Was the Torah corrupted at Muhammad’s time?

According to Islam, the greatest and most important book that exists in the universe is the Qur’an. It is an expression of the Divine Will and the greatest of all miracles.

But despite the superiority of the Qur’an, there is also another book that is of great importance: the Torah.

Of the four major Islamic Scriptures (the Torah, Zaboor, Injil, and the Qur’an), the Torah was revealed by God the earliest. It contains many foundational stories that also appear in the Qur’an, such as Adam and Hawa in paradise, Nuh and the Flood, and Yusuf in Egypt. The Torah was also revealed to Musa, one of the most important and the most mentioned prophet in the entire Qur’an.¹

However, most Muslims believe that the Torah that we have today is no longer God’s original, pure revelation—it has been corrupted. Over time, people have changed the text and mixed their own false human ideas in with Allah’s revelation. Therefore, today’s Torah is no longer trustworthy.

In this article, we will carefully examine the claim that the Torah has been corrupted. The main question is this: What does the Qur’an say about the reliability of the Torah at the time the Qur’an was revealed? Does the Qur’an say that the Torah that existed in Muhammad’s time (the 7th century) was corrupted or reliable? Let’s find out together.

1) Surah Al-Baqarah – “Confirming that which is already with you”

The first passage we will look at is Surah Al-Baqarah 2:40-41²:

يَـٰبَنِىٓ إِسْرَٰٓءِيلَ ٱذْكُرُوا۟ نِعْمَتِىَ ٱلَّتِىٓ أَنْعَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَأَوْفُوا۟ بِعَهْدِىٓ أُوفِ بِعَهْدِكُمْ وَإِيَّـٰىَ فَٱرْهَبُونِ ٤٠

وَءَامِنُوا۟ بِمَآ أَنزَلْتُ مُصَدِّقًۭا لِّمَا مَعَكُمْ وَلَا تَكُونُوٓا۟ أَوَّلَ كَافِرٍۭ بِهِۦ ۖ وَلَا تَشْتَرُوا۟ بِـَٔايَـٰتِى ثَمَنًۭا قَلِيلًۭا وَإِيَّـٰىَ فَٱتَّقُونِ ٤١

[40] O Children of Israel, remember My favor which I have bestowed upon you and fulfill My covenant [with Me] that I will fulfill your covenant [with you], and of Me be afraid.

[41] And believe in what I have sent down confirming that which is [already] with you, and be not the first to disbelieve in it. And do not exchange My signs for a small price, and fear [only] Me.

– Surah Al-Baqarah 2:40-41 –

Who is being addressed here? Ayah 40 begins with ‘O Children of Israel’. Therefore, Allah is addressing the Jews. But which Jews exactly—Jews living at the time of Muhammad, or Jews from earlier, such as the time of Musa? Ayah 41 says, ‘And believe in what I have sent down confirming that which is [already] with you’. That which was with them would have been their Scriptures— specifically, the Torah. If the Torah is what was with them, then ‘What I have sent down’ could only be the Qur’an. Since the Jews are commanded by Allah to believe in the Qur’an, it must have already been revealed, and these Jews must have been contemporaries of Muhammad.

Why were these Jewish contemporaries of Muhammad commanded to believe the Qur’an? Because it confirmed what was ‘with them’ in the Torah. Based on these ayat, we can conclude that the Torah the Jews had during Muhammad’s time was intact and in line with the Qur’an, and it was evidence to them that Muhammad is a true prophet.

