Home > Refuting the Corruption Claims
"The Bible, as it exists today, has been corrupted from its original form, altered by human hands over time. The Qur'an warns, ‘So woe to those who write the scripture with their own hands, then say, "This is from Allah," to exchange it for a small price' (Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:79). Jesus (peace be upon him) taught Allah's pure message, but what we have now—full of contradictions, like calling him God in some places (John 1:1) while he prays to God in others (Matthew 26:39)—shows it's been changed. Scholars admit it's a mix of texts, edited and added to over centuries.
In Islam, we believe Allah sent the Qur'an to correct this: ‘Indeed, it is We who sent down the Reminder, and indeed, We will be its guardian' (Surah Al-Hijr, 15:9). Jesus was a prophet, not divine, and the Qur'an restores his true role: ‘The Messiah, son of Mary, was no more than a messenger' (Surah Al-Ma'idah, 5:75). The Bible's corruption veered people away from Allah's oneness, but the Qur'an brings back what Jesus really preached."
Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:79
Surah Al-Ma'idah, 5:13
The argument that the Bible is "corrupted" rests on a fundamental misunderstanding of both manuscript history and the Qur’anic text itself. While the Qur'an is often cited to claim the Bible was changed, the historical and textual evidence—coupled with the "Islamic Dilemma"—proves otherwise.
The charge of corruption (2:79) conflates scribal variations with theological alteration. Because the New Testament was spread across the Roman Empire without a central authority to "standardize" it by force, we possess over 5,800 Greek manuscripts. This "embarrassment of riches" allows scholars to identify exactly where a scribe might have made a slip of the pen.
Ironically, the lack of a "Uthmanic recension" (where variant readings are burned) ensures that no single person could have altered the message. If the message of Jesus' divinity were added later, we would find "Islamic" versions of the Gospel in the early manuscript record. We find none. Every early fragment confirms the core doctrines of the Trinity and the Atonement.
The Dawah Script cites Jesus’ prayer in Matthew 26:39 as a "contradiction" to his divinity in John 1:1. This is a category error. Christian theology has always maintained the Hypostatic Union: Jesus is fully God and fully man. In Matthew 26:39, Jesus demonstrates his true humanity and his submission to the Father's will as he nears the cross.
Matthew 26:39:
Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, 'My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.'
His prayer does not negate his nature; it confirms his role as the Second Adam. If he were not truly man, he could not be our high priest or our sacrifice.
The most devastating blow to the "corruption" argument is that the Qur'an itself affirms the authority of the Torah and the Gospel as they existed in the 7th century. If a Muslim claims the Bible was corrupted before Muhammad, they make the Qur'an a liar for telling Christians to "judge by it." If they claim it was corrupted after Muhammad, they contradict history, as our Bibles today are identical to the manuscripts (like Codex Sinaiticus) that predate Muhammad by 300 years.
Surah 5:47:
Let the people of the Gospel judge by what Allah has revealed therein. And whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed—then it is those who are the defiantly disobedient.Surah 5:48:
And We have revealed to you, the Book in truth, confirming that which preceded it of the Scripture and as a criterion over it.Surah 5:68:
Say, 'O People of the Scripture, you are on nothing until you uphold the Torah, the Gospel, and what has been revealed to you from your Lord.' And that which has been revealed to you from your Lord will surely increase many of them in transgression and disbelief. So do not grieve over the disbelieving people.Surah 10:94:
So if you are in doubt, about that which We have revealed to you, then ask those who have been reading the Scripture before you. The truth has certainly come to you from your Lord, so never be among the doubters.
If the Gospel were corrupted, Allah would be commanding Christians to judge by a lie. The Qur'an claims to be a "guardian" over the previous scriptures, not a replacement for a lost one. Muslims (Not just Muhammad which has been added by the translator) are told to consult those who read the Scripture "before him" if he is in doubt. Christians are told they have "nothing" unless they "uphold the Torah and the Gospel".
The "Islamic Dilemma" creates a trap: if the Bible is corrupted, the Qur'an is false for affirming it. If the Bible is not corrupted, the Qur'an is false for contradicting it (on the Crucifixion and Trinity). In either case, the charge of tahrif fails as a polemic tool because it destroys the very foundation upon which the Qur'an attempts to build its own legitimacy.