Veiled Reverence

The Quran’s Uneasy Relationship with the Bible

Islamic apologists often portray the Quran as both affirming and correcting the Bible—positioning Islam as a final, perfected installment in a divine trilogy that includes Judaism and Christianity. The Quran, they claim, “respects” previous scriptures like the Torah and the Gospel, while alleging they’ve been “altered” over time. This narrative attempts to hold two irreconcilable ideas at once: that the Bible was once the uncorrupted word of God and that it is now an unreliable, tampered book. But what does the Quran actually say about the Bible? And more importantly—does the narrative withstand scrutiny?

Let’s unpack the standard Islamic argument point by point and examine what lies beneath the surface.

1. Affirming the Bible: A Selective Respect

Islamic texts, especially the Quran, appear at first glance to offer respect to previous scriptures:

“He revealed the Torah and the Gospel before, as guidance for mankind.”
—Surah Aal Imran (3:3)

This verse is frequently cited to show that Islam acknowledges the legitimacy of earlier revelations. Yet a closer reading reveals a subtle bait-and-switch. The Quran often speaks of the Torah and the Gospel not as they existed in Muhammad’s time, but as they were “originally” revealed. There’s an unspoken presumption: that what Jews and Christians had in the 7th century was no longer authentic.

This puts Muslims in a theological double-bind. If the Torah and Gospel were altered before Islam, how can the Quran say they still contain guidance? And if they weren’t altered until after Islam, who did the altering, and when?

Contradiction Exposed:

The Quran says Jesus was given the Gospel (Injil)—but no such book exists outside the Quranic claim.
It confirms the Torah and Gospel as prior revelations, yet commands Muslims not to rely on them.
This makes any Quranic affirmation of the Bible hollow. The respect shown is conditional, hypothetical, and ultimately dismissive.

2. The Doctrine of Tahrif: A Convenient Escape Hatch

The doctrine of Tahrif—textual corruption—is the linchpin of Islamic theology when it comes to discrediting the Bible. According to this claim, Jews and Christians deliberately changed or misunderstood their scriptures.

But here’s the issue: nowhere does the Quran explicitly say the text of the Torah or Gospel was corrupted. The commonly cited verses, such as:

“Among the Jews are those who distort words from their proper places.”
—Surah Al-Ma’idah (5:13)

…refer to oral misrepresentation or interpretive distortion (tahrif al-ma‘ani), not textual corruption (tahrif al-nass).

In fact, the earliest Muslims and Qur’anic commentators accepted the integrity of the Jewish and Christian scriptures, which is why the Quran instructs:

“If you are in doubt about what We have revealed to you, ask those who have been reading the Scripture before you.”
—Surah Yunus (10:94)

Why would the Quran refer Muhammad to corrupted texts for confirmation of truth?

3. Historical Inaccuracy: Blaming Paul

The Islamic narrative often invokes Paul as the villain who allegedly corrupted Christianity from within:

“Paul introduced doctrines that deviated from Jesus’ original message,” they claim.

Yet, this is a simplistic trope devoid of nuance. Modern New Testament scholarship (including secular and Christian critics) may debate Paul’s influence, but:

His writings are among the earliest Christian documents, predating the four canonical Gospels.
There’s no historical evidence of an “original Gospel” that Paul distorted, nor any evidence of a unified proto-Christianity with a purely “Islamic” view of Jesus.

This Islamic narrative about Paul is retroactive—it constructs a scapegoat to explain away the fact that the Christian scriptures flatly contradict the Quran.

4. The Crucifixion: A Historical Embarrassment

Surah An-Nisa 4:157 famously denies the crucifixion:

“They did not kill him, nor did they crucify him, but [it] was made to appear so to them.”

This is perhaps the most conspicuous contradiction between the Quran and history. The crucifixion of Jesus is one of the best-attested events in ancient history—affirmed not just in Christian sources, but in Roman and Jewish accounts as well (e.g., Tacitus, Josephus).

The Quran, writing over 600 years later, offers a vague, conspiratorial counter-narrative—without witnesses, names, or substantiation.

This suggests less a revelation from God, and more a polemical response to Christian dominance in Arabia and Byzantium.

5. The Quran's Self-Contradictory Testimony

The Quran routinely declares itself a confirmation (musaddiq) of previous scriptures:

“This is a Book… confirming what came before it.”
—Surah Al-Baqarah (2:2; 2:41)

But what does it confirm?

The Torah teaches a personal, covenantal God who walks with His people.
The Gospels present Jesus as the incarnate Son of God who died and rose again.
The Quran affirms neither.

If anything, the Quran contradicts the central teachings of both the Torah and the Gospel while still claiming to validate them.

That’s not confirmation—that’s revisionism.

6. Claims of Respectful Dialogue: Rhetoric vs. Reality

Islamic texts do call for respectful dialogue with “People of the Book.” For example:

“Say: O People of the Book! Come to a word that is just between us and you...”
—Surah Aal Imran (3:64)

This verse is frequently cited to show Islam’s tolerance. But read further, and you’ll find that the “just word” is: rejecting the divinity of Jesus, affirming Muhammad, and submitting to Islamic monotheism.

The Quran also accuses Jews and Christians of:

Lying about God (2:79),
Being cursed (5:78),
Being destined for Hell (5:72, 9:30).

What begins as diplomacy ends in dogma.

7. A Revelation That Needs Protection from Comparison

The Quran’s true stance on the Bible is one of guarded insecurity. It acknowledges the previous scriptures to gain legitimacy—but distances itself when comparison threatens its narrative.

This explains the Islamic prohibition against giving the Bible legal standing in Sharia courts, or allowing non-Muslim religious texts to be freely quoted in religious debate. It is not the Bible’s supposed corruption that concerns Muslim scholars—it’s its clarity.

The problem isn’t that the Bible contradicts Islam. It’s that the Bible contradicts Islam too well.

Conclusion: Islam’s Bible Dilemma

Islam’s relationship with the Bible is marked by tension. It simultaneously:

Affirms the Bible as divine,
Denies its core message,
Claims it’s been altered without offering evidence,
And co-opts its prophets while rewriting their roles.

This isn’t continuity. It’s theological appropriation. The Quran wants the credentials of the Judeo-Christian tradition without accepting its content.

In the end, when we ask, “What does the Quran say about the Bible?”, the most honest answer is: it says what it must in order to survive the comparison.

This Is Islam Uncovered

Thursday, May 22, 2025