attack the Bible are, in fact, attacking the Qur’an.
TESTIMONY NUMBER NINE
We will continue on with our discussion as to why a Muslim cannot deny the Bible and still be a Muslim. Once more we can see in the following Qur’anic verse the same requirement of Allah . The requirement for all Muslims to unconditionally believe in all his revealed Books:
Surah 2:285: The Messenger believes in what has been sent down to him from His Lord, and so do the believers. Each believes in Allah and His Angels, His Books, and His Messengers, we do not differentiate between any one of His Messengers. They say: ‘We hear and obey. (We ask) Your forgiveness Lord, and to you is the arrival’. (Qaribullah)
The worship of Allah requires Muslims to believe in all the Books of Allah. This is a predetermined condition on the part of Allah that every individual Muslim must obey. It is an uncompromising condition. By stating “Books” (plural) and not “Book” (singular), the Qur’an confirms that Allah does not support the idea of Muslims that the earlier Books had become corrupted. The concept of the Bible of ever becoming a corrupted Book did not originate with Allah. How can Muslims today truly say, “We hear and obey,” to the command to believe in all the Books of Allah if the Bible is no longer the uncorrupted Word of God? To deny the Bible is to deny the Books of Allah. The rejection of the Bible by Muslims would without fail result in a denial of their religion.
Muslims, who believe that the Bible has become corrupted, are placing themselves in a very dangerous position regarding their faith. This is because any declaration of faith in the previous Scriptures by Muslims will now mean that such expressions of faith are only be a formality – an outward display of piety. And this is hypocrisy. To sincerely believe in the Bible, Muslims must accept it as the uncorrupted Book of Allah. For Muslims to believe in the corruption of the Bible is to believe that Allah is now deliberately demanding them “to believe” in something that he very well knows is no longer the valid Word of God. Such a requirement would make Allah both unreasonable and immoral. In harmony with the above Qur’anic verse, this unconditional requirement to believe in the previous Books of Allah is also stressed in the Hadith.
Sahih Bukhari, Volume 6, Book 60, Number 300:
Narrated by Abu Huraira: One day while Allah’s Apostle was sitting with the people, a man came to him walking and said, “O Allah’s Apostle. What is Belief?” The Prophet said, “Belief is to believe in Allah, His Angels, His Books, His Apostles, and the meeting with Him, and to believe in the Resurrection.”
Sahih Bukhari is recognized as the most authentic Hadith in the Muslim world. By their misguided belief that the Bible has become corrupted, Muslims have made it virtually impossible for them to obey a fundamentally vital requirement in Islam – the requirement to put faith the Bible. Muslims have failed to realize the full implication of their action in rejecting the Bible as the uncorrupted Word of God. When they reject the Bible, they are in truth rejecting Allah.
Muslims are caught between obeying the clear commandments of Allah to believe in the integrity of the Bible and believing that the Bible has become corrupted. Thus, they find themselves in a dilemma. To circumvent this complicated situation, Muslims end up deceiving themselves. The make the impossible claim, “Of course we believe in the Bible, but in the previously existing uncorrupted Bible.” Does their statement make any sense? Not only is their reasoning faulty but it is also in direct conflict with the teachings of the Qur’an.
Since Muslims use this excuse frequently, it is necessary to expose this deception. To expose the error of their ways, we need to make a comparison. To illustrate: Let us say Abdullah was an honest cop. But he became corrupted and turned bad. He became as such long before you were born. Therefore, during the course of your entire life, you only know him as a bad cop. Now, would it make sense for you to say, “Of course I believe (present tense) in him but in the honest cop he was before?”
Try saying this in a court of law and see if your statement carries any weight to exonerate that person. We are living in the present moment. Therefore, your estimation of the person expressed in the present tense must be contemporaneous with your current opinion of that person. It is either you presently “believe” in the goodness of that person or not. It is the same with the Bible.
Now, let us look at this issue from Allah’s standpoint. We will refer back to the commandment that he gave to Muslims in Surah 3:84:
Say, We believe in God and in what has been sent down to us and to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob and the Tribes. We believe in what has been given to Moses, Jesus and the prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them. It is to Him that we have surrendered ourselves. (W. Khan)
The above commandment can still be found in the Qur’an today. When something turns bad, it is no longer good. The good in it is gone. Today, Allah talks to Muslims through the Qur’an. And he tells them in the present tense that they should “believe in what has been given to Moses, Jesus and the prophets from their Lord.” This can only mean one thing. It means that all these previous Books are still good and have not turned bad through corruption. It means that they are still valuable for Muslims even to this day. Thus, the Bible that we have today must be the uncorrupted Word of God. Otherwise, it would mean that Allah is commanding Muslims to believe in something that has gone bad.
We will look further into the absurd claims of Muslims. As discussed earlier, some Muslim apologists argue that the requirement to believe in the previous Scriptures does not apply to the present Bible but to the once uncorrupted Scriptures of the Jews and Christians that existed before but are now lost. Some others say that the Bible contains some true and authentic words of Allah, but not all of it is authentic. Still others claim that some of its passages were lost and it underwent many alterations and additions. When Muslim apologists assert such baseless accusations against the Bible, they do not attack the Christians, but Allah himself. Attacking God’s Word is an attack on God himself. Their remarks are faulty for many reasons. Among them are some of the following reasons:
Firstly: If what these apologists say is true, it would make no sense for Allah to command all Muslims to declare their belief in the earlier Scriptures which he revealed to the Jews and the Christians. How can the Qur’an continue to command present-day Muslims to believe in a lost text? How can the Qur’an continue to command present-day Muslims to believe in a corrupted text? Can Muslims honestly claim that they believe in the previous Scriptures and in the same hypocritical breath say that they are now lost or corrupted?
Additionally, if the previous Scriptures are truly lost or corrupted, how can Muslims truly say that they believe in something that they have no knowledge of? Would not this be a classic example of blind faith? Are these Muslims now accusing Allah of encouraging blind allegiance in the Qur’an?
Since the entire world of Islam is unable to produce a single copy of the hypothetical “previously existing authentic Scriptures,” how can Muslims then submit to Allah’s command to “believe in what has been given to Moses, Jesus and the prophets from their Lord.”? Muslims are now left with two choices. Either they accept the Bible that we have today as the original uncorrupted Word of God or they can choose to reject Allah, the Qur’an and the mandatory Islamic “Declaration of Faith.” They can also choose to ignore the commandments of Allah in Surah 2:285 and Surah 3:84. In short, they can choose to leave Islam.
Secondly: How can the former Scriptures get lost as some Muslim apologists falsely claim when Allah personally guaranteed that all his Scriptures will be assigned his divine protection? Consider now the confirmation of Allah’s protection of the former Scriptures in the following Qur’anic verse. For the benefit of our Muslim readers – who are fed lies by their religious leaders – we have provided five different translations of this Qur’anic verse. We want them to have an accurate understanding of Allah’s determination regarding the integrity of the Scriptures that were revealed before the time of the Qur’an. Allah told Muhammad:
Surah 5:48: Then We revealed the Book to you (O Muhammad!) with Truth, confirming whatever of the Book was revealed before and protecting and guarding over it. (Maududi)[2]
And to you We have revealed the Book containing the truth, confirming the earlier revelations and preserving them from change and corruption. (Ahmed Ali)
And unto thee have We revealed the Scripture with the truth, confirming whatever Scripture was before it and a watcher over it. (Pickthall)
And We have revealed to you the Book with the truth, verifying what is before it of the Book and a guardian over it.” (Shakir)
To thee We sent the Scripture in truth, confirming the scripture that came before it, and guarding it in safety.” (Yusuf Ali)
The above Qur’anic verse tells us that the purpose of the Qur’an is not only to confirm (verify) the Bible but also to “guard it in safety.” Not only do we learn of Allah’s pledge to personally protect his earlier Scriptures, but we are told here that he has also assigned the Qur’an the same sacred duty to guard and protect his earlier Scriptures from corruption. Though it is not revealed exactly how the Qur’an is supposed to do this, but we are nevertheless informed in no uncertain terms that the Qur’an was sent to stand as a “guardian” or “watcher” over the Bible. The Arabic word “Muhaimin” (Watcher) carries the meaning of as “one who safeguards” or “preserves.”
If the Bible was corrupted before the time of the Qur’an, why was the Qur’an sent down to protect that which has already become corrupted? Would not that be foolish on the part of Allah? Why would Allah assign the Qur’an to act as a guardian over corrupted Scriptures? Why guard the Scriptures that have already turned bad. Therefore, the only sensible choice left for Muslims is to accept the fact that the Bible has remained pure and authentic at the time when this verse was revealed. Otherwise, this Qur’anic verse makes no sense.
However, if the corruption of the Bible were to take place after the time of the Qur’an’s revelation, then it means that the Qur’an has failed in its sacred duty to act as a protector of Allah’s Scriptures. So precisely when did the alleged corruption of the Bible take place? Can Muslims enlighten us on this? They cannot do so without faulting the Qur’an. And they cannot do so without faulting Allah. Therefore, the Muslim argument of the alleged corruption of the Bible having occurred either before or after the Qur’an does not matter in the least to us. Both are wrong. Both make Allah a liar and the Qur’an false.
Instead of insisting on their baseless claim of Bible corruption, Muslims can learn a vital lesson from the above Qur’anic verse. This verse gives Muslims an opportunity to comprehend the determination of Allah regarding the preservation of the Scriptures that came before the time of the Qur’an. For Allah to assign the Qur’an with the sacred duty to guard his former Scriptures in such a determined way reveals that it is his divine will that his previous Scriptures remain uncontaminated by corruption. Therefore, the occurrence of corruption to any of his former Scriptures means the failure of Allah’s divine will. It also means that Allah was unable to see through the fulfillment of his divine will. Thus, if the claim of corruption is true, then the person or persons involved in the alleged corruption of Bible must be more powerful than Allah. Are Muslims willing to accept this?
Islam teaches that both Allah and the Qur’an serve as protectors and guardians of the Scriptures that were given to the Jews and Christians. Therefore, the claim by Muslims that the Bible was abrogated with the arrival of the Qur’an is a contradiction to the teachings of the Qur’an. If the Muslim claim is true, then there would be no need for the Qur’an to act as a “guardian” or “watcher” in such a determined way over the Torah and the Gospel that are to be done away with at the instant of its arrival. Muslims must remember that it is Allah who assigns the Qur’an with this sacred duty of protection over his previous Scriptures. Thus, if the Bible is changed in any way, it means that the Qur’an has failed in its duty to protect the Bible. It also means that Allah is a failure. And this means that both he and the Qur’an are not to be trusted. It also means that Allah had failed to foresee the failure of the Qur’an. The failure of the Qur’an is the failure of Allah.
Thirdly: Since some Muslim apologists claim that original authentic copies of the Bible existed before but are now corrupted or lost, we need them to answer and enlighten us on the following questions:
- If original uncorrupted Bible existed before, how is it possible for mere humans to corrupt the Book of Allah?
- Is this not an admission that Almighty Allah was defeated at the hands of weak humans?
- Who changed this once existing uncorrupted Book of Allah that Allah himself guaranteed that none could change?
- Would not Allah’s pledge to protect his Scriptures apply primarily to these early original Scriptures that functioned as the foundation of his divine communication to mankind?
- Why did Allah then fail to protect these once existing authentic Scriptures?
- Are you not accusing Allah of deceiving his worshippers by saying something that is not true in the Qur’an?
- Are you not accusing Allah with failure to protect his once existing uncorrupted Scripture?
- Are you not also preventing sincere Muslims from obeying the requirement to believe in all the Books of Allah?
In their desperation to prove the Bible wrong, these apologists are willing to blasphemously insult Allah and betray their Muslim brothers. As for those Muslim apologists who say that the Bible contains only partial truths and not all of it is the authentic words of Allah, Allah gives them the following warning in the Qur’an:
Surah 2:85: “Then is it only a part of the Book that ye believe in, and do ye rejects the rest? But what is the reward for those among you who behave like this but disgrace in this life? – And on the Day of Judgment they shall be consigned to the most grievous penalty. For Allah is not unmindful of what ye do.” (Yusuf Ali)
What, do you believe in part of the Book, and disbelieve in part? What shall be the recompense of those of you who do that, but degradation in the present life, and on the Day of Resurrection to be returned unto the most terrible of chastisement? And God is not heedless of the things you do. (Arberry)
Allah asks: “What, do you believe in part of the Book, and disbelieve in part? The above Qur’anic verse was revealed as a warning for all those who commit the grave error of accepting some parts of Allah’s Book while rejecting the rest. It clearly states that the “most terrible of chastisement” is awaiting those who “believe in part of the Book, and disbelieve in part.” So, those Muslims who cherry pick some parts of the Bible while denying the rest is forewarned of a terrible punishment by Allah. Most Muslims do not realize the seriousness of their action in not accepting the complete Bible. “The Book” or “Al-Kitab,” as it is known in Arabic, is literally what the term “Bible” means. More on this later.
To avoid Allah’s wrath, it is absolutely crucial for Muslims to accept the complete Bible (Al-Kitab) as the Word of God. Who has given Muslims the divine right to decide which verses to choose and which verses to reject from the Bible? Are they now acting as God? Do Muslims have an “authentic Bible” to compare with the one we have in our possession so as to know which parts of our Bible are authentic and which parts are untrue? If we were to accuse you of forging someone’s signature without ever producing a single signature of the original signature of that person, would you accept that?
Consider now another serious charge that Allah levels against these Muslims:
Surah 4:136: O ye who believe! Believe in Allah and His Messenger and the scripture which He hath sent to His Messenger and the scripture which He sent to those before him. Any who deny Allah, His angels, His Books, His Messengers, and the Day of Judgment, hath gone far, far astray.” (Yusuf Ali)
The Qur’an very clearly says that anyone who “denieth His Books hath gone far, far astray.” Notice, it does not say Book but Books. Since no Books were revealed by Allah after the Qur’an, it must then be referring to the Books that were revealed before the Qur’an. The Qur’an recognizes only four major Books – the Torah, Psalms, Gospel and the Qur’an. Three out of the four Books mentioned here can only be found in the Bible which is in our possession today. This means that if a Muslim believes only in the Qur’an but not in the Bible, he “hath gone far, far astray” and a “grievous penalty” is waiting for him. If you as a Muslim believe that the above two Qur’anic verses (Surah 2:85 and Surah 4:136) are Allah’s eternal Words, then carefully reassess what you have been taught to believe. Ask yourself:
(1) Does it make sense for Allah to warn me that if I deny his Books, I have gone far, far astray if his Books are no longer in existence? (2) Does it make sense for Allah to warn me that if I deny his Books, I have gone far, far astray if his Books are corrupted? (3) Does it make sense for Allah to prepare for me a grievous penalty if I deny his Books when they are no longer in existence or corrupted?
Just think! Can Allah punish or hold you accountable for rejecting his Books if they are truly corrupted or lost? Certainly not! However, since the warning that Allah will personally hold you accountable for denying his Books can still be found in the Qur’an today, then this means that right now as you read this warning in the Qur’an, there has to be a preserved and uncorrupted Bible for you to deny. Otherwise, this warning will make no sense for the millions of Muslims who read this warning of Allah in the Qur’an today.
So there is no excuse for you as a Muslim not to submit to the teachings of the Bible. To claim that Allah allowed the corruption of all his other Books with the exception of the Qur’an will only invalid the teachings of the Qur’an. How can you accuse the Bible of corruption when the Qur’an speaks of it with such respect and reverence?
TESTIMONY NUMBER TEN
Surah 6:84-89: And We gave to him Isaac and Jacob, each did We guide. And before him We guided Noah and among his seed, David and Solomon and Job, Joseph, Moses and Aaron. For thus do We reward those who do good. And Zachariah and John and Jesus and Elias, all righteous ones… It is to these We gave the Book and the Judgment and Prophethood. But if they disbelieve therein, then, indeed, We shall entrust it to a people who will not disbelieve. (H. S. Aziz)
We gave him Isaac and Jacob: all (three) guided: and before him, We guided Noah, and among his progeny, David, Solomon, Job, Joseph, Moses, and Aaron: thus do We reward those who do good: And Zakariya and John, and Jesus and Elias: all in the ranks of the righteous: These were the men to whom We gave the Book, and authority, and prophethood: if these (their descendants) reject them, Behold! We shall entrust their charge to a new people who reject them not. (Yusuf Ali)
The above Qur’anic verse is speaking of the earlier Prophets of God who were given “the Book” and “the Judgment” and “the Prophethood.” The Prophets to whom Allah gave “the Book” were faithful men of earlier times. These men were specifically chosen and guided by Allah. And the Qur’an provides a list of the names of these faithful men. It includes names such as David, Moses, Jesus and the names of many other Biblical characters.
However, these faithful men died long before the time of Muhammad. Therefore, when Allah told Muhammad, “if these disbelieve therein,” he was not referring to them but to “their descendants” who were the contemporaries of Muhammad. Thus, Yusuf Ali’s translation of the Qur’an fittingly inserts the term, “their descendants” in parenthesis to help the readers understand to whom Allah was referring to when he said, “if these disbelieve therein.” Yes, if they were to reject the Bible, then Allah will “entrust their charge to a new people who reject them not.”
This Qur’anic verse is important for the following vital reasons. Firstly, we have Allah’s guarantee that the Bible will always be entrusted to the care of those who believe in it as the Word of God. In other words, it will always be in the hands of those who preserve it. Here, we can see Allah’s determination to protect his “Book” – the Holy Bible – from falling into the wrong hands. He will act to ensure its safety, so that it will always remain pure. He will, without fail, secure his “Book” from the dangers of corruption from those who are determined to destroy or corrupt it. Thus, we can be confident that Allah will protect and preserve the Bible at all times. As such, it will only be entrusted to a people who will protect his “Book” from corruption.
Secondly, we can see that even after the coming of the Qur’an, Allah manifested his determination to ensure the continued preservation of the Bible. The Qur’an reveals Allah’s determination to maintain the purity of the Bible for all eternity. If the Qur’an is sent to replace the Bible – on the grounds of corruption as Muslims claim – then it would hardly make any sense for Allah to ensure that the Bible is always kept in the safe hands of those who will maintain its purity. Why ensure the safety of a corrupted “Book” that is to be done away with? This exposes the lying claims of Muslims that the Qur’an was sent to replace the Bible. And more importantly, this Qur’anic verse rules out the possibility of the Bible ever becoming corrupted after the time of Muhammad. Allah will ensure it does not.
