Page 153 - World Religions I - Islam

against Allah, and (well) they know it!" - Al- Imran (The Family of Imran) 3:78 The
Qur'an is critical of those who have the proper words in front of them, but
deliver a misrepresented or skewed meaning to the people.
• "O people of the Book [Jews and Christians]! There hath come to you our
Messenger, revealing to you much that ye used to hide in the Book, and passing
over much (that is now unnecessary): There hath come to you from Allah a (new)
light and a perspicuous Book..." - Al- Ma'idah (The Table Spread) 5:15 The Qur'an
claims that Jews and Christians are liable of hiding or passing over elements that
are in the Scriptures, but not that those elements have ceased to exist.
• "But the transgressors [Jews] changed the word from that which had been
given them; so We sent on the transgressors a plague from heaven, for that
they in- fringed (Our command) repeatedly." - Al-Baqara (The Cow) 2:59
Apparently, the Jews were just as capable of disobeying God's commands and
attempting to add His word as Muhammad (see Al- Bukhari 6:61:512).

o Muslims use other reasoning to point to the unreliability to the previous scriptures:
 The Qur'an states that Abraham built the Ka'aba, but the Jews altered the incident of the
migration of Abraham in a manner that no one could prove that Abraham had any
relationship with the Ka'aba. All these reasonings are anachronistic, using the newer
revelation of the Qur'an as the source of truth over the prior scriptures.
 The Qur'an states that Jesus was a mere prophet and that he never died, and yet the
Christians call Jesus "the Son of God" and speak of his death on the cross.
 The Qur'an states that the Injil (Gospel) is a revelation to Jesus as a prophet, not a
revelation about Jesus to Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Peter, Paul, or any other person.
There- fore what the Christians claim as the Gospel is more in line with the Hadith as it
fits with the Qur'an.
 The Qur'an claims that the coming of Muhammad as the final prophet was prophesied
in the Bible, yet the Christians claim that he was not ever mentioned in the prior
Scriptures.

Criticism of Tahreef
• The Qur'an does not teach that the previous Scriptures are textually unreliable or have been abrogated or
that the original Gospel was taken to heaven.
• The Qur'an supports the existence, availability, integrity, and universal significance of the scriptures.
o Jews and Christians should stand fast to their scriptures.
 "Say: 'O People of the Book! ye have no ground to stand upon unless ye stand fast by
the Law, the Gospel, and all the revelation that has come to you from your Lord.'" - Al-
Ma'idah (The Table Spread) 5:68a
o The Injil (Gospel) confirms the Tawrat (the books of Moses).
 "And We caused Jesus, son of Mary, to follow in [the prophets'] footsteps, confirming
that which was (revealed) before him in the Torah, and We bestowed on him the Gospel
wherein is guidance and a light, confirming that which was (revealed) before it in the
Torah - a guidance and an admonition unto those who ward off (evil)." - Al- Ma'idah (The
Table Spread) 5:46
o Christians (following the Gospel) are capable of discerning whether the message of the Qur'an is
true or not.
 "Let the people of the Gospel judge by what Allah hath revealed therein. If any do fail
to judge by (the light of) what Allah hath revealed, they are (no better than) those who

152