Muslims are raised having been taught that the book of the Jews and Christians is corrupted. Click here to read the earlier posts of this series. The fact is that the Qur’an does not teach so. This has been a cause for sorrow and has added to the Islamic Dilemma. What Qur’an teaches is that some Jews and Christians changed their Torah (Old Testament) and Injeel (New Testament), but it nowhere teaches that the entire bible in every part of the world was altered or corrupted (Tahrif).
Table of Contents
Islamic Dilemma caused by insistence of Muslims
This is even true when we see the worldwide evidence of original manuscripts of the Jews and the Christians from the past 3000 years. We shall see the Christian manuscript part later. Now let us see what the Qur’an says concerning the Jews. It says that only some Jews (living in the Arab region in the days of Mohammad) changed the words of the Holy Book.
And among them are the illiterate who know nothing about the Scripture except lies, and ˹so˺ they ˹wishfully˺ speculate. So woe1 to those who distort the Scripture with their own hands then say, “This is from Allah”—seeking a fleeting gain! So woe to them for what their hands have written, and woe to them for what they have earned.
Quran 2:78-79
Commentary (Tafsir): “Among them are unlettered folk” this phrase means not all Jews but among the Jews are some unlettered ones (Arabic word is Ummi meaning illiterate or gentiles who converted to Judaism
See Ibn Ishak and he says that in Surah 7:157, 158 Mohammad is called gentiles prophet or unlettered prophet / illiterate/ converted [not born]).
The tafsir for Surah 3:78 says that there is among them a section who distort the Book with their tongues; (As they read), you would think it is a part of the Book, but it is no part of the Book; and they say, “That is from Allah,” but it is not from Allah. It is they who tell a lie against Allah and (well) they know it! (Yusuf Ali Translation) Thus, Quran is very clear from Surah 2:78-79, 3:78 that only a certain section of Jews altered their books. Quran in another verse says, that even in times of Mohammad, the other section had their book preserved which Mohammad asked them to look into and verify.
(And Lo! there is) of the Jews (a party of them) Ka’b and his fellow men (who distort the Scripture with their tongues) by reading the traits of the anti-Christ in their Scripture, (that ye may think) that the lowly may think (that what they say is from the Scripture, when it is not from the Scripture. And they say: It is from Allah) in the Torah, (when it is not from Allah) in the Torah; (and they speak a lie concerning Allah knowingly) fully aware that this is not in their Scripture.
Tafsir for Sura 3:78
The Verdict of the Qur’an
Thus, Quran is very clear from Surah 2:78-79, 3:78 that only a certain section of Jews altered their books. multiplying the Islamic Dilemma, the Quran in another verse says, that even in times of Mohammad, the other section had their book preserved which Mohammad asked them to look into and verify.
And how should they make you a judge, while with them is the Torah, in which is Allah’s judgement? Yet in spite of that, they turn their backs and they are not believers.
Quran 5:43
Let the people of the Evangel judge by what Allah has sent down in it. Those who do not judge by what Allah has sent down —it is they who are the transgressors.
Quran 5:47
Say, ‘O People of the Book! You do not stand on anything until you observe the Torah and the Evangel and what was sent down to you from your Lord.’ Surely many of them will be increased by what has been sent down to you from your Lord in rebellion and unfaith. So do not grieve for the faithless lot.
Quran 5:68
Conclusion
In the above Quran verses, it is confirmed that Quran only speaks of certain sections among Jews and Christians who altered scriptures and the rest of the ones who did not alter scriptures had their Law (Torah) and Gospel (Injeel), whereby the Quran asked them to look into their own books. It makes no point in Quran telling them to look into their books if all the bibles in the world were corrupted.
Adding to the Islamic dilemma, Jews and Christians were asked to refer into Bible but Mohammad himself was asked to verify by himself looking into the bible of Jews and Christian if he had any doubts, (Surah 10:94), proving that there was certainly among Christians and Jews uncorrupted bibles.
End of “The Backlash – Islamic Dilemma multiplied by Qur’an 4”
