Prophet Muhammad ﷺ In The New Testament – Biblical Proofs

(Cite: Khan, Dr. (Mufti) Imran & Hamdani, Mufti Shah Rafi Uddin. (2018), Prophecies About Prophet Muhammad In The New Testament, Encyclopedia of Muhammad , Seerat Research Center, Karachi, Pakistan, Vol. 1, Pg. 471-578.)

Although all the prophets before ProphetMuhammad gave the glad tidings of Prophet Muhammad as the last and universal messenger of God. The Holy Quran mentions the Jesus , in particular, to have given the glad tidings of his arrival. As the Holy Quran states:

وَإِذْ قَالَ عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ يَابَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ إِنِّي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ إِلَيْكُمْ مُصَدِّقًا لِمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيَّ مِنَ التَّوْرَاةِ وَمُبَشِّرًا بِرَسُولٍ يَأْتِي مِنْ بَعْدِي اسْمُهُ أَحْمَدُ فَلَمَّا جَاءَهُمْ بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ قَالُوا هَذَا سِحْرٌ مُبِينٌ 6¹

And remember when Eisa the son of Maryam said, “O Descendants of Israel! Indeed, I am Allah’s Noble Messenger towards you, confirming the Book Torah, which was before me, and heralding glad tidings of the Noble Messenger who will come after me – his name is Ahmed (the Praised One)”; so when Ahmed came to them with clear proofs, they said, “This is an obvious magic.”

There are two basic reasons why the Holy Quran mentions the Jesus in particular, to have given the glad tidings of Prophet Muhammad . One of them is that, as pointed out before, God took a covenant with all the prophets that whenever a messenger came during their time, they would believe in and support him:

وَإِذْ أَخَذَ اللَّهُ مِيثَاقَ النَّبِيِّينَ لَمَا آتَيْتُكُمْ مِنْ كِتَابٍ وَحِكْمَةٍ ثُمَّ جَاءَكُمْ رَسُولٌ مُصَدِّقٌ لِمَا مَعَكُمْ لَتُؤْمِنُنَّ بِهِ وَلَتَنْصُرُنَّهُ قَالَ أَأَقْرَرْتُمْ وَأَخَذْتُمْ عَلَى ذَلِكُمْ إِصْرِي قَالُوا أَقْرَرْنَا قَالَ فَاشْهَدُوا وَأَنَا مَعَكُمْ مِنَ الشَّاهِدِينَ 81²

And remember when Allah took a covenant from the Prophets; “If I give you the Book and knowledge and the (promised) Noble Messenger (Prophet Mohammed ) comes to you, confirming the Books you possess, you shall positively, definitely believe in him and you shall positively, definitely help him”; He said, “Do you agree, and accept My binding responsibility in this matter?” They all answered, “We agree”; He said, “Then bear witness amongst yourselves, and I Myself am a witness with you.”

Thus, every prophet gave the glad tidings of the messenger to come after him and declared his faith in him. Since Jesus was the last prophet before Muhammad , he gave the glad tidings of his coming with his name and certain other distinguishing marks and thus urged his people to believe in and help him when he comes. The second reason is that followers of many previous prophets coined many calumnies against them. Moreover, these calumnies have unfortunately found a way into the Old Testament, Jesus was made the target of unfounded attacks and slanders by his people on the one hand, and has been deified by his followers after him on the other. God's last messenger, Muhammad declared Jesus' purity against the slanders of his people, defended him against their denial and purified him of the claims of Divinity or Divine sonship. As the Holy Quran states:

وَإِذْ قَالَ اللَّهُ يَاعِيسَى ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ أَأَنْتَ قُلْتَ لِلنَّاسِ اتَّخِذُونِي وَأُمِّيَ إِلَهَيْنِ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ قَالَ سُبْحَانَكَ مَا يَكُونُ لِي أَنْ أَقُولَ مَا لَيْسَ لِي بِحَقٍّ إِنْ كُنْتُ قُلْتُهُ فَقَدْ عَلِمْتَهُ تَعْلَمُ مَا فِي نَفْسِي وَلَا أَعْلَمُ مَا فِي نَفْسِكَ إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ عَلَّامُ الْغُيُوبِ 116 مَا قُلْتُ لَهُمْ إِلَّا مَا أَمَرْتَنِي بِهِ أَنِ اعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ رَبِّي وَرَبَّكُمْ وَكُنْتُ عَلَيْهِمْ شَهِيدًا مَا دُمْتُ فِيهِمْ فَلَمَّا تَوَفَّيْتَنِي كُنْتَ أَنْتَ الرَّقِيبَ عَلَيْهِمْ وَأَنْتَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ شَهِيدٌ 117 إِنْ تُعَذِّبْهُمْ فَإِنَّهُمْ عِبَادُكَ وَإِنْ تَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ فَإِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ 118³

And when Allah will say, “O Eisa, the son of Maryam! Did you say to the people, ‘Appoint my mother and me as two Gods, besides Allah’?” He will submit, “Purity is to You! It is not proper for me to say something for which I do not have a right; if I have said it, then surely You know it; You know what lies in my heart, and I do not know what is in Your knowledge; indeed You only know all the hidden. I have not told them except what You commanded me, that ‘Worship Allah, Who is my Lord and is also your Lord’; I was aware of them till I was among them; and when You raised me, only You watched over them; and all things are present before You. If you punish them, then indeed they are Your slaves; and if you forgive them, then indeed You only are the Almighty, the Wise.”

Likewise the Old Testament, the New Testament has also undergone alterations. Moreover, we do not have the original copy of any of the Divine Scriptures before the Holy Quran in its language, but it is still possible to find out many explicit and implicit indications about Muhammad in the New Testament.

Muhammad as the peacemaker, the praised and the sought one

Jesus signifies the blessed personality of Muhammad as the peacemaker, which is referred in the Bible:

١٤ ٱلْمَجْدُ لِلّٰهِ فِي ٱلْأَعَالِي، وَعَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ ٱلسَّلَامُ، وَبِالنَّاسِ ٱلْمَسَرَّةُ. ⁴

Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom he is pleased!

According to the narration of Luke, this is the hymn which the angels sang when Jesus was born. Christian Bible commentators argue that with this hymn the angels glorify God due to the birth of Jesus . They give the good news that the Gospel will bring peace to the world, and that is what Jesus brought. He did this by reconciling the world to God by his atonement, by bringing the sinner to a state of peace with his Maker, by diffusing in the universal heart goodwill to people, and by diffusing the principles of universal peace among nations. Moreover, the gift of Jesus as Savior is an expression of goodwill or love to people, and therefore God is to be praised.

However, Jesus himself contradicts this argument of commentators in the Gospels and history. Jesus , in his Sermon on the Mount, praised the peacemakers saying:

٩ طُوبَى لِصَانِعِي ٱلسَّلَامِ، لِأَنَّهُمْ أَبْنَاءَ ٱللّٰهِ يُدْعَوْنَ. ⁵

Happy are those who work for peace; God will call them his children!

٣٤ لَا تَظُنُّوا أَنِّي جِئْتُ لِأُلْقِيَ سَلَامًا عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ. مَا جِئْتُ لِأُلْقِيَ سَلَامًا بَلْ سَيْفًا. ⁶

Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the world. No, I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.

٤٩ جِئْتُ لِأُلْقِيَ نَارًا عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ، فَمَاذَا أُرِيدُ لَوِ ٱضْطَرَمَتْ؟ ٥٠ وَلِي صِبْغَةٌ أَصْطَبِغُهَا، وَكَيْفَ أَنْحَصِرُ حَتَّى تُكْمَلَ؟ ٥١ أَتَظُنُّونَ أَنِّي جِئْتُ لِأُعْطِيَ سَلَامًا عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ؟ كَلاَّ، أَقُولُ لَكُمْ: بَلِ ٱنْقِسَامًا. ⁷

I came to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already kindled! I have a baptism to receive, and how distressed I am until it is over! Do you suppose that I came to bring peace to the world? No, not peace, but division.

Furthermore, in addition to the fact that Jesus never brought peace to the Israelites either during his life or after. History is full of the most bloody and longest wars among the Christian sects and nations. These wars repudiate the interpretations of commentators.

The hymn under discussion is composed of three clauses. The first clause is concerned with Allaha (in Aramaic), Theos in Greek. The second clause is about Shlama or Shalom (in Aramaic) and translated Eiriny into Greek. And the third clause is about eudokia in Greek. Shalom, in its concrete and practical sense, has the meaning of the religion that is good, sound, safe, salutary, and the way of peace. The Greek word Eiriny stands for the Semitic Shalom, Shlama, and therefore Islam, which means submission to God and the ensuing peace.

As for the Greek word eudokia, which in its genuine and literal sense corresponds to the Hebrew Mahmad, Mahamod, Himdah, and Hemed signified delight, pleasantness, good pleasure, desire, loveliness, preciousness, goodwill and sought for. That which gives delight, pleases and therefore is desired and sought for is certainly the thing that is praiseworthy and celebrated. This is the intrinsic and spiritual meaning of Himda and Mahamod, that is, of eudokia. It exactly corresponds to Ahmad, the name of Muhammad , with which Jesus predicted him.

In conclusion, by saying "Blessed are the peacemakers", Jesus praises the God's Holy Prophet and his followers who brought peace to Arabia and the region where Jesus and the Israelite prophets lived and brought together the "lost sheep of Israel". The same area where Jesus was sent under Islam's banner, the angels who sang the hymn "Glory to God in Heaven, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men" celebrates Jesus birth as he was the precursor of Prophet Muhammad .

The prophet, who will baptise with the spirit and with fire, and the laces of whose shoes john the baptist and jesus did not see themselves worthy to untie and loose

According to the four Gospels, John the Baptist, also known as Yahya in the Holy Quran, was a cousin and contemporary of Jesus , the former being only about six months older than the latter. The Holy Quran says of him as follows:

فَنَادَتْهُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ وَهُوَ قَائِمٌ يُصَلِّي فِي الْمِحْرَابِ أَنَّ اللَّهَ يُبَشِّرُكَ بِيَحْيَى مُصَدِّقًا بِكَلِمَةٍ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَسَيِّدًا وَحَصُورًا وَنَبِيًّا مِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ 39⁸

And the angels called out to him while he was standing, offering prayer at his place of worship, “Indeed Allah gives you glad tidings of Yahya (John), who will confirm a Word (or sign) from Allah, – a leader, always refraining from women, a Prophet from one of Our devoted ones.”

يَايَحْيَى خُذِ الْكِتَابَ بِقُوَّةٍ وَآتَيْنَاهُ الْحُكْمَ صَبِيًّا 12 وَحَنَانًا مِنْ لَدُنَّا وَزَكَاةً وَكَانَ تَقِيًّا 13 وَبَرًّا بِوَالِدَيْهِ وَلَمْ يَكُنْ جَبَّارًا عَصِيًّا 14 وَسَلَامٌ عَلَيْهِ يَوْمَ وُلِدَ وَيَوْمَ يَمُوتُ وَيَوْمَ يُبْعَثُ حَيًّا 15⁹

“O Yahya – hold the Book firmly”; and We gave him Prophethood in his infancy. And compassion from Ourselves, and chastity; and he was extremely pious. And was good to his parents and not forceful, nor disobedient. And peace is upon him the day he was born, and the day he will taste death, and the day he will be raised alive.Like Jesus, John, too, upon them be peace, led a celibate life of chastity, poverty, and piety.

The Holy Quran is clear on that one of the reasons why John was sent as a prophet, as for every prophet, to confirm a messenger to come during his life. However, like every other prophet, he had to and indeed did give the glad tidings of the last and universal prophet, Muhammad who would come as heir to all the previous prophets. This reality is evident in the New Testament as well.

The relationship between John & Jesus in the gospels

The Gospels give contradictory information about John the Baptist's relationship with Jesus . According to Mark (1: 9) and Luke (3: 21), Jesus was baptised like everybody else in Jordan by John the Baptist and praying. The heaven was open, and the Spirit descended upon him in a bodily form, as a dove. In Matthew, there is an addition to the accounts of Mark and Luke. It is stated in Matthew that John the Baptist said to Jesus :

١٣ حِينَئِذٍ جَاءَ يَسُوعُ مِنَ ٱلْجَلِيلِ إِلَى ٱلْأُرْدُنِّ إِلَى يُوحَنَّا لِيَعْتَمِدَ مِنْهُ. ١٤ وَلَكِنْ يُوحَنَّا مَنَعَهُ قَائِلًا: «أَنَا مُحْتَاجٌ أَنْ أَعْتَمِدَ مِنْكَ، وَأَنْتَ تَأْتِي إِلَيَّ!». ١٥ فَأَجَابَ يَسُوعُ وَقَالَ لَهُ: «ٱسْمَحِ ٱلْآنَ، لِأَنَّهُ هَكَذَا يَلِيقُ بِنَا أَنْ نُكَمِّلَ كُلَّ بِرٍّ». حِينَئِذٍ سَمَحَ لَهُ. ¹⁰

At that time Jesus arrived from Galilee and came to John at the Jordan to be baptised by him. But John tried to make him change his mind. “I ought to be baptised by you,” John said, “and yet you have come to me!” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so for now. For in this way we shall do all that God requires.” So John agreed.

While we read in Luke (1: 26, 44) that John was only six months old in his mother's womb when he recognised Jesus . Jesus had come into the womb of Mary, and leapt with joy, according to the Fourth Gospel, the Gospel of John (1: 33), John the Baptist did not know who Jesus was until after his baptism when a spirit as a dove came down and dwelt in him. However, still, we are not certain whether John the Baptist knew Jesus even after his baptism. Because it Matthew (11: 2-3) reports that John the Baptist while in prison, where he was martyred (14: 9-10), still did not know the real nature of the mission of Jesus . Therefore, he had sent his disciples to him ask him who he was: "Are you he that comes, or look we for another?"

According to the Fourth Gospel (1: 19-21), John the Baptist, while answering the question asked to him by the priests and the Levites who he is, says that he is neither Messiah nor Elijah nor that prophet. However, Matthew (11: 14; 17: 12) and Luke (1: 17) report that Jesus said that John the Baptist was the reincarnation of Elijah. Jesus () is also reported in Matthew to have stated that:

١١ اَلْحَقَّ أَقُولُ لَكُمْ: لَمْ يَقُمْ بَيْنَ ٱلْمَوْلُودِينَ مِنَ ٱلنِّسَاءِ أَعْظَمُ مِنْ يُوحَنَّا ٱلْمَعْمَدَانِ، وَلَكِنَّ ٱلْأَصْغَرَ فِي مَلَكُوتِ ٱلسَّمَاوَاتِ أَعْظَمُ مِنْهُ. ¹¹

I assure you that John the Baptist is greater than anyone who has ever lived. But the one who is least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than John.

John the Baptist's prediction pf phe Last Prophet

After analyzing these notes concerning John the Baptist and the nature of his relationship between Jesus , we can have a look at the following glad tidings of John about Prophet Muhammad . As the Bible states:

١١ أَنَا أُعَمِّدُكُمْ بِمَاءٍ لِلتَّوْبَةِ، وَلَكِنِ ٱلَّذِي يَأْتِي بَعْدِي هُوَ أَقْوَى مِنِّي، ٱلَّذِي لَسْتُ أَهْلًا أَنْ أَحْمِلَ حِذَاءَهُ. هُوَ سَيُعَمِّدُكُمْ بِٱلرُّوحِ ٱلْقُدُسِ وَنَارٍ. ١٢ ٱلَّذِي رَفْشُهُ فِي يَدِهِ، وَسَيُنَقِّي بَيْدَرَهُ، وَيَجْمَعُ قَمْحَهُ إِلَى ٱلْمَخْزَنِ، وَأَمَّا ٱلتِّبْنُ فَيُحْرِقُهُ بِنَارٍ لَا تُطْفَأُ. ¹²

I baptise you with water to show that you have repented, but the one who will come after me will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire. He is much greater than I am, and I am not good enough even to carry his sandals. He has his winnowing shovel with him to thresh out all the grain. He will gather his wheat into his barn, but he will burn the chaff in a fire that never goes out.

John the Baptist gives the glad tidings of one who is mightier than him, whose shoes he is not worthy to bear, and who shall baptise with the spirit and with fire. As mentioned above, Jesus was baptised like everybody else by John the Baptist, and openly declared that among people who are born of women, there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist. Therefore, the one who is mightier than John and whose shoes he is not worthy to bear cannot be Jesus Christ . The conception corroborates this fact that this mightier person other than John will baptise with the spirit and with fire. That is, he will have a law (Shariah) and judge people, according to it and have to make wars. Thus, according to John the Baptist, throwing up the mingled wheat and chaff to the wind to separate the grain, burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire. In other words, he will separate the evil from the good, according to the tests of his law in his kingdom, receiving the worthy into his kingdom and consigning the unworthy to destruction. ¹³

We also read in the Holy Quran that God Almighty confirmed and strengthened both Prophet Muhammad and his Companions with a spirit from Him:

لَا تَجِدُ قَوْمًا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ يُوَادُّونَ مَنْ حَادَّ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ وَلَوْ كَانُوا آبَاءَهُمْ أَوْ أَبْنَاءَهُمْ أَوْ إِخْوَانَهُمْ أَوْ عَشِيرَتَهُمْ أُولَئِكَ كَتَبَ فِي قُلُوبِهِمُ الْإِيمَانَ وَأَيَّدَهُمْ بِرُوحٍ مِنْهُ وَيُدْخِلُهُمْ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَضُوا عَنْهُ أُولَئِكَ حِزْبُ اللَّهِ أَلَا إِنَّ حِزْبَ اللَّهِ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ 22¹⁴

You will not find the people who believe in Allah and the Last Day, befriending those who oppose Allah and His Noble Messenger, even if they are their fathers or their sons or their brothers or their tribesmen; it is these upon whose hearts Allah has ingrained faith, and has aided them with a Spirit from Himself; and He will admit them into Gardens beneath which rivers flow, abiding in them forever; Allah is pleased with them, and they are pleased with Him; this is Allah’s group; pay heed! Indeed it is Allah’s group who are successful.

Also, we know that Jesus did not establish a kingdom and judged no one according to a law, nor did he has to make wars against his enemies or the oppressors. It is also controversial whether Jesus baptised anyone or not. According to the Gospel of John, Jesus did not baptise anyone. As the Bible states:

١ فَلَمَّا عَلِمَ ٱلرَّبُّ أَنَّ ٱلْفَرِّيسِيِّينَ سَمِعُوا أَنَّ يَسُوعَ يُصَيِّرُ وَيُعَمِّدُ تَلَامِيذَ أَكْثَرَ مِنْ يُوحَنَّا، ٢ مَعَ أَنَّ يَسُوعَ نَفْسَهُ لَمْ يَكُنْ يُعَمِّدُ بَلْ تَلَامِيذُهُ ¹⁵

The Pharisees heard that Jesus was winning and baptising more disciples than John. Actually, Jesus himself did not baptise anyone; only his disciples did.

It was not Jesus , but his disciples that did the baptising. However, according to the same source, John 3: 22, Jesus did baptise. Christian scholars tend to reconcile these two contradictory reports by concluding that Jesus administered the rite of baptism in the early days of his ministry, and it was merely a temporary practice and not a vital part of his mission.

Another point to note that among the apocryphal Gospels, the words associated with John the Baptist that he is mightier than him and whose shoes he is not worthy to bear, are reported in the Gospel of Barnabas (chapter 44) to have been said by Jesus for Prophet Muhammad . These words are:

"O Muhammad, God, be with you, and may he make me worthy to untie your shoe-latchet; for obtaining this, I shall be a great prophet and holy one of God."

It is, with the same remarks, thus, both John the Baptist and Jesus , give the glad tidings of a prophet greater than them and who will come after them. Also, the very preposition ‘after’ in John, the Baptist's prediction excludes Jesus from being the prophet foretold by him, just because they were both contemporaries and born in the same year. The ‘after’ indicates the future to be at some indefinite distance, and in the prophetic language, it expresses one or more cycles of time.

Furthermore, if it had been Jesus Christ , who was intended by John the Baptist, he would have followed Jesus and submitted to him like a subordinate. However, such was not the case. On the contrary, he fulfilled his mission, preaching, baptising, receiving initiates and disciples, chastising King Herod, scolding the Jewish hierarchy, and foretelling the coming of another Prophet mightier than himself. Also, Jesus would not have been baptised by his inferior in the river like an ordinary repentant Jew!

In conclusion, in his remark in Matthew 11:11, “but the one who is least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than John." Jesus also refers to Prophet Muhammad and both his temporal and spiritual kingdom. Jesus Christ never established a kingdom on earth. Referring the kingdom of heaven or the kingdom of God, which Jesus frequently mentions, to his alleged future kingdom before the end of time is only a groundless assertion and expectation. Both temporal and spiritual kingdoms of Islam and the Holy Quran, which Prophet Muhammad has established, are undeniable, experienced facts of history. Moreover, the claim of some Christian Churches that "the least" Christian washed with the blood of Jesus either through the Sacrament of Baptism or the regeneration of some kind becomes "greater" than John the Baptist and all holy men and women, including Adam , Noah , Abraham , Moses , David , Elijah , and Daniel , , is only another groundless self-aggrandizing claim.

“That prophet” whom the Jews were expecting besides Elijah and the Messiah

We read in the Gospel, according to John :

١٩ وَهَذِهِ هِيَ شَهَادَةُ يُوحَنَّا، حِينَ أَرْسَلَ ٱلْيَهُودُ مِنْ أُورُشَلِيمَ كَهَنَةً وَلَاوِيِّينَ لِيَسْأَلُوهُ: «مَنْ أَنْتَ؟». ٢٠ فَٱعْتَرَفَ وَلَمْ يُنْكِرْ، وَأَقَرَّ: «إِنِّي لَسْتُ أَنَا ٱلْمَسِيحَ». ٢١ فَسَأَلُوهُ: «إِذًا مَاذَا؟ إِيلِيَّا أَنْتَ؟». فَقَالَ: «لَسْتُ أَنَا». «أَلنَّبِيُّ أَنْتَ؟». فَأَجَابَ: «لَا». ٢٢ فَقَالُوا لَهُ: «مَنْ أَنْتَ، لِنُعْطِيَ جَوَابًا لِلَّذِينَ أَرْسَلُونَا؟ مَاذَا تَقُولُ عَنْ نَفْسِكَ؟». ٢٣ قَالَ: «أَنَا صَوْتُ صَارِخٍ فِي ٱلْبَرِّيَّةِ: قَوِّمُوا طَرِيقَ ٱلرَّبِّ، كَمَا قَالَ إِشَعْيَاءُ ٱلنَّبِيُّ». ¹⁶

The Jewish authorities in Jerusalem sent some priests and Levites to John to ask him, “Who are you?” John did not refuse to answer, but spoke out openly and clearly, saying: “I am not the Messiah.” “Who are you, then?” they asked. “Are you Elijah?” “No, I am not,” John answered. “Are you the Prophet?” they asked. “No,” he replied. “Then tell us who you are,” they said. “We have to take an answer back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” John answered by quoting the prophet Isaiah: “I am ‘the voice of someone shouting in the desert: Make a straight path for the Lord to travel!’”

The above statement quoted in the Bible points out the clear position of John that he was neither Elijah nor the Messiah.

Bible commentators contradict themselves and the Bible in identifying "that prophet."

It is evident in this passage that the Children of Israel had been expecting the coming of the Christ (Messiah), Elijah , and another prophet (that prophet), who must have been known and who was being expected by everyone at that time. Bible commentators such as Albert Barnes, John Gill, and Adam Clarke, claim that "that prophet whom they were expecting" was Jeremiah . According to their assertion, the Jews were expecting both the re-appearance of Elijah before the Messiah and the return of Jeremiah . In their assertion, these commentators make a reference to Deuteronomy, which reads: (Moses spoke to the Israelites, saying):

١٥ يُقِيمُ لَكَ ٱلرَّبُّ إِلَهُكَ نَبِيًّا مِنْ وَسَطِكَ مِنْ إِخْوَتِكَ مِثْلِي. لَهُ تَسْمَعُونَ. ¹⁷

Instead, he will send you a prophet like me from among your own people, and you are to obey him.

However, the same commentators could not help but contradict both themselves and Deuteronomy itself in explaining this prediction of Moses . According to Barnes's Notes on the Bible, in which it is claimed that "that prophet whom the Jews were expecting" was Jeremiah (Deuteronomy 18: 15) whereas the Prophet whom Moses predicted to appear among the brethren of the Israelites like he was the Messiah himself. Barnes writes:

"Moses gives promise both of a prophetic order and the Messiah in particular as its chief; of a line of prophets culminating in one eminent individual. And in proportion, as we see in our Lord the characteristics of the prophet most perfectly exhibited, so must we regard the promise of Moses as in Him most completely accomplished."

Adam Clarke, too, is unaware of his self-contradiction. He claims "that prophet whom the Jews were expecting besides the Messiah and Elijah was Jeremiah" on the one hand. On the contrary, he writes concerning the prophet whom Moses foretold to appear among the brethren of the Israelites like him:

"Like unto me-Viz., a prophet, a legislator, a king, a mediator, and the head or chief of the people of God. This was the very person of whom Moses was the type, and who should accomplish all the great purposes of the Divine Being. Such a prophet as had never before appeared, and who should have no equal till the consummation of the world. This prophet is the Lord Jesus."

We see the same self-contradiction in Jhon Gill's following exposition:

"Art thou that prophet? Jeremiah, whom some of the Jews have thought to be the Moses spoke of, in Deuteronomy 18: 15 and expected that he would appear about the times of the Messiah."

Compare this commentary with what he states later on, while commenting on Deuteronomy 18: 15:

"The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet, ...Not Joshua, as Aben Ezra, not Jeremiah, as Baal Haturim, nor David, as others; nor a succession of prophets, as Jarchi; for a single person is only spoken of; and there is a dissimilitude between Moses and anyone of the prophets, and all of them in succession, Deuteronomy 34: 10, but the Messiah, with whom the whole agrees, and upon this the expectation of a prophet among the Jews was raised."

While claiming that the prophet whom Moses foretold to come from among the brethren of the Israelites like he was no prophet who appeared among the Israelites, John Gill rightfully refers to Deuteronomy 34: 10, which reads:

" There has never been a prophet in Israel like Moses ; the Lord spoke with him face-to-face.." That is, no like Moses ever appeared among the Israelites. However, the same John Gills forgets that the Messiah was also raised up from among the Israelites, not among the brethren of the Israelites, who in fact are the Ishmaelites, and that he claims that "that Prophet" in John 1: 19-23 was Jeremiah . He also forgets that it is written in John 1:19-23 that the Jews openly voiced the name of Christ, the Messiah, and Elijah together with "that Prophet" while they asked John the Baptist who he was. ¹⁸

"That prophet" or the prophet like Moses

What is it that leads such famous Bible commentators as Barnes, Clarke and Gill to contradicting themselves with such unforgivable forgetfulness? Is it the fact that the prophet whom both Moses foretold to appear among the brethren of the Israelites-the Ishmaelites and the Jews were expecting was the one whom Clarke and Barnes have described respectively as follows:

"...Like Moses, a prophet, a legislator, a king, a mediator, and the head or chief of the people of God. Moses was the type, and who should accomplish all the great purposes of the Divine Being. Such a prophet as had never before appeared, and who should have no equal till the consummation of the world." ¹⁹

Has a prophet other than Muhammad ever appeared among the brethren of the Israelites? Who other than Muhammad do the words mentioned above of Clarke and Barnes describe? When was Jesus who said himself to have been sent to "the lost sheep of the house of Israel", was he or anybody else, both a prophet, a legislator, a king, a mediator, and therefore the head or chief of the people of God? Since he was not, then this prophecy refers to Muhammad only.

Muhammad the son ff David to inherit his throne

It is written in the Gospel according to Luke that an angel appeared to the Virgin Mary, and said to her:

٣١ وَهَا أَنْتِ سَتَحْبَلِينَ وَتَلِدِينَ ٱبْنًا وَتُسَمِّينَهُ يَسُوعَ. ٣٢ هَذَا يَكُونُ عَظِيمًا، وَٱبْنَ ٱلْعَلِيِّ يُدْعَى، وَيُعْطِيهِ ٱلرَّبُّ ٱلْإِلَهُ كُرْسِيَّ دَاوُدَ أَبِيهِ، ٣٣ وَيَمْلِكُ عَلَى بَيْتِ يَعْقُوبَ إِلَى ٱلْأَبَدِ، وَلَا يَكُونُ لِمُلْكِهِ نِهَايَةٌ». ²⁰

You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High God. The Lord God will make him a king, as his ancestor David was, and he will be the king of the descendants of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end!

Matthew (1: 20) states that this happy news was given to Joseph, the "father" of Jesus, though, according to Luke it was given to the mother of Jesus . The following points, however, should be considered:

The name Jesus
"you will name him Jesus." there was nothing special or original in calling someone

Jesus in Jesus time. For the name Jesus, which we see in modern English Bibles is an English rendering of the Greek Iesous, which is the Greek spelling of the Hebrew name Yeshua, is a shortened form of the name Yehoshua. In biblical Hebrew, the spelling of the name Jesus is the same as the Hebrew spelling of the name Joshua.

Yehoshua (i.e. Jesus) means salvation or help, not a saviour. ²¹ Giving it the meaning of saviour and attempting to find in it something special is the result of an effort to conform it with Luke 1: 31 and Matthew 1: 21. It stands to be able to prove that Jesus is the saviour destined to "save people from their sins," as well as to demonstrate the doctrine of atonement. Whereas it is not a name by which only Jesus is called, but it frequently occurs in the Old Testament in one form or another. The spelling of Joshua is found 218 times in the Hebrew Bible. Even around the time of Christ himself the name Jesus appears to have been relatively common. There are even some who claim that the original of the English Jesus is Yahushua and means Branch. Those who put forward this claim aim to prove that Jesus is the Branch, which Jeremiah foretells in 23: 5-6 ²² that God will raise to David a Branch to reign as king and save Judah, and which we have discussed under the heading, "Jeremiah's Sixth Prophecy".

Such controversies are common concerning the Bible simply because we have no original copies of either the Old Testament or the New Testament. Even Bible scholars admit that the translations of the New Testament, especially in modern languages, did not come from the Hebrew or Latin. They have been translated from Greek and the Old Testament from Hebrew and Aramaic. Every new translation causes new problems and controversies to arise. ²³²⁴²⁵ All these facts show that there is nothing special in the name of Jesus.

Jesus And The Messiah Expected By The Jews

The Jews, at that time, were in need of a saviour or expecting a Messiah who would restore their kingdom to them. However, they objected to Jesus being the Messiah whom they had been expecting for the following reasons:

• The Jewish Messiah is to be a mortal human being, not a God or God-like. The Jews believe that only God Almighty should be worshipped, not a being of His creation, not even the Messiah himself.
• The Jewish Messiah is supposed to return the Jews to the Holy Land, but Jesus lived while the Jews were still there before the Romans exiled them.
• The Messiah is to rebuild the Jerusalem Temple, but Jesus used to live while the Temple was still standing.
• The Bible states that the Messiah will redeem Israel, but 30 years after the death of Jesus , Jerusalem was destroyed, and the Jews were exiled by the Romans to suffer 1900 years of persecution, mostly by those who have deified Jesus .
• The prophets of the Bible foretold that all the nations of the world would acknowledge and worship the one true God (Isaiah, 11: 9, 45, and Zephaniah, 3). However, nothing like this happened after Jesus died. In fact, Islam has developed and become the religion of many nations or peoples while Christianity splintered into many sects which constantly fought each other.
• The Messiah will reign as King of the Jews and liberate them, and judge with righteousness. However, Jesus carrier as a wandering preacher and "faith healer" lasted only three years until the Jews themselves apprehended him and handed over to the Romans.
• One of the Messiah's main tasks is to bring peace to the Holy Land. This did not happen. Moreover, Christian nations have fought among themselves for centuries.
• Mark 13: 30 and Matthew 4 state that the prophecies about the Messiah would take place during the Jesus generation, but nothing were accomplished.
• Nowhere does the Bible say that the Messiah would come once, die, and return in a "second coming". Such a concept meant to rationalise the fact that Jesus did not fulfil the prophecies of the Hebrew Bible attributed to the Messiah.
• Jesus claimed that he did not intend to change the laws of Moses (Matthew 5: 17), but came to make the teachings of the prophets come true. However, his followers later abolished or changed nearly all of them; for example, Christians still eat pork ²⁶ and are not circumcised. ²⁷

It should be noted here that the Holy Quran calls Jesus the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, and in many of his ahadith, Prophet Muhammad stated that Jesus would return to the world before the end of time. Therefore, Jesus has an eschatological Messianic mission. However, the Messianic mission attributed to Jesus in these ahadith is not the same as what the Christians attribute to him. This matter will be elaborately discussed at the end of this section.

The meaning of the expression of "son of both"

Christian friends assert that Jesus is both the physical son of God, the physical son of man (son of David ) at the same time. However, we find in both the Old and New Testaments that the expression "son of God" is used for many earlier prophets, as well as for certain other human beings. For example, all human beings are "the son of God." (Luke, 3: 38); Israel was called the "son of God" in Exodus:

٢٢ فَتَقُولُ لِفِرْعَوْنَ: هَكَذَا يَقُولُ ٱلرَّبُّ: إِسْرَائِيلُ ٱبْنِي ٱلْبِكْرُ. ²⁸

Then you must tell him that I, the Lord, say, ‘Israel is my first-born son.’

And in the Psalms, the same title was given to David :

٧ إِنِّي أُخْبِرُ مِنْ جِهَةِ قَضَاءِ ٱلرَّبِّ: قَالَ لِي: أَنْتَ ٱبْنِي، أَنَا ٱلْيَوْمَ وَلَدْتُكَ. ²⁹

“I will announce,” says the king, “what the Lord has declared. He said to me: ‘You are my son; today I have become your father.

A little later in the Bible, Solomon also was called the "son of God".

١٠ هُوَ يَبْنِي بَيْتًا لِٱسْمِي، وَهُوَ يَكُونُ لِيَ ٱبْنًا، وَأَنَا لَهُ أَبًا وَأُثَبِّتُ كُرْسِيَّ مُلْكِهِ عَلَى إِسْرَائِيلَ إِلَى ٱلْأَبَدِ. ³⁰

He will build a temple for me. He will be my son, and I will be his father. His dynasty will rule Israel forever.

This phrase meant nothing more than nearness to God in love. The Bible states that every human being who did the will of the Father in Heaven was a son of God: "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may become the children of your Father in heaven." ³¹; and "Happy are those who work for peace; God will call them his children!" ³²

Furthermore, The Bible states:

٦ أَنَا قُلْتُ: إِنَّكُمْ آلِهَةٌ وَبَنُو ٱلْعَلِيِّ كُلُّكُمْ. ٧ لَكِنْ مِثْلَ ٱلنَّاسِ تَمُوتُونَ وَكَأَحَدِ ٱلرُّؤَسَاءِ تَسْقُطُونَ. ³³

‘You are gods,’ I said; ‘all of you are children of the Most High.’ But you will die like mortals; your life will end like that of any prince.

As the judges and prophets of old were called "gods" only in a metaphorical sense, so Jesus called himself a "son of God" in the same meaning. Moreover, Luke speaks of Jesus as "son of Joseph" while giving his lineage, which goes down as "the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God." And many entire nations are also referred to as "sons" or "children of God" in the Bible. For example:

• That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. ³⁴
• Ye are the children of the Lord your God: ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead. ³⁵
• Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. ³⁶
• So that you may be innocent and pure as God's perfect children, who live in a world of corrupt and sinful people. You must shine among them like stars lighting up the sky. ³⁷

Also, no legitimate Christian sect claims or suggests that God took a wife and had a child, and most certainly no one believes that God fathered a child through a human mother outside of marriage. Furthermore, to suggest that God physically mated with an element of His creation is so far beyond the limits of religious tolerance as to cause one who has such a suggestion to be an unbeliever. Due to this, Christian friends attempt to escape such blasphemy by taking refuge in one more doctrinal mystery. While refuting this bogus claim, The Holy Quran states:

بَدِيعُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ أَنَّى يَكُونُ لَهُ وَلَدٌ وَلَمْ تَكُنْ لَهُ صَاحِبَةٌ وَخَلَقَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ 101³⁸

riginator of the heavens and the earth; how can He possibly have a child when, in fact, He does not have a spouse? And He has created all things, and He knows everything.

He who originates the whole universe out of nothing is in no need of a son. Offspring are needed by mortals as an extension of their existence and they are needed by the weak who want help and by the dull who can invent nothing. Moreover, those inventors were aware of how procreation takes place. Anyone who desires offspring must have a mate or a female consort from his own species. How, then, can God have a son when He has never had a consort, and when He is one, Single, and has no similarities with anyone or anything? ³⁹

If it is said that God is Omnipotent and can do anything, than it is also a tenet of faith that God only does appropriate things, as He is both Omnipotent and All-Wise. After all, The Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion confirms that the Jewish idiom, "son of God" is metaphorical. To quote, "son of God, the term occasionally found in Jewish literature, biblical and post-biblical, but nowhere implying physical descent from the Godhead." Hasting's Bible Dictionary comments:

In Semitic usage "sonship" is a conception somewhat loosely employed to denote moral rather than physical or metaphysical relationship. Thus "sons of Belial" (Jg 19: 22 etc.) are wicked men, not descendants of Belial; and in the NT the "children of the bridechamber" are wedding guests. So a "son of God" is a man, or even people, who reflect the character of God. There is little evidence that the title was used in Jewish circles of the Messiah, and a sonship which implied more than a moral relationship would be contrary to Jewish monotheism. ⁴⁰

Is Jesus "son of David ”?

To prove that Jesus was the expected Messiah and therefore apply Luke 1: 31-33 and Matthew 1: 20 to Jesus , it has been claimed that Jesus , the alleged physical son of God, was also the physical son of David at the same time. It is so because the promised Messiah had to come from the line of David . It has been asserted that Jesus descended from this royal line, both through his foster-father Joseph and through his mother's line. He is, nevertheless, God's only-begotten son as well, conceived by the Holy Ghost. This mystery is revealed in the Gospel of Luke by the word of Archangel Gabriel, speaking on behalf of God "the Father". To prove this, even though few of the Jewish priests of the first century CE knew their ancestors back as far as four or five generations. Moreover, it is unlikely that any lay person could say who their ancestors were in the male or female line past their grandfathers or great grandfathers. Matthew and Luke provide a genealogy of Jesus back through Joseph which ends with Abraham in the former and Adam in the latter.

