One of the texts that is most often cited by Muhammadan polemicists to support their claim that the Quran testifies to the textual corruption of the Holy Bible is Q. 2:75-79.

In this post I will show that these verses do not at all imply that the Biblical scriptures have been corrupted and no longer remain intact. On the contrary, I will demonstrate these ayat are referring to a specific group of Jews at a specific location and time, and do not impugn all Jews (let alone Christians) as having corrupted all the books of Scripture.

Q. 2:75

Here’s the verse in question:

Have ye any hope that they will be true to you when a party of them used to LISTEN to the word of Allah, then used to change it, after they had understood it, knowingly. Pickthall

It is obvious that this passage has nothing to do with textual corruption since it speaks of those changing what they were hearing, not reading.

With that said, note what some of Islam’s greatest expositors stated in respect to this text. All emphasis will be mine.

AL-JALALAYN

Are you then so eager O believers that they the Jews should believe you seeing there is a party of them a group of their rabbis that heard God’s word in the Torah and then tampered with it changing it and that after they had comprehended it after they had understood it knowingly? knowing full well that they were indulging in mendacity the hamza at the beginning of the verb a-fa-tatma‘ūn is an interrogative for rejection in other words ‘Do not be so eager for they have disbelieved before’. (https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=74&tSoraNo=2&tAyahNo=75&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=2)

IBN ABBAS

(Have ye any hope that they will be true to you) do you hope, O Muhammad, that the Jews will believe in you (when a party of them) the 70 men who were with Moses (used to listen to the Word of Allah) used to listen to Moses reciting the Word of Allah, (then used to change it) alter it, (after they had understood it) after knowing it and fully understanding it (knowingly?) while knowing that they were altering it? (Tanwîr al-Miqbâs min Tafsîr Ibn ‘Abbâs https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=73&tSoraNo=2&tAyahNo=75&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=2)

AL-WAHIDI

(Have ye hope that they be true to you …) [2:75]. Ibn ‘Abbas and Muqatil said: “This was revealed about the seventy men who were chosen by Moses to go with him to Allah, exalted is He. When they went with him to the tryst and heard Allah’s speech, commanding and prohibiting Moses, they returned to their people. As for the true amongst them, they delivered exactly what they had heard. But a group of them said: ‘we heard Allah at the end of His speech say: if you can do these things, then do them; but if you wish, don’t do them and there is no harm upon you’ ”. But most Qur’anic exegetes are of the opinion that it was revealed about those who had changed the verse of stoning [adulterers who are married] and the description of Muhammad. (Asbab al-Nuzul https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=86&tSoraNo=2&tAyahNo=75&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=2)

AL-QURTUBI

75 Do you really hope they will follow you in faith when a group of them heard Allah’s Word then, after grasping it, knowingly distorted it?

Do you really hope they will follow you in faith

This question implies a negative response as there was no hope for the faith of a group of Jews because they had already rejected. It is addressed to the Companions of the Prophet. That is because some of the Anṣār wanted the Jews to become Muslim because of their alliance with them and proximity to them. It is said that it is addressed to the Prophet g alone. Ibn ‘Abbās says that it means: ‘Do not be sad about their denial of you.’ He reported that they were evil people already.

When a group of them heard Allah’s Word

Farīq (group) is a plural noun with no singular form. What is meant by this are the seventy men, whom Mūsā chose to hear the Speech of Allah, but who then did not obey and altered His words when they told their people. This is what ar-Rabī‘ and Ibn Isḥāq said. This interpretation is somewhat weak. As-Suddī and others said that they were not able to listen and they were confused and wanted Mūsā to repeat it for them. When they left a group of them then altered what they had heard of the words of Allah ON THE TONGUE of their Prophet.

People disagree about how Mūsā recognised the Speech of Allah when he had not heard it before. Some say that he heard words without letters or voices, with no pause or breath, and knew that it could not be a human voice but must be the voice of the Lord of the worlds. Others said that he heard words which did not come from any direction and so he knew they were not of human origin. It is said that his entire body heard it and so he knew that it was the Speech of Allah. It is said that the miracle indicated that it was the Speech of Allah when he was told to cast down his staff and it became a serpent. That was proof of the truth of the matter and confirmation of His words: ‘I am your Lord.’ (20:12) It is said that he concealed something inside himself which only He who knows the Unseen worlds would know and Allah informed him of that and so he knew that he was addressed by Allah.

and then, after grasping it, knowingly distorted it?

