The Corruption of the Bible – A Fact Attested by the Quran

The Corruption of the Bible – A Fact Attested by the Quran

By Ebrahim Saifuddin

Two of our Christian brothers Sam Shamoun and Jochen Katz in their article found here have included part of one of my articles titled “Refuting Christian Claim that Quran testifies the Bible to be Uncorrupted”. Our brothers have tried to analyze certain arguments focusing especially on the word “Saddaqa” used in the concerned Quranic verses. Insha’allah this article will canvass the points which they have raised.

Note: Any quotes taken from the source mentioned above will be colored “green” and my response will be under it. This article aims to refute only the points which refer to my original article in the link above.

The Rebuttal

They quote a verse from the Quran and try to give an argument to establish their point. The verse under question is as follows:

While he was standing in prayer in the chamber, the angels called unto him: “(Allah) doth give thee glad tidings of Yahya, witnessing the truth of a Word from Allah (musaddiqan bikalimatin mina Allahi), and (be besides) noble, chaste, and a prophet, – of the (goodly) company of the righteous.” – [Quran 3:39]

Both of our brothers then give a rebuttal to my explanation of the verse:

The writer completely misses the point of why Christians use this text to prove their case. We are not trying to establish from this passage that John confirmed the Holy Bible, but rather that saddaqa cannot mean (at least in this particular context) what Mr. Saifuddin wishes it meant. For instance, if the reasoning of this author is valid then this suggests that John didn’t confirm Jesus’ mission in its totality or testify to his complete integrity, but only pointed to those aspects of Jesus’ teachings which were correct and exposed all of Jesus’ errors in theology and/or his interpretation of the previous books! This John did despite the fact that Allah claimed to have personally taught Jesus the books and wisdom:

And He will teach him the Scripture and wisdom, and the Torah and the Gospel, S. 3:48 Pickthall

When Allah saith: O Jesus, son of Mary! Remember My favour unto thee and unto thy mother; how I strengthened thee with the holy Spirit, so that thou spakest unto mankind in the cradle as in maturity; and how I taught thee the Scripture and Wisdom and the Torah and the Gospel; and how thou didst shape of clay as it were the likeness of a bird by My permission, and didst blow upon it and it was a bird by My permission, and thou didst heal him who was born blind and the leper by My permission; and how thou didst raise the dead by My permission; and how I restrained the Children of Israel from (harming) thee when thou camest unto them with clear proofs, and those of them who disbelieved exclaimed: This is naught else than mere magic; S. 5:110 Pickthall

Allah must have made mistakes in his instructions to Jesus, errors which were subsequently corrected by the Baptist!

My Response:

This verse regardless of which angle one takes does not in any way prove that the word “Saddaqa” means to confirm falsehood. My reasoning throughout my article referring to the word “Saddaqa” is and I quote from my previous article:

“The word Saddaqa means:

To say (tell, speak) the truth; to be true, truthful, sincere. – [Al Mawrid Arabic to English Dictionary, pg 691]

So here we see that the Quran is ‘speaking the truth’ about the previous revelations. What the Christians had with themselves in those days was corrupted and the Quran is speaking the truth regarding those scriptures. In almost all the verses it is stated that the Quran is ‘confirming the previous revelations’. So it confirms that which was revealed previously by speaking the truth regarding it. The Quran verifies that which is preserved in the Bible ‘to be true’. It is ‘truthful’ and ‘sincere’ to the previous revelations by Allah (swt) and not to the corruptions made by man. An analysis of all these verses will show that the Quran only confirms that which was revealed – not that which is corruption. By confirming that which was revealed then Quran by default exposes the corruption.”

When the word “Sadaqqa” is used in the Quran it refers to the truth not the falsehood. Had the Bible been the complete truth preserved in the form it was revealed then the Quran would have referred to confirming it in totality. Unfortunately the Bible has changed over a period of time and there is falsehood among the truth in the Bible. The Quran states repeatedly that it confirms what was revealed, it never states that it confirms that which was added into the Bible by the scribes.