In modern times, some have suggested that the genealogy in Luke's Gospel is that of Mary, even though Luke is evident in that his genealogy is through Joseph going back through Zorobabel to David . Even if Luke meant Mary when he said Joseph in the genealogy, this would still not be enough to prove that Jesus is the physical son of David for the following reasons:

The Messiah must be from the House of David (Jeremiah, 33: 17-20, 1 Chronicles, 17: 11-12). This affiliation is conferred through the Father and therefore Matthew 1 and Luke 3 attempted to trace Jesus' lineage through Joseph back to King David . However, as both the Gospels record, Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary, and therefore Joseph was not Jesus' father. To answer this objection, most modern scholars assume that Joseph must have adopted Jesus in some form or another, thus giving him Davidic status, and many even point to such adoption as a Jewish custom. Whereas, adoption was unknown in the Jewish law of that period.

Besides, the Quran's rejection of adoption having a legal effect ⁴¹ also shows that according to the Divine Law, the adoption does not give adopted children the same status as a biological child. Such adoption was well known in Roman law, in particular among the aristocracy. The idea of Divine fatherhood or adoption of kings is also well-known in the Ancient Near East. Egyptian Pharaohs, for example, while inheriting their fathers' throne, were considered to be sons of Re. ⁴² However, in none of these cases did such "divine-born" rulers ever deny their human parents. ⁴³ Furthermore, according to the Old Testament , as well as tribal and family affiliations of this type cannot be claimed by adoption (The Bible, Numbers 1: 18, 19-49), and at any rate, there is no indication in the Christian Scriptures that Joseph ever adopted Jesus under Jewish law.

Secondly, the Messiah must be from the seed of Solomon (2 Samuel, 7: 12-16; 1 Chronicles, 17: 11-14; 22: 9-10; 28: 6-7). Matthew, indeed claims that Jesus was descended through Solomon . However, Luke claimed that Jesus descended through Nathan, David's another son (who was not a king). This information eliminates Jesus as the expected Messiah through Luke. Also, there is another serious problem with the claim that Luke's genealogy is that of Mary, which is that Mary is not mentioned in Luke's genealogy. Even if it was the genealogy of Mary, this is meaningless as the Old Testament recognises tribal affiliation through the father (Numbers, 1: 18-19). Moreover, the modern Bible scholars who claim that Jesus' genealogy in Luke goes back through Mary, ignore or are unaware of the reality. The fact is that Mary and her cousin Elisabeth were from the tribe of Levi, and were Levites, not then, children of David , which would have required them to be from the tribe of Judah. Elisabeth was a descendant of Aaron the Levite, and Mary, the mother of Christ, was her cousin. As the Bible states:

٥ كَانَ فِي أَيَّامِ هِيرُودُسَ مَلِكِ ٱلْيَهُودِيَّةِ كَاهِنٌ ٱسْمُهُ زَكَرِيَّا مِنْ فِرْقَةِ أَبِيَّا، وَٱمْرَأَتُهُ مِنْ بَنَاتِ هارُونَ وَٱسْمُهَا أَلِيصَابَاتُ. . . ٣٦ وَهُوَذَا أَلِيصَابَاتُ نَسِيبَتُكِ هِيَ أَيْضًا حُبْلَى بِٱبْنٍ فِي شَيْخُوخَتِهَا، وَهَذَا هُوَ ٱلشَّهْرُ ٱلسَّادِسُ لِتِلْكَ ٱلْمَدْعُوَّةِ عَاقِرًا. ⁴⁴

During the time when Herod was king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah. His wife's name was Elizabeth; she also belonged to a priestly family. . . Remember your relative Elizabeth. It is said that she cannot have children, but she herself is now six months pregnant, even though she is very old.

Aaron was a Levite, and therefore Elisabeth and her cousin Mary were Levites. This is in exact conformity with the Quranic verse:

يَاأُخْتَ هَارُونَ مَا كَانَ أَبُوكِ امْرَأَ سَوْءٍ وَمَا كَانَتْ أُمُّكِ بَغِيًّا 28⁴⁵

“O sister of Haroon, neither was your father an evil man nor was your mother of poor conduct!”

This verse informs us that Mary was a sister of Aaron in the sense that she descended from Aaron's family. This is also a decisive evidence pointing to the prophethood of Muhammad and the Divine authorship of the Holy Quran. For it was impossible for Prophet Muhammad who was unlettered and therefore unaware of what the Bible writes about Mary, to have known that Mary was a Levite, from the tribe of Aaron unless God had revealed it to him.

The prophecy was fulfilled in the personality of prophet Muhammad

The attempts to prove that Jesus is from the House of David and therefore expected the Messiah to whom the Gospel writers and certain Bible scholars attribute all the prophecies are futile. However, history shows that all the signs in this prophecy as well as in many similar others are fulfilled in the personality of Prophet Muhammad , his Companions and followers. Prophet Muhammad liberated the People of the Book, absolving their prophets of all calumnies attributed to them by their followers in the course of time and which founded into the Bible as well. He treared the Jews and the Christians with compassion who were living under the Islamic rule by giving them protection and relieving them of their burden. The Holy Quran narrates it as:

الَّذِينَ يَتَّبِعُونَ الرَّسُولَ النَّبِيَّ الْأُمِّيَّ الَّذِي يَجِدُونَهُ مَكْتُوبًا عِنْدَهُمْ فِي التَّوْرَاةِ وَالْإِنْجِيلِ يَأْمُرُهُمْ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَاهُمْ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ وَيُحِلُّ لَهُمُ الطَّيِّبَاتِ وَيُحَرِّمُ عَلَيْهِمُ الْخَبَائِثَ وَيَضَعُ عَنْهُمْ إِصْرَهُمْ وَالْأَغْلَالَ الَّتِي كَانَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ فَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِهِ وَعَزَّرُوهُ وَنَصَرُوهُ وَاتَّبَعُوا النُّورَ الَّذِي أُنْزِلَ مَعَهُ أُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ 157⁴⁶

“Those who will obey this Noble Messenger (Prophet Mohammed , the Herald of the Hidden who is untutored (except by Allah), whom they will find mentioned in the Taurat and the Injeel with them; he will command them to do good and forbid them from wrong, and he will make lawful for them the good clean things and prohibit the foul for them, and he will unburden the loads and the neck chains which were upon them; so those who believe in him, and revere him, and help him, and follow the light which came down with him – it is they who have succeeded."

The Israelites had fettered their lives by undue restrictions which had been placed on them by the legal hair-splitting of their jurists, the pietistic exaggerations of their spiritual leaders, the introduction of superstitions and self-contrived laws and regulations by, their masses. Prophet Muhammad , by relieving them of every unnecessary burden and releasing them from every unjustified restriction, in fact liberated their shackled lives. ⁴⁷

Also, Jerusalem remained as a city of peace for many centuries only under the government of Islam. The throne of David , too, was inherited by the Holy Prophet and his successors. Jesus did not inherit even the throne of David . When he was questioned by Pilate "Are you the King of the Jews?” he answered in decisive terms: “My kingdom does not belong to this world; if my kingdom belonged to this world, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish authorities. No, my kingdom does not belong here!” ⁴⁸ Whereas, as pointed out before, David was both a prophet and caliph, who judged with justice, and so was Prophet Muhammad . The caliphate continued through his successors. Furthermore, as there shall be no prophet after him, there shall be no end of his kingdom. In addition, the ten lost tribes of Israel, who had renounced their faith in the time of Rehoboam - son of Solomon over whom Rachel – Jacob's wife, wept (Matthew, 2: 18), returned to the true faith in Afghanistan and Kashmir in the footsteps of Muhammad . Jesus' duty towards them, the lost sheep of Israel, was fulfilled by Muhammad , because of which Jesus promised him with his name Ahmad. Thus, the Holy Prophet solaced and soothed Rachel in heaven, and bringing her children back to the faith of their forefathers Jacob and Abraham made them the inheritors of the kingdom.

The kingdom of God or heaven

The subject of the kingdom of God, found seventy-two times in the New Testament. The kingdom of Heaven, found thirty-two times, all in the Gospel of Matthew, is one of the central topics of the Gospels and Christianity, as well as of Judaism.

It is not Jesus who invented this expression, for we find it in the Old Testament as well. For example, the Bible states:

٣ عَظِيمٌ هُوَ ٱلرَّبُّ وَحَمِيدٌ جِدًّا، وَلَيْسَ لِعَظَمَتِهِ ٱسْتِقْصَاءٌ. ⁴⁹

The Lord is great and is to be highly praised; his greatness is beyond understanding.

Daniel 4 is also of the same import:

٣ آيَاتُهُ مَا أَعْظَمَهَا، وَعَجَائِبُهُ مَا أَقْوَاهَا! مَلَكُوتُهُ مَلَكُوتٌ أَبَدِيٌّ وَسُلْطَانُهُ إِلَى دَوْرٍ فَدَوْرٍ. ⁵⁰

How great are the wonders God shows us! How powerful are the miracles he performs! God is king forever; he will rule for all time.

The term "kingdom of God" is, as pointed out above, found in all four canonical Gospels and the Pauline epistles. The Gospel of Matthew uses the phrase "the kingdom of Heaven" more often. Mark and Luke use the Greek term "Basileia tou Theou", usually translated into English as "kingdom of God." Matthew, on the other hand, employs the Greek term "Basileia ton Ouranon", which is translated as "the Kingdom of Heaven" much more frequently than "kingdom of God".

The word "kingdom" is a translation of the Greek word basileia which in turn is a translation of the Hebrew Malkuth and Aramaic Makuta. Some scholars such as C. H. Dodd argues that the Hebrew word Malkuth means "kingship," "kingly rule," "reign" or "sovereignty" rather than "kingdom" in English which is the exact translation of the Greek basileia. Whereas, according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the Hebrew word Malkuth has a very physical meaning, implying that the translation "kingdom" may be understood as both realm and a temporal kingdom. ⁵¹

"Mulk" and "Malakut" in the Holy Quran

In fact, the Holy Quran uses two different words for the same meanings, mulk and malakut. Mulk expresses the external aspect or dimension of creation and God's sovereignty in this realm. However, in this aspect of existence where opposites are mixed with each other and humanity has been given free will, God usually acts or executes His rule behind the apparent causes. Whereas malakut denotes the pure, immaterial, internal aspect or dimension of creation. In this realm, God acts or executes His rule or commands directly without the agency of obvious causes. Things and events are time-bound in the mulk aspect of existence. Therefore, events take place in a progressive course. On the other hand, the time has no effect, and everything occurs in an instant in malakut aspect or dimension, God's commandments or acts which take place instantly in the malakut aspect takes a certain course of time to be materialised in the mulk aspect. ⁵² Thus, it is entirely possible that the difference of views among the Bible scholars about the meaning of "Kingdom of God" arises from the non-differentiation between mulk and malakut. It is because of the same fact that is found in the Bible that the term "kingdom of God" is sometimes used in the meaning of "God's imperial rule" in the universe. Sometimes "God's kingdom or absolute sovereignty of the heavens and earth", and sometimes in the meaning of "Heaven".

"The kingdom of God" as understood by Amillenarians ⁵³ and Pre-Millenarians ⁵⁴

There is another area of debate concerning the concept of the kingdom of God; it is between amillenarians and pre-millenarians. According to the former, the kingdom of Heaven is equivalent to the concept of the kingdom of God and fulfilled in a spiritual rule of God in the hearts of those who put their trust in Christ. Some of them regard the kingdom as the unification of the human race, prompted by universal love, while still, some others anticipate a future intrusion of God into history.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that the coming Reign of God will be a kingdom of love, peace, and justice. The kingdom of God began with Christ's death and Resurrection and must be further extended by Christians until it has been brought to perfection by Christ at the end of time. As for the pre-millenarians, there is a bewildering lack of uniformity in their approaches as well. Some groups take a political/eschatological approach to the kingdom of God emphasising a physical reign of Jesus Christ on earth. These groups often place special emphasis on the role of a restored kingdom of Israel. Others consider the church itself as the kingdom of God on the earth. However, this is limited to a spiritual or ecclesiastical kingdom until the Millennium when Christ will also establish a political kingdom of God. ⁵⁵

Jewish understanding of the conceptof the "kingdom of God"

According to the Jewish understanding of the conception of the "kingdom of God", God will restore the nation of Israel to the land, following the Abrahamic covenant. God chose the children of Israel for His purpose and made His covenant with them. This covenant requires the children of Israel not to practice idolatry and to live their lives according to the commandments. In return, God promised Abraham to make of him a great nation and to bless those who bless him and curse those who curse him; and all peoples on earth would be blessed through Abraham . ⁵⁶ Circumcision is the permanent sign of this everlasting covenant with Abraham and his male descendants and is known as the covenant of circumcision. ⁵⁷

God also promised Abraham to give his descendants all the land from the river (or valley) of Egypt to the Euphrates. ⁵⁸ Later, this land, which came to be referred to as the Promised Land or the Land of Israel, included the modern nations of Saudi Arabia, Oman, Yemen, Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, and several other countries within the Middle East. The Abrahamic Covenant of Isaac passed to Jacob among Isaac's sons (Genesis, 27), and from Jacob the Covenant passed to Joseph (Genesis, 48: 34) and then to his son Ephraim (Genesis 48: 17-19).

Although the Messiah was expected to come from Jacob's descendant Judah, the birthright of many nations remained with Joseph's son Ephraim. The Assyrians defeated the Ephraimites in 556 B.C. However, both these people; the ten lost tribes of Israel and their modern day identity remained lost. ⁵⁹ Nevertheless, it has almost been scientifically established that these people have preserved themselves as the people of Afghanistan and Kashmir, who were converted to Islam after Prophet Muhammad .

The kingdom of God or heaven in the New Testament

Back to the use of the term of the kingdom of God or heaven in the New Testament and its features, the following points are worth considering:

• From that time Jesus began to preach his message: Turn away from your sins, because the kingdom of heaven is near! (The Bible, Matthew 4: 17; Mark 1: 14-15; Luke 10: 9).
• You have been given the secret of the kingdom of God,” Jesus answered. “But the others, who are on the outside, hear all things by means of parables, so that, ‘They may look and look, yet not see; they may listen and listen, yet not understand. For if they did, they would turn to God, and he would forgive them.’” (The Bible, Mark 4: 11-12; Luke 8: 10).
• “Happy are those who know they are spiritually poor; the kingdom of heaven belongs to them! (Matthew 5: 3, 10).
• Remember that as long as heaven and earth last, not the least point, nor the smallest detail of the Law will be done away with—not until the end of all things. So then, whoever disobeys even the least important of the commandments and teaches others to do the same, will be least in the kingdom of heaven. On the other hand, whoever obeys the Law and teaches others to do the same, will be great in the Kingdom of heaven. (The Bible, Matthew 5: 18-19).
• Jesus looked around at his disciples and said to them, “How hard it will be for rich people to enter the kingdom of God!” The disciples were shocked at these words, but Jesus went on to say, “My children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is much more difficult for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle.” (The Bible, Mark 10: 23-25).
• Moreover, if your eye makes you lose your faith, take it out! It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with only one eye than to keep both eyes and be thrown into hell. (The Bible, Mark 9: 47; 10: 14-15).
• The kingdom of heaven includes both the right and saved and those merely professing faith, the latter to be later cast out (The Bible, Matthew 13: 24-30, 36-43; Mark 4: 26-29).
• I assure you that many will come from the east and the west and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the feast in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 8: 11; Luke 13: 29); It will even be that the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before the chief priests and the elders of the people even though they are from the Israelites (The Bible, Matthew 21: 23, 31).
• The kingdom of heaven or God is subject to rapid growth. Though at first it is like a grain of mustard, less than all seeds, yet when it is grown rapidly, it is greater than the herbs, and becomes a great tree, so that the birds of heaven come and lodge in its branches or under its shadow (The Bible, Matthew 13: 31-32; Mark 4: 30-32; Luke 13: 18-19).
• The kingdom of God comes with power and many from among those who live in the time of the prophet will in no wise taste death before it comes (The Bible, Mark 9: 1; Luke 9: 27).
• The kingdom of heaven or God is like leaven or yeast, that is, it develops secretly, silently, steadily, pervading all the faculties of the soul, all the fields of life, and all the kingdoms of the world, uniting them as a single community (The Bible, Matthew 13: 33-35).
• The kingdom of God will be taken away from the Israelites and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits of it (The Bible, Matthew 21: 43).

In whom have the signs of the kingdom of God been fulfilled?

When we look at those features or signs of the kingdom of God or heaven given in the Bible, in the New Testament, we obviously see that Jesus Christ did not possess these features or signs. However, all of them can be evidently observed in the personality of the Prophet Muhammad and Islam. Few of them are cited below:

Although Jesus expressly warned that whoever broke one of the commandments of the law (regardless of how small it may be) and taught others so, would be called small in the kingdom of heaven. Nonetheless, whoever did and taught them, he would be called great in the kingdom of heaven. Just after Jesus , the law was almost abolished by Paul himself and entering the kingdom of God would be made dependent only on faith in and love for Jesus . Without obedience to the law, These things are little value. As the Holy Quran states:

قُلْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللَّهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللَّهُ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ 31⁶⁰

Proclaim, (O dear Prophet Mohammed ), “O mankind! If you love Allah, follow me – Allah will love you and forgive you your sins”; and Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

Love is the very substance of existence and the link amongst all its parts. With all His essential Attributes originating in His very Essence, and Names and Acts, the Creator of existence is Perfect. Any perfection is loved because of itself. Since God is All-Perfect and the source of all perfection in existence, He is worthy of love above everything else. This love is the origin of existence or the universe. Loving God requires loving Muhammad who is the most illustrious herald of God as the one who makes Him known to us. Loving God and Muhammad is exhibited by following the Prophet and moulding one's life according to the faith he preached. Following him means fulfilling God's commandments. People cannot be sincere in their claim of love unless they follow the teaching of the one whom they love in their daily life, Otherwise, this claim becomes a mere assertion which is of no importance.

Jesus explicitly stated that he was sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. However, many people from the east and the west, that is, from all nations of the world will go into the kingdom of God. It will even be that the publicans and the harlots will go into it before the chief priests and the elders of the Israelites. This did not happen in the life of Jesus . Those who first believed in Jesus were from Israel. However, Prophet Muhammad appeared in Makkah among the pagan Arabia where usury, adultery and many other vices were widespread. However, later on, many people started to believed in the prophethood of Prophet Muhammad and God's Religion.

It is hard for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven or God; it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. ⁶¹

Also, the kingdom of God is for the innocent like children. Just as Jesus predicted, the first to accept Islam, in Makkah were from among the poor, children and youth. This statement has another meaning as well. Islam greatly encourages spending in God's cause and for the needy in the form of Zakat (the Prescribed Alms) and other chariries. Therefore, it is hard for the rich, especially those of them who are arrogant, to be able to spend of their wealth to the needy and the vast majority of those who refuse to accept God's Religion consists of the wealthy. The Holy Quran uses the same metaphor of a camel going through a needle's eye as follows:

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَذَّبُوا بِآيَاتِنَا وَاسْتَكْبَرُوا عَنْهَا لَا تُفَتَّحُ لَهُمْ أَبْوَابُ السَّمَاءِ وَلَا يَدْخُلُونَ الْجَنَّةَ حَتَّى يَلِجَ الْجَمَلُ فِي سَمِّ الْخِيَاطِ وَكَذَلِكَ نَجْزِي الْمُجْرِمِينَ 40⁶²

Indeed, those who denied Our signs and were conceited towards them – the gates of the heavens will not be opened for them, nor will they enter Paradise until the camel goes through the needle’s eye; and this is the sort of reward We give the guilty.

One meaning of the kingdom of God or heaven is the eternal heavenly kingdom or paradise. It is only the Holy Quran among the Sacred Texts which frequently and insistently mentions the afterlife, promising paradise to the devout and righteous believers and warning the wicked and unbelievers against hell. Believing in the afterlife is the second of the pillars of faith in Islam.

The kingdom of heaven includes both the good, saved and those merely professing faith, the latter to be later cast out. It also happened likewise Jesus prophesied that in Madina, there were many hypocrites among the Muslims. Those hypocrites merely professed faith with their mouths, but were unbelievers in their hearts. The Holy Quran explicitly states that the hypocrites will be in the lowest depth of the Fire (an-Nisa (The Women) 4: 145).

The kingdom of God comes with power and rapidly and many from among those living in the time of the prophet will in no wise taste death before it comes. That is, some of those who live in the lifetime of the Prophet by means of ‘whom the kingdom of God comes, will not die before it is established.’ It is only through Muhammad that God's Religion was communicated in its entirety and established. The Holy Quran declares:

حُرِّمَتْ عَلَيْكُمُ الْمَيْتَةُ وَالدَّمُ وَلَحْمُ الْخِنْزِيرِ وَمَا أُهِلَّ لِغَيْرِ اللَّهِ بِهِ وَالْمُنْخَنِقَةُ وَالْمَوْقُوذَةُ وَالْمُتَرَدِّيَةُ وَالنَّطِيحَةُ وَمَا أَكَلَ السَّبُعُ إِلَّا مَا ذَكَّيْتُمْ وَمَا ذُبِحَ عَلَى النُّصُبِ وَأَنْ تَسْتَقْسِمُوا بِالْأَزْلَامِ ذَلِكُمْ فِسْقٌ الْيَوْمَ يَئِسَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِنْ دِينِكُمْ فَلَا تَخْشَوْهُمْ وَاخْشَوْنِ الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ الْإِسْلَامَ دِينًا فَمَنِ اضْطُرَّ فِي مَخْمَصَةٍ غَيْرَ مُتَجَانِفٍ لِإِثْمٍ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ 3⁶³

Forbidden for you are carrion, and blood, and flesh of swine, and that which has been slaughtered while proclaiming the name of any other than Allah, and one killed by strangling, and one killed with blunt weapons, and one which died by falling, and that which was gored by the horns of some animal, and one eaten by a wild beast, except those whom you slaughter; and (also forbidden is) that which is slaughtered at the altar (of idols) and that which is distributed by the throwing of arrows (as an omen); this is an act of sin; this day, the disbelievers are in despair concerning your religion, so do not fear them and fear Me; this day have I perfected your religion for you* and completed My favour upon you, and have chosen Islam as your religion; so whoever is forced by intense hunger and thirst and does not incline towards sin, then indeed Allah is Oft Forgiving, Most Merciful.

During the Caliphate of ‘Umar , the Second Caliph, a Jewish person said to him: "There is a verse in your Book that, if it had been revealed to us, we would have celebrated the day it was revealed as a religious festival," and recited this verse.

Also, Jesus predicted that the kingdom of God came with power and rapidly through the Holy Prophet . This was fulfilled when he established a state in Madina, and within twenty years after its establishment, it spread to an area of around 1 million km2., destroying two superpowers of the time, The Persian Sassanid Empire, and the Roman Byzantine Empire. Whereas, Jesus neither claimed kingship nor established a kingdom. Nor did Christianity come with power.

The kingdom of heaven or God is subject to the rapid growth. Although at first, it is like a grain of mustard, less than all seeds, when it is grown rapidly, it is greater than the herbs, and becomes a great tree, so that the branches of heaven come and lodge in its branches or under its shadow. ⁶⁴

That is, as also stated by Bible commentators, saints, scholars, and eagle-like warriors lodge in its branches or under its shadow. Just as it was predicted by Jesus , Islam began in Makkah with one person, the Holy Prophet . It grew rapidly and became a huge tree within such a short a short of 23 years. Just like Jesus , the Holy Quran endorses the fact that the growth of Islam was like the growth of a tree. As the Holy Quran states:

مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ وَالَّذِينَ مَعَهُ أَشِدَّاءُ عَلَى الْكُفَّارِ رُحَمَاءُ بَيْنَهُمْ تَرَاهُمْ رُكَّعًا سُجَّدًا يَبْتَغُونَ فَضْلًا مِنَ اللَّهِ وَرِضْوَانًا سِيمَاهُمْ فِي وُجُوهِهِمْ مِنْ أَثَرِ السُّجُودِ ذَلِكَ مَثَلُهُمْ فِي التَّوْرَاةِ وَمَثَلُهُمْ فِي الْإِنْجِيلِ كَزَرْعٍ أَخْرَجَ شَطْأَهُ فَآزَرَهُ فَاسْتَغْلَظَ فَاسْتَوَى عَلَى سُوقِهِ يُعْجِبُ الزُّرَّاعَ لِيَغِيظَ بِهِمُ الْكُفَّارَ وَعَدَ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ مِنْهُمْ مَغْفِرَةً وَأَجْرًا عَظِيمًا 29⁶⁵

Mohammed is the Noble Messenger of Allah, and his companions are stern with the disbelievers and merciful among themselves – you will see them bowing and falling in prostration, seeking Allah’s munificence and His pleasure; their signs are on their faces, from the effects of their prostration; this trait of theirs is mentioned in the Taurat; and their trait is mentioned in the Injeel; like a cultivation that sprouted its shoot, then strengthened it, then thickened and then stood firm upon its stem, pleasing the farmer – in order to enrage the disbelievers with them; Allah has promised forgiveness and a great reward to those among them who have faith and do good deeds.

The kingdom of heaven or God is like leaven or yeast, that is, it develops secretly, silently, steadily, pervading all the faculties of the soul, all the fields of life, and all the kingdoms of the world, uniting them as a single community. All the signs in this description point to the birth and development of Islam and how it addresses and satisfies all the faculties of human beings and how it has united many nations under its banner due to its universality.

The kingdom of God will be taken away from the Israelites and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits of it. ⁶⁶

This prophecy states that the kingdom of God will not belong to the Israelites; it will be taken from them and given to another nation. Jesus was also sent to the Israelites but still, the Israelites disobeyed. Hence the kingdom was taken away from them and was given to the nation of Prophet Muhammad . History is witness to the fact that it is the Muslim nation which has produced the fruits of God's Kingdom in plenty.

The last point about the kingdom of God or heaven is that according to the Jewish understanding of the concept of the kingdom of God, God will restore the nation of Israel to their land, following the Abrahamic covenant. God chose the Children of Israel for His purpose and made His covenant with them. Whereas as clearly proved based on the Old Testament and the New Testament, birthright belongs to Ishmael as Abraham's legitimate first-born son and the final Covenant was made between God and Abraham and his only son Ishmael before Isaac was born. Although Isaac also had a right to the Covenant, in addition to the fact that the Israelites were not able to remain faithful to the Covenant and as Jesus declared, it was taken from them, the Abrahamic Covenant of Isaac passed to Jacob among Isaac's sons (Genesis, 27) and from Jacob to Joseph (Genesis, 48:34), and then to Joseph's son Ephraim (Genesis, 48:17-19). However, the Ephraimites were defeated by the Assyrians in 556 B.C. These people, the ten tribes of Israel, were lost. As discussed before, it is believed and has almost scientifically been established that they preserved themselves as the people of Afghanistan and Kashmir, who converted to Islam after Prophet Muhammad .

The messianic ‘son of man’

In the Old Testament, the term "son of man" is used as a poetical synonym for man, or for the ideal man, such as:

١٩ لَيْسَ ٱللّٰهُ إِنْسَانًا فَيَكْذِبَ، وَلَا ٱبْنَ إِنْسَانٍ فَيَنْدَمَ. هَلْ يَقُولُ وَلَا يَفْعَلُ؟ أَوْ يَتَكَلَّمُ وَلَا يَفِي؟ ⁶⁷

God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? (KJV)

٢ طُوبَى لِلْإِنْسَانِ ٱلَّذِي يَعْمَلُ هَذَا، وَلِٱبْنِ ٱلْإِنْسَانِ ٱلَّذِي يَتَمَسَّكُ بِهِ، ٱلْحَافِظِ ٱلسَّبْتَ لِئَلَّا يُنَجِّسَهُ، وَٱلْحَافِظِ يَدَهُ مِنْ كُلِّ عَمَلِ شَرٍّ. ⁶⁸

Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil. (KJV)

The Ezekiel is addressed by God as "Son of man" more than ninety times, e.g.:

١ فَقَالَ لِي: يَا ٱبْنَ آدَمَ، قُمْ عَلَى قَدَمَيْكَ فَأَتَكَلَّمَ مَعَكَ. ⁶⁹

And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee. (KJV)

In the Gospels, the term "son of man" is used no fewer than eighty-one times. Christians accept that it is used to designate Jesus . However, as explained in the Catholic Encyclopedia, it is seldom found in the early Greek Fathers as a title for Christ. However, the most remarkable thing connected with the "son of man" is that it is found only in the mouth of Christ. It is never employed by the disciples or Evangelists, nor by the early Christian writers. The early Fathers were of the opinion that the expression was used out of humility and to show Christ's human nature. ⁷⁰ Therefore, if this term had a special significance for Jesus , it must certainly have been widely used by the disciples and at least early Christians. It is also curious that Jesus used this label before his "crucifixion". There are no post-resurrection appearances of Jesus where he continues to describe himself as the "son of man".

However, most Christians believe that the phrase "son of man" took on Messianic significance within the Christian movement primarily due to the Jewish eschatology. Whereas other scholars and Christians believe that Jesus did not use the phrase originally as a title at all and that he used it primarily to refer to humanity. The phrase then became reworked toward an apocryphal slant. ⁷¹ Thus, like many other creedal doctrines of Christianity, the meaning of "son of man" has become one of the most important puzzles in New Testament scholarship.

The Holy Quran presents to us Jesus Christ as "Jesus, son of Mary." In the Gospels, the son of Mary becomes: (1) the son of Joseph , having James, Jossi, Simon, and Judah as brothers and sisters or only nephews; (2) God Himself and the son of God; (3) the son of David ; (4) the son of man; (5) the son only; (6) the Christ; (7) the Messiah and the Savior; (8) the Lamb, the sacrificial goat. Also, according to the Gospels, "the son of God assumed the appellation of ‘the son of man’ or the Bar nasha out of humility and meekness, having nowhere to lay his head, and delivered into the hands of the evildoers and killed, but he was also a strong man with tremendous power and strength to destroy and disperse the birds of prey and the ferocious beasts that were tearing and devouring his sheep and lambs.

Many scholars and researchers have drawn the following conclusions regarding the meaning of the appellation of "son of man" in the Bible:

The use of the term in the Bible

1. When Jesus refers to himself as the "son of man", he is usually described as the Son of man's fate on earth. "son of man" refers to the humanity of Jesus meaning "human" in English. It is not a respectful appellation, but a humbling one.

2. "Soil of maul" is a translation of Aramaic Bar nahsa. Although it etymologically means "son of man", its meaning at Christ's time was only "man". Although the Evangelists (writers of the Gospels) knew this, they translated it into "Son of man". It evidently hints that Jesus is the Messianic Son of the man referred in Daniel:

١٣ «كُنْتُ أَرَى فِي رُؤَى ٱللَّيْلِ وَإِذَا مَعَ سُحُبِ ٱلسَّمَاءِ مِثْلُ ٱبْنِ إِنْسَانٍ أَتَى وَجَاءَ إِلَى ٱلْقَدِيمِ ٱلْأَيَّامِ، فَقَرَّبُوهُ قُدَّامَهُ. ⁷²

I saw in the night-visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. (KJV)

3. When Jesus describes himself as the "son of man", he is saying that he is just human-probably a generalisation meaning "I" or "one". Geza Vermes is a professor emeritus of Jewish studies at Wolfson College, Oxford. He suggests that the term originates in Aramaic, bar nash/bar nasha and it is based on his study of Aramaic sources, concludes that in these sources: "son of man" (i) is a regular expression for man in general; (ii) often serves as an indefinite pronoun ("one" or "someone"); and (iii) may be employed as a circumlocution, implying awe, reserve, or modesty. In none of the extant text does "son of man" figure as a title. ⁷³

4. According to the Jewish Encyclopaedia, "son of man" applies to humankind in general, as opposed to and distinct from the non-human relationship. Moreover, to accentuate the difference between God and human beings. It occurs most frequently, however, as a synonym for "mankind", the human race". Similarly, in Aramaic, "son of man" is the usual designation for "man" and occurs in the inscriptions in Syrian, Mandaic, Talmudic, and other dialects. Among Jews, the term "son of man" was not used as the specific title of the Messiah. The New Testament expression is a translation of the Aramaic bar nasha, and as such could have been understood only as the substitute for a personal pronoun, or as emphasising the human qualities of those to whom it is applied. Most of the recent writers (among them being II. Lietzmann) have come to the conclusion that Jesus, speaking Aramaic, could never have designated himself as the "son of man" in a Messianic, mystic sense, because the Aramaic term never implied this meaning. The Greek translators coined the phrase, which then led, under the influence of Daniel 7: 13 and the Logos Gospel, to the theological construction of the title which is basic to the Christology of the Church. Indeed, examination of many of the passages shows that in the mouth of Jesus , the term was an equivalent for the personal pronoun "I".

5. John Dominic Crossan (1934) is an Irish-American religious scholar and former Catholic priest. He is known for co-founding the Jesus Seminar, and a major figure in the fields of biblical archaeology, anthropology and New Testament textual and higher criticism. He argues that all the appellations or titles of "Divine", "son of God", "God", "God from God", "Lord", "Redeemer", "Liberator", and "Savior of the World" ever existed before Jesus and belonged to Caesar the Augustus. They were later adopted by the early Christians to apply them to Jesus as denying them of Caesar the Augustus. Therefore, Crossan is of the opinion that while Jesus may have used the name to refer to himself in the sense of "a human being", the use of it as a reference to a divine figure was put in Jesus' mouth by his followers.

6. Ed Parish Sanders (1937), a New Testament scholar and Arts and Sciences Professor of Religion, concludes that Jesus used the name "son of man". He expected the "son of man" to come from heaven, but it is not certain that he identified himself as that future "Son of man". Sanders even goes on to argue that the more explicit claims of Jesus as expected "son of man" are later interpolations.

7. Another argument concerning "son of man" is that Jesus could not have referred to himself in the third person so often if he had wanted to apply the various Divine titles and claims to himself. Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965), a theologian and philosopher, for example, took the third-person references to indicate that Jesus as speaking of someone other than himself. ^74757677

"Son of man" in the Holy Quran

In the Holy Quran, God addresses human beings sometimes as "O human beings" in the plural, and sometimes "O human being" in the singular, and while speaking about the common characteristic of humanity, the Holy Quran usually uses the term, "the human being". However, to remind of what happened between Adam , the first human being, and Satan, and warn humanity against Satan's seductions, God addresses human beings as "O sons (or children) of Adam". So, it is clear that to emphasise his humanness Jesus Christ must have referred to himself as "son of man". The Holy Quran also stresses the human features and servanthood of Prophet Muhammad and other prophets, while praising them, and it mentioned their servanthood before their divine messengership. This way of addressing and mention is of particular importance in preventing deification of "holy people" like the prophets.

Daniel's "son of man"

If the prophethood of Prophet Muhammad and Islam had not insistently been denied, Christian friends would not have been debating on the identity or term of "son of man". Rather, they would also have admitted that the "Messianic" son of man to whom Daniel refers and whose key attributes are mentioned in the New Testament, cannot be anyone other than Prophet Muhammad . This is because all these attributes are evident in him, and all the accomplishments ascribed to the "Messianic" Son of man were fulfilled in him. Daniel says:

١٣ كُنْتُ أَرَى فِي رُؤَى ٱللَّيْلِ وَإِذَا مَعَ سُحُبِ ٱلسَّمَاءِ مِثْلُ ٱبْنِ إِنْسَانٍ أَتَى وَجَاءَ إِلَى ٱلْقَدِيمِ ٱلْأَيَّامِ، فَقَرَّبُوهُ قُدَّامَهُ. ١٤ فَأُعْطِيَ سُلْطَانًا وَمَجْدًا وَمَلَكُوتًا لِتَتَعَبَّدَ لَهُ كُلُّ ٱلشُّعُوبِ وَٱلْأُمَمِ وَٱلْأَلْسِنَةِ. سُلْطَانُهُ سُلْطَانٌ أَبَدِيٌّ مَا لَنْ يَزُولَ، وَمَلَكُوتُهُ مَا لَا يَنْقَرِضُ. ⁷⁸

I saw in the night-visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. (KJV)

Commenting on the "son of man" in the New Testament, some scholars rightfully argue that it is true that Jesus sometimes uses "son of man" to describe a Messianic, apocalyptic figure, but this figure was not himself. Mark, for example, makes a distinction between Jesus and the "son of man". He states:

“If you are ashamed of me and of my teaching in this godless and wicked day, then the Son of Man will be ashamed of you when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” ⁷⁹

Mark continues:

"For the Son of Man is about to come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he will reward each one according to his deeds. I assure you that there are some here who will not die until they have seen the Son of Man come as King.” ⁸⁰

It is unquestionably clear that some of the contemporaries of the "Messianic" son of man will see that the kingdom of God has come with power. None of Jesus' contemporaries observed the arrival of any son of man as a king nor the establishment of the kingdom of God with power in their lives (as per King James Version). However, many of the contemporaries of the Prophet Muhammad , who were an opponent of him likewise of those who had been an opponent of Jesus saw that God perfected His religion before the demise of the Prophet Muhammad , and the kingdom of God came to power.

The signs of the "messianic" son of man and Prophet Muhammad

The other indications of the “Messianic” or apocalyptic "Son of man", they were also fulfilled in Prophet Muhammad . He made Mi’raj or travelled through the dimensions of existence and ascended as high as the presence of God all alone without any of His creature, escorted by angels and returned to the world to establish both the spiritual and earthly kingdom of God on justice. He was given dominion, glory and kingdom, and all peoples, nations, and languages have served him. There have been no nations from among which none has accepted Islam. Also, Muhammad is the only prophet among the rest about whom God has declared that He sent him as a mercy for all the worlds, As the Holy Quran states

وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا رَحْمَةً لِلْعَالَمِينَ 107⁸¹

And We did not send you (O dear Prophet Mohammed ) except as a mercy for the entire world.

Moreover, he was sent to all nations, and his religion would enter every house in the world, at least people know about it. Since Prophet Muhammad is the Last Prophet and heir to all the previous prophets, his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is one that shall not be destroyed.

