I previously wrote a paper
titled “what is the Torah” where I gave ample information from the Qur’an
alongside Sunnah that the Torah, Jews, and Christians read is not what the
Qur’an is referring to. This paper I will focus on what is the إِنجِيل Injeel [Gospel] according to the Qur’an.
Christians
often have this misconception that whenever the Qur’an makes mention of either
the Torah or Gospel it automatically refers to their scriptures I.e., the Old
and New Testament. This is their misunderstanding which they try to force upon
Muslims. A common polemic by Christians which must be addressed.
Let us start by asking the question what is the إِنجِيل Injeel?
إِنجِيل Injeel could be the Arabized word for
Evangelion, meaning the Good News. Ultimately, the word Injeel is mentioned 12
times in the Qur’an. The Injeel is a revelation, revealed to Isa As [Jesus] who
is the second to last Prophet send by Allah Swt six hundred years before
Prophet Muhammed Pbuh as mentioned in the authentic hadith.
Narrated Salman:
The interval between
Jesus and Muhammad was six hundred years.
[Sahih
al-Bukhari 3948]
This is
where it gets interesting. The Arabic letters نجَل [Nun Jeem Lam] not only would spell
word إِنجِيل [Injeel] it also has another meaning to it, something which
precedes from you. Another way of expressing this would be son proceeded from
his father [loins] something which comes after. We know by default the إِنجِيل [Injeel] was revealed after the Torah and the Qur’an was revealed
after the إِنجِيل [Injeel].
Let us now
look at a few verses from the Qur’an which mention the إِنجِيل [Injeel] before present the message it brought.
He has sent
down upon you, [O Muhammed], the Book in truth, confirming what was before it.
And He revealed the Torah and the Gospel [Surah 3:3]
She said,
"My Lord, how will I have a child when no man has touched me?" [The
angel] said, "Such is Allah; He creates what He wills. When He decrees a
matter, He only says to it, 'Be,' and it is.
And He will teach him writing and wisdom and
the Torah and the Gospel [Surah 3:47-48]
O People of
the Scripture, why do you argue about Abraham while the Torah and the Gospel
were not revealed until after him? Then will you not reason? [Surah 3:68]
And We sent,
following in their footsteps, Jesus, the son of Mary, confirming that which
came before him in the Torah; and We gave him the Gospel, in which was
guidance and light and confirming that which preceded it of the Torah as
guidance and instruction for the righteous [Surah 5:46]
And if only
they had upheld [the law of] the Torah, the Gospel, and what has been
revealed to them from their Lord [i.e., the Quran], they would have consumed
[provision] from above them and from beneath their feet. Among them are a
moderate [i.e., acceptable] community, but many of them – evil is that which
they do. [Surah 5:66]
Say, "O
People of the Scripture, you are [standing] on nothing until you uphold [the
law of] the Torah, the Gospel, and what has been revealed to you from
your Lord [i.e., the Quran]." And that which has been revealed to you from
your Lord will surely increase many of them in transgression and disbelief. So
do not grieve over the disbelieving people. [Surah 5:68]
Those who
follow the Messenger, the unlettered prophet, whom they find written [i.e.,
mentioned] in what they have of the Torah and the Gospel, who enjoins
upon them what is right and forbids them what is wrong and makes lawful for
them the good things and prohibits for them the evil and relieves them of their
burden and the shackles which were upon them. So they who have believed in him, honored him,
supported him and followed the light which was sent down with him – it is those
who will be the successful. [Surah 7:157]
Indeed, Allah
has purchased from the believers their lives and their properties [in exchange]
for that they will have Paradise. They fight in the cause of Allah, so they
kill and are killed. [It is] a true promise [binding] upon Him in the Torah
and the Gospel and the Quran. And who is truer to his covenant than Allah?
So rejoice in your transaction which you have contracted. And it is that which
is the great attainment. [Surah 9:111]
Muhammed is
the Messenger of Allah; and those with him are forceful against the disbelievers,
merciful among themselves. You see them bowing and prostrating [in prayer],
seeking bounty from Allah and [His] pleasure. Their mark [i.e., sign] is on
their faces [i.e., foreheads] from the trace of prostration. That is their
description in the Torah. And their description in the Gospel is as a plant
which produces its offshoots and strengthens them so they grow firm and stand
upon their stalks, delighting the sowers – so that He [i.e., Allah] may enrage
by them1414 the disbelievers. Allah has promised those who believe and do
righteous deeds among them forgiveness and a great reward. [Surah 48:29]
Remarkably notice
how the Gospel is mentioned in succession to the Torah multiple times. Majority
of the times whenever you read إِنجِيل [Injeel] you’ll find the mentioning of the Torah prior to it
as you can read from the verse above.
Coming back
to our previous point what is the message of the إِنجِيل [Injeel]? Interestingly, the Qur’an tells us.
And
[mention] when Jesus, the son of Mary, said, "O Children of Israel, indeed
I am the messenger of Allah to you confirming what came before me of the Torah
and bringing good tidings of a messenger to come after me, whose name is Ahmed."
But when he came to them with clear evidences, they said, "This is obvious
magic." [Surah 61:6]
Let us break
this down.
As mentioned
in most instances of the Quranic verses whenever the word إِنجِيل [Injeel] is mentioned the word Torah is found before it i.e.,
the Torah preceded before the إِنجِيل [Injeel]. We would expect the same chronological order of
Torah and إِنجِيل [Injeel] being mentioned one after
another in Surah 61:6 right? let us see.
Again, like
other verse cited Surah 61:6 mentions Torah as the preceding scripture revealed
to Isa As, but this time with the exception, rather than the word إِنجِيل [Injeel] being mentioned as coming after the Torah instead we
read the word مُبَشِّرًۢا [Good News] an
alternative to the word إِنجِيل [Injeel].
Do not be
surprised the إِنجِيل [Injeel]
is also known as the مُبَشِّرًۢا [Good News] and vice versa, and
what is this Good News? It’s in the very same text, the advent of The Prophet
Muhammed Pbuh. Therefore,
we can conclude without hesitation Surah 61:6 is informing us what the إِنجِيل [Injeel] is and the message it brought.
إِنجِيل [Injeel] = مُبَشِّرًۢا [Good
News]
مُبَشِّرًۢا [Good News] = The proclamation of
the Messenger to come whose name will be Ahmed.
Note we also have a direct saying from Prophet Muhammed Pbuh where he says
one of his names is Ahmed.
Narrated Jubair bin
Mut`im:
Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said,
"I have five names: I am Muhammad and Ahmad; I am Al-Mahi through whom
Allah will eliminate infidelity; I am Al-Hashir who will be the first to be
resurrected, the people being resurrected there after; and I am also Al-`Aqib
(i.e. There will be no prophet after me). [Sahih al-Bukhari 3532]
We must also
note the إِنجِيل [Injeel] was preached by Isa As. Speech of a person is not a book rather you can
memorise or document it i.e., write it down. It is not necessary all words are
written down. Therefore, we can conclude the Gospel was not a book it was an
utterance from the mouth which was conveyed and heard by the people of that time.
Someone hearing and then writing it down does not mean they were truthful in
what they wrote hence, to trust the four gospels’ Christians claim being
documents by eyewitness is nothing but a lie they invent to convince themselves
and others.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may
Allah have mercy on him) said:
As for the Gospel that is in
their hands, they acknowledge that it was not written by the Messiah (peace be
upon him), nor did he dictate it to someone else to write it down. Rather they
wrote it after the Messiah was taken up (into heaven). Al-Jawab al-Saheeh.
He also said.
Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
These four books that they call the Gospel, or call
each of them a Gospel, were written by them after the Messiah was taken up into
heaven, but they do not say in them that they are the word of God, or that the
Messiah conveyed them from God. Rather they transmitted in them some of the
words of the Messiah, and some of his actions and miracles. They said that they
did not narrate from him everything that they heard and saw from him. So they
are more akin to what was narrated by the scholars of hadeeth (prophetic
narrations), biography and maghaazi (battle) reports from the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allah be upon him) of his words and deeds that are not Quran.
So the Gospels that they have in their hands are more like the books of seerah
(biographies) and hadeeth (prophetic narrations), or like these books, even if
most of them are true. Al-Jawab al-Saheeh.
Another
point Christians try to bring is that if Surah 61:6 is Prophesising of Prophet
Muhammed Pbuh the where is it mentioned in the gospels they have? Firstly, the
Gospels are not the Injeel which was revealed to Prophet Isa As. Secondly, the
fact you don’t have such a message in your books shows it is not the Injeel.
Christians normally counter back by saying if that is the case, why does the
Qur’an state in Surah 7:157 “they find His description in the Torah and Gospel?
Note
the ayah in Surah 7 reads ʿindahum عِنْدَهُمْ
“with
them” i.e. their own scripture and Surah 61:6 reads wa-idh
qāla وَإِذْ
قَالَ عِيسَى ٱبْنُ مَرْيَمَ “when Isa son of Mary said”. Surah 61, Isa As “said” whereas in Surah 7 “they find in what they have”, both
are not the same. We must also note in Surah 61:6 Isa As explicitly gave the
name of Prophet Muhammed Pbuh “AHMED” whereas in Surah 7:157 they find His
“description maktūban
مَكْتُوبًا"
If
you're looking for the name of Prophet Muhammed Pbuh in your scripture then you
taking the wrong route. The Quran does not say you will find his name (إسمه ismuhu), rather the Quran says in Surah 7:157
they found his written description (مَكْتُوبًا maktuban), be consistent.
Conclusion:
Christians
are in denial when they are told the Injeel إِنجِيل is not the four gospels written
by unknown authors. It is crystal clear from the Qur’an that the إِنجِيل [Injeel] is the Good News مُبَشِّرًۢا as demonstrated
specifically from Surah 61:6 alongside the Hadith.
If Christians really believe the Qur’an is speaking about their book,
then they shouldn’t have a problem directing us to where their scriptures explicitly
mentions the name of Prophet Muhammed Pbuh as the Messenger of Allah Swt as
found in Surah 61:6. Furthermore,
if they are still adamant then surely they should be able to explain Surah
7:157 how the converts i.e. the learned men of the Children of Israel [Rabbis and
Christians] found the description of Prophet Muhammed Pbuh in their Scriptures?
As they say
you can’t have the cake and eat it.
Once again, JazakhAllahu Khair to my dear brother Adnan
who helped me by the will of Allah Swt investigate this matter like I did for
the Torah and motivated me to write this paper.
