the qur'anic view of the corruption of the torah and the gospels (in english)

THE QUR' ANIC VIEW

OF THE CORRUPTION OF THE TORAH AND THE

GOSPELS

Muhammet Tarakci

Suleyman Sayar

Abstract: The Qur'an contains quite a few verses that criticize the Jews for corrupting the Torah. From the very beginning, Muslims have not been able to agree on the content of these accusations in terms of whether they imply the corruption of the text or only of the meaning. Even those who argue the corruption of the text of the Torah are not of the same opinion.

Some claim that the whole text is corrupted while the others assert the partial corruption. This article attempts to present the positions of various Muslim scholars on the issue of the corruption of the Torah, aiming to reach a conclusion as to which position is more appropriate to understand the Qm'anic criticism properly.

Key Words: Corruption, Falsification, Dible, Torah, Gospels, Qur'an.

T ntroduction

Islamic criticism towards Jews and Christians began with the Qur'an itself,

the holy book of Muslims. While criticizing Jews for making mischief, disbelieving, being arrogant, slaying the prophets, being hostile to the believers and to the Prophet oflslam, speaking of God in a way thal insults His divinity1, the Qttr'an contains relatively moderate disapprovals against

Muhammet Tarakci, Faculty of Theology, Uludag lJni,·ersity. Bursa,Turkey Suleyrnan Sayar. Faculty of Theology, Uludag University, Bursa, Turkey

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Christians. Found fault in saying that "God (Allah) hath begotten a son", "God is three", "God is one of three in a Trinity" and "Christ is God the son of Mary", Christians have been claimed in the Qur'lin tp be unbelievers (klifir).2 The Qur'lin criticizes Christians in that they see themselves beloved of God, they do not heed advices given to them, and they have claimed that only Christians will enter the paradise. However, the attitude of the Qur'lin towards Christians is not always negative. To illustrate, "of the People of the Scripture there is a staunch community who recite the revelations of Allah in the night season, falling prostrate (before Him) ... Of the good that they do, nothing will be rejected of them; for Allah knows well those that do rigbt"3; "And thou wilt find the nearest of them in affection to those who believe (to be) those who say: Lo! We are Christians. That is because there are among them priests and monks and because they are not proud".4

Criticisms of the Qur'lin towards Jews and Christians on their sacred books led from the earliest times to create plenty of polemics in Muslim literature on the COITUption of the Bible. However, Muslims have not the same opinions about the content of these accusations. Some Muslim writers argue that the texts of Torah and Gospels were corrupted while others claim that there is only partial corruption in the Biblical texts. On the other hand, some are of the opinion that the meaning of the Bible was corrupted, not its text. There is also an orinion claiming that the corruption occurred in the Mishnah5 or the Talmud .

Explaining various Muslim opinions on the Qur'anic verses on the corruption, this article will try to ascertain the object whether Qur'an addresses both Jews and Christians or only Jews. It will also identify whether the text of the Bible alone is corrupted, or the text and the meaning of the Bible is corrupted, in the light of the criticism of the Qur'lin on the corruption of the Bible.

Torah and Gospels in the Qur'lin

The word Torah (Tawrat) occurs sixteen times in the Qur'an, most of which takes place in Al-<Imran and al-Ma'idah. It is explained in the verses of Al-'Imrlin that the Torah and the Gospel (al-Injil) were revealed before the Qur'lin, and Jesus came to verify the Torah which was before him. Then, challenging the Jews, the Qur'an reads, "bring then Torah and read it if you are tmthful".7 Chapter 5 (al-Ma'idah) claims that there were commands of Allah (God), guidance, lighting, a command for retaliation

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(Qi$il.$) in the Torah, and Jesus was given the Gospel (al-lnjil), confirming the Torah.8 But the People of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) did not obsel\le the Torah and the Gospel.9

The word Gospel (al-InjII) occurs twelve times in the Qur'an. In these verses, the Qur'an claims that Allah revealed the Torah and the Gospel, and the Qur'an was revealed to confirm that which was (revealed) before it.10 The people of the Gospel have to judge by what Allah bas revealed in it; if they do not, they arc not better than those who are transgressors. 11

Again, in the same chapter, al-Ma'idah, the Qur'anic verses criticize Jews and Christians for not having observed the Torah and the Gospel. If they do not observe the Torah, the Gospel and what was revealed unto Mul).ammad, they have naught of guidance.12 Claiming that Mul.rnmmad is mentioned in the Torah and in the Gospel,13 the Qur'an recounts Jesus saying that he is the messenger who gives the good news of a messenger to come after him, whose name will be Ab mad (the Praised One ).14

The Qur'an also reads that there are some common messages between the Qur'an and the Torah, and between the Qur'an and the Gospel.15

Tbe Qur'anic verses in which the words the Torah and the Gospel occur have nothing to do with the issue of the corruption (ta�rif) of the Bible. The Qur'an, however, contains many verses in terms of the People of the ScriptLu·e, i.e., Jews and Christians and it is necessary that one should look over these verses in order to understand the Qur'anic idea on the corruption of the Bible properly.