Furthermore, as some Christian scholars and researchers admit, Daniel's figure of "son of man" is a corporate characteristic. Maurice Casey, the writer of the “Solution to the Son of Man Problem,” argues that the Daniels "son of man" was a symbol of the saints of the highest found in the same chapter and that therefore, the "Son of man" cannot be identified with an individual only. ⁸²

It is true that Daniel mentions the kingdom of the "son of man" together with the people of the saints of the highest. As discussed before in this study, these saints are mentioned in certain places in the Bible numbering ten thousand. For example, the Epistle of Jude, which is a part of the New Testament, gives us the following prophecy of the Enoch :

١٤ وَتَنَبَّأَ عَنْ هَؤُلَاءِ أَيْضًا أَخْنُوخُ السَّابِعُ مِنْ آدَمَ قَائِلًا: هُوَذَا قَدْ جَاءَ ٱلرَّبُّ فِي رَبَوَاتِ قِدِّيسِيهِ، ١٥ لِيَصْنَعَ دَيْنُونَةً عَلَى ٱلْجَمِيعِ، وَيُعَاقِبَ جَمِيعَ فُجَّارِهِمْ عَلَى جَمِيعِ أَعْمَالِ فُجُورِهِمْ ٱلَّتِي فَجَرُوا بِهَا، وَعَلَى جَمِيعِ ٱلْكَلِمَاتِ ٱلصَّعْبَةِ ٱلَّتِي تَكَلَّمَ بِهَا عَلَيْهِ خُطَاةٌ فُجَّارٌ. ⁸³

It was Enoch, the seventh direct descendant from Adam, who long ago prophesied this about them: “The Lord will come with many thousands ⁸⁴ of his holy angels to bring judgment on all, to condemn them all for the godless deeds they have performed and for all the terrible words that godless sinners have spoken against him!”

This same prophecy of Enoch was repeated by Moses in Deuteronomy as follows:

٢ فَقَالَ: جَاءَ ٱلرَّبُّ مِنْ سِينَاءَ، وَأَشْرَقَ لَهُمْ مِنْ سَعِيرَ، وَتَلَأْلأَ مِنْ جَبَلِ فَارَانَ، وَأَتَى مِنْ رِبْوَاتِ ٱلْقُدْسِ، وَعَنْ يَمِينِهِ نَارُ شَرِيعَةٍ لَهُمْ. ⁸⁵

The Lord came from Mount Sinai; he rose like the sun over Edom and shone on his people from Mount Paran. Ten thousand angels were with him, a flaming fire at his right hand.

Only Muhammad had ten thousands of holy ones (companions) in his life. When he conquered Makkah without shedding blood, he had ten thousand companions with him, and at the time of his demise, his companions numbered more than one hundred thousand.

The most consistent feature of the New Testament descriptions of the "Son of man" is his judicial function. Because the vision of Daniel continues with a judgment scene. As described by Casey in his above-mentioned book, thrones are placed, and one Ancient of Days takes his seat. His throne and his wheels are flames of fire, and he has thousands of attendants. The court sits, and the books are opened. The fourth beast (the fourth terrible kingdom to be established after Daniel , one in the place of another) is put to death, and its body is destroyed.

Also, the New Testament tells us that the "son of man" will send forth angels to gather out of his kingdom all stumbling blocks and separate the righteous from the wicked, executing the wrath of God upon the wicked. All offending things and those who practice lawlessness will be cast into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnash of teeth. ⁸⁶

A true religion can properly be named only after or by its real founder, that is God, not a prophet. The proper noun for the laws, doctrines, forms and practices of worship as revealed by God to Prophet Muhammad is Islam. It is because of this fact that "Muhammadanism" is not the proper appellation of Islam. For Prophet Muhammad was himself a Muslim and not a Muhammadan! The Latin word ‘religion’, means ‘the fear of the gods’ ⁸⁷ and nowadays it is used to express any mode of faith or worship. This name cannot be the equivalent of the name that God has given to the true Religion. This name does not exist in the Bible. It is deep, which means a judgment, and God is Ad-Dayyan (The One Who Judges). The religion of Islam is called Ad-Deen Al-Islam. It was according to the decrees and laws of this Deen that Bar nasha (the expected son of man) destroyed the devil's religion and his lieutenant the fourth beast and the Horn (the Roman and Byzantine Empires).

Islam, with its law, is a ‘Judgment of peace'

Islam is, indeed, a ‘judgment of peace’. It possesses an authenticated Book of Law, with which justice is administered, and iniquity is punished. The truth is discerned, and falsehood is condemned. Above all, the Oneness of God, the eternal rewards for good deeds, and eternal damnation for evil actions are stated and defined. In English a magistrate is called ‘Justice of Peace’, that is to say, a ‘judge of peace’. Now, this is in imitation of a Muslim Judge, who settles a quarrel, decides a case, by punishing the guilty and rewarding the innocent, thus restoring peace. This is Islam and the law of the Holy Quran. Whereas, the Gospel forbids a Christian to appeal to a judge, however innocent and oppressed he may be. As Bible states:

٢٥ كُنْ مُرَاضِيًا لِخَصْمِكَ سَرِيعًا مَا دُمْتَ مَعَهُ فِي ٱلطَّرِيقِ، لِئَلَّا يُسَلِّمَكَ ٱلْخَصْمُ إِلَى ٱلْقَاضِي، وَيُسَلِّمَكَ ٱلْقَاضِي إِلَى ٱلشُّرَطِيِّ، فَتُلْقَى فِي ٱلسِّجْنِ. ⁸⁸

If someone brings a lawsuit against you and takes you to court, settle the dispute while there is time before you get to court. Once you are there, you will be turned over to the judge, who will hand you over to the police, and you will be put in jail.

The "son of man" establishes the kingdom of peace

The "son of man" establishes the Kingdom of Peace, the capital that is no longer the old Jerusalem, but the new Jerusalem - the Dar as-Salam, ‘the City of Peace and Safety’. The terrestrial Jerusalem is lifted up and transplanted in a southern country; and a new Temple, larger and higher than the first one, is built upon the ruins of the old edifice! All these signs were in the Holy Prophet Muhammad only . The new Jerusalem is none other than Makkah, in a southern country, with two hills, Marwa and Safa, ⁸⁹ bearing the same names as those of Moriah ⁹⁰. The Vulgate (late fourth-century Latin translation of the Bible) renders the location specified by God for the sacrifice, traditionally rendered "land of Vision" in Catholic translations. Traditionally Moriah has been interpreted as the name of the specific mountain at which this occurred, rather than just the name of the range. Muslims believe the historical mount is Marwah in Arabic, as mentioned in the Quran, located close to the Kaaba in Makka, Saudi Arabia.] and Zion, ⁹¹ of the same root and significance, but originally earlier. For it was Adam who built the Kaaba first, and Abraham left his wife, Hagar and first-born son Ishmael there. Years later, Abraham and his son Ishmael rebuilt the Kaaba upon its original foundations. Makkah has become a city of peace, safety, light and salvation. It is for this reason, too, that Makkah as the seat of the sacred Kaaba has also become the Qibla, the direction toward which the Muslims turn their faces at Prayer. Every year, millions of pilgrims from all over the world flow to Makkah, visit the Holy Kaaba, offer sacrifices, renew their loyalty to God and promise to lead a new life worthy of a Muslim. Not only Makkah but also Madina with its precincts has become sacred and inviolable. Also, the second Caliph, ‘Umar, rebuilt the Sacred Mosque in the old Jerusalem on the hill of Moriah.

All these detail shows that all the signs concerning the "Messianic" son of man are fulfilled in Prophet Muhammad and his saintly followers, very often, angels came to aid the Prophet Muhammad in his lifetime. For example, during his migration and in the battles of Badr and Hunayn, God sent many angels for his support. ⁹² This was also the fulfilment of one of the signs of the prophecy concerning the "Messianic" son of man.

The "son of man" saves that which was lost

Matthew 18: 11 and Luke 19: 10 state that the "son of man" will come to save that which was lost. This verse appears in Luke 15: 3-7 in the parable of the lost sheep. It is also stated in Gill's exposition that what is meant by "that which was lost" is particularly the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As we discussed before, the lost sheep or the ten lost tribes of the house of Israel-the people of Afghanistan and Kashmir were found by Islam and converted to it. Moreover, in Prophet Muhammad alone, the believing Jews, as well as the Arabs and other believers, found all that was lost and destroyed-Jerusalem and Makkah. Also, all the promised territories, many truths concerning the true Religion, the kingdom of God, the peace and blessing that Islam confers in this world and the next.

The "son of man" is lord of the sabbath

The "son of man" is also the Lord ever of the Sabbath. ⁹³ According to Bible commentators, he does not abolish the Sabbath, but has the right to make any change in it, in the interest of humankind, that seems to him wise. These commentators argue that this is a declaration of divinity, for the "son of man" has a right to meddle with a divine command. However, Paul abolished almost all the commands of the Old Testament or the law, which Jesus obeyed. Also, the teachings he was sent to make come true (Matthew 5: 17). Since most Christian friends have believed that obeying law or act is not necessary for salvation; faith in and love for Jesus is sufficient for salvation. No one has ever claimed that Paul's abolition of the law meant his declaration of Divinity or shows that he had divine authority. Furthermore, according to John, Jesus himself says:

٢٨ فَقَالَ لَهُمْ يَسُوعُ: «مَتَى رَفَعْتُمُ ٱبْنَ ٱلْإِنْسَانِ، فَحِينَئِذٍ تَفْهَمُونَ أَنِّي أَنَا هُوَ، وَلَسْتُ أَفْعَلُ شَيْئًا مِنْ نَفْسِي، بَلْ أَتَكَلَّمُ بِهَذَا كَمَا عَلَّمَنِي أَبِي. ٢٩ وَٱلَّذِي أَرْسَلَنِي هُوَ مَعِي، وَلَمْ يَتْرُكْنِي ٱلْآبُ وَحْدِي، لِأَنِّي فِي كُلِّ حِينٍ أَفْعَلُ مَا يُرْضِيه. ⁹⁴

"When you lift up the Son of Man, you will know that ‘I Am Who I Am’; then you will know that I do nothing on my own authority, but I say only what the Father has instructed me to say. And he who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone because I always do what pleases him."

This is a characteristic of divine prophethood or messenger-ship which is declared in the Holy Quran as well:

وَمَا يَنْطِقُ عَنِ الْهَوَى 4 إِنْ هُوَ إِلَّا وَحْيٌ يُوحَى 4⁹⁵

And he does not say anything by his own desire. It is but a divine revelation, which is revealed to him.

Jesus said that it was the Sabbath, which was instituted for the benefit of humanity and not humanity for the sake of the Sabbath. He did not adhere to the literal interpretation of the ordinances regarding the Sabbath, but never thought of abrogating it. However, the Hellenistic Christians gradually substituted first the "Lord's Day", i.e. Sunday; but the Eastern Churches until the fourth century observed both days. If Jesus were the Lord of the Sabbath day, he would have certainly either modified its rigorous law or entirely abolished it. However, he did neither of it. It was abrogated in the Holy Quran. The followers of the Bible believed that God created the heavens and the earth in six days and rested on the seventh, i.e., Saturday. However, the Holy Quran utterly rejected this anthropomorphic conception of deity, for it means to say, as if like a human being, God laboured six days, got fatigued, reposed and slumbered. The Holy Quran declared:

وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا فِي سِتَّةِ أَيَّامٍ وَمَا مَسَّنَا مِنْ لُغُوبٍ 38⁹⁶

And We have indeed created the heavens and the earth, and all what is between them, in six days; and fatigue did not even approach Us.

The Jewish idea of the Sabbath had become too material and insidious. Therefore, Islam chose Friday in place of Saturday and instituted it as a day of congregational Prayer.

Friday, Jumu’a in Arabic, means assembly. God Almighty ordered the Jumu'a Prayer on this day, saying:

يَاأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِذَا نُودِيَ لِلصَّلَاةِ مِنْ يَوْمِ الْجُمُعَةِ فَاسْعَوْا إِلَى ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ وَذَرُوا الْبَيْعَ ذَلِكُمْ خَيْرٌ لَكُمْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ 9⁹⁷

O People who Believe! When the call for prayer is given on (Friday) the day of congregation, rush towards the remembrance of Allah and stop buying and selling; this is better for you if you understand.

However, Islam has not forbidden working either before or after the Jumu'a Congregational Prayer; rather, it encouraged people to work outside the times of Prayer:

فَإِذَا قُضِيَتِ الصَّلَاةُ فَانْتَشِرُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَابْتَغُوا مِنْ فَضْلِ اللَّهِ وَاذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ كَثِيرًا لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ 10⁹⁸

And when the prayer ends, spread out on the land and seek Allah’s munificence, and profusely remember Allah, in the hope of attaining success.

The writers of the Gospels, particularly Matthew, tended to ascribe all the ancient prophecies of Jesus . When they saw that the prophecy had not been fulfilled in the person of Jesus , they did the same with the prophecy concerning the coming "Son of man". When they saw that Jesus was given neither any kingdom, nor dominion, they claimed that it would come to pass on the occasion of the second coming of Christ. ⁹⁹ Although Jesus himself had admitted in the clearest terms:

٣٦ أَجَابَ يَسُوعُ: مَمْلَكَتِي لَيْسَتْ مِنْ هَذَا ٱلْعَالَمِ. لَوْ كَانَتْ مَمْلَكَتِي مِنْ هَذَا ٱلْعَالَمِ، لَكَانَ خُدَّامِي يُجَاهِدُونَ لِكَيْ لَا أُسَلَّمَ إِلَى ٱلْيَهُودِ. وَلَكِنِ ٱلْآنَ لَيْسَتْ مَمْلَكَتِي مِنْ هُنَا. ¹⁰⁰

"My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.”

The prophet engrossed with divine unity and God's house

The gospel writers tended to apply the prophecies about the Holy Prophet on Jesus Christ and turned Jesus' predictions of him into mere narratives. For example, John quotes David to have said:

١٧ فَتَذَكَّرَ تَلَامِيذُهُ أَنَّهُ مَكْتُوبٌ: «غَيْرَةُ بَيْتِكَ أَكَلَتْنِي». ¹⁰¹

His disciples remembered that the scripture says, “My devotion to your house, O God, burns in me like a fire.”

The Bible states that David quoted these words. ¹⁰² It is unthinkable that David was engrossed with the Temple in Jerusalem, simply because the Temple was built after him by his son, Solomon . However, in his time the Kaaba in Makkah already existed and was filled with idols. Adam first built the Kaaba. As the Holy Quran states:

إِنَّ أَوَّلَ بَيْتٍ وُضِعَ لِلنَّاسِ لَلَّذِي بِبَكَّةَ مُبَارَكًا وَهُدًى لِلْعَالَمِينَ 96¹⁰³

ranslation: Indeed the first house that was appointed as a place of worship for humanity, is the one at Mecca (the Holy Ka’aba), blessed and guidance to the whole world.

Behold, the first House (of Prayer) established for humankind is the one at Bakkah (Makkah), a blessed place and a (centre or focus of guidance for all people). (¹⁰⁴) Abraham emigrated from Palestine rebuilt it together with his son Ishmael upon its foundations. While building, they prayed, saying:

وَإِذْ قَالَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ رَبِّ اجْعَلْ هَذَا بَلَدًا آمِنًا وَارْزُقْ أَهْلَهُ مِنَ الثَّمَرَاتِ مَنْ آمَنَ مِنْهُمْ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ قَالَ وَمَنْ كَفَرَ فَأُمَتِّعُهُ قَلِيلًا ثُمَّ أَضْطَرُّهُ إِلَى عَذَابِ النَّارِ وَبِئْسَ الْمَصِيرُ 126 وَإِذْ يَرْفَعُ إِبْرَاهِيمُ الْقَوَاعِدَ مِنَ الْبَيْتِ وَإِسْمَاعِيلُ رَبَّنَا تَقَبَّلْ مِنَّا إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ 127 رَبَّنَا وَاجْعَلْنَا مُسْلِمَيْنِ لَكَ وَمِنْ ذُرِّيَّتِنَا أُمَّةً مُسْلِمَةً لَكَ وَأَرِنَا مَنَاسِكَنَا وَتُبْ عَلَيْنَا إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ التَّوَّابُ الرَّحِيمُ 128¹⁰⁵

And (remember) when Ibrahim prayed, “My Lord! Make this city a place of security and bestow upon its people various fruits as Providence – for those among them who believe in Allah and the Last Day (of Resurrection)”; He answered, “And whoever disbelieves, I shall provide him also some subsistence and then compel him towards the punishment of fire (hell); and that is a wretched place to return.” And (remember) when Ibrahim was raising the foundations of the House, along with Ismail; (saying), “Our Lord! Accept it from us; indeed You only are the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing. Our Lord! And make us submissive towards you and from our offspring a nation obedient to You – and show us the ways of our worship, and incline towards us with Your mercy; indeed You only are the Most Acceptor of Repentance, the Most Merciful.”

وَإِذْ قَالَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ رَبِّ اجْعَلْ هَذَا الْبَلَدَ آمِنًا وَاجْنُبْنِي وَبَنِيَّ أَنْ نَعْبُدَ الْأَصْنَامَ 35¹⁰⁶

ranslation: And remember when Ibrahim prayed, “O my Lord! Make this town (Mecca) a safe one, and safeguard me and my sons from worshipping idols.”

When the Passover festival was near, Jesus went to Temple that sold oxen, sheep, doves, and the changers of money sitting, casting all of the oxen and the sheep, and pouring out the changers' money out of the Temple, said to those who sold the doves:

َكَانَ فِصْحُ ٱلْيَهُودِ قَرِيبًا، فَصَعِدَ يَسُوعُ إِلَى أُورُشَلِيمَ، ١٤ وَوَجَدَ فِي ٱلْهَيْكَلِ ٱلَّذِينَ كَانُوا يَبِيعُونَ بَقَرًا وَغَنَمًا وَحَمَامًا، وَٱلصَّيَارِفَ جُلُوسًا. ١٥ فَصَنَعَ سَوْطًا مِنْ حِبَالٍ وَطَرَدَ ٱلْجَمِيعَ مِنَ ٱلْهَيْكَلِ، اَلْغَنَمَ وَٱلْبَقَرَ، وَكَبَّ دَرَاهِمَ ٱلصَّيَارِفِ وَقَلَّبَ مَوَائِدَهُمْ. ١٦ وَقَالَ لِبَاعَةِ ٱلْحَمَامِ: «ٱرْفَعُوا هَذِهِ مِنْ هَهُنَا! لَا تَجْعَلُوا بَيْتَ أَبِي بَيْتَ تِجَارَةٍ!». ١٧ فَتَذَكَّرَ تَلَامِيذُهُ أَنَّهُ مَكْتُوبٌ: «غَيْرَةُ بَيْتِكَ أَكَلَتْنِي». ¹⁰⁷

It was almost time for the Passover Festival, so Jesus went to Jerusalem. There in the Temple, he found people selling cattle, sheep, and pigeons, and also the money changers sitting at their tables. So he made a whip from cords and drove all the animals out of the Temple, both the sheep and the cattle; he overturned the tables of the moneychangers and scattered their coins; and he ordered those who sold the pigeons, “Take them out of here! Stop making my Father's house a marketplace!” His disciples remembered that the scripture says, “My devotion to your house, O God, burns in me like a fire.”

Bible commentators take these words to mean that the one who said it had great zeal, intense ardour and extraordinary concern for the pure worship of God.

The pure worship of God means worshipping God for His sake only and not worshipping any one else beside him. This belief is the essence of a true Religion, which God Almighty has ordered humanity through every prophet. As the Holy Quran states:

وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا مِنْ قَبْلِكَ مِنْ رَسُولٍ إِلَّا نُوحِي إِلَيْهِ أَنَّهُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنَا فَاعْبُدُونِ 25 وَقَالُوا اتَّخَذَ الرَّحْمَنُ وَلَدًا سُبْحَانَهُ بَلْ عِبَادٌ مُكْرَمُونَ 26¹⁰⁸

And We did not send any Noble Messenger before you, but We divinely revealed to him that, “There is no God except I (Allah), therefore worship Me alone.” And they said, “The Most Gracious has chosen a son – Purity is to Him! In fact, they are honourable bondmen.”

وَلَقَدْ بَعَثْنَا فِي كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ رَسُولًا أَنِ اعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ وَاجْتَنِبُوا الطَّاغُوتَ فَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ هَدَى اللَّهُ وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ حَقَّتْ عَلَيْهِ الضَّلَالَةُ فَسِيرُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ فَانْظُرُوا كَيْفَ كَانَ عَاقِبَةُ الْمُكَذِّبِينَ 36¹⁰⁹

And indeed We sent to every nation a Noble Messenger (proclaiming) that “Worship Allah and beware of the devil”; therefore Allah guided some of them, and error proved true upon some of them; therefore travel in the land and see what sort of fate befell the deniers!

It is also proclaimed in the Holy Quran:

وَمَا أُمِرُوا إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ مُخْلِصِينَ لَهُ الدِّينَ حُنَفَاءَ وَيُقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَيُؤْتُوا الزَّكَاةَ وَذَلِكَ دِينُ الْقَيِّمَةِ 5¹¹⁰

And they were ordered only to worship Allah, believing purely in Him – devoted solely (to Him), and to establish the prayer and to pay the obligatory charity – and this is the straight religion.

The prophet engrossed with establishing the basic belief of divine unity and pure worship of God

History proves that despite the clear command of God Almighty, people have adopted many deities from among human beings, angels, jinn, and idols and worshipped them besides God. All the prophets were engaged with guiding people to the worship of the One God and purging the places devoted to the worship of God of idols or images of those false deities. Prophet Muhammad was consumed the most of all with establishing the cardinal creed of the oneness of God, His worship alone and practising the Religion only for His sake because when he began his mission, many people in the world did not believe in one God but associated partners with Him in belief and worship. Not only the people of Makkah but also the overwhelming majority of individuals all over the world had set up deities besides God for worship. Also, those who believed in the Oneness of God did not know how to worship Him. Besides, the Holy Kaaba (the first of God) had been filled with as many as 360 idols. In addition, the Temple in Jerusalem had already been ruined. It had such a high value in the Holy Prophet's sight that in Madina, he and his followers turned toward it in their prayers for around two years. During his Mi’raj, his miraculous journey through the dimensions of existence as high as the presence of God, he had been taken from Makkah to the place of the Temple in Jerusalem.

All the facts mentioned indicate the greatest individual of belief in Divine Unity and pure worship of God. Furthermore, Muhammad was engrossed in guiding the people to the true Religion of God. With that goal being his topmost priority, he considered all circumstances and did everything permitted. In the face of a firm opposition, he did not lose heart, weaken, or resort to such improper means as violence, terror, or deception even when faced with relentless hardship and torture. He was so compassionate and merciful that when he was severely wounded at the battle of Uhud, one of his companions asked him to invoke God's curse on the enemy. Instead, he prayed for them, saying:

اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِقَوْمِي فَإِنَّهُمْ لاَ يَعْلَمُونَ ¹¹¹

"O God, forgive my people because they do not know."

He made this supplication while his face was bleeding profusely. He was so concerned about the people's guidance and so pained by unbelief, polytheism and idol worship that God frequently advised him to take care of himself, saying:

فَلَعَلَّكَ بَاخِعٌ نَفْسَكَ عَلَى آثَارِهِمْ إِنْ لَمْ يُؤْمِنُوا بِهَذَا الْحَدِيثِ أَسَفًا 6¹¹²

Possibly you may risk your life by grieving (O dear Prophet Mohammed ) for them if they do not believe in this narration.

Theses verses evidently prove that Prophet Muhammad was engrossed with establishing the Basic Belief of Divine Unity and Pure Worship of God.

The concern of the Holy Prophet with people's guidance

God's Messenger invited people to God's path both publicly and privately. He called some extremely stubborn people such as Abu Jahl at least fifty times. It is enough to see how much he was engrossed with the pure worship of God and how exceptionally concerned with people's guidance how he invited Wahshi to the true faith and worship of God even though Wahshi had killed the Holy Prophet's uncle, Hamza at the Battle of Uhud. After the conquest of Makkah, God's Messenger sent for him to accept Islam. Wahshi returned the invitation with a letter, including the following verses:

وَالَّذِينَ لَا يَدْعُونَ مَعَ اللَّهِ إِلَهًا آخَرَ وَلَا يَقْتُلُونَ النَّفْسَ الَّتِي حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ إِلَّا بِالْحَقِّ وَلَا يَزْنُونَ وَمَنْ يَفْعَلْ ذَلِكَ يَلْقَ أَثَامًا 68 يُضَاعَفْ لَهُ الْعَذَابُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَيَخْلُدْ فِيهِ مُهَانًا 69¹¹³

And those who do not worship any other deity along with Allah, and do not unjustly kill any living thing which Allah has forbidden, nor commit adultery; and whoever does this will receive punishment. The punishment shall be increased for him on the Day of Resurrection, and he will remain in it forever, with humiliation.

After the verses, Wahshi added: "You invite me to accept Islam, but I have committed all the sins mentioned therein. I have lived immersed in unbelief, had illegal sexual intercourse and, in addition, killed your uncle, who was most beloved by you. Can such a person be forgiven and become a Muslim?" God's Messenger sent him a written reply, containing the following verse:

إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَغْفِرُ أَنْ يُشْرَكَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَلِكَ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُ وَمَنْ يُشْرِكْ بِاللَّهِ فَقَدِ افْتَرَى إِثْمًا عَظِيمًا 48¹¹⁴

Undoubtedly Allah does not forgive (the sin of) disbelieving in Him and forgives anything lower than it to whomever He wills, and whoever ascribes partners to Allah has invented a tremendous sin.

Wahshi returned the letter with the excuse that the forgiveness promised in verse depended on God's Will. Upon this, God's Messenger sent him a third letter, in which the following verse was included:

قُلْ يَاعِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَى أَنْفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا مِنْ رَحْمَةِ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ 53¹¹⁵

Proclaim (O dear Prophet Mohammed ), “O my slaves, who have wronged themselves, do not lose hope in Allah’s mercy; indeed Allah forgives all sins; indeed He only is the Oft-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.”

The messenger's letters were of major importance in both understanding Islam and the method of communicating it. In the first letter he wrote, the Holy Messenger drew attention to the bedrock of Islamic faith and the two gravest sins which a Muslim can never commit. One who committed all the cardinal sins mentioned should know the essence of the Religion to which he or she was invited. After informing Wahshi of essential elements of Islam, the Holy Messenger wrote to him that in the case of sincere repentance for the sins one had committed before and lived a life without setting up another deity, besides God and committing the same sins, one might be forgiven. Thus, he showed him to the door opened to Islam. Finally, in his third letter, he reminded Wahshi of the principle: "All of one's previous sins are forgiven after one has accepted Islam sincerely." Taken together, through this correspondence, The Holy prophet opened Wahshi's heart to the faith, and Wahshi, seeing himself included in the verse mentioned in the last letter, was prepared to embrace Islam in his life as well. This correspondence enabled Wahshi to repent sincerely and become a good companion. ¹¹⁶

God's Messenger persevered, enduring constant and increasingly harsh derision, degradation, beatings, and expulsions. He invited not only his people to the true faith and worship but also all the kings and people of neighbouring countries. For example, after the Treaty of Hudaybiya, he sent letters to the rulers of neighbouring countries. He wrote to Negus, king of Abyssinia:

“From Muhammad , God's Messenger, to Negus Asham, King of Abyssinia. Peace be upon you! On this occasion, I praise God, the Sovereign, the Holy One free from all defects, the Giver of security, the Watcher over His creatures. I bear witness that Jesus is a spirit from God, a word from Him, whom He bestowed upon Mary, who was chaste, pure, and a virgin. I call you to God, the One with no partner.” Negus received the letter, and kissing it, put it on his head as a sign of respect. After reading the letter, Negus accepted Islam without hesitation and dictated to his secretary the following answer: “To Muhammad , God's Messenger, from Negus. I bear witness that you are the messenger of God. If you command me to come to you, I will do it, but I am not in a position to make my subjects Muslim. O God's Messenger, I testify that what you say is all true.” ¹¹⁷

Negus was so sincere that one day he told his confidants: "I would rather be a servant of Muhammad than a king." When he died, God's Messenger performed the funeral prayer for him in absentia. ¹¹⁸

The following letter was sent to Heraclius, emperor of Byzantium:

“From Muhammad , the servant of God and His messenger, to Heraclius, the greatest of the Byzantines. Peace be upon him who follows the guidance. After that, I invite you to Islam. Embrace Islam and secure salvation, that God may give you a double reward. If you turn away, you will be burned with, besides your own, the sins of all those who turn away (among your people). Say (O dear Prophet Mohammed ), “O People given the Book(s)! Come towards a word which is common between us and you, that we shall worship no one except Allah, and that we shall not ascribe any partner to Him, and that none of us shall take one another as lords besides Allah”; then if they do not accept say, “Be witness that (only) we are Muslims.” (Aale ‘Imran, 3: 64) ¹¹⁹

The Emperor was moved by the letter. He summoned Abu Sufyan, who was then in Syria leading a Makkan trade caravan. The following dialogue took place between them:

"What is this man's family status?" asked the Emperor. "A noble one," answered Abu Sufyan.

"Did any of his immediate ancestors claim prophethood?" "No."

"Was there a king among his ancestors?" "No."

"Do the elite or the weak follow him?"

"The weak."

"Has anyone apostatized after conversion to his religion?" "So far, nobody has."

"Do his followers increase or decrease?" "They increase daily."

"Have you ever heard him tell a lie?" "No."

"Has he ever broken his promise?"

"Not yet, but I do not know whether he will be in the future."

Although Abu Sufyan was at that time a ruthless enemy of God's Messenger , he told the truth about him except in his last words, which might raise doubts about the messenger's future trustworthiness. The emperor was inclined to acknowledge the faith, but seeing the reaction of the priests near him, he concluded: "In the future, all these lands I am resting upon will be his." ¹²⁰

Those who believed in him were not foolish or unreasonable people. Among them were such people as the first four Caliphs (Abu Bakr, `Umar, `Uthman, and 'Ali), all of whom administered a very great state. They were extremely profound in spirituality and profound in belief.

Having suffered 21 long years of terrible tyranny and torture, Prophet Muhammad conquered Makkah in the 21st year of his mission. He purged and purified the Holy Kaaba of idols and images for all time to come, establishing pure faith in God's absolute Oneness and pure worship of Him without setting up anyone or anything besides Him for worship. Also, the second Caliph, `Umar, rebuilt the Sacred Mosque in the old Jerusalem (Masjid Aqsa) on the hill of Moriah, and the old Jerusalem remained a city of peace for all Muslims, Jews and Christians for centuries under the governments of Muslims.

The acceptable year of God: the conquest of Makkah

Most Biblical scholars of modern times have assumed that "the authors who produced the Old Testament have no concept of the Christ that the Christians know. The supposed prophecies of Christ in the Old Testament were interpretations which were invented by early followers of the Christ to make the book appear to confirm the details of his life. Luke (4: 18-19), tells us that after the devil had tempted him, Jesus returned to Galilee and then went to Nazareth. On the day of the Sabbath, he entered the synagogue and stood up to read. There, the Book of Isaiah was delivered to him. He opened the book, and found the place the following was written:

١ رُوحُ ٱلسَّيِّدِ ٱلرَّبِّ عَلَيَّ، لِأَنَّ ٱلرَّبَّ مَسَحَنِي لِأُبَشِّرَ ٱلْمَسَاكِينَ، أَرْسَلَنِي لِأَعْصِبَ مُنْكَسِرِي ٱلْقَلْبِ، لِأُنَادِيَ لِلْمَسْبِيِّينَ بِٱلْعِتْقِ، وَلِلْمَأْسُورِينَ بِٱلْإِطْلَاقِ. ٢ لِأُنَادِيَ بِسَنَةٍ مَقْبُولَةٍ لِلرَّبِّ، وَبِيَوْمِ ٱنْتِقَامٍ لِإِلَهِنَا. لِأُعَزِّيَ كُلَّ ٱلنَّائِحِينَ. ¹²¹

The Sovereign Lord has filled me with his Spirit. He has chosen me and sent me to bring good news to the poor, to heal the broken-hearted, to announce release to captives and freedom to those in prison. He has sent me to proclaim that the time has come when the Lord will save his people and defeat their enemies. He has sent me to comfort all who mourn. ¹²²

These are the words of Isaiah . Bible commentators E.F. Karl Rosenmuller (1768-1835), H.F. Wilhelm Gesenius (1786-1842), and some others suppose that these words refer to Isaiah himself and that the idea is, that the prophet proclaims his commission as authorised to administer consolation to the suffering exiles in Babylon. However, they argue that in a much higher sense, it refers to the Messiah as a prophecy, and received an entire completion only as applied to him and his work.

The elements of the prophecy, Jesus quotes from Isaiah and Prophet Muhammad

Interpreted by Bible scholars, (Isaiah 61:1-2) this prophecy contains the following elements of the Messianic office and items of news:

• Being “chosen” means that God specially chose the prophet for the missions mentioned; that He constituted or appointed him to be the prophet, priest, and king of people;
• As the prophet, priest and king, he will preach good tidings to the meek, i.e. the afflicted, the distressed, the needy, and bind up the broken-hearted;
• He will proclaim liberty to the captives, restoring them to their country, and;
• Give sight to the blind;
• Open the prison to those that are bound;
• Proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord; and
• The day of vengeance of God.

It is an undeniable fact that Jesus never became a king and openly declared that his kingdom was not of this world. Therefore, he neither proclaimed liberty to the captives to restore them to their country, nor opened the prison to those that were bound. He did not proclaim the day of vengeance of God, that is, nor did he judge the rejecters of his message and make an attempt to punish transgressors and wrongdoers. It is also highly significant that the Holy Quran does not mention Jesus as one who preached good tidings to any segment of people. The only good news he preached was that of a messenger, i.e., Prophet Muhammad , who would come after him and whose name was Ahmad. ¹²³ Whereas, concerning Prophet Muhammad , God openly declares as follows:

لنَّبِيُّ إِنَّا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ شَاهِدًا وَمُبَشِّرًا وَنَذِيرًا 45 وَدَاعِيًا إِلَى اللَّهِ بِإِذْنِهِ وَسِرَاجًا مُنِيرًا 46 وَبَشِّرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ بِأَنَّ لَهُمْ مِنَ اللَّهِ فَضْلًا كَبِيرًا 47¹²⁴

O Herald of the Hidden! We have indeed sent you as an observing present witness and a Herald of glad tidings and warning. And as a caller towards Allah, by His command, and as the sun that enlightens. And give glad tidings to the believers that for them is Allah’s extreme munificence.

Also, during the life of Jesus , there never was any acceptable year (according to King James Version mentioned in a footnote) of the Lord. Because of this, the interpretation of the word ‘year’ gave rise among some of the Christian scholars that, as against the historical facts, Jesus' ministry lasted a single year. However, as all the signs of the prophecy under discussion were fully fulfilled in Prophet Muhammad , the year of the conquest of Makkah became the acceptable year of God when God's favour was proclaimed. Those who had not been able to see the truth until then came to see it more clearly. The poor, the afflicted, the distressed, and the needy received the glad tidings that there would no longer be the oppression of the merciless wealthy and oppressive leaders. The broken-hearted under the rule of oppressors, including those believers who had no possibility to emigrate to Medina and had to remain in Makkah, were bound. Besides, the believers who were kept captive in Makkah because of their belief were set at liberty, and the Muslims who had immigrated from Makkah to Medina were set free both to be able to return to Makkah if they willed and to perform pilgrimage freely whenever they wanted. Islam has always become and remained a hope for the poor, the afflicted, the needy, the oppressed, the slaves, and the captives. Of the acceptable year when Makkah was conquered, and the way to pilgrimage was opened, God had given the glad tidings in advance through His Holy Prophet :

لَقَدْ صَدَقَ اللَّهُ رَسُولَهُ الرُّؤْيَا بِالْحَقِّ لَتَدْخُلُنَّ الْمَسْجِدَ الْحَرَامَ إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ آمِنِينَ مُحَلِّقِينَ رُءُوسَكُمْ وَمُقَصِّرِينَ لَا تَخَافُونَ فَعَلِمَ مَا لَمْ تَعْلَمُوا فَجَعَلَ مِنْ دُونِ ذَلِكَ فَتْحًا قَرِيبًا 27¹²⁵

Allah has indeed made the truthful dream of His Noble Messenger, come true; indeed you will all enter the Sacred Mosque, if Allah wills, in safety – with your heads shaven or hair cut short – without fear; so He knows what you do not know, and has therefore ordained another imminent victory before this.

In verse 21 of Luke, which follows the prophecy under discussion, Jesus made the final announcement: "Today has this scripture fulfilled in your ears." This is the very words revealed to the Holy Prophet and conveyed to more than one hundred thousand people by him at his farewell sermon during his farewell pilgrimage in Arafat:

.....الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ الْإِسْلَامَ دِينًا.....3¹²⁶

. . . This day have I perfected your religion for you* and completed My favour upon you, and have chosen Islam as your religion. . .

The tenants who will give the lord the fruits of his vine

The divine word addresses individuals of all with the aim of guiding people. Since the divine truths are usually abstract and have multiple meanings which an ordinary individual cannot understand, it frequently speaks in parables. These parables also contain many hints significant events at the certain later date. It is recorded in Matthew that the wisdom underlying parables was that the common people might be able to understand the abstract truths. As the Bible states:

١٣ مِنْ أَجْلِ هَذَا أُكَلِّمُهُمْ بِأَمْثَالٍ، لِأَنَّهُمْ مُبْصِرِينَ لَا يُبْصِرُونَ، وَسَامِعِينَ لَا يَسْمَعُونَ وَلَا يَفْهَمُونَ. ¹²⁷

The reason I use parables in talking to them is that they look, but do not see, and they listen but do not hear or understand.

It was because of these reasons that Jesus , too, tended to speak in parables. What follows is the parable of the vineyard as recorded in Matthew:

٣٣« اِسْمَعُوا مَثَلًا آخَرَ: كَانَ إِنْسَانٌ رَبُّ بَيْتٍ غَرَسَ كَرْمًا، وَأَحَاطَهُ بِسِيَاجٍ، وَحَفَرَ فِيهِ مَعْصَرَةً، وَبَنَى بُرْجًا، وَسَلَّمَهُ إِلَى كَرَّامِينَ وَسَافَرَ. ٣٤ وَلَمَّا قَرُبَ وَقْتُ ٱلْأَثْمَارِ أَرْسَلَ عَبِيدَهُ إِلَى ٱلْكَرَّامِينَ لِيَأْخُذَ أَثْمَارَهُ. ٣٥ فَأَخَذَ ٱلْكَرَّامُونَ عَبِيدَهُ وَجَلَدُوا بَعْضًا وَقَتَلُوا بَعْضًا وَرَجَمُوا بَعْضًا. ٣٦ ثُمَّ أَرْسَلَ أَيْضًا عَبِيدًا آخَرِينَ أَكْثَرَ مِنَ ٱلْأَوَّلِينَ، فَفَعَلُوا بِهِمْ كَذَلِكَ. ٣٧ فَأَخِيرًا أَرْسَلَ إِلَيْهِمُ ٱبْنَهُ قَائِلًا: يَهَابُونَ ٱبْنِي! ٣٨ وَأَمَّا ٱلْكَرَّامُونَ فَلَمَّا رَأَوْا ٱلِٱبْنَ قَالُوا فِيمَا بَيْنَهُمْ: هَذَا هُوَ ٱلْوَارِثُ! هَلُمُّوا نَقْتُلْهُ وَنَأْخُذْ مِيرَاثَهُ! ٣٩ فَأَخَذُوهُ وَأَخْرَجُوهُ خَارِجَ ٱلْكَرْمِ وَقَتَلُوهُ. ٤٠ فَمَتَى جَاءَ صَاحِبُ ٱلْكَرْمِ، مَاذَا يَفْعَلُ بِأُولَئِكَ ٱلْكَرَّامِينَ؟». ٤١ قَالُوا لَهُ: «أُولَئِكَ ٱلْأَرْدِيَاءُ يُهْلِكُهُمْ هَلَاكًا رَدِيًّا، وَيُسَلِّمُ ٱلْكَرْمَ إِلَى كَرَّامِينَ آخَرِينَ يُعْطُونَهُ ٱلْأَثْمَارَ فِي أَوْقَاتِهَا. » ¹²⁸

“Listen to another parable,” Jesus said. “There was once a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a hole for the wine press, and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to tenants and left home on a trip. When the time came to gather the grapes, he sent his slaves to the tenants to receive his share of the harvest. The tenants grabbed his slaves, beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again the man sent other slaves, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. Last of all he sent his son to them. ‘Surely they will respect my son,’ he said. But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the owner's son. Come on, let's kill him, and we will get his property!’ So they grabbed him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. “Now, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” Jesus asked. “He will certainly kill those evil men,” they answered, “and rent the vineyard out to other tenants, who will give him his share of the harvest at the right time.”

It is interesting that this parable follows the warning and prediction of Jesus . This warning has already been discussed under the heading, "The Kingdom of God or Heaven". It says that even the publicans and harlots (of Makkah) will believe in the Last Prophet before the chief priests and elders of Israel. ¹²⁹ Therefore, the parable is clearly of the same significance.

This parable of Jesus is a restatement of the following prophecy of David in the Psalms:

٨ كَرْمَةً مِنْ مِصْرَ نَقَلْتَ. طَرَدْتَ أُمَمًا وَغَرَسْتَهَا. ٩ هَيَّأْتَ قُدَّامَهَا فَأَصَّلَتْ أُصُولَهَا فَمَلَأَتِ ٱلْأَرْضَ. ١٠ غَطَّى ٱلْجِبَالَ ظِلُّهَا، وَأَغْصَانُهَا أَرْزَ ٱللّٰهِ. ١١ مَدَّتْ قُضْبَانَهَا إِلَى ٱلْبَحْرِ، وَإِلَى ٱلنَّهْرِ فُرُوعَهَا. ١٢ فَلِمَاذَا هَدَمْتَ جُدْرَانَهَا فَيَقْطِفَهَا كُلُّ عَابِرِي ٱلطَّرِيقِ؟ ١٣ يُفْسِدُهَا ٱلْخِنْزِيرُ مِنَ ٱلْوَعْرِ، وَيَرْعَاهَا وَحْشُ ٱلْبَرِّيَّةِ. ١٤ يَا إِلَهَ ٱلْجُنُودِ، ٱرْجِعَنَّ. ٱطَّلِعْ مِنَ ٱلسَّمَاءِ وَٱنْظُرْ وَتَعَهَّدْ هَذِهِ ٱلْكَرْمَةَ، ١٥ وَٱلْغَرْسَ ٱلَّذِي غَرَسَتْهُ يَمِينُكَ، وَٱلِٱبْنَ ٱلَّذِي ٱخْتَرْتَهُ لِنَفْسِكَ. ١٦ هِيَ مَحْرُوقَةٌ بِنَارٍ، مَقْطُوعَةٌ. مِنِ ٱنْتِهَارِ وَجْهِكَ يَبِيدُونَ. ١٧ لِتَكُنْ يَدُكَ عَلَى رَجُلِ يَمِينِكَ، وَعَلَى ٱبْنِ آدَمَ ٱلَّذِي ٱخْتَرْتَهُ لِنَفْسِكَ، ١٨ فَلَا نَرْتَدَّ عَنْكَ. أَحْيِنَا فَنَدْعُوَ بِٱسْمِكَ. ¹³⁰

You brought a grapevine out of Egypt; you drove out other nations and planted it in their land. You cleared a place for it to grow; its roots went deep, and it's spread out over the whole land. It covered the hills with its shade; its branches overshadowed the giant cedars. It extended its branches to the Mediterranean Sea and as far as the Euphrates River. Why did you break down the fences around it? Now anyone passing by can steal its grapes; wild hogs trample it down, and wild animals feed on it. Turn to us, Almighty God! Look down from heaven at us; come and save your people! Come and save this grapevine that you planted, this young vine, you made grow so strong! Our enemies have set it on fire and cut it down; look at them in anger and destroy them! Preserve and protect the people you have chosen, the nation you made so strong. We will never turn away from you again; keep us alive, and we will praise you.

In the prophecy of David , there is no mention of the son of God, nor the fact that he would be. It is evident in the parable that the vine brought out of Egypt represents the Israelite nation. God Almighty, having brought this nation out of Egypt, settled them in the land of Canaan. Later, it grew into a powerful state. However, this nation later transgressed against God and, in the words of Jesus , paid no heed to the warnings of the prophets whom God sent them one after the other. They hurt some of them, unjustly killed others, as the Holy Quran states:

وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَا مُوسَى الْكِتَابَ وَقَفَّيْنَا مِنْ بَعْدِهِ بِالرُّسُلِ وَآتَيْنَا عِيسَى ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ الْبَيِّنَاتِ وَأَيَّدْنَاهُ بِرُوحِ الْقُدُسِ أَفَكُلَّمَا جَاءَكُمْ رَسُولٌ بِمَا لَا تَهْوَى أَنْفُسُكُمُ اسْتَكْبَرْتُمْ فَفَرِيقًا كَذَّبْتُمْ وَفَرِيقًا تَقْتُلُونَ 87¹³¹

And indeed We gave Moosa (Moses) the Book and subsequent to him, sent Noble Messengers one after another – and We gave Eisa (Jesus), the son of Maryam (Mary), clear proofs and supported him with the Holy Spirit; so when a Noble Messenger from Allah comes to you bringing what you yourselves do not desire, you grow arrogant; so you disbelieve in a group of the Prophets and another group of Prophets you slay!

As it is stated in the Holy Quran clearly and by Jesus in the parable that God finally sent Jesus to the Israelites. However, they denied him and betrayed him. Therefore, God Almighty caused this vine to be ruined and destroyed. David , lamenting for it, prayed to the Lord to give it a new chance and possibility for reanimation by finally sending "the man of His right hand, i.e., the son of man whom He has made strong for Himself. "Who will preach His message in a way to grow into an elaborate tree which will yield its fruits in every season.” We find this same comparison in the Holy Quran as:

أَلَمْ تَرَ كَيْفَ ضَرَبَ اللَّهُ مَثَلًا كَلِمَةً طَيِّبَةً كَشَجَرَةٍ طَيِّبَةٍ أَصْلُهَا ثَابِتٌ وَفَرْعُهَا فِي السَّمَاءِ 24 تُؤْتِي أُكُلَهَا كُلَّ حِينٍ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهَا وَيَضْرِبُ اللَّهُ الْأَمْثَالَ لِلنَّاسِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَذَكَّرُونَ 25¹³²

Did you not see how Allah illustrated the example of a sacred saying? Like a sacred tree, which has firm roots and branches reaching into heaven. Bearing fruit at all times by the command of its Lord, and Allah illustrates examples for people so that they may understand.

مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ وَالَّذِينَ مَعَهُ أَشِدَّاءُ عَلَى الْكُفَّارِ رُحَمَاءُ بَيْنَهُمْ تَرَاهُمْ رُكَّعًا سُجَّدًا يَبْتَغُونَ فَضْلًا مِنَ اللَّهِ وَرِضْوَانًا سِيمَاهُمْ فِي وُجُوهِهِمْ مِنْ أَثَرِ السُّجُودِ ذَلِكَ مَثَلُهُمْ فِي التَّوْرَاةِ وَمَثَلُهُمْ فِي الْإِنْجِيلِ كَزَرْعٍ أَخْرَجَ شَطْأَهُ فَآزَرَهُ فَاسْتَغْلَظَ فَاسْتَوَى عَلَى سُوقِهِ يُعْجِبُ الزُّرَّاعَ لِيَغِيظَ بِهِمُ الْكُفَّارَ وَعَدَ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ مِنْهُمْ مَغْفِرَةً وَأَجْرًا عَظِيمًا 29¹³³

Mohammed () is the Noble Messenger of Allah, and his companions are stern with the disbelievers and merciful among themselves – you will see them bowing and falling in prostration, seeking Allah’s munificence and His pleasure; their signs are on their faces, from the effects of their prostration; this trait of theirs is mentioned in the Taurat; and their trait is mentioned in the Injeel; like a cultivation that sprouted its shoot, then strengthened it, then thickened and then stood firm upon its stem, pleasing the farmer – in order to enrage the disbelievers with them; Allah has promised forgiveness and a great reward to those among them who have faith and do good deeds.

It is clear that the "man of God's right hand", the ‘son of man whom He has made strong for Himself' in the words of David and the tenants whom Jesus says the vineyard will be let out to and who will present to the Lord the fruits in their seasons is the promised Prophet Muhammad and his community. The vineyard was taken away from the children of Israel and given to the sons of Ishmael the Muslim nation. However, the prayer of David was also accepted, as the lost sheep of the house of Israel embraced Islam in Afghanistan and Kashmir and the other children of Israel have lived happily in the Muslim lands under the Islamic governments.

One of the principal dimensions of Jesus mission was to proclaim the glad tidings of the coming of Prophet Muhammad . Hence he continues to make the prophecy clearer in the following manner:

The last stone of the edifice of prophethood

The parable of the vineyard struck by Jesus as a restatement of a prophecy of David of the same significance and discussed above is immediately followed by the parable of the "Stone which the Builders Rejected" in Matthew. Jesus said:

٤٢ قَالَ لَهُمْ يَسُوعُ: أَمَا قَرَأْتُمْ قَطُّ فِي ٱلْكُتُبِ: ٱلْحَجَرُ ٱلَّذِي رَفَضَهُ ٱلْبَنَّاؤُونَ هُوَ قَدْ صَارَ رَأْسَ ٱلزَّاوِيَةِ؟ مِنْ قِبَلِ ٱلرَّبِّ كَانَ هَذَا وَهُوَ عَجِيبٌ فِي أَعْيُنِنَا! ٤٣ لِذَلِكَ أَقُولُ لَكُمْ: إِنَّ مَلَكُوتَ ٱللّّٰٰهِ يُنْزَعُ مِنْكُمْ وَيُعْطَى لِأُمَّةٍ تَعْمَلُ أَثْمَارَهُ. ٤٤ وَمَنْ سَقَطَ عَلَى هَذَا ٱلْحَجَرِ يَتَرَضَّضُ، وَمَنْ سَقَطَ هُوَ عَلَيْهِ يَسْحَقُهُ!. ¹³⁴

Jesus said to them, “Haven't you ever read what the Scriptures say? ‘The stone which the builders rejected as worthless turned out to be the most important of all. This was done by the Lord; what a wonderful sight it is!’ “And so I tell you,” added Jesus, “the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to people who will produce the proper fruits.” Whoever falls on this stone will be cut to pieces; and if the stone falls on someone, it will crush him to dust.

This parable is the same as the following prediction of David in the Psalms, shows God's acceptance of his prayer for the continuation of the divine religion and salvation of the righteous:

٢١ أَحْمَدُكَ لِأَنَّكَ ٱسْتَجَبْتَ لِي وَصِرْتَ لِي خَلَاصًا. ٢٢ ٱلْحَجَرُ ٱلَّذِي رَفَضَهُ ٱلْبَنَّاؤُونَ قَدْ صَارَ رَأْسَ ٱلزَّاوِيَةِ. ٢٣ مِنْ قِبَلِ ٱلرَّبِّ كَانَ هَذَا، وَهُوَ عَجِيبٌ فِي أَعْيُنِنَا. . .٢٥ آهِ يَارَبُّ خَلِّصْ! آهِ يَارَبُّ أَنْقِذْ! ٢٦ مُبَارَكٌ ٱلْآتِي بِٱسْمِ ٱلرَّبِّ. بَارَكْنَاكُمْ مِنْ بَيْتِ ٱلرَّبِّ. ¹³⁵

I praise you, Lord, because you heard me because you have given me victory. The stone which the builders rejected as worthless turned out to be the most important of all. This was done by the Lord; what a wonderful sight it is! . . Save us, Lord, save us! Give us success, O Lord! May God bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord! From the Temple of the Lord, we bless you.

The builders - the religious leaders of Israel, rejected the sons of Ishmael . Although, as it is evident in Genesis 15: 3-5; 17: 18, 20; 21: 17-18; and 22: 17-18, God's covenant with Abraham was made for Ishmael and fulfilled in Prophet Muhammad and his community. No prophets appeared among the Ishmaelites until Muhammad , who proved to be the last cornerstone of the edifice of prophethood. He said:

إن مثلي ومثل الأنبياء من قبلي، كمثل رجل بنى بيتا فأحسنه وأجمله، إلا موضع لبنة من زاوية، فجعل الناس يطوفون به، ويعجبون له، ويقولون هلا وضعت هذه اللبنة؟ قال: فأنا اللبنة وأنا خاتم النبيين ¹³⁶

My similitude in comparison with the other Prophets before me is that of a man who has built a house nicely and beautifully, except for a place of one brick in a corner (in the dome). The people go about it and wonder at its beauty, but say: "Would that this brick be put in its place!" So I am that brick, and I am the last of the Prophets.

As Jesus prophesied, those who fell on this stone were broken, and on whomever, it fell, it ground him to powder. In addition to the fact that Muhammad decisively defeated all his enemies and died in his bed Islam became dominant in the whole of Arabia. Within so short a time as ten years after his demise, Islam spread over so vast an area of around 1 million km2, putting an end to one of the two superpowers of the time, namely the Iranian Sassanid Empire, and the Roman Byzantine Empire. So, this stone, the headstone, is also the same stone which Nebuchadnezzar, the king of the Neo-Babylonian empire saw in his dream, which Daniel interpreted as follows:

٤٤ وَفِي أَيَّامِ هَؤُلَاءِ ٱلْمُلُوكِ، يُقِيمُ إِلَهُ ٱلسَّمَاوَاتِ مَمْلَكَةً لَنْ تَنْقَرِضَ أَبَدًا، وَمَلِكُهَا لَا يُتْرَكُ لِشَعْبٍ آخَرَ، وَتَسْحَقُ وَتُفْنِي كُلَّ هَذِهِ ٱلْمَمَالِكِ، وَهِيَ تَثْبُتُ إِلَى ٱلْأَبَدِ. ٤٥ لِأَنَّكَ رَأَيْتَ أَنَّهُ قَدْ قُطِعَ حَجَرٌ مِنْ جَبَلٍ لَا بِيَدَيْنِ، فَسَحَقَ ٱلْحَدِيدَ وَٱلنُّحَاسَ وَٱلْخَزَفَ وَٱلْفِضَّةَ وَٱلذَّهَبَ. ٱللّٰهُ ٱلْعَظِيمُ قَدْ عَرَّفَ ٱلْمَلِكَ مَا سَيَأْتِي بَعْدَ هَذَا. اَلْحُلْمُ حَقٌّ وَتَعْبِيرُهُ يَقِينٌ. ¹³⁷

At the time of those rulers the God of heaven will establish a kingdom that will never end. It will never be conquered, but will completely destroy all those empires and then last forever. 45 You saw how a stone broke loose from a cliff without anyone touching it and how it struck the statue made of iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold. The great God is telling Your Majesty what will happen in the future. I have told you exactly what you dreamed, and have given you its true meaning.”

This Headstone smashed into pieces the great image of gold, silver, bronze, iron and clay, which represented, in reality, the different forms of idolatry, and became a high mountain. Islam ruled almost half of the "Old World" for many centuries as a religion in its original purity and its enemies were many times defeated before it. It is, again, Islam, which is on the rise as both a pure, authentic religion and as a way of life. It is the hope of salvation for humanity.

The Gospel writers tried to interfere with this prophecy by giving the name ‘Peter’ (stone) to Simon, but Jesus' words about Peter are clear in the Gospels: Jesus turned around and said to Peter, “Get away from me, Satan! You are an obstacle in my way because these thoughts of yours do not come from God, but from human nature.” (Matthew 16: 23) Then Peter said, “I swear that I am telling the truth! May God punish me if I am not! I do not know that man (Jesus)!” (Matthew 26: 74) Also, When Simon (Peter) was afraid to walk on water and began to sink and cried out, saying, "Save me, Lord!" Jesus said to him: "What little faith you have! Why did you doubt?" (Matthew 14: 30-31)

The nation producing the fruits of God's kingdom

The following words of Jesus , which he stated between his descriptions of the headstone, make the prophecy much clearer:

٤٣ لِذَلِكَ أَقُولُ لَكُمْ: إِنَّ مَلَكُوتَ ٱللّٰهِ يُنْزَعُ مِنْكُمْ وَيُعْطَى لِأُمَّةٍ تَعْمَلُ أَثْمَارَهُ. ¹³⁸

And so I tell you,” added Jesus, “the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to people who will produce the proper fruits.

When we read the whole words of Jesus concerning the headstone, it makes the identification of this stone easier for us. As the Bible states:

٤٢ قَالَ لَهُمْ يَسُوعُ: أَمَا قَرَأْتُمْ قَطُّ فِي ٱلْكُتُبِ: ٱلْحَجَرُ ٱلَّذِي رَفَضَهُ ٱلْبَنَّاؤُونَ هُوَ قَدْ صَارَ رَأْسَ ٱلزَّاوِيَةِ؟ مِنْ قِبَلِ ٱلرَّبِّ كَانَ هَذَا وَهُوَ عَجِيبٌ فِي أَعْيُنِنَا! ٤٣ لِذَلِكَ أَقُولُ لَكُمْ: إِنَّ مَلَكُوتَ ٱللّٰهِ يُنْزَعُ مِنْكُمْ وَيُعْطَى لِأُمَّةٍ تَعْمَلُ أَثْمَارَهُ. ٤٤ وَمَنْ سَقَطَ عَلَى هَذَا ٱلْحَجَرِ يَتَرَضَّضُ، وَمَنْ سَقَطَ هُوَ عَلَيْهِ يَسْحَقُهُ!. ¹³⁹

Jesus said to them, “Haven't you ever read what the Scriptures say? ‘The stone which the builders rejected as worthless turned out to be the most important of all. This was done by the Lord; what a wonderful sight it is!’ “And so I tell you,” added Jesus, “the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to people who will produce the proper fruits.” Whoever falls on this stone will be cut to pieces; and if the stone falls on someone, it will crush him to dust.

A prophecy cannot be more obvious than this. Jesus , addressing the children of Israel, says: "Prophethood, which is itself the kingdom of God or which brings the kingdom of God, will now be taken away from you, and given to the other nation, i.e., the Ishmaelites, whom you have rejected." History is witness to the fact that everything happened exactly as what Jesus prophesied. While no prophet after Jesus ever appeared among the children of Israel, to whom many prophets had previously been sent one after another, the last and greatest of the prophets, with whom the magnificent palace of prophethood was completed, was raised up among the Ishmaelites, who are the cousins of the Israelites.

In the Hebrew text, the stone, with whom Jesus predicted the kingdom of God would be taken to another nation has been referred to as rosh-pin-nah, meaning the headstone of a dome; it also means that the final stone of a fortification which is built as protection against any destruction. Pinnah means a tower of safety. The Holy Prophet alone could be the head stone of the tower for all types of prophethood came to an end with him. Besides, none of the Israelite prophets ever made such a claim, nor any of them invoked divine sanction of his being the final prophet. Truly, Muhammad is the headstone in the dome of the edifice of prophethood with whom the dome and therefore the edifice itself has been able to remain safe and sound. He cleared all the prophets prior to him from the false accusations made against them by their followers in later times and showed the magnificent palace of prophethood with its all beauty and brilliance.

The Mustard Seed To Grow Into An Elaborate Tree

وَقَالَ: هَكَذَا مَلَكُوتُ ٱللّٰهِ: كَأَنَّ إِنْسَانًا يُلْقِي ٱلْبِذَارَ عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ، وَيَنَامُ وَيَقُومُ لَيْلًا وَنَهَارًا، وَٱلْبِذَارُ يَطْلُعُ وَيَنْمُو، وَهُوَ لَا يَعْلَمُ كَيْفَ، لِأَنَّ ٱلْأَرْضَ مِنْ ذَاتِهَا تَأْتِي بِثَمَرٍ. أَوَّلًا نَبَاتًا، ثُمَّ سُنْبُلًا، ثُمَّ قَمْحًا مَلْآنَ فِي ٱلسُّنْبُلِ. وَأَمَّا مَتَى أَدْرَكَ ٱلثَّمَرُ، فَلِلْوَقْتِ يُرْسِلُ ٱلْمِنْجَلَ لِأَنَّ ٱلْحَصَادَ قَدْ حَضَرَ وَقَالَ: «بِمَاذَا نُشَبِّهُ مَلَكُوتَ ٱللّٰهِ؟ أَوْ بِأَيِّ مَثَلٍ نُمَثِّلُهُ؟ مِثْلُ حَبَّةِ خَرْدَلٍ، مَتَى زُرِعَتْ فِي ٱلْأَرْضِ فَهِيَ أَصْغَرُ جَمِيعِ ٱلْبُزُورِ ٱلَّتِي عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ. وَلَكِنْ مَتَى زُرِعَتْ تَطْلُعُ وَتَصِيرُ أَكْبَرَ جَمِيعِ ٱلْبُقُولِ، وَتَصْنَعُ أَغْصَانًا كَبِيرَةً، حَتَّى تَسْتَطِيعَ طُيُورُ ٱلسَّمَاءِ أَنْ تَتَآوَى تَحْتَ ظِلِّهَا». ¹⁴⁰

Jesus went on to say, “The Kingdom of God is like this. A man scatters seed in his field. He sleeps at night, is up and about during the day, and all the while the seeds are sprouting and growing. Yet he does not know how it happens. The soil itself makes the plants grow and bear fruit; first, the tender stalk appears, then the head, and finally the head full of grain. When the grain is ripe, the man starts cutting it with his sickle, because harvest time has come. The Parable of the Mustard Seed “What shall we say the Kingdom of God is like?” asked Jesus. “What parable shall we use to explain it? It is like this. A man takes a mustard seed, the smallest seed in the world, and plants it on the ground. After a while, it grows up and becomes the biggest of all plants. It puts out such large branches that the birds come and make their nests in its shade.”

These words of Jesus are a restatement of the following prophecy of Daniel :

فَرُؤَى رَأْسِي عَلَى فِرَاشِي هِيَ: أَنِّي كُنْتُ أَرَى فَإِذَا بِشَجَرَةٍ فِي وَسَطِ ٱلْأَرْضِ وَطُولُهَا عَظِيمٌ. فَكَبُرَتِ ٱلشَّجَرَةُ وَقَوِيَتْ، فَبَلَغَ عُلُوُّهَا إِلَى ٱلسَّمَاءِ وَمَنْظَرُهَا إِلَى أَقْصَى كُلِّ ٱلْأَرْضِ. أَوْرَاقُهَا جَمِيلَةٌ وَثَمَرُهَا كَثِيرٌ وَفِيهَا طَعَامٌ لِلْجَمِيعِ، وَتَحْتَهَا ٱسْتَظَلَّ حَيَوَانُ ٱلْبَرِّ، وَفِي أَغْصَانِهَا سَكَنَتْ طُيُورُ ٱلسَّمَاءِ، وَطَعِمَ مِنْهَا كُلُّ ٱلْبَشَرِ. ¹⁴¹

“While I was asleep, I had a vision of a huge tree in the middle of the earth. It grew bigger and bigger until it reached the sky and could be seen by everyone in the world. Its leaves were beautiful, and it was loaded down with fruit—enough for the whole world to eat. Wild animals rested in its shade, birds built nests in its branches, and every kind of living being eaten its fruit.”

These descriptions, as discussed before under the heading, "The Kingdom of God or Heaven", are clearly about the birth and rapid growth of Islam "in the midst of the earth", i.e., Makkah and Madina. They cannot be applied to the second advent of Jesus or the Messianic mission attributed to him. Since there are hundreds and millions of people who claim adherence to him, and therefore when he comes the second time, the "tree" he will plant is impossible to be as small as a mustard seed.

As pointed out before, the descriptions of both Jesus and Daniel have the same significance. They are even literally the same as the following verse of the Holy Quran which describes the birth and growth of Islam in the midst of the earth. As the Holy Quran states:

مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ وَالَّذِينَ مَعَهُ أَشِدَّاءُ عَلَى الْكُفَّارِ رُحَمَاءُ بَيْنَهُمْ تَرَاهُمْ رُكَّعًا سُجَّدًا يَبْتَغُونَ فَضْلًا مِنَ اللَّهِ وَرِضْوَانًا سِيمَاهُمْ فِي وُجُوهِهِمْ مِنْ أَثَرِ السُّجُودِ ذَلِكَ مَثَلُهُمْ فِي التَّوْرَاةِ وَمَثَلُهُمْ فِي الْإِنْجِيلِ كَزَرْعٍ أَخْرَجَ شَطْأَهُ فَآزَرَهُ فَاسْتَغْلَظَ فَاسْتَوَى عَلَى سُوقِهِ يُعْجِبُ الزُّرَّاعَ لِيَغِيظَ بِهِمُ الْكُفَّارَ وَعَدَ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ مِنْهُمْ مَغْفِرَةً وَأَجْرًا عَظِيمًا 29¹⁴²

Mohammed (peace and blessings be upon him) is the Noble Messenger of Allah, and his companions are stern with the disbelievers and merciful among themselves – you will see them bowing and falling in prostration, seeking Allah’s munificence and His pleasure; their signs are on their faces, from the effects of their prostration; this trait of theirs is mentioned in the Taurat; and their trait is mentioned in the Injeel; like a cultivation that sprouted its shoot, then strengthened it, then thickened and then stood firm upon its stem, pleasing the farmer – in order to enrage the disbelievers with them; Allah has promised forgiveness and a great reward to those among them who have faith and do good deeds.

This "tree", which began from seed with a single man in the world soon became a large, majestic tree. It is also explained by Bible commentators Barnes and Gills; it came into perfectly green, abundant and beautiful leaves, i.e., it spread through vast and flourishing provinces. All the large and productive provinces of the "Old World" came into the possession of Islam. It became loaded with fruit in a way showing that the tree was in its full vigour. Islam has produced so many scholars in all branches of both religious and secular sciences and such innumerable saints, thinkers, and literary geniuses that in his excellent work Introduction to the History of Science, George Sarton writes:

“It will suffice here to evoke a few glorious names without contemporary equivalents in the West: Jabir ibn Haiyan, Al-Kindi, al-Khwarizmi, al-Fargani, al-Razi, Thabit ibn Qurra, al-Battani, Hunain ibn Ishaq, Al-Farabi, Ibrahim ibn Sinan, al-Masudi, al-Tabari, Abul Wafa, ‘Ali ibn Abbas, Abul Qasim, Ibn Al-Jazzar, Al-Biruni, Ibn Sina, Ibn Yunus, al-Kashi, Ibn al-Haitham, ‘Ali ibn ‘Isa al-Ghazali, al-Zarqab, Omar Khayyam. An excellent array of names which it would not be difficult to extend. All these men flourished within a short period, 750 to 1400 A.D, therefore, it is absurd to assume that the Middle Ages were scientifically sterile”. ¹⁴³

George Sarton divides the history of sciences into 50-year periods and gives each period the name of the greatest, most influential scientist of the time. Thus we have, from 750 to 1100 C.E, the Time of Jabir Ibn Hayyan, the Time of al-Khwarizmi, the Time of ar-Razi, the Time of al-Mas'udi, the Time of Abu'l-Wafa, the Time of Al-Biruni, and the Time of `Umar Khayyam. This shows the absolute, incessant dominion of Muslims in sciences for three and a half centuries.

Hundreds and millions of people have lived dependent on this majestic tree, which has given its favours very generously. It has satisfied its followers both rationally or scientifically and spiritually. It has afforded protection and given peace to all under it. It has also furnished food for all. Hundreds of millions of people from all religions, colours and races lived a serene, peaceful life under its shadow for almost twelve centuries.

In the face of the crises of the modern world, George Bernard Shaw applies to Islam for help. He writes:

"If any religion had the chance of ruling over England, nay Europe within the next hundred years, it could be Islam."

“I have always held the religion of Muhammad in high estimation because of its wonderful vitality. It is the only religion which appears to me to possess that assimilating capacity to the changing phase of existence which can make itself appeal to every age. I have studied him - the wonderful man, and in my opinion, for from being an anti-Christ, he must be called the Savior of Humanity."

"I believe that if a man like him were to assume the dictatorship of the modern world he would succeed in solving its problems in a way that would bring it the much needed peace and happiness: I have prophesied about the faith of Muhammad that it would be acceptable to the Europe of tomorrow as it is beginning to be acceptable to the Europe of today.” ¹⁴⁴

The Good Samaritan Who Bounds Up Wounds

We read in Luke:

٢٥ وَإِذَا نَامُوسِيٌّ قَامَ يُجَرِّبُهُ قَائِلًا: «يَا مُعَلِّمُ، مَاذَا أَعْمَلُ لِأَرِثَ ٱلْحَيَاةَ ٱلْأَبَدِيَّةَ؟». ٢٦ فَقَالَ لَهُ: «مَا هُوَ مَكْتُوبٌ فِي ٱلنَّامُوسِ. كَيْفَ تَقْرَأُ؟». ٢٧ فَأَجَابَ وَقَالَ: «تُحِبُّ ٱلرَّبَّ إِلَهَكَ مِنْ كُلِّ قَلْبِكَ، وَمِنْ كُلِّ نَفْسِكَ، وَمِنْ كُلِّ قُدْرَتِكَ، وَمِنْ كُلِّ فِكْرِكَ، وَقَرِيبَكَ مِثْلَ نَفْسِكَ». ٢٨ فَقَالَ لَهُ: «بِٱلصَّوَابِ أَجَبْتَ. اِفْعَلْ هَذَا فَتَحْيَا». ٢٩ وَأَمَّا هُوَ فَإِذْ أَرَادَ أَنْ يُبَرِّرَ نَفْسَهُ، قَالَ لِيَسُوعَ: «وَمَنْ هُوَ قَرِيبِي؟». ٣٠ فَأَجَابَ يَسُوعُ وَقَالَ: «إِنْسَانٌ كَانَ نَازِلًا مِنْ أُورُشَلِيمَ إِلَى أَرِيحَا، فَوَقَعَ بَيْنَ لُصُوصٍ، فَعَرَّوْهُ وَجَرَّحُوهُ، وَمَضَوْا وَتَرَكُوهُ بَيْنَ حَيٍّ وَمَيْتٍ. ٣١ فَعَرَضَ أَنَّ كَاهِنًا نَزَلَ فِي تِلْكَ ٱلطَّرِيقِ، فَرَآهُ وَجَازَ مُقَابِلَهُ. ٣٢ وَكَذَلِكَ لَاوِيٌّ أَيْضًا، إِذْ صَارَ عِنْدَ ٱلْمَكَانِ جَاءَ وَنَظَرَ وَجَازَ مُقَابِلَهُ. ٣٣ وَلَكِنَّ سَامِرِيًّا مُسَافِرًا جَاءَ إِلَيْهِ، وَلَمَّا رَآهُ تَحَنَّنَ، ٣٤ فَتَقَدَّمَ وَضَمَدَ جِرَاحَاتِهِ، وَصَبَّ عَلَيْهَا زَيْتًا وَخَمْرًا، وَأَرْكَبَهُ عَلَى دَابَّتِهِ، وَأَتَى بِهِ إِلَى فُنْدُقٍ وَٱعْتَنَى بِهِ». ¹⁴⁵

A teacher of the Law came up and tried to trap Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to receive eternal life?” Jesus answered him, “What do the Scriptures say? How do you interpret them?” The man answered, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind’; and ‘Love your neighbour as you love yourself.’” “You are right,” Jesus replied; “do this and you will live.” But the teacher of the Law wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbour?” Jesus answered, “There was once a man who was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when robbers attacked him, stripped him, and beat him up, leaving him half dead. It so happened that a priest was going down that road; but when he saw the man, he walked on by on the other side. In the same way, a Levite also came there, went over and looked at the man, and then walked on by on the other side. But a Samaritan who was travelling that way came upon the man, and when he saw him, his heart was filled with pity. He went over to him, poured oil and wine on his wounds and bandaged them; then he put the man on his own animal and took him to an inn, where he took care of him.”

It is incumbent upon the followers of the Bible to love God with all their strength, and their neighbours as themselves. However, in his answer to the lawyer who attempts to make trial of him, Jesus does not use the word ‘neighbour’ in its literal meaning. Instead, he uses it in a figurative sense; that is, a neighbour who must be loved is the one who, although from another family, race or faith, helps the needy.

This parable of Jesus has several highly interesting and informative aspects which help us to understand it correctly. Firstly, he speaks of a man going from Jerusalem to Jericho. According to some, Jericho is the city in Palestine famous for its roses and therefore means the city of fragrance. Some others argue that since Jericho was once an early centre of worship for lunar deities, it means the city of the moon. However, according to The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, and based on Deuteronomy 34: 3, it is the city of palm trees. ¹⁴⁶ In Judges, 1: 16 and 3: 13 and 2 Chronicles, 28: 15 in the Bible as well, it is mentioned the city of palm trees, "A sixth-century mosaic map of the Holy Land created on the nave floor of the church in Madaba, Jordan, during the construction of a modern church and restored in 1965, is a valuable historical resource for understanding the towns and Christian holy places in the region. Date palms are shown on the Madaba mosaic map as being grown around Phasaelis, Jericho, Bethagla, Zoara," and so on. ¹⁴⁷ Since date palms are abundantly found in Jericho, the Arabs used to call it Medinat an-Nakhl (the City of Date-Palms). ¹⁴⁸

Secondly, in the time of Jesus , the road from Jerusalem to Jericho was notorious for its danger and difficulty and was known as the "Way of Blood" because of the blood which was often shed there by robbers.

Thirdly, in the "Parable of Good Samaritan" under discussion, Jesus mentions a priest, a Levite, and a Samaritan. The status of a priest, Kohen, in the Torah has a unique leadership role amongst the nation of Israel. A Kohen is also known to officiate the sacrificial activity in the temple and is assumed the responsibility of being knowledgeable in the laws and nuances of the Torah and accurately instructing those laws to the Jewish people. A Levite stands for the Levites, from whom Jesus descended through his mother, Virgin Mary. Jesus was born without a father and was a Levite by virtue of his mother's lineage. Therefore, Jesus refers to the Jews and Christians by a priest and Levite in his parable.

The True Savour Of The Jews

Fourthly, the priest and Levite passed by the robbed and wounded man on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho without helping him, but a Samaritan, as he journeyed, saw him, had compassion on him, bandaged his wounds, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. Portraying a Samaritan in a positive light would have come as a shock to Jesus' audience. For Samaritans were hated by Jesus' target audience, the Jews. Religiously, the Samaritans are adherents of Samaritanism, an Abrahamic religion closely related to Judaism. They were insistent on the Oneness of God and careful of obeying the law. Based on the Samaritan Torah, they claimed their worship was the true religion of the ancient Israelites before the Babylonian Exile. It is also interesting that the Samaritans claimed descent from the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh (the two sons of Joseph ). According to the Bible, ¹⁴⁹ among the sons of Jacob , Joseph and his children (Ephraim and Manasseh) were favoured with the inheritance of the blessings of prophethood. Moreover, the final Redeemer was to come from the tribe of Ephraim, whom Jacob blessed just before his death. It is also worthwhile that, like the lost tribes of Israel who settled mostly in Afghanistan and Kashmir and converted to Islam, the majority of the Samaritans accepted Islam in the early Muslim rule of Palestine. The monotheistic nature of Islam made it easy for them to accept it. Much of the local Palestinian population of Nablus is believed to be descended from Samaritans who converted to Islam. ¹⁵⁰

Thus, all the signs in the parable show that Jesus prophesized Muhammad and warned his followers and Jews that it is Muhammad who will bound tip their wounds. The Arabian Peninsula is the country lying adjacently to the south of the country of Israel or Syria. The sons of Ishmael are, therefore, the neighbours of the children of Israel. It is captivating enough, that the Holy Quran speaks of Palestine as:

فِي أَدْنَى الْأَرْضِ,,,,3¹⁵¹

The nearby land.

The Holy Prophet migrated to Madina, and at that time Three Jewish tribes who had come from Palestine upon its invasion by Titus, the Roman commander, in 70 B.C. were settled there. It was famous for its date palms. The most noticeable characteristic of the Arabian desert before the advent of the Holy Prophet was waylaying and robbery. To describe the future victory of Islam, the Holy Prophet drew the attention to the utmost safety which Islam would enable, as follows:

`Adiyy, ibn Hatim relates that God's Messenger said to him:

«يا عدي، هل رأيت الحيرة؟» قلت: لم أرها، وقد أنبئت عنها، قال «فإن طالت بك حياة، لترين الظعينة ترتحل من الحيرة، حتى تطوف بالكعبة لا تخاف أحدا إلا اللّٰه ،»

"O ` Adiyy, have you seen al-Hira (a region in Iraq)." Adiyy replied: "I have not seen it, but I have heard of it." God's Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, said: "If you live long enough, you will see a woman departing by camel in a litter and travelling (in complete safety) until she reaches the Kaaba without fearing anyone but God."

`Adiyy informs us that he thought to himself. "Where are the robbers and bandits who run rampant through the land," Then 'Adiyy says:

فرأيت الظعينة ترتحل من الحيرة حتى تطوف بالكعبة لا تخاف إلا اللّٰه ¹⁵².

