Does the Qur’an teach that the Gospels, the Injil, are the Word of God?
On a walk this morning I met with a pleasant Muslim man who said to me,
“I am a Muslim and our Holy Qur’an has the words of God which have never been changed. Your Bible has been changed, and that is why God had to reveal the Holy Qur’an.”
This is a common objection to Christianity that Muslims raise. They have been taught that the gospel has been corrupted. The Gospels we have today explicitly contradict the Quran on several key points, such as Jesus' death and resurrection and his being there one Son of God. The Islamic counterargument to this is that the Gospels have been corrupted over the years so that we don't know what they would have looked like to Christians at the time.
The New Testament documents that existed in the centuries before Islam are largely the same as those we have today, supported by the existence of 4th-century manuscripts like Codex Sinaiticus that predates Islam by centuries and show a strong overall consistency. The Syriac Church, prominent in the Middle East, used the Peshitta Bible. At first its New Testament only contained 22 books, excluding 2 Peter, 2 and 3 John, Jude, and Revelation however the later Harklean version of the Peshitta, which included these books, was accepted by 616 AD.
In contrast, Western Churches confirmed the modern 27-book New Testament canon following the councils of Hippo (393 AD) and Carthage (397 AD). These had been widely accepted in churches prior to these councils. While minor variations and scribal changes exist in early manuscripts, extensive textual criticism shows that the core content and the vast majority of the text have remained consistent, making today's New Testament almost identical to that used during the pre-Islamic era.
It is important for Muslims to know that the Qur’an itself confirms that the Scriptures are the Word of God and have not been changed.
The Teaching of the Qur’an
The crux of the argument is this: The Qur’an affirms the inspiration, authority, and preservation of the New Testament Gospels; yet the Qur’an also contradicts the Gospels on major theological and historical points. These cannot both be right.
According to the Qur’an, the Gospel is the trustworthy, reliable revelation of God given as a guidance for mankind.
"He sent down upon you the book, in truth, confirming what was before it, and he sent down the Torah and the Gospel. before, as a guide for humankind; and he sent down the criterion. Those who have disbelieved in the revelations of God, for them awaits a terrible chastisement; God is mighty, the possessor of vengeance.” Qur’an 3:3-4
The New Testament Scriptures were available and known to be trustworthy when the Qur’an was written. The Qur’an repeatedly tells those who had access to the Scriptures to obey them, submit to their teachings, and stand firmly on what they teach. In other words, according to the Qur’an, the Gospels are the inspired and authoritative words of God. This theme is repeatedly stressed in the Qur’an:
“And We caused Jesus, son of Mary, to follow in their footsteps, confirming what was before him of the Torah; and We gave him the Gospel, in which was guidance and light, confirming what was before it of the Torah, and as a guidance and admonition for the God-fearing.” Qur’an 5:46
“So let the People of the Gospel judge by what God revealed in it, and whoever does not judge by what God revealed, it is they who are the transgressors.”. Qur’an 5:47
“Say, ‘O people of the Book, you are not on anything until you uphold the Torah and the Gospel and what was sent down to you from your Lord.’ But what was sent down to you from your Lord will surely increase many of them in insolence and unbelief. So do not grieve for the people of the unbelievers.” Qur’an 5:68
To reject the Scriptures and what they teach is sin, it is to reject God.
"Shall I seek other than God as judge, while it is he who has sent down the Book to you, distinctly presented? And those to whom we have given the Book know that it is sent down from your Lord with the truth, so do not be among those who doubt." Qur’an 6:114
The Gospel has not changed
If the Gospels were trustworthy in the 600s AD, then they are trustworthy today because many manuscripts pre-date the Qur’an by centuries. Scholarly research by Kurt and Barbara Aland indicates that there are 230 manuscript portions of the New Testament that pre-date 600 AD. This total includes manuscripts and early translations. These include: 192 Greek New Testament manuscripts, 5 Greek lectionaries (books of readings for worship services), 33 translations of the Greek New Testament.
Some of the earliest and most significant biblical manuscripts known to scholars:
P52 (Rylands Library Papyrus P52): A business-card-sized fragment of the Gospel of John, possibly dating as early as 125 AD.
Codex Sinaiticus: The earliest complete copy of the New Testament, dating to the 4th century.
Codex Vaticanus: Another early and nearly complete Greek copy of the Bible, also dating to the 4th century.