Mujāhid and as-Suddī said that they were the Jewish scholars who altered the Torah and made what was unlawful lawful and what was lawful unlawful, following their own whims and desires. This is to rebuke them because of what their fathers did. It indicates that any scholar who is opinionated regarding the truth is far from right guidance because he knows the promise and threat, and yet still follows his own opinion. (Tafsir al-Qurtubi, translated by Aisha Abdurrahman Bewley [Diwan Press, 2019], Volume 1: Juz’ 1: Al-Fātiḥah & Sūrat al-Baqarah 1-141, pp. 319-320)

IBN KATHIR

There was little Hope that the Jews Who lived during the Time of the Prophet could have believed

Allah said…

(Do you covet) O believers,

(That they will believe in your religion) meaning, that these people would obey you. They are the deviant sect of Jews whose fathers witnessed the clear signs but their hearts became hard afterwards. Allah said next…

(In spite of the fact that a party of them (Jewish rabbis) used to hear the Word of Allah (the Tawrah), then they used to change it) meaning, distort its meaning…

(after they understood it). They understood well, yet they used to defy the truth,

(knowingly), being fully aware of their erroneous interpretations and corruption. This statement is similar to Allah’s statement…

(So, because of their violation of their covenant, We cursed them and made their hearts grow hard. They change the words from their (right) places) (5:13).

Qatadah commented that Allah’s statement…

(Then they used to change it knowingly after they understood it) “They are the Jews who used to hear Allah’s Words and then alter them after they understood and comprehended them.” Also, Mujahid said, “Those who used to alter it and conceal its truths; they were their scholars.” Also, Ibn Wahb said that Ibn Zayd commented…

(used to hear the Word of Allah (the Tawrah), then they used to change it) “They altered the Tawrah that Allah revealed to them, making it say that the lawful is unlawful and the prohibited is allowed, and that what is right is false and that what is false is right. So when a person seeking the truth comes to them with a bribe, they judge his case by the Book of Allah, but when a person comes to them seeking to do evil with a bribe, they take out the other (distorted) book, in which it is stated that he is in the right. When someone comes to them who is not seeking what is right, nor offering them bribe, then they enjoin righteousness on him. This is why Allah said to them…

(Enjoin you Al-Birr (piety and righteousness and every act of obedience to Allah) on the people and you forget (to practice it) yourselves, while you recite the Scripture (the Tawrah)! Have you then no sense) (2:44)” (http://m.qtafsir.com/Surah-Al-Baqara/There-was-little-Hope-that-the—)

SUMMARY

According to the expositors, the verse may in fact be referring to the time of Moses where the seventy elders used to hear Moses’ words and misinterpret them. Others believe this refers to specific Jewish rabbis/scholars who deliberately twisted the meaning of the Torah in order to cause folks to forego what is lawful and/or do that which is unlawful.

Some further think that the Quran is describing certain Jews of that time who had concocted a book, which they brought out for any person who would bribe them to justify his desire to do evil. And yet they would bring out the actual book of Allah for those bribing them for the truth. Ironically, this means that these Jews still had uncorrupt copies of the Torah in their possessions!

Q. 2:76-79

Here is the passage:

And when they fall in with those who believe, they say: We believe. But when they go apart one with another they say: Prate ye to them of that which Allah hath disclosed to you that they may contend with you before your Lord concerning it? Have ye then no sense. Are they then unaware that Allah knoweth that which they keep hidden and that which they proclaim. Among them are unlettered folk who know the Scripture not except from hearsay. They but guess. Therefore woe be unto those who write the Scripture with their hands and then say, “This is from Allah,” that they may purchase a small gain therewith. Woe unto them for that their hands have written, and woe unto them for that they earn thereby. Pickthall

AL-JALALAYN

And when they the hypocrites from among the Jews meet those who believe they say ‘We believe’ that Muhammad is a prophet and that he is the one of whom we have been given good tidings in our Book; but when they go in private one to another they their leaders the ones not involved in the hypocrisy say to those hypocrites ‘Do you speak to them the believers of what God has disclosed to you that is what He has made known to you of Muhammad’s description in the Torah so that they may thereby dispute the lām of li-yuhājjūkum ‘that they may dispute with you’ is the lām of ‘becoming’ with you before your Lord? in the Hereafter and hold the proof against you for not following him Muhammad despite your knowledge of his sincerity? Have you no understanding?’ of the fact that they will contend with you if you speak to them in this way? So beware. (https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=74&tSoraNo=2&tAyahNo=76&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=2)

