“Unbreakable or Broken?” — Islam’s Doctrine of Preservation on Trial
The Qur’an affirms God’s Word is incorruptible. Tradition says it was corrupted. Both can’t be right.
1️⃣ Divine Origins: The Qur’an Validates the Torah, Gospel, and Psalms These aren’t just old books—they’re revealed scripture, from the same God. The Qur’an commands respect for all of them.
"Indeed, We gave Moses the Scripture..." (Qur'an 2:87, 6:91)
"And We gave Jesus, the son of Mary, the Gospel..." (Qur'an 5:46)
"And to David We gave the Psalms." (Qur'an 17:55)
"Say [O believers]: We believe in Allah and what was revealed to us and what was revealed to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes, and what was given to Moses and Jesus and what was given to the prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them..." (Qur'an 2:136)
These scriptures are clearly recognized as Books of Allah—fully divine in origin, not mere human compositions.
2️⃣ “None Can Change Allah’s Words”: The Qur’an’s Ironclad Guarantee No ifs, no buts. Multiple verses say God's words are immune to alteration—period.
"There is none who can change the words of Allah." (Qur'an 6:34)
"Perfect are the words of your Lord in truth and justice. None can change His words." (Qur'an 6:115)
"And recite what has been revealed to you of the Book of your Lord. None can change His words..." (Qur'an 18:27)
These verses are absolute. They do not contain any qualifiers or exceptions. There is no suggestion that some of God’s words can be changed while others remain intact. The message is simple: Allah’s words cannot be altered—by anyone, at any time.
3️⃣ The Traditional Narrative: When Doctrine Contradicts Scripture Islamic tradition claims previous scriptures were corrupted. But that directly challenges the Qur’an’s own statements.
Traditional Islamic theology asserts:
The Torah and Gospel were indeed revealed by God.
Over time, they were corrupted or altered by human intervention.
Only the Qur'an has remained pure and preserved.
This belief is widely accepted in mainstream Muslim teachings and used to explain why the Bible is no longer considered valid.
But here lies the dilemma: This traditional view contradicts what the Qur’an itself plainly declares.
4️⃣ Breakdown Point: Three Claims, One Impossible Triangle
A: These books were revealed by Allah
B: Allah’s words cannot be changed
C: These books were changed
All three cannot be true. Which one breaks?
This is what logicians call a self-defeating contradiction:
If the Torah and Gospel were Allah’s Word, and His Word cannot be changed, then they cannot have been corrupted.
If they were corrupted, then either they were not Allah’s Word to begin with, or Allah’s Word was changed—both scenarios contradict the Qur'an.
In either case, the traditional Islamic narrative collapses under its own weight.
5️⃣ Misinterpretation, Not Manipulation: What the Qur’an Actually Accuses The Qur’an critiques twisting, hiding, and misusing scripture—not rewriting or corrupting it. That’s a crucial difference.
Some Qur'anic verses refer to people misrepresenting, hiding, or distorting parts of revelation:
"They distort words from their [proper] usages..." (Qur'an 4:46)
"A party of them heard the words of Allah and then altered it after they had understood it..." (Qur'an 2:75)
But crucially, these verses do not say that the books themselves were changed. The accusations are about twisting meanings or withholding parts—not altering the scriptures themselves. The Qur’an never claims that the Torah or Gospel, as revealed, were rewritten or falsified.
6️⃣ Why It Matters: This Isn’t Just Theological Semantics You can’t base a religion on internal contradiction. If God’s word is incorruptible, then so are the previous books.
This contradiction isn’t a minor theological quibble. It strikes at the heart of Islam’s truth claims. If a religion teaches:
“These are the revealed Books of God,” and
“No one can change God’s Word,” but also asserts
“These Books were corrupted,”
Then it becomes internally inconsistent. The logic doesn’t hold.
And this isn’t criticism from outside—it’s a challenge rooted entirely in the Qur'an’s own statements.
💥 Conclusion: A Theology That Implodes on Contact Either tradition is wrong—or the Qur’an is. There’s no middle ground. The contradiction is fatal.
By asserting that the earlier scriptures were altered, traditional Islamic theology creates a paradox that undermines either the divine status of those scriptures or the Qur'an’s assurance that Allah’s word is unchangeable. One of these elements must give way.
The result is simple and profound:
If the Qur'an is true, then the traditional claim of corruption is false.
If the traditional claim is true, then the Qur'an’s declarations are false.
You cannot have both. The contradiction is fatal. It cannot be reconciled. It self-destructs.
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