Injeel

Arabic: injīl — generally translated as Gospel based on the assertion that injīl is a corruption or abbreviation of εὐαγγέλιον, euangélion or good news. I have followed this convention, but we need purchase on what is meant by the term. In the earliest account of the four versions Christians accept as canonical, Mark, Jesus preaches ‘the gospel of the kingdom of God’ (Mark 1:14). injīl is a corruption or abbreviation of εὐαγγέλιον, euangélion or good news. I have followed this convention, but we need purchase on what is meant by the term. In the earliest account of the four versions Christians accept as canonical, Mark, Jesus preaches ‘the gospel of the kingdom of God’ (Mark 4:23, 9:35). At 24:14 he is most emphatic: ‘And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.’ The word gospel occurs five times in Matthew. In the next canonical account to be written, Luke, Jesus adds no definition to his use of the word gospel; the term is used as though its sense is understood. The word gospel occurs four times in Luke. In the last canonical account to be written, John, the word gospel occurs nowhere. Thus, in those books claimed as canonical histories of Jesus by the Christians nowhere do we find any elucidation on the word gospel beyond the fact that it pertains to the kingdom of God. We note that the kingdom of God is something Jesus told his followers to pray for, since it forms a key part of the Lord’s Prayer, and that the preaching of the kingdom of God is either a prerequisite for — or a signal of — the end of all things (Matt. 24:14). Of course, ‘the kingdom of God’ is not substantially what Christians mean by gospel, their core conception of gospel being singularly resistant to genuine identification with the words of Jesus. They have adopted Paul’s gospel, and expend huge efforts and millions of dollars annually to preach that, and are surprised that the End does not come. (They are not alone in falling for such sleight of hand; Muslims are equally proof against considering their Book on its own terms, having long ago abandoned that endeavour in favour of later compositions and dogmas built thereupon.) What Christians in fact mean by gospel is, of course, a moving target. What, then, does the Qur’an mean by injīl? We find a good example here at 5:46 which yields the facts that the injīl contains ‘guidance and light’ (which together) confirm what ʿĪsā had access to of the Torah, and that it is ‘guidance and admonition for those of prudent fear’. A broader review of all contexts reveals the following: the injīl is mentioned at 3:3, 3:48, 3:65, 5:66, 5:68, 5:110 in one breath with the Torah — from which we deduce a high correlation between the two; at 7:157 we find something written (both in the Torah and the injīl) — from which we infer the injīl to be something written (either extant, or lost in whole or in part); at 9:111 God promises the believers the Garden in return for their lives and their wealth (as a promise binding upon God in the Torah and the injīl and the Qur’an) — thus, like both the Torah and the Qur’an, the injīl contains at its heart a commitment on the part of the believer to put the Hereafter before the present life; and at 48:29 the injīl is mentioned in relation to that parable which has survived to us as the parable of the mustard seed (which itself references the Kingdom of Heaven as an inner realm within a man which begins as something insignificant but grows to dominance within the soul and character until such point — in the Qur’anic presentation — that the atheists are enraged) — thus, we identify for the injīl the characteristic of a potent but initially imperceptible force which, given right cultivation, may grow within the soul of a man to such a point that it supersedes previous concerns and comes to thwart attempts by atheists to quell or crush it; at 57:27 there is mention of the injīl as something given to ʿĪsā and of compassion and mercy placed in the hearts of those who followed it (or, possibly, him). We need now a fuller understanding of what the Gospel means to Christians. Wikipedia tells us: In Christianity, the gospel (Greek: εὐαγγέλιον euangélion; Old English: gospel), or the Good News, is the news of the coming of the Kingdom of God (Mark 1:14-15), and of Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection to restore people’s relationship with God. It may also include the descent of the Holy Spirit upon believers and the second coming of Jesus. This is a fair summary of what the majority of those who claim the Gospel today mean by the term, although most of it derives, as we have said, from Paul, not Jesus. We will now consider the components we have garnered from the Qur’anic statements here and what we understand of the Christian position vis-à-vis the Gospel or injīl in sum to place before us all facets of what is meant by the term: 1. Some part of the Torah teachings (and confirmation thereof) or, at least, something related to the Torah. 2. A guidance and admonition for those of prudent fear. 3. A doctrine predicated upon the coming Kingdom of God; one which imbues the believer with increasing strength. 4. Something which is — or at least was — written down. 5. Jesus’ death and resurrection as an act which reconciles man to God and forgives sin. 6. The descent of the Holy Spirit upon believers (understood to be an event auguring non-natural, supernatural or pseudo-supernatural abilities). 7. The Second Coming of Jesus (as the event marking the end of the Age). The Qur’anic position is, then, that points 1, 2, 3 and 4 either represent — or, at least, comport with — what injīl means. Points 5, 6 and 7 either find no support in the Qur’an or are directly repugnant to it. On the basis of the above, the working definition suggested here for what the Qur’an means by injīl (Gospel) is: a Torah-related guidance given to ʿĪsā orientated towards a reward in the Kingdom of Heaven found in written form and which increases the aspirant in piety. Under the Christian extension of the dominant Egypt-Palestine thesis the Qur’an’s presentation of ʿĪsā is regarded exclusively in terms of a one-to-one correlation between ʿĪsā and the Jesus of the 1st century CE. Both the ʿAsīr-Ḥejāz and Arabia Felix theses begin from points which reject that assumption. I refer the interested reader to Notepad XVI and Notepad XVIII. All instances appear in the notes and reference this verse.