The Qw"anic Verses for the Corruption (Ta.fnff) Of the Bible

In addition to the very word "corruption" (tal;uif), there are some other words and expressions in the Qur'an that can be associated with the issue of the corruption of the Bible, such as "change" (tabdil), to distort the words with tongues (layy), to conceal the truth (kitman), to forget or neglect part of hook (nisyan), to sell revelations (ayat) of Allah for a miserable price, to write Scripture with their hands".

a) Ta}Jnf(Co177.Jption)

Derived from the root "l:iarf' (which means to tip, limit, edge), the word "corn1ption" (tabrif) literally means "to give a meaning for something which may be interpreted in two ways",16 "to change meaning ofa word or

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statement with similar sense", 17 and "to change word without altering meaning".18 Obviously, the last meaning of the word does not have anything with the corruption of the Bible either in text or meaning. It seems that, in early Islamic usage, the ·word "tal:irTf' expressed the distortion of meaning.

The word ta1;1ifoccurs four times in the Qur'an:.

(A party of them heard the Word of Allah, and perverted it knowingly after they understood it I al-Baqarah, 2175)

(Some of those who are Jews change words from their context I alNisa', 4/46)

(They change words from their context I al-Ma'idah, 5/13)

(Of the Jews ... changing words from their context I al-Ma'idah, 5/41)

There have been two interpretations on the meaning of the word "tahri'f' (conuption). According to the linguists of Arabic, tal;irif means corruption of meaning, not of text.19 So, four verses mentioned above claim that Jews misinterprets their holy books. On the other hand, in the usage of some Muslim commentators of the Qur'an, the word derived an expanded meaning including corruption of text. Thus, these four verses explain that Jews changed the text of the Bible.20 Two examples of such corruption are that Jews changed some expressions implying the forthcoming of Mul.).ammad, and that they replaced the word "al-rajm" (stoning someone to death) with the word "tad" (penalty).21


The Qw"Aoic View oft/le Com1prion of the Toral1 and the Gospels

Giving vast infonnntion on the People of the Scripture (Jews and Christians, as generally accepted), al-Tabari argues that the Jews change legitimate things with what are forbidden (by religion), and forbidden things with Jegitimnte ones, truth with false, false with truth. In his opinion, "tal)rff' is to change meaning and religious judgments.22 Similarly, expressing that" tal;ri/' may be occurred as the conuption either of the text or the meaning, Fakhr al-din al-RlizT believes that "tabrTf' in the Qur'an means to misinterpret by stating wrong opinions or playing on words.23

A contemporary commentator of the Qur'iin, Rashid Ri�Hi stresses two meanings of" taflrif':

I. To interpret words so wrongly as to change original meaning. The (

word "mawadi "(context) in the last three verses above indicates to "meaning". So, these verses can be translated as "they remove words from original meaning", which implying misinterpretations of Jews done in order to reject the prophet hood of Mul;iammad.

TI. The second meaning of tabrifis to change the place of some words. Some of the People of the Scripture accepted such corruption and asserted that it was done to restore the text of the Torah.24

In his commentary on the Qur'anic verse of al-Ma'idah (5/13), Rida interprets "ta.{1ril' as changing the place of words, adding or extracting some words and giving false meaning. That leads him to accept that corruption of both text and meaning was occurred in the Torah and the Gospels.25

According to Suleyman Ates, a contemporary Turkish commentator of the Qur'iin, tahrif is the corruption of the meaning, not of the text of the Bible. That Qur'an reads "a party of them heard the Word of Allah, and perverted it knowingly after they understood it" (2/75) indicates that Jews heard the present Word of Allah, understood its meaning and gave it wrong interpretations in accordance with their advantages. 26 In view of the Qur'anic verse saying "believe in what I have revealed, confinning that which is with you ... ,. Ates concludes that the Torah which tbe Jews had at the time of Muhammad had not been corrupted by then and was a divine book. Had the Torah been com1pted then, the Qur'iin would never have verified it. However, present Torah lacks some of the Qur'anic stories about Jews, which leads Ates to suggest that corruption i n the Biblical text

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occurred sometime after Mul:iammad.27 However, it is not clear that which stories Ates_means.

Ates argues that the Jews at the time of Mu})ammad concealed some Biblical verses implying the prophet hood of Muh,ammad.28 After some time passed, these concealed verses were lost, for there were not so many manuscripts of the Bible then. Concealing some verses qf a copy may have resulted that the copy was >vritten incompletely. Indeed, some Biblical verses refer to the books of Josher, and Annals of Solomon29 but they are not found in the Bible. The fact that the Qur'an verifies the Torah does not necessarily mean that the Torah is protected from any human interference. The Qur'an just confirms the general principles and the laws of the Bible. 30

b) Tabdil (change)