Similarly using the same logic and applying it to Surah 3 Verse 39 it is only obvious that Yahya (as) (John the Baptist) was to confirm the truth about Jesus (as). The verse tells us that the truth which he will confirm is that Jesus (as) is a word of God, noble, chaste and nothing but a prophet of God. This was the truth which John had confirmed so today if our Christian brothers say that the Bible declares Jesus (as) to be the son of God then according to the Quran and the truth which John the Baptist confirmed, this part in the Bible is falsehood and not the truth. Therefore like I stated in the quote given above “By confirming that which was revealed then Quran by default exposes the corruption.” Even if we say that John came to confirm Jesus’ mission, yet we cannot say that “Saddaqah” means confirming falsehood. For example if we say that Jesus was supposed to be a prophet of God and John knew him as such (Quran 3:39) then if down the road all of a sudden Jesus wrongfully said that he was God, that does not mean that John confirmed that Jesus was God. John simply confirmed that he was a prophet of God. Hence by confirming his prophet-hood by default John would have exposed the falsehood in the claim of Jesus that he was God i.e. if Jesus ever made such a claim.

Thus from the same verse we can deduce that “Saddaqa” when used in the Quran means that the Quran is confirming the truth and the reality of the previous revelations. If any verse mentioned in the Bible today contradicts the truth mentioned in the Quran, then according to the Quran that verse is simply falsehood – not the truth. Hence Allah (swt) never made any errors in teaching Jesus the Torah or the Injeel (Gospel) but it was the scribes who made extensive additions and subtractions to the Bible. Such insertion of falsehood is neither attributed to Jesus nor God by the Muslims. This was the works of the scribes and it is attributed to them.

There are other verses which our Christian brothers try to use as evidence regarding the word “Saddaqa”. These verses are listed below:

And Mary the daughter of ‘Imran, who guarded her chastity; and We breathed into (her body) of Our spirit; and she testified to the truth of the words of her Lord and of His Revelations, and was one of the devout (servants). – [Quran 66:12]

Thou hast already fulfilled the vision! – thus indeed do We reward those who do right. – [Quran 37:105]

And say: “What! shall we give up our gods for the sake of a Poet possessed?”

Nay! he has come with the (very) Truth, and he confirms (the Message of) the apostles (before him). – [Quran 37:36-37]

And he who brings the Truth and he who confirms (and supports) it – such are the men who do right. – [Quran 39:33]

And those who hold to the truth of the Day of Judgment;

And those who fear the displeasure of their Lord, – [Quran 70:26-27]

To your Lord, that Day, will be the procession.

And the disbeliever had not believed, nor had he prayed.

But [instead], he denied and turned away. – [Quran 75:30-32]

Again there is fallacy in the argument which our brothers put forth. Nowhere do these verses suggest that when Saddaqa is used in the Quran, it means to confirm any falsehood. Let’s take these verses one by one and analyze them.

Regarding Surah 66 Verse 12 they state:

Again, if this Muslim author’s logic were sound then Mary only believed a part of Allah’s words to her concerning her son!

My Response:

Where in my article did I state that “Saddaqa” means to believe only a part of Allah’s word? This is a misrepresentation of what I had written in my previous article. The link to my previous article has been given in the introductory paragraph of this article and anyone is free to read that article to find the truth. Mary believed in the complete truth of the words of Allah (swt) and the truth of the revelations of Allah (swt) through Jesus (as). Hence if Mary (as) was alive today she would again confirm the truth in the Bible regarding what Jesus (as) actually taught and will by default reject the falsehood in the Bible.

Regarding 37:105 they state:

Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son is his way of demonstrating his absolute faith that the vision he received was from God. In other words, his actions demonstrated that he truly believed that God had spoken to him in a dream. This is the point that the author of the Quran was making regarding the Holy Bible, namely, that s/he completely trusted the Judeo-Christian Scriptures and believed that these texts are God’s inspired Word. The author didn’t believe that only some parts of it are inspired but that all of it is divine revelation.

My Response:

Again our friends begin with the pretence that I have stated that “Saddaqa” means to confirm only part of something. When a person is confirming the truth then out of a whole it can be possible for the truth to be part of the whole and it can also be possible for the truth to be the complete whole. There is no law in the Quran that if “Saddaqa” is used somewhere to refer to truth which is the complete whole then everywhere else where it confirms the truth then the truth has to be the complete whole. So there is a fallacy in the argument put forth by our Christian brothers Sam Shamoun and Jochen Katz.

Let’s see what our brothers have to state for 37:36-37:

It would be purely nonsensical to say that this reference means that Muhammad merely confirmed only parts of the message of the prophets, but not all of it since not all that they said was true. After all, Muhammad is commanded to say that he believes in all of Allah’s messengers, even those that are not mentioned in the Quran.

