The Islamic Dilemma
Muslims who study the Quran carefully find themselves in a bit of an uncomfortable situation. As I will explain in this article, if the Bible is the Word of God, Islam is false, and if the Bible is not the Word of God, Islam is still false. How can this be? Let’s take a look at some of the claims about the Bible found in the Quran.
First up is Surah 29:46 which reads,
“And do not argue with the People of the Scripture except in the best manner possible, except those who do wrong among them. And say, “We believe in what was revealed to us, and in what was revealed to you; and our God and your God is One; and to Him we are submissive.”
From this verse we can see that Muslims are taught that their god and the God of the “people of the scripture” (Jews and Christians) are one and the same. However, as I’ve shown in my previous article, Muslims do not believe in the same God that Christians worship. Islam denies the very nature of God as a Trinity. The Quran more specifically denies the deity of Jesus in Surah 5:116. Our focus will instead be directed at the part of this verse which says, “We believe in what was revealed to us, and in what was revealed to you.” Muslims are told to believe in what was revealed to Jews and Christians. What was that exactly? Let’s look at our next verse to find out.
Surah 3:3-4 says, “He sent down to you the book with the truth, verifying that which is before it, and he revealed the Torah and the Gospel aforetime, a guidance for the people, and he sent the Quran...” The Quran says that the Torah and the Gospel are also Allah’s words. But what are we to do with this information? The answer is in Surah 5:47: “And let the People of the Gospel judge by what Allah has revealed therein. And whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed - then it is those who are the defiantly disobedient.”
Christians are told in this verse to judge by the Gospel. However, if we judge by the Gospel, we must reject Islam, because it contradicts the teachings found in the Gospel. How do Muslim apologists such as Zakir Naik and Shabir Ally interpret this verse? They claim that the Bible has been corrupted. But is this consistent with the teaching of the Quran?
Surah 18:27 says, “And recite what was revealed to you from the Book of your Lord. There is no changing His words, and you will find no refuge except in Him.” Clearly Allah’s words cannot be changed, and if this is the case, then the claim that the Bible (which the Quran says is the word of Allah) was corrupted holds no water. If, by contrast, the Bible has indeed been corrupted, the Quran is incorrect in stating that no one can change Allah’s words. This also begs the question, “Why would Allah tell Christians and Jews to judge by a corrupted book?” If the Torah and the Gospel had been corrupted, surely Allah would not have revealed Surah 5:68 which says, “Say, ‘O People of the Scripture! You have no basis until you uphold the Torah, and the Gospel, and what is revealed to you from your Lord...’”According to Muslim apologists Shabir Ally and Zakir Naik, we Christians have no basis until we uphold a corrupted book, and if we do uphold the Torah and the Gospel, they tell us that we are being deceived!
Some may say, “People should just stick to whatever God gave them and not try to force their revelation on others. Jews should just use the Torah, Christians the Gospel, and Muslims the Quran. Problem solved!” However, Allah told Muhammad himself to judge by the Torah and the Gospel! Surah 10:94: “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. The truth has certainly come to you from your Lord, so never be among the doubters.” I suspect Muhammad did not take this test too seriously, for if he had, he would have been forced to reject the Quran, because it contradicts the teachings found in the Torah and the Gospel.
As you can see, Muslims have a decision to make: Do Christians truly have the Word of God, or has their revelation from God been corrupted? Whatever the Muslim decides will ultimately lead them to reject Islam. For if Christians have the Word of God, Islam is false because it contradicts the teachings of Christianity, and Muhammad himself was told to judge the his revelation by the Torah and the Gospel. If Christians possess a corrupted revelation from God, then Islam is false because it affirms the inspiration, preservation, and authority of the Torah and the Gospel. As David Wood put it, “By affirming scriptures that contradict its core teachings, Islam self-destructs.”
And this, ladies and gentlemen, is known as the “Islamic Dilemma.”
Recommended Resources:
Book: Answering Islam: The Crescent in Light of the Cross by Abdul Saleeb and Norman Geisler
Youtube Channel: Acts17Apologetics (free video content!)