Tabdll literally means "to put something into a different place",31 "to corrupt"32 and "to cbange"33. It occurs only two times in the Qur'an in terms of the com1ption, both of which claim that a rutilless party of Jews changed some words God gave to them with the words they preferred.34 At first glance, these two verses seem related with the com1ption and some Muslim writers used them as evidence for the conuption of the Bible. However, they have nothing to do with the corruption. They only say that Jews recited other words instead of the words God commanded them to say while they entered a city. Although they explain that the Jews have a corrupter character, it does not seem likely that they are evidence for the conuption of the Bible.

c) Layy (to distort wo11is or scripture with tongues)

According to a Qur'anic verse (4/46), the Jews distorted some words with their tongues and told the prophet Muhammad, "We hear and disobey'', "hear thou as one who hears not". Clearly, Jews wanted to insult and blaspheme the Prophet. So, this verse contains no bearing on the corruption of the Bible. In another Qur'anic verse where layy occurs (A.1-'Imran, 3/78), a section of the People of the Scripture is accused of distorting the scripture with their tongue in order to convince Muslims that what they say are from God, but they are not. According to al-Zamakhshari, a famous commentator of Mu'tazilah, this verse expresses that some Jews recited some Biblical verses which did not fit their benefits by distorting with their tongues. So, they wanted to lead people to obey their opinions, not the laws of the Bible.35 On the other hand, al-Raz! is of the opinion that Torah


The Qur'A;11c View oft/Je Comption of the Tora11 and the Gospels

contains some verses about forthcoming Muhammad, but Jews gave false meaning to them, and thus, they left some doubts in some people's mind.36 In the Commenta1y of al-ManB.r, layy is understood to give a different meaning to words instead of original one. For instance, the usage of "son" and "father" in the Bible is, in fact, metaphorical, but they are used as real. Thus, Christians have com1pted, i.e., misinterpreted their scriptw·e.37

Some commentators argued that this verse implied textual corruption of the Hebrew Bible. For example, al-Tabari cited Ibn <Abbas to claim that Jews made some additions to the Book of God.38 Similarly, a Shi'ah commentator, al-Tabataba'I expressed that this verse was about the Jews tryin� to deceive people about some words they fabricated as the words of God. 9 However, al-Tabaiabii'I is not clear whether the words Jews fabricated were mixed in the text of the Torah or not.

In general, Muslim commentators are of the opinion that those verses mentioned above which seem related to only Jews have nothing to do with the textual corruption of the Torah. Rather, those verses claim that Jews misread their books and distort words with tongue while speaking to the Prophet Mul:tammad.

d) Kitman (to co11ceal tbe truth) and nisyiin (to neglect pa.rt of book)

The Qur'iin contains some verses tbat criticize the People of the Scripture (Ahl al-Kitiib), that is, Jews and Christians, for mixing up the truth with the falsehood, concealing the trutb (kihniin) and forgetting or neglecting part of book (nisyan).40 These verses seem related to the issue of the corruption. Al-TabarT quoted Ibn Zeyd to explain "the truth" with "the book God revealed to Moses", and "the falsehood" with "the book written by their finger".41 This comment evokes the textual corruption of the Torah. However, other narrations in Al-Tabar! conveyed that "concealing the truth" means that Jews hid some information about the Prophet Mul:iammad in the books of Jews (and Christians).42 According to Al-Raz!, "to mix up the truth with the falsehood" is to confuse people through misinterpreting evidences, and "to conceal the trntb" is to hinder people from attaining evidences. Scholars of the People of the Scripture caused people to miswiderstaod some verses about the Prophet Mul:iammad in the Torah and the Gospel so that they would confuse people.43 According to Hamdi Yazir of Elmalili, an important commentator of modem Turkey, Jews mixed their thoughts and translations with the Torah and concealed some verses about the Prophet Mubammad.44

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Then, those verses implied not the cotTuption of the Torah, but the concealment of some information in it. As a matter of fact, another verse about concealing the truth also indicates lo the corruption of meaning, not text. Jt reads, "Those wbo hide the proofs and the guidance which we revealed, after We had made it clear to mankind in the Scripture: such are accursed of Allah and accursed of those who have the power to curse".45

e) Other Qur'an;c words and statements that ca11 be associated with the com1ption of the Bible

There are some other Qur'anic verses that accuse the People of the Scripture of sellin� God's covenant with them, their oath, and the revelations of God.4 These verses seem irrelevant to the conuption of the Bible because they imply that Jews betrayed their scripture, not corrupted it Jndeed, the verb "to sell" revokes to betray, not to com1pt.

The Qur'an argues that the Jews wrote a book with their hands and sold it, claiming it was from God. They took for it a small pricc.47 According to AI-Tabari, this verse indicates that Jews wrote a book contrary to the Torah and sold it to Arabs who did not know the Torah. Al-TabarT quoted the Prophet Mul;rnmmad to say that Jews added some verses lo the Torah, removed some verses they did not like, and erased the name "Mub.ammad" from it.48 On the other hand, l:famdi Yazir_of Elmalili argues that Jews, who could not maintain the original Torah, were trying to substitute the translations they made for the original Torah, claiming "This is the book of God". They obey their own convictions, desires and wishes, not the wiU and commands of God.49

This verse does not give a name to the book Jews wrote with their hands. It is not clear whether Jews wrote a book substituting for the Torah or they wrote a book which was based on the Torah, yet contained some wrong comments. It has been debated if the book this verse speaks of is the Mishoah or the Talmud.

