Question
Assalamu ‘alaykum.
Why doesn’t the Qur’an reflect verses in the Torah and Gospels which may be not corrupted, or point out places where the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) is mentioned? Would this not be better to make the Christians and Jews believe?
Answer
Wa ‘alaykum assalam wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh.
I pray you are well.
Tampering With Texts
The Qur’an comes from Allah, and the message from Allah has always been the same. Rulings change for people, but the core message of Islam is the same.
This message is the same in all the books of revelation. However, people have changed their holy books over time. This is a fact recognised by the other religions too: their texts have been altered.
In many cases, they will admit much more than what is required for the fair-minded person to comfortably base religious belief and practice on. For example, the real authors of the gospels of Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John are not known. This is a commonly accepted fact. (Erhman, Jesus Interrupted) So how can this be the revelation that came to Jesus?
The Qur’an’s Guidance
The Qur’an addresses this tampering of texts and provides the followers of each of these religions with the reasons and evidence they need to accept the truth. A careful study of Sura al Baqara and the subsequent suras highlights this well.
We have sources narrated by early Muslims who were Christians before accepting Islam. They narrated many descriptions of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) that led them to accept Islam. These, however, are now gone. Altered and hidden.
The Qur’an provides ample evidence of the truth for the fair-minded who want to see and accept the truth. Those who don’t can’t be convinced no matter what evidence they are shown.
We ask Allah to let us always see the truth as being the truth, with the ability and desire to follow it; and to be able to recognise falsehood, and to be able to willingly shun it. Amin.
May Allah grant you the best of both worlds.
[Shaykh] Abdul-Rahim
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani