WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT MUHAMMAD (PEACE BE UPON HIM) THE PROPHET OF ISLAM
WHAT THE BIBLE SAYSABOUT MUHAMMAD (PEACE BE UPON HIM) THE PROPHET OF ISLAM
A lecture by Ahmed Deedat
SAY: "DO YOU SEE? WHETHER THIS MESSAGE BE FROM ALLAH(God Almighty), AND YET YOU REJECT IT, AND A WITNESS FROM AMONG THE CHILDREN OFISRAEL1 BORE WITNESS OF ONE LIKE HIM..." (SURA AHQAF) Holy Qur'ân 46:10.
1. This refers to Moses. See Yusuf Ali's commentaries Nos.4783/4 to this verse.
Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, The subject of thisevening's talk* - "What the BIBLE says about MUHAMMAD (Peace be uponhim)" - will no doubt come as a surprise to many of you because thespeaker is a Muslim. How does it come about that a Muslim happens to beexpounding prophecies from the Jewish and Christian Scriptures? As a young man,about 30 years ago, I attended a series of religious lectures by a Christiantheologian, a certain Rev. Hiten, at the "Theatre Royal", Durban inSouth Africa.
* This is the text of a lecture delivered by the author inthe early 1970's.
Pope or Kissinger?
This Reverend gentleman was expounding Biblical prophecies.He went on to prove that the Christian Bible foretold the rise of Soviet Russia,and the Last Days. At one stage he went to the extent of proving that his HolyBook did not leave even the Pope out of its predictions. He expatiatedvigorously in order to convince his audience that the "Beast 666"mentioned in the Book of Revelation the last book of the New Testament was thePOPE, who was the Vicar of Christ on earth. It is not befitting for us Muslimsto enter into this controversy between the Roman Catholics and the Protestants.By the way, the latest Christian exposition of the "Beast 666" of theChristian Bible is Dr. Henry Kissinger1. Christian scholars are ingenious andindefatigable in their efforts to prove their case. Rev. Hiten's lectures ledme to ask that if the Bible foretold so many things - not even excluding the "Pope"and "Israel" - then surely it must have something to say about thegreatest benefactor of mankind 2, the Holy Prophet Muhammed (may the peace ofAllah be upon him).
As a youngster I set out to search for an answer. I metpriest after priest, attended lectures, and read everything that I could lay myhands relating to the fields of Bible prophecies. Tonight I am going to narrateto you one of these interviews with a dominee3 of the Dutch Reformed Church.
1. Christian exegesists give progressive numerical values bysixes, to the English alphabet and add up to get the total 666. i.e.A=6,B=12,C=18, D=24 and so on. Progression by 6's because the number of theBeast in the Bible is "666". Try it for Dr.Kissinger.
2. The writer has just delivered another talk in the CityHall, Durban on the 10th December 1975 on the subject "Muhammad theGreatest".
3. "Dominee" is the Afrikaans equivalent ofpriest, parson and predikant.
Lucky Thirteen
I was invited to the Transvaal1 to deliver a talk on theoccasion of Birthday celebration of the Holy Prophet Muhammed. Knowing that inthat province of the Republic, the Afrikaans language is widely spoken, even bymy own people, I felt that I ought to acquire a smattering of this language soa s to feel a little "at home" with the people. I opened thetelephone directory and began phoning the Afrikaans-speaking Churches. Iindicated my purpose to the priests that I was interested in having a dialoguewith them, but they all refused my request with "Plausible" excuses.No.13 was my lucky number. The thirteenth call brought me pleasure and relief.A dominee Van Heerden agreed to meet me at his home on the Saturday afternoonthat I was to leave for Transvaal.
He received me on his verandah with a friendly welcome. Hesaid if I did not mind, he would like his father-in-law from the Free State (a70 year old man) to join us in the discussion. I did not mind. The three of ussettled down in the dominee's library.
1. One of the Provinces of the Republic of South Africa.
Why Nothing?
I posed the question: "What does the Bible say aboutMuhammed?" Without hesitation he answered, "Nothing!" I asked:"Why nothing? According to your interpretation the Bible have so manythings to say about the rise of Soviet Russia and about the Last Days and evenabout the Pope of the Roman Catholics?" He said, "Yes, but there wasnothing about Muhammed!" I asked again, "Why nothing? Surely this manMuhammed who had been responsible for the bringing into being a worldwidecommunity of millions of Believers who, on his authority, believe in:
(1) The miraculous birth of Jesus, (2) that Jesus is theMessiah, 1 (3) that he gave life to the dead by God's permission, and that hehealed those born blind and the lepers by God's permission.
Surely this book (the Bible) must have something to sayabout this great Leader of men who spoke so well of Jesus and his motherMary?" (Peace be upon them both).
The old man from the Free State replied. "My son, Ihave been reading the Bible for the past 50 years, and if there was any mentionof him, I would have known it."
1. The word "Messiah" comes from the Arabic andHebrew word masaha, which means to rub, to massage, to anoint. The religioussignificance is "the one who is anointed" - priests and kings wereanointed in consecration to their offices. Messiah translated Christ does notmean God. Even the heathen Cyrus is called "Christ" in the Bible,(Isaiah 45:1)
Not one by name!