This Qur’anic verse proves once again that the Bible which was available at the time of Muhammad and which is in our hands today is the authentic Word of God. In this Qur’anic verse we find once again the assurance of Allah that the Bible will always remain as the uncorrupted Word of God. Muslims who deny the trustworthiness of Bible are in fact denying the trustworthiness of Allah.
TESTIMONY NUMBER ELEVEN
In Testimony Number Ten we discussed Surah 6:84-89. We will now continue on in our discussion by considering Surah 6:89-90. These verses provide us with another strong evidence regarding the integrity of the Bible. And the evidences from these Qur’anic verses are also substantiated by the most authentic Hadith in the Muslim world.
Surah 6:89-90: These were the men to whom We gave the Book, and Authority, and Prophethood: if these (their descendants) reject them, Behold! We shall entrust their charge to a new people who reject them not. Those were the (prophets) who received Allah’s guidance: Copy the guidance they received; Say: “No reward for this do I ask of you: This is no less than a message for the nations.” (Yusuf Ali)
Let us analyze the above Qur’anic verses. Allah told Muhammad: “These were the men to whom We gave the Book.” “Those were the prophets who received Allah’s guidance.” “Copy the guidance they received.”
The “prophets who received Allah’s guidance” received it through the “Book” that he revealed to them. And Allah commanded Muhammad to “copy the guidance” written in that “Book.” For Allah to command Muhammad to copy the “guidance” of the earlier prophets proves that the “guidance” recorded in their “Book” was kept intact by them. Otherwise it would mean that Allah is commanding Muhammad to copy something which had already become corrupted.
Thus, the above Qur’anic verses prove once again the authenticity of the Bible at the time of Muhammad. Readers are strongly encouraged to remember this vital fact regarding the authenticity of the Bible at the time of Muhammad. It will be shown in the later part of this article why it is impossible for the Bible to become corrupted after that period of time.
Muhammad received his revelations piecemeal within a period of twenty-three years. According to Islamic scholars, Surah Al-Anam (Surah 6:89-90) is a late Meccan Surah. It was revealed just one year before the Hijrah, which means it was revealed nearly about thirteen years after the start of the Qur’an’s revelation. [3] But why did Allah command Muhammad to copy the guidance of the previous “Book” after more than a decade had passed since the beginning of the Qur’an revelation? Because contrary to the lies propagated by Muslims, it was never the intention of Allah to replace the Bible with the Qur’an. That is why Allah commanded Muhammad to follow the inspired guidance written in the Bible even at this late stage of his prophetic career.
Since Muslim scholars assert that the Qur’an was revealed progressively as the state of affairs warrants it, why was Allah telling Muhammad to refer back (regress) to the former Scriptures? Why did not Allah provide Muhammad with the needed progressive revelations to guide him as the situations warrant it instead of directing him back to the guidance recorded in the former Scriptures? Since the Qur’an was still being revealed piecemeal to Muhammad, is it not appropriate for Allah to reveal new verses in the Qur’an to guide Muhammad instead of telling him to “copy the guidance” of the previous Scriptures?
The answer to all the above questions lies with the simple truth that according to Allah, the Bible is irreplaceable. As such, the Bible was indispensable for Muhammad. He was commanded to “copy the guidance” written in it and to follow them. If the Bible is good enough for Allah and if it is good enough for Muhammad, why is it not good enough for the average Muslims? As stated earlier, the above Qur’anic verses are substantiated and clarified by the most authentic Hadith in the Muslim world. Let us read the Hadith.
Sahih Bukhari, Volume 6, Book 60, Number 156:
Narrated By Mujahid: That he asked Ibn Abbas, “Is there a prostration in Surat-al-Sad?” (Sura 38:24) Ibn Abbas said, “Yes” and then recited: “We gave… So follow their guidance.” (Sura 6:85-90) Then he said, “He (David) is one them (i.e. those prophets).” Mujahid narrated: I asked Ibn Abbas (regarding the above Verse). He said, “Your Prophet (Muhammad) was one of those who were ordered to follow them.”
It is interesting to note that according to the above Hadith, among the guidance that Muhammad was told to follow was the guidance given to David. He is considered as a prophet in Islam. And the Qur’an testifies that David was guided by Allah.
Surah 6:84: “We guided Noah, and among his progeny, David.”
And now Muhammad was told to follow the guidance given to David. The inspired guidance that David received was the Book of Psalms. And the Qur’an verifies this in the following Qur’anic verses:
Surah 4:163: We have sent thee inspiration… and to David We gave the Psalms. (Yusuf Ali)
Surah 17:55: And we preferred some of the prophets above others, and unto David We gave the Psalms. (Pickthall)
When Muhammad was told to “copy the guidance” of the earlier prophets, it included the Book of Psalms. Surprisingly, in the entire Qur’an, we can find only an incomplete single sentence from the Book of Psalms.
Surah 21:105: Certainly We wrote in the Psalms, after the Torah: ‘Indeed My righteous servants shall inherit the earth.’ (Ali Quli Qara’i)
This certainly cannot be everything that was divinely revealed in the Book of Psalms. Surely there must be many more valuable “guidance” in the Book of Psalms for Muhammad to copy and obey. For Allah to command Muhammad to follow what was revealed to David, even after the commencement of the Qur’an, proves that the Book of Psalms must be of great value to Muhammad. Muslims claim that the Qur’an was sent to reveal and restore what was allegedly lost or corrupted in the Bible. If true, where is the rest of the Book of Psalms? Why are the contents of the genuine Book of Psalms, which was supposedly corrupted in the Bible, not restored authentically in the Qur’an?
Muslims, if you really want to know what the rest of the Book of Psalms teaches, where can you find them? If it is not in the Qur’an, then where is it? Do you really believe that Allah would allow the inspired Book of Psalms, which he commanded Muhammad to copy, to suddenly disappear after that? How can an entire Book of Allah just disappear into oblivion?
It may astound Muslims to know that God has preserved the entire Book of Psalms. The complete collection of Psalms can be found in the Holy Bible – a grand total of 150 Surahs. And we will now quote the same verse that was plagiarized by the Qur’an from the Book of Psalms in the Holy Bible.
Psalms 37:29: “The righteous themselves will inherit the earth and they will reside forever upon it.”
And another gem from the Book of Psalms says:
Psalm 89:34: “My promise I will not break, nor alter the Word that is gone out of my lips.”
The Book of Psalms contains many precious truths. Muslims do not realize what they are really missing when they deny the Bible. As an example, we will now quote Psalms 15 in its entirety to show sincere Muslims what they are really missing from the Word of God. Please read the inspired guidance provided in Psalms 15:1-5. These inspired verses explain to us how we can draw close to God. They reveal to us what acts of holy conduct and deeds of godly devotion must a worshipper of the true God manifest to draw close to him. Please read the beautiful words expressed here in Psalms 15:1-5:
O Jehovah, who will be a guest in your tent?
Who will reside in your holy mountain?
He who is walking faultlessly,
And practicing righteousness,
And speaks the truth within his heart.
The one who does not slander with his tongue.
To his companion he has done nothing bad,
Or bring disgrace on his neighbor.
In his eyes anyone wicked is certainly rejected,
But those fearing God he honors.
He keeps an oath even when it hurts him,
And yet he does not alter.
His money he has not given out on interest,
Nor has he taken a bribe against an innocent one.
Whoever does these things will never be shaken.
Are there any hints of corruption in these beautiful verses? As a Muslim, are you not concerned by the fact that Muhammad accepted the guidance of the Bible and believed in them, while you are taught not to do so today by your religious leaders? Does not Islam teach you that it is mandatory for you to follow the example set by your Prophet? Would Allah who ordered Muhammad to copy and follow the Scriptures of the Bible, prevent you and other Muslims from doing so?
Should the Bible be corrupted in any way, Allah would not have commanded Muhammad to copy it. In fact, there is not a single reason whatsoever for Muslims to doubt the Bible. And this assurance comes from none other than Allah himself. If Muslims were to reason logically they would arrive at only one conclusion. If the Qur’an says the Bible is the Word of Allah, then according to the Qur’an it cannot be changed. As such it must be accepted and followed as it was done so by Muhammad at the command of Allah.
The Torah was revealed more than twenty centuries before the time of the Qur’an. And the Qur’an testifies to the authenticity of the Torah. In fact, the Qur’an testifies to the authenticity of the entire Scriptures of God that is contained in the Bible. Here are some points for Muslims to ponder:
(1) How can the Torah that had remained authentic for more than twenty centuries suddenly become corrupted only after the coming of Islam?
(2) How can the Torah that had transcends time and culture to provide guidance to Muhammad – years after he began to receive his own revelation – suddenly become corrupted?
(3) How can the Torah, the Psalms and the Gospel which served as Allah’s only solution to deal with the serious doubts that Muhammad developed, suddenly become invalid after that? (See Surah 10:94).
(4) If Allah considers the Bible to be an invaluable guide for Muhammad who is an Arab (a foreigner), how can this precious Book suddenly become obsolete only after Muslims realized that the teachings of Muhammad contradicted the Bible?
It is unthinkable for the Bible which contains the Scriptures of Allah within its pages to become corrupted. The inspired writings of the Torah, the Psalms and the Gospel that can be found within the pages of the Bible are the eternal Words of the Almighty God. And they will forever remain as his eternal Words.
A MUSLIM OBJECTION
There is an objection that is often raised by Muslims that needs to be addressed. Not that this objection is valid by any means. But it needs to be addressed because it has been used persistently by Muslims as a pretext to reject the Bible. Some Muslims apologists claim that the word “Bible” does not appear in the Qur’an. Therefore, they assert that whenever it is stated in the Qur’an that “None can change God’s Word,” it applies only to the preservation of the Scriptures that were originally given to the prophets such as Moses, David, Jesus, and not to the Bible. Is this true? Is their argument valid?
If Muslims are sincere in their claim that Allah’s promise to preserve from corruption applies only to the Scriptures that were given to the prophets such as Moses, David and Jesus, should not they then at least accept these Scriptures as the uncorrupted Word of God? Why do Muslims then reject the Torah, Psalms and Gospel, which were given to Moses, David and Jesus? Why do they then blasphemously claim that these Scriptures have become corrupted? Additionally, if the Qur’an’s testimony of preservation applies only to these Scriptures, where are these preserved Scriptures today? Are they in the possessions of Muslims today? Can Muslims produce them to prove how vastly they differ from the Torah, Psalms and Gospel that we have in the Bible today? If not, how can the very Scriptures which were supposed to be preserved by Allah become lost? Does not this claim by Muslims make the Qur’an false?
Now, let’s get to the bottom of this subject. The claim that the term “Bible,” or their Arabic equivalents do not appear in the Qur’an is a deception by Muslim apologists. The English term “Bible” comes through the Latin from the Greek word “Biblos,” which simply means “Book.” And “Biblia” means “Little Books.” The Bible is a collection of sixty-six little books that make up its content.
Therefore, instead of expecting to find the term “Bible” in the Arabic Qur’an, Muslims should honestly examine to see whether the Qur’an refers to the “Bible” by its Arabic equivalent, namely “Al-Kitab” which means “the Book.” And this is precisely what we find in the Qur’an. Thus, references to the Bible as “Al-Kitab” meaning “the Book” can be found in numerous passages of the Qur’an. Consider now the following example:
Surah 2:113: The Jews say, ´The Christians have nothing to stand on, ´ and the Christians say, ´The Jews have nothing to stand on, ´ yet they both recite the Book. (A. Bewley)
The Jews said, “The Christians are nothing” and the Christians said, “The Jews are nothing” whereas they both read the Book. (Ahmed Raza Khan)
The Muslim Commentary on the Qur’an, “Tafsir-ul-Qur’an,” by Maulana Abdul Majid Daryabadi, gives the following explanation on Surah 2:113:
“The fact that both sides appealed to the same source of authority – served also to narrow and intensify the struggle.” “The new religion … asserted that it had been founded to fulfill the mission of Judaism, and endeavored to prove the correctness of this allegation from the Bible, the very book upon which Judaism is founded.”
Maulana Abdul Majid Daryabadi is a renowned Sunni Muslim scholar who is esteemed for his Commentary on the Qur’an. The fact that Maulana Daryabadi clearly identifies that the Arabic term, “Al-Kitab” actually means “the Bible” illustrates the fact that there are, at least, some honest Islamic scholars who correctly recognize that the term “Book” or “Scripture” used in the Qur’an is indeed the “Holy Bible.” Surah 2:113 is just one among the numerous verses in the Qur’an that confirms this truth.
Other scholars too recognize this fact. Among them is the renowned Muslim translator of the Qur’an, Muhammad Asad. Muhammad Asad readily acknowledged that the term, “Al-Kitab” means “the Bible” and should therefore be translated as such. For the benefit of our readers, we will now provide a few examples from the translation of the Qur’an by Muhammad Asad. Only the relevant quote from the Qur’anic verses is cited here:
Surah 5:15: “O followers of the Bible!”
Surah 5:19: “O followers of the Bible!”
Surah 5:65-66: If the followers of the Bible would but attain to true faith and God-consciousness,…and if they would but truly observe the Torah and the Gospel and all the Revelation that has been bestowed from on high upon them by their Sustainer, they would indeed partake of all the blessings of heaven and earth.
Surah 5:68: Say: “O followers of the Bible! You have no valid ground for your beliefs -unless you truly observe the Torah and the Gospel, and all that has been bestowed from on high upon you by your Sustainer!”
All the above examples prove that the term “Book” or “Scripture” with reference to the Jews and Christians mean nothing else but the “Holy Bible.” Additionally, Surah 5:65-66 confirms the fact that besides the Torah and the Gospel, numerous other Scriptures were also given to the “followers of the Bible.” The Qur’anic verses make this clear by stating that the “followers of the Bible” were commanded to observe “the Torah” and “the Gospel” and “all the Revelation that has been bestowed from on high upon them.” This shows that in addition to the Torah and the Gospel, various other Scriptures were also “bestowed from on high” for them to observe. And all theses Scriptures in the Bible came under divine protection.
Similarly, Surah 5:68 also states that the “followers of the Bible” were commanded to observe “the Torah” and “the Gospel” and “all that has been bestowed from on high.” This Once again proves that the “followers of the Bible” were given additional Scriptures besides the Torah and the Gospel.
The Bible (Al-Kitab) is a composite Book consisting of numerous Scriptures within it. The Torah, the Psalms and the Gospel are among those that are specifically named in the Qur’an. Although the Bible consisted of sixty-six individual writings, the entire collection is classified as “the Book” due to the fact the Author is one, God himself.
Just as a building may consist of many apartments within it, the Bible is composed of numerous Scriptures within it. Therefore, the claim of Muslims that the promised preservation does not apply to the Bible, but only to the Scriptures given to the prophets such as Moses, David and Jesus is like saying that the building will become useless through damage but not the apartments within it. Talk about absurdity.
Can Muslims please enlighten us as to how the apartments can be preserved while the building is destroyed? You just cannot. You have to preserve one to preserve the other. That is why Muslims who make this absurd claim end up contradicting the very claim they put forward. They destroy their own argument. And they end up blaspheming against Allah by saying that the Torah, the Psalms and the Gospel are also corrupted. And not to forget, they eventually end up contradicting their own sacred book – the Qur’an which specifically confirms these Scriptures of Allah will be protected.
How much more delusional can one get? Can you not see the illusion that these Muslim apologists try to create to discredit the Word of God? This demonstrates the extent of deceit that some Muslims are willing to commit in order to invalid the Word of God – the Holy Bible. Do not allow yourselves to be deceived by all these trickery to discredit the Holy Bible. And this caution is also extended to all sincere Muslims.
TESTIMONY NUMBER TWELVE
Muhammad is commanded by Allah to make the following pledge:
Surah 42:15: “And follow not their desires but say: I believe in whatsoever Allah has sent down of the Book (all the holy Books, this Qur’an and the Books of the old from the Taurat (Torah), or the Injeel (Gospel) or the Pages of Ibrahim (Abraham))” (Hilali-Khan)
And say this: ‘I believe in every Book that Allah has revealed.’ (Mohammad Tahir-ul-Qadri)
And say to them: “I have given credence to all the Books Allah has sent down and in all of them do I believe.” (Al-Muntakhab)
Muhammad was commanded to believe in “all the Books Allah has sent down” – every single one of them. This means that in addition to the Qur’an, it is mandatory for Muhammad to believe in “the Books” that were sent to the Jews and the Christians – all of them. This confirms that “all the Books” that were sent to the Jews and the Christians must have remained absolutely authentic when this Qur’anic verse was revealed to Muhammad. In fact, the Qur’an directly commands every single Muslim to believe in all the Books of Allah.
Surah 4:136: O you who believe! Believe in God and His Messenger (Muhammad) and the Book He has been sending down on His Messenger in parts and the (Divine) Books He sent down before. Whoever disbelieves in God and His angels and His Books and His Messengers and the Last Day, has indeed gone far astray. (Ali Ünal)
The above Qur’anic verse commands Muslims to believe in all the Books of Allah. And no verses were ever revealed after this to abrogate the above commandment. In other words, even after the completion of the Qur’an, this remains as the standing order of Allah. If the previous Books of Allah have been changed in any way, it would be absurd for the Qur’an to command Muslims to believe in all the Books of Allah. For Muhammad and the Muslims to truly submit to the commandment of Allah, their faith cannot be based on the Qur’an only but also on all the other earlier Books of Allah. In other words, they must submit to the teachings of the Bible. All the previous Books of Allah can only be found in the Bible. Deny the Bible and all the previous Books of Allah just disappears into oblivion. Muslims will now be left with only the Qur’an. Can they then submit to Allah’s command to believe in all the Books of Allah? Can the Qur’an be the Word of God when the commandments written in it are irrelevant for Muslims today?
The command given to Muhammad to “believe in all the Books” not only proves the fact that the Scriptures of the Bible were available to Muhammad but it also proves that they have remained uncorrupted. They are identical to the original Scriptures. Thus, the authentic Hebrew and Christian Greek Scriptures not only existed but were also available during the time of Muhammad. Undeniable proof of this is shown in the following Qur’anic verse. Please read the verse carefully:
Surah 32:23: “We did indeed aforetime give the Book to Moses: be not then in doubt of it’s reaching (thee): And we made it a guide to the Children of Israel.” (Yusuf Ali)
And certainly We gave the Book to Musa, so be not in doubt concerning the receiving of it, and We made it a guide for the children of Israel. (Shakir)
Yes! It was available to Muhammad. When Allah says, “be not then in doubt of it’s reaching thee,” it is obvious that Allah was not talking about a corrupted Book of Moses. He was speaking about uncorrupted identical copies of the Book of Torah that he gave to Moses. If the copies of the Book of Moses were to reach Muhammad with alterations in it, then it cannot be spoken of as the Book that was given to Moses. And it will certainly be deceitful for Allah to say, “We gave the Book to Moses, be not in doubt concerning the receiving of it.”
