The Quranic witness to the authority of the Holy Bible

Sam Shamoun

A common accusation leveled by Muslims against Christians is the belief that the Holy Bible in our possession today, has been corrupted and no longer represents the original teachings of God's messengers. Hence, Muslims believe that God sent down the Quran as a criterion to judge and correct the Bible, exposing the corruption made to it. Accordingly, anything contained within the Holy Bible that is confirmed by the Quran can be trusted and is acceptable to Muslims. At the same time, the passages of the Bible that disagree with the Quran are rejected as interpolations added on later by the community of believers expressing their personal beliefs and experiences.

Doctrines such as Original Sin, the Trinity, the divinity of Yahushua (Jesus), His vicarious death and atonement, are ideas foreign to the original, pristine teaching of Yahushua (Jesus) and His first followers, whom the Quran agrees, were Muslims submitted to the exclusive worship of the One True God. Since the Bible teaches the above-mentioned doctrines, it could not have possibly been preserved from deliberate textual corruption, since it would have agreed with the Quran in every detail.

This assumption is fallacious for the following reasons:

There are nearly 25,000 whole or fragmentary copies of the individual books of the Bible in our possession today, with some dating back four, six, and even eight centuries before the compilation of the Quran. Due to the fact that everything was hand-copied, thousands of variants arose. Yet, textual critics who are not necessarily Christians, have carefully examined these variants and have concluded that we have 98.33% of the original reading, with the 1.77% still remaining intact within the variants. Hence, we have virtually 100% of the original reading faithfully preserved via the manuscript copies. Further, the critics have also established the fact that none of these variants affect any major doctrine, since most of them are nothing more than misspellings, numerical discrepancies, and scribal notes which were assumed to be part of the text by later scribes.

An example of a variant is given here for further clarification:

Y*u hav on a illion llars
Yo ave w*n mill dollars
You have won a * dollars
You * million ars

A careful examination of these variants would lead us to the conclusion that the original document read, "You have won a million dollars." This exemplifies the majority of the variants found in the Bible, and clearly demonstrates that these in no way affect any tenet of faith whatsoever.
The Quran itself bears witness to the fact that the Bible we have today is the uncorrupted Word of God. Before proceeding to the evidence for this claim, we will quote the common assumptions made by Muslims and respond to them:

1.: The Quran confirms the Torah of Moses and the Injil (Gospel) given to Yahushua (Jesus). It never mentions the Gospels (plural) or the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Old Testament).

Response:

The Quran affirms the Torah that was available at the time of Muhammad, and the Gospel in usage at that time:

Sura 7:156-157:: "And I will write down (my mercy) for those who are righteous and give alms and who believe in our signs; who follow the apostle, the unlettered prophet, whom they find written in the Torah and the Gospel THAT IS WITH THEM.

Remark: This verse states that there is a prophecy of Muhammad to be found in the Gospel [singular] available during that time. This destroys the Muslim contention that the Quran mentions the Gospel given to Yahushua (Jesus), not the gospels written about him, since the only Gospel in usage at the time of Muhammad were the same four-fold Gospel accounts contained within our modern-day New Testaments.)

Sura 53:36:: "Nay is he not acquainted with what IS IN THE BOOKS OF MOSES."
Sura 5:46:

Remark: Notice how Muhammad is commanded to defend both the Quran and the Torah of Moses that was available to him as a guidance from God. No mention of textual corruption whatsoever.

These verses presuppose that an uncorrupted Torah and Gospel exist which both Jews and Christians are commanded to study and adhere to.

The only Torah the Jews have ever known, and Gospel that Christians have possessed are that which make up the five books of Moses and the four gospel accounts* found in our modern Bibles today.

In fact, God personally states to Muhammad in 32:23 that he should have no doubt that the Torah of his time is the very same Torah of Moses.

This is solidified by the fact that we have copies of these books that are both prior to and contemporary with the time of Muhammad, and are identical to what we have today. It is purely wishful thinking to suppose that the Torah and Gospel referred to at the time of Muhammad were something totally different in content from what we have in our possession.

