This is a site about Al Injil – The Gospel. But this is NOT a site about Christianity. I make this distinction for several reasons.
First of all, as I explained in About Me, it was always the Injil revealed by the Prophets that has changed my life and has drawn my interest. Christianity has never affected me in the same way and thus has never raised my interest and study as the Injil has done. And since I can only write about what has touched me, I limit this site to only the Injil (and Taurat & Zabur – the books of the Bible or al kitab) as revealed by the Prophets. Many websites exist, some good and others not-so-good, that discuss Christianity and if that is your particular interest I suggest googling ‘Christianity’ and following those links.
Perhaps you are wondering about the difference between the two. You might think of it as similar to the distinction between being an Arab and being a Muslim. Most people in the West think that these two are the same, i.e. all Arabs are Muslim and all Muslims are Arab. Of course there has been tremendous overlap and influence between the two. Arabic culture and customs have been greatly influenced by Islam, and since the Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) and his companions and successors were Arabic it is also true that the Arabic milieu birthed and nurtured Islam. And today the Qur’an is best read and understood in Arabic. However, there are many Muslims who are not Arab and there are many Arabs who are not Muslims. There is overlap and influence one upon the other – but they are not the same.
So it is with the Injil and Christianity. There are many things, beliefs and practices in Christianity that are not part of the Injil. For example, there are the well-known celebrations of Easter and Christmas. They are probably the most well-known representations of Christianity. And these festivals are in memory of the birth and passing of the prophet Isa al Masih (Jesus Christ – PBUH), who is the central prophet in the Injil. But nowhere in the message of the Injil, or in the Gospel books, do we find any reference or command (or anything) to do with these celebrations. I enjoy celebrating these festivals – but so also do many of my friends who have no interest at all in the Injil. In fact, different Christian sects have different days of the year in which they celebrate these festivals. As another example, The Injil records that Isa al Masih (PBUH) greeted his disciples with ‘Peace be with you’ (i.e. Salaam wa alykum), though Christians today do not use that greeting.
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” (John 20:19)
Whether with festivals, churches, images (like statues in churches) there is much, good and bad, that has developed after the Injil was revealed by Isa al Masih (PBUH), that has been pulled into Christianity.
So though there is much overlap between the two – but they are not the same. In fact, in the whole Bible (al kitab) the word ‘Christian’ is mentioned just three times, and the first time it is mentioned it indicates that idolaters of that day invented the word as their name for the ‘disciples’ of Isa al Masih.
So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch. (Acts 11:26)
The people of Antioch, at that time, worshiped many gods and when the disciples of Isa came following his teaching they were called “Christians” by these people. Terms and concepts in the Taurat, Zabur and Injil (i.e. the Bible or al kitab) that are commonly used to describe the Injil are ‘The Way’ and ‘The Straight Way’; and those that follow the Injil are called ‘Believers’, ‘Disciples’, ‘Followers of the Way’, those who “submit to God’s righteousness”.
I am convinced that everyone should have the opportunity to understand the Injil. To that end I also have another blog/website for secular westerners – those of my culture – at www.considerthegospel.org. But that site deals with many questions that believers in Allah have already answered (like “Is there a God?”). Since there is so much common history and foundation between the Injil and Islam, with much of any disagreement coming primarily from a lack of opportunity to gain understanding, and since I have had the privilege of having so many good Muslim friends guide me in understanding the Qur’an and Haddith, while I in turn helped them gain an understanding of the Injil, I thought I would launch this website. Inshalla‘Allah it will help believers gain a better understanding of all that the Prophets have spoken. And it will continue to change lives in quiet but dramatic ways just as Isa al Masih (PBUH) taught so long ago about the power of the Straight Way.
Since we know that the Injil was revealed by the Prophet Isa al Masih (PBUH), and those who fear Allah want to know and understand all that the prophets have spoken, we leave the controversies of Christianity for other places and other people. The Injil deserves to be understood without the complications of Christianity. I think you will find, as I have found, that the Injil will be interesting and challenging enough for us on that basis.
sorry..i don’t understand …what is ur religion??
