Have The Previous Holy Books Been Changed?
In interfaith dialogue between Christians and Muslims, a common question that arises is whether the previous Holy Books been corrupted or changed? I recently read a very interesting article from The Muslim World journal entitled, “The Charge of Distortion of Jewish and Christian Scriptures” by Dr. Saeed Abdullah[1].
If anyone would like me to email you the article just contact me here: Contact al-Najashi.org
I will predominately be restating his basic argument and responding to it with some of my own thoughts and reflections. There are many different avenues we can take to examine this question:
- Perceived differences between the Qur’an and the Bible in regards to theology as well as specifically the narrative about Jesus
- Perceived differences in understanding regarding the concept of revelation
- The Qur’an’s statements about the earlier Holy Books
For this discussion I would like to hold off on discussing the first issue with the hope that what might be discovered from an exploration of the latter two points (2-3) might allay some concerns regarding perceived differences in theology and narrative.
My overall goal of this series is twofold:
- One, I would like to show that the Qur’an confronts People of the Book (predominately Jews, not Christians) for corrupting their communication of the Scriptures. This means that the Qur’an never accuses the People of the Book of actually altering the texts themselves, but rather through misrepresenting basic teachings or doctrines by their speech-what they say.
- Two, I would like to show that it is differences in understanding the concept of revelation that have led Muslims and Christians into misunderstanding. Also impinging on this topic is liberal Christian and non-Christian scholarship that have used textual criticism to evaluate the Bible and its claims. However, it must be noted that many of these critics and scholars are not people of faith, nor do they believe in the supernatural, in miracles, nor in God’s intervention on earth.
- Three, I hope as a result, Muslims and Christians both will see and understand that God protects His Holy Word, it cannot be changed (al-Hijr 15:09).
- For Muslims, I hope they will have a renewed desire to read the earlier Holy Books that might shed new light upon the Qur’an and its meaning.
- For Christians, I hope that they will have a renewed desire to read the Qur’an, and to see that it is not against the teachings of Jesus (as), but in actuality has the power to cause us to go back to the earlier books to re-read them, to make sure some of our preconceived notions are true or if our own cultural lenses have possibly colored our understanding of Jesus (as).
The Qur’anic Perspective of the Earlier Holy Books
The Christians on the Straight Path
The Following passages from the Qur’an give the impression that at least some Christians and Jews were on the straight path and must have had access to their untainted Scriptures[2].
Surah al-Baqarah 2:62 002.062 Those who believe (in the Qur’an), and those who follow the Jewish (scriptures), and the Christians and the Sabians,- any who believe in Allah and the Last Day, and work righteousness, shall have their reward with their Lord; on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.
Surah Aal-E-Imran 3:113-114 003.113 Not all of them are alike: Of the People of the Book are a portion that stand (For the right): They rehearse the Signs of Allah all night long, and they prostrate themselves in adoration. 003.114 They believe in Allah and the Last Day; they enjoin what is right, and forbid what is wrong; and they hasten (in emulation) in (all) good works: They are in the ranks of the righteous.
Surah Aal-E-Imran 3:199 003.199 And there are, certainly, among the People of the Book, those who believe in Allah, in the revelation to you, and in the revelation to them, bowing in humility to Allah: They will not sell the Signs of Allah for a miserable gain! For them is a reward with their Lord, and Allah is swift in account.
Surah Aal-E-Imran 5:44-47 005.044 It was We who revealed the law (to Moses): therein was guidance and light. By its standard have been judged the Jews, by the prophets who bowed (as in Islam) to Allah’s will, by the rabbis and the doctors of law: for to them was entrusted the protection of Allah’s book, and they were witnesses thereto: therefore fear not men, but fear me, and sell not my signs for a miserable price. If any do fail to judge by (the light of) what Allah hath revealed, they are (no better than) Unbelievers. 005.045 We ordained therein for them: “Life for life, eye for eye, nose or nose, ear for ear, tooth for tooth, and wounds equal for equal.” But if any one remits the retaliation by way of charity, it is an act of atonement for himself. And if any fail to judge by (the light of) what Allah hath revealed, they are (No better than) wrong-doers. 005.046 And in their footsteps We sent Jesus the son of Mary, confirming the Law that had come before him: We sent him the Gospel: therein was guidance and light, and confirmation of the Law that had come before him: a guidance and an admonition to those who fear Allah 005.047 Let the people of the Gospel judge by what Allah hath revealed therein. If any do fail to judge by (the light of) what Allah hath revealed, they are (no better than) those who rebel.
