Re: Bible
when was the Bible changed? before or after muhammad? if before then why did he refer to the bible as containing 'guidance and truth'? if after, why do biblical scholars (a ) date and (b ) use manuscripts dated to before the 3rd century ad, and often before 120AD?
Salam Alaikum and Peace:
First of all, the Bible....a group of books/writings was compiled long after the death of Jesus, pbuh. Nothing in the lifetime of Jesus, pbuh, was recorded or written and He never asked for it to be. Otherwise there would be the Gospels according to Jesus.
The true teachings of Jesus and the prophets before Him, (pbuta), were changed long before they went into print. However, that's not to say that some of the true teachings didn't make it into the bible.
When the Qur'an says to look to the bible, it is talking about the areas where they agree. These are the true words of God. We can't say the entire writings in the bible are all false. We know Jesus, pbuh, was one of the greatest prophets, we know He performed miracles, we know He was sent with a message. Unfortunately, overtime, much of what he taught became twisted and altered. His main message was clear, just as it was with all the prophets, "The Lord Thy God is ONE God". He constantly taught the oneness of God, yet the council of Nicea introduced the concept of the Trinity, or Tri-Union.
Jesus, pbuh, was clear when He said he was not here to abolish the old law:
In Matthew 5:17-18, Jesus stated: “17 Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the [way of] the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them. 18For, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished.”
However, Paul, who claimed to be a disciple of Jesus, systematically cancelled the laws. In his letter to the
Romans, chapter 7:6, he stated, “But now we are discharged from the law, dead to that which held us captive, so that we serve not under the old written code but in the new life of the Spirit.”
When and how the bible started to be corrupt is written in the bible itself, as you can see from the above.
As far as the manuscripts go, if you are referring to the Dead Sea Scrolls, the vast majority of those were written BEFORE Jesus, pbuh, not after. And most of what they discuss are individuals at the time, society, etc. And, most of what they have are small fragments they tediously try to put together. Large sections are missing and they do thier best to "fill in the blanks", but these are, at best, educated guesses. So, I wouldn't rely too much on those manuscripts. Not yet anyway.
Hope this answers your question.
Wasalam and peace,
Hana
