Praise be to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah.
There is no contradiction between a Muslim’s belief that Allah revealed the Torah to Moses and the Gospel to Jesus, peace be upon them, and the view that the scriptures currently circulated among Jews and Christians have not been preserved in their original form. Indeed, their own sources contain indications of the existence of a Scripture or revelation given to Moses and Jesus, while the Qur’an has also explained that the scriptures of the People of the Book were subject to alteration, distortion, and mixture.
The Noble Qur’an is the Word of Allah, and the Prophet ﷺ is truly the Messenger of Allah. Whatever Allah tells us in the Qur’an about previous nations, prophets, and revealed Scriptures must be believed, whether or not we find supporting evidence for it in other sources.
Allah تعالى says:
“That is from the news of the unseen which We reveal to you. You did not know it, nor did your people, before this. So be patient. Indeed, the good outcome is for the righteous.” [Hud 11:49]
Nevertheless, examining the Jewish and Christian scriptures currently in circulation reveals material that supports the basic point reported by the Qur’an.
The Jewish Scriptures contain several passages indicating that Moses, peace be upon him, received a written law.
In Exodus 24:3–4, Moses is described as conveying to the Children of Israel the words and rulings of the Lord and then writing down the words of the Lord.
In Exodus 24:12, Allah is described as saying to Moses:
“I will give you tablets of stone, with the law and commandments I have written for their instruction.”
Exodus 31:18 also mentions the giving of the tablets of the testimony to Moses after Allah had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai.
The Scriptures further mention that the first tablets were broken after the Children of Israel worshipped the calf, after which other tablets were mentioned.
In Deuteronomy 31:9, Moses is described as writing the Torah and giving it to the priests and elders of Israel. The same book also mentions Moses completing the writing of the words of the Torah and placing the book beside the Ark of the Covenant.
All of this indicates that the idea of a revealed law or Scripture given to Moses is not something invented by the Qur’an; rather, it has an evident basis in Jewish sources themselves.
Likewise, Christian sources in circulation today mention the Gospel as glad tidings or a message to which Jesus, peace be upon him, called people.
In Mark 1:14, Jesus is described as preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of Allah and saying:
“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of Allah is near. Repent and believe in the Gospel.”
The expression “Gospel of Allah” and “Gospel of Christ” also appears elsewhere in Christian sources.
Here an important point should be noted: the Gospel to which Jesus called people to believe does not necessarily have to be one of the four Gospels existing today. These four Gospels are attributed to their respective authors, whereas the sources themselves indicate that Jesus preached the Gospel and called people to believe in it during his lifetime.
For this reason, some researchers and scholars have stated that the Gospel revealed to Jesus was a Scripture or revelation that existed during his time, but was not preserved in its original form.
Someone may ask: If the Torah and Gospel were revealed by Allah, where are they today?
The answer is that the revelation of a Scripture is one matter, while its preservation from alteration and loss is another.
Allah informed us that the Torah was revealed by Him:
“Indeed, We revealed the Torah, in which was guidance and light. The prophets who submitted [to Allah] judged by it for the Jews, as did the rabbis and scholars by that with which they were entrusted of the Scripture of Allah, and they were witnesses to it. So do not fear the people; fear Me, and do not exchange My verses for a small price. And whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed—then it is those who are the disbelievers.” [Al-Ma’idah 5:44]
The Qur’an also explains elsewhere that some of the People of the Book altered words and wrote things with their own hands and then attributed them to Allah.
Allah says:
“So woe to those who write the Scripture with their own hands and then say, ‘This is from Allah.’” [Al-Baqarah 2:79]
And He says:
“They distort words from their proper places.” [Al-Ma’idah 5:13]
Therefore, the presence of some of the truth brought by Moses and Jesus, peace be upon them, in the scriptures available today does not mean that everything in them is the original revelation. Likewise, the presence of alteration in them does not mean that the original Torah and Gospel were not revelation from Allah.
The Qur’an establishes that Allah revealed the Torah and the Gospel, but it does not establish that the copies available among people today have been preserved word-for-word without alteration.
As for the Noble Qur’an, Allah has specifically guaranteed its preservation:
“Indeed, We have sent down the Reminder, and indeed We will preserve it.” [Al-Hijr 15:9]
Thus, the fact that the Gospels currently in existence were written by people after Jesus, peace be upon him, cannot be used as evidence that the Gospel was never revealed in the first place. There is a clear distinction between the Scripture revealed by Allah to His prophet and the writings recorded afterward and attributed to his teachings and reports.
As for the claim made by some objectors that the Qur’an contains merely legends or that its accounts were copied from earlier Scriptures, this claim is not scientific evidence against the Qur’an.
Allah تعالى says:
“Among them are those who listen to you, but We have placed coverings over their hearts so they do not understand it, and deafness in their ears. Even if they saw every sign, they would not believe in it. When they come to you arguing with you, those who disbelieve say, ‘This is nothing but the legends of the former peoples.’” [Al-An‘am 6:25]
He also says:
“Those who disbelieve say to those who believe, ‘If it had been good, they would not have preceded us to it.’ And since they were not guided by it, they will say, ‘This is an ancient falsehood.’” [Al-Ahqaf 46:11]
Rather, the Qur’an tells us that some among the People of the Book recognized its truth:
“Is it not sufficient for them that the scholars of the Children of Israel know it?” [Ash-Shu‘ara 26:197]
The Jewish and Christian sources currently in circulation contain indications supporting the original existence of a law and Scripture given to Moses, peace be upon him, as well as references to the “Gospel” to which Jesus, peace be upon him, called people during his lifetime. This does not conflict with the fact that the scriptures existing today underwent alteration and mixture and were not preserved in their original form.
Therefore, a Muslim’s belief in the revelation of the Torah and Gospel does not depend on the survival of their original copies today. Rather, it is based first and foremost on Allah’s truthful report in the Qur’an, while the evidence found in other sources serves as supporting evidence and does not establish the foundation of that belief.
And Allah knows best.