Dear Reader,
Read Qur’aan:
33:4 “........nor has He made your adopted sons, your sons. Such is (only) your speech by your mouths. But Allah tells (you) the truth, and He shows you the right way.
33:5 Call them by (the names of) their fathers. That will be more equitable in the sight of Allah. ......”
Or, read this verse: (24:23)
“Indeed as for those who slander virtuous, unaware, believing women; cursed are they in the world and the hereafter. Theirs will be awful doom.”
Islaam will not let you slander any virtuous woman, not to mention Mary (pbuh), the mother of an honoured messenger of Allah; Mary, who is chosen above the women of all nations and who is protected from the schemes of satan. Only a woman who has been unjustly slandered would know the mental agony she has to undergo. Untruths such as the one implied towards Mary are aplenty in the Bible, in respect of certain other messengers of God. You would have certainly come across such insinuations while reading the Bible previously. But you may not have given serious thought to it or would not have known what to do about it. But now that you have been informed of the seriousness of the matter and also shown the only clean alternative, it is high time you look for more information on Islaam, the religion brought by Muhammad (pbuh), who has been foretold both in the Old Testament and the New Testament, as the prophet who is to be expected to bring the full and final guidance from the Lord.
MUHAMMAD’S ARRIVAL IS THE GOSPEL (Good News) OF JESUS
Muhammad (pbuh) clears the distortions in Christianity:
The main distortions that have crept into Christianity have been negated by Allah through the verses of Qur’aan, ( discussed in the previous article ), which was revealed to His last prophet, Muhammad (peace be upon him). There are more such verses in the Qur’aan which explain the real position of the aforesaid distortions and also some other.
Being clarifications from the Almighty Allah, conveyed through His messenger, Muhammad(pbuh), Muslims accept these rectifications to the Christian doctrine without hesitation. If a Christian too were to accept Muhammad (peace be upon him), as a prophet of God, like his belief in Moses or Jesus (peace be upon them), then he should have no difficulty in accepting the above rectification of wrong beliefs and, as a consequence of such acceptance, it will be easy for him to embrace Islaam, thereby placing both Jesus and Mary (peace be upon them) in their true, better and more respectable positions due to them.
However, since the strong faith of Christians on Jesus Christ (peace be upon him) is partly attributable to his good teachings and character and partly to the outstanding miracles performed by him, they, the Christians, having witnessed such great miracles and accustomed to them, similarly expect such physical feats from Muhammad (peace be upon him). As far as the character and the good teachings of Prophet Muhammad(pbuh) are concerned, I find almost all non-Muslims who have studied his life, appreciative of him. But what about the miracles..? What does the Qur’aan say with regards to the performance of miracles by Muhammad (peace be upon him).
“They say: why does he not bring us a Sign from his Lord; Has not a clear sign come to them of all that is in the earlier scriptures ? ”(20:133)
And right now, we are going to look into the Signs that are there in the earlier scriptures and which relate to Muhammad (peace be upon him). And we begin with verses from the Bible that have been uttered by Jesus Christ (peace be upon him).
MUHAMMAD’S ARRIVAL FORETOLD BY JESUS:
Prophet Jesus (pbuh), during the last days of his stay on the earth, makes a prophecy about the arrival of another prophet after him. This simple-looking prophecy of the new testament John 16:12 and 16:13, just stops short of mentioning Prophet Muhammad by name, but identifies him with as many as six titles that denote him, two of them being excluseive titles nobody else could be conferred with in the whole history of mankind, i.e., the title of "The Last Prophet" and " The Unlettered Prophet ".
Let us have a look at verse 12 &13 of John 16 to know how Jesus(pbuh) prophesies about Muhammad (pbuh).
“ 12. I have yet many things to say unto you, but you cannot bear them now.
13. Howbeit when he, the spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. ”
Now let us analyse the fine points of these verses:
1. A GUIDE :
Jesus (pbuh) says, " He will guide you.... ". That means he will be a guide, (Al-Haadi in Arabic). Thus the arrival of Muhammad (pbuh) is foretold by mentioning one of his attributes: a guide.
Allaah tells Muhammad (pbuh) in Qur’aan: 13:7 : “You are a warner, and for every folk a guide.” Allaah says Muhammad is a guide for every folk. And that does not exclude any folk, not even the Jews and Christians, the earlier recipients of Allaah’s messengers and book. And Jesus does not deny. He tells his target audience - the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and his followers, the Christians: “he will guide YOU into all truth.”
He does not say: “he will guide a people called Muslims”
or that “he will guide folks other than you”;
but he said “he will guide YOU.” implying that he will be their guide.
Therefore, it is binding upon the Christians that they accept the guidance of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), acting upon the word of Jesus (pbuh) and also heeding the warning given by the Almighty in Deuteronomy 18: 18 & 19, which we shall discuss later.
2. THE PROPHET: 3. THE LAST PROPHET:
In the verses 12 and 13 of John 16, Jesus (pbuh) says:
“ I have yet many things to say unto you, but you cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth.”