Some Qur'anic verses claiming that the previous books prophesy the forthcoming of Mul).ammad are sometimes associated with the corruption of the Bible. These verses do not clearly accuse Jews or Christians of corrupting their scriptures. Nevertheless, some Muslim scholars who fail to find the name "AQ.mad" (another name of the Prophet Mul)ammad) or any


The Qur "Ame View of the C'on11ption of the Torah m1d the Gospels

prophesy about him in the Bible tend towards the idea of the corruption of the Bible.

The Qur'iin explains that some features of the Prophet Mul:iammad are written in the Torah and the Gospel.50 Another Qur'anic verse speaks of Jesus who gave the good news of a messenger whose name would be A�mad (the Praised One).51 Both verses argue for prophesying of Mu�ammad in the previous books or by the previous prophets. Reading those both verses and not finding the niime "Abmad" in the Bible, some Muslims concluded that the Bible was corrupted.52 Yet, the subsequent studies, especially the contributions of the Muslims converted from Christianity show that there are some Biblical words that have the same meaning as Ahmad, i.e., the Praised One. 53 If this last interpretation is accepted, those two verses remain irrelevant to tbe com1ption of the Biblical text.

It seems that all the Qur'anic verses that have been mentioned so far are related with only Jews and accuse them only of corrupting the meaning of the Bible. Those verses seem unrelated to the matter of the corruption of the Biblical text. To claim that those verses can not be associated with the textual corruption provides a good ground for us to pass through examining the Qur'anic verses confirming the Bible.

The Qur'anic Verses Confmnjog the Bible

The Qur'anic verses confirming the Bible are also impo1tant in understanding the Qur'anic revelation of com1ptfon. Those verses explain that the Qur'iin confinns the Bible,54 and Jews are accused of turning away from their Book55• In addition, the Prophet Mu]:lammad is advised to consult with those wbo read the Book before him if he is in doubt56. Reading "bring then the Torah and read it",57 the Qur'an challenges Jews and, in a sense, affoms a judgment oftbe Torah at that time. Similarly, it is one of the orders of the Qur'an that Christians should fol low the Gospel. 58 Can all those verses confinning the previous books be indicators for the authenticity of tbe Bible? Does the Qur'an approve the Bible as a book not being corrupted? Before answering these questions, it should be nsefol to consider some common messages between the Qur'iin and the Bible.

According to the Qur'an, one of the orders Jews are prescribed in the Torah is that "Life for life, eye for eye, nose for nose, ear for ear, tooth for tooth, and wounds equal for equal." This order can be seen even in the present

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Torah.59 Correspondingly, Qur·an argues that it was written in the Psalms, "My righteous slaves will inherit the earth." One can find a similar statement in the Psalms.60

Both the Qur'an and the Gospel compare the believer with a seed which sends forth its blade, them strengthens it.61 It is said in the Qur'an that the gates of heaven will not be opened for those who reject the revelations of God i111d scorn them, and they will not enter the Garden until the camel pass through the eye of the needlc.62 Similarly, Jesus said to his Apostles, "it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." 63

The fact that both the Qur'an and the Bible contain almost the same expressions and common messages makes it invalid the claim of some Muslims that the texts of the Torah and the Gospel are completely corrupted. Then, there remain two views in terms of the com1ption of the Bible. The former is the idea that these books are partly corrupted. The latter is that the Bible was/is not corrupted (at least until the time of the prophet Mubammad). The Qur'anie verses confirming the Bible have enabled us to eliminate one of the three views Muslims assert regarding the corniption. The Qur'anic verses correcting the Bible will make it possible to choose between the two views remaining.

The Qur'anic Verses Correcting the Bible

The Qur'an tells the stories of the prophets in a moral and sensitive style. The Hebrew Bible, on the other ht1nd, contains a lot of indecent stories of the people Muslims acknowledge as prophets. The difference between two books in style of telling stories has sometimes been seen by some Muslim scholars as evidence for the cor11Jption of the Biblical text.

Torah tells a story about Lot. His two daughters made him drink wine, and then lay with him.II<' Another indecent story in the Torah is that Abraham introduced his wife to Egyptians as his sister and assented that Pharaoh lay with her. In return, Abraham had sheep, oxen, asses, camels, menservants, maidservants.65 Reuben lay with Bilhah, his father's concubioe.66 After her husband died, Tamar, the daughter-in-law of Judah, laid with her father-inlaw.67

The Qur'an contains none of these stories. Some Muslims claim that a sacred scripture can not tell such stories, and concluded that the Bible must