I enquired: "According to you, are there not hundredsof prophecies regarding the coming of Jesus in the Old Testament." Thedominee interjected: "Not hundreds, but thousands!" I said, "Iam not going to dispute the 'thousand and one' prophecies in the Old Testamentregarding the coming of Jesus Christ, because the whole Muslim-world has alreadyaccepted him without the testimony of any Biblical prophecy. We Muslims haveaccepted the de facto Jesus on the authority of Muhummed alone, and there arein the world today no less than 900,000,0001 followers of Muhummed who love,respect and revere this great Messenger of God -Jesus Christ- without havingthe Christians to convince them by means of their Biblical dialectics. Out ofthe 'thousands' of prophecies referred to, can you please give me
just one single prophecy where Jesus is mentioned by name?The term 'Messiah', translated as 'Christ', is not a name but a title. Is therea single Prophecy where it says that the name of the Messiah will be JESUS, andthat his mother's name will be MARY, that his supposed father will be JOSEPHTHE CARPENTER; that he will be born in the reign of HEROD THE KING, etc. etc.?No! There are no such details! Then how can you conclude that those 'thousand'Prophecies refer to Jesus (Peace be upon him)?"
1. This was first written in 1976.
What is Prophecy?
The dominee replied: "You see, prophecies areword-pictures of something that is going to happen in the future. When thatthing actually comes to pass, we see vividly in these prophecies thefulfillment of what had been predicted in the past." I said: "Whatyou actually do is that you deduce, you reason, you put two and twotogether." He said: "Yes." I said: "If this is what youhave to do with a 'thousand' prophecies to justify your claim with regards tothe genuineness of Jesus, why should we not adopt the very same system forMuhummed?"1 The dominee agreed that it was a fair proposition, areasonable way of dealing with the problem.
I asked him to open up Deuteronomy, chapter 18, verse 18,which he did. I read from memory the verse in Afrikaans, because this was mypurpose in having a little practice with the language of the ruling race inSouth Africa.2
'N PROFEET SAL EK VIR HULLE VERWEK UIT DIE MIDDE VAN HULLEBROERS, SOOS JY IS, EN EK SAL MY WOORDE IN SY MOND LE, EN HY SY SAL AAN HULLESE ALLE WAT EK HOM BEVEEL. Deut.18: 18.
The English translation reads as follows:-
"I will raise them up a Prophet from among theirbrethren, like unto thee, and I will put my words in his mouth; and he shallspeak unto them all that I shall command him."
(HOLY BIBLE) Deuteronomy 18:18.
1. Muhummed is mentioned by name in the Song of Solomon5:16. The Hebrew word used there is Muhammuddim. The end letters IM is pluralof respect majesty and grandeur. Minus "im" the name would be Muhamudtranslated as "altogether lovely" in the Authorised Version of theBible or 'The Praised One' 'the one worthy of Praise' i.e. MUHUMMED! (P.B.U.H)
2. If this booklet is translated into any language, pleasechange the Afrikaans words into the local dialect; and do not try a free handtranslation of the Biblical quotation. Obtain a Bible in the language in whichtranslation is being made and transcribe exactly as the words occur in thatBible.
Prophet Like Moses
Having recited the verse in Afrikaans, I apologised for myuncertain pronunciation, The dominee assured me that I was doing fine. Ienquired: "To whom does this prophecy refer?" Without the slightesthesitation he answered: "JESUS!" I asked: "Why Jesus?... hisname is not mentioned here." The dominee replied: "Since propheciesare word-pictures of something that is going to happen in the future, we findthat the wordings of this verse
adequately describe him. You see the most important words ofthis prophecy are 'SOOS JY IS' (like unto thee), - LIKE YOU - like Moses, andJesus is like Moses. I questioned: "In which way is Jesus likeMoses?" The answer was: "In the first place Moses was a JEW and Jesuswas also a JEW; secondly, Moses was a PROPHET and Jesus was also a PROPHET -therefore Jesus is like Moses and that is exactly what God had foretold Moses -"SOOS JY IS". "Can you think of any other similarities betweenMoses and Jesus?" I asked. The dominee said that he could not think ofany. I replied: "If these are the only two criteria for discovering acandidate for this prophecy of Deuteronomy 18:18, then in that case thecriteria could fit any one of the following Biblical personages after Moses:-Solomon, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Malachi, John the Baptist etc.,because they were also ALL "Jews" as well as "Prophets".Why should we not apply this prophecy to any one of these prophets, and whyonly to Jesus? Why should we make fish of one and fowl of another?" Thedominee had no reply. I continued: "You see, my conclusions are that Jesusis most unlike Moses, and if I am wrong I would like you to correct me."
Three Unlikes
So saying, I reasoned with him:
"In the FIRST place Jesus is not like Moses, because,according to You - 'JESUS IS A GOD', but Moses is not God. Is this true?"He said: "Yes." I said: "Therefore, Jesus is not like Moses!
"SECONDLY, according to You - 'JESUS DIED FOR THE SINSOF THE WORLD', but Moses did not have to die for the sins of the world. Is thistrue?" He again said: "Yes." I said: "Therefore Jesus isnot like Moses!"
"THIRDLY, according to You - 'JESUS WENT TO HELL FORTHREE DAYS', but Moses did not have to go there. Is this true?" Heanswered meekly: "Y-e-s." I concluded: "Therefore Jesus is notlike Moses!"
"But dominee," I continued: "these are nothard facts, solid facts, they are mere matters of belief over which the littleones can stumble and fall. Let us discuss something very simple, very easy thatif your little ones are called in to hear the discussion, would have nodifficulty in following it, shall we?" The dominee was quiet happy at thesuggestion.
