Injil (Arabic: [[wikt:إنجيل|إنجيل]]|ʾInjīl, alternative spellings: Ingil or Injeel) is the Arabic name for the Gospel of Jesus (Isa). This Injil is described by the Qur'an as one of the four Islamic holy books which was revealed by Allah, the others being the Zabur (traditionally understood as being the Psalms), the Tawrat (the Torah), and the Qur'an itself. The word Injil is also used in the Qur’an, the hadith and early Muslim documents to refer to both a book and revelations made by God to Jesus.
The Arabic word Injil as found in Islamic texts, now used also by non-Arab Muslims and non-Muslim Arabs, comes from the Classical Syriac: ܐܘܢܓܠܝܘܢ|ewangellīōn found in the Peshitta, the Syriac translation of the Bible. This, in turn, derives from Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: Εὐαγγέλιον of the New Testament, where it means “good news” (from Old English gōdspel; Modern English gospel, or evangel as an archaism; cf. e.g. Spanish evangelio). The word Injil occurs twelve times in the Quran.
Islamic studies scholars such as Gabriel Said Reynolds argue that the Injil refers specifically to the Gospels of the New Testament in the possession of the Christians being addressed in passages such as the following:
Muslim scholars have rejected identifying the Injil with the New Testament Gospels and interpret Quran, sura 5 (Al-Ma'ida), ayah 46, 47a as God warning the Christians not to enforce the law contrary to the law sent by Allah:[1] Some have suggested the Injil may be the Gospel of Barnabas or Gospel of Thomas.[2] More commonly, Muslim scholars have argued that the Injil refers to a text now lost or hopelessly corrupted. For example, Abdullah Yusuf Ali wrote:
The Islamic methodology of (Arabic: تفسير القرآن بالكتاب) refers to interpreting the Qur'an with/through the Bible.[3] This approach adopts canonical Arabic versions of the Bible, including the Tawrat and the Injil, both to illuminate and to add exegetical depth to the reading of the Qur'an. Notable Muslim (commentators) of the Bible and Qur'an who weaved biblical texts together with Qur'anic ones include Abu al-Hakam Abd al-Salam bin al-Isbili of Al-Andalus and Ibrahim bin Umar bin Hasan al-Biqa'i.
Regardless of scholarly disagreement, Muslims commonly believe that Injil refers to a true Gospel, bestowed upon Jesus by God. Many Muslims believe that the Injil was revealed by God to Jesus in a manner comparable to the way the Quran was revealed to Muhammad; as presumed from passages in the Quran stating the gospel was a received message, such as (tr. Pickthall):
Many Muslim scholars continue to believe that the Biblical Gospel has undergone alteration, that the words and the meaning of the words have been distorted, with some passages suppressed and others added.