Corrupted, yet believe in it! How come?!
The matter is so simple. We can summarize the whole story in 3 points:
- Muslims believe in the “original” Gospel, and the “original” Torah as well.
- At the same time, Muslims also believe that the Bible, including the old testament that includes the Torah and the new testament that includes the four Gospels(!), is not pure and authentic, and accordingly, is not valid.
- Thus, Muslims were commanded to neutrally deal with the Bible and its texts as a kind of respect to it, since no one can be 100% sure which text exactly is corrupted and falsified and which is not. That’s why Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
“Whatever the people of the Book (Jews and Christians) tell you, do not verify them, nor falsify them, but say: We believe in Allah and His Messengers. If it is false, do not confirm it, and if it is right, do not falsify it.” [Abudawud/26/4].
Why Corrupted?
But let’s take a step back and ask another question. Why is the Bible distorted and falsified? Why didn’t God preserve it pure and authentic? Why did He allow it to be exposed to falsification while He was capable of keeping His revelations pure?
First of all, the original Torah and the original Gospel were not meant to be sent to all people, they were only sent to a certain group of people at a certain time. They were sent to the Children of Israel, exactly as Prophets Moses and Jesus (peace be upon them) were sent to the Children of Israel, and thus, they are called, among others, “Prophets of the Children of Israel”, which means the Prophets who were sent to the Children of Israel.
Traits of the Children of Israel
Many Messengers were sent to the Children of Israel, and the last of them was Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him). But they were always following their own desires. Every time a Messenger came to them with what their souls did not desire, they were arrogant, and a party of the Messengers they denied, and another party they killed. They also did the same with the Divine scriptures sent to them. When Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) came to them with the Torah from God, they started to distort words from their proper usages and they used to conceal much of the scriptures. They kept on doing so until God sent to them Prophet Jesus with the Gospel to continue the message.
This was the habit of the Children of Israel in dealing with the Messengers of God and the Divine messages. Thus, a book after a book was sent to them to remind them of what they forgot or to show what they distorted and concealed.
Not to mention that the Gospel, for example, was written way after Prophet Jesus, which of course deepens the possibility of the falsification and alteration.
Accordingly, since the Torah and the Gospel were sent to the Children of Israel and only to the people at their time, not to all mankind, and since there was always a Prophet after Prophet and a book after book sent to them, let’s say that there was no need or necessity to keep these books pure and authentic beyond the time for which they were needed. They were only needed for a certain group of people at a certain time, not for every time and place, with legislations that were suitable only to that time, not to other times.
Qur’an: The Final Revelation to Mankind
Thus, we will find that the only Holy book that God promised to preserve pure and authentic without any change exactly as it was sent down is the Holy Qur’an that the last and final Messenger of God, Prophet Muhammad, came with from God. Why? Because The Qur’an is the only Holy book that was sent to the whole humanity, to all mankind till the end of the world, exactly as Prophet Muhammad is the last and final Messenger to all mankind and a mercy to the worlds, and no other book or revelation will be sent down to the people after it. It’s the last and final Divine message to mankind that is:
- Confirming that which preceded it of the Scripture and as a criterion over it.
- Guidance and good tidings for the believers.
- Valid to every time and place.
“Indeed, it is We who sent down the Qur’an and indeed, We will be its guardian.” [quran.com/15/9].
We will never find such a promise in or about any Holy book except only the Holy Qur’an.
To conclude, we can say that Muslims believe in the original Torah and the original Gospel, not the current ones! They can quote from the texts of the people of the Book that do not contradict with Islam and what came in it, without affirming ratification or denial.
In this short video, Dr Zakir Naik briefly solves the puzzle. Have an enjoyable watching!
More References:
– Difference between Bible and Injeel (Gospel) – Ahmad Deedat.
