THE BIBLE IS TRUE ACCORDING TO ISLAM
remnant
A. INTRODUCTION
Time and time again, Muhammad testified to the integrity of the
Scriptures of the Jews and Christians. He affirmed and confirmed them as
the Word of God. Since Muslims believe the Quran to be the Word of God,
then it is actually their God - "Allah" - testifying to the integrity and
truthfulness of the Jewish and Christian Scriptures existing in Muhammad's
lifetime.
There are about 12 verses in the Quran that specifically mention
the Gospel. The Arabic word for Gospel is "Injil". Additionally a large
number of other Quranic verses testify to the truth of the Gospel.
Muhammad, as a self declared prophet, supported those Scriptures because he
believed they were God's word as he believed his Quran was God's word.
In testifying to their integrity Muhammad unwittingly undercut
his own credibility. Muhammad was unaware of the full extent of those
Scripture's teachings and this ignorance allowed him to make contradictory
statements because his words and teachings, i.e. the Quran, contradicted
these Scriptures. Today, we recognize that God would not send a confused or
ignorant man who contradicted himself and His word.
Many Muslims today say the Bible is corrupted. But there is
nothing in the Quran that supports this. There is not one word in the Quran
that teaches that the Scriptures of the Jews and Christians have been
perverted by man. Instead, the opposite is true. The Quran supports the
Bible.
Isn't it interesting that the Muslims' Quran has nothing to say
about the corruption of the Scriptures of the largest religion on earth?
During Muhammad's time Christian influence was known in Mecca. There were
Jewish and Christian settlements in the Hijaz, and Christianity ringed the
Saudi peninsula. Yet not one word is spoken by "Allah" concerning the
Scriptures of their faith and not one word on the corruption of His previous
Word.
The New Testament contains the stories of Jesus identifying
Himself as the Son of God, Jesus predicting His crucifixion, death, and
resurrection, Jesus calling God "Father". Jesus' teachings are contradicted
by Muhammad in the Quran time and time again. Further, the Quran
contradicts even the Old Testament stories related to such Biblical figures
as Gideon, Saul, David, and Noah. Why didn't Islam's "Allah" speak up on
corruption if these Scriptures were inaccurate of false? These themes are
fundamental, why would the Muslims' god fail to address their corruption?
If such a corruption had actually taken place, wouldn't "Allah"
have revealed it in the Quran? The Quran is full of vague statements,
misquoted biblical stories, myths from pagan, Jewish, and Christian
backgrounds, yet "Allah" has nothing to say about the corruption of His
previous word. How could such an omission occur? One has to wonder who
Muhammad's "Allah" really was. He certainly didn't appear to be the "All
Knowing", or at least, if he knew, he wasn't telling.
Or was it that "Allah" didn't know because Muhammad didn't know?
Jesus taught that false prophets would come into the world and
mislead many.
There are passages from the Quran, Hadith, and Sira, that deal
with this topic. I will present and discuss a number of them.
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B. ISLAMIC SOURCES
The primary source of Islam is the Quran. It is considered to
be God's very words. In general Muslims believe that the angel Gabriel,
heard God's words and then repeated them to Muhammad. Muhammad than spoke
what Gabriel told him as the Quran. I use several translations in this
article. Primarily N.J. Dawood's [2], Yusef Ali's [3], and Arberry's [4].
The second most authoritative set of sources in Islam are the "Hadith".
Hadith are Muhammad's sayings on particular issues, or anecdotes mostly
related to Muhammad's life. Various Muslim scholars compiled their sets of
Hadith some two to three hundred years after Muhammad's death. In many
cases they recorded what people had told them they had learned from older
Muslims, who had learned from earlier Muslims, who had learned from earlier
Muslims, etc. This sequence of transmission is known as an "isnaad" or
chain of transmitters. Memorization and oral transmission were the primary
method used to transmit Hadith from one generation to the next. "Sahih"
Hadith are the most "authentic" Hadith. Muslim scholars use the Hadith to
help establish the "Sunnah" or lifestyle that Muslims are to live by. These
scholars also judge the validity of the Hadith based upon the reputation of
people in the "isnaad" of the Hadith.
I will quote primarily from Sahih Bukhari translated by Muhsin Khan [5].
There are several collections up on the internet.
Another important source of biographical information about Muhammad and
early Islam are the Sira. I quote from Ibn Ishaq's "Sirat Rasulallah",
translated by A. Guillaume as "The Life of Muhammad", which is regarded as
the most authentic extant biography of Muhammad, and Ibn Sa'd's "Kitab
al-Tabaqat al-Kabir", ("Book of the Major Classes" - biographical
information about Muhammad and his primary companions), translated by S.
Moinul Haq [6]. The Sira are not regarded as highly as the Hadith.
NOTES:
1) For many important Quranic passages I provide quotes from both Yusef
Ali's and N.J. Dawood's translations of the Quran. I think it leads to
better understanding of the Quran to compare several translations if you
cannot read it in Arabic. I have changed some of Ali's archaic words and
spelling. I have also not quoted some verses in full because the material
was not relevant and for length's sake.
2) Words in [ ] type brackets are mine.
3) The term "People of the Book" refers specifically to Jews or Christians,
or both Jews and Christians. At times the Quran is not clear. Various
Muslim scholars cannot agree on who is being addressed in various portions
of the Quran.
4) The term "Hijaz" refers to the center - western part of the Arabian
Peninsula. This is where Mecca is and where Muhammad grew up and lived.
5) With their permission, I have borrowed portions of writings from three
other Christian writers: from Dr. William Campbell's book, "The Quran and
the Bible", [7] and from articles written by Sam Shamoun [8], and from John
Gilchrist's book, "The Christian Witness to the Muslim [9]. Their works can
be found at:
http://answering-islam.org/Shamoun/aboutbible.htm
http://answering-islam.org/Campbell/
I copied their work because I felt that it effectively addressed the issues
and there was no reason for me to re-write what they have already
articulated. I have folded their work into sections of this series of
articles.
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C. THE QURAN STATES THAT THE BIBLE IS TRUE
VERSES SHOWING THE TORAH TO BE TRUE AT THE TIME OF JESUS
To begin with, it must be established that both the Torah and
Gospel existed and were true in Muhammad's time. So, to begin, I will start
with Muhammad saying that when Jesus lived, Jesus testified to the integrity
of the Torah, i.e., the canon of Jewish Scripture.
Ali - Quran 3:48 - 50
48. "And Allah will teach him the Book and Wisdom the Law and the Gospel.
49. "And (appoint him) an Apostle to the Children of Israel (with this
message):
I have come to you with a sign from your Lord ...
50. "(I have come to you) to attest the Law which was before me and to make
lawful to you part of what was (before) forbidden to you; I have come to
you
with a Sign from your Lord. So fear Allah and obey me.
Dawood - Quran 3:48 - 50
48. He [Allah] will instruct him [Jesus] in the Scriptures and in wisdom,
in the Torah and in the Gospel
49. and send him forth as an apostle to the Israelites. He will say: "I
bring you a sign from your Lord". ...
50. "I come to confirm the Torah which preceded me and to make lawful to
you some of the things you are forbidden. I bring you a sign from your
Lord: therefore fear God and obey me."
Ali - Quran 5:46, 47
And in their footsteps We sent Jesus the son of Mary confirming the law that
had come before him: We sent him the Gospel: therein was guidance and light
and confirmation of the law that had come before him: a guidance and an
admonition to those who fear Allah.
47. Let the people of the Gospel Judge by what Allah has revealed therein.
If any do fail to judge by (the light of) what Allah has revealed they are
(no better than) those who rebel.
Dawood - Quran 5:46, 47
After them we sent forth Jesus, the son of Mary, confirming the Torah
already revealed, and gave him the Gospel, in which there is guidance and
light, corroborating what as revealed before it in the torah, a guide and
admonition to the righteous.
47. Therefore let those who follow the Gospel judge according to what God
has revealed therein. Evil-doers are those that do not judge according to
God's revelations.
Ali - Quran 61:6
And remember Jesus the son of Mary said: "O Children of Israel! I am the
apostle of Allah (sent) to you confirming the Law (which came) before me...
Dawood - Quran 61:6
And of Jesus the son of Mary, who said to the Israelites: "I am sent forth
to you from God to confirm the Torah already revealed,..."
SECTION SUMMARY
The above verses show the Torah was true during Christ's
lifetime (the first century) because Jesus told the Jews that He was
confirming the Law. "I am sent forth to you from God to confirm the Torah
already revealed,..."
There was no word of "corruption" from Jesus to the Jews
concerning their Scripture. There was no word from Jesus on how the Torah
had been perverted. Instead, we find that Jesus confirming the Torah, i.e.
the Jewish books of Scripture. And today, we virtually have the same Jewish
Canon that existed in Jesus' time. Therefore, Muhammad, in the Quran,
stated that the Torah in Christ's time was the valid Word of God.
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VERSES SHOWING THAT THE TORAH AND THE GOSPEL WERE TRUE AND UNCHANGED AT THE
TIME OF MUHAMMAD
Now to establish that Muhammad believed that both the Torah and
Gospel that existed in his time were the Word of God.
Ali - 29:46
And dispute ye not with the People of the Book, except with means better
(then mere disputation), unless it be with those of them who inflict wrong
(and injury); But say, "We believe in the Revelation which has come down to
us and in that which came down to you; Our God and your God is One...
Dawood - 29:46
Be courteous when you argue with People of the Book except with those among
them who do evil. Say: "We believe in that which is revealed to us and
which was revealed to you. Our God and your God is one.
Ali - 35:31
That which We have revealed to you of the Book is the Truth confirming what
was (revealed) before it: for Allah is assuredly with respect to his
servants well acquainted and fully-Observant.
