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(, ) or corruption of the Bible, is a term used by most
Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
to refer to believed alterations made to the previous revelations of
God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...
—specifically those that make up the ''
Tawrat In Islam, the Torah ( ) is regarded as an Islamic holy book that was revealed by God to guide the Israelites. In the Quran, the word "Tawrat" appears eighteen times, particularly in passages mentioning the Jewish people or their history, inclu ...
'' or
Torah The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...
, the ''
Zabur Zabur () is, according to Islam, the holy book of Dawud (David in Islam), one of the Islamic holy books, holy books revealed by Allah before the Quran, alongside others such as the ''Torah in Islam, Tawrāh (Torah)'' and the Gospel in Islam, In ...
'' or
Psalms The Book of Psalms ( , ; ; ; ; , in Islam also called Zabur, ), also known as the Psalter, is the first book of the third section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) called ('Writings'), and a book of the Old Testament. The book is an anthology of B ...
, and the ''
Injil Injil (, alternative spellings: ''Ingil'' or ''Injeel'') is the Arabic name for the Gospel of Jesus ( Isa). This ''Injil'' is described by the Quran as one of the four Islamic holy books which was revealed by Allah, the others being the Zabur (tr ...
'' or
Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...
. The term can also refer to what Muslims consider to be the corrupted
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
and
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
interpretations of the previous revelations of God, known as "Tahrif al-Mana". This concept holds that earlier revelations have been misinterpreted rather than textually altered.


