How should we respond to those who say that the scientific verses in the Quran are also mentioned in the Bible, that the Quran was copied from the Bible and that they will accept Christianity?
Submitted by on Tue, 15/03/2022 - 09:10
Dear Brother / Sister,
According to the Islamic belief, the original of the Torah and the Gospel is the word of Allah, and anyone who does not believe in Him is not considered a Muslim. Muslims believe in the Bible (the Torah and the Gospel) in its original form that came from Allah. The following verse orders Muslims to do so.
“Say ye: ‘We believe in Allah, and the revelation given to us, and to Abraham, Isma’il, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes, and that given to Moses and Jesus, and that given to (all) prophets from their Lord: We make no difference between one and another of them: And we bow to Allah (in Islam).’” (al-Baqara, 2/136).
Since the Gospels existing today are distorted, they have similar aspects to the Quran as well as opposite aspects; the verses of the Quran are taken as the basis related to their opposite aspects.
It is claimed that some expressions and stories in the Quran are also mentioned in the Bible and that the Quran was copied from them. Since both the Quran and the Bible are the word of Allah, even if they are distorted today, it is normal to have similar expressions and stories; and it shows that the source of both is divine. Contrary claims are the phenomena in which atheists turn the facts upside down.
In addition, there were Jews and Christians in the society in which the Quran was revealed, and the Quran addressed them too. Is it possible for the Quran, which also addresses Jews and Christians, not to have similar expressions to the ones in the Torah and the Gospel?
The Gospel, the Torah and the Quran are not scientific books. All divine books were revealed to inform people of their responsibilities to Allah and to one another. While declaring those responsibilities, Allah gives examples of things that are in front of people’s eyes and that have become a part of their lives. He gives examples from the sky and the mountains they see every day, the food they eat, the animals they graze, and their perceptions in their social life. Unlike what atheists think, an expression style away from people’s lives cannot be the topic of divine revelation. Such a style is also contrary to the principle of appropriateness for the addressee.
Statements parallel to today’s scientific knowledge both in the Quran and other sacred texts can be seen as scientific knowledge for today’s people, as well as the information given to correct the perceptions of the people of that day. For example, God Almighty states the following in verse 32 of the chapter of al-Anbiya: “And We have made the heavens as a canopy well guarded: yet do they turn away from the Signs which these things (point to).” According to the first addressees of the Quran, “the heavens being well guarded” meant “preventing the jinn and devils from being aware of what is going on in the high assembly”. However, today’s developments in the science of astronomy and the data it has reached have enabled us to understand the verse above as “the atmosphere surrounding the world being protected from light and celestial bodies that can harm life”.
It would be unfair to expect the first addressees of the divine revelation to infer the meaning we understand today, and it would not be appropriate to accept that today’s people will leave aside the data revealed by astronomy and adopt the understanding of the previous people. (Prof. Dr. İlyas Çelebi, Kelam Araştırmaları Dergisi, 2004, Volume: II, Issue: 1, pp. 23-26)
The Quran is the word of Allah. Claims that it quoted from other books belong to atheists who say that it is not the word of Allah. Can there be something as normal as the existence of similar words and expressions in a book? Could the similarity of ten words or even a hundred words in two books be a proof that one was copied from the other? Besides, although the Quran mentions the same subject, there are great differences between the miraculousness of its style and the style of other books.
Questions on Islam
- How did the Bible change?
- When was the Gospel distorted?
- Were the books that were sent before the Quran (the Torah, the Psalms and the Gospel) distorted and changed?
- What is the difference between the other Divine Books and the Quran?
- Why did Allah send the Quran as the last book?
- Will you give information about the Bible of Barnabas?
- Do both the meaning and the words of the Bible (Gospel) and the Torah, like the Quran, belong to Allah?
- What is the difference between the Quran and the Torah?
- Will you answer the claims related to the Quran, the Gospel and Islamic contradictions?
- Was the Gospel written when Hz. Isa was alive? Did a book called the Gospel exist? If yes, what happened to it? Why is no record of such a book seen in any historical document?