Is the Holy Bible truly corrupted as commonly claimed by the Muslims?

Thorough understanding of the background of the origin of the Holy Bible is essential before arriving at the conclusion. 

The Holy Bible contains a collection of 66 books. The 39 Old Testament books were written over a period of 1,000 years between 1450 B.C. and 430 B.C. by 31 different authors. The 27 New Testament books were written in the span of 56 years between around 49 A.D. and 95 A.D. There are at least 9 authors for New Testament books. So the manuscripts of the Holy Bible were written by 40 different authors beginning with Genesis in 1450 B.C. and the last Book of revelation was written around 95 AD. Some Christians believe that the Book of Revelation has concluded the prophecy. It means after God has manifested Himself and spoke to mankind through his begotten Son Jesus Christ, He would no longer employ the agency of prophets or angels to bring the revelation to mankind. Quran, however, was chiefly written by 4 companions of Muhammad: Masud, Salim, Mu'adh, and Ubai (Bukhari 6:521, 526) between 610 and 632 AD during a span of 22 years only. But Uthman is the one who standardized the Quran. Incredibly, this man had rival texts of the Quran burned about 19 years after Muhammad's death (Bukhari 6:510).

In logic as well as in the Court of law, "historical precedent" means that the burden of proof rests on those who set forth new theories and not on those whose ideas have already been verified. The old tests the new. The already established authority judges any new claims to authority. Since Islam came along many centuries after Christianity, Islam has the burden of proof and not Christianity.

Christians consider the Holy Bible as the "Word of God." But Christians do not mean exactly the same thing as Muslims when they use this term. Believers in the historic orthodox Christian faith believe that the Bible is "inspired" by God, and believe that the original manuscripts of the Bible are without error ("inerrant" or "infallible.") But they also accept the view that the Bible has come to us from human writers whose unique personalities and literary styles are evident. Christians also acknowledge that the Bible of today, while extremely faithful to the original texts, is subject to slight variances.

Muslims have been taught that the Bible has been grossly corrupted. Many non-Muslims wonder about this possibility as well. Therefore, it is appropriate to submit the Bible to rigorous scholarly testing. This is a vital exercise because the Christian faith rests on the reliability of the Bible. Let us just touch on a few points.

Yusuf Ali, the famous modern translator and commentator of the Quran, has said that the earliest date for an Old Testament manuscript is 916 AD. This is quite wrong. In 1947 there was a discovery of ancient biblical and non-biblical manuscripts now known as the Dead Sea Scrolls. These manuscripts contain portions of or complete copies of every Old Testament book except Esther. They have been reliably carbon-dating from 250 BC to 68 AD.

In addition to the Dead Sea Scrolls, there are other manuscripts of the Old Testament that date before Christ. Yet it is the remarkably extensive discovery in the Dead Sea Scrolls that confirms that the modern day Old Testament has been unchanged since at least before the time of Christ.

The Dead Sea discovery verifies that today we are in the possession of the Old Testament that Jesus read and used. And Jesus himself testified as to the correct books of the Old Testament and to their accuracy. (Here are just a few of many examples: Matthew 5:17-18, 12:40, 13:14-15, 19:3-9, 23:35, Luke 16:31, 24:44, John 5:46-47, 10:35.) Jesus' testimony is an important substantiation that the Old Testament was consistently preserved up to his time. Absent any contrary evidence, the belief that the Old Testament has been reliably preserved is warranted.

While we do not have the original New Testament manuscripts ("autographs"), we do have over 25,000 ancient copies of New Testament manuscripts, or pieces thereof. Careful analysis by scholars can compare the various manuscripts and reproduce the originals with great precision. Only about 40 lines of text in the New Testament are in doubt, and these do not affect any Christian doctrine.

Since there are numerous extant New Testament manuscripts from hundreds of years before Muhammad which agree with the modern Bible, the Muslim charge that the modern Bible has been changed is a baseless claim. Thus, the Bible (Old and New Testaments) being read during Muhammad's time and hundreds of years prior is the same Bible we have today.

