What does the Quran say about the Bible?

In the Quran, we find many interesting verses about the previous revelations. At the beginning of chapter 3, which main themes include discussing Christian doctrines, it mentions:

ٱللَّهُ لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ٱلْحَىُّ ٱلْقَيُّومُ نَزَّلَ عَلَيْكَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ بِٱلْحَقِّ مُصَدِّقًۭا لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ وَأَنزَلَ ٱلتَّوْرَىٰةَ وَٱلْإِنجِيلَ مِن قَبْلُ هُدًۭى لِّلنَّاسِ وَأَنزَلَ ٱلْفُرْقَانَ ۗ إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ بِـَٔايَـٰتِ ٱللَّهِ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌۭ شَدِيدٌۭ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ عَزِيزٌۭ ذُو ٱنتِقَامٍ
“Allah! There is no god ˹worthy of worship˺ except Him—the Ever-Living, All-Sustaining. He has revealed to you ˹O Prophet˺ the Book in truth, confirming what came before it, as He revealed the Torah and the Gospel previously, as a guide for people, and ˹also˺ revealed the Standard ˹to distinguish between right and wrong˺. Surely those who reject Allah’s revelations will suffer a severe torment. For Allah is Almighty, capable of punishment.” [Quran 3:2-4]
Surah Ali ‘Imran – 2 – Quran.com

The Torah in Quran

Repeatedly, the Quran talks positively about the Torah given to Moses.

إِنَّآ أَنزَلْنَا ٱلتَّوْرَىٰةَ فِيهَا هُدًۭى وَنُورٌۭ ۚ يَحْكُمُ بِهَا ٱلنَّبِيُّونَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَسْلَمُوا۟ لِلَّذِينَ هَادُوا۟ وَٱلرَّبَّـٰنِيُّونَ وَٱلْأَحْبَارُ بِمَا ٱسْتُحْفِظُوا۟ مِن كِتَـٰبِ ٱللَّهِ وَكَانُوا۟ عَلَيْهِ شُهَدَآءَ ۚ
“Indeed, We revealed the Torah, containing guidance and light, by which the prophets, who submitted themselves to Allah, made judgments for Jews. So too did the rabbis and scholars judge according to Allah’s Book, with which they were entrusted and of which they were made keepers…” [Quran 5:44]
Surah Al-Ma’idah – 44 – Quran.com

وَكَتَبْنَا لَهُۥ فِى ٱلْأَلْوَاحِ مِن كُلِّ شَىْءٍۢ مَّوْعِظَةًۭ وَتَفْصِيلًۭا لِّكُلِّ شَىْءٍۢ فَخُذْهَا بِقُوَّةٍۢ وَأْمُرْ قَوْمَكَ يَأْخُذُوا۟ بِأَحْسَنِهَا ۚ سَأُو۟رِيكُمْ دَارَ ٱلْفَـٰسِقِينَ
“We wrote for him on the Tablets ˹the fundamentals˺ of everything, commandments, and explanations of all things. ˹We commanded, ˺ “Hold to this firmly and ask your people to take the best of it.I will soon show ˹all of˺ you the home of the rebellious.” [Quran 7:145]
S urah A l-A’raf – 145 – Quran.com

The Gospel in the Quran

Also, the Quran makes positive annotations regarding the Gospel, revealed to the great Prophet Jesus:

وَقَفَّيْنَا عَلَىٰٓ ءَاثَـٰرِهِم بِعِيسَى ٱبْنِ مَرْيَمَ مُصَدِّقًۭا لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ مِنَ ٱلتَّوْرَىٰةِ ۖ وَءَاتَيْنَـٰهُ ٱلْإِنجِيلَ فِيهِ هُدًۭى وَنُورٌۭ وَمُصَدِّقًۭا لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ مِنَ ٱلتَّوْرَىٰةِ وَهُدًۭى وَمَوْعِظَةًۭ لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ
“Then in the footsteps of the prophets, We sent Jesus, son of Mary, confirming the Torah revealed before him. And We gave him the Gospel containing guidance and light and confirming what was revealed in the Torah—a guide and a lesson to the God-fearing.” [Quran 5:46]
Surah Al-Ma’idah – 46 – Quran.com

The question now is: Do the previous verses and similar ones mean that the Quran is praising the books of today’s Bible (i.e., those supposedly attributed to Mark, Paul, etc.)?