CHAPTER TWO CHAPTER TWO
Eight Irrefutable Arguments
Father and Mother
(1) "Moses had a father and a mother. Muhummed also hada father and a mother. But Jesus had only a mother, and no human father. Is thistrue?" He said: "Yes." I said: "DAAROM IS JESUS NIE SOOSMOSES NIE, MAAR MUHUMMED IS SOOS MOSES!" Meaning: "Therefore Jesus isnot like Moses, but Muhummed is like Moses!" (By now the reader willrealise that I was using the Afrikaans language only for practice purposes. Ishall discontinue its use in this narration).
Miraculous Birth
(2) "Moses and Muhummed were born in the normal,natural course, i.e. the physical association of man and woman; but Jesus wascreated by a special miracle. You will recall that we are told in the Gospel ofSt. Matthew 1:18 ".....BEFORE THEY CAME TOGETHER,(Joseph the Carpenter andMary) SHE WAS FOUND WITH CHILD BY THE HOLY GHOST." And St. Luke tells usthat when the good news of the birth of a holy son was announced to her, Maryreasoned: "...HOW SHALL THIS BE, SEEING I KNOW NOT A MAN? AND THE ANGELANSWERED AND SAID UNTO HER, THE HOLY GHOST SHALL COME UPON THEE, AND THE POWEROF THE HIGHEST SHALL OVERSHADOW THEE..." (Luke 1:35). The Holy Qur'ânconfirms the miraculous birth of Jesus, in nobler and sublimer terms. In answerto her logical question:
" O MY LORD! HOW SHALL I HAVE A SON WHEN NO MAN HATHTOUCHED ME? " The angel says in reply: "EVEN SO: ALLAH CREATETH WHATHE WILLETH: WHEN HE HATH DECREED A PLAN, HE BUT SAITH TO IT "BE," ANDIT IS " 1 (HOLY QUR'AN, 3:47).
It is not necessary for God to plant a seed in man oranimal. He merely wills it and it comes into being. This is the Muslimconception of the of birth of Jesus. (When I compared the Qur'ân and theBiblical versions of the birth of Jesus to the head of the Bible Society in ourlargest City, and when I enquired: "Which version would you prefer to giveyour daughter, the QUR'ANIC version or the BIBLICAL version?" The manbowed his head and answered: "The Qur'ânic.") In short, I said to thedominee: "Is it true that Jesus was born miraculously as against thenatural birth of Moses and Muhummed?" He replied proudly: "Yes!"I said: "Therefore Jesus is not like Moses, but Muhummed is like Moses. AndGod says to Moses in the Book of Deuteronomy 18:18 "LIKE UNTO THEE"(Like You, Like Moses) and Muhummed is like Moses."
1. Please open the Holy Qur'ân 3:42 and 19:16 where thebirth of Jesus is spoken about; read it with the commentary, note the highposition which Jesus and his mother occupy in Islam.
Marriage Ties
(3) "Moses and Muhummed married and begat children, butJesus remained a bachelor all his life. Is this true?" The dominee said:"Yes." I said: "Therefore Jesus is not like Moses, but Muhummedis like Moses."
Jesus Rejected by his People
(4) "Moses and Muhummed were accepted as prophets bytheir people in their very lifetime. No doubt the Jews gave endless trouble toMoses and they murmured in the wilderness, but as a nation, they acknowledgedthat Moses was a Messenger of God sent to them. The Arabs too made Muhummed'slife impossible. He suffered very badly at their hands. After 13 years ofpreaching in Mecca, he had to emigrate from the city of his birth. But beforehis demise, the Arab nation as a whole accepted him as the Messenger of Allah.But according to the Bible: 'He (Jesus) CAME UNTO HIS OWN, BUT HIS OWN RECEIVEDHIM NOT.' (John 1:11). And even today, after two thousand years, his people-the Jews, as a whole, have rejected him. Is this true?" The dominee said:"Yes." I said: "THEREFORE JESUS IS NOT LIKE MOSES, BUT MUHUMMEDIS LIKE MOSES."
"Other-Wordly" Kingdom
(5) "Moses and Muhummed were prophets as well as kings.A prophet means a man who receives Divine Revelation for the Guidance of Manand this Guidance he conveys to God's creatures as received without anyaddition or deletion. A king is a person who has the power
of life and death over his people. It is immaterial whetherthe person wears a crown or not, or whether he was ever addressed as king ormonarch: if the man has the prerogative of inflicting capital punishment - HEIS A KING. Moses possessed such a power. Do you remember the Israelite who wasfound picking up firewood on Sabbath Day, and Moses had him stoned to death?(Numbers- 15:13). There are other crimes also mentioned in the Bible for whichcapital punishment was inflicted on the Jews at the behest of Moses. Muhummedtoo, had the power of life and death over his people.
There are instances in the Bible of persons who were givengift of prophecy only, but they were not in a position to implement theirdirectives. Some of these holy men of God who were helpless in the face ofstubborn rejection of their message, were the prophets lot, Jonah, Daniel,Ezra, and John the Baptist. They could only deliver the message, but could notenforce the Law. The Holy Prophet Jesus (Peace p.b.u.h) also belonged to thiscategory. The Christian Gospel clearly confirms this: when Jesus was draggedbefore the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate, Charged for sedition, Jesus made aconvincing point in his defence to refute the false charge: JESUS ANSWERED,"MY KINGDOM IS NOT OF THIS WORLD': IF MY KINGDOM WERE OF THIS WORLD, THENWOULD MY SERVANTS FIGHT, THAT I SHOULD NOT BE DELIVERED TO THE JEWS; BUT NOW ISMY KINGDOM NOT FROM HENCE" (John 18:36) This convinced Pilate (A Pagan)that though Jesus might not be in full possession of his mental faculty, he didnot strike him as being a danger to his rule. Jesus claimed a spiritual Kingdomonly; in other words he only claimed to be a Prophet. Is this true?" Thedominee answered: "Yes." I said: "Therefore Jesus is not likeMoses but Muhummed is like Moses."
