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c) Allah sent whom, to whom, with what?
Compare the following statements of the Quran:
- (i) “And we (Allah) have not sent any messenger except with revelation in the language of his people in order that he might make things clear to them.” (Q 14:4)(ii) “And (appoint Jesus) an apostle to the Children of Israel, (with this message): 'I have come to you, with a sign from your Lord, …' ” (Q 3:49)(iii) “And in their footsteps we (Allah) sent Jesus the son of Mary, confirming the Law that had come before him: We sent him the Injil (Gospel) …” (Q 5:46)
If we take the Quran on its own terms, we would have to ask how Jesus could be sent to the Israelites with the Gospel. The word in Arabic is “Injeel” which is not an Arabic word but comes from the Greek “εὐαγγέλιον” Euangelion. How can a Jewish messenger be sent to Jewish people with a Greek book (the Gospel)? Muslims can’t say we are using the same name for this book as Christians are using, as there isn’t any Christian who says Jesus came to receive or write a book, and because early Christians were Jews and in their language, Gospel would be called Besharot “בְּשׂוֹרָה” in Hebrew. A Muslim has to choose: Jesus wasn’t sent only to the children of Israel, or he wasn’t sent with the Gospel, or a messenger could be sent in a foreign language, or Allah doesn’t know really what he is talking about. Any of these options will make the Quran unreliable and therefore impossible to be the foundation of a coherent worldview.