Home > Surah 35 - The Originator
This verse serves as the "Confirmation Clause," using specific spatial language to anchor the Quran's truth-claim to the physical presence of the previous scriptures.
It asserts that the Quran does not exist in a vacuum but is a secondary witness to a primary, existing revelation.
Surah 35:31:
And that which We have inspired in thee of the Scripture is the Truth, confirming that which was before it. Lo! Allah is indeed Observer, Seer of His slaves.
The Quran claims to confirm what is bayna yadayhi (literally, "between the hands").
In the 7th century, what was "between the hands" of the People of the Book? It was the Bible as we know it, evidenced by thousands of manuscripts (e.g., Codex Sinaiticus).
If the Quran confirms the Bible held by 7th-century Christians, it is confirming a book that explicitly teaches the Trinity and the Atonement.
If the Quran confirms a book that says Jesus is the Son of God, the Quran cannot then deny He is the Son of God without contradicting its own "Confirmation."
To "confirm" something means to attest that it is true.
If a witness "confirms" a report but then says every major detail in that report is a lie, he hasn't confirmed it; he has refuted it.
Since the Quran denies the Crucifixion (the heart of the Injil), it fails the definition of Musaddiqan. It claims to be a "Confirmer" while acting as an "Opposer."
The verse ends by noting God is the "Seer of His slaves."
This is a call to intellectual honesty. If the Quran says it came to verify the previous books, the Muslim must either accept those books as they were in the 7th century or admit the Quran is making a false claim.
Surah 35:31 says the Quran came 'confirming that which was between the hands' of the people at that time.
In the 7th century, the 'Scripture' in the hands of the Christians was the Bible we have today. We have the physical manuscripts to prove it.
If the Quran 'confirms' what was in our hands, it is confirming a book that says Jesus died for our sins.
If you say that book was already 'corrupted,' then you are calling the Quran a liar for claiming to 'confirm' it. Why would God 'confirm' a corrupted lie?
Either the Bible in the hands of Christians is true (making Islam false), or the Quran is false for claiming to confirm it. Which is it?"
You cannot physically "confirm" something that isn't there; you can only confirm the "load" the "donkey" (Surah 62:5) is currently carrying.