A Fully-Referenced Video Series
The Islamic Dilemma Debunked
What is the Islamic Dilemma?
The Islamic Dilemma is a flawed Christian argument that claims that the Quran requires Muslims to follow the English-language Bible that is in the hands of Christian missionaries today. This fully-referenced video series comprehensively debunks this argument and shows that it’s actually the Bible that is in Christian hands that requires Christians to follow the Quran, not the other way around.
The first video in the Islamic Dilemma Debunked video series responds to Christian misinterpretations of (1) Qurānic verses that say that no one can change God’s words (Qurān 6:115 and 18:27); (2) Qurānic verses that refer to the Torah and Gospel – what does Torah and Gospel mean in the Qurān? (Qurān 7:157); (3) Qurānic verses that say that the Qurān confirms the Torah and Gospel (Qurān 2:41); (4) Qurānic verses that command the Jews and Christians to establish the Torah and Gospel (Qurān 5:68); (5) Qurānic verses that command the Jews and Christians to judge by the Torah and Gospel (Qurān 5:47); and (6) Qurānic verses that command the Prophet ﷺ and the Muslims to ask the People of the Book for confirmation that what the Qurān is saying is true (Qurān 10:94 and 21:6).
First Reference: Both Ibn Kathīr and Ibn Taymiyya Believed That the Present-Day Bible Has Been Corrupted
Ibn Kathīr’s mentions in his commentary on Qurān 3:78 that Bukhārī cited Ibn 'Abbās as saying that the Jewish corruption of the Torah was only corruption of the meaning (taḥrīf maʿnawī), not a corruption of the actual words (taḥrīf lafẓī) and then he mentions that this was also the position of the Follower (tābīʿī) Wahb b. Munabbih.
Christian apologists deceptively cherry-pick this part of Ibn Kathīr’s commentary to make it seem that he believes that the English-language Bibles in their hands today are the uncorrupted word of God, conveniently ignoring the fact that just a couple of lines later, Ibn Kathīr says there is no doubt that Wahb b. Munabbih is wrong if he is referring to the Bibles that are in the hands of Christians in his time:
“If Wahb b. Munabbih was referring to [the scriptures] that are in their hands, then there is no doubt that they have been changed, corrupted, added to, and subtracted from. And as for the Arabic versions of [those scriptures] that are seen [today] in Arabic, they have major mistakes, many additions, subtractions, and things that are clearly untrue (wahm fāḥish).”
فإن عنى وهب ما بأيديهم من ذلك ، فلا شك أنه قد دخلها التبديل والتحريف والزيادة والنقص ، وأما تعريب ذلك المشاهد بالعربية ففيه خطأ كبير ، وزيادات كثيرة ونقصان ، ووهم فاحش
For the full text of this citation from Ibn Kathīr’s Tafsīr al-Qurān al-ʿAẓīm, click here.
Ibn Kathīr explains his position in greater detail in his al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah in the “Chapter On How the People of Scripture (ahl al-kitāb) Corrupted and Changed Their Religions” that the correct position regarding the Bible of his time is the position of his teacher Ibn Taymiyya that parts of it have, in fact, been corrupted and changed, and other parts have not:
“Other scholars (including our teacher the imam, the great scholar Abul Abbās Ibn Taymiyya (may Allah have mercy on him) took a middle position. He said that that those scholars who held that the scriptures have been completely corrupted from beginning to end and not a single letter of them remains unchanged have held a far-fetched position; that those scholars who held that they have not been changed at all have also held a far-fetched position; and that the truth is that they have been changed and the some words have been added and subtracted, and they [i.e., the Jews and Christians] have also given them wrong interpretations. This is clear to anyone who reflects about it.”