The statement of Jesus (pbuh) carries an implication that his mission is incomplete: “ I have yet many things to say unto you...” .
And who will say the many things that he has to say?
Normally, Jesus (pbuh) should have continued his statement like this:
' The spirit of truth will say the many things I have to say.' or
' The spirit of truth will say the balance things. ' he didn’t say like that.
Neither he said: ' The spirit of truth will also say many things like me. '
But, rather, he says: ‘ The spirit of truth will guide you into all truth.’ So, what the spirit of truth will guide into is not only what truth Jesus (pbuh) has already said or left unsaid, but will comprise of all truth:
those truths said before Jesus (pbuh)
those truths said by Jesus (pbuh)
those truths left unsaid by Jesus (pbuh).
those truths distorted after Jesus (pbuh).
That is the full and true import of the word “ A L L ” .
So, when the spirit of truth comes and he guides you into all truth, what is left for anybody else to guide any more ? Nothing. That means the mission of the promised spirit of truth will not be incomplete like that of Jesus (pbuh), but it will be an accomplished one, calling for no more prophet to guide.
And how do we come to the conclusion that the ‘spirit of truth’ referred in the above verse is a prophet and not ‘holy spirit’ as interpreted by some Christian scholars? Please take a closer look at the last sentence of the verse 13 above. It says :
“ he will shew you things to come.”
And when you rephrase it into a shorter sentence......, it reads:
“ he will prophesy.”
And what do you call someone who prophesies .........? ........... a prophet ! and a prophet who is called the ‘spirit of truth’ is naturally a true prophet. .....and that too a prophet who will tell you all truth, not necessitating another prophet.
That is exactly what Allaah calls Muhammad (pbuh) in Qur’aan, sura 33, verse 40: Khaataman-Nabiyeen... the last of the prophets.
Normally, it would look odd, strange and unusual that a prophet of God toils so much to bring his people into the right path and then announces, as does Jesus (pbuh), that his mission is incomplete (“ I have yet many things to say unto you.”) and that they have to wait for the last prophet for further guidance (“ when he, the spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth.”).
However, this is not inconsistent with the Divine Plan. Allaah says in Qur’aan 3:81 “ When Allaah made covenant with the prophets, (He said): Take whatever I have given you of the scripture and knowledge. And afterward there will come unto you a messenger, confirming that which you possess. You shall believe in him and you shall help him. He said: Do you agree, and will you take up My burden (which I lay upon you) in this (matter)?. They answered: We agree. He said: Then bear you witness. I will be a witness with you.”
From the above verse, it is clear that it was binding on Jesus (pbuh) to help Muhammad (pbuh), even if Muhammad had arrived during the lifetime of Jesus. This being so, it only behooves of Jesus (pbuh) that he should make clear to his followers the incomplete status of his mission and to advise them whom to look to for further guidance.
4. AS-SAADIQ (the truthful):
5. AL-AMEEN (the trustworthy):
Another thing Jesus (pbuh) clarifies in the verse 13 is that the promised guide will not speak of his own will (that is, the guidance will not be his own), but he will speak whatsoever he will be asked to speak by the Almighty.
“ for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, shall he speak.”
“ He shall not speak of himself.” : he will not cook up guidance from his own will and dish it out to you; The real quality of a truthful person - As-Saadiq.
“ But whatsoever he shall hear, shall he speak.” : he will not mutilate the guidance; he will not add to it; he will not deduct anything from it; “ but whatsoever he shall hear, shall he speak.” True qualities of a trustworthy person - Al-Ameen.
Muhammad (pbuh), earned these titles: As-Saadiq, the truthful, and Al-Ameen, the trustworthy, from his people even before he was conferred with the prophethood at the age of forty, because he always used to say the truth and was trustworthy in all his dealings.
6. THE UNLETTERED PROPHET :Moses and David (peace be upon them), who came before Muhammad (pbuh) were given written books of law and guidance. ‘ Torah’ was given to Moses and ‘Zaboor’ given to David. ( Peace be upon them ). Why wasn’t Muhammad also given a written book like them ? Why is it being told about him that: “whatsoever he shall hear, shall he speak.” The answer to this question contains the other most important attribute of Prophet Muhammad.
Because: Muhammad was an unlettered prophet.
Thus in verse 13 of John 16, Jesus (pbuh) has foretold of the arrival of the ‘Spirit of Truth’ by denoting Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) with six of his titles:
Al Haadi The Guide
As Saadiq The Truthful
Al Ameen The Trust-worthy
An Nabee The Prophet
Khaatamun Nabeeyeen The Last Prophet
An-Nabeeyul Ummee The Unlettered Prophet
Since Christians believe the Bible to be true and the words of Jesus (pbuh) to be true, they must accept Muhammad (pbuh) to be the prophet whom Jesus (pbuh) is referring in the above prophecy.