The Qur"Anic View of the Conupti<m of the Tor11h and rhe Gospels

be com1pted. Is it possible to read them in a different way? For instance, can it be said that the indecent stories of the Bible were true, but the Qur'an ruled them out? Before answering these two questions, one should consider another story of the Bible. According to the Hebrew Bible, after sending his army to battle, David sees a woman washing while he is walking around at evening. He likes her and sends his messengers to take her. He lies with her although he knows that she is married and her l1usband is fighting for him at the battle. Then, she tells David that she is pregnant. David recalls her husband, Uriah, from the battle. David thinks that uriah will go to his home and lie with his wife. So, Uriah will not have any suspicion about the child-to-be born. However, this plan fails because Uriah is such a faithful soldier that be docs not go into his house, saying "my commander, Joab, and his officers are camping out in the open. How could I go home, eat and drink, and sleep with my wife?" Then, David sends Uriah to tbe battle again and gives him a letter to deliver to his commander. David writes in the letter, "Put Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting ... and let him be killed". So, Uriah is killed in the battle and David gets married with his wife, Bath-Sheba.68

A story of the Qur'an about David evokes the Biblical story mentioned above. Two men enter in the presence of David. Ibey are litigants. One of them has one ewe, and the other has ninety nine ewes. The one who has ninety nine ewes covets the one ewe of the other. David adjudicates against the man who bas ninety nine ewes. Then, surprisingly, David concludes that God tried him and asks the forgiveness of tbe Lord.69

The Qur'anic story seems confirming the story of the Hebrew Bible. However, the Qur'an does not tell the story in full details, and stresses on the message, not on the indecent parts of the story. If so, the fact that Qur'an does not contain some indecent stories of the Bible does not demonstnlte that those events did not occur. Thus, the difference in style between the Qur'an and the former sacred scriptures is not a binding evidence for the corruption of the Bible, rather a secondary argument at the most. As long as the Qur'an does not deny or correct these stories, one can not say definitely that they did not happen. It is true that the Qur'an does not contain the majority of the indecent stories of the Bible. However, it should be kept in mind that the Qur'an relates some, not all, stories of what happened before.70

To stress it again, all of the Qur'anic verses having been mentioned so far seem related �ostly with the Jews and criticize only the misinterpretation

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of the text of the Torah. Studies on the matter of the corruption have usually intensified these both groups of the Qur'anie verses, i.e., the Qur'anic verses for the corTUption of the Bible and the Qur'anic verses confirming the Bible. However, il should also be scrutinized the Qur'anic verses correcting the Bible in order to understand the Qur'anic idea of the conuption of the Bible.

According to the Hebrew Bible, God created the heavens and the earth in six days and rested on the seventh day.71 This evokes that God was tired. On the other hand, it is explained in the Qur'an that God created the heavens and the earth and all between them in six days, and any weariness did not touch Him.72 The Qur'an replaces the Biblical term "shawbath" (to rest) with" istiwa' "(lo ascend, to establish).73

The Hebrew Bible relates that the ehjldren of Israel made a golden calf and worshipped it soon after Moses departed to receive divine commandments. Who made the golden calf was Aaron.74 The Qur'an makes it clear that who made the golden calf was the Samiri. However, Aaron was condemned in the Qur'an because of not hindering the people from making the golden calf. 75

Solomon, according to another Biblical story, had seven hw-rdred wives and three hundred concubines. In his last days, his wives led him to worship other gods. He built high places for other gods. Although the God of Israel appeared to him twice and commanded him not to worship foreign gods, Solomon did not keep what the Lord commanded.76 The Qur'an, on the other hand, does not contain any hint about the worship of Solomon to other gods, and mentions him as a man who always tumed to God.77

Another difference between the Qur'anic and the Biblical stories is as to which one of the two sons of Abraham whom Abraham almost sacrificed. The Hebrew Bible clearly explains that Isaac was intended to be sacrificed.78 Although the Qur'an does not give any name, the context of the sto1y in the Qur'an makes it clear that who was taken to be sacrificed was lsbmael.79

The greatest contt·adiction between the Qur'an and the Gospels is the crucifixion of Jesus. Whereas the Qur'an claims that Jesus was not crucified,80 the Gospels argue tJ1at Jesus crucified and died, and then resurrected.81 In addition, the claim of the forth Gospel on the divinity of

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the Word ("the Word was God") is contradicted with the Qur'anic teaching of the divine unity.

Muslims believe that those contradictions which can not be resulted from the source of the revelation, i.e., from God, are evidences to demonstrate the cormption of the Biblical text.

Conclusion

Considering both, the meaning early Islamic sources gave to the word and the Qur'anic statements, one can conclude that the very word "corruption" (tabrilj means to disto1t, give a false meaning, misinterpret, change words from their context. To translate Tabrifas "corruption" is a mistake because corruption is a technical term in Islamic literature and evokes the textual com1prion. However, the Qur'anic usage of TabnY is related with the meaning of the word, not the text. So, the Qur'anic verses for the comtption of the Bible criticize Jews distorting intentionally the meaning of the text.