Response:

This is another unsubstantiated assumption. It is presumed that since the word "Bible" does not appear in the Quran, then what the Judeo-Christian communities commonly refer to as God's Word is not acceptable to the Muslims.

Yet, if one were to trace the word Bible back to the Greek, one would discover that the word itself comes from the term biblia, meaning "books." Hence, in time the collection became classified as the Book due to the fact that although the Bible consisted of 66 individual writings, the author was one, the Holy Spirit, having one unifying theme: the advent of God's Messiah-Deliverer.

Not surprisingly, we find the Quran mentioning the Book (Arabic- al-Kitab) of the Jews and Christians:

The Muslim scripture again presumes the existence of an uncorrupted Book which both Jews and Christians study. The only Book in the hands of the Judeo-Christian community at the time was the Bible as it exists in its present form. Furthermore, the Arabic term used for the Bible is the very same used in the Quran, al-Kitab al-Muqaddas, the Holy Book. Hence, the Kitab referred to in the Quran is the very Kitab used by Arab Christians during and after the time of Muhammad.

Furthermore, it is not true either that the term Torah only referred to the five books of Moses. In both the Holy Bible and the Hadith the word is used in a generic sense to refer to the Old Testament as a whole.

For instance, the Mishkat al-Masabih cites several traditions (Book XXVI, Ch. XVIII, pp. 1232, 1233 and ch. XIX, p. 1244) which indicate that the Torah prophesies the coming of Muhammad:

Ata b. Yasar told that he met `Abdallah b. `Amr b. al-As and asked him to inform him of the description of God's messenger given in the Torah. He agreed, swearing by God that he was certainly described in the Torah by part of the description of him given in the Qur'an when it says,

"O prophet, We have sent you as a witness, a bearer of good tidings, and a warner, and a guard for the common people." (From Al-Ahzab 33:45 up to here. The following is from the Torah-Old Testament, Isaiah 42:1-3,6-7.) "You are my servant and my messenger; I have called you the one who trusts, not harsh or rough, nor loud-voiced in the streets. He will not repulse evil with evil, but will pardon and forgive, and God will not take him till He uses him to straighten the crooked creed so that people may say there is no god but God, and he opens thereby blind eyes, deaf ears and hardened hearts. Bukhari transmitted it, and Darimi also gives something to the same effect on the authority of `Ata who gave as his authority Ibn Salam.

The citation from the Torah is actually found in Isaiah 42:1-3, 6-7. You will not find a single reference in the Torah of Moses matching the above citation. This proves that at least in this Hadith the word "Torah" referred to more than the first five books of Moses.

"Yahushua (Jesus) answered them `Has it not been written in your LAW, I said you are gods?'" John 10:34

"The crowd spoke up, `We have heard from the LAW that the Christ will remain forever, so how can you say, "The Son of Man must be lifted up?" Who is this Son of Man?'" John 12:34

There is no reference in the books of Moses that indicates Christ will remain forever. The only places you'll find such statements are Psalm 110:1,4 and Daniel 7:13-14. Hence, the Jews used the term "Law" (Torah) as a reference for the whole of the Hebrew Bible.

"But this is to fulfill what is written in their LAW: `They hated me without reason.'" John 15:25

In Romans 3:10-19 Paul alludes to Psalms 5:9, 10:7, 36:1, 14:1-3, 51:4, 53:1-3, 59:7-8, 140:3 and Ecclesiastes 7:20 as "the Law".

"In the LAW it is written: `Through men of strange tongues and through the lips of foreigners I will speak to this people, but even then they will not listen to me,' says the Lord." 1 Corinthians 14:21

Paul includes Isaiah 28:11-12 as part of the Law. This should sufficiently demonstrate that the term Torah or Law came to be used in a broader sense referring to the entire Hebrew Bible. This is precisely what we find in the Hadith as well.

