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Could the Qur’an Be a Copy of the Bible?!
Some people say that Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) copied the Bible. But Muslim know that this cannot be true because the Bible is inaccurate, whereas the Qur’an is the most accurate source of divine guidance.
There is an old ridiculous fallacy, that Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) copied the Bible, a fallacy copied from some ignorant Arab pagans against the Prophet during his lifetime. They were stunningly challenged by the grandeur of the divine revelation. To face the challenge, they strived hard to push away the coming light that was gradually penetrating the Makkan society and radiating outwards to Arab tribes coming to Makkah for trade or pilgrimage, threatening to penetrate the Arab Peninsula and the whole Middle East and world, and engulf their absurd beliefs and challenge their tribal sovereignty to extinction.
Closing their ears and minds from hearing and accepting the Qur’an, and being also ignorant of the Bible, the nearest forgery to proclaim was that the Qur’an was being borrowed from the Bible or some Biblical source. However, at that time, Christianity was almost totally out of the scene of Makkah. In the Arab Peninsula, Christian presence was confined to three locations: among the tribes of Al-Heerah in the northeast near Iraq, the Roman-occupied kingdom of Bani Ghassan in the northwest, and the Abyssinian reign of Yemen, far away from Makkah. Jewish presence was mainly in enclave settlements in and around Madinah.
Makkah being devoid of any real source of Biblical information, the pagans of the time could find no better candidate than a non-Arab Roman blacksmith boy earning his living there. They claimed that he was the source of the Qur’an, dictating it to Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) out of his meagre Biblical education! The mockingly fabricated fallacy soon faded away among the pagans themselves. Years later, in the peak of the fierce hostilities of the Jewish tribes of Al-Madinah, and amidst their repeated attempts to defame the Prophet, spread rumors and work out plots to eradicate Islam, no such claim (i.e., that the Qur’an copied the Bible) was ever raised.
On the contrary, the Jews were keeping their scriptures away from the Muslims, specially those prophesizing and supporting the new message. It is also significant that there was no single Arabic translation of the Bible till the tenth century CE, i.e., three centuries after the Prophet’s death. The available texts of the Bible were either in Syrian, Greek, or Hebrew. If the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) could have any direct access to the Jewish or Christian scriptures, he would have quoted them, being in dire need to challenge his opponents.
The only other reported encounters of the Prophet with Christian sources were on two occasions. At the early age of twelve, during a trip with his uncle Abu Talib among a trade caravan to Ash-Sham, they casually met Baheerah, a Syrian monk who reportedly could identify in the boy Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) signs of expected prophethood foretold in the old scriptures.
Similarly, when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) received the first few verses of the revelation, his worried wife Khadijah brought him to her relative Waraqah ibn Nawfal. Being a Christian convert with some knowledge of the Hebrew scriptures, he assured the Prophet that the revelation he received was genuinely divine. Waraqah passed away shortly thereafter; the revelation continued for 23 years.
Now let us examine the two texts, the Qur’an and the Bible. The Qur’an was revealed over 23 years in installments to match multitudes of events, issues, and queries, which were finally compiled into surahs, each having a homogeneous flowing narration. On the other hand, the Bible is a collection of 58 (plus 16 disputed) books written by several human authors and groups. These books were originally not intended to be holy scriptures, but were selectively made so by the ecumenical councils of the Church, several centuries after Christ.
An academic or even casual hand-on examination by an impartial sound intellect could never fail to witness the deep contrast between the superb text and context of the Qur’an, compared to the fallible human texts comprising the Bible books.
Further, the Qur’an has vehemently unveiled the Christian and Jewish distortions of the original messages of Moses and Jesus (peace be upon them). The original Injeel and Torah are no longer available. Please read, for example, the Qur’anic correction and reply to the Biblical distortions:
- Abraham was a Jew: 2:140; 3:65
- Allah tired from act of creation— Allah forbid: 50:38
- Jesus the son of God— Allah forbid: 9:30; 5:17
- Trinity: 5:72-73
- Sanctifying the Church: 3:64
- Solomon blaspheming: 2:102
- The first Qiblah: 3:96
- Forbidden foods: 3:93
Could a copy (i.e., the Qur’an, according to the allegation) correct the claimed original (i.e., Bible)?