Dawood - 35:31
What We have revealed to you in the Book is the truth confirming previous
Scriptures. God knows and observes His servants.
Ali - 10:37
This Qur'an is not such as can be produced by other than Allah; on the
contrary it is a confirmation of (revelations) that went before it and a
fuller explanation of the Book wherein there is no doubt from the Lord of
the Worlds.
Dawood - 10:37
This Koran could not have been devised by any but by God. It confirms what
went before it and fully explains the Scriptures. It is beyond doubt from
the Lord of the universe.
Ali - 12:111
There is in their stories instruction for men endued with understanding. It
is not a tale invented but a confirmation of what went before it a detailed
exposition of all things and a Guide and a Mercy to any such as believe.
Dawood - 12:111
There annals point a moral to men of understanding. This is no invented
tale but a confirmation of previous Scriptures, an explanation of all
things, a guide and a blessing to true believers.
Ali - 3:3
It is He Who sent down to thee (step by step) in truth the Book confirming
what went before it; and He sent down 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).
Dawood - 3:3
He has revealed to you the Book with the Truth, confirming the scriptures
which preceded it; for He has already revealed the Torah and the Gospel for
the guidance of mankind, and the distinction of right and wrong.
Ali - 5:46 - 48
46. And in their footsteps We sent Jesus the son of Mary confirming the law
that had come before him: We sent him the Gospel: therein was guidance and
light and confirmation of the law that had come before him: a guidance and
an admonition to those who fear Allah.
47. Let the people of the Gospel Judge by what Allah has revealed therein.
If any do fail to judge by (the light of) what Allah has revealed they are
(no better than) those who rebel.
48. To thee We sent the Scripture in truth confirming the scripture that
came before it and guarding it in safety....
Dawood - 5:46 - 48
46. After them we sent forth Jesus, the son of Mary, confirming the Torah
already revealed, and gave him the Gospel, in which there is guidance and
light, corroborating what was revealed before it in the Torah, a guide and
an admonition to the righteous. Therefore let those who follow the Gospel
judge according to what God has revealed therein. Evil doers are those who
do not judge according to God's revelations. 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 them.
Ali - 5:66
If only they had stood fast by the Law the Gospel and all the revelation
that was sent to them from their Lord they would have enjoyed happiness from
every side. There is from among them a party on the right course; but many
of them follow a course that is evil.
Dawood - 5:66
If they observe the Torah and the Gospel and what is revealed to them from
their Lord, they shall enjoy abundance from above and from beneath.
NOTE: The root word of "confirm", or "confirming" as used in
10:37, 12:111, 3:3, 5:46, 35:31 in Quranic Arabic is "Saddaqa". It means to
"confirm, to give credence, to believe, to accept as true, confirmation,
accepting as true, belief, confirming, establishing as true". When Muhammad
used this word, he meant that he believed that the Bible was the Word of
God. Muhammad confirmed the Bible as the Word of God.
This same root is used in many places regarding truth. For
example,
39:33 "And he who brings the truth, and he who confirms it - such are the
men who do right."
Below are excerpts from Quranic verses using a conjugation of "Saddaqa".
Note how the context of the word is uniform in definition.
2:41 "that I have sent down, confirming that which is with you"
2:89 "a Book from God, confirming what was with them"
2:91 "it is the truth confirming what is with them"
2:97 "he it was that brought it down upon they heart by the leave of
God, confirming what was before it"
2:101 "when there has come to them a Messenger from God confirming what
was with them"
3:3 "He has sent down upon thee the Book with the truth, confirming
what was before it"
3:39 "God give thee good tidings of John, who shall confirm"
3:50 "likewise confirming the truth of the Torah that is before me"
3:81 "then there shall come to you a Messenger confirming what is with
you"
4:47 "believe in what We have sent down, confirming what is with you"
5:46 "We sent... Jesus son of Mary, confirming the Torah before him"
5:46 "wherein is guidance and light, and confirming the Torah before it"
5:48 "We have sent down to thee the Book with the truth, confirming the
Book that was before it"
6:92 "a Book We have sent down, blessed and confirming that which was
before it"
35:31 "that We have revealed to thee of the Book is the truth, confirming
what is before it"
37:52 "are you a confirmer?"
46:12 "this is a Book, confirming in the Arabic tongue"
46:30 "we have heard a Book that was sent down after Moses, confirming
what was before it"
61:6 "Israel, I am indeed the Messenger of God to you, confirming the
Torah"
It is obvious from the sum of these verses that Muhammad truly
believed the Bible to be God's word. Over and over again, he "confirmed"
the Bible. There is no mention of a "partial" confirmation. There is no
statement that says, "confirms only that which I agree with". Instead,
Muhammad addressed the Scriptures of the People of the Book and he confirmed
its integrity, truthfulness, and accuracy.
SECTION SUMMARY
The above verses prove that Muhammad confirmed the existence and
integrity of the Jewish and Christian Scriptures. "If they observe the
Torah and the Gospel and what is revealed to them from their Lord.
"Therefore let those who follow the Gospel judge according to what God has
revealed therein", are two verses that prove that both the Torah and Gospel
that the people of the Book held were God's word in Muhammad's viewpoint.
Muhammad's Quran testified to the validity of those Scriptures
that existed during his time. He did not speak one word of their
corruption. It was Muhammad's ignorance of the actual teachings of those
Scriptures that allowed him to contradict their truths.
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VERSES WHERE MUHAMMAD APPEALS TO THE TORAH AND OR THE GOSPEL.
Ali - 10:94
If you were in doubt as to what We have revealed unto you then ask those who
have been reading the Book from before you...
Dawood - 10:94
If you doubt what We have revealed to you [Muhammad], Ask those who have
read the Scriptures before you.
Ali - 16:43, 44
43. And before thee also the apostles We sent were but men to whom We
granted inspiration: if ye realize this not ask of those who possess the
Message.
44. (We sent them) with Clear Signs and Books of dark prophecies; and We
have sent down unto thee (also) the Message; that thou may explain clearly
to men what is sent for them and that they may give thought.
Dawood - 16:43, 44
The apostles We sent before you were but men whom we inspired with
revelations and with Scriptures. Ask the People of the Book, if you know
not. To you we have revealed the Admonition, so that you may proclaim to
men what was sent down for them, and that they may give thought.
Ali - 2:113
The Jews say: "The Christians have naught (to stand) upon"; and the
Christians say: "The Jews have naught (to stand) upon." Yet they (profess
to) study the (same) Book....
Dawood - 2:113
The Jews say the Christians are misguided, and the Christians say it is the
Jews who are misguided. Yet they both read the Scriptures...
Ali - 5:68
68. Say: "O People of the Book! you have no ground to stand upon unless you
stand fast by the Law the Gospel and all the revelation that has come to you
from your Lord."...
Dawood - 5:68 - 69
Say: "People of the Book, you will attain nothing until you observe the
Torah and the Gospel and that which is revealed to you from your Lord"...
SECTION SUMMARY
Again we read that Muhammad testified to the Christian's and
Jew's Scripture's integrity. "People of the Book, you will attain nothing
until you observe the Torah and the Gospel", and "If you doubt what We have
revealed to you, Ask those who have read the Scriptures before you" show
that Muhammad believed that the Jews and Christians had a book of truth. In
fact, "Allah" goes so far as to urge Muhammad to ask the Jews and Christians
about the validity of his message. Now, if they were corrupted, God would
not instruct Muhammad to ask people who study a corrupted book about the
validity of his message.
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CONCLUSION
The Quran clearly testifies that the Scriptures of the People of
the Book, i.e., the Old and New Testaments, are the uncorrupted Word of God.
Below is a review of Muhammad's words in the Quran that present this.
1) 3:50 - "I come to confirm the Torah which preceded me..."
2) 5:46 - "After them we sent forth Jesus, the son of Mary,
confirming the Torah already revealed
3) 35:31 - "What We have revealed to you in the Book is the truth
confirming previous Scriptures. God knows and observes His servants.
4) 5:46 - 48 "After them we sent forth Jesus, the son of Mary,
confirming the Torah already revealed, and gave him the Gospel, in which
there is guidance and light, corroborating what was revealed before it in
the Torah, a guide and an admonition to the righteous. Therefore let those
who follow the Gospel judge according to what God has revealed therein.
5) 5:66 - "If they observe the Torah and the Gospel..."
6) 10::94 - "If you doubt what We have revealed to you [Muhammad],
Ask those who have read the Scriptures before you."
7) 2:113 - "The Jews say the Christians are misguided, and the
Christians say it is the Jews who are misguided. Yet they both read the
Scriptures..."
CONFIRM, CONFIRM, CONFIRM.
CORROBORATING, JUDGING, OBSERVING ASKING, READING.
Muhammad believed in the truths of the Bible. But he did not
know what the Bible taught. His ignorance led him to make statements that
displayed his lack of knowledge. His self-contradictions prove he was not a
prophet of God.
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D. SUPPORT FROM THE HADITH
There are also several Hadith that agree with the Quran in
supporting the truthfulness of the Bible. Here are a few of those Hadith.
Ibn Abbas on the corruption of Scripture.
Ibn Abbas was Muhammad's relative. He was one of a special
group of Muslims known as the "Companions". He is regarded as one of the
great scholars in Islamic History.
A traditional statement (Hadith) of his is presented below. It
is taken from Sahih Bukhari's collection of Hadith, volume 9, as a footnote
between 642, and 643. This note is a comment on the Quran 4:46 and 85:21,
22
"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. [... and he continues to speak about
how the Qur'an is preserved ...]