My Response:

Again our brothers use the same flawed argument. Muhammad (saw) definitely confirmed their message but the question is where the complete message of Jesus (as) is today? The Quran confirms what was revealed to Jesus (as) and so does the Last Messenger (saw). But if our brothers will try to suggest that the New Testament which the Christians read today is the complete revelation which Jesus (as) got then the authenticity of the Bible needs to be questioned. And that is a historical fact that the New Testament got corrupted over time.

In fact our brothers support the Muslim stand completely when they say:

Hence, confirm here can only mean that Muhammad completely believed in the prophets that God sent beforehand and that his Quran supposedly confirms their messages as being fully reliable.

The Quran does confirm their messages fully but to claim that the Bible has their complete message would be preposterous considering the historical evidence of its corruption.

My Response to 39:33; 70:26-27; 75:30-32:

The reason why I am collectively given a response to all these verses is because our brothers have used the same flawed argument where they have unfortunately assumed that I stated “Saddaqa” means to confirm only a part of something. If I present someone a book where part of the book has scientific accuracies but other parts are grossly unscientific, it is within anyone’s capacity to confirm the truth in the book and present additional scientific facts which would be default expose the inaccuracies in that book. If one confirms the truth in that book, it does not under any logic fit to place that the entire book has now been confirmed. Only the truth has been confirmed and that would expose the falsehood by default. The Quran does the same with the Bible – it confirms the original revelations to Jesus (as) and thus confirms the truth that is in the Bible and exposes the falsehood inserted by the pens of the scribes. A lot of additional information is also given in the Quran that exposes the falsehood in the Bible thus proving that the Quran in no way suggests that the Bible we read today is the preserved word of God.

Here is another quote from the article of our Christian brothers:

Since our friend is fond of quoting exegetes such as Ibn Kathir here is what this renowned commentator stated regarding these very same references:

<the Tawrah and the Injil>. The Tawrah is the Book THAT ALLAH SENT DOWN TO MUSA, son of Imran, while the Injil is what Allah sent down to Isa, son of Maryam, peace be upon them, AND ISA MEMORIZED BOTH BOOKS…

<If you believe. And I have come confirming that which was before me of the Tawrah,> affirming the Tawrah AND UPHOLDING IT,” (Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Abridged – Surat Al-Baqarah, Verse 253, to Surat An-Nisa, Verse 147, Abridged by a group of scholars under the supervision of Shaykh Safiur-Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri [Darussalam Publishers & Distributors, Riyadh, Houston, New York, Lahore; March 2000, first edition], Volume 2, Parts 3, 4 & 5, pp. 163, 165; source; bold and capital emphasis ours)

My Response:

The amusing bit here is that once again they try to misrepresent what was written in my article. I quoted Ibn Kathir only once in the article and apparently that makes me “fond of quoting exegetes such as Ibn Kathir.” Apart from in only one place I never quoted any person and the reason why I quoted Ibn Kathir and others was to expose the lies of certain Christian missionaries. I quote the reason from my previous article:

Many Christian missionaries falsely claim that “muhaymin” was understood by Muslims of the past and present to mean that the Bible in the form it was in those days was uncorrupted.

It was in this context that I quoted Ibn Kathir, however apparently our Christian brothers desperately want people to believe that I am fond of quoting exegetes of people like Ibn Kathir. Now to address to what the Christian brothers are trying to hint. The Torah was taught to Jesus (as) by Allah (swt) as stated in the Quran. Hence yes it is possible that he memorized it but what he memorized would be the actual Torah and not any corruptions. Similarly that one he upheld without a doubt. In fact if the Torah of the Jews in that day was corrupted and Jesus (as) spoke the actual Torah, it makes more sense why the Jews were so aggressive towards him.

In Conclusion the matter of the word “Saddaqa” is very simple to understand. “Saddaqa” means to speak the truth or to confirm the truth about something. Thus when the Quran confirms the Bible it only confirms the truth about it and thus exposes the falsehood in it by default. The Christian brothers have misunderstood this simple fact and try to imply that I wrote in my article that “Saddaqa” means to confirm part of the whole. This is a false allegation as I never stated that. “Saddaqa” means to confirm the truth and if the truth is part of the whole then it confirms only that part and if the truth is the complete whole then it confirms the whole. It is easy for any person to spot the fallacy in their argument.

Towards the end of the article the two authors quote some exegesis regarding Verse 121 of Chapter 2.

To drive the point home regarding the Quran confirming that the Holy Bible is God’s preserved Word note what the following commentaries say in reference to Q. 2:121:

Allah then mentioned the believers from among the people of the Book: ‘Abdullah Ibn Salam and his companions, Bahirah the Monk and the Negus and his followers, saying: (Those unto whom We have given the Scripture) given knowledge of the Scripture, i.e. the Torah, (who read it with the right reading) describe it AS IT IS AND DO NOT ALTER IT: expositing what is lawful and unlawful, its commands and prohibitions to whomever asks them, and they further act according to what is clear and unambiguous and believe in that which is ambiguous therein, (those believe in it) in Muhammad and the Qur’an. (And who disbelieveth in it) in Muhammad and the Qur’an, (those are they who are losers) who are duped in that they loose both this world and the world to come. (Tanwîr al-Miqbâs min Tafsîr Ibn ‘Abbâs; source; bold, capital and underline emphasis ours)

And:

(121) Wahidi relates on the authority of Ibn ‘Abbas, “This verse was sent down concerning the people of the ship who came [to Medina] with Ja’far ibn Abi Talib from Abyssinia. They were forty men, thirty-two from Abyssinia and eight of the monks of Syria. The monk Bahirah was said to be among them.” In another tradition related on the authority of al-Dahhak, we are told, “The verse was sent down concerning those among the Jews who accepted faith [such as 'Abdallah ibn Sallam and others].” Still another tradition related on the authority of Qatadah and ‘Ikrimah states, “It was sent down concerning the Companions of Muhammad” (Wahidi, p. 37; see also Ibn Kathir, I, pp. 286-287; Qurtubi, II, p. 95; Tabarsi, I, p. 448; and Shawkani, I, pp. 135-136)

Zamakhshari interprets the verse as follows: “‘They to whom we have given the scriptures’ are the faithful among the people of the Book who recite the scriptures IN THEIR TRUE RECITATION, neither altering nor changing what they contain of the description of the Apostle of God. Those who have faith in their scriptures are contrasted with ‘whosoever rejects faith in it [the scriptures],’ that is, alterers. ‘These shall be the losers’ because they exchange guidance for error.” (Zamakhshari, I, p. 308) (Mahmoud M. Ayoub, The Qur’an and its Interpreters [State University of New York Press (SUNY), Albany], Volume 1, pp. 149-150; bold and capital emphasis ours)

Since the only Scriptures that the Jews and Christians have been reciting are those which we possess today it is quite obvious that these are the Books which the Quran is confirming to be God’s true Word.

My Response:

What they have quoted actually refutes what they are trying to imply. In the exegesis it is mentioned that this verse could refer to the People of the Book and also could refer to the Companions of Prophet Muhammad (saw): “Still another tradition related on the authority of Qatadah and ‘Ikrimah states, ‘It was sent down concerning the Companions of Muhammad’”. Thus for them to use something which even the early Muslims were not sure of, as evidence, is amusing at best. However for a moment let’s give our friends the benefit of the doubt and say that this verse refers to the People of the Book. Does that really mean that the Quran suggests that the entire Bible is uncorrupted? Let’s analyze this point here.

Tanwîr al-Miqbâs min Tafsîr Ibn ‘Abbâs states that “given the Scripture” means “knowledge of the scripture i.e. Torah”. Firstly since when did “Torah” constitute the entire Bible? Secondly Ibn Abbas states that they have knowledge of the Torah given by God – not the uncorrupted Torah. They knew what was right in it and what was not based on this knowledge which Allah (swt) has blessed them with and thus consequently recognized Prophet Muhammad (saw) to be the Last and Final Messenger. Many Christians today have much knowledge of the Bible which they read. For example the Biblical Unitarians will deny any Trinity based on their correct knowledge of the Bible. Similarly back then there were People of the Book who had the knowledge to know what is incorrect in the Bible and thus accepted Islam when they were brought the truth. This verse talks about those people. It in no way says that the entire Bible is uncorrupted. Even today if someone reads the Bible with little understanding, he will leave concepts such as the Trinity. In other words these people approach the Bible with intellect thus we have Christians denying the Triune God concept. Not only that; these people referred to by the Quran also do not conceal the prophecies regarding Prophet Muhammad (saw) in the Bible which exists even today. That is what Ibn Abbas and Zamakshari have written. They have not written anywhere that the Bible which the people had in their hands in those days was free from corruption and was a hundred percent the unaltered Word of God.