Knowledge-wise, the Qur’an was proven to refer to and be precisely compatible with facts of science evolving over 14 centuries, a living proof of the authenticity of the Qur’an. This is contrasted to contradictions between the human Bible and science.
A few examples of these contradictions are: the allegory of the primordial waters, the creation of light before the creation of the stars producing them, the existence of day and night before creation of the earth, and creation of the earth before the sun, that the world was created only 5,766 years ago, and similar historically untenable descriptions and estimation of the time of the Flood.
Again, could the Qur’an “learn” from the Bible?
There are, of course, points of agreement between the Qur’an and the Bible, e.g., the main aspects of the stories of prophets. That is natural as far as the original source of information being the same, divine revelation of Allah through His Messengers teaching essentially the same message. But here again, in the stories of the prophets we witness the profound differences between the Qur’anic narrations and those of the Bible. Compare for example: the story of prophet Joseph in the Qur’an (12:4-102) and the Bible (Genesis 37-45). Here, the brief to-the-point yet lively objective Qur’anic narration to emphasize advice and exhortations can be contrasted to the marginal details listed in the lengthy “once-upon-a-time” style of the Bible.
While the Qur’an gives due respect and reverence to the prophets as Allah’s chosen inviolable human beings, radiating His guidance to their contemporaries and future generations, the Bible frequently portrays them dishonorably. Consider for example:
Genesis 9:20-24: Noah being drunk and appearing naked in front of his sons
Exodus 32:3-4: Aaron shaping a golden calf for the Israelites to worship
1 Kings 11:9-10: Solomon worshiping false gods
2 Samuel 11:4-5: David committing adultery
Genesis 19:31-36: Lot committing incest with his two daughters
Once again, could the Bible be the “source” and the Qur’an the “copy”?
In recent times, Christian missionaries and Orientalists, disguised in the cloaks of scholarly research, reproduced the same old thwarted fallacy of the ancient pagans and strived to spread it among the naïve and scantly-educated Muslim masses. The targeted audience are those sectors unaware of the real nature and context of the Bible (as a collection of human works with all the ensuing defects) and, more importantly, are ignorant of their own inimitable Book, the Qur’an.
Authenticity of the Glorious Qur'an
The Holy Qur'an was presented to the people of Arabia by the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. It was presented in parts over a period of 23 years of his prophetic life. The book presents itself as the word of Allah and the Holy Prophet also presented it as such.
The Muslims believe that the Holy Qur'an, being the revealed word of Allah, is the cornerstone of their faith. They get their philosophy, beliefs and laws from this book it is the basic source of the Islamic faith. It is the Word of Allah revealed to His Messenger, Muhammad, peace be upon him, who read it out before the world loud and clear. Not only did he recite it to the people of Arabia, he also made elaborate arrangements to ensure that its contents be preserved and his Companions should learn it by heart and should also write it down. The Holy Prophet's stress on the supremacy of the Book of Allah, over all other sources of knowledge, was unequivocal and categorical.
The Holy Qur'an has reached us through Tawatur:
The Holy Qur'an has reached us through the process of Tawatur (historical continuity and perpetuation achieved through transfer from generation-to-generation) When we say that the Qur'an has reached us through Tawatur, we imply that so many people in every generation conveyed it to the next and so on that there can be no doubt about its authenticity. It was not transmitted by a few persons in one generation to a few persons in the next. It was handed over by the entire generation to the next generation. The Generation of the Companions witnessed the revelation and compilation of the Holy Qur'an during the life of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and then handed it over to the next generation and so on.
Its certainty has far exceeded the need for any debate. In the presence of established history, we would not accept any individual reports and rumors to the contrary. For instances a report in one of the history books that claims that Akbar the Great never ruled in India, would not be considered by us. The fact that Akbar the Great ruled over India for half a century is so established, that any odd report to the contrary would be simply ignored. So is the case of the Holy Qur'an. Since it has achieved the status of Tawatur, no odd report would affect its credibility.