2) Surah Al-A’raf – “Whose description they find in their Torah”

Let’s turn to the next passage of the Qur’an—Surah Al-A’raf 7:157:

ٱلَّذِينَ يَتَّبِعُونَ ٱلرَّسُولَ ٱلنَّبِىَّ ٱلْأُمِّىَّ ٱلَّذِى يَجِدُونَهُۥ مَكْتُوبًاعِندَهُمْ فِى ٱلتَّوْرَىٰةِ وَٱلْإِنجِيلِ يَأْمُرُهُم بِٱلْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَىٰهُمْ عَنِ ٱلْمُنكَرِ وَيُحِلُّ لَهُمُ ٱلطَّيِّبَـٰتِ وَيُحَرِّمُ عَلَيْهِمُ ٱلْخَبَـٰٓئِثَ وَيَضَعُ عَنْهُمْ إِصْرَهُمْ وَٱلْأَغْلَـٰلَ ٱلَّتِى كَانَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ ۚ فَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ بِهِۦ وَعَزَّرُوهُ وَنَصَرُوهُ وَٱتَّبَعُوا۟ ٱلنُّورَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أُنزِلَ مَعَهُۥٓ ۙ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْمُفْلِحُونَ

˹They are˺ the ones who follow the Messenger, the unlettered Prophet, whose description they find in their Torah and the Gospel. He commands them to do good and forbids them from evil, permits for them what is lawful and forbids to them what is impure, and relieves them from their burdens and the shackles that bound them. ˹Only˺ those who believe in him, honour and support him, and follow the light sent down to him will be successful.

– Surah Al-A’raf 7:157 –

Again we must ask, who is addressed here? This ayah is talking about people who have the Torah and the Gospel with them. Therefore, it must be Jews and Christians who are in view.

When did these Jews and Christians live? The text says that these people ‘follow the Messenger’, who is Muhammad. Therefore, the people addressed here must be Jews and Christians who lived at the time of Muhammad and not before, because they couldn’t have followed Muhammad before he was born. According to this ayah, the People of the Book who were living at the time of Muhammad and following him could find prophecies about him in their Scriptures.

What can we conclude from that? The Torah—or at least the passages in the Torah that talk about Muhammad—must have been intact in the 7th century. Otherwise, Muhammad would not have told his contemporaries that he was mentioned or described in their Torah.³

3) Surah Al-Ma’idah – “The judgment of Allah”

After Muhammad emerged as the leader of the Islamic Empire in Medina, he had the role of judging conflicts in the community, even among Jews. In Surah A-Ma’idah, ayah 42, Allah commands him to judge fairly or avoid entering their quarrels. The next ayah says:

وَكَيْفَ يُحَكِّمُونَكَ وَعِندَهُمُ ٱلتَّوْرَىٰةُ فِيهَا حُكْمُ ٱللَّهِ ثُمَّ يَتَوَلَّوْنَ مِنۢ بَعْدِ ذَٰلِكَ ۚ وَمَآ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ بِٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ

But how is it that they come to you for judgment while they have the Torah, in which is the judgment of Allah? Then they turn away, [even] after that; but those are not [in fact] believers.

– Surah Al-Ma’idah 5:43 –

This ayah says that the Jews who came to Muhammad should have been judging for themselves, because Allah had given them the Torah by which they can judge. What does that mean regarding the reliability of the Torah in Muhammad’s time? It means that the Torah the Jews had —or at least the law code contained therein—was intact.

The next ayah further emphasizes the reliability of the laws in the Torah in the 7th century:

إِنَّآ أَنزَلْنَا ٱلتَّوْرَىٰةَ فِيهَا هُدًۭى وَنُورٌۭ ۚ يَحْكُمُ بِهَا ٱلنَّبِيُّونَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَسْلَمُوا۟ لِلَّذِينَ هَادُوا۟ وَٱلرَّبَّـٰنِيُّونَ وَٱلْأَحْبَارُ بِمَا ٱسْتُحْفِظُوا۟ مِن كِتَـٰبِ ٱللَّهِ وَكَانُوا۟ عَلَيْهِ شُهَدَآءَ ۚفَلَا تَخْشَوُا۟ ٱلنَّاسَ وَٱخْشَوْنِ وَلَا تَشْتَرُوا۟ بِـَٔايَـٰتِى ثَمَنًۭا قَلِيلًۭا ۚ وَمَن لَّمْ يَحْكُم بِمَآ أَنزَلَ ٱللَّهُ فَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْكَـٰفِرُونَ

Indeed, We sent down the Torah, in which was guidance and light. The prophets who submitted [to Allah] judged by it for the Jews, as did the rabbis and scholars by that with which they were entrusted of the Scripture of Allah, and they were witnesses thereto. So do not fear the people but fear Me, and do not exchange My verses for a small price. And whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed – then it is those who are the disbelievers.

