Let Them Judge by It
Why Surah 5:47 Creates a Serious Problem for the Corruption Claim
Introduction
In discussions about the Islamic Dilemma, one verse stands out as especially important.
Surah 5:47.
It is short.
It is direct.
And it creates significant tension for the claim that the Gospel had already been corrupted before Muhammad.
Let’s look at it carefully.
The Verse Itself
Surah 5:47 says:
وَلْيَحْكُمْ أَهْلُ الْإِنجِيلِ بِمَا أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ فِيهِ
“Let the People of the Gospel judge by what Allah has revealed therein.”
The command is straightforward.
The People of the Gospel — meaning Christians — are told to judge by what Allah revealed in it.
This raises a simple but powerful question:
How can someone judge by a book that no longer exists?
The Assumption of Possession
The verse does not say:
“Let them judge by what was originally revealed.”
It does not say:
“Let them judge by what used to be in the Gospel.”
It says:
“Let the People of the Gospel judge by what Allah has revealed therein.”
The wording assumes:
The Gospel exists.
It contains revelation.
It can be used for judgment.
That is present-tense language.
The Corruption Claim and the Problem It Creates
Many Muslims today argue:
“The original Gospel was corrupted before Islam.”
But if that were true in a complete textual sense, Surah 5:47 becomes difficult to explain.
Because:
Why command Christians to judge by a corrupted text?
Why speak of revelation still “in it”?
Why not clarify that the book they possess is no longer reliable?
The verse does not warn Christians that their Gospel has been altered beyond recognition.
Instead, it treats it as containing divine revelation.
Context Strengthens the Tension
Surah 5:46–48 speaks of the Torah and Gospel in affirming terms.
Surah 5:46 says:
وَآتَيْنَاهُ الْإِنجِيلَ فِيهِ هُدًى وَنُورٌ
“And We gave him the Gospel, in which was guidance and light.”
Guidance.
Light.
Revelation.
And then immediately:
“Let the People of the Gospel judge by what Allah has revealed therein.”
The flow of the passage suggests continuity, not disappearance.
Possible Responses — And Their Difficulty
Some respond by saying:
“The command only applies to the original Gospel, not the current one.”
But this creates a historical problem.
At the time of Muhammad:
Christians possessed the four canonical Gospels.
Those were the Scriptures being read publicly.
Those were the texts available for judgment.
There is no record of a separate, hidden Injil circulating in Arabia.
So the command must logically refer to what Christians actually had.
The Logical Force of the Command
Commands assume ability.
If God commands someone to do something, it assumes they are capable of doing it.
“Let them judge by it” assumes:
They have access to it.
It contains truth.
It is usable for judgment.
A completely corrupted text would not serve that function.
Why This Matters
Surah 5:47 is one of the clearest verses in the discussion.
It strengthens the Islamic Dilemma because it shows:
The Qur’an affirms the Gospel.
The Qur’an treats it as accessible.
The Qur’an commands its use.
If the Gospel truly contained the crucifixion and the divine claims of Jesus — and it did — then commanding Christians to judge by it reinforces the tension rather than removing it.
The corruption claim becomes harder to sustain.
Where This Leads
If the Qur’an affirms the Gospel…
And commands Christians to judge by it…
Then the claim that the Gospel was already lost or unusable in Muhammad’s time becomes difficult to sustain.
This is where many Muslims introduce a reply:
“Yes, the Gospel existed — but the Qur’an is the final revelation, and it is the criterion over what came before.”
In other words, the Gospel may be present, but it is no longer the authority.
That argument usually turns to Surah 5:48 and the word muhaymin.
Does “muhaymin” actually mean the Qur’an corrects and overrides the Gospel?
Or does it mean something else?
That is what we will examine next.