When generations and generations of people without interruption hold the Qur'an as the one and only version of the divine guidance received from the Holy Prophet, such reports would not infringe upon its authenticity. The evidence for the Qur'an is so overwhelming, involving millions of people, that it would simply override any odd reports that may be found anywhere.”
Excerpted, with slight modifications, from http://www.sunnahonline.com/ilm/quran/0005.htm
In the light of the above, dear brother, it’s clear that all what non-Muslims say or fabricate against the Glorious Qur’an is totally groundless, for the authenticity of the Qur’an is not only upheld by Muslims but confirmed by non-Muslims as well, as will be clarified in the following:
“Attesting to the Qur'an’s authenticity, in his best-seller book The Bible, The Qur’an and Science the French researcher, historian, scientist Dr. Maurice Bucaille writes:
"Thanks to its undisputed authenticity, the text of the Qur’an holds a UNIQUE Place among the books of Revelation, shared neither by the Old nor the New Testament. In the first two sections of this work (meaning his book), a review was made of the alterations undergone by the Old Testament and the Gospels before they were handed down to us in the form we know today. The same is not true for the Qur’an for the simple reason it was written down at the time of the Prophet; we shall see how it came to be written, i.e. the process involved . . .. As the Revelation progressed, the Prophet and the believers following him recited the text by heart, and it was written down by the scribes in his following. It therefore starts off with two elements of authenticity that the Gospels do not possess."
Professor Hitte also writes: "Biblical text has been subjected to editorial and amendatory treatment, but not the Qur’anic ... In its phonetic and graphic reproduction, as well as in its linguistic form, the Qur’anic text is identical with its celestial original. "
The Qur’an is unique in consistency, harmony, intelligence and rationality:
The Qur’an is the book without inconsistencies; one part of its text, (or doctrine) does not clash with the other. In fact, it sets the absence of contradiction, irrationality, and incoherence, as one of the criteria for checking the authenticity of any divine revelation. It states "Do they not ponder the Qur’an (with care)? Had this book been from anybody but Allah, you would have found much inconsistencies.” (Surat An-Nisa:82).
Because contradictions and inconsistencies call for the negation of one part, which is in conflict with the other and this automatically invalidates portions of the book. In turn that makes it difficult for a man to remain true to any one value, thereby creating mental conflict, emotional and spiritual instability. "Skip some, follow some," “pick and choose" and "no absolutes" become the pattern. And these exercise an extremely damaging influence upon a truth-conscious, rational man with regard to belief in Allah and with regard to the credibility of the book itself. And it leads to dilemmas where sincere minds become "disjointed" and "disenchanted," eventually steering them away from the book or turn them into hypocrites.
Dr. Maurice Bucaille, who had absolutely no reason to favor one book, especially that of Islam, over the others (if anything, as human nature is, he would only favor the books of his own religion, but not the Qur’an) attests to the Qura’nic claim in his book. "The Quran ... is not only free from contradictions in its narrations, the sign of various human manipulations to be found in the Gospels, but provides a quality of its own for those who examine it objectively and in the light of science i.e. its complete agreement with modern scientific data.”
The Book may be great but what is its impact on the people, you might ask. If no impact it has any significance. How true! The Qur’an is unique in terms of its Blitzing Impact, also.
There have been many other religious books and revelations before the Qur’an. But of these, only the Holy Qur’an had the most electrifying impact upon the people. Its lightning-like rapidity, in a short few decades, reached the hearts and minds of the masses of several continents, transforming the lives of idolaters, alcoholics, exploiters, abusers, perverts, into men and women of pristine monotheism, of highest virtue and piety. Call it what you may - the most sensational spiritual revolution, or the spiritual blitzkrieg, the revolution of which the mankind had never witnessed before. To this very day, no other religion comes even close to matching Qur’an's record of the spectacular impact on lives of masses.”
Excerpted, with slight modifications, from http://www.iica.org/invitation/the_glor.html
Islam and Science
http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/...h-Ask_Scholar/FatwaE/FatwaE&cid=1119503545276
Has the Bible Been Tampered With?
http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/...h-Ask_Scholar/FatwaE/FatwaE&cid=1119503545430