Steed of Truth

Updated At: Apr 14, 2024

What does the Quran say about the bible?

The Quran teaches that Islam is a continuation of the religion of the Biblical Prophets who were before Muhammad according to:

Hence the Scriptures given by these Prophets are considered to be genuine Scriptures from Allah. However, Muslims today reject the Bible in the possession of Christians as reliable. In spite of the Quran speaking of the Book of the Jews and Christians highly and with great reverence, they find that they must attack the credibility of the Bible. They postulate that the Bible must have been corrupted because of its teaching which opposes that of Islam. 

This supposition was birthed in the 11th century by Ibn-Hazm who amongst many other things was a sunni theologian and an historian in modern day Spain. This is what Ibn-Hazm said - "But Muhammad tells us to respect the Gospel. Therefore, the present text must have been falsified by the Christians." Despite Ibn-Hazm accusations, what testimony does the Quran bear to the bible? 

The Quran bears witness to the fact that in Muhammad's time there were Christians and Jews in the Arabian Peninsula. They were both called in the Quran "The People of the Book" or "People of the Scriptures." The Quran testifies that it was Allah who inspired/sent down these Books which these two religious communities revere.

The Quran also testifies to the fact that the books of these two religious groups were existing and present with them, and not a scripture they used to possess in the past, but now are lost. It also attests about itself as a confirmation to these previous revelations. 

The question for every Muslim who claims the Bible was altered is; when did the Bible get corrupted If the Bible was corrupted before Muhammad as some Muslims suggest it took place at the council of Nicaea, why then did Allah refer people to those "corrupted" scriptures as we read in the following verses: 

The Quran encouraged and urged the Jews to judge by the Torah and Christians by the Gospel, and declared that they have no ground to stand upon apart from the Torah and Gospel. Allah also instructed Muhammad to consult those who read the scriptures if he was in doubt about the message that he had received. If the scriptures were corrupted and unreliable prior to Muhammad, why then did Allah command them to consult those scriptures to know his will & judgment? 

The Quran claims to have been sent down to confirm the scriptures of the Jews and Christians. To confirm means to establish the truth, accuracy, validity, or genuineness of something. By the Quran claiming to confirm the scriptures of the Jews and Christians, the Quran is bound to corroborate with those scriptures and it is therefore judged by those previous scriptures on its veracity/reliability. Since the Quran considers these revelations as established authority and they preceded it, and since the bible contradicts the quran we can therefore conclude quran is false. Furthermore, to accept that the Bible is the Word of God is to say Quran is false because it fails to confirm what came before it by contradicting it in many areas. If the Bible is true then the Quran is false. If the Bible is false then the is Quran is false again. This is the big Quranic dilemma that Muslims will not be able to run away from. Muslims have no choice but to say the Bible is corrupted because it exposes all the false claims that the Quran makes.

If the Bible got corrupted after Muhammad lived, we have Biblical manuscripts from before, during, and after this time. Such as: Codex Sinaiticus (Dated around the fourth century i.e over 100 years before Muhammad's birth. Containing the whole of the New Testament and much of the Old), Codex Alexandrius (Dated around the fifth century, containing the whole Bible as we have today), Codex Boreelianus (Dated around the ninth century, containing the Gospels), Codex Regius (Dated around the eighth century, containing the Gospels). This archaeological evidence amongst many others allows us to be sure that the Torah and Gospel mentioned in the Quran are the same books that are found in the Bible today.

Some Muslims may claim that the present Bible is not the book Muhammad refers to in the Quran. They claim the Quran is speaking of another Torah and Gospel. This Torah and Gospel which none of them have ever heard of, seen or read. What manuscript evidence do they have to support the claims of these make-believe Torah, Psalms and Gospel? Since the Quran commands Muslims to believe in these books, where are these books they claim to believe in? Or how should Christians according to the Quran judge by this gospel that is non existent? This claim is totally not founded on evidence nor reason but simply a bias for the Quran to remain true. 

Many Muslim apologists quote Biblical verses selectively to align with Islamic theology, often ignoring or dismissing other verses that challenge or contradict Islamic beliefs, claiming those verses that contradict Islamic theology is corrupted. This selective adherence is critiqued in Surah 2:85, which questions the partial acceptance and rejection of scripture: 'Believe ye in part of the Scripture and disbelieve ye in part thereof?'.

Let us assume for a second that these revelations from Allah (Torah and Gospel) were actually corrupted, does not the Quran suggest that they were sent down by Allah and were his words? If that's the case, doesn't the Quran state in

If this verse is true, then the previous scriptures which were sent down by Allah remains uncorrupted because Allah claims none can change His words! If He was not able to keep His Word from corruplion then He is not all powerful and thus not God. If He was unwiling to keep His Word from corruption then His attributes(names) of Truth and Immutability are compromised hence Allah of the Quran is not the true God.

If truly the Book of the Jews and Christians is corrupted, it implies that Allah was either unable or unwilling to keep His Word from corruption, either way Allah of the Quran is not the true God. Dear Muslims, instead of parroting arguments from Muslim websites, please try researching if the bible is truly corrupted or not. If you do believe the Bible is corrupted then you disagree with both the Quran and Muhammad.