Finally, by the start of the second century the term "Gospel" was used by the early church to refer to the fourfold Gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Noted scholar, F. F. Bruce explains:

"At a very early date it appears that the four Gospels were united in one collection. They must have been brought together very soon after the writing of the Gospel according to John. This fourfold collection was known originally as `The Gospel' singular, not `The Gospels' in the plural; there was only one Gospel, narrated in four records, distinguished as `according to Matthew', `according to Mark', and so on. About A.D. 115 Ignatius, bishop, of Antioch, refers to `The Gospel' as an authoritative writing, and as he knew more than one of the four `Gospels' it may well be that by `The Gospel' sans phrase he means the fourfold collection which went by that name." (Bruce, The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable? [Intervarsity Press; Downers Grove Il., rpt. 1992], p. 23)

"By the time of Irenaeus, who, though, a native of Asia Minor, was bishop of Lyons in Gaul about A.D. 180, the idea of a fourfold Gospel had become so axiomatic in the Church at large that he can refer to it as an established and recognized fact as obvious as the four cardinal points or the four winds:

`For as there are four quarters of the world in which we live, and four universal winds, and as the Church is dispersed over all the earth, and the gospel is the pillar and base of the Church and the breath of life, so it is natural that it should have four pillars, breathing immortality from every quarter and kindling the life of men anew. Whence it is manifest that the Word, the architect of all things, who sits upon the cherubim and holds all things together, having been made manifested to men, have given us the gospel in fourfold form, but held together by one Spirit.'" (Ibid., p. 24)

Hence, to a Christian living at the time of Muhammad the term `Gospel' meant the fourfold collection found in our present day Bibles.

Response:

This is a strong indication that the term Criterion does not suggest that a scripture called by this term corrects and exposes corruption to previous revelation, since there were no scriptures prior to the one given to Moses.

"The month of Ramadan is that in which the Quran was revealed a guidance to men and clear proofs of the guidance and the Criterion (Furqan)..." [2:185 - Maulana Muhammad Ali; F.E. Peters trans.]

The Quran is stated to be the clear proof of the guidance and of the Furqan, implying that the Furqan is something other than the Quran; at least in this reference.

"O you who believe, if you keep your duty to Allah, He will grant you a distinction (Furqan) and do away with your evils and protect you. And Allah is the Lord of mighty grace." [8:29 - M. Muhammad Ali]

This passage promises Muslims that if they believe and keep duty, Allah would grant them a Furqan. This could not be the Quran since it was already being given piecemeal to the community through their prophet Muhammad.

"And know that whatever you acquire in war, a fifth of it is for Allah and for the Messenger and for the near of kin and the orphans and the needy and the wayfarer, if you believe in Allah and in that which We revealed to Our servant, on the day of Discrimination (Furqan), the day on which the two parties met..." [8:41 - M.M. Ali]

This verse was revealed in connection to the battle of Badr, where the Muslims met the other party in war on the day of Furqan. Based on the context itself, Furqan can only mean victory, i.e. that Allah granted the Muslims victory over the much larger opposition. This suggests that the term can and often does mean more than simply a criterion used in relation to judging right and wrong. In fact, the term is used to refer to things other than the Quran, and is therefore not something unique to Islam.

"Blessed is He Who sent down the Discrimination (Furqan) upon His servant that he might be a warner to the nations." [25:1 - M.M. Ali]

The revelation that Muhammad received is the Furqan that is to be used to warn the nations. Yet, in Sura 3:3 all the books of God were sent as a Furqan:

"He has revealed to thee the Book with truth, confirming that which is before it, and He revealed the Torah and the Gospel aforetime, a guidance for the people, and He sent the Criterion (al-Furqan)..."

This passage makes it clear that the Furqan cannot be referring to the Quran alone, since the two are seen as being distinct. It is precisely this distinction which has led Muslims scholars to differ on the identity of the Furqan itself, whether it is the Quran or all the revealed books of God. Muslim scholar Mahmoud M. Ayoub writes:

"The issue that has concerned commentators in connection with this verse is the mention of the Furqan (criterion) after that of the Qur`an and the Torah and the Gospel. The word Furqan is generally used as one of the names of the Qur`an... Since the Qur`an is mentioned in the previous verse as a revelation preceded by the Torah and the Gospel, what is the wisdom in mentioning it again? Commentators have offered various answers to this problem." [Ayoub, The Quran and Its Interpreters, vol. II - The House of Imran; Albany, N.Y.; State University of New York Press, 1992, p.15]