Our friends however conveniently overlook the fact that these are not the writings or saying of the Prophet or the Quran but mere interpretation of the people which can be wrong and can be right. Even if one was to state that Ibn Abbas or Zamakshari was attesting the entire Bible to be uncorrupted, then its common sense that men are fallible and can make mistakes. Thus to verify whether they did err or not we have to analyze the Quran and see what the Quran has to say regarding the Bible being corrupted or uncorrupted. This leads us to our next section of the article where we analyze what the Quran has to say regarding the Bible.

Quran Testifies – The Bible is Corrupted

The Quran in itself testifies that the Bible was corrupted over time. The evidence is undeniable and regardless of what the Christian missionaries would want the Quran to say regarding the Bible, it is obvious that the Quran speaks the truth about its corruptness. Let us take time to view and analyze the clear cut evidence from the Quran:

But because of their breach of their covenant, We cursed them, and made their hearts grow hard; they change the words from their (right) places and forget a good part of the message that was sent them, nor wilt thou cease to find them- barring a few – ever bent on (new) deceits: but forgive them, and overlook (their misdeeds): for Allah loveth those who are kind. – [Quran 5:13]

This verse refers to the Jews as seen from the preceding verse in the Quran. Two points are being stressed in the above verse as can be seen by any layman. First is that the Jews broke the covenant for which they were punished by Allah (swt). Second is that they changed the words of their Scriptures. This is clear evidence that the words of the Torah were changed by the people. They were being misinterpreted and thus consequently when copies were made of the scriptures, the words were changed and written according to their personal interpretations. They abandoned the good in their Scripture and thus down the road they grossly corrupted their Book.

Similarly we see in the proceeding verse:

From those, too, who call themselves Christians, We did take a covenant, but they forgot a good part of the message that was sent them: so we estranged them, with enmity and hatred between the one and the other, to the Day of Judgment. And soon will Allah show them what it is they have done. – [Quran 5:14]

Again we see in this verse, the Quran clearly mentions people who call themselves “Christians” (i.e. followers of Christ) broke their covenant and abandoned the true message that was sent to them. When people like Paul came along they abandoned the true teachings of Jesus (as) and tried to create a religion of their own. There was a race of popularity being run by Paul. The Jews rejected Paul and today some scholars doubt that Paul himself was a Jew. However that is to be discussed in a later article. Paul wanted people to accept his version of Christianity. As a marketing ploy he included paganism in the teachings of Jesus so as to make it appealing to the Romans. This point will also be discussed in a later article Insha’allah however it was appropriate to make reference to the doings of Paul here and hence I did. Such people are being referred to by the Quran and truly today Christianity is no more than a Pauline religion rather than being the religion brought by Jesus (as).

Further on we see that the Quran speaks more on the people who had corrupted the previous scriptures:

Among the Jews are those who distort words from their [proper] usages and say, “We hear and disobey” and “Hear but be not heard” and “Ra‘ina,” twisting their tongues and defaming the religion. And if they had said [instead], “We hear and obey” and “Wait for us [to understand],” it would have been better for them and more suitable. But Allah has cursed them for their disbelief, so they believe not, except for a few. – [Quran 4:46]

This verse refers once again to the corruption of the text of the Scriptures of the Jews. They tampered the text, misinterpreted and distorted the meanings of the verses of their Book. Similarly in another place it is stated in the Quran:

The example of those who were entrusted with the Torah and then did not take it on is like that of a donkey who carries volumes [of books]. Wretched is the example of the people who deny the signs (ayaat) of Allah. And Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people. – [Quran 62:5] (emphasis added)

Again we see in the verse that ones who failed to follow the Mosaic Law although it was made obligatory on them are like donkeys with huge tomes. They had the information but they understood it not and falsified the verses of Allah (swt).

Then woe to those who write the Book with their own hands, and then say: “This is from Allah,” to traffic with it for miserable price! – Woe to them for what their hands do write, and for the gain they make thereby. – [Quran 2:79]

The Quran refers to those people who changed the scriptures and then marketed it as a Word of Allah (swt). Classic example is of Paul who changed the teachings of Jesus (as) and mixed paganism in it to sell it to the Romans.

