If the Christians say: Our books, including the Torah and the Bible, have been translated for us by the disciples who we consider to be infallible messengers. They have translated these books such that all nations and people may become acquainted with them. This is contrary to the circumstance of the Qurʾān which has only been translated by those who are fallible.

There are several answers to this:

1. The Claim that Infallible Translators Conveyed the Bible Is False

   This claim is a clear, unadulterated lie. For there are a great many Arab Christians—their actual number is known only by Allāh—including those among the Arabs who accepted Christianity before the raising of Muḥammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) as a messenger. Among them also were those who were practising the actual, unchanged religion of the Messiah. They are considered believers, among the people of Paradise. In the same way that any other non-Arab who adopts the true, unchanged religion of the Messiah before the raising of the Prophet Muḥammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) is considered a believer, among the inhabitants of Paradise.

   Despite this, there are no copies anywhere on earth of the Bible or the Torah that have been translated into the Arabic language and date back to the time of the disciples. Rather, the Torah has been translated from Hebrew to Arabic and other languages, just as the Bible has been translated from Roman, Syriac, Greek, and other languages to Arabic. Therefore, if every nation or people were actually granted their very own copy of the Torah and the Bible in their own language, the Christian Arabs would be more deserving of possessing their very own copy than the Christians of Abassinya, the Slavs, or India. As the Christian Arabs are considered the neighbours to Bayt al-Maqdis, the descendants of Ishmael (عليه السلام).

   Furthermore, the Christians possess four Bibles, each of which they claim has been written in a different language—that is, one in Hebrew, another in the Latin and another in Greek. They claim this even though some of these Bibles consist of that which is completely absent in the other three. For example, the statement: “Baptise the people in the name of the father, the son, and the holy ghost” which they have made a fundamental aspect of their entire religion (the trinitarian doctrine) is found only in the Bible of Mark. Thus, if each of the four disciples had actually written a copy of the Bible in their own language, there could not exist one original Bible to which all others return.

   Despite this, the Christians boldly claim that the Bible has been translated into seventy-two different languages. This claim is both a complete lie and a contradiction as we will—if Allāh wills—clarify. As it is well known that the languages of the Children of Ādam—in our current time period and before it—collectively in all inhabited lands far exceed seventy-two. As anyone who is acquainted with the nations of this world will freely admit. Moreover, within a single language like Arabic, Persian, or Turkish there exists additional dialects, some of which may not be fully understood by those who speak that dialect unless they learn it from those who speak it. And the Arabs are the closest nation to the Children of Isaac—i.e., the Children of Israel, as they are the descendants of Ishmael and their neighbours geographically. For the inhabitants of Ḥijāz (Western Arabia or the coastal region of the Red Sea) are considered neighbours to the people of Shām (Northern Arabia or the Mediterranean regions). Also, historically, the Arabs have always performed the pilgrimage to Makkah. Despite all of this, the Arabs never possessed a single translated Arabic copy of the Torah or Bible that dates back to the period of the Messiah (عليه السلام). Rather, there never existed in Makkah itself a copy of the Torah or the Bible from that time period, not in the Arabic language or other than it. It is in consideration of this fact that the Most High said:

   لِتُنذِرَ قَوْمًا مَّا أَتَاهُم مِّن نَّذِيرٍ مِّن قَبْلِكَ

   “To give warning to a people to whom no warner had come before you”
   (Al-Qaṣaṣ, 28:46)

   So how then can the Christians claim that both the Torah and the Bible were translated by the disciples into languages that are understood by every nation among the Children of Ādam, whether they inhabit the east, west, north or south? Is such a claim not only made by one who is among the most ignorant of people, the most severe among them in lying?

2. Infallibility is Not a Prerequisite of Translation or Conveyance

   Infallibility is not a prerequisite for the translation of words from one language to another. Rather, this is a skill that people are fully able to acquire. Anyone who knows both languages is able to translate from one to the other, leading to the acquisition of knowledge. Other factors lead to the verification of translations as well. It is well-established that when two translators translate a passage, their understandings can be weighed against each other (for quality assurance and improvement).

   They also claim that the Torah has been translated into seventy-two languages by seventy-two different rabbis among the Jews, but that they were not infallible. And the king at the time separated them such that they were unable to form a secret agreement among them to collectively lie, and they produced an agreed-upon translation that was congruent among them. This occurred following the first destruction of Bayt al-Maqdis. Then, even according to them, books other than the Torah should also be fully amenable to being translated in this same manner which they claim occurred.

