Home > Surah 45 - The Crouching
In this Meccan context, the Quran continues to bolster its own claims by appealing to the history of the "favored" Children of Israel. This verse explains why there is disagreement if the source material was divine.
It asserts that the Israelites were not left in the dark; they were given "clear proofs." The differences between the Bible and the Quran are NOT in a failure of the biblical text itself.
Surah 45:17:
And We gave them clear proofs of the case; and they differed not until after the knowledge came unto them, through rivalry among themselves. Lo! thy Lord will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection concerning that wherein they used to differ.
The verse explicitly states that they only began to differ after "The Knowledge" (Al-'Ilm) had come to them.
TIf "The Knowledge" is the Scripture (the Bible), then the Bible was a complete, clear, and known entity before the schisms.
You cannot have "Knowledge" if the book you are holding is a "corrupted" mess. For the verse to be true, the "Knowledge" held by the People of the Book must be the actual Truth from God.
The 7th-century Bible (the very one the Jews and Christians were "differing" over) is identified by the Quran as "The Knowledge." If that "Knowledge" says Jesus is the Son of God, the Quran cannot call it a "corruption" without calling 45:17 a lie.
The Quran identifies the source of the problem as Baghyan (envy or rivalry).
Muslim apologists often argue that the Bible was changed by corrupt priests to hide the "true" message of Islam.
Surah 45:17 says the problem was that they fought among themselves because of rivalry. It doesn't say they "changed the words" to hide a prophet; it says they "differed" because of pride.
If the text was never the problem, but rather the human heart, then the text remains a valid witness. A judge doesn't throw out the law book just because two lawyers are fighting over how to apply it.
The verse says God will judge their differences on the Day of Resurrection.
If God intended to "settle" the differences between the People of the Book by sending Muhammad and the Quran, this verse would not say the judgment is reserved for the afterlife.
If the Quran was the "final judge" sent to clear up the differences (as claimed in 16:64), then 45:17 is redundant or misleading.
By deferring the judgment to the Resurrection, the Quran admits that it has not "settled" the case. This leaves the "Clear Proofs" (the Bible) as the standing evidence until the end of time.
Surah 45:17 says that the People of the Book did not differ until 'after the knowledge' came to them.
This admits that the 'Knowledge' (the Bible) was perfectly delivered and understood before the rivalry started.
You claim the Bible is 'corrupted,' but your Book says the problem was 'rivalry' among men, not the loss of 'Clear Proofs' from God.
If they had 'Clear Proofs,' and I am reading those same 'Clear Proofs' today in the Torah and Gospel, I am holding the 'Knowledge' that your Quran praises.
Either the Bible is the 'Clear Proof' and 'Knowledge' (which makes its doctrines true), or the Quran is wrong when it says God gave them 'Knowledge' that was clear. If the split was about 'rivalry' and not 'textual change,' then the text is still the Truth. Why are you calling 'corrupted' what God calls 'Clear Proofs'?"
By highlighting Baghyan (envy/rivalry), you shift the focus from the manuscripts to the people, effectively preserving the reliability of the Bible as the "Knowledge" the Quran is talking about.
Since this verse notes that God "will judge" the differences on the Day of Resurrection, how does Islam explain the claim that the Quran was sent specifically to "correct" and "settle" those same differences right now?