SUMMARY:
Briefly, the Bible cannot be reconciled with the Qur’an but contradicts it. For this reason, Muslim leaders tell their people that the Bible has been corrupted and the one that is currently used by Christians is not the original one. Their aim is to try to prevent their people from reading the Bible. I am sure if they read it, many of them will be saved. have met many Christians from Islamic background who converted to Christianity after reading the Bible or a part of it.
By Rev FAYEK ISKANDER
THE Holy Bible, the inspired word of God teaches us, very clearly, that Jesus is the Son of God, or God the Son. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are the Holy Tri-unity of the Godhead. It, also, teaches us in detail that Jesus was cruci?ed as an atoning sacri?ce, before the Holy Just God, for our sins and rose again to life for our justi?cation, while the Qur’an denies the necessity of an atoning sacri?ce for forgiveness of sins. In addition, while the Qur’an speaks of Jesus (Isa) and the Bible (Torah, Zabour and Injil), the Holy Bible does not speak of Muhammad or the Qur’an at all.
Brie?y, the Bible cannot be reconciled with the Qur’an but contradicts it. For this reason, Muslim leaders tell their people that the Bible has been corrupted and the one that is currently used by Christians is not the original one. Their aim is to try to prevent their people from reading the Bible. I am sure if they read it, many of them will be saved. I have met many Christians from Islamic background who converted to Christianity after reading the Bible or a part of it. On the contrary, no convert to Islam that I have met or heard of, was converted because he read and understood the Qur’an.
When you talk to a Muslim friend about the Holy Trinity and the Deity of Jesus, or Jesus Christ’s cruci?xion and resurrection, or if he/she asks you if Muhammad is foretold in the Bible or not, and you answer negatively, he/she may say that the Bible has been corrupted. Then, you Christian can say, “My friend, your claim that the Bible is corrupted is just a claim that is not supported by any proof at all. At the same time, we have authentic historical and scienti?c proofs that God has preserved His Bible.”
Muslim: No, it is not just a claim. The Qur’an says that Jews corrupted the Bible. For example; “Of the Jews there are those who displace words from their (right) places and say: ‘We hear and we disobey”; and “Hear what is not heard’” (Q 4:46). And; “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 ?nd them barring a few ever bent on (new) deceits” (Q 5:13).
Christian: These Qur’anic verses speak of the Qur’an itself, not the Bible. Many Jewish tribes lived in the Arabic Peninsula during the time of Muhammad. These two verses say that those Jews used to displace words of the Qur’an from their right places to change the meaning. They also used to hear the Qur’an from Muhammad and disobey it (see Ibn Kathier, Razi & Baidawy commentaries). If these three verses meant that Jews corrupted the Bible, the Qur’an would not have commanded Muhammad to ask those who had been reading the Book (the Bible) from before him, when he was in doubt as to what was revealed to him; “If thou wert in doubt as to what We have revealed unto thee then ask those who have been reading the Book from before thee” (Q 10:94).
Muslim:: Not only Jews, but also Christians corrupted their Scripture. Q 3:70 says; “Ye People of the Book [Christians and Jews]! why reject ye the verses of Allah, of which ye are (yourselves) witnesses?”
Christian: The commentators say of this verse that people of the Book, during the time of Muhammad, denied that he was foretold in the Bible, while they, themselves, were witnesses of those predicting verses. So, this verse does not say that they corrupted any biblical texts, but they denied either the existence of these claimed predicting verses or their meanings.
Muslim: How can you guarantee that corruption has never happened to the Bible?
Christian: As I have told you, there are authentic scienti?c, historical and logical proofs that can make you sure about the soundness of the Bible:
• The Qur’an testi?es to the Bible (Q 10:94 – see quote above) Accordingly, up to the seventh century AD, the beginning of Islam, the Bible was still intact. By that time, the Bible was translated into many languages and many book writers quoted from it. How could Christians and Jews collect all the Bibles and these books in different languages and change what they wanted to change to the texts?
- • Christians and Jews never agree with each other. How can they agree with each other to corrupt the Bible and, at the same time, how could it be that there was no single faithful person to expose their unfaithfulness?
The Biblical teaching of the Holy Trinity and the cruci?xion of Jesus is the main reason for accusing people of the Book of biblical corruption. This biblical teaching is hard to accept and believe. If we corrupted the Bible, we would have taken this teaching out of the Bible, not added it.
- • In 1948, a lot of manuscripts were found in Qumran valley near The Dead Sea. Of these manuscripts, were many biblical texts and the entire book of Isaiah, which were written (copied) between the 2nd century BC and the 2nd century AD. In addition, we have four manuscripts of the Bible plus thousands of manuscripts of biblical parts. All are the same.
Muslim: If so, why are there many different Bibles, such as King James Bible, New International Bible, Revised Standard Bible, …?
Christian: My friend, these are not different Bibles. They are different translations of the very same Bible. In fact, the one who told you this, he deliberately gave you wrong information. Simply, he knows that they are not called Bibles but versions; King James Version, New International Version, … Why do you listen to those who accuse the Holy Bible without reading it for yourself? You should read it to discover it for yourself.
The Qur’an, as you can see, testi?es to the Bible and quotes many stories from it (from the Torah). Therefore, every faithful Muslim should read the Bible for he is commanded by the Qur’an to do so.
The Qur’an says that it came down to Muhammad con?rming what was with the Christians and Jews (Torah and New Testament); “When it is said to them: ‘Believe in what Allah hath sent down’ they say ‘We believe in what was sent down to us’; yet they reject all besides even if it be truth con?rming what is with them” (Q 2:91) and; “It is He Who sent down to thee (step by step) in truth the Book con?rming what went before it” (Q 3:3) and, “To thee We sent the Scripture in truth con?rming the scripture that came before it and guarding it in safety” (Q: 5:48).
Note, the Qur’anic text does not say, “… con?rming what was in the Torah and Injil”, but “con?rming what was with them”. This means that Muhammad did not disagree with Christians and Jews regarding the Bible that was with them.
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Appeared in Issue CETF 34 November 2005
"...contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints" -- Jude v3
© Copyright 2006 Christian Witness Ministries, except where noted. All rights reserved
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-Last revised-
Monday, October 09, 2006