Some commentators like al-Zamakhshari, believe it to be the entire collection of revealed books, or quite possibly the Psalms of David or the Quran itself:

"If you ask what is here intended by the word Furqan, I answer, It is the entire genre of heavenly books because they are all a Criterion (Furqan) distinguishing truth from falsehood. It may also mean all the Scriptures mentioned here. It is as though God said after mentioning the three Scriptures, `and He sent down that by means of which truth may be distinguished from error,' meaning either all His Scriptures, or these three Books in particular. It may also be that God here intended a Fourth Scripture, which is the Psalms (Zabur), as He says, `and We gave David the Psalms' (Q. 17:55). It may also be that God here repeated mention of the Quran, denoting its special characteristic of being a criterion distinguishing between truth and error. This He did after mentioning it by its generic name, by way of emphasizing its greatness and manifesting its special excellence." [Ibid., p.16]

The view that Furqan refers to all three Scriptures is, according to Razi, "the view of most tafsir masters," since they "are not only a source of divine guidance, they are also divine criteria distinguishing between lawful and unlawful acts and precepts in addition to other sacred laws." [Ibid., p.17]

"As for identifying the Psalms as the Furqan, it is unlikely because the Psalms contain no laws or precepts, but only exhortations. Thus to characterize the Torah and Gospel as Furqan is more probable than the Psalms because they do contain clear evidence of this in their precepts and laws. As for the second view which identifies the Qur`an as the Furqan in this instance, it is also unlikely because God saying `and He sent down the Criterion' is conjoined to what is before it [that is `He sent down the Book to you']. Moreover, that which is conjoined to a thing must be different from the thing which it is conjoined, which is in this case the Qur`an, but which was already mentioned. This means, therefore, that the Furqan must be other than the Qur`an..." [Ibid., p.17]

Razi believes that Furqan refers to "the miracles which God linked to the revelation of these Scriptures." [Op. cit.]

Ayoub goes on to list the different ways the verse has been interpreted such as the fact that some say Furqan refers to both the Quran and Muhammad (Nisaburi), to the faith in the divine oneness in relation to the universal mind (Ibn Arabi), to every clear and unambiguous verse (Imam Ja`far al-Sadiq), or even to "all the fundamental and ancillary [religious] sciences which God sent down to His prophets through revelation" (Tabataba`i). (Ibid., pp. 17-20)

Thus, due to the text's ambiguity Muslim apologists cannot convincingly demonstrate that Furqan is used for the Quran as a criteria over previous Scriptures. In fact, a case can and has already been made by Muslims themselves to prove that all Scripture is al-Furqan.

"To you (Muhammad) We revealed the book in truth, attesting to (the truth of) that which IS between his (its) hands from the scripture (the Torah and Gospel), and guarding it (wa muhaiminan `alaihi)."

It is presumed that the Arabic phrase, "guarding it in safety", refers to the Quran's role as a quality control agent, affirming that which remains intact and exposing any tampering to the biblical text. Muslims often accuse Christians of misquoting the Quran, reading verses out of their intended context. Amazingly, Muslims are guilty of the very same thing and against their own scripture!

When the verse is read in conjunction with the previous passages and within the verse itself, the Quran is seen as protecting and guarding uncorrupted scriptures; it says absolutely nothing about exposing textual corruption whatsoever. (cf. Sura 5:43-47,68 - Ali)

In fact, the Quran came as an Arabic verification of the Bible to the Arabs who were ignorant of the contents of the Judeo-Christian Scripture:

In the preceding passages the Quran is sent as a confirmation of the Book "in which there is no doubt." Not once do these verses state that the Book at the time of Muhammad had been corrupted and needed to be corrected in any way. Furthermore, it is the Quran, not the Bible, that needs to be viewed in light of previous Scripture for verification purposes:

"And if thou (Muhammad) art in doubt concerning that which We reveal unto thee, then question those who read the Scripture (that was) before thee. Verily the Truth from thy Lord hath come unto thee. So be not thou of the waverers." [S. 10:94]

Furthermore, this commits an etymological fallacy. The meaning of the word is not derived from its root but in the manner and the context in which it is used within a sentence. For instance, one of the 99 names of God in the Quran is al-muhaimin:

He is Allah, besides Whom there is no God; the King, the Holy, the Author of Peace, the Grantor of Security, Guardian (muhaimin) over all, the Mighty, the Supreme, the Possessor of greatness. Glory be to Allah from that which they set up (with Him)! [S. 59:23]

Are we to presume that Allah confirms that which remains intact in creation and exposes corruption to it since he is called muhaimin? Obviously not, which indicates that the word does not have just one meaning as some modern Muslim apologists seem to suggest. It simply implies that the Quran guards, not corrects, the Holy Bible. In fact, this is precisely how one Muslim commentator, al-Baidawi, understood the term:

A keeper over the whole sacred books, such as shall preserve them from change, and witness to their truth and authority." (Abdiyah Akbar Abdul-Haqq, Sharing Your Faith With a Muslim [Bethany House Publishers, 6820 Auto Road Minneapolis MN, 55438 1980], p. 39 citing W. Muir, CORAN, p. 205)

Muslim commentator Ahmad b. Mahmud al-Nasafi concurs: "[The phrase] 'confirming the Book that was before it' means that the Quran confirms what the Torah says and offers. 'Assuring it' means bearing witness to it. The Quran did not say, 'Believe what I have believe and disbelieve what I have disbelieved and what I keep silent on, neither believe it nor disbelieve it,' but it says, 'who so judges not according to what Allah has sent down.' Muhammad also said: 'I am the first who fulfills Allah's command and his Book (i.e., The Torah and the Gospel).' (See al-Nasafi's commentary on Sura al-Maida 5:43-48)." (True Guidance [Light of Life, PO Box 13, A-9503 Villach, Austria 1994], pp. 96-97 citing Tafsir al-Nasafi vol. 1-4, Cairo, Egypt, 1961)

Finally, the Quran itself states that God would make sure that the Bible would be protected from corruption:

"We have, without doubt sent down THE MESSAGE (Zhikra); And We will assuredly guard it (from corruption)." [S. 15:9 - Y. Ali]

"And before thee We sent none but men, to whom We granted inspiration: If ye realise this not, ask of those who possess THE MESSAGE (Zhikri)." [S. 16:43 - Y. Ali]

"Before thee, also, the messengers We sent were but men, to whom We granted inspiration: if ye know this not, ask of those who possess THE MESSAGE (Zhikri)." [S. 21:7 - Y. Ali]

"In the past We granted to Moses and Aaron the Criterion (al-Furqana) (for judgment), And a Light and a Message (Zikra) for those who would do right." [S. 21:48]

"Before this, We wrote in the Psalms, after THE REMINDER (Zhikri): `My servants, the righteous, shall inherit the earth.'" [S. 21:105]

"We did aforetime give Moses the Guidance, and We gave the Book in inheritance to the Children of Israel - A Guide and A REMINDER (Zhikraa) to men of understanding." [S. 40:53-54 - Y. Ali]

These passages establish that the revelation given to Moses, David and the Book which Jews and Christians possessed at the time of Muhammad is also part of that Reminder which God sent down and promised to preserve. Hence, for Muslims to state that the Bible is corrupt basically means that God failed to guard his message from corruption, breaking his promise of insuring its preservation.

Response:

It cannot be overstated that the context of any scripture quoted is very important in understanding the passage presented. Hence, when one reads the verse before it, the meaning of the verse cited above takes on a whole new dimension:

"Among them are unlettered folk who know the Scripture not except from hearsay. THEY BUT GUESS." [S. 2:78]

It becomes obvious that this passage is referring to certain Jews during Muhammad's time who knew nothing of their respective Scriptures, falsifying revelation for gain. Yet, the passages that we examined before it affirm that there were Jews and Christians who knew the Book, studying it in truth.

In fact, Sura 3:199 clearly states that there were many who would not falsify revelation for profit:

"And there are, certainly, among the People of the Book, those who believe in God, and that which has been revealed to you, in that which has been revealed to them, bowing in humility to God. They will not sell the signs of God for miserable gain. For them is a reward with their Lord, and God is swift in account."