No New Laws
(6) "Moses and Muhummed brought new laws and newregulations for their people. Moses not only gave the Ten Commandments to theIsraelites, but a very comprehensive ceremonial law for the guidance of hispeople. Muhummed comes to a people steeped in barbarism and ignorance. Theymarried their step-mothers; they buried their daughters alive; drunkenness,adultery, idolatry, and gambling were the order of the day. Gibbon describe theArabs before Islam in his "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire", THEHUMAN BRUTE, ALMOST WITHOUT SENSE, IS POORLY DISTINGUISHED FROM THE REST OF THEANIMAL CREATION.' There was hardly anything to distinguish between the"man" and the "animal" of the time; they were animals inhuman form.
"From this abject barbarism, Muhummed elevated them, inthe words of Thomas Carlysle, "into torch-bearers of light and learning.''TO THE ARAB NATION IT WAS AS A BIRTH FROM DARKNESS INTO LIGHT. ARABIA FIRSTBECAME ALIVE BY MEANS OF IT. A POOR SHEPHERD PEOPLE, ROAMING UNNOTICED IN ITSDESERTS SINCE THE CREATION OF THE WORLD. SEE, THE UNNOTICED BECOMES WORLDNOTABLE, THE SMALL HAS GROWN WORLD-GREAT. WITHIN ONE CENTURY AFTERWARDS ARABIAWAS AT GRANADA ON ONE HAND AND AT DELHI ON THE OTHER. GLANCING IN VALOUR ANDSPLENDOUR, AND THE LIGHT OF GENIUS, ARABIA SHINES OVER A GREAT SECTION OF THEWORLD. ..." The fact is that Muhummed gave his people a Law and Order theynever had before.
As regards Jesus, when the Jews felt suspicious of him thathe might be an impostor with designs to pervert their teachings, Jesus tookpains to assure them that he had not come with a new religion - no new laws andno new regulations. I quote his own words: 'THINK NOT THAT I AM COME TO DESTROYTHE LAW, OR THE PROPHETS: I AM NOT COME TO DESTROY, BUT TO FULFIL. FOR VERILY ISAY UNTO YOU, TILL HEAVEN AND EARTH PASS, ONE JOT OR ONE TITLE SHALL IN NO WISEPASS FROM THE LAW, TILL ALL BE FULFILLED.'(Mathew 5:17-18). In other words hehad not come with any new laws or regulation he came only to fulfil the oldlaw. This what he gave the
Jews to understand- unless he was speaking with the tonguein his cheek trying to bluff the Jews into accepting him as a man of God and bysubterfuge trying to ram a new religion down their throats. No! This Messengerof God would never resort to such fo ul means to subvert the Religion of God.He himself fulfilled the laws. He observed the commandments of Moses, and herespected the Sabbath. At no time did a single Jew point a finger at him tosay, 'why don't you fast' or 'why don't you wash your hands before you breakbread',which charges they always levied against his disciples, but neveragainst Jesus. This is because as a good Jew he honoured the laws of theprophets who preceded him. In short, he had created no new religion and hadbrought no new law like Moses and Muhummed. Is this true?" I asked thedominee, and he answered: "Yes." I said: "Therefore, Jesus isnot like Moses but Muhummed is like Moses."
How they Departed
(7) "Both Moses and Muhummed died natural deaths, butaccording to Christianity, Jesus was violently killed on the cross.1 Is thistrue?" The dominee said: "Yes." I averred: "Therefore Jesusis not like Moses but Muhummed is like Moses."
Heavenly Abode
(8) "Moses and Muhummed both lie buried in earth, butaccording to you, Jesus in heaven. Is this true?" The dominee agreed. Isaid: "Therefore Jesus is not like Moses but Muhummed is like Moses."
1. For a full exposition of this topic, see"CRUCIFIXION OR CRUCI-FICTION?".
CHAPTER THREE CHAPTER THREE
Further Proofs
Ishmael The First Born
Since the dominee was helplessly agreeing with every point,I said, "Dominee, so far what I have done is to prove only one point outof the whole prophecy- that is proving the phrase 'LIKE UNTO THEE' - 'Like You'- 'Like Moses'. The Prophecy is much more than this single phrase which readsas follows : "I WILL RAISE THEM UP A PROPHET FROM AMONG FROM AMONGFROM AMONGTHEIR BRETHREN THEIR BRETHRENTHEIR BRETHREN LIKE UNTO THEE......." Theemphasis is on the words- "From among their brethren." Moses and hispeople, the Jews, are here addressed as a racial entity, and as such their'brethren' would undoubtedly be the Arabs. You see, the Holy Bible speaks ofAbraham as the "Friend of God". Abraham had two wives - Sarah andHagar. Hagar bore Abraham a son - HIS FIRST-BORN- '......And Abraham1 calledHIS SON'S name, which Hagar bare Ishmael.' (Genesis 16:15). 'And Abraham tookIshmael HIS SON......" (Genesis 17:23). 'And Ishmael HIS SON was thirteenyears old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.'(Genesis17:25). Up to the age of THIRTEEN Ishmael was the ONLY son and seed of Abraham,when the covenant was ratified between God and Abraham. God grants Abrahamanother son through Sarah, named Isaac, who was very much the junior to hisbrother Ishmael.
