The short answer
The Qur’an affirms earlier revelation and criticises distortion. The scope of that criticism needs careful definition.
Begin with several passages
Qur’an 2:75 speaks of a group hearing God’s word and then distorting it. Qur’an 3:78 describes people twisting their tongues so that an audience takes something to be scripture when it is not. Yet 5:43–48 refers to guidance and judgment in the Torah and Gospel, tells the people of the Gospel to judge by what God revealed, and presents the Qur’an as confirming and overseeing earlier scripture. These statements should be read together.
What “distortion” might mean
Tahrif is commonly used for distortion or alteration. In interpretation, the question is whether a particular criticism concerns the wording of a text, its explanation, its concealment or a misleading performance of it. Ibn Kathir’s commentary on 2:75 includes deliberate misinterpretation among the reported explanations. A sweeping assertion that the Qur’an says every sentence of the Bible is false goes beyond these passages. Equally, their affirmation of earlier revelation should not be turned into a claim that the Qur’an endorses every doctrine later associated with biblical books.
Why the distinction matters
Muslims generally distinguish the revelation given to Moses or Jesus from the complete collections now called the Jewish and Christian Bibles. Jewish and Christian communities, for their part, understand their scriptures through their own textual histories and interpretive traditions. A historical claim that a particular passage was changed requires identifiable witnesses: manuscripts, translations, quotations and a plausible date for the proposed alteration. A theological judgment that a reading misrepresents God is a different kind of claim. When someone says “the text is corrupted,” ask which text, which words, which period and what evidence. Without those particulars, the statement can become too broad to examine. The Qur’an’s disagreements with some scriptural interpretations are substantial; treating all Jews and Christians as dishonest readers is neither necessary nor a fair account of the evidence.
What this establishes, and what it does not
This short study does not map every Muslim theory of tahrif or every biblical textual variant. A general theological criticism does not identify a specific manuscript alteration. Specialist review pending.
Sources & reading notes
- Qur’an 2:75Primary Qur’anic passage. Translation is an interpretation of the Arabic; compare the surrounding verses.
- Qur’an 3:78Primary Qur’anic passage. Translation is an interpretation of the Arabic; compare the surrounding verses.
- Qur’an 5:43–48Primary Qur’anic passage. Translation is an interpretation of the Arabic; compare the surrounding verses.
- Ibn Kathir on Qur’an 2:75Named Muslim commentary, in the hosted English edition. Evidence for this interpretation, not an independent witness to the narrated event.
Sources checked for this editorial draft on 20 October 2026. Specialist review remains pending. A citation identifies a source; it does not make every interpretation uncontroversial.