Jihad: Basic definition of

It is no concern to me if a Moslem wishes to peacefully practice his/her religion and understand jihad to be an internal spiritual struggle. I could care less.

I do not wish however to be converted to Islam, nor do I wish my family, friends and country to suffer the fate which all too many other people have experienced under this medieval menace, which can best be described in the old cold war analogy as the Islamic domino effect-- one country after another falling to Islam.

The focus which concerns everybody then is not the purported peaceful interpretation of the Islamic faithful, but their immensely more influential and dangerous coreligionists who are attempting to implement THEIR understanding of jihad upon the world, as an offensive strategy whose objective is to bring all the world under Islam.

Yeah, well, I'm pretty much only concerned with the definition of Jihad that endorses blowing my Christian butt to Kingdom come. Given that, why should I give a toss what these peoples' spiritual constipations are?

Too bad this "moderate" "muslim" isn't more 'angry' at those who are radical and imposing imminent threat. This is why I say that all of Islam is radical, because all of Islam teaches from birth to harbor an everlasting hatred which is eventually displayed by *any* muslim if you push the right button, ie. criticize Islam, mention Israel, point to established verses of violence, openly disagree or debate, shall I go on? Islam has been the most intolerant entity historically yet tries to clean it's image by throwing mud.

It was said:

"It is no concern to me if a Moslem wishes to peacefully practice his/her religion and understand jihad to be an internal spiritual struggle. "

"Peacefully" continuing to sow the seeds of hatred, intolerance, and violence, that is. A muslim's loyalty is clear, we have not heard a strong stand in America by muslims against the radical uprising. We have seen a "looking the other way" attitude almost exclusively.

If you are a muslim: stop being deceived by Islam.

If you are not a muslim: stop being deceived by Islam.

Case and point: although there is not one ounce of "hatred" in my post, muslims will consider this a "hateful" post. If it is considered "hateful" to disagree with Islam, expose, and explain the error of Islam, then we are up against something very deceptive indeed.

Smart post, Report.

We already know about the racist, totalitarian, intolerant nature of the Islamic cult, and the free peoples are morally compulsed to tell it like it is.

The "inner struggle" interpretations of jihad are irrelavant to the perpetrators of violence in the name of Islam and to the victims of that violence. What we think jihad should mean has no bearing on the purpose of the Jihadwatch blog. The Jihadwatch blog and the virtual community that has aggregated around it are focused only on the explicitly stated motivation of the perpetrators of violence in the name of Islam.

If groups of violent people begin to wreak their mayhem in the name of Santa Claus then we will build a community around a blog named Santawatch.

I'm well aware that Islamicity and many other Muslims today will tell us that the "highest" form of jihad is "fighting the unbelievers".

However, I'm sure you're also aware that traditionally this has been called "the lesser jihad" (jihad al-asghar). And "the greater jihad" (jihad al-akbar) is the term used to refer to the fight against your Ego -- a notion that is based on a Hadith in which Muhammad states this. In the words of the 17th century Muslim poet Bulleh Shah:
"You go around fighting against Satan,
But have you ever tried fighting against your Self?"

I agree that the Muslim public space has been dominated by those who see jihad as killing others. But I think it's also important to remind ourselves of the fact that different narratives in the Muslim world have also existed (not always on the periphery) which have been documented at length.

Chan'ad: You still don't get it. You don't have to convince us that the "greater" jihad means inner spiritual struggle. Fine, we accept that. End of that discussion.

But the people who commit mass murder in the name of Islam are motivated by their interpretation of jihad as warfare. You need to convince them that jihad means inner struggle, not us. And until they are convinced, we will continue to dispatch our armies and navies to destroy them. It will end when those who commit violence in the name of Islam either choose to stop their violence or they are exterminated. It really is that simple.

