THE QUEEN OF PERSIA - ESTHER

The Truth of the Bible: What does the Qur'an say about it?

Muslims and Christians believe in the infallibility of the original biblical manuscripts. But many adherents of Islam think that today's Bible has undergone substantial changes with regard to its early manuscripts and their translated versions. However, the Qur'an does not support this claim unanimously! In fact, it makes it clear that the Bible, known as the Torah and the Injil, was found reliable in Muhammad's (pbuh) time, the sixth century. To prove that the twentieth century Bible is still authentic it only has to be compared with a copy from the sixth century.

All quotations are taken from "The Meaning of the Holy Quran" translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali and published by Armana Corporation, U.S.A., 1989.

Because of a lack of space it has not always been possible to print whole verses. The reader is encouraged to look up the references and their contexts in either the Qur'an or the Bible.

The Testimony of the Qur'an about the Reliability of the Bible

1. "And if thou wert in doubt as to what We have revealed unto thee, then ask thosewho have been reading the book from before thee..." (Surah 10, Yunus, verse 94).

"Those who have been reading the book from before thee" are Jews and Christians who read the Torah and the Injil (Gospel)! If they were reading corrupted holy books, their minds would have been influenced by many misconceptions. It would therefore make no sense for Allah to command those who are in doubt to ask Jews and Christians who allegedly were misled by changed Scriptures! In order to follow the mandate in this verse it is absolutely necessary to believe that the Scriptures before Islam are uncorrupted!

Here the question may be asked: "Are what is known as the Torah and the Injil in Muhammad's (pbuh) time identical with today's Bible that contains the Old and the New Testament?" Regarding the Injil an affirming answer has already been given on our page "The History of the Qur'an and the Injil." The Old Testament too is identical with the Torah as seen from the following reasoning:

The Hebrew word "Torah" means literally "law", "instruction". It refers to the revelations given to Moses. "The term was often applied to the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Old Testament, e.g. 1 Chronicles16:40) as a whole; and as the importance of the Prophets and Writings grew, it was sometimes used to describe them all as divinely revealed instructions and traditions" (Rosemary Goring, Dictionary of Beliefs and Religions (Wordsworth Editions Ltd, 1995).

Evidence from the Bible:

Sometimes when the law is spoken of in the Injil, the New Testament, it is used in the all-including sense. In Romans 3 Paul quotes verses from the book of Psalms and from the Prophets but then he concludes in verse 19 with, "what the law (Torah) says..." (See also 1 Cor. 14:21)

Jesus himself referred to the Psalms as "the law (Torah)" in John 10:34. Another example is found in John 12:34 where the Jews speak of verses from Psalms89:36, Isaiah 9:7, and Daniel 7:14 as "the law (Torah)".

Evidence from the Qur'an:

In the Qur'an too the meaning of "Torah" (where all 39 books of the Old Testament are included) is used. This becomes clear when one looks at the evidence found in the Qur'an, and in history:

Several verses in the Qur'an bear witness to the truth that the Torah was unchanged at the time of Jesus.

In Surah 19, Maryam, verse 12, Yahya, who lived at the time of Jesus was told "to take hold of the Book, (the Torah)."

Surah 3, Ali'Imran, verse 48 tells us that Jesus was also taught in the Torah.

Numerous verses, such as Surah 34, Saba, verse 31, Surah 35, Fatir, verse 31, attest to the truth that the Torah was uncorrupted in the time of Muhammad (pbuh) in the sixth century A.D. The Arabic phrase "bain yadaihi" which is used in these references to the Torah literally means "between his hands". Dr. W. Campbell writes in his book The Quran and the Bible in the Light of History and Science (Middle East Resources: 1994), page 37: "...usually it is an idiom for "in his presence", or "in his power", or "in his possession," or "at his disposal..." (see also Surah 34, Saba', verse 12)

In the Qur'an some Jewish contemporaries of Muhammad (pbuh) are called "those who guide and do justice in the light of truth," besides many others whose reputation was not so favorable in the sixth century (Surah 7, Al Araf, verse 159, see also Surah 5, Al Ma'idah, verse 66). The very fact that they were commended so highly shows that they were in possession of the uncorrupted Torah. History tells us what was part of it.

Evidence from history:

Like in the case of the Injil, the New Testament, the formation of an official list (canon) of the books that were part of it took a considerable time. When finally an official list was approved it was done so in defense against a growing number of heretical writings. The official list merely confirmed what had been accepted by the Jews centuries before. Then it was unnecessary because there was a common agreement as to which writings were part of the Torah.

After giving nine solid reasons for an early formation of the canon of the Old Testament, the authors of An Introduction to the new Testament [D. Carson, D.J. Moo, L. Morris (Apollos: 1992), pages 491-92] conclude by saying,

"It appears, then, that there is adequate evidence to support the view that there was a (closed) canon of Scripture to serve as a model in the formation of the New Testament canon. Even if this point be disputed, there is entirely convincing evidence that the Torah (here meaning the Pentateuch) and the Prophets were viewed as closed collections by the first century A.D."

The Illustrated Bible Dictionary [F.F.Bruce (Leicester: IVP, 1980)] concludes an extensive research by saying that the whole Hebrew Bible canon as we know it today existed around 200 B.C.

