Did the Prophet (pbuh) tell the Christians living in his age that the Gospel was distorted? Or, did he use all his energy directly to convey the message of the Quran?

Dear Brother / Sister,

The Prophet (pbuh) told the Christians and Jews that the Gospel and the Torah were distorted by their ancestors. As a matter of fact, there are verses regarding the issue:

"There is among them a section who distort the Book with their tongues: (As they read) you would think it is a part of the Book, but it is no part of the Book; and they say, ‘That is from Allah,’ but it is not from Allah: It is they who tell a lie against Allah, and (well) they know it." (Aal-i Imran, 3/78)

The Quran explains this ugly intervention of the Jewish and Christian clerics in the divine books as follows:  

"O ye who believe! there are indeed many among the priests and anchorites, who in Falsehood devour the substance of men and hinder (them) from the way of Allah..." (at-Tawba, 9/34)

As it is understood from the verse above, rabbis and priests changed the verses in the holy books in return for worldly interests and interpreted them as they wished. They distorted especially the verses related to the prophethood of Hz. Muhammad (pbuh) and tried to eliminate the verses of the Bible giving information about the advent of Hz. Muhammad (pbuh) after Hz. Isa (Christ).

Allah states the following in verses 4-5 of the chapter of al-Kahf:

“Further, that He may warn those (also) who say, ‘Allah hath begotten a son’: No knowledge have they of such a thing, nor had their fathers. It is a grievous thing that issues from their mouths as a saying what they say is nothing but falsehood.”

Allah states that Islam is the true religion, that the Quran is the last book that Allah sent down and that Muhammed (pbuh) is the last and true prophet sent by Allah and orders them to accept those facts and not to hide them.

“Ye People of the Book! Why do ye clothe Truth with falsehood, and conceal the Truth, while ye have knowledge?” (Aal-i Imran, 7/71)

“…So, believe in Allah and His messengers. Say not ‘Trinity…’” (an-Nisa, 4/171)

The Prophet (pbuh) told the Christians about the verses of the Quran above and similar ones and informed them about Islam, the true religion.

Besides, the Prophet (pbuh) also stated that the Jews and Christians

"distorted their books by interpreting them" (Darimi, Muqaddima, 56),

"the kings changed the Torah after Hz. Isa" (Nasai, Qudat, 12),

"distorted their books and made additions to them" (Tirmidhi, Tafsir, 34/3).

Questions on Islam