Unapologetically Muslim

Does the Quran Affirm the Bible?

21/5/19 - edited for clarity

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Christians and Jews often argue that the Quran "affirms" the Bible, and therefore, the Bible can't be corrupted. This argument comes from the following verses: 

And We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], the Book in truth, confirming that which preceded it of the Scripture and as a criterion over it. So judge between them by what Allah has revealed and do not follow their inclinations away from what has come to you of the truth. To each of you We prescribed a law and a method. Had Allah willed, He would have made you one nation [united in religion], but [He intended] to test you in what He has given you; so race to [all that is] good. To Allah is your return all together, and He will [then] inform you concerning that over which you used to differ. (Quran 5:48)

"It is He Who sent down to thee (step by step), in truth, the Book (Quran), confirming what went before it; and He sent down the Law (of Moses) and the Gospel (of Jesus) before this, as a guide to mankind, and He sent down the criterion (of judgment between right and wrong)" (Quran 3:3)

So let me lay down precisely what's wrong with that claim. For one, the Bible that Christians use today is not the same as the book that is actually being described in the Quran. The Quran says that the original Gospel was the book given to Jesus. However, the Bible that Christians use today was not the same book that was taught by Jesus. Instead it began to be written 40 years after Jesus's death by men who claimed to be inspired by God. Therefore, the Quran does not affirm the book that Christians currently use, and so that argument is invalid.

What is meant by the words "confirming which came before it" is this: Allah is basically saying that He is the same being who originally sent down the Torah and Gospel. He is the same being who sent all those prophets to guide mankind to the right path. In other words, the same exact God who revealed the Quran also revealed the Gospel, Torah, and every other holy book (in their original forms). 

The Quran also repeats many stories that Christians and Jews are already familiar with, with a few differences. For example, Jesus was indeed gifted with miracles. He was able to cure the blind and raise people from the dead. However, unlike what Christians had believed for centuries, Jesus was NOT God, but only a messenger sent by God. 

"Oh People of the Scripture, do not commit excess in your religion or say about God except the truth. The Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, was but a messenger of God and His word which He directed to Mary and a soul [created at a command] from Him. So believe in God and His messengers. And do not say, "Three"; desist - it is better for you. Indeed, Allah is but one God. Exalted is He above having a son. (Quran 4:171)

"They have taken their scholars and monks as lords besides Allah, and [also] the Messiah, the son of Mary. And they were not commanded except to worship one God; there is no deity except Him. Exalted is He above whatever they associate with Him. (Quran 9:31)

No person to whom God has given the Scripture, and wisdom, and prophethood would ever say to the people, "Be my worshipers rather than God's." Rather, "Be people of the Lord, according to the Scripture you teach, and the teachings you learn." (Quran 3:79)

Along with Jesus, the Quran also repeats the stories of Adam and Eve, Abraham, Moses, Noah, David, Jonah, Solomon, and so on–confirming what was already true and clarifying what had been falsified or misconstrued.  This is essentially what is meant by the Quranic phrase "confirming what had been sent down before you."  

Critics like to argue that the Quran contradicts itself with that phrase, claiming that it ultimately means that the Torah and Gospels that are currently in use are 100% true. But if that was the case, then there would have been no need for the Quran to be sent down in the first place, since that would mean the original message of God was already intact (which it isn't). So that argument would make no sense. Thus, there is no contradiction here. 

On the contrary, the Quran calls out the early Christians and Jews for falsifying the original message and concealing the truth from others:

"Do you (faithful believers) hope that they will believe in your religion in spite of the fact that some of them used to hear the Word of Allah, then change it knowingly after they understood it?" (2:75) 

Oh People of the Scripture! Why do you disbelieve in the verses of God while you witness [to their truth]?...why do you confuse the truth with falsehood and conceal the truth while you know [it]? (3:70-71)

So woe to those who write the "scripture" with their own hands, then say, "This is from God," in order to exchange it for a small price. Woe to them for what their hands have written and woe to them for what they earn. (2:79)

So my question to Christian is, how can the Quran "affirm" the modern-day Bible if it explicitly rejects many of the Bible's core beliefs? I don't get it. 

The Quran also makes it pretty clear what Muhammad (s)'s purpose was: to guide the people of the scripture back to the one true religion and verify that which they used to disagree on. 

Mankind was [of] one religion [before their deviation]; then God sent the prophets as bringers of good tidings and warners and sent down with them the Scripture in truth to judge between the people concerning that in which they differed. And none differed over the Scripture except those who were given it - after the clear proofs came to them - out of jealous animosity among themselves." (2:213)

"And We have not revealed to you the Book, [O Muhammad], except for you to make clear to them that wherein they have differed and as guidance and mercy for a people who believe." (16:64)

Those who disbelieved among the People of the Scripture and the polytheists were not to be parted [from misbelief] until there came to them clear evidence. A Messenger from God, reciting purified scriptures. Within which are correct writings." (98:1-3)

And thus We have revealed to you an Arabic Qur'an that you may warn the Mother of Cities [Makkah] and those around it and warn of the Day of Assembly, about which there is no doubt. A party will be in Paradise and a party in the Blaze. (42:7)

Unlike the Quran, which was revealed directly from the angel Gabriel to the Prophet Muhammad, the stories of the Bible were passed down through oral tradition until they were finally written down decades later. People continued to add and make changes to the Bible for at least 1500 years, while the Quran was completed in only 23 years, and never altered at the hands of any human beings. 

The Bible overall has so many problems that I get a headache just thinking about it. In the next chapter I'll be walking you through some of the main issues I have with the Bible, (its inaccuracies, ambiguities, and the looong history of changes made to it) and explain why I cannot accept it as being God's pure word and 3hence, why I don't believe that Christianity is the true religion.