Is it true that a 1,850 year old manuscript of the Gospel of Barnabas in Syriac Aramaic was discovered in Turkey?
I heard how in February 2012 it was reported on the news that during the anti-smuggling operation an early preserved manuscript discovered in Turkey of the Gospel of Barnabas that says experts said was estimated to be about 1,500 to 1,850 years old and in it saying that Jesus (peace be upon him) is not God or son of God but a prophet and messenger of God and that he wasn’t crucified and says that he gave the good news of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) to come after him and describes Paul as the imposter. On the other hand, Christians presented their arguments claiming it is a forgery and they claimed that this manuscript claimed to be written in the year 1500, not 1,500 years old and then they claimed that the writing style of this manuscript is the style of writing from the 18th century or even claiming this manuscript doesn’t contain anything that contradicts the 4 “canonical” Gospels. How do we counter refute those claims of their’s? And is this news true in the first place?
Dear Brother / Sister,
Regarding the authenticity of the Gospel of Barnabas, many arguments have been written both in favor of and against it.
In the work titled al-Yahūdiyyah wa’l-Naṣrāniyyah (Judaism and Christianity), Dr. Muḥammad Ḍiyāʾ al-Raḥmān al-Aʿẓamī examines the evidences on both sides in detail and concludes that the Gospel of Barnabas was written by a disciple of Prophet ʿĪsā (peace be upon him), known by the name Barnabas, whose name was Yūsuf ibn Lawī ibn Ibrāhīm.
According to the author, after this Gospel was discovered, it caused a shock in Christian circles and was completely banned by Pope Gelasius I. Originally written in Italian, the Gospel was later translated into English and Arabic. (See: the same work, pp. 353–395)
For further details, see:
Will you give information about the Bible of Barnabas?
Questions on Islam
- Will you give information about the Bible of Barnabas?
- In what language was the Gospel written? Greek or Aramaic?
- Did Muslims make up the Gospel of Barnabas?
- Who died instead of Jesus?
- Were the books that were sent before the Quran (the Torah, the Psalms and the Gospel) distorted and changed?
- How did the Bible change?
- During the period of which Prophet was pork rendered haram?
- Was the Gospel written when Hz. Isa was alive? Did a book called the Gospel exist? If yes, what happened to it? Why is no record of such a book seen in any historical document?
- Will you give information about the distortion process of the Bible (New Testament)?
- Will you give information about the distortion process of the Bible (New Testament)? Is there any evidence that the Bible (New Testament) was distorted? Will you give examples?
