When Tafsir Backfires: How Classical Muslim Commentators Unwittingly Affirm the Christian Gospel
Part 2
Introduction: The Silent Witnesses in Islam
After exposing how the Qur’an commands Christians to judge by the very Injil that undermines Islam, the next logical step is to ask: What did early Muslim scholars say about this? Did they sound the alarm that the Gospel was corrupted? Did they claim Christians had lost the true Injil? The answer is both revealing and devastating for Islam: most early commentators didn’t argue the Gospel was textually corrupted at all.
This article will examine how Islam’s most revered classical scholars handled the Qur'an's references to the Injil—and how their own words backfire against the modern Muslim claim that the Gospel is a forgery.
1. Al-Tabari (d. 923 CE): The Historian Who Didn’t Cry Corruption Al-Tabari, one of the earliest and most respected Qur'anic commentators, offered no accusation that the Injil mentioned in the Qur'an was textually falsified. His focus in commenting on Surah 5:46-47 was on how Christians misunderstood or misapplied its teachings. Interpretation, not falsification, was the problem.
Why is this important? Because Tabari lived only 300 years after Muhammad, when Christians and Jews were still actively present in the Muslim world. If corruption had been obvious, Tabari would have known and said so.
2. Al-Qurtubi (d. 1273 CE): Doctrine, Not Documents Qurtubi’s commentary on 5:47 admits the Gospel was a divine revelation and even praises its guidance. He faults Christians for distorting meanings and concealing verses, not for forging a new text. Again, the Gospel text itself is not the enemy; interpretation is.
Qurtubi’s approach raises an immediate question: if the text is intact, and only the understanding is flawed, then what stops a sincere Christian from simply reading it rightly and staying Christian? Nothing. Which means Islam offers no theological necessity for conversion.
3. Ibn Kathir (d. 1373 CE): Echoes of the Same Even the hardliner Ibn Kathir, known for polemical firepower, takes the same approach in his tafsir of 5:47. He does not claim that the Gospel the Christians possess is a fabricated document. He reiterates that they failed to act upon its true meanings.
This is fatal. Because if the text was still intact, as Ibn Kathir implies, then the Qur'an's command to judge by it makes sense—and that brings Christians into direct contradiction with Islam.
4. The Shift to the Corruption Theory (Tahrif al-Nass) The idea that the Injil was textually corrupted (tahrif al-nass) emerged later, especially during debates with Christian apologists. Faced with the theological crisis caused by the Qur'an affirming a hostile scripture, Muslim scholars developed a reactionary doctrine: the claim that Jews and Christians had altered their books.
But this shift betrays desperation. If the Qur'an clearly taught textual corruption, why didn’t early scholars like Tabari, Qurtubi, or Ibn Kathir emphasize it? Why was this theory developed in hindsight?
5. The Doctrine that Implodes By affirming the integrity of the Gospel text, even implicitly, classical scholars hand the keys of judgment to Christians. The Qur'an tells them to judge by their book. The book tells them Jesus is God, was crucified, and rose again. The Qur'an denies all of this.
Thus:
If the Gospel is preserved, Islam is false.
If the Gospel is corrupted, the Qur'an is false for affirming it.
If early scholars were right, modern Muslims are wrong.
If modern Muslims are right, then the Qur'an's own audience was misled by its unclear commands.
Conclusion: Classical Tafsir as an Unintentional Witness for Christ Islam’s own heritage undermines its defensive wall. The early tafsir literature does not support the modern myth that the Injil was corrupted. Instead, it affirms that Christians still had a valid revelation—one that, if followed, leads away from Islam and straight to the feet of Jesus Christ.
The Qur'an gives Christians the Gospel. The tafsir admits it wasn't lost. And the New Testament tells them to reject any new gospel—even if proclaimed by an angel from heaven. What does that say about Islam?
Answer: Islam can't withstand its own scriptures and its own scholars.
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