Origin

The origins of Tahrif are debated. In the 8th century,
Muqatil ibn Sulayman Muqātil ibn Sulaymān () (d. 767 C.E.) was an 8th-century Muslim scholar of the Quran, controversial for his anthropomorphism. He wrote one of the earliest, if not first, commentaries of the Qur'an which is still available today.John Wansbrough ...
claimed in his
tafsir Tafsir ( ; ) refers to an exegesis, or commentary, of the Quran. An author of a ''tafsir'' is a ' (; plural: ). A Quranic ''tafsir'' attempts to provide elucidation, explanation, interpretation, context or commentary for clear understanding ...
on al-Baqara 2:79 of the
Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...
that the Jews had distorted the ''Tawrat'' and removed mention of
Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...
in the
Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...
in his Tafsir, 2:79. Some academics doubt this as a true mention of tahrif. The 9th century
Zaydi Zaydism () is a branch of Shia Islam that emerged in the eighth century following Zayd ibn Ali's unsuccessful rebellion against the Umayyad Caliphate. Zaydism is one of the three main branches of Shi'ism, with the other two being Twelverism ...
scholar
al-Qasim al-Rassi Al-Qāsim ibn Ibrāhīm Ṭabāṭabā ibn Ismāʿīl al-Dībādj ibn Ibrāhīm al-Ghamr ibn al-Ḥasan al-Muthannā ibn al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ar-Rassī (; 785–860) was a 9th-century religious leader in the Arabian Peninsula. He ...
claimed that the Jews and Christians had misinterpreted the interpretations of the ''Tawrat'', ''Zabur'', and the ''Injil''. This concept is referred to as ''tahrif al-mana''. However, al-Qasim al-Rassi did not believe the Bible to be only misinterpreted, but instead to have an inauthentic transmission. According to
Camilla Adang Camilla Adang (Hebrew: קמילה אדנג; born 1960) is a Dutch associate professor of Islamic studies at Tel Aviv University in Tel Aviv, Israel. Biography Adang was born in Bussum, Netherlands in 1960.al-Tabari Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn Jarīr ibn Yazīd al-Ṭabarī (; 839–923 CE / 224–310 AH), commonly known as al-Ṭabarī (), was a Sunni Muslim scholar, polymath, historian, exegete, jurist, and theologian from Amol, Tabaristan, present- ...
believed that there was a genuine ''Tawrat'' of
Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...
that had been lost and then restored by
Ezra Ezra ( fl. fifth or fourth century BCE) is the main character of the Book of Ezra. According to the Hebrew Bible, he was an important Jewish scribe (''sofer'') and priest (''kohen'') in the early Second Temple period. In the Greek Septuagint, t ...
alongside a ''different'' Torah created by the
rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...
s and ignorant Jews. Tabari suspected that the Jews of his time were using this different ''Tawrat'' instead of the authentic Mosaic one, which is why Tabari made the distinction of referring to the Torah of his time as "The Torah that they possess today". Tabari says elsewhere in his
Tafsir Tafsir ( ; ) refers to an exegesis, or commentary, of the Quran. An author of a ''tafsir'' is a ' (; plural: ). A Quranic ''tafsir'' attempts to provide elucidation, explanation, interpretation, context or commentary for clear understanding ...
of Quran al-Baqara 2:42 that the Jews had introduced falsehood with their own hands in the Torah.Ryan Schaffner. ''The Bible through a Qur’ānic Filter: Scripture Falsification (Taḥrīf) in 8th- and 9th-Century Muslim Disputational Literature''. The Ohio State University. 2016. pages 247-248. Some
companions of the Prophet The Companions of the Prophet () were the Muslim disciples and followers of the Islamic prophet Muhammad who saw or met him during his lifetime. The companions played a major role in Muslim battles, society, hadith narration, and governance ...
, such as
Uthman Uthman ibn Affan (17 June 656) was the third caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate, ruling from 644 until his assassination in 656. Uthman, a second cousin, son-in-law, and notable companion of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, played a major role ...
(according to ''
Tafsir Ibn Kathir (), commonly known as ' (), is the Qur'anic exegesis (') by Ibn Kathir. It is one of the most famous Islamic books concerned with the science of interpretation of the Quran. It also includes jurisprudential rulings, and takes care of the hadit ...
'' 2:79) and ibn Abbas, made some statements that imply he believed the scriptures of "the people of the book" were distorted. In ''
Sahih al-Bukhari () is the first hadith collection of the Six Books of Sunni Islam. Compiled by Islamic scholar al-Bukhari () in the format, the work is valued by Sunni Muslims, alongside , as the most authentic after the Qur'an. Al-Bukhari organized the bo ...
'', he is quoted saying: The corruption of the Biblical text was elaborated more extensively by
ibn Hazm Ibn Hazm (; November 994 – 15 August 1064) was an Andalusian Muslim polymath, historian, traditionist, jurist, philosopher, and theologian, born in the Córdoban Caliphate, present-day Spain. Described as one of the strictest hadith interpre ...
in the 11th century, who popularized the concept of ''tahrif al-nass'', 'corruption of the text'. Ibn Hazm rejected claims of
Mosaic authorship Mosaic authorship is the Judeo-Christian tradition that the Torah, the first five books of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, were dictated by God to Moses. The tradition probably began with the Deuteronomic Code, legalistic code of the Book of Deut ...
and posited that
Ezra Ezra ( fl. fifth or fourth century BCE) is the main character of the Book of Ezra. According to the Hebrew Bible, he was an important Jewish scribe (''sofer'') and priest (''kohen'') in the early Second Temple period. In the Greek Septuagint, t ...
was the author of the Torah. He systematically organised the arguments against the authenticity of the Biblical text in the
Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...
of his book: chronological and geographical inaccuracies and contradictions, theological impossibilities (anthropomorphic expressions, stories of fornication and whoredom, and the attributing of sins to prophets), as well as lack of reliable transmission ('' tawatur'') of the text. Ibn Hazm explains how the falsification of the Torah could have taken place while only one copy of the Torah existed, kept by the Aaronic priesthood of the
Temple in Jerusalem The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. Accord ...
. Ibn Hazm's arguments had a major impact on Muslim literature and scholars, and the themes that he raised concerning tahrif and other polemical ideas were modified slightly by some later authors. The
Twelver Shia Twelver Shi'ism (), also known as Imamism () or Ithna Ashari, is the largest branch of Shi'a Islam, comprising about 90% of all Shi'a Muslims. The term ''Twelver'' refers to its adherents' belief in twelve divinely ordained leaders, known as th ...
scholar
ibn Babawayh Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn 'Ali ibn Babawayh al-Qummi ( Persian: ; –991), commonly referred to as Ibn Babawayh (Persian: ) or al-Shaykh al-Saduq (Persian: ), was a Persian Shia Islamic scholar whose work, entitled '' Man La Yahduruhu al-Faq ...
narrated a debate between
Ali al-Rida Ali al-Rida (, 1 January 766 – 6 June 818), also known as Abū al-Ḥasan al-Thānī, was a descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and the eighth imam in Twelver Shia Islam, succeeding his father, Musa al-Kazim. He is also part of th ...
and the
catholicos A catholicos (plural: catholicoi) is the head of certain churches in some Eastern Christian traditions. The title implies autocephaly and, in some cases, it is the title of the head of an autonomous church. The word comes from ancient Greek ( ...
where
Ali al-Rida Ali al-Rida (, 1 January 766 – 6 June 818), also known as Abū al-Ḥasan al-Thānī, was a descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and the eighth imam in Twelver Shia Islam, succeeding his father, Musa al-Kazim. He is also part of th ...
, the 8th Imam of the Twelvers, claimed that the existing Gospels were created and changed after the original Gospel was lost. Tahrif has also been advocated by Quranist Muslims such as
Rashad Khalifa Rashad Khalifa (; November 19, 1935 – January 31, 1990) was an Egyptian-American biochemist, closely associated with the United Submitters International (USI), an organization that promotes the practice and study of Quranism. Khalifa saw his ...
, who believed that previous revelations of God, such as the Bible, contained contradictions due to human interference.


