Islam Watch

The Qur’an Says the Bible Was Not Corrupted

Why the Muslim Claim of “Textual Corruption” Collapses Under Its Own Scripture

In the vast and often hostile battleground of religious polemics, one of the most common claims made by Muslim apologists is this: the Bible has been corrupted. According to the mainstream Islamic position, the Torah and the Gospel were once revealed by God but were subsequently altered, tampered with, and rendered unreliable by Jews and Christians. Thus, they argue, the Qur’an was sent to “correct” or “replace” those now-defunct scriptures.

But there’s just one problem.

The Qur’an itself says nothing of the sort.

In fact, it says the opposite.

And once we carefully examine what the Qur’an actually says about the previous scriptures — particularly the Torah and the Gospel — the modern Muslim narrative of “textual corruption” collapses in full view. What remains is a devastating contradiction that leaves Muslims having to choose between:

Rejecting their own scripture, or
Acknowledging that the Bible — at least the one available in Muhammad’s time — was intact, valid, and God-ordained.

Let’s walk through it, step by step.

1. The Qur’an Affirms the Torah and the Gospel — As They Existed in the 7th Century

It is impossible to read Surah 5 without seeing the Qur’an's direct affirmation of the Torah and Gospel as accessible, authoritative scriptures in Muhammad’s day.

“Indeed, We sent down the Torah, in which was guidance and light…”
Surah Al-Ma’idah 5:44

“And We sent, following in their footsteps, Jesus, the son of Mary, confirming that which came before him in the Torah. And We gave him the Gospel, in which was guidance and light…”
Surah Al-Ma’idah 5:46

“Let the People of the Gospel judge by what Allah has revealed therein.”
Surah Al-Ma’idah 5:47

These are not vague references to a lost celestial book hidden in heaven. These are commands directed at real people — Jews and Christians alive in the 7th century. The Torah and Gospel being referenced are the scriptures those communities possessed at that time.

And it goes further:

“Say, O People of the Scripture, you are on nothing until you uphold the Torah, the Gospel, and what has been revealed to you from your Lord…”
Surah Al-Ma’idah 5:68

These are plain statements. Not a hint that the texts had been corrupted. On the contrary — the Qur’an commands Jews and Christians to follow them.

This alone creates a theological disaster for Islam’s popular claim of Bible corruption.

2. The Qur’an Confirms Those Scriptures — Not Replaces Them

Another critical point: the Qur’an repeatedly refers to itself as a "confirmation" (musaddiq) of the previous scriptures — not a replacement. This is vital, because you cannot “confirm” a corrupted text.

“And We have revealed to you the Book in truth, confirming the Scripture that came before it and as a guardian over it…”
Surah Al-Ma’idah 5:48

Notice: the Qur’an does not say “replacing,” “correcting,” or “fixing.” It says “confirming.” In Arabic, the term musaddiqan carries the connotation of validating something already true — not correcting a forgery.

If the Torah and Gospel were already corrupted, then the Qur’an could not possibly “confirm” them. You cannot affirm something that’s invalid. But the Qur’an does affirm them — explicitly.

So either:

The Torah and Gospel were valid and intact in Muhammad’s time (as the Qur’an says), or
The Qur’an was wrong to confirm them.

Pick one.

3. The Qur’an Never Accuses the Torah or Gospel of Textual Corruption

Nowhere in the Qur’an are the Torah or Gospel accused of being textually altered.

Instead, the Qur’an accuses certain individuals — not the texts — of misrepresenting them:

“Do you then hope that they would believe in you, while a party of them used to hear the words of Allah and then distort it after they had understood it — while they knew [what they were doing]?”
Surah Al-Baqarah 2:75

“Among them are those who distort the Book with their tongues so you may think it is from the Book, but it is not from the Book…”
Surah Aal-E-Imran 3:78

These verses speak of deliberate misinterpretation, distortion of meaning, or twisting through oral deception — not textual forgery. There’s a difference between lying about a verse and rewriting the scripture.

