The Inescapable Contradiction in the Quran’s Preservation Claim

Logical Breakdown

1. Premise 1: The Quran states that God’s word cannot be changed or corrupted (Surah 6:115, Surah 15:9).

2. Premise 2: The Torah, Psalms, and Gospel were originally God's word (Surah 3:3-4, Surah 5:44-47).

3. Premise 3: The Quran also states that some people wrote a book with their own hands and falsely claimed it was from God (Surah 2:79), but this does not refer to the Torah, Psalms, or Gospel.

4. Premise 4: Many Islamic scholars and apologists claim that Surah 2:79 supports the idea that the Torah, Psalms, and Gospel were textually altered, but this is based on a misinterpretation of the verse.

Why Surah 2:79 Does Not Support the Corruption Argument

Surah 2:79 states:

"So woe to those who write the scripture with their own hands and then say, ‘This is from Allah,’ to exchange it for a small price. Woe to them for what their hands have written, and woe to them for what they earn."

This verse does not say that the Torah, Psalms, or Gospel were textually changed. Instead, it criticizes certain individuals for writing a separate book and falsely attributing it to God. The verse does not target the original divine revelations but rather highlights the act of creating a man-made religious text and falsely claiming divine authority for it.

What Book is Surah 2:79 Referring To?

Historical and religious context suggests that this verse may be referring to extra-biblical writings, such as:

• The Talmud – A collection of rabbinic commentaries and laws that, while highly respected in Judaism, is not the Torah itself.

• Midrashic Literature – Interpretative expansions on biblical stories and laws.

• Legal Writings and Commentaries – Later Jewish or other religious writings that may have been given undue authority.

These were human writings, not the original revelation from God, and they were treated as authoritative by some, despite not being divine scripture.

The Quran’s Contradiction

• If the Torah, Psalms, and Gospel were truly God's word, then according to the Quran (Surah 6:115), they cannot be corrupted.

• Yet, many Muslims claim these scriptures were changed, which contradicts the Quran’s assertion that God's word is unchangeable.

• Since Surah 2:79 does not refer to the textual corruption of previous scriptures, the argument for biblical corruption has no direct Quranic foundation.

Thus, this contradiction remains inescapable: Either the Torah, Psalms, and Gospel were God’s word and remain uncorrupted, or the Quran’s claim that God’s word cannot be changed is false. Both statements cannot be true simultaneously.