By Zablon.
It is a matter of
serous implications when a ‘party of Muslims’ thinks and says evil
about the Bible (Taurat, Zaboor and Injeel) while the Quran talks and
refers to it a lot in a strikingly positive way. In this short article
let us see what ‘some’ Muslims think about the Bible and what the Quran
says about it and what are the stakes in this matter of mismatch.
Some Muslims think and believe about the Bible in the following way:
◊
The Bible (Taurat, Zaboor and Injeel) was originally sent from Allah.
◊
However, later those books were tampered with by Jews and Christians.
◊
Therefore, the present Bible (Taurat, Zaboor and Injeel) is a ‘corrupt’
book.This they do mainly because of…
◊Their hatred towards the Bible,
Christians and God’s truth.
◊Their ignorance of their own book, Quran.
They usually don’t study it by themselves and come to this conclusion
rather they listen and believe blindly what the teachers of the Quran
propagate against the message of the Bible.
◊The deception of Satan (2
Corinthians 4:3-4).
◊The prophecy that has been foretold centuries
before by the prophets of the true God (Isaiah 6:9-10; Mathew 13:14-15).
However, in contrast to the above misguided Muslim assertions the
following is what the Quran says about the Bible:
◊ Some books were
sent to Jews and Christians before the Quran (Sura 2:87, 45:16,
32:23-24, 4:54, 40:53-54): Muslims would agree with this without any
objection.
◊ Those books were identified as Taurat, Zaboor and Injeel
(S 5:43-47, 21:105): Muslims would agree to this also, although they
might have some reservations as to which ones.
◊ Muhammad is advised
to ask those who read the previous books if he is in doubt (S 10:94;
21:7): Muslims would have hard time believing this. Therefore, they
might try to explain it away with the help of ‘Islamic Logic’ (IL:
Which is basically fallacious and self-made to save their version of
Islam). This should tell Muslims that the previous books were reliable
and cannot be discarded at least during the time that Muhammad was
reciting the Quran to his followers.
◊ Allah says in the Quran that
the Quran was sent to confirm (but not to correct or make obsolete) the
previous books such as Taurat, Zaboor and Injeel (S 2:40-41,89,91,101;
6:92; 5:51; 12:111; 26:192-195; 35:31): This shows us that the Quran
is given to Muhammad in Arabic to warn his people (Arabs) while
confirming the previous books, but not rejecting them. This could also
show how Mohammad was trying his best to convince Jews and Christians
of his message with the hope that they would accept him as the true
prophet in the tradition of the Biblical prophets.
◊ Mekkans were told
to consult those who read the previous books (S 21:7): Again, this
implies that those previous books (Taurat, Zaboor, Injeel) were
reliable and authentic. Otherwise, the Mekkans would not have been told
to consult those who read the previous books.
◊ Muslims are commanded
to believe in the books that had been sent to Jews and Christians
before the Quran was sent to Muhammad (S 2:285; 3:84; 29:46; 2:136):
Without dispute, ‘believing’ is not just a ‘lip-service.’ The Quran has
this to say to those who merely say that we believe: ‘We believe,’ but
their hearts believe not (Sura 5:41). In order to believe ‘something’
that ‘something’ should have existence in the first place. If some one
believes ‘something’ he/she should respond to that in an appropriate
manner. ◊ Muslims are threatened in the Quran not to discriminate one
book from another which were sent by Allah (S 40:70-71): If they
believe that the Quran is from Allah and therefore they respect and
follow it, then, in the same way they need to believe, respect and
follow even the previous books (Taurat, Zaboor, Injeel) that Allah had
sent. If Muslims fail to do this they fail to do what Allah commanded
them to do and as a result of that they will face the due punishment in
hell.
◊ Jews and Christians are told to follow the books that were
sent to them, namely, Taurat, Zaboor and Injeel (S 5:43,47,50): This
implies that those books exist and they are from Allah and they were
not corrupt, but reliable during Muhammad’s time.
◊ Allah in the Quran
affirms that his words cannot be changed (S 6:34, 116; 10:65, 15:9):
It should be noted that Quran does not make any distinction between the
previous books and the Quran while making this assertion. In addition,
the Quran threatens with the punishment in hell for those who accuse
Allah’s books with falsity. Those who reject the Book (Quran) and that
(Taurat, Zaboor and Injeel) with which WE sent Our Messengers. But soon
will they come to know when the iron-collars will be round their
necks, and chains too. And they will be dragged (S 40:70-71). Muslims
do well to pay attentions to these verses of the Quran before they
venture to talk ill about the previous books that Jews and Christians
possess now.
