Islam Imploding

Historical Interpretations of Surah 2:79

Does the Qur’an Really Accuse Jews and Christians of Corrupting Their Scriptures?

Introduction: The Verse in Question

Surah 2:79 is often wielded by Muslim polemicists to argue that the Torah and the Gospel have been textually corrupted and are thus no longer reliable. The verse reads:

“So woe to those who write the Book with their own hands and then say, ‘This is from Allah,’ to exchange it for a small price. Woe to them for what their hands have written and woe to them for what they earn.”
(Qur’an 2:79)

Modern interpreters claim this proves that the entirety of the previous scriptures (the Torah and Gospel) were forged or lost.

But this reading contradicts historical Qur'anic exegesis, Qur'anic affirmations of the previous scriptures, and the interpretive consensus of early Islamic scholars.

This post explores the true historical understanding of 2:79—and exposes how modern Islamic theology has retroactively distorted it.

1. Context of Surah 2:79: A Localized Rebuke, Not a Blanket Condemnation

Surah 2 is addressed to the Jews of Medina and frequently rebukes them for misbehavior, hypocrisy, and theological error. But 2:79 is specific:

It condemns a subset of people who wrote something falsely and claimed divine authorship—not the entirety of the Torah.
The Arabic uses the phrase: “write the book with their own hands”—implying fabrication or insertion, not destruction or corruption of the whole.

This is consistent with Jewish rabbinic history, where oral traditions, commentaries, or sectarian interpolations sometimes gained undue authority.

Nowhere in this verse—or in the surrounding context—does the Qur’an claim that the entire Torah or Gospel has been lost, replaced, or systematically rewritten.

2. What Did Early Islamic Scholars Say?

Let’s go to the sources.

Al-Tabari (d. 923 CE) – Tafsir al-Tabari:

Interprets 2:79 as referring to specific individuals who fabricated rulings or tampered with the law for worldly gain.
He does not claim the Torah as a whole was corrupted or lost.

Al-Razi (d. 1209 CE) – Tafsir al-Kabir:

Notes that the verse applies to some Jewish scholars, not to the scripture at large.
Acknowledges the Torah was still extant and recognizable.

Ibn Kathir (d. 1373 CE) – Tafsir Ibn Kathir:

Interprets 2:79 as referencing those who fabricated words and attributed them to God.
Crucially, he also quotes 2:41 (“and believe in what I have revealed, confirming what is with you”)—affirming the Torah and Gospel still existed and were valid in Muhammad’s time.

Conclusion from the classical tafsir tradition:
2:79 does not declare the Torah or Gospel as wholly corrupt—only that some individuals fabricated or altered parts for gain.

3. Internal Qur’anic Consistency: The Scriptures Are Still Valid

Numerous Qur’anic verses affirm the ongoing validity and preservation of the Torah and Gospel during Muhammad’s time:

“Say: O People of the Book, you are not on anything until you uphold the Torah and the Gospel…” (Q 5:68)
“Let the people of the Gospel judge by what Allah has revealed therein.” (Q 5:47)
“…confirming what was before it of the Scripture and as a guardian over it…” (Q 5:48)

Logical contradiction:
If the Torah and Gospel were textually corrupted, then:

Why does the Qur’an ask Jews and Christians to follow them?
Why are they treated as living, available, usable books?

A verse like 2:79 cannot override the Qur’an’s repeated endorsements of the previous scriptures. The only logical reconciliation is that 2:79 refers to isolated forgeries or interpretive corruption—not wholesale textual destruction.

4. The Role of Interpretive (Tahrif al-Mana) vs. Textual (Tahrif al-Nass) Corruption

Classical scholars often made a distinction between:

Tahrif al-Mana – corruption of meaning, through misinterpretation or concealment
Tahrif al-Nass – corruption of text, through editing or rewriting

Early tafsir and juristic traditions typically accused the People of the Book of tahrif al-mana, not tahrif al-nass.

The accusation in 2:79 fits tahrif al-mana: specific additions or misleading claims attributed to divine revelation.

Post-Qur’anic theologians—especially in polemical contexts—blurred this line to justify Islam’s finality and invalidate Christian and Jewish claims.

5. Modern Theology vs. Qur'anic Textual Evidence: A Post-Qur’anic Evolution

The belief that the Bible (Torah and Gospel) has been:

Corrupted beyond recognition
Lost and unrecoverable
Replaced by the Qur’an

...is a post-Qur’anic invention.

Why? Because:

The Qur’an never accuses the actual text of the Injil or Torah of being erased or replaced.
Muhammad affirmed those scriptures in the possession of Jews and Christians.
The Qur’an’s own argument rests on continuity—not cancellation.

The idea of textual corruption (tahrif al-nass) became doctrinally necessary only after Muslim scholars realized that the Gospel and Torah contradicted Islam’s claims. Rather than accept the contradiction, they redefined the scriptures as forgeries—without Qur’anic warrant.

Conclusion: Surah 2:79 Was Never a Blanket Claim of Scriptural Corruption

Surah 2:79 is a specific indictment of specific individuals who fabricated divine-sounding material for gain.

It is not:

A claim that the Torah or Gospel was lost
A basis for rejecting the authority of previous scriptures
A Qur'anic license to dismiss the Bible wholesale

The Qur’an affirms the Torah and the Gospel.
Post-Qur’anic theology contradicts this affirmation.
Surah 2:79 is not a loophole—it’s a limited warning.