Surah Al-i-‘Imrân 3:3

نَزَّلَ عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ بِالْحَقِّ مُصَدِّقًا لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ وَأَنزَلَ التَّوْرَاةَ وَالْإِنجِيلَ

3:3 Taurâtالتَّوْرَاة and Injîl الْإِنجِيلَ as used in the Holy Qur’ân refer to the Divine Commands revealed to Moses (al-Taurât التَّوْرَاةَ) for his people and the teachings promulgated by Jesus (al-Injîl الْإِنجِيلَ). Fragments of them survive in the received canonical, the Old and New Testaments, and in some other Gospels (Clarke, W. K. L., Concise Bible Commentary. London: Society for Promotion of Christian Knowledge [S.P.CK], 1952).

Taurât التَّوْرَاةَ was the name given to the Book of Moses. Its rendering in Hebrew is Torah The word. Taurâtالتَّوْرَاةَ is derived from waraä ÔiË meaning to strike (fire) or to kindle fire. Taurâtwas called so for its reading and acting upon its teachings kindled in the heart the fire of Divine Love. The Holy Qur’ân refers to this in the words: “You must have surely received the narrative about Moses. When he saw a fire, he said to his companions, Stay here, for I perceive a fire creating feelings of love and affection. I hope I may bring you a firebrand from there. Rather I feel that I find guidance at the fire.” (20:9-13)

“Torah” in Hebrew signifies the revealed will of God. According to the Qur’ânic teaching, Moses was a Messenger of Allâh for the people of Israel, who brought the Law (sharî‘a) to his people. The Taurâtالتَّوْرَاةَ mentioned in the Holy Qur’ân is not identical to what we know today as the Old Testament, the Pentateuch, or the Torah. The Old Testament is a Christian term, and Catholics and Protestants do not completely agree on the number of records to be included in the canon. It is also not correct to say Taurât as “the Pentateuch,” a Greek word meaning “the Five Books.” The Pentateuch are the first five books of the Old Testament, containing a semi-historical and legendary narrative of the history of the Jews, beginning with Adam and ending with the arrival of the Jews in the Promised Land; though a part of the Mosaic Law is embodied in it. The Books are ascribed to Moses, but it is certain that they were not written by Moses, and only emerged a considerable time after Moses. Unfortunately, much of their content has been distorted from the original and many parts have been lost.

Injîl اِنجِيلَ is derived fron najilaنجِلَ that means to become verdant, disclose, manifest, or to have large eyes. Anjala means“to pasture (cattle) on herbage.” Just as the Taurât is not the Old Testament, so the Injîl الْإِنجِيلَ mentioned in the Holy Qur’ân is certainly not the New Testament. The Injîl was the preaching and original teachings of Jesus. Their fragments have survived in the Hebrew Canonicals and the New Testament, and in various other scripts such as the Gospel of Barnabas. Modern Christian researchers raise serious doubts on the authenticity of the New Testament. No more than 18% of its contents are original sayings of Jesus. Most of the body of this literature is an odd assortment of texts. None of the Books of the New Testament was intended by their authors to form one of the Canons. They were assembled incongruously as a collection of reports and stories compiled at dates whose exactitude is dubious, some of them many centuries later by people who were unknown, undesignated, and unforeseen in the apostolic age. They are far from being the revealed words of Allâh, and were never meant for publication and distribution as such. Sentences and paragraphs from original versions have been abbreviated and expressions changed. The transmission of the first written version of the collection of the sayings and doing of Jesus was also open to possible modification or embellishment by the next person who copied it. The four Canonical Gospels were only four out of many, of which others have also survived. The final form of the New Testament Canons was determined in the fourth century A.D. by Athanasius and his associates, and then adopted by the Council of Nicaea

The reason Jesuss revelations, his sayings, and his actions were called Injîl in the Holy Qur’ân is that they contained not only good news for those who accepted him, but also gave the glad tiding of the advent of the greatest and last Prophet (61:6). He was described in Jesuss metaphorical language as the coming of the Kingdom of God (Matt.1.15), the coming of the Lord himself (Matt. 21.40), the advent of Paraclete or perikluton (one who consoles or comforts, one who encourages or uplifts; hence refreshes, and/or one who intercedes. “John 14.16) or the Spirit of Truth (John 14.17), among others. This is the meaning of Hudann هُدا “guidance for humankind.” The Holy Prophet (pbuh) said, “The breasts of my Companions are like Gospels.” It means that the breasts of his Companions are repositories of the life history and teachings of Jesus.

In short, the Taurât and Injîl frequently mentioned in the Holy Qur’ân are not identical with what is known today as the Bible, the Old Testament or the New Testament, but refer to original revelations bestowed upon Moses and Jesus. The fact that they are lost and forgotten is alluded to in the Holy Qur’ân (5:14) and other records of history. Their confirmation by the Holy Qur’ân refers only to the basic truth still discernible in the Bible and not to its legislation or to its present text. As they exist now, they afford guidance in some respects but remain a mixture of facts and fiction.