Which Gospel is accepted by Islam?

Ahmed ibn Ibrahim

alhamdulilah
Assalamu Alaikum,

I have a question regarding Islam's view on the New Testament (Gospel): I've heard many people at my Mosque say words to the effect of 'Only one Gospel is valid, there aren't four Gospels'. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John are the four core Gospels given in the New Testament, and there are also 15 other separate accounts.

My questions are:

Which Gospel is accepted by Islam?

Why are the other ones not accepted?

Who and where in the Qu'ran or Haddiths is this meantioned?

Thanks again, brothers and sisters. =)
 

Abul Harith

Active Member
Staff member
As-salaamu alaikum,

The following may serve to shed some light upon your question brother Ahmed.

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We Muslims must believe that al-Injeel (the Bible) is a revelation from Allah (swt) to our beloved prophet Jesus (pbuh).

My question is:

How was the Injeel revealed to Jesus [pbuh]? Was the revelation process completed during his life time? When did the Bible exist free from corruption and when did the corruption start?

Thanks a lot, wa-salaam

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Thank you very much for your mail.

Muslims must believe in all the scriptures revealed by Allah to all the prophets. This is including al-Injeel (the Bible) revealed to Jesus Christ, known in Arabic to be Isa-ibn-Maryam (Jesus, son of Marry - peace be upon him).

We understand that all the revelations to the prophets came through Angel Jibreel (peace be upon him), who is called Ruuh al-quds (the Holy Spirit) in the Qur’an.

Christians of today regard the Holy Spirit to be God Himself. Rather, they hold that the Holy Spirit is one of the three persons in the One God. Whereas Muslims believe that the Holy Spirit is Angel Gabriel, or Jibreel (pbuh).

The revelation of the Bible was completed in Jesus’ life time, but was not documented then. How it was revealed to Jesus was not attached with any significance in shari`ah. Forms and ways of revelation are certainly part of divinity that is certainly beyond ordinary humans’ perception.

The topic of the corruption of the Bible involves a number of questions:
First of all consider the word, ‘Bible’ itself. ‘Bible’ is derived from a Greek word, biblos meaning ‘book’. This word is used for the whole scripture of the Christians, comprising the Old Testament and the New Testament.

Also, the use of the word ‘Injeel’ (Arabic word for ‘Bible”) is considered inaccurate. By Injeel we mean the collection of revelations received by Jesus Christ from God. They are not available now in the form of a book.

What we have is a collection of twenty seven books called the New Testament. The first four books of the New Testament are called the Gospels. These are supposed to have been written by the four disciples of Jesus, namely Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

There are many evidences that the real authors of these four Gospels were not really the disciples chosen by Jesus Christ. Of course the Gospels speak about the twelve disciples chosen by Jesus himself; but the names Mark and Luke do not appear among these twelve.

Bible scholars point out many evidences to prove that the other two Evangelists Matthew and John were also two persons different from their namesakes among the disciples. So the opinion that the disciples of Jesus wrote the Gospels does not stand up to scrutiny.

There is an opinion that states that the content and the language of the Gospels clearly show that they are not the Word of God, and hence they were not revelations from God. See for example, how the Gospel of Luke begins: Luke 1 (1- 4):

1. Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us,
2. Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word;
3. It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus,
4. That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.
We can understand the following details from the above verses:
Many people had written “those things” believed to have happened in the life of Jesus Christ.

  • Luke claims to have good understanding of “those things” from the very first, not because he was an eye witness, but because he says he received those ideas from eye witnesses and ministers of the word.
  • Like the others who took in hand “to set forth in order the declaration of those things”, he too felt like writing them down.
  • The purpose is that his friend Theophilus too can “know the certainty of those things” wherein he was instructed.
  • Evidently this is the beginning of a letter addressed to Theophilus.
The foregoing clearly shows that the Gospel of Luke was certainly not a revelation or the result of inspiration.

The real revelations of God came to Jesus and no doubt he taught his disciples quoting from them. But we have no evidence to prove that Jesus dictated these word for word to be written down and kept intact.

What are called Gospels today are considered by Muslims to be the compositions made by the four evangelists based on hearsay. And the Gospels clearly show the writers were not careful in recording the words of God - as quoted by Jesus - separate from those of the Prophet Jesus.

Still, most Christians believe that all the Gospels and even the writings of Paul, Peter and others included in the later books are the Word of God. This being the case, Muslims cannot accept the whole of the present day Bible, as the True Word of God.

What a Muslim needs to believe is that God revealed Injeel to Isa (Jesus - peace be upon him); and that at least some of the ideas of Injeel are present in the four Gospels. So to believe in the real Injeel is different from the Gospels now available.

Thus we have no record of the Bible existing as free from corruption. But we may say that some of its teachings are preserved in the present day Bible.

And Allah knows best.
 

Ahmed ibn Ibrahim

alhamdulilah
I've been pouring over related articles all afternoon - what better way to spend my Sunday afternoon while fasting? =) I'm still not entirely satisfied, sorry to say.

A few things that are still bothering me:

How can there be no distinction between the prophets if Jesus PBUH was the Messiah? Surely that's a pretty big distinction? They all come bearing the same message, to worship God SWT, but only Jesus PBUH gets to be the Messiah and come back (soon) at his 2nd coming.

Another is the assumption that Jesus PBUH had to have some book revealed to him in order to be a prophet - that it isn't possible that he just walked on Earth as the Messiah, healing people, waking the dead (phycially and spiritually), doing God's will without the need to write down revelations. Couldn't that be what his disciples were for? Surely they were "inspired" by this wonderful Messiah.

The last thing that's really bothering me at the moment is the whole "Son of God" issue. Until now I've tried my best just to let this one slide. I've told myself, "Jesus was what Jesus was. Does it matter if I label him as a direct "Son of God" or not, if I acknowledge that he was born of Mary and also by God's divine will, as well as the Messiah to all mankind?" God said Be, and it Was. No problem. But now I'm looking back into my Bible and over and over and over again I see "Son of God" and other very explicit references to this topic. The Book of John, for example, says this time and time again in different ways - "He sent his one and only Son into the world". Can this be a mistake multiple disciples made, because of the fact that many wrote down the "Gospels" years after Jesus' assent to Heaven? Did they forget important details regarding our Messiah, in such a way?

There are other passages throughout the New Testament that warn against denying "Jesus the Son of God", and I'm starting to feel confused and bad about this. Lots of Muslims have asked me if I think he's the "Son" of God, and I've basically talked my way around saying "No". I hope I'm not committing some terrible crime against Jesus by doing this, nor do I hope to offend any of you my brothers and sisters.

I say he's the Messiah. His mother was Mary. His father was ... God's will? Not a "father" in the sense that we all understand, sure, but it was the other half required for Jesus to be born. Can't it be perceived in a way that would appease the Muslim and Christian both? Couldn't it be said that Jesus was the son of God in the understanding that God didn't create Jesus in the sense that we humans understand (man + woman conception) but through His divine will? That God created Jesus for such a high purpose, that Jesus was so highly esteemed that (given the divine circumstances of his birth) God might concider him an Earthly son - even though obviously Allah is well beyond human limitations, but He is a Loving God. Maybe he'd love the Messiah enough to call him His "Son"?

I know you're going to quote the Qu'ranic verse saying "He begets not, nor was He begotten" - couldn't this be understood to mean that God himself didn't beget Jesus, but that Mary did - nonetheless because of God's will being the "other half" in Jesus' birth, in a way (particularly in the eyes of the evangelists inspired by Jesus himself, who wrote the Gospels) Jesus was the Son of God?

I dunno ... May Allah guide me.
 

Submitter

Junior Member
I'll try my best to answer your questions dear brother :)

Which Gospel is accepted by Islam?

