Christians and Christianity in the Qur'an

Abstract

The Qurʾān uses three appellations for Christians: naṣārā, ahl al-injīl, and ahl al-kitāb. Two otherwise prevalent Arabic equivalents of Chris- tians and Christianity, Masīḥiyyūn, Masīḥiyya, are not used in the Qurʾān. This article explores the Qurʾānic view of both Christians and Christianity through the lens of earliest Muslim exegetical sources. It also compares some of the earliest explanations with the latter views in order to explore questions such as dependence of the Qurʾānic inter- pretations on the social and political circumstances. The article situates the discourse in the Islamic tradition and explores all Qurʾānic verses pertaining to the subject.