The prophecy of Jesus about the expected prophet guiding into all truth has been fulfilled in no person other than Muhammad (pbuh). Christians can not show a person other than Muhammad (pbuh) or a 'spirit' in whom the prophecy of John 16:13 stands fulfilled.
An erroneous belief is held by some Christians that the prophecy foretells about the arrival of a holy spirit. Even if it is granted that the prophecy refers to the holy spirit, then one must contend with the fact that the holy spirit, Archangel Gabriel, also referred as roohul-qudus (holy spirit) in the Qur’aan, did arrive, and brought the complete guidance from the Almighty as prophesied, but not directly to persons like you and me, but to prophet Muhammad (pbuh), which guidance is referred in the above verses.
(Muhammad (pbuh) received the revelation through the holy spirit. Hence, the two events, Muhammad’s prophethood and the arrival of Archangel Gabriel are not two events of separate significance, but is one and the same predicted event).
And the Christians imagining that the weird events alleged in Acts 2 of Bible fulfil the expected arrival of the spirit must try to see that these alleged events are far from ‘guidance into all truth’, promised in the above verses.
Thus, in plain language, Jesus (pbuh) tells his followers:
Since you are not ready now to bear the many things I have to say, when the last and the unlettered prophet, the truthful and the trustworthy, comes, he will guide you into all truth.
This is the Gospel, the good news, brought by Jesus (pbuh).
And just how dangerous it is to ignore the guidance, we shall see, God willing, in the context of another prophecy relating to Muhammad (pbuh) in the old testament.
MUHAMMAD FORETOLD IN THE OLD TESTAMENT: We will now look at another prophecy in the Bible, this one in the old testament, Deuteronomy, Chapter 18, Verse 18 & 19 :
" 18. I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put My words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.
19. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto My words which he shall speak in My name, I will require it of him. "
In the above verse, Allaah foretells Prophet Moses(pbuh) that He will raise a prophet, like unto him, LIKE MOSES, and in the subsequent verse gives a grave warning making it mandatory to follow the promised prophet, when he arrives.
" whosoever will not hearken unto My words which he shall speak in My name, I will require it of him. "
The Qur’aanic verse 46:10 mentions the above prophecy:
" Say: ' Do you see? whether this message be from Allaah, and yet you reject it, and a witness from among the Children of Israel bore witness of ONE LIKE HIM......'. "
Let us study the similarities between Moses (pbuh) and Muhammad (pbuh), which are not present in Jesus (pbuh). This comparison proves that Jesus is not like Moses (Jesus is unlike Moses) but Muhammad is like Moses and therefore, the prophecy of the Old Testament applies to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and not to Prophet Jesus (pbuh).
1. Parents: Moses had a father and a mother. Muhammad also had a father and a mother. But Jesus had only a mother. Therefore, Muhammad is like Moses and Jesus is not like Moses.
2. Marriage: Moses married and begot children. Muhammad also married and begot children. But such information is not available about Jesus. Therefore, Muhammad is like Moses and Jesus is not like Moses.
3. Acceptance by people: At the end, Moses was accepted by his people in his lifetime. Muhammad too was accepted by his people in his lifetime. But Jesus was not accepted. Therefore, Muhammad is like Moses and Jesus is not like Moses.
4. Death: Moses died a natural death. Muhammad too died a natural death. But Jesus was taken up unto the heaven. Therefore, Muhammad is like Moses and Jesus is not like Moses.
5. Name: Moses’ name begins with the sound of ‘M’ and Muhammad’s name also begins with the sound of ‘M’, be it in any language. That means the beginning letter of the names of these two prophets is phonetically same or homogenous in any language. On the other hand, Jesus’ name does not begin with ‘M’. Moreover, the name of Jesus(pbuh) is such that it begins in a phonetically heterogeneous manner in different languages. It begins in English with ‘J’ , an ‘Y’ in Tamil for Yesu, and with the sound of ‘EE’ for Eesa in Arabic and a different kind of ‘J’ in French with a ‘Zh’ sound. So, there is no question of Jesus’ name conforming with that of any other name, leave alone Moses’ .
The prophecy is fulfilled in favour of MUHAMMAD not only in respect of the LIKENESS OF MOSES, but in respect of every word contained in the above verses.
1. “ I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren” is fulfilled in the sense THE JEWS belong to the lineage of ISAAC (pbuh) and THE ARABS belong to the lineage of ISHMAEL (pbuh), who are both sons of the same father, ABRAHAM (PBUH). Thus, Muhammad (pbuh) is raised from among the brethren of Jews.
2. “and I will put My words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him”, is fulfilled in the manner of revelation through the Archangel Gabriel. Muhammad (pbuh), who is unlettered, is made to repeat the words that Allaah commands through the angel.
3. “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto My words which he shall speak in My name, I will require it of him.” is fulfilled as chapters of the Qur’aan, the words of Allaah, begins with the words: “In the name of Allaah, the most beneficent, the most merciful.”