Does The Qur’an NEVER Say the Bible was corrupted?

Although the corruption of the Bible is agreed upon by most of today’s biblical scholars, some Christians still insist on the Biblical inerrancy (i.e., the Bible is error-free). They go a step further. When reading the previous Quranic verses about the Torah and Gospel, they reach a quick conclusion that the Quran never says the Bible is corrupted. They ask, “Since our books are so good according to YOUR Quran, why should we shift to another book?”

1- The Quran praises the Torah and the Gospel and confirms their central message

Firstly, we acknowledge that the Quran praises the Torah and the Gospel and confirms their central message “The LORD is our God, the LORD alone.” [Deuteronomy 6:4] But to be accurate, we must say, it praises a book written in Hebrew given to Moses and a book written in Aramaic or Chaldean given to Jesus. Not sure? Go back and read the verses again.

2- The Current New Testament is NOT the same Gospel given to Jesus

Now, does any Christian scholar say that the current New Testament is the same Gospel given to Jesus? All the New Testament books are attributed to people other than Jesus. Even the attribution of the First 5 books of the Bible to Moses (which represent a small portion of the Old Testament) is a topic of huge scholarly debate. So, we simply conclude that what the Quran praises are not the same books included in today’s Bible.

3- Is there any connection between today’s Bible and the original Torah and Gospel?

The verse below shows that the current Bible contains traces of the truth contained originally in the Torah and Gospel but laying under huge rubble of unknown scribes’ historical writings and fabrications. If the reader misses this point, he will surely go very far away in understanding our topic.

يـٰٓأَهْلَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ لِمَ تَلْبِسُونَ ٱلْحَقَّ بِٱلْبَـٰطِلِ وَتَكْتُمُونَ ٱلْحَقَّ وَأَنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ
“O People of the Book! Why do you mix the truth with falsehood and hide the truth knowingly?” [Quran 3:71]
Surah Ali ‘Imran – 71 – Quran.com

4- Read the All related Verses to get a clearer Piture of the Quranic notion regarding the Bibble:

Secondly, a very important advice to any true seeker is, “Please collect and read all the verses regarding the topic in hand before reaching hasty conclusions.”

On one hand, the Quran talks very positively about the Torah and Gospel, but on the other hand, it talks about the miserable fate of the evildoers who fabricated books and claimed they were from God. This comes in the context of talking to the people of the scripture (i.e., the Jews and Christians) in chapter 2.

فَوَيْلٌۭ لِّلَّذِينَ يَكْتُبُونَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ بِأَيْدِيهِمْ ثُمَّ يَقُولُونَ هَـٰذَا مِنْ عِندِ ٱللَّهِ لِيَشْتَرُوا۟ بِهِۦ ثَمَنًۭا قَلِيلًۭا ۖ فَوَيْلٌۭ لَّهُم مِّمَّا كَتَبَتْ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَوَيْلٌۭ لَّهُم مِّمَّا يَكْسِبُونَ
“So, woe to those who distort the Scripture with their own hands then say, “This is from Allah”—seeking a fleeting gain! So, woe to them for what their hands have written, and woe to them for what they have earned.” [Quran 2:79]
Surah Al-Baqarah – 79 – Quran.com

Another verse in the same context:

أَفَتَطْمَعُونَ أَن يُؤْمِنُوا۟ لَكُمْ وَقَدْ كَانَ فَرِيقٌۭ مِّنْهُمْ يَسْمَعُونَ كَلَـٰمَ ٱللَّهِ ثُمَّ يُحَرِّفُونَهُۥ مِنۢ بَعْدِ مَا عَقَلُوهُ وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ
Do you ˹believers still˺ expect them to be true to you, though a group of them would hear the word of Allah then knowingly corrupt it after understanding it? [Quran 2:75]
Surah Al-Baqarah – 75 – Quran.com