And there are some of them the Jews that are illiterate unlettered not knowing the Scripture the Torah but only desires lies which were handed down to them by their leaders and which they relied upon; and in their rejection of the prophethood of the Prophet and fabrications of other matters they have mere conjectures and no firm knowledge. (https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=74&tSoraNo=2&tAyahNo=78&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=2)

So woe a severe chastisement to those who write the Scripture with their hands that is fabricating it themselves then say ‘This is from God’ that they may sell it for a small price of this world these are the Jews the ones that altered the description of the Prophet in the Torah as well as the ‘stoning’ verse and other details and rewrote them in a way different from that in which they were revealed. So woe to them for what their hands have written of fabrications and woe to them for their earnings by way of bribery rishan plural of rishwa. (https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=74&tSoraNo=2&tAyahNo=79&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=2)

IBN ABBAS

Then Allah mentioned the hypocrites of the people of the Book, and it is also said that the reference here is to the lowly from among the people of the Book, saying: (And when they fall with those who believe) Abu Bakr and his companions, (they say: We believe) in your Prophet, and his description and traits are mentioned in our Book. (But when they go apart one with another) when these lowly people return to their leaders (they say) the leaders say to the lowly: (Prate ye to them) i.e. Muhammad and his Companions (of that which Allah hath disclosed to you) about that which Allah has shown you regarding the description and traits of Muhammad in your Book (so that they may contend with you) argue against you (before your Lord concerning it? Have ye then no sense?) do you not have any common sense? (https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=73&tSoraNo=2&tAyahNo=76&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=2)

(Therefore woe) severe punishment, and it is said this means: a valley in hell (be unto those who write the Scripture with their hands) change the description and traits of Muhammad in the Book (and then say, “This is) in the Book that has come (from Allah”, that they may purchase) through changing and altering it (a small gain therewith) a small gain in terms of means of subsistence and surplus of property. (Woe unto them) theirs is a severe punishment (for what their hands have written) have altered (and woe unto them) and theirs is a severe punishment (for what they earn thereby) of unlawful earnings and bribes. (https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=73&tSoraNo=2&tAyahNo=79&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=2)

AL-WAHIDI

(Therefore woe be unto those who write the Scripture with their hands and then say, “This is from Allah”…) [2:79]. This was revealed about those who had changed the description of the Prophet and altered his traits. Al-Kalbi mentioned, through the above-mentioned chain of transmission: “They had changed the description of Allah’s Messenger in their Scripture. They made him white and tall while the Prophet was brown and of medium height. They had said to their followers and companions: ‘Look at the description of the prophet who will be sent at the end of time; his description does not match that of this [man]’. The Jewish rabbis and doctors used to gain some worldly benefits from the Jewish people and so they were afraid of losing this gain if they were ever to show the real description. It is for this reason that they had changed it”. (https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=86&tSoraNo=2&tAyahNo=79&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=2)

AL-QURTUBI

76 When they meet those who believe, they say, ‘We believe.’ But when they go apart with one another, they say, ‘Why do you speak to them about what Allah has decided about you, so they can use it as an argument against you before your Lord? Will you not use your intellect?’ 77 Do they not know that Allah knows what they keep secret and what they make public? When they meet those who believe, they say, ‘We believe.’

This is about the hypocrites.

But when they go apart with one another,

This refers to the Jews because some of them outwardly become Muslim but were actually hypocrites. They would talk to the believers about how their ancestors were being tormented. So the Jews said to them:

Why do you speak to them about what Allah has decided about you,

‘When you speak regarding the punishment which Allah has ordained for you, so that they can say, “We are more honoured with Allah than you are.”’ This is the meaning according to Ibn ‘Abbās and as-Suddī. It is said that when ‘Alī came near Qurayẓah on the day of Khaybar, he heard them insulting the Messenger of Allah. He went to him and said, ‘Messenger of Allah, do not go to them,’ and he tried to stop him. He said, ‘I think that you heard them insulting me. If they had seen me, they would have refrained.’ He went up to them. When they saw him, they refrained. He told them, ‘You have broken the treaty, brothers of apes and pigs. May Allah disgrace you and send His vengeance on you!’ They replied, ‘You are not ignorant, Muḥammad. Do not be rash towards us! Who has told you this! This report can only have come from us!’ The root of the word used for ‘fataḥa’ (decided) means to give a judgment or decision but the word can also indicate help and assistance as well as judgment.

