Muslims Say: The Quran Has Never Changed!

Muslims believe the Quran has never changed. They also believe it is perfectly preserved. “We have, without doubt, sent down the Message; and We will assuredly guard it (from corruption)” (Qs 15:9). But if they look at closely at Islamic sources, they will question if this belief is true.

The Quran’s Collection

After Muhammad’s death, some of the manuscripts were lost during Yamama war. Caliph Abu Bakr sent many Qurra to fight in it. “Qurra” are those people who knew the Quran by heart. Unfortunately, many of them died. Portions of the Quran were also lost with their deaths. “Many (of the passages) of the Qur’an that were sent down were known by those who died on the day of Yamama …” (Ibn Abi Dawud, Kitab al-Masahif)

Then Abu Bakr collected and kept the remaining portions. After he died, they went to Caliph Umar. After Umar died, they went to Hafsa, one of Muhammad’s widows (Sahih al-Bukhari 4986).

The Quran’s Standardization

However, during Caliph Uthman’s leadership, Muslims disputed over this Quranic collection. So Uthman summoned Zayd ibn Thabit, a leading authority on the Quran, to revise it. The text was written in the Quraish dialect. After finishing it, Uthman sent a copy of the new text to every Muslim province. He also burned all of the differing manuscripts (Mishkat Vol. III, p. 708). The Quran we have now is a copy of the Uthmanic codex.

Disagreements Among Muhammad’s Followers

But many Islamic scholars disagreed with this Quran. Ibn Masud, one of Muhammad’s followers, called it a deception. “The people have been guilty of deceit in the reading of the Quran. I like it better to read according to the recitation of him [I.e] Muhammad … more than that of Zayd Ibn Thabit” (Ibn Sa’d, Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir, Vol. 2, p. 444).

Ubayy ibn Ka’b, Muhammad’s best reciter believed it was missing two chapters (Sahih al-Bukhari 5005). Aisha, Muhammad’s wife claimed some verses missing. “The verse about stoning and about breastfeeding an adult was revealed, and the paper was with me under my pillow. When the Messenger of Allah died, we were preoccupied with his death, and a tame sheep came in and ate it” (related by Ibn-Mayah in “Kitabu’l Sunan” with Sahih Muslim, page 740). How many more verses are missing?

The Injil Has Never Changed

Muslims believe that Injil has changed. But they cannot provide the proof. There are indeed translations in different languages. But this doesn’t alter the Injil. Isa Al-Masih told his disciples, “Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear” (Injil, Luke 21:33).

The Injil’s message is that God sent His Word, Isa Al-Masih, into the world. At the end of Isa’s life on earth, He died as a holy sacrifice for the world. He did this so that we could have Allah’s forgiveness. Because of Allah’s forgiveness, we have eternal life! Isn’t that what everyone is looking for? “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son [Isa]” (Injil, Apostle John 5:11). Receive Him and you’ll get the assurance of eternal life!
[We invite you to visit us at https://www.isaandislam.com/way-of-salvation to learn more about God’s gift of Salvation. God loves you and waits to hear from you. Isa clearly said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (Injil, John 14:6) For a deeper understanding of Isa, we suggest you subscribe to “Isa, Islam, and Al-Fatiha” at this link.]

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1. Why were some portions of the Quran lost?
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3. How are the Quran and the Injil different?
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