Bismillah ir rahman ir raheem,
As salamu ‘alikum wr wb (May the Peace, Mercy of Allah and Blessings be upon you)
Does The Qur’an Teach the Bible Was Corrupted?
Before I get started I would like to address you the curious, the truth seeker the student of comparative religion. The state of apologetic and polemics between Muslims and Christians today have reached a point that neither side want to give an inch. It is up to you the truth seeker to open your heart to the truth. I am not able to win any over I am simply able to try and convey the message to the best of my abilities.
One of the amazing things that Muslims believe today especially Muslim apologist is that the Qur’an teaches that the Bible is corrupted. There could be nothing further from the truth.
No where in the entire Qur’an will you find any of the following statements ‘The Bible has been corrupted’. ‘The Vedas have been corrupted’. ‘The Gospel was corrupted’. ‘The Torah was corrupted’. ‘The Book of Mormon was corrupted’.
These statements are just not there!
However, the following statements are also not there. “The New Testament is from God”. “The Bible is from God.” “The Book of Tobit is from God”. “The Book of Mormon is from God”.
But do Muslims have the right to question the Bag Ga-vita, Book of Mormon, the Book of Tobit, the book of Jude, the Infancy Gospel of Thomas , and Zen Avesta?
My answer to that is simply yes. Based upon the Qur’an the Muslims have the right to view with skepticism any claim that a revelation is from God.
We believe that God has sent a prophet to every people and thus has communicated to that prophet, however not all of those communications sent by God to his prophets were preserved and are therefore lost.
For We assuredly sent amongst every People an apostle,(with the Command), “Serve Allah, and eschew Evil”: of the People were some whom Allah guided, and some on whom error became inevitably (established). So travel through the earth, and see what was the end of those who denied (the Truth)
(Holy Qur’an 16: 36)
Of some apostles We have already told thee the story; of others We have not;- and to Moses Allah spoke direct; (Holy Qur’an 4:164)
“We did send messengers before thee: of them there are some whose story We have related to thee,and some whose story We have not related to thee. . .”
[Al’Qur’an 40:78]
So one can readily see from the above that Muslims believe in the universality of the message of Islam. Every people had a prophet sent to them. One of the proofs that Muslims would use to establish this is that every language on this earth has a word for God
Specific types of revelations mentioned in the Qur’an.
Scrolls that Abraham had. (Which the Christians and Jews do not accept)
I would now like to examine the use of the word ‘Suhuf’ in the Qur’an.
(Holy Qur’an chapter 53)
Comments:
Now to my knowledge there is no Christian or follower of Judaism who believes that Abraham was given or contained a collection of scrolls that was a revelation from God.
As they do not believe this and we do not contain such a collection of scrolls today. This becomes a matter of belief. Now there are three pieces of information above that I have found to be very interesting.
Namely the following:
Who will enter the Great Fire,
But the Hereafter is better and more enduring.
That He hath promised a Second Creation (Raising of the Dead);
Now my Holy Qur’an says that these three items are mentioned in the scrolls of Ibrahim and Moses. However a person can search the five books attributed to Moses and find nothing mentioned about the after life, the rising of the dead or the hell fire. This is proof enough that the Torah today that Christians and Jews reference is not what Allah had in mind.
There are three possibilities.
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Either the Qur’an is in error on making such an assertion.
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or this particular revelation is lost (either forever or some where at the bottom of the sea or in some temple waiting to be discovered).
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Or the Torah today is mostly intact with some editing of the text.
As a Muslim I find it highly suspicious that the teachings about the raising of the dead and the hereafter would not be in the Torah. Especially since the Hebrew slaves came out of Egypt a culture immersed in afterlife theology.
In fact the jewishvirtuallibrary which is to represent all things Jewish accurately had the following to say:
“Jewish teachings on the subject of afterlife are sparse: The Torah the most important Jewish text, has no clear reference to afterlife at all.”
A Look At The Taurat In the Qur’an
I would now like to look at the use of the word Taurat in the Qur’an.
