Refuting Islam

Part 8 – The Self-Destruction of Islam’s Revelation Chain

Why the Quran’s View of the Torah, Zabur, Injil, and Itself Makes Islam Collapse From Within

Introduction: A House Built on Shifting Sand

Islam presents itself as the final and perfect religion, revealed by Allah to Muhammad over a 23-year period. It claims a lineage of revelation stretching back to Adam, passing through the prophets of the Old Testament, through David (Zabur/Psalms), to Jesus (Injil/Gospel), and finally culminating in the Quran. This creates what Muslims believe is a seamless “chain of revelation.”

But the Quran’s own words create an unresolvable theological crisis. The problem is not something Christians or secular critics invented. It’s baked into the Quran itself.

The Quran:

Explicitly affirms the Torah, Zabur, and Gospel as divine revelations from Allah.
Declares that Allah’s words cannot be changed.
Commands Christians and Jews to judge by what Allah revealed to them.

Yet, at the same time, Muslims claim those earlier revelations are corrupted — even though the Quran never documents such an event, and historical manuscript evidence shows remarkable preservation.

This is the self-destruction of Islam’s revelation chain:
If the earlier revelations are preserved, Islam is false because the Bible contradicts the Quran.
If they are corrupted, Islam is false because the Quran affirms them as the unchanged word of God.

Section 1 – The “Chain of Revelation” in Islamic Theology

The traditional Islamic view of revelation is that Allah has progressively revealed guidance to mankind through a series of prophets:

Torah (Tawrat) – Given to Moses.
Zabur – Given to David.
Injil – Given to Jesus.
Quran – Given to Muhammad.

Islamic doctrine teaches that these are all revelations of the same religion — Islam — and that every prophet was, in fact, a Muslim. This is not an optional belief in Islam; it is a foundational tenet.

The Quran itself establishes this chain:

“Indeed, We sent down the Torah, in which was guidance and light. The prophets who submitted (to Allah) judged by it…” – Surah 5:44

“…and We gave Jesus, the son of Mary, the Gospel, in which was guidance and light…” – Surah 5:46

“He has revealed the Scripture to you [Muhammad] with truth, confirming what came before it, and He revealed the Torah and the Gospel.” – Surah 3:3

These are not vague acknowledgments — they are direct affirmations of divine origin, guidance, and authority.

Section 2 – The Unavoidable Link Between the Quran and the Bible

The moment the Quran affirms the Torah and Gospel, it ties its own credibility to the authenticity of those earlier scriptures.

Why? Because if those books are false or corrupted beyond recognition, then:

Allah affirmed falsehood as truth.
Muhammad confirmed counterfeit texts.
The Quran is built on a false foundation.

Islamic theology can’t have it both ways. Either:

The earlier books are preserved → The Quran’s contradictions with them mean the Quran is false.
The earlier books are corrupted → The Quran is false for affirming them as guidance and light.

This is not a “gotcha” invented by Christians. It is a logical consequence of the Quran’s own claims.

Section 3 – The Quran’s Command to Use the Torah and Gospel

The problem gets worse because the Quran doesn’t just affirm the earlier books; it commands Jews and Christians to judge by them:

“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.” – Surah 5:47

At the time of Muhammad (7th century AD), Christians and Jews were already using the same scriptures we have today — the Torah, Psalms, and Gospels in the Old and New Testaments.

If those scriptures were corrupted before Muhammad’s time, then the Quran’s command here makes no sense — it would be ordering people to follow a falsified text.

If they were preserved, then Islam is contradicted by their content.

Either way, the Islamic chain of revelation snaps in half.

Section 4 – No Historical “Corruption Event” Exists

Muslims claim the earlier books were corrupted, but they face a fatal problem: there is no historical record of when, where, or how this supposed corruption happened.

To be clear:

The Dead Sea Scrolls (2nd century BC to 1st century AD) contain the same Torah and prophetic books we have today.
The Septuagint (Greek translation, 3rd–2nd century BC) matches the Hebrew scriptures.
The Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus (4th century AD) contain the same New Testament as today.

This means the Torah and Gospel in Muhammad’s time were essentially the same as today’s. No evidence exists for a mass, global rewriting of scripture — which would have been impossible without leaving massive historical traces.

The claim of corruption is a pure theological invention to explain away contradictions between the Quran and the Bible.

Section 5 – The Quran’s Declaration of Preservation

Even more devastating is that the Quran declares:

“And the word of your Lord has been fulfilled in truth and in justice. None can change His words…” – Surah 6:115

“And recite what has been revealed to you of the Book of your Lord. None can change His words…” – Surah 18:27

If Allah’s words cannot be changed, then the Torah, Zabur, and Injil — which the Quran identifies as Allah’s words — cannot have been corrupted.

If Muslims insist they have been changed, then the Quran is wrong — and Islam’s chain of revelation is broken by the Quran’s own mouth.

Section 6 – The Logical Self-Destruction

Let’s put this in formal logical terms:

Premise 1: The Quran affirms the Torah, Zabur, and Injil as revelations from Allah.
Premise 2: The Quran declares Allah’s words cannot be changed.
Premise 3: The Torah, Zabur, and Injil contradict the Quran on essential doctrines.
Premise 4: Either those earlier books are preserved or they are corrupted.

Case 1 – Preserved: If they are preserved, the contradictions prove the Quran false.
Case 2 – Corrupted: If they are corrupted, the Quran is false for affirming them as unchanged.

Conclusion: In both cases, Islam’s claim to divine truth collapses.

Section 7 – Islamic Attempts to Escape the Dilemma

Muslim apologists typically use one of four strategies:

Redefining “Torah” and “Gospel” – Claiming they refer to lost, original texts.
- Problem: The Quran commands people in Muhammad’s time to follow them, meaning they must have been available then.
Claiming Partial Corruption – Saying some parts remain intact.
- Problem: The Quran never says “some parts” — it affirms them as guidance and light.
Selective Quoting – Using verses that align with the Quran while rejecting others.
- Problem: This is cherry-picking, not consistency.
Claiming Corruption Before Muhammad – Saying Allah allowed it to happen.
- Problem: This contradicts the Quran’s own claim that His words cannot be changed.

Each of these is a theological band-aid that fails to resolve the core contradiction.

Section 8 – The Revelation Chain Becomes a Liability

In theory, the chain of revelation is meant to prove Islam’s legitimacy — showing it as the final step in a long divine process.

In reality, it destroys Islam’s credibility:

The Quran is chained to earlier books it contradicts.
The claim of corruption contradicts the Quran’s own promises.
Historical evidence proves those earlier books were preserved.

If you remove the earlier books from the chain, the Quran has no prophetic context or continuity.
If you keep them, they expose the Quran as false.

Either way, the chain breaks.

Section 9 – Why This is Fatal for Islam

This is not a minor scholarly debate. It strikes at the very foundation of Islam’s claim to truth.

Islam’s entire identity as the “final revelation” is meaningless without the earlier revelations it affirms. But those earlier revelations either contradict it or prove it wrong for affirming falsehood.

The Quran’s own words trap Islam in a lose-lose scenario — a theological death spiral:

Affirmation of earlier books = self-contradiction.
Denial of earlier books = rejection of Quran’s claims.

This is why I call it the self-destruction of Islam’s revelation chain.

Conclusion

When you follow Islam’s “chain of revelation” to its logical end, it loops back and strangles itself. The Quran’s affirmation of the Torah, Zabur, and Gospel is not a strength — it is an Achilles’ heel that no amount of apologetic reinterpretation can fix.

The Quran either commands obedience to preserved scripture that contradicts it, or it affirms corrupted scripture and exposes Allah as a false witness.

This is not an external attack on Islam — it is Islam collapsing under the weight of its own claims.