   Then, in our current time period, the Torah, the Bible, and the Zabūr (Psalms) have all been translated into Arabic and its meaning, without a doubt, is well-known to us. In consideration of this, what should reasonably be said regarding the Qurʾān? A book whose people understand its meaning, know its interpretations, and translate it in a manner that is more perfect, complete and exemplary than the translations of the Torah and Bible.

3. The Disciples of Jesus Were Not Infallible

   The claim that the disciples were infallible and that each of them were considered messengers of Allāh in the same way that Moses and Abraham (عليهما السلام) were is an absolutely false, preposterous, absurd claim. Rather, the disciples were the ambassadors of the Messiah (عليه السلام) and, as such, may be likened to messengers sent by Abraham, Moses or Muḥammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم). Many a Chrsitian may claim: They were messengers of Allāh, but they were not prophets themselves. However, a person who is not a prophet cannot be a messenger which means that they cannot be infallible (in their message). Even if they were to evidence this claim with the disciples being able to work miracles [according to them], the close friends and allies of Allāh and other than them were given that which is similar. Also, even if they were granted the ability to work miracles, this—in and of itself—does not indicate infallibility from the perpetration of error. In the same way that, according to the majority of scholars, the miracles granted to those besides the prophets do not act as an indication that the person in question is definitively from among the close friends and allies of Allāh anyways, much less indicate the person to be infallible. As the close friend or ally of Allāh is one who dies upon īmān, and his ability to work miracles during his life does not guarantee that he will subsequently die upon īmān. Rather, he may also alter his state during his lifetime. Even if we were to definitively state that a particular person is among the close friends or allies of Allāh—like the ten companions who were given glad tidings of Paradise by the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)—this would still not necessitate believing in every single statement that emanates from them if those statements were to oppose that which has been brought by one of the prophets. This is contrary to the circumstance of the prophets who are, indeed, infallible in their delivery of their message, as it impermissible for an error in their delivery of it to go uncorrected. For this reason, Allāh has obligated mankind to believe in all of them. Whoever disbelieves in one of them is considered a disbeliever. As the Most High said:

   قُولُوا آمَنَّا بِاللَّهِ وَمَا أُنزِلَ إِلَيْنَا وَمَا أُنزِلَ إِلَىٰ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْمَاعِيلَ وَإِسْحَاقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ وَالْأَسْبَاطِ وَمَا أُوتِيَ مُوسَىٰ وَعِيسَىٰ وَمَا أُوتِيَ النَّبِيُّونَ مِن رَّبِّهِمْ لَا نُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ أَحَدٍ مِّنْهُمْ وَنَحْنُ لَهُ مُسْلِمُونَ

   Say (O Muslims), “We believe in Allāh and that which has been sent down to us and that which has been sent down to Ibrahīm (Abraham), Ismāʿīl (Ishmael), Isḥāq (Isaac), Yaʿqūb (Jacob), and to Al-Asbāṭ [the twelve sons of Yaʿqūb (Jacob)], and that which has been given to Mūsá (Moses) and ʿĪsá (Jesus), and that which has been given to the Prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and to Him we have submitted (in Islām).”
   (Al-Baqarah, 2:136)

   آمَنَ الرَّسُولُ بِمَا أُنزِلَ إِلَيْهِ مِن رَّبِّهِ وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ ۚ كُلٌّ آمَنَ بِاللَّهِ وَمَلَائِكَتِهِ وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ لَا نُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ أَحَدٍ مِّن رُّسُلِهِ ۚ وَقَالُوا سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا ۖ غُفْرَانَكَ رَبَّنَا وَإِلَيْكَ الْمَصِيرُ

   [The Messenger Muḥammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم)] believes in what has been sent down to him from his Lord, and (so do) the believers. Each one believes in Allah, His Angels, His Books, and His Messengers. They say, “We make no distinction between one another of His Messengers” – and they say, “We hear, and we obey. (We seek) Your Forgiveness, our Lord, and to You is the return (of all).”
   (Al-Baqarah, 2: 285)

Source: Al-Jawāb al-Ṣaḥīḥ 2: 80-83
Translated by: Riyāḍ al-Kanadī