This is the commentary of Abdullah Ibn Abbas, one of the Sahaba
(companions) and Mohammed's cousin. His opinions, because he is a Sahabi
(companion) are held to be above the opinions and commentaries of all other
Sheikhs who are not Sahaba. Since Ibn Abbas' above reference to "They
corrupt the word" quotes part of Sura 4:46, it is not only a commentary on
Sura 85:22, but also on the meaning of the Quranic charge against the Jews
of corrupting the scriptures. This strongly confirms the results of various
investigations of the passages in the Qur'an that speak about the earlier
scriptures and their textual integrity and continuing authority.
Bukhari 4.829
Narrated 'Abdullah bin 'Umar:
The Jews came to Allah's Apostle and told him that a man and a woman from
amongst them had committed illegal sexual intercourse. Allah's Apostle said
to them, "What do you find in the Torah (old Testament) about the legal
punishment of Ar-Rajm (stoning)?" They replied, (But) we announce their
crime and lash them." Abdullah bin Salam said, "You are telling a lie; Torah
contains the order of Rajm." They brought and opened the Torah and one of
them solaced his hand on the Verse of Rajm and read the verses preceding and
following it. Abdullah bin Salam said to him, "Lift your hand." When he
lifted his hand, the Verse of Rajm was written there. They said, "Muhammad
has told the truth; the Torah has the Verse of Rajm. The Prophet then gave
the order that both of them should be stoned to death. ('Abdullah bin 'Umar
said, "I saw the man leaning over the woman to shelter her from the stones."
The above Hadith confirms that the Torah existed during
Muhammad's time and that he had confidence in it. There was no worry about
corruption. Instead, Muhammad chose to use it as a credible source.
Bukhari 6.12
Narrated Abu Huraira:
The people of the Scripture (Jews) used to recite the Torah in Hebrew and
they used to explain it in Arabic to the Muslims. On that Allah's Apostle
said, "Do not believe the people of the Scripture or disbelieve them, but
say:-- "We believe in Allah and what is revealed to us." (2.136)
Here again the Torah was being recited and taught in Arabic, and
in public. When Muhammad addressed this, he did not say anything about
corruption. He had doubts about whether or not the Jews were being honest
in teaching the truth of what they were interpreting.
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E. SUPPORT FROM THE SIRA
As was previously quoted at the start of this paper, the Sira
also provide proof that Muhammad believed that the Scriptures of the People
of the Book were truth from God. This first one was already quoted at the
beginning of this article.
Two Jewish leaders came to Muhammad and asked if he believed
that the Torah they had in their possession was the truth from God.
"Rafi b. Haritha and Sallam b. Mishkam and Malik b. al-Sayf and Rafi b.
Huraymila came to him [Muhammad] 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, ...
1) There was a controversy concerning the punishment of two Jews who had
committed adultery in Medina. Muhammad was brought into the controversy.
The end result was that Muhammad ordered the pair to be stoned. Following
his order, an important detail is recorded: (from Ibn Ishaq, page 267)
"Salh b. Kaisan from Nafi freedman of Abdullah b. Umar from
Abdullah b. Umar, told me: When the apostle gave judgment about them he
asked for a Torah. A rabbi sat there reading it having put his hand over
the verse of stoning. Abdullah b. Salam struck the rabbi's hand, saying,
"this, O prophet of God, is the verse of stoning which he refused to read to
you." ............ The apostle said; "I am the first to revive the order
from God and His book and to practice it." They were duly stoned and
Abdullah b. Umar said, "I was among those that stoned them."
From three sources of Islam, the Quran, Hadith, and Sira,
evidence has been produced that establish that Muhammad believed the Bible
to be the Word of God. There is no word of corruption of these Scriptures,
there is only confirmation that the Bible is God's truth.
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F. CONCLUSION
Documented evidence has been presented showing all sources of
Islam (the Quran, the Hadith, and the Sira) teach that the Bible is the Word
of God. For a Muslim to deny that the truths that the Bible teaches equates
to denying Muhammad's teachings. Clearly, Muhammad fully believed the Bible
to be God's word.
It now remains to be established what those Scriptures were.
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2 THE BIBLE IN THE HIJAZ IS BASICALLY THE SAME ONE WE HAVE TODAY
2. WHAT SCRIPTURES WERE AVAILABLE IN THE HIJAZ?
It has already been established that during Muhammad's lifetime
the Jews and Christians in the Hijaz possessed Scripture that Muhammad
considered to be God's word. Since Muhammad testified to its integrity,
which Scriptures was he referring to? And, are those Scriptures equivalent
to what we possess today? If they are not basically the same, i.e. if they
do not teach the same doctrines that our Bible of today teaches, then
Muhammad may be justified for his remarks.
So, what Scriptures were they and where did they come from?
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GENERAL INFORMATION
Concerning the "Gospel", F. F. Bruce writes in "The Canon of Scripture"
[10], page 124:
"Before the term "Gospel", (Greek 'evangelion) came to be given
to any single one of the four gospels (or to one of the many other works of
the same literary genre), it meant (1) the good news of the kingdom of God
preached by Jesus, (2) the good news about Jesus preached by his followers
after the first Easter and Pentecost, (3) the written record of the good
news current in a particular locality, (4) the four fold gospel."
Bruce also notes (p. 129) that:
"The earliest surviving codex which still contains portions of
all four gospels is "P45" in the Chester Beatty collection, from the early
third century [early 200s]. It contains Acts as well as the fourfold
gospel - an exceptional collocation, for in it the early textual history of
the New Testament Acts was more often included in a codex with the catholic
epistles.
NOTES
1) The term "catholic" epistles refers to the books of James, 1, 2, 3, John,
1 and 2 Peter, and Jude. It does not have anything to do with the Catholic
church. The word "Catholic" means universal or general.
2) I urge all readers to get Bruce's book and read it for themselves. The
evidence he presents supporting the integrity of the New Testament is very
strong. This article can only quote portions of his book.
Also important to this discussion are Paul's writings. Bruce
writes on page 130:
"What is important is this: from the early second century
[early 100s] onward Paul's letters circulated not singly, but as a
collection."
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A. HISTORICAL ANALYSIS
HISTORICAL INFORMATION ON THE DIFFERENT CANONS OF SCRIPTURE
THE CANONS OF SCRIPTURE WERE FIXED WELL BEFORE MUHAMMAD
The term "canon" means the set or collection of books that
comprise a Bible. Some church groups had more books than other church
groups. For example, the authenticity of the Book of Revelations was not
recognized by all the early churches, so those that did not recognize it
excluded it from their official canon.
Bruce Metzger writes in "The Canon of the New
Testament, its Origin, Development, and Significance", [11] page 160:,
"By way of summary, [just after 200 A.D.], Tertullian cites all
the writings of the New Testament except 2 Peter, James, and 2 and 3 John.
.... Tertullian regarded the Scriptures of the Old Testament as divinely
given and he attributed to the four Gospels and the apostolic Epistles an
authority equal to that of the Law and the Prophets. The orally transmitted
"rule of faith" and the written Scriptures were mutually appealed to, and
any writing that did not conform to the rule of faith could not be accepted
as Scripture."
Metzger goes on to write that there were early established lists
of the canon in the West as early as the early 200's. And by the late
300s - early 400s the canon of the New Testament was fixed in the West.
The "Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible", [12] pages 529 - ,
states that the early church father Origen traveled to different countries
and visited the various churches [during the early 200s]. It records:
"Origen had traveled widely - to Rome, and in Greece and Asia
Minor as well as in Egypt and Palestine - and had observed both the
agreements and the differences among churches of different regions in their
attitude toward the several New Testament writings; he was well aware that
the views of his own church were not identical with those of other churches
everywhere. Without attempting to lay down a judgment of his own, he makes
note of the practice of the church, classifying the books as "acknowledged"
or "disputed"; besides these, there are a number which are simply "false".
Among the "acknowledged" he includes the four gospels, the Pauline letters,
(fourteen, including Hebrews, even though he knows that it is not by Paul
and is not accepted everywhere), Acts, 1 John, 1 Peter, and Revelation. ...
The books which he most rigorously excludes are the numerous un-canonical
gospels, which he adjudges heretical; in this area he finds no disagreement
among the churches. "The church has four gospels; the heretics have many
[here he gives the titles of some of them]. Four gospels only are approved,
out of which he must bring forth points of teaching under the person of our
Lord and Savior .... We approve nothing else but that which the Church
approves, that is, four gospels only as proper to be received". (Hom. In
Luc. 1). And again he speaks of "the four gospels which alone are
uncontroverted in the church of God which is spread under heaven." (Euseb.
Hist. VI.xxv.4).
END OF QUOTE
What Origen found during the early 200s was the canon of the New
Testament was already becoming fixed. It was later that different churches
formally approved their official canons. Origen found that all of them
included the four gospels and Paul's letters.
The "Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible", continues on page
530:
"In the second half of the fourth century (350 - 400) a number
of bishops in different regions of the Greek church were moved to issue
formal lists of the canonical books for the guidance of their people. Cyril
of Jerusalem lists twenty six of our twenty seven, excluding Revelation; his
contemporary Epiphanius of Constantia in Cyprus includes it with the other.
Gregory of Nazianzus gives the same list as Cyril. In his thirty ninth
Festal Letter, written in 367, the great Athanasius of Alexandria gives a
list of the "books that are canonized and handed down to us and believed to
be divine"; in this, after the books of the OT, he lists without hesitation
the twenty seven books of our own New Testament canon. All of these mention
all seven of the Catholic letters usually as a formally constituted group;
they differ only over the acceptance of Revelation. ... At the end of the
fourth century, therefore, a considerable part of the Greek church
acknowledged a canon of only twenty two books. A section of the Apostolic
Constitutions, however, published in Syria ca. 400, lists all 27 books
except Revelation and adds to them 1 and 2 Clement."