Torah/Tawrat: teaching, instruction or law
Examination of Holy Qur’an 5:43-45 and 48
43. But why do they come to thee for decision, when theyhave Taurat before them?- therein is the (plain) command of Allah. yet even after that, they would turn away. For they are not (really) People of Faith.
44. It was We who revealed the Taurat (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: therefore fear not men, but fear me, and sell not my signs for a miserable price. If any do fail to judge by (the light of) what Allah hath revealed, they are (no better than) Unbelievers.
45.We ordained therein for them: “Life for life, eye for eye, nose or nose, ear for ear, tooth for tooth, and wounds equal for equal.” But if any one remits the retaliation by way of charity, it is an act of atonement for himself. And if any fail to judge by (the light of) what Allah hath revealed, they are (No better than) wrong-doers.
48.To thee We sent the Scripture in truth, confirming the scripture that came before it, and guarding it in safety: so judge between them by what Allah hath revealed, and follow not their vain desires, diverging from the Truth that hath come to thee. To each among you have we prescribed a law and an open way. If Allah had so willed, He would have made you a single people, but (His plan is) to test you in what He hath given you: so strive as in a race in all virtues. The goal of you all is to Allah. it is He that will show you the truth of the matters in which ye dispute;
Comments: In regards to verse 43 above there is a hadith about the Prophet Muhammed (saw) that relates to this.
Abu Dawud records in Book 38 Number 4434:
They placed a cushion for the Apostle of Allah peace be upon him who sat on it and said:Bring the Torah. It was then brought. He then withdrew the cushion from beneath him and placed the Torah on it saying: I believed (past tense) in thee and in Him Who revealed thee. He then said: Bring me one who is learned among you. Then a young man was brought…… The transmitter then mentioned the rest of the tradition of stoning similar to the one transmitted by Malik from Nafi’ (No. 4431).
This whole account relates that there was no revelation in Islam as of yet in regards to what to do with married people who committed adultery. Among the Jewish community in Madinah the very issue came up. The charge was that the aristocracy committed adultery so much that the Jews dare not stone for every account of adultery. Muhammed (saw) had a man who could read, read the verse of the stoning and it was applied.
The Qur’an says about the Taurat “By its standard have been judged the Jews.” The Qura’n than goes on to say in verse 44 that If any do fail to judge by (the light of) what Allah hath revealed, they are (no better than) Unbelievers. We see that in this statement based upon verse 43the Jews were chided for coming to Muhammed (saw) when they had the law before them.
Verse 45 states that it was revealed to them “Life for life, eye for eye, nose or nose, ear for ear, tooth for tooth, and wounds equal for equal.”
This statement of the Qur’an appears to also agree with in principle with the statement inExodus 21:24-25.
However, the very curious thing is why do Christians only quote part of the verse of the Qur’an? The verse in total says, But if any one remits the retaliation by way of charity, it is an act of atonement for himself. And if any fail to judge by what Allah hath revealed, they are wrong-doers.
You do not find this statement “But if any one remits the retaliation by way of charity, it is an act of atonement for himself.” Anyone who asserts that the Qur’an is affirming revelation sent before missing the fact that it is also setting it’s own criteria for truth is just being dishonest. As Allah clearly says, ‘And if any fail to judge by what Allah hath revealed, they are wrong doers.”
Notice that verse 48 states .To thee We sent the Scripture in truth, confirming the scripture that came before it, and guarding it in safety: so judge between them by what Allah hath revealed. The scripture that is guarding that which came before is the Qur’an. It is very mean spirited for a person be they a Jew or a Christian to say that ‘Oh the Qur’an is confirming the revelation before it’ but the Qur’an itself is not revelation.
The only authority given to any revelation that precedes the Qur’an comes from the Qur’an itself. Anyone who misses this point is either ignorant or just being mean spirited.
*Note: The Qur’an never says that the Torah is the five books known today as (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy)
If we examine the above statement of an eye for an eye. One may wonder. What happens if a person is blind and that person now blinds someone else? If we take a text at face value and literal interpretation it can become very problematic. This is why in Rabbinical Judaism there is an understanding that God have Moses the Torah as a written and oral Torah.
