It is a foundational belief amongst Muslims that the Bible as we have it is wholly unreliable. The claim is that the Bible is a flawed book compared to the Qur’an which is perfect (a miracle from Allah). It is important for the Christian to be ready to answer this accusation from Muslims so we can show them the truth.
Several questions must be asked of the one who makes such claims about the Bible:
What does the Muslim mean when they say the text has been corrupted? Is this a reference to spelling and grammar errors? Or changes in doctrines? What evidence can be given that the teachings of the Bible have been altered over time? When did this alteration happen?
The fact cannot be denied that copyist errors have crept into the Bible over the centuries of copying. No one should deny this. Many errors have come into the text because the manuscripts were copied by sight or by the text being read to the copyist who was writing it on a new scroll. But it is one thing to say there are copyist errors and a whole different thing in saying that the actual doctrines have been changed, such as the Bible’s teaching that Jesus is the fullness of deity in bodily form. The fact that these errors have crept in does not mean that the errors were purposeful, or that teachings within the book were changed purposefully. No evidence can be given to show that the teachings of the Bible have been altered. For instance, no evidence has been brought forth which shows that manuscripts at any time taught that Jesus was only a prophet as the Qur’an teaches.
It is assumed by the Muslim that because Muhammad preached a gospel that contradicted the gospel of the Bible, then the Bible MUST be wrong and corrupted. If the two books contradict in any way, then it is assumed that the Bible is wrong and that the Qur’an, which is a “miracle” from God, is right. This is a prime example of begging the question. There is no attempt to prove their belief. It is just assumed from the get-go because if they are wrong in this presupposition, then they must reject Muhammad as a true prophet from God.
It is also important for the Christian to ask why God would allow the Law and the Gospel (or the Torah and the Injil in the Qur’an) to be corrupted. Was Allah not powerful enough to stop this from happening? And if He did allow this to happen, what proof can be given that He did not allow this to happen in the Qur’an? The answer normally given by the Muslim is that the Qur’an cannot be corrupted because this is what the Qur’an teaches.
18:27 – “recite, [O Muhammad], what has been revealed to you of the Book of your Lord. There is no changer of His words, and never will you find in other than Him a refuge.” [i]
6:114-115 – “Then is it other than Allah I should seek as judge while it is He who has revealed to you the Book explained in detail?” And those to whom We [previously] gave the Scripture know that it is sent down from your Lord in truth, so never be among the doubters.
115 And the word of your Lord has been fulfilled in truth and in justice. None can alter His words, and He is the Hearing, the Knowing.
There are other passages within the Qur’an that teach this idea. The teaching is clear that Allah preserves the scriptures which He gives. When asked how far this promise extends, it is stated by the Muslim that this promise of Allah stops with the Qur’an and does not extend to the Bible. If this is the case, then I pose this question, “How is it that the unchanging, all-powerful God is able to stop one of His books to be corrupted, but not the other? The Qur’an does teach that the Law and the Gospel was given by Allah, doesn’t it?
5:44 – “Indeed, We sent down the Torah, in which was guidance and light. The prophets who submitted [to Allah ] judged by it for the Jews…”
5:46 – “And We sent, following in their footsteps, Jesus, the son of Mary, confirming that which came before him in the Torah; and We gave him the Gospel, in which was guidance and light and confirming that which preceded it of the Torah as guidance and instruction for the righteous.”
These are two interesting verses from Surah 5. Verse 44 teaches that the Torah was sent down from Allah and that it is guidance and light. Then verse 46, we are told that Jesus came and confirmed that the Torah was from God. Jesus confirmed what came before Him, which assumes that the Hebrew text had not been corrupted by the time of Jesus. Then we are told that Jesus was given the Gospel:
5:47 – And let the People of the Gospel judge by what Allah has revealed therein. And whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed – then it is those who are the defiantly disobedient.