What do you mean by accepted? If you mean accepted as truth or the word of God, then none of them. They may have traces of the word of Allah from the original revelation to Jesus PBUH (the Injeel) but they are certainly not the original words of the Injeel any more.

Why are the other ones not accepted?

You said your mosque said, "Only one Gospel is valid, there aren't four Gospels". Maybe what they meant by "only one Gospel is valid" is that only the original text that was revealed to Jesus PBUH is valid (the Injeel) and what Christians call the 4 gospels today are not valid. The New Testament is not accepted as the word of God because of the many alterations etc. In fact, the Qur'an is the ONLY revelation which Muslims do accept as the original word of God. Not a single letter has changed in 1400 years and Allah has promised to protect it from any changes:

Surely We have revealed the Reminder and We most surely are its Guardian.
(15:9)

Who and where in the Qu'ran or Haddiths is this meantioned?

We know the New Testament was written by various people after Jesus PBUH ascended to heaven, yet some still claim it to be the word of God. Allah says in the Qur'an:

Then woe to those who write the Book with their own hands, and then say:"This is from God," to traffic with it for miserable price!- Woe to them for what their hands do write, and for the gain they make thereby.(2:79)

Thanks again, brothers and sisters. =)

To be honest I don't know much about the subject but I hope this is helpful and accurate inshallah. If it is not accurate then can another brother or sister please correct me. I am learning too :)
 

Ahmed ibn Ibrahim

alhamdulilah
Thank you for your support, brother. =) I'm not disputing that the New Testament is not the direct "Word of God" as the Qu'ran is. Every Christian knows that the disciples were responsible for its writing. Some of them wrote things down right away, others waited 30+ years, and it took a while even for the dedicated ones to compile everything I'm sure. Some of them couldn't even write themselves, so they had to go to friends and have them write these things down for them.

That said, it's not as though these guys just made stuff up - It was all inspired by what they experienced from their time with our Messiah. Perhaps it wasn't written perfectly - hey, the disciples were human too ;-p - and indeed there are some minor conflicts (not unlike some of the conflicts found in the various authors of the Haddiths), but it's still the best story we have regarding Jesus Christ. (please don't be offended, but the New Testament is basically TOTALLY to do with Jesus and God, whereas the Qu'ran - although more accurate - talks about all sorts of things, including pieces about Jesus)

It seems the only actual "words of God" we humans have are 1.) The Ten Commandments, thanks to Moses 2.) The Noble Qu'ran, thanks to Muhammad. All praise and highest thanks going to Allah, of course - peace be upon them all. Everything else is what the prophets wrote down after-the-fact once they were inspired by God/His angels. I'm sure God is pleased with 99% of it, else he wouldn't have allowed these things to occur.

Heheh, I'm still struggling with this, but I'll keep researching and praying: InshaAllah the Christian (follower of Jesus) and the Muslim (submitter to God) within me will come to peace again. =)
 

Submitter

Junior Member
:salam2:

I've been pouring over related articles all afternoon - what better way to spend my Sunday afternoon while fasting? =) I'm still not entirely satisfied, sorry to say.

Inshallah I'll do my best to help then :)

A few things that are still bothering me:

How can there be no distinction between the prophets if Jesus PBUH was the Messiah? Surely that's a pretty big distinction? They all come bearing the same message, to worship God SWT, but only Jesus PBUH gets to be the Messiah and come back (soon) at his 2nd coming.

Allah says in the Qur'an:

Say (O Muslims): we believe in Allah and that which is revealed to us and that which was revealed to Abraham and Ishmael, and Isaac and Jacob, and their children, and that which Moses and Jesus received and that the prophets received from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them and unto Him we have surrendered.(2:136)

I believe the distinction is referring to the prophets' beliefs and not to their status or rank. I.e. there is no distinction to be made with the beliefs of all the prophets.

Another is the assumption that Jesus PBUH had to have some book revealed to him in order to be a prophet - that it isn't possible that he just walked on Earth as the Messiah, healing people, waking the dead (phycially and spiritually), doing God's will without the need to write down revelations. Couldn't that be what his disciples were for? Surely they were "inspired" by this wonderful Messiah.

This is not an assumption brother. This is what has been told to us many times by Allah. I'll quote the above verse again:

Say (O Muslims): we believe in Allah and that which is revealed to us and that which was revealed to Abraham and Ishmael, and Isaac and Jacob, and their children, and that which Moses and Jesus received and that the prophets received from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them and unto Him we have surrendered.(2:136)

You say "Another is the assumption that Jesus PBUH had to have some book revealed to him", but it does not necessarily have to be a book. Indeed, every book started as words revealed from Allah to His messengers through Angel Gabriel. This does not mean that each revelation to each prophet had to be written down and turned into a written form (i.e. book).

The last thing that's really bothering me at the moment is the whole "Son of God" issue. Until now I've tried my best just to let this one slide. I've told myself, "Jesus was what Jesus was. Does it matter if I label him as a direct "Son of God" or not, if I acknowledge that he was born of Mary and also by God's divine will, as well as the Messiah to all mankind?" God said Be, and it Was. No problem. But now I'm looking back into my Bible and over and over and over again I see "Son of God" and other very explicit references to this topic. The Book of John, for example, says this time and time again in different ways - "He sent his one and only Son into the world". Can this be a mistake multiple disciples made, because of the fact that many wrote down the "Gospels" years after Jesus' assent to Heaven? Did they forget important details regarding our Messiah, in such a way?

Maybe. As to the reasons why the people that wrote the gospels called Jesus PBUH the son of God, I can't help you with I'm afraid. Maybe someone else can answer this for you. One thing is for sure though, in Islam we believe Jesus was NOT the son of Allah. This constitutes shirk and is the worst of sins.

There are other passages throughout the New Testament that warn against denying "Jesus the Son of God", and I'm starting to feel confused and bad about this. Lots of Muslims have asked me if I think he's the "Son" of God, and I've basically talked my way around saying "No". I hope I'm not committing some terrible crime against Jesus by doing this, nor do I hope to offend any of you my brothers and sisters.

The New Testament cannot be used as a book of God's law, or even a book to refer to for such information. The Qur'an is the only book that can be used for this purpose since it has not been tampered with since it was revealed.

I say he's the Messiah. His mother was Mary. His father was ... God's will? Not a "father" in the sense that we all understand, sure, but it was the other half required for Jesus to be born. Can't it be perceived in a way that would appease the Muslim and Christian both? Couldn't it be said that Jesus was the son of God in the understanding that God didn't create Jesus in the sense that we humans understand (man + woman conception)

Correct.

but through His divine will?

Correct. This is just a play with words really. Allah CREATED Jesus and is his CREATOR, not his FATHER. Although I understand where your confusion has stemmed from. Allah says in the Qur'an:

O people of the book! commit no excesses in your religion: nor say of Allah aught but the truth. Christ Jesus the son of Mary was (no more than) a Messenger of Allah, and his Word, which he bestowed upon Mary, and a spirit preceding from him so believe in Allah and his messengers. Say not "Three" desist It will be better for you for Allah is one God Glory be to him Far exalted is he above having a son. To him belong all things in the heavens and the earth. And enough is Allah as a disposer of affairs.(4:171)

That God created Jesus for such a high purpose, that Jesus was so highly esteemed that (given the divine circumstances of his birth) God might concider him an Earthly son - even though obviously Allah is well beyond human limitations, but He is a Loving God. Maybe he'd love the Messiah enough to call him His "Son"?

If Allah wanted to call Jesus His son, why not call Muhammad :saw: His son too? No where in the Qur'an is there even the slightest of hint where Allah calls any of his creations his son or daughter or whatever. We are simply his creation and he is infinately higher than us in terms of a being.

