What is the Islamic Dilemma? And why it is so Damning
What in the heck is the Islamic Dilemma?
If you have been listening to in-person and online debates about anything related to the legitimacy of Islam's claim of being the true religion from this year (2026) and last year (2025), then you might have encountered or heard of the Islamic Dilemma.
This was a term I was not familiar with myself until last year, and I've only begun trying to actually understand it this year.
Basically, the Islamic Dilemma takes a jab on Islam's claim that the Old Testament and New Testament are "corrupted" and therefore unreliable.
If you aren't familiar with Islam's claims on the Bible being corrupted or if you already are, here's a reminder of the so called "evidences" for their claim.
Islam's "evidences" on the Bible being corrupted:
- Translation upon translation upon translation
- Contradictions claims
- Jesus spoke Aramaic not Greek or Latin
- The Injeel (Gospel in Arabic) that the Christians have is not the "real" Gospel
- The Torah (Old testament) is corrupted
- etc.
Though the evidence they use to claim the Bible is corrupted is incredibly weak and can be refuted (I will attempt to refute the claims in another blog post), for the sake of being able to talk about the dilemma, let us assume that the Bible is corrupted.
Okay sure, the Bible is corrupted, now what?
The Bible is corrupted, that means it's a victory for Islam yes? ERR WRONG!
There are a few verses IN the Quran that becomes incredibly problematic if that was the case (Bible being corrupted).
MAIN VERSE: Chapter 10:94
Supporting Verses: Chapter 5:47, Chapter 2:41, and Chapter 2:44
Main Problamatic Verse
1.) Legitimacy of what was revealed to Muhammad is based on the Scriptures [Chapter 10:94]
If the Bible IS corrupted then why would the Muslim God or Allah tell Muhammad that if he is in doubt on what the Quran REVEALED to him then he ought to ask the Christians and Jews that knows the Scripture for confirmation?
فَإِن كُنتَ فِى شَكٍّۢ مِّمَّآ أَنزَلْنَآ إِلَيْكَ فَسْـَٔلِ ٱلَّذِينَ يَقْرَءُونَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ مِن قَبْلِكَ ۚ لَقَدْ جَآءَكَ ٱلْحَقُّ مِن رَّبِّكَ فَلَا تَكُونَنَّ مِنَ ٱلْمُمْتَرِينَ ٩٤
If you ˹O Prophet˺ are in doubt about ˹these stories˺ that We have revealed to you, then ask those who read the Scripture before you. The truth has certainly come to you from your Lord, so do not be one of those who doubt,
— Dr. Mustafa Khattab, The Clear Quran
(If you want the context, you can read the whole chapter. But in short, chapter 10 mostly retells Old Testament stories and includes verses that affirms Muhammad as a prophet.)
As clearly stated in Chapter 10:94, Allah told Muhammad that when in doubt, then ask those who read the Scripture before you, A.K.A. Jews and Christians.
From this verse of the Quran, the Muslim God has confirmed that the Christians and Jews knows the Scripture, at the very least during in Muhammad's time.
So what does this mean? This means that the claim of the Bible being corrupted can only work if the corruption happens AFTER Muhammad's death, otherwise this would mean that Allah, the Muslim God, just told Muhammad to base the legitimacy of his revelations on corrupted scripture.
Unfortunately for the Muslims, manuscripts and proto-manuscripts of the Gospels (or Injeel) long before Muhammad was born, exists.
Muslims are left with two choices, either keep on insisting that the Bible is still corrupted or the Bible is not corrupted.
IF the Bible is corrupted (What Islam claims) then Allah just told Muhammad to check the legitimacy of his revelations base on corrupted scriptures.
IF the Bible is NOT corrupted then the Bible contradicts the Quran in historical facts and theological beliefs, which makes Islam false.
Welcome to the Islamic Dilemma.
Supporting Verses
2. The Quran tells us to judge using the Gospel [Chapter 5:47]
Another verse which supports the Islamic Dilemma is Chapter 5:47. I'll show you the verse first, then I'll explain.
وَلْيَحْكُمْ أَهْلُ ٱلْإِنجِيلِ بِمَآ أَنزَلَ ٱللَّهُ فِيهِ ۚ وَمَن لَّمْ يَحْكُم بِمَآ أَنزَلَ ٱللَّهُ فَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْفَـٰسِقُونَ ٤٧
So let the people of the Gospel judge by what Allah has revealed in it. And those who do not judge by what Allah has revealed are ˹truly˺ the rebellious.