Corrupting includes making physical changes to the text or misinterpretation, its meaning, and both are meant here. Another evildoing the evildoers did was concealing God’s revelation, as we read in Chapter 6:

“And theyhave not shown Allah His proper reverence when they said, “Allah has revealed nothing to any human being.” Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “Who then revealed the Book brought forth by Moses as a light and guidance for people, which you split into separate sheets—revealing some and hiding much? You have been taught ˹through this Quran˺ what neither you nor your forefathers knew.” Say, ˹O Prophet, ˺ “Allah ˹revealed it˺!” Then leave them to amuse themselves with falsehood.” [Quran 6:91]
Surah Al-An’am – 91 – Quran.com

What Quran Says That you can find the Bible?!

We conclude this point with a very strong argument. In the Quran, we read about topics that existed in the original Torah and Gospel, like this one:

مُّحَمَّدٌۭ رَّسُولُ ٱللَّهِ ۚ وَٱلَّذِينَ مَعَهُۥٓ أَشِدَّآءُ عَلَى ٱلْكُفَّارِ رُحَمَآءُ بَيْنَهُمْ ۖ تَرَىٰهُمْ رُكَّعًۭا سُجَّدًۭا يَبْتَغُونَ فَضْلًۭا مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ وَرِضْوَٰنًۭا ۖ سِيمَاهُمْ فِى وُجُوهِهِم
مِّنْ أَثَرِ ٱلسُّجُودِ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ مَثَلُهُمْ فِى ٱلتَّوْرَىٰةِ ۚ وَمَثَلُهُمْ فِى ٱلْإِنجِيلِ كَزَرْعٍ أَخْرَجَ شَطْـَٔهُۥ فَـَٔازَرَهُۥ فَٱسْتَغْلَظَ فَٱسْتَوَىٰ عَلَىٰ سُوقِهِۦ يُعْجِبُ ٱلزُّرَّاعَ لِيَغِيظَ بِهِمُ ٱلْكُفَّارَ ۗ وَعَدَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ مِنْهُم مَّغْفِرَةًۭ وَأَجْرًا عَظِيمًۢا
“Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. And those with him are firm with the disbelievers and compassionate with one another. You see them bowing and prostrating ˹in prayer˺, seeking Allah’s bounty and pleasure. The sign ˹of brightness can be seen˺ on their faces from the trace of prostrating ˹in prayer˺. This is their description in the Torah. And their parable in the Gospel is that of a seed that sprouts its ˹tiny˺ branches, making it strong. Then it becomes thick, standing firmly on its stem, to the delight of the planters—in this way, Allah makes the believers a source of dismay for the disbelievers. To those of them who believe and do good, Allah has promised forgiveness and a great reward. [Quran 48:29]
Surah Al-Fath – 29 – Quran.com

This verse mentions the descriptions of the companions in the original Torah and Injeel. For anyone who claims that the Quran says the Bible is preserved, we say: “Please show us such descriptions in today’s Bible!”.

We are therefore absolutely sure that the original scriptures have been distorted and that God did not plan to preserve them. The claim that the Bible is authentic according to the Quran is clearly false because both books contradict one another in many points. Therefore, one of them is the only reliable one.

Is the Bible reliable according to the Sunnah?

The main role of the Sunnah is to clarify the Quran. The doctrine that the Bible has been physically corrupted is well established in the minds of the Prophet’s companions. Read this text in the book of Bukhari by the Ibn Abbas, the great companion and Quranic scholar:

“Why do you ask the people of the scripture about anything while your Book (Qur’an) which has been revealed to Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) is newer and the latest? You read it pure, undistorted, and unchanged, and Allah has told you that the people of the scripture (Jews and Christians) changed their scripture and distorted it and wrote the scripture with their own hands and said, ‘It is from Allah,’ to sell it for a little gain. Does not the knowledge which has come to you prevent you from asking them about anything? No, by Allah, we have never seen any man from them asking you regarding what has been revealed to you!”