The Torah was given to Moses more than fifteen centuries before the arrival of the Gospel. If uncorrupted copies of the Torah that were written centuries before the Gospel were available to Muhammad, then we can be sure that the rest of the later Scriptures of the Bible must have also reached him without corruption. Qur’anic evidences prove consistently that preserved copies of the Torah and the Gospel were available during the life-time of Muhammad. Like their Prophet, Muslims should accept the Holy Bible as the pure, unadulterated Word of God. Otherwise, they have “indeed gone far astray.” We are not the ones telling this but Allah.
TESTIMONY NUMBER THIRTEEN
Surah 2:41: And accept faith in what I have sent down (the Qur’an), which confirms what is with you (the Torah/Bible), and do not be the first to disbelieve in it – and do not exchange My verses for an abject price – and fear Me alone. (Faridul Haque)
And believe in that which I reveal, confirming that which ye possess already (of the Scripture), and be not first to disbelieve therein, and part not with My revelations for a trifling price, and keep your duty unto Me. (Pickthall)
How can Allah say to the Christians that the Qur’an is “confirming that which ye possess” if “that which ye possess” has already become corrupted? This passage from the Qur’an can be true only if the Bible has continued to remain pure and uncorrupted at the time when Muhammad received this Qur’anic verse. The purpose of the Qur’an is to confirm the Bible as the Word of God. To confirm the Bibles in the possessions of the Christians world-wide as the authentic Word of God. Renowned Muslims scholars acknowledge that in view of the fact that the Bible had already been distributed worldwide by the time of Muhammad, it would be impossible to corrupt the Bible after that since any corruption can easily be exposed. More on this later.
Surah 3:3: “He hath revealed unto thee (Muhammad) the Scripture with truth, confirming that which was (revealed) before it, even as He revealed the Torah and the Gospel.” (Pickthall)
The root word for “confirm” or “confirming” as used in the Qur’anic Arabic of Surah 3:3 is “Saddaqa.” It means: “to confirm, to accept as true, establishing as true, to believe, to give credence.” Thus, when Muhammad used this word, he “confirmed” the Bible as the Word of God. And he “believed” that the Bible is the authentic Word of God.
The purpose of the Qur’an is to confirm the messages of God that are written in the Bible. This simply means that its duty is to prove the authenticity of these messages. Its purpose is not to correct, contradict or supersede it, but to authenticate it. The Qur’an uses the word “confirming” numerous times in connection with the previous Scriptures but never once to mean as “correcting” them.
For example, in a court of law if a witness confirms the statement of another witness, it means he or she is affirming the truthfulness of that statement. Thus, the confirmation of the authenticity of the Bible by the Qur’an is only possible if the Bible has still remained uncorrupted even after the Qur’an came into existence. This is because it is only possible after the Qur’an came into existence, for it to be on hand to confirm the Bible.
To know that the Qur’an is a confirmation of the previous Scriptures, Muslims have to study and examine both the Bible and the Qur’an. It is important for us to understand that by confirming the Bible, the Qur’an is actually validating its own merits by claiming that it contains the true original words of God in it. Notice Allah’s words carefully in Surah 2:41. Allah was telling the Jews and Christians not to doubt the Qur’an on account of the fact it confirms the Scriptures which is in their possession. Therefore, the basis to believe in the Qur’an is simply because it confirms the Bible. It would defy logic and intellect for the Qur’an to use a corrupted Book as a confirmation of its own authenticity.
Therefore, Muslims who try to discredit the authenticity of the Bible are guilty of attacking the very foundation upon which the Qur’an relies on to validate itself. The Qur’an is quite clear and very explicit regarding Allah’s position on the previous Scriptures. The Qur’an clearly testifies that the Bible which contains the Scriptures of the Jews and the Christians is the true and preserved Word of God. The function of the Qur’an was to confirm it.
By means of the Qur’an, Muhammad confirmed both the existence and the integrity of the Bible. Not a single word of the textual corruption of the Bible was ever uttered by Muhammad. According to the Qur’an, the Gospel confirms the Torah (Surah 5:46). If the Gospel confirms the Torah by maintaining harmony between the two Scriptures, how is the Qur’an supposed to confirm the Torah and the Gospel? By invalidating them?
TESTIMONY NUMBER FOURTEEN
Allah commands both Jews and Christians to judge by what was revealed in the Torah and the Gospel.
Surah 5:43: How come they unto thee for judgment when they have the Torah, wherein Allah hath delivered judgment for them? Yet even after that, they turn away. Such folk are not believers. (Pickthall)
“And how do they make you a judge and they have the Taurat wherein is Allah’s judgment? Yet they turn back after that, and these are not the believers.” (Shakir)
The above event took place in the environment of Medina at the time of Muhammad. This Qur’anic verse not only proves that the Jews had the authentic Torah with them but it also proves that the accusation that they changed the written text of the Torah is a blatant lie. It defies logic as to why Allah would give such a commandment to the Jews to judge by the Torah if indeed it is changed in any way. If the claim of corruption is true, then it means that Muslims are worshipping an ignorant deity.
Muslims claim that the Torah (Old Testament) that we have in the Bible today is not the same as the original Torah that was given to Moses. Therefore, when Muslims claim that the Torah was corrupted by the Jews, they are actually saying that the Jews corrupted the written messages of the Torah. Imagine, mere man altering the Scriptures of Allah. Therefore, from the Muslims perspective, it follows that Allah has failed to guard his own Holy Scriptures. Can you comprehend the utter blasphemy that these Muslims are committing against Allah when they claim this? These are extremely serious charges.
One of the most basic attributes of Allah is his omnipotence. This means that he is all-powerful. Therefore, no one – neither man nor jinn – can nullify his Scriptures. As he gave his Scriptures to man, so is he able to preserve it from corruption by man. At no time can any of the Scriptures of Allah be subjected to corruption. Since the Torah is the inspired Scripture of Allah, it cannot be subjected to corruption at any time at the hands of mere humans. That is the clear teaching of the Qur’an. Yet, Muslims blasphemously lowered the supremacy of Allah to below that of ordinary humans – to below that of the Jews whom they claim corrupted the Scripture of Allah. They made Allah inferior to man.
The above Qur’anic verse also states explicitly that the Torah contains the judgments of Allah in it. Are the Jews so powerful that they could alter or corrupt the written judgments of Allah when he himself testified that none can change his Word? This demonstrates that right from the time when the Torah was revealed to Moses until the time of Muhammad, the Torah remained unchanged and true in its contents. No changes whatsoever occurred through all those years. The only time when the Torah was ever accused of corruption is when Muslims began to discover that the stories that Muhammad narrated to the early Muslims contradicted with the original account in the Bible. Thus, instead of admitting that Muhammad got it wrong, they choose to fault the Bible. They choose to stake their salvation by trusting an illiterate man rather than believing the divine Word of God. The accusations by Muslims that the Bible had become corrupted did not arise until some 400 years after the death of Muhammad. More on this later.
The Torah that the Jews of Medina had in their possession is the same as the ones possessed by the Jews all over the world. How could the Torah then be corrupted? Throughout their history, the Jews have known only one Scripture. And that Scripture, as it is commonly known today, is the “Old Testament.” From centuries before the time of Jesus Christ and right throughout the lifetime of Muhammad and down to this very day, the Al-Kitab of the Jews has always been nothing other than the Old Testament. The Qur’an repeatedly upholds the Scripture of the Jews, the Old Testament, as the genuine Word of God.
Surah 5:43 is part of Surah Al-Maidah, otherwise known as the Fifth Surah. This Surah was revealed during the period spanning the last five years of Muhammad’s life. In fact the third verse of this Surah was revealed during his last pilgrimage. Muslims call it the “Farewell Pilgrimage.” This pilgrimage was performed by Muhammad a short time before his death. Muhammad’s prophetic career lasted for a period of twenty-three years. Surah Al-Maidah was revealed piecemeal from the eighteenth to the twenty-third year. [4] This proves that even when the Qur’an was nearing its completion, it was never the intention of Allah to replace the Torah with the Qur’an. Even at this stage, he commanded the Jews to abide by the teachings of their own sacred Scripture.
An interesting fact that can be noted in Surah 5:43 is that Allah did not want the Jews to turn to Muhammad for judgment. For Allah to rebuke the Jews for seeking the judgment of Muhammad rather than seeking the judgment of their own Scriptures clearly proves the fact that the Torah has remained unchanged and authentic at the time of Muhammad. It also proves that the Torah is held as an authoritative source for judgment by Allah. Allah prevented the Jews from going to Muhammad or to the Qur’an. It shows how highly the Torah is esteem by Allah. Allah would hardly exhort the Jews to judge by the Torah if it had become corrupted or unreliable in any way. The charge that the Bible has been changed is one of the greatest falsehoods ever proclaimed in the cause of truth.
Torah means Law. Therefore, the Torah that the Jews had in their possession contains the Laws of Allah. In matters pertaining to judicial rulings, the written laws must remain perfectly intact for judgments to be executed righteously and accurately. Any changes in the wordings or sentences can affect the ruling or the outcome of verdict. Thus, for Allah to direct the Jews to the Torah, proves that the Torah must have been perfectly preserved for judgments to be based on its written laws and for the Jews to judge by it. Allah also stated that those who turn away from the Torah are “not believers.” Had the Torah failed to remain pure, turning away from this corrupted Scripture would have truly been the wise course.
Now, let us see what the Qur’an reveals about the integrity of the Gospel that was in the possession of the Christian contemporaries of Muhammad.
Surah 5:47: “Let the People of the Gospel judge by what Allah hath revealed therein. If any do fail to judge by (the light of) what Allah hath revealed, they are (no better than) those who rebel.” (Yusuf Ali)
The above commandment was given to the Christians who were contemporaries of Muhammad. And the command is written in the ‘present tense’ which in the Arabic language can also refer to the future. Logically, if the copies of the Gospel were corrupted at the time of Muhammad, Allah would have never ordered the Christians to judge according to the laws of the Gospel. It would not have been possible at all for Allah to give such an order if there had been any reason to believe that the Gospel was not authentic in every detail. Like the Torah, the written laws in the Gospel must remain perfectly intact for judgments to be executed righteously and accurately. This command to judge by the Gospel can be carried out only if the copies that the Christians had in their possession are authentic copies of the original Gospel.
For centuries before the time of Muhammad right down to this very day, Christians have known only one divine Book. The Scriptures of the Christians throughout their history has always been the Holy Bible. Allah’s commandment for the Jews to judge by the Torah and for the Christians to judge by the Gospel reveals two vital truths. Firstly, it proves that the Christians at the time of Muhammad must have had in their possession the Bible which consists of both the Old and New Testaments. Secondly, it proves that the Bible consisting of the Old and New Testaments has continued to remain as the authentic Word of God.
The references in both Surah 5:43 and Surah 5:47 do not say that Allah’s command to the Jews and the Christians to follow their own Scriptures is to be in force until the arrival of the Qur’an. On the contrary, despite the arrival of the Qur’an, these verses expressly exhort the Jews and the Christians to abide by the Torah and the Gospel. Thus, the Qur’an neither abrogates nor supersedes the Torah or the Gospel. In fact, these two Qur’anic verses clearly show that the People of the Book have no need for the teachings of Muhammad or for his Qur’an. And Allah himself confirms this truth when he testified that they should go to their own Scriptures for “judgment” or “decisions.” As such, the Bible is indeed sufficient for them.
The Old and New Testaments both date back to centuries before the time of Muhammad. And there are no historical evidences of any kind to support the claim that the original Scriptures of the Jews and the Christians were something other than these two Books. The Qur’an clearly confirms the Scriptures of these two groups as they existed in Muhammad’s time to be the authentic revelations of God. Therefore, the Qur’an testifies not only to the authenticity of the Old and New Testaments but also to their divine origin. As such, it can never become invalidated through corruption.
Surah 12:111: Indeed in the history of these men, there is a lesson for people of understanding. As for this Revelation, it could not possibly be a Hadith, fabricated. It confirms the Divine Origin of the previous Scriptures. (Shabbir Ahmed)
The Qur’an’s indisputable testimony to the authenticity of the Holy Bible which existed at the time of Muhammad shows Allah’s determination in maintaining its preservation. Manuscript evidences prove that the Bible which is in our possession today is identical to the Bible that was in circulation during Muhammad’s day. Therefore, the Qur’an is correct when it says that “none can change the Word of Allah.” In contrast with the general Muslim attitude, the Qur’an speaks highly of the Bible.
Since the Qur’an encourages both Jews and Christians to judge by their own Scriptures, it shows that the Qur’an strongly believes that the Bible is the only source of guidance for them. And it is the only source of guidance for any who wish to know the divine will of God. Muslims should stop attacking the Bible because it would only result in their attacking the Qur’an which upholds the Bible as the uncorrupted Word of God!
One of the reasons for Muslims to attack the Bible is to discredit Christianity. This is to be expected. If Muslims can undermine the strength and integrity of the Bible, then it would be much easier for them to win arguments with Christians. It would also be easier to confound the Christian and make converts of those who do not know the truth about the powerful teachings of the Bible. By casting doubt upon the Bible, Muslims try to get you to doubt the Word of God. And then, they tell you how great Islam is.
Muslims use various methods to accomplish this. Especially when discussing subjects that Muslims find difficult to answer, they will quickly change the subject. Very often this change involves attacking the Bible. It is an advantage that you read the Qur’an, but only after having first studied the Bible. This is important because even though the Qur’an supports the authenticity of the Bible, you will not be able to see through the other subtle elements of its powerful deception unless you first come to know and understand the Bible.
TESTIMONY NUMBER FIFTEEN
In many places the Qur’an reveals the determination of Allah to preserve the Holy Bible from corruption. His personal guarantee to protect his inspired Messages in the Jewish and Christian Scriptures are repeatedly assured in the Qur’an. In addition, Allah also assigns the Qur’an with the sacred duty to safeguard the Jewish and Christian Scriptures – Scriptures which constitute the Holy Bible. And in the following Qur’anic verse, we can now read about Allah’s determination to protect his previous Scriptures by entrusting them to the protection of God-fearing men. Such is the determination of Allah to protect and preserve his previous Scriptures. Is it reasonable then to believe that Allah would permit the Bible to become corrupted as Muslims claim?
Surah 5:44: We sent down the Torah containing guidance and light. The prophets, who had submitted, judged by it for the Jews, and so did the rabbis and the scribes, as they were charged to preserve the Book of Allah and were witnesses to it. So do not fear the people, but fear Me, and do not sell My signs for a paltry gain. Those who do not judge by what Allah has sent down —it is they who are the faithless.(Ali Quli Qara’i)
It was We who revealed the Law (to Moses): therein was guidance and light. By its standard have been judged the Jews, by the Prophets who bowed (as in Islam) to Allah’s Will, by the Rabbis and the Doctors of Law: for to them was entrusted the protection of Allah’s Book and they were witnesses thereto…If any do fail to judge by the light of what Allah has revealed, they are no better than Unbelievers. (Yusuf Ali)
The above Qur’anic verse reveals that the Prophets, the Rabbis and the Doctors of Law (Scribes) were “entrusted” personally by Allah with the sacred duty to protect his Book. To “entrust” means “to commit with confidence the care or protection of someone or something.” Will such God-fearing men who were individually and personally selected by Allah to protect his divine Book, corrupt the Book of Allah? Will such God-fearing men stand by and allow others to corrupt the Book of Allah? Will Allah entrust his Book to be protected by these men if he has any reason to doubt or distrust them? Certainly not! Each time Muslims assert the Bible to be corrupted, they only end up criticizing Allah. If the Bible is corrupted, then it can only mean one thing. It means that the Prophets, the Rabbis and the Doctors of Law who were “entrusted” by Allah to protect his Book, failed to protect it.
Can Muslims fully comprehend the implication of this? This means that Allah the omniscient failed to foresee the outcome of this failure. He failed to see the failure of these men. Allah failed to protect his Books because he made a mistake in entrusting them to the wrong people. Can Allah be trusted now that we have come to know that he has failed in his judgment? Can Allah make mistakes? Muslim critics of the Bible have a choice to make here. Either they can trust the wisdom of Allah and believe in the integrity of the Bible or they could doubt his wisdom and believe that the Bible that we have today is corrupted. We know that men can make bad choices but not God.
Since Allah cannot make bad or wrong choices, the people to whom he “entrusted the protection” of his divine Book must be pious, God-fearing men. They must be the sort of men who will guard the Book of Allah with their very lives. Only men of this sort would be chosen by Allah to protect his Book. This Qur’anic verse, therefore, puts an end to the claim that the People of the Book corrupted their Scriptures. Those “entrusted the protection of Allah’s Book” will never allow that to take place and Allah trusted them completely to protect his Word. If Muslims truly believe in Allah, they would trust in the integrity of the Holy Bible.
TESTIMONY NUMBER SIXTEEN
How credible were the Old and New Testaments during the time of the revelation of the Qur’an? And how did Allah view these Scriptures? Let the Qur’an answer these questions:
Surah 5:66: Had they followed the Laws of the Old and New Testaments and what was revealed to them from their Lord, they would have received Our bounties from above and below in abundance. Some of them are modest people, but many of them commit the worst sins. (Muhammad Sarwar)
If they had observed the Torah and the Gospel and what was revealed to them from their Lord, they would surely have been nourished from above and from below. There are some among them who are on the right course; but there are many among them who do nothing. (Wahiduddin Khan)
If only they had stood fast by the Law, the Gospel, and all the revelation that was sent to them from their Lord, they would have enjoyed happiness from every side. There is from among them a party on the right course: But many of them follow a course that is evil. (Yusuf Ali)
Four vital lessons can be learnt from this Qur’anic verse:
Firstly, it shows that when the Qur’an speaks of the Torah and the Gospel, it refers to “the Old and New Testaments.”
Secondly, it shows that if the Jews and Christians were to abide by the “Torah and the Gospel and what was revealed to them from their Lord,” it would result in their “happiness. ” Can this be possible if what “they stood fast by” were no longer the pure authentic Word of God?
Thirdly, this Qur’anic verse testifies that there were Jews and Christians who were “on the right course” during the time of Muhammad. Notice, Allah was speaking in the present tense when he said to Muhammad, “There is from among them a party on the right course.” For Jews and Christians to be “on the right course,” the Scriptures in their possession must be absolutely pure and authentic.