— Dr. Mustafa Khattab, The Clear Quran
This verse commands the people of the Gospel A.K.A Christians, judge by what was REVEALED TO THEM.
This is a huge problem for Islam since the Quran contradicts the Bible in many essential theological facts like the crucifixion of Christ.
So if Christians were to FOLLOW what Chapter 5:47 from the Quran commands, then Christians have to judge the Quran itself as false, since it contradicts essential doctrines of Catholic faith like the divinity of Christ and His crucifixion.
So of course the Muslims may claim that the Gospel we have today is not the original and/or is corrupted, but if it is corrupted, then they have to deal with the same problem back in Chapter 10:94.
IF the Gospel IS corrupted then Allah just told the Christians to judge using corrupted scripture.
IF the Gospel IS NOT corrupted, then as Christians, we must conclude that Islam is false because the Quran contradicts the Bible.
3. The Quran states that there are people who have READ the scripture during Muhammad's time [Chapter 2:41 and Chapter 2:44]
وَءَامِنُوا۟ بِمَآ أَنزَلْتُ مُصَدِّقًۭا لِّمَا مَعَكُمْ وَلَا تَكُونُوٓا۟ أَوَّلَ كَافِرٍۭ بِهِۦ ۖ وَلَا تَشْتَرُوا۟ بِـَٔايَـٰتِى ثَمَنًۭا قَلِيلًۭا وَإِيَّـٰىَ فَٱتَّقُونِ ٤١
Believe in My revelations which confirm your Scriptures. Do not be the first to deny them or trade them for a fleeting gain. And be mindful of Me.
— Dr. Mustafa Khattab, The Clear Quran
۞ أَتَأْمُرُونَ ٱلنَّاسَ بِٱلْبِرِّ وَتَنسَوْنَ أَنفُسَكُمْ وَأَنتُمْ تَتْلُونَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ ۚ أَفَلَا تَعْقِلُونَ ٤٤
Do you preach righteousness and fail to practice it yourselves, although you read the Scripture? Do you not understand?
— Dr. Mustafa Khattab, The Clear Quran
Chapter 2:41 and Chapter 2:44 acknowledges the existence of The Scripture during Muhammad's time and refers to people who were already familiar with it and have read it.
Which means that the Scripture not only was present during Muhammad's time, but also that there were people who KNOW it.
What does this mean?
Historical claims based on the Quran can be tested for their validity
Any historical claim, like the claim that Christ did not actually crucified but only appeared so can be questioned for its truthfulness by simply asking "where did you get that information?"
[To note, it does not have to be this exact question, it can be any historical claim as long as it is based on the Quran, this was simply the first thing that came in mind.]
وَقَوْلِهِمْ إِنَّا قَتَلْنَا ٱلْمَسِيحَ عِيسَى ٱبْنَ مَرْيَمَ رَسُولَ ٱللَّهِ وَمَا قَتَلُوهُ وَمَا صَلَبُوهُ وَلَـٰكِن شُبِّهَ لَهُمْ ۚ وَإِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱخْتَلَفُوا۟ فِيهِ لَفِى شَكٍّۢ مِّنْهُ ۚ مَا لَهُم بِهِۦ مِنْ عِلْمٍ إِلَّا ٱتِّبَاعَ ٱلظَّنِّ ۚ وَمَا قَتَلُوهُ يَقِينًۢا ١٥٧
and for boasting, “We killed the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, the messenger of Allah.” But they neither killed nor crucified him—it was only made to appear so. Even those who argue for this ˹crucifixion˺ are in doubt. They have no knowledge whatsoever—only making assumptions. They certainly did not kill him.
— Dr. Mustafa Khattab, The Clear Quran
If they say the Quran, then someone can say that this contradicts the New Testament.
When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. — New International Version
And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get. - New International Version
And since we already know that the Quran claims to affirm earlier scriptures, we now have a familiar contradiction. Either the Quran or past scripture have false statements.
IF the Quran is true, then the accounts in the New Testament that state Jesus Christ was crucified must be false. But because of Chapter 10:94 (a later verse for this example too mind you) and other supporting verses, this would mean that the Quran is telling people to rely on scriptures THAT ARE NOT TRUSTWORTHY.
IF the New Testament is true, then the Quran contains false statements.
Copyright ©2026 by Marshall Vulta
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