The words associated with the com1ption (0_,3�, 0.J�, 0A, 0�) are used in the present tense (al-fi<l al-mm;lari'). This explains that the corruption was done at the time of Mu�ammad. It is true that the present tense in Arabic may also reflect past and future. However, there is no reason to interpret the present tense as to reflect past or future in the Qur'anic verses that are associated with the com1ption. Indeed, the majority of the Muslim commentators argue that those verses have to do with the time of the Prophet Mubammad. 1f these verses explain a corruption made at the time of Mul).ammad, then this corruption must be of the meaning, not textual. The Arab Jews of the time were reading the Torah in Hebrew and commenting it in Arabic.82 Now that there was not Arabic Torah in a book form, the only way to argue that the Arab Jews corrupted the text of the Bible is to claim that they com1pted the Hebrew Bible. It does not seem possible. Therefore, the Arab Jews at the time of the prophet Mu�ammad could not have corrupted the Arabic or the Hebrew Bible. If so, the Qur'anic verses for the corruption of the Bible refer to the corruption of the meaning of the Bible. Muslim commentators who argue that the Jews com1pted the text of the Torah adduce two proofs: Lack of the command of stoning (al-rajm) and lack of the sentences prophesying the Prophet Mu�ammad. Some Muslims claim that Jews changed the command of stoning in the Torah. However, this is not true. A prophetic tradition (]Jadith) rnnkes it clear that the Torah

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contains the command of stoning and the Jews were covering this command with their fingers while they were reading.83 In addition, the verse of stoning can be seen in the Torah even loday.84 The Qur'an claims that the good news for the forthcoming of the prophet whose name is Al�mad was given by the prophet Jesus and there were some prophesies about the prophet Mutrnmmad both in the Torah and the Gospels. Considering these Qur'anic verses, some Muslims tried to find them in the Bible, but they failed. Then, they deduced that the Bible, that does not contain any imply for the forthcoming of the prophet Mui)ammad and the name of Al;imad, can not be authentic. H must be corrupted. It seems that this conclusion was stemmed from the fact that early Muslims did not know the Bible well enough. They sought very name of Al)mad in the Bible and failed. On the other hand, subsequent studies revealed that the Bible contains some words that have the same meaning as "Ab.mad" (the praised one). So, two proofs some Muslims adduced to demonstrate the corruption of the Biblical text become null and void.

Islamic attitude tow;:irds the conuption of the Bible can be divided into three groups. Firstly, some Muslims such as lbn I:Iazm are of the opinion that the whole text of the Torah and the Gospels is corrupted. Secondly, there are some Muslims like Ibn Khaldiin and al-MaqrizT who argue that what was com1pted is the meaning of the Torah and the Gospels. Lastly, some other Muslims such as Ibn TaymTyah claim the partial corruption of the Biblical text.

The Qur'anic verses confinning the Torah and the Gospels remove the first standpoint from consideration. The opinion that the whole text of the Bible is corrupted also seems confuted by the Qur'anic verse saying that the Torah contains command of God.85 The second opinion can also be eliminated by the fact that there are some contradictions between the Qur'an and the former sacred scriptures. From the Islamic point of view, these contradictions show the textual conuption of the Torah and the Gospels. Then, this article comes to conclude that the Qur'an asserts the partial corruption of the Bible and this corruption occurred before the time of the Prophet Mu�ammad.

The Qur'anic criticism on the corruption is generally associated with the Jews. However, it can not be deduced that the Qur'an does not argue for the con1Jption of the Gospels. The Gospels reveals that Jesus crucified and died on the cross, and the Word is God. Crucifixion of Jesus and divinity of the Word are sufficient for a Muslim to deduce the corruption of the text of


The Qur 'Ame View ofthe Conuption of the Torah and the Gospels

the Gospels because they are not compatible with the teaching of the Qur'an. Besides, as Christians believe and argue, Jesus never wrote a

Gospel nor had a Gospel written. The Gospels were written after Jesus died without his care and control. In Christianity, the Gospels derive their authenticity from the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. The writers of the Gospels were under control of the Holy Ghost so that they would write without making any mistake. In Islam, on the other hand, inspiration received by Apostles or by anyone else can not be binding. Any book, whether sacred or not, can not obtain sacredness or authenticity from inspiration. So, the present Gospels an:, in principle, not original and authentic for Muslims.

lt can be concluded that both the Torah and the Gospel are com1pted. However, this com1ption is partial. Consequently, for a Muslim, the authenticity of the Torah and the Gospels depends on their correspondence to the Qur'an.

The lslnmic Qunrt<?rly: Vol 49, issue 3 - 241


References

al-Ma'idah (the Table), 5/64, 82; al-Baqarah (the Cow), 2/87-89, 9 1 ; Al-Cfmran (the Family oflmri:in), 3/98, 1 8 1 ; al-Nisa' (Women), 4/155.

2 al-Baqara (the Cow), 211 1 6; al-Nisa' 4/1 7 1 ; al-Ma'idah (the Table), 5/72, 73; al-Tawbah (Repentance), 9/30: Yunus (Jonah), 10/68;

3 AL-'lmran (the family oflmri:in), 3/1 13-1 15. 4 al-Ma'idah (the Table), 5/82.

Tbe Mishnah ("repetition") is a major source of rabbinic Judaism's religious texts. It is the first recording of the oral law of the Jewish people, as championed by the Pharisees and is considered the first work of Rabbinic Judaism. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mishnah.