Types

Amin Ahsan Islahi Amin Ahsan Islahi (; 1904 – 15 December 1997), was a Pakistani Islamic scholar best known for his Urdu exegesis of the Quran, '' Tadabbur-i-Quran'' ("Pondering on the Quran"), which he based on Hamiduddin Farahi's (1863 – 1930), id ...
writes about four types of tahrif: # To deliberately interpret something in a manner that is opposite to the author's intention. To distort the pronunciation of a word to such an extent that the word changes completely. # To add to or delete a sentence or discourse in a manner that distorts the original meaning. For example, according to Muslim tradition, the Jews altered the incident of the migration of
Abraham Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...
so that no one could prove that Abraham had any relationship with the ''
Kaaba The Kaaba (), also spelled Kaba, Kabah or Kabah, sometimes referred to as al-Kaba al-Musharrafa (), is a stone building at the center of Islam's most important mosque and Holiest sites in Islam, holiest site, the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Sa ...
''. # To translate a word that has two meanings in the meaning that is against the context. For example, the
Aramaic Aramaic (; ) is a Northwest Semitic language that originated in the ancient region of Syria and quickly spread to Mesopotamia, the southern Levant, Sinai, southeastern Anatolia, and Eastern Arabia, where it has been continually written a ...
word used for Jesus that is equivalent to the ' was translated as "son" whereas it also meant "servant" and "slave". # To raise questions about something clear to create uncertainty or change it completely.


See also

*
Biblical inerrancy Biblical inerrancy is the belief that the Bible, in its original form, is entirely free from error. The belief in biblical inerrancy is of particular significance within parts of evangelicalism Evangelicalism (), also called evangelic ...
*
Categories of New Testament manuscripts New Testament manuscripts in Greek can be categorized into five theoretical groups, according to a schema introduced in 1981 by Kurt and Barbara Aland in ''The Text of the New Testament''. The categories are based on how each manuscript relat ...
*
Criticism of the Quran The Quran is viewed to be the scriptural foundation of Islam and is believed by Muslims to have been sent down by God () and revealed to Muhammad by the angel Rūḥ#As interpreted to refer to the Archangel Gabriel, Jibrael (Gabriel). The Qura ...
* Great and abominable church -
Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...
equivalent doctrine *
Islamic holy books Islamic holy books are certain religious scriptures that are viewed by Muslims as having valid divine significance, in that they were authored by God (Allah) through a variety of prophets and messengers, including those who predate the Quran. Amo ...
* Internal consistency of the Bible * Naskh *
Supersessionism Supersessionism, also called replacement theology by its detractors and fulfillment theology by its proponents, is the Christian theology, Christian doctrine that the Christian Church has superseded the Israelites, Jewish people, assuming Jews a ...
*
Textual variants in the New Testament Textual variants in the New Testament manuscripts arise when a copyist makes deliberate or inadvertent alterations to the text that is being reproduced. Textual criticism of the New Testament has included study of its textual variants. Some comm ...


Notes

{{Reflist


External links


Corruption in the Bible: The Muslim Stance




Islam and other religions Islamic terminology Supersessionism