Why Muslims Reject the Bible as Scripture

by Ijaz Ahmad

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheemبِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ ,

Evidently for the past 1700 years, the Bible has been the scripture of the Christian faith. Islam acknowledges that scripture was given to the Christians and Jews, we call such people, “Ahlul Kitab” or the “people of the Book”. However, where we disagree, begins with the very understanding of what the Bible is. To the Muslim, the Torah was given to Moses and the Gospel to Christ, however we believe that both Christians and Jews today both do not have in their possession the original Torah or the original Gospel.

We don’t make this claim simply because we can, but we make this claim because of the evidences we possess. To begin with, the Qur’an states in Surah 2, Ayah 79 and in Surah 5, Ayah 13 that both the Jews and the Christians corrupted their scripture. This might seem odd to some Christians that the Bible was corrupted, and you may be asking if the Muslim is able to defend such a claim. We can and it’s simple. One example I am fond of using is the following argument, it goes a little something like this:-

Can you tell me which Old Testament you believe in?

Greek Septuagint.

Masoretic Text.

Samaritan Scrolls.

DSS/ Qumran Scrolls.

Judaic Oral Tradition.

Mystery Source of the Greek Septuagint.

Can you tell me which New Testament you believe in?

Marcion’s Canon.

Tatian’s Diatesseron.

Codex Sinaiticus.

Textus Receptus.

Codex Vaticanus.

Codex Alexandrius.

Codex Bezae.

Codex Syriac.

Codex Washingtonesis.

Nestle Aland Greek New Testament Codices,

1 through 27.

KJV Codex.

John Mill’s 1707 Greek NT Codex.

The problem is, there is no “one Biblical text” that all Christians agree on. What you call the Bible today is a translated text based on Greek, Arabic, Syriac and even Ethiopian writings. All collected and pieced together. What you call the Bible in 2012, is not what the first Christians called it some 2000 years ago. Namely because the New Testament didn’t exist until the writings of Paul began some 14 years after Christ ascended. At the earliest, the Bible was decided upon by what was called an Ecumenical Council or a “Unity Council”, today known as the Council of Carthage in 393 and 397 AD. Yet, every Bible since that time, has varied, with no two remaining the same. Thus, what the Bible exists as today, is not considered to be the Bible which Christians in any previous century have believed in. 

The Bible is still evolving to this day, with both conservative and liberal Christian scholars attempting to define what the Bible “could” have looked like according to what each textual critic’s understanding of the text could have or should have looked like. The truth is, if the Christian scholars of now and those of the past still cannot decide on what the Bible is or what is was or what it will be, why should Muslims accept it as their scripture?

The case begets another problem, as the God of the Old Testament, proclaims that there is one eternal word of God, in Psalms 119:89, it reads:

“Your word, LORD, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens.”

Which word is it referring to? There are so many canons and codices to choose from, none being the same from the first complete codices from the third century to today. How can you ask the Muslim to accept, what the Christian faith itself cannot decide upon?

wa Allaahu ‘Alam' and God knows best.

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