On the "lost books of the Bible"

The above are Christian answers given to general sceptic inquirers not originating from an interaction with Muslims. For the Muslim - Christian dialog another aspect might be helpful.

The Qur'an also makes references to revealed books which are not accessible to us today, or statements that are supposedly in these books, which cannot be found in them.

• In Surah Surah 87:18-19 we read:
  Lo! This is in the former scrolls.
  The Books of Abraham and Moses.

  Where are the book(s) of Abraham? See also this article.

  If this book is nowhere to be found, would a Muslim then conclude that this means the Qur'an is corrupted? If not, why not? Why would the same issue then contribute to his conviction that the Bible is corrupted?

  Would it not be a matter of intellectual honesty to employ the SAME standards for evaluating the Bible and the Qur'an?

  The Qur'an speaks about many revealed books, none of which can be found according to common Muslim understanding.

  • The scrolls of Abraham (see above)
  • The Torah of Moses.
  • The Injil of Jesus.

  [Note: We do not agree with the following arguments. They are only summarized because they show the inconsistency of the Muslim reasoning. Their content is discussed elsewhere on this site.]

  Some Muslims claim that the Biblical gospels are by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, and therefore they are not "the book of Jesus". The book the Qur'an speaks about is missing. Also arguments are made often that Moses can't be the author of the current Torah. So, this book is not available either. But since the Qur'an refers to them, and they cannot be found, does that mean the Qur'an itself is corrupted?

• Statements that cannot be found where they are claimed to be:
  And remember Jesus, the son of Mary, said: "O Children of Israel! I am the apostle of God (sent) to you confirming the law (which came) before me, and giving glad tidings of an apostle to come after me, whose name shall be Ahmad." Surat-us Saff (61):6

  Many Muslims believe that this statement is to be found in the "Injil of Jesus". But it is not found anywhere in the Biblical gospels.

  Those who follow the apostle, the unlettered Prophet (Muhammad) whom they find mentioned in their own (Scriptures), -- in the Law and the Gospel; -- For he commands them what is just and forbids them what is evil; Surat-ul A'raf (7):157

  Nowhere, either in the Torah or the Gospels is any mentioning of such a prophet to come, no matter whether we want to understand "ummi" as illiterate or gentile. In addition, there are other problems with Surah 7:157.

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