Answering Objections to Islam · Theology & Doctrine
The "Islamic Dilemma" (Q 5:47, 5:68, 10:94)
In short
- 1.Q 5:47 commands judgement by what God revealed in the Injil, not by every extant manuscript.
- 2.Q 2:79, 3:78 and 5:13 describe writing scripture by hand and twisting it with the tongue.
- 3.Injil in the Qur'an is a revelation given to Jesus (PBUH), singular — not a four-gospel anthology written by others.
The claim being examined
The Qur'an tells Christians to judge by the Gospel and the People of the Book to uphold the Torah and Gospel. Critics argue this either affirms the Bible of the 7th century — which was substantially our Bible — or renders the command incoherent.
The Islamic position
The commands are addressed to the People of the Book about the revelation given to Jesus (PBUH) and Moses (PBUH), and the Qur'an simultaneously charges them with tahrif — distortion in interpretation, concealment and writing. The instruction is to uphold what God actually revealed, not to ratify every in circulation.
Analysis
This objection assumes the "Injil" the Qur'an talks about is the four Gospels in today's Bible. It isn't. The Qur'an always speaks of one Injil, given to Jesus (PBUH) — the same pattern as the Torah given to Moses (PBUH) and the Zabur given to David (PBUH). Even non-Muslim scholars like Bart Ehrman agree the four Gospels were written later by anonymous authors *about* Jesus (PBUH); they are not a book handed to him. Q 5:68 is a challenge, not a stamp of approval: it tells the People of the Book they stand on nothing until they uphold what God actually revealed. So the short version: the Qur'an confirms the revelation Jesus (PBUH) was given, and criticises what people later did with it.
From the Qur'an
وَءَاتَيْنَـٰهُ ٱلْإِنجِيلَ فِيهِ هُدًۭى وَنُورٌۭ
waātaynāhu l-injīla fīhi hudan wanūrun
We gave him the Injil, in which was guidance and light.
فَوَيْلٌۭ لِّلَّذِينَ يَكْتُبُونَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ بِأَيْدِيهِمْ
fawaylun lilladhīna yaktubūna l-kitāba bi-aydīhim
Woe to those who write the scripture with their own hands, then say 'this is from Allah'.
يُحَرِّفُونَ ٱلْكَلِمَ عَن مَّوَاضِعِهِۦ ۙ
yuḥarrifūna l-kalima ʿan mawāḍiʿihi
They distort words from their proper places.
From the Bible
Greek
Luke describes compiling an account from what others handed down — a report about Jesus, not a book revealed to him.
Read it in their BibleSources
The spoken script for this entry is inside the app.
Members get the word-for-word delivery guide — how to open, what to say, the likely replies and how to close warmly — plus notes, a dawah journal and the study assistant.
Open the app