The Quran says that its truth is confirmed in the Books that were given before, and it even orders people to search the books for confirmation of this truth:
And in their footsteps, we send Isa (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary), confirming the Taurat (Torah) that was between his hands, and we gave him the Injil. In it was guidance and light, confirming the Taurat (Torah) that was between his hands, and a guidance and an admonition for the righteous. And let the people of the Injil judge by what Allah has revealed in it. And whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed, then those are they [who are] defiantly disobedient.
Quran 5:47
Allah–no god except him, the Living, the Sustaining–he revealed to you [Muhammad] the Book in truth, confirming that which was before it, and he revealed the Taurat (Torah) and the Injil (Gospels) from before as guidance for mankind. …
Quran 3:1-4
And then in their footsteps, we sent our messengers, and we followed with Isa (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary), and we gave him the Injil. And we placed compassion and mercy in the hearts of those who followed him. …
Quran 57:27
He [Jesus] said, “Indeed, I am a slave of Allah. He gave me the Book and made me a Prophet.” [Note: this is the same word used when the Quran is called the Book. In context, it does not mean the Quran, but it clearly means a scripture like the Quran. That’s why Jews and Christians are called People of the Book.]
Quran 19:30
Say, “O People of the Book! You are not [standing] on anything until you establish yourself by the Taurat [Torah] and the Injil [Gospel] and what has been revealed to you from your Lord.”
Quran 5:68
The scripture “given to the Christians” includes the Injil (Gospels) and quite a bit more, just as the scripture “given to the Jews” includes the Taurat (Torah) and quite a bit more. But that’s fine because Muhammad references the Book given to David (which he calls the Zabur) as well, and as Islam recognizes other prophets and messengers (AKA apostles), it must also recognize their Books as being legitimate, as well.
Muhammad delivered these surat in the 7th century. Therefore, the Injil, Taurat, Zabur, and so on of the 7th century must meet these standards–it must still be a guidance and a light with which the People of the Book can establish themselves and by which they can judge what Allah has said. Fortunately, we still have manuscripts of the Bible from before the 7th century, so we can make sure that we have the very Book that Allah is talking about when he gives this command.
Many Muslims will have heard that the Bible is corrupted. But nowhere in the Quran does it say this. Christians and Jews are accused of lying about what is in their Books, of being hypocrites and not obeying their books, and of creating innovations that differ from what their books taught. (I will be covering these passages in full later.) The Quran never accuses them of corrupting their Books. That would be against the theology of the Quran itself, as well as its explicit declarations that Allah protects the scriptures that he gives to his prophets. It would also mean that Allah was wrong that Jews and Christians could verify the Quran through the Bible. That could only mean that 1) Allah lies in the Quran, which means that nothing in the Quran can be trusted or 2) Allah was unable to protect his Books and was too stupid or ignorant to know that they’d been corrupted, in which case Allah cannot be God. The doctrine that the Bible is corrupted is an innovation that makes Allah into a liar or an impotent fool.
Now, many people have searched through the Bible and will say that Muhammad is not mentioned there. I don’t think that’s necessarily true. There are passages which fit his life extremely well. There are also others that are misunderstood by Muslims, which I will also address here. Take a browse down the links below to begin your journey….
Muhammad in the Epistles
Galatians 1:1-9