How does the preservation of the Qur’an compare to the preservation of the Bible?

Response

The Qur’an lacks manuscript support due to the method used to compile it into written form. Islam’s primary sacred text did not exist as a “text” until many years after Muhammad’s passing. Initially, oral accounts and various notes were organized and transcribed into writing by one of his successors. All other written documents were intentionally eradicated. In contrast, the New Testament was promptly transcribed and distributed in written form without centralized authority. By the time authorities took an interest, the Bible had been circulating for centuries, making any alterations glaringly obvious.

Muhammad was unable to read or write; this fact is often cited by Muslims as proof of the divine origin of his revelations. For over two decades, he proclaimed individual statements that he claimed were revealed to him by Allah. When Muhammad passed away in AD 632, there was no written copy of the Qur’an. Some verses were recorded on various materials like leaves and bones, but the majority of the text was preserved orally by individuals who had memorized parts of Muhammad’s proclamations.

Following Muhammad’s death, the Islamic Empire underwent a transition of power to a series of new leaders known as caliphs, leading to internal disputes and conflicts. Some disagreements arose from Muslims in different regions reciting slightly different versions of the Qur’anic verses. These disputes led to the deaths of many who had memorized portions of the text. Around twenty years after Muhammad’s death, Caliph Uthman instructed Muhammad’s companion, Zayd ibn Thabit, to gather all available information and create an “official” version of the Qur’an, which was then put into writing.

Upon completion, Uthman dispatched five copies to various locations within the Islamic Empire and ordered the destruction of all other written records of the Qur’an. Every alternate version and documentation of Muhammad’s Quranic revelations—every fragment, leaf, or bone—were to be destroyed.e, and fragment—was destroyed. The only version of the Qur’an that remained was the one that Uthman and Zayd ibn Thabit had compiled.

In contrast, the New Testament was written within years of Jesus’ crucifixion and immediately copied and distributed. Even today, we have thousands of copies of those texts. These records not only show that the copying process was faithfully done, but it also makes any scribal errors or other variants obvious. For the first three centuries of the church, faith in Christ was effectively illegal. There was no connection whatsoever between Christian Scripture and government authority. By the time Constantine decriminalized Christianity, the written text of the Bible was spread far and wide. This made any attempts at editing impossible.

In summary, the Qur’an was entirely oral for decades; it was only compiled into written form when disagreements arose about its contents. The text version was made by the ruling powers of the day, who ordered all of the fragmentary and disparate writings destroyed. All that remained of the Qur’an, from that moment on, was whatever words the authority figures wanted. In stark contrast, the Bible was copied and distributed in written form immediately, without any central oversight or authoritarian decree; further, the Bible quickly spread beyond the reach of any possible editor.

The history of the Qur’an gives us no confidence that it contains the original words of Muhammad. At best, Islam can claim the modern Qur’an to be the same words approved by the third Islamic caliph after a process of controlled editing. In contrast, history says the Bible was preserved explicitly as a result of its uncontrolled copying process, which made the Bible immune to any attempts at editing or redaction.