http://www.nypost.com/news/worldnews/37665.htm

NEW MARC RICH LINK STINK

By NILES LATHEM

January 3, 2005 -- WASHINGTON - New details of billionaire trader Marc Rich's shady oil deals under the U.N. oil-for-food program are emerging, The Post has learned.
These include deals with front companies that have connections to Saddam Hussein's underground financial network.
In particular, prosecutors are probing four suspicious deals that took place in February through April 2001.
In these cases, Rich was listed as a secondary buyer of oil contracts originally allocated by Saddam to mysterious French and Egyptian companies.
The questionable deals began a month after sanctions-buster Rich, a convicted tax dodger, received his midnight pardon from then-President Bill Clinton.
They took place during a period in which major Western oil companies were shying away from directly buying from Iraq because Saddam was demanding surcharges and kickbacks.
The Post has previously reported that Rich has been identified as a primary target of oil-for-food probes by the U.S. attorney in New York and Manhattan DA Robert Morgenthau.
Rich, who lives in Switzerland and has not returned to the United States despite the pardon, denied in a statement issued by his company last week that he was involved in any illegal activities.
Iraqi shipping records, originally published in the Middle East Economic Review, a respected oil-industry database, provide an intriguing glimpse into some of Rich's oil dealings with the U.N. program and appear to bolster prosecutors' suspicions that he was a key figure in many of Saddam's moneymaking and global influence-peddling schemes.
Investigators say they believe it is significant that the companies with which Rich was apparently doing business in the oil-for-food deals appear to have directors with secret financial connections to Saddam's brutal regime.
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2005/1/3/215333.shtml
Reprinted from NewsMax.com
Report Links Ex-TV Manager, Saddam's Son
NewsMax.com Wires
Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2005
BEIRUT, Lebanon -- A videotape found in Baghdad after the ouster of Saddam Hussein shows a former manager for Al-Jazeera television thanking one of Saddam's sons for his support, the newspaper Asharq al-Awsat says.

The London-based Arabic paper, which has ties to an Al-Jazeera rival and has been feuding with the channel, said Sunday that the tape is dated March 13, 2000, and shows former Al-Jazeera manager Mohammed Jassem al-Ali telling Odai Saddam Hussein that "Al-Jazeera is your channel." Odai reportedly says "some ideas" he proposed in previous meetings led to "some changes" in Al-Jazeera's political coverage, including new program hosts.

http://www.turkishpress.com/news.asp?ID=35545
Iraq battling more than 200,000 insurgents: intelligence chief

AFP: 1/3/2005
BAGHDAD, Jan 3 (AFP) - Iraq's insurgency counts more than 200,000 active fighters and sympathisers, the country's national intelligence chief told AFP, in the bleakest assessment to date of the armed revolt waged by Sunni Muslims.
"I think the resistance is bigger than the US military in Iraq. I think the resistance is more than 200,000 people," Iraqi intelligence service director General Mohamed Abdullah Shahwani said in an interview ahead of the January 30 elections.
Shahwani said the number includes at least 40,000 hardcore fighters but rises to more than 200,000 members counting part-time fighters and volunteers who provide rebels everything from intelligence and logistics to shelter.

YEA RIGHT AND THIS MEANS WE NEED MORE AMMO!!!

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2005/1/4/94920.shtml
Arrested Mosque Leader in California Leaves U.S.
NewsMax.com Wires
Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2005
LOS ANGELES – An Orange County mosque leader from Egypt who had allegedly given speeches that could be considered to support terrorist organizations has left the United States, authorities said.

Wagdy Ghoneim, who was the imam at Islamic Institute of Orange County, reached an agreement with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to depart voluntarily, avoiding deportation in exchange for admitting he was in the country in violation of his immigration status, said agency spokeswoman Virginia Kice. Ghoneim departed from Los Angeles International Airport early Monday and transferred in New York onto a flight bound for Qatar.
``Many people are extremely sad and disappointed in the system,'' said Valerie Curtis-Diop, Ghoneim's attorney. ``They're apprehensive because, if this can happen to a spiritual leader, they wonder who will be the next target.''
DO WE CARE HELL NO!! ISLAMIC TERRORIST GONE HE IS LUCKY THIS IS NOT SUDIA OR HE WOULD HAVE LOST HIS HEAD!!!

