What the Quran says about earlier scripture
The verses the argument rests on, with links to the Arabic, the word-by-word grammar, and a range of translations.
Quotations below are given as short key phrases with a plain summary of the rest, because every widely used English translation of the Quran is under copyright and the differences between them sometimes matter. Each block links to Quran.com, which shows a dozen translations side by side, and to the Quranic Arabic Corpus, which gives the grammar word by word. Read them for yourself before deciding what they mean.
Passages affirming earlier scripture #
وَلْيَحْكُمْ أَهْلُ الْإِنجِيلِ بِمَا أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ فِيهِ
God sent Jesus son of Mary confirming the Torah that came before him, and gave him the Gospel, in which there is guidance and light. The passage then turns to the Christians directly: let the People of the Gospel judge by what God has revealed in it, and those who do not are called transgressors.
لَسْتُمْ عَلَىٰ شَيْءٍ حَتَّىٰ تُقِيمُوا التَّوْرَاةَ وَالْإِنجِيلَ
The People of the Scripture are told they stand on nothing until they uphold the Torah, the Gospel, and what has been sent down to them from their Lord.
فَاسْأَلِ الَّذِينَ يَقْرَءُونَ الْكِتَابَ مِن قَبْلِكَ
If you are in doubt about what has been revealed to you, ask those who have been reading the Scripture before you.
Muslims are told to say they believe in what was revealed to them and in what was revealed to Abraham, Moses, Jesus and the prophets, making no distinction between them. In debate with the People of the Book, they are to say they believe in what was sent down to us and to you, and that our God and your God is one.
Passages on the permanence of God's words #
لَّا مُبَدِّلَ لِكَلِمَاتِهِ
The word of your Lord is complete in truth and justice. There is no changer of his words.
God has sent down the reminder, and God is its guardian.
Passages denying the Christian claims #
وَمَا قَتَلُوهُ وَمَا صَلَبُوهُ وَلَٰكِن شُبِّهَ لَهُمْ
Of the Jews who claimed to have killed the Messiah: they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him, but it was made to appear so to them. Those who dispute it are in doubt with no knowledge, only conjecture. God raised him to himself.
The Jews say Ezra is the son of God and the Christians say the Messiah is the son of God. This is said to imitate the sayings of those who disbelieved before, and the passage asks how they are deluded.
On the day of judgement God asks Jesus whether he told people to take him and his mother as two gods besides God. Jesus denies ever saying it.
لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ
Say: God is one, the eternal refuge. He does not beget, nor is he begotten, and there is none comparable to him.
Passages Muslims cite in reply #
These are the verses usually raised against the argument, and they deserve to be read alongside the ones above rather than left out of the picture.
- Surah 2:79 — woe to those who write scripture with their own hands and say it is from God.
- Surah 4:46 and Surah 5:13 — some of the Jews displace words from their places and forget part of what they were reminded of.
- Surah 3:78 — a group twist their tongues with the scripture so you think it is from the Book when it is not.
- Surah 2:75 — a party used to hear the word of God and then distort it knowingly after understanding it.