Home > Surah 25 - The Criterion
This part of a Meccan surah that serves as the definitive manual for distinguishing truth from falsehood.
It was revealed as a defense of Muhammad’s mission against the specific accusations of the Meccan polytheists—namely, that the Quran was a "forgery" or "fables of the ancients."
To counter this, the surah constantly appeals to the history of Moses as the foundational precedent for divine revelation.
Surah 25:35:
We verily gave Moses the Scripture, and We appointed with him his brother Aaron as helmsman.
The Quran asserts that Allah verily (an emphatic confirmation) gave Moses "The Book."
If Allah gave a Book as a "Criterion" (the theme of this Surah), He gave it to be used as a standard of truth. If that Book was subsequently lost or corrupted beyond recognition, then Allah’s gift was a failure. It would mean that a Book God called "The Criterion" failed to provide criteria for the people it was given to.
Since this Surah is titled "The Criterion," you can argue that you cannot have a new Criterion that contradicts the original Criterion (the Torah) if both came from the same God.
The verse mentions Aaron being appointed as a "helmsman" or helper.
Why did God provide Aaron? To help Moses establish the Law and the Scripture among the people. This implies a successful divine mission. If the mission ended in the total corruption of the Scripture, then the appointment of Aaron was ineffective.
The Quran portrays the Mosaic era not as a failed attempt that needed a 7th-century "fix," but as a divinely sanctioned and successful delivery of a Kitab.
In the 7th century, when this verse was recited, "The Book" of Moses was a well-known, physical reality held by the Jews of Medina.
The Quran does not say "We gave Moses a Book that the Jews then destroyed." It says, "We gave Moses The Book." This anchors the Quran's claim to the manuscript tradition present in the 7th century. Since those manuscripts (which we still possess) teach a Covenant that excludes the Islamic narrative, the Quran is endorsing a witness that proves it wrong.
Surah 25 is called 'The Criterion.' In verse 35, it says God gave Moses 'The Book' and gave him Aaron to help him.
If God gave Moses 'The Book' to be a 'Criterion' for mankind, did God have the power to protect that gift?
If you say the Torah was corrupted, you are saying that God gave a gift that was so weak it couldn't survive. Why would a God who couldn't protect the first 'Criterion' (Torah) be able to protect the second one (Quran)?
I have 'The Book' that was given to Moses; it has been preserved in thousands of manuscripts. It tells me that the way to God is through a blood sacrifice and a Messiah who is the Son of God.
By confirming that God gave Moses 'The Book,' your Quran has validated my Bible. If I follow the 'Book of Moses' that your Quran endorses, I must reject the Quran. If I reject the Book of Moses, I am calling Surah 25:35 a lie."