Based on the context, it is possible to say that the “judging” spoken of in this text is speaking of judging whether or not Muhammad is the claims of Muhammad to be the final messenger of God. This command is given in the Qur’an to Christians to judge the teachings of Muhammad based on the Gospel of light and guidance that they have been given by God. This also assumes that the correct gospel was present at that time, and the Christians possessed it to be able to make judgments. Does it make any sense at all to say that Allah is commanding Jews and Christians to make judgments about Muhammad based on corrupted and lost documents? This doesn’t make sense to me.
If we judge by the standard of the revelations that Surah 5:44-47 tells us to (the Law and the Gospel as it was at the time of Muhammad), we will see that Muhammad taught a different Jesus, a different God, and a different Gospel than Jesus and His Apostles did in the New Testament. He fails the test.
“But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! 9 As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed! (Galatians 1:8-9).
Muhammad and those who repeat His teachings would be those who are included in this passage given by God through the Apostle Paul. Muhammad, who claimed to receive His revelation from an angel, has contradicted previous revelations given by God, revelations which Surah 5 say are true and give guidance and light.
We have many manuscripts and fragments that predate the time of Muhammad which show that the teachings of the text have not been changed. We also have many teachings of the early church fathers that date back to the first-third centuries that show that Jesus has always been taught to be God. Once again the question must be asked, what evidence can be given to prove that the Torah and Gospel have been corrupted? If no evidence can be supplied, then the Biblical Jesus must be submitted to. Assumptions that the text has been corrupted are only assumptions; blind faith assumptions. Why base one’s faith that Muhammad is a prophet on this assumption, especially when it contradicts the Bible. Allah said His word could not be corrupted in the Bible:
22 Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, 23 having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, 24 because “All flesh is as grass, And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, And its flower falls away, 25 But the word of the LORD endures forever.” Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you. (1 Peter 1:22-25)
Conclusion
The Muslim can only come to their conclusion that the Bible is corrupted if the assume it is corrupted as they approach it. One could do the same thing as the Muslim does with the Qur’an. There are passages that can be pointed to that may give the idea that the Qur’an has been corrupted despite it’s claims otherwise. Just because a book, such as the Qur’an, makes a claim, does not mean it is true.
For instance, below are some different translations of Surah 15:90-91:
“As we sent down (punishment) on the separatists who dismember the Qur’an.” Palmer
“Like as We sent down on the dividers Those who made the Quran into shreds.” Shakir”(such as We have sent down for the quibblers * who have torn the Qur’an apart…)” T.B. Irving
“Such as We send down for those who make division, Those who break the Qur’an into parts.” M.M. Pickthall
Does this passage teach that the Qur’an had been corrupted? Obviously, it depends on the presuppositions you take to the text. There are scholars who believe that the text of the Qur’an has been corrupted:
“…if we understand correctly the following verse of Suratul-Hijr (xv. 90-91): ‘As we sent down upon (punished) the dividers (of the Scripture?) who broke up the Koran into parts,’ we are tempted to state that even when the Prophet was alive, some changes were noticed in the recital of certain verses of his sacred book. There is nothing very surprising in this fact, since Muhammad could not read or write, and was at the mercy of friends for the writing of his revelations, or, more frequently, of some mercenary amanuenses.” (Alphonse Mingana, “Three Ancient Korans”, The Origins of the Koran – Classic Essays on Islam’s Holy Book, ed. by Ibn Warraq [Prometheus Books, Amherst NY, 1998], p. 84; emphasis added)
Also, it should be noted, that many Quranic manuscripts that competed against what is accepted today were destroyed by Uthman b. Affan. It is easy to claim (as the Muslim does) that the Qur’an is perfect and there are not any differences in the manuscripts when all the competing manuscripts had been destroyed. How do they know that they have the true words of Muhammad? How do they know that the Qur’an has not been corrupted? They do not. It is assumed based on their presupposition that the Qur’an is from Allah, just as it is assumed that, since the Bible claims to be inspired by God, that He will not allow His word to be corrupted.