Further, the Quran accuses a certain number of the Jewish faction of perverting the text with their tongues, reading it out of context. It never accuses them of perverting the text itself:

"Can you (O men of faith) still earnestly desire that they (the Jews) will believe in you? And verily a party (fariq) among them hear the Word of God, then they pervert it knowingly after they have understood it. And when they meet the believers they say, `We believe,' but when they meet each other in private they say, `Why do you tell them what God has revealed to you (in the Torah), that they may engage you in argument about it before their God? What do you not understand?' Do they not know that God knows what they conceal and what they make public?" [S. 2:75-77, c.f. S. 4:44-47]

No Muslim would dare say that the Quranic text had been corrupted by these Jews who were perverting Muhammad's words to them. Hence, perversion refers to misinterpreting the meaning of, never to corruption of, the text of Scripture.

In concluding this study, we would like to address one final Muslim attempt to prove that the Islamic Scripture denies the authority of our present Bible by referring to the following traditions:

"In the last days there will be lying dajjals who will bring you traditions of which neither you nor your fathers have heard, so beware of them. They will neither lead you astray nor seduce you." Muslim transmitted it. He also said that the People of the Book used to read the Torah in Hebrew and expound it in Arabic to the Muslims, so God's messenger said, "Neither believe nor disbelieve the People of the Book, but say, Say (O Muslims): We believe in Allah and that which is revealed unto Abraham, and Ishmael, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the tribes, and that which Moses and Yahushua (Jesus) received, and that which the Prophets received from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and unto Him we have surrendered." (S. 2:136) Bukhari transmitted it. (Mishkat ul-Masabih, Bk. 1, Ch. VI, p. 42 [tr. James Robson, Ashraf, Lahore, 1963])

It is suggested that Muhammad is commanding Muslims from neither accepting nor rejecting the Bible, using the Quran as the Criteria instead.

Unfortunately for the Muslim line of argument, this Hadith does not reject the Holy Bible itself, but its oral translation Arabic. The Jews were reading the Torah in Hebrew, a language foreign to Muhammad and his followers, and proceeded to interpret its meaning in Arabic; and believing that the Jews were not honest in their dealings with Muslims, Muhammad could not be certain of their honesty in correctly conveying the meaning of their Scripture.

In his commentary on Bukhari, Ayni affirms this when he states that the Muslims were unable to know whether or not the interpretations given by the People of the Book accorded with the Torah, suggesting that to confirm a lie or to deny the truth provokes the wrath of God. (Ernest Hahn, The Integrity of the Bible According to the Qur'an and the Hadith, p.30)

That Muhammad believed that the text of Torah had not been corrupted is solidified by this Hadith from Sunan Abu Dawud, Book 38 (Kitab al-Hudud, i.e., Prescribed Punishments), No. 4434:

A group of Jews came and invited the Apostle of Allah (peace-be-upon-him) to Quff. So he visited them in their school. They said: Abul Qasim, one of our men has committed fornication with a woman; so pronounce judgement upon them. 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 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' (see also No. 4431).

Hence, Muhammad not only believes in the integrity of the Jewish Scripture, but respects it enough to place it on a cushion! This in effect proves that corruption refers to misinterpretation, not to textual tampering.

This following story is taken from Ibn Ishaq's Sira Rasulullah: "Rafi b. Haritha and Sallam b. Mishkam and Malik b. al-Sayf and Rafi b. Huraymila came to him and said: "Do you not allege that you follow the religion of Abraham AND BELIEVE IN THE TORAH WHICH WE HAVE AND TESTIFY THAT IT IS THE TRUTH FROM GOD?" He replied, "CERTAINLY, but you have sinned and broken the covenant contained therein and concealed what you were ordered to make plain to man, and I disassociate myself from your sin." They said, "We hold by what we have. We live according to the guidance and the truth and we do not believe in you and we will not follow you." So God sent down concerning them: "Say O Scripture folk, you have no standing until you observe the Torah and the Gospel and what has been sent down to you from your Lord. What has been sent down to thee from thy Lord will assuredly increase many of them in error and unbelief. But be not sad because of the unbelieving people." (Alfred Guillaume, The Life of Muhammad, p. 268)

Muhammad believes in the Torah available in his day as the truth from God. His skepticism was not directed towards the purity of the text itself, but the Jewish misinterpretation of God's holy Book. Hence, there is no evidence that Muhammad believed that the Holy Bible had been tampered with.