I know you're going to quote the Qu'ranic verse saying "He begets not, nor was He begotten" - couldn't this be understood to mean that God himself didn't beget Jesus, but that Mary did - nonetheless because of God's will being the "other half" in Jesus' birth, in a way (particularly in the eyes of the evangelists inspired by Jesus himself, who wrote the Gospels) Jesus was the Son of God?

I dunno ... May Allah guide me.

I must congratulate you brother on your sincere intention on seeking the truth. I hope my response has been useful. May Allah guide us all and increase our knowledge. :)

:wasalam:
 

Submitter

Junior Member
Thank you for your support, brother. =) I'm not disputing that the New Testament is not the direct "Word of God" as the Qu'ran is. Every Christian knows that the disciples were responsible for its writing. Some of them wrote things down right away, others waited 30+ years, and it took a while even for the dedicated ones to compile everything I'm sure. Some of them couldn't even write themselves, so they had to go to friends and have them write these things down for them.

OK I could be wrong on this but wasn't what the disciples that you refer to here wrote actually what made up the OLD Testament? As I understand it, the NEW Testament was written hundrends of years after Jesus PBUH ascended to heaven. I have read numerous times that the Old testament was much closer to the original revelation than the New Testament is.

That said, it's not as though these guys just made stuff up - It was all inspired by what they experienced from their time with our Messiah. Perhaps it wasn't written perfectly - hey, the disciples were human too ;-p - and indeed there are some minor conflicts (not unlike some of the conflicts found in the various authors of the Haddiths), but it's still the best story we have regarding Jesus Christ. (please don't be offended, but the New Testament is basically TOTALLY to do with Jesus and God, whereas the Qu'ran - although more accurate - talks about all sorts of things, including pieces about Jesus)

It would be interesting to know what the Old Testament said about Jesus being the son of God. One thing I do know is that the Old Testament says nothing of the concept of The Trinity as is mentioned numerous times in the New Testament. Maybe it's a similar thing with the whole son of God thing? That said, I have just found this short clip:

[vg]-83760868834554980[/vg]

It seems the only actual "words of God" we humans have are 1.) The Ten Commandments, thanks to Moses 2.) The Noble Qu'ran, thanks to Muhammad. All praise and highest thanks going to Allah, of course - peace be upon them all. Everything else is what the prophets wrote down after-the-fact once they were inspired by God/His angels. I'm sure God is pleased with 99% of it, else he wouldn't have allowed these things to occur.

Heheh, I'm still struggling with this, but I'll keep researching and praying: InshaAllah the Christian (follower of Jesus) and the Muslim (submitter to God) within me will come to peace again. =)

Keep asking questions brother. It's the best way you (and I!) will learn.

:wasalam:
 

Mabsoot

Amir
Staff member
assalamu alaykum,

The bible was revealed perfectly to the Prophet Jesus and his companions. Only later did people tamper and change it together with their beliefs.

I would like to add an interesting comment that there was a program on Channel 4 in the UK about fundamentalist Christians and their beliefs in doomsday.

The program had historians who showed evidence that a lot of todays bible was tampered with and also that parts were written by people who may well have been high on hallucinogenic magic mushrooms and who were influenced with pagan ideas.

What is the real source of these ideas that so many people attribute to the book of Revelation? Whoever wrote it sheltered in a cave on the Greek island of Patmos, probably a refugee from Roman occupied Palestine. He is also likely to have consumed the local hallucinogenic magic mushrooms. So rather than taking these bizarre visions literally, it might make more sense to try to understand them in their historical context.
link to the site

wasalam
 

Julia Blanche

New Member
Gospels...

As-salaamu alaykum

The bible , I must re-iterate- was NOT completed during the lifetime of Jesus. Thats why there are more then the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in the 'New Testament'. There are, brothers and sisters, approximately 47 different versions of 'The Bible'and by this I do not mean the translations. For each denomination of Christianity there is a version of The Bible . I myself was raised in a Catholic household before my reversion t o islam so please do not think this is something I am ignorant of.

My stepfather was a Catholic priest for 20 years until he eventually met and married my mother so religious debate is an area I have much experience in.

if we read The Qurán carefully Allah (swt) says 'I have perfected your religion' ( i.e, we have been given the gift of islam ) and it is plainly written that The Quran itself is revealed directly to Prophet Muhammed( pbuh) during his lifetime, whereas The Bible cannot claim that.:biggrin:

Jazak Allah Khair
sister in islam, Julia
 
Gospel

None of the gospel writers were present when Isa(AS) was alive. The only person who was alive at the time of Isa(AS) and who did write was The gospel of Bernabas. He was the blind follower of Isa(AS) . But the church did not accept this gospel cause it was against the things which Mark, luke etc wrote. There is a book that has been written called "WHAT DID JESUS REALLY SAY? by Misha'al ibn Abdullah". It goes more in detail about everything.
 
Check out this book WHAT DID JESUS REALLY SAY? By misha'al ibn abdullah. Also check out the gospel of barnabas who was the blind follower of Jesus(AS). But the church does not accept it cause it goes against there teachings.
 

samiha

---------
Staff member
Assalam
Regarding the absurd claims made by the team of “answering-islam” that verses of Qur’aan in question contradicts the alleged word of God in “Psalms” and Isaiah or else. Well, the entire Bible is not word of God. Let us read the Divine verdict on Bible, which is as follows:



The Glorious Qur’aan explicitly states that Prophets Musa (Moses) and Isa (Jesus) [PBUT] both received “Books” from Allaah, which are called “Tawret or Tawrat” and “Injil or Injeel” respectively. These two divine books must not be equated and/or confused with the Old and New Testaments, which contain very small fragments derived from the formers.



Glorious Qur’aan informs us that the Tawrat and the Injeel were the word of Allaah, which He revealed to Musa (Moses) and Isa (Jesus) [PBUT].



Glorious Qur’aan 3:3!


نَزَّلَ عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ بِالْحَقِّ مُصَدِّقًا لِمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ وَأَنْزَلَ التَّوْرَاةَ وَالْإِنْجِيلَ

It is He Who sent down to thee (step by step), in truth, the Book, confirming what went before it; and He sent down the Law (of Moses) and the Gospel (of Jesus).



Glorious Qur’aan also points out the dispute between Jews and Christians in 2:113 stating:



وَقَالَتِ الْيَهُودُ لَيْسَتِ النَّصَارَى عَلَى شَيْءٍ وَقَالَتِ النَّصَارَى لَيْسَتِ الْيَهُودُ عَلَى شَيْءٍ وَهُمْ يَتْلُونَ الْكِتَابَ كَذَلِكَ قَالَ الَّذِينَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ مِثْلَ قَوْلِهِمْ فَاللَّهُ يَحْكُمُ بَيْنَهُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ فِيمَا كَانُوا فِيهِ يَخْتَلِفُونَ

The Jews say: "The Christians have naught (to stand) upon"; and the Christians say: "The Jews have naught (to stand) upon." Yet they (profess to) study the (same) Book. Like unto their word is what those say who know not; but Allah will judge between them in their quarrel on the Day of Judgment.





