• The Qur’an confirms revelations given to Moses Jesus were later corrupted by human tampering. This is supported by biblical scholarship.
• Paul’s distortions and evolving church doctrines radically reshaped Christianity.
Question: “How do Muslims know which parts of the Bible are from God and which aren’t?,” David-the peaceful-Qur’an-eating-Wood said during a recent debate. His question was rhetorical.
Answer: The narrative which aligns with the final revelation; the holy Qur’an and ahadith.
Evidently, Dr Wood possess a PHD in stupidity. Case closed. Let’s all go home now.
But here’s the truth, and I say this sincerely to any Christians who happen to be reading this. Many of you are not Islamophobic, anti-Muslim propagandists like Wood but are genuine truth-seekers. The words I write today are for you.
The Qur’an (the perfectly preserved word of God) has been telling humanity for fourteen centuries that previous revelations given to Moses and Jesus (peace be upon them) were indeed from God. But that over time, man’s tampering distorted the divine message; altering, omitting, and replacing parts of their original message.
In Sūrat al-Baqarah, Allah warns:
“So woe to those who write the Scripture with their own hands, then say, ‘This is from Allah,’ in order to exchange it for a small price” (Qur’an 2:79) And again in Sūrat al-Mā’idah: “… they distort the words from their [proper] usages and have forgotten a portion of what they were reminded of” (Qur’an 5:13).
During the 7th century, when the holy Qur’an was revealed, the Christian world was fractured by significant ecclesiastical schisms (divisions within the Christian church.) These most notably were centred around Christology (the study of Jesus Christ) and how his divine and human nature could coexist). And as Cyril Hovorun, a respected scholar, asserts how 7th Century theologians wrestled with the question of whether Christ had two wills or one.
Furthermore, unlike today, there was no systematic manuscript cross-referencing, palaeographic dating, or historical-critical analysis of the Bible. While some early church fathers occasionally noticed differences between manuscripts, they did not have the scientific methods modern scholarship employs.
Christianity at the time spanned the Byzantine Empire (Turkey and Greece), Syriac churches in the Near East , Coptic Egypt, and Orthodox Ethiopia, all holding variations in versions of the Bible in Greek, Syriac Latin, and Ge’ez. And scholars debated the canon. For instance, Syriac churches. originally omitted 2 Peter, 2 & 3 John, Jude, and Revelation. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church included extra books like 1 Enoch and Jubilees. Greek and Latin churches largely accepted the 27-book New Testament, but there were still debates about revelation and some Old Testament books.
It is therefore inconceivable that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), an unlettered man from Arabia, could have possessed knowledge of the true fractured state of Christianity across regions. This undeniable insight transcends geography, language and limitations of resources, affirming the divinity of the holy Qur’an. The Qur’an revealed to him (s.a.w) exposes corruption and distortion within previous scriptures, a reality that modern biblical scholarship itself has since confirmed over the last two centuries. The corruption is illustrated in two major areas; hard-hitting contradictions and the dominance of Pauline theology in shaping modern Christianity today. The Synoptic Problem is also a problem.
And before we lift the bonnet and dismantle the engine, we must examine what exactly the Synoptic problem is.
The synoptic problem highlights the literary dependence and editing of the Gospels, raising questions about their independence as eyewitness accounts. Most scholars today accept the theory of Markan priority. This denotes that Mark was the earliest Gospel (c. 65–70 CE), and that Matthew and Luke followed. However, the paradigm frequently championed by Christian apologists; that the four Gospels are four independent witnesses, inspired by God and perfectly harmonious, presents several issues. When we lay the four gospels side by side, we see how the so-called “Synoptic Gospels” begin to read less like four eyewitnesses and more like three students copying from one other— but really badly.
Don’t take my word for it, let’s examine the Gospels together.
In Matthew (5:23) NIV, Jairus comes to Jesus saying his daughter is already dead and wants him to bring her back to life:
“While he was saying this, a synagogue leader came and knelt before him and said, ’My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live.”
However, in Luke, she’s still alive when Jairus makes the request.
“…because his only daughter, about twelve years old, was dying” Luke 8:42 (NIV)
Bruce Metzger, one of the 20th century’s most respected New Testament scholars concludes in The Text of the New Testament: No autograph (i.e., the original manuscript) of any New Testament book has survived. All we have are later copies, thousands of them, containing tens of thousands of variants.
Professor Richard Bauckham deduces in Jesus and the Eyewitnesses: The Gospels are not verbatim transcripts but theological retellings shaped for particular audiences.
Wait. There’s more.
N. T. Wright concedes in The New Testament and the People of God that , ‘The evangelists selected, arranged, and presented Jesus’ sayings to convey their own theological points.’
In The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable? Biblical scholar, Federick Fyvie Bruce, who possess expertise on Paul’s work asserts, ‘The longer Ending of Mark (Mark 16:9–20) and the story of the woman caught in adultery (John 7:53–8:11) are absent in the earliest manuscripts.’ Variant readings are numerous … some of them of considerable importance.” This aligns closely with the Qurʾānic description in 5:13:
’…….They distort the words from their [proper] usages and have forgotten a portion of that of which they were reminded….’
