The Quran confirms – The Two Testaments of the Holy Bible Are the Torah and Injil!
Exposing the false propaganda and misinformation of a Muslim Dawagandist Pt. 2
We proceed with our rebuttal to Jalal’s attacks on the Holy Bible. After quoting Q. 5:43-50 Jalal makes the following erroneous statements:
1. The Torah no longer exists in its original form on earth. While it did, and before Prophets Jesus and Muhammad were sent, it was the valid law for the Children of Israel. The Ayat above merely state that the people who received this book were ordered to rule by it. The Ayah does not order the Children of Israel to abide by it now. First, the Original Torah no longer exists in its original form. Second, read the next Ayat.
It seems that Jalal knows considerably more than his own prophet did since Muhammad and scholars such as ar-Razi and al-Bukhari didn’t think for a moment that the “Original Torah” no longer existed in its original form. In fact, the very context of Q. 5:43-48 demonstrates that Muhammad believed that both Jesus and himself had access to the “Original Torah” which Allah revealed:
Yet how will they make thee their judge seeing THEY HAVE the Torah, wherein is God's judgment, then thereafter turn their backs? They are not believers. Surely We sent down the Torah, wherein is guidance and light; thereby the Prophets who had surrendered themselves gave judgment for those of Jewry, as did the masters and the rabbis, following such portion of God's Book as they were given to keep and were witnesses to. So fear not men, but fear you Me; and sell not My signs for a little price. Whoso judges not according to what God has sent down - they are the unbelievers. And therein We prescribed for them: 'A life for a life, an eye for an eye, a nose for a nose, an ear for an ear, a tooth for a tooth, and for wounds retaliation'; but whosoever forgoes it as a freewill offering, that shall be for him an expiation. Whoso judges not according to what God has sent down -- they are the evildoers. S. 5:43-45
Here, command is given to the Jews of Muhammad’s day to consult the Torah, the Book of God, since it contains God’s judgment. It then goes on to quote a verse from that very Torah which Muhammad had access to, a passage which can still be found today:
“But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.” Exodus 21:23-25
This shows that even at the time of Muhammad the Jews were still expected to rule by their Torah, just as the following narratives confirm:
… It was reported that this part of the Ayah was revealed about some Jews who committed murder and who said to each other, "Let us ask Muhammad to judge between us, and if he decides that we pay the Diyah, accept his judgement. If he decides on capital punishment, do not accept his judgement."' The correct opinion is that this Ayah was revealed about the two Jews who committed adultery. The Jews changed the law they had in their Book from Allah on the matter of punishment for adultery, from stoning to death, to a hundred flogs and making the offenders ride a donkey facing the back of the donkey. When this incident of adultery occurred after the Hijrah, they said to each other, "Let us go to Muhammad and seek his judgement. If he gives a ruling of flogging, then implement his decision and make it a proof for you with Allah. This way, one of Allah's Prophets will have upheld this ruling amongst you. But if he decides that the punishment should be stoning to death, then do not accept his decision.” There are several Hadiths mentioning this story. Malik reported that Nafi` said that `Abdullah bin `Umar said, "The Jews came to Allah's Messenger and mentioned that a man and a woman from them committed adultery. Allah's Messenger said to them…
<<What do find of the ruling about stoning in the Tawrah>> They said, `We only find that they should be exposed and flogged.' `Abdullah bin Salam said, `You lie. The Tawrah mentions stoning, so bring the Tawrah.' They brought the Tawrah and opened it but one of them hid the verse about stoning with his hand and recited what is before and after that verse. `Abdullah bin Salam said to him, `Remove your hand,' and he removed it, thus uncovering the verse about stoning. So they said, ‘He (`Abdullah bin Salam) has said the truth, ‘O Muhammad! It is the verse about stoning.’ The Messenger of Allah decided that the adulterers be stoned to death and his command was carried out. I saw that man shading the woman from the stones with his body." Al-Bukhari and Muslim also collected this Hadith and this is the wording collected by Al-Bukhari. In another narration by Al-Bukhari, the Prophet said to the Jews…
<<What would you do in this case?>> They said, “We would humiliate and expose them.” The Prophet recited…