Surah al-Maeda 5:65-66 005.065 If only the People of the Book had believed and been righteous, We should indeed have blotted out their iniquities and admitted them to gardens of bliss. 005.066 If only they had stood fast by the Law, the Gospel, and all the revelation that was sent to them from their Lord, they would have enjoyed happiness from every side. There is from among them a party on the right course: but many of them follow a course that is evil.
Surah al-Maeda 5:82-85 005.082 Strongest among men in enmity to the believers wilt thou find the Jews and Pagans; and nearest among them in love to the believers wilt thou find those who say, “We are Christians”: because amongst these are men devoted to learning and men who have renounced the world, and they are not arrogant. 005.083 And when they listen to the revelation received by the Messenger, thou wilt see their eyes overflowing with tears, for they recognise the truth: they pray: “Our Lord! we believe; write us down among the witnesses. 005.084 “What cause can we have not to believe in Allah and the truth which has come to us, seeing that we long for our Lord to admit us to the company of the righteous?” 005.085 And for this their prayer hath Allah rewarded them with gardens, with rivers flowing underneath,- their eternal home. Such is the recompense of those who do good.
The Qur’an’s Perspective on Some Aspect of Distortion:
However, the following passages give the impression that there were certain corruptions that took place. In order to ascertain what types of changes, corruption, and/or distortion were employed I will be referring to Abdullah Saeed’s paper as well as looking at Qur’anic commentary (tafsir) on this subject. According to Saeed,
There is no doubt that the Qur’ān refers to certain “distortions” of the scriptures by some groups of the People of the Book. Terms used for this vary, but the most obvious is taḥrīf Scholars of tafsīr have explored verses in which taḥrīf and other related terms are used. Unlike the vast majority of Muslims, these tafsīr scholars appear to be more cautious in their assessment of the issue of “distortion.” This article briefly explores how a number of interpreters of the Qur’ān, namely Ṭabarī, Qurṭubī, Rāzī, Ibn Taymiyya and Quṭb, have treated this issue.[3]
The first first we’ll examine is found in Surah al-Baqarah 2:59:
Surah al-Baqarah 2:59 002.059 But the transgressors changed the word from that which had been given them; so We sent on the transgressors a plague from heaven, for that they infringed (Our command) repeatedly.
In examining this verse, the immediate context is referring to God’s provisions for the Jews while Moses was leading them in the desert (S. 2:54-58), thus this particular verse is referring to the Jews of Moses’ day. This of course would greatly predate the Qur’an. According to Tabari, the reference to changing words has to do with how they are pronounced[4].
Surah al-Baqarah 2:79 002.079 Then woe to those who write the Book with their own hands, and then say:”This is from Allah,” to traffic with it for miserable price!- Woe to them for what their hands do write, and for the gain they make thereby.
Again, the context is referring to the Jews (S. 2:63-65, 67, 83). Although, if you read verse 83, it makes a similar suggestion that there were some Jews who did remain faithful to God’s revelation. This reference suggests that some people were writing things down and then alleging that it was from God.
Surah Aal-E-Imran 3:78 003.078 There is among them a section who distort the Book with their tongues: (As they read) you would think it is a part of the Book, but it is no part of the Book; and they say, “That is from Allah,” but it is not from Allah: It is they who tell a lie against Allah, and (well) they know it!
In this case, it does appear that this might be a reference to either or both Christians and Jews (S. 3:67). However, it must also be noted that this was not a reference to actual textual corruption nor is it a reference to an entire community in collaboration. The reference limits itself to “a section who distort the Book.” How big is this section? The Qur’an does not say, but it is obvious that this is not a reference to all of the People of the Book nor does it refer to the texts, but rather what certain people were saying with their tongues.
Surah An-Nisa 4:46 004.046 Of the Jews there are those who displace words from their (right) places, and say: “We hear and we disobey”; and “Hear what is not Heard”; and “Ra’ina”; with a twist of their tongues and a slander to Faith. If only they had said: “What hear and we obey”; and “Do hear”; and “Do look at us”; it would have been better for them, and more proper; but Allah hath cursed them for their Unbelief; and but few of them will believe.
Again, this is a reference to some Jews who displaced words, twisted their tongues, as well as slandered faith. Yet, this is not saying the actual words in the text were corrupted.
Surah Al-Maeda 5:13 005.013 But because of their breach of their covenant, We cursed them, and made their hearts grow hard; they change the words from their (right) places and forget a good part of the message that was sent them, nor wilt thou cease to find them- barring a few – ever bent on (new) deceits: but forgive them, and overlook (their misdeeds): for Allah loveth those who are kind.