Bible is not Injeel. Later Christians wrote Bible themselves, some of it is truth i.e. from Jesus and his disciples while rest of it is lies from deviants, the Bible is many many different sources glued together as one, so the wholeness of the Bible isn't Injeel.

فَوَيْلٌ لِّلَّذِينَ يَكْتُبُونَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ بِأَيْدِيهِمْ ثُمَّ يَقُولُونَ هَـٰذَا مِنْ عِندِ ٱللَّـهِ لِيَشْتَرُوا۟ بِهِۦ ثَمَنًا قَلِيلًا فَوَيْلٌ لَّهُم مِّمَّا كَتَبَتْ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَوَيْلٌ لَّهُم مِّمَّا يَكْسِبُونَ
So woe to those who write the Writ with their hands, then say: “This is from God,” that they might sell it at a cheap price; so woe to them for what their hands have written, and woe to them for what they earn. (2:79)

ٱلَّذِينَ ءَاتَيْنَـٰهُمُ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ يَعْرِفُونَهُۥ كَمَا يَعْرِفُونَ أَبْنَآءَهُمْ وَإِنَّ فَرِيقًا مِّنْهُمْ لَيَكْتُمُونَ ٱلْحَقَّ وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ
Those to whom We gave the Writ recognise it as they recognise their sons, but a faction among them conceals the truth when they know. (2:146)

إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ يَكْتُمُونَ مَآ أَنزَلْنَا مِنَ ٱلْبَيِّنَـٰتِ وَٱلْهُدَىٰ مِنۢ بَعْدِ مَا بَيَّنَّـٰهُ لِلنَّاسِ فِى ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ يَلْعَنُهُمُ ٱللَّـهُ وَيَلْعَنُهُمُ ٱللَّـٰعِنُونَ
Those who conceal what We sent down of clear signs and guidance after We made it plain to men in the Writ: those are cursed by God, and cursed by those who curse, (2:159)

إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ يَكْتُمُونَ مَآ أَنزَلَ ٱللَّـهُ مِنَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ وَيَشْتَرُونَ بِهِۦ ثَمَنًا قَلِيلًا أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ مَا يَأْكُلُونَ فِى بُطُونِهِمْ إِلَّا ٱلنَّارَ وَلَا يُكَلِّمُهُمُ ٱللَّـهُ يَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ وَلَا يُزَكِّيهِمْ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ
Those who conceal what God has sent down of the Writ and sell it at a cheap price, those eat into their bellies only fire. And God will not speak to them on the Day of Resurrection, nor will He increase them in purity; and they have a painful punishment. (2:174)

يَـٰٓأَهْلَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ لِمَ تَلْبِسُونَ ٱلْحَقَّ بِٱلْبَـٰطِلِ وَتَكْتُمُونَ ٱلْحَقَّ وَأَنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ
O doctors of the Law: why clothe you the truth in vanity and conceal the truth, when you know? (3:71)

وَإِنَّ مِنْهُمْ لَفَرِيقًا يَلْوُۥنَ أَلْسِنَتَهُم بِٱلْكِتَـٰبِ لِتَحْسَبُوهُ مِنَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ وَمَا هُوَ مِنَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ وَيَقُولُونَ هُوَ مِنْ عِندِ ٱللَّـهِ وَمَا هُوَ مِنْ عِندِ ٱللَّـهِ وَيَقُولُونَ عَلَى ٱللَّـهِ ٱلْكَذِبَ وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ
And among them a faction distorts the Writ with their tongues, that you might think it from the Writ, but it is not from the Writ. And they say: “It is from God,” but it is not from God. And they ascribe the lie to God, when they know. (3:78)

