Series 2 – The Quran’s Fatal Dilemma

Part 9 – Formal Logical Refutation of Islam’s Core Claim

Introduction

If the Quran is what Islam claims — the final, perfect, and preserved word of God — then it cannot contain a fatal, self-destructive contradiction at its core. Yet it does.
This contradiction, famously structured in David Wood’s “Islamic Dilemma,” is not merely a theological disagreement between Islam and Christianity — it is a logical trap from which Islam cannot escape without either denying the Quran or denying historical reality.

This part will strip the issue to formal logic so the problem becomes inescapable. The aim is not to attack Muslims personally, but to demonstrate that the system of Islamic theology collapses under the weight of its own claims.

1. Setting the Ground Rules: Logic, Not Theology

Before diving in, let’s be clear:

This is not about emotional arguments or tradition.
It’s not about comparing religions on moral grounds.
It’s not about “which scripture feels right.”
This is about internal consistency: if Islam’s own claims contradict each other, then by the law of non-contradiction, Islam cannot be true.

2. The Key Quranic Claims

The Islamic Dilemma begins with what the Quran says about the previous revelations.

Claim 1 – Inspiration

“He has revealed to you the Book with truth, confirming what came before it. And He revealed the Torah and the Gospel.” — Surah 3:3
This is not optional. The Quran affirms that the Torah (Tawrat) and Gospel (Injeel) were revelations from God.

Claim 2 – Preservation

“The Word of your Lord has been fulfilled in truth and justice. None can change His words.” — Surah 6:115
“And recite what has been revealed to you from the Book of your Lord. None can change His words.” — Surah 18:27
The Quran affirms that God’s revelations cannot be corrupted or altered.

Claim 3 – Authority

“Let the People of the Gospel judge by what Allah has revealed therein. Whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed — then it is they who are defiantly disobedient.” — Surah 5:47
This is in the present tense — the people of the Gospel at Muhammad’s time were commanded to follow the Gospel they had right then.

3. The Clash with Reality

When we compare the Torah and Gospel to the Quran, the following contradictions are immediate and undeniable:

Doctrine	Bible	Quran
Crucifixion of Jesus	Historical fact & central to salvation	Denied outright (Surah 4:157)
Deity of Christ	Jesus is God incarnate (John 1:1, 1:14)	Jesus is only a prophet (Surah 5:75)
Trinity	One God in three Persons	Denied (Surah 4:171)
Atonement	Salvation through Christ’s death	Denied — salvation is by works & Allah’s mercy

These are not “interpretation” differences. They are direct logical contradictions.

4. The Only Two Possible Options

When confronted with this contradiction, Islam has only two possible positions:

Option 1 – The Torah and Gospel Were Preserved

If the texts were preserved (as the Quran claims):

The Quran contradicts them.
Contradicting preserved truth means the Quran is false.
Therefore, Islam is false.

Option 2 – The Torah and Gospel Were Corrupted

If the texts were corrupted:

The Quran is wrong for affirming their inspiration, preservation, and authority.
That means the Quran contains a falsehood about divine revelation.
Therefore, Islam is false.

In both scenarios, Islam collapses.

5. The Formal Syllogism

Let’s write this as a tight logical structure:

P1. The Quran affirms that the Torah and Gospel are inspired, preserved, and authoritative (Surah 3:3, 5:47, 6:115, 18:27).
P2. The Torah and Gospel contradict the Quran on core theological doctrines (e.g., crucifixion, deity of Christ).
P3. If the Torah and Gospel are preserved, the Quran is false because it contradicts preserved revelation.
P4. If the Torah and Gospel are corrupted, the Quran is false because it affirms corrupted revelation as preserved and authoritative.
C. Therefore, whether preserved or corrupted, the Quran is false.
C2. If the Quran is false, Islam — which rests entirely on it — is also false.

This is airtight logic.
It does not rely on Christian theology.
It does not require assuming the Bible is true.
It simply requires Islam’s own premises.

6. Why “Textual Corruption” Claims Fail

Muslim apologists often try to escape by saying:

“The Bible was changed after Muhammad.”
“It’s only the interpretation that is corrupted.”
“The original Injeel was a different book.”

The Problems:

No Evidence of a Global Corruption Event – There is no historical record of Jews and Christians worldwide conspiring to change their scriptures in the exact same way before or during Muhammad’s lifetime.
Manuscript Evidence Proves Stability – We have pre-Islamic manuscripts (Dead Sea Scrolls, Codex Sinaiticus, Codex Vaticanus) that match our Bible today in all major doctrines.
Quranic Commands Assume the Existing Text – Surah 5:47 tells Christians to judge by the Gospel they possessed then, not by some hypothetical lost book.
Islamic Scholarship Agrees on “Tahrif al-Ma‘na” – Early Islamic scholars often admitted the corruption was in interpretation (tahrif al-ma‘na), not the text itself (tahrif al-nass). This admission is fatal to the “text corruption” escape route.

7. The Double-Edged Sword of Preservation

Muslims proudly claim the Quran is preserved. But the preservation argument backfires:

If God always preserves His word, then the Torah and Gospel are preserved — contradicting Islam.
If God failed to preserve the Torah and Gospel, then He could also fail to preserve the Quran — contradicting Islam’s confidence in its own text.

You cannot have it both ways.

8. Why This Is Unresolvable

This is not a “mystery of faith.” It is a binary logic problem.

The Quran affirms two mutually contradictory things:
1. The Torah and Gospel are preserved and authoritative.
2. The Torah and Gospel contradict the Quran.
The law of non-contradiction states that both cannot be true in the same way at the same time.

No amount of tafsir, tradition, or reinterpretation removes this logical fault line.
This is why — after 1,400 years — no Islamic scholar has resolved it without effectively abandoning one of the Quran’s clear statements.

9. Final Conclusion

Islam’s core claim — that the Quran is the final, perfect, preserved revelation confirming all previous revelations — is self-defeating.

It is trapped in an unresolvable logical dilemma:

If the Torah and Gospel were preserved → Islam is false.
If the Torah and Gospel were corrupted → Islam is false.

Therefore, Islam is false by its own standard.

This is not just a theological disagreement — it is a mathematical certainty within Islamic doctrine itself.

Islam Watch

Saturday, September 6, 2025