An example in the Qur’an of the Oral Torah being quoted.
“On that account: We ordained for the Children of Israel that if any one slew a person- unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land-it would be as if he slew the whole people: and if any one saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people.” This could be a quote of/or something that predates Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5
This alone is enough to refute the Kara-rite Jews and Protestant Christian claims that Islam only validates and accepts a written Torah.
Muhammad is the apostle of Allah. and those who are with him are strong against Unbelievers, (but) compassionate amongst each other. Thou wilt see them bow and prostrate themselves (in prayer), seeking Grace from Allah and (His) Good Pleasure. On their faces are their marks, (being) the traces of their prostration. This is their similitude in the Taurat; and their similitude inthe Injeel is: like a seed which sends forth its blade, then makes it strong; it then becomes thick, and it stands on its own stem, (filling) the sowers with wonder and delight. As a result, it fills the Unbelievers with rage at them. Allah has promised those among them who believe and do righteous deeds forgiveness, and a great Reward. (Surah 48:29)
There is no such similitude that I know in what the Jews and Christians would consider the Taurat or the Injeel.
So there is two possibilities for this.
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The Qur’an is wrong that such a similitude exist.
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The entirety of the Taurat and Injeel message is not with us today.
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The Taurat and the Injeel are not with us at all.
As a Muslim I would hold that No. 2 would be my position. As I use the Qur’an as the final criteria.
“Those who follow the apostle, the unlettered Prophet, whom they find mentioned in their own (scriptures),- inthe Taurat and the Injeel;- for he commands them what is just and forbids them what is evil; he allows them as lawful what is good (and pure) and prohibits them from what is bad (and impure); He releases them from their heavy burdens and from the yokes that are upon them. So it is those who believe in him, honor him, help him, and follow the light which is sent down with him,- it is they who will prosper.” (Surah 7:157)
The verse above says that the Muhammed (saw) is mentioned in the Law and the Gospel. Now there are a few ways Jews and Christians and Muslims can approach this.
1) When it says the ‘unlettered Prophet’ it could mean that this prophet is not spelled out by name. Or there could be a reference to a person who is illiterate.
It could also be that there are allegories about this Prophet in the Torah and the Gospel that are preserved therein.
2) His name is mentioned in black and white and since we do not see that in today’s Torah or Gospels than obviously today’s Torah and Gospels are not what the Qur’an has in mind
3) The Qur’an is in error as today’s Torah and Gospel of Jesus are intact and mention nothing about Muhammed (saw).
I am inclined to go with option 1 and I give my reasons for doing so with the following blog entry.
In the end I do not believe that the Qur’an states for Muslims in black and white terms what the Taurat is. I do know for certain that the Qur’an neither the hadiths attributed to the Prophet Muhammed (saw) state that the Taurat is the five books commonly attributed to Moses.
Even in the above hadith where the prophet Muhammed (saw) says bring the Torah the burden of proof could go either way.
However one argument Muslims bring forward that is easily debunked is the idea that ‘Well Allah didn’t reveal anything to Muhammed (saw) yet. This cannot be a solid argument because he simply could have waited. He made reference to what the Jews had because he believed in it as revelation. Simple!
One would be hard pressed to believe that the Torah brought to Muhammed (saw) consisted of the five books commonly attributed to Moses. Let us argue that it could have simply been a scroll and that scroll is what we find in the book of Leviticus today. This would not argue that the entire book of Leviticus is endorsed; nor would it argue that the five books commonly attributed to Moses were endorsed either.
It would be a huge fallacy to assume based upon today’s printing press that every Jew and Christian had copies of their respective scriptures in one whole volume or corpus and took it with them every where they went. This is wishful thinking indeed.
So on what basis would Muslims question the claims made about today’s so called Taurat?
JEREMIAH 8:8
“How can you say,We are wise, and the Law of the Lord is with us’? But, behold, the false pen of the scribes has made it into a lie,”
“How can you say,We are wise, and the Law of the Lord is with us’? But, behold, the false pen of the scribes has made it into a lie,”
Note: ( Whenever you see that term ‘law of the Lord’ the Hebrew word is Torah.)
