Gospel in Islam
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Injil (Arabic: إنجيل, romanized: ʾInjīl, alternative spellings: Ingil or Injeel) is the Arabic name for the Gospel of Jesus (Isa). This Injil is described by the Qur'an as one of the four Islamic holy books which was revealed by Allah, the others being the Zabur (traditionally understood as being the Psalms), the Tawrat (the Torah), and the Qur'an itself. The word Injil is also used in the Qur’an, the hadith and early Muslim documents to refer to both a book and revelations made by God to Jesus.
Etymology
[edit]The Arabic word Injil (إنجيل) as found in Islamic texts, now used also by non-Arab Muslims and non-Muslim Arabs, comes from the Classical Syriac: ܐܘܢܓܠܝܘܢ, romanized: ewangellīōn found in the Peshitta, the Syriac translation of the Bible. This, in turn, derives from Koinē Greek: Εὐαγγέλιον of the New Testament, where it means “good news” (compare Old English gōdspel; Modern English gospel, or evangel as an archaism; cf. e.g. Spanish evangelio). The word Injil occurs twelve times in the Quran.
Identification
[edit]Muslim scholars have rejected identifying the Injil with the New Testament Gospels and interpret Quran, sura 5 (Al-Ma'ida), ayah 46, 47 as God warning the Christians not to enforce the law contrary to the law sent by Allah:[1] Some have suggested the Injil may be the Gospel of Barnabas or Gospel of Thomas.[2] More commonly, Muslim scholars have argued that the Injil refers to a text now lost or hopelessly corrupted. For example, Abdullah Yusuf Ali wrote:
The Injil (Greek, Evangel equals Gospel) spoken of by the Qur'an is not the New Testament. It is not the four Gospels now received as canonical. It is the single Gospel which, Islam teaches, was revealed to Jesus, and which he taught. Fragments of it survive in the received canonical Gospels and in some others, of which traces survive (e.g., the Gospel of Childhood or the Nativity, the Gospel of St. Barnabas, etc.)."[3]
This claim has been rejected by christian scholars, claiming that the Bible's textual history is supported by a vast number of manuscripts, with thousands of manuscripts for the canonical gospels alone. Meanwhile the texts mentioned by some Muslims, e.g., the Gospel of Childhood or the Nativity, the Gospel of St. Barnabas, came at least a century after the canonical gospels.[4]
Muslim scholars however point to textual variations among New Testament manuscripts as evidence of changes over time. Scholars such as Bart D. Ehrman have documented discrepancies and intentional modifications in the transmission of the Gospels, raising questions about the preservation of their original content.[5] Additionally, Muslim scholars highlight the absence of first-century Gospel manuscripts, arguing that this gap allows for the possibility of alterations before the earliest surviving copies. The presence of non-canonical texts, such as the Gospel of Barnabas and various infancy gospels, further demonstrates the diversity of early Christian writings, reinforcing the Islamic belief that the true Injil has either been lost or significantly altered.[6]
In Qur'anic exegesis
[edit]The Islamic methodology of tafsir al-Qur'an bi-l-Kitab (Arabic: تفسير القرآن بالكتاب) refers to interpreting the Qur'an with/through the Bible.[7] This approach adopts canonical Arabic versions of the Bible, including the Tawrat and the Injil, both to illuminate and to add exegetical depth to the reading of the Qur'an. Notable Muslim mufassirun (commentators) of the Bible and Qur'an who weaved biblical texts together with Qur'anic ones include Abu al-Hakam Abd al-Salam bin al-Isbili of Al-Andalus and Burhan al-Din al-Biqa'i.[7]
See also
[edit]- Biblical and Quranic narratives
- Christianity and Islam
- Islamic view of the Christian Bible
- List of Christian terms in Arabic
- Scrolls of Abraham
References
[edit]- ^ Deobandi, Muhammad (1964–1969). Ma'ariful Qur'an. p. 176.
- ^ Oliver Leaman The Qur'an: An Encyclopedia Taylor & Francis 2006 ISBN 978-0-415-32639-1 page 298
- ^ Ali, Abdullah Yusuf (1938). The Holy Qur-an: Text, Translation & Commentary (3rd ed.). Kashmiri Bazar, Lahore: Shaik Muhammad Ashraf. p. 287.
- ^ Nickel, Gordon D. (2015). The gentle answer to the Muslim accusation of biblical falsification (Academic ed.). Calgary: Bruton Gate. ISBN 978-0-9939972-1-1.
- ^ Ehrman, Bart D. (2005). Misquoting Jesus. Archived
- ^ Griffith, Sidney H. (2013). The Bible in Arabic. Archived
- ^ a b McCoy, R. Michael (2021-09-08). Interpreting the Qurʾān with the Bible (Tafsīr al-Qurʾān bi-l-Kitāb). Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-46682-1.