If the Bible was corrupted before or at the time of Muhammad, the Qur’an would hardly have spoken of the Bible in such a positive manner. Had the Bible been changed or corrupted afterwards, the many existing old manuscripts that predate Muhammad by hundreds of years would have given proof of that fact. Besides, we have just read from the Qur’an that the Bible is God’s Word. We should add, also from the Qur’an, that “no man can change the words of God” (Surah 6:34 and 10:64). So, what are Muslim critics of the Bible trying to do?
Some Muslims reason that the Qur’an does state that the Bible was distorted. They quote:
“Ye People of the Book Why do ye clothe truth with falsehood, and conceal the truth, while ye have knowledge?” (Surah Al-Imran 3:71).
“There is among them a section who distort the Book with their tongues: (as they read) you would think it is part of the Book, but it is not part of the Book” (Surah Al-Imran 78).
These passages say nothing more than that the Bible, rendered by the Jews in public, as the context suggests, was distorted with their tongues, not with their pens. Else the Qur’an would not suggest that Muslims should ask the People of the Book about the content of the Bible:
“Ask of those who possess the Message” (Surah al-Anbiyāa, 21:7).
We may well ask, why so many Muslims believe that the Bible was corrupted, when history, archaeology and the Qur’an deny this? The answer seems to be rather intriguing.
Recent Comments