So they can use it as an argument against you before your Lord?

That is generally taken as referring to the Next World but it is also said that it means ‘when your Lord is mentioned’. Al-Ḥasan said that ḥujjah means straight words in general. Part of that is maḥajjah, the road.

Will you not use your intellect?’

This is generally taken to be the words of the rabbis to their followers but it is also possible that it is addressed by Allah to the believers, meaning. ‘Do you not know that the tribe of Israel do not believe and therefore this is the way they behave?’ Then Allah follows that with another rebuke.

78 Some of them are illiterate, knowing nothing of the Book but wishful thinking. They only speculate. Some of them are illiterate,

‘Them’ may refer to the Jews alone or to both the Jews and the hypocrites. The word ‘ummiyyūn’ (illiterate) means that they can neither read nor write. It is derived from ummiyyah, meaning ‘to be still in the state in which your mother bore you, without having learned to read or write’. An aspect of that is the words of the Prophet: ‘We are an unlettered nation. We do not write or reckon.’ Ibn ‘Abbās said that they are illiterate because they do not affirm of the Mother of the Book. Abū ‘Ubaydah said, ‘They are called “illiterate” since the Book was sent down on them, as if they were ascribed to the Mother of the Book, so it is as he were saying that among them are People of the Book who do not know the Book.’ ‘Ikrimah and aḍ-Ḍaḥḥāk said that it refers to the Christian Arabs. It is said that they are some of the People of the Book whose Book was removed because of the wrong actions they committed, and so they became illiterate. ‘Alī said that they are the Magians. The first explanation is more likely, and Allah knows best.

knowing nothing of the Book but wishful thinking.

Abū Ja‘far, Shaybah and al-A‘raj recited ‘amāni’ rather than ‘amāniyy’. ‘Amāniyy’ (wishful thinking) is the plural of umniyah (recitation) from amnuyah as we see in ‘without Shayṭān insinuating something into his recitation while he was reciting (tamannā).’ (22:52) Amāniyy also means ‘lies’. That is how Ibn ‘Abbās and Mujāhid explain it here. It is also what a person wishes for and desires, and so Qatādah said that the meaning is that they desire what they in reality do not have. It is also said that it means ‘to value’.

They only speculate.

This means that they lie and come up with new things because they have no knowledge about whether what they recite is true or not. They merely imitate what their rabbis recite. Abū Bakr al-Anbārī said, ‘The grammarian, Aḥmad ibn Yaḥyā, told me that the Arabs use ẓann (speculation) for knowledge, doubt and lies. When the evidence for knowledge is established and is greater than the evidence for doubt, then ẓann becomes knowledge. When the proofs for knowledge and those for doubt are equal, then ẓann is doubt. When the proofs for doubt are more than the proofs for knowledge, then ẓann is lies.’ Here Allah means that they are lying.

Our scholars say that Allah describes the rabbis as changing and altering their Book and Allah says in the next āyah: ‘Woe to them for what their hands have written!’ (2:79) That is because they studied the matter, but their scholars were bad shepherds, greedy for worldly things, and so they looked for things to draw people’s attention towards themselves. Therefore they made up new things in their Law and altered it. They added these inventions to the Torah and told their foolish followers, ‘This is from Allah’ so that it would be accepted from them and would establish their power. By so doing they obtained nothing but the rubble and filth of this world.

They said various things. One is, ‘We are under no obligation where the Gentiles (lit. illiterate) are concerned’ (3:75), referring to the Arabs, meaning that whatever property of theirs they usurped was lawful for them. Another thing they said was that no sins they committed would harm them because they were beloved by Allah and His sons. (cf. 5:18) Allah is exalted above that! The Torah has: ‘My rabbis and sons of My Messengers!’ They changed it to ‘My loved ones and My sons.’ Allah said that they were lying in 5:18. They also said, ‘Allah will not punish us. If He does punish us, it will only be for forty days,’ (cf. 2:80), that being the number of days they were worshipping the Calf. Allah made it clear that eternity in the Fire and the Garden is the result of unbelief and faith. It is not what they say.