Words of God cannot be changed according to the Quran!

A famous objection arises here, the Quran mentions many times that God’s words can never be changed, as in this verse:

وَلَقَدْ كُذِّبَتْ رُسُلٌۭ مِّن قَبْلِكَ فَصَبَرُوا۟ عَلَىٰ مَا كُذِّبُوا۟ وَأُوذُوا۟ حَتَّىٰٓ أَتَىٰهُمْ نَصْرُنَا ۚ وَلَا مُبَدِّلَ لِكَلِمَـٰتِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ وَلَقَدْ جَآءَكَ مِن نَّبَإِى۟ ٱلْمُرْسَلِينَ
“Indeed, messengers before you were rejected but patiently endured rejection and persecution until Our help came to them. And Allah’s words are never broken. And you have already received some of the narratives of these messengers.” [Quran 6:34]
Surah Al-An’am – 34 – Quran.com

The answer is easy: In the context of the Quran, the words of God do not necessarily mean His revelations to His prophets (and the same concept exists also in the Bible). It can include other meanings like His decree or His promise. It is the context of the verse that decides. In the previous verse, “Allah’s words” means his promise to give victory to His prophets over their enemies, a similar meaning to the verse below:

وَلَقَدْ سَبَقَتْ كَلِمَتُنَا لِعِبَادِنَا ٱلْمُرْسَلِينَ إِنَّهُمْ لَهُمُ ٱلْمَنصُورُونَ وَإِنَّ جُندَنَا لَهُمُ ٱلْغَـٰلِبُونَ
“Our Word has already gone forth to Our servants, the messengers, that they would surely be helped, and that Our forces will certainly prevail.” [Quran 37:171-173]
Surah As-Saffat – 171 – Quran.com

There is no single verse in the Quran saying that God promises to preserve the previous revelations. To refute such misconception we say, the Quran talks about the Scriptures of Abraham (87:19), where are they today? Simply, they do not exist and thus, God’s previous revelations should not necessarily be preserved.

The Quran says: Obey the Bible!

Another objection is, “If the Quran says the Bible is corrupted, how can it order us to obey the Bible?” and verses, like the one below, are quoted:

قُلْ يَـٰٓأَهْلَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ لَسْتُمْ عَلَىٰ شَىْءٍ حَتَّىٰ تُقِيمُوا۟ ٱلتَّوْرَىٰةَ وَٱلْإِنجِيلَ وَمَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكُم مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ ۗ وَلَيَزِيدَنَّ كَثِيرًۭا مِّنْهُم مَّآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكَ مِن رَّبِّكَ طُغْيَـٰنًۭا وَكُفْرًۭا ۖ فَلَا تَأْسَ عَلَى ٱلْقَوْمِ ٱلْكَـٰفِرِينَ
“Say, ˹O Prophet, ˺ “O People of the Book! You have nothing to stand on unless you observe the Torah, the Gospel, and what has been revealed to you from your Lord.” And your Lord’s revelation to you ˹O Prophet˺ will only cause many of them to increase in wickedness and disbelief. So do not grieve for the people who disbelieve.” [Quran 5:68]
Surah Al-Ma’idah – 68 – Quran.com

Again, to reach a correct conclusion, we need to study the context of the verse and the other verses on the same topic, not just a separate verse. Before this verse in the same chapter, God tells us clearly that the Quran supersedes all previous scriptures and therefore, they have been abrogated by the last of Allah’s Books, the Quran.

