Was a Copy of the True Injil Hidden in The Vatican?


29 June, 2020


QFrom a Muslim perspective the Gospel of Thomas, which was discovered last century in Nagga Hammadi, Egypt, has some information which the Pauline church was hiding (e.g. Jesus speaking in the cradle, and creating birds from clay as mentioned in the Qur'an - these 2 matters are not in the 4 official gospels, but it seems are mentioned in the Gospel of Thomas, which was hidden from the church for around 17 centuries or so)? Is it true that a copy of the true Injeel revealed to Jesus is hidden somewhere in the Vatican?


ANSWER

Professor Shahul Hameed


29 June, 2020


Short Answer:

The Gospel of Barnabas was found in the Vatican library during the reign of Pope Sixtus V (Pope from 1585 to 1590).


It is the closest to the Quran in several of its statements about God and Jesus, Muslims may consider it closer to the original Injil of Isa (Jesus) than the four canonical gospels.


But to conclude that this gospel is the original Injil of Isa (Jesus) would be too hasty, especially when we consider the conditions of preservation this Gospel (like the other gospels) has passed through.  

Was a Copy of the True Injil Hidden in The Vatican? - About Islam


Turkey Reveals Bible Saying Jesus Wasn’t Crucified


Salam brother,

Thank you for your question and for contacting Ask About Islam.

The Gospel of Thomas


The discovery of the Gospel of Thomas in 1945 at Nag Hammadi, Egypt has generated quite an uproar in Christian circles. One discussion centered around the relationship between this gospel and the ‘Q document’, which many scholars believe was the source material used by the authors of ‘Matthew’ and ‘Luke’.

The Gospel of Thomas is certainly one of the earliest accounts of the teaching of Jesus outside the canonical gospels, and is said to contain revelations and parables known only to the apostle Thomas.

It is noteworthy that this gospel does not speak of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. And quite unlike the other gospels, the Gospel of Thomas does not see Jesus as “the Messiah who came to die for our sins that we might be saved through by faith in his resurrection.” Nor does it say anything about Jesus as “a divine heir of the godhead” or about “the sacrament of holy communion.” In Thomas’ gospel, Jesus is just a spiritual teacher and role model, like Prophet Abraham or Moses.

Furthermore, the Gospel of Thomas clearly mentions James the Just, “the Lord’s brother” as the leader of the Church, and not Peter.

No major Christian church accepts this gospel as authoritative; but the Jesus Seminar [i] an association of noted biblical scholars, includes it as the “Fifth Gospel” in its deliberation on the historical Jesus.

There is another work called “the Infancy Gospel of Thomas” which describes the miraculous childhood of Jesus; which according to scholars is distinct from the Gospel of Thomas. It is this Infancy Gospel that narrates the miracle of Jesus speaking as an infant in the cradle, and of giving life to a bird.

Was a Copy of the True Injil Hidden in The Vatican?


Let us come to the Gospel of Barnabas: This was found in the Vatican library during the reign of Pope Sixtus V (Pope from 1585 to 1590).

George Sale (1697-1736), who published a translation of the Quran in 1734, has written in his preface as to how the original MS of the Gospel of Barnabas was discovered in the papal library.

He quotes a Christian monk called Fra Marino who was looking for this gospel: because he had read about it in the writings of Irenaeus (130-200).

Marino was an intimate friend of Pope Sixtus V, (pope 1585-1590). One day he was in the Pope’s library together with the Pope and it so happened that “his holiness fell asleep, and the monk, to occupy himself, reaching down for a book to read, the very first he laid his hand on proved to be the very Gospel history that he was seeking. Overjoyed at the discovery, he scrupled not to hide his prize discovery in his sleeve; and, on the Pope’s awakening, took to leave of him carrying with him that celestial treasure, by reading of which he became a convert to Muhammedanism”

Irenaeus was an influential Greek bishop who opposed Paul, who according to him injected into Christianity the doctrines of pagan religion. To support his views he quotes extensively from the Gospel of Barnabas. This shows that the Gospel of Barnabas was in circulation in the early centuries of Christianity.

Was a Copy of the True Injil Hidden in The Vatican? - About Islam


Was Jesus Tortured and Crucified?