Fourthly, after mentioning the Torah and the Gospel, the Qur’an states that the Jews and Christians were also required to follow “what was revealed to them from their Lord.” This refers to the rest of the inspired Scriptures that the Jews and Christians received from God. Scriptures such as those they received through the Prophets and Apostles. This proves that the complete Bible was untouched by corruption and it was available to the Jews, Christians and Muslims at the time of Muhammad.
The Scriptures that the Jews and Christians of Muhammad’s time were commanded to believe and follow are the very Scriptures that can be found in our Bibles today. Thus, the Qur’an is essentially confirming that the Bible that we have today is the uncorrupted Word of God. Since these Scriptures cannot be found anywhere else other than in the Bible, Muslims are left with no other option. If they fail to accept the Bible as the uncorrupted Word of God, it means the Qur’an is a lie. And Allah is a failure.
It must be remembered that Surah 5 (Surah Al Maidah) was revealed during the final years of Muhammad’s prophetic career and just five years before his death. [4] For Allah to state even at this late stage of the Qur’an’s compilation that Christians will be “nourished from above and from below” when they stood fast by their own Scriptures, proves that the Qur’an was not sent to replace the Bible. These faithful Christians would not have been on the right course if they had “stood fast” by following Scriptures that had become corrupted.
If the Bible had been altered or changed in any way, why have the accusers not produced a list of the verses that were supposedly changed with a list of the original verses? After all, the authentic Bible was available during Muhammad’s day and was read and circulated among the Christians. Therefore, if there are any changes or alterations in the Bible that we have today, these accusers can use the originals to prove their claim? Why don’t they? Surely, the millions of the Bibles that were in circulation at the time of Muhammad could not have just disappeared from the face of the earth without a trace. Thus, the argument forwarded by Muslims requires a priori belief – a commitment based not on evidence but nonetheless insisted upon.
No Muslim should doubt the integrity of Bible as the Word of God. It is impossible to believe that the Bible has been changed without rejecting the teachings of the Qur’an at the same instant. Since the Qur’an attests to the fact that the Bible, consisting of the Torah and the Gospel, has remained trustworthy even during the final stages of Muhammad’s prophetic career, we can be certain that it will continue to remain trustworthy for all eternity. Since no Qur’anic verses were revealed later to change the existing command of Allah in Surah 5:66, we can be certain that the command to follow the Bible is binding for all eternity. This is possible only if the Bible remains uncorrupted for all eternity.
TESTIMONY NUMBER SEVENTEEN
If the Bible is corrupted as Muslims claim, would the following admonition to Jews and Christians exist in the Qur’an today?
Surah 5:68: “O People of the book! Ye have no ground to stand upon unless ye stand fast by the Law, the Gospel, and all the revelation that has come to you from your Lord.” (Yusuf Ali)
Say: ‘People of the Book, you do not stand on anything, until you perform the Torah and the Gospel, and what was sent down to you from your Lord.’ (Arberry)
The Jews and Christians were referred to as the “People of the Book” in the Qur’an. This honorable title confirms the fact that the Qur’an recognizes the Jews and Christians as historically belonging to the community of faithful people who were originally given divine Scriptures. No other people were referred as such in the Qur’an. This in itself proves that they had the authentic Word of God with them.
Besides the Torah and the Gospel, the Jews and Christians were also commanded to “stand fast by all the revelation” that were given to them. This would include the Book of Psalms and the Messages of the Prophets. [5] All these Scriptures can be found in the Bible that we have today. The Qur’an clearly states that the Jews and the Christians will not stand on anything, “until” or “unless” they “perform the Torah and the Gospel and what was sent down to them” by their Lord. This means that they will be without guidance unless or until they observe the inspired teachings in the Bible. This once again proves conclusively that the Bible was not abrogated with the arrival of the Qur’an. And this also rules out the claim of corruption by Muslims. Furthermore, in this Qur’anic verse we can see Allah’s clear command to the Christians. The Qur’an is not for them. Instead, they were commanded to submit to the teachings of the Gospel for guidance.
As stated earlier, Surah 5 (Surah Al Maidah) was revealed in the eighteenth year of Muhammad’s prophetic career – just five years before his death. Yet, the Qur’an still admonishes the Jews and the Christians “to perform the Torah and the Gospel and what was sent down to them.” It does not tell them to now perform what was sent down to Muhammad but by what was revealed to them in the Holy Bible. Thus, even when the compilation of the Qur’an was nearing its completion, Christians were still admonished to stand fast by their own Scriptures. And no Qur’anic verses were revealed after Surah Al Maidah that shows a change in the standing of Allah regarding the commandment of Allah that was given to Christians. This means that even now as you are reading this article, the salvation of Christians rests on their obedience to “perform the Torah and the Gospel and what was sent down to them.” Their salvation does not rest on the Qur’an but the Bible. This confirms the dependability of the Bible not only at the time of Muhammad but right down to our day.
Although the Qur’an was revealed to Muhammad, this verse in the Qur’an was specifically addressed to the Christians. And when Allah told the Christians “to stand fast by the Gospel,” he spoke to them in the present tense. We must ask the Muslims, how should Christians who read this verse in the Qur’an today understand it? Should Christians view this command “to stand fast by the Gospel” as no longer applicable? Since when did it become inapplicable? At what specific period in time after this Qur’anic verse was revealed, did this verse become irrelevant for Christians? Are not Allah’s commandments in the Qur’an eternal?
For Christians to submit today to Allah’s commandment to “stand fast by the Gospel,” the Bible must not only be available to them but it must also remain pure and trustworthy. Otherwise, Christians will find themselves submitting to Scriptures that are no longer the authentic Word of God when they submit to the commandments of Allah in the Qur’an today.
The paradox of the claim of corruption by Muslims is that if the Bible is truly corrupted and, therefore, if Christians today decide to abandon the teachings of the Bible and follow the Qur’an, guess what do they find? The Qur’an advises them to follow the Gospel. It tells them, “You have no ground to stand upon unless you stand fast by the Gospel.” In other words, it tells them to go back to the Bible. Well, if Christians are unable to “stand fast by the Gospel” because of the claim of corruption, then the Qur’an becomes a false guide by directing Christians to submit to a Scripture which has become corrupted. To submit to a Scripture which no longer exists. This is a serious error because the commandment for Christians to “stand fast by the Gospel” can still be found in the Qur’an today.
Each time Muslims charge the Bible with corruption, they end up either insulting Allah or condemning the Qur’an as a false guidance. And, of course, this would make Islam false as well.
TESTIMONY NUMBER EIGHTEEN
One of the strongest evidences in the Qur’an that testifies to the everlasting integrity of the Bible is firmly established here in the following Qur’anic verse. The rendering of four different translations is provided below:
Surah 3:55: When Allah said: O Jesus, I will cause thee to die and exalt thee in My presence and clear thee of those who disbelieve and make those who follow thee above those who disbelieve to the day of Resurrection. (Maulana Ali)
I will make those who follow thee superior to those who disbelieve until the Day of Resurrection. (Yusuf Ali)
I will clean you of those who rejected you and exalt your followers above the unbelievers until the Day of Resurrection. (Farook Malik)
And I will place the people who follow you above those who are kafir until the Day of Rising. (A. Bewley)
This is a very profound statement in the Qur’an. It reveals the superiority of those who follow Jesus Christ. It does not say those who believe in Jesus will be made superior but those who follow him. The context shows that Allah spoke the words of the above Qur’anic verse to Jesus Christ when he was still on earth. This event took place centuries before the birth of Islam. The disciples of Jesus who followed him were known as Christians.
According to the above Qur’anic verse, Christians will be exulted or made superior over the disbelievers until the Day of Resurrection. The Day of Resurrection or Qiyamah will occur at the time of the end. Let us see how this Qur’anic verse actually testifies to the eternal legitimacy of the Bible that is in the possession of Christians. Let us now analyze this Qur’anic verse step by step.
- For Christians to be exulted until the time of the end, the true Christian faith must exist in this world until the time of the end.
- For the true Christian faith to exist in this world until the time of the end, true Christians must be present in this world until the time of the end.
- For true Christians to be present in this world until the time of the end, Christians must have a righteous standing with God until the time of end.
- For Christians to have a righteous standing with God until the time of end, Christians must be guided righteously until the time of the end.
- For Christians to be guided righteously until the time of the end, the Bible which is in their possession must remain true until the time of the end.
- For the Bible to remain true until the time of the end, the Bible must remain free from corruption until the time of the end.
- Only then, can Christians have a righteous standing with God and be exulted “until the Day of Resurrection.”
This Qur’anic verse is one of the strongest testimonies which proves that the Bible will continue to remain pure and unchanged for ever and ever. And this certainly confirms the truth that the Bible, which is in our possession today, is the uncorrupted Word of God. It will be logically impossible for the Bible to continue uncorrupted until the time of the end if it has already been corrupted today.
The Qur’an also contrasts the followers of Jesus with the unbelievers (kafirs). This in itself proves that Christians are true believers. Can you imagine Christians being judged as true believers “until the Day of Resurrection” by Allah himself when Muslims are taught to believe that Christians are following a falsified Bible. Muslims must note that the above Qur’anic verse does not say that Christians will be made superior until the time of Muhammad’s arrival or until the arrival of the Qur’an but until the time of the end.
From the founding of Christianity until today, true Christians have not and still do not submit themselves to the teachings of Allah in the Qur’an. They only submit to the teachings of the Bible. So how can Allah then exult Christians and make them “superior to those who disbelieve until the Day of Resurrection” when they do not subscribe to the teachings of the Qur’an? The answer is obvious but not to Muslims. This Qur’anic verse proves beyond doubt that the Bible alone is indeed sufficient for the outworking of a Christian’s salvation – in the past, present and future. In fact, the teachings of the Bible will remain as the authoritative guidance for all mankind. Thus, the claim that the Qur’an was sent to replace the Bible is a preposterous lie manufactured by Muslims.
Since the Qur’an states that Allah will make the followers of Christ superior over the disbelievers, this would then mean that Christians will prevail over the disbelievers until “the Day of Resurrection.” As such, it would be logically impossible for the disbelievers to corrupt the Scriptures of the Christians. So how can Muslims then believe that the Christians who were given supremacy by Allah, remain helpless as their Scriptures are mutilated by the disbelievers? Would not this in reality then mean that the disbelievers are superior? Would not this then prove that Allah’s promise regarding the supremacy of the followers of Jesus is a lie? Does not this make the Qur’an false?
The Qur’an states explicitly that the Christians who follow Jesus will be made superior until the time of the end. For this Qur’anic verse to be true, the continuous existence of true Christians from each successive generation must be present here on earth until the time of the end. But how can Christians keep following Jesus when he is no longer with them? This is only possible if the teachings of Jesus are perfectly preserved in the Bible. Therefore, by submitting to the accurate teachings of Jesus as it is preserved in the Bible today, true Christians can continue to follow him until the time of the end.
This means that the reliability of Allah’s proclamation in this Qur’anic verse is very much dependent on the continued preservation of the Bible. The instant the Bible becomes corrupted, then this Qur’anic verse loses its credibility. Therefore, the Bible must continue to remain authentic for this Qur’anic verse to maintain its credibility. Thus, once again we can see that each time Muslims claim the Bible to be corrupted, the end up falsifying the Qur’an.
Yes! True Christians will continue to follow Jesus Christ until the Day of Resurrection and beyond that. This is possible because the Bible in their possession will continue to remain as the true authentic Word of God, both now and forever. In fact, in one of the teachings that Jesus taught his followers, he confirmed this truth regarding the preservation of the Bible:
Matthew 5:18: Truly I say to you that sooner would heaven and earth pass away than one stroke of a letter to pass away from the Holy Scriptures before everything has come true.
TESTIMONY NUMBER NINETEEN
In view of the importance of the following Qur’anic verse, we have provided three different translations to help our readers get the full sense of the meaning of this verse.
Surah 12:111: Indeed in their stories, there is lesson for men of understanding. It (the Qur’an) is not a forged statement but a confirmation of Allah’s existing Books which went before it (the Taurat (Torah), the Injeel (Gospel) and other Scriptures of Allah) and a detailed explanation of everything and a guide and a Mercy for the people who believe.” (Hilali-Khan)
In their history verily there is a lesson for men of understanding. It is no invented story but a confirmation of the existing (Scripture) and a detailed explanation of everything, and a guidance and a mercy for folk who believe. (Pickthall)
Indeed in the history of these men, there is a lesson for people of understanding. As for this Revelation, it could not possibly be a Hadith, fabricated. It confirms the Divine Origin of the previous Scriptures, and gives a detailed explanation of everything. And it is a Beacon and Mercy for all those who accept it. (Shabbir Ahmed)
Valuable lessons can be learnt from this Qur’anic verse. The Torah and the Gospel are described here as “Allah’s existing Books.” And Allah claims the ownership of these two Books. This means that the Torah and the Gospel belong to Allah. It is important to note that the Qur’an does not speak of the Torah and the Gospel as Allah’s Books in the past tense but in the present continuous tense as “Allah’s existing Books.”
Therefore, the Torah and the Gospel are not described here as Books that were once existing as the authentic Scriptures of Allah. No but as Books that are still “existing” – even at this very moment in time – as the authentic Scriptures of Allah. This is certainly true because each time Muslims read this verse in their Qur’an today, this is exactly what it tells them. It tells them the Torah and the Gospel are “Allah’s existing Books.” If the Torah and the Gospel are falsified in any way, then they cannot be described presently as “Allah’s existing Books.” They would have ceased to be the Books of Allah.
For example, if I were to write a thesis and someone copies it. But in the process, if the person were to leave out many of my ideas and adds many of his own in it, then that thesis would no longer be mine. I would most definitely not claim ownership of this corrupted work because it is no longer my thesis. My disclaimer is proper because the words and ideas in the thesis are no longer mine but belongs to someone else’s. Yet, we find in the above Qur’anic verse Allah claims ownership of the Torah and the Gospel. He describes them as “His existing Books.” Can they then become corrupted? Would it be proper for Muslims to believe that Allah is claiming Books that have become corrupted as his existing Books? Can Muslims truly believe that these Books of Allah are no longer the Scriptures of Allah?
Even after the arrival of the Qur’an, Allah refers affectionately to the Torah and the Gospel as his “existing Scriptures.” Now, why would he address them as such if the real purpose of the Qur’an is to replace them? Would it possible to describe them as such if they have become corrupted? Can “Allah’s existing Books” become falsified in the course of time at the hands of mere humans? Can “Allah’s existing Books” cease to be the existing Books of Allah? And this is what Muslims blasphemously choose to believe.
Surah 12:111 also states very clearly that “the Qur’an is not a forged statement but a confirmation of Allah’s existing Books.” Thus, the Qur’an confirms Allah’s existing Books.” Can the Qur’an confirm “Allah’s existing Books” if “Allah’s existing Books” have already become corrupted? How can Muslims continue to believe that the Bible has become corrupted when Allah repeatedly says that the Qur’an is a confirmation of the Bible? Is the Qur’an confirming a corrupted Book? Muslims who charge the Bible with corruption are accusing Allah of dishonestly saying something which is not true. They also accuse Allah with failure to protect his Holy Books. And they deny the teachings of the Qur’an.
Surah 12:111 proves that the Bible, described as “Allah’s existing Books” is the genuine Word of God. It is referred to in the plural because it contains the Torah, Gospel, Psalms and the Scriptures of the Prophets. Let us analyze this Qur’anic verse once again. Why does Allah repeatedly mentions that the Qur’an is a “confirmation of Allah’s existing Books”? It is vital to understand the actual reason why Allah repeatedly declares that the Qur’an is a confirmation of the previous Scriptures. Surah 12:111 reveals to us the actual reason why Allah does this.
Notice the wordings of Allah carefully in Surah 12:111. Allah is saying that the Qur’an is not an “invented story” or a “forged statement” by virtue of the fact that it confirms the Scriptures of the Bible. Thus, it can clearly be seen here that Allah is drawing on the strength of the authenticity of the Bible to validate the Qur’an. In other words, Allah is saying that the Qur’an is true because it is a confirmation of something that is true – the Scriptures of the Holy Bible. So, how can the previous Scriptures then be charged with corruption? It is like saying that the title deed of the Qur’an has become fraudulent. The authenticity of the Qur’an depends very much on the authenticity of the Bible. And the Qur’an repeatedly confirms this truth about the authenticity of the Bible as the existing Word of God.
Therefore, the claim by Muslims that the Bible has become corrupted is in conflict with the teachings of the Qur’an. To claim that the Qur’an was sent to replace the Bible is an absolute lie invented by desperate Muslims.
TESTIMONY NUMBER TWENTY
To confirm means: “To establish the truth or correctness of something previously believed.” It also means: “To establish the certainty or validity or accuracy or genuineness of something or someone.” Therefore, when it is stated in the Qur’an that the Qur’an confirms the Torah and the Gospel, it means the Qur’an supports the truthfulness or correctness of these Scriptures. In other words, the Qur’an establishes the truthfulness of the Bible as the authentic Word of God.
Muslims believe that Allah is the all knowing one. Therefore, if the Bible is falsified in any way, Allah would know it. Would Allah knowingly commit to writing in the Qur’an, over and over again, that the Qur’an was sent to confirm the Torah and the Gospel if the Bible had truly become corrupted? The verses stating that the Qur’an confirms the Torah and the Gospel still exist in the Qur’an till today. For these Qur’anic verses to be true today, the Bible has to be true today. Presented below are some of the Qur’anic verses that speak about the Qur’an’s confirmation of the Torah and the Gospel. Please give attention to the details in these verses:
Surah 2:41: And believe in what I have sent down this Qur’an, confirming that which is with you (the Taurat (Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel)) and be not the first to disbelieve therein. (Hilali-Khan)
Surah 2:91: And when it is said unto them. Believe in that which Allah hath revealed, they say: We believe in that which was revealed unto us. And they disbelieve in that which cometh after it, though it is the truth confirming that which they possess. (Pickthall)
Surah 2:101: When God sent them a messenger confirming the Scriptures they already had, some of those who had received the Scripture before threw the Book of God over their shoulders as if they had no knowledge. (Abdel Haleem)
Surah 3:3: It is He Who sent down to thee (step by step), in truth, the Book, confirming what went before it; and He sent down the Law (of Moses) and the Gospel (of Jesus) (Yusuf Ali)
Surah 5:48: To you (O Messenger) We have sent the Book in Sure Truth confirming the Divine Origin of whatever Scripture was before it. The Qur’an is the Watcher over the old Scriptures and guards the Truth in them. (Shabbir Ahmed)
Surah 6:92: And this Qur’an is the Blessed Book that We have sent down, confirming the Divine Origin of what was revealed before it. (Shabbir Ahmed)
Surah 10:37: No one could have composed this Qur’an besides God. This confirms the existing Book (the Bible) and explains itself. There is no doubt that it is from the Lord of the Universe. (Sarwar)
Surah 12:111: Indeed in their stories, there is a lesson for men of understanding. It (the Qur’an) is not a forged statement but a confirmation of the Allah’s existing Books (the Taurat (Torah), the Injeel (Gospel) and other Scriptures of Allah) and a detailed explanation of everything and a guide and a Mercy for the people who believe. (Hilali-Khan)
Surah 35:31: (O Prophet) the Book We have revealed to you is the Truth, confirming that came before it. Verily Allah is well aware of His servants and sees everything. (Maududi)
Muslims must contemplate deeply over the significance of all these Qur’anic verses. They must come to terms with what these Qur’anic verses are actually revealing to them about the Scriptures of Allah. What these verses actually mean to them for their salvation. A failure to understand and accept these verses in the Qur’an may lead them into the path of destruction at the hands of Allah.