People will come up with all kinds of clever machinations to avoid the implications of Jeremiah 8:8.
2 KINGS 22:8
“And Hiil-kiah, the high priest,said unto Shaphan, the scribe,I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord. And Hil-kiah gave the book to Sha phan, and he read it.”
“And Hiil-kiah, the high priest,said unto Shaphan, the scribe,I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord. And Hil-kiah gave the book to Sha phan, and he read it.”
“The accession of Josiah and his eagerness to restore the worship of Jehovah led to the renovation of the Temple, and in the course of this, B.C. 621, the book of Deuteronomy was discovered. The priest took it to the king, who joyfully welcomed it and set about putting its program of religious reformation into effect. The dramatic story is told in 2 Kings 22 and 23. Josiah put a stop to the idolatrous practices of the people,…” (Edgar J. Goodspeed ‘How came the Bible?’ pgs 22-23)
The Book of Deuteronomy is thought to be written by Moses.
So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD.
And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Bethpeor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day.
And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated.(Deuteronomy 34:5-7)
Does this mean that God in infinite power could not choose to reveal to Moses the time of his death? It’s true God could have done so. But it’s also likely that Moses did not write “ I am 120 years old when I die”. The fact that the whole context refers to Moses in the third person supports this view. Something really interesting and a step ahead may have been something like this. “The Lord revealed to me that I will be 120 years old when I die”. Not only this but a Christian or Jew would have to give me concrete evidence that this could be repeated today. For example someone being informed of the day that they die.
The two different sets of 10 commandments are also problematic for many people to accept.
14 Wherefore it is said in the book of the wars of the LORD, What he did in the Red sea, and in the brooks of Arnon,
15 And at the stream of the brooks that goes down to the dwelling of Ar, and rest upon the border of Moab. (Numbers 21:14-15)
What is this ‘Book of the Wars of the Lord‘? Who wrote it and where is it? If Numbers is the Torah written by Moses than is the Torah quoting a historical document no longer with us?
Is this document inspired? If it is inspired than the idea that inspired writing can be lost to posterity should no longer be unheard of among Jews and Christians. If this document is uninspired than it should be understood that one may be inspired to quote from uninspired documents.
A Look At The Zabur In the Qur’an
Here is a look at the mention of the Zabur in the Qur’an. The mention of the Zabur to my knowledge comes in three places.
The word Zabur is: understood to be mean song, or music.
“And it is your Lord that knows best all beings that are in the heavens and on earth: We did bestow on some prophets more gifts than others: and We gave to David the Zabur (17:55)
“We have sent thee inspiration, as We sent it to Noah and the Apostle after him: we sent inspiration to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob and the Tribes, to Jesus, Job, Jonah, Aaron, Solomon and to DavidWe gave the Zabur (4:163)
“Before this We wrote in the Zabur, after the Message: My servants the righteous, shall inherit the earth.” (21:105)
Many people today both Muslim and non-Muslim wish to associate the Zabur with the Psalms that are mentioned in the Bible.
The reason many do this is probably due to the statement above in Surah 21, “My servants the righteous, shall inherit the earth.”
Some see a parallel of this statement in Psalms 37:29 that says,
“The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein forever.”
There is a huge difference in that the Qur’an does not state that the righteous will inherit the land‘forever’. The statement mentioned in the Qur’an in it’s exact form is no where to be found and is lost. The closest proximity would be the passage citation of Psalms 37:29
Other than the quote above I have no idea why Muslims or Non-Muslims would assume that Zabur is the Psalms of David in today’s Bible?
I do not believe that there is a statement any where in the Qur’an or Hadith literature that states that the Psalms of David contained in today’s Bible is or has been corrupted.
I also do not believe that there is a statement in the Qur’an or the Hadith literature that equates the Zabur mentioned in the Qur’an with today’s Psalms of David in the Bible. I believe this is fanciful thinking. Any Muslim or Christian who disagrees is welcome to state their reasons for doing so and provide the evidence.