The Council of Nicea


In 325 C.E., the Council of Nicea was held, where it was ordered that all original Gospels in Hebrew script should be destroyed.

In 383 the Pope secured a copy of the Gospel of Barnabas and kept it in his private library. It was this copy that Fra Marino smuggled out of Vatican.

The Italian manuscript passed through different hands till it reached Hofbibliothek in Vienna. This was translated into English by Mr Lonsdale Ragg and Mrs. Laura Ragg and the Oxford University Press published it in 1907.

Since the Gospel of Barnabas is the closest to the Quran in several of its statements about God and Jesus, Muslims may consider it closer to the original Injil of Isa (Jesus) than the four canonical gospels.

But to conclude that this gospel is the original Injil of Isa (Jesus) would be too hasty, especially when we consider the conditions of preservation this Gospel (like the other gospels) has passed through.  

[i] The Jesus Seminar refers to a group of “scholars with advanced degrees in biblical studies, religion or related fields [as well as] published authors who are recognized authorities in the field of religion”…One of the most active groups in biblical criticism, the Seminar has popularized the quest for the historical Jesus. They produced new translations of the New Testament plus the Gospel of Thomas to use as textual sources.

If Jesus Wasn’t Crucified … Then Who Was?


15 December, 2019


Q1. In Quran 4:157 the Chief Priests are satisfied that they have killed the false prophet, Jesus. But, it only SEEMED to them [as if it had been so]. Instead of saying Jesus had been replaced by Judas and contradicting the Gospels, why not say that Jesus SEEMED to the Chief Priests killed but went through a clinical death with an out of body experience? Then, after Allah revived Jesus the ascension happened as the New Testament and Quran say. Neither scripture is contradicted. 2. The Chief Priests, Pharisees, and Romans could be confused. They were some distance from the cross. The people at the cross were his mother, Mary Magdalene, and the disciple John. How can you realistically claim the mother of Jesus, standing near Him, would not recognize him?


ANSWER

Maen Khalifa


15 December, 2019


Short Answer: There are still lots of common grounds between Islam and Christianity regarding the subject of “Crucifixion.” Even it is mentioned in the bible, in accordance to the Quran: [A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father.] (John, 16:16) For us Muslims, the word “Father” that is used repeatedly in the bible in mistranslated from the Aramaic, to Greek then to English; the original word is Rabb, meaning Lord. For Muslims, God tells us that Jesus was not the one who was crucified and it only appeared to everyone who was present. One interpretation of that verse is that God made Judas, the disciple that betrayed Jesus, look exactly like Jesus (peace be upon him). Assuming that Mary (peace be upon her) was present during the alleged crucifixion, she really thought that it was her son. Whoever was crucified instead of Jesus (peace be upon him) must have looked exactly like him.

………….

Salam (Peace) Dear Brother,

Thank you for your question and for contacting Ask About Islam.

The whole issue is about what really happened and not about making up a story so everyone is satisfied.

The verse you quoted clearly states that Jesus (peace be upon him) was not crucified:

{That they said (in boast), “We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Apostle of Allah”; but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not:- Nay, Allah raised him up unto Himself; and Allah is Exalted in Power, Wise} (Quran 4:157-158) [emphasis added]

Mentioning that he went through a clinical death with an out of body experience, implies that he was indeed crucified, but did not really die from that horrifying experience; that’s why he resurrected and eventually ascended to heaven.

Since he was not crucified, he was not harmed to begin with, so there is no need to mention clinical death; and he was raised to the heaven by God’s will.

There are still lots of common grounds between Islam and Christianity regarding this subject. Even it is mentioned in the bible, in accordance to the Quran:

[A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father.] (John, 16:16)

For us Muslims, the word “Father” that is used repeatedly in the bible in mistranslated from the Aramaic, to Greek then to English; the original word is Rabb, meaning Lord.

For Muslims, verse 4:157 is taken as is, since we really do not have any further details, except that God is telling us that Jesus was not the one who was crucified and it only appeared to everyone who was present.

One interpretation of that verse is that God made Judas, the disciple that betrayed Jesus, look exactly like Jesus (peace be upon him). However, we don’t have any further details other than God is capable of anything and everything, and if He wishes something, He says to it be and it is.