1. According to the Bible, Abraham's name was Abram beforeit was changed by God to Abraham.
Arabs and Jews
If Ishmael and Isaac are the sons of the same fatherAbraham, then they are brothers. And so the children of the one are theBRETHREN of the children of the other. The children of Isaac are the Jews andthe Children of Ishmael are the Arabs - so they are BRETHREN to one another.The Bible affirms, 'AND HE (ISHMAEL) SHALL DWELL IN THE PRESENCE OF ALL HISBRETHREN.' (Genesis 16:12). 'AND HE (ISHMAEL) DIED IN THE PRESENCE OF ALL HISBRETHREN.(Genesis 25:18). The children of Isaac are the brethren of the Ishmaelites.In like manner Muhummed is from among the brethren of the Israelites because hewas a descendant of Ishmael the son of Abraham. This exactly as the prophecyhas it- 'FROM AMONG THEIR BRETHREN'.(Deut.18:18). There the prophecy distinctlymentions that the coming prophet who would be like Moses, must arise NOT fromthe 'children of Israel' or from 'among themselves', but from among theirbrethren. MUHUMMED THEREFORE WAS FROM AMONG THEIR BRETHREN!
Words in the Mouth
"The prophecy proceeds further:'.......AND I WILL PUTMY WORDS INTO HIS MOUTH.......' What does it mean when it is said 'I will putmy words in your mouth'? You see, when I asked you (the dominee) to openDeuteronomy chapter 18, verse 18, at the beginning, and if I had asked you toread, and if you had read: would I be putting my words into your mouth?"The dominee answered: "No." "But," I continued: "If Iwere to teach you a language like Arabic about which you have no knowledge, andif I asked you to read or repeat after me what I utter i.e.
(I read them in Arabic )
Would I not be putting these unheard words of a foreigntongue which you utter, into your mouth?" The dominee agreed that it wasindeed so. In an identical manner, I said, the words of the Holy Qur'ân, theRevelation vouchsafed by the Almighty God to Muhummed, were revealed.
History tells us that Muhummed was forty years of age. Hewas in a cave some three miles north of the City of Mecca. It was the 27thnight of the Muslim month of Ramadaan. In the cave the Archangel Gabrielcommands him in his mother tongue: 'IQRA' which means READ! or PROCLAIM! orRECITE! Muhummed is terrified and in his bewilderment replies " MA ANABEQARA which means I AM NOT LEARNED! The angel commands him a second time withthe same result. For the third time the angel continues.
Now Muhummed, grasps, that what was required of him was torepeat! to rehearse! And he repeats the words as they were put into his mouth:
These are the first five verses, which were revealed toMuhummed, which now occupy the beginning of the 96th chapter of the HolyQur'ân.
The Faithful Witness
Immediately the angel had departed, Muhummed rushed to hishome. Terrified and sweating all over he asked his beloved wife Khadija to'cover him up!' He lay down, and she watched by him. When he had regained hiscomposure, he explained to her what he had seen and heard. She assured him ofher faith in him and that Allah would not allow any terrible thing to happen tohim. Are these the confessions of an impostar? Would impostars confess thatwhen an angel of the Lord confronts them with a Message from on High, they getfear-stricken, terrified, and sweating all over, run home to their wives? Anycritic can see that his reactions and confessions are that of an honest,sincere man, the man of Truth- 'AL-AMIN' - THE Honest, the Upright, the Truthful.
During the next twenty-three years of his prophetic life,words were 'Put into his mouth', and he uttered them. They made an indeliableimpression on his heart and mind: and as the volume of the Sacred Scripture(Holy Qur'ân) grew, they were recorded on palm-leaf fibre, on skins and on theshoulder-blades of animals; and in the hearts of his devoted disciples. Beforehis demise these words were arranged according to his instructions i n theorder in which we find them today in the Holy Qur'ân.
The words (revelation) were actually put into his mouth,exactly as foretold in the prophecy under discussion: 'AND I WILL PUT MY WORDSIN HIS MOUTH.' (Deut. 18:18).
Un-lettered Prophet
Muhummed's experience in the cave of Hira, later to be knownas Jabal-un Noor - The Mountain of Light, and his response to that firstRevelation is the exact fulfillment of another Biblical Prophecy. In the Bookof Isaiah, Chapter 29, verse 12, we read: "AND THE BOOK" (al-Kitaab,al-Qur'ân the 'Reading', the 'Recitation') "IS DELIVERED TO HIM THAT
IS NOT LEARNED," (Isaiah 29:12) "THE UNLETTEREDPROPHET " (Holy Qur'ân 7:158) and the biblical verse continues :"SAYING, READ THIS, I PRAY THEE:" (the words "I pray thee",are not in the Hebrew manuscripts; compare with the Roman Catholics'"Douay Version and also with the "Revised Standard Versions")"AND HE SAITH, I AM NOT LEARNED." ("I am not learned." isthe exact translation of the Arabic words MA ANA BEQARA which Muhummed utteredtwice to the Holy Ghost - the Archangel Gabriel, when he was commanded : IQRAA"READ!").
Let me quote the verse in full without a break as found inthe "King James Version," or the "Authorised version" as itis more popularly known "AND THE BOOK IS DELIVERED TO HIM THAT IS NOTLEARNED, SAYING, READ THIS I PRAY THEE: AND HE SAITH, I AM NOT LEARNED."(Isaiah 29:12).
Important note:
It may be noted that there were no Arabic Bibles inexistence in the 6th Century of the Christian Era when Muhummed lived andpreached! Besides, he was absolutely unlettered and unlearned. No human hadever taught him a word. His teacher was his Creator:
Without any human learning, 'he put to shame the wisdom ofthe learned'."