All of the above Qur’anic verses proclaim that the Qur’an is a confirmation of the Torah and the Gospel. Therefore, as long as these verses that speak of the Qur’an’s confirmation of the Bible exist in the Qur’an, the Bible must remain true. Otherwise, it would mean that Qur’an is now confirming corrupted Scriptures as the true Word of God. Since these verses still exist in the Qur’an at this very moment, any changes in the Bible would mean that the Qur’an is now erroneous confirming the Scriptures that have become corrupted as the true Word of God. And that would make the Qur’an false. And now we will fast forward to the future.
Muslims strongly believe that the Qur’an is exclusively protected by Allah from any changes occurring within its pages. If true, then it is impossible for any changes to occur to any of the above cited Qur’anic verses at any time. This means that all of the above Qur’anic verses which proclaim that the Qur’an is a confirmation of the Torah and the Gospel will remain unchanged for all eternity. And since these verses will always remain true in the Qur’an, the Bible has to be authentic at all times for these Qur’anic verses to remain true in the Qur’an for all eternity. Muslims must come to realize that authenticity of the Qur’an depends very much upon the enduring authenticity of the Bible.
Let’s recap. All the above Qur’anic verses prove with utmost certainty that the Bible was pure and authentic at the time when Muhammad received these verses from Allah. For these Qur’anic verses to remain true as the eternal words of Allah, the Bible has to remain true eternally. The instant the Bible fails in its integrity, all these verses in the Qur’an will become false instantly. Since all these verses are still the standing order of Allah in the Qur’an, it means that even at this very minute the Qur’an is confirming the Bible as the Word of God. And these Qur’anic verses were never abrogated later by Allah.
This means that the Bible that we have in our possession today is the authentic uncorrupted Word of God. It has to be. If Muslims are sincere and truly faithful to the teachings of the Qur’an, they will accept the truthfulness of this conclusion. And we are glad that there are sincere Muslim scholars, both past and present, who acknowledge the indisputable fact that the Bible cannot be corrupted. We will now look at two examples, one ancient and the other modern.
Ibn Abbas (618-687 C.E.) is a paternal cousin of Muhammad. He was one of a special group of Muslims known as the “Companions of Muhammad.” He is regarded as one of the great scholars in Islamic History and as one of the most authoritative scholars of early Islam. He is also esteemed above all other Commentators of the Qur’an. His commentary on the subject of “corruption” is stated in the following Hadith.
The Book of the Oneness of God, the Chapter of Surat Al-Borooj, Number 85:
“They corrupt the word” means “they alter or change its meaning.” Yet no one is able to change even a single word from any Book of Allah. The meaning is that they interpret the word wrongly. (Al-Bukhari, Kitaab Al-Tawheed, Baab Qawlu Allah Ta’ala, “Bal Huwa Qur’aanun Majeed, fi lawin”)
Ibn Abbas stated, “no one is able to change even a single word from any Book of Allah.” Therefore, it is impossible for any changes to occur in the written text in “any Book of Allah.” In other words, it is impossible for anyone to corrupt the written Scriptures of the Bible. While one may misinterpret the meaning of the text orally, it is impossible for the written text to be corrupted. Let us now look at the commentary of a contemporary Muslim scholar.
Dr Saeed Abdullah, Professor of Islamic Studies, Melbourne University:
“The reverence that the Qur’an has shown them (the Scriptures of the Jews and Christians) at the time should be retained today. Many interpreters of the Qur’an, from Tabari to Razi to Ibn Taymiyya and even Qutb, appear to be inclined to share this view.” “The wholesale dismissive attitude held by many Muslims in the modern period towards the scriptures of Judaism and Christianity does not seem to have the support of either the Qur’an or the major figures of tafsir.”
Dr Saeed Abdullah states very clearly that the negative attitude that many Muslims have today regarding the authenticity of the Bible “does not seem to have the support of either the Qur’an or the major figures of tafsir.” Dr Saeed Abdullah cited the names of very prominent ancient scholars of Islam to support this fact. Al-Tabari, Razi, Ibn Taymiyya and Qutb are heavyweights in Islam. And they all agree that the Scriptures of the Jews and the Christians cannot be textually corrupted. In other words the written text of Bible is the same as it was originally revealed by God.
TESTIMONY NUMBER TWENTY-ONE
Abundant evidences were provided in this article to prove that the Qur’an was not sent to replace the Holy Bible. If it was not sent to replace the Holy Bible, then why did Allah reveal the Qur’an? What was his purpose for doing so? Before we answer this question, it is important to understand that the Qur’an was specifically sent to the Arabs in the Arabic language:
Surah 12:2: “Surely We have revealed it – an Arabic Qur’an – that you may understand.” (Shakir)
Surah 42:7: And thus have We revealed to you an Arabic Qur’an. (Shakir)
All the previous Scriptures of Allah were revealed in non-Arabic languages. We will now look into the reason as to why it became necessary for Allah to send the Qur’an. We will let the Qur’an itself explain Allah’s reason for sending the Qur’an. The answer is provided in the following Qur’anic verses:
Surah 6:154-156: Again, We gave the Scripture unto Moses, complete for him who would do good, an explanation of all things, a guidance and a mercy, that they might believe in the meeting with their Lord. And this is a blessed Scripture which We have revealed. So follow it and ward off (evil), that ye may find mercy. Lest ye should say: “The Book was sent down to two Peoples before us, and for our part, we remained unacquainted with all that they learned by assiduous study.” (Pickthall)
Surah 6:156: We have sent it down as the spirit of truth guiding into all truth lest you people render such a reason as to say: “The Book sent down to the people of Musa and to those of Isa aforetime was expressed in their own tongues, in languages, we were not taught nor did we understand”; an excuse which it shall no longer be possible to justify. (Al-Muntakhab)
Essential details can be gathered here:
Firstly, these Qur’anic verses clearly testify that the divinely inspired Book of Allah was sent to only “two Peoples” before the time of Islam. And the Qur’an itself identifies them as the “people of Musa (Moses) and to those of Isa (Jesus).” This is a very important point to remember because it tells us that whenever the Qur’an speaks of Allah’s previous Books or Scriptures, it applies exclusively to the Scriptures that were given to the Jews and Christians – Scriptures that were recorded in the Bible before the time of Islam.
Secondly, these Qur’anic verses tell us that the actual reason for sending the Qur’an to the Arabs – in their own language – is because they could now become acquainted with the messages of the Bible that were sent earlier to the Jews and Christians. It was sent as a response to the plea of the Arabs, “We were in fact unaware of what they studied.” And the Qur’an specifically identifies and tells us the reason as to why the Arabs were unaware of the messages of the Bible. They voiced their concern to Allah: “The Book sent down to the people of Musa and to those of Isa aforetime was expressed in their own tongues, in languages, we were not taught nor did we understand.”
It was clearly a problem of language. The solution only necessitates a duplication of the Book of the Jews and the Christians in the Arabic language. Thus, the purpose for the revealing of the Qur’an was not to correct or replace the Bible, but for the Arabs to know for themselves the Message of the Bible in their own language. This is the only reason Allah gave in the Qur’an for sending the Qur’an to the Arabs. Therefore, the Qur’an was not sent, as Muslims falsely claim, because of the supposedly corruption of the previous Scriptures. This fact is strongly substantiated by the following Qur’anic verse:
Surah 46:12: “And yet, before this was the Scripture of Moses, an example and a grace. And this (Qur’an) is a Book confirming the Truth (in Torah), in the Arabic Tongue, to warn the wrongdoers, and a herald of glad tiding for the doers of good.” (Shabbir Ahmed)
And before this, was the Book of Moses as a guide and a mercy: And this Book confirms (it) in the Arabic tongue. (Yusuf Ali)
It can be seen from the above Qur’anic verse that the Qur’an is supposed to be an Arabic version of the Judeo-Christian Scriptures, specifically a confirmation of the Book of Moses in Arabic for Arabs. That is why the above Qur’anic verse clearly states: “And this Book confirms it in the Arabic tongue.”
It is also important to note that Surah 6:154–156 clearly testify that the previous Scripture is “complete for him who would do good, an explanation of all things, a guidance and a mercy that they might believe in the meeting with their Lord.”
The Qur’an testifies that previous Scripture is “complete for him who would do good and an explanation of all things.” As such, will Christians then need any additional guidance besides the Scriptures of the Bible to help them meet with their Lord? To put it more pointedly, do they need the Qur’an? Therefore, the Qur’an was not sent for the benefit of the Jews or Christians but for the Arab Muslims. These Qur’anic verses are just echoing a vital truth that was written by divine inspiration long before the Qur’an came into existence. Concerning the very purpose of the Holy Bible, the Bible itself testifies:
2 Timothy 3:16-17: All Scripture is given by the inspiration of God and is profitable for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be fully competent, completely equipped for every good work.
The Qur’an is supposed to be an Arabic version of the Bible. The fact that the Qur’an ended up being different and even contradictory to the Bible has put Muslims in a dilemma. How can the Qur’an, which is supposed to confirm and verify the Bible, be so different in its contents? How can the Qur’an, which is supposed to be an exact duplication of the Bible in the Arabic language, ends up contradicting the very source it is supposed to emulate. The only way out of this dilemma for Muslims is to fault the Bible. However, in doing so they have taken a stand against the author of the Bible – God himself! This is blasphemy at its greatest against the true God.
TESTIMONY NUMBER TWENTY-TWO
The evidences presented up to now in this article have established the following facts regarding the teachings of the Qur’an on the subject of the integrity of the Bible. The Qur’an confirms that the Torah, the Psalms, the Gospel and the Scriptures that were given to the Prophets are the Words of Allah. All these Scriptures make up the contents of the Bible. They can only be found in the Bible that we have in our possession today. These Scriptures are described in the Qur’an as Scriptures belonging to Allah. And Allah guarantees to protect his inspired Scriptures. If humans are able to change any of the Words of Allah, then no Revelations of Allah could be trusted. Since no humans can be more powerful than Allah, then it is impossible for humans to change the Words of Allah. Therefore, none has the power to change his Words. In other words, none can change the Bible. This is the clear teaching of the Qur’an.
Muslims, who doubt the authenticity of the Bible as the Word of God, should carefully consider the significance of Allah’s statement in the following Qur’anic verse. For the benefit of our Muslim readers, we have provided four different translations of this verse.
Surah 10:37: No one could have composed this Qur’an besides God. This confirms the existing Book (the Bible) and explains itself. There is no doubt that it is from the Lord of the Universe. (Sarwar)
This Qur’an is not such as could be produced by anyone other than Allah; in fact it is the confirmation of prior revelations (Psalms, Torah, and Gospel) and fully explains the Holy Book (prior scriptures); there is no doubt in this fact that it is (revealed) from the Lord of the Worlds. (Farook Malik)
This Qur’an could never have been devised by any besides Allah. Rather it is confirmation of what came before it and an elucidation of the Book which contains no doubt from the Lord of all the worlds. (A. Bewley)
This Qur’an could not have been produced without God; it is to authenticate what is between his hands, and to give details of the Book in which there is no doubt, from the Lord of the worlds. (The Monotheist Group)
Once again it is stated that the Qur’an “confirms the existing Book” of Allah. And renowned Qur’an translators like Muhammad Sarwar and Farook Malik recognize the fact that the term “existing Book” refers to the Bible. This means the Holy Bible is the “existing Book” of Allah.
The Arabic word translated as “confirm” in Surah 10:37 means “to secure or establish something which has already been stated or done.” For the Qur’an to confirm the Bible as such, it absolutely necessary for the Bible to be true and unchanged at the time when this Qur’anic verse was revealed. And since this claim still remains in the Qur’an today, the Bible has to constantly remain as such. Invalid the Bible and you invalid the Qur’an. The Bible is of great importance to Muslims since it contains an earlier and more complete rendition of the message that the Qur’an intends to affirm.
Surah 10:37 also states that the purpose of the Qur’an is to provide “a detailed explanation of the former Scripture, about which there is no doubt.” To give a detailed explanation or clarification of the former Scripture, it absolutely necessary for the former Scripture to remain intact. How can the Qur’an give “a detailed explanation of the former Scripture” if the details of the former Scripture have become uncertain through corruption? You cannot confirm something if the original has become unclear or is no longer in existence. It is important to understand that to confirm something, the thing confirmed must be produced as evidence. Therefore, when the Qur’an confirms the authenticity of the Bible, it is absolutely necessary for the authentic Bible to be presented as evidence. In other words, the authentic Bible must exist.
What Muslims fail to comprehend is the fact that whenever Allah states the Qur’an was sent to confirm the Bible, it means that Allah is absolutely certain of the status of the Bible as the authentic Word of God. He reveals these Qur’anic verses as a confirmation of this fact. Thus, the Qur’an’s confirmation of the Bible is only a result of this confidence of Allah in the authenticity of the Bible. Can Allah be wrong?
After stating that the purpose of the Qur’an is to serve as “a confirmation of what was before it and a detailed explanation of the former Scripture,” Allah adds, “about which there is no doubt.”
When Allah spoke about “the former Scripture,” he qualified the status of “the former Scripture” with the following profound statement, “about which there is no doubt.” How can Allah tell Muslims not to doubt his “former Scripture” if it has already become corrupted? The “former Scripture” of Allah that was given to the Jews and the Christians can only be found in the Bible that we have today. Of course, some Muslim translators render this Qur’anic verse in such a way to mean that it is the Qur’an that is not to be doubted. If true, then it serves as a double bonus for validating the integrity of the Bible. Why do we say that?
It is astounding to note that the very recipient of the Qur’an had doubts about the Qur’an. Yes! Muhammad had doubts about the Qur’an. And guess what was Allah’s remedy for Muhammad? Allah’s remedy is found in the following Qur’anic verse:
Surah 10:94: So if you are in doubt, (O Muhammad), about that which We have revealed to you, then ask those who have been reading the Scripture before you. (U. Muhammad, Sahih International)
Muhammad was commanded by Allah to consult the people “who have been reading the Scripture” that was revealed “before” him to clear his doubts. Yes Muslims, even your Prophet was told to go to ordinary Christians who have been reading the Bible to overcome his doubts. You should do the same. Therefore, there is no justification for you to reject the Bible – the eternal Word of the Almighty God. So which Scripture do you think qualifies to be identified with the statement, “about which there is no doubt.”? However, even if Muslims claim that the statement, “about which there is no doubt” applies to the Qur’an, it only serves to prove the superiority of the Holy Bible which functions as the only solution for the doubts raised by the Qur’an? It qualifies the qualifier.
For Muslims to doubt the authenticity of the Bible is to distrust Allah. When Muslims defiantly reject the Holy Bible, they are rejecting the “existing Book” of Allah. Do Muslims really understand the serious implication of their action? The following Qur’anic verse also calls upon Muhammad to “ask the people of the Reminder” on other matters of vital concerns. This verse was revealed during the time when Muhammad underwent some moments of serious doubts and discouragement. [6]
Surah 21:7: And We sent not before you (O Muhammad) but men to whom We inspired, so ask the people of the Reminder [Scriptures – the Taurat (Torah), the Injeel (Gospel)] if you do not know. (Hilali-Khan)
“If you do not know this ask the followers of earlier revelation.” (Muhammad Asad)
Muhammad Asad’s exegesis for this Qur’anic verse, which is cited in his translation of the Qur’an, states: Lit. “followers of the reminder – i.e. of the Bible.” (Qur’an Ref: 21:7 Source: http://www.islamicity.com/Qur’anSearch)
As it can be seen, renowned Qur’an translators like Muhammad Asad recognizes the fact that whenever the term Revelation, Reminder, Message, Scripture or Book appears in the Qur’an with reference to the Jews and Christians, it literally means the Bible.
The above Qur’anic verse commands Muhammad to clarify matters of divine nature by asking those who possess the Bible. Here we find Allah once again appealing to the Bible to address the troubles of Muhammad. Would it make sense for Allah to direct Muhammad to seek assurance from a “people” whose Holy Book had become corrupted? Surely not! Allah gave this command because he knew with utmost certainty that the Scriptures they held were genuine. It is important to note that the verb, “ask the people” is in the present tense. Thus, even during the course of the Qur’an’s revelation, Muhammad was told to consult the People of the Book. And Allah specifically told Muhammad, “Ask the people of the Reminder if you do not know.”
It will therefore defy logic for Allah to direct Muhammad to a people whose Holy Book has become corrupted. This proves that even more than five centuries after its completion, the Bible remains unchanged. Is it not a little suspicious that the Bible which has remained unchanged for centuries to suddenly be accused of corruption only after Muslims discovered the presence of numerous contradictions between the Bible and the Qur’an? It must be remembered that since the Qur’an came much later, it is the teachings of the Qur’an that are contradicting the divine teachings of Allah in the Bible. So Muslims should not put the cart before the horse.
The Muslim’s assertion that the corruption of the Bible is taught in the Qur’an is unfounded. To this day, Muslims have never been able to bring forth any evidences to show at what point in history the alleged corruptions of the text of the Bible took place. No evidences were revealed to show how the Bible came to be changed. And no evidences were provided to show precisely when these changes were made, by whom the changes were made, and what the changes were.
Manuscript evidences pre-dating Islam proves that the texts that were available to Muhammad in the seventh century are essentially the same as the ones we have today. If they are unreliable today as Muslims claim them to be, they would have been unreliable then. Yet, Allah told Muhammad to “ask the followers of earlier revelation.” So who should we believe – Allah or the Muslims who deny the Bible? The irony for Muslims is that Allah tells them not to doubt the Bible, but if they do doubt the Bible, then they have to go to the Bible to clear their doubts. Are Muslims prepared to face Allah on Judgment Day with their blasphemous accusation that he could not preserve his inspired Scriptures which he gave to the Jews and Christians from corruption?