وذهب آخرون من العلماء إلى التوسط في هذين القولين منهم شيخنا الإمام العلامة أبو العباس ابن تيمية رحمه الله فقال : أما من ذهب إلى أنها كلها مبدلة من أولها إلى آخرها ، ولم يبق منها حرف إلا بدلوه فهذا بعيد ، وكذا من قال : لم يبدل شيء منها بالكلية بعيد أيضا والحق أنه دخلها تبديل وتغيير ، وتصرفوا في بعض ألفاظها بالزيادة والنقص كما تصرفوا في معانيها . وهذا معلوم عند التأمل
For the full text of this citation from Ibn Kathīr’s al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah, click here.
Ibn Kathīr then goes on in the above citation to bring many examples of specific passages that have been changed and he also explains how he believes the scriptures were corrupted based on the historical knowledge that was available to him at that time.
Ibn Kathīr’s position is the same as the position of his teacher Ibn Taymiyya, which was that there were, in fact, uncorrupted versions of the previous scriptures, but only until the time of the Prophet ﷺ and shortly afterwards.
“The correct position is the third position, i.e., that there were uncorrupted manuscripts [of the previous scriptures] and they remained until the time of the Prophet ﷺ and many other manuscripts that have been corrupted.”
وَالصَّحِيحُ الْقَوْلُ الثَّالِث ُ، وَهُوَ أَنَّ فِي الْأَرْضِ نُسَخًا صَحِيحَةً وَبَقِيَتْ إلَى عَهْدِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَنُسَخًا كَثِيرَةً مُحَرَّفَةً
For the full text of this citation from Ibn Taymiyya’s Majmūʿ Fatāwā Ibn Taymiyya, click here.
Second Reference: Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī's Historical Evaluation of the Report of Ibn ʿAbbās on Taḥrīf Maʿnawī
قوله: (يحرّفون: يزيلون) لم أرَ هذا موصولًا من كلام ابن عباس من وجه ثابت مع أن الذي قبله من كلامه وكذا الذي بعده، وهو قوله «دراستهم: تلاوتهم» وما بعده، وأخرج جميع ذلك ابن أبي حاتم من طريق علي بن أبي طلحة عن ابن عباس، وقد تقدَّم في باب قوله «كل يوم هو في شأن» عن ابن عباس ما يخالف ما ذُكر هنا وهو تفسير يحرّفون بقولــه يزيلون، نعم أخرجه ابن أبي حاتم من طريق وهب بن منبه، وقال أبو عبيدة في كتاب المجاز في قوله يحرّفون الكلم عن مواضعه، قال يقلبون ويغيّرون، وقال الراغب التحريف الإمالة وتحريف الكلام أن يجعلَه على حرفٍ من الاحتمال بحيث يمكن حمله على وجهين فأكثر
Ibn Ḥajar explains above in his Fatḥ al-Bārī (a) that he hasn’t found any complete chain of transmission for Bukhārī’s citation of Ibn ʿAbbās as saying that the meaning of “corruption” is “corruption in meaning” (that means that there is no known chain of transmission for it); (b) that there is a full chain of transmission to Wahb b. Munabbih (who was not a Companion); and (c) that Bukhārī gives a full chain of transmission to Ibn ʿAbbās saying the opposite (as explained in further detail in the video). (Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī, Fatḥ al-Bārī (Riyāḍ: Dār al-Salām, 2000), 13:652-3)
This evaluation from a ḥadīth-critic like Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī means that Bukhārī citation of IbnʿAbbās as saying that the meaning of “corruption” is “corruption in meaning” is a mistaken citation because it is not a statement of a Companion IbnʿAbbās; rather, it is a statement of a Follower Wahb b. Munabbih, who was more known for his knowledge of previous scriptures than he was for his knowledge of the Qurān and Sunna.