6 The Talmud is a record of rabbinic discussions 011 Jewish law, Jewish ethics, customs, legends and stories, which Jewish tradition considers authoritative. It is a fundamental source of legislation,= =customs, case histories and moral exhortations. The Talmud has two components, the Mishnah which is the first written compilation of Judaism's Oral Law, and the Gemara, a discussion of the Mishnah (though the terms Talmud and Gemara are generally used interchangeably). http://en. wiki pedia. org/wi ki/Mishnah. AJ-chman (the Family of Im.ran), 3/3, 48, 50, 93. See also A.J-Clmran (the Family oflrnran), 3/65.

8 Al-Mli'idab (the Table), 5/43-46. Al-Ma'idah (the Table), 5/66, 68. For the other Qur·anic verses in which the word Torah occurs see Al-Fat�1 (Victory), 48/29; as-Saff (the Ranks), 61/6; al-Jumu<ab (Friday), 62/5.

10 Al-<Jmran (the Family oflmran), 3/3. 11 Al-Ma'idah (the Table), 5/46-47. 12 Al-Mii'idah (the Table), 5/66, 68. 13 Al-A'raf (the Heights), 7/157. 14 Al-Saff (the Ranks), 6 1 /6. 15 Al-Tawbab (Repentance), 9/1 l l ; al-Fatl:i (Victory), 48/29. For the other

Qur'anic verses in which the word Gospel occurs see Al-'lmran (the Family oflmran), 3/48, 65; Mary, 19/30.

16 Al-A$faharu, al-R.i:ighib, al-Mufradat, Damascus 1992, p. 228. 17 Ibn Mam;iir, Lisan a/-'Arab, IX/43. 18 Al-JihjanT, al-Sayyid al-Sharif, af-Ta'rlfit (no publication place or

date), p. 53; al-Kafawl, AbG al-Baqa' Ayy11b, al-Kulliyyiit. Beirut 1992, p. 294.

19 lbn ManiGr, L isiin a/-'Arab, IX/43; al-Asfahani, al-Mufradat, 228.


The Qur'A11ic View otrhe Comprinn of the Tomh and the Gospels

�0 See Al-MawdudT, Abu Al-A'la, Tefhrm ai-Qlll·'an, Istanbul 1997, I/88. 21 AJ-ZamakhsharT, Abii al-Kasim, a/-Kaslzat; Beirut 1 995, 11157, 507; al

Nasafi, 'Abdullah b. Al)mad, Tafsirai-Nasa/f. Beirut 1989, 1/83, 316. 22 Al-TabarT, Abu J<afar Mul_lammad, Jami' al-Bayiin fi Ta 'w11 Ay ai

Qur'iin, Cairo 1968, I/367-369. 23 See al-RazI, Fakhr al-dd"in, al-Tafslr a/-Kablr, Egypt (no publication

date), lll/134-135; XI/187; VUI/1 14. 24 Rashid Ri9a, Mui)ammad, Cairo 1 954, Tafslr al-M8.I1iir, V/140. 25 Rashid Ri<;la, Mu]:iammad, Tafsi.r al-lvfaniir, VI/282. See also, VT/389. 26 Ate�, Suleyman, Yiice Kur'iin 'm (:agda$ Tefsiri, Istanbul (no

publication date), 1/185-186. 27 Ate$, Yiice Kur'iin'm (:agda� Tefsiri, II/297-298; Kur'an-1 Kedm 'in

Evrensel Mesa;ina <;agn, Istanbul 1990, p. 1 36-137; Yeniden js/iima I, Istanbul 1997, p. 3 1 , 36; "Cennet Tekelcisi mi?", islamI Ara�brmalar, cilt 4, say1 I , Ocak 1990, p. 33-34; "Tal�rif', Kur'ii11 Ansildoped1s1; Istanbul 1.997, volume 19, p. 465.

18 See al-Ma'idah (the Table), 5/15. 29 Joshua l 0: 1 3 ; I Kings, 1 1 :41. See also, 1 Kings 14: 19, 29; 15:7, 23, 3 1 . 30 Ate$, Yiice Kur' an 'm (:agda� Tefsiri, II/495-496. 31 aJ-�fahanT, Mufradat, 1 1 1 . 32 Ibo Man+iir, L1san al-'Arab, XI/49. 33 Al-KafawT, Abil al-Baqa', ai-Kul!iyyiit, 3 I . 34 al-Baqarah (the Cow), 2/59; Al-A'riif (the Heights), 7/162 35 See al-ZamahsharI, a/-Kaslui.f, 1/329. 36 Al-Razi, al-Tafsi.ral-Kabir, X/118-1 19. 37 Rashid Ri�a, MuQ.ammad, Ta.fslr al-Man.ii.I� IIl/344-345. 38 Al-Tabari, Jami' al-Bayiin, lll/324. 39 Al-Tabataba'I, Mul;tammad I:Iusayn, al-Miziin ff Tafslr a/-Qur'iln,

(trans. by Vahdettin Ince), Istanbul 1998, III/398. 40 Al-Baqarah (the Cow), 2/42, 146, 159, 174; Al-<Jmran (the Family of

Imran), 3/71; al-Ma'idab (the Table), 5/13, 15; Al-A<raf (the Heights), 619 1 .