"I have seen a woman travel by camel litter from al-Hira to the Kaaba fearing no one but God.

The Jews knew that the Holy Prophet would emigrate to Madina. Ibn Hayaban, a Jewish scholar, once visited the Bani Nadir tribe in Madina before the proclamation of Muhammad's prophethood. He told them: "The emergence of a prophet is close, and he will emigrate here." Ibn Hayaban died there. Later, when that tribe fought against God's Messenger , Asid and Tha'laba publicly called out to their tribe: "By God, he is the one whose coming was promised by Ibn Hayaban.” ¹⁵³

The significance of this parable of Jesus is quite clear that he refers to the Holy Prophet as the saviour of the Jews and urge them to believe in and help him when he comes.

The One Who Will Come At Midnight After Jesus

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus speaks about the friend who will come at midnight in the following manners:

٥ ثُمَّ قَالَ لَهُمْ: «مَنْ مِنْكُمْ يَكُونُ لَهُ صَدِيقٌ، وَيَمْضِي إِلَيْهِ نِصْفَ ٱللَّيْلِ، وَيَقُولُ لَهُ يَا صَدِيقُ، أَقْرِضْنِي ثَلَاثَةَ أَرْغِفَةٍ، ٦ لِأَنَّ صَدِيقًا لِي جَاءَنِي مِنْ سَفَرٍ، وَلَيْسَ لِي مَا أُقَدِّمُ لَهُ. ٧ فَيُجِيبَ ذَلِكَ مِنْ دَاخِلٍ وَيَقُولَ: لَا تُزْعِجْنِي! اَلْبَابُ مُغْلَقٌ ٱلْآنَ، وَأَوْلَادِي مَعِي فِي ٱلْفِرَاشِ. لَا أَقْدِرُ أَنْ أَقُومَ وَأُعْطِيَكَ. ٨ أَقُولُ لَكُمْ: وَإِنْ كَانَ لَا يَقُومُ وَيُعْطِيهِ لِكَوْنِهِ صَدِيقَهُ، فَإِنَّهُ مِنْ أَجْلِ لَجَاجَتِهِ يَقُومُ وَيُعْطِيهِ قَدْرَ مَا يَحْتَاجُ. ٩ وَأَنَا أَقُولُ لَكُمُ: ٱسْأَلُوا تُعْطَوْا، اُطْلُبُوا تَجِدُوا، اِقْرَعُوا يُفْتَحْ لَكُمْ. ١٠ لِأَنَّ كُلَّ مَنْ يَسْأَلُ يَأْخُذُ، وَمَنْ يَطْلُبُ يَجِدُ، وَمَنْ يَقْرَعُ يُفْتَحُ لَهُ. ١١ فَمَنْ مِنْكُمْ، وَهُوَ أَبٌ، يَسْأَلُهُ ٱبْنُهُ خُبْزًا، أَفَيُعْطِيهِ حَجَرًا؟ أَوْ سَمَكَةً، أَفَيُعْطِيهِ حَيَّةً بَدَلَ ٱلسَّمَكَةِ؟ ١٢ أَوْ إِذَا سَأَلَهُ بَيْضَةً، أَفَيُعْطِيهِ عَقْرَبًا؟ ١٣ فَإِنْ كُنْتُمْ وَأَنْتُمْ أَشْرَارٌ تَعْرِفُونَ أَنْ تُعْطُوا أَوْلَادَكُمْ عَطَايَا جَيِّدَةً، فَكَمْ بِٱلْحَرِيِّ ٱلْآبُ ٱلَّذِي مِنَ ٱلسَّمَاءِ، يُعْطِي ٱلرُّوحَ ٱلْقُدُسَ لِلَّذِينَ يَسْأَلُونَهُ؟». ¹⁵⁴

And Jesus said to his disciples, “Suppose one of you should go to a friend's house at midnight and say, ‘Friend, let me borrow three loaves of bread. A friend of mine who is on a trip has just come to my house, and I don't have any food for him!’ And suppose your friend should answer from inside, ‘Don't bother me! The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can't get up and give you anything.’ Well, what then? I tell you that even if he will not get up and give you the bread because you are his friend, yet he will get up and give you everything you need because you are not ashamed to keep on asking. And so I say to you: Ask, and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. For those who ask will receive, and those who seek will find, and the door will be opened to anyone who knocks. Would any of you who are fathers give your son a snake when he asks for fish? Or would you give him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? As bad as you are, you know how to give good things to your children. How much more, then, will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

A full night signifies a day and therefore sometimes a thousand years. We read in the Holy Quran:

يُدَبِّرُ الْأَمْرَ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ إِلَى الْأَرْضِ ثُمَّ يَعْرُجُ إِلَيْهِ فِي يَوْمٍ كَانَ مِقْدَارُهُ أَلْفَ سَنَةٍ مِمَّا تَعُدُّونَ 5¹⁵⁵

He plans (all) the job(s) from the heaven to the earth – then it will return to Him on the Day which amounts to a thousand years in your count.

Therefore, Jesus says that his followers should seek after him another Holy Spirit, whom God the Lord will send at midnight; that is, around 500 years after Jesus when pitch darkness will be prevailing over the earth and should pray to Him to send that spirit. The word “spirit” is used in the Holy Quran sometimes in the meaning of the Holy Quran, ¹⁵⁶ as the Holy Quran is the very life of the people. ¹⁵⁷ Also, the Holy Quran also refers both to itself and Islam and the Holy Prophet as light. ¹⁵⁸

Moreover, the Tahajjud (Late-Night) Prayer is vital in Islam. God Almighty orders His Holy Messenger to worship at night. As the Holy Quran states:

يَاأَيُّهَا الْمُزَّمِّلُ 1 قُمِ اللَّيْلَ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا 2 نِصْفَهُ أَوِ انْقُصْ مِنْهُ قَلِيلًا 3 أَوْ زِدْ عَلَيْهِ وَرَتِّلِ الْقُرْآنَ تَرْتِيلًا 4 إِنَّا سَنُلْقِي عَلَيْكَ قَوْلًا ثَقِيلًا 5 إِنَّ نَاشِئَةَ اللَّيْلِ هِيَ أَشَدُّ وَطْئًا وَأَقْوَمُ قِيلًا 6 إِنَّ لَكَ فِي النَّهَارِ سَبْحًا طَوِيلًا 7 وَاذْكُرِ اسْمَ رَبِّكَ وَتَبَتَّلْ إِلَيْهِ تَبْتِيلًا 8¹⁵⁹

O the One Wrapped in piety! (Prophet Mohammed ) Stand up for worship during the night, except for some part of it. For half the night, or reduce some of it. Or increase a little upon it, and recite the Qur’an slowly in stages. Indeed We shall soon ordain a heavy responsibility upon you. Indeed, getting up in the night is tougher, and the words flow with strength. Indeed, you have a lot of matters during the day. And remember the name of your Lord and, leaving others, devote yourself solely to Him.

Remaining vigilant and awake in the second part of the night to pray and for remembrance of God is given great importance in Islam. For example, Ibrahim Haqqi of Erzurum, a great Muslim, Sufi master (1703-1780), says:

“The heart is the home of God; purify it from whatever is other than Him, so that the All-Merciful may descend into His palace at nights. Does sleeping in heedlessness behove a servant, while the All-Merciful calls with affection at nights?” ¹⁶⁰

So, Jesus calls his followers to remain wakeful at nights and pray to God earnestly to send them the spirit who would revive them.

Jesus Is A Clear Sign Of Both The Last Time And The Prophet Of The Last Time

When Jesus was sent to the Israelites, the spirit of the religion had become extremely weak and the religion itself had been reduced to a system which was used to rob the common people. Although the commandments of the law seemed to be superficially followed, people were almost engulfed in the marsh of worldliness and materiality. This is quite explicit in many speeches of the Jesus . ¹⁶¹

In order to rouse people from materiality and worldliness to the truths of faith, God Almighty created Jesus without a father. His birth was a miracle just as Adam's creation was. The Holy Quran states:

إِنَّ مَثَلَ عِيسَى عِنْدَ اللَّهِ كَمَثَلِ آدَمَ خَلَقَهُ مِنْ تُرَابٍ ثُمَّ قَالَ لَهُ كُنْ فَيَكُونُ 59¹⁶²

The example of Eisa with Allah is like that of Adam; He created him (Adam) from clay and then said to him, “Be” – and it thereupon happens!

The Holy Quran also states:

وَإِنَّهُ لَعِلْمٌ لِلسَّاعَةِ فَلَا تَمْتَرُنَّ بِهَا وَاتَّبِعُونِ هَذَا صِرَاطٌ مُسْتَقِيمٌ 61¹⁶³

And indeed Eisa is a sign of the Last Day, therefore do not ever doubt in the Last Day, and obey Me; this is the Straight Path.

when Christianity had been accepted as the official creed of the Roman Empire. However, the Christians were fiercely divided on the question of life after death. Many people refused to believe in the Hereafter and resurrection so God Almighty made the People of the Cave awake from their sleep of about three hundred years. Thus, God showed that His promise is always true and that there can be no doubt about (the coming of) the Last Hour and people will be recurrected as the peopple of the cave.

Jesus was a clear sign for both God's creation of the universe with whatever it contained and therefore His Knowledge, Will, and Power, and the coming of the Last Prophet . As pointed out before, it is universally accepted in Islamic tradition that the time since the advent of the Holy Prophet until the Day of Judgment is called the Last Time or the End of Time, and the Holy Prophet is therefore identified as the prophet of the End of Time. He described himself as the prophet of afternoon, and pointing with his index and middle fingers, has said: "The end of the world and I are like these two fingers." That is, he came in the last part of humanity's life on the earth, and no prophet will come after him.

The Foolish Landowner And Practical Atheism

The following two parables of Jesus in the same chapter of Luke warn people about ‘the practical atheism’ due to worldliness and, so to speak, scientism. When considered in light of Jesus' being a sign both for God's creation and therefore Knowledge, Will, and Power, and for the coming of Prophet Muhammad as the prophet of the End of Time and therefore for the Last Hour, they will gain greater meaning and importance. What follows is the first parable:

١٩ وَأَقُولُ لِنَفْسِي: يَا نَفْسُ لَكِ خَيْرَاتٌ كَثِيرَةٌ، مَوْضُوعَةٌ لِسِنِينَ كَثِيرَةٍ. اِسْتَرِيحِي وَكُلِي وَٱشْرَبِي وَٱفْرَحِي! ٢٠ فَقَالَ لَهُ ٱللّٰهُ: يَا غَبِيُّ! هَذِهِ ٱللَّيْلَةَ تُطْلَبُ نَفْسُكَ مِنْكَ، فَهَذِهِ ٱلَّتِي أَعْدَدْتَهَا لِمَنْ تَكُونُ؟ ٢١ هَكَذَا ٱلَّذِي يَكْنِزُ لِنَفْسِهِ وَلَيْسَ هُوَ غَنِيًّا لِلّٰه. ¹⁶⁴

Then I will say to myself, Lucky man! You have all the good things you need for many years. Take life easy, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself!’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night you will have to give up your life; then who will get all these things you have kept for yourself?’ “And Jesus concluded, “This is how it is with those who pile up riches for themselves but are not rich in God's sight.”

Right before delivering the parable, Jesus says something that very clearly points toward the meaning and purpose of this particular parable: “Watch out and guard yourselves against every kind of greed; because your true life is not made up of the things you own, no matter how rich you may be.” ¹⁶⁵

The landowner, secure in his wealth and social status, as revealed in his ambitious long-term planning, is transformed, "in the twinkling of an eye"-or at least "overnight"-into a "fool." His foolishness is based on the fact that in the process of accumulating treasure for himself, he was not rich in the view of God. He seems to have forgotten God while busy process of becoming wealthy and self-assured. Also, Jesus seems to be implying that to forget the ever-present reality/possibility of death is also a sure sign of foolishness.

In the Psalms, we hear the following: "The fool says in his heart, there is no God'." (14: 1; repeated at 53: 1) This assessment refers to a form of "practical atheism," and not to the thorough going "theoretical atheism" of today's world... Practical atheism relates to the condition of claiming to believe that God exists but living as if He did not... Jesus was describing in vivid terms the consequences of living life as if God did not exist. Such a person is self-centred and not God-centred. Perhaps the landowner was reduced to such a condition because he was more and more distracted by the accumulation of his wealth, thus creating a false sense of security within his mind and heart.

We find almost the same parable in the Holy Quran, in the Chapter of al-Kahf (Cave), which the Muslim commentators of the Quran say has a close connection with modern times. As the Holy Quran states:

وَدَخَلَ جَنَّتَهُ وَهُوَ ظَالِمٌ لِنَفْسِهِ قَالَ مَا أَظُنُّ أَنْ تَبِيدَ هَذِهِ أَبَدًا 35 وَمَا أَظُنُّ السَّاعَةَ قَائِمَةً وَلَئِنْ رُدِدْتُ إِلَى رَبِّي لَأَجِدَنَّ خَيْرًا مِنْهَا مُنْقَلَبًا 36 قَالَ لَهُ صَاحِبُهُ وَهُوَ يُحَاوِرُهُ أَكَفَرْتَ بِالَّذِي خَلَقَكَ مِنْ تُرَابٍ ثُمَّ مِنْ نُطْفَةٍ ثُمَّ سَوَّاكَ رَجُلًا 37 لَكِنَّا هُوَ اللَّهُ رَبِّي وَلَا أُشْرِكُ بِرَبِّي أَحَدًا 38 وَلَوْلَا إِذْ دَخَلْتَ جَنَّتَكَ قُلْتَ مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُ لَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ إِنْ تَرَنِ أَنَا أَقَلَّ مِنْكَ مَالًا وَوَلَدًا 39 فَعَسَى رَبِّي أَنْ يُؤْتِيَنِ خَيْرًا مِنْ جَنَّتِكَ وَيُرْسِلَ عَلَيْهَا حُسْبَانًا مِنَ السَّمَاءِ فَتُصْبِحَ صَعِيدًا زَلَقًا 40 أَوْ يُصْبِحَ مَاؤُهَا غَوْرًا فَلَنْ تَسْتَطِيعَ لَهُ طَلَبًا 41 وَأُحِيطَ بِثَمَرِهِ فَأَصْبَحَ يُقَلِّبُ كَفَّيْهِ عَلَى مَا أَنْفَقَ فِيهَا وَهِيَ خَاوِيَةٌ عَلَى عُرُوشِهَا وَيَقُولُ يَالَيْتَنِي لَمْ أُشْرِكْ بِرَبِّي أَحَدًا 42¹⁶⁶

He went into his garden and wronging himself said, “I do not think that this will ever perish. I do not think that the Last Day will ever be established – and even if I return to my Lord, I will surely find a haven better than this garden.” His companion debating with him answered, “What! You disbelieve in Him Who has created you from dust, then from a drop of liquid, and then created you as a complete man?” “But I just say that only Allah is my Lord, and I do not ascribe anyone as a partner to my Lord. And why was it not that you would have said when you entered your garden, ‘Whatever Allah wills – we do not have any strength except with the help of Allah’ – if you had observed me lesser than you in wealth and children? So it is likely that my Lord will give me a garden better than yours, and send bolts of lightning from the skies on your garden – it, therefore, turns into a barren plain. Or its water may sink into the earth, so you may never be able to find it.” And his fruits were surrounded – he, therefore, remained helplessly wringing his hands upon all that he had spent on it – and it lay fallen on its canopy – and he says, “If only I had not ascribed any partner to my Lord!”

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We find another similar parable in the Holy Quran:

إِنَّا بَلَوْنَاهُمْ كَمَا بَلَوْنَا أَصْحَابَ الْجَنَّةِ إِذْ أَقْسَمُوا لَيَصْرِمُنَّهَا مُصْبِحِينَ 17 وَلَا يَسْتَثْنُونَ 18 فَطَافَ عَلَيْهَا طَائِفٌ مِنْ رَبِّكَ وَهُمْ نَائِمُونَ 19 … فَأَقْبَلَ بَعْضُهُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ يَتَلَاوَمُونَ 30 قَالُوا يَاوَيْلَنَا إِنَّا كُنَّا طَاغِينَ 31¹⁶⁷

We have indeed tested them the way We had tested the owners of the garden when they swore that they would reap its harvest the next morning. And they did not say, “If Allah wills”. So an envoy from your Lord completed his round upon the garden, whilst they were sleeping. . . So they came towards each other, blaming. They said, “Woe to us – we were indeed rebellious.”

These parables are typical of the ruthless capitalists of the last ages, who deny or ignore God's existence and are oblivious of His commandments and the Last Hour. The following parable in Luke describes scientism or scientific atheism:

٥٤ ثُمَّ قَالَ أَيْضًا لِلْجُمُوعِ: إِذَا رَأَيْتُمُ ٱلسَّحَابَ تَطْلُعُ مِنَ ٱلْمَغَارِبِ فَلِلْوَقْتِ تَقُولُونَ: إِنَّهُ يَأْتِي مَطَرٌ، فَيَكُونُ هَكَذَا. ٥٥ وَإِذَا رَأَيْتُمْ رِيحَ ٱلْجَنُوبِ تَهُبُّ تَقُولُونَ: إِنَّهُ سَيَكُونُ حَرٌّ، فَيَكُونُ. ٥٦ يَا مُرَاؤُونَ! تَعْرِفُونَ أَنْ تُمَيِّزُوا وَجْهَ ٱلْأَرْضِ وَٱلسَّمَاءِ، وَأَمَّا هَذَا ٱلزَّمَانُ فَكَيْفَ لَا تُمَيِّزُونَهُ؟ ¹⁶⁸

Jesus said also to the people, “When you see a cloud coming up in the west, at once you say that it is going to rain—and it does. And when you feel the south wind blowing, you say that it is going to get hot—and it does. Hypocrites! You can look at the earth and the sky and predict the weather; why, then, don't you know the meaning of this present time?

Prophet Muhammad has a similar warning. It is as follows:

عن زيد بن خالد الجهني، أنه قال: صلى لنا رسول اللّٰه صلى اللّٰه عليه وسلم صلاة الصبح بالحديبية على إثر سماء كانت من الليلة، فلما انصرف أقبل على الناس، فقال: هل تدرون ماذا قال ربكم؟ قالوا: اللّٰه ورسوله أعلم، قال: " أصبح من عبادي مؤمن بي وكافر، فأما من قال: مطرنا بفضل اللّٰه ورحمته، فذلك مؤمن بي وكافر بالكوكب، وأما من قال: بنوء كذا وكذا، فذلك كافر بي ومؤمن بالكوكب." ¹⁶⁹

Zayd bin Khalid al-Juhni relates: The Prophet led us in the Morning Prayer at Hudaybiya after a rainy night. On completion of the Prayer, he turned to the people and said, "Do you know what your Lord has said (revealed)," The people replied, "God and His Messenger know better." He said, "God has said, some of my servants have reached the morning as true believers while others, as unbelievers. Whoever said that the rain was due to the blessings and the mercy of God has belief in Me and disbelieves in the stars, and whoever said that it rained because of a particular star has no belief in Me but believes in that star.

The Foolish Scientist And Scientism

Scientism-which makes everything and every event dependent on cause and effect principle in denial or ignorance of God Almighty is one of the most widespread reasons for modern indifference to or even denial of God and the Last Hour. Fully lost in material or natural-seeming causes of events, they design their life as if God does not exist. Like a foolish rich, then, the foolish scientist can make weather forecasts by watching the atmospheric events. However, unable to discern the direction and messages of the events and developments in the world or the movements in the social atmosphere of the world, he recognizes neither the time of Jesus and Jesus' being the sign of the Last Time and the prophet of the Last Time nor all the signs of the advent of the Last Prophet . Both of the parables are obviously applicable to and suit the materialistic and capitalistic marsh of both Jesus' time and the present age and to hundreds of millions who lived and still live in ignorance of Jesus' being a sign for the end of time and the prophet of the end of time.

The Lord Of The House To Come Back Suddenly

٣٣ اُنْظُرُوا! اِسْهَرُوا وَصَلُّوا، لِأَنَّكُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ مَتَى يَكُونُ ٱلْوَقْتُ. ٣٤ كَأَنَّمَا إِنْسَانٌ مُسَافِرٌ تَرَكَ بَيْتَهُ، وَأَعْطَى عَبِيدَهُ ٱلسُّلْطَانَ، وَلِكُلِّ وَاحِدٍ عَمَلَهُ، وَأَوْصَى ٱلْبَوَّابَ أَنْ يَسْهَرَ. ٣٥ اِسْهَرُوا إِذًا، لِأَنَّكُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ مَتَى يَأْتِي رَبُّ ٱلْبَيْتِ، أَمَسَاءً، أَمْ نِصْفَ ٱللَّيْلِ، أَمْ صِيَاحَ ٱلدِّيكِ، أَمْ صَبَاحًا. ٣٦ لِئَلَّا يَأْتِيَ بَغْتَةً فَيَجِدَكُمْ نِيَامًا! ٣٧ وَمَا أَقُولُهُ لَكُمْ أَقُولُهُ لِلْجَمِيعِ: ٱسْهَرُوا. ¹⁷⁰

Be on the watch, be alert, for you do not know when the time will come. It will be like a man who goes away from home on a trip and leaves his servants in charge, after giving to each one his own work to do and after telling the doorkeeper to keep watch. Watch, then, because you do not know when the master of the house is coming—it might be in the evening or at midnight or before dawn or at sunrise. If he comes suddenly, he must not find you asleep. What I say to you, then, I say to all: Watch!”

٤٢ اِسْهَرُوا إِذًا لِأَنَّكُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ فِي أَيَّةِ سَاعَةٍ يَأْتِي رَبُّكُمْ. ٤٣ وَٱعْلَمُوا هَذَا: أَنَّهُ لَوْ عَرَفَ رَبُّ ٱلْبَيْتِ فِي أَيِّ هَزِيعٍ يَأْتِي ٱلسَّارِقُ، لَسَهِرَ وَلَمْ يَدَعْ بَيْتَهُ يُنْقَبُ. ٤٤ لِذَلِكَ كُونُوا أَنْتُمْ أَيْضًا مُسْتَعِدِّينَ، لِأَنَّهُ فِي سَاعَةٍ لَا تَظُنُّونَ يَأْتِي ٱبْنُ ٱلْإِنْسَانِ. ¹⁷¹

Watch out, then, because you do not know what day your Lord will come. If the owner of a house knew the time when the thief would come, you can be sure that he would stay awake and not let the thief break into his house. So then, you also must always be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you are not expecting him.

Since one of the main prophetic missions was giving the glad tidings of the coming of the Last Prophet , Jesus Christ warns his followers that they should not be misled concerning the Last Prophet . For there have always been those, who commit theft of the truths in the sacred scriptures and attempt to misuse them for their benefits. The Holy Quran also has many warnings concerning this point. For example it states:

يَابَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ اذْكُرُوا نِعْمَتِيَ الَّتِي أَنْعَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَأَوْفُوا بِعَهْدِي أُوفِ بِعَهْدِكُمْ وَإِيَّايَ فَارْهَبُونِ 40 وَآمِنُوا بِمَا أَنْزَلْتُ مُصَدِّقًا لِمَا مَعَكُمْ وَلَا تَكُونُوا أَوَّلَ كَافِرٍ بِهِ وَلَا تَشْتَرُوا بِآيَاتِي ثَمَنًا قَلِيلًا وَإِيَّايَ فَاتَّقُونِ 41 وَلَا تَلْبِسُوا الْحَقَّ بِالْبَاطِلِ وَتَكْتُمُوا الْحَقَّ وَأَنْتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ 42¹⁷²

O Descendants of Israel (Jacob)! Remember My favour which I bestowed upon you, and fulfil your covenant towards Me, I shall fulfil My covenant towards you; and fear Me alone. And accept faith in what I have sent down (the Quran), which confirms what is with you (the Torah / Bible), and do not be the first to disbelieve in it – and do not exchange My verses for an abject – and fear Me alone. And do not mix the truth with falsehood, nor purposely conceal the truth.

وَلَا تَشْتَرُوا بِعَهْدِ اللَّهِ ثَمَنًا قَلِيلًا إِنَّمَا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ هُوَ خَيْرٌ لَكُمْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ 95¹⁷³

And do not exchange the covenant of Allah to procure an abject price; that which is with Allah is better for you, if you know.

الَّذِينَ يَصُدُّونَ عَنْ سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَيَبْغُونَهَا عِوَجًا وَهُمْ بِالْآخِرَةِ كَافِرُونَ 45¹⁷⁴

“Those who prevent from the path of Allah and wish to distort it; and who disbelieve in the Hereafter.”

يَاأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِنَّ كَثِيرًا مِنَ الْأَحْبَارِ وَالرُّهْبَانِ لَيَأْكُلُونَ أَمْوَالَ النَّاسِ بِالْبَاطِلِ وَيَصُدُّونَ عَنْ سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَالَّذِينَ يَكْنِزُونَ الذَّهَبَ وَالْفِضَّةَ وَلَا يُنْفِقُونَهَا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ فَبَشِّرْهُمْ بِعَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ 34¹⁷⁵

O People who Believe! Indeed many of the (Jewish) rabbis and the (Christian) monks unjustly devour people's wealth and prevent from Allah’s way, and those who hoard up gold and silver and do not spend it in Allah’s way – so them give the glad tidings of a painful punishment.

Thus, the great Jesus warns his followers against the deception of heretics and false teachers, and that they should always be prepared for the coming of the promised prophet. Although he comes unaware, he has obvious signs showing that he is the long-expected one. Therefore, they should be upon their guard, be in a readiness, have their loins girt about, with their lights burning, and they should be like those people in the house who wait for the return of their lord or master who has gone on a journey; so that when he comes, their houses may not be broken up, may not be surprised, and the several powers and faculties of their souls may not be thrown into disorder and confusion.

The Holy Quran states that appearance of the Promised Prophet to the rise of the bright morning in the following manner:

َالطَّارِقِ 1 وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا الطَّارِقُ 2 النَّجْمُ الثَّاقِبُ 3 إِنْ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ لَمَّا عَلَيْهَا حَافِظٌ 4¹⁷⁶

By oath of the heaven, and by the oath of the nightly arriver. And have you understood what the nightly arriver is? The very brightly shining star! There is not a soul that does not have a guardian over it.

So, Jesus emphatically reminds his followers about the rise of this star, that they should take heed, watch, and be vigilant, and that everyone should guard the light of his intellect and heart against the Devil's inroad, so that they might be able to recognize the Promised One and believe in him.

Prophethood Was Given To The Sons Of Ishmael After Jesus

٥ كَلَّا! أَقُولُ لَكُمْ: بَلْ إِنْ لَمْ تَتُوبُوا فَجَمِيعُكُمْ كَذَلِكَ تَهْلِكُونَ. ٦ وَقَالَ هَذَا ٱلْمَثَلَ: كَانَتْ لِوَاحِدٍ شَجَرَةُ تِينٍ مَغْرُوسَةٌ فِي كَرْمِهِ، فَأَتَى يَطْلُبُ فِيهَا ثَمَرًا وَلَمْ يَجِدْ. ٧ فَقَالَ لِلْكَرَّامِ: هُوَذَا ثَلَاثُ سِنِينَ آتِي أَطْلُبُ ثَمَرًا فِي هَذِهِ ٱلتِّينَةِ وَلَمْ أَجِدْ. اِقْطَعْهَا! لِمَاذَا تُبَطِّلُ ٱلْأَرْضَ أَيْضًا؟ ٨ فَأَجَابَ وَقَالَ لَهُ: يَا سَيِّدُ، ٱتْرُكْهَا هَذِهِ ٱلسَّنَةَ أَيْضًا، حَتَّى أَنْقُبَ حَوْلَهَا وَأَضَعَ زِبْلًا. ٩ فَإِنْ صَنَعَتْ ثَمَرًا، وَإِلَّا فَفِيمَا بَعْدُ تَقْطَعُهَا. ¹⁷⁷

No, indeed! And I tell you that if you do not turn from your sins, you will all die as they did.” Then Jesus told them this parable: “There was once a man who had a fig tree growing in his vineyard. He went looking for figs on it but found none. So he said to his gardener, ‘Look, for three years I have been coming here looking for figs on this fig tree, and I haven't found any. Cut it down! Why should it go on using up the soil?’ But the gardener answered, ‘Leave it alone, sir, just one more year; I will dig around it and put in some fertilizer. Then, if the tree bears figs next year, so much the better; if not, then you can have it cut down.” Good and bad figs, and the fig tree never to be rooted up.”

Many commentators throughout church history of the church have agreed that the fig tree in the parable stands for the nation of Israel, and tended to interpret this parable in connection with a vision of Jeremiah . In this vision (Jeremiah 24: 1-10), Jeremiah saw the people of Israel as two groups of figs, one good, the other bad, and the Lord told him that the good figs, representing the godly portion of the nation, would someday be planted like a fig tree, never to be rooted up, while He would deliver the others to be removed from their land into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places where He would drive them. ¹⁷⁸

The interpretation of the parable of the fig tree is that the vineyard owner represents the Lord; the gardener or vineyard keeper who cares for the trees represents Jesus , and the fig tree is the nation of Israel. Jesus' ministry went on for three years without any fruit. The Jews felt offended by the idea that they needed to repent, and they rejected Jesus because he demanded repentance from them. When the Lord was ready to set Israel aside, Jesus pleaded for the nation, asking that it be cultivated in another year and given another chance. However, notice how Jesus saw the fig tree at the end of the year of prolonged opportunity:

١٨ وَفِي ٱلصُّبْحِ إِذْ كَانَ رَاجِعًا إِلَى ٱلْمَدِينَةِ جَاعَ، ١٩ فَنَظَرَ شَجَرَةَ تِينٍ عَلَى ٱلطَّرِيقِ، وَجَاءَ إِلَيْهَا فَلَمْ يَجِدْ فِيهَا شَيْئًا إِلَّا وَرَقًا فَقَطْ. فَقَالَ لَهَا: «لَا يَكُنْ مِنْكِ ثَمَرٌ بَعْدُ إِلَى ٱلْأَبَدِ!». فَيَبِسَتِ ٱلتِّينَةُ فِي ٱلْحَالِ. ¹⁷⁹

On his way back to the city early the next morning, Jesus was hungry. He saw a fig tree by the side of the road and went to it, but found nothing on it except leaves. So he said to the tree, “You will never again bear fruit!” At once the fig tree dried up.

١٢ وَفِي ٱلْغَدِ لَمَّا خَرَجُوا مِنْ بَيْتِ عَنْيَا جَاعَ، ١٣ فَنَظَرَ شَجَرَةَ تِينٍ مِنْ بَعِيدٍ عَلَيْهَا وَرَقٌ، وَجَاءَ لَعَلَّهُ يَجِدُ فِيهَا شَيْئًا. فَلَمَّا جَاءَ إِلَيْهَا لَمْ يَجِدْ شَيْئًا إِلَّا وَرَقًا، لِأَنَّهُ لَمْ يَكُنْ وَقْتَ ٱلتِّينِ. ١٤ فَأَجَابَ يَسُوعُ وَقَالَ لَهَا: «لَا يَأْكُلْ أَحَدٌ مِنْكِ ثَمَرًا بَعْدُ إِلَى ٱلْأَبَدِ!». وَكَانَ تَلَامِيذُهُ يَسْمَعُونَ. . . ١٩ وَلَمَّا صَارَ ٱلْمَسَاءُ، خَرَجَ إِلَى خَارِجِ ٱلْمَدِينَةِ.٢٠ وَفِي ٱلصَّبَاحِ إِذْ كَانُوا مُجْتَازِينَ رَأَوْا ٱلتِّينَةَ قَدْ يَبِسَتْ مِنَ ٱلْأُصُولِ، ٢١ فَتَذَكَّرَ بُطْرُسُ وَقَالَ لَهُ: «يَا سَيِّدِي، ٱنْظُرْ! اَلتِّينَةُ ٱلَّتِي لَعَنْتَهَا قَدْ يَبِسَتْ!». ¹⁸⁰

The next day, as they were coming back from Bethany, Jesus was hungry. He saw in the distance a fig tree covered with leaves, so he went to see if he could find any figs on it. But when he came to it, he found only leaves, because it was not the right time for figs. Jesus said to the fig tree, “No one shall ever eat figs from you again!” And his disciples heard him . . . When evening came, Jesus and his disciples left the city. Early next morning, as they walked along the road, they saw the fig tree. It was dead all the way down to its roots. Peter remembered what had happened and said to Jesus, “Look, Teacher, the fig tree you cursed has died!”

According to the interpretation, in His justice and holiness, God rejected the nation of Israel. Subsequently, in 70 CE, God judged the Jews by destroying their city and scattering them throughout the world.

Considered together with the vision of Jeremiah , the fruitlessness of the fig tree meant that no prophet would appear from among the Israelites any longer. And so it came to pass that the Holy Spirit or the Spirit of Holiness, after the curse of Jesus , descended upon the children of Ishmael , instead of the children of Israel, and the religion of Abraham became the green fig tree again, and bore fruit in abundance through the followers of the Last Prophet . Just as it was shown to Jeremiah , many from among the descendants of the tribe of Joseph through Ephraim and Manasseh and many others from the other nine lost tribes who had settled in Afghanistan and Kashmir, converted to Islam, which proved to be the godly portion of the nation, which was planted like a fig tree, never to be rooted up.

Returning To The Religion Of Abraham Through The Holy Prophet

Jesus continuously called his people to repent of their sins and pray to God for reformation. To this end, he spoke many parables. In three of these parables in chapter 15 of Luke, he tells of the excessive joy that a man will feel when he finds his one lost sheep out of a hundred ones, and that a woman feels when she finds her one lost silver piece out of ten silver pieces, and that a father feels when his wasteful son who left him returns to his house. Jesus means that God the All-High becomes much more ‘happy and pleased’ on the repentance of a sinner.

In another parable in Luke, Jesus tells of an unjust judge and a stubborn widow, as follows:

٢ قَائِلًا: كَانَ فِي مَدِينَةٍ قَاضٍ لَا يَخَافُ ٱللّٰهَ وَلَا يَهَابُ إِنْسَانًا. ٣ وَكَانَ فِي تِلْكَ ٱلْمَدِينَةِ أَرْمَلَةٌ. وَكَانَتْ تَأْتِي إِلَيْهِ قَائِلَةً: أَنْصِفْنِي مِنْ خَصْمِي! ٤ وَكَانَ لَا يَشَاءُ إِلَى زَمَانٍ. وَلَكِنْ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ قَالَ فِي نَفْسِهِ: وَإِنْ كُنْتُ لَا أَخَافُ ٱللّٰهَ وَلَا أَهَابُ إِنْسَانًا. ٥ فَإِنِّي لِأَجْلِ أَنَّ هَذِهِ ٱلْأَرْمَلَةَ تُزْعِجُنِي، أُنْصِفُهَا، لِئَلَّا تَأْتِيَ دَائِمًا فَتَقْمَعَنِي!». ٦ وَقَالَ ٱلرَّبُّ: «ٱسْمَعُوا مَا يَقُولُ قَاضِي ٱلظُّلْمِ. ٧ أَفَلَا يُنْصِفُ ٱللّٰهُ مُخْتَارِيهِ، ٱلصَّارِخِينَ إِلَيْهِ نَهَارًا وَلَيْلًا، وَهُوَ مُتَمَهِّلٌ عَلَيْهِمْ؟ ٨ أَقُولُ لَكُمْ: إِنَّهُ يُنْصِفُهُمْ سَرِيعًا! وَلَكِنْ مَتَى جَاءَ ٱبْنُ ٱلْإِنْسَانِ، أَلَعَلَّهُ يَجِدُ ٱلْإِيمَانَ عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ؟». ¹⁸¹

“In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected people. And there was a widow in that same town who kept coming to him and pleading for her rights, saying, ‘Help me against my opponent!’ For a long time the judge refused to act, but at last, he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God or respect people, yet because of all the trouble this widow is giving me, I will see to it that she gets her rights. If I do not, she will keep on coming and finally wear me out!’”And the Lord continued, “Listen to what that corrupt judge said. Now, will God not judge in favour of his own people who cry to him day and night for help? Will he be slow to help them? I tell you, he will judge in their favour and do it quickly. But will the Son of Man find faith on earth when he comes?”

Through sheer persistence, a defenceless widow wears down an unjust judge, who has no fear of God until he gives her justice. Jesus illustrates how God as our Judge is infinitely compassionate towards us, and much quicker to answer our prayers. We should not lose heart and neglect to ask Him for His forgiveness, grace and help.

The final sentence of Jesus is highly meaningful and contains a prophecy, “But will the Son of Man find faith on earth when he comes?” It is stated in Barnes' Notes that faith is sometimes taken to denote the ‘whole’ of religion, and it has been understood in this sense here. Therefore, despite all the recommendations, warnings, and encouragements of Jesus , when the son of the man comes, he shall not find faith on the earth. Considered together with the parables of the lost sheep, the piece of silver, and the wasteful son, it may be concluded that when the son of man comes, both the Jews, over whom Rachel weeps, Christians, and the Pagan Arabs, the Ishmaelites will have broken off the true faith and strayed from the religion of their father, Abraham . The son of man will come at a time when the whole world is engulfed in pitch darkness, and restore people to prayer, inculcate in them a living faith in God the All-Living, and generate in their hearts a fear of Him alone, and compassion and kindness toward His creatures, and bring justice to the world. Both these elements of the prophetic mission and history show that the son of man in the parable can obviously be none else than Prophet Muhammad . Through the son of man all the three nations mentioned, that is, the polytheist or pagan Ishmaelites, the Jews and Christians found the possibility of returning to the religion of their father, Abraham , to the great joy in heaven. It came to pass as it was stated in the parables, and while the pagan Ishmaelites became Muslim, man Christians, and the descendants of Joseph , over whom Rachel had been weeping, as well as the other nine lost tribes of Israel, also converted to Islam.