Hi Phantom
I would put it like this: “I admit that I worship the God of our ancestors as a follower of the Way, … I believe everything that is in accordance with the Law and that is written in the Prophets” This is a quote from Acts 24:14 and expresses well what I believe. Now as to what that means… I can only suggest that you read some of the ‘Signs’ articles because it goes through the ‘Law’ and insha’allah will continue through the prophets as I have time. A good place to start is with the Sign of Adam
Salam alaykum…. I understand from your studies that you emphasized on Allah’s swt message/decree sent to prophets and messengers for all men. I must admit that by going through this way Men can exactly follow the history and order of the messages revealed by stages ……The Qur’an provides that compilation of all Allah’s messages are already revealed and completed, the verse stating ……………..”this day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My Favor upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion.” [Quran: 5:9] and……””And We have sent down to you the Book (the Quran) as an exposition of everything.” [Quran: 16:89],,,,,,,,,,,,, and by this means, Islam should be the Religion, the belief Mankind must follow…………………………With the Holy Quran of Islam, revelation is made perfect. In the previous Revealed Books, a revelation was granted to suit a certain nation in a certain time and a certain place. Then a time came when a final revelation was to be granted to suit all nations in all times and all places. Thus came the Holy Quran for all peoples in all places and all times.
The Quran orders Muslims to believe in all prophets and all Revealed Books in their true forms. Unfortunately, revealed religions before Islam underwent alterations, trivial in some cases and basic in some others. The Holy Quran was revealed to be the last Book that puts together all previous revelations and points out distortions in the texts of previous Revealed Books. Since the Gospel that people read now is not the exact Gospel that were given it is better not to say that The Gospel does more convincing on one’s beliefs than the other books sent to other prophets and messenger of Allah swt……
Salam alykum Rachel
Thank you so much for taking the time to include your thoughts and comments. And thank you for the ayat you shared from Qur’an. Now I do not see these ayah as making the claim that all previous revelations should be ignored. For ex. in your quote of 5:9 all it says is that today (ie in day of prophet muhammad (pbuh) ‘your’ religion is Islam. But it does not say that this constitutes or means that all previous revelations should be ignored. What if being a Muslim means knowing and understanding these previous revelations? If that is the case, relying on this ayah to ignore the previous revelation is a big mistake. Perhaps I can share an example from prophet Isa al Masih (pbuh). Though He taught many new things he never taught that we should ignore the previous revelation. So in one sermon he teaches that
Now I know that there are lots of opinions and views as to whether the previous revelations have been corrupted or not. At the very least I think (since we will be answerable to Allah on this) that we should inform ourselves on this issue much better than we have been informed. The vast majority have no good reasons for their opinions. There are reasons from Qur’an, from Sunnah, and from science, all of which consistently point that the previous revelations have not changed. I encourage you to take a look, and then take a look at the Signs from Taurat. After all – what d owe have to lose by doing such a thing?
Allah’s blessings and Mercy
As-Salamu Alaykum,
You do know that Secular History as well as mainstream Christianity accept that MANY Parts of the Anajeel have been corrupted, mistranslated, etc?
For example: The Periscope of the Adulteress, the last 12 Verses of Mark, and part of the Lord’s Prayer because they are missing from the manuscripts of the first 2 centuries. We CAN NOT be sure exactly what Isa Al Masih said. These are just translations that get us a glimpse of what his life was like. The true and final Injil is in the Noble Quran. It supersedes all revelation and no ‘faith’ will be accepted from Allah following it’s presence.
Hi Ali
Thank you for your comment. But I think you are mixing up two different issues. You mention the Pericope of the Adulteress, 12 verses of Mark, etc. and then you say ‘these are just translations’. Translation has nothing to do with these issues. As I show here, the languages that al kitab (bible) was originally written in was Hebrew and Greek. These points you mention have nothing to do with translation since they are in the Greek manuscripts. The last 12 verses of Mark are basically a summary of the book of Acts. So this is not a question of changing content but adding some verses at the end that is a summary of subsequent history. Pericopes are like hadiths, sayings and doings of Isa al Masih (PBUH) that are preserved in an oral chain. In the hadiths, scholars decide which ones are reliable, which are less so and which definitely are not. And there is some differences of opinion here. But those hadiths that are not universally accepted do not negate the hadiths that are universally accepted. Thus the hadiths of Bukhari are considered reliable even if there is some question about some others. In the same way, even the pericope of the adulteress is not as universally accepted as the other sayings and doings that does not negate these other ones.
But you are correct in your overall statement that there ARE manuscripts in the first 2 centuries. These manuscripts are therefore long before the prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and the revealing of the Quran (which are 600 years after Isa – PBUH) . Therefore the statements of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) from Hadiths (shown here) and that of the Quran (here) should inform our evaluation of corruption of the Bible, because these statements are about the manuscripts that we possess today.
Great post! Have nice day ! 🙂 oisxf