<<Bring here the Tawrah and recite it, if you are truthful.>> So they brought a man who was blind in one eye and who was respected among them and said to him, "Read (from the Tawrah)." So he read until he reached a certain verse and then covered it with his hand. He was told, "Remove your hand," and it was the verse about stoning. So that man said, "O Muhammad! This is the verse about stoning, and we had hid its knowledge among us." So the Messenger ordered that the two adulterers be stoned, and they were stoned. Muslim recorded that a Jewish man and a Jewish woman were brought before Allah's Messenger because they committed adultery. The Messenger of Allah went to the Jews and asked them…
<<What is the ruling that you find in the Tawrah for adultery?>> They said, "We expose them, carry them (on donkeys) backwards and parade them in public." The Prophet recited…
<<Bring here the Tawrah and recite it, if you are truthful.>> So they brought the Tawrah and read from it until the reader reached the verse about stoning. Then he placed his hand on that verse and read what was before and after it. `Abdullah bin Salam, who was with the Messenger of Allah , said, "Order him to remove his hand," and he removed his hand and under it was the verse about stoning. So the Messenger of Allah commanded that the adulterers be stoned, and they were stoned. `Abdullah bin `Umar said, "I was among those who stoned them and I saw the man shading the woman from the stones with his body." Abu Dawud recorded that Ibn `Umar said, "Some Jews came to the Messenger of Allah and invited him to go to the Quff area. So he went to the house of Al-Midras and they said, ‘O Abu Al-Qasim! A man from us committed adultery with a woman, so decide on their matter.’ They arranged a pillow for the Messenger of Allah and he sat on it and said…
<<Bring the Tawrah to me.>> He was brought the Tawrah and he removed the pillow from under him and placed the Tawrah on it, saying…
<<I TRUST YOU and He Who revealed it to you.>> He then said…
<<Bring me your most knowledgeable person.>> So he was brought a young man… and then he mentioned the rest of the story that Malik narrated from Nafi`. These Hadiths state that the Messenger of Allah issued a decision that conforms with the ruling in the Tawrah, not to honor the Jews in what they believe in, for the Jews were commanded to follow the Law of Muhammad only. Rather, the Prophet did this because Allah commanded him to do so. He asked them about the ruling of stoning in the Tawrah to make them admit to what the Tawrah contains and what they collaborated to hide, deny and exclude from implementing for all that time. They had to admit to what they did, although they did it while having knowledge of the correct ruling… (Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Q. 5:41; bold, capital and underline emphasis ours)
The preceding narratives concur that Muhammad didn’t rule according to the Quran in deciding the fate of the Jews who were caught in sin but appealed to the Torah which the Jews possessed and demanded that they judge by it as well. Ibn Kathir even mentions the very same narration from Abu Dawud that Ibn-Qayyim referenced in his discussion concerning the textual veracity of the Torah, namely, the one where Muhammad took the Torah which the Jews gave him, placed it on a pillow, and affirmed his complete trust and belief in it.
In light of the foregoing the question that Jalal must answer is why would Muhammad trust in and appeal to a corrupted Torah? Why didn’t Muhammad say that he only believed in some parts of the Torah since not all of it was sound? The answer is obvious.
We are then told that Jesus himself was sent to confirm the Torah which he possessed:
And We sent, following in their footsteps, Jesus the son of Mary, confirming the Torah that is between his hands (musaddiqan lima bayna yadayhi mina al-tawrat) and We gave to him the Gospel, wherein is guidance and light, and confirming the Torah that is between his hands (musaddiqan lima bayna yadayhi mina al-tawrat), as a guidance and an admonition unto the godfearing. S. 5:46
Fortunately we are in a position to know what the Torah Jesus held in his hands looked like, what its exact contents were. As a result of the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947, along with Jesus' extensive use of the OT Scriptures as documented in the NT Books, we know that the Scriptures that he was reading and confirming to be from God are the very same Books that we have today. This solidifies the case that the Torah has not been corrupted since Jesus basically confirmed the authority of the same Scriptures we now possess.
Thus, if the Quran is right then Jalal is wrong since the Torah remains in its uncorrupt form as the manuscript tradition and the testimony of both Jesus and Muhammad prove. But if Jalal is right then the Quran is wrong, and both Jesus and Muhammad were in error for mistakenly thinking that the Torah which they possessed was the uncorrupt revelation that God gave to his people.
Jalal also distorts what the Quran says concerning the preservation and textual veracity of the Gospel.