TESTIMONY NUMBER TWENTY-THREE
The following Qur’anic verse shows why it is vital for Muslims to accept the Bible as the divine Word of God. The Bible is made up of many individual Books. And in this Qur’anic verse, Allah affectionately identifies the Books of the Bible as “heavenly Books.” He values the Bible and describes it as the “evidence of the Truth.” Time and again Allah appealed to the Bible. Consider now the importance of the Bible in the following Qur’anic verses:
Surah 20:133: “They have said, ‘Why has he, (Muhammad), not brought some miracle from his Lord?’ Have they not received the previously revealed heavenly Books as the evidence of the Truth?” (Sarwar)
And they say, ‘Why does he not bring us a miracle from his Lord?’ Were they not given enough miracles in the former Scriptures? (Talal A. Itani)
And they say, “Why does he not bring us a miracle from his Lord?” But has there not come to them a clear evidence of all the truth that was in the former Scriptures? (Shabbir Ahmed)
The Muhammad’s contemporaries demanded proof from him to authenticate his claim of prophethood. They wanted him to produce “some miracle” just as the earlier prophets of God have done in the past to substantiate their claims of prophethood. They wanted tangible evidences to validate his calling as a prophet of God. Of course there were none since Muhammad could not perform any miracles. And Allah came to the defense of Muhammad. But who came to the defense of Allah? He appealed to the authority of the Bible to answer their demands for evidences in the form of miracles. Allah answered: “Have they not received the previously revealed heavenly Books as the evidence of the Truth?” “Were they not given enough miracles in the former Scriptures?”
Do Muslims really understand the significance of Allah’s response to the people who demanded proof of miracles to authenticate Muhammad’s calling as a prophet of God? Noteworthy points can be learnt here from Surah 20:122.
(1) When the contemporaries of Muhammad demanded proof of miracles, Allah responded: “Have they not received the previously revealed heavenly Books as the evidence of the Truth?” By saying this, Allah is telling them that the Bible is sufficient as “evidence of the Truth.” In other words, the Bible is good as the miracles that they demanding.
(2) This Qur’anic verse is also testifying that the evidences to substantiate Allah’s capacity to perform miracles can be found in the Bible. Therefore, if Muhammad needs to provide evidence to his contemporaries, he will have to prove it from the Bible. This means that if his contemporaries want to know about real miracles, they have to go to the Bible. This further proves that accounts of true miracles can only be found in the Bible.
(3) This Qur’anic verse reveals the tremendous authoritative strength of “the previously revealed heavenly Books.” The existence of authentic accounts of miracles in the Bible is as good as the display of miracles itself. If the Bible says so, it surely must be.
(4) Since Allah used “the previously revealed heavenly Books as the evidence of the Truth,” the pervious Scriptures cannot be a lie. They must be absolutely reliable and free from corruption to be described as such. The value of appealing to the “previous Books” is that those individual Books of the Bible are absolutely trustworthy. If the “previous Books” were not trustworthy, what good are their testimonies?
All these evidences demonstrate that even after the arrival of the Qur’an, Allah still value the Bible as an indispensable authority. The fact that Allah used the authority of the Bible to silence his critics shows that it is not a Book that is hopelessly lost in obscurity through the transient of time. Neither is it corrupted in any way. The Bible served as a respected authority for Allah to use whenever the situation demands it. The value of appealing to the Bible by Allah proves the absolute trustworthiness of the Bible. If the Bible is not dependable, its testimony would be of no value.
Muslims must consider why did not Allah answer those miracle demanders without supplicating to the Bible? Why did he not use the Qur’an or inspire a new Qur’anic verse to answer them? After all, at this point in time, the Qur’an was still being revealed piecemeal? Yet, at a crucial moment when Muhammad’s prophethood was challenged, the only authority Allah can turn to was the Bible, to answer the critics. Can Muslims really believe that Allah would permit such an essential Book to become worthless through corruption? Since the Qur’an itself speaks with such reverence about the authority of the Bible, what do you think Allah wants you to believe?
Since the Bible is made up of many individual Books, it is not surprising for the Qur’an to refer to the Bible in the plural as “previously revealed heavenly Books.” By referring to the Bible as “heavenly Books,” the Qur’an is testifying to the truth that the origin of the Bible is divine – heaven itself. In other words, the source of the Bible is none other than God himself. Since God himself is the author of the Bible, do you think any man would be able to change the very Word of the Almighty God? There is an inspired verse in the Holy Bible that is worth considering at this point:
Psalm 119:89: “Forever, O Jehovah, Your Word is firmly fixed in the heavens.”
Since God’s Word is stationed in the heaven, no man will be able to corrupt them. It is divinely protected by God. That is why the Qur’an repeatedly testifies that none can change the Word of God. The Qur’an actually commands Muslims to believe in the former Scriptures. Therefore, true Muslims who are faithful to the teaching of the Qur’an have nothing to lose by following the teachings of their own Scripture in this vital matter of accepting the Bible as the unchanged Word of God. In fact, it is mandatory for Muslims to do so. While the purpose of this article is to assist Christians to defend their Holy Book against the lies propagated by Muslim apologists, it is also the purpose of this article to lovingly implore sincere Muslims to come to their senses.
We sincerely invite Muslims to investigate the teachings of the Bible with an open mind. You can get a foretaste of the Bible’s profound teachings by reading the Sermon of Jesus Christ in the Book of Matthews, Chapters 5–7. These three chapters will forever change the way you have been taught to think. Try it.
TESTIMONY NUMBER TWENTY-FOUR
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 as to whether he was indeed receiving genuine revelations from God. This Qur’anic verse expressly states that as a result of these doubts, Allah had to swiftly take counter measures to address this serious problem. He commanded Muhammad to consult those who read the Scriptures that were revealed before the arrival of the Qur’an. In order to verify the truth, Muhammad had to consult those who read the Holy Bible. [6] Though we have discussed Surah 10:94 briefly in this article, we will now consider it in length. Three different translations of this Qur’anic verse are provided below:
Surah 10:94: “And if thou (Muhammad) art in doubt concerning that which We reveal unto thee, then question those who read the Scripture that was before thee. Verily the Truth from thy Lord hath come unto thee. So be not thou of the waverers.” (Pickthall)
“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)
“So if you (O Muhammad) are in doubt concerning that which We have revealed unto you…then ask those who are reading the Book (Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel) before you. Verily, the truth has come to you from your Lord. So be not of those who doubt it.” (Hilali-Khan)
“Ask those who read the Book before you.” Those who have been reading the “Book” before the time of Muhammad were the Jews and the Christians. And the only “Book” that the Christians have been reading is the Holy Bible. What was revealed to Muhammad was the Qur’an. To paraphrase, this verse is simply saying, “Muhammad, if you have doubts about the Qur’an, seek out the people who read the Bible to clear your doubts.”
Let us now carefully analyze the full implication of this single verse in the Qur’an. This Qur’anic verse is clearly stating that the Bible functions as the standard for Muhammad to determine whether the Qur’an is true or not. It also tells us that the Bible functions as the judge to determine whether Muhammad’s revelations are genuinely from God or not. Thus, this Qur’anic verse reveals that the Bible’s evidence is critical for the confirmation of the authenticity of the Qur’an.
Since the Bible is the standard of truth with which the Qur’an must agree, it stands above the judgment of the Qur’an. It is the Qur’an and not the Bible that has to be viewed in the light of previous Scriptures for verification purposes. It is the Bible that evaluates the Qur’an and not the other way round. This substantiates the indisputable truth that the Bible is far greater in authority than the Qur’an. How can the Qur’an evaluate the Book that evaluates it? Therefore, contrary to the claims by Muslims that the Qur’an was sent to replace the Bible, Allah urges Muhammad to consult the Bible when he is in doubt. Surah 10:94 not only confirms the credibility of the Bible as the authoritative Word of God, but it also reveals the fact that the Qur’an is not meant to supersede the Bible.
Allah commands Muhammad to confer with the Bible when he has doubts. In order for Muhammad to consult the Christians to overcome his doubts, it is absolutely essential, mandatory, crucial, vital, and compulsory for the Bible to remain pure. It would be meaningless for Muhammad to seek clarification from a people who read corrupted Scriptures or Scriptures which could be corrupted. This divine commandment would not have been given to Muhammad if the Bible is altered in any way. It would not have been given if the Bible is to be replaced by the arrival of the Qur’an. This shows that the Bible is the standard of gold by which the Qur’an is to be examined. As Muslims are not above Muhammad, they must also similarly submit to the direction given in this Qur’anic verse.
Here we have Allah’s final Prophet who is advised to clear his doubts by learning from ordinary Christians. Why? Because the Bible – the authentic Word of God – eliminates doubts and restores faith. It would make no sense for Allah to command those who are in doubt to consult with the Christians if the Bible in their possession is corrupted in any way. Christians themselves would certainly be plagued by many misconceptions if what they were studying are distorted Scriptures. Hence, the Scriptures given before Islam – the Holy Bible – must have remained pure and uncorrupted for Allah to command Muhammad to seek its support to eliminate his doubts. Muhammad’s life hangs in the balance if he does not heed this commandment. He will be among those who perish. After the directive in Surah 10:94, the Qur’anic verse that immediately follows reveals the stern warning of Allah to Muhammad.
Surah 10:95: Be not of those who deny Our Revelations and become losers. (Shabbir Ahamed)
“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 Chapter name for Surah 10 is Surah Jonah or Surah Yunus as it known in Arabic. What should be troubling for Muslims is the fact that this Surah is a late Meccan Surah. For the Prophet of Allah to have serious doubts about the revelations he was receiving – almost a decade after receiving them – is indeed troubling. The nature of Muhammad’s doubt is serious because he was having doubts about the validity of the Qur’an itself, the very source that is supposed to build faith in Allah. Read once again the words of Allah in Surah 10:94:
“And if thou (Muhammad) art in doubt concerning that which We reveal unto thee, then question those who read the Scripture (that was) before thee… And be not thou of those who deny the revelations of Allah, for then wert thou of the losers.”
The only solution to resolve Muhammad’s serious lack of faith in the Qur’anic messages was the Holy Bible. That is the only solution Allah could think of to remedy this volatile situation. If the claim by Muslims that the Qur’an was sent to replace the Bible is true, would Allah make such an urgent appeal to the Bible to deal with a crisis as serious as this? The restoration of Muhammad’s faith rested on the Bible. Why was Allah unable to remove the doubts of his Prophet by inspiring a faith-strengthening verse in the Qur’an? Repeatedly, the Holy Bible came to the support of Allah to deal with matters which otherwise could not be solved.
The success of Muhammad’s prophethood depended very much on his submission to the teachings of the Bible. Will not Allah protect such an essential Book from becoming corrupted? Will he not protect the very foundation upon which the credibility of the Qur’an depends on? The Muslim claim that only the Qur’an is preserved with the exclusion of the Bible means the destruction of the very foundation on which the Qur’an builds its dependability. If you destroy the foundation, you destroy everything that is built on it.
Well Muslims, does it not come as a shocking truth to learn that your infallible Prophet – the very recipient of the Qur’an – had serious doubts about the revelations he was receiving – years after he began to receive them? Does it not astound you to learn that the only available source for your Prophet to overcome his doubts is the Holy Bible? For Muhammad to trust the Qur’an, he had to first trust the Bible.
It is also essential for Muslims to note that while the Prophet of Islam was told to go to the People of the Book when he had doubts, the Jews and Christians were never instructed to consult Muhammad. In fact, the opposite is true. They were even admonished by Allah for consulting Muhammad. Instead, they were told to consult their own inspired Scriptures. The following Qur’anic verses clearly testify to this truth:
Surah 5:43: “How come they unto thee for judgment when they have the Torah, wherein Allah hath delivered judgment (for them)?” (Pickthall)
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. (Muhammad Sarwar)
The above two Surahs can still be found un the Qur’an today. This means that even today, Allah is telling Christians that Holy Bible is the only guide for Christians. As such, it has to remain pure. Muslims, if you truly believe in Allah and the Qur’an, you will not allow yourselves to be deceived by those who falsely suggest that the Bible has become corrupted. Read the Qur’an for yourself. Then, as you will be directed to do so by the Qur’an, read the Holy Bible.
TESTIMONY NUMBER TWENTY-FIVE
All too often we find Muslims making the claim that the Qur’an was sent to replace the Bible. They claim that the Bible is no longer the authentic Word of God since it has become invalid through corruption. Incredibly, at the same instant they also claim that the coming of Muhammad is accurately prophesized in the Bible. Consequently, Muslims have to now juggle between the claim of corruption and the claim of authenticity of the verses that supposedly foretold the coming of Muhammad. Therefore, to reconcile these conflicting views, Muslim apologists came up with an ingenious plan. They claim that only parts of the Bible which agrees with the Qur’an should be accepted as authentic. However, where there are discrepancies between the Bible and the Qur’an, the Bible’s view should be rejected in favor of the Qur’an.
While we are happy to acknowledge that there are major differences between the teachings of the Bible and the Qur’an, we do not however agree with their argument that the Qur’an should have precedence in areas where it differs from the Bible. As for these apologists, we will now show them the error of their ways. We will use a single Qur’anic verse to demonstrate why it is erroneous to let the Qur’an have priority over the teachings of the Bible in areas where they conflict. Let us now look at a Qur’anic verse that narrates about an article of faith that is supposedly practiced in Christianity. The Qur’an states:
Surah 2:145: “Even if thou wert to bring to the people of the Book all the Signs (together), they would not follow Thy Qibla; nor art thou going to follow their Qibla; nor indeed will they follow each other’s Qibla.” (Yusuf Ali)
“Even if you give every proof to the people of the Book, they will not accept your Qiblah, nor will you accept theirs. Neither of them (the Jews and Christians) are the followers of each other.” (Malik)
The Qiblah or Kiblah is the direction of the Ka’ba at Mecca, to which Muslims face at prayer. After stating that the “people of the Book” (Jews and Christians) will not follow the Qiblah of the Muslims, this Qur’anic verse then goes on to state, “nor will they follow each other’s Qiblah.” This is indeed a gross error in the Qur’an because Christians never had a Qiblah. They never had a specific direction to face while praying. So, how can the Qur’an then tell that the Jews will not follow the Qiblah of the Christians and vice-versa? It is a well-known historical fact that Christians never had a Qiblah. Even ordinary Muslims are aware of this fact. In the entire Christian Scriptures there is not even a slightest hint of a Qiblah for Christians. Therefore, if Allah truly revealed the Gospel as claimed in the Qur’an, such an obvious error will never be found in the Qur’an. He cannot therefore be the source behind the inspiration of the Gospel.
It is not only a fact that Christians did not have a Qiblah but it is also impossible for them to have one. This is in line with the divine teachings they received from their sacred Scriptures. In 2 Corinthians 4:18, the Bible teaches Christians to keep their “eyes not on the things seen, but on the things unseen. For the things seen are temporary, but the things unseen are everlasting.” Thus, instead of viewing any physical object or place with reverence so as to direct their prayers towards it, Christians are taught to direct their prayers towards their Creator. And because of this profound teaching in the Bible, Christians are not restricted to face a certain prayer direction.
Furthermore, the divine conception of the true Christian faith rules out the association of any physically perceivable object as a focal point for Christians to worship their God. This is potentially idolatrous.
2 Corinthians 5:7: “For we are walking by faith, not by sight.”
Jesus firmly established the Christian position on this issue in John 4:19-24:
The (Samaritan) woman said to him: “Sir, I see that you are a prophet. Our forefathers worshiped on this mountain, but you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where people must worship.” Jesus said to her: “Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you people worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, because salvation began with the Jews. Nevertheless, the hour is coming, and it is now, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. For indeed, the Father is looking for suchlike ones to worship him. God is a Spirit and those worshiping him must worship with spirit and truth.”
The above Biblical verses was revealed more than five centuries before the time of Muhammad. It shows that the form of worship that is specified by Jehovah is not a ritualistic form of physical veneration. Rather, it is a superlative form of devotion that is governed by the inner spiritual veneration of the worshipper towards Him. Can true godliness be attained by just the bodily turning to the right or left? It is not the turning of the body but the turning of the heart towards God in righteousness that counts with Him.
The above words of Jesus clearly show that from God’s point of view, it is futile to direct our prayers towards any physical places of reverence, even if it means a city such as Jerusalem. Christians were never taught by their God to pray facing any physical object, place or city. Thus, Christians were never required to face a specific direction while praying. If Christians had to face a certain direction in order to pray, it will be an insult to the supremacy of their God. Christians do not need a Qiblah. Jehovah, the God whom they worship, will be able to listen and accept the prayers of his faithful servants, no matter from what directions such prayers are expressed to Him.
The Qur’an made an enormous mistake when it spoke about the Qiblah of the Christians. We challenge Muslim apologists to produce a single verse from the Bible that speaks about the Qiblah of the Christians. This is actually a double error in the Qur’an. In the first place, the Qur’an made an obvious error in stating that Christians face a specific direction while praying. Secondly, the Qur’an failed to understand that it is ethically and morally wrong for a Christian to face a specific object while praying as Muslims do. This is because it is potentially idolatrous for the Christian to do so. Such an act does not harmonize with the spirit directed teachings of the Holy Bible.
Right from the beginning, Jehovah God warned the Israelites from falling prey to this subtle form of idolatry. It is subtle because the worshippers who engage in this form of idolatry will deny – just as Muslims do today – that they are actually rendering worship to the object of reverence. Muslims cannot see it as an act of idolatry. The Muslim argument is that while they pray facing that object of reverence, their minds and prayers are actually directed towards God. Therefore, they claim that the object of reverence has no bearing whatsoever on their worship of Allah. If their claim is true, then there is absolutely no reason to face that object of reverence while praying – since it supposedly has no bearing whatsoever on their worship of Allah. In other words, their purpose of facing that object of reverence is in reality pointless.
So, why are Muslims then commanded in the Qur’an to face that object of reverence whenever they have to approach Allah in prayer? Why is it mandatory for them to do so? This shows that contrary to the claim of Muslims, that object of reverence is significant in their form of worship. It is an essential commitment in their sacred service to Allah. Thus, it is indisputably an act of idolatry.
As stated, the Muslim argument is that while they pray facing the object of reverence, their minds and prayers are actually directed towards God. Therefore, they reason it is not actually an act of idolatry. The Muslim argument can be likened to that of a man who justifies his adulterous acts by claiming that he was thinking of his wife while he was committing the sinful act. Can this excuse his sinful act? Adultery is adultery no matter where you direct your thoughts during that sinful act. And idolatry is idolatry no matter where you direct your thoughts while performing the idolatrous act.