– Surah Al-Ma’idah 5:44 –

Notice the following three points:

1. The Torah is called ‘a guidance and a light’, statements of supernatural origin and truthfulness which are elsewhere used for the Qur’an.⁴

2. The ayah says that the prophets used the Torah to make judgments. Like in an unbreakable chain, a perfect isnad, every prophet from Musa until Isa used the Torah to make judgements, which suggests that the law code in the Torah was reliable. This chain of succession is reinforced in Surah Al-Baqarah 2:87:

   وَلَقَدْ ءَاتَيْنَا مُوسَى ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ وَقَفَّيْنَا مِنۢ بَعْدِهِۦ بِٱلرُّسُلِ ۖ .[…]

   Indeed, We gave Musa the Book and sent after him successive messengers. And We gave Isa, son of Maryam, clear proofs and supported him with the holy spirit. […].

   – Surah Al-Baqarah 2:87 –

   Allah gave Musa “the Book” (the Torah) and then sent after him messengers one after another with no gaps until after Isa. With the exceptions of Dawud, Isa, and Musa himself, these prophets did not bring a new law or a new book. Instead, their mission was to enforce the teachings of the Torah.

   Since the prophets were protected from falling into major error (the Islamic doctrine of ‘Ismah ( عصمة)), it is unlikely that Allah would have allowed them to judge using a corrupted text or corrupt the text themselves. And since Isa confirmed the Torah while speaking to the Jews (Surah As-Saff 61:6), the laws the Jews had in their Torah must have been intact at least until then.⁵

3. In the last line of Surah Al-Ma’idah 5:44, Allah rebukes the Jews who came to Muhammad because they did not judge by the standard that Allah had provided: ‘Whoever judges not by that which Allah has sent down, such are the disbelievers’. If the laws in the Torah were corrupted, the Jews would not have been blamed for failing to judge by it. This shows that the law code in the Torah was not only intact in Isa’s days but also in Muhammad’s days.

The Surah continues as follows:

وَكَتَبْنَاعَلَيْهِمْ فِيهَآ أَنَّ ٱلنَّفْسَ بِٱلنَّفْسِ وَٱلْعَيْنَ بِٱلْعَيْنِ وَٱلْأَنفَ بِٱلْأَنفِ وَٱلْأُذُنَ بِٱلْأُذُنِ وَٱلسِّنَّ بِٱلسِّنِّ وَٱلْجُرُوحَ قِصَاصٌۭ ۚ فَمَن تَصَدَّقَ بِهِۦ فَهُوَ كَفَّارَةٌۭ لَّهُۥ ۚ وَمَن لَّمْ يَحْكُم بِمَآ أَنزَلَ ٱللَّهُ فَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلظَّـٰلِمُونَ ٤٥

وَقَفَّيْنَا عَلَىٰٓ ءَاثَـٰرِهِم بِعِيسَى ٱبْنِ مَرْيَمَ مُصَدِّقًۭا لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ مِنَ ٱلتَّوْرَىٰةِ ۖ وَءَاتَيْنَـٰهُ ٱلْإِنجِيلَ فِيهِ هُدًۭى وَنُورٌۭ وَمُصَدِّقًۭا لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ مِنَ ٱلتَّوْرَىٰةِ وَهُدًۭى وَمَوْعِظَةًۭ لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ ٤٦

[45] And We ordained for them therein a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a nose for a nose, an ear for an ear, a tooth for a tooth, and for wounds  is legal retribution. But if anyone remits the retaliation by way of charity, it is an expiation for him. And whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed– then it is those who are the wrongdoers.

