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.