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2005/1/4/202651.shtml
ADL Wants Hezbollah TV Designated a Foreign Terrorist
NewsMax.com Wires
Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2005
NEW YORK -- Indicating that a "direct and indisputable" link exists between the terrorist group Hezbollah and the satellite network Al-Manar, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today urged the United States government to designate the Lebanese television network as a foreign terrorist organization.
In letters to Secretary of State Colin Powell and Treasury Secretary John Snow, ADL noted that even with the recent listing of Al-Manar on the State Department's Terrorist Exclusion List, the station may still have the ability to openly solicit funds for Hezbollah and have business dealings with American companies.

What the hell is wrong with this picture???

http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=3944374
5:45pm (UK)
Bush 'Undermining UN with Aid Coalition'

By Jamie Lyons, PA Political Correspondent
United States President George Bush was tonight accused of trying to undermine the United Nations by setting up a rival coalition to coordinate relief following the Asian tsunami disaster.

The president has announced that the US, Japan, India and Australia would coordinate the world’s response.

But former International Development Secretary Clare Short said that role should be left to the UN.

“I think this initiative from America to set up four countries claiming to coordinate sounds like yet another attempt to undermine the UN when it is the best system we have got and the one that needs building up,” she said.

“Only really the UN can do that job,” she told BBC Radio Four’s PM programme.

“It is the only body that has the moral authority. But it can only do it well if it is backed up by the authority of the great powers.”

Ms Short said the coalition countries did not have good records on responding to international disasters.

She said the US was “very bad at coordinating with anyone” and India had its own problems to deal with.

“I don’t know what that is about but it sounds very much, I am afraid, like the US trying to have a separate operation and not work with the rest of the world through the UN system,” she added
CALLED OIL FOR FOOD OR WAS IT OIL FOR MONEY IN YOUR POCKETS AND WEAPONS??

January 5, 2005
Apt Fire in NYC???

Crane attacks a gas station in Indiana??

Man Arrested trying to smuggle in [across the border] 200 surface to air missiles??

Doctors without borders ask people to stop sending money the have plenty for the Killer Quake and Wave??
WOW! OH! MY!

Man in Pa. locks up girlfriend in room?? Sounds like a mussi to me!!

4.2 million went from the OK Tax Payers to pay lawyers because of the trial of Terry Nicolas which was already convicted??1/2 million went to security the rest went to lawyers?? SOUNDS LIKE WE NEED TORT REFORM TO ME!!!

Indonesia they are kidnapping children and selling them for 50$ and looting WOW! OH MY! Once again the mussis show they are savages??

UN=LON Oil for food [weapons] koffi says countries often don’t give what they pledge?? YEA Look at the money the Germans promised to help rebuild Serbia???

Abass calls Israel the Zionist enemy?? OH NO!! I’m SHOCKED??? NOT!!!

Germans get the release of ubl[YELLOW COWARD WHO RUNS AWAY] bodyguard from the USA??

British cleric to stand trial in July??

350 French missing who were in Indonesia working at a cement plant?? Is this not what the French in the past have called Nuke stuff but a cement plant ??

REMEMBER
Malaysia Arrests Key Figure in Nuclear Trafficking
NewsMax.com Wires
Friday, May 28, 2004
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – A Sri Lankan businessman accused of brokering black market deals for nuclear technology was arrested Friday in Malaysia, government officials said.
Buhary Syed Abu Tahir, who allegedly worked with disgraced Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan to sell nuclear secrets to rogue states, was detained for threatening Malaysia's national security, officials told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Ecclesiastes5:8-14
Walk in the light
For you once darkness but now you are light in the lord walk as children of light. [for the fruit of the spirit is in goodness, righteousness, and truth]
Find out what is acceptable to the Lord your God and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of Darkness, But rather EXPOSE them.
12] For it is shameful ever to speak of those things which are done by them in secret [mussis are changing our laws so we can’t. look at the 2 Christians in Pa. and look at the 2 Christians in Australia put in jail for speaking out]
13] But all things that are exposed are made to manifest by the light, For whatever makes manifest is light. [If it is in the light it can been seen and be dealt with]
14] Therefore he says
AWAKE, You who sleep arise from the Dead
And the Lord your God will give you light in the Darkness
6:10] Finally my Brethren be strong in the Lord your God and in the Power of his might
11] Put on the whole armor of God, That you may be able to Stand against the wiles of the Devil
13] Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to with stand in the Evil day and having done all to Stand.
16] Above all, taking the Shield of Faith with which you will be able to quench all the Fiery Darts of the Wicked ones.
REMEMBER
Luke 22:36] Then he said to them,” But now, he who has a moneybag let him take it and like wise a knapsack and he who has no SWORD let him sell his garment and Buy one.
37] For I say to you that this which is written must still be accomplished to me and he was numbered with the transgressors”

REMEMBER Jesus did not come to change the laws of the prophets before him?? You can not understand the New without knowing the old!!!