There is no longer any real doubt that the New Testament is what it claims to be - a reliable record of Jesus and his apostles written by eye-witnesses and interviewers of eyewitnesses of Jesus. Many scholars are convinced that the entire New Testament was written between 40 and 70 AD. The possible exception to this are some of the writings of John, who lived to be a very old man, and may have been written as late as the 95's AD. (The final section of the Geisler/Saleeb book listed is recommended as good summary.)

In addition to the manuscript evidence itself, we have quotations from the New Testament from the early church fathers (from 97 AD to 325 AD). These quotations allow reconstructing all but eleven verses of the modern New Testament - even without any manuscripts themselves! This is significant to Muslims, since these attestations are around 515 years before the so-called revelations to Muhammad (610 AD).

Let us ascertain as whether the claim that Bible is corrupted, has any quranic origin or it has been misunderstood eversince the Quran was written. As Quran was written over 515 years after the manuscripts of the Bible were written, Christianity has already spreaded far and wide throughout the world starting from Jerusalem. As the historian Luke wrote in Acts 1:8 that Jesus said  "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." When the early Christians spreaded the Gospel, it is common for them to bring along the Bible translated in the language understood by the people. Thus the Bible has already spreaded beyond Jerusalem, Judaea and Samaria before Quran was revealed. To destroy all the Bible in other countries is quite impossible if only certain "party of the people" of the Book intended to corrupt the Scripture and claimed it as an original version. 

"For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." (Revelations 19:10). So prophecies of the prophets are testifying about Jesus the Son of God. The Lord God gives stern warnings about altering or corrupting His Word which the Scribes knew better than any modern translators:

The Book of Revelation has sealed all prophetic messages and revelations. No man can add or substract any prophecy from the Bible. Quran which was written over 515 years later than the Bible and claimed to supersede earlier revelations of the Bible cannot pass the first test of the Scripture in Revelation 22:18-19.

Now let us examine these 12 quranic verses as whether or not it says the Bible is corrupted or otherwise:

1. Surah/Chapter 002 - Al-Baqarah Verse 75. "Have ye any hope that they will be true to you when a PARTY of them used to listen to the Word of Allah, then used to change it, after they had understood it knowingly?"

Comments: It is only a party of them who is alleged to change the word of Allah. This verse may be referring to the 3 Jewish tribes on Medina. It does not have any impact to bring any change to the Textus Receptus which KJV is based upon.

2. Surah/Chapter 002 - Al-Baqarah Verse 101. "And when there cometh unto them a messenger from Allah, confirming that which they possess, a PARTY of those who have received the Scripture fling the Scripture of Allah behind their backs as if they knew not,"

Comments: Again it is only a party of them who is alleged to throw the Scripture of Allah behind their backs and neither referring to another party who will keep the word of Allah truthfully. It does not mention all of them who have received the Scripture fling the Scripture as if they knew not.

3. Surah/Chapter 002 - Al-Baqarah Verse 146. "Those unto whom We gave the Scripture recognize (this revelation) as they recognize their sons. But lo! a PARTY of them knowingly conceal the truth."

Comments: Here again it is a party of them and not all of them conceal the truth.

4. Surah/Chapter 003 - Al-Imrân Verse 69. "A PARTY of the people of the Scripture long to make you go astray; and they make none to go astray except themselves, but they perceive not."

Comments: Here again it is a party of people and not all of the people of the Scripture long to make you go astray. The other party may long for them to walk in the path of righteousness and truth

5. Surah/Chapter 003 - Al-Imrân Verse 72. "And a PARTY of the People of the Scripture say: Believe in that which hath been revealed, unto those who believe at the opening of the day, and disbelieve at the end thereof, in order that they may return;"

Comments: Here again it is only a party of people of the Scripture say and not all of the people of the Scripture 

6. Surah/Chapter 003 - Al-Imrân Verse 78. "And Lo! there is a PARTY of them who distort the Scripture with their tongues, that ye may think that what they say is from the Scripture, when it is not from the Scripture. And they say: It is from Allah, when it is not from Allah; and they speak a lie concerning Allah knowingly."

Comments: Here it is again only a party of them who distort the Scripture with their tongues and not altering the word of the Scripture. The scribes may have misinterpreted the scripture or speak lies but no evidence of altering the Scripture - the Textus Receptus remains intact.

7. Surah/Chapter 003 - Al-Imrân Verse 100. "O ye who believe! If ye obey a PARTY of those who have received the Scripture they will make you disbelievers after your belief."

Comments: Here there is no mention of the corruption of the Bible

8. Surah/Chapter 004 - An-Nisâ Verse 113. "But for the grace of Allah upon thee (Muhammad), and His mercy, a PARTY of them had resolved to mislead thee, but they will mislead only themselves and they will hurt thee not at all. Allah revealeth unto thee the Scripture and wisdom, and teacheth thee that which thou knewest not. The grace of Allah toward thee hath been infinite." 

Comments: Here it mentions that a party of them and not all of people of the Scripture intended to mislead thee

9. Surah/Chapter 061 - As-Saff Verse 14. "O ye who believe! Be Allah's helpers, even as Jesus son of Mary said unto the disciples: Who are my helpers for Allah? They said: We are Allah's helpers. And a PARTY of the Children of Israel believed, while a PARTY disbelieved. Then We strengthened those who believed against their foe, and they became the uppermost." 

Comments: This verse clearly differentiate that there are 2 parties of the children of Israel. Likewise, there is always another party that remains truthful to the word and in deed.

10. Surah/ Chapter 10 - Yunus Verse 94 "And if thou 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." 

Comments: Here Quran advises Muhammad to seek Christians if there is in doubt concerning what has been revealed it.

 

11. Surah/ Chapter 3 - Al- imran Verse 3 "He hath revealed unto thee (Muhammad) the Scripture with truth, confirming that which was (revealed) before it, even as He revealed the Torah and the Gospel." 

Comments: Quran says it is confirming that what was revealed before it. What we understand by the word "confirming" is different from "correcting" or "reproving" the Scripture. So the Scripture is in truth and Quran confirming it.

12. Surah/ Chapter 10 - Yunus Verse 37
    And this Quran is not such as could ever be invented in despite of Allah; but it is a confirmation of that which was before it and an exposition of that which is decreed for mankind. Therein is no doubt from the Lord of the Worlds.  

Comments: We have another verse that Quran is a confirmation of that which was before it. Thus based on the Quran, it does not say the Bible is corrupted but rather the disbelievers say so.

Yusuf Ali also said that the New Testament we have today is not the same as in Muhammad's time. Absolutely wrong. The accumulation of evidence proves that the case is really closed in this matter. The New Testament has been reliably preserved throughout the ages.

A final charge by Muslims is that the Apostle Paul changed the message of Jesus. There is absolutely no evidence for this claim. Besides, there are simply too many well-attested ancient manuscripts for this to be even remotely possible. Further, Paul's message was both checked and approved by the original apostles (Galatians 1-2, 2 Peter 3:15-16)!

The significant fact is that the Quran itself has a high view of Scripture. While this will be a bit tedious for our non-Muslim readers, we think it is important to document that the Quran does indeed support the Bible in these key areas (information from the Campbell book on the list below):

1. These passages show that the Torah was true at the time of Jesus: Suras 3:48-50, 5:49, 5:113, 19:12, 61:6, 66:12.

2. These passages show that the Torah and the Gospel were true and unchanged at the time of Muhammad: Suras 2:91, 3:3, 4:162-163, 5:51, 6:154-157, 9:111, 10:37, 12:111, 34:31, 35:31, 40:69-70, 46:12, 46:29-30.

3. There are 24 passages in the Quran where Muhammad actually quotes or appeals to the Torah and/or the Gospel.

4. 55 other verses say that the Torah or the Gospel are good. Some of these include Suras 3:187, 4:47, and 5:46-48.

5. No one has ever brought forth a copy of the Torah or Gospel that differs from the one we have now.

6. Sura 10:94 specifically says, "If thou wert in doubt As to what We have revealed Unto thee, then ask those Who have been reading The Book [the Bible] from before thee: The Truth hath indeed come To them from thy Lord: So be in no wise Of those in doubt."

7. Sura 5:48 says that God guarded the Bible in safety, so either the Quran is wrong or Muslims who say that the Bible is corrupted are wrong!

So, there is no basis in reason for the Muslim, especially, to deny the accuracy of the Bible!

The logic is quite simple and unavoidable. The Quran says that the Bible was true at the time of Muhammad. The manuscript evidence unequivocally verifies that the Bible we have today is the same as the one in Muhammad's time (and before). 

Let us examine the evidence why the Bible can be trusted. There are four important approaches to considering the evidence for the reliability of the Bible based on "MAPS":

1. Manuscript Evidence. The evidence supports the view that all of the New Testament was written by eye-witnesses or other contemporaries of Jesus, and that it has been reliably preserved. There are no abrogations or destruction of manuscripts as there are in Islam.

2. Archeological Evidence. Over 25,000 sites have been discovered that pertain to the Bible. As Nelson Glueck, renowned Jewish archeologist said, "It may be stated categorically that no archeological discovery has ever controverted a biblical reference." This is really an amazing testimony for the Bible.

3. Prophetic Evidence. Some 2000 biblical prophecies have already been fulfilled, including over 300 about Jesus-with no prophetic failures. The probability of just 16 predictions being fulfilled without an error is 1 in 10 to the 45th power. For 2000 predictions to be correct without a failure is an inconceivable probability number. There is nothing at all like this in any other holy book.

4. Statistical Evidence. The Bible contains 66 books, written by 40 different writers, over 1500 years, on 3 different continents, in 3 different languages, on thousands of different subjects-with no errors or contradictions. (Norman Geisler in his book written with Abdul Saleeb discusses this, and emphasizes that from his 40 years of studying the Bible he has concluded that every so-called error or contradiction is a red herring.) Yet there is one beautiful central theme in the Bible: God's redemption of mankind from sin won for the whole world by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. So, regarding the Bible, there are multiple reliable witnesses, many of whom did not know each other, whose stories can be corroborated. This compares to the Quran, which was revealed by one very violent man who, according to Islamic sources was bewitched (Bukhari 4:400, 4:490, 8:400), and in which are found numerous confirmed errors and contradictions.

These facts, and much more supports the Christian view that the Bible is indeed from God. For more on this topic, see the website http://www.gospelcom.net/faithfacts/quest_main.html and the final section of the Geisler/Saleeb book list.

Muslims are taught that the Quran is perfectly preserved, word-by-word, syllable-by-syllable, and letter-for-letter. Indeed, the Quran is the actual, literal (and pre-existent) word of Allah. Muslims think so highly of the Quran, that it is a sacred Book and one could say that they adore it. In this sense, all Muslims are fundamentalists. It has been said that the closest comparison to it in Christianity is Christ himself.

However, let us consider the evidence to see if this assumption is valid. The history of the Quran is most interesting. For the benefit of our readers, we will liberally document essential points from reliable Muslims sources.

Muhammad claimed to begin having revelations from God when he was 40 years old. It is generally believed that Muhammad was illiterate, which Muslims think is a testimony to the miracle of Quran.

People memorized things Muhammad said or they wrote them down on palm leaves, rocks, and bones (Bukhari 6:509). Bukhari also records that Muhammad allowed some variation regarding the recitation of the Quran (Bukhari 3:593, 601, 4:442, 6:514, and 9:640).

The following situation between Muhammad and his associate Abdollah b. Abi Sarh, recorded in Islamic hadiths, should be interesting to our Muslim readers (source: the Geisler/Saleeb http://www.gospelcom.net/faithfacts/ book on the list below, page 157):

"On a number of occasions he had, with the Prophet's consent, changed the closing words of verses. For example, when the Prophet has said, 'And God is mighty and wise' ('aziz, hakim), 'Abdollah b. Abi Sarh suggested writing down 'knowing and wise' ('alim, hakim), and the Prophet answered that there was no objection. Having observed a succession of changes of this type, 'Abdollah renounced Islam on the ground that the revelations, if from God, could not be changed at the prompting of a scribe such as himself. After his apostasy he went to Mecca and joined the Qorayshites."

Sarh was later killed. Did he know too much? Geisler/Saleeb http://www.gospelcom.net/faithfacts/ (page 157) relate yet another item of interest: "It is also an accepted fact in Sunni tradition that on a few occasions Quranic revelations were prompted by the suggestions of Muhammad's loyal follower, Umar b. al-Khattab."

There was no organized manuscript of the Quran prior to Muhammad's death (Bukhari 6:509). Shortly after his death, it was noticed that some of the people who had memorized parts of the Quran were being killed in battle. Some verses did not survive as the people who remembered them died or verses were otherwise lost (Bukhari 4:62, 6:509-11, 527, 550, 552).

There were (at least) four people that were companions of Muhammad who compiled the Quran: Masud, Salim, Mu'adh, and Ubai (Bukhari 6:521, 526). Even though these men were all authorized by Muhammad himself and each version was widely accepted, these versions were not identical (Bukhari 6:468, and 6:527).

It was another man named Uthman who standardized the Quran. Incredibly, this man had rival texts of the Quran burned about 19 years after Muhammad's death (Bukhari 6:510).

The question must be asked, why did he do so unless the other copies were different? In fact, a few copies survived the burning and they vary somewhat from the Uthman manuscript. It is also clear that Uthman edited and selected Suras for his version. Uthman's copy did not contain several Suras collected by Ubai, who was one of the four authorized compilers. Further, it may surprise some Muslims that none of the original Uthman copies is in existence today. The earliest one in existence is from the second century after Muhammad.

Contrary to popular belief, not all Muslims accept the same version of the Quran. While some accept the Uthman version, others accept the tradition of Masud, who was one of the four authorized compilers. This version has 150 variations in the second Sura alone compared to the Uthman text. Arthur Jeffrey's collection of variants between Uthman's text and the Masud text takes 92 pages in his book Materials for the History of the Text of the Quran (Bill, Leiden, 1937). (Search for articles on http://www.answering-islam.org or see the Geisler/Saleeb http://www.gospelcom.net/faithfacts/ book p. 192).

An interesting aspect of the Quran is that there were verses in the original version of Muhammad's Quran that have been abrogated, that is, eliminated from the text. In fact, the Quran itself justifies this practice (Suras 2:105-106, 13:39, 16:101, 22:52)! Bukhari also recognizes this (3:170, 4:57, 4:69, 4:299, 5:416, 5:421, 6:8). This practice is unique among world religions. Some Shiite Muslims say that up to 25% of the Quran was removed for political reasons. In our studies, we have not seen evidence to suggest that the practice was that extensive, but there is absolutely no doubt that abrogation did occur.

One famous aspect of the Quran is the so-called "Satanic Verses." Sura 53:19-20 says, "Have ye thought upon al-Lat and al-Uzza and Manat, the third, the other?" According to Bukhari, these three are known to be goddesses of the Quraish tribe. In fact, these three were daughters of pre-Islamic Allah. These are names of pagan goddesses and have no heavenly origin. It is particularly significant because Muhammad was speaking in the name of Allah for casting thought on pagan idols! For more on this including evidences from Muslim scholars, see http://answering-islam.org  and then search for "Satanic Verses."

