Both the Koran and the Bible claim to be true and inspired directly from God. Both agree that the penalty for a false witness pays a tremendous price.

And those who disbelieve say: This is nothing but a lie which he has forged, and other people have helped him at it; so indeed they have done injustice and (uttered) a falsehood. Surah 25:4

A forgery is something that is copied from another source—for example, the Bible. While it is not wrong to use information from the Bible to support your case, it is wrong to claim it was revealed to you first, when indeed it was revealed to someone else and you used it in your material. Songwriters bring lawsuits against other songwriters when they claim they wrote the melody and lyrics first. Authors sue other authors when they claim their ideas and material were absorbed into another author’s work, who claimed it as their own.

Many people during Muhammad’s time claimed he copied it from the Bible.

Or they may say, “He forged it,” Say, “Bring ye then ten suras forged, like unto it, and call (to your aid) whomsoever ye can, other than Allah!- If ye speak the truth! “If then they (your false gods) answer not your (call), know ye that this revelation is sent down (replete) with the knowledge of Allah, and that there is no god but He! will ye even then submit (to Islam)? Surah 11:13-14

Here the Koran challenges doubters who say the Koran is forged to bring ten forged Surahs like it. But it could not have been forged in the sense that it was copied word for word from another source. Why?

• Apparently Muhammad could not read or write
• There were no copies of the Bible floating around with the common people. The religious leaders had those copies. For others it was all spread word of mouth
• There were no copies of the Bible in Arabic

But Muhammad certainly borrowed elements from the Bible he heard from Jews and Christians—stories such as Moses, Noah, Abraham and Jesus. Is that considered forgery? Certainly Muhammad could not read or write, but he could take elements that he had heard from the Bible to form his own conclusion.