Sayyid Abu Aala Al-Mawdudi mentions in his book – Towards Understanding the Quran – concerning the above verses:

This verse is explicit on the point that the Prophet Jesus Christ was rescued from crucifixion and that the Christians and the Jews are both wrong in believing that he died on the cross.

A comparative study of the Quran and the Bible shows that most probably it was Jesus himself who stood his trial in the court of Pilate, who sentenced him to death, but they could not kill or crucify him, for Allah raised him to Himself.

This is what happened, Pilate knew fully well that Christ was innocent and had been brought in his court out of jealousy.

So he asked the crowd whether Jesus Christ should be released on the occasion of the Festival or Barabbas, a notorious robber. But the high priests and elders persuaded the crowd to ask for the release of Barabbas and for the crucifixion of Jesus.

After this, God, Who can do any and everything He wills, raised Jesus to Himself and rescued him from crucifixion and the one who was crucified afterwards was somehow or other taken for Christ.

Nevertheless, his miraculous escape does not lessen the wicked crime against Jesus, because those who perpetrated it knew it well that the one, whom they crowned with a crown of thorns, and on whose face they spat and whom they crucified with disgrace was Christ, the son of Mary.

Regarding the matter of how “it was made doubtful for them” that they had crucified Jesus, we have no means of ascertaining this. Therefore, it is not right to base an answer on mere guess-work and rumors an answer.

As for “those who have differed”: the Christians, they do not agree in their versions of crucifixion. The very fact that they offer so many different accounts of the matter is by itself proof that they possess no definite knowledge of it and are, therefore, in doubt about it.

One version is that the person who was crucified was not Jesus but someone who bore his likeness, whom the Jews and the Romans had disgracefully put on the cross, while Jesus was standing nearby and laughing at their folly.

Another version is that the one who was nailed to the cross was Jesus, but he did not die on the cross and was alive when he was taken down from it.

Some others say that he died on the cross but came to life afterwards and met his disciples more than ten times and talked to them. Still others say that death due to crucifixion occurred on the physical body of Jesus and he was buried but the Divine Spirit within him was raised.

There are still others who say that after his death Jesus came to life with his body and was raised with his body. Obviously, if the Christians had any knowledge of the truth, they would not have given so many different versions of it.

Assuming that Mary (peace be upon her) was present during the alleged crucifixion, she really thought that it was her son. Whoever was crucified instead of Jesus (peace be upon him) must have looked exactly like him.

Without any further clarifications, the Muslims, have to go by what the Quran mentions, i.e. that Jesus was not crucified, since it has been proven that it is the word of God.

Which Parts of the Bible Make Up The Original Injeel?


15 November, 2017


QWhen we reference the Bible in its original form, are we including the books that Paul the Imposter wrote?


ANSWER

Professor Shahul Hameed


15 November, 2017


Short Answer: Technically, none of them completely. The “Injeel” is the revelation God gave to Jesus to deliver to people, but the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, & John) were not written by eyewitnesses and do not, therefore, qualify as authentic recordings of his teachings. Paul, or Saul, was indeed an imposter and his writings are antithetical to the teachings of Jesus. The best way to know whether something you read in the New Testament is part of the original message God gave to Jesus is to ask yourself if it aligns with the core principles of Islam, chief among them being exclusive, absolute monotheism.

Peace be with you Brother/Sister,

Thank you for your question and for contacting Ask About Islam.

The Four Canonical Gospels


The New Testament is the second part of the Christian Bible.

It is a collection of narratives, originally written by various writers in the Greek language of the first century.

It consists of 27 books, of which the first four speak of Jesus and his teachings, and were written “according to” Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

These are the four canonical gospels, which according to the Christian historians were chosen from a collection of some eighty gospels extant in 325 C.E at Nicea and canonized by the Synod of Hippo.

It is claimed that the four canonical gospels are eyewitness accounts by the close disciples of Jesus; but this is not supported by evidence.

