This is the question that closes the door for more Muslims than any other. The reasoning is familiar. We do not need to read the Injil because it has been corrupted. The Christians changed it. The Jews changed it. What we have today is not what Allah revealed. This belief feels settled. It feels obvious. It has been repeated so many times that it no longer requires examination. But what does the Qur'an actually say about this?
وَقَفَّيۡنَا عَلَىٰٓ ءَاثَٰرِهِم بِعِيسَى ٱبۡنِ مَرۡيَمَ مُصَدِّقٗا لِّمَا بَيۡنَ يَدَيۡهِ مِنَ ٱلتَّوۡرَىٰةِۖ وَءَاتَيۡنَٰهُ ٱلۡإِنجِيلَ فِيهِ هُدٗى وَنُورٞ وَمُصَدِّقٗا لِّمَا بَيۡنَ يَدَيۡهِ مِنَ ٱلتَّوۡرَىٰةِ وَهُدٗى وَمَوۡعِظَةٗ لِّلۡمُتَّقِينَ
“And We sent, following in their footsteps, Issa the son of Maryam, confirming that which came before him in the Tawrat. And We gave him the Injil, in which was guidance and light and confirming that which preceded it of the Tawrat as guidance and instruction for the righteous.”
Surah Al-Maidah 5:46 | quran.com/5/46
This is Allah speaking. In the Qur'an. About the Injil that was in the hands of people at the time the Qur'an was revealed. Not guidance that was corrupted. Not light that had been extinguished. Guidance and light, present tense, at the time of the revelation.
Does the Qur'an say elsewhere that Allah's words can be changed?
لَا تَبۡدِيلَ لِكَلِمَٰتِ ٱللَّهِ
“No change can there be in the words of Allah.”
Surah Yunus 10:65 | quran.com/10/65
The Qur'an states plainly that the words of Allah cannot be changed. If the Tawrat, Zabur, and Injil are the words of Allah, and no change can there be in the words of Allah, then what does this mean for the charge of corruption?
What do the verses quoted as evidence of corruption actually say?
وَإِنَّ مِنۡهُمۡ لَفَرِيقٗا يَلۡوُۥنَ أَلۡسِنَتَهُم بِٱلۡكِتَٰبِ لِتَحۡسَبُوهُ مِنَ ٱلۡكِتَٰبِ وَمَا هُوَ مِنَ ٱلۡكِتَٰبِ
“Among them is a group who distort the book with their tongues, so that you would think it is from the book, when it is not from the book.”
Surah Al-Imran 3:78 | quran.com/3/78
Notice: they distort it with their tongues. The text is not said to be changed. The meaning is twisted in the telling. This is a consistent pattern across all six commonly cited verses. The accusation is against people who misrepresent the text, not against the text itself.
What did the greatest Islamic scholars say about this?
Abdullah Ibn Abbas
619-687 AD - cousin of the Prophet and companion
“The word tahrif signifies to change a thing from its original nature. There is no man who could corrupt a single word of what proceeded from Allah, so that the Jews and Christians could corrupt only by misrepresenting the meaning of the words of Allah.”
Al-Tabari
838-923 AD - one of the most renowned Muslim commentators
“The Gospel which is in the hands of the Christians, the greater part of it is the history of the Christ, His birth and His life. At no time did Al-Tabari charge the Jews or Christians of corrupting their scriptures.”
Ibn Taymiyya
1263-1328 AD
“No one has changed any text of the Scriptures. Rather they have falsified their meanings by false interpretations.”
These scholars lived centuries after the Qur'an was revealed. They had access to the same traditions we do. And they concluded that the text of the scriptures had not been changed. The accusation was against misinterpretation, not textual corruption.
And what does the Qur'an itself say the Prophet should do when in doubt?
فَإِن كُنتَ فِي شَكّٖ مِّمَّآ أَنزَلۡنَآ إِلَيۡكَ فَسۡـَٔلِ ٱلَّذِينَ يَقۡرَءُونَ ٱلۡكِتَٰبَ مِن قَبۡلِكَ
“So if you are in doubt, O Muhammad, about that which We have revealed to you, then ask those who have been reading the scripture before you.”
Surah Yunus 10:94 | quran.com/10/94
Allah tells the Prophet: if in doubt, consult those who are reading the previous scriptures. If those scriptures were corrupted, this instruction would be dangerous. Allah does not direct His prophet to a corrupted source.
“All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.”
Injil, 2 Timothy 3:16 | bible.com/bible/111/2TI.3.16
Ten Thousand Copies
A student received a letter from a scholar. Someone told him the letter was a forgery. Don't read it, they said. It has been tampered with.
The student went to examine the claim. He found ten thousand copies of the same letter, made in different cities, in different centuries, by people who disagreed with each other on many things. But every copy said the same thing.
He spoke to the oldest scholars he could find. Every one of them confirmed: this letter is genuine. We have read it our entire lives. It has not changed.
One man had told him it was forged. Ten thousand copies and the testimony of the greatest scholars said otherwise.
The student had to decide who to believe. Not on the basis of what was comfortable. On the basis of what the evidence showed.
The Qur'an calls the Injil guidance and light. The greatest Islamic scholars said the text was not changed. The evidence of thousands of manuscripts confirms it. The question is no longer whether the Injil has been corrupted. The question is: will you read it?
What would you find if you opened the Injil with the same sincerity you bring to your prayers? That is what the next lesson is about.