(12) There are today Arabic Bibles in Fourteen differentscripts and dialects for the Arabs alone. See "The Gospels in manytongues".
Grave Warning
"See!" I told the dominee, "how theprophecies fit Muhummed like a glove. We do not have to stretch prophecies tojustify their fulfillment in Muhummed."
The dominee replied, "All your expositions sound verywell, but they are of no real consequence, because we Christians have JesusChrist the "incarnate" God, who has redeemed us from the Bondage ofSin!"
I asked, "Not important?" God didn't think so! Hewent to a great deal of trouble to have His warnings recorded. God knew thatthere would be people like you who will flippantly, light-heartedly discounthis words, so he followed up Deuteronomy 18:18 with a dire warning: "ANDIT SHALL COME TO PASS, " (it is going to happen) "THAT WHOSOEVER WILLNOT HEARKEN UNTO MY WORDS WHICH HE SHALL SPEAK IN MY NAME, I WILL REQUIRE IT OFHIM. (in the Catholic Bible the ending words are - "I will be therevenger", I will take vengeance from him - I will take revenge!)"Does not this terrify you? God Almighty is threatening revenge! We shakein our pants if some hoodlum threatens us, yet you have no fear of God'swarning?"
"Miracle of Miracles! in the verse 19 of Deuteronomychapter 18, we have a further fulfillment of the prophecy in Muhummed! Note thewords-'.....MY WORDS WHICH HE SHALL SPEAK IN MY NAME," In whose name isMuhummed speaking?" I opened Yusuf Ali's translation of the Holy Qur'ân,at chapter 114- 'Sura Nas', or Mankind - the last chapter, and showed him theformula at the head of the chapter:
And the meaning: "IN THE NAME OF GOD, MOST GRACIOUS,MOST MERCIFUL." And the heading of chapter 113:
And the meaning: "IN THE NAME OF GOD, MOST GRACIOUS,MOST MERCIFUL". And every chapter downwards 112, 111, 110...was the sameformula and the same meaning on every page, because the end SURAS (chapters)are short and take about a page each.
"And what did the prophecy demand?' ...WHICH HE SHALLSPEAK IN MY NAME and in whose name does Muhummed speak? 'IN THE NAME OF GOD,MOST GRACIOUS MOST MERCIFUL.' The Prophecy is being fulfilled in Muhummed tothe letter
"Every chapter of the Holy Qur'ân except the 9th beginwith the formula:
IN THE NAME OF GOD, MOST GRACIOUS, MOST MERCIFUL.' TheMuslim begins his every lawful act with the Holy formula. But the Christianbegins: "In the name of the Father, son and Holy Ghost.'"1
Concerning Deuteronomy chapter eighteen, I have given youmore than 15 reasons as to how this prophecy refers to Muhummed and NOT toJesus.
1. The Christian theologians are ignorant of even the"name of God. Because "God" is not a name, and"Father" is also not a name. See "WHAT IS HIS NAME?"
CHAPTER FOUR CHAPTER FOUR
New Testament Also Confirms
Baptist Contradicts Jesus Baptist Contradicts Jesus
In New Testament times, we find that the Jews were stillexpecting the fulfilment of the prophecy of 'ONE LIKE MOSES', refer John1:19-25. When Jesus claimed to be the Messiah of the Jews, the Jews began toenquire as to where was Elias? The Jews had a parallel prophecy that before thecoming of the Messiah, Elias must come first in his second coming. Jesusconfirms this Jewish belief:
"...ELIAS TRULY SHALL FIRST COME, AND RESTORE ALLTHINGS. BUT I SAY UNTO YOU, THAT ELIAS IS COME ALREADY, AND THEY KNEW HIMNOT...THEN THE
DISCIPLES UNDERSTOOD THAT HE SPAKE UNTO THEM OF JOHN THEBAPTIST." HE SPAKE UNTO THEM OF JOHN THE BAPTIST."HE SPAKE UNTO THEMOF JOHN THE BAPTIST." HE SPAKE UNTO THEM OF JOHN THE BAPTIST."HESPAKE UNTO THEM OF JOHN THE BAPTIST." HE SPAKE UNTO THEM OF JOHN THEBAPTIST."HE SPAKE UNTO THEM OF JOHN THE BAPTIST." HE SPAKE UNTO THEMOF JOHN THE BAPTIST."HE SPAKE UNTO THEM OF JOHN THE BAPTIST." HESPAKE UNTO THEM OF JOHN THE BAPTIST."HE SPAKE UNTO THEM OF JOHN THEBAPTIST."HE SPAKE UNTO THEM OF JOHN THE BAPTIST." HE SPAKE UNTO THEMOF JOHN THE BAPTIST."HE SPAKE UNTO THEM OF JOHN THE BAPTIST." HESPAKE UNTO THEM OF JOHN THE BAPTIST."HE SPAKE UNTO THEM OF JOHN THEBAPTIST." (Matthew 17:11-13).