A Look At The Injeel In the Qur’an
Injeel means :the good news,
First let us look at the instances and mention of the Injeel in the Qur’an.
Then, in their wake, We followed them up with (others of) Our apostles: We sent after them Jesus the son of Mary, and bestowed on him the Injeel; and We ordained in the hearts of those who followed him Compassion and Mercy. But the Monasticism which they invented for themselves, We did not prescribe for them: only the seeking for the Good Pleasure of Allah. but that they did not foster as they should have done. Yet We bestowed, on those among them who believed, their (due) reward, but many of them are rebellious transgressors.(Holy Qur’an 57:27)
We believe that Allah had given Jesus the Injeel (Gospel singular) but we would repudiate the following attribution to Jesus based upon what the Qur’an says above that ‘the Monasticism which they invented for themselves, We did not prescribe for them‘.
His disciples said unto Him, “If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry.”But He said unto them, “All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given. For there are some eunuchs who were so born from their mother’s womb, and there are some eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heaven’s sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.”
Matthew 19:10-12
Now it can be argued that this statement only has Jesus recommending the practice, but Muslims would argue that this is an interpolation put in the mouth of Jesus not based upon evidenced but based upon our belief that the Qur’an states this was not ordered upon people. So the Qur’an would not confirm the above statement but it would would repudiate it.
110.Then will Allah say: “O Jesus the son of Mary! Recount My favor to thee and to thy mother. Behold! I strengthened thee with the holy spirit, so that thou didst speak to the people in childhood and in maturity. Behold! I taught thee the Book and Wisdom, the Law and the Injeel and behold! You make out of clay, as it were, the figure of a bird, by My leave, and thou breath into it and it becomes a bird by My leave, and thou heal those born blind, and the lepers, by My leave. And behold! thou bring forth the dead by My leave.And behold! I did restrain the Children of Israel from (violence to) thee when thou didst show them the clear Signs, and the unbelievers among them said: ‘This is nothing but evident magic. (Holy Qur’an 5:110)
The Christians reject the above verse of the Qur’an because they say that this story of Jesus comes from apocryphal sources. This is a very dubious claim. They first want to assert that the Qur’an was an invention of Muhammed (saw) so they imagine that he retrieved this story from some Christians he had contact with in Syria. This would than beg the question. Wouldn’t those particular Christians find the story acceptable, and thus not apocryphal?
For example let us imagine that Muhammed (saw) takes some source from the book of Revelation, Jude or the book of James. There are many Christians of that time and era that would believe it to be spurious, because they only recognized a New Testament canon of 22 books.
For me the Qur’an filling in some accounts of Jesus when he was a baby and his teenage years is very fulfilling and refreshing. I find it hard to believe that the ‘Son of God’ walked around 30 years of his life on this earth and didn’t do or say anything noteworthy?
For example the New Testament says
“Jesus did many other things as well. If everyone of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.(John 21:25)
So it seems rather odd that some Christians that are still disputing canon and scripture with other Christians would find it scandalous that a story of Jesus not found in one particular canon or the other would be very similar to one found in the Qur’an.
The Bible itself says there are many things that Jesus did that are not written down and the whole world would be filled with books if everything was to be written. To begrudge Muslims revelation about Jesus early life when the New Testament is silent about 30 years of his life seems a bit self refuting don’t you think?
Allah hath purchased of the believers their persons and their goods; for theirs (in return) is the garden (of Paradise): they fight in His cause, and slay and are slain: a promise binding on Him in truth, through the Law, the Injeel, and the Qur’an: and who is more faithful to his covenant than Allah. then rejoice in the bargain which ye have concluded: that is the achievement supreme. (Holy Qur’an 9:111)
I have never found this statement any where in the Bible. As a Muslim this gives me pause that everything in the New Testament is the preserved word of God. The Qur’an specifically states that such a promise is made and binding. However I have read the New Testament and have not found such a statement. As a Muslim it is a matter for me that the New Testament cannot contain all of God’s revelation given to Jesus as the Qur’an states clearly that Jesus was given such a binding promise.