2. The Injeel no longer exists in its original form on earth. While it did, and before Prophet Muhammad was sent, it, along with the Torah, was the valid law for the Children of Israel. The Ayat above merely state that the people who received this book were ordered to rule by it. The Ayah does not order the Children of Israel to abide by it now. First, the Original Injeel no longer exists in its original form. Second, read the next Ayat. Third, today’s Christians are NOT from among the Children of Israel to whom the Torah and the Injeel were revealed.
Jalal is once again mistaken and/or is deliberately perverting what his own scripture says, since the verses in question are commanding the Christians of Muhammad’s time to judge by the very Gospel which they had in their possession seeing that it is a guidance and light for them:
And We sent, following in their footsteps, Jesus the son of Mary, confirming the Torah that is between his hands and We gave to him the Gospel, wherein is guidance and light, and confirming the Torah that is between his hands, as a guidance and an admonition unto the godfearing. So let the People of the Gospel judge according to what God has sent down therein. Whosoever judges not according to what God has sent down -- they are the ungodly. S. 5:46-47
Nor is this the only passage of the Quran which presupposes that the Christians of Muhammad’s day still possessed the Gospel of Jesus Christ:
those who follow the Messenger, 'the Prophet of the common folk, whom they find written down with them in the Torah and the Gospel, bidding them to honour, and forbidding them dishonour, making lawful for them the good things and making unlawful for them the corrupt things, and relieving them of their loads, and the fetters that were upon them. Those who believe in him and succour him and help him, and follow the light that has been sent down with him -- they are the prosperers.' S. 7:157
In light of the above here are some of the questions that Jalal has to address: How could the Christians judge by the Gospel given to Jesus if they no longer possessed it? Furthermore, since Jalal believes the Gospel has been changed he must explain why would Allah command Christians to judge by a corrupted Gospel and how could he say that such an unreliable document is a guidance and light for them?
Moreover, why would Allah say to the Christians at Muhammad’s time that they would be ungodly if they did not judge by that so-called corrupted Gospel of theirs? Why would they be ungodly for refusing to judge by a source that was unreliable? Shouldn’t Allah have commanded them NOT to judge by a corrupted document that wasn’t the original Gospel which he gave to Jesus?
It is manifestly evident that these Quranic passages presuppose that the Gospel of Jesus was available in an uncorrupt form during Muhammad’s time, that being the inspired Books of the NT.
But since Jalal believes that this could only refer to the so-called original Injil/Gospel of Jesus and not to the NT, specifically the canonical Gospels, he must therefore explain what is the Gospel that the Quran commands Christians to consult. Jalal needs to tell us what the Gospel would have meant to Muhammad’s Christian contemporaries. Basically, Jalal has to answer what Gospel were the Christians reading at that time if it was not that which we find written and preserved within the NT documents?
It is obvious why Jalal never bothers with such questions or addresses these issues since he knows that he would be forced to admit that the Quran essentially does confirm that the NT documents, especially the four Gospels, are the very revelations which God gave to Christ to pass on to his followers. After all, the only Gospel that the Christians of Muhammad’s time possessed is what is found in the inspired NT writings such as the Gospel of John. As one early Muslim writer stated:
“Among the things which have reached me about what Jesus the Son of Mary stated in the Gospel which he received from God for the followers of the Gospel, in applying a term to describe the apostle of God, is the following. It is extracted FROM WHAT JOHN THE APOSTLE SET DOWN FOR THEM WHEN HE WROTE THE GOSPEL FOR THEM FROM THE TESTAMENT OF JESUS SON OF MARY: ‘He that hateth me hateth the Lord. And if I had not done in their presence works which none other before me did, they had not sin: but from now they are puffed up with pride and think that they will overcome me and also the Lord. But the word that is in the law must be fulfilled, "They hated me without a cause" (i.e. without reason). But when the Comforter has come whom God will send to you from the Lord's presence, and the spirit of truth which will have gone forth from the Lord's presence he (shall bear) witness of me and ye also, because ye have been with me from the beginning. I have spoken unto you about this that ye should not be in doubt.’
“The Munahhemana (God bless and preserve him!) in Syriac is Muhammad; in Greek he is the paraclete. (The Life of Muhammad: A Translation of Ibn Ishaq’s Sirat Rasul Allah, with introduction and notes by Alfred Guillaume [Oxford University Press, Karachi, Tenth impression 1995], pp. 103-104; bold and capital emphasis ours)
The above Muslim biographer claims that John’s Gospel is actually the very Gospel which God gave to Jesus! He never once states that this particular Gospel is corrupt or unreliable.