79 Woe to those who write the Book with their own hands and then say ‘This is from Allah’ to sell it for a paltry price. Woe to them for what their hands have written! Woe to them for what they earn!

Woe

There is disagreement about what ‘wayl’ (woe) means. ‘Uthmān ibn ‘Affān related from the Prophet that it is a mountain of fire. Abū Sa‘īd al-Khudrī said that Wayl is a valley in Hell situated between two mountains whose depth is a fall of forty years. Sufyān and ‘Aṭā‘ ibn Yasār said that Wayl is a valley in Hellfire through which flows the pus of the people of the Fire. It is said to be a cistern in the Fire. Az-Zahrāwī said that others said that it is a gate of Hell. Ibn ‘Abbās said that it is harsh punishment. Al-Khalīl says that it is intense evil. Al-Aṣma‘ī said that it is being in distress and seeking mercy. Sībuwayh said that ‘wayl’ is used for someone who has fallen into destruction and ‘wayḥ’ seeks to restrain someone on the verge of destruction. Ibn ‘Arafah said that ‘wayl’ is sorrow. It is also said to be extreme sorrow and the expression is used in times of great sorrow and distress. Its root is said to be that destruction which invites woe. Al-Farrā’ said that its root is ‘way’, meaning sorrow.

to those who write the Book

The first to write with the pen was the Prophet Idrīs, as we read in the hadith of Abū Dharr, transmitted by al-Ājurrī. It is said that Ādam was given writing and his descendants inherited it.

with their own hands.

This is for emphasis because it is well known that writing is done with the hands. This kind of linguistic usage is often used for stress in the Qur’an. The fact that they wrote it also indicates that it was not revealed to them, but they are the ones who fabricated it. It came from them, even if they did not physically write it.

This āyah and the one before it warn against making any alterations or changes or additions to the Sharī‘ah. Anyone who alters, changes or innovates something in the dīn of Allah, which is not in it and not permitted in it, is subject to this terrible threat and painful punishment. The Messenger of Allah cautioned his community about what he knew would occur at the end of time. He said, ‘Those of the People of the Book before you divided into seventy-two sects and this community will divide into seventy-three, all of whom will be in the Fire except for one.’ He cautioned them against originating something from themselves in the dīn which is contrary to the Book of Allah, the Sunnah or the sunnah of the Companions by which they misguide people. What he cautioned about has, in fact, occurred and become widespread. We belong to Allah and to Him we return.

to sell it for a paltry price.

It is paltry because it will inevitably disappear and have no permanence, or because it is unlawful as there is no blessing in anything unlawful and it does not grow in the sight of Allah. (Pp. 320-325)

IBN KATHIR

The Jews knew the Truth of the Prophet, but disbelieved in Him

Allah said next…

(And when they (Jews) meet those who believe (Muslims), they say, “We believe”, but when they meet one another in private…). Muhammad bin Ishaq reported that Ibn `Abbas commented…

(And when they (Jews) meet those who believe (Muslims), they say, “We believe”) “They believe that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, `But he was only sent for you (Arabs).’” However, when they meet each other they say, “Do not convey the news about this Prophet to the Arabs, because you used to ask Allah to grant you victory over them when he came, but he was sent to them (not to you).” Allah then revealed…

(And when they (Jews) meet those who believe (Muslims), they say, “We believe,” but when they meet one another in private, they say, “Shall you (Jews) tell them (Muslims) what Allah has revealed to you, that they (Muslims) may argue with you (Jews) about it before your Lord”) meaning, “If you admit to them that he is a Prophet, knowing that Allah took the covenant from you to follow him, they will know that Muhammad is the Prophet that we were waiting for and whose coming we find foretold of in our Book. Therefore, do not believe in him and deny him.” Allah said…

(Know they (Jews) not that Allah knows what they conceal and what they reveal).