This is also a reference to the Jews (see S. 5:12). Here there is a charge of changing “the words from their (right) places”-we’ll need to come back to this verse and examine it more closely to see what this might mean.
Surah Al-Maeda 5:41 005.041 O Messenger! let not those grieve thee, who race each other into unbelief: (whether it be) among those who say “We believe” with their lips but whose hearts have no faith; or it be among the Jews,- men who will listen to any lie,- will listen even to others who have never so much as come to thee. They change the words from their (right) times and places: they say, “If ye are given this, take it, but if not, beware!” If any one’s trial is intended by Allah, thou hast no authority in the least for him against Allah. For such – it is not Allah’s will to purify their hearts. For them there is disgrace in this world, and in the Hereafter a heavy punishment.
This is also a reference to some “among the Jews.” Regarding the same phrase in 5:13 and 5:41, “they change the words”, or in Arabic, yuḥarrifūnā al-kalima, we will need to ascertain what this phrase means. Ṭabarī explains yuḥarrifūnabū as “they alter its meaning (maʻnāhu); that is, they change its direction, and its meaning to another meaning.” For Ibn Zayd, as reported in Ṭabarī, the Jews altered and changed Tawrāt by making its ḥalāl as ḥarām and ḥarām as ḥalāl, truth as falsehood and falsehood as truth.
Later on, Ṭabarī implies that the alteration of meaning is more likely, which seems to confirm that he saw taḥrīf as related to the meaning of the text, not the actual text itself.[5] It’s helpful to know that Razi also gives weight to this same view regarding 5:13 and 41 that these references are changes in interpretation, not in the text themselves. And according to Sayyid Qut’b, actually this is a problem for people of religion in general, even for Muslims.[6]
Lastly, I will post the entire conclusion from Abdullah Saeed’s paper and will in my next post discuss the differences in understanding regarding revelation.
Although the possibility of textual corruption of the Jewish and Christian scriptures in small sections (changing a word or a phrase but not wholesale or large scale deliberate falsification) existed, almost all interpreters whose views are explored herein seem to have seen the corruption as largely lying with interpretation: for example, changing ḥalāl to ḥarām or vice versa; and concealing or obscuring what exists in the scripture to confuse others, as in the case of verse 5:41. Large-scale and deliberate commission and omission, in the case of texts that have a long tradition of transmission and are widely and thoroughly known, would be difficult. Rāzī and Qurṭubī, in particular, seem to hold this view. Even if there is textual corruption associated with interpretation, the actual scriptures can still be relied upon and considered “Books of God.” For the Qur’ān, the concept of the “Book of God” was appropriately used to the scriptures of Jews and Christians even though these may not be from the Muslim point of view “exactly as they were” during the time of Moses or Jesus and are, in some cases, translated from the original languages to other languages or narrated by a person other than the Prophet who received the revelation. Since the “authorized” scriptures of Jews and Christians remain very much today as they existed at the time of the Prophet, it is difficult to argue that the Qur’anic references to Tawrāt and Injīl were only to the “pure” Tawrāt and Injīl as existed at the time of Moses and Jesus, respectively. If the texts have remained more or less as they were in the seventh century CE, the reverence the Qur’ān has shown them at the time should be retained even today. Many interpreters of the Qur’ān, from Ṭabarī to Rāzī to Ibn Taymiyya and even Quṭb, appear to be inclined to share this view. The wholesale dismissive attitude held by many Muslims in the modern period towards the scriptures of Judaism and Christianity do not seem have the support of either the Qur’ān or the major figures of tafsīr. Further research is required to explore the complexities associated with the doctrine of taḥrīf and the social, political and intellectual contexts in which this doctrine developed within Islam.[7]
[1] Abdullah Saeed, “The Charge of Distortion of Jewish and Christian Scriptures”,
Muslim World, Vol. 92 (2002), pp. 419-436.
[2] Unless otherwise noted, all Qur’an translations are from
The Qur’an: A Translation. (Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Trans.). (Elmhurst, NY: Tahrike Tarsile Qur’an, Inc., 2000).
[3] Abdullah Saeed, “The Charge of Distortion of Jewish and Christian Scriptures”,
Muslim World, Vol. 92 (2002), p. 419.
[4] Ibid., p. 419
[5] Ibid, p. 423
[6] Ibid, p. 425.
[7] Ibid, pp. 434-435.
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