Islam Watch

Same Problem, Different Outcome

Why Muslims Excuse the Qur’an but Reject the Bible

Introduction

A glaring inconsistency lies at the heart of Islamic apologetics — one that has gone largely unchallenged within traditional circles but stands in stark contrast to reason and to the Qur'an’s own claims. Muslims routinely reject the Bible as corrupted, unreliable, and altered — yet accept the Qur’an as perfectly preserved, pure, and unchanged.

But what if we granted them both the same level playing field? What if we assumed — for argument’s sake — that neither the Bible nor the Qur’an has suffered textual corruption? That both remain as they were revealed, but that humans have manipulated interpretations, applications, and contextual understanding?

Even under this generous assumption, Muslims still reject the Bible but embrace the Qur’an. Why?

Because when push comes to shove, it was never about the textual integrity — it was about maintaining supremacy for Islam. The rejection of the Bible and defense of the Qur’an follow ideological lines, not textual evidence.

Let’s unpack this double standard.

1. The Qur’an Confirms the Bible — Unequivocally

Muslims today often claim the Torah and Gospel have been corrupted. But the Qur’an itself does not say that. In fact, it repeatedly affirms the scriptures that were available to Jews and Christians in Muhammad’s time:

Qur’an 5:47: “Let the people of the Gospel judge by what Allah has revealed therein.”
Qur’an 5:44: “Indeed, We sent down the Torah, in which was guidance and light.”
Qur’an 10:94: “If you are in doubt about what We have revealed to you, ask those who have been reading the Scripture before you.”

These are not past-tense references to a long-lost version of the scriptures. They reference the actual texts in use in 7th-century Arabia — texts we still have today.

The Qur’an not only affirms them — it commands Jews and Christians to continue following them.

So if the Qur’an says the previous scriptures are valid, then rejecting them today is to reject the Qur’an itself.

2. Misinterpretation Is the Real Corruption — Not the Text

Even if we accept that the texts of the Bible and the Qur’an are intact, both have been vulnerable to human manipulation through interpretation.

The Qur’an accuses some Jews and Christians of:

Twisting meanings (Qur’an 4:46)
Concealing verses (Qur’an 5:15)
Writing false content and attributing it to God (Qur’an 2:79)

But none of this means the text itself was corrupted. The problem is interpretive distortion, not textual alteration.

In fact, the same critique can be aimed at Muslims:

Countless Hadith reinterpret, reframe, and even override Qur’anic teachings.
Sects apply verses selectively, out of context, or based on external narratives.
Institutional theology often discourages individual Qur’anic reflection, making room for elite monopolies on interpretation.

Muslims don’t reject the Qur’an despite this interpretive chaos. They simply accept the text and blame the distortion on human misapplication. But when the same is said of the Bible — that the text is intact but has been twisted by some — they refuse to extend the same grace.

That’s a clear double standard.

3. The Only Protected Form Is the ‘Mother of the Book’ — Not Earthly Manuscripts

The Qur’an claims divine protection of God’s words, but the protection is ultimately rooted in the Mother of the Book (Umm al-Kitab) — a heavenly archetype, not the earthly copies.

“It is in the Preserved Tablet (al-Lawh al-Mahfuz)” — Qur’an 85:21–22 “It is with Us, in the Mother of the Book” — Qur’an 43:4

Even the Qur’an admits that previous revelations were altered — not textually, but through interpretation and concealment. But this also implies that earthly versions are vulnerable, while only the divine archetype remains incorruptible.

If this is the standard applied to the Torah and Gospel — that their interpretive corruption does not invalidate the original revelation — then the same standard must apply to the Qur’an.

Yet again, Muslims apply one rule to others and another to themselves.

4. The Real Corruption: Muslims Twisting the Qur’an to Accuse Others

And here’s the twist of irony: the very claim that the previous scriptures were textually corrupted is itself a corruption of the Qur’an.

The Qur’an does not say the Torah and Gospel were rewritten or lost. Muslims need the Qur’an to say that, so they reinterpret it to fit their defensive theology.

They distort the words after having understood them. — Qur’an 2:75

That verse applies just as easily to Muslims who force the Qur’an to say what it does not.

They have:

Taken accusations of interpretive corruption and twisted them into claims of textual forgery
Ignored dozens of verses affirming the Torah and Gospel
Fabricated an entirely un-Qur’anic belief that the Bible is lost or destroyed

By doing so, Muslims have done to the Qur’an what they accuse Christians and Jews of doing to their scriptures: corrupting the message to serve a religious agenda.

This isn’t faithfulness to divine revelation. It’s institutional convenience wrapped in theological spin.

5. Why the Bible Must Be Rejected — Even If It Isn’t Corrupted

Here’s the real issue: Islam can’t survive the Bible.

If the Torah and Gospel — as we have them — are valid and preserved, then:

Muhammad is not the final prophet.
Jesus is more than a prophet.
The crucifixion is real.
The concept of atonement stands.
The idea of salvation through grace directly challenges the works-based legalism of Islam.

In short, if the Bible is legit, Islam collapses.

So even if Muslims accepted that the Bible is textually intact but merely misinterpreted, that would still require them to reconcile irreconcilable theology. They would still have to reject the Bible not because it’s corrupted, but because it contradicts the Qur’an and Islamic tradition.

Thus, the Muslim stance is not textual. It is doctrinal. The rejection is not because the Bible is unreliable — but because the Bible is too dangerous to accept.

6. A Challenge Muslims Cannot Answer

Let’s pose a simple challenge:

“If the Qur’an affirms the previous scriptures — and if it doesn’t explicitly say they were textually corrupted — then on what basis do you reject them?”

The honest answer?

“Because our scholars told us to.”

But that admission alone is devastating. Because the Qur’an constantly urges personal reflection:

“Do they not reflect upon the Qur’an?” (Qur’an 4:82)
“Follow not what you have no knowledge of.” (Qur’an 17:36)

By blindly accepting the claim of Bible corruption, Muslims end up believing something the Qur’an does not say — and rejecting what the Qur’an does say.

They’ve been conditioned to accept a contradiction: that the Qur’an affirms what they must reject.

7. The True Qur’anic Standard

The Qur’an lays down a theological principle that should settle the matter:

"We make no distinction between any of His messengers." (Qur’an 2:285)

It calls itself a confirmation of previous scriptures:

“This is a Book confirming what was before it.” (Qur’an 6:92, 10:37, 12:111, etc.)

And it holds Jews and Christians accountable to the books they have:

“Say, O People of the Book, you stand on nothing until you observe the Torah and the Gospel and what has been revealed to you from your Lord.” (Qur’an 5:68)

If Muslims truly believed the Qur’an, they would hold themselves to that same standard.

Conclusion: Same Problem, Different Outcome

The Bible and the Qur’an both face the same issue: centuries of misinterpretation, doctrinal twisting, and political exploitation. But only one of them is treated with suspicion.

Despite no Qur’anic claim of textual corruption, Muslims reject the Bible. Despite a long history of Hadith-based distortion, Muslims defend the Qur’an.

This isn’t about preserving truth. It’s about protecting turf.

The very claim that the Bible is corrupted is itself a corruption — of the Qur’an’s message.

That’s the ultimate irony. The Qur’an was twisted not to defend God, but to preserve Islam. And in doing so, Muslims have created the very problem they blame others for.

Final thought:

If Muslims judged the Qur’an by the same standard they apply to the Bible, they’d be forced to admit: the problems are the same.

But they choose to excuse one — and reject the other.

And that tells us everything we need to know.

Same problem. Different outcome. Because Islam demands it.