أَتَأْمُرُونَ النَّاسَ بِالْبِرِّ وَتَنْسَوْنَ أَنْفُسَكُمْ وَأَنْتُمْ تَتْلُونَ الْكِتَابَ أَفَلَا تَعْقِلُونَ َ

Do ye enjoin right conduct on the people, and forget (to practice it) yourselves. And yet ye study the Scripture? Will ye not understand? (Glorious Qur’aan 2:244)

Glorious Quraan further says in Surah Al-Maidah, Ayah 68 (Chapter 5 verse 68):

قُلْ يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ لَسْتُمْ عَلَى شَيْءٍ حَتَّى تُقِيمُوا التَّوْرَاةَ وَالْإِنْجِيلَ وَمَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكُمْ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ وَلَيَزِيدَنَّ كَثِيرًا مِنْهُمْ مَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكَ مِنْ رَبِّكَ طُغْيَانًا وَكُفْرًا فَلَا تَأْسَ عَلَى الْقَوْمِ الْكَافِرِينَ

Say: "O People of the Book! Ye have no ground to stand upon unless ye stand fast by the Law, the Gospel, and all the revelation that has come to you from your Lord. "It is the revelation that cometh to thee from thy Lord, that increaseth in most of them their obstinate rebellion and blasphemy. But sorrow thou not over (these) people without Faith.



Jewish and Christian accounts about the Old and New Testament tells us that both have been classified books and/or documents not available to lay people, especially the respective followers of Judaism and Christianity. These books remained in the secrecy and possession of religious authorities of each religion. It has been a hallmark of prestige and the positions of Rabbis and Church Fathers. As stated earlier that these authorities were thus, able to dictate and enforce that portions of the book they liked and conceal those parts that did not serve their interests. This has now been widely acknowledged by the historians and scholars of both religions. There is voluminous work out in form of books and articles etc. However, the Glorious Qur’aan exposes this in many Ayaat (verses):

Glorious Qur’aan 2:140!

أَمْ تَقُولُونَ إِنَّ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْمَاعِيلَ وَإِسْحَاقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ وَالْأَسْبَاطَ كَانُوا هُودًا أَوْ نَصَارَى قُلْ أَأَنْتُمْ أَعْلَمُ أَمِ اللَّهُ وَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّنْ كَتَمَ شَهَادَةً عِنْدَهُ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَمَا اللَّهُ بِغَافِلٍ عَمَّا تَعْمَلُونَ

Or do ye say that Abraham, Isma'il, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes were Jews or Christians? Say: Do ye know better than Allah? Ah! who is more unjust than those who conceal the testimony they have from Allah? But Allah is not unmindful of what ye do!



Note: The word “tribe” in the above translations refers to twelve descendants of Abraham, i.e., the sons of Prophet Israel (Jacob).

In Surah Al-Imraan, Ayah 187 and Surah Al-Baqaraah, Ayah 159, Glorious Qur’aan again explicitly states (Qur’aan 2:159 & 3:187):



إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَكْتُمُونَ مَا أَنْزَلْنَا مِنَ الْبَيِّنَاتِ وَالْهُدَى مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا بَيَّنَّاهُ لِلنَّاسِ فِي الْكِتَابِ أُولَئِكَ يَلْعَنُهُمُ اللَّهُ وَيَلْعَنُهُمُ اللَّاعِنُونَ

Those who conceal the Clear (Signs) We have sent down, and the Guidance, after we have made it clear for the People in the Book, on them shall be Allah's curse, and the curse of those entitled to curse.



وَإِذْ أَخَذَ اللَّهُ مِيثَاقَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ لَتُبَيِّنُنَّهُ لِلنَّاسِ وَلَا تَكْتُمُونَهُ فَنَبَذُوهُ وَرَاءَ ظُهُورِهِمْ وَاشْتَرَوْا بِهِ ثَمَنًا قَلِيلًا فَبِئْسَ مَا يَشْتَرُونَ

And remember Allah took a Covenant from the People of the Book, to make it known and clear to mankind, and not to hide it; but they threw it away behind their backs, and purchased with it some miserable gain! and vile was the bargain they made!



We further read in Glorious Qur’aan 2:174 and 3:71!



إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَكْتُمُونَ مَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ مِنَ الْكِتَابِ وَيَشْتَرُونَ بِهِ ثَمَنًا قَلِيلًا أُولَئِكَ مَا يَأْكُلُونَ فِي بُطُونِهِمْ إِلَّا النَّارَ وَلَا يُكَلِّمُهُمُ اللَّهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَلَا يُزَكِّيهِمْ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ

Those who conceal Allah's revelations in the Book, and purchase for them a miserable profit, they swallow into themselves Naught but Fire; Allah will not address them on the Day of Resurrection, nor purify them: grievous will be their Penalty.



يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ لِمَ تَلْبِسُونَ الْحَقَّ بِالْبَاطِلِ وَتَكْتُمُونَ الْحَقَّ وَأَنْتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ
Ye People of the Book! why do ye clothe Truth with falsehood, and conceal the Truth, while ye have knowledge?



The most important reason for concealing portions of the Books has always been that these portions contained and/or still contain the references to the arrival of a (non-Jewish) great Prophet Muhammad (SAW). Religious authorities of Judaism and Christianity saw the new Prophet (Muhammad) and Islaam as a serious threat to their power, prestige and worldly gains. If they were to accept the Prophethood of Muhammad (SAW) that would have meant relinquishing their claim of being the highest religious authorities and also giving up other privileges that comes with their position as a total package.



They also experienced that the new religion did expose their improper practices and concepts which has become part s of Judaism and Christianity, as the religious authorities of Judaism and Christianity were following the foot-steps of their predecessors but not of their Prophets Musa (Moses) and Isa (Jesus). Islaam, in fact exposed the religious authorities’ corrupt teachings of Judaism and Christianity. Last but not least Islaam did not give Israelites and/or Jews a special status (so-called myth of chosen people) among other ethnic groups. Islaam is an all-inclusive religion for mankind contrary to corrupted and racist form of Judaism. Glorious Qur’aan simply vouch that Israelites were the privileged people among other ethnic groups, not chosen. These facts beside others resulted in the spearheaded campaign against Islaam by the authorities of Judaism and Christianity since the birth of Islaam to discredit the message of Prophet Muhammad by hook, nook, and crook.



Many Qur’aanic Ayaat precisely states that Prophet Muhammad was explicitly mentioned with detailed description in the Tawrat and Injeel. In fact Allaah has preserved some proof of that in Old Testament and New Testament as well, to expose the plot of Jews and Christians. Some of the Ayaat are 2:76-77, 5:15, 7:157, 48:29, and 61:6, which are as follows:



وَإِذَا لَقُوا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا قَالُوا آمَنَّا وَإِذَا خَلَا بَعْضُهُمْ إِلَى بَعْضٍ قَالُوا أَتُحَدِّثُونَهُمْ بِمَا فَتَحَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْكُمْ لِيُحَاجُّوكُمْ بِهِ عِنْدَ رَبِّكُمْ أَفَلَا تَعْقِلُونَ (76) أَوَلَا يَعْلَمُونَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ مَا يُسِرُّونَ وَمَا يُعْلِنُونَ (77)

Behold! when they meet the men of Faith, they say: "We believe": but when they meet each other in private, they say: "Shall you tell them what Allah hath revealed to you, that they may engage you in argument about it before your Lord?" Do ye not understand (their aim)? (77) Know they not that Allah knoweth what they conceal and what they reveal?



يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ قَدْ جَاءَكُمْ رَسُولُنَا يُبَيِّنُ لَكُمْ كَثِيرًا مِمَّا كُنْتُمْ تُخْفُونَ مِنَ الْكِتَابِ وَيَعْفُو عَنْ كَثِيرٍ قَدْ جَاءَكُمْ مِنَ اللَّهِ نُورٌ وَكِتَابٌ مُبِينٌ

O People of the Book! There hath come to you Our Messenger, revealing to you much that ye used to hide in the Book, and passing over much (that is now unnecessary): There hath come to you from Allah a (new) light and a perspicuous Book.