Muslims claim that the literary style of the Quran is evidence for its divine inspiration. But if that is a valid argument, they would have to accept that the writings of Homer and Shakespeare as divinely inspired as well. But even Muslim sources recognize that the Quran is not always as eloquent as is claimed. The Iranian Shiite scholar Ali Dashti contends that the Quran contains numerous grammatical problems. He says, "The Quran contains sentences which are incomplete and not fully intelligible without the aid of commentaries..." (Geisler/Saleeb http://www.gospelcom.net/faithfacts/ page 187-190).

Even if Quran of today were a carbon copy of the one originally dictated by Muhammad, it does not logically follow that it is from God. Irrespective of the quality of today's copy, the internal and external inconsistencies in the Quran disqualify it as being from God.

We have already pointed out some of the mistakes in the Quran. The Quran itself says that if a book is found to have discrepancies, it could not be from Allah (Sura 4:82). In fact, there are many internal contradictions in the Quran. Here is a sample:

Here is just a sample of external contradictions in the Quran:

There are several things found in the Quran concerning Christian theology that are quite plainly wrong. Sura 5:116 says that Christians believe that Mary is God. Sura 9:30 says that Jews believe that Ezra was the Son of God. These statements are incorrect. There is no evidence that Christians and Jews ever believed these things. What seems to be the most likely explanation why things like this are in the Quran is that there was no Arabic translation of the Bible in the time of Muhammad. Muhammad picked up bits and pieces of Christian and Jewish theology from hearsay or was simply mistaken about it.

There are dozens of contradictions and inaccurate statements in the Quran. For further documentation, go to http://answering-islam.de/search.html and search for "contradictions."

Summary

The Dead Sea Scrolls also contain what many scholars believe are fragments of New Testament books, including Mark, Acts, Romans, 1 Timothy, 2 Peter, and James. The fragments are small enough that some skeptics (who perhaps hope not to find the Bible reliable) are unwilling to accept them. But the importance of the discovery is that it adds to already existing evidence that the New Testament was written in the first century. The modern Bible agrees with the earliest manuscripts, so we have an unbroken chain from very early in the Christian era.

Muslims who say the Bible is corrupted are either mistaken themselves, or else the Quran is misunderstood. Since Muslims cannot accept that the Quran is wrong, the Bible must be accepted as reliable and true. And thus it is logically consistent for the Muslim to accept the Bible and therefore its doctrine of the deity of Christ.

In summary, neither the Bible nor the Quran that we have today is identical to the originals. But both have been substantially preserved. There is no evidence that any important doctrine of either Christianity or Islam has been altered from the originals. The science of textual criticism, which is very exacting, has enable Christians to be sure of the true text of the Bible.

Invitation

Speaking especially to our Muslim readers, we invite you to consider the Christian faith. The Christian faith offers assurance of salvation. It also offers love and intimacy with God. Consider especially the person of Jesus - his beauty and gentleness. May your hopes and dreams be fulfilled. If you want to be a Christian, take a step of faith and say this prayer which leads to the gate of eternal life:

“Dear God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, I believe that all men fall short of your glory.  I acknowledge that I am a sinner and humbly come before your throne to seek your forgiveness for my sins. I hereby renounce any false beliefs. I declare that there is only one true God, Jehovah who is eternal and co-exists as the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.  I confess with my mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord and believe in my heart that He is the Son of God. Jesus Christ (Messiah), I surrender my life totally to your lordship and accept you as my Master and Savior from this day forth. I plead your precious blood shed at Calvary, to atone my sins and cleanse me from all unrighteousness so that I may be acceptable in your sight. Create in me a new heart so that I may truly do your will and bring glory to your Holy name. In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, I pray. Amen.”

God is gracious and will accept you as His children if you have sincerely said the above prayer. You are now a Christian and can look for a Church nearest to you in your area and fellowship with other believers so that your faith may be strengthened.

Other References

Is the New Testament Accurate? See this link http://www.conroechurch.com/Articles/Islam/Islam_BibleAcc.html

Is Allah not the same GOD of the Bible?

101 Biblical Contradictions Cleared

Is Jesus the Son of God?