Chester Beatty Papyri: Collections of manuscripts from the 3rd century that include portions of the Gospels, Acts, Pauline epistles, and Revelation.
Perhaps even more significant for Muslims is the Qur’an’s statement that no one can change the words of God.
“The word of your Lord has been fulfilled in truth and justice. There is none to change His words. He is the Hearing, the Knowing.” Qur’an 6:115
“And recite what has been revealed to you of the Book of your Lord; there is no one who can change His words, and never will you find a refuge apart from Him.” Qur’an 18:27
If the Gospels are the words of God, and no one can change God’s words, then the Gospels must also have been perfectly preserved by God.
Why was the Qur’an written?
If the Qur’an affirms the inspiration, preservation, and authority of the Gospels, then what was the intended purpose of the Qur’an? Muslims would answer that the Qur’an was revealed to the Arabs so that they would have the Scriptures in their own language. It was a book intended to confirm what God had already revealed to the Jews in the Torah and to the Christians in the Gospel so that the Arab people would have no excuse on the Day of Judgment.
“And this is a blessed book that We have sent down, so follow it, and be in awe, that you may receive mercy. Lest you say, "The book was sent down only to two groups of people before us, and we were indeed heedless of their study". Or you say, "If only the book had been sent down to us, we would have been better guided than they". Now, clear evidence, guidance, and mercy have come from your Lord. Those who deny God's signs and turn away are the most unjust, and We will punish them severely for their actions.” Qur’an 6:155-157
The repeated theme in the Qur’an is that the Jewish and Christian Scriptures are utterly reliable and have the same message as the Qur’an
"And thus We have revealed to you a Qur'ān in Arabic, so that you may warn the mother of the towns and those around it, and that you may warn of the day of the gathering about which there is no doubt—a party in the Garden and a party in the Blaze." Quran 42:7
"He has sent down upon you the Book in truth, confirming what was before it, and He sent down the Torah and the Gospel.” Qur’an 3:3
"This is a blessed Book that We have sent down, confirming what was before it, . . .” Qur’an 6:92
"To thee We sent the Scripture in truth, confirming the scripture that came before it, and guarding it in safety: so judge between them by what Allah hath revealed, and follow not their vain desires, diverging from the Truth that hath come to thee. To each among you have we prescribed a law and an open way. If Allah had so willed, He would have made you a single people, but (His plan is) to test you in what He hath given you: so strive as in a race in all virtues. The goal of you all is to Allah; it is He that will show you the truth of the matters in which ye dispute;" Qur’an 5:48
Concerning the Jews, the Qur’an affirms the validity of their Scriptures but accuses them of disbelieving what it teaches.
“And when a Book came to them from God confirming what they have, while they were themselves asking for help against the unbelievers, they did not believe the Book. Although they recognised [the truth], they denied it. God rejects the unbelievers.” Qur’an 2:89
"This Qur’an is not something that could have been forged apart from God, but is a confirmation of what was before it and a detailed exposition of the Book—no doubt about it—from the Lord of all beings" Qur’an 10:37
"And that which We have revealed to you of the Book, it is the truth, confirming what is between its hands. Truly, God is well-aware, seeing of His servants." Qur’an 35:31
"And before it, the Book of Moses, an exemplar and a mercy, while this is a Book, confirming, in an Arabic tongue, that it may warn those who are iniquitous, and as good tidings for those who do good." Qur’an 46:12
"They said, "O our people! We have heard a book sent down after Moses, confirming what is before it, guiding to the truth and to a straight path." Qur’an 46:30
An Islamic dilemma
It can be seen that the Qur’an repeatedly affirms the inspiration, authority, and reliability of the Scriptures. The Qur’an was intended as an Arabic version of the message of truth found in the Jewish and Christian Scriptures, but this presents a huge problem for Muslims because the Qur’an contradicts the Christian Scriptures on essential doctrines. Most notably, the Qur’an teaches that Jesus was not God incarnate, he did not die on a cross, and he was not raised from the dead.