الَّذِينَ يَتَّبِعُونَ الرَّسُولَ النَّبِيَّ الْأُمِّيَّ الَّذِي يَجِدُونَهُ مَكْتُوبًا عِنْدَهُمْ فِي التَّوْرَاةِ وَالْإِنْجِيلِ يَأْمُرُهُمْ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَاهُمْ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ وَيُحِلُّ لَهُمُ الطَّيِّبَاتِ وَيُحَرِّمُ عَلَيْهِمُ الْخَبَائِثَ وَيَضَعُ عَنْهُمْ إِصْرَهُمْ وَالْأَغْلَالَ الَّتِي كَانَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ فَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِهِ وَعَزَّرُوهُ وَنَصَرُوهُ وَاتَّبَعُوا النُّورَ الَّذِي أُنْزِلَ مَعَهُ أُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ

Those who follow the Messenger, the Prophet who can neither read nor write (i.e. Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) whom they find written with them in the Taurât (Torah) (Deut, xviii 15) and the Injeel (Gospel) (John xiv, 16) {1} , - he commands them for Al-Ma‘rûf (i.e. Islâmic Monotheism and all that Islâm has ordained); and forbids them from Al-Munkar (i.e. disbelief, polytheism of all kinds, and all that Islâm has forbidden); he allows them as lawful At-Tayyibât (i.e. all good and lawful as regards things, deeds, beliefs, persons, foods), and prohibits them as unlawful Al-Khabâ’ith (i.e. all evil and unlawful as regards things, deeds, beliefs, persons and foods), he releases them from their heavy burdens (of Allâh’s Covenant with the children of Israel), and from the fetters (bindings) that were upon them. So those who believe in him (Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم), honour him, help him, and follow the light (the Qur’ân) which has been sent down with him, it is they who will be successful {2} .

{1} (V.7: 157) There exists in the Taurât (Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel), even after the original text has been distorted, clear prophecies indicating the coming of Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم, e.g. Deut. 18: 18,21:21; Psl. 118:22-23; Isa. 42: 1-13; Hab.3: 3-4; Matt. 21:42-43; Jn.14: 12-17, 26-28, 16: 7-14.

{2} (V.7: 157): A) "O you who have been given the Scripture (Jews and Christians)! Believe in what We have revealed (to Muhammadصلى الله عليه وسلم) confirming what is (already) with you, before We efface faces (by making them (faces) like the backs of the necks; without nose, mouth and eyes), and turn them hindwards, or curse them as We cursed the Sabbath -breakers. And the Commandment of Allâh is always executed." (V.4: 47). B) See (V.57: 28), and its footnote.

مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ وَالَّذِينَ مَعَهُ أَشِدَّاءُ عَلَى الْكُفَّارِ رُحَمَاءُ بَيْنَهُمْ تَرَاهُمْ رُكَّعًا سُجَّدًا يَبْتَغُونَ فَضْلًا مِنَ اللَّهِ وَرِضْوَانًا سِيمَاهُمْ فِي وُجُوهِهِمْ مِنْ أَثَرِ السُّجُودِ ذَلِكَ مَثَلُهُمْ فِي التَّوْرَاةِ وَمَثَلُهُمْ فِي الْإِنْجِيلِ كَزَرْعٍ أَخْرَجَ شَطْأَهُ فَآزَرَهُ فَاسْتَغْلَظَ فَاسْتَوَى عَلَى سُوقِهِ يُعْجِبُ الزُّرَّاعَ لِيَغِيظَ بِهِمُ الْكُفَّارَ وَعَدَ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ مِنْهُمْ مَغْفِرَةً وَأَجْرًا عَظِيمًا

Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) is the Messenger of Allâh. And those who are with him are severe against disbelievers, and merciful among themselves. You see them bowing and falling down prostrate (in prayer), seeking Bounty from Allâh and (His) Good Pleasure. The mark of them (i.e. of their Faith) is on their faces (foreheads) from the traces of prostration (during prayers). This is their description in the Taurât (Torah). But their description in the Injeel (Gospel) is like a (sown) seed which sends forth its shoot, then makes it strong, and becomes thick and it stands straight on its stem, delighting the sowers, that He may enrage the disbelievers with them. Allâh has promised those among them who believe (i.e. all those who follow Islâmic Monotheism, the religion of Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم till the Day of Resurrection) and do righteous good deeds, forgiveness and a mighty reward (i.e. Paradise).



وَإِذْ قَالَ عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ يَا بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ إِنِّي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ إِلَيْكُمْ مُصَدِّقًا لِمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيَّ مِنَ التَّوْرَاةِ وَمُبَشِّرًا بِرَسُولٍ يَأْتِي مِنْ بَعْدِي اسْمُهُ أَحْمَدُ فَلَمَّا جَاءَهُمْ بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ قَالُوا هَذَا سِحْرٌ مُبِينٌ

And (remember) when ‘Îsâ, son of Maryam, said: "O Children of Israel! I am the Messenger of Allâh unto you, confirming the Taurât ((Torah) which came) before me, and giving glad tidings of a Messenger to come after me, whose name shall be Ahmad. {1} But when he (Ahmad i.e. Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) came to them with clear proofs, they said: "This is plain magic." {2}

{1} (V.61: 6) i.e. the second name of Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم and it (Ahmad) literally means: "One who praises Allâh more than others".

{2} (V.61: 6) A) Narrated Jubair bin Mut‘im رضي الله عنه: Allâh’s Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم said, "I have five names: I am Muhammad and Ahmad; I am Al-Mahî through whom Allâh will eliminate Al-Kufr (infidelity); I am Al-Hashir who will be the first to be resurrected, the people being resurrected thereafter; and I am also Al-‘Âqib (i.e. there will be no Prophet after me)." ( Sahih Al-Bukhari , Vol. 4, Hadîfh No.732). B) Narrated Abû Hurairah رضي الله عنه: Allâh’s Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم said, "By Him (Allâh) in Whose Hand my soul is, surely, the son of Maryam (‘Îsâ) عليهما السلام * will shortly descend amongst you people (Muslims), and will judge mankind justly by the Law of the Qur’ân (as a just ruler), and will break the Cross and kill the pigs and abolish the Jizyah (a tax taken from the people of the Scriptures (Jews and Christians), who are under the protection of a Muslim government. This Jizyah tax will not be accepted by ‘Îsâ عليه السلام and all mankind will be required to embrace Islam with no other alternative). Then there will be abundance of money and nobody will accept charitable gifts." (See Fath Al-Bari, Page No. 304 and 305, Vol. 7), (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Vol. 3, Hadîth No.425). * ‘Îsâ, the son of Maryam عليهما السلام will descend as a leader of the Muslims and it is a severe warning to the Christians who claim to be the followers of ‘Îsâ and he will break the Cross and kill the pigs, and he will abolish the Jizyah (tax); and all mankind will be required to embrace Islam with no other alternative.

The name of the Book Isa (Jesus) is “Injeel” which is equivalent to the Greek word “Euaggelion” (pronounced as Euangelion) means “good news.” But in Glorious Quraan Ayah 6 (Quraan 61:6 cited above) reveals the truth that Injeel the Book of Isa acquired its name based on the fact that it brought the “good news” about the arrival of Prophet Muhammad. I will elaborate further in coming chapters using Old & New Testaments. Besides this confirming the divine origin of Tawrat was also one of the main mission of Isa (Jesus). But the former was so important that the Book was named after it. This Book whose name effectively and rightfully meant “the good news about Prophet Muhammad” must have contained great details about Muhammad.

The Mighty One Has Come!

In addition to Glorious Qur’aan 2:77, 5:15, 7:157, and 48:29 we read in many Ayaat (verses) in Glorious Quraan describing the commission of Prophet Muhammad confirming the divine origin of Tawrat and Injeel:

Glorious Qur’aan 2:91!



وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ آمِنُوا بِمَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ قَالُوا نُؤْمِنُ بِمَا أُنْزِلَ عَلَيْنَا وَيَكْفُرُونَ بِمَا وَرَاءَهُ وَهُوَ الْحَقُّ مُصَدِّقًا لِمَا مَعَهُمْ قُلْ فَلِمَ تَقْتُلُونَ أَنْبِيَاءَ اللَّهِ مِنْ قَبْلُ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ مُؤْمِنِينَ

And when it is said to them (the Jews), "Believe in what Allâh has sent down," they say, "We believe in what was sent down to us." And they disbelieve in that which came after it, while it is the truth confirming what is with them. Say (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم to them): "Why then have you killed the Prophets of Allâh aforetime, if you indeed have been believers?"



Glorious Qur’aan 4:47!



يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ آمِنُوا بِمَا نَزَّلْنَا مُصَدِّقًا لِمَا مَعَكُمْ مِنْ قَبْلِ أَنْ نَطْمِسَ وُجُوهًا فَنَرُدَّهَا عَلَى أَدْبَارِهَا أَوْ نَلْعَنَهُمْ كَمَا لَعَنَّا أَصْحَابَ السَّبْتِ وَكَانَ أَمْرُ اللَّهِ مَفْعُولًا

O you who have been given the Scripture (Jews and Christians)! Believe in what We have revealed (to Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) confirming what is (already) with you, before We efface faces (by making them like the back of necks; without nose, mouth) and turn them hindwards, or curse them as We cursed the Sabbath-breakers {1} . And the Commandment of Allâh is always executed. {2}

{1} (V.4: 47) This Verse is a severe warning to the Jews and Christians, and an absolute obligation that they must believe in Allâh’s Messenger Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلمand in his Message of Islâmic Monotheism and in this Qur’ân.

{2} (V.4: 47) See the footnote of the (V.3: 85), and see (V.3: 116), (V.8: 39 and its footnote).

Prophet Muhammad’s message was to confirm the claims of Tawrat and Injeel to be the divine Books of Allaah for two certain reasons:



First and foremost is the striking similarity between what is mentioned in Tawrat and Injeel. In these (Books) there is a precise description of long waited “ Spirit of Truth”, “The Mighty One”, “The Prophet”, “The Comforter” etc. all such names giving the good news of arrival of Prophet Muhammad who will establish the Kingdom of God, and about whom Jesus told his followers to wait to be guided to the truth which they cannot handle it at the time of the departure of Jesus.

Second the Glorious Qur’aan itself mentioned with clear description in the Tawrat and Injeel in the following verses (beside others) and the ones already mentioned earlier:

Glorious Qur’aan 26:192-197!

وَإِنَّهُ لَتَنْزِيلُ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ (192) نَزَلَ بِهِ الرُّوحُ الْأَمِينُ (193) عَلَى قَلْبِكَ لِتَكُونَ مِنَ الْمُنْذِرِينَ (194) بِلِسَانٍ عَرَبِيٍّ مُبِينٍ (195) وَإِنَّهُ لَفِي زُبُرِ الْأَوَّلِينَ (196)

Verily this is a Revelation from the Lord of the worlds: (193) With it came down the Spirit of Faith and Truth, (194) To thy heart and mind, that thou mayest admonish (195) In the perspicuous Arabic tongue. (196) Without doubt it is (announced) in the revealed Books of former peoples. (197) Is it not a Sign to them that the Learned of the Children of Israel knew it (as true)?



Glorious Qur’aan 2:101!

وَلَمَّا جَاءَهُمْ رَسُولٌ مِنْ عِنْدِ اللَّهِ مُصَدِّقٌ لِمَا مَعَهُمْ نَبَذَ فَرِيقٌ مِنَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ كِتَابَ اللَّهِ وَرَاءَ ظُهُورِهِمْ كَأَنَّهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ

And when there came to them a messenger from Allah, confirming what was with them, a party of the People of the Book threw away the Book of Allah behind their backs. As if (it had been something) they did not know!



Glorious Qur’aan 2:146!



ًَ الَّذِينَ آتَيْنَاهُمُ الْكِتَابَ يَعْرِفُونَهُ كَمَا يَعْرِفُونَ أَبْنَاءَهُمْ وَإِنَّ فَرِيقًا مِنْهُمْ لَيَكْتُمُونَ الْحَقَّ وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ

The people of the Book know this as they know their own sons; but some of them conceal the truth, which they themselves know.



The Tawrat and Injeel were not only partially concealed but both were tempered with, which Jewish and Christians scholars have acknowledged as well. This issue is also addressed in Glorious Qur’aan, following are few Ayaat (verses) that refers to changes, which were made in Torah and Injeel before the revelation of Glorious Qur’aan, and many were being made while Glorious Qur’aan was being revealed:

Glorious Qur’aan 2:75!

أَفَتَطْمَعُونَ أَنْ يُؤْمِنُوا لَكُمْ وَقَدْ كَانَ فَرِيقٌ مِنْهُمْ يَسْمَعُونَ كَلَامَ اللَّهِ ثُمَّ يُحَرِّفُونَهُ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا عَقَلُوهُ وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُون

Can ye (O ye men of Faith) entertain the hope that they will believe in you? Seeing that a party of them heard the Word of Allah, and perverted it knowingly after they understood it.



Glorious Qur’aan 2:78-79!

وَمِنْهُمْ أُمِّيُّونَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ الْكِتَابَ إِلَّا أَمَانِيَّ وَإِنْ هُمْ إِلَّا يَظُنُّونَ (78) فَوَيْلٌ لِلَّذِينَ يَكْتُبُونَ الْكِتَابَ بِأَيْدِيهِمْ ثُمَّ يَقُولُونَ هَذَا مِنْ عِنْدِ اللَّهِ لِيَشْتَرُوا بِهِ ثَمَنًا قَلِيلًا فَوَيْلٌ لَهُمْ مِمَّا كَتَبَتْ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَوَيْلٌ لَهُمْ مِمَّا يَكْسِبُونَ (79)

And there are among them illiterates, who know not the Book, but (see therein their own) desires, and they do nothing but conjecture. (79) Then woe to those who write the Book with their own hands, and then say: "This is from Allah," to traffic with it for a miserable price! Woe to them for what their hands do write, and for the gain they make thereby.



Glorious Qur’aan 2:146!

الَّذِينَ آتَيْنَاهُمُ الْكِتَابَ يَعْرِفُونَهُ كَمَا يَعْرِفُونَ أَبْنَاءَهُمْ وَإِنَّ فَرِيقًا مِنْهُمْ لَيَكْتُمُونَ الْحَقَّ وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ

The people of the Book know this as they know their own sons; but some of them conceal the truth, which they themselves know.



Glorious Qur’aan 3:78-79!

وَإِنَّ مِنْهُمْ لَفَرِيقًا يَلْوُونَ أَلْسِنَتَهُمْ بِالْكِتَابِ لِتَحْسَبُوهُ مِنَ الْكِتَابِ وَمَا هُوَ مِنَ الْكِتَابِ وَيَقُولُونَ هُوَ مِنْ عِنْدِ اللَّهِ وَمَا هُوَ مِنْ عِنْدِ اللَّهِ وَيَقُولُونَ عَلَى اللَّهِ الْكَذِبَ وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ (78) مَا كَانَ لِبَشَرٍ أَنْ يُؤْتِيَهُ اللَّهُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحُكْمَ وَالنُّبُوَّةَ ثُمَّ يَقُولَ لِلنَّاسِ كُونُوا عِبَادًا لِي مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ وَلَكِنْ كُونُوا رَبَّانِيِّينَ بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تُعَلِّمُونَ الْكِتَابَ وَبِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَدْرُسُونَ (79)

There is among them a section who distort the Book with their tongues: (as they read) you would think it is a part of the Book, but it is no part of the Book; and they say, "That is from Allah," but it is not from Allah: it is they who tell a lie against Allah, and (well) they know it! (79) It is not (possible) that a man, to whom is given the Book, and Wisdom, and the Prophetic office, should say to people: "Be ye my worshippers rather than Allah's": on the contrary (he would say): "Be ye worshippers of Him Who is truly the Cherisher of all: for ye have taught the Book and ye have studied it earnestly."



