Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah.
There is no contradiction between Muslims’ belief that Allah revealed the Gospel to Jesus and the statement that the Gospels existing today were written after Jesus was raised up; the reason is that the revealed Gospel is one thing, while the Gospels existing today are another.
Muslims believe that Allah revealed to His Prophet Jesus a Book called the Gospel (Injīl), and that belief in the Books of Allah revealed to His messengers is one of the foundations of faith.
Allah says:
﴿آمَنَ الرَّسُولُ بِمَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ رَبِّهِ وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ كُلٌّ آمَنَ بِاللَّهِ وَمَلَائِكَتِهِ وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ لَا نُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ أَحَدٍ مِنْ رُسُلِهِ وَقَالُوا سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا غُفْرَانَكَ رَبَّنَا وَإِلَيْكَ الْمَصِيرُ﴾ [Al-Baqarah: 285].
The Prophet ﷺ said in the hadith of Jibrīl, explaining faith:
“To believe in Allah, His angels, His Books, His messengers, the Last Day, and to believe in divine decree, both its good and its evil.” Agreed upon.
Thus, belief in the Gospel revealed by Allah to Jesus is established by the revealed texts. Likewise, denying the Books of Allah that He revealed to His messengers is a grave form of misguidance. Allah says:
﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا آمِنُوا بِاللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَالْكِتَابِ الَّذِي نَزَّلَ عَلَى رَسُولِهِ وَالْكِتَابِ الَّذِي أَنْزَلَ مِنْ قَبْلُ وَمَنْ يَكْفُرْ بِاللَّهِ وَمَلَائِكَتِهِ وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ فَقَدْ ضَلَّ ضَلَالًا بَعِيدًا﴾ [Al-Nisā’: 136].
As for the books possessed by Christians today and known as the Gospels, they are not identical to the Gospel revealed by Allah to Jesus.
The present Gospels refer to the four well-known Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Islamic scholars have stated that these books were not a single Book revealed by Allah to Jesus. Rather, they contain accounts and reports concerning his sayings, actions, and miracles, and they were written after his ascension.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله explained that the four Gospels possessed by Christians were written after Christ was raised up, and that they do not claim to be the literal speech of Allah or that Christ conveyed them from Allah. Rather, they contain transmitted accounts of some of Christ’s sayings, actions, and miracles.
Ibn Hazm رحمه الله stated that Christians themselves do not claim that these four Gospels were revealed to Christ. Rather, they attribute their composition to men known among them and to different periods after Christ’s ascension.
According to what is stated in the source, the Gospel revealed to Jesus did not remain preserved among people in the form in which Allah revealed it, nor did the earliest copies written after Christ remain in their original form.
Ibn Hazm mentions that the followers of Christ went through a long period of weakness and concealment, which led to the loss of the original revealed Gospel. Only a few passages remained, after which various books and narratives appeared.
The source also states that the Gospels existing today underwent transmission and translation after their initial composition, and that differences among their accounts and contradictions in some of their contents are evidence that they are not identical to the Gospel revealed by Allah to Jesus.
The matter can be summarized as follows:
The revealed Gospel: A Book from Allah revealed to Jesus, and a Muslim must believe that it was revelation from Allah.
The Gospels existing today: Books and narratives attributed to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, written after Jesus was raised up, and not identical to the Book revealed to Jesus.
Therefore, there is no contradiction between the two positions: we believe in the Gospel revealed by Allah, but we do not believe that the Gospels existing today are that preserved Gospel in its exact wording and letters.
Allah says:
﴿أَفَلَا يَتَدَبَّرُونَ الْقُرْآنَ وَلَوْ كَانَ مِنْ عِنْدِ غَيْرِ اللَّهِ لَوَجَدُوا فِيهِ اخْتِلَافًا كَثِيرًا﴾ [Al-Nisā’: 82].
Belief in the Gospel revealed by Allah to Jesus is part of a Muslim’s creed, but this does not mean that the Gospels existing today are the same revealed Book. The Gospel was revelation that Allah gave to His Prophet Jesus, whereas the four Gospels existing today were written after his ascension and transmitted through different stages. Therefore, they cannot be equated with the revealed Gospel in which Muslims are required to believe.
And Allah knows best.