• This article dismantles the so-called ‘Islamic Dilemma,’
• It critically examines and exposes the flaws in the arguments presented by Christian apologists.
In recent years, Christian apologists and debaters have been championing what they call the “Islamic Dilemma.” This argument has been gaining traction amongst Christians. It’s even being used on the training grounds of Christian interlocutors—“this is the best argument to debate with Muslims about Islam,” they say. It’s presented as a “theological trap—an impossible contradiction at the heart of Islam’s view on previous scriptures.” But when examined with intellectual honesty, context and logic, this so-called dilemma doesn’t expose Islam’s weakness in the slightest. Instead, it highlights the corruption within Christianity and the absurdness of the critique itself.
What Is the “Islamic Dilemma”?
The argument goes something like this:
“The Qur’an affirms the Torah and the Gospel as divine revelations. But it also claims they’ve been corrupted. So, either the Bible is reliable—in which case the Qur’an contradicts it—or the Bible is corrupted, in which case the Qur’an is wrong to affirm it. Therefore, Islam refutes itself.”
What the Qur’an Actually Affirms
To be precise: the Qur’an affirms that Allah revealed the Torah to Moses and the Gospel (Injil) to Jesus. That affirmation is directed toward the original revelations, not the edited, distorted, translated, and canonised texts that emerged centuries later.
“Indeed, We sent down the Torah, in which was guidance and light…” (Qur’an 5:44)
”And We gave him the Gospel, in which was guidance and light…” (Qur’an 5:46)
Allah (swt) warns us of how certain communities altered those scriptures:
“They distort the words from their proper usages…” (Qur’an 5:13)
“Do you then hope that they would believe in you while a party of them used to hear the words of Allah then distort it after they had understood it?” (Qur’an 2:75)
“So woe to those who write the ‘Book’ with their own hands, then say, ‘This is from Allah,’ to exchange it for a small price.” (Qur’an 2:79)
“… [They are] listeners to falsehood, devourers of [what is] unlawful. If they come to you [O Muhammad], judge between them or turn away from them… They distort words beyond their [proper] places…” (Qur’an 5:41)
Al-Tabari, one of the most respected 10th century theologians and jurists, in his work, Jami‘ al-Bayan fi Tafsir al-Qur’an— while sometimes acknowledging the presence of uncorrupted elements, affirms that the distortion of these scriptures occurred, particularly in practice and interpretation.
Prominent theologian Fakhr al-Din al-Razi in his work Tafsir al-Kabir affirms that when interpreting verses such as Qur’an 5:13 and 2:75, the Jewish and Christian scriptures have been manipulated and do not reflect their original forms.
The “Islamic dilemma” hinges on a binary fallacy: either the Bible is fully preserved or Islam is false. But this is a false dichotomy. The Qur’an doesn’t affirm the current Bible as it exists today—it affirms the divine origin of the revelation that was sent, while also warning of its later corruption.
Muslim scholars for centuries have understood this nuance. The claim isn’t that nothing true remains in the Bible. Rather, it is that truth is mixed with error, and the Qur’an came to confirm what remains true and correct what was altered.
“And We have sent down to you the Book in truth, confirming what was before it and as a guardian over it.” — Qur’an 5:48
The divine message of monotheism serves as the fundamental thread weaving through Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—though only in the original, unaltered forms of Judaism and Christianity.
The Real Dilemma: The Bible’s Internal Contradictions
If there’s a dilemma to discuss, it’s not in the Qur’an—it’s in the Bible itself. Can a book affirm strict monotheism (Deuteronomy 6:4) and also support the Trinity? Can Jesus be both a man who prays to God and the God to whom he prays?
The Qur’an doesn’t stumble over these contradictions—it resolves them:
“Say, He is Allah, [who is] One. Allah, the Eternal Refuge. He neither begets nor is born, nor is there to Him any equivalent.” — Qur’an 112:1–4
Interestingly, modern biblical scholarship supports the Qur’an’s position more than the polemicists realise:
The Documentary Hypothesis, widely accepted in biblical studies, argues that the Torah (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) is not the work of a single author—traditionally believed to be Moses—but rather a compilation of at least four distinct sources (commonly labeled J, E, D, and P), written over centuries and later woven together by redactors.
A clear example of this can be found in the two creation narratives in Genesis 1 and 2: Genesis 1 presents a highly structured, seven-day account where Elohim creates the world in stages. Genesis 2 offers a more narrative version where Yahweh Elohim creates man before plants and animals.
These stylistic and theological differences reveal that different authors with different theological aims contributed to what we now call the Torah.
The Injil, as mentioned in the Qur’an, refers to the original revelation given to Jesus (‘Esa AS) a divine message of monotheism and guidance. However, the four canonical gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) were written decades after Jesus, by anonymous authors relying on secondary sources.
Even the Gospel writers themselves acknowledge this:
Luke 1:1–3 opens by saying:
“Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us… just as they were handed down to us… I myself have carefully investigated everything… and decided to write an orderly account…”
This is not a claim of divine revelation, but rather one of historical compilation.
Contrary to popular belief, the doctrine of Jesus’ divinity was not a universally accepted belief among early Christians. It was only formally established through political and theological manoeuvring. The Council of Nicaea in 325 CE was the first to declare that Jesus was “of the same substance” (homoousios) as God. The Council of Constantinople in 381 CE later expanded on this to articulate the full doctrine of the Trinity.
Before these councils, movements like Arianism argued that Jesus was a created being, subordinate to God — a view closer to the Qur’anic depiction. Furthermore, The Ebionites, who are considered one of the earliest groups of followers of Jesus, saw Jesus as the Messiah and a human prophet, not divine.
Even in the New Testament, we find verses that complicate the claim of divinity:
Mark 10:18: “Why do you call me good? No one is good—except God alone.” John 14:28: “The Father is greater than I.”
These statements affirm Jesus’ humanity and servitude, not divine equality which is considered a grave transgressing and sin in Islam.
The real message of Islam is not built on blind affirmation or inherited texts—it is built on the direct, preserved word of God, the Qur’an, which came not to erase the past, but to clarify it.
Far from a dilemma, Islam presents a powerful theological coherence: God sent guidance to every nation. People altered or abandoned that guidance. Then, in His mercy, God sent the final revelation—not through a church council or redacted manuscript, but through a man who could neither read nor write, yet conveyed a book that still transforms hearts.
That’s not a contradiction. Clearly. That’s divine consistency.
An essential read that explores Islam and Christianity is ‘Jesus: Man, Messenger, Messiah’ by Abu Zakariya.