“And Allah will teach him the Book and Wisdom, the Taurat and the Injeel
(Holy Qur’an 3:48)
If we look carefully we will note that in the above verse the ‘Book’ , ‘Taurat’ and the “Injeel’ are all different.
Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom.”(Matthew 4:23)
Now this piece of information above is interesting. I believe every Christian would readily agree that Jesus was not teaching from a book. Jesus was not teaching from the Gospel of Matthew or Mark. These are writings which came much latter. The Gospel that Jesus is teaching is what Muslims call the Injeel. What Christians and Muslims dispute about is the contents of this Injeel.
It is He Who sent down to thee (step by step), in truth, the Book, confirming what went before it; andHe sent down the Taurat (of Moses) and the Injeel (of Jesus) before this, as a guide to mankind, andHe sent down the criterion (of judgment between right and wrong). (Holy Qur’an 3:3)
The verse above in the Qur’an states that Allah gave the Injeel to Jesus and that he sent down Al Furqan (the discrimination) that which is able to distinguish; and it is one of the names of the Qur’an.
The next verse is also quite interesting.
Oh People of the Book! Why dispute ye about Abraham, when the Law and the Gospel Were not revealed Till after him? Have ye no understanding? (Holy Qur’an 3:65)
Now this is an interesting point the Qur’an is driving home. We know that Abraham was not a Christian because Jesus brought his message after him We also know that he didn’t follow rabbinical Judaism as the Law also came after him. So here we come full circle.
Some times the Christians will argue ‘oh you Muslims are suppose to look to the New Testament for guidance’. However the Qur’an is calling both the Christians and Jews to look back to that which is primitive, original and primary.
Let the people of the Injeel 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.(Holy Qur’an 5:47)
*Note this is no where saying that Muslims need to look at the Injeel. This no where says that Muslims are to turn to the Injeel for direction and guidance. This statement is made to the people of the Injeel. What ever they believe that Allah has revealed in it than let them make judgments based upon that. It’s not for Muslims because the following verse makes it clear when it says ‘so judge between them by what Allah hath revealed‘.
People may ask well what was ‘that Injeel’ that they were suppose to judge by? Notice that it says by‘what Allah has revealed therein‘.The thoughtful Christian might ask how are we to know what Allah has revealed therein?
Of course the average Christian is not asked to do redaction criticism. However when we look at 2 Timothy 3:16 we get the following
“Every scripture inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness.” (English Revised Version) I have chosen this translation in English because it more accurately reflects the Greek. One must remember that the Catholic and Protestant factions of Christianity are in conflict over ‘Sola Scriptura’ meaning ‘scripture alone’. Thus the Protestant factions have mostly translated 2: Timothy 3:16 as ‘All scripture IS inspired’.
For example we have yet to receive an excellent response from Christian apologist of any stripe about Paul’s First Corinthian Letter.
In 1 Corinthians 5:9, Paul said: “I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people.”
While some would argue that Paul is referring to a previous section of 1 Corinthians (perhaps 5:1-8) rather than referring to a previous epistle, he then continued (in verse 10) to explain exactly what he meant by that statement, which is not what is said in 5:1-8. After explaining what the statement from the previous letter meant, Paul continued in 5:11 by showing the contrasting point, “But now I have written to you…”—explaining the difference between the statement from the previous epistle and the one from our 1 Corinthians.
So there are two ways to understand this.
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That letter is inspired and thus not everything inspired by God is preserved.
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That letter is not inspired and therefore everything written by Paul is not inspired by God.
The other matter is this curious statement at the end of John’s Gospel
“Jesus did many other things as well. If everyone of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.(John 21:25)
As a Muslim I am a bit troubled that for 30 years of his life Jesus didn’t say anything? That God would be in the flesh for 30 years not doing much of anything seems incredulous.
This really should be a matter of reflection for the Christian. Because if you believe that all of it is from Allah than live your life according to it be true and faithful. However if you are not sure about what Allah has revealed than it means you have doubts. Many Christians will read (5:47) of the Qur’an and they will totally ignore (5:66) and (5:68) mentioned below because it does not suit their interest.