Muslims, both of the past and present, who agree with this, including Ibn Abbas, Ali at-Tabari, al-Baidhawi, ar-Razi, al-Ghazzali, Ibn Taymiyya, Muhammad Abduh, Maulawi Muhammad Sa'id, Sayyid Ahmad Husayn Shawkat Mirthi, Maulawi Chiragud-Din, Mahmoud Ayoub, Ibn Khaldun, and Adil Ozdemir. All these scholars affirm that the Quran in no way assumes the corruption of the Biblical text, but rather, the People of the Book's deliberate misinterpretation of it (cf. E. Hahn, op. cit., Appendix III; Gerhard Nehls, Dear Abdallah, p. 9).

For instance, Muhammad Abduh Sayyid Ahmad Khan, a religious and social reformer of modem times (died 1905), states:

"As far as the text of the Bible is concerned. it has not been altered ... No attempt was made to present a diverging text as the authentic one. (M. H. Ananikian, The Reforms and Religious Ideas of Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan. The Moslem World 14 (1934) p. 61).

Another example of a Muslim who agrees that the Bible is not corrupted is the Egyptian scholar, Muhammad 'Abduh. In regards to alleged biblical corruption, he notes that the

"charge of corruption of the Biblical texts makes no sense at all. It would not have been possible for Jews and Christians everywhere to agree on changing the text. Even if those in Arabia had done it, the difference between their book and those of their brothers, let us say in Syria and Europe, would have been obvious." (Jacques Jomier, Yahushua (Jesus), The Life of the Messiah, C.L.S., Madras, 1974, p. 216.)

"Contrary to the general Islamic view, the Qur'an does not accuse Jews and Christians of altering the text of their scriptures, but rather of altering the truth which those scriptures contain. The people do this by concealing some of the sacred texts, by misapplying their precepts, or by `altering words from their right position" (4:26; 5:13,41; see also 2:75). However, this refers more to interpretation than to actual addition or deletion of words from the sacred books. The problem of alteration (tahrif) needs further study. ("Uzayr in the Qur'an and Muslim Tradition" in Studies in Islamic & Judaic Traditions, ed. W.M. Brenner and S.D. Ricks, The University of Denver, 1986, p. 5.)

Finally, Islam's premiere commentator, Ibn `Abbas, believed in the preservation of all of God's books:

"From Kitaab (the book of) Al-Tawheed, Baab (chapter) Qawlu Allah Ta'ala, "Bal Huwa Qur'aanun Majeed, fi lawhin Mahfooth - Or, the Book of the Oneness of God, the Chapter of Surat Al-Borooj (no. 85), Verses 21, 22 which says, `Nay this is a Glorious Qur'an, (Inscribed) in a Tablet Preserved': `They corrupt the word' means `they alter or change its meaning,' Yet no one is able to change even a single word from any Book of God. The meaning is that they interpret the word wrongly.'" [Arabic]

"The Imam Muhammad Isma'il al-Bukhari (p. 1127, line 7), records that Ibn `Abbas said that `the word Tahrif (corruption) signifies to change a thing from its original nature; and that there is no man who could corrupt a single word of what proceeded from God, so that the Jews and Christians could corrupt only by misrepresenting the meaning of the words of God.'" (T. P. Hughes, Dictionary of Islam [Kazi Publications, Inc, 3023-27 West Belmont Avenue, Chicago Il. 60618, 1994], p. 62)

Hence, the commentary of Abdullah Ibn `Abbas who is one of the Sahaba (companions) and Mohammed's cousin. His opinions are held to be above the opinions and commentaries of all other Sheiks who are not Sahaba.

