««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»
`Bible does speak, coming of Muhammad (sas)'
««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»


                    Section One
Moses and Isaiah PROPHESIED the coming of JESUS.
Did Jesus and Isaiah PROPHASISE the coming of MUHAMMAD?

    To understand this significant prophecy by Jesus one has to begin 
with the First Epistle of John, Chapter 2, Verse 1, in which Jesus 
Christ the righteous, is called a "Paraclete" (Parakletos, Advocate,
Comforter, Helper) by John. The same term "Paraclete" is repeatedly 
used by the apostle in connection with the prophecy made by Jesus.

     "And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another
     Paraclete, that he may be with you into the age (to come)."
                                                  John 14:16
Note: "into the age" is a literal translation of the 
      Greek phrase; `eis ton aiona' used by John.

     This shows that Jesus Christ, while speaking of "another
Paraclete", was speaking of the coming of "another male figure"
like himself, at a future date. The historical documents show that
this also was the original concept among the Christian scholars and
populace, but later on the concept of "male figure" was confused
with the concept of "Holy Spirit". Below is an extract from the
world renowned and distinguished Anchor Bible Volume 29A:
 
        "The word parakletos is peculiar in the NT to the
Johnannine literature. In 1John ii1 Jesus is a parakletos (not a
title), serving as a heavenly intercessor with the Father.
...Christian tradition has identified this figure (Paraclete) as
the Holy Spirit, but scholars like Spitta, Delafosse, Windisch,
Sasse, Butlmann and Betz have doubted whether this identification
is true to the original picture and have suggested that the
Paraclete was once an independent salvific figure, later confused
with the Holy Spirit."  (page 1135).

     The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ, besides being a
"Messiah", the "Son" (not "Begotten Son") of God and the "Son" of
man, was also a prophet like Moses, by his own admission. Please
see John 5:46 and 9:17. Hence to say that the coming of "another
Paraclete" was similar to the coming of "another Prophet" like
Jesus and Moses, would not be inaccurate. OTOH, the concept of
"Holy Spirit" is unequivocally negated by the following verse:

     "But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go
     away; for if I do not go away, the Paraclete shall not come to
     you; but if I go, I will send him to you."        John 16:7 

Note: This verse clearly tells us that the coming of the Paraclete
was subject to the departure of Jesus. Whereas, the "Holy Spirit"
was already existing since the day of the Creation and was hovering
upon the surface of the earth (Genesis 1:2). The same "Holy Spirit"
was also present with the prophets of the Old Testament and at the
river Jordan when Jesus Christ was Baptised by John the Baptist.

     "When the Paraclete comes, whom I will send to you from the
     Father, that is the Spirit of Truth, who proceeds from the
     Father, he will bear witness of me."         John 15:26

Note: The Paraclete is called the "Spirit of Truth" and not the 
"Holy Spirit". These are two separate terms and independent
entities. The first one takes the pronoun "he" and the second one
"it".

     "But the Paraclete, the Spirit, whom the Father will send in
     my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your
     remembrance all that I said to you."         John 14:26

Note: In the older MSS, e.g. Codex Sinaiticus, as well as in the
palimpest of Codex Syriacus discovered in 1812 on Mount Sinai by
Mrs.Agnes S. Lewis (and Mrs. Bensley), the text of 14:26 reads;
"Paraclete, the Spirit"; and not "Paraclete, the Holy Spirit". 
"The Spirit" is a reference to "the Spirit of Truth" as in 15:26. 
The word spirit, Greek. `pneu'ma', is of neutral gender and takes
pronoun "it". In almost all the verses referring to Paraclete
quoted above and below, the pronoun used is "he". This clearly
indicates that the prophecy was not for the "Holy Spirit" but for
a "male figure" called the "Spirit of Truth". Prophet Muhammad was
known for his Truth and Honesty, even before he received the first
Revelation.

     Jesus Christ did indicate what the Paraclete to come will do
in his time. Did prophet Muhammad do those things? Let's examine; 

1.   "But when he, the Spirit of Truth, comes, he will guide you
     into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own
     initiative, but whatever he hears, he will speak..." Jn.16:13

Note: The Quran is a compilation of the "Divine Revelations" that
were received by prophet Muhammad, over a period of 23 years,
through the arch angel Gabriel. The prophet used to recite whatever
he used to hear. Prophet's companions used to write down whatever
was recited. The Quran does not contain the writings or teachings
of or by Muhammad, as often mentioned by some misinformed authors.

2.   "He shall glorify me."  John 16:14

Note: The Quran glorifies the birth of Jesus through Virgin Mary.
The Quran also confirms, Jesus was a Messiah; a Messenger of God;
the Spirit from God; the Word of God and the Righteous Prophet.

3.   "He shall take mine and shall disclose it to you." Jn.16:14

Note: Muhammad did declare himself a Messenger of God like Abraham,
Moses and Jesus.

4. "He will teach you all things."  John 14:26

Note: The Quran teaches a way of life. It guides mankind, how to
live a pious life socially, politically and spiritually.

5. "He will bring to your remembrance all that I said to you."
                                                       Jn.14:26

Note: The Quran speaks about the teaching of the righteous Jesus
and even quotes him.

6. "He will bear witness of me" John 15:26

Note: The Quran attests the miracles performed by Jesus the
Messiah. It also mentions one astonishing miracle performed by
Jesus that the Gospel writers have failed to record. The Quran
acknowledges that these miracles and signs were performed by Jesus
with the leave of Allah. The same is also attested in the Book of
Acts, 2:22.

     Prophet Muhammad was a descendant of Abraham through his son
Ishmael and grandson Kedar. In the next section, Insa`Allah (God 
Willing), will examine the prophecy by Isaiah for the "new things"
to happen in "the wilderness and cities" of the Land of Kedar. And,
examine from the Book of Genesis the Promise of God to Abraham for
the making of "a Nation also", through the son of his wife Haggar.

««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»
Akbarally Meherally
Author:

        * `Understanding the Bible through Koranic Messsages'
        * `Understanding Jesus, the factual perceptions'
        * `Understanding Ismailism - a unique Tariqah of Islam'
        * `A History of the Agakhani Ismailis'
        x `A Brief History Of the Agakhans'
        x `25 Answers to FAQ by Christians, from the BIBLE'
        x `Bible does speak, coming of Muhammad (sas)'

All the above are recommended tools for doing the work of `Dawah'

* These are books available from: 
        A.M.TRUST, P.O.Box 81075, BURNABY B.C. V5H 4K2 Canada.
x Available by e-mail from amedamne@trianon.worldtel.com

««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»