Were the previous Scriptures available uncorrupted at the time
of prophet Muhammad? Are they available uncorrupted today?
By: A. Mohamed
What does the Quran say about the previous Books? Were these Books textually corrupted or were they available in an intact form at the time of the revelation of the Quran?
The following Quranic verse may indicate that they were indeed available intact:
And the people of the Injeel shall rule in accordance with what God has brought down therein. Those who do not rule by what God has brought down, they are indeed the wicked ones. 5:47
If the Injeel (the Book God revealed to Jesus) at the time of the revelation of the Quran was corrupted, how can the people of the Injeel judge by what is in it?
To reply to this question it is necessary to read 5:46 and 5:47 together:
And We sent, following in their footsteps, Jesus, the son of Mary, confirming what came before him of the Torah. We gave him the Injeel containing guidance and light and confirming what came before it of the Torah, and providing guidance and advice for the reverent. 5:46
And the people of the Injeel shall rule in accordance with what God has brought down therein. Those who do not rule by what God has brought down, they are indeed the wicked ones. 5:47
1- It is clear that God is speaking about the time of Jesus when God revealed to him the Injeel.
2- In 5:47 God speaks about the “people of the Injeel”, which speaks of the people who have access to the Injeel. As will be shown later, the Injeel which God revealed to Jesus has long been lost and destroyed. This happened around the Council of Nicaea in the year 325 A.D. which was 3 centuries before the revelation of the Quran. As a result, when the Quran was revealed there were no “people of the Injeel” nor are there any such people today. The New Testament we have today is not the Injeel.
The New Testament:
Various English translations of the Quran use the word 'gospel' in place of Injeel. This is not an accurate word to use. The Gospel as is known today is the New Testament. God tells us that He gave the Injeel to Jesus:
Then We sent Our messengers to follow in their footsteps, then to follow We sent Jesus the son of Mary. We gave him the Injeel and We placed compassion and mercy in the hearts of those who followed him. 57:27
The New Testament (NT) we have today is not the Injeel for the following reasons:
1- The NT was written after the death of Jesus.
2- The NT is a collection of stories about Jesus, his teachings and his sayings. Did God give Jesus a book about his life and sayings?
3- The NT was written by men like Mathew, Mark, Luke, John and Paul who never met Jesus. God did not give the Injeel to those men, but it was given to Jesus.
4- The original Injeel that was given to Jesus was destroyed and the possession of copies of it was banned after the council of Nicaea in 325 A.D. when the doctrine of the Trinity was adopted.
It is clear that when God speaks of “the people of the Injeel” God is speaking of the people who received the Injeel and who had access to it. The Christians today, or those at the time of Muhammad, are not “the people of the Injeel”, for they follow a man-made book (NT) and a religion (Christianity) that was never authorised by God nor was it ever preached by Jesus (Jesus was a practising Jew all his life).
With this understanding, we attain the correct meaning of “the people of the Injeel” in 5:47. This phrase speaks of the original receivers of the Injeel and those who still had access to it. They were the ones who were commanded by God to rule according to what they were given in the Injeel.
All who follow the New Testament are in fact following man-made hadith not any different from the hadith of Bukhari, Muslim and the others while thinking that they are following the word of God!
The Old Testament:
With regards to the Old Testament, we find a number of Quranic verses where God speaks of the Jews, or the people of Moses, and how they corrupted their Scriptures. The Old Testament, which we have today, may indeed include some of the original Torah which God gave the Children of Israel, but also much of what we have today are corrupted additions and other parts being removed or lost from the original Scripture, also words wrongly translated from the original, and other words taken out of their correct context. The Quran also speaks of those among the People of the Book who add their own words to the Scriptures and claim it is from God:
Taking God’s words out of context:
Some amongst the Jews distort the words out of their context, and they say, "We hear and we disobey," and "Listen to one who cannot be heard," and "Be our shepherd," twisting their tongues and slandering the religion. 4:46
O messenger, do not let them grieve you who hasten into disbelief among those who say, "We believe," with their mouths, while their hearts did not believe. And among the Jews are those who are avid listeners to lies. They listen to other people who have not come to you. They distort the words out of their context, and they say, "If you are given this, then take it, but if you are not given it, then beware." 5:41
Distorting God’s words:
Do you long that they would believe you when some of them used to hear God’s words then distort them knowingly after they had understood them? 2:75
Adding their words to God’s scripture:
Among them are a group who twist the Scripture with their tongues so you would think it is from the Scripture, when it is not from the Scripture. And they say it is from God, when it is not from God. And they say lies about God, knowingly. 3:78
Deliberately concealing parts of the Scripture:
In 5:15, we read that that some who received the previous Scriptures concealed parts of it:
O People of the Book, Our messenger has come to you to clarify to you many issues that you were concealing in the Scripture, and to pardon many issues. A Light has come to you from God and a clear Book. 5:15
As an example, we know that there are many apocryphal texts rejected and concealed by Jews and Christians.
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Indeed God speaks of the Injeel and the Torah as sources of guidance for the people. However, when God speaks of the Injeel or Torah God speaks about these Scriptures in their original pure form in which they were first revealed. When these Scriptures were revealed they were surely guidance for the people, but that was before they were corrupted (Torah) or totally lost (Injeel). It is for that reason that God instructs the previous People of the Book to believe in the Quran.
Invitation to the Jews and Christians to believe in the Quran:
When God says that the Quran supersedes previous Scriptures, it is because God knows that the Injeel and the Torah would be either lost or corrupted:
And We brought down to you the Book (Quran) with truth, confirming what came before it of the Scripture, and superseding it. 5:48
For this reason, God repeatedly commanded the People of the Book (Jews and Christians) to believe in the Quran.
In 2:89 and 2:90 we read about the People of the Book who refused to believe in what was revealed after them of the Scripture because they resented that God bestows His grace upon whomever He wills. Then in 2:91, we read:
And if they are told, "Believe in what God has brought down," they say, "We believe in what was brought down to us," and they disbelieve in what came after it, which is the truth confirming what is with them. Say, "Why then did you kill God's prophets before if you were believers?" 2:91
We read that those who truly believe among the People of the Book will find no difficulty in believing in the Quran:
Those whom We gave the Scripture, who recite it as per its correct recitation; they believe in it (Quran). As for those who disbelieve in it, they are indeed the losers. 2:121
The instruction given to the People of the Book to believe in the Quran is given in clear words:
O you who have been given the Scripture, believe in what We have brought down, confirming what you have, before We obliterate faces and turn them backwards, or curse them as We cursed the people of the Sabbath. God's command will be done. 4:47
Conclusion:
1- The previous Scriptures were either lost (the Injeel) or were corrupted (Torah).
2- The Quranic instruction to the People of the Book to rule according to their Scripture speaks only of the receivers of the original Scriptures when they were in their intact uncorrupted form.
3- The receivers of the previous Scriptures are required to believe in the Quran.