END OF QUOTE
What the above paragraph is saying is that the basic canon in
the Greek world was constituted by the four gospels, Acts, and Paul's
letters. There were some differences regarding the 6 catholic letters and
Revelations. This was done before 400 A.D. By 400, the canon of 27 was
established.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
We find a similar situation in the Eastern Syriac churches.
Bruce Metzger writes in "The Canon of the New Testament, its
Origin, Development, and Significance", pages 113, 114:
"According to early traditions and legends embodied in the
"Doctrine of Addai (A.D. 400), the earliest New Testament of the Syriac
speaking church consisted of the Gospel, the Epistles of Paul, and the Book
of Acts."
Metzger notes that the "Gospel" spoken of here is the
Diatesseron.
Later, Metzger goes on to write on pages 209 on that the canon
is established in the East by 367.
Bruce writes on page 215:
"The earliest New Testament in the Syriac churches comprised the
four gospels (either the Diatesseron or the separated gospels), Acts, and
the Pauline epistles (evidently including the Pastoral Epistles and
Hebrews). From the early part of the fifth century [early 400s] the common
Syriac version, the Peshitta, included the three major catholic epistles as
well."
The "Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible", continues on page 531:
"The history of the canon in the Syriac speaking churches
remains obscure until the beginning of the fifth century and the making of
the Peshitta. Until that time, they used Tatian's Diatesseron almost
exclusively in place of the four gospel collection which had so early become
dominant in the Greek and Latin churches; an Old Syriac version of the four
gospels, made about the end of the second century, survives in two MSS but
there is no trace of its use by Syrian churchmen.
It is not known when the book of Acts and the Pauline letters
were first translated into Syriac, but it must have been before the end of
the third century and may even have been done in the late second century, by
Tatian. At all events, it is clear that in the fourth century the Syriac
canon consisted of the Diatesseron, Acts, and the Pauline letters. A
curious feature is that in Syria the Pauline collection was enlarge to
fifteen letters by the inclusion of the spurious Third Epistle to the
Corinthians, extant only in Armenian, Coptic, and Latin versions. This
canon of seventeen books is used by Ephraem, the great scholar of the church
of Edessa and by his contemporary Afraates; and is given as authoritative in
the Doctrine of Addai, a document composed ca. 370 at Edessa. However, a
Syriac list of ca. 400 puts the four gospels in place of the Diatesseron and
omits III Corinthians; this may be taken as an indication that the Syrian
churches were now moving toward conformity with their Greek neighbors,
probably under the influence of the school of Antioch.
The Peshitta, by far the most enduring and influential of
oriental versions, was made under the direction of Bishop Rabbula of Edessa
in the first quarter of the fifth century (425). It adopted the canon of
Antioch: the four "separated" gospels, Acts, fourteen Pauline letters, and
three Catholic letters - James, 1 Peter, and 1 John. The Syrian episcopate
now made a determined and successful effort to end the use of the
Diatessaron. Theodoret of Cyrrhus alone collected and destroyed more than
two hundred copies of the Diatessaron in the churches under his government
and replaced them with the four gospels of the Peshitta. The Diatessaron
was so thoroughly suppressed that no copy of it has sever been discovered,
apart from a single leaf of vellum containing a fragment of the Greek text
of it.
The Christological controversies of the fifth century destroyed
the unity of the Syrian church and separated it from the catholic church of
the West. From Edessa eastward through Mesopotamia and Persia it became
Nestorian; in the W. parts of Syria it became Monophysite. The Nestorian
churches continued to hold to the original canon the Peshitta, which was the
base also of the oldest Persian and Arabic versions. For the Monophysites a
revision of the Peshitta was prepared in 508 at the insistence of a bishop
called Philoxenus. This work was based on good Greek MSS and included the
seven Catholic letters and Revelation. Thus the Syrian Monophysites, or
Jacobites, as they are called, adopted the canon that had become established
in the West. In 616, the Philoxenian edition was further revised by Thomas
of Harkel, who retained the same canon. But these revisions never attained
the authority of the Peshitta, and the Syrian churches generally have held
fast to the shorter canon of twenty two books, lacking the four minor
Catholic letters and Revelation.
Except for occasional oddities, no further developments took
place in the canon. The Ethiopic church added eight books to the
established twenty seven - a collection of decrees called the Synodus, and a
series of "Clementines".
END OF QUOTE
What the above states is that throughout the Church in the
world, East and West the acknowledged canons all contained the four gospels,
Acts, the four large Catholic letters, Hebrews, and the Pauline letters.
This all occurred by 425 A.D. This precedes Muhammad's work by almost 200
years. Muhammad was born in 570 and he began preaching his religion around
610 A.D.
NOTE: on the Diatessaron: Bruce Metzger writes in "The Canon of the New
Testament, its Origin, Development, and Significance", pages 115, 116
"The Diatessaron supplies proof that all four Gospels were
regarded as authoritative, otherwise it is unlikely that Tatian would have
dared to combine them into one gospel account. At a time when many gospels
were competing for attention, it is certainly significant that Tatian
selected just these four - nor does the presence of an occasional
extra-canonical phrase or clause in the fabric of the Diatessaron neutralize
this consideration."
NOTE: on the Peshitta: Metzger writes (op cite) page 219:
"By the beginning of the fifth century [400], if not slightly
earlier, the Syrian church's form of the bible, the so-called Peshitta, was
formed. This represents for the New Testament an accommodation of the canon
of the Syrians with that of the Greeks. Third Corinthians was rejected,
and, in addition to the fourteen Pauline Epistles (including Hebrews,
following Philemon), the three longer Catholic Epistles (James, 1 Peter, 1
John) were included. The four shorter Catholic Epistles and the Apocalypse
[Revelations] are absent from the Peshitta Syriac version, and thus the
Syrian canon of the New Testament contained but 22 writings."
Also
NOTE on the Peshitta:
Yusef Ali, a translator of and commentator on the Quran writes:
"It is probable that the Peshitta was the version (or an Arabic
form of it) used by the Christians in Arabia in the time of the prophet.
The final form of the New Testament canon for the West was fixed in the
fourth century A.C. (say, about 367 A.C.) by Athanasius and the Nicene
creed."
HISTORICAL CONCLUSION
By around 400 A.D., the canons of Scripture were similar
throughout the Christian world. Most churches had 27 books in their New
Testament. A few had less than 27, a few had more. However, they all
contained the four Gospels, Acts, and Paul's letters. This is some 200
years before Muhammad was born.
So, even though there was no major center of Christianity in
Mecca or nearby surrounding areas, there was a Christian presence there.
These Christians possessed Scriptures with which Muhammad was familiar. And
the Scriptures the Christians had were the same as the Christians to the
North, South, East, or West. And, they are the same Scriptures we have
today.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
B. HISTORICAL INFORMATION ON THE AVAILABILITY OF SCRIPTURES IN THE
ARABIAN PENINSULA
GEOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS
GENERAL
According to the Hadith there were actual Arabic translations of
the New Testament that had been translated during the time of Muhammad:
From Bukhari: 4.605:
Narrated 'Aisha: The Prophet returned to Khadija while his heart was
beating rapidly. She took him to Waraqa bin Naufal who was a Christian
convert and used to read the Gospels in Arabic Waraqa asked (the
Prophet),...
From Bukhari: 6.478:
Narrated Aisha: (the wife of the Prophet) The commencement (of the Divine
Inspiration) to Allah's Apostle was in the form of true dreams in his sleep,
for he never had a dream but it turned out to be true and clear as the
bright daylight......Khadija then took him to Waraqa bin Naufil, the son of
Khadija's paternal uncle. Waraqa had been converted to Christianity in the
Pre-Islamic Period and used to write Arabic and write of the Gospel in
Arabic as much as Allah wished him to write.
Muhammad had been married to Khadija for fifteen years prior to Muhammad's
death. He therefore had plenty of opportunity to visit Waraqa (with or
without Khadija) for religious discussion.
Richard Bell writes in "The Origin of Islam in its Christian
Environment", [13] page 17:
"This influence of Christianity upon Arabia came principally
from three centres, viz. Syria in the Northwest, Mesopotamia in the
Northeast, and Abyssinia in the West..."
P. Hitti writes in "Makers of Arab History", [14] page 6:
"and the realization that the Christians and Jews he [Muhammad]
met had a "book" and were more progressive, more highly developed than his
people. Arabia was then ringed by Christian countries. The Christians he
met must have been Syrians, Copts, Abyssinians and even Christianized Arabs
on the borders of Syria and Iraq. They came as merchants, slaves or
visitors. The Jews must have been native Medinese and Yamanis or foreign
traders and slaves."
One Muslim writer, Nab�h Aqel, in "Tar�kh al-'Arab al-Qad�m",
[15] 1983 (Third Edition), D�r al-Fikr, Beirut, p. 305, detailed some
Christian activities in the Hijaz:
"The big difference between Christianity and Judaism is that Christianity
unlike Judaism didn't have any bases in Hijaz , Christianity was an external
source of enlightenment echoed in Hijaz either by missionary activities form
Ethiopia, Syria and Iraq or from Alheerah's Christian centres; dair Hind
al-Kubra [the order of Hind al-Kubra] - Um Amro al-Mundhir [the order of Um
Ammro] - Dair Hind al-Sugra [the order of Hind al-Sugra]) or from some of
the scattered churches in Bahrain, al-Yamamah and Yemen."
Aqel is stating the Christian missionaries had gone through the
Hijaz, preaching Christ. Certainly, they would have brought their Bibles
with them.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
IN MUHAMMAD'S HOME TOWN OF MECCA
Mecca was a commercial center. Caravans from various parts of
the world would go there to carry out trade. The Kaba was also a famed
pagan temple. People from various religions would travel there for
religious reasons such as pilgrimage. Consequently, there was
representation and knowledge from a variety of religions in Mecca during
Muhammad's time.
J.S. Trimingham in "Christianity Among the Arabs in Pre-Islamic Times", [16]
wrote on page 268:
"The Meccans were in contact with the Christians of Syria through commercial
relations as well as with the diffused witness of the monks."
And on page 270: "The presence of Christians in Mecca is better attested,
but relates mainly to non-Meccans. Christian Arab merchants operated in
Mecca in association with Meccans and attended the periodical fairs. The
Banyu Ghassan was represented and had an establishment situated in the
neighborhood of the Kaba, a privilege granted by reason of their being
hulafa or affiliates of the Qurashi clan of Banu Asad. Christians from Hira
as well as Syria frequented the place. While Christian Arab tribes of the
peninsula maintained representatives, like the Banu Ijl of Yamajma and Hira,
whose representative Furat ibn Hayyan was halif to the qurajhshi clan of
Sahm.
... among the slaves of the Meccan merchant class there were Christians.
These must have been Syrians, since those transported across the Red Sea
were pagan Kushites or Bantu, for the Christian Axumites, the ruling class
would hardly enslave their own people. Among slaves from Syria mentioned by
Ibn Ishaq was Zaid ibn Haritha, freedman and mentioned and adopted son of
Muhammad. Slaves would naturally retain their attachment to Christianity
since they were excluded from the cults of the ruling class."
END OF QUOTE
NOTE Zaid's was Muhammad's adopted son, and as Trimingham stated, slaves
kept their attachment to their faiths. Perhaps Muhammad also learned
Christian material from Zaid - his adopted son who lived with him.
On page 84 of Ibn Ishaq, we read that before Muhammad's self
proclamation of prophethood the Kaba needed to be rebuilt and:
"It happened that in Mecca there was a Copt who was a carpenter...."
So, even before Muhammad's rise to power, there was a Christian
presence in Mecca.
On page 86, we read that there was actually a biblical quote in
the Kaba....
"Layth Abu Sulaym alleged that they found a stone in the Kaba forty years
before the prophet's mission, if what they say is true, containing the
inscription "He that soweth good shall reap joy; he that soweth evil shall
reap sorrow; can you do evil and be rewarded with good? Nay, as grapes
cannot be gathered from thorns"
Here we even have a record of a Gospel quote (Matthew 7:16)
inscribed on a stone in the Kaba!
We also read about a Jew living in Mecca in Ibn Sa'd, volume 1,
page 186:
"A Jew dwelt at Makkah and sold commodities..."
Therefore there was a Christians and Jewish presence in Mecca
where Muhammad grew up and lived most of his life. The Christian was a
Copt.
If Muhammad encountered the Coptic Scriptures, he would
encounter what we basically have today.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
NORTH OF MUHAMMAD
North of Muhammad lay Syria. These states were also bordered
on the South by the minor Arab states of the Ghassan and Hira tribes.
Bernard Lewis writes in "The Arabs in History, [17] page 32:
"The two states of Ghassan and Hira were both Christian, the
former Monophysite, the latter Nestorian. Both had a tincture of Aramaic
and Hellenistic culture....The Ghassanids resided in the neighborhood of the
Yarmuk river and were recognized rather than appointed by
Byzantium....Though a vassal of the Persians, it (the Hira state) drew its
culture mainly from the West, from the Christian and Hellenistic
civilization of Syria. At first pagan, it was converted to Nestorian
Christianity brought by captives."
Bell writes on pages 18, 19:
"Within the bounds of the Roman Empire in Syria we may assume
that in the course of the fourth, fifth, and sixth centuries Christianity
had become fairly general, and must have extended to the more or less
settled Arabs who dwelt under the protection of the Roman power. ... In
all these ways, from the settled land of Syria, growing ever more Christian,
the knowledge of Christianity must have been continually percolation to the
inhabitants of the desert."
From Ibn Ishaq, page 79, - 81 we read that when Muhammad was a
boy, he traveled with his uncle Abu Talib to Syria as part of a caravan
"..... When the caravan reached Busra in Syria, there was a monk there in
his cell by the name of Bahira, who was well versed in the knowledge of
Christians....There he (Bahira) gained his knowledge from a book that was in
the cell, so they allege, handed on from generation to generation.
From the above we see two things:
1) Muhammad conversed with a Christian who had Christian books with him.
Of course he could have learned Christian teachings from Bahira.
2) These books though not in the Hijaz, existed, and the people of the
caravans had opportunity to learn of Christianity from the Christians in
Syria. They too would have disseminated their knowledge back in Mecca.
By Muhammad's time, the Syrian church was using the Peshitta
because the Diatesseron had been destroyed and removed from use.
Consequently, if Muhammad were to have encountered Scriptures
from the Syrian church, he would encounter what we basically have today.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
NORTHEAST OF MUHAMMAD
To the Northeast was Mesopotamia and Persia. Persia was
generally not Christian, but there were Christian communities living under
Persian rule. In Mesopotamia, there was a strong Christian church.
Bell writes on page 24:
"Be we can safely say that by the end of the third century there
was a flourishing Church at Edessa and that Christianity had already crossed
the Tigris."
As has been already shown, the canon used by the church
offshoots in Mesopotamia and Persia was equivalent to what the Syrian church
used.
If Muhammad encountered the Scriptures of the Persian churches,
he would encounter what we basically have today.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
SOUTH OF MUHAMMAD
From "The Life of Muhammad", pages 14 - 18 the story is told how
Christianity began in Najran. Najran is about 350 miles south east of
Mecca. The story describes how a Christian preached in Najran, healed the
sick, and performed miracles. The whole city converted to Christianity...
"The people of Najran accepted the religion of Abdullah al Thamir according
to the Gospel and the law which Isa b. Maryam brought."
Later on, the story states that some 20,000 Najran Christians
were killed by a king who wanted them to become Jews.
On pages 270, 271 of Ibn Ishaq, Christians from Najran visit
Muhammad. Ibn Ishaq notes that they were affiliated with the Christians of
Byzantium:
"A deputation from the Christians of Najran came to the apostle. There were
sixty riders, fourteen of them from their nobles of whom three were in
control of affairs.....
Abu Haritha occupied a position of honor among them and was a great student,
so that he had an excellent knowledge of their religion, and the Christian
kings of Byzantium had honored him and paid him a subsidy and gave him
servants, built churches for him and lavished honors on him, because of his
knowledge and zeal for their religion."......
The relevant point here is that there was a Christian city in
the Saudi peninsula south of Mecca and they were affiliated with the
Byzantines. Certainly there would be cultural exchanges between the cities
since Mecca was a center of commerce and religions, and many people traveled
to and from there. The Byzantines were primarily Greeks. Hence, it is
logical to believe that they used the Greek canon of Scripture. That means
they were using what we basically have today as our Bible.
If Muhammad were to encounter the Najran Scriptures, or
Byzantine Scriptures, he would basically encounter what we have today.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
WEST OF MUHAMMAD
To the West was Abbysinnia, now known as Ethiopia. Ethiopia was
a Christian country during Muhammad's time. During the early years of
Muhammad's preaching, he sent his followers there to avoid persecution from
the Meccans. As has been already shown - the Ethiopian church has a canon
similar to what we have today. They have added additional letters that do
not conflict with other parts of the New Testament.
Concerning Abyssinia, (Ethiopia), Albert Hourani writes in "A
History of the Arab Peoples", [18] page 10,
"One was Ethiopia, an ancient kingdom with Christianity in its
Coptic form as the official religion."
And Bell writes on page 32:
"Fell further connects this with the Abyssinian legend of the
nine saints by whom a revival of Christianity was brought about, and sets
the date about A.D. 480. In any case, the real Christianizing of Abyssinia
belongs to about this period."
If Muhammad were to encounter the Scriptures of the Ethiopian
church, he would encounter what we basically have today.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
NORTHWEST OF MUHAMMAD
To the Northwest was Palestine. By 600 A.D., Christianity was
well established there. No additional comment is needed here.
If Muhammad were to encounter the Scriptures of the Palestinian
church, he would encounter what we basically have today.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
CONCLUSION
Evidence has been presented that establishes that the canon of
the Scriptures was fixed well before Muhammad and that the Scriptures that
Muhammad encountered are the same as those existing today. The differences
between the canons were that they had a different number of books, but the
books they had in common were the same. The differences between canons does
not affect the fundamental, primary, intrinsic, teachings of the Bible.
Muhammad encountered the Bible and he believed it to be God's word.
====================================================================
MUHAMMAD AND THE BIBLE - PART 3
MUSLIM OBJECTIONS
A. QUESTIONABLE QURANIC VERSES
There are verses in the Quran that relate questions to the
Scriptures. Muslims often quote them to prove corruption of the Bible.
However, they do not state corruption. They all relate to how the
Christians or Jews misinterpreted or misrepresented the Scripture's meaning.
Again, not one word of textual corruption of those Scriptures is found.
Here is a review of those verses.
1)
Ali - 5:15
15. O People of the Book! there has come to you Our Apostle revealing to you
much that ye used to hide in the Book and passing over much (that is now
unnecessary): ...
Dawood - 5:15
People of the Book! Our apostle has come to reveal to you much of what you
have hidden of the Scriptures,....
COMMENT
This verse shows that Muhammad believed the People of the Book
to have valid Scriptures. They were "hiding" portions of truth. Being able
to hide something means you have it in your possession. However, he stated
the People of the Book were not teaching those truths they possessed. Thus,
Muhammad believed their Scriptures were valid.
2)
Ali - 6:89 - 92
89. These were the men to whom We gave the Book and authority and
prophethood:
if these (their descendants) reject them behold! We shall entrust their
charge to a new People who reject them not.
90. Those were the (prophets) who received Allah's guidance: copy the
guidance they received; Say: "No reward for this do I ask of you: this is no
less than a Message for the nations."
91. No just estimate of Allah do they make when they say: "Nothing does
Allah send down to man (by way of revelation)": Say: "Who then sent down
the Book which Moses brought? a light and guidance to man: but ye make it
into (separate) sheets for show while ye conceal much (of its contents):
therein were ye taught that which ye knew not neither ye nor your fathers."
Say: "Allah (sent it down)": then leave them to plunge in vain discourse and
trifling.
92. And this is a Book which We have revealed bringing blessings and
confirming (the revelations) which came before it: that thou mayest warn the
Mother of Cities and all around her....
Dawood - 6:89 - 92
On those men [previous prophets] We bestowed the Scriptures, wisdom, and
prophethood. If these are denied by this generation, We will entrust them
to others who will not deny them. Those were the men whom God guided.
Follow then their guidance and say: "I demand of you no recompense for
this. It is but an admonition to all mankind." They have no true notion of
God's glory, those that say: "God has never revealed anything to a mortal."
Say: "Who, then, revealed the Scriptures which Moses brought down, a light
and a guide for mankind? You have transcribed them on scraps of paper,
declaring some and suppressing much, though now you have been taught what
neither your nor your fathers knew before. Say: "God"! Then leave them to
amuse themselves with foolish chatter. This is a blessed Book which We have
revealed, confirming what came before it, that you may warn the mother city
(Mecca) and those that dwell around her...
COMMENT
Again Muhammad stated that the people had the Scriptures, but
that they "suppressed" much. Again, Muhammad said that his Quran confirmed
the previous Scriptures. Again, this was not a statement of corruption, it
was a statement of suppression of existing truth in the Bible that they
possessed.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
3)
Ali - 3:78
78. There is among them a section who distort the Book with their tongues;
(as they read) you would think it is a part of the Book but it is no part of
the Book; and they say "That is from Allah" but it is not from Allah: it is
they who tell a lie against Allah and (well) they know it!
Dawood - 3:78
And there are some among them [the People of the Book] who twist their
tongues when quoting the Scriptures, so that you may think that what they
say is from the Scriptures, whereas it is not from the Scriptures. They
say, "This is from God", whereas it is not from God. They knowingly ascribe
a falsehood to God.
COMMENT
Again, Muhammad implicitly testified to the integrity of the
Scriptures in the above passage. What Muhammad criticized is people reading
the valid Scriptures, but deliberately mispronouncing the words (distorting
the word with their tongues). Since the Arabs were mostly illiterate, they
could not read the Scriptures, so the Jews were free to mislead the Muslims
or others as to what the real Word of God actually said. Here, Muhammad
admits those Scriptures were God's Word, but he states that they were being
presented inaccurately.
4)
Ali - 5:12 - 13
12. Allah did before time take a Covenant from the Children of Israel and We
appointed twelve captains among them and Allah said: "I am with you: if ye
(but) establish regular prayers practice regular charity believe in My
apostles honor and assist them and loan to Allah a beautiful loan verily I
will wipe out from you your evils and admit you to gardens with rivers
flowing beneath; but if any of you after this resists faith he has truly
wandered from the path of rectitude."
13. 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
find them barring a few ever bent on (new) deceits: but forgive them and
overlook (their misdeeds): for Allah loves those who are kind.
Dawood - 5:12-13
God made a covenant with the Israelites and raised among them twelve
chieftains. God said: "I shall be with you. If you attend to your prayers
and render the alms levy; if you believe in My apostles and assist them and
give God a generous loan, I shall forgive you your sins and admit you to
gardens watered by running streams. But he that hereafter denies Me shall
stray from the right path." But because they broke their covenant We laid
on them Our curse and hardened their hearts. They have tampered with words
out of their context and forgotten much of what they were enjoined. You
will ever find them deceitful, except for a few of them.....
COMMENT
Again Muhammad testified to the integrity of the Scriptures. He insists
that the Jews have tampered with the "context" of the Scriptures. That
means they were existing and had truth for someone to tamper with and
mis-interpret their contexts. Note that it says they forgot what they were
told, it doesn't say they corrupted the texts.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
5)
Ali - 2:75- 79
75. Can you (O you men of Faith) entertain the hope that they will believe
in you? Seeing that a party of them heard the word of Allah and perverted
it knowingly after they understood it.
76. Behold! when they meet the men of Faith they say: "We believe" but when
they meet each other in private they say: "Shall you tell them what Allah
has revealed to you that they may engage you in argument about it before
your Lord?" Do ye not understand (their aim)?
77. Know they not that Allah knows what they conceal and what they reveal?
78. And there are among them illiterates who know not the Book but (see
therein their own) desires and they do nothing but conjecture.
79. Then woe to those who write the Book with their own hands and then say:
"This is from Allah" to traffic with it for a miserable price! Woe to them
for what their hands do write and for the gain they make thereby.
Dawood - 2:75 - 79
Do you [the Muslims] then hope that they [the people of the Book] will
believe in you, when some of them have already heard the Word of God and
knowingly perverted it, although they understood its meaning? When they
meet the faithful they declare: "We, too, are believers." But when alone
they say to each other: "Must you preach to them what God has revealed to
you? They will only dispute with you about it in your Lord's presence.
Have you no sense?" There are illiterate men among them who, ignorant of
the Scriptures, know of nothing but wishful fancies and vague conjecture.
Woe to those that write the scriptures with their own hands and then
declare: "This is from God," in order to gain some paltry end. Woeful
shall be their fate, because of what their hands have written, because of
that which they have gained!
COMMENT
Again Muhammad testifies to the integrity of the actual
Scriptures of the People of the Book. However, Muhammad condemns those that
fabricate scriptures to make money. Note the distinction. Muhammad does
not declare that the already existing Scriptures of the people of the book
are corrupt; he condemns those that make up scriptures.
6)
Ali - 4:46, 47
46. 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": and
"Ra`ina"; with a twist of their tongues and a slander to faith. If only
they had said: "We hear and we obey"; and "Do hear"; and "Do look at us": it
would have been better for them and more proper; but Allah has cursed them
for their unbelief; and but few of them will believe.
47. O ye people of the Book! believe in what We have (now) revealed
confirming what was (already) with you ...
Dawood - 4:46, 47
Some Jews take words out of context and say, "We hear, but
disobey. May you be bereft of hearing! Raina! Thus distorting the phrase
with their tongues and reviling the true faith. But if they said: "We hear
and obey: hear us and Unzurna", it would be better and more proper for
them. God has cursed them in their unbelief. They have no faith except a
few of them. You to whom the Scriptures were given! Believe in that which
We have revealed, confirming your own Scriptures ...
COMMENT
Once again, Muhammad confirms the Scriptures of the Jews and
Christians. In this passage Muhammad criticizes some Jews for taking the
truthful Scripture out of context and mis-pronouncing it. There is no word
here of corrupting the Scriptures.
SUMMARY OF MUSLIM OBJECTIONS
Muslims today object to the Bible because they know it
contradicts the Quran. However, the Quran teaches that the Bible is God's
word. Muslims base their objections upon misinterpreted Quranic verses, or
differences in the Greek manuscripts. However, the differences are minor
and do not affect fundamental Christian doctrine.
If a Muslim were to truly believe the Quran, he would logically
come to the realization that it is a false book because it testified to the
truthfulness of contradictory books.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
B. EARLY MUSLIMS DID NOT CHARGE CORRUPTION
John Gilchrist writes in "The Christian Witness to the Muslim",
page 301, "Even the Muslim polemicist Ali Tabari wrote a semi-official
defense of Islam against the Jews and the Christians while he was at Baghdad
during the reign of the Abbasid Caliph Mutawakkil (AD 847-861). He at no
time charged them with corrupting their scriptures. Instead he says that
the first religious book in history to name "and the first one which came
into existence, is the Torah, which is in the hands of the People of the
Book" (Tabari, The Book of Religion and Empire, p. 51). He goes on to say
"As to the Gospel which is in the hands of the Christians, the greater part
of it is the history of the Christ, His birth and His life" (op. cit.).
Thus he openly acknowledged that the authentic Torah and Gospel remained in
the hands of the Jews and the Christians and, in going on to speak of their
contents, he outlined the contents of the Old and New Testaments
respectively. His only charge against them was that they did not always
understand or accept the true meaning of their teachings and often appealed
to the Old and New Testaments to make his point."
Gilchrist on page 302 writes:
"Al-Ghazali, (d. 1111), wrote a treatise on the Trinity in which
he quoted many passages from the Bible, without ever questioning the
trustworthiness of the text. (Chapman, You Go and Do the Same, p. 53).
Speaking of a leading French scholar's essay on the works of Al-Ghazzali in
his annotated bibliography, Wismer says: "Massignon points out that
Al-Ghazali did not accuse the Christians of altering their texts, but rather
of misinterpreting them" (The Islamic Jesus, p. 165). By his time some
commentators, such as the radical Ibn Hasm, had begun to argue against the
authenticity of the Bible but when Al-Ghazzali himself endeavored to prove
Islam against the two former religions, he never questioned the genuineness
of their respective Scriptures."
Gilchrist continues on pages 302, 303:
"Even as late as the sixth century after Muhammad leading
commentators still
accepted the integrity of the Old and New Testaments on the basis of the
Qur'an's teaching about the former Scriptures. Fakhruddin Razi, who died in
AD 1209, "besides affirming categorically that the Biblical text has not
been changed, says that the narratives of the Koran concerning Biblical
events are in perfect harmony with those of the Bible" (Ananikian, "Tahrif
or the Alteration of the Bible According to the Moslems", The Muslim World,
Vol. 14, p. 77).
About a century ago a leading maulana in India, Moulvie Safdar Ali, became a
Christian and wrote a series of letters to his Muslim relatives explaining
why he had abandoned Islam and become a Christian. These letters were later
published in a volume titled Niaz Namah and in them he gave attention to the
claims of his contemporaries that the Bible has been corrupted and changed.
He based his argument upon the Qur'an, showing (1) That the
Qur'an declares the Jewish and Christian Scriptures to be the Word of God
and "a Guide to Believers"; (2) Muslims are obliged to confess their faith
in all the Books of the Former Scriptures; (3) These books were extant in
Muhammad's time; (4) The Qur'an nowhere says these Scriptures were
corrupted; (5) Passages are quoted in proof from the Qur'an and the
Traditions. (Wherry, The Muslim Controversy, p. 96)"
END OF GILCHRIST QUOTE
THE TESTIMONY OF OTHER MUSLIM SCHOLARS
Muhammad 'Abduh (Egypt)
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. (Jacques Jomier,
"Jesus, The Life of the Messiah", page 216, [19])
----------------------------------------------------------------------
C. THEN WHY THE MUSLIM CHARGE OF CORRUPTION TODAY?
The Muslims of those early days were only following the Qur'an
which testifies to the authenticity of the Bible. It only accuses the Jews
on a few occasions of distorting the meaning of words and of concealing
truths contained in their Scripture. It was much later that Muslim writers
claimed that the Qur'an teaches that the Bible itself has been corrupted.
As Muslims learned more about the true teachings of the Bible,
they realized that both the Quran and the New Testament cannot be true. One
had to be wrong. The differences were concrete they couldn't be passed off
as mere "misunderstanding" or "misinterpreting". They also believed that
Jesus spoke the Gospel. Their dilemma was how can both be true -- indeed
both be the Word of God -- if they completely contradict each other on many
fundamental doctrines. They were in a dilemma. Consequently, they choose
to attack the integrity of today's Bible. It was easy for these so-called
Muslim "scholars" to fool their fellow Muslims. Most Muslims are ignorant
of the Bible, and they don't bother to analyze exactly what their Quran
teaches. Instead of addressing exactly what the Quran teaches, they borrow
from the work of others who have attacked the Bible's credibility and focus
on bible criticisms.
Gerhard Nehls wrote in "Dear Abdallah", [20] page 9:
"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."
None the less, a quick study of the Quran shows that the Quran
totally supports the integrity of the Scriptures of the People of the Book.
These Scriptures are knows today as the Bible. I have asked several Muslims
why they refuse to accept the testimony of the Quran to the Bible. All of
their answer's reasons have been based on Quranic misinterpretations or
quotes from non-Islamic sources. When confronted with what the Quran
explicitly teaches on the Bible, they are unable to answer.
You do not need to be a scholar to understand what the Quran
plainly and amply states: The Scriptures of the People of the Book are the
Word of God.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
D. MUSLIM OBJECTIONS & MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT THE QURAN AND THE
SCRIPTURES OF THE PEOPLE OF THE BOOK
Many Muslims today have a number of misunderstandings of what
the Quran teaches, and of the Bible's history. I want to address some of
the most common misconceptions or misunderstandings.
Muslim misconception #1
"The Quran confirms the Torah of Moses and the Gospel given to Jesus. It
never mentions "plural" Gospels 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:
Proof from the Quran, 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 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. Note here that Muhammad refers to the Book that
the Christians had as the "GOSPEL".
Additionally the Gospel of Jesus is not a book, but the Good
News that God sent His Son into the world to atone for sin and make
reconciliation between God and man. Hence, Jesus is the living Gospel sent
to the world. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are not four different gospels,
but four different accounts of the one Gospel of God revealed in the person
of Christ. The New Testament authors, writing under inspiration, give
mutually complementary, not contradictory, material on the life and passion
of Christ. This multiple attestation serves the purpose of fulfilling the
requirement of the Mosaic Law that, "by the mouth of two or three witnesses
the matter shall be established." Deuteronomy 19:15
In fact, Muslims believe that 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 basically identical to what we have today.
Muslim misconception #2.
"The Quran never alludes to the Bible, only the revelation
originally given to the Prophets, i.e. Moses, David, Jesus, etc."
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:
Proof from the Quran - Sura 2:113:
"The Jews say, `The Christians are not (founded) upon anything.'
And the Christians say, `The Jews are not (founded) upon anything.' And yet
THEY READ THE BOOK."
Sura 3:79:
"It is not for a man to whom is given the Book and wisdom and
prophecy that
he should then say to people, `Be worshippers of me in place of God.' But
rather, `Be true teachers (rabb�n�y�n), since you TEACH the BOOK and you
STUDY IT EARNESTLY."
A Muslim translator of the Quran into English - Muhammad Asad,
understood the phrase "Kitab" to be the Arabic equivalent of "Bible" and
translated the Arabic to mean as such:
"... And so We have cast enmity and hatred among the followers of the
Bible..." S. 5:64 (Asad, The Message of the Qur'an [21], [Dar Al-Andaulus,
Gibraltar, rpt. 1994], p. 157)
"If the followers of the Bible would but attain to [true] faith and
God-consciousness, we should indeed efface their [previous] bad deeds, and
indeed bring them into gardens of bliss;" S. 5:65 (Ibid.)
Therefore the Quran identifies 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 generally
exists today. And 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.
Second, from the perspective of Christianity, the term from
which the word "Bible" is derived is found in scripture. The term Bible
stems from the Greek term "biblia" (books). The earliest extra -biblical
usage of the term is found in 2 Clement 14:2 (A.D. 150): "... the books (ta
biblia) and the apostles declare that the church ... has existed from the
beginning." "Biblia" is the plural form of the Greek "biblion", which is
itself a diminutive of "biblos".
Third, these terms are used in Scripture as designations for
inspired writings:
"And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His
disciples, which are not written in this book (en to biblio touto)." John
20:30
"For it is written in the Book (biblo) of Psalms..." Acts 1:20
"Then God turned and gave them up to worship the host of heaven,
as it is written in the book of the Prophets (en biblo ton propheton)..."
Acts 7:42
"For as many as are of the works of the law are under curse; for
it is written, `Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which
are written in the book of the law (en to biblio tou nomou), to do them"
Galatians 3:10
"For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy
of this book (tes propheteias tou bibliou): If anyone adds to these things,
God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book (en tou
biblio); and if anyone takes away words of the book of this prophecy (tou
bibliou tes propheteias), God shall take away his part from the Tree of
Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book
(en to biblio touto)." Rev. 22:18-19
These verses indicate that the terms from which the word "Bible"
is derived is found within sacred Christian Scripture itself. Hence, the
word used for the Judeo - Christian Scripture is not something that was
arbitrarily decided upon, but something derived from the inspired record.
=====================================================================
MUHAMMAD AND THE BIBLE - PART 4
MUSLIM MISCONCEPTIONS CONTINUED
Muslim misconception #3.
"The Quran is sent down as the Criterion (al-Furqan) and a guardian over
previous Scripture (muhaiminan `alaihi), indicating that its function is to
expose the corruption of the former text."
Response:
The term, al-Furqan, is used in a variety of ways. For example
it is used for the revelation given to Moses:
Proof from the Quran:
Sura 2:53:
"And remember We gave Moses the Scripture and the Criterion (between right
and wrong): there was a chance for you to be guided aright."
Sura 21:48:
"In the past We granted to Moses and Aaron the Criterion (for judgment) and
a light and a Message for those who would do right..."
Remark:
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 term Furqan also appears in Suras 2:185; 8:29,41 and
25:1: "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
AND
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.
Proof from the Quran:
Sura 8:29
"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."
Remark
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..."
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.
AND
The term Furqan is used as a general term to describe as a
"discrimination" or warning to all nations.
Proof from the Quran:
Sura 25:1
"Blessed is He Who sent down the Discrimination (Furqan) upon His servant
that
he might be a warner to the nations."
Remark:
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:
OTHER COMMENTS ON THE WORD "FURQAN".
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 Quran and the Torah and the Gospel.
The word Furqan is generally used as one of the names of the Quran... Since
the Quran 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; [22] 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]
COMMENTS ON THE TERM "MUHAIMINAN 'ALAIHI"
It is presumed by Muslims criticizing the Bible 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. However, 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:
Sura 35:31:
"That which We have revealed to you of the Book is the truth, attesting to
(the truth of) that which IS between his (its) hands (the Torah and
Gospel)..."
Sura 10:37:
"This Quran is not such as can be produced by other than God; but it is a
verification of that (the Torah and Gospel) which IS between his (its)
hands, and the explanation of the Book, WHEREIN THERE IS NO DOUBT, from the
Lord of the worlds."
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:
Sura 10:94
"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."
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]
That this includes the Holy Bible is made clear in the following
citations: "And before thee We sent none but men, to whom We granted
inspiration: If ye realize this not, ask of those who possess THE MESSAGE
(Zhikri)." [S. 16:43 - Y. Ali]
Muslim misconception #4.
"The Torah mentioned in the Quran is not what is known as the "Old
Testament" today.
In context, the word "Torah" used in Islam refers to the canon
of Jewish Scripture. 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.
Proof from the Hadith of Bukhari 3.335 and the Quran:
Narrated Ata bin Yasar:
I met Abdullah bin 'Amr bin Al-'As and asked him, "Tell me about the
description of Allah's Apostle which is mentioned in Torah (i.e. Old
Testament.") He replied, 'Yes. By Allah, he is described in Torah with some
of the qualities attributed to him in the Quran as follows:
"O Prophet ! We have sent you as a witness (for Allah's True religion) And a
giver of glad tidings (to the faithful believers), And a warner (to the
unbelievers) And guardian of the illiterates. You are My slave and My
messenger (i.e. Apostle). I have named you "Al-Mutawakkil" (who depends upon
Allah). You are neither discourteous, harsh Nor a noisemaker in the markets
And you do not do evil to those Who do evil to you, but you deal With them
with forgiveness and kindness. Allah will not let him (the Prophet) Die till
he makes straight the crooked people by making them say: "None has the right
to be worshipped but Allah," With which will be opened blind eyes And deaf
ears and enveloped
hearts."
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."
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.
AND FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT
"Jesus answered them `Has it not been written in your LAW, I
said you are gods?'" John 10:34. Jesus includes Psalm 82:6 as part of the
Law (i.e. Torah). "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 Jesus alludes to Psalms 35:19 and
69:4 as part of the Law. 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.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Muslim misconception #5:
The "Injil" mentioned in the Quran is not the "Gospels" found in today's New
Testament.
Remark
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? [23]
page 23).
Bruce goes on to cite another church father:
"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)
Therefore, to a Christian living before or during the time of
Muhammad the term `Gospel' meant the fourfold collection found in our
present day Bibles.
Muslim misconception #6
"There are many different Bibles, so how can you say yours is the Word of
God?"
Response:
There are different Bibles, that are made up of a different
canon of Biblical books.
For example, there are bibles for the Protestant Church, Roman Catholic
Church, Anglican Church, Greek Orthodox Church, Coptic Church, Ethiopic
Church, and Syriac Church. They contain different number of books.
However, the books that they differ on do not include anything
that would change any of the doctrines of Christianity. Whether one accepts
the 22 books of the Syriac Church or the 27 of the Protestant and Catholic
canon, one still would get orthodoxy.
For instance, examining the contents of the 7 different canons
would leave one with the following teachings:
The Deity of Jesus Christ.
The Incarnation.
The Triunity of God.
The Divine Personality of the Holy Spirit.
The Virgin Birth.
Christ's Vicarious Atonement.
Christ's Physical, Bodily Resurrection.
Christ's Ascension to Heaven.
Christ's Visible Return to Judge the Living and the Dead.
Justification by Faith.
Salvation through Grace.
The list can go on. Hence, no matter what canon one holds the teaching is
the same.
Finally, this point is not the canon. The point is that our
present day Bible accurately reflects the originals and the Quran agrees
that the Holy Bible has remained uncorrupt.
Two variations of this Muslim objection rests upon early
Christian works known as the Diatessaron and Peshitta. The Diatessaron was
basically a synthesis of the four Gospels. As was already stated, the fact
the Diatessaron used the four Gospels as its primary source affirms the
early and universal acceptance of the canonical Gospels by friend and foe
alike. Also the fact that orthodox believers used it affirms that it was
orthodox in content.
The Peshitta was a Syrian Church canon. It contained most of
the books our New Testament contains today. The Peshitta represents for the
New Testament an accommodation of the canon of the Syrians with that of the
Greeks. Third Corinthians was rejected, and, in addition to the fourteen
Pauline Epistles including Hebrews, three longer Catholic Epistles - James,
1 Peter, and 1 John, were included. The four shorter Epistles 2 Peter, 2 and
3 John, and Jude and Revelations are absent from the Peshitta Syriac
version. Thus the Syriac canon of the New Testament contained but
twenty-two writings. For a large part of the Syrian Church this constituted
the closing of the canon, for after the Council of Ephesus (AD 431) the East
Syrians separated themselves as Nestorians from the Great Church.
Even with the differences in the Peshitta canon, we still have
Orthodox Christianity.
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Muslim misconception #7
"There are so many variants in the Greek manuscripts, how can we
know what was really written?"
Response:
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 1.67% 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 won a million llars
Yo ave w*n mill dollars
You have won a * dollars
You * million dollars
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.
Here is a quote from Bruce Metzger, the foremost scholar on the
Greek manuscripts. When asked "In terms of the multiplicity of manuscripts
and the time gap between the originals and our first copies how does the New
Testament stack up against other well known works of antiquity?"
Metzger replied:
"Extremely well, we can have great confidence in the fidelity
with which this material has come down to us, especially compared with any
other ancient literary work."...."The last foundation for ant doubt that the
scriptures have come down to us substantially as they were written has now
been removed." [Quoted from "The Case for Christ", by Lee Strobel, pages
81, 82.]
When Metzger was asked "How many doctrines of the church are in
jeopardy because of variants", he replied,
"None".
Muslim misconception #8
"The Quran abrogates the Bible"
Some Muslims understand and acknowledge that the Quran testifies
to the integrity of the Bible. Consequently, they have to find a way to
justify their rejection of Biblical teachings and still maintain a valid
Quran. Thus, they proclaim that the Quran "abrogates" or cancels, the
Biblical writings. These Muslims quote Sura 2:106 as proof.
Dawood 2:106
"If We abrogate a verse or cause it to be forgotten, We will replace it by a
better one, or one similar."
However, if there is abrogation it clearly has its limits, for
just five verses after 2:106 the Qur'an asks Christians and Jews to `bring
your proof' (2:111) from their Scriptures. This would be an irrelevant and
contradictory command if it had just taught that their Scripture was
abrogated. In fact, just thirty verses after 2:106 the Qur'an says that it
makes `no distinction between' (2:136) itself and any of the former
Scripture.
The Hadith of Bukhari, volume 6, # 489, says that 2:106 refers
to abrogation within the Qur'an itself:
Narrated Ibn Abbas: Umar said, "Ubai was the best of us in the
recitation (of the Qur'an) yet we leave (out) some of what he recites". Ubai
says, "I have taken it from the mouth of Allah's Apostle and will not leave
for anything whatever". But Allah said: "None of our revelations do we
abrogate or cause to be forgotten but We substitute something better or
similar" (Qur'an 2:106). (Bukhari: vol. 6, Hadith 527, p. 489; book LXI)
Therefore, the Quran abrogates itself. It does not abrogate the
Bible.
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E. CONCLUSION
The objections Muslim often raise have been addressed. Many of
these objections rest more upon their recognition that the Quran contradicts
the Bible, than upon what the Quran actually teaches about the authenticity
of the Bible.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY
Muhammad believed the Scriptures of the People of the Book, to
be God's word. His words recorded in the Quran testify to this. Those
Scriptures existed in the hands of the Christians and Jews in the Hijaz
before and during Muhammad's life. Thus, the Quran clearly teaches that the
Bible is the Word of God. Since Muhammad testified to the integrity,
validity, and authenticity of the Bible, I conclude that Muhammad was not a
prophet of God. Muhammad's teachings are self-contradictory. God did not
reveal or inspire those blatant contradictions found in the Quran.
Muhammad's ignorance allowed him to make contradictory statements. However,
his ignorance is no excuse, no justification, no ground, for people today to
continue to follow his error.
Jesus taught that false prophets would come into the world and
mislead people: Matthew 24:11 "and many false prophets will appear and
deceive many people"
Muhammad was one of those false prophets and he has misled many.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
[1] "The Life of Muhammad", by A. Guillaume, published by Oxford, London,
page 268, a compilation of the "Sirat Rasulallah" by Ibn Ishaq (d.782 A.
D.).
[2] "The Koran", translated by N. J. Dawood, published by Penguin, London.
[3] "The Holy Qur'an", translated by Yusef Ali, published by Amana,
Beltsville, Maryland, USA.
[4] "The Koran", translated by A. J. Arberry, published by Oxford, London.
[5] "Sahih al-Bukhari", translated by M. Khan, published by Kitab Bhavan,
New Delhi, India.
[6] "Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir", (Book of the Major Classes), by Ibn Sa'd
(d. 852 A. D.)
[7] "The Quran and the Bible in the Light of Science and History, by Dr.
William Campbell, published by MER. http://answering-islam.org/Campbell/
[8] Articles by Sam Shamoun can be found at:
http://answering-islam.org/Shamoun/aboutbible.htm
[9] "The Christian Witness to the Muslim", by John Gilchrist, published by
"Jesus to the Muslims".
[10] "The Canon of Scripture", by F. F. Bruce, published by Intervarsity
Press, Downers Grove, Illinois.
[11] "The Canon of the New Testament, its Origin, Development, and
Significance", by Dr. Bruce Metzger, published by Clarendon.
[12] "Interpreters Dictionary of the Bible", published by Abingdon.
[13] "The Origin of Islam in its Christian Environment", by Richard Bell,
published by Frank Cass & Co LTD, London.
[14] "Makers of Arab History", by P. Hitti, published by St. Martin's
Press, NY.
[15] "Tar�kh al-'Arab al-Qad�m", by Nab�h Aqel, published by D�r al-Fikr,
Beirut.
[16] "Christianity Among the Arabs in Pre-Islamic Times", by J. S.
Trimingham, published by Longman Group Limited, London.
[17] "The Arabs in History", by Bernard Lewis, published by Harper and Row,
NY.
[18] "A History of the Arab Peoples", by Albert Hourani, published by
[19] "Jesus, The Life of the Messiah", by Jacques Jomier, published by
C.L.S., Madras.
[20] "Dear Abdallah", by Gerhard Nehls, published by Life Challenge
[Africa, SIM International].
[21] "The Message of the Quran", by M. Asad, published by Dar Al-Andaulus,
Gibraltar,
[22] "The Quran and Its Interpreters" by M. Ayoub, vol. II - The House of
Imran; [22] published by Albany, N.Y.; State University of New York Press,
1992.
[23] "The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable?", by F. F. Bruce,
published by Intervarsity Press; Downers Grove Il., rpt. 1992.