The Qurʼān says — repeatedly and emphatically — that no one can alter the words of Allah (Q 6:34; Q 6:115; Q 10:64; Q 18:27). The Qurʼān also calls the Torah and the Gospel Allah's word (Q 5:46-47; Q 5:68). The two together create a hard dilemma for the popular claim that the Bible was corrupted: either the Bible is not Allah's word, or Allah's words have not been changed. The Qurʼān refuses to let both claims stand.
What the Qurʼān says about its own word
The Qurʼān insists, in multiple places, on the unalterability of Allah's word.
- Q 6:34: "There is no changer of the words of Allah."
- Q 6:115: "None can alter His words."
- Q 10:64: "No change is there in the words of Allah."
- Q 18:27: "None can alter His words."
Classical commentators (al-Ṭabarī, Ibn Kathīr, al-Qurṭubī) read these passages as a strong statement of divine sovereignty: Allah's revelation is preserved by Allah Himself, and no human power can corrupt what Allah has spoken.
The same Qurʼān calls the Torah Allah's revelation (Q 5:44) and calls the Gospel Allah's revelation (Q 5:46-47). The two statements have to be held together.
The dilemma
The argument runs in three steps.
- The Torah and the Gospel are Allah's word. Q 5:46-47 says Allah gave Jesus the Gospel, containing guidance and light. Q 5:68 commands the People of the Book to uphold the Torah and the Gospel.
- Allah's word cannot be changed. Q 6:34, Q 6:115, Q 10:64, and Q 18:27 all insist on this.
- Therefore, the Torah and the Gospel cannot be (textually) changed.
If you deny the conclusion, you must deny one of the premises. Denying premise 2 weakens Qurʼānic preservation arguments more broadly. Denying premise 1 contradicts what the Qurʼān explicitly says about previous scripture.
Most thoughtful Muslim friends will see the force of this and turn to the classical solution: distortion of meaning (taḥrīf al-maʿnā), not text. Which means the textual Bible Christians read today is the same Bible Allah commanded the People of the Gospel to judge by.
What this means for the conversation
When the Bible's textual integrity stands, the New Testament's actual content stands. That content includes:
- John 1:1-14 — the Word was God; the Word became flesh.
- John 20:28 — Thomas confesses Jesus as Lord and God.
- Matthew 28:19 — the Trinitarian baptismal formula.
- 1 Corinthians 15:3-8 — the earliest Christian creed: Christ died, was buried, was raised on the third day.
- Romans 5:8 — God demonstrates his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
These are not later Christian innovations. They are the Gospel that, on the Qurʼān's own terms, cannot have been changed. They are good news worth reading carefully with a Muslim friend.
How thoughtful Muslims actually answer
The most rigorous Muslim response is the classical one: textual preservation, with distortion of meaning in interpretation. This solves the dilemma cleanly without abandoning Q 6:115. Some modern dawah voices try a third route — that 'Allah's word' in the four passages refers narrowly to the Qurʼān or to the eternal divine speech, not to written scripture given through prior prophets. That reading is possible but is not how classical commentators usually take it, and it makes Q 5:46-47 strangely loose with what counts as 'Allah's word.' The Christian conversation is best served by sticking with the classical reading and asking what taḥrīf al-maʿnā actually requires us to say about the New Testament we have.
Sources to read
Click a source title to read it on an authoritative site (quran.com for the Qurʼān and tafsīr; sunnah.com for ḥadīth).
| Source | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Q 6:34 | There is no changer of the words of Allah. |
| Q 6:115 | None can alter His words. |
| Q 10:64 | No change in the words of Allah. |
| Q 18:27 | None can alter His words. |
| Q 5:46-47 | Gospel as guidance and light from Allah. |
| Q 5:68 | Torah and Gospel commanded as authority. |
| 1 Corinthians 15:3-8 | Earliest Christian creed. |
How to think about it
- Hold the four 'no change' verses together with Q 5:46-47. Either Allah's word includes the Torah and Gospel (in which case they are not textually corrupted), or it doesn't (in which case Q 5:46-47 needs explanation).
- Listen for the classical solution. Most thoughtful Muslims will land on taḥrīf al-maʿnā. Acknowledge it. Then ask what that actually allows us to say about the New Testament we still have.
- End on the gospel. If the New Testament has not been changed, then John 1, John 14, Matthew 28, and 1 Corinthians 15 are still saying what they have always said: Jesus is Lord, and he died and rose for sinners.
Common objections
- These verses just refer to the Qurʼān, not to previous scripture.
The verses don't say that. They speak of 'Allah's words' generally. And the same Qurʼān explicitly identifies the Torah and the Gospel as Allah's revelation (Q 5:44, 5:46-47). To read 'Allah's words' as Qurʼān-only is a narrowing the Qurʼān itself does not perform.
- The original Injīl is preserved with Allah; the earthly text was corrupted.
- Maybe Allah allowed the prior scriptures to be corrupted to demonstrate the Qurʼān's superiority.
Then Allah is changing — or permitting the change of — His own word, which the Qurʼān four times denies. The dilemma cannot be resolved by simply saying Allah did the corrupting. The 'no change' passages explicitly rule that out.
Related questions
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