The Promised And Awaited Paraclete

In the Gospel according to John, Jesus gives the glad tidings of the coming of the Paraclete. Concerning the identity of the Paraclete, the following words of Jesus should be considered:

١٥ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ تُحِبُّونَنِي فَٱحْفَظُوا وَصَايَايَ، ١٦ وَأَنَا أَطْلُبُ مِنَ ٱلْآبِ فَيُعْطِيكُمْ مُعَزِّيًا آخَرَ لِيَمْكُثَ مَعَكُمْ إِلَى ٱلْأَبَدِ، ١٧ رُوحُ ٱلْحَقِّ ٱلَّذِي لَا يَسْتَطِيعُ ٱلْعَالَمُ أَنْ يَقْبَلَهُ، لِأَنَّهُ لَا يَرَاهُ وَلَا يَعْرِفُهُ، وَأَمَّا أَنْتُمْ فَتَعْرِفُونَهُ لِأَنَّهُ مَاكِثٌ مَعَكُمْ وَيَكُونُ فِيكُمْ. ¹⁸²

“If you love me, you will obey my commandments. I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, (KJV: Comforter; NIV: Counsellor; NLT: Advocate; ESV: Helper; AB: Redeemer; DRA: Paraclete) who will stay with you forever. He is the Spirit, who reveals the truth about God. The world cannot receive him, because it cannot see him or know him. But you know him, because he remains with you and is in you.

٢٥ بِهَذَا كَلَّمْتُكُمْ وَأَنَا عِنْدَكُمْ. ٢٦ وَأَمَّا ٱلْمُعَزِّي، ٱلرُّوحُ ٱلْقُدُسُ، ٱلَّذِي سَيُرْسِلُهُ ٱلْآبُ بِٱسْمِي، فَهُوَ يُعَلِّمُكُمْ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ، وَيُذَكِّرُكُمْ بِكُلِّ مَا قُلْتُهُ لَكُمْ. . . ٣٠ لَا أَتَكَلَّمُ أَيْضًا مَعَكُمْ كَثِيرًا، لِأَنَّ رَئِيسَ هَذَا ٱلْعَالَمِ يَأْتِي وَلَيْسَ لَهُ فِيَّ شَيْءٌ. ¹⁸³

I have told you this while I am still with you. The Helper (DRA: Paraclete), the Holy Spirit, (AB: the Spirit of Holiness; KJV: the Holy Ghost) whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and make you remember all that I have told you. . . I cannot talk with you much longer, because the ruler (KJV: prince) of this world is coming. He has no power over me.

٢٥ لَكِنْ لِكَيْ تَتِمَّ ٱلْكَلِمَةُ ٱلْمَكْتُوبَةُ فِي نَامُوسِهِمْ: إِنَّهُمْ أَبْغَضُونِي بِلَا سَبَبٍ. ٢٦ وَمَتَى جَاءَ ٱلْمُعَزِّي ٱلَّذِي سَأُرْسِلُهُ أَنَا إِلَيْكُمْ مِنَ ٱلْآبِ، رُوحُ ٱلْحَقِّ، ٱلَّذِي مِنْ عِنْدِ ٱلْآبِ يَنْبَثِقُ، فَهُوَ يَشْهَدُ لِي. ٢٧ وَتَشْهَدُونَ أَنْتُمْ أَيْضًا لِأَنَّكُمْ مَعِي مِنَ ٱلِٱبْتِدَاءِ. ¹⁸⁴

This, however, was bound to happen so that what is written in their Law may come true: ‘They hated me for no reason at all.’ “The Helper (KJV: Comforter; DRA: Paraclate) will come—the Spirit, who reveals the truth about God and who comes from the Father. I will send him to you from the Father, and he will speak about me. And you, too, will speak about me, because you have been with me from the very beginning.

٦ لَكِنْ لِأَنِّي قُلْتُ لَكُمْ هَذَا قَدْ مَلَأَ ٱلْحُزْنُ قُلُوبَكُمْ. ٧ لَكِنِّي أَقُولُ لَكُمُ ٱلْحَقَّ: إِنَّهُ خَيْرٌ لَكُمْ أَنْ أَنْطَلِقَ، لِأَنَّهُ إِنْ لَمْ أَنْطَلِقْ لَا يَأْتِيكُمُ ٱلْمُعَزِّي، وَلَكِنْ إِنْ ذَهَبْتُ أُرْسِلُهُ إِلَيْكُمْ. ٨ وَمَتَى جَاءَ ذَاكَ يُبَكِّتُ ٱلْعَالَمَ عَلَى خَطِيَّةٍ وَعَلَى بِرٍّ وَعَلَى دَيْنُونَةٍ: ٩ أَمَّا عَلَى خَطِيَّةٍ فَلِأَنَّهُمْ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِي، ١٠ وَأَمَّا عَلَى بِرٍّ فَلِأَنِّي ذَاهِبٌ إِلَى أَبِي وَلَا تَرَوْنَنِي أَيْضًا، ١١ وَأَمَّا عَلَى دَيْنُونَةٍ فَلِأَنَّ رَئِيسَ هَذَا ٱلْعَالَمِ قَدْ دِينَ.١٢ إِنَّ لِي أُمُورًا كَثِيرَةً أَيْضًا لِأَقُولَ لَكُمْ، وَلَكِنْ لَا تَسْتَطِيعُونَ أَنْ تَحْتَمِلُوا ٱلْآنَ. ١٣ وَأَمَّا مَتَى جَاءَ ذَاكَ، رُوحُ ٱلْحَقِّ، فَهُوَ يُرْشِدُكُمْ إِلَى جَمِيعِ ٱلْحَقِّ، لِأَنَّهُ لَا يَتَكَلَّمُ مِنْ نَفْسِهِ، بَلْ كُلُّ مَا يَسْمَعُ يَتَكَلَّمُ بِهِ، وَيُخْبِرُكُمْ بِأُمُورٍ آتِيَةٍ. ١٤ ذَاكَ يُمَجِّدُنِي، لِأَنَّهُ يَأْخُذُ مِمَّا لِي وَيُخْبِرُكُمْ. ¹⁸⁵

And now that I have told you, your hearts are full of sadness. But I am telling you the truth: it is better for you that I go away because if I do not go, the Helper (KJV: Comforter; DRA: Paraclate) will not come to you. But if I do go away, then I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will prove to the people of the world that they are wrong about sin and about what is right and about God's judgment. They are wrong about sin, because they do not believe in me; they are wrong about what is right, because I am going to the Father and you will not see me any more; and they are wrong about judgment, because the ruler of this world has already been judged. “I have much more to tell you, but now it would be too much for you to bear. When, however, the Spirit comes, who reveals the truth about God, he will lead you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own authority, but he will speak of what he hears and will tell you of things to come. He will give me glory because he will take what I say and tell it to you.

In his above-quoted words recorded in the Gospel of John, Jesus identifies Paraclete who will come after him with a spirit and calls him the "Spirit of truth". In only one of these words (14: 26), he is referred to as the Holy Spirit or the Spirit of Holiness. In the famous The Codex Syriacus among ancient manuscripts, written around the fifth century CE and 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". ¹⁸⁶

The Meaning Of ‘Spirit’ Or What The Spirit Is

The evangelist John renders the spirit, another name by which Paraclete is called, the holy spirit in only one place (14: 26) and Christian scholars take this spirit to be the holy spirit in reference to "the Third Person" in accordance with their creed of Trinity. However, the term ‘spirit’ is used with different meanings in the Bible just as it is in the Quran. For example, there is an angelic being other than the angels called ‘the spirit’, whom God employs in, for instance, breathing an individual's spirit in that person's body during his or her creation. Bediuzzaman Said Nursi maintains that there is a spirit representing every being or every species of creation. We read in the Quran that the angels and the spirit ascend to God in a day the measure of which is fifty thousand years (of our normal worldly years) ¹⁸⁷ and in Laylat al-Qadr (the Night of Power and Destiny) the angels and the spirit descend by the permission of the Lord with His decrees for every affair. ¹⁸⁸ This spirit is neither God nor His incarnation nor a separate divine being nor a being with divine identity. He is an angel-like being created by God.

It is highly interesting and informative that God mentions the spirit, whom He sent to the virgin Mary to give the glad tidings of Jesus as "Our Spirit" (19: 17), and while telling of the conception of Mary, He also says, ‘We breathed into her out of Our Spirit’. ¹⁸⁹ Just as God creates or gives life to every living being in the womb of his or her mother by breathing him or her out of "His Spirit", thus generating for them (the faculty of) hearing and eyes, and hearts (for understanding, feeling, and insight), ¹⁹⁰ He also created Jesus by breathing out of "His Spirit". The only difference is that He created Jesus without a father. This is a miracle of Him, while His fashioning Adam in due proportions and creating him without both a father and a mother by breathing out of "His Spirit" as well is an even greater miracle. ¹⁹¹ It is understood of all these that God has a creation called the spirit and whom He employs in breathing life into beings. So, the reason why the spirit is called the spirit is that he is a spiritual being employed in breathing life. Therefore, the spirit is the source or essence of life.

Because of this basic characteristic of spirit that God describes the divine revelation and the Quran as a spirit as well. It is a spirit which breathes ‘life’ into hearts. ¹⁹² In other words, the Quran or the divine revelation is the spiritual life or the source of the spiritual liveliness of responsible beings, humanity and the jinn. Just as God mentions such ordinary things as earth, clay, and mud as being the material origin of humankind, and draws attention to the baseness of the material dimension of human existence, to portray where the real value of humanity lies, He mentions ‘spirit’ and attributes it to Himself. Therefore, God's attribution of spirit to Himself in expressions such as "My Spirit" or "Our Spirit" can in no way be interpreted to mean that God has a body and a spirit or never implies that there is a distinct divine person called the spirit in "Godhead".

We also read in the Quran that God confirmed Jesus with the spirit of holiness or the holy spirit. ¹⁹³ However, this is not restricted to Jesus exclusively, for God also confirms all sincere believers who strive in His cause with a spirit from His Presence. ¹⁹⁴

The Quran mentions Archangel Gabriel as a spirit as well. He is the angel who brought divine revelations to prophets and therefore the Holy Quran to Muhammad . With regard to this mission of his, God calls him the spirit of holiness or the holy spirit ¹⁹⁵ and informative enough, about the most distinguishing aspects of the mission of Muhammad , God also calls him the spirit of truth. ¹⁹⁶ In other words, it is only about the mission of Muhammad among all the prophets that God Almighty calls Gabriel the spirit of truth. It is a well-known historical fact that, although truthfulness and trustworthiness are among the core characteristics of the prophets, it is only Muhammad who used to be called Muhammad al-Amin (Muhammad the Honest, the Trustworthy) since his boyhood, even by his bitterest enemies in Makkah. In the New Testament, the term ‘spirit’ is used in numerous meanings, one of which is prophet. For example:

١ أَيُّهَا ٱلْأَحِبَّاءُ، لَا تُصَدِّقُوا كُلَّ رُوحٍ، بَلِ ٱمْتَحِنُوا ٱلْأَرْوَاحَ: هَلْ هِيَ مِنَ ٱللّٰهِ؟ لِأَنَّ أَنْبِيَاءَ كَذَبَةً كَثِيرِينَ قَدْ خَرَجُوا إِلَى ٱلْعَالَمِ. ¹⁹⁷

My dear friends, do not believe all who claim to have the Spirit, but test them to find out if the spirit they have comes from God. For many false prophets have gone out everywhere.

Spirit is used also for Jesus Christ . The bible says:

٤٥ هَكَذَا مَكْتُوبٌ أَيْضًا: صَارَ آدَمُ، ٱلْإِنْسَانُ ٱلْأَوَّلُ، نَفْسًا حَيَّةً، وَآدَمُ ٱلْأَخِيرُ رُوحًا مُحْيِيًا. ¹⁹⁸

For the scripture says, “The first man, Adam, was created a living being”; but the last Adam is the life-giving Spirit.

After his resurrection, Jesus is occasionally referred to as ‘the spirit’. Christ is also called ‘the spirit’ in Revelation 2: 7, 11, 17, 29; 3: 6, 13 and 22, and in Romans 8: 16.

The Paraclete Is A Masculine Human, Not A Spiritual, Being, For Whom The Masculine Pronoun Is Used

Jesus identifies Paraclete who will come after him with a spirit and calls him the spirit of truth. This can neither be a spirit in the sense that it is the vital or heavenly part of human existence nor the holy spirit or Ghost, for it is the pronoun ‘he’ which is used when referring to the Paraclete, and not ‘it’. In John, 16: 13, we will find seven occurrences of the masculine pronoun ‘he’ and ‘himself’ in reference to Paraclete. Whereas the word ‘spirit’ (Greek, pneuma), is of a neutral gender and is referred to by the pronoun ‘it’.

From the very first days of Christianity, there is confusion in the Christian Church and the world at large, regarding the personality and gender of the holy spirit, and whether the holy spirit is a person or a force, and therefore the holy spirit should be referred to as ‘it’ or ‘he’ or, in recent times, as ‘she’. Even the different versions of the Gospels don't agree on this matter. For example, in King James Bible, Darby Bible Translation, American King James Version, English Revised Version, and Webster's Bible Translation, the relative pronoun ‘which’ rather than ‘who’ or ‘whom’ are used in reference to the holy spirit. See, for instance, Matthew 10: 20; Romans 5: 5; 8: 11; I Corinthians 6: 19; 1 John 3: 24. The Gospels were originally written in Greek, in which the word pneu'ma (spirit) is grammatically neuter, and so, in that language, the pronoun referring to the holy spirit under that name is also grammatically neuter. However, in all the versions of the Gospels with no exceptions at all, Paraclete has been always masculine and referred to by a masculine pronoun even when he is mentioned as the spirit of truth. This obviously shows that Paraclete or the spirit of truth, is a masculine person.

Furthermore, in Luke 11: 13, the Holy Spirit is declared to be a "gift" of God. In 1 Corinthians, Paul states that:

١٢ وَنَحْنُ لَمْ نَأْخُذْ رُوحَ ٱلْعَالَمِ، بَلِ ٱلرُّوحَ ٱلَّذِي مِنَ ٱللّٰهِ، لِنَعْرِفَ ٱلْأَشْيَاءَ ٱلْمَوْهُوبَةَ لَنَا مِنَ ٱللّٰهِ. ¹⁹⁹

We have not received this world's spirit; instead, we have received the Spirit sent by God, so that we may know all that God has given us.

Which means that the Spirit is from God and exists in human beings to make them know the things about God. Therefore, the holy spirit here is not God, but a channel or medium through which God Almighty teaches, enlightens and inspires those whom He pleases. Again, it is stated in 1 Corinthians, 6:

١٩ أَمْ لَسْتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ أَنَّ جَسَدَكُمْ هُوَ هَيْكَلٌ لِلرُّوحِ ٱلْقُدُسِ ٱلَّذِي فِيكُمُ، ٱلَّذِي لَكُمْ مِنَ ٱللّٰهِ، وَأَنَّكُمْ لَسْتُمْ لِأَنْفُسِكُمْ؟ ²⁰⁰

Don't you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and who was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourselves, but to God.

Which means that the righteous worshippers of God are called ‘the temple of the Holy Spirit’ which they "received from God." That is, the spirit of God is indicated to be God's virtue, word, or power and religion. In the Epistle to the Romans this same spirit that ‘lives’ within the believers is called alternately ‘the spirit of God’ and the ‘spirit of Christ’. ²⁰¹ In other words, the spirit is simply the faith and the true religion of God, which Jesus proclaimed.

Jesus' words, "If you love me, keep my commandments. Moreover, I will ask the Father, and he shall give you another Paraclete, that he may abide with you for ever." ²⁰² also demonstrates that Paraclete is a person, for Jesus is also a Paraclete just like the promised Paraclete: "I am writing this to you, my children, so that you will not sin; but if anyone does sin, we have someone (Paraclete) who pleads with the Father on our behalf—Jesus Christ, the righteous one." ²⁰³

Even though the translators of the Gospels tend to conceal the original word in I John 2: 1, which is the Paraclete, translating it as Advocate, while they prefer to translate the promised Paraclete as Comforter, some Christian scholars use this fact, i.e., Jesus' being a Paraclete, in asserting that the promised Paraclete is none other than Jesus himself. ²⁰⁴

The Paraclete Is A Prophet Like Jesus

The Paraclete is also referred to as the ‘spirit of truth’ and, as pointed out above, the term ‘spirit’ is also used in the New Testament for Jesus and means a prophet as well. Therefore, the promised Paraclete is one like Jesus , who is a prophet:

١١ فَقَالَتِ ٱلْجُمُوعُ: «هَذَا يَسُوعُ ٱلنَّبِيُّ ٱلَّذِي مِنْ نَاصِرَةِ ٱلْجَلِيلِ». ²⁰⁵

“This is the prophet, Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee,” the crowds answered.

١٩ فَقَالَ لَهُمَا: «وَمَا هِيَ؟». فَقَالَا: «ٱلْمُخْتَصَّةُ بِيَسُوعَ ٱلنَّاصِرِيِّ، ٱلَّذِي كَانَ إِنْسَانًا نَبِيًّا مُقْتَدِرًا فِي ٱلْفِعْلِ وَٱلْقَوْلِ أَمَامَ ٱللّٰهِ وَجَمِيعِ ٱلشَّعْبِ»²⁰⁶.

“What things?” he asked. “The things that happened to Jesus of Nazareth,” they answered. “This man was a prophet and was considered by God and by all the people to be powerful in everything he said and did”.

As a result, the promised Paraclete is a prophet like Jesus Christ .

Paraclete Hears And Speak, Not Inspires

Another evidence for the fact that the promised Paraclete is a prophet, a person, like Jesus , and not the holy ghost, is that Jesus says for him:

١٢ إِنَّ لِي أُمُورًا كَثِيرَةً أَيْضًا لِأَقُولَ لَكُمْ، وَلَكِنْ لَا تَسْتَطِيعُونَ أَنْ تَحْتَمِلُوا ٱلْآنَ. ١٣ وَأَمَّا مَتَى جَاءَ ذَاكَ، رُوحُ ٱلْحَقِّ، فَهُوَ يُرْشِدُكُمْ إِلَى جَمِيعِ ٱلْحَقِّ، لِأَنَّهُ لَا يَتَكَلَّمُ مِنْ نَفْسِهِ، بَلْ كُلُّ مَا يَسْمَعُ يَتَكَلَّمُ بِهِ، وَيُخْبِرُكُمْ بِأُمُورٍ آتِيَةٍ. ١٤ ذَاكَ يُمَجِّدُنِي، لِأَنَّهُ يَأْخُذُ مِمَّا لِي وَيُخْبِرُكُمْ. ²⁰⁷

I have much more to tell you, but now it would be too much for you to bear. When, however, the Spirit comes, who reveals the truth about God, he will lead you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own authority, but he will speak of what he hears and will tell you of things to come. He will give me glory because he will take what I say and tell it to you.

The Paraclete is one who hears and speaks. The Greek word translated as `hear' is ‘akouo’ (ak-oo'-o) meaning to perceive sounds. Similarly, the verb, ‘to speak’ is the translation of the Greek verb ‘laleo’ (lal-eh'-o), which has the general meaning of ‘emitting sounds’ and the specific meaning of ‘speaking’. The promised Paraclete is one who "does not speak for himself; but what things he shall hear (from God), these shall he speak." This is exactly what is said of Prophet Muhammad in the Quran:

وَمَا يَنْطِقُ عَنِ الْهَوَى 3 إِنْ هُوَ إِلَّا وَحْيٌ يُوحَى 4²⁰⁸

And he does not say anything by his own desire. It is but a divine revelation, which is revealed to him.

The holy spirit or ghost, whom many Christians believe as the third person in "Godhead" does not speak; the holy ghost inspires. ²⁰⁹ There is a distinct difference between someone ‘inspiring’ and someone ‘speaking’.

What follows are the natural, inevitable conclusions drawn by two eminent scholars, namely George Arthur Buttrick and Rudolf Bultman, concerning the identity of the promised Paraclete:

The Paraclete is a parallel figure to Jesus himself, and this conclusion is confirmed by the fact that the title is suitable for both. It is evident from John, 14:16 that the source thought there were sendings of two Paracletes, Jesus and his successor, the one following the other.

According to the rules of logic, therefore, one is brought to see in John's Paraclete a human being like Jesus, possessing the faculties of hearing and speech formally implied in a Johns Greek text. Jesus, therefore, predicts that God will later send a human being to Earth to take up the role defined by John, i.e. to be a prophet who hears God's word and repeats his message to man. This is the logical interpretation of John's texts arrived at if one attributes to the words their proper meaning. ²¹⁰

The Promised Paraclete Will Come After Jesus And Does Not Exist Before Him

It is unquestionably clear in the words of Jesus that the promised Paraclete will come after him, whereas the holy ghost or spirit had been already ‘with’ him and active, as well as with the other holy people preceding him. As the Bible states:

١٠ وَلَمَّا جَاءُوا إِلَى هُنَاكَ إِلَى جِبْعَةَ، إِذَا بِزُمْرَةٍ مِنَ ٱلْأَنْبِيَاءِ لَقِيَتْهُ، فَحَلَّ عَلَيْهِ رُوحُ ٱللّٰهِ فَتَنَبَّأَ فِي وَسَطِهِمْ. ²¹¹

When Saul and his servant arrived at Gibeah, a group of prophets met him. Suddenly the spirit of God took control of him, and he joined in their ecstatic dancing and shouting.

١١ ثُمَّ ذَكَرَ ٱلْأَيَّامَ ٱلْقَدِيمَةَ، مُوسَى وَشَعْبَهُ: أَيْنَ ٱلَّذِي أَصْعَدَهُمْ مِنَ ٱلْبَحْرِ مَعَ رَاعِي غَنَمِهِ؟ أَيْنَ ٱلَّذِي جَعَلَ فِي وَسَطِهِمْ رُوحَ قُدْسِهِ، ١٢ ٱلَّذِي سَيَّرَ لِيَمِينِ مُوسَى ذِرَاعَ مَجْدِهِ، ٱلَّذِي شَقَّ ٱلْمِيَاهَ قُدَّامَهُمْ لِيَصْنَعَ لِنَفْسِهِ ٱسْمًا أَبَدِيًّا. ²¹²

But then they remembered the past, the days of Moses, the servant of the Lord, and they asked, “Where now is the Lord, who saved the leaders of his people from the sea? Where is the Lord, who gave his spirit to Moses? Where is the Lord, who by his power did great things through Moses, dividing the waters of the sea and leading his people through the deep water, to win everlasting fame for himself?” Led by the Lord, they were as sure-footed as wild horses, and never stumbled.

١٥ لِأَنَّهُ يَكُونُ عَظِيمًا أَمَامَ ٱلرَّبِّ، وَخَمْرًا وَمُسْكِرًا لَا يَشْرَبُ، وَمِنْ بَطْنِ أُمِّهِ يَمْتَلِئُ مِنَ ٱلرُّوحِ ٱلْقُدُسِ. ²¹³

John will be great in the Lord's sight. He must not drink any wine or strong drink. From his very birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit.

٤١ فَلَمَّا سَمِعَتْ أَلِيصَابَاتُ سَلَامَ مَرْيَمَ ٱرْتَكَضَ ٱلْجَنِينُ فِي بَطْنِهَا، وَٱمْتَلَأَتْ أَلِيصَابَاتُ مِنَ ٱلرُّوحِ ٱلْقُدُسِ. ²¹⁴

When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby moved within her. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

٦٧ وَٱمْتَلَأَ زَكَرِيَّا أَبُوهُ مِنَ ٱلرُّوحِ ٱلْقُدُسِ، وَتَنَبَّأَ قَائِلًا. ²¹⁵

John's father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit, and he spoke God's message.

٢٥ وَكَانَ رَجُلٌ فِي أُورُشَلِيمَ ٱسْمُهُ سِمْعَانُ، وَهَذَا ٱلرَّجُلُ كَانَ بَارًّا تَقِيًّا يَنْتَظِرُ تَعْزِيَةَ إِسْرَائِيلَ، وَٱلرُّوحُ ٱلْقُدُسُ كَانَ عَلَيْهِ. ²¹⁶

At that time there was a man named Simeon living in Jerusalem. He was a good, God-fearing man and was waiting for Israel to be saved. The Holy Spirit was with him.

٢٢ وَنَزَلَ عَلَيْهِ ٱلرُّوحُ ٱلْقُدُسُ بِهَيْئَةٍ جِسْمِيَّةٍ مِثْلِ حَمَامَةٍ. وَكَانَ صَوْتٌ مِنَ ٱلسَّمَاءِ قَائِلًا: أَنْتَ ٱبْنِي ٱلْحَبِيبُ، بِكَ سُرِرْتُ. ²¹⁷

And the Holy Spirit came down upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my own dear Son. I am pleased with you”.

٢١ فَقَالَ لَهُمْ يَسُوعُ أَيْضًا: «سَلَامٌ لَكُمْ! كَمَا أَرْسَلَنِي ٱلْآبُ أُرْسِلُكُمْ أَنَا». ٢٢ وَلَمَّا قَالَ هَذَا نَفَخَ وَقَالَ لَهُمُ: ٱقْبَلُوا ٱلرُّوحَ ٱلْقُدُسَ. ²¹⁸

Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, so I send you.” Then he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’.

It is clear that before Jesus' departure from the world, the holy ghost or spirit had been already with his disciples, just as 'he' was with Simeon, Mary, Elisabeth and Zacharias before the birth of Jesus and was already present with Jesus when he was baptised by John the Baptist. So why should he need to comfort his disciples by saying that the holy ghost will come after his departure, while the holy ghost has already been present with them?

The Paraclete Is All Independent Salvific Figure

There is an Anchor Bible project since 1956. It consists of a Commentary Series, Bible Dictionary, and Reference Library. It marks a new era of cooperation among scholars in biblical research, and over 1000 scholars has now contributed to the project. Their works reflect a range of view­points across a wide theological spectrum. Included in this Project, it is stated in The Gospel According to John as follows:

The word Para kleros is peculiar in the NT to the Johannine literature (the writings of John in the New Testament). In 1 John 2: 1 Jesus is a parakletos (not a title), serving as a heavenly intercessor with the Father. In five passages in John (14: 15-17, 26; 15: 26-27; 16:7-11, 12-14) the title parakletos is given to someone who is not Jesus , nor an intercessor, nor in heaven. Christian tradition has identified this figure as the holy spirit, but scholars like Spina, Delafosse, Windisch, Bultmann, 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.

Finally, the Anchor Bible concludes with: The Christian needs not live with his eyes constantly straining toward the heavens from which the Son of Man is to come; for, as the Paraclete, Jesus is present within all believers. ²¹⁹ To what extent it is right that scholars like Spitta, Delafosse, Windisch, Bultmann, and Betz have suggested that the Paraclete is an independent salvific figure, the conclusion mentioned above is questionable to the same extent for the following reasons:

• The evangelical concept for the "second coming of Jesus", which is being awaited by the followers of Jesus for the last two millenniums, need not be confused with the Johannine picture for the coming of "another Paraclete" which was subject to the departure of Jesus and him requesting the Father.
• If the followers of Jesus were to believe that Jesus , a Paraclete, "is present within all believers", then the visualised Johannine picture of the Father sending "another Paraclete" to guide humankind into all truth, is made redundant.
• This "second Paraclete" has glorified his predecessor "the first Paraclete" (Jesus ) and "he" did "speak" whatever that he "heard" as the revelations sent to him through the archangel of God. He added "nothing of his own" to those revealed verses.

The Paraclete Is The One Who Will Guide Into All Truth

Jesus is quoted in John to have said the following about the promised Paraclete:

…فَهُوَ يُعَلِّمُكُمْ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ، وَيُذَكِّرُكُمْ بِكُلِّ مَا قُلْتُهُ لَكُمْ. ²²⁰

... will teach you everything and make you remember all that I have told you.

١٢ إِنَّ لِي أُمُورًا كَثِيرَةً أَيْضًا لِأَقُولَ لَكُمْ، وَلَكِنْ لَا تَسْتَطِيعُونَ أَنْ تَحْتَمِلُوا ٱلْآنَ. وَأَمَّا مَتَى جَاءَ ذَاكَ، رُوحُ ٱلْحَقِّ، فَهُوَ يُرْشِدُكُمْ إِلَى جَمِيعِ ٱلْحَقِّ، لِأَنَّهُ لَا يَتَكَلَّمُ مِنْ نَفْسِهِ، بَلْ كُلُّ مَا يَسْمَعُ يَتَكَلَّمُ بِهِ، وَيُخْبِرُكُمْ بِأُمُورٍ آتِيَةٍ. ²²¹

I have much more to tell you, but now it would be too much for you to bear. When, however, the Spirit comes, who reveals the truth about God, he will lead you into all the truth. He will not speak on his authority, but he will talk about what he hears and will tell you of things to come.

It is clear that just as God's promise to Abraham to make his descendants as numerous as the stars in the heavens and as the sand on the seashore has considerably been fulfilled in Ishmael's descendants, so too, Abraham has been a blessing for all nations and been blessed with all the families on the earth primarily through Ishmael and his descendants. However, despite these clear statements in the Bible, there is no mention in it of the twelve princes of Ishmael and the great nation which God promised both Abraham and Hagar to make Ishmael into. We don’t see anything in the Bible about the Ishmaelites concerning the divine mission of prophethood. Nor do we know it historically as well until the declaration of Muhammad , a descendant of Ishmael . Therefore, it is an undeniable fact, both historically and from the viewpoint of the Bible that God's promise to Abraham and Hagar to make Ishmael’s descendants into a great nation has been fulfilled in the form of Muhammad and his descendants and followers. One of the clearest signs and evidence of this is that the sign of God's everlasting covenant with Abraham is circumcision:

كَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا فِيكُمْ رَسُولًا مِنْكُمْ يَتْلُو عَلَيْكُمْ آيَاتِنَا وَيُزَكِّيكُمْ وَيُعَلِّمُكُمُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَيُعَلِّمُكُمْ مَا لَمْ تَكُونُوا تَعْلَمُونَ 151²²²

The way We have sent to you a Noble Messenger from among you, who recites to you Our verses and purifies you, and teaches you the Book and sound wisdom*, and teaches you what you did not know. (The traditions/sayings of the Holy Prophet – peace and blessings be upon him).

وَأَنْزَلْنَا إِلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ بِالْحَقِّ مُصَدِّقًا لِمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ مِنَ الْكِتَابِ وَمُهَيْمِنًا عَلَيْهِ فَاحْكُمْ بَيْنَهُمْ بِمَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ وَلَا تَتَّبِعْ أَهْوَاءَهُمْ عَمَّا جَاءَكَ مِنَ الْحَقِّ لِكُلٍّ جَعَلْنَا مِنْكُمْ شِرْعَةً وَمِنْهَاجًا وَلَوْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ لَجَعَلَكُمْ أُمَّةً وَاحِدَةً وَلَكِنْ لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ فِي مَا آتَاكُمْ فَاسْتَبِقُوا الْخَيْرَاتِ إِلَى اللَّهِ مَرْجِعُكُمْ جَمِيعًا فَيُنَبِّئُكُمْ بِمَا كُنْتُمْ فِيهِ تَخْتَلِفُونَ 48²²³

And O dear Prophet (Mohammed – peace and blessings be upon him) We have sent down the true Book upon you, confirming the Books preceding it, and a protector and witness over them – therefore judge between them according to what is sent down by Allah, and O listener, do not follow their desires, abandoning the truth which has come to you; We have appointed for you all, a separate (religious) law and a way; and had Allah willed He could have made you one nation, but the purpose (His will) is to test you by what He has given you, therefore seek to surpass one another in good deeds; towards Allah only you will all return, so He will inform you concerning the matter in which you disputed.

نَزَّلَ عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ بِالْحَقِّ مُصَدِّقًا لِمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ وَأَنْزَلَ التَّوْرَاةَ وَالْإِنْجِيلَ 3 مِنْ قَبْلُ هُدًى لِلنَّاسِ وَأَنْزَلَ الْفُرْقَانَ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا بِآيَاتِ اللَّهِ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ شَدِيدٌ وَاللَّهُ عَزِيزٌ ذُو انْتِقَامٍ 4²²⁴

He has sent down to you (O dear Prophet Mohammed – peace and blessings be upon him) this true Book (the Holy Qur’an), confirming the Books before it, and He sent down the Taurat (Torah) and the Injeel (Bible). Before this, a guidance to mankind; and sent down the Judgement (Criterion to judge between right and wrong); indeed for those who disbelieved in the verses of Allah, is a severe punishment; and Allah is the Almighty, the Avenger (of the wrong).

الَّذِينَ يَتَّبِعُونَ الرَّسُولَ النَّبِيَّ الْأُمِّيَّ الَّذِي يَجِدُونَهُ مَكْتُوبًا عِنْدَهُمْ فِي التَّوْرَاةِ وَالْإِنْجِيلِ يَأْمُرُهُمْ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَاهُمْ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ وَيُحِلُّ لَهُمُ الطَّيِّبَاتِ وَيُحَرِّمُ عَلَيْهِمُ الْخَبَائِثَ وَيَضَعُ عَنْهُمْ إِصْرَهُمْ وَالْأَغْلَالَ الَّتِي كَانَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ فَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِهِ وَعَزَّرُوهُ وَنَصَرُوهُ وَاتَّبَعُوا النُّورَ الَّذِي أُنْزِلَ مَعَهُ أُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ 157²²⁵

“Those who will obey this Noble Messenger (Prophet Mohammed – peace and blessings be upon him), the Herald of the Hidden who is untutored* (except by Allah), whom they will find mentioned in the Taurat and the Injeel with them; he will command them to do good and forbid them from wrong, and he will make lawful for them the good clean things and prohibit the foul for them, and he will unburden the loads and the neck chains which were upon them; so those who believe in him, and revere** him, and help him, and follow the light which came down with him – it is they who have succeeded." (*The Holy Prophet was taught by Allah Himself – see Surah 55 Al-Rahman. **To honour the Holy Prophet – peace and blessings be upon him – is part of faith. To disrespect him is blasphemy.) Say (O dear Prophet Mohammed – peace and blessings be upon him), “O people! Indeed I am, towards you all, the Noble Messenger of Allah – for Whom (Allah) only is the kingship of the heavens and the earth; there is none worthy of worship, except Him – giving life and giving death; therefore believe in Allah and His Noble Messenger, the Prophet who is untutored (except by Allah), who believes in Allah and His Words, and obey him (the Prophet) to attain guidance.” (Prophet Mohammed – peace and blessings be upon him – is the Prophet towards all mankind.)

Ultimately, the divine religion, which was preached by all the prophets, came to be perfected by Muhammad , as he was sent as a mercy for all the creatures:

وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا رَحْمَةً لِلْعَالَمِينَ 107²²⁶

And We did not send you (O dear Prophet Mohammed – peace and blessings be upon him) except as a mercy for the entire world. (Prophet Mohammed – peace and blessings be upon him – is the Prophet towards all mankind.)

حُرِّمَتْ عَلَيْكُمُ الْمَيْتَةُ وَالدَّمُ وَلَحْمُ الْخِنْزِيرِ وَمَا أُهِلَّ لِغَيْرِ اللَّهِ بِهِ وَالْمُنْخَنِقَةُ وَالْمَوْقُوذَةُ وَالْمُتَرَدِّيَةُ وَالنَّطِيحَةُ وَمَا أَكَلَ السَّبُعُ إِلَّا مَا ذَكَّيْتُمْ وَمَا ذُبِحَ عَلَى النُّصُبِ وَأَنْ تَسْتَقْسِمُوا بِالْأَزْلَامِ ذَلِكُمْ فِسْقٌ الْيَوْمَ يَئِسَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِنْ دِينِكُمْ فَلَا تَخْشَوْهُمْ وَاخْشَوْنِ الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ الْإِسْلَامَ دِينًا فَمَنِ اضْطُرَّ فِي مَخْمَصَةٍ غَيْرَ مُتَجَانِفٍ لِإِثْمٍ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ 3²²⁷

Forbidden for you are carrion, and blood, and flesh of swine, and that which has been slaughtered while proclaiming the name of any other than Allah, and one killed by strangling, and one killed with blunt weapons, and one which died by falling, and that which was gored by the horns of some animal, and one eaten by a wild beast, except those whom you slaughter; and (also forbidden is) that which is slaughtered at the altar (of idols) and that which is distributed by the throwing of arrows (as an omen); this is an act of sin; this day, the disbelievers are in despair concerning your religion, so do not fear them and fear Me; this day have I perfected your religion for you* and completed My favour upon you, and have chosen Islam as your religion; so whoever is forced by intense hunger and thirst and does not incline towards sin, then indeed Allah is Oft Forgiving, Most Merciful. (*Prophet Mohammed – peace and blessings be upon him – is the Last Prophet.)

The promised Paraclete is the spirit of truth. As explained above, the word ‘spirit’ in the Bible is also used synonymously with the word ‘prophet’. Although truthfulness and trustworthiness are among the core characteristics of prophethood, among the prophets it is only Muhammad who was known al-Amin (the Truthful and Trustworthy) even before he became a prophet. Thus, it becomes clear that Muhammad was indeed the spirit of truth.