More evidence from the Qur'an

2. One argument made by some against the accuracy of the Bible involves this verse:

"All food was lawful to the Children of Israel, except what Israel made unlawful for itself, before the Law (of Moses) was revealed. Say, 'Bring ye the Law and study it, if ye be men of truth.'" (Surah 3, Ali 'Imran, verse 93).

In this specific incident, the Jews are asked to bring their own Law, the Torah. They are commanded by God to study it in order to find the right answer to a particular question. Maududi, the renowned Islamic scholar, said, that it addressed the difference between Muslims and Jews in regard to eating the meat of camels, hares and coneys. In opposition to Islam, Judaism prohibits the eating of them according to today's Torah (Deuteronomy 14:7).

        "But, the open challenge of the Qur'an to them to bring the Torah in proof thereof                    shows that the commandments referred to above did not exist in the Torah at that time          and were inserted afterwards; otherwise the Jews would have at once accepted the              challenge of the Qur'an and presented the commandments thereof."

           [See: S. Abdul Maududi, The Meaning of the Quran, Vol. I, 12th Edition, (Pakistan:                        Islamic Publications Pvt LTD., 1992), comment on Surah 6, Al-Anam, verse 145, (hereafter            referred to as "Maududi").]

This view is problematic because it ignores the fact that today's English translations of the Torah, such as the New International Version, are based on the Masoretic text--the standard edition of the Hebrew Old Testament. It was prepared by Jewish scholars, called Masoretes, mainly from 500 to the 950 A.D. They introduced vowel points into the consonantal (consonants only) Hebrew text. They also studied each letter, word and phrase and wrote marginal notes commenting on proper grammar and spelling.

[See: The World Book Encyclopedia, Volume 2 (U.S.A.: 1982), page 222b.]

Furthermore, the translators compared it with a number of other sources still in existence today, the most important of which are:

• The Dead Sea Scrolls, written in Hebrew at about 100 B.C., discovered in the late 1940's and early 1950's in Palestine. "Among the fragments discovered are complete copies or parts of every Old Testament book except Esther, and the variations in the text after a thousand years of copying are minimal.

             (See: Josh Mc Dowell and Don Stewart, Answers to Tough Questions(U.S.A.: 1980).]

• The Septuagint, a translation of the Old Testament Hebrew Scriptures into Greek, at about 250 B.C.


• The Syriac Peshitta, a translation of the whole Bible into the common language of certain parts of Syria, from either the first or second century A.D.


• The Vulgate, the entire Bible translated into Latin at about 400 A.D.

In none of the above sources is Deuteronomy 14:7, the verse under consideration, missing! Looking at all the evidence, it is impossible to say that it was missing in the prophet of Islam's time and only later inserted into the text!

3. "But why do they come to thee for decision, when they have (their own) Law before them? -Therein is the (plain) command of Allah; yet even after that, they would turn away. For they are not (really) people of faith" (Surah 5, Al Ma'idah, verse 43).

Maududi comments on this verse: "...sometimes, when their own law did not suit them, they would take their cases to the Holy Prophet in the hope that they might obtain a more favorable decree from him than they could from their own law." (Ibid)

This shows clearly that even corrupted Jews would never change the written Torah! They were only prepared to conceal the meaning of it. In spite of their wickedness, they did not dare to change the written form of the Torah! That is why, according to the Qur'an, Allah told them to look up their own law in which is the plain command of God!

4. "Let the People of the Gospel judge by what Allah hath revealed therein. If any do fail to judge by (the light of) what Allah hath revealed, they are (no better than) those who rebel" (Surah 5, Al Ma'idah, verse 47).

This command is given to Muhammad's (pbuh) contemporaries. It is written in the "present" tense, which in the Arabic language can also refer to the future! If the Gospel (Injil) was corrupted at that time, then surely Allah would never have asked the people of the Gospel, the Christians, to believe in it!

5. "If only they had stood fast by the Law, the Gospel, and all the revelation that was sent to them from their Lord, they would have enjoyed happiness from every side. There is from among them a party on the right course: But many of them follow a course that is evil" (Surah 5, Al Ma'idah, verse 69).

The fact that there were Jews and Christians "on the right course" in Muhammad's (pbuh) time confirms the Torah and the Gospel to be unchanged in the 6th century A.D.! Certainly, they could never have been described in such an honorable way if they had "stood fast" by corrupted Holy Books!

6. "Say: 'O People of the Book! Ye have no ground to stand upon unless ye stand fast by the Law, the Gospel and all the revelation that has come to you from your Lord...'" (Surah 5, Al Ma'idah, verse 68)                                                                            
7. "No change can there be in the Words of Allah. This is indeed the supreme Felicity." (Surah 10, Junus, verse 64).

No Muslim should doubt that the Torah and the Injil are words of Allah too! Therefore, it is impossible for man to change them. God has the power to watch over His word and to preserve it.

The passages above attest to the fact that the Bible, consisting of the Torah (Old Testament) and the Injil (New Testament) was unchanged and trustworthy in the time of Muhammad (pbuh), that is in the 6th century A.D!