“…No one knows who actually wrote them. While they were eventually attributed to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John decades or centuries after they were written, educated Literalists admit that all four were, in fact, originally written anonymously. The startling fact is that none of our canonical gospels identify their respective authors (the “titles” of the “books” in our Bibles were added by editors long after the “books” themselves were written). In fact, the idea that the Gospels even represent eyewitness accounts arose decades, if not centuries, after they were written, when some later Christians in other countries came to view them as “memoirs of the apostles.” The gospels themselves, as we shall see, don’t claim to be eyewitness accounts or memoirs at all.” (Sean King, The Gospels Are NOT Eyewitness Accounts)

The Gospel of the Kingdom


The foregoing means that none of the four gospels can be called “the Gospel of the Kingdom” preached by Jesus.

See Matthew 4:23:

And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. (King James 2000 Bible)

It is unreasonable to suppose that Jesus was preaching one of the four gospels canonized by the Church three centuries later.

But it is quite reasonable to believe that the Gospel Jesus actually preached was a divinely revealed one.

The Injeel


Now the word Injeel used in the Qur’an is the Arabic version of the Greek word evangelion, meaning “good news”.

From the Muslim point of view, Injeel stands for the revelations of God received by Jesus, and nothing else.

We have no evidence that these revelations were faithfully recorded in Jesus’ time and passed on to the next generation.

What we now know as a “Gospel” is not ONE uncorrupted book of unquestioned authority, but any one of the four books of doubtful authenticity included in the New Testament.

Allah Almighty in His Noble Qur’an says:

And We caused Jesus, the son of Mary, to follow in the footsteps of those [earlier prophets], confirming the truth of whatever there still remained of the Torah; and We vouchsafed unto him the Gospel, wherein there was guidance and light, confirming the truth of whatever there still remained of the Torah, and as a guidance and admonition unto the God-conscious. (Qur’an 5:46)

The New Testament and the Injeel


As mentioned above, we do not find one book called the Gospel (or Injeel) among the books of the New Testament.

Instead we find four books called gospels, whose authorship and contents are of questionable authenticity, included in the New Testament along with a number of writings that often are at variance with the themes of these gospels themselves.

All the same, we may find a significant portion of the true Injeel in the four gospels of the present New Testament recorded as the sayings of Jesus.

Allah Almighty has commanded Muslims to believe in all His prophets and all the Books revealed to them.

Particularly He mentions the Books revealed to Moses and Jesus:

Step by step has He bestowed upon you (O Muhammad) from on high this divine writ, setting forth the truth which confirms whatever there still remains [of earlier revelations]: for it is He who has bestowed from on high the Torah and the Gospel. (Qur’an: 3:3)

Thus Muslims accept Jesus as one of the greatest prophets of God and the Book revealed to him, namely the Injeel as one of God’s revealed Book of Guidance.

Regarding Paul, or Saul, was indeed an imposter and his writings are antithetical to the teachings of Jesus.

How To Tell the Difference


Ultimately a Muslim can discern for himself or herself which parts of the current Gospels belong to the original injeel by asking this question: Does this teaching align with the principles of Islam?

Foremost among these is the concept of exclusive monotheism, or the belief that God is one, without partner and without sons.

If what one reads in the Gospels is in alignment with these principles, it’s safe to assume it’s part of the true message God revealed to Jesus, peace be upon him.

Is the Bible the Word of God?


09 November, 2016

QAs-salamu Alaykum Brothers, I just have a question I would like you to answer. I have had a debate with my Christian friend, that the Bible has been corrupted. And, he told me: “Do you think God would let His Bible be corrupted?” So, my question is: Why did God let the Christian Bible get corrupted? Thank you.

ANSWER

Dr. Nabil Haroun

09 November, 2016

Salam Dear Sam,

Thank you for your important question and for contacting Ask About Islam.

The answer is simple, but unfortunately widely unrecognized by Christians and – more so – by Muslims. Let us first ask:

“Is the current Christian Bible really the word of God?”

The Bible is a huge collection of “human” writings, 38 (+9 disputed) books comprising the Old Testament and 20 (+7 disputed) books of the New Testament. The Old Testament assortment includes books of history, proverbs, myths, legislation …etc, representing the popular literature of the Israelites. They were composed by many scribes, several centuries after the Prophet Moses, peace be upon him.