And we must not overlook the fact that during the Hajj, Muslims actually touch and kiss the Black Stone with reverence – the focus of the direction of their prayers. That the Black Stone is truly the focus of their prayers can clearly be seen by the fact that the entire ritual of the Hajj centers on this idol in the shape of a Black Stone. And Muslims fondly kiss the Black Stone which with reverence in their heart. This is purely an act of idolatry no matter what excuses Muslims give. Any reverence given to an object is idolatry. Why kiss a stone if your mind is on Allah?
Centuries before the arrival of Islam, Jehovah God warned the nation of Israel to avoid this subtle entrapment of Satan. An entrapment that Islam, centuries later, failed to escape. Read the warnings of Jehovah:
Leviticus 26:1: “Do not make for yourselves worthless idols. You must not erect for yourselves a carved statue or a sacred pillar and you must not put a stone as a sacred showpiece in your land to bow down toward it. I am Jehovah your God.”
Jehovah God told the Israelites not to bow down to any images. And that includes images in the form of a stone:
Exodus 20:4-5: “You must not make for yourself a carved image or a form like anything that is in the heavens above or that is on the earth underneath or that is in the waters under the earth. You must not bow down to them nor be induced to serve them, because I Jehovah your God am a God exacting exclusive devotion.”
1 Corinthians 10:14: Therefore, my beloved ones, flee from idolatry.
Some Muslims claim that the purpose of the Qiblah is to promote unity. It is said that the entire Muslim world is unified by the requirement laid upon them to face a single focal point while praying. However, contrary to the claims made by Muslims, unity is not attained by facing a single direction but by love. The fact that Muslims kill and slaughter one another – while facing a single Qiblah – is a proof of this truth. The Islamic divide is actually much more serious than most Muslims are willing to admit.
There was never and there will never be a Qiblah for Christians. Christians can pray to their God from anywhere, from any direction, in any respectable position, at any time of the day or night and still be confident that their beloved God would listen to them. To insist that you have to face a specific direction or an object to talk to God is an insult to his Almightiness.
Well, there is a disagreement now between the teachings of the Bible and the teachings of the Qur’an. So, what should Christians do now? Should they listen to the suggestion of these Muslim apologists and abandon the profound teachings of the Holy Bible? Should they, in imitation of Muslims, start looking for a pagan sacred stone to face while praying? Would it not be wise for them to follow the divine teachings of the Bible and worship their God with spirit and truth? While we are on this subject, we would like these Muslim apologists to enlighten us on the following issues:
(1) Since when did Christians have a Qiblah? (2) What is the Qiblah of the Christians? (3) Where are Christians supposed to face while praying? (4) If Allah is truly the one who inspired the writings of the Gospel, as the Qur’an claims, then why did he not know that there is no Qiblah in Christianity?
What vital lessons can Muslims learn here? The Qur’an should never contradict the teachings of the Holy Bible. As Surah 10:94 testifies, the Qur’an should never evaluate the Book that evaluates it. Thus, we can clearly see that the suggestions of Muslim apologists to reject the teachings of the Bible that are in conflict with the Qur’an are not only baseless but it can also lead to embarrassment for Muslims. True Christians believe and accept the entire Bible as the authentic “Word of God.”
1 Thessalonians 2:13: “And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God’s message, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the Word of God.”
And Allah warns the Muslim apologists:
Surah 29:46: And do not dispute with the followers of the Book except by what is best, except those of them who act unjustly, and say: ‘We believe in that which has been revealed to us and revealed to you, and our God and your God is One, and to Him do we submit.’ (Shakir)
“And argue not with the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians).” (Hilali-Khan)
A FINAL TESTIMONY
The Qur’an clearly testifies that the Scriptures that were given to the Jews and Christians are the inspired Messages of Allah. The same claim of inspiration is also made for the Qur’an. As such, there should be complete agreement between the teachings of the Bible and the Qur’an. However, since the Bible and the Qur’an differ immensely from one another, Muslims find themselves in a dilemma. How are they going to reconcile the significant differences between the Qur’an and the Bible? In their desperate attempt to reconcile the differences in favor of Islam, Muslims found it necessary to fault the Bible. Therefore, the claim that the Bible is corrupted is nothing more than a desperate attempt by Muslims to salvage the credibility of the Qur’an. However, in their attempt to falsely accuse the Bible of corruption, Muslims have invalidated the Qur’an in the process. Muslims have now proven that Qur’an is false in its claim that the inspired Messages of Allah cannot be corrupted.
In this article we presented numerous evidences to prove why the Bible cannot be corrupted as Muslims claim. Finding no evidences in the Qur’an to support their claim of corruption, some Muslims have begun asserting that the corruption of the Bible must have taken place after the completion of the Qur’an. Of course, this claim is false since it still contradicts the teachings of the Qur’an which says that none can change the Word of Allah. And logically this would mean that Allah’s Word cannot be changed at any time. Therefore, it cannot be changed in the past, present or in the future. It is not supposed to according to the teachings of the Qur’an.
Hence, if Muslims were to insist that the Bible was corrupted after the completion of the Qur’an, this would then mean that Allah was unaware that his Scriptures would become corrupted in the future. And he would not have boldly made the claim that none can change his Word. Of course, this would without a doubt make the Qur’an false since it contains an erroneous claim of Allah in it.
The evidences provided in this article prove with absolute certainty why it is impossible for anyone to corrupt the Bible. And evidences were also shown to prove why it is impossible for the Bible to become corrupted after the time of Muhammad. However, to let this matter rest with absolute certainty, we will reason on this subject further.
Just ponder on this for a moment. If the corruption took place after Muhammad’s time, then our present Bible would surely be different from the Bibles that predated Muhammad. Then how is it possible that we have in various museums, ancient copies of the Bible which predate Muhammad that are identical to the Bibles we have today? Does not this positively confirm the truth that the Bible we have today is the same as the ones that existed before the time of Muhammad? The only possibility for the Bible to reach us identically as the predated copies is by maintaining its authenticity absolutely and remaining unchanged during and after the time of Muhammad. Otherwise, it could not reach us as such.
Furthermore, how does one explain the fact that the Bibles that we have with us today are based on manuscripts which predate Muhammad by hundreds of years? And there are thousands of these manuscripts in multiple languages. We can find manuscripts of the Bible written four to five hundred years before the time of Muhammad that are on public display in museums today. When comparing our modern Bibles with these ancient manuscripts, we can easily substantiate the fact that the Bible we have today has remained the same since those words were written in the Qur’an saying, “there is guidance and light” in the Torah and the Gospel.
The Qur’an testifies to the authenticity of the Bibles at the time of Muhammad. Since the Bibles we have today are identical copies of the Bibles that existed before and during the time of Muhammad, then the Qur’an’s testimony to their authenticity applies with equal force to the copies of the Bible that we have today in our possession. Yes! The Bible has continued to remain unchanged right to our day. We will now show the readers why it is absolutely impossible for the Bible to be altered after the time of the Qur’an’s completion.
ONE: Not only was the Bible translated into many languages before the time of Muhammad, but by then it had already been distributed throughout the civilized world. The Bible was by that time distributed in Europe, Asia and Africa. It was translated into Latin, Greek, Coptic, Gothic, Syrian, Ethiopian, Armenian and many other languages. For the corruption to take place after the time of the Qur’an’s completion, it would mean that the Jews and the Christians were able to alter the texts of every single copy of their Bible, all over the world, in every country and in all the languages that the Bible was written in. And this must be accomplished with the consent and collusion of every single individual in the entire world who owns a copy of the Bible. And they must do this without leaving a single copy of the original Bible to exist. This would then involve the undertaking to destroy thousands or even hundreds of thousands of the original Bibles from all around the world. Are the Jews and the Christians capable of accomplishing such a stupendous task without leaving a trace of their conspiracy?
TWO: Since the copies of the Bible that we have today are identical in its message and content, then the assumption that it came from earlier corrupted versions would mean that the earlier corrupted versions were also identical in their message and content. Therefore, those who corrupted the earlier versions must have made identical changes in all those earlier copies of the Bible in all the nations and in all the languages. And this change has to be made simultaneously in all the Bibles, in all the nations and in all the languages. This means a universal approval for the alteration of the Bible has had to take place. Then, this would also call for every single individual Jews and Christians all over the world – who owns a Bible – to conspire with one another so that the changes would be identical.
Imagine! Muslims are asking us to believe that some unknown individuals were able to change all the manuscripts that were written in multiple languages and that were distributed over a significant geographical area and change them all simultaneously and in the same manner so that nobody would notice the changes. This is not only an utterly absurd proposition but also a feat that is humanly impossible. And we are also left wondering, why did the rest of the faithful Christians and Jews remain silent while their Scriptures were mutilated right before them? This feat, if it is true, would be a miracle in itself.
To even imagine such an event taking place is totally insane. This scenario is not only logistically unachievable but also morally impossible. For this to occur, thousands of God-fearing persons who love the Word of God with their very lives would have had to choose to alter their sacred Scriptures knowingly. Are Muslims expecting us to believe this? The Qur’an itself testifies that faithful worshippers among the People of the Book will take a stand for righteousness:
Surah 3:113: “Not all of them are alike: Of the People of the Book are a portion that stand (for the right): They rehearse the Signs of Allah all night long, and they prostrate themselves in adoration.” (Yusuf Ali)
Not all the People of the Scripture are alike. Among them are those who take a firm stand for the right cause, reflect upon the Revelations of Allah by night and fall in full submission. (Shabbir)
Would not these faithful ones safely protect and preserve their Scriptures? These righteous Jews and Christians would certainly have exposed those among them that were attempting to corrupt their sacred Scriptures. Such sincere worshippers would never permit the corruption of their Scriptures to occur. The Qur’an itself testifies that they will “take a firm stand for the right cause.”
THREE: If Muslims claim that the Bible was corrupted after the completion of the Qur’an, then this is an admission that it was not corrupted before that. If so, how is it possible that until today, not a single copy of the uncorrupted Bible can be found from among the millions of Bibles that were available before the time of Muhammad in the Middle East, Europe, Asia and Africa? What happened to all of those Bibles? If the claim of Bible corruption is true, then the original would be needed to prove the existence of any such distortions in the later copies of the Bible. Such “originals” has never been found till today. Of course it will never be found since the Bible that we have in our possession today is the original. This proves that the Bible that existed before the Qur’an is the same that we have today.
Not only do we have external evidences such as the Qur’an that validates the integrity of the Bible but we also have internal evidences in the Bible itself that prove why the Jews could not have corrupted their Scriptures. Before we proceed on, it is useful in our discussion to remember that since the Old Testament is written in the Hebrew language it is also known as the Hebrew Scriptures.
The principle theme of the Christian Greek Scriptures is the Kingdom of God with Jesus Christ as the principal ruler. Yet, it is significant to note that in the Hebrew Scriptures that were revealed to the Jews, there are numerous prophecies regarding the coming of the Son of God as the anointed ruler of this Kingdom of God. Though the Hebrew Scriptures were completed about four centuries before the time Jesus Christ was born, it contains numerous prophecies regarding his role as the future King and Messiah. The teachings of the Christian Greek Scriptures that identify Jesus Christ as the Son of God is constantly justified by quotes from the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament). There are numerous examples in the Bible to evidence this fact.
For example, in the Hebrew Scriptures in Psalm 2:7, God speaks of the coming of his Son as the anointed one.
Psalm 2:7: I will tell of the decree of Jehovah. He said unto me: “You are my son; today I have become your father.”
Furthermore, in the Hebrew Scriptures in 2 Samuel 7:14, when God informed David that this same Anointed One would be a descendent of his lineage, He once again made the following statement regarding his Son:
2 Samuel 7:14: “I myself shall become his father, and he himself will become my son.”
Both these texts are quoted word for word in the Christian Greek Scriptures.
Hebrews 1:5: For example, to which one of the angels did God ever say: “You are my son; today I have become your father”? And again: “I will become his father, and he will become my son”?
The Hebrew Scriptures find their fulfillment in the Christian Greek Scriptures. Psalms 2:7 and 2 Samuel 7:14, which speaks about the coming of the Son of God as God’s Anointed One, find their fulfillment in Hebrews 1:5 with the coming of Jesus Christ. In fact, there are numerous other prophecies similar to this in the Jewish Hebrew Scriptures that find their fulfilled in the Christian Greek Scriptures.
To this day, the two relevant texts quoted above and many other similar texts remain in the treasured Scriptures of the Jews, a people who do not believe that God has a unique Son any more than the Muslims do. The doctrine of Jesus as the unique Son of God is as fervently rejected by the Jews as it is by the Muslims. It is rejected even more so by the Jews as they do not believe in Jesus at all, whereas the Muslims at least acknowledge that he is a true prophet. Yet, the very texts foretelling the coming of God’s Son into the world remain intact in the Jewish Scriptures. Why did not the Jews obliterate these texts to suit their purposes?
When Muslims claim that the Jews distorted their Scriptures, should not the verses that points to the unique Sonship of Jesus be among the first to be removed or falsified by them? Yet, we do not find that to be the case. The Jewish Bible is exactly the same as the Old Testament Jewish Scriptures which are integrated in the Christian Bible. Could the Jews and Christians have conspired to change their Scriptures identically? Is it possible when the Jews and Christians differ so conspicuously in their beliefs? Besides the fact that God would prevent and never allow such alterations from taking place, the circumstances itself would render such an attempt impossible.
We will now look at another piece of evidence that proves why the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) could not have been falsified as Muslims try to claim. About two centuries before the time of Jesus Christ, the whole text from the original Hebrew Scriptures was translated into the Greek language. This translation is known as the Septuagint and was widely distributed in the Greek speaking world. This translation in Greek would have had to be changed identically along with its Hebrew counterpart, if indeed the Hebrew Scriptures were changed. However, we find no such supporting evidences. To this day this Greek translation is thoroughly consistent with the oldest Hebrew Massoretic texts that have been preserved by the Jews and which are displayed in various museums. This proves that the Scriptures of the Bible were never corrupted and it continues to remain as the authenticity Word of God.
Bevan-Jones, Christianity Explained to Muslims, p. 19:
It only remains to point out that it would have been utterly impossible for the Jews and the Christians to have effected this kind of textual corruption at or about the time of Muhammad, for the following very good reasons: By that period they were spread over the whole of the known world and could not have met together to agree to do this thing. ….Then, too, the Jews and the Christians were, unfortunately, mutually hostile; so that the one party would have promptly exposed any alterations or perversions by the other.
The Jewish Scriptures has been in the possessions of both the Jews and the Christians throughout the world ever since the time of Christ. A falsification of any portion of the text would involve a worldwide conspiracy between every single Jew who owns the Hebrew Scriptures and every single Christian who owns a Bible. Try to figure out if this possible.
QUESTIONS FOR MUSLIMS
If Muslims are serious in their claim that the Bible is corrupted and therefore is no longer the authentic Word of God, then they must be able to answer the questions provided below:
(1) When, and up to what period of time in history was the true uncorrupted Bible in circulation?
(2) Where are the uncorrupted Bibles now to give evidence of the corruption of the Bibles we have today?
(3) Is it not true that to prove that the dollar somebody holds is forged, you have to have the authentic dollar to compare it with the forged dollar?
(4) Do Muslims have the “authentic Bible” to compare it with the Bible that we have today?
(5) Since the entire Muslim world is unable to produce a single copy of the alleged “original Bible,” does it not then prove that the claim that the Bible is corrupted is totally unsubstantiated?
(6) If Christians and Jews have two different religions, what is the purpose of their conspiracy to corrupt their own Scriptures?
(7) Why would Christians corrupt their own Scriptures?
(8) What is the motive of the Jews and Christians for corrupting their own Scriptures?
(9) Where was Allah during the time when all these changes supposedly took place?
(10) What happened to Allah’s solemn promise in the Qur’an that “none can change his Word?”
(11) Even though Muslims claim the Bible to be corrupted, why do they still accept as true that it foretold the coming of Muhammad?
(12) Why do Muslims still use this very same “corrupted Bible” to validate Muhammad’s prophethood?
(13) Is it logical for someone claiming the food to be poisoned, to still find parts of it suitable for consumption?
The ancient copies of the entire Bible, which are called the Codices, date back centuries before the arrival of Islam in early Seventh Century C.E. Provided below are the most well-known Codices:
(1) Septuagint (Second Century B.C.E.) is the earliest translation of the complete Hebrew Scriptures into Greek. This translation is kept in the British Museum.
(2) The Codex Vaticanus (Fourth Century C.E.) is kept at the Vatican Library in Rome.
(3) The Codex Sinaiticus (Fourth Century C.E.) is kept in the British Museum.
(4) The Codex Alexandrinus (Fifth Century C.E.) is kept in the British Museum.
All these ancient Codices were in existence long before the arrival of the Qur’an. And all these different manuscripts confirm the authenticity of the Bible that we have today. The existence of the manuscripts such as the Septuagint, the Codex Vaticanus, the Codex Sinaiticus and the Codex Alexandrinus, testifies that the Bible in our possession has remained the same since the time it was revealed. It is the same today as it was centuries before the Qur’an was revealed. These manuscripts serves as the authoritative document against which translations can be checked to ensure that present day Christians are guided accurately with the inspired message of Jehovah their God.
Muslims provide no dates when the supposed changing took place. No names of the places where the supposed changing was initiated. No names of those responsible for the changes. And no copies of the supposedly original Bible. Yet they audaciously assume it happened. To believe that the Bible is corrupted is to believe a great deception that will hinder Muslims from reading and discovering the wonderful truth of God within its pages. Nowhere in the Qur’an is the Bible described as being textually corrupted. If there were any evidence of actual textual corruption (tahrif), Muslims would have eagerly produced them right away.
In “The Book of Monotheism” which is part of his Sahih, Imam Al-Bukhari explains the meaning of “tahrif” as follows:
“Tahrif” means alteration. However, no one can alter any written character in a book of God. Tahrif was done to the text in the sense of twisting its meaning (misinterpreting it).”
Since “no one can alter any written character in a book of God,” Muslims have to resort to deception to accuse the Bible of corruption. They deviously use the Qur’anic verses that tell how the Jews misrepresented the meaning of some verses to imply textual corruption. Thus, the verses in the Qur’an that Muslims try to use to charge the Bible with textual corruption are only dishonest attempts to mislead sincere seekers of Truth. Since the Qur’an persistently and consistently upholds the integrity of the Bible, it will be contradicting itself if there are even slight hints of textual corruption of the Bible within its pages. An honest reading of the Qur’an proves that from the very beginning of Islam, Muhammad accepted the Bible as the unchanged Word of God.