And Paul never met Jesus
Paul never met Jesus. He began writing his works 20 years after the death of Jesus (AS). Furthermore, his entire apostolic authority rests on the claim that the risen Christ revealed himself directly to him. Paul’s letters, written between 50–60 CE have distinctly shaped the theology of modern Christianity.
Let’s take a closer look at Paul’s distortions
Swine
The Torah prohibits the eating of swine: “And the pig, though it has a divided hoof, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you. You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you.” Leviticus 11:7–8 (NIV). And Jesus himself affirmed the continuing validity of the Law:
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them” Mathew 5: 17-19 (NIV)
However, Paul tells his followers:
“I know convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean” Romans 14:14 (NIV)
Circumcision
Jesus practised circumcision:
‘This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised.’ (Genesis 17:10–14).
However, Paul later said in 1 Corinthians 7:19:
‘Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing.’
These are not minor interpretive shifts; they represent a fundamental alteration of divine commands which Muslims continue to adhere to today.
Jesus prayed like Muslims
Jesus prayed like Muslims and certainly never prayed to himself.
“Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” Matthew 26:39 (NIV)
Blood sacrifice
In addition to changes in ritual law, the original prophetic emphasis on mercy over blood sacrifice is the most integral of Jesus’ teachings. This aligns entirely with Islamic principles, the core Qur’anic message. Allah is the most merciful and does therefore not require blood sacrifice, particularly of an innocent man, mighty messenger and messiah. Jesus (AS) himself quotes the prophet Hosea, saying:
“I desire mercy, not sacrifice. For I have not come to call the righteous but sinners,”
Mathew 19 (NIV).
This reinforces that Allah is the Most compassionate and the most just, and his mercy trumps empty religious formalism. This theme is echoed throughout the prophetic tradition and is central to Islam’s understanding of God’s law. Moreover, who Allah himself is.
N.T. Wright, in The Challenge of Jesus (1999), highlights that, ‘Jesus aimed to fulfil the Torah’s ethical demands of justice, mercy, and faithfulness, rather than simply uphold ritualistic observance. However, Paul’s letters pivot the focus toward deemphasising ethical foundations and Torah obedience.’
The Qur’an preserves God’s law in its true form:
“Indeed, it is We who sent down the Reminder, and indeed, We will guard it” (Qur’an 15:19).
This affirmation of mercy as a divine priority forms a powerful link between the original teachings of Jesus and Islam’s restored message. This preservation stands as a compelling response to the historical and textual realities documented.
The Qurʾān is full of the most beautiful stories and poetic forms that cannot be replicated. It is a book of healing, guidance linguistic and numerical miracles. But it’s most important message is to urge people back to monotheism and to understand who our creator is:
“Say, He is Allah, One. Allah, the Eternal Refuge. He is neither begets nor is born, Nor is there to him any equivalent” (Qur’an 112)
Monotheism (Tawhid)
Jesus never said he was God, or the son of God for that matter.
17 As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone.” Mark 10:17–18 (NIV)
As early as the 2nd and 3rd centuries, Christian theologians were already struggling with how to preserve monotheism while also elevating Jesus to divine status. Tertullian was the first theologians to use the word Trinity to describe God.
Marcionites denied Christ’s true humanity and others, such as proponents of Subordinationism, regarded the son as inferior to the Father. By the fourth century, theses disputes intensified, culminating in the Council of Nicaea (325 CE). Here, Arian claims that Christ was a created being were rejected, and instead, the Son was affirmed as homoousios (of one substance with the Father)
The Council of Constantinople (381 CE) further clarified the relationship of the Son and the Spirit to the Father, solidifying the foundations of Trinitarian doctrine. The labouring of such internal struggles in the Christian church for centuries, illustrate that long before the Qur’an corrected precisely who Jesus was and who Allah is, the Church grappled to reconcile the divinity of Christ with the oneness of God.
This internal confusion and human shaping of doctrine demonstrate the Qur’an’s observation that the original message of Jesus (peace be upon him) was egregiously tampered with. The Qur’an is a timeless truth. It is the only complete divine scripture whose laws continue to be upheld on planet Earth today.
But Jesus performed miracles did he not?
Indeed Jesus did. But the authority for Jesus to perform miracles was given by Allah. Humans cannot do anything without Allah:
“By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.” John 5:30 (NIV)
“Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know” Acts 2:22 (NIV)
‘Then she pointed to him. They said, “How can we talk to one who is a child in the cradle?” [Jesus] said, “Indeed, I am the servant of Allah. He has given me the Scripture and made me a prophet.’ Qur’an, Surah Maryam (Chapter 19), verses 29–30
Question: How can you still deny that Jesus was a servant and messenger of God, nothing beyond. And that the Bible has endured human corruption? Is it not time to turn with an open heart to the Qur’an?
Answer: May Allah guide you and us all….Ameen