We have studied so far about the prophecy of the Old Testament, as to how it perfectly relates to Muhammad (pbuh). Now, we shall study the relationship of this prophecy with the prophecy of the New Testament which we have already studied in the previous article.
We have seen that the prophecy of John 16:13 indicates that the expected prophet will “not speak of his own will, but whatsoever he hears, shall he speak”, which, in essence, is what God attributes to the expected prophet in the Deuteronomy 18:18 prophecy as well, by saying: “I will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.”
Thus, there is a thread of a common attribute running between these two prophecies, which establishes the identity of the expected prophet. Both these prophecies indicate that the expected prophet will be unlettered.
Allaah commands Muhammad in Qur'aan: (7:158)
" Say ( O Muhammad) :
' O mankind ! Indeed I am messenger of Allaah unto you all;
(messenger of) Him unto Whom belongs the Sovereignty of the heavens and the earth.
There is no God except Him;
(it is) He (who) gives both life and death;
So believe in Allaah and His messenger, the unlettered prophet who believes in Allaah and His words;
and follow him; so that you may be guided. ' "
Thus, we have studied two prophecies from the bible, which unmistakably relate to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). These are sufficient proofs and reason for the possessors of the earlier books to embrace Islaam. The prophecies can not be taken lightly. The warning in Deuteronomy 18:19 is so stern that the Jews and the Christians would do well to take it seriously, and believe in the promised prophet (pbuh), now that he has come and has been unmistakably identified.
WHAT JESUS (PBUH) PREACHED AND WHO WAS HIS TARGET-AUDIENCE ?
Jesus (pbuh) strove to establish what was already there in the Bible (Old Testament). To this end, he preached untiringly and performed various miracles with the leave of Allaah, so that his people could be impressed and taken to the right path.
But sadly, Christian preachers hardly talk about the laws in the old testament, like the forbidden foods, prohibition of taking or giving of interest, adultery, idolatry, theft, etc. Instead Christian preaching today revolves round and round the personality of Jesus Christ(pbuh) and not around his teachings that were intended to purify their lives from sinning. Their saying that “Jesus' blood will cleanse you from all sins" amounts to an inducement to sinning.
Jesus’ mission was targeted for a limited people. As Jesus (pbuh) himself says: “ I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Matthew 15:24) and not for the entire world.
ISLAM AND MUSLIMS IDENTIFIED IN THE BIBLE:Having foretold the arrival of the Last Prophet and having told his people to look forward to the guidance of that prophet, Jesus (pbuh) gives more hints that identify Islaam and Muslims and most of his actions and speeches during his last days, (specially after the so-called ‘resurrection’), are supportive of Muhammad, Islam and Muslims. And he even wants his followers/preachers to limit their activity to a specific geographical area till the prophet comes. This might seem surprising, but all of it is true.
This starts with his first pronouncement after the so-called resurrection, when Jesus(pbuh) says: “Peace be unto you.” (Luke 24:36). This is how the muslims greet each other, but in Arabic, “Assalaamu Alaikum”.
“Peace” is one of the synonyms of the word “Islaam”. It is the name of the religion, and also means “surrender”. Thus, Jesus (pbuh) starts his post-"resurrection" life...... with the greeting that a Muslim uses whenever he encounters another: “Peace be unto you.”
Now, let us listen to Jesus (pbuh), as to how he prophesies the muslim nation, just before his ascension unto heaven: The bible quotes Jesus (pbuh) having prophesied about the believers:
“ These signs shall follow the believers:
In My name shall they cast out devils,
they shall speak with new tongues.” (Mark 16:17)
Any reader of this verse may think that Jesus (pbuh) is prophesying that the believers shall cast out devils in Jesus’ name. But that is not the truth. This is a distorted statement of Jesus' saying that the believers shall cast out devils in God's name.
How can we say that ?
You would have seen the inscription of Biblical verses on the walls of the Christian hospitals and Churches. After the words that denote the Lord, the word "Jesus" would be found written, even if the verse is from the Old Testament.
One such inscription I saw is from Psalms 50:15 :
“ Call me (Jesus) in times of trouble and I will help you.”
The word “Jesus” in brackets, to explain the word “Me”, is clearly an unjustified interpolation meant to reinforce the wrong concept that Jesus (pbuh) is god.
Thus, the verse of Mark 16:17 should actually read:
“ These signs shall follow the believers: In The Lord's name shall they cast out devils, they shall speak with new tongues.”
As you would remember, I began this lecture with the sentences:
“ I seek refuge with Allaah, from satan the outcast” and
“ In the name of Allaah, the most beneficent, the most merciful.”
This, we Muslims recite as per the Qur’aanic injunctions whenever we recite Qur’aanic verses or whenever the satan whispers an evil thought in our minds, (ref. Qur’aan 16:98, 7:200 and 41:36), and we do it in the Arabic language, whatever be our mother-tongue, thus fulfilling the prophecy: " they shall speak with new tongues. "
Read Qur’aan:
33:4 “........nor has He made your adopted sons, your sons. Such is (only) your speech by your mouths. But Allah tells (you) the truth, and He shows you the right way.