48.To thee We sent the Scripture in truth, confirming the scripture that came before it, and guarding it in safety: so judge between them by what Allah hath revealed, and follow not their vain desires, diverging from the Truth that hath come to thee. To each among you have we prescribed a law and an open way. If Allah had so willed, He would have made you a single people, but (His plan is) to test you in what He hath given you: so strive as in a race in all virtues. The goal of you all is to Allah. it is He that will show you the truth of the matters in which ye dispute; (Holy Qura’n 5:48)
49.And this (He commands): Judge thou between them by what Allah hath revealed, and follow not their vain desires, but beware of them lest they beguile thee from any of that which Allah hath sent down to thee. And if they turn away, be assured that for some of their crime it is Allah’s purpose to punish them. And truly most men are rebellious. (Holy Qur’an 5:49)
If only they had stood fast by the Taurat, the Injeel, 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. (Holy Qur’an 5:66)
This is an admonishing to stand fast by not only the Injeel, and the Taurat, but by all the revelation given by God.
Say: “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.” It is the revelation that comes to thee from thy Lord, that increase in most of them their obstinate rebellion and blasphemy. But sorrow thou not over people without Faith.
(Holy Qur’an 5:68)
Again the people of the book, the Jews are told to come to terms with the Christians. This means accepting John and Jesus and prophets sent to other nations. The Christians are told to come to terms with the Zoroastrians, and the other nations on this earth that were sent revelation including the Qur’an. It says ‘all revelation that has come from your Lord.”
And dispute ye not with the People of the Book, except with means better (than mere disputation), unless it be with those of them who inflict wrong (and injury): but say, “We believe in the revelation which has come down to us and in that which came down to you; Our Allah and your Allah is one; and it is to Him we bow (in Islam).”
(Holy Qur’an 29:46)
We settled the Children of Israel in a beautiful dwelling-place, and provided for them sustenance of the best: it was after knowledge had been granted to them, that they fell into schisms. Verily Allah will judge between them as to the schisms amongst them, on the Day of Judgement. (Holy Qur’an 10:93)
If thou were 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.(Holy Qur’an 10:94)
The Christians conveniently love to leave out the context of these verses. Verse 93 clearly states that the children of Israel fell into schisms. Therefore the understanding that they will give Muhammed (saw) would be quite divergent one from the other. This is one of the main reasons why Muhammed (saw) had to be cautious.
When we take verse 94 in context with verse 93 what would we ask ‘those‘.
For example if we asked about Jesus being God. What would rabbinical Judaism say? If we asked the Kara-rites about hell fire and an afterlife in the Torah what would their understanding be? If we asked rabbinical Judaism about John the Baptist what would be the response? What about the followers of Zoroastrianism? They are also ‘those who have been reading the Book from before thee‘.
Notice also that there is a conditional statement placed at the beginning of verse 94 the Christians conveniently look over, the word ‘If’. Could the Christians or anyone claiming that Muhammed (saw) doubted anything in the Qur’an prove that he even once deferred a matter to the Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians?
O ye who believe! Believe in Allah and His Messenger,and the scripture which He has sent to His Messengerand the scripture which He sent to those before (him). Any who denies Allah, His angels, His Books, His Messenger., and the Day of Judgement, has gone far, far astray.(Holy Qur’an 4:136)
It is a dubious claim to equate the word Injeel with the entire New Testament canon. It becomes dubious on many accounts. The word Injeel or Gospel has never come to mean in any dictionary the entire New Testament any Christian making such a claim is being woefully dishonest. Second even if we the word Injeel would equate New Testament which one would it be? The New Testament of 22 books or the New Testament of 27 books?
Again who was the body who decided which books were ‘Inspired’ of God and which were not? Why are Christians still in dispute about 5 books, and in reality 12 books since the Catholic, and Orthodox ‘Old Testament’ canons are different than that accepted by Protestants.
I guess there are some other points that I could address here that would cause many Muslims to give pause to the idea that what Christians today posses is the Word of God in it’s entirety.
The passage below are quite obvious that not every time that Paul spoke was he being moved upon by the Holy Spirit.
