There’s a claim in the Qur’an that, if true, it presents a massive problem for the Qur’an and anyone who believes it. If it’s false, well, the problem there should be obvious.
Most Christians have never heard of the Qur’anic Dilemma, as well as the related Islamic Dilemma. But I believe we are going to be hearing about it a lot soon. By the end of this article, you’ll not only understand this dilemma clearly, but you’ll also be equipped to use it in thoughtful, respectful conversations with your Muslim friends—and see just how powerfully God’s word stands firm.
The Islamic Dilemma is a broad dilemma that points out inconsistencies between what Muslims would consider the word of God, or the word of Allah, and what they say about God, Jesus, and Scripture. Inside the Islamic Dilemma is the more specific Qur’anic Dilemma. Here’s how it goes:
- The Qur’an affirms that the Bible is the word of God.
- The Qur’an contradicts the Bible.
- Then, either:
- The Bible is true, and the Qur’an and Islam are false, or
- The Bible is not true, and the Qur’an and Islam are false.
In either case, the Qur’an sets up Islam for failure.
To understand this argument, we must address two questions:
- What does the Qur’an say about the Bible specifically?
- What does the Qur’an say about the word of God in general?
What does the Qur’an say about the Bible?
He has revealed to you ˹O Prophet˺ the Book in truth, confirming what came before it, as He revealed the Torah and the Gospel.1
Surah 3:3
If there was or is any concern about the validity of the Qur’an, then Muhammed and any reader of the Qur’an was and is told to confirm the Qur’an with what God had revealed beforehand, specifically the Torah and the Gospel (see Surah 10:94). The Torah is the law of God found in the first five books of the Bible—Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The Gospel in Islam—what they call the Injil—is the revelation of God given through Jesus. How do we access that Gospel today? To begin with, we read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in the New Testament. Modern Islamic scholars say, “Not so fast, as the original Gospel has been lost or altered.” We’ll have to come back to that claim in a minute. For now, let’s consider Surah 5:46–47 in the Qur’an.
Then in the footsteps of the prophets, We sent Jesus, son of Mary, confirming the Torah revealed before him. And We gave him the Gospel containing guidance and light and confirming what was revealed in the Torah—a guide and a lesson to the God-fearing.
Again, this passage in the Qur’an claims that the Bible is true, at least the parts of the Bible that reveal the Torah and the life of Jesus. The verses leading up to this passage refer to the Jews who follow the Torah as just and those who submit to Allah. The Bible, according to the Qur’an contains “guidance and light”—“a guide and a lesson to the God-fearing.”
At this point, should we say, “Great! Christians and Muslims worship the same God, and there’s nothing wrong with either Christianity or Islam. I guess it just boils down to culture and preference, right?”? But the thinker has already spotted the problem—the dilemma.
The Qur’an, indeed, affirms the Bible. It tells its readers to go back to the Bible to see if the Qur’an truly is the word of God. Yet, when you go to the Bible, you see certain truths, claims, and commandments that contradict the Qur’an. Here’s a sample:
- The Bible says that God created the heavens and the earth in six days (Exodus 20:11). The Qur’an says God created it all in two days (Surah 41:9–12).
- The Bible says Jesus was crucified (Luke 23:33). The Qur’an says He was not crucified, only that God made Him appear to be crucified (Surah 4:157). Similarly,
- The Bible says that Jesus died for our sins (1 Corinthians 15:3). The Qur’an says that Jesus did not die at all (Surah 4:157).
- The Bible says that Jesus is God’s Son (Matthew 3:17). The Qur’an says that God has no Son (Surah 112:3).
- The Bible says that Jesus is divine and worthy of worship (Matthew 14:33). The Qur’an claims Jesus refused to be worshiped (Surah 5:116).
- The Bible says that Jesus paid for our sins (1 John 2:2). The Qur’an says that people can earn their atonement (Surah 6:164).
Again, this is just a sample of scores and scores of places where the message of the Bible and the message of the Qur’an are not just incompatible, but also explicitly contradictory.
In the seventh century, the Qur’an was completed. People who read it were told to use the previous revelation (the Bible) to test the Qur’an to see if it really is an additional revelation from God. Since the first confirmed revelation from God (the Bible) condemns the teachings of the Qur’an, then the Qur’an cannot be the word of God. It is false.
Yet, some Muslims, like a recent commenter on one of our YouTube videos, argue, “The Bible was changed! The Qur’an confirms only the original, uncorrupted version of the Torah and the Gospel.” But the problem with that claim comes when we address this question:
What does the Qur’an say about God’s word?
The Word of your Lord has been perfected in truth and justice. None can change His Words. And He is the All-Hearing, All-Knowing.
Surah 6:115
According to the Qur’an, no one can change God’s word. Therefore, Muslims must believe that once God has revealed something, and it has been confirmed, nothing can change or corrupt it. Contextually, Muslims would claim that this Surah applies to the Qur’an. Fair enough, but the principle should apply to all of God’s word. If the Torah and Gospel were revealed by God, should they not also be “perfected in truth and justice”? Who can change God’s words? Similarly, Surah 18:27 says:
Recite what has been revealed to you from the Book of your Lord. None can change His Words, nor can you find any refuge besides Him.
In the seventh century, the Qur’an was saying that what the Jews and the Christians had as Scripture was true. For one, Muslims cannot believe people can corrupt the word of God. For another, we have access to the Scriptures that the Jews and Christians had in the seventh century, and we can confirm that what we have today is the same as what they had back then. (We are working some studies regarding the preservation of the Scriptures and how we can be confident that what we read in our Bibles is the same message the Christians had—not just in the seventh century, but also in the first century. Be sure to sign up, so you can know when the studies have been released.)
So, here’s what you and I need to know about the Qur’anic Dilemma:
- The Qur’an affirms that the Bible is the word of God.
- The Qur’an contradicts the Bible.
- Therefore, either:
- The Bible is true, and the Qur’an and Islam are false, or
- The Bible is not true, and the Qur’an and Islam are false.
It’s been said that the invention of the internet was the first pull of the thread that will unravel Islam. Why? For centuries, scholars have been using the Islamic and Qur’anic Dilemmas to help their Muslim friends see the truth, but it never reached further than the audiences of these scholars. Now that we can all access all of this information in every culture in every language with the devices we hold in the palms of our hands, I believe we are going to hear much more about these dilemmas in the coming months and years. Are you prepared to have thoughtful and respectful conversations with your friends?
We also have videos where we look closely at teachings of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Latter-day Saints, and other religions. Check them out if you’re ready to study further.
- Passages from the Qur’an come from quran.com. ↩︎