33:5 Call them by (the names of) their fathers. That will be more equitable in the sight of Allah. ......”
Or, read this verse: (24:23)
“Indeed as for those who slander virtuous, unaware, believing women; cursed are they in the world and the hereafter. Theirs will be awful doom.”
Islaam will not let you slander any virtuous woman, not to mention Mary (pbuh), the mother of an honoured messenger of Allah; Mary, who is chosen above the women of all nations and who is protected from the schemes of satan. Only a woman who has been unjustly slandered would know the mental agony she has to undergo. Untruths such as the one implied towards Mary are aplenty in the Bible, in respect of certain other messengers of God. You would have certainly come across such insinuations while reading the Bible previously. But you may not have given serious thought to it or would not have known what to do about it. But now that you have been informed of the seriousness of the matter and also shown the only clean alternative, it is high time you look for more information on Islaam, the religion brought by Muhammad (pbuh), who has been foretold both in the Old Testament and the New Testament, as the prophet who is to be expected to bring the full and final guidance from the Lord.
MUHAMMAD’S ARRIVAL IS THE GOSPEL (Good News) OF JESUS
Muhammad (pbuh) clears the distortions in Christianity:
The main distortions that have crept into Christianity have been negated by Allah through the verses of Qur’aan, ( discussed in the previous article ), which was revealed to His last prophet, Muhammad (peace be upon him). There are more such verses in the Qur’aan which explain the real position of the aforesaid distortions and also some other.
Being clarifications from the Almighty Allah, conveyed through His messenger, Muhammad(pbuh), Muslims accept these rectifications to the Christian doctrine without hesitation. If a Christian too were to accept Muhammad (peace be upon him), as a prophet of God, like his belief in Moses or Jesus (peace be upon them), then he should have no difficulty in accepting the above rectification of wrong beliefs and, as a consequence of such acceptance, it will be easy for him to embrace Islaam, thereby placing both Jesus and Mary (peace be upon them) in their true, better and more respectable positions due to them.
However, since the strong faith of Christians on Jesus Christ (peace be upon him) is partly attributable to his good teachings and character and partly to the outstanding miracles performed by him, they, the Christians, having witnessed such great miracles and accustomed to them, similarly expect such physical feats from Muhammad (peace be upon him). As far as the character and the good teachings of Prophet Muhammad(pbuh) are concerned, I find almost all non-Muslims who have studied his life, appreciative of him. But what about the miracles..? What does the Qur’aan say with regards to the performance of miracles by Muhammad (peace be upon him).
“They say: why does he not bring us a Sign from his Lord; Has not a clear sign come to them of all that is in the earlier scriptures ? ”(20:133)
And right now, we are going to look into the Signs that are there in the earlier scriptures and which relate to Muhammad (peace be upon him). And we begin with verses from the Bible that have been uttered by Jesus Christ (peace be upon him).
MUHAMMAD’S ARRIVAL FORETOLD BY JESUS:
Prophet Jesus (pbuh), during the last days of his stay on the earth, makes a prophecy about the arrival of another prophet after him. This simple-looking prophecy of the new testament John 16:12 and 16:13, just stops short of mentioning Prophet Muhammad by name, but identifies him with as many as six titles that denote him, two of them being excluseive titles nobody else could be conferred with in the whole history of mankind, i.e., the title of "The Last Prophet" and " The Unlettered Prophet ".
Let us have a look at verse 12 &13 of John 16 to know how Jesus(pbuh) prophesies about Muhammad (pbuh).
“ 12. I have yet many things to say unto you, but you cannot bear them now.
13. Howbeit when he, the spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. ”
Now let us analyse the fine points of these verses:
1. A GUIDE :
Jesus (pbuh) says, " He will guide you.... ". That means he will be a guide, (Al-Haadi in Arabic). Thus the arrival of Muhammad (pbuh) is foretold by mentioning one of his attributes: a guide.
Allaah tells Muhammad (pbuh) in Qur’aan: 13:7 : “You are a warner, and for every folk a guide.” Allaah says Muhammad is a guide for every folk. And that does not exclude any folk, not even the Jews and Christians, the earlier recipients of Allaah’s messengers and book. And Jesus does not deny. He tells his target audience - the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and his followers, the Christians: “he will guide YOU into all truth.”
He does not say: “he will guide a people called Muslims”
or that “he will guide folks other than you”;
but he said “he will guide YOU.” implying that he will be their guide.
Therefore, it is binding upon the Christians that they accept the guidance of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), acting upon the word of Jesus (pbuh) and also heeding the warning given by the Almighty in Deuteronomy 18: 18 & 19, which we shall discuss later.
2. THE PROPHET: 3. THE LAST PROPHET:
In the verses 12 and 13 of John 16, Jesus (pbuh) says:
“ I have yet many things to say unto you, but you cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth.”
