This is also from a Christian friend, the Holy Quran speaks highly of the previous scriptures and directs Muslims to study and refer to them, to those books. Is not this an evidence that those books were without any corruption at the time of the Holy Prophet ﷺ? And if they were, why Muslims were directed to refer to them? Yes, the Holy Quran does not say that they were without corruption at the time of the revelation of the Holy Quran. It has nowhere been mentioned in the Holy Quran even remotely.
On the contrary, it has been categorically declared that all these previous scriptures which have been mentioned by the Holy Quran have become corrupted by human interference, by interpolation. So the question is not valid in the light of other verses of the Holy Quran. Why are they referred to? That is the big question. In the Holy Quran they are referred to for various reasons.
For instance, very often they are referred to, to prove to the followers of those books that they are liars, they are false in their attitude, they are untrue people. Because the Holy Quran challenges them that if they are truthful, at least they should practice their book. Because they are not practicing their book, so they are dishonest about this new truth. Those who do not follow their own truth, how can they follow a new revealed truth? So because their attitude is corrupt and wrong, this is why they are not following the truth.
That has been mentioned many times in the Holy Quran, so that is one purpose why those books are mentioned. In other instances it is mentioned that you are such a cruel and wrongful people, that truths came to you before from Allah and you corrupted them. So again they are addressed, not the Muslims in fact. They are told and a folly of theirs is revealed to them in so many words. It is pointed out to them that unless you rectify your attitude towards religion, you cannot gain anything from any prophet who comes. Because you have been misbehaving to your own religion to the degree that you did not hesitate to interfere with the word of Allah as it was revealed to you.
So with that wrongful attitude how can you expect to reach truth? First rectify yourself. Thirdly, it is mentioned that not the entire book is corrupted. Partly it has been corrupted, but partly in certain places where it is not corrupted. There the Holy Quran gives us the glad tidings that if that teaching was worth keeping, the Holy Quran has already contained that teaching in itself. You are not left with anything to search in those books. Had the Holy Quran told you that part of those books are good and part is bad and it is your duty to search for the good and leave the bad out and follow the good, then it would have been very difficult for every person to select the right from the wrong.
But the Holy Quran after making this claim also declares that whatever was worthy of keeping and whatever was correct has already been adopted for your benefit in the Holy Quran, plus some. So it is a complete book. The Holy Quran tells us. What are tayyama? Tayyama are those teachings which have lasting values, which have not been corrupted. So the Holy Quran gives us the glad tidings that this is not just one book. There are all the previous teachings of the previous books which were worthy are being retained. So with all this explanation of the Holy Quran vis-à-vis the previous books, nothing is left unanswered.
