Answering Islam Email Dialogs

Topic: Are Muslims honoring the Koran when they criticize the Scriptures of the Bible?

Received: 11 August 2005

Subject: Your website

look, I read the Bible and the Bible falesly accuses the prophets of many things, and it is riddled withso many contracdictions and lies it is laughable. I acutally find the Bible pornographic as it is filled with so much sex and violence. Christianity is a pagan religion full of pagan beliefs. You worship idols and a man as can be seen in your rituals, structures and writings. No thanks.

Our answer:

Your view of the Bible is in conflict with the view that the Koran holds of the Bible.

Here is what the Koran says about the Bible:

"3.70":    O followers of the Book! Why do you disbelieve in the communications of Allah while you witness (them)?

"3.71":    O followers of the Book! Why do you confound the truth with the falsehood and hide the truth while you know?

"3.78":    Most surely there is a party amongst those who distort the Book with their tongue that you may consider it to be (a part) of the Book, and they say, It is from Allah, while it is not from Allah, and they tell a lie against Allah whilst they know.

"3.79":    It is not meet for a mortal that Allah should give him the Book and the wisdom and prophethood, then he should say to men: Be my servants rather than Allah's; but rather (he would say): Be worshipers of the Lord because of your teaching the Book and your reading (it yourselves).

"2.78":    And there are among them illiterates who know not the Book but only lies, and they do but conjecture.

"10.94":    But if you are in doubt as to what We have revealed to you, ask those who read the Book before you; certainly the truth has come to you from your Lord, therefore you should not be of the disputers.

"10.95":    And you should not be of those who reject the communications of Allah, (for) then you should be one of the losers. 

"15.9":     We have, without doubt, sent down the Message; and we will assuredly guard it {from corruption}

It is clear from these passages that The Book (the Scriptures of the Bible) still existed in Mohammed's time.  Some tried to distort it with their tongues, but The Book was still there in written form.  The Book was still available for teaching (3:79).  2:78 makes clear that The Book was available, but was being misinterpreted.10:94 actually commands that you ask those who have read the book before you, so feel free to ask me for the truth of God.  10:50 is a warning for you not to reject the communications of God, lest you come out a loser.

You can see that the Koran speaks of an intact Book during its own writing.  It even states that God will protect it. 

So I ask you:  Why do you disagree with Mohammed about the Bible?  If you are a real Muslim, you should respect the message of God through the Prophets.  Mohammed (see above) thought highly of the Bible while he also wrote a contrary message.  Do you not see a problem with your faith?  Why does Mohammed endorse a book that he disagrees with?  Why do modern Muslims attack the Bible that Mohammed endorsed?  Your faith is founded on Mohammed's inconsistencies and those of your own.  Why do you want to live an inconsistent faith?

Thanks,

Dario

Editor’s Note: If you are one of those who claim to believe the Koran (or Qur’an), yet insist that the Bible has been corrupted, here are is an important question to ask yourself: Do you think the Bible Scriptures were corrupted before the time of Muhammad or after?

(a) If you answer: "Before"…

(i) Do you believe the Qur’an would "confirm" a corrupted, unreliable book? (Surat 5:46; Surat 2:85)

(ii) Why does the Qur’an say, "Bring the Torah and read it" (Surat 3:93) if it was unreliable?

(iii) The Qur'an states that the Old and New Testament Scriptures were sent down as "guidance and light." (Surat 5:44-46) If these Scriptures were corrupted before the time of Muhammad, should not the Qur'an have declared them not as guidance for the faithful, but as leading them astray; not as light, but darkness?

(b) If you answer: "After"…

(i) If changes were made after Muhammad, how do you explain the fact that the Bibles we have today are translated from manuscripts which predate Muhammad by hundreds of years?

(ii) Did you know that by the time of Muhammad, the Scriptures of the Bible had already been translated into many languages and distributed throughout the civilized world? If a group of men in Muhammad’s time or later had wished to corrupt, change, or falsify the Holy Scriptures, they would have found it an impossible undertaking. The Bible was already distributed in Europe, Asia and Africa; translated into Latin, Greek, Coptic, Gothic, Syrianc, Ęthiopic, Armenian, Georgian, etc… Today the New Testament is available in more than 2000 languages. Try to imagine a group of Muslims today who determine to falsify every copy of the Qur’an! Absurd! A. Why would they want to corrupt their revered book? B. It would be impossible for them to do so. Even if every copy of the Qur’an were lost or corrupted, its text could be reproduced from the quotations in the commentaries. So was/is the case with the Bible. Only more so.

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