For all fairness to the readers it is important to mention the fact about “Torah” that it was completely destroyed at the time when the first temple was destroyed. Thereafter it was rewritten by many ascribes based on memory and legends of that time.



Facts about New Testament
At first the books of the New Testament were not published in a single volume but rather as separate codices. By the 3rd century CE several gospels or letters were occasionally bound together. But the production of volumes containing many different types of works (gospels, letters, acts, apocalypses) did not occur until after the council of Nicea in 325 CE (In which Bishops decided by votes for what is to be in New Testament while emperor Constantine used his power and money to get the desired results). Thus, New Testament is the work of men not word of God, which contains very small fragments of what Jesus preached.

There is no universally recognized church authority that has officially fixed the contents of the New Testament. Eusebius classified Christian scriptures in three groups:

· 20 that were generally accepted (4 gospels, 13 letters of Paul, Acts, 1 John & 1 Peter);

· 5 that were disputed (James, 2 Peter, Jude, 2 & 3 John; Hebrews & Revelation are not even mentioned); &

· Others that were regarded as spurious (including the gospels of Thomas & Peter).

Throughout the 4th c. CE various bishops published differing canonical lists of Christian scripture. The list that Athanasius of Alexandria issued in his festal letter 39 (367 CE) --- including all the works in Eusebius' first two groups, plus Hebrews & Revelation --- was eventually accepted as the standard NT by most Greek & Latin churches. Still the contents of manuscripts of the New Testament continued to vary for more than 1000 years. Many lacking some material (from a portion of a canonical book to one and/or more whole works); and/or including other non-canonical material; and/or presented canonical works in different sequences.

There was no standard text of the New Testament before the invention of the printing press. But even after that biblical scholars & theologians continued to dispute the canonical status of various NT books (especially James, Hebrews, Revelation & the pastoral letters).

In 1546 the Roman Catholic Council of Trent affirmed the doctrinal authority of all 27 books on Athanasius' canonical list. While generally asserting the authority of the New Testament, Protestant & Orthodox churches have still not officially defined its contents.
 

Submitter

Junior Member
:salam2:

and also that parts were written by people who may well have been high on hallucinogenic magic mushrooms

I too watched this and thought this point about the magic mushrooms was a joke :biggrin: Indeed, Allah tells us in the Qur'an:

Who can be more wicked than one who inventeth a lie against God, or saith, "I have received inspiration," when he hath received none, or (again) who saith, "I can reveal the like of what God hath revealed"? If thou couldst but see how the wicked (do fare) in the flood of confusion at death! - the angels stretch forth their hands, (saying),"Yield up your souls: this day shall ye receive your reward,- a penalty of shame, for that ye used to tell lies against God, and scornfully to reject of His signs!" (6:93)

:wasalam:
 

Ahmed ibn Ibrahim

alhamdulilah
There is lots here for me to pray over and concider, thank you kindly my brothers and sisters. I've already been through most of it, and it's helping. =)
 

samiha

---------
Staff member
Assalam.
Here's something else I came by... it's good as well.

Allaah often mentions the Messiah ‘Eesa ibn Maryam (Jesus son of Mary) in His Book the Qur’aan for a number of reasons, including the following:

1. He is one of His Prophets, indeed he is one of the Messengers of strong will whom He sent to His creation and His slaves. It is obligatory to believe in him as in all the other Prophets, as enjoined by Allaah in the verse (interpretation of the meaning):

“Say (O Muslims): We believe in Allaah and that which has been sent down to us and that which has been sent down to Ibraaheem (Abraham), Ismaa’eel (Ishmael), Ishaaq (Isaac), Ya’qoob (Jacob), and to Al-Asbaat [the offspring of the twelve sons of Ya’qoob (Jacob)], and that which has been given to Moosa (Moses) and ‘Eesa (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 Islam)”

[al-Baqarah 2:36]

2. The first people whom we should be concerned about when calling others to Islam are the People of the Book, i.e., the Jews and the Christians, because they are the closest of later nations to whom the later Messengers were sent. Both the Jews and the Christians knew of the coming of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and his attributes were written in their books, the Tawraat (Torah) and Injeel (Gospel). So they should not deny what they find in their books and they should hasten to believe in him, because they already believe in the Messengers who came before him, unlike other nations who worshipped idols. Because they did not believe in the Last Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) as they were enjoined to do, they had to be refuted and shown how they had distorted the message of divine Oneness (Tawheed). This is why they are frequently mentioned in the verses of the Qur’aan.

3. Tawheed (the Oneness of God) is the basic principle upon which everything else, both religious and worldly affairs, is to be built; through Tawheed people will be saved from Hell and admitted to Paradise. This means affirming that Allaah is One. We see that the Jews and Christians differed concerning ‘Eesa ibn Maryam. The Jews said that he was a charlatan who told lies about God, so he had to be killed. The Christians differed from them greatly; some of them said that he was God, and some of them said that he was the son of God, but was one with Him in the Trinity, so that outwardly he appeared to be the son of God but he was in fact God. And some of them said that he was the third person of the Trinity which is a rejection of Tawheed. Others said that he was a Messenger from God and was human like the rest of mankind, but that Allaah singled him out to perform miracles in order to establish proof against people. The last group are the ones who were right. So it was essential to explain the matter and describe ‘Eesa in befitting terms. As with all the other Prophets and Messengers, it is not inappropriate to say that he was a human being, created from clay, whom Allaah chose from among all of mankind to be created without a father, as a manifestation of the power of Allaah to create a man outside the usual means. The likeness of ‘Eesa before Allaah is like Adam, as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Verily, the likeness of ‘Eesa (Jesus) before Allaah is the likeness of Adam. He created him from dust, then (He) said to him: ‘Be!’ — and he was”

[Aal ‘Imraan 3:59]

This is the correct belief concerning the creation of the Prophet of Allaah ‘Eesa, which was a miracle for all the people to see.

But the miracle of Adam’s creation is greater. For ‘Eesa (peace be upon him) was created without a father, but Adam was created without a father or a mother, and this is more expressive of the power of Allaah to create; it is more miraculous than the creation of ‘Eesa (peace be upon him). For all these reasons and others, it was essential to explain the issue of ‘Eesa (peace be upon him) and put matters straight.

In conclusion, the miracles which Allaah gave to ‘Eesa (peace be upon him) were just like the miracles of all the other Prophets, to prove that he was speaking the truth and that he was truly a Messenger from Allaah. But those who distorted the religion confused the matter for the simple-minded people and used his miracles as a justification to say that he was the son of God or that he was God. All of that is a distortion of the teachings and message of the Messiah (peace be upon him).

If everyone who follows a Prophet were to take the miracles which Allaah bestowed upon him as a sign that he was a god, then all the Prophets would be gods and each Prophet would be different from the others. For the mountains glorified Allaah along with Dawood (David – peace be upon him), but they did not do so with ‘Eesa. The sea was parted for Moosa (Moses – peace be upon him) and he spoke with his Lord and his Lord spoke with him, so he was known as Kaleem-Allaah (the one who spoke with Allaah), but this did not happen to ‘Eesa (peace be upon him). Allaah flooded the earth in response to the supplication of Nooh (Noah – peace be upon him) and that did not happen to ‘Eesa (peace be upon him). Allaah singled out Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to speak to him and to protect his miracle from being lost or distorted; he alone was sent to all of mankind, and he was given miracles that were not given to ‘Eesa. So how could that be taken to mean that they were all gods or sons/children or god?

Volume 4, Book 54, Number 415:
Narrated Abu Huraira:

Allah's Apostle said, "Allah the Most Superior said, "The son of Adam slights Me, and he should not slight Me, and he disbelieves in Me, and he ought not to do so. As for his slighting Me, it is that he says that I have a son; and his disbelief in Me is his statement that I shall not recreate him as I have created (him) before."

May Allah protect us from misguidance and evil.
Assalam.
 

Abu Juwairiya

Junior Member
As-salaamu alaikum,

The following may serve to shed some light upon your question brother Ahmed.

------------------------------------------

We Muslims must believe that al-Injeel (the Bible) is a revelation from Allah (swt) to our beloved prophet Jesus (pbuh).

My question is:

How was the Injeel revealed to Jesus [pbuh]? Was the revelation process completed during his life time? When did the Bible exist free from corruption and when did the corruption start?

Thanks a lot, wa-salaam

-----------------------------------------------


Thank you very much for your mail.

Muslims must believe in all the scriptures revealed by Allah to all the prophets. This is including al-Injeel (the Bible) revealed to Jesus Christ, known in Arabic to be Isa-ibn-Maryam (Jesus, son of Marry - peace be upon him).

We understand that all the revelations to the prophets came through Angel Jibreel (peace be upon him), who is called Ruuh al-quds (the Holy Spirit) in the Qur’an.

Christians of today regard the Holy Spirit to be God Himself. Rather, they hold that the Holy Spirit is one of the three persons in the One God. Whereas Muslims believe that the Holy Spirit is Angel Gabriel, or Jibreel (pbuh).

The revelation of the Bible was completed in Jesus’ life time, but was not documented then. How it was revealed to Jesus was not attached with any significance in shari`ah. Forms and ways of revelation are certainly part of divinity that is certainly beyond ordinary humans’ perception.

The topic of the corruption of the Bible involves a number of questions:
First of all consider the word, ‘Bible’ itself. ‘Bible’ is derived from a Greek word, biblos meaning ‘book’. This word is used for the whole scripture of the Christians, comprising the Old Testament and the New Testament.

Also, the use of the word ‘Injeel’ (Arabic word for ‘Bible”) is considered inaccurate. By Injeel we mean the collection of revelations received by Jesus Christ from God. They are not available now in the form of a book.

What we have is a collection of twenty seven books called the New Testament. The first four books of the New Testament are called the Gospels. These are supposed to have been written by the four disciples of Jesus, namely Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

There are many evidences that the real authors of these four Gospels were not really the disciples chosen by Jesus Christ. Of course the Gospels speak about the twelve disciples chosen by Jesus himself; but the names Mark and Luke do not appear among these twelve.

Bible scholars point out many evidences to prove that the other two Evangelists Matthew and John were also two persons different from their namesakes among the disciples. So the opinion that the disciples of Jesus wrote the Gospels does not stand up to scrutiny.

There is an opinion that states that the content and the language of the Gospels clearly show that they are not the Word of God, and hence they were not revelations from God. See for example, how the Gospel of Luke begins: Luke 1 (1- 4):

1. Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us,
2. Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word;
3. It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus,
4. That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.
We can understand the following details from the above verses:
Many people had written “those things” believed to have happened in the life of Jesus Christ.

  • Luke claims to have good understanding of “those things” from the very first, not because he was an eye witness, but because he says he received those ideas from eye witnesses and ministers of the word.
  • Like the others who took in hand “to set forth in order the declaration of those things”, he too felt like writing them down.
  • The purpose is that his friend Theophilus too can “know the certainty of those things” wherein he was instructed.
  • Evidently this is the beginning of a letter addressed to Theophilus.
The foregoing clearly shows that the Gospel of Luke was certainly not a revelation or the result of inspiration.

The real revelations of God came to Jesus and no doubt he taught his disciples quoting from them. But we have no evidence to prove that Jesus dictated these word for word to be written down and kept intact.

What are called Gospels today are considered by Muslims to be the compositions made by the four evangelists based on hearsay. And the Gospels clearly show the writers were not careful in recording the words of God - as quoted by Jesus - separate from those of the Prophet Jesus.

Still, most Christians believe that all the Gospels and even the writings of Paul, Peter and others included in the later books are the Word of God. This being the case, Muslims cannot accept the whole of the present day Bible, as the True Word of God.

What a Muslim needs to believe is that God revealed Injeel to Isa (Jesus - peace be upon him); and that at least some of the ideas of Injeel are present in the four Gospels. So to believe in the real Injeel is different from the Gospels now available.

Thus we have no record of the Bible existing as free from corruption. But we may say that some of its teachings are preserved in the present day Bible.

And Allah knows best.

The Mufassireen (the Scholars of Islam) have said we do know a few things about the Injeel. They include-

-It was revealed in the same way as the Qur'an was to the Prophet Muhammad (SAW); in stages and throughout the ministry of Jesus

-It was first revealed in Ramadan, just like the Torah and the Zabur before it and the Qur'an after it

-The Angel Jibreel was the one who delivered all revelations from Allah to Jesus which became the Injeel

-The Injeel was written in Aramaic [a dialect of Ancient Hebrew, that is not spoken today] and not in Greek [which was like English now, the international language of communication of the day at the time]

-The Injeel was revealed to Jesus when he was thirty years old and was complete when he was thirty-three. He was in the Mount of Olives at the time of the first revelation.
 

Cariad

Junior Member
The Mufassireen (the Scholars of Islam) have said we do know a few things about the Injeel. They include-

-It was revealed in the same way as the Qur'an was to the Prophet Muhammad (SAW); in stages and throughout the ministry of Jesus

-It was first revealed in Ramadan, just like the Torah and the Zabur before it and the Qur'an after it

-The Angel Jibreel was the one who delivered all revelations from Allah to Jesus which became the Injeel

-The Injeel was written in Aramaic [a dialect of Ancient Hebrew, that is not spoken today] and not in Greek [which was like English now, the international language of communication of the day at the time]

-The Injeel was revealed to Jesus when he was thirty years old and was complete when he was thirty-three. He was in the Mount of Olives at the time of the first revelation.

No. Please. There is nothing of the Gospel in the Quran. Yeshua was NOT given a message from an angel. An angel is only a messenger. Yeshua was the Gospel, Gospel means "Good news" that is what Yeshua is to all who accept Him.. Good News. The Message (Yeshua) does not right of itself, others are charged with writing of it. Yeshua always was the message so it was never revealed to HIM at anytime or any place.

Please also, when referring to Yeshua as Son of God never ever imply that Yeshua was a result of procreation, this is blasphemy and as a Christian I find it highly offensive. This not meaning your post Abu Juwairiya :) but a previous post.

So where is the evidence of this Injil written in Aramaic? There is none in existance anywhere in the world. The New Testament (Gospels) was written in mainly Hebrew and Koine Greek..which was the vernacular language of the time.
 

Cariad

Junior Member
assalamu alaykum,

The bible was revealed perfectly to the Prophet Jesus and his companions. Only later did people tamper and change it together with their beliefs.

I would like to add an interesting comment that there was a program on Channel 4 in the UK about fundamentalist Christians and their beliefs in doomsday.

The program had historians who showed evidence that a lot of todays bible was tampered with and also that parts were written by people who may well have been high on hallucinogenic magic mushrooms and who were influenced with pagan ideas.

link to the site

wasalam
:( I don't think it a nice thing to make assumptions like people who wrote Gospels may have been high on magic mushrooms. They were dealing with a work of God. It's things like this makes for bad feeling. Better when one does not know to say nothing. :(
 
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