Patt of the American Tribe
Squirrel Hunter
Spider Killer
God Bless the USA and her Fighting Forces and ALL who Fight with her give them Strength,Wisdom,Sight and Courage to stay the course to Victory to Crush ALL Islamic Terrorist and ALL who Support them Open the Worlds Eyes to their Threat and give the World the Courage to Stand and Fight them Amen

PS
Been seeing lots of mussis from the killer wave with some sort of skin problems?? and the one they say were pulled from the water were not look at their skin?? Not prunie??

maybe the other form of Jihad that he is talking of is Da'wa!

the whole point of Jihad is to be able to prostylize.

for to persons such as Qutb, Jihad was just a sub unit of Da'wa. and jihad was used when the ability to freely prostylize was cut off.

both jihad and da'wa are to liberate the unethical minds of the infidels from the chains of vulgar society.

although i dont see them as synonymous with each other, and that da'wa is the end to be gotten via jihad, only if the peaceful opening of society is not avaliable!

so their main gripe is that US society is not open!

it is more of a case that most people just ignor them!

freedom of speech is also freedom to ignor!

Ah yes, that famous inner struggle over the best way to unleash Jihad on the non-Muslim.

Some people here at Purdue University were becoming too informed about armed jihad, so the leftist editorial staff of the campus newspaper published an article that went through the whole "inner struggle" meaning as if it negated the militaristic meaning. They however neglected to mention anything about Surahs 2, 8, and 9 and that there are nearly a thousand hadith that describe jihad by the sword.

Andrew and others: If you're interested in joining a discussion on the practicalities of furthering Spencer's work here, please turn to posts of Jan 2, "At Large in U.S...." for a beginning of our discussion, and then Jan. 3, "Lasers...." for our currnt discussion. we're looking at practical activity as opposed to editorial for the most part. Still, ideas are practical, and it's got to be an evolving and integrated effort.

so their main gripe is that US society is not open!

it is more of a case that most people just ignor them!

freedom of speech is also freedom to ignor!

Posted by: hmmm at January 5, 2005 12:14 PM

Does that include FREEDOM to kill and destroy??

Or FREEDOM to Protect form those who mean you and yours harm??

I say the Later!!
The mussis always think tht the Christians and Jews will not Fight Back well they have Guessed WRONG! WRONG!

DECEPTION:

Bukhari:V7B67N427 “The Prophet said, ‘If I take an oath and later find something else better than that, then I do what is better and expiate my oath.’”
Qur’an 9:3 “Allah and His Messenger dissolve obligations.”
Qur’an 66:1 “Allah has already sanctioned for you the dissolution of your vows.”
Bukhari:V4B52N268 “Allah’s Apostle said, ‘War is deceit.’”
Qur’an 4:142 “Surely the hypocrites strive to deceive Allah. He shall retaliate by deceiving them.”

All this talk about how they are nice people lets look all over the world and find a mulsum country that is FREE??

I can't name one??
Can you??

We get all these people who leave because they have been abused!!

Are we perfect NO!
But King David was not either but was still in Gods Favor!!