وَأَنزَلْنَآ إِلَيْكَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ بِٱلْحَقِّ مُصَدِّقًۭا لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ مِنَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ وَمُهَيْمِنًا عَلَيْهِ ۖ فَٱحْكُم بَيْنَهُم بِمَآ أَنزَلَ ٱللَّهُ ۖ وَلَا تَتَّبِعْ أَهْوَآءَهُمْ عَمَّا جَآءَكَ مِنَ ٱلْحَقِّ
“We have revealed to you ˹O Prophet˺ this Book with the truth, as a confirmation of previous Scriptures and a supreme authority on them. So, judge between them by what Allah has revealed, and do not follow their desires over the truth that has come to you.” [Quran 5:48]
Surah Al-Ma’idah – 68 – Quran.com

So, in the light of the previous verse, how can we understand ordering the people of the scripture to observe the Torah and the Gospel in verse 5:68? The great Quranic commentator, At-Tabari explains that they are ordered here to believe in Prophet Muhammad, accept the Quran, and follow the verses in the Torah and the Gospel that prophesize the coming of Prophet Muhammad. Although many of these verses no longer exist in today’s Bible, we still find a few of them. (To discover more about such verses in today’s Bible, check this article by Dr. Zakir Naik: Prophet Muhammad in the Bible by Dr Naik (islam101.com)).

Which Quranic verse says that if you don’t understand the Quran, you can read the Bible?

Actually, there is no verse in the Quran that says, if you do not understand the Quran, go and read the Bible. The verse meant here is:

وَمَآ أَرْسَلْنَا مِن قَبْلِكَ إِلَّا رِجَالًۭا نُّوحِىٓ إِلَيْهِمْ ۚ فَسْـَٔلُوٓا۟ أَهْلَ ٱلذِّكْرِ إِن كُنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ
“We did not send ˹messengers˺ before you ˹O Prophet˺ except mere men inspired by Us. If you ˹polytheists˺ do not know ˹this already˺, then ask those who have knowledge ˹of the Scriptures˺.” [Quran 16:43]
Surah An-Nahl – 43 – Quran.com

When reading this verse in its context, we understand that it is directed to the polytheists who disbelieved Prophet Muhammad and doubted his message, claiming that God will never send a human prophet and that if God wanted to send a prophet, He would send an angel, not a human prophet. So, God refutes their objection and explains that all the prophets sent before Muhammad were just human beings and if you, the polytheists, doubt this point, ask the people of the scripture in your society. Also, in Chapter of Johannes verse 94, after mentioning the story of Moses and the drowning of the Pharaoh, the polytheists are directed to ask the people of the scripture if they doubt such a story.

Clearly, asking the Jews and Christians about a certain point, which the Bible is true about, does not necessarily mean that the Bible is undistorted. As mentioned earlier, we should remember that the Quran does not say that the whole Bible is false and fabricated. It says that it contains truth but mixed with falsehood. And because of this, it is no longer suitable for guidance, and we need another reliable source.

Conclusion

A final logical question always asked is, “Why did God decide to only preserve the Quran and did not do the same with other revelations? In other words, how can God allow the evildoers to corrupt His previous revelations?”

The answer to this question lies in understanding the target audience for God’s different books. God says to Prophet Muhammad:

وَمَآ أَرْسَلْنَـٰكَ إِلَّا رَحْمَةًۭ لِّلْعَـٰلَمِينَ
“We have sent you ˹O Prophet˺ only as a mercy for the whole world.”
[Quran 21:107] Quran .com

Therefore, the Quran is meant to be guidance for all humanity from the time of Prophet Muhammed till the day of judgment. However, the past revelations were sent to specific nations at specific periods and were not intended to stay forever, so it is logical to only preserve the final revelation that will fulfill the needs of humanity till the last day. For this reason, God promised in the Quran to preserve the Quran by Himself and so it was preserved.

إِنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا ٱلذِّكْرَ وَإِنَّا لَهُۥ لَحَـٰفِظُونَ
“It is certainly We Who have revealed the Reminder, and it is certainly We Who will preserve it.” [Quran 15:9]
Surah Al-Hijr – 9 – Quran.com

To discover more about God’s preserved final revelation, please refer to the Quran’s section on our website.

Quran Archives – Explore Islam (explore-islam.com)