Al-Hasan Al-Basri said, “When the Jews met the believers they used to say, `We believe.’ When they met each other, some of them would say, `Do not talk to the companions of Muhammad about what Allah has foretold in your Book, so that the news (that Muhammad is the Final Messenger) does not become a proof for them against you with your Lord, and, thus, you will win the dispute.’” Further, Abu Al-`Aliyah said about Allah’s statement…

(Know they (Jews) not that Allah knows what they conceal and what they reveal), “Meaning their secret denial and rejection of Muhammad, although they find his coming recorded in their Book.” This is also the Tafsir of Qatadah. Al-Hasan commented on…

(That Allah knows what they conceal), “What they concealed refers to when they were alone with each other away from the Companions of Muhammad. Then they would forbid each other from conveying the news that Allah revealed to them in their Book to the Companions of Muhammad, fearing that the Companions would use this news (about the truth of Muhammad) against them before their Lord.”…

(And what they reveal) meaning, when they said to the Companions of Muhammad…

(We believe), as Abu Al-`Aliyah, Ar-Rabi` and Qatadah stated. (http://m.qtafsir.com/Surah-Al-Baqara/The-Jews-knew-the-Truth-of-the—)

The Meaning of `Ummi

Allah said…

(And there are among them Ummyyun people) meaning, among the People of the Book, as Mujahid stated. Ummyyun, is plural for Ummi, that is, a person who does not write, as Abu Al-`Aliyah, Ar-Rabi`, Qatadah, Ibrahim An-Nakha`i and others said. This meaning is clarified by Allah’s statement…

(Who know not the Book) meaning, are they not aware of what is in it.

Ummi was one of the descriptions of the Prophet because he was unlettered. For instance, Allah said…

(Neither did you (O Muhammad) read any book before it (this Qur’an) nor did you write any book (whatsoever) with your right hand. In that case, indeed, the followers of falsehood might have doubted) (29:48).

Also, the Prophet said…

(We are an Ummi nation, neither writing nor calculating. The (lunar) month is like this, this and this (i.e. thirty or twenty-nine days.)

This Hadith stated that Muslims do not need to rely on books, or calculations to decide the timings of their acts of worship. Allah also said…

(He it is Who sent among the Ummiyyin ones a Messenger (Muhammad) from among themselves) (62:2). (http://m.qtafsir.com/Surah-Al-Baqara/The-Meaning-of-%60Ummi)

The Explanation of Amani

Ad-Dahhak said that Ibn `Abbas said that Allah’s statement…

(But they trust upon Amani) means, “It is just a false statement that they utter with their tongues.” It was also said that Amani means `wishes and hopes’. Mujahid commented, “Allah described the Ummiyyin as not understanding any of the Book that Allah sent down to Musa, yet they create lies and falsehood.” Therefore, the word Amani mentioned here refers to lying and falsehood. Mujahid said that Allah’s statement…

(And they but guess) means, “They lie.” Qatadah, Abu Al-`Aliyah and Ar-Rabi` said that it means, “They have evil false ideas about Allah… (http://m.qtafsir.com/Surah-Al-Baqara/The-Explanation-of-Amani)

Woe unto Those Criminals among THE JEWS

Allah said…

(Then Waylun (woe) to those who write the book with their own hands and then say, “This is from Allah,” to purchase with it a little price!).

This is another category of people among the Jews who called to misguidance with falsehood and lies about Allah, thriving on unjustly amassing people’s property. `Waylun (woe)’ carries meanings of destruction and perishing, and it is a well-known word in the Arabic language. Az-Zuhri said that `Ubadydullah bin `Abdullah narrated that Ibn `Abbas said, “O Muslims! How could you ask the People of the Book about anything, while the Book of Allah (Qur’an) that He revealed to His Prophet is the most recent Book from Him and you still read it fresh and young Allah told you that the People of the Book altered the Book of Allah, changed it and wrote another book with their own hands. They then said, `This book is from Allah,’ so that they acquired a small profit by it. Hasn’t the knowledge that came to you prohibited you from asking them By Allah! We have not seen any of them asking you about what was revealed to you.” This Hadith was also collected by Al-Bukhari. Al-Hasan Al-Basri said, “The little amount here means this life and all that it contains.”

Allah’s statement…

(Woe to them for what their hands have written and woe to them for that they earn thereby) means, “Woe to them because of what they have written with their own hands, the lies, falsehood and alterations. Woe to them because of the property that they unjustly acquired.” Ad-Dahhak said that Ibn `Abbas commented…

(Woe to them), “Means the torment will be theirs because of the lies that they wrote with their own hands…

(And woe to them for that they earn thereby), which they unjustly acquired from people, be they commoners or otherwise.” (http://m.qtafsir.com/Surah-Al-Baqara/Woe-unto-Those-Criminals-among—)

SUMMARY

The commentators are all agreed that this section of the Quran refers to the Jews during Muhammad’s time who supposedly changed the description of Muhammad and/or removed the verse of stoning adulterers in their copies of the Torah. These were the same Jews who would lie to Muhammad and his followers by saying that they believe in what he had to say, even though among themselves they would mock and reject him.

Therefore, the only point that Muslims can make from Q. 2:79 is that certain Jews at the time of Muhammad had corrupted their Scriptures, not that the Gospel or the New Testament writings have been changed. And even this would apply only to those particular copies of those particular Jews, not to all the copies that were in the possession of the rest of the Jews and/or of all the Christians who were scattered all over the world. The verses nowhere say or even remotely imply that all the Jews everywhere were guilty of corrupting the Biblical manuscripts.

After all, during the time of Muhammad there were plenty of copies of the Hebrew Bible in various languages which were in circulation among both the Jews and the Christians all over the then known world. It would literally have required a miracle for the Jews to be able to corrupt all these copies and versions of these Scriptures seeing that they were in the hands of various groups at different locations, many of whom were not at all sympathetic to them.

This is a fact admitted by some of Islam’s greatest expositors, such as ar-Razi:

“With regard to what was actually changed or altered, many commentators, and especially those who attributed the alteration to the Torah, said that it was the description in the Torah of the physical features, character, and prophethood of Muhammad which was altered or obscured. Razi, as usual, questions such traditional interpretations and in the end prefers to leave the matter open. He begins by observing, ‘Alteration [tahrif] must either refer to the actual words or to their meaning… Unbroken transmission [tawatur], however, PREVENTS ALTERATION OF THE ACTUAL WORDS. Thus, if those who altered were the seventy men at the time of Moses, they would have altered nothing relating to Muhammad, but only injunctions and prohibitions. If, on the other hand, they lived at the time of Muhammad, it is more probable that what is intended by altering are things relating to Muhammad. The literal sense of the Qur’an does not indicate what they actually altered’ (Razi, III, pp. 134-135)…” (Mahmoud M. Ayoub, The Qur’an and its Interpreters [State University of New York Press (SUNY), Albany], Volume 1, p. 121; emphasis mine)

In point of fact, the Quran itself testifies that there was a group among the People of the Book (i.e. Jews and Christians) who recited the verses of God correctly, thereby implying that they did not change the text of their inspired Scriptures:

Those unto whom We have given the Scripture, who read it with the right reading, those believe in it. And whoso disbelieveth in it, those are they who are the losers. S. 2:121 Pickthall

Notice how the Muslim expositors explained Q. 2:121:

Allah then mentioned the believers from among the people of the Book: ‘Abdullah Ibn Salam and his companions, Bahirah the Monk and the Negus and his followers, saying: (Those unto whom We have given the Scripture) given knowledge of the Scripture, i.e. the Torah, (who read it with the right reading) describe it AS IT IS AND DO NOT ALTER IT: expositing what is lawful and unlawful, its commands and prohibitions to whomever asks them, and they further act according to what is clear and unambiguous and believe in that which is ambiguous therein, (those believe in it) in Muhammad and the Qur’an. (And who disbelieveth in it) in Muhammad and the Qur’an, (those are they who are losers) who are duped in that they loose both this world and the world to come. (Tanwîr al-Miqbâs min Tafsîr Ibn ‘Abbâs; emphasis mine)

And:

(121) Wahidi relates on the authority of Ibn ‘Abbas, “This verse was sent down concerning the people of the ship who came [to Medina] with Ja’far ibn Abi Talib from Abyssinia. They were forty men, thirty-two from Abyssinia and eight of the monks of Syria. The monk Bahirah was said to be among them.” In another tradition related on the authority of al-Dahhak, we are told, “The verse was sent down concerning those among the Jews who accepted faith [such as ‘Abdallah ibn Sallam and others].” Still another tradition related on the authority of Qatadah and ‘Ikrimah states, “It was sent down concerning the Companions of Muhammad” (Wahidi, p. 37; see also Ibn Kathir, I, pp. 286-287; Qurtubi, II, p. 95; Tabarsi, I, p. 448; and Shawkani, I, pp. 135-136)

Zamakhshari interprets the verse as follows: “‘They to whom we have given the scriptures’ are the faithful among the people of the Book who recite the scriptures in their true recitation, neither altering nor changing what they contain of the description of the Apostle of God [sic]. Those who have faith in their scriptures are contrasted with ‘whosoever rejects faith in it [the scriptures],’ that is, alterers. ‘These shall be the losers’ because they exchange guidance for error.” (Zamakhshari, I, p. 308) (Ayoub, pp. 149-150; bold emphasis mine)

How could the Jews and Christians recite their Scriptures correctly if the Biblical books were so corrupted to the extent that they no longer reflected the correct reading of the original revelations given through the prophets and apostles? And what’s the point in praising them for reciting corrupt Scriptures? What sense does that make?

The Quran further expressly testifies that there were many among the Jews and Christians who would not and did not corrupt their Holy Writings:

They are not all alike. Of the People of the Scripture there is a staunch community who recite the revelations of Allah in the night season, falling prostrate (before Him). They believe in Allah and the Last Day, and enjoin right conduct and forbid indecency, and vie one with another in good works. These are of the righteous. S. 3:113-114 Pickthall

And there are, certainly, among the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians), those who believe in Allah and in that which has been revealed to you, and in that which has been revealed to them, humbling themselves before Allah. They do not sell the Verses of Allah for a little price, for them is a reward with their Lord. Surely, Allah is Swift in account. S. 3:199 Pickthall

Of the people of Moses there is a nation who guide by the truth, and by it act with justice… And there succeeded after them a succession who inherited the Book, taking the chance goods of this lower world, and saying, ‘It will be forgiven us’; and if chance goods the like of them come to them, they will take them. Has not the compact of the Book been taken touching them, that they should say concerning God nothing but the truth? And they have studied what is in it; and the Last Abode is better for those who are godfearing. Do you not understand? And those who hold fast to the Book, and perform the prayer — surely We leave not to waste the wage of those who set aright. S. 7:159, 169-170 Arberry

All of these passages conclusively prove that the author of the Quran believed that there were pious Jews and Christians who preserved their inspired Scriptures and would not allow their sacred Books to be tampered with.

Finally, the command to stone adulterers is still there in the Holy Bible for all to read:

“If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife-with the wife of his neighbor-both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death.” Leviticus 20:10

“If a man is found sleeping with another man’s wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman must die. You must purge the evil from Israel. If a man happens to meet in a town a virgin pledged to be married and he sleeps with her, you shall take both of them to the gate of that town AND STONE THEM TO DEATH – the girl because she was in a town and did not scream for help, and the man because he violated another man’s wife. You must purge the evil from among you.” Deuteronomy 22:22-24

Even the ahadith testify that the command of stoning adulterers was still extant in the copies of the Torah which the Jews possessed during Muhammad’s time:

Narrated ‘Abdullah bin ‘Umar:

The Jews came to Allah’s Apostle and told him that a man and a woman from amongst them had committed illegal sexual intercourse. Allah’s Apostle said to them, “What do you find in the Torah (Old Testament) about the legal punishment of Ar-Rajm (stoning)?” They replied, (But) we announce their crime and lash them.” Abdullah bin Salam said, “You are telling a lie; Torah contains the order of Rajm.” They brought and opened the Torah and one of them placed his hand on the Verse of Rajm and read the verses preceding and following it. Abdullah bin Salam said to him, “Lift your hand.” When he lifted his hand, the Verse of Rajm was written there. They said, “Muhammad has told the truth; the Torah has the Verse of Rajm. The Prophet then gave the order that both of them should be stoned to death. (‘Abdullah bin ‘Umar said, “I saw the man leaning over the woman to shelter her from the stones.” (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 56, Numbr 829 https://sunnah.com/bukhari:3635)

The foregoing confirms that Q. 2:75-79 cannot and do not refer to wholesale corruption of the Bible, or that all the manuscript copies of the biblical books are unreliable.

With the foregoing in view, it is time to turn the tables against the Muhammadans: Q. 2:75-79 & THE CORRUPT QURAN.

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