Question:

Christians often ask where is the evidence of the Injeel. There is no physical evidence of it, so how do we respond to them. They also claim that the Injeel is the same as the Gospel and we have the Gospel therefore the New Testament is from God.

Answer:

Lack of physical evidence does not necessitate that the Injeel did not exist. This is actually fallacious reasoning and is known as the argument from silence, further information on this fallacy can be seen here. We can understand this fallacy by realising that a lack of evidence of something existing does not mean that it did not exist. An example would be your great grandfather, no one living today has seen him smile, therefore he never smiled. This would be the argument from silence. Similarly, because no one today has seen evidence of the Injeel, this does not mean that it did not exist. There are many reasons why there are no physical evidences of its existence, the Qur’aan states:

We do not abrogate a verse or cause it to be forgotten except that We bring forth [one] better than it or similar to it. Do you not know that Allah is over all things competent? – Qur’aan 2:106.

Since it has been abrogated, Allaah can surely cause it be forgotten to us. We can also flip this argument onto the Christian. Jesus nor any of his disciples knew the New Testament to be scripture – it was canonized as scripture in 393 and 397 CE at the Councils of Carthage in what is modern day Tunisia. Would the Christian then agree that since there is no evidence that Jesus or his disciples knew of the New Testament, that it did not exist or that it is not scripture?

In regard to the claim that the Injeel is the same as the Christian Gospels, the Qur’aan describes the Injeel as follows:

And We sent, following in their footsteps, Jesus, the son of Mary, confirming that which came before him in the Torah; and We gave him the Gospel, in which was guidance and light and confirming that which preceded it of the Torah as guidance and instruction for the righteous. – Qur’aan 5:46.

The Qur’aan describes the Injeel as a message given to Jesus. No Christian believes that the Father gave Jesus any scripture, nor did He give Jesus the New Testament. Therefore these are two distinct writings, one is not the other.

and Allaah knows best.