Ecclesiastes5:8-14
Walk in the light
For you once darkness but now you are light in the lord walk as children of light. [for the fruit of the spirit is in goodness, righteousness, and truth]
Find out what is acceptable to the Lord your God and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of Darkness, But rather EXPOSE them.
12] For it is shameful ever to speak of those things which are done by them in secret [mussis are changing our laws so we can’t. look at the 2 Christians in Pa. and look at the 2 Christians in Australia put in jail for speaking out]
13] But all things that are exposed are made to manifest by the light, For whatever makes manifest is light. [If it is in the light it can been seen and be dealt with]
14] Therefore he says
AWAKE, You who sleep arise from the Dead
And the Lord your God will give you light in the Darkness
6:10] Finally my Brethren be strong in the Lord your God and in the Power of his might
11] Put on the whole armor of God, That you may be able to Stand against the wiles of the Devil
13] Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to with stand in the Evil day and having done all to Stand.
16] Above all, taking the Shield of Faith with which you will be able to quench all the Fiery Darts of the Wicked ones.
REMEMBER
Luke 22:36] Then he said to them,” But now, he who has a moneybag let him take it and like wise a knapsack and he who has no SWORD let him sell his garment and Buy one.
37] For I say to you that this which is written must still be accomplished to me and he was numbered with the transgressors”

REMEMBER Jesus did not come to change the laws of the prophets before him?? You can not understand the New without knowing the old!!!

Patt of the American Tribe
Squirrel Hunter
Spider Killer
God Bless the USA and her Fighting Forces and ALL who Fight with her give them Strength,Wisdom,Sight and Courage to stay the course to Victory to Crush ALL Islamic Terrorist and ALL who Support them Open the Worlds Eyes to their Threat and give the World the Courage to Stand and Fight them Amen

'But when the forbidden months are past, then fight and slay the Pagans wherever ye find them,seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem [of war]:'
If Islam is a Religion of 'Peace' why are 98.8% of Terrorists acts perpetrated by Muslims? Why is the practise of Beheading continued in the year 2005 and considered perfectly normal by Muslims??
No matter what apologists and 'moderate Muslims' say Islam is a Totalitarian Death Cult like Fascism and Nazism. The Non Muslim Majority of the World ARE NOT GOING TO ACCOMODATE STONE AGE IDEAS AND SHARIA.This is the 21st Century and the clock ISN'T going to be put back to Barbaric Seventh Century.NO WAY!!

Catherine(The Great) that was very nice and so true; being a huge fan of Theo-Phostics(Gods Light)your posting lifted me up.

As the angry muslim complains I must confess my own hostilitie's towards muslims who have ventured past their borders to humane countries.
Why have you left your place and invaded our's?
How can you maintain your oaths in a secular society while indulging in same? How can you continue kill your own people with no remorse? Are all moslems MAMHOON? Surely you SHARMUTE'S dont possibly think you will win what with all the MIBUN'S FORMING YOUR ranks.

SATYAMEVA JAYATE

I’ve read the posts asking for Jihadwatch readers to provide ideas for what we might do to help spread the word. From what I’ve seen so far, there are some great ideas and you have my complete support. I would suggest though that we’d be remiss in our efforts if first we didn’t recognize and show our tangible support and appreciation to Robert and Hugh for running the Jihadwatch site. They’re providing a great service and doing outstanding work--I think we should do what we can to help them continue that work.

With that said, I’M CHALLENGING ALL JIHADWATCH READERS TO DONATE $100.00 (OR WHATEVER YOU CAN) TO JIHADWATCH.ORG AND TO SEND AT LEAST ONE OF ROBERT’S BOOKS TO SOMEONE (FRIEND, FOE, FAMILY, POLITICIAN, ETC.).

There’s a donation link in the left column on the home page and a link at the top of the page for purchasing books.

Any takers?

The best (and dare I say most accurate) definition of "jihad" I heard in a pro Isreal chat room...their definition of "jihad" is "muslims getting their asses kicked by Jews ONCE AGAIN" how stunningly true.

See this Jihad

http://amconmag.com/2004_05_24/article.html
Forgotten Christians
Not all displaced Palestinians are Muslims.
By Anders Strindberg
The Lebanese Hezbollah, widely seen as a nonsectarian organization that is able to cooperate with people of all faiths, is particularly admired both among the refugees in Lebanon as well as those who remain in Palestine. “We have received far more support and comfort from the Hezbollah in Lebanon than from our fellow Christians in the West,” remarked one Christian Palestinian refugee in Damascus. “I want to know, why don’t the Christians in the West do anything to help us? Are the teachings of Jesus nothing but empty slogans to them?”