◊ After Muhammad: If as the anti-Christian Muslim
propagandists believe that the previous books (Taurat, Zaboor, Injeel)
have all been corrupted by Jews and Christians after Muhammad had died
and gone, then, the following are the insurmountable problems those
Muslims face: (a) How can Jews and Christians follow what the Quran
advices to do with regard to those books in Sura 5:47,50,68? (b) The
manuscript copies of the previous books (Taurat, Zaboor, Injeel) in
original languages that are now in extant predate Islam and Muhammad.
If at all there is any change in those books it should have been done
even hundreds of years before Muhammad. This only shows that Muhammad
and Allah were ignorant of those changes, which is why they did not
mention about it in the Quran (c) In order to change the previous
books (Taurat, Zaboor, Injeel) either during Muhammad’s time or after
him all the Jews and Christians from everywhere should come to agree
and collect all the manuscripts of those books and do the exact changes
at the same time. This is simply impossible task and beyond any
stretch of imagination (d) Had these books were changed after
Muhammad, Allah who is All-knowing would have warned about that future
change of those books in the Quran so that after those changes these
books could be rendered irrelevant (e) The previous books (Taurat,
Zaboor, Injeel) were sent by Allah. They are the words of Allah. If
they were really changed or corrupted over time that proves beyond any
shadow of doubt that the Quran is not from Allah because when it says,
‘The words of Allah cannot be changed’ (S 6:34, 116; 10:65) is not
true! However, there are few verses in the Quran which have been
misused and abused by false teachers of the Quran to malign God’s word.
Before looking into the meaning and implications of those verses it is
noteworthy to remember that by the time Muhammad started preaching his
message during the first half of the seventh century (610-632 AD)
there were thousands of Greek, Syriac, Coptic, Latin, Armenian and
Gothic manuscript copies of the ‘Injeel’ alone, in parts and full, most
of which come from third and fourth centuries spread around on three
different continents—Asia, Africa and Europe. With this in mind let us
turn to the verses that some Muslims think imply changes in the
previous books.
◊ Can ye (O ye men of Faith) entertain the hope that
they will believe in you? Seeing that a party of them heard the Word of
God, and perverted it knowingly after they understood it (Sura 2:75):
Here the ‘Word of God’ could be referring to the previous books
(Taurat, Zaboor or Injeel) or the Quran. In any case, according to this
verse a party of them, but not all of them, perverted the meaning of
the words after hearing the words of God. This verse doesn’t say that
they have changed the written words of their scripture.
◊ Of the Jews
there are those who displace words from their (right) places, and say:
We hear and we disobey (S 4:46): Here the verse is accusing of some
Jews that they had changed the meaning of the words they heard. This
too does not say or imply that those Jews went out and collected all
the manuscripts of the previous books (Taurat and Zaboor) and made
changes in their writings.
◊ Because of their breaking the covenant,
We have cursed them and made hard their hearts. They change words from
their context and forget a part of that whereof they were admonished.
Thou wilt not cease to discover treachery from all save a few of them.
But bear with them and pardon them. Lo! God loveth the kindly (S 5:13):
Here the verse indicates that most of the people who rejected
Muhammad’s prophet hood (Jews/Christians/Pagan Arabs) were misquoting
either from their books or what Muhammad had recited before them
earlier. However, it does not convey the meaning that those
disbelievers went out and collected all the manuscripts of the previous
books and literally changed the written words on those manuscripts,
which is both illogical and impossible.
◊ O Messenger! Let not them
grieve thee who vie one with another in the race to disbelief, of such
as say with their mouths; ‘We believe,’ but their hearts believe not,
and of the Jews: listeners for the sake of falsehood on behalf of other
folk who come not unto thee, changing words from their context and
saying: If this be given unto you, receive it, but if this be not given
unto you, then beware! (S 5:41): Again, here too what the verse is
saying is that the Jews who did not come to Muhammad were guilty of
‘misquoting’ the scripture, because they were changing the words from
their context in their conversations when they spoke. This does not mean
by any stretch of imagination that those Jews went out and collected
all the manuscripts of the previous books (Taurat and Injeel) from
everywhere in the world and then corrupted them by changing their
written words. In the light of the discrepancies between what the
Quran says about the Holy Bible and what some Muslims believe blindly,
here are some serious questions to those Muslims: ◊ Are you ready to
answer about this disobedience and hypocrisy before Allah when you face
him and questioned about your unfounded belief about the Bible
(Taurat, Zaboor, Injeel)? ◊ Are you aware that even if you make a
distinction between the previous books (The Bible—Taurat, Zaboor,
Injeel) and the Quran or calling one of them as false/corrupt you will
end up facing severe punishment in hell according to the Quran? ◊ In
the light of the above facts what keeps you from reading the previous
books and be blessed by God?
Be encouraged, stay blessed!
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