41 Al-Tabar!, Jami< a/-Bayiia, I/255. 42 Al-Tabar!, Jami< aJ-BayaJJ, I/256. d) Al-Raz!, al-Ta.fsi.r a/-Kabh; lll/43. 44 Yazir, Elmalili Mul).ammad l:lamdi, Hale Dini Kur'iin Di/J; Istanbul (no

publication da1·c), 1/285. 4s Al-Baqarah (the Cow), 2/159. 46 Al-Baqarah (the Cow), 2/4 l , 79; Al-<Imran (the Family oflmrtin), 3/77.

The Islamic Quarterly: Vol 49, Tssue 3 - 243

l\1uhammet Tarakci I Suieyman Sayar

47 Al-Baqarah (the Cow), 2179. 48 Al-Tabar'i, Jami< al-Bay/IJ1, I/378-379. 49 Yazir, Hak DiniKur'iin Dili, l/285. 50 Al-A<raf(the Heights), 7/157. 51 Al-$aff (the Ranks), 61/6. 52 See al-Juwayni, Imam al-I;Iaramayn, SJ11fii' al-Gba!Jl ii Bayan ma

Waqa<a fi al-Tawrat wa al-Injil min al-Tabdil (ed. by Ab med I;IijazI alSaqqa), Egypt 1978, p. 29.

53 See Abdulahad Davud, Tevrat ve .lncil'e Gore Hz. Muhammed, (trans. by Nusret <;am), Izmir 1992, pp. 22-34, 168-198, 264-299; .lncil ve Sa/lb, Istanbul 1999, pp. 47-76; Kiraz, Celi!, "Hz. Muhammed (sav)'in Onceki Kutsal Kitaplarda Miljdelenmesi (Teb�Irat)" urJ. jJahiyat FakiiltesiDergisi, volume 10, issue 1 , Bursa 2001, pp. 231-260.

54 Al-Baqarah (the Cow), 2/97, 101 ; Al-'lmran (the Family ofimran), 3/3, al-Nisa' (Women), 4/47; al-Ma'idah (the Table), 5/48; al-An'am (Catie), 6/92; Yiinus (Jonah), 10/37; Yusuf (Joseph), 12/1 1 1 ; al-Al:iqiif (the Dunes), 46/12, 30; al-Ala (The Most High), 87118-19.

55 Al-'lmran (the Family of lmran), 3/23. 56 Yiinus (Jonah), 10/94. 51 Al-'Imran (the Family oflmran), 3/93. 58 Al-Ma'idah ( the Table), 5/47. 59 See al-Ma'idah (the Table), 5/45; Exodus, 2 1/23-25; Levites, 24: 1 7-2 1 . 60 Al-Anbiya' (the Prophets), 21/105; Psalms, 37:29. 61 Al-Fatb. (Victory), 48/29; Matthew, 13:1-29; Mark, 4:1-20; Luke, 8:4-

15. 62 Al-Nraf (The Heights), 7/40. 63 Matthew, 19:24; Mark, 10:25; Luke, 1 8:25. 64 Genesis 9:20-27. 65 Genesis 12: 10-20. 66 Genesis 35:22. 67 Genesis 38:6-30. 68 2 Samuel, 1 1 : 1-27. 69 Sad (The Letter $ad), 38/21-25. 70 Taha, 20/99.

·

71 Genesis, 2:2-3. 72 Qaf (the Letter Qaf), 50/38. 73 Al-Nraf (the Heights), 7/54; Yunus (Jonah), 10/3; al-Furqan (the

Criterion), 25/59. · 74 Exodus, 32:1-4.


The Qur'Anic View of the Com1ption or the Torah and the Gospels

75 Taha, 20/85-97. 76 l Kings J l : l -13. 77 Sad (the Letter Sad), 38/30. 78 Genesis, 22:1-18. 79 Al-$affiit (Those who Set tbe Ranks), 37/102-1 07. so Al-Nisa' (Women), 4/157-158; Al-<Imran (the Family of !mran), 3/55. 81 Matthew, 27:45-66; 28:1-10; Mark, 1 5:33-4 1 ; 16:1- 10; Luke, 23:44-49;

24:1-12; John, 1 9:28-30; 20:1-JO. 82 BukbiirT, Jtisam, 25. 83 Bukhari, Tafsir [Af-<fmrti.n (the Family oflmrii.n)j, 64 84 Deuteronomy, 22:23-24. ss al-Ma'idah (the Table), 5/43.

The Islamic Quarterly: Vol 49, Issue 3 - 245

the qur'anic view of the corruption of the torah and the gospels (in english)

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