Abbas is one of the handful of Palestinian Christians that could be described as Evangelical, belonging to a group that appears to be distantly related to the Plymouth Brethren. Cherishing the role of devil’s advocate, I had to ask him, “Is the State of Israel not in fact the fulfillment of God’s promise and a necessary step in the second coming of Christ?” Abbas looked at me briefly and laughed. “You’re kidding, right? You know what they do to our people and our land. If I thought that was part of God’s plan, I’d be an atheist in a second

January 6, 2005
Posted by: xyz at January 6, 2005 04:24 AM
That is their problem because they are being kicked out by the mulsums and blame their brothers the Jews and Americans are not as dumb as you think we are!!

False Prophets!
Deuteronomy chapter 13:1-19
Be careful to observe only that which I enjoin you. Neither add to it nor take away from it.
If there appears among you a prophet or dreamer-diviner and he gives you a sign or a portent. Saying let us follow and worship another god whom you have not experienced even if the sign or portent that he he named to come true, do not heed the words of that prophet or that dream-diviner. For the LORD your God is testing you to see whether you really love the LORD your GOD with all your heart and soul.
Follow none but the LORD your GOD and revere none, but Him, Observe His Commandments alone and head only His Orders Worship none but Him and hold fast to Him. As for that prophet or dreamer-diviner he shall be put to Death, for he urged disloyalty to the LORD your GOD- who freed you from the land of Egypt and who Redeemed you from the house of Bondage to make you stray from the path that the LORD your GOD Commanded you to Follow. Thus you will sweep out the Evil from your mist. If your brother, your own mothers son, or your son or daughter, or wife of your bosom, or your closest friend entices you to secret saying “ come let us worship other gods” whom neither you nor your father have experienced. From among the gods of the peoples around you either near to you or distant, anywhere from one end of the earth to the other. Do not assent or give heed to him, show him no pity or compassion, and do not shield him; but take his life let your hand be the first against him to put him to death and the land of the rest of the people there after, stone him to death for he sought to make you stray from the LORD your GOD who brought you out of the Land of Egypt out of the House of Bondage. This all Israel will hear and be afraid and such Evil things will not be done again in your mist, If you hear it said of one of the towns that the LORD your GOD is giving you to dwell in, that some scoundrels from among you have gone and subverted the inhabitants of their town saying “come let us worship other gods” whom you have not experienced. You shall investigate and inquire and interrogate thoroughly. If it is true, the fact is established – that abhorrent thing was perpetrated in your midst, put the inhabitants of the town to the SWORD and put its cattle to the SWORD. DOOM it and all that is in it to destruction. Gather all it spoil into open square and Burn the town and all it’s spoil as a holocaust to the LORD your GOD and it shall remain everlasting ruin never to be rebuilt, Let nothing that has been DOOMED Stick to your hand in order that the LORD may turn from his Blazing Anger and show Compassion and in His Compassion increase you as He Promised your Fathers on Oath, For you will be heeding the LORD your GOD, Obeying all His commandments which I enjoin upon you this day, doing what is right in the sight of the LORD your GOD.

OH BUT THEY HAD OBEYED THIS LAW mo-ham-od would have been found out and his followers would not plague on the world today?? No wonder mo-ham-od would want all the Jews & Christians dead they had the written word and those who could read it!!!

Part of the American Tibe
Squirrel Hunter
Spider Killer
GOD BLESS THE USA AND HER FIGHTING FORCES AND ALL WHO FIGHT WITH HER GIVE THEM STRENGTH,WISDOM,SIGHT AND COURAGE TO CRUSH ALL ISLAMIC TERRORIST AND ALL WHO SUPPORT THEM AMEN

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
*******************************************************

Sister katherine, here is some Bible for you to read.

Bible Prophecies About The Advent Of Muhammad

Abraham is widely regarded as the Patriarch of monotheism and the common father of the Jews, Christians and Muslims. Through His second son, Isaac, came all Israelite prophets including such towering figures as Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, Solomon and Jesus, may peace and blessings be upon them all. The advent of these great prophets was in partial fulfillment of God's promises to bless the nations of earth through the descendants of Abraham (Genesis 1 2:2-3). Such a fulfillment is wholeheartedly accepted by Muslims whose faith considers the belief of these prophets, an article of faith.

