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{{Short description|Islamic term for claimed alterations to holy books preceding the Quran}}
{{Quran}}
'''{{transltransliteration|ar|ALA|Taḥrīf}}''' ({{lang-ar|تحريف}}, {{Translation|'distortion'}}) is an [[Arabic|Arabic-language]]a term used by somemost [[Muslims]] to refer to thebelieved alterations that are believed to have been made to the previous revelations of [[God in Abrahamic religions|God]]—specifically those that make up the ''[[Torah in Islam|Tawrat]]'' (or [[Torah]]), the ''[[Zabur]]'' (or [[Psalms]]), and the ''[[Gospel in Islam|''Injil]]'']]. (orThe [[Gospel]]). Itterm is also used to refer to what Muslims consider to be the corrupted [[Jewish]] and [[Christian]] interpretations of the previous revelations of God, known as “Tahrif al-Mana”. This positionconcept doesholds notthat holdearlier thatrevelations thehave previousbeen revelationsmisinterpreted ofrather Godthan weretextually altered in text.
 
==Origin==
The origins of Tahrif inare meaningdebated. andIn notthe text8th wascentury, first[[Muqatil characterisedibn Sulayman]] claimed in thehis writingstafsir on [[al-KasimBaqarah|al-Baqara b.2]]:79 Ibrahimof (9ththe century),[[Quran]] who madethat the claimJews thathad distorted the corruption''Tawrat'' wasand notremoved mention of [[Muhammad]] in the text[[Quran]] in his Tafsir, 2:79. Some academics doubt this as a true mention of thetahrif.<ref>{{cite previousbook revelations,|last1=Nickel |first1=Gordon |editor1-last=Thomas |editor1-first=David |title=The butBible in theArab interpretationsChristianity |date=1 January 2007 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-474-1170-3 |pages=207–224 |url=https://doi.org/10.1163/ej.9789004155589.i-421.53 |language=en |chapter=Early Muslim Accusations of theTaḥrīf:Muqātil Ibn Sulaymān’s Commentary On Key Qur’anic Verses|doi=10.1163/ej.9789004155589.i-421.53 }}</ref> The 9th century [[JewsZaydism|Zaydi]] andscholar [[Christiansal-Qasim al-Rassi]]. Theclaimed corruptionthat the Jews and Christians had misinterpreted the interpretations of interpretationthe ''Tawrat'', ''Zabur'', and the ''Injil''. This concept is referred to as "Tahrif''tahrif al-mana"''.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lazarus-Yafeh|first=Haza|title=Tahrif|publisher=Brill|year=2000|isbn=9004112111|location=Leiden|pages=111}}</ref>
Likewise, early quranic exegete [[Al-Tabari]] also rejected tahrif of the text and referred to the Jewish [[Torah]] in his words as "the Torah that they possess today".<ref>Camilla Adang. ''Muslim Writers on Judaism and the Hebrew Bible: From Ibn Rabban to Ibn Hazm''. BRILL, 1996. {{ISBN|978-9-004-10034-3}}. page 231.</ref>
 
According to [[Camilla Adang]], the early quranic exegete [[al-Tabari]] believed that there was a genuine ''Tawrat'' of [[Moses]] that had been lost and then restored by [[Ezra]] alongside a ''different'' Torah created by the [[rabbi]]s and ignorant Jews. Tabari suspected that the Jews of his time were using this different ''Tawrat'' instead of the authentic Mosaic one, which is why Tabari made the distinction of referring to the Torah of his time as "The Torah that they possess today" Tabari says elsewhere in his [[Tafsir]] of Quran [[al-Baqara|al-Baqara 2]]:42 that the Jews had introduced falsehood with their own hands in the Torah.<ref>Camilla Adang. ''Muslim Writers on Judaism and the Hebrew Bible: From Ibn Rabban to Ibn Hazm''. BRILL, 1996. {{ISBN|978-9-004-10034-3}}. page 231.</ref><ref>[[Tafsir al-Tabari]] 2:42</ref>
It is worthy to note however that the companion Ibn Abbas did make some statements that imply he believed the scriptures of ‘the people of the book’ were distorted. In Sahih Bukhari he is quoted saying as narrated by Ubaidullah:
 
It is worthy to note that some [[companions of the Prophet]] such as [[Uthman]] (according to ''[[Tafsir Ibn Kathir]]'' 2:79) and ibn Abbas made some statements that imply he believed the scriptures of ‘the people of the book’ were distorted. In ''[[Sahih al-Bukhari]]'', he is quoted saying as narrated by Ubaydallah:{{Quotewhich|date=July 2024}}
{{Blockquote|Ibn `AbbasʿAbbas said, "Why do you ask the people of the scripture about anything while your Book (Qur'an) which has been revealed to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) is newer and the latest? You read it pure, undistorted and unchanged, and Allah has told you that the people of the scripture (Jews and Christians) changed their scripture and distorted it, and wrote the scripture with their own hands and said, 'It is from Allah,' to sell it for a little gain. Does not the knowledge which has come to you prevent you from asking them about anything? No, by Allah, we have never seen any man from them asking you regarding what has been revealed to you!{{cn|date=July 2024}}}}
The corruption of the Biblical text was elaborated more extensively by [[ibn Hazm]] in the 11th century, who popularized the concept of ''tahrif al-nass'' "corruption of the text". Ibn Hazm rejected claims of [[Mosaic authorship]] and posited that [[Ezra]] was the author of the Torah. He systematically organised the arguments against the authenticity of the Biblical text in the first[[Hebrew (Tanakh)Bible]] and secondthe part ([[New Testament]]) of his book: Chronologicalchronological and geographical inaccuracies and contradictions;, theological impossibilities (anthropomorphic expressions, stories of fornication and whoredom, and the attributing of sins to prophets), as well as lack of reliable transmission (''[[tawatur]]'') of the text.<br>▼
 