In other words: they misused God’s word, but they didn’t edit the manuscript.

This is in line with Islamic views on the Qur’an itself — that while it is protected, humans can still misinterpret, abuse, or misapply its verses. But no one has changed the actual revealed text. The same logic applies to the Bible — according to the Qur’an.

4. The Qur’an Says No One Can Change God’s Words

This is where the contradiction becomes unavoidable.

“And the word of your Lord has been fulfilled in truth and in justice. None can change His words.”
Surah Al-An’am 6:115

“And recite what has been revealed to you of the Book of your Lord. None can alter His words…”
Surah Al-Kahf 18:27

If no one can alter God’s words, and the Torah and Gospel were God’s words — then they cannot have been changed.

To say the Bible is corrupted is to say the Qur’an is wrong.

And worse: it suggests God failed to protect His revelation — which directly contradicts the Qur’an’s theology of divine preservation.

So either:

God failed, and the Qur’an’s promise of preservation is empty, or
The Torah and Gospel are not corrupted.

Again — pick one.

5. The Text of the Bible in the 7th Century Is the Same as Today’s Bible

This is not speculation. This is manuscript fact.

The Dead Sea Scrolls (discovered in the 20th century) contain Hebrew Bible texts from as early as 250 BCE.
The Codex Sinaiticus (4th century) contains nearly the entire New Testament and large parts of the Old.
The Codex Vaticanus, Codex Alexandrinus, and many more confirm the content of both Old and New Testaments as virtually unchanged for over 1500 years.

These are the same texts that Jews and Christians in Muhammad’s time would have had access to.

If the Qur’an affirmed those scriptures — and those scriptures are the same we have today — then the Qur’an, by extension, affirms the modern Bible.

No mental gymnastics can escape that.

6. Muslims Contradict Their Own Scripture When They Say the Bible Is Corrupted

The modern Islamic claim — that the Bible has been textually altered — is simply not Qur’anic. It is a later theological innovation, primarily manufactured to insulate Islamic doctrine from contradiction and critique.

But it creates an even worse contradiction: between Islam today and Islam in the Qur’an.

Let’s recap:

Qur’anic Claim	Modern Muslim Claim	Contradiction?
The Torah and Gospel were revealed	✔️ Yes	No
They were valid in Muhammad’s time	❌ No — they were corrupted	Yes
Qur’an confirms them	❌ No — it replaces them	Yes
God’s word cannot be changed	❌ Yes — the Bible was altered	Yes
People misinterpreted Scripture	✔️ Yes — but not textually altered	No

7. A Mirror Image: Muslims Today Have Done What the Qur’an Accuses Others Of

The Qur’an criticizes earlier religious communities for:

Twisting God’s word
Elevating human interpretations above revelation
Following man-made traditions
Turning messengers into idols
Rejecting divine guidance in favor of scholars and clergy

Ironically, Muslims today are guilty of all of these — often worse.

They elevate Hadith over the Qur’an.
They depend entirely on tafsir written centuries later.
They insist the Qur’an is unintelligible without scholars.
They ignore verses that challenge tradition.
And they claim the Bible — which the Qur’an affirms — is worthless.

This is not faithfulness to the Qur’an.

This is its betrayal.

8. Final Thoughts: You Can’t Have It Both Ways

Here’s the inescapable conclusion:

If the Bible was corrupted by the 7th century, then the Qur’an is wrong for affirming it.
If the Bible was not corrupted, then Muslims are wrong for rejecting it.

There is no third option.

To accuse the Bible of corruption is to accuse the Qur’an of stupidity — or worse, falsehood.

This isn’t a minor contradiction. It is a theological implosion.

And no, appealing to “the Bible is only partially true” doesn’t solve the problem — because the Qur’an affirms it in totality, as guidance and light. You can't command someone to judge by a partially forged document. You can't “confirm” what’s been corrupted. And you can’t build a consistent theology on a self-contradicting foundation.