“. . . and for their claim: "We have killed the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, the Messenger of God"—though they killed him not, nor did they crucify him, but a likeness was cast over them. And those who disagreed concerning him were in doubt about it. They had no knowledge about it, but only followed a supposition. And they killed him not for certain.” Qur’an 4:157
"And when God said, 'O Jesus, son of Mary, did you say to the people, "Take me and my mother as two gods besides God?"' He will say, 'Glory to you! It is not for me to say what I had no right to say. If I did say it, you would surely have known it. You know what is in my soul, and I do not know what is in your soul. Truly you are the knower of the unseen'." Qur’an 5:116
The gospels do not teach that Mary is part of the Godhead! She was a normal mortal that God chose to mother his Son, the messiah prophesied in the Jewish Scriptures. This is a dilemma for Muslims: If the Gospels are not trustworthy, then the Qur’an is false because it teaches that the Gospels are the inspired, perfectly preserved, authoritative words of God. But if the Gospels are trustworthy, then the Qur’an, written 500 years later the New Testament is false because it teaches contradictory, mutually exclusive facts about key issues. Either way, the Qur’an contradicts itself and is wrong.
This, of course, is a huge problem for Muslims. The validity of Islam rests upon the reliability of the Qur’an, just as Christianity rests upon the truth of the divinity, death, and resurrection of Jesus. If the Qur’an is unreliable, then Islam is a false religion.
Does the Qur’an teach that the Scriptures were corrupt or that Jews and Christians were corrupt?
The Qur’an does contain several verses that indicate the Christian and Jewish Scriptures were misunderstood, misinterpreted, and misused around the time of Muhammad. That, of course, is not a surprising conjecture, as throughout history the Christian Scriptures have been twisted and abused, even by popular pastors today. This, however, does not mean that the Scriptures themselves are no longer trustworthy.
The most commonly cited Qur’an verse used to claim that the words of the Gospels have been corrupted are:
“So woe to those who write the Book with their hands, then say, "This is from God," so that they may sell it for a little price. So woe to them for what their hands have written, and woe to them for what they have earned.” Qur’an 2:79
Although there have been some scribal errors and occasionally some have tried to alter key passages, the wording of Scripture is very consisted since the first century AD. Other Qur’anic verses accuse Jews and Christians of altering their understanding of the Scriptures but not of changing the wording.
“O People of the Book! Why do you dress up the truth with falsehood and knowingly conceal the truth?” Qur’an 3:71
Other similar verses are:
“Are you then hoping that they will believe in you when a party of them used to hear the word of God, then distort it, after they had understood it, while they know?” Qur’an 2:75
“Some of those who have become Jews distort the words from their contexts and say, "We have heard, yet we rebel," and "Hear without hearing," and "rāʿinā," twisting with their tongues and slandering the religion. But if they had said, "We have heard and obeyed," and ‘Hear,’ and ‘Give us time,’ it would have been better for them and more upright. God has cursed them for their unbelief; and they believe only a few.” Qur’an 4:46
“And for having broken their compact, We cursed them and made their hearts hard. They distort the words from their places, and they have forgotten a portion of what they were reminded of. You will continue to come upon some act of treachery on their part, with the exception of a few. But pardon them, and overlook. God loves the doers of good.” Qur’an 5:13
“And when God made a compact with those who had been given the Book: "You shall make it clear to the people and you shall not conceal it!" But they cast it behind their backs and sold it for a small price—how evil was what they sold.” Qur’an 3:187
Such verses do teach that some people have falsified the meaning of Scriptures for money and concealed the truth even though they knew it. However, there is not a single verse in the Qur’an that teaches the Christian Scriptures have been permanently corrupted, with their message ultimately lost to history.
So why do Muslims make this claim? First, most Muslims do not read their Scriptures in a language they understand. The claim of the corrupted Gospel is a common myth that, like many others, has been told to Muslims by their leaders and blindly believed.
Second, as Muslims and Christians have begun to interact more in recent times, Muslims have realised that the Qur’an is not a book that confirms what is taught in the Christian Scriptures after all. There must be some reason that their “confirming book” is contradictory on essentials of the faith. It has been a convenient and heretofore largely unchallenged solution to claim that the Bible must have been corrupted.
How to resolve this differences
It is important that all people recognise that the Qur’an teaches the inspiration, authority, and preservation of the Bible, nowhere does it teach that the Words in Scripture have been changed, only that many Jews and Christians have either misunderstood them or deliberately teaching falsehoods. When people then see that the Qur’an, written at least 500 years after Christ contradicts the Scriptures on major issues after having affirmed their validity, the reliability of the Qur’an must be questioned.
It is clearly not right to try and undermine Christianity by means of a false claim that the words of the Bible has been altered. Hopefully this will lead Muslims to read the Injil and see what Jesus’ apostles said as first hand witnesses about what Jesus said and did.