Regardless of what our Christian brothers desire the Quran is very clear in its message that the previous scriptures were corrupted by men and the Quran only confirms the previous revelations – part of which is in the Bible today. This does not mean that the Quran testifies the Bible one holds in their hands today to be free from any error. The Quran brings forth parts of the truth which were removed or added from the Bible. For instance the Quran says:

That they said (in boast), “We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah.;- but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not. – [Quran 4:157]

This verse clearly exposes the falsehood entered by the scribes that Jesus was crucified. The Quran mentions in clear terms that Jesus was not crucified. Further the Quran says that those who say that Jesus was crucified do not have knowledge and only follow mere assumptions. Who says that Jesus was crucified? The Bible suggest so and the Christians follow it. Thus the Quran is actually exposing the lies of the Bible and the Christians. And then our Christian brothers say that the Quran attests the Bible to be uncorrupted!

Moving on, Allah (swt) revealed the following verse in the Bible:

O People of the Book! Commit no excesses in your religion: Nor say of Allah aught but the truth. Christ Jesus the son of Mary was (no more than) an apostle of Allah, and His Word, which He bestowed on Mary, and a spirit proceeding from Him: so believe in Allah and His apostles. Say not “Trinity”: desist: it will be better for you: for Allah is one Allah. Glory be to Him: (far exalted is He) above having a son. To Him belong all things in the heavens and on earth. And enough is Allah as a Disposer of affairs. – [Quran 4:171]

Once again Allah (swt) through the Quran reveals the corrupted nature of the Bible which Christendom reads. The Quran makes it clear that if any text or person says that Jesus (as) was anything more than a messenger of Allah (swt) then that text or person does not know the reality of the situation and is speaking falsehood. Further the Quran tells the people not to say “Trinity” as that is an incorrect term. The Christians yet use this term which proves according to the Quran that their beliefs are corrupted and based on grossly misinterpreted texts of the Bible. Further the verse also states that God does not have a son. Yet our Christian friends will say that according to the Bible God does which further proves that the Quran testifies only to the truth in the Bible and exposes the falsehood in the Bible.

This brings us to another important verse in the Quran:

And behold! Allah will say: “O Jesus the son of Mary! Didst thou say unto men, worship me and my mother as gods in derogation of Allah?” He will say: “Glory to Thee! Never could I say what I had no right (to say). Had I said such a thing, thou wouldst indeed have known it. Thou knowest what is in my heart, Thou I know not what is in Thine. For Thou knowest in full all that is hidden. – [Quran 5:116]

Repeatedly we see the Quran exposing the falsehood in the Bible and confirming only the truth which is in the Bible. Our Christian friends will tell us that Jesus is a god according to the Bible. This verse categorically denies that Jesus (as) ever said or taught any such doctrine. Quran once again exposes the falsehood in the Bible which was added by the people and was never part of the original revelations that were sent to Jesus (as).

[Jesus] said, “Indeed, I am the servant of Allah. He has given me the Scripture and made me a prophet. – [Quran 19:30]

Jesus (as) always stated that he was only a prophet of God and not god according to the Quran. Therefore the Quran is clearly saying something against the Bible which shows that the Quran disagrees with the Bible. As a result to even think that the Quran attests the entire Bible to be uncorrupted is simply laughable.

Let’s go through some other verses of the Quran to see how it declares the Bible and the Christians to be following falsehood:

And they say: None entereth Paradise unless he be a Jew or a Christian. These are their own desires. Say: Bring your proof (of what ye state) if ye are truthful. – [Quran 2:111]

The Bible teaches the Christians that salvation can only be achieved by accepting Christ as the lord and savior. If one does not accept him as the lord and savior then that person is not saved and obviously will not enter Paradise. The Quran rejects any such idea that to enter Paradise one has to become a Christian. It declares such a thing to be mere fabrication.

Never will the Jews or the Christians be satisfied with thee unless thou follow their form of religion. Say: “The Guidance of Allah,-that is the (only) Guidance.” Wert thou to follow their desires after the knowledge which hath reached thee, then wouldst thou find neither Protector nor helper against Allah. – [Quran 2:120]

Allah (swt) informs Prophet Muhammad (saw) that the Christians and the Jews want him to follow their religion but he (saw) is to reject their religion. Here the Quran calls the religion which the Jews and Christians follow to be that which is to be rejected – not accepted as they are one of those who went astray.