وأما تفسير يحرِّفون، (فلم أرَه من كلام ابن عباس وإِنما أخرج ابن أبي حاتم من طريق وهب بن منبه نحو ذلك
Ibn Ḥajar then reiterates the same in his Taghlīq al-Taʿlīq above. (Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī, Taghlīq al-Taʿlīq ʿalā Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī (Beirut: al-Maktab al-Islāmī, 1999), 5:380-381)
Third Reference: Bukhārī's Frequently Adopts Positions in His Chapter-Headings That Are Unanimously Rejected by all Four Schools of Islamic Law
Bukhārī is considered authoritative in his historical-critical judgments on the authenticity of ḥadīths that he cites with full chains of transmission. But whenever he mentions his personal positions in his chapter-headings, which are often corroborated by ḥadīths or statements of early Muslim without full chains of transmission, then neither his personal positions nor the ḥadīths or statements of early Muslim without full chains of transmission are considered authoritative. A good example of this is the positions that he adopts in his chapter headings that go against all four schools of Islamic law. These positions are almost unanimously rejected by all Muslim scholars, even though they are found in Bukhārī’s ḥadīth-collection, because the positions that Bukhārī argues for in his chapter-headings are not the aspect of his ḥadīth-collection that is considered authoritative. For a fully-referenced paper on some of these positions in Bukhārī’s ḥadīth-collection that are almost unanimously rejected by Muslim scholars, see: Ḥāzim Abū ʿUlyā, Mukhālafāt al-Imām al-Bukhārī li al-Aʾimma al-Arbaʿah min Khilāl Tarājimihī (al-ʿIbādāt Namūdhajan).
You can download the paper here
Fourth Reference: 12 Verses in Which Allah Addresses the Jews and Christians as Yā Ahl al-Kitāb to Motivate Them to Follow Their Own Scriptures
Whenever the Jews and Christians are addressed as “People of Written Scripture” (ahl al-kitāb), it is always an indication that what the rest of the verse is telling them to do is also something that their own scriptures are telling them to do. The rhetorical effect of their being addressed as “People of Written Scripture” (ahl al-kitāb) is therefore to motivate them, out of their reverence for their own written scriptures. to do what the rest of the verse is telling them to do.
This has been illustrated below with the first 12 verses in the Quran in which Allah addresses the Jews and Christians as “People of Written Scripture” (ahl al-kitāb).
Verse 1 (Qurān 3:64)
The Jews and Christians are addressed as yā ahl al-kitāb to motivate them to follow the commands in their own scriptures to not worship anyone apart from God, not associate any competing-gods with Him, and not take other human beings as authorities apart from God.
قُلْ يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ تَعَالَوْا إِلَىٰ كَلِمَةٍ سَوَاءٍ بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَكُمْ أَلَّا نَعْبُدَ إِلَّا اللَّهَ وَلَا نُشْرِكَ بِهِ شَيْئًا وَلَا يَتَّخِذَ بَعْضُنَا بَعْضًا أَرْبَابًا مِّن دُونِ اللَّهِ ۚ فَإِن تَوَلَّوْا فَقُولُوا اشْهَدُوا بِأَنَّا مُسْلِمُونَ ﴿٦٤﴾
“Say, ‘O People of Written Scripture! Come to the common word between us and you: that we don’t worship anyone apart from God, that we don’t worship any other gods apart from Him, and that we don’t take people among us as lords apart from God.’”
Verse 2 (Qurān 3:65)
The Jews and Christians are addressed as yā ahl al-kitāb to motivate them to follow their own scriptures by not referring to the Prophet Abraham as a Jew or a Christian because someone can only be a Jew if they follow the Jewish scriptures and they can only be a Christian if they follow the Christian scriptures, but both the Jews and the Christians know that own scriptures were revealed long after the time of the Prophet Abraham.
يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ لِمَ تُحَاجُّونَ فِي إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَمَا أُنزِلَتِ التَّوْرَاةُ وَالْإِنجِيلُ إِلَّا مِن بَعْدِهِ ۚ أَفَلَا تَعْقِلُونَ ﴿٦٥﴾
“O People of Written Scripture! Why do you argue about Abraham [i.e., whether he was a Jew or a Christian] when the Torah and Gospel were only revealed after him?”
Verse 3 (Qurān 3:70)
The Jews and Christians are addressed as yā ahl al-kitāb to motivate them to follow the prophecies in their own scriptures that command them to accept the Quran (āyāt Allah) as genuine revelation from God.
يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ لِمَ تَكْفُرُونَ بِآيَاتِ اللَّهِ وَأَنتُمْ تَشْهَدُونَ ﴿٧٠﴾
“O People of Written Scripture! Why are you disbelieving in the Quran (āyāt Allah) when you yourselves bear witness [i.e., based on your own scriptures that the Quran is genuine revelation from God].”
Verse 4 (Qurān 3:71)
The Jews and Christians are addressed as yā ahl al-kitāb to motivate them to act in accordance with the prophecies in their own scriptures that prove that the Prophet ﷺ is a genuine messenger from God, instead of concealing those prophecies, corrupting them, and giving them false interpretations.
يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ لِمَ تَلْبِسُونَ الْحَقَّ بِالْبَاطِلِ وَتَكْتُمُونَ الْحَقَّ وَأَنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ ﴿٧١﴾
“O people of written scripture! Why are you mixing truth with falsehood and concealing the truth even though you know?”
Verse 5 (Qurān 3:98)
The Jews and Christians are addressed as yā ahl al-kitāb to motivate them to follow the prophecies in their own scriptures that command them to accept the Quran (āyāt Allah) as genuine revelation from God.
قُلْ يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ لِمَ تَكْفُرُونَ بِآيَاتِ اللَّهِ وَاللَّهُ شَهِيدٌ عَلَىٰ مَا تَعْمَلُونَ ﴿٩٨﴾
“O People of Written Scripture! Why are you disbelieving in the Quran (āyāt Allah) even though Allah is a witness over what you are doing?”
Verse 6 (Qurān 3:99)
The Jews and Christians are addressed as yā ahl al-kitāb to motivate them to act in accordance with their own scriptures by not preventing Muslims from doing what their own scriptures tell them is something that God has commanded them to do.
قُلْ يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ لِمَ تَصُدُّونَ عَن سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ مَنْ آمَنَ تَبْغُونَهَا عِوَجًا وَأَنتُمْ شُهَدَاءُ ۗ وَمَا اللَّهُ بِغَافِلٍ عَمَّا تَعْمَلُونَ ﴿٩٩﴾
"O People of Written Scripture! Why are you preventing the believers from the path of Allah, wishing that it would become crooked, even though you yourselves are witnesses [i.e., that it is really the path of God, and that only someone who is misguided would prevent others from it]? God is not unaware of what you are doing.”
Verse 7 (Qurān 4:171)
The Christians are addressed as yā ahl al-kitāb to motivate them to act in accordance with their own scriptures by abandoning their claim that Jesus is God.
يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ لَا تَغْلُوا فِي دِينِكُمْ وَلَا تَقُولُوا عَلَى اللَّهِ إِلَّا الْحَقَّ ۚ إِنَّمَا الْمَسِيحُ عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ وَكَلِمَتُهُ أَلْقَاهَا إِلَىٰ مَرْيَمَ وَرُوحٌ مِّنْهُ ۖ فَآمِنُوا بِاللَّهِ وَرُسُلِهِ ۖ وَلَا تَقُولُوا ثَلَاثَةٌ ۚ انتَهُوا خَيْرًا لَّكُمْ ۚ إِنَّمَا اللَّهُ إِلَٰهٌ وَاحِدٌ ۖ سُبْحَانَهُ أَن يَكُونَ لَهُ وَلَدٌ ۘ لَّهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ ۗ وَكَفَىٰ بِاللَّهِ وَكِيلًا ﴿١٧١﴾
“O People of Written Scripture! Go not beyond the bounds in your religion, and say not as to God but the truth. The Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, was only the Messenger of God, and His Word that He cast into Mary, and a Spirit from Him. So believe in God and His Messengers, and say not, ’Three.’ Refrain; better is it for you. God is only One God. Glory be to Him -- That He should have a son! To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and in the earth; God suffices for a guardian.”
Verse 8 (Qurān 5:15)
The Jews and Christians are addressed as yā ahl al-kitāb to motivate them to act in accordance with the prophecies in their own scriptures that prove that the Prophet ﷺ is a genuine messenger from God, and to act on the commands in their own scriptures to accept him and follow him.
يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ قَدْ جَاءَكُمْ رَسُولُنَا يُبَيِّنُ لَكُمْ كَثِيرًا مِّمَّا كُنتُمْ تُخْفُونَ مِنَ الْكِتَابِ وَيَعْفُو عَن كَثِيرٍ ۚ قَدْ جَاءَكُم مِّنَ اللَّهِ نُورٌ وَكِتَابٌ مُّبِينٌ ﴿١٥﴾
“O People of Written Scripture!, there has come to you Our Messenger, making clear to you many things you have been concealing of the Written Scripture, and ignoring many things. There has come to you from God a light, and a Clear Written Scripture [i.e., the Quran].”
Verse 9 (Qurān 5:19)
The Jews and Christians are addressed as yā ahl al-kitāb to motivate them to act in accordance with the prophecies in their own scriptures that prove that the Prophet ﷺ is a genuine messenger from God, and to act on the commands in their own scriptures to accept him and follow him.
يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ قَدْ جَاءَكُمْ رَسُولُنَا يُبَيِّنُ لَكُمْ عَلَىٰ فَتْرَةٍ مِّنَ الرُّسُلِ أَن تَقُولُوا مَا جَاءَنَا مِن بَشِيرٍ وَلَا نَذِيرٍ ۖ فَقَدْ جَاءَكُم بَشِيرٌ وَنَذِيرٌ ۗ وَاللَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ ﴿١٩﴾
“People of Written Scripture! Our messenger has surely come to you, making things clear to you after a gap in the sending of messengers, lest you should say, ’There has not come to us any bearer of good tidings, no any warner.’ Indeed, there has come to you a bearer of good tidings and a warner; God is powerful over everything.”
Verse 10 (Qurān 5:59)
The Jews and Christians are addressed as yā ahl al-kitāb to motivate them to act in accordance with the prophecies in their own scriptures that prove that the Prophet ﷺ is a genuine messenger from God, and to act on the commands in their own scriptures to accept him and follow him.
قُلْ يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ هَلْ تَنقِمُونَ مِنَّا إِلَّا أَنْ آمَنَّا بِاللَّهِ وَمَا أُنزِلَ إِلَيْنَا وَمَا أُنزِلَ مِن قَبْلُ وَأَنَّ أَكْثَرَكُمْ فَاسِقُونَ ﴿٥٩﴾
“Say: ’O People of Written Scripture! Do you blame us for any other cause than that we believe in God, and what has been sent down to us, and what was sent down before [i.e., the written scriptures that you have, and which predict the Prophet ﷺ and require you to follow him], and that most of you disobey God.’”
Verse 11 (Qurān 5:68)
(The video explains this verse in detail, and shows how the Jews and Christians are addressed as yā ahl al-kitāb to motivate them to act in accordance with the prophecies in their own scriptures that prove that the Prophet ﷺ is a genuine messenger from God, and to act on the commands in their own scriptures to accept him and follow him.)
قُلْ يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ لَسْتُمْ عَلَىٰ شَيْءٍ حَتَّىٰ تُقِيمُوا التَّوْرَاةَ وَالْإِنجِيلَ وَمَا أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكُم مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ ۗ وَلَيَزِيدَنَّ كَثِيرًا مِّنْهُم مَّا أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكَ مِن رَّبِّكَ طُغْيَانًا وَكُفْرًا ۖ فَلَا تَأْسَ عَلَى الْقَوْمِ الْكَافِرِينَ ﴿٦٨﴾
“O People of the Written Scripture! You’re not following anything until you establish the Torah and the Gospel and what has been revealed to you from Your Lord. Surely, that which has been revealed to you from your Lord [i.e., the Quran] will increase many of them in their aggression and disbelief, so grieve not over those disbelieving people.”
Verse 12 (Qurān 5:77)
The Christians are addressed as yā ahl al-kitāb to motivate them to act in accordance with their own scriptures by abandoning their claim that Jesus is God.
قُلْ يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ لَا تَغْلُوا فِي دِينِكُمْ غَيْرَ الْحَقِّ وَلَا تَتَّبِعُوا أَهْوَاءَ قَوْمٍ قَدْ ضَلُّوا مِن قَبْلُ وَأَضَلُّوا كَثِيرًا وَضَلُّوا عَن سَوَاءِ السَّبِيلِ ﴿٧٧﴾
Say: ’People of the Book, go not beyond the bounds in your religion, other than the truth, and follow not the caprices of a people who went astray before, and led astray many, and now again have gone astray from the right way.’
Fifth Reference: Five Examples of the Stylistic Omission of "He said,” “They said,” “It was said,” and “Say!”
It is a frequent stylistic convention in the Quran to omit the verb “to say” (qāla) and its morphological derivatives, e.g., “he said”, “they said”, “it was said”, “we said”, and “say!”.
This is only done when the omission can be clearly understood from the context.
The rhetorical purpose of this stylistic omission is to emphasize the thing that is being said rather than the one who is saying it.
Here are five examples.
Verse 1 (Qurān 2:57)
وَظَلَّلْنَا عَلَيْكُمُ الْغَمَامَ وَأَنزَلْنَا عَلَيْكُمُ الْمَنَّ وَالسَّلْوَىٰ ۖ كُلُوا مِن طَيِّبَاتِ مَا رَزَقْنَاكُمْ ۖ وَمَا ظَلَمُونَا وَلَٰكِن كَانُوا أَنفُسَهُمْ يَظْلِمُونَ ﴿٥٧﴾
And We outspread the cloud to overshadow you, and We sent down manna and quails upon you [and We said:] “Eat from the good things that We have provided you.” And they worked no wrong upon Us, but it was only themselves that they wronged.
Verse 2 (Qurān 2:127)
وَإِذْ يَرْفَعُ إِبْرَاهِيمُ الْقَوَاعِدَ مِنَ الْبَيْتِ وَإِسْمَاعِيلُ رَبَّنَا تَقَبَّلْ مِنَّا ۖ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ ﴿١٢٧﴾
And when Abraham, and Ishmael with him, raised up the foundations of the House [while they were saying:] “Our Lord, accept this from us, for verily, You are the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing.”
Verse 3 (Qurān 3:106)
فَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ اسْوَدَّتْ وُجُوهُهُمْ أَكَفَرْتُم بَعْدَ إِيمَانِكُمْ فَذُوقُوا الْعَذَابَ بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَكْفُرُونَ ﴿١٠٦﴾
As for those whose faces will be blackened [it will be said to them:] “Did you disbelieve after you had believed? Then taste the chastisement for that you disbelieved!”
Verse 4 (Qurān 13:23-24)
جَنَّاتُ عَدْنٍ يَدْخُلُونَهَا وَمَن صَلَحَ مِنْ آبَائِهِمْ وَأَزْوَاجِهِمْ وَذُرِّيَّاتِهِمْ ۖ وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ يَدْخُلُونَ عَلَيْهِم مِّن كُلِّ بَابٍ ﴿٢٣﴾ سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكُم بِمَا صَبَرْتُمْ ۚ فَنِعْمَ عُقْبَى الدَّارِ ﴿٢٤﴾
They and those who were righteous of their fathers, and their wives, and their children will enter Gardens of Eden, and the angels shall enter unto them from every gate [while saying:] “Peace be upon you because of your patience.”
Verse 5 (Qurān 51:50)
فَفِرُّوا إِلَى اللَّهِ ۖ إِنِّي لَكُم مِّنْهُ نَذِيرٌ مُّبِينٌ ﴿٥٠﴾
[Say to them:] “So flee to Allah, for surely, I am a clear warner who has been sent to you.”