Which part of the Christian Bible is corrupted?
The question of corruption in the Christian Bible is addressed in various Islamic texts, particularly in the Qur'an and its tafsir. The Qur'an states that certain groups, particularly among the Jews and Christians, have distorted their scriptures. For instance, Surah Aal-i-Imraan mentions, And lo! there is a party of them who distort the Scripture with their tongues, that ye may think that what they say is from the Scripture, when it is not from the Scripture
3:78. Tafsir Ibn Kathir elaborates on this by explaining that certain individuals deliberately manipulate the words of Allah and mislead others into believing these distortions are authentic. They twist the meanings and ascribe falsehoods to Allah while being fully aware of their deceit.
Moreover, the Qur'an refers to those who break the Qur'an into parts in Surah Al-Hijr, stating, Those who break the Qur'an into parts
15:91, which is often interpreted as a warning against misinterpretation and alteration of divine scripture.
In summary, Islamic teachings suggest that the corruption lies not in the original texts themselves but in the interpretations and alterations made by individuals over time, leading to a distortion of the true message.
Sources
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3:78 · Aal-i-Imraan
3:78 · Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall
وَإِنَّ مِنْهُمْ لَفَرِيقًۭا يَلْوُۥنَ أَلْسِنَتَهُم بِٱلْكِتَٰبِ لِتَحْسَبُوهُ مِنَ ٱلْكِتَٰبِ وَمَا هُوَ مِنَ ٱلْكِتَٰبِ وَيَقُولُونَ هُوَ مِنْ عِندِ ٱللَّهِ وَمَا هُوَ مِنْ عِندِ ٱللَّهِ وَيَقُولُونَ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ ٱلْكَذِبَ وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ
And lo! there is a party of them who distort the Scripture with their tongues, that ye may think that what they say is from the Scripture, when it is not from the Scripture. And they say: It is from Allah, when it is not from Allah; and they speak a lie concerning Allah knowingly.
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15:91 · Al-Hijr
15:91 · Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall
ٱلَّذِينَ جَعَلُوا۟ ٱلْقُرْءَانَ عِضِينَ
Those who break the Qur'an into parts.
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Tafsir Ibn Kathir on 3:78
Tafsir Ibn Kathir · 3:78
Allah Almighty informs us here about a group among the Jews, may the curse of Allah be upon them, who deliberately distort the words of Allah by moving them from their proper places and altering His speech. They remove it from its intended meaning so that they may mislead the ignorant into believing that such distortions are found in the Book of Allah itself. They falsely ascribe these altered words to Allah, though they know fully well that they lie and fabricate against Him. This is why the verse states, "and they say falsehood against Allah while they know it." The commentators Mujahid, Al-Sha‘bi, Al-Hasan, Qatadah, and Ar-Rabi‘ ibn Anas explained the phrase "they twist their tongues with the Book" to mean that they manipulate and distort the Book's text. As narrated by Al-Bukhari from Ibn ‘Abbas, these people do not remove any phrase from the scriptures of Allah but instead twist and add to their interpretation, understanding it in ways other than its true meaning. Wahb ibn Munabbih clarified that the original Torah and Gospel, as revealed by Allah, were not altered in their letters or wording. Rather, the corruption occurred through misguidance by tampering and misinterpretation, as well as through fabricated books that they themselves authored and falsely claimed to be from Allah. Regarding the revealed books of Allah alone, they remain preserved and unaltered. This is reported by Ibn Abi Hatim, and if Wahb meant by "what is in their hands" those fabricated parts, then surely they have included alteration, distortion, additions, and omissions. However, the Arabic translations and renderings of some of these forgeries contain many errors, added or missing parts, and gross misunderstandings. These come under which category? They fall under the explanation of the altered and mistranslated, and much of their understanding—or indeed the majority or all of them—is corrupt. But if by "the books of Allah" he meant those that He has sent down and preserved as they were, then these remain protected, untouched by any alteration as Allah says they are "guarded."
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