Ibn Hazm explains how the falsification of the Torah could have taken place while only one copy of the Torah existed, kept by the [[kohen|Aaronic priesthood]] of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]]. Ibn Hazm's arguments had a major impact on Muslim literature and scholars, and the themes that he raised concerning tahrif and other polemical ideas were modified slightly by some later authors.<ref>''The Encyclopedia of Islam'', BRILL</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Brann |first1=Ross |title=An Andalusi-Muslim Literary Typology of Jewish Heresy and Sedition |date=2009 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1-4008-2524-0 |pages=54–90 |url=https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400825240.54 |language=en |chapter=CHAPTER TWO. An Andalusi-Muslim Literary Typology of Jewish Heresy and Sedition|doi=10.1515/9781400825240.54 }}</ref><ref>''Under Crescent and Cross'': The Jews in the Middle Ages, p. 146, {{ISBN|0-691-01082-X}}</ref> The [[Twelver Shia]] scholar [[ibn Babawayh]] narrated a debate between [[Ali al-Rida]] and the [[catholicos]] where [[Ali al-Rida]], the [[Imamate in Twelver doctrine|8th Imam of the Twelvers]], claimed that the existing Gospels were created and changed after the original Gospel was lost.{{cn|date=July 2024}}
The corruption of the Biblical text was first explicated by [[Ibn Hazm]] (11th century), who popularized the concept of "Tahrif al-nass," or corruption of the text. Ibn Hazm rejected claims of [[Mosaic authorship]] and posited that [[Ezra]] was the author of the Torah.<br>
 
▲He systematically organised the arguments against the authenticity of the Biblical text in the first (Tanakh) and second part ([[New Testament]]) of his book: Chronological and geographical inaccuracies and contradictions; theological impossibilities (anthropomorphic expressions, stories of fornication and whoredom, and the attributing of sins to prophets), as well as lack of reliable transmission (''[[tawatur]]'') of the text.<br>
Tahrif has also been advocated by Quranist Muslims such as [[Rashad Khalifa]], who believed that [[Islamic holy books|previous revelations of God]], such as the Bible, contained contradictions due to human interference.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.masjidtucson.org/publications/videos/ | title=Videos: Submission, Rashad Khalifa }}</ref>
He explains how the falsification of the Torah could have taken place while there existed only one copy of the Torah kept by the [[Kohen|Aaronic priesthood]] of the Temple in [[Jerusalem]].
Ibn Hazm's arguments had a major impact upon Muslim literature and scholars, and the themes that he raised with regard to tahrif and other polemical ideas were modified slightly by some later authors.<ref>''The Encyclopedia of Islam'', BRILL</ref><ref>''Power in the Portrayal: Representations of Jews and Muslims in Eleventh- and Twelfth-Century'', chapter "An Andalusi-Muslim Literary Typology of Jewish Heresy and Sedition", pp. 56 and further, Tahrif: p. 58, {{ISBN|0-691-00187-1}}</ref><ref>''Under Crescent and Cross'': The Jews in the Middle Ages, p. 146, {{ISBN|0-691-01082-X}}</ref>
 
==Types==
[[Amin Ahsan Islahi]] writes about four types of tahrif:<ref>[[Amin Ahsan Islahi]], ''[[Tadabbur-i-Qur'an]]'', 2nd ed., vol. 1, (Lahore: Faran Foundation, 1986), p. 252</ref>
# To deliberately interpret something in a manner that is opposite to the author's intention. To distort the pronunciation of a word to such an extent that the word changes completely.
# To add to or delete a sentence or discourse in a manner that distorts the original meaning. For example, according to Muslim tradition, the Jews altered the incident of the migration of [[Abraham in Islam|Abraham]] in a mannerso that no one could prove that Abraham had any relationship with the ''[[Kaaba]]''.
# To translate a word that has two meanings in the meaning that is against the context. For example, the [[Aramaic]] word used for Jesus that is equivalent to the {{lang-ar|ابن}} ''{{transltransliteration|ar|ALA|ibn}}'' was translated as "son" whereas it also meant "servant" and "slave".
# To raise questions about something clear to create uncertainty or change it completely.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Modarressi |first1=Hossein |author1-link=Hossein Modarressi |title=Early Debates on the Integrity of the Qur'ān: A Brief Survey |journal=Studia Islamica |date=1993 |issue=77 |pages=13 |doi=10.2307/1595789 |jstor=1595789 |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/1595789 |issn=0585-5292}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Fareed |first1=Muneer |author1-link=Muneer Fareed |title=Al Itqan Fi Ulum Al Quran |url=https://archive.org/details/AlItqanFiUloomIlQuran/Al%20Itqan%20Fi%20Ulum%20Al%20Quran%20English/page/n1/mode/2up}}</ref>
# To raise questions about something that is absolutely clear in order to create uncertainty about it, or to change it completely.
 
<ref>[https://www.scribd.com/document/45879709/Early-Debates-on-the-Integrity-of-the-Quran-by-Dr-Hossein-Modarressi Hossein Modarressi, Studia Islamica, No. 77.,Early Debates on the Integrity of the Quran,1993,Page 13]</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/details/AlItqanFiUloomIlQuran/Al%20Itqan%20Fi%20Ulum%20Al%20Quran%20English/page/n1/mode/2up Al-Itqan fi Ulum al-Qur’an,Jalaluddin Suyuti,Muneer Fareed]</ref>
 
==See also==
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tahrif"