The statement of Jesus (pbuh) carries an implication that his mission is incomplete: “ I have yet many things to say unto you...” .
And who will say the many things that he has to say?
Normally, Jesus (pbuh) should have continued his statement like this:
' The spirit of truth will say the many things I have to say.' or
' The spirit of truth will say the balance things. ' he didn’t say like that.
Neither he said: ' The spirit of truth will also say many things like me. '
But, rather, he says: ‘ The spirit of truth will guide you into all truth.’ So, what the spirit of truth will guide into is not only what truth Jesus (pbuh) has already said or left unsaid, but will comprise of all truth:
those truths said before Jesus (pbuh)
those truths said by Jesus (pbuh)
those truths left unsaid by Jesus (pbuh).
those truths distorted after Jesus (pbuh).
That is the full and true import of the word “ A L L ” .
So, when the spirit of truth comes and he guides you into all truth, what is left for anybody else to guide any more ? Nothing. That means the mission of the promised spirit of truth will not be incomplete like that of Jesus (pbuh), but it will be an accomplished one, calling for no more prophet to guide.
And how do we come to the conclusion that the ‘spirit of truth’ referred in the above verse is a prophet and not ‘holy spirit’ as interpreted by some Christian scholars? Please take a closer look at the last sentence of the verse 13 above. It says :
“ he will shew you things to come.”
And when you rephrase it into a shorter sentence......, it reads:
“ he will prophesy.”
And what do you call someone who prophesies .........? ........... a prophet ! and a prophet who is called the ‘spirit of truth’ is naturally a true prophet. .....and that too a prophet who will tell you all truth, not necessitating another prophet.
That is exactly what Allaah calls Muhammad (pbuh) in Qur’aan, sura 33, verse 40: Khaataman-Nabiyeen... the last of the prophets.
Normally, it would look odd, strange and unusual that a prophet of God toils so much to bring his people into the right path and then announces, as does Jesus (pbuh), that his mission is incomplete (“ I have yet many things to say unto you.”) and that they have to wait for the last prophet for further guidance (“ when he, the spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth.”).
However, this is not inconsistent with the Divine Plan. Allaah says in Qur’aan 3:81 “ When Allaah made covenant with the prophets, (He said): Take whatever I have given you of the scripture and knowledge. And afterward there will come unto you a messenger, confirming that which you possess. You shall believe in him and you shall help him. He said: Do you agree, and will you take up My burden (which I lay upon you) in this (matter)?. They answered: We agree. He said: Then bear you witness. I will be a witness with you.”
From the above verse, it is clear that it was binding on Jesus (pbuh) to help Muhammad (pbuh), even if Muhammad had arrived during the lifetime of Jesus. This being so, it only behooves of Jesus (pbuh) that he should make clear to his followers the incomplete status of his mission and to advise them whom to look to for further guidance.
4. AS-SAADIQ (the truthful):
5. AL-AMEEN (the trustworthy):
Another thing Jesus (pbuh) clarifies in the verse 13 is that the promised guide will not speak of his own will (that is, the guidance will not be his own), but he will speak whatsoever he will be asked to speak by the Almighty.
“ for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, shall he speak.”
“ He shall not speak of himself.” : he will not cook up guidance from his own will and dish it out to you; The real quality of a truthful person - As-Saadiq.
“ But whatsoever he shall hear, shall he speak.” : he will not mutilate the guidance; he will not add to it; he will not deduct anything from it; “ but whatsoever he shall hear, shall he speak.” True qualities of a trustworthy person - Al-Ameen.
Muhammad (pbuh), earned these titles: As-Saadiq, the truthful, and Al-Ameen, the trustworthy, from his people even before he was conferred with the prophethood at the age of forty, because he always used to say the truth and was trustworthy in all his dealings.
6. THE UNLETTERED PROPHET :Moses and David (peace be upon them), who came before Muhammad (pbuh) were given written books of law and guidance. ‘ Torah’ was given to Moses and ‘Zaboor’ given to David. ( Peace be upon them ). Why wasn’t Muhammad also given a written book like them ? Why is it being told about him that: “whatsoever he shall hear, shall he speak.” The answer to this question contains the other most important attribute of Prophet Muhammad.
Because: Muhammad was an unlettered prophet.
Thus in verse 13 of John 16, Jesus (pbuh) has foretold of the arrival of the ‘Spirit of Truth’ by denoting Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) with six of his titles:
Al Haadi The Guide
As Saadiq The Truthful
Al Ameen The Trust-worthy
An Nabee The Prophet
Khaatamun Nabeeyeen The Last Prophet
An-Nabeeyul Ummee The Unlettered Prophet
Since Christians believe the Bible to be true and the words of Jesus (pbuh) to be true, they must accept Muhammad (pbuh) to be the prophet whom Jesus (pbuh) is referring in the above prophecy.
