Injil

The Injil (Arabic إنجيل , also transcribed Injeel) is one of the four Islamic Holy Books the Qur'an records as revealed by Allah - the others being the Zabur, Tawrat, and Qur'an. The word Injil is generally held by non-Muslim historians to be an abbreviation of the Greek word Ευαγγέλιον, sometimes rendered in English as evangel (and literally meaning "good news"). It is usually translated as Gospel, as in the four Gospels of the New Testament. The word Injil usually denotes the New Testament. Some Muslims believe the Gospel or the New Testament may have been corrupted over time. Conversely, Quranic scholars point to references in the Quran that imply that Allah would not allow his revelation (i.e. the Injil) to become corrupted. Finally, some also hold the view that the Injil is a lost book, different from the New Testament which was either written by the apostles or people connected to them.

Occurrence of the word Injil in the Qur'an

The word Injil occurs twelve times in the Qur'an (III, 2, 43, 58; V, 50, 51, 70, 72, 110; VII, 156; IX, 112; XLVIII, 29; LVII, 27 ) and refers to the revelation transmitted by Isa. The word also means the scripture possessed and read by the Christian contemporaries of Mohammed (V, 51; VII, 156), i.e., the four Gospels, often extended in current usage to mean the whole of the New Testament. Although the Qu'ran refers to the message of Isa, the contents of the revelation contained in the Injil transmitted by Isa is not known from the Qur'an.

Difference between the Injil and Gospels

Muslim scholars generally dispute that Injil refers to either the entire New Testament or the four Gospels. Others believe the Injil was not a physical book but simply a set of teachings. The word Injil is used in the Qur'an, the Hadith, and early Muslim documents to refer specifically to the revelations made by God to Isa, and is used by both Muslims and some Arabic-speaking Christians today.

Accuracy and Authority

While some Muslim scholars believe that the Injil has undergone tahrif, that is, the meaning or words were distorted, passages were suppressed, others added, etc., it must be noted that there is no direct evidence to support this theory. Disputed areas of text within the Injil include references to where Jesus is called the Son of God by his followers and the events that occurred after Jesus' death. Muslims generally believe that instead of Jesus dying on the cross and then being resurrected, he was never crucified and was risen into heaven.

Although parts of the Injil are generally believed to have been corrupted over time, the original Injil is, nonetheless, a revelation from God to Isa in the eyes of Muslims. It is therefore treated as such, and belief in it is necessary, as is prescribed by one of the six Islamic articles of faith. Furthermore, although many Muslims believe it has been corrupted, there is no firm evidence which could corroborate this belief. Thus the lack of evidence to support this issue causes many Muslims to still study the Injil as per the Holy Quran's command.

Many Muslims still believe that of the books sent by God (kutub), only the Qu'ran does not suffer from tahrif, i.e. is considered flawless (in contrast to Tawrat, Zabur, Injil) and existing (in contrast to the Suhuf-i-Ibrahim) according to the Muslims.

See also

• Origin and development of the Qur'an
• Similarities between the Bible and the Qur'an
• Christo-Islamic
• List of Christian terms in Arabic
• Tawrat, Suhuf-i-Ibrahim, Zabur

External links

• Islamic View of the Bible. Retrieved October 2, 2007.
• A discussion of the Injil and some other scriptures. Retrieved October 2, 2007.
• Study regarding the Injeel. Retrieved October 2, 2007.

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