Home > Surah 3 - The Family of Imran
Surah 3:19:
"Indeed, the religion in the sight of Allah is Islam. And those who were given the Scripture did not differ except after knowledge had come to them - out of jealous animosity between themselves. And whoever disbelieves in the verses of Allah, then indeed, Allah is swift in account."
The verse provides a "clinical diagnosis" of why Jews and Christians disagree. If the standard Islamic claim of tahrif (textual corruption) were true, this verse would be the perfect place for Allah to say, "They differ because they changed the words of the Book."
Instead, it says they differ despite having the knowledge. This confirms that the text was present, understood, and intact, but was being ignored or twisted for personal gain.
While the verse claims "Islam" is the only religion, the second half of the verse validates the "knowledge" held by the People of the Book.
If the only true religion is 'Islam' (submission to God), and the People of the Book were given 'knowledge' from God, then their Scripture must be a primary source of that Islam.
The dilemma arises because that "knowledge" (the Bible) includes the Trinity and the Atonement—doctrines the Quran later calls "shirk" (the highest sin). If the "knowledge" is true, the Quran's version of Islam is incomplete or contradictory.
The verse ends with a threat: Allah is "swift in account" for those who disbelieve in His Ayat.
For the Muslim to argue that the Bible is unreliable, they must explain how one can be held accountable for "knowledge" that has been corrupted beyond recognition.
By holding the People of the Book accountable for their differences after knowledge came to them, the Quran implicitly guarantees that the knowledge (the Bible) was still available and authoritative in the 7th century.
This verse traps the Islamic position by attributing the divisions between Jews and Christians to human envy rather than textual alteration.
By asserting that "knowledge" had already come to them, the Quran admits that the previous Scriptures were sufficient, clear, and uncorrupted.
This leaves the Muslim apologist in the impossible position of claiming the Bible is lost or changed, while the Quran insists the problem was never the Book, but the hearts of those who held it.