The prophecy of Jesus about the expected prophet guiding into all truth has been fulfilled in no person other than Muhammad (pbuh). Christians can not show a person other than Muhammad (pbuh) or a 'spirit' in whom the prophecy of John 16:13 stands fulfilled.
An erroneous belief is held by some Christians that the prophecy foretells about the arrival of a holy spirit. Even if it is granted that the prophecy refers to the holy spirit, then one must contend with the fact that the holy spirit, Archangel Gabriel, also referred as roohul-qudus (holy spirit) in the Qur’aan, did arrive, and brought the complete guidance from the Almighty as prophesied, but not directly to persons like you and me, but to prophet Muhammad (pbuh), which guidance is referred in the above verses.
(Muhammad (pbuh) received the revelation through the holy spirit. Hence, the two events, Muhammad’s prophethood and the arrival of Archangel Gabriel are not two events of separate significance, but is one and the same predicted event).
And the Christians imagining that the weird events alleged in Acts 2 of Bible fulfil the expected arrival of the spirit must try to see that these alleged events are far from ‘guidance into all truth’, promised in the above verses.
Thus, in plain language, Jesus (pbuh) tells his followers:
Since you are not ready now to bear the many things I have to say, when the last and the unlettered prophet, the truthful and the trustworthy, comes, he will guide you into all truth.
This is the Gospel, the good news, brought by Jesus (pbuh).
And just how dangerous it is to ignore the guidance, we shall see, God willing, in the context of another prophecy relating to Muhammad (pbuh) in the old testament.
MUHAMMAD FORETOLD IN THE OLD TESTAMENT: We will now look at another prophecy in the Bible, this one in the old testament, Deuteronomy, Chapter 18, Verse 18 & 19 :
" 18. I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put My words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.
19. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto My words which he shall speak in My name, I will require it of him. "
In the above verse, Allaah foretells Prophet Moses(pbuh) that He will raise a prophet, like unto him, LIKE MOSES, and in the subsequent verse gives a grave warning making it mandatory to follow the promised prophet, when he arrives.
" whosoever will not hearken unto My words which he shall speak in My name, I will require it of him. "
The Qur’aanic verse 46:10 mentions the above prophecy:
" Say: ' Do you see? whether this message be from Allaah, and yet you reject it, and a witness from among the Children of Israel bore witness of ONE LIKE HIM......'. "
Let us study the similarities between Moses (pbuh) and Muhammad (pbuh), which are not present in Jesus (pbuh). This comparison proves that Jesus is not like Moses (Jesus is unlike Moses) but Muhammad is like Moses and therefore, the prophecy of the Old Testament applies to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and not to Prophet Jesus (pbuh).
1. Parents: Moses had a father and a mother. Muhammad also had a father and a mother. But Jesus had only a mother. Therefore, Muhammad is like Moses and Jesus is not like Moses.
2. Marriage: Moses married and begot children. Muhammad also married and begot children. But such information is not available about Jesus. Therefore, Muhammad is like Moses and Jesus is not like Moses.
3. Acceptance by people: At the end, Moses was accepted by his people in his lifetime. Muhammad too was accepted by his people in his lifetime. But Jesus was not accepted. Therefore, Muhammad is like Moses and Jesus is not like Moses.
4. Death: Moses died a natural death. Muhammad too died a natural death. But Jesus was taken up unto the heaven. Therefore, Muhammad is like Moses and Jesus is not like Moses.
5. Name: Moses’ name begins with the sound of ‘M’ and Muhammad’s name also begins with the sound of ‘M’, be it in any language. That means the beginning letter of the names of these two prophets is phonetically same or homogenous in any language. On the other hand, Jesus’ name does not begin with ‘M’. Moreover, the name of Jesus(pbuh) is such that it begins in a phonetically heterogeneous manner in different languages. It begins in English with ‘J’ , an ‘Y’ in Tamil for Yesu, and with the sound of ‘EE’ for Eesa in Arabic and a different kind of ‘J’ in French with a ‘Zh’ sound. So, there is no question of Jesus’ name conforming with that of any other name, leave alone Moses’ .
The prophecy is fulfilled in favour of MUHAMMAD not only in respect of the LIKENESS OF MOSES, but in respect of every word contained in the above verses.
1. “ I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren” is fulfilled in the sense THE JEWS belong to the lineage of ISAAC (pbuh) and THE ARABS belong to the lineage of ISHMAEL (pbuh), who are both sons of the same father, ABRAHAM (PBUH). Thus, Muhammad (pbuh) is raised from among the brethren of Jews.
2. “and I will put My words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him”, is fulfilled in the manner of revelation through the Archangel Gabriel. Muhammad (pbuh), who is unlettered, is made to repeat the words that Allaah commands through the angel.
3. “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto My words which he shall speak in My name, I will require it of him.” is fulfilled as chapters of the Qur’aan, the words of Allaah, begins with the words: “In the name of Allaah, the most beneficent, the most merciful.”