Historical Evidence – Bible Is Corrupted

This topic was supposed to be a separate article but I am adding a summarized version of it to this article as it is relevant and proves without a shadow of doubt that the Bible overtime was corrupted by people. First when we talk about the Bible, let us make it clear that there was no such thing as the canonized Bible in the early days of Christianity. There were many sects each followed their own book(s). Today scholars suspect many letters written in the name of Paul and Peter, to have been written by later followers of Paul and Peter pseudonymously. These suspected documents are as follows:

· Ephesians

· Colossians

· 2Thessalonians

· 1Timothy

· 2Timothy

· Titus

· 2Peter

There are times when in the Bible Paul mentions other letters which he wrote but they exist no where in the Bible today:

I wrote to you in my letter to stop associating with people who are sexually immoral. – [1Corinthians 5:9]

This makes one wonder whether the Holy Spirit was guiding them in those letters as well or did he write them out of his own free will. Was this letter rejected by the people of his days as being inspired by God? If it was truly inspired by the Holy Spirit then the fact that it is not available today means that what was sent as an inspiration by God was not taken care of by the people along the timeline thus proving that corruption did occur.

Our Christian brothers will try to contend that Colossians is authentic and written by Paul. This would actually put Christendom in more troubled waters. In Colossians another letter is mentioned:

When this letter has been read among you, have it read also in the church of the Laodiceans. And be sure to read the one from Laodicea. – [Colossians 4:16]

Here the supposed author Paul is asking the people to read the letter of Laodicea. Where is this letter? An apostle is asking people to read his letter but this letter is nowhere to be found. Had the early Christians rejected this letter of the supposed apostle Paul? Or later down the timeline people just got rid of this letter? Surely this again shows that what God had inspired faced corruption by man. Such questions probably tormented a faithful admirer of Paul by the name of Marcion who was termed a “heretic” later. It was probably due to such questions that Marcion tried to forge the letter calling it “To The Laodiceans”.

Further when one version of the Bible is compared to another we find that additions have been made. Pick up the King James Version and compare it with the New International Version or the Revised Standard Version. There are verses which have been removed like 1John 5:7 or the last 12 verses of Mark. They were claimed to be fabrications. Such examples are again evidence that the Bible was corrupted over a period of time. The scribes added and changed the Bible the way they pleased and in view of the opposition which they had to face.

Celsus, a pagan, had noted this act of the scribes as well. Although his writings do not exist, they can be found quoted in the writings of Origen, a Christian scholar, in the 3^rd century, titled ‘Against Celsus’. Celsus wrote:

“Some believers, as though from a drinking bout, go so far as to oppose themselves and ALTER THE ORIGINAL TEXT OF THE GOSPEL THREE OR FOUR OR SEVERAL TIMES OVER, and they change its character to enable them to deny difficulties in face of criticism.” – [Against Celsus 2.27] (emphasis added)

Christianity being attacked from a pagan was bothersome for Origen and thus in his rebuttal he refuted this claim. However elsewhere Origen, regarding the scribes, wrote:

“The differences among the manuscripts have become great, either through the negligence of some copyists or through the PERVERSE AUDACITY OF OTHERS; they either neglect to check over what they have transcribed or, in the process of checking, THEY MAKE ADDITIONS OR DELETIONS AS THEY PLEASE.” – [Quoted by Bruce M. Metzger, “Explicit References in the Works of Origen to Variant Reading in New Testament Manuscripts,” in Biblical and Patristic Studies in Memory of Robert Pierce Casey, 1968, pg.78-79] (emphasis added)

Many tried to put the responsibility of this on the so-called “heretics”. However honest scholarship claims that additions and deletions were not done only by the “heretics”. One can write numerous books on the corruptions which the Bible did face over time but it is not within the scope of this article to go in such details. More details will go in another article that I will write in the future Insha’Allah. The purpose to add it here was to prove that it is indisputable that the Bible is corrupted.

Our Christian brothers write in their article and I quote:

Just because the extant manuscripts (MSS) of the Septuagint postdate the time of Christ doesn’t mean that they do not accurately reflect the text of the Septuagint which Jesus had access to, especially when we have manuscript (MS) portions of this version that were written before and during Christ’s time. Archaeologists have discovered 2^nd century BC fragments of Leviticus and Deuteronomy (Rahlfs nos. 801, 819, and 957), and 1^st century BC fragments of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, and the Minor Prophets (Rahlfs nos. 802, 803, 805, 848, 942, and 943). These small portions substantially agree with the later copies of the Septuagint, providing evidence that Jesus would have been basically reading the same form of the Hebrew Bible that we find today.