God's Eternal Covenant With Abraham And Paraclete

From the perspective of God's promise to Abraham and His covenant with him as well, the promised prophet or Paraclete cannot be any other than Prophet Muhammad . For we read in the Bible itself ²²⁸ that God promised Abraham that He would make his name great and bless both him and those who would bless him and that he would be blessed by all the families on the earth. He also promised him ²²⁹ that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore, and that his descendants would take possession of the cities of the enemies. It is also apparent in the Bible that Abraham's descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore through his elder son Ishmael . According to Genesis, ²³⁰ when Abraham said to God, "You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir," the word of the Lord came to him: "This man will not be your heir." Then Abraham was told: "Look up at the heavens and count the stars if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be." After this, since Sarai, Abraham's wife, had borne Abraham no children, she and her husband Abraham sought a way to have children to fulfil this covenant of God, which was established in Genesis, 15: 3-5. Sarai said to Abraham : "The Lord has kept me from having children. Why don't you sleep with my slave? Perhaps she can have a child for me." ²³¹ Thus, Abraham's first-born son Ishmael came to the world from Hagar, and God told Abraham that He had blessed Ishmael and promised both Abraham and Hagar that He would make Ishmael the father of twelve rulers or princes and make him into a great nation. ²³²

It is clear that just as God's promise to Abraham to make his descendants as numerous as the stars in the heavens and as the sand on the seashore has considerably been fulfilled in Ishmael's descendants, so too, Abraham has been a blessing for all nations and been blessed with all the families on the earth primarily through Ishmael and his descendants. However, despite these clear statements in the Bible, there is no mention in it of the twelve princes of Ishmael and the great nation which God promised both Abraham and Hagar to make Ishmael into. Nor do we know anything in the Bible about the Ishmaelites concerning the divine mission of prophethood. Neither do we know it historically as well until Muhammad , a descendant of Ishmael . Therefore, it is an undeniable fact, both historically and from the viewpoint of the Bible that God's promise to Abraham and Hagar to make Ishmael into a great nation has been fulfilled in Muhammad and his descendants and followers. One of the clearest signs and evidence of this is that the sign of God's everlasting covenant with Abraham is circumcision:

٣ فَسَقَطَ أَبْرَامُ عَلَى وَجْهِهِ. وَتَكَلَّمَ ٱللّٰهُ مَعَهُ قَائِلًا: ٤ أَمَّا أَنَا فَهُوَذَا عَهْدِي مَعَكَ، وَتَكُونُ أَبًا لِجُمْهُورٍ مِنَ ٱلْأُمَمِ، ٥ فَلَا يُدْعَى ٱسْمُكَ بَعْدُ أَبْرَامَ بَلْ يَكُونُ ٱسْمُكَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، لِأَنِّي أَجْعَلُكَ أَبًا لِجُمْهُورٍ مِنَ ٱلْأُمَمِ. ٦ وَأُثْمِرُكَ كَثِيرًا جِدًّا، وَأَجْعَلُكَ أُمَمًا، وَمُلُوكٌ مِنْكَ يَخْرُجُونَ. ٧ وَأُقِيمُ عَهْدِي بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَكَ، وَبَيْنَ نَسْلِكَ مِنْ بَعْدِكَ فِي أَجْيَالِهِمْ، عَهْدًا أَبَدِيًّا، لِأَكُونَ إِلَهًا لَكَ وَلِنَسْلِكَ مِنْ بَعْدِكَ. ٨ وَأُعْطِي لَكَ وَلِنَسْلِكَ مِنْ بَعْدِكَ أَرْضَ غُرْبَتِكَ، كُلَّ أَرْضِ كَنْعَانَ مُلْكًا أَبَدِيًّا. وَأَكُونُ إِلَهَهُمْ .٩ وَقَالَ ٱللّٰهُ لِإِبْرَاهِيمَ: وَأَمَّا أَنْتَ فَتَحْفَظُ عَهْدِي، أَنْتَ وَنَسْلُكَ مِنْ بَعْدِكَ فِي أَجْيَالِهِمْ. ١٠ هَذَا هُوَ عَهْدِي ٱلَّذِي تَحْفَظُونَهُ بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَكُمْ، وَبَيْنَ نَسْلِكَ مِنْ بَعْدِكَ: يُخْتَنُ مِنْكُمْ كُلُّ ذَكَرٍ، ١١ فَتُخْتَنُونَ فِي لَحْمِ غُرْلَتِكُمْ، فَيَكُونُ عَلَامَةَ عَهْدٍ بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَكُمْ. ²³³

Abram bowed down with his face touching the ground, and God said, “I make this covenant with you: I promise that you will be the ancestor of many nations. Your name will no longer be Abram, but Abraham, because I am making you the ancestor of many nations. I will give you many descendants, and some of them will be kings. You will have so many descendants that they will become nations. “I will keep my promise to you and to your descendants in future generations as an everlasting covenant. I will be your God and the God of your descendants. I will give to you and to your descendants this land in which you are now a foreigner. The whole land of Canaan will belong to your descendants forever, and I will be their God.” God said to Abraham, “You also must agree to keep the covenant with me, both you and your descendants in future generations. You and your descendants must all agree to circumcise every male among you. From now on, you must circumcise every baby boy when he is eight days old, including slaves born in your homes and slaves bought from foreigners. This will show that there is a covenant between you and me.

Circumcising every male Muslim since the time of the Holy Prophet has been carefully observed by Muslims. This is even organised as if a marriage ceremony among some nations such as the Turkish Muslims in Turkey.

The Promised Paraclete Will Glorify Jesus And Bear Witness Of Both Him And His Disciples

Jesus explicitly states that in the face of the hatred against him, the promised Paraclete will glorify him and bear witness of both him and his disciples. ²³⁴

It is not something secret how Jesus and his chaste mother, whom the Quran presents as an example for Muslim women due to her absolute innocence and chastity, have been viewed not only by the Romans but also by the Jews, and what is written about them in the Talmud. However, the Quran, which on the one hand emphatically declares Jesus' being a human being created by God like all His other creatures in the face of his deification, exalts both him and his mother, and his disciples (apostles) as well on the other. As the Holy Quran states:

وَإِذْ قَالَتِ الْمَلَائِكَةُ يَامَرْيَمُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ اصْطَفَاكِ وَطَهَّرَكِ وَاصْطَفَاكِ عَلَى نِسَاءِ الْعَالَمِينَ 42²³⁵

And when the angels said, “O Maryam! Indeed Allah has chosen you and purified you, and has this day, chosen you among all the women of the world.”

وَإِذْ قَالَتِ الْمَلَائِكَةُ يَامَرْيَمُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ اصْطَفَاكِ وَطَهَّرَكِ وَاصْطَفَاكِ عَلَى نِسَاءِ الْعَالَمِينَ 42²³⁶

And remember when the angels said, “O Maryam! Allah gives you glad tidings of a Word from Him, whose name is the Messiah, Eisa the son of Maryam – he will be honourable in this world and in the Hereafter, and among the close ones (to Allah).”

Mary was chosen to receive the divine spirit directly in the same way as Adam , the first human being to be created, received it. She is to be the means through which this miraculous event is shown to humanity. It is an event which has not been repeated in the entire history of mankind. Hence, it is undoubtedly a great moment. She, however, had no knowledge whatsoever of the event up to that point.

The reference here to Mary's purification is highly significant because the Jews did not hesitate to raise suspicions about Mary's purity in connection with the birth of her son. Making use of the fact that such a birth is without parallel humanity, they claimed there must be something dishonorable behind it. Nevertheless, Muhammad announced what God revealed to him of the great truth of Mary and her exaltation above all the women of the world. ²³⁷

فَلَمَّا أَحَسَّ عِيسَى مِنْهُمُ الْكُفْرَ قَالَ مَنْ أَنْصَارِي إِلَى اللَّهِ قَالَ الْحَوَارِيُّونَ نَحْنُ أَنْصَارُ اللَّهِ آمَنَّا بِاللَّهِ وَاشْهَدْ بِأَنَّا مُسْلِمُونَ 52 رَبَّنَا آمَنَّا بِمَا أَنْزَلْتَ وَاتَّبَعْنَا الرَّسُولَ فَاكْتُبْنَا مَعَ الشَّاهِدِينَ 53²³⁸

So when Eisa sensed their disbelief, he said, “Who will be my aides towards (in the cause of) Allah?” The disciples said, “We are the aides of Allah’s religion; we believe in Allah, and you bear witness that we are Muslims. Our Lord! We have believed in what You have sent down, and we follow the Noble Messenger, therefore, record us among the witnesses of the truth.”

وَمَكَرُوا وَمَكَرَ اللَّهُ وَاللَّهُ خَيْرُ الْمَاكِرِينَ 54 إِذْ قَالَ اللَّهُ يَاعِيسَى إِنِّي مُتَوَفِّيكَ وَرَافِعُكَ إِلَيَّ وَمُطَهِّرُكَ مِنَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا وَجَاعِلُ الَّذِينَ اتَّبَعُوكَ فَوْقَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ ثُمَّ إِلَيَّ مَرْجِعُكُمْ فَأَحْكُمُ بَيْنَكُمْ فِيمَا كُنْتُمْ فِيهِ تَخْتَلِفُونَ 55²³⁹

And the disbelievers conspired (to kill Eisa), and Allah covertly planned to destroy them, and Allah is the best of secret planners. Remember when Allah said, “O Eisa! I will keep you alive until your full age, and raise you towards Me, and cleanse you of the disbelievers and give your followers dominance over the disbelievers until the Day of Resurrection; then you will all return to Me, so I shall judge between you concerning the matter in which you dispute.”

Every man with a message or ideology must have helpers who support him, believe in his message, defend it and convey it to others and make sure that it remains in its original form when he has passed away. We also note here that the term they use to describe themselves is "Muslim", which is a reference to Islam in its broad sense, i.e. surrender to God, which is the essence of true faith. They ask Jesus to bear witness to their surrender and their pledging themselves to be God's helpers, which means to help His Messenger and His religion and way of life. ²⁴⁰

إِنَّ مَثَلَ عِيسَى عِنْدَ اللَّهِ كَمَثَلِ آدَمَ خَلَقَهُ مِنْ تُرَابٍ ثُمَّ قَالَ لَهُ كُنْ فَيَكُونُ 59²⁴¹

The example of Eisa with Allah is like that of Adam; He created him (Adam) from clay and then said to him, “Be” – and it thereupon happens!

لَنْ يَسْتَنْكِفَ الْمَسِيحُ أَنْ يَكُونَ عَبْدًا لِلَّهِ وَلَا الْمَلَائِكَةُ الْمُقَرَّبُونَ وَمَنْ يَسْتَنْكِفْ عَنْ عِبَادَتِهِ وَيَسْتَكْبِرْ فَسَيَحْشُرُهُمْ إِلَيْهِ جَمِيعًا 172²⁴²

The Messiah does not at all hate being a bondman of Allah, and nor do the close angels; and whoever hates worshipping Him and is conceited – so very soon He will gather them all towards Him.

Thus, it has been only Muhammad who heard from God and spoke what he heard, testifying of Jesus and his disciples, and glorifying him and his pure mother that they are high above both the slanders against them and their deification besides God.

The Coming Paraclete Will Convict The World In Respect Of Sin, Righteousness And Judgment

All these are can only be done by a prophet and was therefore done by Muhammad . He convicted the world in respect of the sin they committed against Jesus either by rejecting and slandering him or declaring him a God or son of God. Muhammad also convicted the world in respect of the sins committed by pagan peoples or polytheists and certain pagan or polytheistic elements that had been given way to the pure messages of the prophets.

Muhammad came at a time when the world was engulfed by the age of ignorance, and preached righteousness in all matters, establishing righteousness as the second, basic dimension of the divine religion after faith. For example, the Holy Quran states:

وَالتِّينِ وَالزَّيْتُونِ 1 وَطُورِ سِينِينَ 2 وَهَذَا الْبَلَدِ الْأَمِينِ 3 لَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنْسَانَ فِي أَحْسَنِ تَقْوِيمٍ 4 ثُمَّ رَدَدْنَاهُ أَسْفَلَ سَافِلِينَ 5 إِلَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ فَلَهُمْ أَجْرٌ غَيْرُ مَمْنُونٍ 6 فَمَا يُكَذِّبُكَ بَعْدُ بِالدِّينِ 7 أَلَيْسَ اللَّهُ بِأَحْكَمِ الْحَاكِمِينَ 8²⁴³

By oath of the fig and of the olive, and by the oath of Mount Sinai, and by the oath of this secure land, We have indeed created man in the best shape. We then turned him towards all the lowest of the low states. Except those who accepted faith and did good deeds – for them is a never ending reward. So after this, what causes you to deny the judgement? Is not Allah the Greatest Judge upon all judges?

وَالْعَصْرِ 1 إِنَّ الْإِنْسَانَ لَفِي خُسْرٍ 2 إِلَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالْحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالصَّبْرِ 3²⁴⁴

By oath of this era of yours (O dear Prophet Mohammed ). Indeed, man is surely in a loss. Except those who accepted faith, and did good deeds and urged one another to the truth – and urged one another to have patience.

In these verses, an oath has been sworn by the Time to impress the point that man is in sheer loss and only those people are an exception from the loss who are characterized by four qualities:

1. Faith.
2. Righteous deeds.
3. Exhorting one another to truth.
4. Exhorting one another to patience.

The nations of the world at that time had abandoned the true faith and righteous deeds. Therefore, they were in a loss. Prophet Muhammad established these things and tried his best to ensure that all the people of the world attained guidance and prosperity.

Muhammad also established the Criterion between truth and falsehood and between righteousness and sin. As the Holy Quran states:

شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ الَّذِي أُنْزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنُ هُدًى لِلنَّاسِ وَبَيِّنَاتٍ مِنَ الْهُدَى وَالْفُرْقَانِ فَمَنْ شَهِدَ مِنْكُمُ الشَّهْرَ فَلْيَصُمْهُ وَمَنْ كَانَ مَرِيضًا أَوْ عَلَى سَفَرٍ فَعِدَّةٌ مِنْ أَيَّامٍ أُخَرَ يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ بِكُمُ الْيُسْرَ وَلَا يُرِيدُ بِكُمُ الْعُسْرَ وَلِتُكْمِلُوا الْعِدَّةَ وَلِتُكَبِّرُوا اللَّهَ عَلَى مَا هَدَاكُمْ وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ 185²⁴⁵

The month of Ramadan in which was sent down the Qur’an – the guidance for mankind, the direction and the clear criteria (to judge between right and wrong); so whoever among you witnesses this month, must fast for the (whole) month; and whoever is sick or on a journey, may fast the same number in other days; Allah desires ease for you and does not desire hardship for you – so that you complete the count (of fasts), and glorify Allah’s greatness for having guided you, and so that you may be grateful.

نَزَّلَ عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ بِالْحَقِّ مُصَدِّقًا لِمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ وَأَنْزَلَ التَّوْرَاةَ وَالْإِنْجِيلَ 3 مِنْ قَبْلُ هُدًى لِلنَّاسِ وَأَنْزَلَ الْفُرْقَانَ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا بِآيَاتِ اللَّهِ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ شَدِيدٌ وَاللَّهُ عَزِيزٌ ذُو انْتِقَامٍ 4²⁴⁶

He has sent down to you (O dear Prophet Mohammed – peace and blessings be upon him) this true Book (the Holy Quran), confirming the Books before it, and He sent down the Taurat (Torah) and the Injeel (Bible). Before this, a guidance to mankind; and sent down the Judgement (Criterion to judge between right and wrong); indeed for those who disbelieved in the verses of Allah, is a severe punishment; and Allah is the Almighty, the Avenger (of the wrong).

The Paraclete Will Be A Ruler To Judge Satan And His Followers

The coming Paraclete will also be a ruler, who will the authority to judge and put his judgment into effect. He will judge the people with justice even though they would obey the prince of the world, i.e., Satan (according to the common Christian belief). This statement of Jesus also shows that the world will be deceived and misled by Satan after him, and the coming Paraclete will crush Satan's head. As discussed before, Jesus Christ did not crush Satan's head; rather, Satan continued to deceive people even in Jesus' time and especially after him and became the "prince and god of this world.” ²⁴⁷ However, as prophesied in Genesis ²⁴⁸ that Muhammad , who uprooted all devilish vices such as idolatry, murder, drinking, gambling, and adultery, crushed Satan's head and openly declared in his Farewell Sermon:

قد يئس الشيطان بأن يعبد بأرضكم ولكنه رضي أن يطاع فيما سوى ذلك مما تحاقرون من أعمالكم. ²⁴⁹

O people! This day Satan has lost all hope of re-establishing his worship in this land of yours. But should you obey him even in what may seem to you trilling, it will be a matter of pleasure for him.

In the Quranic verse revealed on the same day, God Almighty pronounced:

.....الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ الْإِسْلَامَ دِينًا.....3²⁵⁰

. . . This day have I perfected your religion for you and completed My favour upon you, and have chosen Islam as your religion. . .

The Coming Paraclete Will Remain With Them Forever

As it is also apparent in Jesus' words that everyone on the earth will taste death, but God, and things done for the sake od God won’t. As the Holy Quran states:

كُلُّ مَنْ عَلَيْهَا فَانٍ 26 وَيَبْقَى وَجْهُ رَبِّكَ ذُو الْجَلَالِ وَالْإِكْرَامِ 27²⁵¹

For everything on the earth is extinction. And everlasting is the Entity of your Lord, the Most Majestic and the Most Honourable.

That is, nothing done for God's sake is lost, and all responsible beings, including first and foremost humankind and the jinn will live forever in an eternal world according to their deeds in the world. Therefore, the coming Paraclete remaining with people forever means that he will be the last prophet who will guide people towards truth and teach them divine law, as his Message will contain all the truths concerning eternal happiness and remain intact until the Last Day. As the Holy Quran states:

مَا كَانَ مُحَمَّدٌ أَبَا أَحَدٍ مِنْ رِجَالِكُمْ وَلَكِنْ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَخَاتَمَ النَّبِيِّينَ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمًا 40²⁵²

Mohammed is not the father of any man among you – but he is the Noble Messenger of Allah and the Last of the Prophets, and Allah knows all things.

It means that Muhammad is the last messenger who brought the final religion till the day of judgement. No prophet will come after him.

The Coming Paraclete Will Declare The Things That Are To Come

Muhammad informed us of the eternal world, life with its basic aspects and exhibited almost a thousand of miracles which are going to be discussed in detail in upcoming volumes of this Encyclopaedia (if Allah Wills). One type of the miracles of Muhammad consists of his predictions concerning the near and far future, some of which are found in the Quran and some others, in the books of Hadith. Most of these predictions have come true, and the others wait for their time to come true.

A Significant Consideration About The Word "Paraclete."

Bible scholars agree that it is not possible to render Paraclete an exact word in English. It is translated as Advocate, Comforter, Helper, Counsellor and so on, and we can find different renderings in the translated versions of the Gospel of John where the term is. It should be pointed out that Christian scholars have tended to render it in a way that will befit their conception of the holy spirit or Jesus' Messianic mission. However, in his book Muhammed in the Bible (p: 208-18), Professor `Abdul-Ahad Dawud, formerly Rev. David Benjamin Keldani, Roman Catholic Bishop of Urmia, gives the following significant information on the etymology and meaning of the word Paraclete which is as follows briefly in a summarised form:

The "Paraclete", in truth, is not a classic word at all. The Greek orthography of the word is Paraklytos which in ecclesiastical literature is made to mean "one called to aid, advocate, intercessor" (Dict. Grec. Francais, by Alexandre). One need not profess to be a Greek scholar to know that the Greek word for "comforter or counsellor" is not "Paraclytos" but "Paracalon". I have no Greek version of the Septuagint with me, but I remember perfectly well that the Hebrew word for "comforter" ("mnahem") in the Lamentations of Jeremiah (i. 2, 9, 16, 17, 21, etc.) is translated into Parakaloon, from the verb Parakaloo, which means to call to, invite, exhort, console, pray, invoke. It should be noticed that there is a long alpha vowel after the consonant Kappa in the ‘Paracalon’ which does not exist in the ‘Paraklytos’. In the phrase (He who consoles us in all our afflictions) ‘paracalon’ and not ‘Paraclytos’ is used. Many other examples can be cited here. There is another Greek word for comforter and counsellor, i.e. "Parygorytys" from "I console." As to the other meaning of "intercessor or advocate" which is given in the ecclesiastical word "Paraclete," I again insist that "Paracalon" and not "Paraklytos" can convey in itself a similar sense. The proper Greek term for "advocate" is Sunegorus and for "intercessor" or "mediator" Meditea. I think I have sufficiently proved that the "Paraclytos," from a linguistic and etymological point of view, does not mean "advocate, counsellor, or comforter."

Periqlytos etymologically and means "the most illustrious, renowned, and praiseworthy." I take for my authority Alexandre's Dictionnaire Grec.Francais=Periglytos, "Qu’on peut entendre de tous les cores; qu'il est facile an entendre. Tres celebre," etc. "= Periqleitos, tres celebre, illustre, glorieux; = Periqleys, tres celebre, illustre, glorieux," from = Kleos, glorire, renommee, celebrite." This compound noun is composed of the prefix "peri," and "kleotis," the latter derived from "to glorify, praise." The noun, which I write in English characters Periqleitos or Periqlytos, means precisely what Ahmad means in Arabic, namely the most illustrious, glorious, and renowned.

The Quranic revelation that Jesus, the son of Mary, declared unto the people of Israel that he was "bringing glad tidings of a messenger, who shall come after me and whose name shall be Ahmad," is one of the strongest proofs that Prophet Muhammad was truly a prophet and that the Quran is really a divine revelation. He could never have known that the Periqlyte meant Ahmad, unless through inspiration and divine revelation. The authority of the Quran is decisive and final; for the literal signification of the Greek name exactly and indisputably corresponds with Ahmad and Muhammad.

It is marvellous that this unique name, Ahmad, never before given to any other person, was miraculously preserved for the most illustrious and praiseworthy prophet of God! We never come across any Greek, bearing the name Periqleitos (or Periqlytos), nor any Arab bearing the name of Ahmad. True, there was a famous Athenian called Periqleys which means "illustrious," etc., but not in the superlative degree.

There is not the slightest doubt that by "Periqlyte," Prophet Muhammad, i.e. Ahmad, is intended. The two names, one in Greek and the other in Arabic, have precisely the same significance, and both mean the "Most Illustrious and Praised," just as "Pneuma" and "Ruh" mean nothing more or less than "spirit" in both languages. We have seen that the translation of the word into "counsellor" or "advocate" is untenable and wrong. The compound form of Paragalon is derived from the verb composed of the prefix-Para-qalo, but the Periqlyte is derived from the Peri-qluo. The difference is as clear as anything could be. ²⁵³

Abidin Pasha, a renowned nineteenth-century scholar from Yanya, Greece, who knew Greek very well and whose works on Greek literature were highly praised by Greek authorities, also writes that the Greek origin of Paraclete is Pei iglytos and means Ahmad.

Some scholars believe that what Jesus said in his Aramaic tongue in these verses represents more closely the Greek word "Periklytos" which means the admirable or glorified one. This word corresponds exactly to the Arabic word "Muhammad" which also means the "admired one" or "glorified one." In other words, "Periklytos" is "Muhammad" in Greek. There are several similar documented cases of similar word substitution in the Bible. It is also entirely possible that both words were contained in the original text, but were dropped by a copyist because of the ancient custom of writing words closely packed, with no spaces in-between them. In such a case the original reading would have been: "and He will give you another comforter (Parakletos), the admirable one (Periklytos)" (See examples of many similar cases in the Biblical text in "The Emphatic Diaglott"). ²⁵⁴

Considering the above-quoted approach, we should say that by saying "another Paraclete", Jesus does not certainly mean another Ahmad. Aware of this point, Professor Dawud, formerly Rev. Keldani, writes as follows:

There is some incoherency in words ascribed to Jesus by the Fourth Gospel. It reads as if several Periqlytes had already come and gone, and that "another Periqlytos" would be given only at the request of Jesus. These words also leave behind the impression that the Apostles were already made familiar with this name which the Greek text renders Periqlytos. The adjective "another" preceding a foreign noun for the first time announced seems very strange and superfluous. There is no doubt that the text has been tampered with and distorted. It pretends that the Father will send the Periqlyte at the request of Jesus. Otherwise, the Periqlyte would never have come! The word "ask," too, seems superficial, and unjustly displays a touch of arrogance on the part of the prophet of Nazareth. If we want to find out the real sense of these words, we must correct the text and supply the stolen or corrupted words, thus: "I shall go to the Father, and he shall send you another messenger whose name shall be Periqlytos, which he may remain with you forever." ²⁵⁵

This is just what the Holy Quran says:

وَإِذْ قَالَ عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ يَابَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ إِنِّي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ إِلَيْكُمْ مُصَدِّقًا لِمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيَّ مِنَ التَّوْرَاةِ وَمُبَشِّرًا بِرَسُولٍ يَأْتِي مِنْ بَعْدِي اسْمُهُ أَحْمَدُ فَلَمَّا جَاءَهُمْ بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ قَالُوا هَذَا سِحْرٌ مُبِينٌ 6²⁵⁶

And remember when Eisa the son of Maryam said, “O Descendants of Israel! Indeed, I am Allah’s Noble Messenger towards you, confirming the Book Torah, which was before me, and heralding glad tidings of the Noble Messenger who will come after me – his name is Ahmed (the Praised One)”; so when Ahmed came to them with clear proofs, they said, “This is an obvious magic.”

In many prophetic traditions, it is stated that one of Muhammad's names is Ahmad, and this is mentioned by Hassan Ibn Sabit, a famous poet during the prophet's time, in one of his poems. So Muhammad was also known and cited as Ahmad during his lifetime. Though the name Ahmad had not been known and used before him among the Arabs, this name became widely known and used only during his own time and after him.

The Messianic Mission Attributed To Jesus Christ Towards The End Of Time

To better understand and explain the Messianic mission attributed to Jesus Christ toward the end of time in the relevant sayings of Muhammad we should consider the following event:

After the victory of Badr (624 CE), because divine commandment had not yet been revealed about how the prisoners of war should be treated, God's Messenger consulted, as he always did where there was no specific divine commandment, with his companions on this question. `Umar offered their killing, but Abu Bakr gave the following opinion: "O God's Messenger! They are your people. Even though they did, you and the believers great wrong, you will win their hearts and cause their guidance if you forgive them and please them." God's Messenger turned to Abu Bakar and said:

وإن مثلك يا أبا بكر كمثل إبراهيم قال: (فَمَنْ تَبِعَنِي فَإِنَّهُ مِنِّي وَمَنْ عَصَانِي فَإِنَّكَ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ) " وإن مثلك يا أبا بكر كمثل عيسى قال: (إِنْ تُعَذِّبْهُمْ فَإِنَّهُمْ عِبَادُكَ وَإِنْ تَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ فَإِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ). ومثلك يا عمر كمثل موسى قال: (رَبَّنَا اطْمِسْ عَلَى أَمْوَالِهِمْ وَاشْدُدْ عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ فَلَا يُؤْمِنُوا حَتَّى يَرَوُا الْعَذَابَ الْأَلِيمَ) ومثلك يا عمر كمثل نوح قال: (رَبِّ لَا تَذَرْ عَلَى الْأَرْضِ مِنَ الْكَافِرِينَ دَيَّارًا). ²⁵⁷

You are, O Abu Bakr, like Prophet Abraham, upon him be peace, who prayed to God about his people: “whoever followed me, is indeed mine; and whoever disobeyed me – then indeed You are oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful." (Ibrahim 14: 36) You are also like Jesus, who prayed: "If you punish them, then indeed they are Your slaves; and if you forgive them, then indeed You only are the Almighty, the Wise.” (Holy Quran, Al-Maida (The Table Spread with Food) 5: 118). (Then he turned to `Umar and said) O `Umar! You are like Moses, who said (of Pharaoh and his chieftains): "our Lord! Destroy their riches and harden their hearts so that they may not accept faith until they witness the painful punishment." (Yunus, 10:88) You are also like Noah, who said (of his stubbornly disbelieving rebellious people): "O my Lord! Do not leave any of the disbelievers dwelling in the land. Indeed, if You spare them, they will mislead your bondmen – and their descendants, if any, will be none except the wicked, very ungrateful." (Noah 71: 26-27).

Muhammad accepted Abu Bakr's view:

Islam is the last, universal form of the divine religion and consummate of all the previous heavenly religions and contains all the perennial values and truths, and orders its followers to believe in all of the prophets. However, this does not mean that it orders a particular type of behaviour in all circumstances. On the contrary, just as its universality and applicability in completely different times and circumstances caused the emergence of the various schools of Law (madhhab), so too did its consummation of all previous religions require acting differently in different times and conditions. God Almighty, bestowed some special favours on each prophet according to his mission within the circumstances surrounding him. ²⁵⁸ For example, Noah was endowed with steadfastness and perseverance. Abraham was honoured with close friendship with God and being the father of many prophets. Moses was given the capability of administering and exalted through receiving God's speech from Himself, from beyond a veil, and Jesus was distinguished with tolerance, exceptional compassion, and profound spirituality. All the prophets have, however, some share in the admirable qualities mentioned, but each of them surpasses (on account of his mission) the others in one or more than one of those qualities.

The Universal And Inclusive Character Of Islam

While every rophet was distinguished with one or a few excellent characteristics or virtues in relatively greater degree than the others, Muhammad who was charged with conveying Islam in its universal form, had all the qualities mentioned above at a perfect level, except that he is not the father of prophets. He had, because of the universality of his mission, the distinction of being like Moses in that he was a giver of warnings and brought and established a law, and like Jesus he was a bringer of good news, who preached mercy, forgiveness, love, helping others, altruism, modesty, sincerity, purity of intention and moral values of the highest degree. This means that Muhammad and therefore Islam had the mission of both Noah and Abraham , and both Moses and Jesus . That is, Islam requires that Muslims must act like Noah and Moses when they find themselves in the circumstances like those in which Noah and Moses found themselves, and like Abraham and Jesus in the circumstances that are like those experienced by these prophets. This explains why Prophet Muhammad and the Muslims sometimes had to fight against their enemies.

The Return Of Jesus In Prophet Muhammad's Sayings

We see in the reliable books of Hadith, many sayings of Muhammad that Jesus will come back to the world before the end of time and kill the Dajjal (the Antichrist). He will meet the Mahdi (the Guide or Muslim Messiah) who is promised to come at the end of time to call people to Islam and serve for the right guidance of people. The Mahdi will ask Jesus to lead the prayer. However, Jesus will answer, saying:

لا، إن بعضكم على بعض أمراء تكرمة اللّٰه هذه الأمة. ²⁵⁹

"No, you are leaders of one another, as an honour from Allah to this Ummah"

And prefer the Mahdi's leadership in the prayer. Also, the Quran mentions Jesus as a means to the knowledge of the Last Hour. ²⁶⁰ It may not be wrong to interpret these revealed reports to mean that before the end of time the sincere followers of Muhammad and Jesus will and should cooperate in calling people to God's way and in struggling against corruption and irreligion, or that Islam must manifest itself mostly in that dimension which was represented by Jesus . That is, the main aspects of the messenger-ship of Jesus must be given prominence in representing, practising and preaching Islam. These aspects are:

Firstly, Jesus came into the world and fulfilled his mission in an utterly materialistic environment. This environment was also one in which religious hypocrisy was widespread. God's religion embodies and demands balance in everything. The Holy Quran says:

الشَّمْسُ وَالْقَمَرُ بِحُسْبَانٍ 5 وَالنَّجْمُ وَالشَّجَرُ يَسْجُدَانِ 6 وَالسَّمَاءَ رَفَعَهَا وَوَضَعَ الْمِيزَانَ 7 أَلَّا تَطْغَوْا فِي الْمِيزَانِ 8 وَأَقِيمُوا الْوَزْنَ بِالْقِسْطِ وَلَا تُخْسِرُوا الْمِيزَانَ 9²⁶¹

The sun and the moon are scheduled. And the plants and the trees prostrate (for Him). And Allah has raised the sky, and He has set the balance. In order that you may not corrupt the balance. And establish the measures justly, nor decrease the due weight.

It also declares:

لَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا رُسُلَنَا بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ وَأَنْزَلْنَا مَعَهُمُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْمِيزَانَ لِيَقُومَ النَّاسُ بِالْقِسْطِ وَأَنْزَلْنَا الْحَدِيدَ فِيهِ بَأْسٌ شَدِيدٌ وَمَنَافِعُ لِلنَّاسِ وَلِيَعْلَمَ اللَّهُ مَنْ يَنْصُرُهُ وَرُسُلَهُ بِالْغَيْبِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ قَوِيٌّ عَزِيزٌ 25²⁶²

Indeed We sent Our Noble Messengers with proofs, and sent down the Book and the Balance of Justice along with them, so that people may stay upon justice; and We sent down iron having severe heat and benefits for mankind, and so that Allah may see him, who without seeing aides Him and His Noble Messengers; indeed Allah is Almighty, Dominant.

Like a lever that requires a lifting force that is equal to the object to be lifted for there to be balanced, the balance in the religion and social life requires the exertion of a spiritual and moral force that will counter materialistic inclinations. In an atmosphere where people were drowned in materialism and hypocrisy, Jesus came as "a spirit from God", and his message was based on pure spirituality and the highest morality. His teaching is mentioned in the Bibl as:

٢١ قَدْ سَمِعْتُمْ أَنَّهُ قِيلَ لِلْقُدَمَاءِ: لَا تَقْتُلْ، وَمَنْ قَتَلَ يَكُونُ مُسْتَوْجِبَ ٱلْحُكْمِ. ٢٢ وَأَمَّا أَنَا فَأَقُولُ لَكُمْ: إِنَّ كُلَّ مَنْ يَغْضَبُ عَلَى أَخِيهِ بَاطِلًا يَكُونُ مُسْتَوْجِبَ ٱلْحُكْمِ، وَمَنْ قَالَ لِأَخِيهِ: رَقَا، يَكُونُ مُسْتَوْجِبَ ٱلْمَجْمَعِ، وَمَنْ قَالَ: يا أَحْمَقُ، يَكُونُ مُسْتَوْجِبَ نَارِ جَهَنَّمَ. ٢٣ فَإِنْ قَدَّمْتَ قُرْبَانَكَ إِلَى ٱلْمَذْبَحِ، وَهُنَاكَ تَذَكَّرْتَ أَنَّ لِأَخِيكَ شَيْئًا عَلَيْكَ، ٢٤ فَٱتْرُكْ هُنَاكَ قُرْبَانَكَ قُدَّامَ ٱلْمَذْبَحِ، وَٱذْهَبْ أَوَّلًا ٱصْطَلِحْ مَعَ أَخِيكَ، وَحِينَئِذٍ تَعَالَ وَقَدِّمْ قُرْبَانَكَ. ٢٥ كُنْ مُرَاضِيًا لِخَصْمِكَ سَرِيعًا مَا دُمْتَ مَعَهُ فِي ٱلطَّرِيقِ، لِئَلَّا يُسَلِّمَكَ ٱلْخَصْمُ إِلَى ٱلْقَاضِي، وَيُسَلِّمَكَ ٱلْقَاضِي إِلَى ٱلشُّرَطِيِّ، فَتُلْقَى فِي ٱلسِّجْنِ. ٢٦ اَلْحَقَّ أَقُولُ لَكَ: لَا تَخْرُجُ مِنْ هُنَاكَ حَتَّى تُوفِيَ ٱلْفَلْسَ ٱلْأَخِيرَ! ٢٧ قَدْ سَمِعْتُمْ أَنَّهُ قِيلَ لِلْقُدَمَاءِ: لَا تَزْنِ. ٢٨ وَأَمَّا أَنَا فَأَقُولُ لَكُمْ: إِنَّ كُلَّ مَنْ يَنْظُرُ إِلَى ٱمْرَأَةٍ لِيَشْتَهِيَهَا، فَقَدْ زَنَى بِهَا فِي قَلْبِهِ. ٢٩ فَإِنْ كَانَتْ عَيْنُكَ ٱلْيُمْنَى تُعْثِرُكَ فَٱقْلَعْهَا وَأَلْقِهَا عَنْكَ، لِأَنَّهُ خَيْرٌ لَكَ أَنْ يَهْلِكَ أَحَدُ أَعْضَائِكَ وَلَا يُلْقَى جَسَدُكَ كُلُّهُ فِي جَهَنَّمَ. ٣٠ وَإِنْ كَانَتْ يَدُكَ ٱلْيُمْنَى تُعْثِرُكَ فَٱقْطَعْهَا وَأَلْقِهَا عَنْكَ، لِأَنَّهُ خَيْرٌ لَكَ أَنْ يَهْلِكَ أَحَدُ أَعْضَائِكَ وَلَا يُلْقَى جَسَدُكَ كُلُّهُ فِي جَهَنَّمَ. ٣١ وَقِيلَ: مَنْ طَلَّقَ ٱمْرَأَتَهُ فَلْيُعْطِهَا كِتَابَ طَلَاقٍ. ٣٢ وَأَمَّا أَنَا فَأَقُولُ لَكُمْ: إِنَّ مَنْ طَلَّقَ ٱمْرَأَتَهُ إلَّا لِعِلَّةِ ٱلزِّنَى يَجْعَلُهَا تَزْنِي، وَمَنْ يَتَزَوَّجُ مُطَلَّقَةً فَإِنَّهُ يَزْنِي. ²⁶³

“You have heard that people were told in the past, ‘Do not commit murder; anyone who does will be brought to trial.’ But now I tell you: if you are angry with your brother you will be brought to trial, if you call your brother ‘You good-for-nothing!’ you will be brought before the Council, and if you call your brother a worthless fool you will be in danger of going to the fire of hell. So if you are about to offer your gift to God at the altar and there you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar, go at once and make peace with your brother, and then come back and offer your gift to God. “If someone brings a lawsuit against you and takes you to court, settle the dispute while there is time, before you get to court. Once you are there, you will be turned over to the judge, who will hand you over to the police, and you will be put in jail. There you will stay, I tell you, until you pay the last penny of your fine. “You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ But now I tell you: anyone who looks at a woman and wants to possess her is guilty of committing adultery with her in his heart. So if your right eye causes you to sin, take it out and throw it away! It is much better for you to lose a part of your body than to have your whole body thrown into hell. If your right-hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away! It is much better for you to lose one of your limbs than to have your whole body go off to hell. “It was also said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a written notice of divorce.’ But now I tell you: if a man divorces his wife for any cause other than her unfaithfulness, then he is guilty of making her commit adultery if she marries again; and the man who marries her commits adultery also.

It should never be thought that Jesus who taught such things, rejected, negated or neglected the law. Before these teachings, he taught about the Law as follows:

١٧ لَا تَظُنُّوا أَنِّي جِئْتُ لِأَنْقُضَ ٱلنَّامُوسَ أَوِ ٱلْأَنْبِيَاءَ. مَا جِئْتُ لِأَنْقُضَ بَلْ لِأُكَمِّلَ. ١٨ فَإِنِّي ٱلْحَقَّ أَقُولُ لَكُمْ: إِلَى أَنْ تَزُولَ ٱلسَّمَاءُ وَٱلْأَرْضُ لَا يَزُولُ حَرْفٌ وَاحِدٌ أَوْ نُقْطَةٌ وَاحِدَةٌ مِنَ ٱلنَّامُوسِ حَتَّى يَكُونَ ٱلْكُلُّ. ١٩ فَمَنْ نَقَضَ إِحْدَى هَذِهِ ٱلْوَصَايَا ٱلصُّغْرَى وَعَلَّمَ ٱلنَّاسَ هَكَذَا، يُدْعَى أَصْغَرَ فِي مَلَكُوتِ ٱلسَّمَاوَاتِ. وَأَمَّا مَنْ عَمِلَ وَعَلَّمَ، فَهَذَا يُدْعَى عَظِيمًا فِي مَلَكُوتِ ٱلسَّمَاوَاتِ. ²⁶⁴

Do not think that I have come to do away with the Law of Moses and the teachings of the prophets. I have not come to do away with them, but to make their teachings come true. 18 Remember that as long as heaven and earth last, not the least point, nor the smallest detail of the Law will be done away with—not until the end of all things. (a) 19 So then, whoever disobeys even the least important of the commandments and teaches others to do the same, will be least in the Kingdom of heaven. On the other hand, whoever obeys the Law and teaches others to do the same, will be great in the Kingdom of heaven.