According to the New Testament the Jews were not the ones toswallow the words of any would-be Messiah. In their investigations theyunderwent intense difficulties in order to find their true Messiah. And thisthe Gospel of John confirms: "AND THIS IS THE RECORD OF JOHN,"(theBaptist) "WHEN THE JEWS SENT PRIESTS AND LEVITES FROM JERUSALEM TO ASKHIM, WHO ART THOU? AND HE CONFESSED AND DENIED NOT; BUT CONFESSED, I AM NOT THECHRIST." (This was only natural because there can't be two Messiahs1 atthe same time. If Jesus was the Christ then John couldn't be the Christ!)"AND THEY ASKED HIM, WHAT THEN? ART THOU ELIAS? AND HE SAITH, I AMNOT." (Here John the Baptist contradicts Jesus! Jesus says that John is"Elias" and John denies that he is what Jesus ascribes him to be. Oneof the TWO (Jesus or John), God forbid!, is definitely not speaking the TRUTH!On the testimony of Jesus himself, John the Baptist was the greatest of theIsraelite prophets: "VERILY I SAY UNTO YOU, AMONG THEM THAT ARE BORN OFWOMEN THERE HAS NOT RISEN A GREATER THAN JOHN THE BAPTIST:... "(Matthew 11:11).
We Muslims know John the Baptist as Hazrut YAHYAAAlai-his-salaam (peace be upon him). We revere him as a true prophet of Allah.The Holy Prophet Jesus known to us as Hazrut ISAA Alai-his-salaam (peace beupon him), is also esteemed as one of the mightiest messenger of the Almighty.How can we Muslims impute lies to either of them? We leave this problem betweenJesus and John for the Christians to solve, for their "sacredscriptures" abound in discrepancies which they have been glossing over asthe "dark sayings of Jesus"(15). We Muslims are really interested inthe last questions posed to John the Baptist by the Jewish elite- "ARTTHOU THAT PROPHET? AND HE ANSWERED, NO." (John 1:21)
1. The Jews were expecting a single Messiah not two.
2. See the "TIMES" Magazine December 30th, 1974,article "How true is the Bible?" And also see "50,000 Errors inthe Bible?" a reproduction from the Christian Magazine "AWAKE!"September 8, 1957.
Three Questions!
Please note that three different and distinct questions wereposed to John the Baptist and to which he gave three emphatic "NO'S"as answers. To recapitulate:- 1) ART THOU THE CHRIST? 2) ART THOU ELIAS? 3) ARTTHOU THAT PROPHET?
But the learned men of Christendom somehow only see twoquestions implied here. To make doubly clear that the Jews definitely hadT-H-R-E-E separate prophecies in their minds when they were interrogating Johnthe Baptist, let us read the remonstrance of the Jews in the verses following:
"AND THEY ASKED HIM, AND SAID UNTO HIM, WHY BAPTIZESTTHOU THEN, IF THOU BE a) NOT THAT CHRIST, b) NOR ELIAS, c) NEITHER THATPROPHET?" (John 1:25)
The Jews were waiting for the fulfillment of THREE distinctprophecies: One, the coming of CHRIST. Two the coming of ELIAS, and Three, thecoming of THAT PROPHET.
"That Prophet"
If we look up any Bible which has a concordance orcross-references, the we will find in the marginal note where the words"the Prophet", or "that Prophet" occur in John 1:25, thatthese words refer to the prophecy of Deuteronomy 18:15 and 18. And that 'thatprophet' - 'the prophet like Moses' - "LIKE UNTO THEE", we haveproved through overwhelming evidence that he was MUHUMMED and not Jesus!
We Muslims are not denying that Jesus was the"Messiah", which word is translated as "Christ".1 We arenot contesting the "thousand and one prophecies" which the Christiansclaim abound in the Old Testament foretelling the coming of the Messiah. Whatwe say is that Deuteronomy 18:18 does NOT refer to Jesus Christ but it is anexplicit prophecy about the Holy Prophet MUHUMMED!"
The dominee, very politely parted with me by saying that itwas a very interesting discussion and he would like me very much to come oneday and address his congregation on the subject. A decade and half has passedsince then but I am still awaiting that privilege.
I believe the dominee was sincere when he made the offer,but prejudices die hard and who would like to loose his sheep?
1. How the word Messiah was transmuted to Christ?. See"Christ in Islam"
The Acid Test
To the lambs of Christ I say, why not apply that acid testwhich the Master himself wanted you to apply to any would be claimant toProphethood? He had said: "BY THEIR FRUITS YE SHALL KNOW THEM. DO MENGATHER GRAPES FROM THE THORNS, OR FIGS FROM THE THISTLES? EVERY GOOD TREE WILLBEAR GOOD FRUIT AND EVERY EVIL TREE WILL BEAR EVIL FRUIT.... BY THEIR FRUITS YESHALL KNOW THEM. (Matthew 7:16-20).
Why are you afraid to apply this test to the teachings ofMuhummed? You will find in the Last Testament of God - the Holy Qur'ân - thetrue fulfillment of the teachings of Moses and Jesus, which will bring to theworld the much-needed peace and happiness. "IF A MAN LIKE MOHAMED WERE TOASSUME THE DIC TATORSHIP OF THE MODERN WORLD, HE WOULD SUCCEED IN SOLVING ITSPROBLEMS THAT WOULD BRING IT THE MUCH NEEDED PEACE AND HAPPINESS." (GeorgeBernard Shaw)
The Greatest!
The Weekly Newsmagazine "TIME" dated July 15,1974, carried a selection of opinions by various historians, writers, militarymen, businessmen and others on the subject: "Who Were History's GreatLeaders?" Some said that it was Hitler; others said - Gandhi, Buddha,Lincoln and the like. But Jules Masserman, a United States psychoanalyst putthe standards straight by giving the correct criteria wherewith to judge. He said:"LEADERS MUST FULFIL THREE FUNCTIONS:-
(1) Provide for the well-being of the led, (2) Provide asocial organization in which people feel relatively secure and (3) Provide themwith one set of beliefs."