“Now to the married I command, yet not I but the Lord: A wife is not to depart from her husband. But even if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband. And a husband is not to divorce his wife. But to the rest I, not the Lord, say: If any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her..1 (Corinthians 7:12)
“Now concerning virgins: I have no commandment from the Lord; yet I give judgment as one whom the Lord in His mercy has made trustworthy.” (1 Corinthians 7:25)
The above statements are contrasted below where Paul was making decisions while concurring with the Holy Spirit.
It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: (Acts 15:28)
Again to support the above view any Christian that is filled with the Holy Spirit (God the Third Person) all one has to do is ask them something they don’t know and ask for inspiration from the Holy Spirit. It could be a question on Calculus, Geography, Molecular Biology or simply how many fingers your holding up behind your back. This is not to be mischievous but simply to stress a point.
And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli, ( Luke 3:23)
I don’t like the fact that who ever is writing this has to guess the age that Jesus began preaching. Saying ‘about’. Though some may not find this very serious I guess I would hold inspiration from a deity to a different standard.
The next text is also troubling.
Matthew 2:15
“where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet “Out of Egypt I called my son.” This is quoted from Hosea 11:1-2.
“When Israel was a child, I loved him,and out of Egypt I called my son.
But the more I called Israel,the further they went from me.
They sacrificed to the Baals and they burned incense to images.
They sacrificed to the Baals and they burned incense to images.
I do ask pardon from my Christian brothers and sisters if I see the statement of Matthew 2:15 as a completely fraudulent and a dubious fulfilled prophecy claim.
I do not see the name of Jesus any where in the text of Hosea 11:1-2. I see that Israel is whom is talked about. Also I believe that whomever wrote the piece in Matthew 2:15 completely ignored the context. I do not believe the context allows for this to be Jesus in any way shape or form particularly troubling is the statement They sacrificed to the Baals and they burned incense to images.
As a Muslim I would never allow that Jesus sacrificed to false idols and burned incense to graven images!
So since the Qur’an no where states that the Bible, Taurat, Injeel, Zabur or Suhuf is corrupted on what basis in the Qur’an do Muslims have the right to examine, investigate and question the Vedas, Book of Mormon, Infancy Gospel of Thomas, Book of Revelation, Talmud, or book of Deuteronomy?
We as Muslims can do this based upon three verses in the Qur’an that tell us to be on our guard.
‘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…’
(Holy Qur’an 3:78)
This of course is because most people during that time are illiterate any how (be they Jew, Christian, Zoroastrian, Pagan or Muslim). They obviously could not read a book for themselves, but were told to be on their guard because of people not being forthcoming in what the text says possibly taking advantage of their ignorance of the original language (that the person did not understand) or the fact that they were illiterate and couldn’t verify it. We see this happening today and this is why all Muslims are encouraged to learn to read and write Arabic.
Every time you read a translation of the Qur’an you are reading someone’s theological musings as well. Same with any sacred literature that claims to come from God.
‘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…(Holy Qur’an 5:13)
Now some Christians in a very mischievous attempt to try and say that the Qur’an confirms the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, the book of Revelation, the Gospel of Barnabas, the Gospel of Mark etc will say that the above verse of the Qur’an is only talking about people who change things with their tongues.
Any truthful reader can see obviously and plain as day that the Qur’an says that they forget a good portion of what was sent and they changed the words from their places. This can only happen if there is an oral tradition being passed along and some people willfully pervert this oral tradition.
‘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.’ (Holy Qur’an 2:79)
This is the verse that conveniently is left out of the discussion. This verse does not say Bible, or Injeel, Taurat, Zabur etc. However, it does say that there are people who are in the habit of writing books and than saying this is from Allah. It is on this basis that Muslims have the right to be skeptical of the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, the book of Mormon, the Vedas, the book of Tobit, Hebrews, the Gospel of Barnabas , the Gospel of Mark etc.
In the end I have done my best to give answer to the detractors of truth. If there are any mistakes surely they are mine. All the praise is due to Allah the Lord of all the worlds!
Prima Quran 