We have studied so far about the prophecy of the Old Testament, as to how it perfectly relates to Muhammad (pbuh). Now, we shall study the relationship of this prophecy with the prophecy of the New Testament which we have already studied in the previous article.
We have seen that the prophecy of John 16:13 indicates that the expected prophet will “not speak of his own will, but whatsoever he hears, shall he speak”, which, in essence, is what God attributes to the expected prophet in the Deuteronomy 18:18 prophecy as well, by saying: “I will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.”
Thus, there is a thread of a common attribute running between these two prophecies, which establishes the identity of the expected prophet. Both these prophecies indicate that the expected prophet will be unlettered.
Allaah commands Muhammad in Qur'aan: (7:158)
" Say ( O Muhammad) :
' O mankind ! Indeed I am messenger of Allaah unto you all;
(messenger of) Him unto Whom belongs the Sovereignty of the heavens and the earth.
There is no God except Him;
(it is) He (who) gives both life and death;
So believe in Allaah and His messenger, the unlettered prophet who believes in Allaah and His words;
and follow him; so that you may be guided. ' "
Thus, we have studied two prophecies from the bible, which unmistakably relate to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). These are sufficient proofs and reason for the possessors of the earlier books to embrace Islaam. The prophecies can not be taken lightly. The warning in Deuteronomy 18:19 is so stern that the Jews and the Christians would do well to take it seriously, and believe in the promised prophet (pbuh), now that he has come and has been unmistakably identified.
WHAT JESUS (PBUH) PREACHED AND WHO WAS HIS TARGET-AUDIENCE ?
Jesus (pbuh) strove to establish what was already there in the Bible (Old Testament). To this end, he preached untiringly and performed various miracles with the leave of Allaah, so that his people could be impressed and taken to the right path.
But sadly, Christian preachers hardly talk about the laws in the old testament, like the forbidden foods, prohibition of taking or giving of interest, adultery, idolatry, theft, etc. Instead Christian preaching today revolves round and round the personality of Jesus Christ(pbuh) and not around his teachings that were intended to purify their lives from sinning. Their saying that “Jesus' blood will cleanse you from all sins" amounts to an inducement to sinning.
Jesus’ mission was targeted for a limited people. As Jesus (pbuh) himself says: “ I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Matthew 15:24) and not for the entire world.
ISLAM AND MUSLIMS IDENTIFIED IN THE BIBLE:Having foretold the arrival of the Last Prophet and having told his people to look forward to the guidance of that prophet, Jesus (pbuh) gives more hints that identify Islaam and Muslims and most of his actions and speeches during his last days, (specially after the so-called ‘resurrection’), are supportive of Muhammad, Islam and Muslims. And he even wants his followers/preachers to limit their activity to a specific geographical area till the prophet comes. This might seem surprising, but all of it is true.
This starts with his first pronouncement after the so-called resurrection, when Jesus(pbuh) says: “Peace be unto you.” (Luke 24:36). This is how the muslims greet each other, but in Arabic, “Assalaamu Alaikum”.
“Peace” is one of the synonyms of the word “Islaam”. It is the name of the religion, and also means “surrender”. Thus, Jesus (pbuh) starts his post-"resurrection" life...... with the greeting that a Muslim uses whenever he encounters another: “Peace be unto you.”
Now, let us listen to Jesus (pbuh), as to how he prophesies the muslim nation, just before his ascension unto heaven: The bible quotes Jesus (pbuh) having prophesied about the believers:
“ These signs shall follow the believers:
In My name shall they cast out devils,
they shall speak with new tongues.” (Mark 16:17)
Any reader of this verse may think that Jesus (pbuh) is prophesying that the believers shall cast out devils in Jesus’ name. But that is not the truth. This is a distorted statement of Jesus' saying that the believers shall cast out devils in God's name.
How can we say that ?
You would have seen the inscription of Biblical verses on the walls of the Christian hospitals and Churches. After the words that denote the Lord, the word "Jesus" would be found written, even if the verse is from the Old Testament.
One such inscription I saw is from Psalms 50:15 :
“ Call me (Jesus) in times of trouble and I will help you.”
The word “Jesus” in brackets, to explain the word “Me”, is clearly an unjustified interpolation meant to reinforce the wrong concept that Jesus (pbuh) is god.
Thus, the verse of Mark 16:17 should actually read:
“ These signs shall follow the believers: In The Lord's name shall they cast out devils, they shall speak with new tongues.”
As you would remember, I began this lecture with the sentences:
“ I seek refuge with Allaah, from satan the outcast” and
“ In the name of Allaah, the most beneficent, the most merciful.”
This, we Muslims recite as per the Qur’aanic injunctions whenever we recite Qur’aanic verses or whenever the satan whispers an evil thought in our minds, (ref. Qur’aan 16:98, 7:200 and 41:36), and we do it in the Arabic language, whatever be our mother-tongue, thus fulfilling the prophecy: " they shall speak with new tongues. "