The question of whether the Quran replaces the Bible is a central issue in the discussion between Christianity and Islam. Islam claims continuity with biblical revelation, and yet it also claims that the Quran is the final, perfect, and uncorrupted Word of God. Muslims argue that the Bible has been corrupted and superseded, while the Quran restores the original message. Christians, however, maintain that the Bible alone is the inspired, inerrant, and complete Word of God, fully preserved by Jehovah, incapable of being displaced by any later writing. To examine this matter faithfully, one must approach it using the historical-grammatical method of exegesis, recognizing the divine inspiration of the Old and New Testaments, while testing the Quran’s claims against both history and Scripture.

The Biblical Test of a True Revelation

The Bible provides a clear and rigorous standard for evaluating any claim to new revelation. Deuteronomy 13 and 18 establish that any prophet or message that contradicts Jehovah’s already revealed Word, or that entices people away from loyalty to Him, must be rejected. The test is not only whether signs or wonders occur, but whether the teaching aligns with Jehovah’s established truth. Isaiah 8:20 directs God’s people to the law and the testimony, declaring that if any message does not speak according to this Word, there is no light in it. This standard, confirmed by the New Testament (Galatians 1:6–9; 1 John 4:1–3; Jude 3), requires that any alleged revelation, including the Quran, must be weighed against the already completed canon of inspired Scripture.

The Quran’s Claim of Superiority

The Quran itself claims to be a final revelation that corrects earlier Scriptures. Surah 5:48 states that the Quran confirms what came before it and serves as a guardian over earlier writings. Surah 2:75–79 and Surah 3:78 accuse Jews and Christians of corrupting their Scriptures, thereby justifying the Quran as a replacement. This Islamic doctrine, known as tahrif, asserts that the Torah and Gospel once contained truth but were altered by human hands. Thus, Islam positions the Quran as not only authoritative but as necessary, since without it, no one could reliably know God’s will.

However, this position encounters serious problems. First, the Quran simultaneously claims to affirm the Torah and Gospel (Surah 5:46–47), urging Christians to judge by what was revealed therein. If the Bible were truly corrupted before the time of Muhammad, then Allah’s command in the Quran to obey the Gospel would be incoherent. The Quran cannot both affirm and deny the authority of the Bible. Second, the textual evidence of the Bible demonstrates that its transmission has been preserved with extraordinary accuracy. The Dead Sea Scrolls confirm that the Old Testament text was faithfully preserved for over a thousand years before Muhammad’s time, while the thousands of Greek New Testament manuscripts reveal a transmission history of such stability that the text is 99.99% accurate to the autographs. The claim of corruption is therefore historically indefensible.

The Completion of the Biblical Canon

The Bible presents itself as a complete revelation. The Law, the Prophets, and the Writings were recognized as inspired Scripture by the time of Christ, and Jesus Himself repeatedly affirmed their divine authority (Luke 24:44–45; John 10:35). The New Testament writings, composed between 41 and 98 C.E., are the Spirit-inspired record of the life, death, resurrection, and teachings of Jesus Christ, along with the instruction for the Church. By the end of the first century, the canon was complete. Jude 3 speaks of “the faith once for all time delivered to the holy ones,” making it clear that divine revelation was not to be continually revised or replaced. Revelation 22:18–19 warns against adding to or taking away from the prophetic words of Scripture. Thus, the Bible itself testifies to its own sufficiency and finality.

The Person and Work of Jesus Christ

A central conflict between the Bible and the Quran is the identity of Jesus Christ. The Bible reveals Him as the eternal Word of God made flesh (John 1:1, 14), the Son of God, the Messiah, and the only Savior of mankind (Acts 4:12). He died on Nisan 14 of 33 C.E. as the substitutionary atonement for sin, and Jehovah raised Him bodily from the dead on the third day. The Quran denies these truths, teaching instead that Jesus was a mere prophet, not divine, and that He was not executed (Surah 4:157–158). Here, the Quran directly contradicts the Gospel, which is the very heart of God’s plan of salvation. By denying Christ’s death and resurrection, the Quran denies the only means by which humanity can be reconciled to Jehovah. According to Galatians 1:6–9, this constitutes “a different gospel,” which is no gospel at all.

Historical Reliability of the Bible Versus the Quran

The Bible’s historical reliability is unparalleled. Its accounts are grounded in verifiable geography, archaeology, and chronology. Discoveries such as the Tel Dan Stele, the Mesha Stele, Hezekiah’s tunnel, and the Dead Sea Scrolls consistently confirm the biblical record. The precision of biblical chronology, from the Flood in 2348 B.C.E. to the ministry of Jesus beginning in 29 C.E., demonstrates its rootedness in real history. By contrast, the Quran contains historical inaccuracies, such as confusing Mary the mother of Jesus with Miriam the sister of Moses (Surah 19:28), and reporting that Pharaoh’s court included Haman, a figure from the book of Esther (Surah 28:6). These anachronisms reveal that the Quran lacks the historical foundation of the Bible.

The Preservation of the Bible Versus the Quran

Islamic tradition itself admits that the Quran underwent significant editing and standardization. Caliph Uthman (644–656 C.E.) ordered all variant Qurans to be burned, preserving only his official recension. Early manuscripts demonstrate differences in readings, vowelization, and arrangement. The existence of competing recitations (qira’at) further confirms this fluidity. By contrast, Jehovah providentially preserved the biblical manuscripts across centuries without resorting to forced suppression. The multitude of manuscripts allows for transparent comparison and reconstruction, ensuring accuracy. The Quran’s preservation, therefore, is not superior to the Bible’s, but inferior, as it involved deliberate elimination of variants.

The Quran and the Bible: Two Incompatible Messages

At the core, the Quran and the Bible proclaim irreconcilable messages. The Bible centers on Jehovah’s covenant purposes fulfilled in Christ’s sacrificial death and resurrection, offering forgiveness of sins and eternal life through faith in Him. The Quran denies this salvation and replaces it with a system of works-righteousness, where obedience to Islamic law determines one’s standing before Allah. These are not complementary messages but opposing ones. According to 2 Corinthians 11:4, any message that preaches another Jesus or another gospel is to be rejected. Therefore, the Quran does not confirm the Bible; it contradicts it, and in so doing proves itself false by the very biblical standards of revelation.

The Authority of Scripture Alone

Christian faith rests upon the authority of the Word of God, not upon later writings or traditions. 2 Timothy 3:16–17 affirms that all Scripture is God-breathed and sufficient to make the man of God complete. The Quran’s attempt to displace the Bible fails because it offers a contradictory message, lacks historical and textual reliability, and undermines the very revelation it claims to confirm. The Word of Jehovah endures forever (Isaiah 40:8; 1 Peter 1:25), and no later document can replace or overthrow it. The canon is closed, and the faith has been once for all time delivered.

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