وَإِذْ أَخَذَ ٱللَّـهُ مِيثَـٰقَ ٱلَّذِينَ أُوتُوا۟ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ لَتُبَيِّنُنَّهُۥ لِلنَّاسِ وَلَا تَكْتُمُونَهُۥ فَنَبَذُوهُ وَرَآءَ ظُهُورِهِمْ وَٱشْتَرَوْا۟ بِهِۦ ثَمَنًا قَلِيلًا فَبِئْسَ مَا يَشْتَرُونَ
And when God took an agreement of those given the Writ: “You are to make it plain to mankind, and not to conceal it,” then they cast it behind their backs, and sold it at a cheap price; and evil is what they bought. (3:187)

ٱلَّذِينَ يَبْخَلُونَ وَيَأْمُرُونَ ٱلنَّاسَ بِٱلْبُخْلِ وَيَكْتُمُونَ مَآ ءَاتَىٰهُمُ ٱللَّـهُ مِن فَضْلِهِۦ وَأَعْتَدْنَا لِلْكَـٰفِرِينَ عَذَابًا مُّهِينًا
Those who are miserly and enjoin miserliness upon men, and conceal what God has bestowed upon them of His bounty; and We have prepared for the false claimers of guidance a humiliating punishment; (4:37)

يَوْمَئِذٍ يَوَدُّ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ وَعَصَوُا۟ ٱلرَّسُولَ لَوْ تُسَوَّىٰ بِهِمُ ٱلْأَرْضُ وَلَا يَكْتُمُونَ ٱللَّـهَ حَدِيثًا
That day, those who ignore warning and oppose the Messenger will wish that the earth might be levelled with them; and they will not conceal from God any statement. (4:42)

يَسْتَخْفُونَ مِنَ ٱلنَّاسِ وَلَا يَسْتَخْفُونَ مِنَ ٱللَّـهِ وَهُوَ مَعَهُمْ إِذْ يُبَيِّتُونَ مَا لَا يَرْضَىٰ مِنَ ٱلْقَوْلِ وَكَانَ ٱللَّـهُ بِمَا يَعْمَلُونَ مُحِيطًا
They conceal from men, but they conceal not from God; and He is with them when they plan by night what is displeasing to Him of speech; and God encompasses what they do. (4:108)

فَتَرَى ٱلَّذِينَ فِى قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَضٌ يُسَـٰرِعُونَ فِيهِمْ يَقُولُونَ نَخْشَىٰٓ أَن تُصِيبَنَا دَآئِرَةٌ فَعَسَى ٱللَّـهُ أَن يَأْتِىَ بِٱلْفَتْحِ أَوْ أَمْرٍ مِّنْ عِندِهِۦ فَيُصْبِحُوا۟ عَلَىٰ مَآ أَسَرُّوا۟ فِىٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ نَـٰدِمِينَ
And thou seest those in whose hearts is disease competing among them, saying: “We fear lest a reversal befall us.” But it may be that God will bring victory or a command from Him and they will become of what they concealed within their souls, remorseful. (5:52)

وَإِذَا جَآءُوكُمْ قَالُوٓا۟ ءَامَنَّا وَقَد دَّخَلُوا۟ بِٱلْكُفْرِ وَهُمْ قَدْ خَرَجُوا۟ بِهِۦ وَٱللَّـهُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا كَانُوا۟ يَكْتُمُونَ
And when they come to you, they say: “We believe”; but they entered in denial, and they left in it; and God best knows what they were concealing. (5:61)

Verse 2:79 - This statement indicates some among the genuine children of Israel in the first instance, but by extension applies to later Jews, Christians and Muslims also. Those we call Jews invented other sources — some of them vile in the extreme — which they attribute to God, and compromised the integrity of the scriptures to which they lay claim centuries ago. Their creed today finds its orientation in the justification of a narrow (historically questionable) racial-supremacy cult, and hypocrisy and moral double standard — often no standard — made virtue. The Christians today have a patchwork religion comprised of some genuine words of ʿĪsā interwoven with the cosmology of Roman sun-worshipping pagans, the later theology of the originator of their religion (St. Paul), and (frequently) a form of demonic spirit-possession (often, I believe, actuated by means of the so-called Sinner’s Prayer — a concept found nowhere in the Christian Bible) and one frequently mistaken by the recipient for the Holy Spirit. The Muslims have preserved their book at least. However, Muslim organisations are controlled at the top by the same people who control other religions, and what the laity follows in fact is writings no less garbled or corrupt than those of the Christians and the present-day Jews. It is also true — and certainly accepted here — that righteous men and women exist in many such groups, the guidance of God being neither limited to any group nor precluded from it.