My Response:

Firstly I never stated in my article that lack of the original prove a hundred percent that the manuscripts available are not the same. This is again a misrepresentation of my argument. I merely stated that the missionaries cannot claim for sure that the manuscripts are the same as that during the time of Jesus. Further by reading what the two Christian authors have written any reader can spot the flaw in their argument. They constantly have used the word “fragments” and yet somehow these “fragments” can verify the entire book? Any child knows that the Old Testament was in Hebrew. This was later translated into Greek and is known as the Septuagint. These FRAGMENTS are of the Greek translation and not the Hebrew one. There is also no concrete evidence that Jesus knew how to read and speak Greek.

The Septuagint is also grossly mistranslated and comparing it with the Hebrew texts one can find many errors therein. For example we find the NT writers quoting from the Septuagint in the following verse:

“Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, ‘Sacrifice and offering thou hast not desired, but a body thou hast prepared for me.’” – [Hebrews 10:5-6]

The quote is from Psalms 40:6. So let’s just check how it is in the Hebrew text of the same verse:

“Sacrifice and offering Thou hast not desired; mine ears Thou hast opened.” – [Psalms 40:6]

Notice the difference?

Another example well known to many people lies in the Gospel according to Matthew:

“Now all this took place that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel.’” – [Matthew 1:22-23] (emphasis added)

Here the author quotes from Isaiah 7:14 and below is the quote from Isaiah:

“For this cause the Lord himself will give you a sign; a young woman is now with child, and she will give birth to a son, and she will give him the name Immanuel.” – [Isaiah 7:14] (emphasis added)

Note that in Hebrew it’s not “virgin”.

These were just random examples to show the inaccuracy of the Septuagint. So when Ibn Kathir writes in his commentary that Jesus memorized the Torah, he means the actual Torah – not a mistranslated one in the Greek language.

Moreover our friends from answering-islam state:

Moreover, the author conveniently forgot to mention the Dead Sea Scrolls that were discovered in 1947 which contained copies of all of the OT books with the exception of Esther.

It is interesting that they should mention the Dead Sea Scrolls. In many places the DSS agrees with the Masoretic text rather than the Septuagint. There are places where it is similar to the Septuagint as well and thus some scholars state that the Septuagint might have come from some different Hebrew Text. One only wonders how many different versions were there before the Septuagint. Apart from that about only 30% of the DSS is the Old Testament with the exception of Esther, like our brothers mentioned. This 30% is all fragments and not complete whole books like Christians would want us to believe. Fragments cannot attest entire books. This is a major deception that is often used by Christendom. If there is a fragment dated to earlier days, it is marketed as if that piece of fragment can verify the entire book that we have today.

Further our brothers write:

He further forgets that Jesus, in the NT, extensively quotes the OT books as the inspired and authoritative Word of God. Hence, there is absolutely no doubt that the text of the Torah used by first century Jews is virtually identical to what is found in modern Bibles today.

Now are friends are just assuming that I believe that every verse of the Bible is a Word of God and it never changed. I think if I believed that then I would not have written my original article nor would I have written this. The NT was written by people after Jesus and it has faced changes in it like I have proved above. Such additions and deletions leave one to wonder whether Jesus did actually say many of the things which the scribes have attributed him to say.

Conclusion

At the end of the article the reader can be the judge himself whether the Quran attests the entire Bible or only confirms the truth in it thus exposing falsehood by default and in particular in some places. Biblical scholars have faced immense problems due to the colossal historical evidence of the Bible’s corruption over time. Now some people out of sheer desperation start to look towards the Quran to try and take some support from it. I do not intend to burst their bubble but the fact is clear that the Quran too says that the Bible was corrupted over a period of time by the people. This is in complete agreement with the historical evidence.

I have had some people ask me why the Quran does not go in more detail regarding this matter. The answer here is very simple. The purpose of the Quran was not to indulge into a Christian-Muslim Dialogue. The purpose of the Quran is far above and beyond that. If the Quran was to go into such minute details regarding every topic then it would become an impractical Book. The Quran thus mentions in a few clear cut terms that the Bible is corrupted and does not go into analyzing each and every verse of the Bible. Allah (swt) has blessed us with a brain and logic and one can use that and study the Bible and historical evidences to know the details of this corruption of the Bible.

This article examined in detail the Quran’s stand on the authenticity of the Bible and investigated in a summarized form the historical evidence which testifies against the Bible. Christianity adopts a view of Jesus that many in the early days of Christianity rejected and many today reject because they use their intellect while reading their scriptures. The Quran completely denies that God can ever have a son and that He is far above that. Regardless of what many Christians wish or desire, it is about time they face reality the way it is. The Bible has no support either from the Quran or historical evidence that it is uncorrupted. All evidences point to its corruption by the people.