[46] And We sent, following in their footsteps, Isa, the son of Mary, confirming that which came before him in the Torah; and We gave him the Gospel, in which was guidance and light and confirming that which preceded it of the Torah as guidance and instruction for the righteous

– Surah Al-Ma’idah 5:45-46 –

These two ayahs confirm what we just said above.

1. When Isa arrived, he confirmed the Torah that was present in his time (ayah 46).

2. If the Jews of Medina did not judge by what Allah has revealed—the Torah—they would have been wrongdoers (ayah 45). Therefore, the laws that the Jews of Medina had in their Torah must have been intact, at least up to Muhammad’s time.

Taken together, we find multiple proofs in Surah Al-Ma’idah of the reliability of the Torah in the 7th century.

Aside from the Qur’an, the Hadith also provides background information on ayat 41-47 of Surah Al-Ma’idah that support this conclusion. In Sahih Muslim⁶ we read about a Jew who committed zina and was punished by the Jewish leaders with whipping and blackening of his face. When the Messenger of Allah saw him, he asked one of the Jewish scholars if the Torah prescribes this punishment for zina. The scholar answered “No,” and confirmed from the scroll of the Torah that it prescribes stoning as the punishment for zina.⁷ Thus, Muhammad ordered the man to be stoned. Muhammad issued a judgment based on the Torah that existed in his time, which indicates that the law code in that Torah must have been uncorrupted.

4) Surah Yunus – “Ask those who have been reading the Scripture before you”

The next passage we will look at is Surah Yunus 10:94:

فَإِن كُنتَ فِى شَكٍّۢ مِّمَّآ أَنزَلْنَآ إِلَيْكَ فَسْـَٔلِ ٱلَّذِينَ يَقْرَءُونَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ مِن قَبْلِكَ ۚ لَقَدْ جَآءَكَ ٱلْحَقُّ مِن رَّبِّكَ فَلَا تَكُونَنَّ مِنَ ٱلْمُمْتَرِينَ

So if you are in doubt about that which We have revealed to you, then ask those who have been reading the Scripture before you. The truth has certainly come to you from your Lord; so never be among the doubters.

– Surah Yunus 10:94 –

While this ayah is grammatically addressed to Prophet Muhammad, the tafasir⁸ agree that the intended audience is the doubters among the Meccans and the broader community. What did these people have doubts about?

Surah Yunus mentions several stories of the prophets that were first revealed in the Torah, such as Nuh and the Great Flood (ayat 71-73) and Musa and Harun before the Fir’awn (ayat 75-92). Therefore, scholars believe that the doubts the Meccans had were related to Muhammad’s recitation of the stories of the prophets.

If they doubted that the Qur’an’s stories of the prophets were true, the Qur’an says that they could have asked the People of the Book. If they wanted to double-check and be absolutely certain, they could have asked Abdullah Ibn Salam, who was a Jewish rabbi and revert. Abdullah Ibn Salam and the Jews would have confirmed to the doubters that the prophets’ stories mentioned in the Qur’an aligned with the stories in the Torah.⁹

What does this mean for the reliability of the Torah in Muhammad’s days? Obviously, the text of the Torah—or at least the stories of the prophets contained therein—would have been intact in that time.

Let’s come to a conclusion. In the beginning of our article, we asked: “Does the Qur’an say that the Torah that existed in Muhammad’s time (the 7th century) was corrupted or reliable?”

While Surah Al-Baqarah 2:40-41 generally confirmed the reliability of the text of the Torah at that time, the other passages confirm the reliability of specific parts of the Torah:

• The prophecies of Muhammad (7:157)
• The law code (5:43-47)
• The stories of the prophets (10:94)

While some Muslims claim that certain passages of the Qur’an say that the Torah was corrupted—a closer examination reveals the contrary.

Furthermore, these three sections of the Torah would not have been affected anyway because their preservation is affirmed by the ayat we have examined in this article.

This then leads us to our next question: Is today’s Torah the same as the Torah at Muhammad’s time? To find out, we invite you, dear reader, to continue to the next article: