Jamal Badawi – Muhammad in The Bible 7 – Jesus Prophecy Paraclete
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The host of the Islam and focus program discusses the history of Prophet Muhammad's message, which is the completion of the message of all prophets. They also mention the use of the Paraclete or the Santfire in Christian history and the holy spirit in Christian history. The speakers discuss the history of the Prophet's message, including its use to describe Jesus as a false prophet and its reflection of all prophets.
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In the Name of God,
the Merciful, the creator and Sustainer of the universe, I greet you with the greetings of all of the profits from Adam to Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him Assalamu alaikum which means peace be upon you. Welcome to the Islam and focus program. I'm your host, Hamid Rashid. In the last six programs on Islamic focus, we have examined prophecies in the Old Testament dealing with the prophecies of Muhammad. And today today's program we will examine the new testament to see if similar prophecies about the advent of Prophet Muhammad exist. My guest on today's program is Dr. Jamal Badawi of St. Mary's University. Welcome to Islamic focus brothers, Mr. Are there any
references in the Quran that justify the claim made by many Muslims, that the advent of Prophet Muhammad was foretold by Jesus? Well, I think that's an important question because for the Muslim, as we indicated in the previous program, the main reference for the Muslim really is the Quran being the last scripture in the last revelation of God that remains intact. And I think it's a good beginning to refer to that first. In the Quran in chapter 61, particularly verse six, it reads,
And remember, Jesus, the son of Mary said, Oh children of Israel, I am the apostle of God, sent to you, confirming the Torah, which came before me, and giving glad title, grad news of an apostle to come after me, whose name shall be Ahmed, which comes from the same root as Mohammed. Yes.
But when he that Jesus came to them with clear signs, they said, this is evident sorcery. So on the basis on the authority of that particular verse in the Quran, it's obvious then that
Prophet Jesus peace be upon him, did actually, first tell that we didn't have a prophet to come after him and actually even gave his his name. This is confirmed further in one of the Hadith or saying of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. When once he was asked,
by people, he said, they said to him, what was the beginning of you, as a messenger of God? How did it start? And his answer was very interesting. He said, that were to Abbey Ibrahim Baba. That was the fulfillment of the prayer of my father, Abraham, and the fulfillment of the glass siding given by Jesus. And that was narrated in the Muslim Imam one of the main differences of Hadees. And we have seen in previous programs in what since the advent of Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him is the fulfillment of the prayer of Abraham and the promise made by God in the book of Genesis to Ishmael and Hagar his mother to make a smile, a great mission. But he adds, and that is also that this also
is a fulfillment of the glad tidings about my Advent giving by Prophet Jesus peace be upon him. So it's consistent both ways, connecting both the Old and New Testament in the very, in the very same text. It's indeed interesting also, that the verse says that Jesus was telling the Israelites, I'm coming to confirm the Torah that came before me, which would also mean that I'm going to confirm the prophecies about that great prophet that has always consistently been prophesied in the Old Testament, and telling you that he's coming after me. So this is an interesting area to really look into. And in fact, the very term in God or gospel means the good news, which shows that the advent
of Prophet Jesus actually was the preview or the something that preceded or give the good news of the coming of the final and universal prophet to the entire of mankind. And that was Muhammad peace be upon him. Moving on now to the New Testament and Can you can you first give us some specific references in the New Testament itself, in which Prophet Muhammad in your opinion is prophesied?
There are several places in
factor in program today we can only deal with perhaps one of the most important prophecies. But at least one of those major references appears in the writings of john.
consistently, Prophet Jesus peace be upon him speaks of the product lead was going to come after him. In Greek, it's correctly so
this word has been translated in the Gospel of john, as the Comforter, this is the King James translation. Some people are not too happy with the word comforter. Some say a word counselor is better others say advocate is the proper word. So let's use the temporarily because there are a lot lots of problems involved with the term itself. But on the whole, there are some basic notion that is a comforter is an advocate is is somebody who's supposed to be coming after Jesus, to get your question specifically, all of the description of that product lead, or conferences. And his profile appears in the 14th 15th and 16th chapters in the Gospel of john. And also in the Epistle of john,
the first letter of john. And more specifically, in chapter 14, particular verses 15 through 18 and verse 26. And chapter 15, of john also, particular verses 26 and 27. Yes, in chapter 16, particularly between seven and 15.
And the episode of john also, in chapter two, verse one. So this are at least to start with the major differences that you find about that. Paraclete. But who is he that's the issue that there are some dispute and what exactly it means, even among Christian scholars themselves? Well, I'm sure that all Christian clergymen and many indeed many Christians are quite familiar with the Bible. How is it that these people cannot see that the reference that you mentioned, apply to the advent of Prophet Muhammad how to explain this, this apparent lack of awareness that these is referenced, in fact, to Prophet Muhammad, right. To the best of my knowledge, the most stereotype or common
interpretation of this Paraclete that Jesus peace be upon him predicted or foretold, is that this refers to the descent of the Holy Ghost, on the disciple of Jesus on the day of Pentecost, Pentecost is a Jewish festival that used to be celebrated in the spring. So it is claimed that about 10 days after Jesus was gone, the all of a sudden the Holy Ghost descended on the disciples, so that they started speaking different languages. In fact, in the book of Acts, chapter two verses 12, and 13, describes them as looking like drunk cards. People are intoxicated and saying something that is unintelligible to each other. But Peter defended them and said, No, this is the Holy Ghost that made
them be able to speak
different languages.
This is the the common interpretation that for hundreds of years has been quite common in the official position of the the Christian church. Indeed, Muslim scholars, however, take a different view altogether from this and they claim that that Paraclete or comforter, about whom Prophet Jesus peace be upon him spoke to come after him is none Absolutely. But Prophet Muhammad peace be upon that the prophecy is not talking about something
which is vague or a spirit, the prophecy actually talks about a human being a person who's going to come after Jesus? How do we know that the for sure that the elite that foretold by Jesus is a human being? It's not Spiritism is commonly believed it's just been believed by the Christian community for such a long period? Well, there are lots of evidence for that I just to give you some points that are relevant here. First of all, in the words of Jesus, and again, if you refer back to this references I gave in particular, and john, it talks about that perfectly, it's
as someone who has not sent yet has not been sent yet by the Father, and that the world did not know him. But if you go back both to the Old and New Testament, you know that the Holy Ghost is something that was known already, before Jesus came, actually and the story of what is Was it the baptizing of Jesus by john the baptist, right? And he says, he saw the Holy Ghost descending on Jesus. And of course, in the whole literature in the Old Testament, the concept of the Holy Ghost or the angel of revelation or Gabrielle, these are things that are not really or will not
Unknown to people when Jesus insists that the world does not know Him or recognize him that he was not sent yet by the father, whereas the Holocaust was sent in a variety of occasions. second observation is that Jesus also say that it is expedient for you that I go because if I don't go, that Paraclete, or comforter will not come, which means then that the going of Jesus would be a prerequisite that is the this Paraclete, or this comforter, will not be able to come unless Jesus goes, that means it's something that's going to happen yet, in the future. Nothing that has been known before.
Something that's really important is that he says, I will pray to the Father and He will send you another packet. Now, when he uses the term another, this is quite significant. Because if we say that that perfectly is the Holy Ghost, then it is not another because according to the concept of Trinity, that the Son, Jesus, the Father, and the Holy Ghost are one in the same but when he says another is talking about something really different, something independent. And not only this, we find further evidence in Christian sources itself, that
the masculine gender was used to refer to that something that's going to come, which was again, instead of using it, it says he even showing that he is a person, and he's a man. And did I'd like to just refer you to the dictionary of the Bible that was edited by john McKenzie, published in 65. And particularly in page 637, after he gave out the description of the product lead, as derived from the Gospel of john, he says, and I quote, these items, that is items of description, it must be admitted, do not give an entirely coherent picture.
Showing that to interpret it as a spirit, or as the Holy Ghost is quite incoherent, because there's some description that probably would not fit
a profile of a spirit. Historically speaking, and this is a very interesting area, that shows again, that not all early Christians subscribe to this theory that the Paraclete or the Comforter is the Holy Ghost. This people who are already familiar with the the Pentecost and what happened in the day of Pentecost, however, still, we find that in Christian history among Christians, many people has risen in history, claiming to be that they are the Paraclete, or the Comforter, prophesied by Jesus, if they believed that it was a spirit, there was no point of them doing this. In fact, I did in that book in history written by machine, Mr. Sh aim, in which he says that even people like St.
Augustine, people like
Tertullian feathers tutorial, in some points in their lives actually followed some of those claimants of being the Comforter, which again shows that the Comforter really was not regarded as a spirit, but rather, as a person to come.
One more point to make sure that again, I'm not just using any just references from Muslim point of view, or Muslim references in the interpreters Dictionary of the Bible, which I understand is a very credible and very major source for Christian theology, and particularly in Pages 654 and 55.
Again, it admits that in the original Greek,
wording of the gospel,
the masculine pronouns, and adjectives are used, the word another is used, and they say that it shows that the Spirit is regarded as fully personal. But of course, the main point is that there is a cognition that he's talking about another not something are part of Trinity, but some masculine person to come as a comforter. So, in that sense, I think it's quite obvious to me that this perhaps is the most important issue in the in this particular prophecy that we're talking about. And I wonder if you could go on perhaps and develop this point a little bit further, and provide some additional evidence that the one promised in this prophecy by Jesus was another prophet,
not the Holy Spirit or the Holy Ghost is often chopped into or interpret other additional evidences, there are plenty let me give you at least one that comes to mind immediately. When you go again to the New Testament and read the gospel of john, particularly this for chapter three, Chapter 1415 and 16. He mentioned there in more than one place that
this Paraclete or this
spirit of truth, as sometimes translated, is not going to speak of his own, but whatever He hears
From the father, he's going to say, now that shows that that perfectly or that comforter, is receiving instruction, knowledge and revelation from another source that is from God. Yes. If we say that that Paraclete, or comforters is the Holy Ghost, and the Holy Ghost we know is part of godhood Yes, so he doesn't, does not need really another source to receive revelation from right. So that, in itself, reject the whole notion that he was a spirit it actually talks about a human being. And indeed, if you look at it the other way around, you can also say that this is the exact description also of the revelation, as giving the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him. We covered that in
previous programs, I just remind
of one point, that the Prophet was not speaking of his own. The Quran itself says 1 million to one and however he does not speak of his own, it is a revelation given to him that's in chapter 53, verses three to five.
In another verse in the Quran says, pulling a table into your head, and I follow only what has been revealed to me that's in chapter six, seven, verse two or three. And as we mentioned before, the chapters in the Quran always start in the name of God or In the name of Allah, that is, the Prophet did not invent it or write it is actually something that has been revealed to him.
Not only this does not only talk about a person or a prophet who is receiving revelation, as the Comforter, but it shows even that it is no other Prophet, even then, Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him, because, as you said, Before Jesus is speaking about the Comforter, who will come after him. There is nobody who came after him that made this description, but Prophet Mohammed because in another
verse also, and the gospel of john,
Jesus says that this comforter will, will reprove that word of righteousness and of sin. That means again, he would be someone who would
blame and criticize those who rejected Jesus and did not accept him. And this we find amply mentioned in the Quran, that you will have some judgment, which means that he would prevail over the enemies, He will punish some of the enemies who try to stop the truth from being revealed and presented to the to the people. So
putting this together, it's obviously a person, a profit, not spirit. And it's in the context of the text of this prophecy that we've been discussing. It says that this comforter or advocate will guide the followers of Jesus to all truth and tell them about the future things to come. In what sense does this apply to Prophet Mohammed In your opinion, it's it's a perfect fit, again,
fully consistent exactly with the nature of the message of Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him, and what the Quran itself the scriptures, and the Word of God says about his mission. First of all, in the Quran, it makes it clear that the Quran is the most complete scriptures revealed by God. In one verse, it says, describing the Quran TPN and liquidity, that is clarification for everything, and that appears in chapter 16, verse 89, in the fifth chapter of the Quran, also one of the verses that's believed to be perhaps the one of the very last verses in the Quran, in which God says, today, have I perfected for you, your religion, bestowed my blessing a new and accepted Islam or
submission to
as your way of life, which shows conclusively something that has not really been that clear in any previous scripture, before the Quran, only the Quran makes it very obvious and very explicit, that it is the last revelation from God. It is the completion of the message of all of all prophets. And not only this, we find, if you make it for comparative purposes, you go back to the gospel of john. And you find that in the words of Jesus as quoted there, that he says to His disciples, there are things that I want to tell you, but you can't bear it now. But that comforter will show you these things, which shows that that comforter is going to add something that is his mission is he will
bring a law to complete things not to detract from and if we interpret as some Christian theologians interpret the Comforter as the coming of the Holy Ghost, we know that definitely This is not true, because after the day of Pentecost, they did not increase and the practice of the teaching of Christ actually they started reducing some of the things like the law, not observing the Sabbath, for example, which is exactly the opposite of what Jesus was telling about that prophet to complete or to add something also, it also gives the impression in john that this comforter will show you all the throws so there'll be no reason for you to differ among each other. But history testifies that
after the day of Pentecost and till today for 2000
Here's different Christian sects have not been very in agreement on some of the fundamental things even like the nature of Prophet Jesus peace be upon him. So that shows again that there was no new truth, or revelation given to people or to the disciples on the on the day of Pentecost, it was to come later on, this applies to Mohammed, not to what happened they Pentecost, because only when Prophet Mohammed as the last messenger of God came with the final revelation, the Quran, did he indicate all of the points of difference and confusion that have divided the Christian community and most,
or many of the Christians who embraced Islam, since the days of the Prophet until today have found satisfactory answers to many of their confusing issues that they could not really address before. So, in a sense, then,
the mission of that Prophet was to remind people of the truth that Jesus has preached, and actually in the Gospel of john, he uses that term, he said, he will remind you of me something to that effect, that he remind the followers of Jesus, that what he taught really was simply that he was a great messenger of God, he is carrying the newest or the final prophet to come after him. And that was
some people I'm sure would raise objections to the interpretation, as you've just described it have every right and they might sound that the park elite is foretold by Jesus.
I think, in john had mentioned that this comforter or practice will, prior, but actually, I have difficulty getting around that word. Apparently, he mentioned that this product leader comfortable or confident, will abide with you forever. Now, we all know that Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon them died approximately 1400 years ago. And so then, this does not seem to add credence to their claim. Many people also have claimed that Jesus as a physical body does not exist, but he exists. Yes, exists in some sense. That's understood the question, of course, but also, at least in a Muslim sense, you could say he exists also in terms of his law, in his teaching, at least
whatever remains, in fact, of his teaching remains. So when he says, abide with you forever, no human being ever lived forever. Yes. And of course, in the Muslim understanding that Jesus, peace be upon him is also a human being created by God, he's a prophet like Mohammed. So in when the description language when you say things abide forever, you don't necessarily talk about the person, but about the law. And today, we have a clear evidence of this 1400 years after the death of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. Each and every word that he uttered of the Quran is available intact in the very original language as if he is with us reciting the Word of God to us, in addition to other
things that has been recorded of the saying of the prophets, in terms of the law that he brought, the Scripture, the final revelation, that came from God, definitely, you can say that metaphorically, that Prophet Mohammed will abide with the believers
forever. It's a very,
actually, it's a very
clear evidence also of the finality of his prophethood because 1400 years and all this has been preserved 1400 years and no other person came claiming any scripture that anyhow, or anywhere, get close to the Quran or the or the Bible, that's a manifestation itself.
In the prophecies, well, Jesus says that the Comforter will come after him that this comforter that will come after him, will testify of me. And then another version, john, he says he will glorify me. How, in your opinion, does this apply to Prophet Mohammed? It applies again, in the most perfect form. Some people might be surprised if I make a statement that the Quran
in fact glorifies Jesus more than the gospel itself glorify Him, except for the area of course of claiming, or implying his Godhead. But in terms of his characters, and dealings, the Quran glorifies him more actually, than what you find in the in the New Testament, I give you evidence of that, first of all, in a sense, Prophet Mohammed testified of Jesus, by indicating as revealed to him from God in the Quran, that it was not Jesus was crucified, because what happened when people believed in Jesus, as the man who died on the cross, that first of all, some of those who rejected him, took this as a proof that he was a false prophet, and in fact, he was not. And they refer For example, to
the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 21, particular verses, verse 23, in which says that a prophet was a false prophet or pretend to speak in the name of God shall be put to death. So this all right, the the Jewish law has been applied to him and that's a proof that he was a false prophet.
Not only this, but you find that even the friends even the sincere discipline or
I decide that some of the sincere followers of Jesus peace be upon him, have agreed with with his enemies, at least in one point by saying yes, he was a cursed in order to forgive the sins of humanity. This is mentioned specifically for example, in the, in Galatians chapter three, verse 13, that it was a curse to carry the sense of humanity. And the Quran comes and say that he was neither crucified as a false prophet, nor was he a curse, but that God actually saved him and he was not actually the one who was put on the cross. Secondly, the Quran, also vindicate Jesus, from what is attributed to him, particularly in Matthew 2746. And then Mark 1534, when he's, it's claimed that
when he was on the cross about to die, he shouted, God, God, why have you forsaken me? And everybody knows that there are people who are not saints are not prophets, definitely not sons of God in any theological sense, who are able to face death, for the sake of God smiling without losing trust, and God in the very last minute, which shows that probably it was not Jesus really was shouting, and showing this distrust in the father or in Gods or impatience.
Certainly, it is only the Quran that made it very clear and very obvious, that Mary, the mother of Jesus, Jesus is a respectable, truthful, honest woman, and vindicated her from all of the accusation that was raised about how she gave birth to Jesus. Indeed, I would say that, the Quran
vindicate Jesus even in another area, there are things that are not to comment because most people are not, do not really go through this versus and examine it critically. There are many things that are not very nice that has been attributed to the Prophet Jesus peace be upon him even in the Gospels. In the Gospel of Matthew, for example, in chapter 12, verse 48, is quoted as sending his mother, woman what what do I have to do with z?
Whereas you go to the Quran, and you read something totally different. From the way I did it. Well, me Ajani Japan and South Korea that's in chapter 19, verse 30, says, If God has made me kind and compassionate to my mother, that compassion definitely is confirmed in the Quran. It is denied in a verse like that in Matthew which shows some kind of roughness on his part to his his own mother. Similar things has been attributed to Jesus and Matthew, for example, Chapter 23, verses 13 through 33, in Matthew 15, verses 22 through 28, is accused of using very harsh language. everybody's familiar with the study of that Canaanite woman when he called other nations dogs. Yes, whereas the
Quran nowhere, mentioned Jesus except with full respect and for adoration and denied that any such kind of harsh statements were made in that sense, who is really justifying and
vindicating Jesus more than Prophet Mohammed who came after him. The recognition of him as a great prophet, the rejection of false things that has been attributed to him, is a very clear manifestation of that glorification of the magic reef profits. We only have about a minute and a half, two minutes left in today's program, but the Jamal but I'm curious to know if there's anything relating to the context of these references that we've been discussing in today's program, which confirm the interpretation that we've been discussing. I think in your opinion, that sort of puts a lid on so to speak. There are things that are quite interesting. And again, like I said, I'm sorry
that you didn't have time to go and read all the three chapters, there's quite a bit of time to read. But I would recommend for anyone who wishes to check, particularly in the Gospel of john, Chapter 14, verses 1521 23. And also in chapter 15, verse 13,
you'll notice there in these two chapters 14 and 15, five times five times, Jesus peace be upon him is repeating over and over again, something to the effect that if you love me, keep my comments
showing that he is not just telling them about that comforter, or great prophet to come after him for the sake of academic information or knowledge, but he's selling them if that if you really claim to love me
as Christ, then you should follow my commands. And when he tells them that this spirit lead or this comforter, will show you all the truth will testify of me what glorify me. It means that he's telling them follow him. It's not just keep this knowledge in your heads that there is a moral obligation to follow him once you realize that this is truly the Comforter that I have produced.
Beside for you. On that note, brother we've, we've exhausted our time for today. You have to perhaps next time we come back we can go on and develop this point further. We want to thank all of you for watching the Islamic focus program for the day. Thank you for watching. See you next time.