Not only did Ibn `Abbas believe that the scriptures remained uncorrupt, but others who wrote shortly after him concur:

"Ibn Mazar and Ibn Hatim state, in the commentary known as the Tafsir Durr-I-Mansur, that they have it on the authority of Ibn Muniyah, that the Taurat (i.e. the books of Moses), and the Injil (i.e. the Gospels), are in the same state of purity in which they were sent down from heaven, and that no alterations had been made in them, but that the Jews were wont to deceive the people by unsound arguments, and by wresting the sense of Scripture... Shah Waliyu `Illah, in his commentary, the Fauzul `l-Kabir, and also Ibn `Abbas, support the same view." (T. P. Hughes, p. 62)

And, "Ibn Kathir in his book Al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya quotes Muhammad saying about the Jews and Christians: 'David died in the midst of his friends. They were not led astray, nor changed [their books]. The Friends of Christ stayed in His ordinances and guidance for two hundred years' (proved by Ibn Hibban). It is well-known that we have copies of the New Testament that go back to the fourth century A.D. These are in harmony with the books as they are today." (True Guidance, p. 179)

We must also point out that the idea of the Bible being corrupt was first promoted by Ibn Khazem (d. 1064 A.D.) as a means of avoiding the obvious contradictions between the Bible and the Quran. Believing that the Quran could not possibly have been corrupted, he then assumed that it was the Bible that underwent textual modifications. This, he felt, must have been the case (cf. Gerhard Nehls, Dear Abdallah, p. 9, Life Challenge [Africa, SIM International], July 1992).

This brief examination of the Quran should convince any open-minded Muslim that the Holy Bible has never suffered any textual corruption whatsoever, whether before, during, or after the advent of Islam. This factor makes it incumbent for all Muslims to earnestly study its message, embracing it wholeheartedly. To refuse to do so is to dishonor the very message of the Quran which came to confirm, not to correct, the truthfulness and authenticity of the Holy Bible, God's well-preserved Word.

For a more in-depth study into the Quranic affirmation of the authenticity of the Holy Bible, we recommend the following two books:

Note: Our usage of the Quran does not imply our belief in its authority nor its inspiration. We quote it solely for the sake of convincing the Muslims of the Bible's authority and authenticity as a fact confirmed by their religious text.

The following translations of Surah 5:48 are cited in order to demonstrate how other Islamic scholars define the term muhaimin:

"And We have sent down to thee the Book with the truth, confirming the Book that was before it, and ASSURING IT." (The Koran Interpreted, A. J. Arberry [Touchstone Books, Simon & Schuster Inc., 1996], p. 135)

"And to you We have revealed the Book containing the truth, confirming the earlier revelations, AND PRESERVING THEM (FROM CHANGE AND CORRUPTION)." (Al-Quran - A Contemporary Translation by Ahmad Ali [Princeton University Press, New Jersey, fifth ed. 1994], p. 104)

Note how this Muslim understands the verse to mean that the Quran protects the Holy Bible from being corrupted and changed, not exposing corruption to the biblical text.

"Now We have revealed unto thee this Book comprising the truth, fulfilling that which was revealed before it of the Book, and as A GUARDIAN OVER IT." (The Quran Arabic Text With A New Translation by Muhammad Zafrullah Khan [Olive Branch, New York, 1997], p. 107)

"And We have revealed to you the Book with the truth, verifying what was before it of the Book and A GUARDIAN OVER IT." (The Quran by Mahomedali Habib, trans. M.H. Shakir [Tahrike Tarsile Quran Inc., 1995], p. 103)

"And to thee We have sent down the Book of the Koran with truth, confirmatory of previous Scriptures, AND THEIR SAFEGUARD." (The Koran by J.M. Rodwell [Ivy Books, New York, 1993], p.67)

"And We have revealed to thee the Book with the truth, verifying that which was before it of the Book and A GUARDIAN OVER IT." (Holy Quran Arabic Text, English Translation and Commentary by Maulana Muhammad Ali [Ahmadiyyah Anjuman Ishaat Islam Lahore Inc., U.S.A., 1995] p. 256)

"And to you We have revealed the Book with the truth. It confirms the Scriptures which came before it and stands as A GUARDIAN OVER IT." (The Koran Revised Translation by N. J. Dawood (Penguin Books, England, 1997], p.85)

The Quran assures, preserve, guards, safeguards the Bible. These translations made by both Muslim and non-Muslim scholars clearly demonstrates the polemical nature of those Muslim apologists who try to read into this verse Bible corruption.