What Jesus stressed was that the commandments of the divine religion were not to be discarded. So, as the essence or spirit of the commandments, he always emphasised pure spirituality, high morality, mercy, compassion, sincerity or purity of intention and love, utmost chastity, and peacemaking in society.

Modern times or circumstances are just like the environment in which Jesus began his mission. The world today needs spirituality, moral values, justice, mercy, love, altruism, forgiveness and peace more than any other time in history; most of the problems of the modern world arise from excessive worldliness, scientific materialism, hypocrisy in religion, a great erosion in spiritual and moral values, injustice, and the ruthless exploitation of nature. By declaring that Jesus will descend toward the end of time, Muhammad drew our attention to this important point. He suggested that at the end of time Muslims should give prominence to the points or teachings that Jesus emphasized in his message; never forgetting that Muhammad was sent as a mercy for all the worlds, for the whole of existence, this good news must be conveyed to all places and people should be called to the way of God with wisdom and fair exhortation. ²⁶⁵ They must never repel others. A Muslim scholar describes this as the highest degree of piety, righteousness and God's consciousness, the highest level of pious asceticism or abstinence, and the highest degree of saintliness, and striving in God's cause with the diamond principles of the Holy Quran.

Secondly, Jesus was the child of the virgin Mary without a father. The Holy Quran tells us that while virgin Mary stayed in the Sanctuary, she ate of the food sent by God:

فَتَقَبَّلَهَا رَبُّهَا بِقَبُولٍ حَسَنٍ وَأَنْبَتَهَا نَبَاتًا حَسَنًا وَكَفَّلَهَا زَكَرِيَّا كُلَّمَا دَخَلَ عَلَيْهَا زَكَرِيَّا الْمِحْرَابَ وَجَدَ عِنْدَهَا رِزْقًا قَالَ يَامَرْيَمُ أَنَّى لَكِ هَذَا قَالَتْ هُوَ مِنْ عِنْدِ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَرْزُقُ مَنْ يَشَاءُ بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ 37²⁶⁶

So her Lord, fully accepted her (Maryam), and gave her an excellent development; and gave her in Zakaria’s guardianship; whenever Zakaria visited her at her place of prayer, he found new food with her; he said, “O Maryam! From where did this come to you?” She answered, “It is from Allah; indeed Allah gives to whomever He wills, without a limited account.”

It could be deduced from this that the biological origin of Jesus in her mother's womb was not formed of any worldly food which was unlawful in respect of both its earning and ingredients. So what this teaches us is that we must refrain from any unlawful food and all forms of illicit earning, from theft, usurpation, and plunder. This is especially important for pure spirituality.

Jesus' birth without a father also alludes to the fact that scientific materialism is a sheer delusion and that God is able to create without any physical means, and that these means and what we call "natural causes" are only veils before His acts.

Jesus' teachings about divorce and adultery suggest that toward the end of time children will not be dutiful to their parents, the rights of women will be violated, and chastity will not be given its due importance. Therefore, the Quran enjoins Muslims (and the followers of Jesus ) in our age that they must, in addition to performing their prayers or worship accurately and helping the poor and needy, be very careful about showing due respect to their parents and elders. The Holy Quran also warns men about and always stresses piety, righteousness, and God's consciousness in their treatment of women. ²⁶⁷

One of Jesus' miracles was healing diseases and reviving the dead; that is, respect for life was imperative in his message. The Holy Quran attaches the greatest importance to life and regards one who kills a person unjustly akin to killing of all humanity, while one who saves a life akin to saving all of humanity, ²⁶⁸ Islam also teaches that the rights of a person cannot be sacrificed, not even for a whole community. If there are nine criminals and one innocent person on a ship, this ship cannot be sunk to punish the criminals because there is still one innocent person on board.

That is all about Muhammad in the new testament and in the teachings of Jesus Christ , according to Christians litrature, who was the true prophet and bondman of Allah and would come after Jesus himsel.

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• ¹  Holy Quran, Al-Saff (The Rank) 61: 6
• ²  Holy Quran, Aal-e-Imran (The Family of Imran) 3: 81
• ³  Holy Quran, Maaida (The Table Spread with Food) 5: 116-118
• ⁴  The Bible, Luke 2: 14
• ⁵  The Bible, Matthew 5: 9
• ⁶  The Bible, Matthew 10: 34
• ⁷  The Bible, Luke 12: 49-51
• ⁸  Holy Quran, Aale Imran (The Family of Imran) 3: 39
• ⁹  Holy Quran, Maryam (Mary – Mother of Jesus) 19: 12-15
• ¹⁰  The Bible, Matthew 3: 13-15
• ¹¹  The Bible, Matthew 11: 11
• ¹²  The Bible, Matthew 3: 11-12
• ¹³  Barnes' Notes on the Bible & Wincent's Word Studies: http://biblehub.com/ matthew/3-12.htm: Retrieved: 25-02-2017
• ¹⁴  Holy Quran, al-Mujadelah (The Argument) 58: 22
• ¹⁵  The Bible, John 4: 1-2
• ¹⁶  The Bible, John 1: 19-23
• ¹⁷  The Bible, Deuteronomy 18: 15
• ¹⁸http://biblehub.com/john/1-21.htm: Retrieved: 27-02-2017
• ¹⁹  Quoted by Ali Unal in The Prophet Promised in World Scriptures, Tughra Books, New Jersey, USA, Pg. 299.
• ²⁰  The Bible, Luke 1: 31-33
• ²¹http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08374x.htm: Retrieved: 27-02-2017
• ²²  ٥ هَا أَيَّامٌ تَأْتِي، يَقُولُ ٱلرَّبُّ، وَأُقِيمُ لِدَاوُدَ غُصْنَ بِرٍّ، فَيَمْلِكُ مَلِكٌ وَيَنْجَحُ، وَيُجْرِي حَقًّا وَعَدْلًا فِي ٱلْأَرْضِ. ٦ فِي أَيَّامِهِ يُخَلَّصُ يَهُوذَا، وَيَسْكُنُ إِسْرَائِيلُ آمِنًا، وَهَذَا هُوَ ٱسْمُهُ ٱلَّذِي يَدْعُونَهُ بِهِ: ٱلرَّبُّ بِرُّنَا
  .Translation: The Lord says, “The time is coming when I will choose as king a righteous descendant of David. That king will rule wisely and do what is right and just throughout the land. When he is king, the people of Judah will be safe, and the people of Israel will live in peace. He will be called ‘The Lord Our Salvation.’
  (The Bible, Jeremiah 23: 5-6)
• ²³https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yeshua: Retrieved: 27-02-2017
• ²⁴https://www.christianforums.com/threads/yeshua.7620536/: Retrieved: 27-02-2017
• ²⁵http://www.everlastingkingdom.info/article/255/: Retrieved: 27-02-2017
• ²⁶https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter%27s_vision_of_a_sheet_with_animals: Retrieved: 27-02-2017
• ²⁷https://www.gotquestions.org/circumcision.html: Retrieved: 27-02-2017
• ²⁸  The Bible, Exodus 4: 22
• ²⁹  The Bible, Psalms 2: 7
• ³⁰  The Bible, I Chronicles 22: 10
• ³¹  The Bible, Matthew 5: 44-45
• ³²  The Bible, Matthew 5: 9
• ³³  The Bible, Psalms 82: 6-7
• ³⁴  The Bible, Genesis 6: 2 (King James Version)
• ³⁵  The Bible, Deuteronomy 14: 1(King James Version)
• ³⁶  The Bible, Job 1: 6
• ³⁷  The Bible, Philippians 2: 15
• ³⁸  Holy Quran, Al-Ana’am (The Cattle) 6: 101
• ³⁹  Sayyid Qutb (2016), In the Shade of the Quran, Islamic Foundation, Leicestershire, U.K, Vol. V, Pg. 224-225.
• ⁴⁰  Laurence B. Brown, "Jesus Christ, Son of God? http://www.leveltruth.com/articles/Jesus%20 Christ%20--%20Son%20o'/o2OGod%20Part%201.pdf: Retrieved: 02-28-2017
• ⁴¹  Holy Quran states:
  مَا جَعَلَ اللہُ لِرَجُلٍ مِّنۡ قَلْبَیۡنِ فِیۡ جَوْفِہٖ ۚ وَمَا جَعَلَ اَزْوٰجَکُمُ الّٰٓـِٔیْ تُظٰہِرُوۡنَ مِنْہُنَّ اُمَّہٰتِکُمْ ۚ وَمَا جَعَلَ اَدْعِیَآءَکُمْ اَبْنَآءَکُمْ ؕ ذٰلِکُمْ قَوْلُکُمۡ بِاَفْوٰہِکُمْ ؕ وَ اللہُ یَقُوۡلُ الْحَقَّ وَہُوَ یَہۡدِی السَّبِیۡلَ ﴿۴﴾
  Translation: Allah has not kept two hearts in the body of any man; nor has He made them your mothers those wives of yours, whom you declare to be your mothers; nor has He made them your sons, whom you have adopted; this is the statement of your mouths; and Allah proclaims the truth and it is He Who shows the path.
  (Al-Ahzab (The Armies) 33: 4)
• ⁴²  Re or Ra was considered as the major god in Ancient Egyptian Religion in 25th and 24th centuries BC. It was also called god of the sun. Re had the head of a falcon and the sun-disc inside a cobra resting on his head in its imaginary picture.
• ⁴³  Yigal Levin Jesus, ‘Son of God’ and ‘Son of David’. The Adoption of Jesus into the Davidic Line: http://www.academia.edu/239076/Jesus_Son_of_God_and_Son_of_David_The_Adoption_of_Jesus_into_the_Davidic_Line: Retrieved: 02-28-2017
• ⁴⁴  The Bible, Luke 1: 5, 36
• ⁴⁵  Holy Quran, Maryam (Mary – The Mother of Jesus) 19: 28
• ⁴⁶  Holy Quran, Al-‘Araaf (The Wall with Elevation) 7: 157
• ⁴⁷  Towards Understanding the Quran: http://www.islamicstudies.info/tafheem.php?sura=7&verse=152&to-157: Retrieved: 14-02-18
• ⁴⁸  The Bible, John 18: 36
• ⁴⁹  The Bible, Psalms 145: 3
• ⁵⁰  The Bible, Daniel 4: 3
• ⁵¹  George Eldon Ladd, "What is the Kingdom of God?", http://gospelpedlar.com/articles/Last%20Things/kogladd.html: Retrieved: 01-03-2017
• ⁵²  Bediuzzaman Said Nursi (2007), al-Mathnawi al-Nuri, New Jersey, USA, Pg. 3-4.; M. Fethullah Gulen (2009), Emerald Hills of the Heart - Key Concepts in the Practice of Sufism, New Jersey, USA, Vol. 3, Pg. 93-96.
• ⁵³  Millenarian is from Millennialism which is a specific type of Christian millenarianism, and is sometimes referred to as "chiliasm" from the New Testament use of the Greek chilia (thousand). It is part of the broader form of apocalyptic expectation. A core doctrine in some variations of Christian eschatology is the expectation that the Second Coming is very near and that there will be an establishment of a kingdom of God on Earth. According to an interpretation of prophecies in the Book of Revelation, this kingdom of God on Earth will last a thousand years (a millennium) or more. (Kark, Ruth "Millenarism and agricultural settlement in the Holy Land in the nineteenth century, " Journal of Historical Geography, 9, 1 (1983), Pg. 47-62)
• ⁵⁴  Pre-millenarian is from Premillennialism, in Christian eschatology, which is the belief that Jesus will physically return to the earth to gather his saints before the Millennium, a literal thousand-year golden age of peace. This return is referred to as the Second Coming. The doctrine is called "premillennialism" because it holds that Jesus' physical return to earth will occur prior to the inauguration of the Millennium. It is distinct from the other forms of Christian eschatology such as postmillennialism or amillennialism, which view the millennial rule as occurring either before the second coming, or as being figurative and non-temporal. For the last century, the belief has been common in Evangelicalism according to surveys on this topic. (http://www.nae.net/premillennialism-reigns-in-evangelical-theology/: Retrieved: 01-03-2017)
• ⁵⁵  Theopedia: http://www.theopedia.com/millennial-kingdom: Retrieved: 01-03-2017
• ⁵⁶  ١ وَقَالَ ٱلرَّبُّ لِأَبْرَامَ: ٱذْهَبْ مِنْ أَرْضِكَ وَمِنْ عَشِيرَتِكَ وَمِنْ بَيْتِ أَبِيكَ إِلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ ٱلَّتِي أُرِيكَ. ٢ فَأَجْعَلَكَ أُمَّةً عَظِيمَةً وَأُبَارِكَكَ وَأُعَظِّمَ ٱسْمَكَ، وَتَكُونَ بَرَكَةً. ٣ وَأُبَارِكُ مُبَارِكِيكَ، وَلَاعِنَكَ أَلْعَنُهُ. وَتَتَبَارَكُ فِيكَ جَمِيعُ قَبَائِلِ ٱلْأَرْضِ.
  Translation: The Lord said to Abram, “Leave your country, your relatives, and your father's home, and go to a land that I am going to show you. I will give you many descendants, and they will become a great nation. I will bless you and make your name famous, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, But I will curse those who curse you. And through you I will bless all the nations.”
  (The Bible, Genesis, 12: 1-3)
• ⁵⁷  ٩ وَقَالَ ٱللهُ لِإِبْرَاهِيمَ: وَأَمَّا أَنْتَ فَتَحْفَظُ عَهْدِي، أَنْتَ وَنَسْلُكَ مِنْ بَعْدِكَ فِي أَجْيَالِهِمْ. ١٠ هَذَا هُوَ عَهْدِي ٱلَّذِي تَحْفَظُونَهُ بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَكُمْ، وَبَيْنَ نَسْلِكَ مِنْ بَعْدِكَ: يُخْتَنُ مِنْكُمْ كُلُّ ذَكَرٍ، ١١ فَتُخْتَنُونَ فِي لَحْمِ غُرْلَتِكُمْ، فَيَكُونُ عَلَامَةَ عَهْدٍ بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَكُمْ. ١٢ اِبْنَ ثَمَانِيَةِ أَيَّامٍ يُخْتَنُ مِنْكُمْ كُلُّ ذَكَرٍ فِي أَجْيَالِكُمْ: وَلِيدُ ٱلْبَيْتِ، وَٱلْمُبْتَاعُ بِفِضَّةٍ مِنْ كُلِّ ٱبْنِ غَرِيبٍ لَيْسَ مِنْ نَسْلِكَ. ١٣ يُخْتَنُ خِتَانًا وَلِيدُ بَيْتِكَ وَٱلْمُبْتَاعُ بِفِضَّتِكَ، فَيَكُونُ عَهْدِي فِي لَحْمِكُمْ عَهْدًا أَبَدِيًّا. ١٤ وَأَمَّا ٱلذَّكَرُ ٱلْأَغْلَفُ ٱلَّذِي لَا يُخْتَنُ فِي لَحْمِ غُرْلَتِهِ فَتُقْطَعُ تِلْكَ ٱلنَّفْسُ مِنْ شَعْبِهَا. إِنَّهُ قَدْ نَكَثَ عَهْدِي.
  Translation: God said to Abraham, “You also must agree to keep the covenant with me, both you and your descendants in future generations. You and your descendants must all agree to circumcise every male among you. From now on you must circumcise every baby boy when he is eight days old, including slaves born in your homes and slaves bought from foreigners. This will show that there is a covenant between you and me. Each one must be circumcised, and this will be a physical sign to show that my covenant with you is everlasting. Any male who has not been circumcised will no longer be considered one of my people, because he has not kept the covenant with me.”
  (The Bible, Genesis, 17: 9-14)
• ⁵⁸  The Bible, Genesis 15: 18-21
• ⁵⁹https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Covenant_(biblical): Retrieved: 01-03-2017
• ⁶⁰  Holy Quran, Aale-Imran (The Family of Imran) 3: 31
• ⁶¹  The Bible, Mathew 19:24
• ⁶²  Holy Quran, ‘Araaf (The Wall of Elevation) 7: 40
• ⁶³  Holy Quran, Al-Maida (The Table Spread with Food) 5: 3
• ⁶⁴  The Bible, Mark 4: 30-32 (King James Version)
• ⁶⁵  Holy Quran, Al-Fath (The Victory) 48: 29
• ⁶⁶  The Bible, Methew 21:43
• ⁶⁷  The Bible, Numbers 23: 19, King James Version
• ⁶⁸  The Bible, Isaiah 56: 2, King James Version
• ⁶⁹  The Bible, Ezekiel 2: 1, King James Version
• ⁷⁰http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14144a.htm: Retrieved: 02-03-2017
• ⁷¹  Hurtado, Larry W. (2005), Lord Jesus Christ: Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity, Grand Rapids: Win B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. Michigan, USA, Pg. 293.
• ⁷²  The Bible, Daniel 7: 13, King James Version
• ⁷³  Quoted by Ali Unal in The Prophet Promised in World Scriptures, Tughra Books, New Jersey, USA, Pg. 318.
• ⁷⁴https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Son_of_man: Retrieved: 03-03-2017
• ⁷⁵http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/13913-son-of-man: Retrieved: 03-03-2017
• ⁷⁶  John Dominic Crossan writing in God and Empire: Jesus Against Rome, Then and Now (2007), quoted in http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Son_of_God: Retrieved: 03-03-2017
• ⁷⁷http://www.tektonics.org/jesusclaims/sonofman.php: Retrieved: 03-03-2017
• ⁷⁸  The Bible, Daniel 7: 13-14, King James Version
• ⁷⁹  The Bible, Mark 8: 38
• ⁸⁰  The Bible, Matthew 16: 27-28
• ⁸¹  Holy Quran, Al-Anbiya (The Prophets) 21: 107
• ⁸²  Maurice Casey, Solution to the Son of Man Problem, "Chapter Three: The ‘Son of Man’ Concept”, https://books.google.com.tr/books/about/Solution_to_the_Son_of_Man_Problem.html?id=5bh3oA-un9QC&re dir _esc=y&hl=tr : Retrieved: 03-03-2017
• ⁸³  The Bible, Jude 1: 14-15
• ⁸⁴  According to King James Version this verse of Bible was translated as: “And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his saints…” means the strength was of 10, 000 saints.
• ⁸⁵  The Bible, Deuteronomy 33: 2
• ⁸⁶  See the Bible, Matthew 25: 31-46
• ⁸⁷http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=Religion%5C: Retrieved: 04-03-2017
• ⁸⁸  The Bible, Matthew 5: 25
• ⁸⁹  Al-Safa and Al-Marwah (Safa and Marwah) (Arabic: الصفا‎‎, المروة) are two small hills now located in the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia between which Muslims travel back and forth seven times during the ritual pilgrimages of Hajj and Umrah.
• ⁹⁰  Moriah (Arabic: ﻣﺮﻭﻩ) is the name given to a mountain range by the Book of Genesis, in which context it is the location of the sacrifice of Isaac [symbol, en, 4
• ⁹¹  Mount Zion (Arabic: جبل صهيون‎‎) is a hill in Jerusalem just outside the walls of the Old City. The term Mount Zion has been used in the Hebrew Bible first for the City of David (The Bible, 2 Samuel 5: 7, 1 Chronicles 11: 5; 1 Kings 8: 1, 2 Chronicles 5: 2) and later for the Temple Mount, but its meaning has shifted and it is now used as the name of ancient Jerusalem's so-called Western Hill. (Bargil Pixner (2010), Rainer Riesner, ed. Paths of the Messiah (Translated by Keith Myrick & Miriam Randall), Ignatius Press, California, USA, Pg. 320–322.) In a wider sense, the term is also used for the entire Land of Israel.
• ⁹²  Holy Quran, Anfaal (The Spils of War) 8: 9-10, 12, 50; Tawbah (The Repentence) 9: 26, 40.
• ⁹³  See the Bible, Mark 2: 27-28; Matthew 12: 8, Luke 6: 5.
• ⁹⁴  The Bible, John 8: 28-29
• ⁹⁵  Holy Quran, An-Najm (The Star) 53: 3-4
• ⁹⁶  Holy Quran, Qaaf (Arabic Letter) 50: 38
• ⁹⁷  Holy Quran, Jumu’a (Friday) 62: 9
• ⁹⁸  Holy Quran, Jumu’a (Friday) 62: 10
• ⁹⁹  See the Bible, Matthew 24: 30; 26: 64
• ¹⁰⁰  The Bible, John 18: 36. See also 6: 15; 8: 23
• ¹⁰¹  The Bible, John 2: 17
• ¹⁰²  See the Bible, Psalms 69: 9
• ¹⁰³  Holy Quran, Aale Imran (The Family of Imran) 3: 96
• ¹⁰⁴  Holy Quran, Aale Imran (The Family of Imran) 3: 96
• ¹⁰⁵  Holy Quran, Al-Baqara (The Cow) 2: 126-128
• ¹⁰⁶  Holy Quran, Ibrahim (The Prophet Abraham) 14: 35
• ¹⁰⁷  The Bible, John 2: 13-17
• ¹⁰⁸  Holy Quran, Al-Anbiyaa (The Prophets) 21: 25-26
• ¹⁰⁹  Holy Quran, An-Nahl (The Bee) 16: 36
• ¹¹⁰  Holy Quran, Al-Bayyina (The Clear Evidence) 98: 5
• ¹¹¹  Abu Abdullah Muhammad Bin Ismail Al-Bukhari (1999), Sahih Bukhari, Kitab Ahadith-ul-Anbiya: Hadith: 3477, Darussalam, Riyadh, Saudia, Pg. 576.
• ¹¹²  Holy Quran, Al-Kahf (The Cave) 18: 6
• ¹¹³  Holy Quran, Al-Furqan (The Criterion) 25: 68-69
• ¹¹⁴  Holy Quran, Al-Nisaa (The Women) 4: 48
• ¹¹⁵  Holy Quran, Al-Zumur (The Groups) 39: 53
• ¹¹⁶  Noor Uddin ‘Ali Al-Haisami, Majm’a-uz-Zawaid wa Manb’a-ul-Fawaid, Maktabat-ul-Qudsi, Cairo, Egypt, Vol. 7, Pg. 100-101.
• ¹¹⁷  Ibn-e-Kathir, Al-Bidaya wa’n-Nihaya (Translated), Vol. 1, Darul Ishaa’t, Karachi, Pakistan, Pg. 582.
• ¹¹⁸  Abu Abdullah Muhammad Bin Ismail Al-Bukhari (1999), Sahih Bukhari, Kitab-ul-Janaiz: Hadith: 1245, Darussalam, Riyadh, Saudia, Pg. 200.
• ¹¹⁹  Ibn-e-Kathir, Al-Bidaya wa’n-Nihaya (Translated), Darul Ishaa’t, Karachi, Pakistan, Vol. 1, Pg. 893-894.
• ¹²⁰  See Abu Abdullah Muhammad Bin Ismail Al-Bukhari (1999), Sahih Bukhari, Kitab Bada’ Al-Wahyi: Hadith: 3477, Darussalam, Riyadh, Saudia, Pg. 2-3.
• ¹²¹  The Bible, Isaiah 61: 1-2
• ¹²²  Same verse is translated in King James Version as: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn.”
• ¹²³  Holy Quran, Al-Saaff (The Rank) 61: 6
• ¹²⁴  Holy Quran, Al-Ahzab (The Confederates) 33: 45-47
• ¹²⁵  Holy Quran, Al-Fath (The Victory) 48: 27
• ¹²⁶  Holy Quran, Al-Maida (The Table Spread with Food) 5: 3
• ¹²⁷  The Bible, Matthew 13: 13
• ¹²⁸  The Bible, Matthew 21: 33-41
• ¹²⁹  See the Bible, Matthew 21: 32
• ¹³⁰  The Bible, Psalms 80: 8-18
• ¹³¹  Holy Quran, Al-Baqarah (The Cow) 2: 87
• ¹³²  Holy Quran, Ibrahim (The Prophet Abraham) 14: 24-25
• ¹³³  Holy Quran, Al-Fath (The Victory) 48: 29
• ¹³⁴  The Bible, Matthew 21: 42-44
• ¹³⁵  The Bible, Psalms 118: 21-23, 25-26
• ¹³⁶  Abu Abdullah Muhammad Bin Ismail Al-Bukhari (1999), Sahih Bukhari, Kitab-ul-Manaqib: Hadith: 3535, Darussalam, Riyadh, Saudia, Pg. 595.
• ¹³⁷  The Bible, Daniel 2: 44-45
• ¹³⁸  The Bible, Matthew 21: 43
• ¹³⁹  The Bible, Matthew 21: 42-44
• ¹⁴⁰  The Bible, Mark 4: 26-32
• ¹⁴¹  The Bible, Daniel 4: 10-12
• ¹⁴²  Holy Quran, Al-Fath (The Victory) 48: 29
• ¹⁴³  Quoted by Ali Unal in The Prophet Promised In World Scriptures, Tughra Books, New Jersey, USA, Pg. 342. Almost same sort of quote is also found in A guide to the History of Science by George Sarton (1952), Waltham, Mass, USA, Pg. 28.
• ¹⁴⁴  Dr. Muhammad Fazl-ur-Rahman Ansari (Editor) (1936), The Genuine Islam, Vol. 1, Pg. 8.
• ¹⁴⁵  The Bible, Luke 10: 25-34
• ¹⁴⁶http://www.internationalstandardbible.com/J/jericho.html: Retrieved: 08-03-2017
• ¹⁴⁷  Nigel Hepper & Joan Taylor (2004), "Date Palms and Opobalsam in the Madaba Mosaic Map, " Palestine Exploration Quarterly, 136, 1, 35-44.
• ¹⁴⁸http://www.crystalinks.com/jericho.html: Retrieved: 08-03-2017
• ¹⁴⁹  The Bible, Genesis 49: 10, Ezekiel 37: 16-17; 1 Samuel 17: 12
• ¹⁵⁰  Sean Ireton (2003), "The Samaritans - The Samaritans: Strategies for Survival of an Ethno-religious Minority in the Twenty First Century". http://www.anthrobase.com /Txt/I/Ireton_S_01.htm: Retrieved: 08-03-2017
• ¹⁵¹  Holy Quran, Al-Room (The Romans) 30: 3
• ¹⁵²  Abu Abdullah Muhammad Bin Ismail Al-Bukhari (1999), Sahih Bukhari, Kitab-ul-Manaqib: Hadith: 3595, Darussalam, Riyadh, Saudia, Pg. 603.
• ¹⁵³  Abu Nu’aym bin Abdullah Al-Asbahani, Dala’il Al-Nubuwwa, Dar-ul-Nafa’is, Beirut, Lebanon, Vol. 1, Pg. 81.
• ¹⁵⁴  The Bible, Luke 11: 5-13
• ¹⁵⁵  Holy Quran, As-Sajda (The Prostration) 32: 5
• ¹⁵⁶  Holy Quran, Ash-Shura (The Consultation) 42: 52
• ¹⁵⁷  Holy Quran, Al-Anfaal (The Spoils of War) 8: 24
• ¹⁵⁸  Holy Quran, Al-Maida (The Table Spread with Food) 5: 15; Al-An'aam (The Cattle) 6: 122; Al-A’raaf (The Wall of Elevation) 7: 157; Al-Ahzaab (The Confederates) 33: 46
• ¹⁵⁹  Holy Quran, Al-Muzzammil (The One Wrapped in Garment) 73: 1-8
• ¹⁶⁰  Quoted by Ali Unal, The Prophet Promised in World Scriptures, Tughra Books, New Jersey, USA, Pg. 348.
• ¹⁶¹  The Bible, Matthew 5: 3-10, 17-19; 23: 2-8, 13-15, 16, 23, 26, 27, 29, 31; 12: 34-35; 16: 6.
• ¹⁶²  Holy Quran, Aale ‘Imran (The Family of Imran) 3: 59
• ¹⁶³  Holy Quran, Al-Zukhruf (The Ornaments of Gold) 43: 61
• ¹⁶⁴  The Bible, Luke 12:19-21
• ¹⁶⁵  The Bible, Luke 12: 15
• ¹⁶⁶  Holy Quran, Al-Kahf (The Cave) 18: 35-42
• ¹⁶⁷  Holy Quran, Al-Qalam (The Pen) 68: 17-19, 30-31
• ¹⁶⁸  The Bible, Luke 12: 54-56
• ¹⁶⁹  Abu Abdullah Muhammad Bin Ismail Al-Bukhari (1999), Sahih Bukhari, Kitab-ul-Azan: Hadith: 846, Darussalam, Riyadh, Saudia, Pg. 137.
• ¹⁷⁰  The Bible, Mark 13: 33-37
• ¹⁷¹  The Bible, Matthew 24: 42-44
• ¹⁷²  Holy Quran, Al-Baqara (The Cow) 2: 40-42
• ¹⁷³  Holy Quran, An-Nahl (The Bee) 16: 95
• ¹⁷⁴  Holy Quran, Al-A’raaf (The Heights) 7: 45
• ¹⁷⁵  Holy Quran, At-Tawba (The Repentance) 9: 34
• ¹⁷⁶  Holy Quran, At-Tariq (The Night Comer) 86: 1-4
• ¹⁷⁷  The Bible, Luke 13: 5-9
• ¹⁷⁸  Ed Rickard, "Bible Studies at the Moorings", http://www.themoorings.org/Bible_prophecy/Israel /fig_tree. html: 09-03-2017
• ¹⁷⁹  The Bible, Matthew 21: 18-19
• ¹⁸⁰  The Bible, Mark 11: 12-14, 19-21
• ¹⁸¹  The Bible, Luke 18: 2-8
• ¹⁸²  The Bible, John 14: 15-17
• ¹⁸³  The Bible, John 14: 25-26, 30
• ¹⁸⁴  The Bible, John 15: 25-27
• ¹⁸⁵  The Bible, John 16: 6-14
• ¹⁸⁶http://www.islamweb.net/prophet/index.php?page=showarticle&id=12353: Retrieved: 10-03-2017
• ¹⁸⁷  Holy Quran, Al-Ma`aarij (The Way of Ascent) 70: 4
• <sup>188</sup>  Holy Quran, Al-Qadr (The Night of Decree) 97: 4
• <sup>189</sup>  Holy Quran, Al-Anbiyaa (The Prophets) 21: 91; Al-Tahrim (The Prohibition) 66: 12
• <sup>190</sup>  Holy Quran, As-Sajda (The Prostration) 32: 9
• <sup>191</sup>  Holy Quran, Al-Hijr (The Rocky Tract) 15: 29
• <sup>192</sup>  Holy Quran, Ash-Shura (The Consultation) 42: 52; Al-Mu'min (The Believer) 40: 15; Al-Anfaal (The Spoils of War) 8: 24
• <sup>193</sup>  Holy Quran, Al-Baqara (The Cow) 2: 87, 253; Al-Maida (The Table Spraed with Food) 5: 110
• <sup>194</sup>  Holy Quran, Al-Mujadilah (The Argument) 58: 22
• <sup>195</sup>  Holy Quran, An-Nahl (The Bee) 16: 102
• <sup>196</sup>  Holy Quran, Al-Shuara (The Poets) 26: 193
• <sup>197</sup>  The Bible, 1 John 4: 1
• <sup>198</sup>  The Bible, 1 Corinthians 15: 45
• <sup>199</sup>  The Bible, 1 Corinthians 2: 12
• <sup>200</sup>  The Bible, 1 Corinthians 6: 19
• <sup>201</sup>  See the Bible, Epistle to the Romans 8: 9
• <sup>202</sup>  The Bible, John 14: 15 (Douay-Rheims 1899 American Translation)
• <sup>203</sup>  The Bible, 1 John 2: 1
• <sup>204</sup>  George Arthur Buttrick (1962), The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, Vol. 3, Pg. 654; Gerhard Friedrich (Editor), Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Vol. 2, Pg. 673, in http://www.giveshare. org/BibleStudy/221.promiseofparakletos.html: Retrieved: 10-03-2017
• <sup>205</sup>  The Bible, Matthew 21: 11
• <sup>206</sup>  The Bible, Luke 24: 19
• <sup>207</sup>  The Bible, John 16: 12-14
• <sup>208</sup>  Holy Quran, An-Najm (The Star) 53: 3-4
• <sup>209</sup>  The Bible, Acts 11: 28; 13: 9
• <sup>210</sup>  Respectively, Rudolf Bultmann, Gospel of John, A Commentary, Pg. 567; Maurice Bucaille, The Bible, The Quran, and Science: http://www.islamawareness.net/Mib/ch6_3.html: Retrieved: 10-03-2017
• <sup>211</sup>  The Bible, 1 Samuel 10: 10
• <sup>212</sup>  The Bible, Isaiah 63: 11-12
• <sup>213</sup>  The Bible, Luke 1: 15
• <sup>214</sup>  The Bible, Luke 1: 41
• <sup>215</sup>  The Bible, Luke 1: 67
• <sup>216</sup>  The Bible, Luke 2: 25
• <sup>217</sup>  The Bible, Luke 3: 22
• <sup>218</sup>  The Bible, John 20: 21-22
• <sup>219</sup>  Quoted in: http://www.islamawareness.net/Mib/ch6_3.html: Retrieved: 11-03-2017
• <sup>220</sup>  The Bible, John 14: 26
• <sup>221</sup>  The Bible, John 16: 12-13
• <sup>222</sup>  Holy Quran, Al-Baqara (The Cow) 2: 151
• <sup>223</sup>  Holy Quran, Al-Maida (The Table Spread with Food) 5: 48
• <sup>224</sup>  Holy Quran, Aale- Imran (The Family of Imran) 3: 3-4
• <sup>225</sup>  Holy Quran, Al-A’raaf (The Wall of Elevation) 7: 157-158
• <sup>226</sup>  Holy Quran, Al-Anbiyaa (The Prophets) 21:107
• <sup>227</sup>  Holy Quran, Al-Maida (The Table Spread with Food) 5: 3
• <sup>228</sup>  The Bible, Genesis 12: 2-3
• <sup>229</sup>  The Bible, Genesis 22: 17-18
• <sup>230</sup>  The Bible, Genesis 15: 3-5
• <sup>231</sup>  The Bible, Genesis 16: 2
• <sup>232</sup>  The Bible, Genesis 17: 20; 21: 17-18
• <sup>233</sup>  The Bible, Genesis 17: 3-11
• <sup>234</sup>  The Bible, John 15: 25-27; 16: 14
• <sup>235</sup>  Holy Quran, Aale-Imran (The Family of Imran) 3: 42
• <sup>236</sup>  Holy Quran, Aale-Imran (The Family of Imran) 3: 45
• <sup>237</sup>  Sayyid Qutb (2016), In the Shade of the Quran, Islamic Foundation, Leicestershire, U.K, Vol. II, Pg. 69-70
• <sup>238</sup>  Holy Quran, Aale-Imran (The Family of Imran) 3: 52-53
• <sup>239</sup>  Holy Quran, Aale-Imran (The Family of Imran) 3: 54-55
• <sup>240</sup>  Sayyid Qutb (2016), In the Shade of the Quran, Islamic Foundation, Leicestershire, U.K, Vol. II, Pg. 79.
• <sup>241</sup>  Holy Quran, Aale-Imran (The Family of Imran) 3: 59
• <sup>242</sup>  Holy Quran, An-Nisa (The Women) 4: 172
• <sup>243</sup>  Holy Quran, Al-Teen (The Olive) 95: 1-8
• <sup>244</sup>  Holy Quran, Al-‘Asr (The Era) 103: 1-3
• <sup>245</sup>  Holy Quran, Al-Baqarah (The Cow) 2: 185
• <sup>246</sup>  Holy Quran, Aale Imran (The Family of Imran) 3: 3-4
• <sup>247</sup>  The Bible, Ephesians 6: 12; 2 Corinthians 4: 4
• <sup>248</sup>  The Bible, Genesis 3: 15
• <sup>249</sup>  Abu ‘Abdullah Al-Hakim Neshapuri (1990), Al-Mustadrak ‘Ala Al-Sahihain, Hadith: 318, Darul Kutub Al-‘Ilmia, Beirut, Lebanon, Vol. 1, Pg. 171.
• <sup>250</sup>  Holy Quran, Al-Maida (The Table Spread with Food) 5: 3
• <sup>251</sup>  Holy Quran, Al-Rahman 55: 26-27
• <sup>252</sup>  Holy Quran, Al-Ahzab (The Armies) 33: 40
• <sup>253</sup>  Professor `Abdul-Ahad Dawud (1987), Muhammed in the Bible, Penerbitan Pustaka Antara, Kuala Lampur, Malaysia, Pg. 208-18.
• ²⁵⁴http://www.answering-christianity.com/prediction.htm: Retrieved: 13-03-2017
• ²⁵⁵  Professor `Abdul-Ahad Dawud (1987), Muhammed in the Bible, Penerbitan Pustaka Antara, Kuala Lampur, Malaysia, Pg. 211.
• ²⁵⁶  Holy Quran, Al-Saff (The Rank) 61: 6
• ²⁵⁷  Ahmad Ahmad Ghalloash (2004), Al-Seerat-un-Nabawiya wal D’awatu fil ‘Ahdil Madaniyyi, Moas’sisat-ul-Risala lil Tab’ati wal-Nashri wal-Tauzee’i, Beirut, Lebanon, Pg. 289.
• ²⁵⁸  Holy Quran, Al-Baqara (The Cow) 2: 253
• ²⁵⁹  Muslim bin Al-Hajjaj Abul Hassan Al-Neshapuri (2000), Sahih Muslim, Kitab-ul-Eman, Hadith: 395, Darussalam, Saudia, Pg. 78.
• ²⁶⁰  Holy Quran, Al-Zukhruf (The Adornment) 43: 61
• ²⁶¹  Holy Quran, Al-Rahman 55: 5-9
• ²⁶²  Holy Quran, Al-Hadid (The Iron) 57: 25
• ²⁶³  The Bible, Matthew 5: 21-32
• ²⁶⁴  The Bible, Matthew 5: 17-19
• ²⁶⁵  Holy Quran, An-Nahl (The Bee) 16: 125
• ²⁶⁶  Holy Quran, Aale-Imran (The Family of Imran) 3: 37
• ²⁶⁷  Holy Quran, Al-Baqara (The Cow) 2: 231-37, 240-42; Al-Nisa (The Women) 4: 1, 6-14, 19-22, 34
• ²⁶⁸  Holy Quran, Al-Maida (The Table Spread with Food) 5: 32