In my previous article I discussed the accuracy of the Bible by looking at the historical principles and what the Bible says about itself. In this article I will look at the archaeological evidence. We will see whether archaeology supports the accuracy of the Bible or not. Then, we will ascertain what the Quran says about the Bible in the 7thcentury AD.
What is archaeology
Archaeologists study past cultures by examining artifacts: objects made, used, or changed by humans. Have you ever found an old coin on the ground? That is an artifact that was lost by someone. Years from now, that old coin could be found by an archaeologist, and it would be studied as part of the culture in the early twenty-first century.
The Bible which includes the Old and New Testament mentions the name of the cities, cultures, rivers, mountains, nations, people groups and so on. By archaeological searches / research we can be made aware that these things mentioned in the Bible are real. We ask, can they be trusted? Fortunately the more archaeologists search in those Biblical lands, the more they are finding which supports the Bible.
Uuras Saarnivaara in his book writes about it this way:
"About a century ago Biblical cities as Jericho, Lachish, Gezer, Shiloh, Samaria, Beth- Shan, Babylon, Nineveh, and many others were shapeless mounds. In many cases even their identity had been forgotten. Some critics questioned the Historicity of the Biblical accounts of the fall of Jericho (Joshua 6) the ivory palace of Samaria (2 Kings 22 verse 39) Belshazzar, King of Babylon and Nineveh, etc. During the past one and half centuries archaeological excavations at these numerous other sites mentioned in the Bible have shed light on the scriptures and given support to its reliability "
One of the biggest Archaeological findings related to the Bible are the Dead Sea scrolls. The term "Dead Sea Scroll" is used today in two senses, one generic sense and one specific. In the generic sense, " Dead Sea Scroll" refers to texts, not retrieved from the Dead Sea, but discovered in the caves along the north west shore of that sea between the years of 1947 and 1956.
These "scrolls" are sometimes complete, but the vast majority of them are fragmentary texts or documents of various sorts that date roughly from the end of the third century B.C. to the seventh or eighth century A.D. They are not related to one another, but have been found in caves or holes in seven different localities on the northwest shore of the Dead sea.
Generic
In the generic sense, the Dead Sea Scrolls include additional discoveries at the end of the last century in a genizah. ("hideaway" used for the deposit of old or worn out Jewish scrolls and Books) of the Synagogue of Ezra in old Cairo in the last nineteenth century.
The discovery of Dead Sea Scrolls revealed so much about the accuracy of the Old Testament. And it showed that the Old Testament is accurate and the text has not been changed over centuries. This is common knowledge today.
What then does the Quran teach about the Bible, although Muslims say that The Bible is corrupted and changed. But what does the Quran teaches about the Bible?
First, the Quran confirms and accepts Bible revelation - "We believe in the revelation which has come down to us and in that which came down to you. Our God and your God is one. According to Quran, Muhammad accepted the Bible existed at his time as the word of God.
Muslims say, we believe in Allah and that which is revealed to us, and that which is revealed to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob and the tribes to Moses and Jesus and the other prophets by their Lord.(Bakara,2:136). Then the Quran confirms the revelation of the Old Testament and New Testament. He has sent down upon you, [O Muhammad], the Book in truth, confirming what was before it. And He revealed the Torah and the Gospel.
Question
If the Bible has been corrupted and changed, why would the Quran accept a corrupted book? By reading this verse from Quran it reveals that Muhammad did not believe that the Bible is been changed or corrupted. And then in other place we see this verse talking about the confirmation of the Old Testament by Jesus. If the Old Testament was corrupted, Jesus would not have confirmed it. And if The New Testament was changed then the Quran would not have confirm it either.
"And we sent, following in their footsteps, Jesus, 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."
And in the following verse it says the people of the book should judge by what God had sent them (The Bible). If the Bible is corrupted then why would Quran ask the people of the book to judge the book? "And let the People of the Gospel judge by what Allah has revealed therein. And whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed - then it is those who are the defiantly disobedient.
"The Jewish and Christian scriptures accepted by Muslims must then be trustworthy and reliable, including what is written about Jesus in the four Gospels. Muhammad instructs Christians and Jews to ask "those who have been reading the book from before you" and then claims that the revelation is truth from your lord. Within these two phrases lies a principle: The Bible of the seventh century is considered trustworthy for study and verification of God's message. Truth cannot be partial".
There are many other verses that talk about Bible in the Quran and shows that the Quran confirms and accepts the revelation of the Bible. Finally we saw that Quran described the Bible as the word of God and revelation from God. Now we will look at how Quran does talk about word of God that cannot be changed.
Perfected is the word of your Lord in truth and justice. There is nothing that can change His words.
Conclusion
In my conclusion I am able to say that the claim from Muslims that the Bible has been changed, cannot be accurate, as evidenced above. The word of God cannot be changed Because God has promised to keep his word till the end of the world. God is almighty and powerful and when He says and promise nothing can make his promise distracted. Muslim claims cannot be explained by historical and archaeological evidences.
Rather, archaeology and history support the accuracy of the Bible. Finally Muhammad believed the Bible during his life time. He believed that The Bible was a revelation from God and it has not been changed and corrupted.
References:
Daniel wickwire, Has the Bible been changed: as it claimed by Muslims,(USA, Westbow press,2011, U).
Ref: Emir Fethi Caner and Ergun Mehmet Caner, More than a prophet: an insider's response to Muslims Beliefs About Jesus Christ (MI: kergel Publication,2003)
Mumin Faizy is a young Christian from the Middle East (Islamic world) and his interest research areas are philosophy and religious studies.
Mumin Faizy's previous articles may be viewed at http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/mumin-faizy.html