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Divine origin confirmed, alterations signalled, Quran guardian of the Scriptures: the triple status of the Bible in Islam, verses in hand, with the respect the Muslim must keep.
Islam believes the Torah and the Gospel come from Allah: "And in their footsteps We sent Jesus, son of Mary, confirming the Torah that came before him, and We gave him the Gospel that contained guidance and light, confirming what came before it in the Torah; and guidance and admonition for the righteous." (Quran 5:46). It also teaches that certain scribes of the time altered texts (Quran 2:79) and that the Quran is the final message, "guardian" of the earlier ones (Quran 5:48). The Muslim therefore respects the Bible, believes in its divine origin, but reads it under the Quran's criterion.
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Updated on 17 October 2026 at 9:55 PM
📖 3 min readThe Quran affirms the divine origin of the earlier books and the duty to believe in them all: "The Messenger believes in what was sent down to him, as do the believers" lists Torah, Gospel and books of the prophets without making a difference (Quran 2:285).
Of the Gospel precisely: "And in their footsteps We sent Jesus, son of Mary, confirming the Torah that came before him, and We gave him the Gospel that contained guidance and light, confirming what came before it in the Torah; and guidance and admonition for the righteous." (Quran 5:46). The Muslim therefore has no contempt for the Bible: it is, in his belief, a revelation of Allah.
The Quran signals a precise, dated and targeted reproach: "Woe to those who write the Scripture with their own hands, and then say, “This is from Allah,” in order to trade it for a small price" (Quran 2:79), and mentions those "among those who distort the words taking them out of context" (Quran 4:46) among the People of the Book of the time.
Fiqh draws from it a nuanced position: the origin is divine, authentic passages remain there, but the integral preservation, guaranteed for the Quran (Quran 15:9), is not for the earlier texts. It is precisely why Allah sent a final message: "We have revealed to you [O Prophet] the Book in truth, confirming the scriptures that came before it and as a criterion over them. So judge between them according to what Allah has revealed, and do not follow their desires in disregard of the truth that has come to you. To each of you We have ordained a law and a way of life. If Allah had willed, He would have made you a single community, but He tests you in what He has given you. So compete with one another in doing good deeds. To Allah you will all return, then He will inform you concerning things over which you used to differ." (Quran 5:48): the Quran confirms what is true, decides what diverges.
Nothing forbids it, and it is even useful: to dialogue "in the best manner" with Christians (Quran 29:46), to find the common prophets, to understand our neighbour. The Muslim method holds in one sentence: the Quran is the criterion.
What agrees with it (the monotheism of the commandments, the honour of the prophets, the moral laws) is confirmed;
what contradicts it (the divinity of a man, the crucifixion) is referred back to alteration or interpretation, without contempt for the persons who read otherwise.
This posture, firm on the texts and respectful of people, is that of this whole dossier.
For Islam, the Injil is the revelation given to Issa (peace be upon him) himself (Quran 5:46), which is not identical to the narratives written decades later by his disciples. The Muslim reads traces of the revelation there, without considering it integrally preserved.
Yes, and the Quran even invites dialogue with the People of the Book on the basis of the common revelations (Quran 29:46). The reading is done with the Quran as criterion: what agrees is confirmed, what contradicts is referred back to the possible alteration of the texts.