Similarly, the New Testament embodies the Gospels, four different biographies of the Prophet Jesus, peace be upon him, written by Matthews, Mark, Luke and John, whose identities are widely disputed. In addition, the New Testament contains the epistles of Paul, Peter and John. This is as well as the Acts – also due to Paul or Luke – and the Visions of John.

So, none of the Bible books can be claimed to be the word of God. It was the Nicea Council in the fourth century after Christ, who selectively sanctified these books to be “holy”, from among hundreds of other writings of the earlier Christians. While admitting the human authorship of these books, the churches claim and teach – without proof – that these human writings were “inspired” by God.

However, neither of the Bible authors themselves claimed, or probably even imagined that their books would ever be “holy”. Read for example:

“For as much as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things …, Even as they delivered them unto us …; 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 …” (Luke 1:1-4)

“The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” (Matthews 1:1)

“The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach.” (Acts 1:1)

“These be the words which Moses spake unto all Israel on this side Jordan in the wilderness …” (Deuteronomy1:1)

“Now after the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spake unto Joshua the son of Nun …” (Joshua 1:1)

“Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass, that the children of Israel …” (1 Judges 1:1)

“Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled …” (Ruth 1:1)

“Now it came to pass after the death of Saul, when David …” (2 Samuel 1:1)

“Now king David was old and stricken in years …” (1 Kings 1:1)

“Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia …” (Ezra 1:1)

“Now it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus …” (Esther 1:1)

“Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year …” (Ezkiel 1:1)

Could any of these books be words of God, or rather typical human anecdotes and historical accounts?

Add to these facts the countless contradictions and obvious mistakes in the Bible text. As few examples, compare the following pairs:

“And again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah.” (2 Samuel:24:1V)

Please compare with:

“And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel. (1 Chr 21:1)

Also read:

“Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child unto the day of her death.” (2 Samuel 6:23)

Please compare with:

“But the king took …; and the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for …” (2 Samuel 21:8)

Then read:

“These be the names of the mighty men whom David had: … he lift up his spear against eight hundred, whom he slew at one time.” (2 Samuel 23:8)

Compare with:

“And this is the number of the mighty men whom David had: … he lifted up his spear against three hundred slain by him at one time. (1 Chronicles 11:11)

Also read:

“But the Syrians fled before Israel; and David slew of the Syrians seven thousand men which fought in chariots, and forty thousand footmen, and killed Shophach the captain of the host.” (1 Chronicles 19:18)

Compare with:

“And the Syrians fled before Israel; and David slew the men of seven hundred chariots of the Syrians, and forty thousand horsemen, and Samuelote Shobach the captain of their host, who died there. (2 Samuel 10:18)

Further, no rational mind could accept the false charges and shameless references to the great prophets, peace and blessings be upon them all, such as:

Noah: getting drunk and naked in front of his sons. See Genesis 9: 20-24.


Aaron: making a golden calf to worship. See Exodus 32: 3-4.


Solomon: worshiping false gods, to please his large harem. See 1 Kings 11: 9-10.


David: committing adultery. See 2 Samuel 11: 4-5.


Lot: committing incest with his two daughters. See Genesis 19: 31-36.


Could such texts be inspired by God!

It can thus be concluded that the available Bible has nothing to do with the original Injeel of Jesus or Torah of Moses, both of which have disappeared, except in as much as traces of their texts might be part of the few sayings attributed to Moses and Jesus in the Bible. Still, it is difficult to decide which of these sayings are divine revelations and which are the teachings of the respective prophet.

Hence, it is an over-simplification to say that the available Bible is the word of God, corrupted by Man. Rather, it is almost A-Z a human text. Why then should not God allow the corruption of what His creatures invented?

Allah says in the Quran what means:

{So woe to [the ones] who write the Book with their hands; thereafter they say, “This is from [the providence of] Allah.” That they may trade it for a little price; So, woe to those for what their hands have written, and woe to them for what they have earned.} (Al-Baqarah 2: 79)

{And who is more unjust than he who has fabricated against Allah a lie, or has said: “to me it has been revealed” and nothing has been revealed to him. And who has said: “I will send down the like of what Allah has sent down.”} (Al-An`am 6: 93)