Another Muslim writer who comes much later also mentions the Gospel which the Christians of his time possessed:
“Remarks about the GOSPEL of the Christians, the Names of Their Books, Their Scholars, and Their Authors
“I asked Yunus the priest, who was an excellent man, about the books translated into the Arabic language which they expound and according to which they act. He replied, "Among them is the book Al-Surah (The Form) which is divided into two parts, the ‘Old Form’ and the ‘New Form.’" He also said that the "Old [Form]" was the ancient basis for the Jewish sect and the "New [Form]" for the sect of the Christians. He also said that the "Old [Form]" depends upon a number of books, the first of which is the Torah, WHICH IS FIVE SACRED WRITINGS. [Then follows] a compilation comprising a number of books, among which are:
“Joshua, the Son of Nun; The Tribes, which is the book of Judges; Samuel and the Judgment of David; Traditions of the Children of Israel; Ecclesiastes [Qoheleth]; The Song of Songs; The Wisdom of Jesus, the Son of Sirach [Ecclesiasticus]. The Prophets, composed of four books; Isaiah the prophet, for whom be peace; Jeremiah the prophet, for whom be peace; The Twelve Prophets, for whom be peace; Ezekiel. The New Form which is comprised of four Gospels: The Gospel of Matthew; The Gospel of Mark; The Gospel of Luke; The Gospel of John, The Disciples, known as Fraksis [Acts]; PAUL THE APOSTLE, twenty four epistles. (Abu'l-Faraj Muhammad ibn Ishaq al-Nadim, The Fihrist - A 10th Century AD Survey of Islamic Culture, edited and translated by Bayard Dodge [Great Books of the Islamic World, Inc., Columbia University Press, 1970], p. 45; bold and capital emphasis ours)
The above quotations conclusively prove that Muhammad’s Christian contemporaries would have clearly understood from the Quran’s repeated appeal to the Gospel that Muhammad was referring to their NT writings, especially their canonical Gospels.
In fact from early on in its history the Church began referring to the four canonical Gospels as the Gospel (singular) since these Gospels were viewed as four witnesses to the one Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. As the late NT scholar F. F. Bruce explained:
“At a very early date it appears that the four Gospels were united in one collection. They must have been brought together very soon after the writing of the Gospel according to John. This fourfold collection was known originally as ‘The Gospel’ singular, not ‘The Gospels’ in the plural; there was only one Gospel, narrated in four records, distinguished as ‘according to Matthew’, ‘according to Mark’, and so on. About A.D. 115 Ignatius, bishop, of Antioch, refers to ‘The Gospel’ as an authoritative writing, and as he knew more than one of the four ‘Gospels’ it may well be that by ‘The Gospel’ sans phrase he means the fourfold collection which went by that name.” (Bruce, The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable? [Intervarsity Press; Downers Grove Il., rpt. 1992], CHAPTER III - THE CANON OF THE NEW TESTAMENT, p. 23; bold emphasis ours)
Therefore, if Jalal is going to be honest to his own religious text and to history he must accept the fact that the Gospel which Allah revealed to Jesus, the Gospel which Muhammad had access to and confirmed as true, is none other than the inspired writings of the NT. There is simply no way of denying this on historical grounds (unless, of course, one is willing to ignore history and distort the facts, which Jalal is prone to do).
Next, Jalal comments on the meaning and application of Q. 5:48:
4. The Ayat afterwards state that the Quran came as Muhaimin above the original Torah and the original Injeel. This word means that the Quran superceded and abrogated the Law of the Torah and the Injeel.
Here is a literal translation of the passage in question:
And We have sent down to thee the Book with the truth, confirming the Book that is between his hands and preserving/witnessing/testifying to it (musaddiqan lima bayna yadayhi mina al-kitabi wa-muhaiminan alayhi)…
The Muslim expositors were confused concerning the precise meaning of muhaimin within this specific context. They weren’t certain whether the term was simply reiterating the point conveyed by the word musaddiqan (“confirming”) which appears in the same sentence, e.g. the Quran testifies and bears witness to the veracity of the previous Scriptures,
“To you We revealed the Book with the Truth, confirming previous Scripture and witnessing to their veracity…” (The Qur’an – A New Translation, by Tarif Khalidi [Viking Penguin, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., First American Edition 2008], p. 89; bold emphasis ours)
Or whether it meant that the Muslim scripture preserves and guards the teachings of the former sacred writings within its own pages,
“…confirming the earlier revelations, and preserving them (from change and corruption)…” (Al-Quran - A Contemporary Translation, by Ahmad Ali [Princeton University Press, New Jersey, fifth ed. 1994], p. 104; bold emphasis ours)
“fulfilling that which was revealed before it of the Book, and as a guardian over it…” (The Quran Arabic Text With A New Translation by Muhammad Zafrullah Khan [Olive Branch, New York, 1997], p. 107; bold emphasis ours)
Others felt, much like Jalal, that the meaning here is that the Quran determines what specific commands of the Holy Bible are still binding upon Muhammad and his followers and which ones have been abrogated,
… It confirms the (original) Bible and has the authority to preserve or abrogate what the Bible contains… Muhammad Sarwar (emphasis ours)
This third explanation seems to be the more plausible one in light of what the verse goes on to say right afterwards,
… So (Muhammad) judge between them according to what Allah has sent down, and do not follow their caprices, to forsake the truth that has come to you. To every one of you We have appointed a right way/law and an open road (shiraatan wa-minhajan). If Allah had willed, He would have made you one nation; but that He may try you in what has come to you. So strive in a race in good deeds; unto Allah shall you return, all together; and He will tell you of that whereon you were at variance. And (Muhammad) judge between them according to what Allah has sent down, and do not follow their caprices, and beware of them lest they tempt you away from any of what Allah has sent down to you. But if they turn their backs, know that Allah desires only to smite them for some sin they have committed; surely, many men are ungodly. S. 5:48-49
Muhammad is told to judge the Jews and Christians according to what Allah has revealed to him, i.e. the Quran, just as Jalal himself noted:
4. The Ayat require Prophet Muhammad to rule among mankind by the Quran and its explanation, the Sunnah.
However, Jalal is mistaken when he then writes:
5. The Ayat require mankind, including Jews and Christians, to rule by what Allah has revealed to Muhammad which is the authority above the Torah and the Injeel.
The context itself refutes Jalal since the passage specifically mentions that Allah hasn’t made mankind one nation and therefore has appointed to each specific group a law and a way. The meaning is quite clear and obvious, unless you are a dawagandist like Jalal. The Jews and Christians are to judge by the law and way that Allah revealed to them, i.e. the Torah and the Gospel, whereas Muhammad is to judge by the revelation that Allah gave him. And according to the supposed revelation given to Muhammad Allah himself commands him to inform the Jews and Christians to judge by their own respective Scriptures.
In other words, Allah doesn’t order them to follow the Muslim scripture but orders Muhammad in the Quran to command them to implement the rulings found in the Torah and the Gospel.
With the foregoing in perspective how can any honest Muslim read this and think that the Quran commands the Jews and Christians to abide by Muhammad’s scripture when the very context of Q. 5:43-48 chides the Jews for going to Muhammad for judgment in the first place seeing that they possessed the true Torah in its original form?
For more on the meaning of Q. 5:48 we recommend the following articles:
http://answering-islam.org/Shamoun/muhaimin.htm
http://answering-islam.org/Shamoun/muhaymin2.htm
http://answering-islam.org/Shamoun/aboutbible.htm#5.48
http://www.the-good-way.com/eng/book/b12.htm#2.0
In conclusion, it is abundantly clear that the Quran confirms that the Books of the Holy Bible which we currently possess are the uncorrupt, preserved revelations of God since these are the writings which the Jews and Christians were reading at Muhammad’s time. Jalal realizes the problem this creates for his own position as a Muslim. After all, if the Quran is true concerning the divine authority and preservation of the Holy Bible then Muhammad is a false prophet since he contradicted key, essential Biblical doctrines such as the Trinity, the Deity of Christ, the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus etc.
This is precisely why Jalal has to deny that the Quran testifies to the authority and textual veracity of the Holy Bible which we currently possess, since he doesn’t want to come to grips with the fact that Muhammad was a false prophet and the Quran is a fraud which he tried pass off as revelation from God. However, the evidence is clearly against him, just as we saw in these rebuttals, and the only option left for Jalal is to abandon Muhammad and embrace Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.
If the risen Lord Jesus wills, there will be more refutations to Jalal's distortion of truth in the near future.