The Islamic Dilemma is the idea that the Quran affirms that the Gospel is from Allah and that Christians should read it. But the Bible says that Jesus is God. Let’s talk about that-
The Main Argument-
Surah 5:47
So let the people of the Gospel judge by what Allah has revealed in it. And those who do not judge by what Allah has revealed are ˹truly˺ the rebellious.
Maududi – Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi – Tafhim al-Qur’an
“In this passage (vv. 44-47) Allah has shown that those who do not judge by the Law sent down by Him are: (1) disbelievers, (2) unjust people and (3) transgressors.”
Say: “O People of the Book! ye have no ground to stand upon unless ye stand fast by the Law, the Gospel, and all the revelation that has come to you from your Lord.” It is the revelation that cometh to thee from thy Lord, that increaseth in most of them their obstinate rebellion and blasphemy. But sorrow thou not over (these) people without Faith.
Maududi – Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi – Tafhim al-Qur’an
“To observe the Torah and the Gospel” means to follow their teachings sincerely and to follow the code of life laid down in them.”
He hath revealed unto thee (Muhammad) the Scripture with truth, confirming that which was (revealed) before it, even as He revealed the Torah and the Gospel.
After this it is ye, the same people, who slay among yourselves, and banish a party of you from their homes; assist (Their enemies) against them, in guilt and rancour; and if they come to you as captives, ye ransom them, though it was not lawful for you to banish them. Then is it only a part of the Book that ye believe in, and do ye reject the rest? but what is the reward for those among you who behave like this but disgrace in this life?- and on the Day of Judgment they shall be consigned to the most grievous penalty. For Allah is not unmindful of what ye do.
(The reason I have this verse here is to show that the Quran condemns people who only read and follow parts of the book, and not the whole thing.)
“So let the people of the Gospel judge by what Allah has revealed in it.” I’m a person of the Gospel, and if I do not judge by what Allah has revealed in the Gospel, I am 3 things: (1) a disbeliever, (2) an unjust person, and (3) a transgressor.
and again, the Quran says, “O People of the Book! ye have no ground to stand upon unless ye stand fast by the Law, the Gospel, and all the revelation that has come to you from your Lord.” To understand this further, the tafsir states that it “means to follow the teachings that the Gospel has laid down.” Well, the Gospel says Jesus is God(See John1;1-14 & John 10:30-33). So, according to the Quran, as a Christian myself, I should believe that Jesus is God.
Agumnets aginst the claim
“The Gospels are Corrupted“
This claim is wrong for 3 reasons-
First Reason–
The Gospels were “revealed” to Jesus in the first century, and the Quran affirms that the gospels are from Allah(See Surah 5:68) in the 6th century, then the Gospels would have had to been corrupted after the 6th century. But the issue with this is that we have manuscripts of the Gospel that date before Muhammad that align with our Bible today(see the Codex Sinaiticus.) So the claim that the Gospels are corrupted fails.
Section Reason–
Surah 6:115
Perfected is the Word of thy Lord in truth and justice. There is naught that can change His words. He is the Hearer, the Knower.
If the Quran says that no one can change the words of Allah, then claiming that the Gospels are corrupted would be going against what the Quran says. So if the Gospels are corrupted, Islam is false.
Third Reason–
If the Gospel is corrupted before Muhammad, then the Quran would be affirming a corrupted book, there for Islam is false.
“The Injeel And The Gospels Are Not The Same”
Here is the main argument-
Allah is all-knowing, and the Quran affirms the Gospel, but the Gospel disagrees with the Quran, so the Quran must be talking about a different book.
My rebttle–
This is not a bad argument, although it does not make any sense if you look too much into it. Now, try and find this other book, or as muslims will call it, “the true Injee.” The thing about looking for the true Injeel is that it does not exist.
This “true Injeel” was put on paper around the time of Jesus, then made it all the way to Muhammad. So this book would have had to disappear after the Quran affirmed it. But if you actually think about that, it’s almost impossible for that to happen. For a book to be made in the first century Judaea, then make its way over to the 6th century Arabia, then immediately disappear without a trace of the physical book left, is extremely unlikely, if not impossible. The moment we find a physical trace of the “true Injeel,” my argument will fail. But that will never happen, becouse that Quran is talking about the Gospels of the Bible.
Now that is the Islamic dilemma-
