This Is Islam Uncovered

Veiled Reverence

Islam’s Selective Embrace of the Bible

Why the Quran Needs the Bible’s Legacy—But Fears Its Content

Muslim apologists like to assure Christians and Jews that the Quran holds their scriptures in high regard. They quote verses that speak of the Torah and the Gospel with apparent reverence and assert that Islam “completes” the divine message, rather than replacing it. But don’t be fooled. This isn’t interfaith respect—it’s theological colonization.

The Quran’s relationship with the Bible is built on borrowed authority and buried contradictions. It praises what it must to appear credible, and condemns what it cannot control. It leans on the legacy of Jewish prophets and Christian apostles to grant Muhammad legitimacy, only to saw off the very theological branches it’s sitting on.

Let’s take a closer look at how Islam tries to ride the coattails of the Bible—while erasing its essence.

1. Surface-Level Praise, Strategic Ambiguity

Islamic scholars often highlight this verse:

“He has revealed the Book to you in truth, confirming what came before it. He revealed the Torah and the Gospel.”
—Surah 3:3

This sounds respectful—until you realize it’s conditional. The Quran is not affirming the existing Torah and Gospel. It’s affirming some idealized, undefined, lost originals that conveniently align with the Quran’s theology. In other words, the Quran claims to confirm the Bible—just not the one Jews and Christians actually have.

This is historical gaslighting. Islam wants the names (“Torah,” “Injil”) but not the content. It wants Moses and Jesus, but stripped of their doctrines, rebranded, and silenced.

🔥 Polemic Punch:

If this were a courtroom, Islam is calling the Bible to testify—then gagging it when it opens its mouth.

2. Tahrif: The Get-Out-of-Theology-Free Card

The doctrine of tahrif—that Jews and Christians corrupted their scriptures—is the ultimate escape hatch. When the Bible exposes contradictions in the Quran, the standard answer is: “Your book is corrupted.”

But the Quran itself never clearly says this.

“They distort words from their [right] places…” (5:13)
—This refers to interpretation, not actual text.

And yet:

“If you are in doubt about what We have revealed to you, ask those who read the Book before you.” (10:94)
—Why consult corrupted books to verify revelation?

The Quran’s authors couldn’t keep the story straight. Early Islamic history shows that Jews and Christians were reading recognizable versions of the Bible at the time. There’s zero historical evidence that some pristine “original Gospel” ever existed that aligned with Islamic theology.

Tahrif is a theological myth—born out of necessity, not revelation.

3. Paul as the Fall Guy: Blame the Bible Breaker

When pressed, many Muslims resort to the anti-Paul narrative:

“Paul hijacked Christianity, turning Jesus into a god.”

This idea is repeated often in dawah circles, but it’s based on fantasy, not fact.

Paul’s letters are the earliest Christian writings—before the Gospels.
The Gospels themselves affirm Jesus’ divine identity, resurrection, and crucifixion.
No first-century documents exist showing an “Islamic” version of Christianity where Jesus was just a prophet and nothing more.

This line of argument is a desperate attempt to bridge an unbridgeable gap. The Quran needs to explain away the glaring contradiction between its Jesus and the real one—and Paul becomes the scapegoat.

But history doesn’t cooperate.

4. The Crucifixion Denial: A Conspiracy Theory in Scripture

No single Quranic claim does more damage to its credibility than this:

“They did not kill him, nor did they crucify him, but it was made to appear so…”
—Surah 4:157

This reads more like a 7th-century conspiracy theory than divine revelation. The crucifixion of Jesus is one of the most well-documented events in ancient history. Christian, Roman, and Jewish sources all affirm it.

The Quran, written centuries later by someone with no firsthand knowledge, casually dismisses it without evidence, eyewitnesses, or explanation. The story contradicts not only history, but the Quran’s own claim to “confirm” the Gospel.

This isn’t revelation—it’s revisionism.

5. Confirmation? Or Contradiction?

Over and over, the Quran insists it “confirms” the previous scriptures:

“And We have sent down to you the Book in truth, confirming the Scripture that came before it…”
—Surah 5:48

But how can it confirm what it doesn’t recognize?

The Torah presents God as relational, covenantal, active in history—not the distant, unknowable deity of Islamic tawhid.
The Gospel centers on Jesus as God incarnate, crucified, and resurrected. The Quran denies all three.
The Bible’s moral framework is grace-based and relational. The Quran’s is legalistic, merit-based, and fatalistic.

To say the Quran “confirms” these books is like claiming flat earth theory confirms NASA.

6. The Respect Rhetoric Is Skin-Deep

Apologists love to quote:

“Say: O People of the Book, let us come to a common word between us…”
—Surah 3:64

Sounds nice—until you read the next line:

“…that we shall worship none but Allah and not associate anything with Him…”

So the “common word” is actually submission to Islam. Respect for the People of the Book ends when they reject Muhammad. The same Quran also says:

Jews and Christians are cursed (5:78),
They’re enemies of Allah (98:6),
They’ll go to Hell unless they convert (3:85, 5:72).

This isn’t tolerance. It’s conquest with polite manners.

7. The Real Fear: Comparison

Let’s be honest—if the Bible were truly corrupted, Muslims would encourage everyone to read it to see how flawed it is. But they don’t. In many Muslim-majority countries, owning a Bible is illegal or dangerous. Missionaries are jailed. Converts are persecuted.

Why?

Because the Quran doesn’t fear the Bible’s corruption. It fears its clarity.

The Bible isn’t a threat because it’s false. It’s a threat because it rings true.

Conclusion: Borrowed Glory, Built on Sand

The Quran’s references to the Bible are not acts of reverence. They are acts of strategic appropriation. Islam needs the credibility of Moses and Jesus, but it cannot tolerate their actual teachings. So it rewrites them. Sanitizes them. Islamizes them.

This is not continuity. It’s counterfeit.

The Quran wants to inherit the spiritual authority of the Bible—without earning it. It wants the crown of revelation, but without the cross of contradiction. And that’s why it ultimately collapses under its own weight.