With the above three criteria he searches history and analyses- Hitler, Pasteur, Gaesar, Moses, Confucius and the lot, and ultimatelyconcludes:
"PEOPLE LIKE PASTEUR AND SALK ARE LEADERS IN THE FIRSTSENSE. PEOPLE LIKE GANDHI AND CONFUCIUS, ON ONE HAND, AND ALEXANDER, CAESAR ANDHITLER ON THE OTHER, ARE LEADERS IN THE SECOND AND PERHAPS THE THIRD SENSE.JESUS AND BUDDHA BELONG IN THE THIRD CATEGORY ALONE. PERHAPS THE GREATESTLEADER OF ALL TIMES WAS MOHAMMED, WHO COMBINED ALL THREE FUNCTIONS. To a lesserdegree, MOSES DID THE SAME."
According to the objective standards set by the Professor ofthe Chicago University, whom I believe to be Jewish, - JESUS and BUDDHA are now- here in the picture of the "Great Leaders of Mankind", but by aqueer coincidence groups Moses and Muhummed together thus adding further weightto the argument that JESUS is not like MOSES, but MUHUMMED is like MOSES:Deut.18:18 "LIKE UNTO THEE" - Like MOSES!
Reverend James L. Dow in Collins Dictionary of the Biblegives further proof, that JESUS is not like MOSES, but MUHUMMED is like Moses:"AS A STATESMAN AND LAWGIVER MOSES IS THE CREATOR OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE. HEFOUND A LOOSE CONGLOMERATION OF SEMITIC PEOPLE, NONE OF ......
*Also in "THE ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF RELIGION", Moses islooked upon in the different traditions. Under Moses in Islam; we read
"MOSES IS HIGHLY REGARDED IN ISLAM AS THE GREAT PROPHETWHO FORETOLD THE COMING OF MUHAMMAD, HIS SUCCESSOR...THERE IS MUCH IN THE LIFEOF MUHAMMAD THAT IS IMPLICITLY REMINISCENT OF THE MOSES TRADITION. P121, THEENCYCLOPAEDIA OF RELIGION, Mircea Eliade (EDITOR IN CHIEF)Volume 10, MacmilleanPublishing Company
In conclusion, I end with a quotation of a ChristianReverend the commentator of the Bible, followed by that of his Master:
"THE ULTIMATE CRITERION OF A TRUE PROPHET IS THE MORALCHARACTER OF HIS TEACHING." (Prof. Dummelow.)
"BY THEIR FRUITS YE SHALL KNOW THEM." (JesusChrist)
COME LET US REASON TOGETHER
SAY:"O PEOPLE OF THE BOOK! COME TO COMMON TERMS ASBETWEEN US AND YOU: THAT WE WORSHIP NONE BUT GOD; THAT WE ASSOCIATE NO PARTNERSWITH HIM; THAT WE ERECT NOT, FROM AMONG OURSELVES, LORDS AND PATRONS OTHER THANGOD." IF THEN THEY TURN BACK, SAY: "BEAR WITNESS THAT WE (AT LEAST)ARE MUSLIMS (BOWING TO GOD'S WILL)." (SURA AL-I-'IMRAN) Holy Qur'ân 3:64
"PEOPLE OF THE BOOK" is the respectful title givento the Jews and the Christians in the Holy Qur'ân. The Muslims is herecommanded to invite - "O People of the Book!" - O Learned People! OPeople who claim to be the recipients of Divine Revelation, of a HolyScripture; let us gather together onto a common platform - "that weworship none but God", because none but God is worthy of worship, notbecause "THE LORD THY GOD IS A JEALOUS GOD VISITING THE INIQUITY OF THEFATHERS UPON THE CHILDREN UNTO THE THIRD AND FOURTH GENERATION OF THEM THATHATE ME." (Exodus 20:25). But because He is our Lord and Cherisher, ourSustainer and Evolver, worthy of all praise, prayer and devotion.
In the abstract the Jews and the Christians would agree toall the three propositions contained in this Qur'ânic verse. In practice theyfail. Apart from doctrinal lapses from the unity of the One True God, (ALLAHSubhanahu wa ta-ala) there is the question of a consecrated Priesthood (amongthe Jews it was hereditary also), as if a mere human being - Cohen or Pope, orPriest, or Brahman, - could claim superiority apart from his learning and thepurity of his life, or could stand between man and God in some special sense. ISLAMDOES NOT
RECOGNISE PRIESTHOOD!
The Creed of Islam is given to us here in a nutshell fromHoly Qur'ân:
Say ye: "We believe in Allah, And the revelation givento us, And to Abraham, Isma'il, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes, And that given toMoses and Jesus And that given to (all) Prophets from their Lord: We make nodifference Between one and another of them: And we bow to Allah (inIslam)." (SURA BAQARA) Holy Qur'ân 2:136.
The Muslim position is clear. The Muslim does not claim tohave a religion peculiar to himself. Islam is not a sect or an ethnic religion.In its view all Religion is one, for the Truth is one. IT WAS THE SAME RELIGIONPREACHED BY ALL THE EARLIER PROPHETS. (Holy Qur'ân 42:13). It was the truthtaught by all the inspired Books. In essence it amounts to a consciousness ofthe Will and Plan of God and a joyful submission to that Will and Plan. IFANYONE WANTS A RELIGION OTHER THAN THAT, HE IS FALSE TO HIS OWN NATURE, AS HEIS FALSE TO GOD'S WILL AND PLAN. Such a one cannot expect guidance, for he hasdeliberately renounced guidance.
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