Logically, if the Bible was ever the Word of God, then God would never allow it to become corrupted at a later time. And since the Qur’an acknowledges that the Torah, the Gospel and the rest of the Scriptures of the Bible that were given to the Jews and Christians are the Words of Allah, then this rules out the possibility of any changes occurring in the Bible at a later period of time. Therefore, for any changes to occur in the Bibles would mean that the Qur’an is not the Word of God. Since Muslims know this, why do they then insist persistently that the Bible has been changed? The reason they do this is because they are caught in a dilemma. It is a lose, lose situation for Muslims. They stand to lose if the Bible is corrupted and they stand to lose if it is not. Either option spells disaster for Islam and the Qur’an.
Muhammad died in 632 C.E. Accusations that the Bible had become corrupted did not arise during the first four centuries following Muhammad’s death. Islamic sources reveal that it was not until 1064 C.E. – more than 430 years later – that the first allegation of Bible corruption was made by Ibn-Khazem (b. 994 C.E.-1064 C.E.). It was only with Ibn-Khazem that the charge of falsification was first made during the 11th century C.E. This charge was concocted by Ibn-Khazem in a desperate effort to defend Islam’s integrity against Christianity when he came upon many serious contradictions between the Qur’an and the Bible. To reconcile the differences in favor of the Qur’an, he deviously accused the Bible of corruption. Thus, the belief that the Bible is corrupted did not originate with the teachings of Allah, Muhammad or the Qur’an.
Muslims, who maintain that the Bible was changed after the time of Muhammad, fail to acknowledge that this charge contradicts the claim of the Qur’an to be the guardian of the earlier Scriptures. To believe in the corruption of the Torah, the Gospel and the other Scriptures of the Bible is to charge the Qur’an with failure in its role to act as the guardian of the Bible. (Surah 5:48) And recall that Allah himself promised to protect all his inspired Messages which he gave to mankind. (Surah 15:9) Therefore, if any claim is made that the Bible is changed, it must then be concluded that the Qur’an and Allah are not to be trusted.
From the evidences provided so far in this article, there is no justification for Muslims to reject the Bible. Muslims do not have a valid reason to reject the Bible because the Qur’an itself testifies to its integrity. The logic concerning the integrity of the Bible is quite simple and inevitable. If the Bible is truly corrupted, then the Qur’an’s testimony to its integrity must be wrong. Since Muslims cannot accept the Qur’an to be wrong, then they must accept the Bible to be right in order for their Qur’an to be true. Thus, it is logically consistent for Muslims to accept the Bible as the uncorrupted Word of God.
Let us now consider the commentary by an early Muslim theologian on his views concerning the alleged corruption of the Bible. Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (1149 C.E. – 1209 C.E.) is a well-known and respected Persian Sunni Muslim theologian and philosopher. He made this statement on the authority of Ibn Abbas, a paternal cousin of Prophet Muhammad:
“The Jew and early Christians were suspected of altering the text of the Tawrat and Injil; but in the opinion of eminent doctors and theologians, it was not practicable thus to corrupt the text, because those Scriptures were generally known and widely circulated, having been handed down from generation to generation. No interpolation could therefore be made in them, although it is admitted that some people used to conceal their true sense and interpretation.” (Sayyid Ahmad, THE MOHAMMEDAN COMMENTARY on the HOLY BIBLE, 7th discourse, p.81)
This commentary by a prominent Sunni Muslim theologian clearly shows that it is impossible to alter the Scriptures of the Jews and Christians. The solid reason is “because those Scriptures were generally known and widely circulated.” The eminent doctors and theologians of Islam testify that it is “not practicable to corrupt the text.” These are their very words.
Not practicable means: not feasible, not realistic, not possible, not workable, not practical, not viable, not achievable and not doable. In short, it means it is utterly impossible to corrupt the Bible. Additionally they also stated that “no interpolation could therefore be made in them.” In other words, no intrusions can be made in them. Therefore, no alterations of the texts could be made in the Bible by the deliberate insertion of foreign or unauthorized materials.
It is interesting to note that the Jews and Christians were only looked upon with suspicion of having altered their Scriptures. The fact that the Jews and Christians were only suspected reveals that Islam does not have a single shred of evidence to validate the claim that the Jews and the Christians actually corrupted their Scriptures. This substantiates the truth that Muslims do not have a single piece of tangible evidence such as the actual textual corruption of the Scriptures to charge the Jews and Christians of corrupting their Scriptures.
And even the grounds for suspicion were shown to be unfounded because in the admission of these eminent doctors and theologians of Islam “it was not practicable to corrupt the text.” Why is it not practicable? The reason is irrefutably clear. According to these eminent doctors and theologians it is not practicable “because those Scriptures were generally known and widely circulated, having been handed down from generation to generation. No interpolation could therefore be made in them.” Thus, Islam’s own conclusion proves that “it was not practicable to corrupt the text.”
But what is more important is the fact that this confirms the undeniable truth that there are no teachings of the corruption of the Holy Bible in the Qur’an. Should teachings of the corruption of the Bible exist in the Qur’an, it would have strongly influenced the opinion of these eminent doctors and theologians of Islam. And they would not have said that “it was not practicable to corrupt the text” and “no interpolation could be made in them.” They would not dare to contradict the Qur’an. Therefore, Muslims who boldly claim that the Jews and Christians corrupted the Bible are really treading on thin ice when they say this.
Sincere Muslims should be glad with evidences provided here because they prove the Qur’an to be right when it says that “none can change the Word of God.” And this means, the Bible that we have today is the authentic, unchanged Word of God. Muslims do not have any valid grounds to reject the Bible since the claim that it was corrupted cannot be supported by the teachings of the Qur’an. Therefore, in harmony with the teachings of the Qur’an, Muslims should accept the Bible as the authentic Word of God. And it truly is.
DIVINE WARNINGS IN THE HOLY BIBLE
God severely warns anyone who tries to change his inspired Word – the Holy Bible. As the author, God holds the eternal copyright. Jehovah strictly forbids the addition or removal of anything from his inspired Word.
Deuteronomy 4:2: “You shall not add unto the Word which I command you, neither shall you take anything away from it, that you may keep the commandments of Jehovah your God which I command you.”
The Bible ends with this warning in the last chapter of the final book of the Bible. In the Book of Revelation this warning is given to us:
Revelation 22:18-19: “I am bearing witness to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone makes an addition to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book. And if anyone takes anything away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take his portion away from the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things that are written in this book.”
The Bible is the final revelation of God to man. The Bible itself testifies to this truth. In fact, it is the only true revelation of God. The Book of Revelation has sealed all messages and revelations. No man is to add any further messages or revelations to the Bible. And no man should subtract from it. Christianity is the final revelation.
Jude 3: “I found it necessary to write you to urge you to put up a hard fight for the faith that was once for all time delivered to the holy ones.”
The Bible is the complete and final Book of God. Genesis is the Book of the Beginning in the Bible and Revelation is the Book of the End. The connection between Genesis and Revelation is truly remarkable. Revelation completes all that Genesis begins.
In Genesis we have Satan’s first appearance, and in Revelation his final destruction. In Genesis we learn how Paradise was lost, and in Revelation we learn how Paradise is restored. In Genesis we learn how sin entered into world, and in Revelation we learn how sin is removed. In Genesis we learn how death came to the human race, and in Revelation we learn how death is removed. There are many more parallels such as these. These things cannot be said of any other book outside the Bible. The Qur’an does not fit into this equation. The Bible is the standard by which we judge the truthfulness of everything else.
The Qur’an, which came centuries later, blasphemously attempts to add to the revelations of the Bible. Thus, the Qur’an fails the test of the Scripture in Revelation 22:18-19. Therefore, it cannot be a final revelation of God. It is not supposed to be. Since the Bible is God’s complete and final revelation to men, it repeatedly warns against those who claim to have received other revelations from God.
Galatians 1:8-9: But, even if we, or an angel from heaven, were to declare any other gospel to you than what we have declared to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone declares any other gospel to you than what you received, let him be accursed.
Those who claim to bring new revelations in addition to the Bible not only contradict and deny the Bible but are condemned by it. We are assured by Jehovah, blessed be his name, that to time indefinite the Bible will be kept pure and above the reach of those who intend to tarnish it.
Psalm 119:89: “Forever, O Jehovah, Your Word is firmly fixed in the heavens.”
The Bible is a comprehensive guidance for mankind:
2 Timothy 3:16-17: “All Scripture is given by the inspiration of God and is profitable for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be fully competent, completely equipped for every good work.”
The Bible is God’s gift to mankind. It reveals the mind of God. There is no greater wealth than the Word of God. As such, it will be preserved at all times. And God has promised to do just that.
Psalm 12:6-7: The sayings of Jehovah are pure sayings, As silver refined in a smelting furnace of earth, clarified seven times. You yourself, O Jehovah, will guard them. You will preserve each one from this generation to time indefinite.
The Bible is like a piece of pure gold. It holds within itself the proof of its purity. It stands on its own merits. It is the product of Jehovah, the Grand Creator. As such, it does not need the Qur’an to verify its authenticity. However, since the Qur’an is the earliest record which details the beliefs and practices of the early Muslims, it is used here exclusively for historical purposes to show Muslims that their own sources support the authenticity and reliability of the Bible. Therefore, the Qur’an’s testimony to the authenticity of the Bible must stand to benefit, not Christians, but Muslims themselves. While the Qur’an is an outstanding witness to the integrity of the Christian Bible, Muslims will stand to benefit only if they accept the evidences of the Qur’an. Only if they accept the indisputable evidences which prove the integrity of the Holy Bible.
A WARNING FROM ALLAH
Allah warns Muslims. He warns Muslims to stop spreading lies about his divine Books. One such lie is the claim by Muslims that some of his divine Books have been altered. If you are a Muslim, it is crucial for you to seriously consider Allah’s stern warning to all those who spread malicious lies about the integrity of the Bible:
Surah 40:70-72: Those who gave the lie to this Book and all the Books which We had sent with Our Messengers shall soon come to know the Truth when fetters and chains shall be on their necks, and they shall be dragged into boiling water, and cast into the Fire. (Maududi)
THE MUSLIM DILEMMA
Since the Qur’an and the Bible disagree on essential issues, they both cannot be right. Logic demands that one has to be in error. Muslims claim that since the Bible does not harmonize with the teachings of the Qur’an, the Bible must have been corrupted. However, the Qur’an in Surah 10:94 recognizes the Bible as the measurement of truth upon which the integrity of the Qur’an is evaluated. To overcome his doubts, even Muhammad was commanded to learn from Christians who studied the Bible, in order to verify the truth regarding the authenticity of the Scriptures. Thus, the Bible serves as a final authority to evaluate the Scriptures of Allah. The Qur’an cannot evaluate the very authority that evaluates it.
Since the Bible is the measurement of truth upon which the Qur’an is measured, it leads us to the inevitable conclusion that whenever and wherever the Bible and the Qur’an disagree, the Qur’an must be in error. In other words, the Qur’an is in error whenever it contradicts the Bible. And there are numerous errors in the Qur’an concerning a myriad of doctrinal issues because the Qur’an contradicts the Bible on these matters. To name a few, the Qur’an is in error concerning the identity of Jesus as the Son of God, the atoning value of his sacrifice and even the manner of his death.
If the Bible was the Word of God at the time when it was revealed and has been changed at a later date, then it means the Qur’an is wrong and has a mistake in it because it clearly teaches that the Word of God can never be changed. Having clarified this, let us analyze what this actually means for Muslims.
- If the Bible has been changed then the Qur’an is not true.
- If the Bible is not changed then the Qur’an is true.
- If the Bible is not changed, then it must be the authentic Word of God.
- If the Bible is the authentic Word of God, then the Qur’an is not true because it contradicts the Bible.
The Qur’an is wrong even when it is right. This is the dilemma for Muslims. It is lose, lose situation for them. Since the Qur’an confirms the Bible as the Word of God, while at the same time contradicting its essential teachings, the Qur’an must be rejected. There cannot be two conflicting sets of truths.
Sadly for Muslims, if there are changes in the Bible, then it proves that the Qur’an is not the Word of God. And if there are no changes in the Bible, then it also proves that the Qur’an is not the Word of God. Muslims must think deeply about this unavoidable conclusion. And yet, this is not the end of the matter.
A FINAL THOUGHT FOR MUSLIMS TO CONTEMPLATE
There is an old English proverb which says, “People who live in glass houses should not throw stones.” It means that we should be careful how we treat others because they could easily do likewise to us. Muslims should not forget their own vulnerability and “throw stones” at Christians by criticizing their sacred Scriptures. Rather, they should look into their own backyard first. It will be sensible for Muslims to seriously consider what the Qur’an itself reveals about the Qur’an:
Surah 15:90-93: Like as We sent down on the dividers, Those who made the Qur’an into shreds. So, by your Lord, We would most certainly question them all, As to what they did. (Shakir)
Just as We sent down to the separatists. Those who made the Qur’an obsolete. By your Lord, we will question them all. About what they used to do. (Talal A. Itani)
Even as We sent down on the dividers, who reduced the Qur’an into pieces, by your Lord, We will question them all concerning what they used to do. (Ali Quli Qara’i)
Yes! The Qur’an admits it has been tampered with. And in addition to this admission in the Qur’an, authentic Islamic sources also confirm that the Qur’an has been corrupted.
Abdullah bin Umar, the son of Caliph Umar stated:
“Let no one of you say that he has acquired the entire Qur’an for how does he know that it is all? Much of the Qur’an has been lost, thus let him say, ‘I have acquired of it what is available.’” (Suyuti: Itqan, part 3, page 72)
This fact is also confirmed by Ubay ibn Ka’b who was a very close Companion of Muhammad:
“This famous companion asked one of the Muslims, ‘How many verses in the chapter of the Parties?’ He said, ‘Seventy-two or seventy-three verses.’ He (Ubay) told him, ‘It used to be almost equal to the chapter of the Cow (about 286 verses) and included the verse of the stoning.’ The man asked, ‘What is the verse of the stoning?’ He said, ‘If an old man or woman committed adultery, stone them to death.”’ (Suyuti: Itqan, part 3, page 72)
Very appropriately, Allah cautions the Muslims:
Surah 5:101:“O ye who believe! Ask not of things which, if they were made known unto you, would trouble you.” (Pickthall)
In conclusion, we would like to emphasize to our readers that our reason for using the Qur’an is not that we believe in it but because Muslims believe in it. But after using the Qur’an to prove to the Muslims that the Bible is the authentic Word of God, we will then use the Bible to prove to them why the Qur’an cannot be the Word of God. We will do this because we love Muslims. They need to know the truth.
If you as a Muslim find this article offensive, please be assured it is a work of love. The article is intently written in an assertive manner so as to thaw you from the years of lies that you have been fed from infancy. Sometimes strong words are necessary to thaw the permafrost like condition of the Muslim mind. Though this article may understandably upset you, but please remember that the ones telling such truths are in reality the best friends of Muslims.
Now that we have come to the end of the article, we will restate an important fact concerning the authorship of the Holy Bible. We know for a certainty that Allah is neither the author nor the inspiration behind the Holy Bible. However, for the duration of this article we had to go along with the Qur’an’s claim that Allah revealed the Bible to mankind. It was a necessary approach that had to be employed to prove to Muslims that their own sacred book confirms the integrity of the Holy Bible. However before we conclude, it is absolutely necessary to clearly identify the true Author of the Holy Bible. We will end this article by referring to a profound verse in the Bible that clearly identifies the true Author of the Holy Bible.
Psalms 83:18: “May people know that you, whose name is Jehovah, You alone are the Most High over all the earth.”
And to this, we say:
“Blessed be his glorious name to time indefinite. And let his glory fill the whole earth. Amen and Amen.” (Psalms 72:19)
ENDNOTES
[1] See introductory commentary to Surah 2 (Surah Al-Baqarah) by Mohammed Marmaduke Pickthall in his translation of the Qur’an. (The Meaning of the Holy Qur’an)
[2] Al-Baidhawi explains that “watch over it” means, “The Qur’an is the protector of all the sacred books to preserve them from any kind of change.” [Qazi Nasiruddin Abusaeed Abudullah bin Umar al-Baidhawi (1300 A.D.) wrote a well known commentary on the Qur’an, originally called “Anwar-al-tunzeel” but now known as “Tafsir-e-Baidhawi”]
[3] See introductory commentary to Surah 6 (Surah Al-Anam) by Mohammed Marmaduke Pickthall in his translation of the Qur’an. (The Meaning of the Holy Qur’an)
[4] See introductory commentary to Surah 5 (Surah Al-Maidah) by Mohammed Marmaduke Pickthall in his translation of the Qur’an. (The Meaning of the Holy Qur’an)
[5] Jesus sub-divided the Old Testament into three basic categories:
Luke 24:44: He (Jesus) now said to them: “These are my words which I spoke to you while I was yet with you, that all the things written in the Law of Moses and in the Prophets and Psalms about me must be fulfilled.”
[6] The Qur’an testifies that Muhammad underwent an episode of inner spiritual crisis giving rise to doubts. This was especially true when he lost hope of performing miracles. Thus, Allah found it necessary to reprimand him in Surah 11:12:
Perhaps you are leaving part of what has been sent down to you, and your chest is straitened by it, because they say: ‘Why has no treasure been sent down to him, or an angel come with him?’ You are only a warner and Allah is a Guardian over everything. (Qaribullah)
And in Surah 6:35, Muhammad incurs a rebuke from Allah:
And if their aversion is grievous unto thee, then, if thou canst, seek a way down into the earth or a ladder unto the sky that thou mayst bring unto them a portent (to convince them all)! – If Allah willed, He could have brought them all together to the guidance – So be not thou among the foolish ones. (Pickthall)
And Muhammad was made to confess in Surah 46:9:
Say: “I am no new thing among the messengers (of Allah), nor know I what will be done with me or with you. I do but follow that which is inspired in me, and I am but a plain warner.” (Pickthall)
In Surah 6:50, Muhammad made the following reply to those who had asked him for a miracle:
Say (O Muhammad, to the disbelievers): “I say not unto you (that) I possess the treasures of Allah, nor that I have knowledge of the Unseen; and I say not unto you: Lo! I am an angel. I follow only that which is inspired in me.” (Pickthall)
And in Surah 7:188, Muhammad is instructed to declare:
Say: “For myself I have no power to benefit, nor power to hurt, save that which Allah willeth. Had I knowledge of the Unseen, I should have abundance of wealth, and adversity would not touch me. I am but a warner, and a bearer of good tidings unto folk who believe.” (Pickthall)