BLESSINGS OF ISHMAEL AND ISAAC

Was the first born son of Abraham (Ishmael) and his descendants included in God's covenant and promise? A few verses from the Bible may help shed some light on this question:

1. Genesis 12:2-3 speaks of God's promise to Abraham and his descendants before any child was born to him.
2. Genesis 17:4 reiterates God's promise after the birth of Ishmael and before the birth of Isaac.
3. In Genesis, ch. 21 . Isaac is specifically blessed but Ishmael was also specifically blessed and promised by God to become "a great nation" especially in Genesis 21:13, 18.
4. According to Deuteronomy 21:15-17 the traditional rights and privileges of the first-born son are not to be affected by the social status of his mother (being a "free" woman such as Sarah, Isaac's mother, or a "Bondwoman" such as Hagar, Ishmael's mother). This is only consistent with the moral and humanitarian principles of all revealed faiths.
5. The full legitimacy of Ishmael as Abraham's son and "seed" and the full legitimacy of his mother, Hagar, as Abraham's wife are clearly stated in Genesis 21:13 and 16:3.

After Jesus, the last Israelite messenger and prophet, it was time that God's promise to bless Ishmael and his descendants be fulfilled. Less than 600 years after Jesus, came the last messenger of God, Muhammad (peace be upon him), from the progeny of Abraham through Ishmael. God's blessing of both of the main branches of Abraham's family tree was now fulfilled. But are there additional corroborating evidence that the Bible did in fact foretell the advent of prophet Muhammad (pbuh)?

MUHAMMAD: The Prophet Like Unto Moses

Long time after Abraham, God's promise to send the long-awaited Messenger was repeated this time in Moses' words. In Deuteronomy 18:18 , Moses spoke of the prophet to be sent by God who is:

1. From among the Israelite's "brethren", a reference to their Ishmaelite cousins as Ishmael was the other son of Abraham who was explicitly promised to become a "great nation".
2. A prophet like unto Moses. There were hardly any two prophets who were so much alike as Moses and Muhammad (peace be upon them both). Both were given a comprehensive law code of life, both encountered their enemies and were victors in miraculous ways, both were accepted as prophets/statesmen and both migrated following conspiracies to assassinate them. Analogies between Moses and Jesus overlooks not only the above similarities but other crucial ones as well (e.g. the natural birth, family life and death of Moses and Muhammad but not of Jesus, who was regarded by His followers as the Son of God and not exclusively a messenger of God, as Moses and Muhammad were, and as Muslims believe Jesus was).

THE AWAITED PROPHET WAS TO COME FROM ARABIA

Deuteronomy 33:1-2 combines references to Moses, Jesus and Muhammad. It speaks of God (i.e. God's revelation) coming from Sinai, rising from Seir (probably the village of Sa'ir near Jerusalem) and shining forth from Paran. According to Genesis 21:21 , the wilderness of Paran was the place where Ishmael settled (i.e. Arabia, specifically Mecca).
Indeed the King James version of the Bible mentions the pilgrims passing through the valley of Ba'ca (another name of Mecca) in Psalms 84:4-6 .
Isaiah 42:1-13 speaks of the beloved of God. His elect and messenger who will bring down a law to be awaited in the isles and who "shall not fail nor be discouraged till he have set judgment on earth." Verse 11 connects that awaited one with the descendants of Ke'dar. Who is Ke'dar? According to Genesis 25:13 , Ke'dar was the second son of Ishmael, the ancestor of prophet Muhammad (pbuh).

MUHAMMAD'S MIGRATION FROM MECCA TO MEDINA: PROPHESISED IN THE BIBLE?

Habakkuk 3:3 speaks of God (God's help) coming from Te'man (an Oasis North of Medina according to J. Hasting's Dictionary of the Bible), and the holy one (coming) from Paran. That holy one who under persecution migrated from Paran (Mecca) to be received enthusiastically in Medina was none but prophet Muhammad (pbuh).

Indeed the incident of the migration of the prophet and his persecuted followers is vividly described in Isaiah 21:13-17 . That section foretold as well about the battle of Badr in which the few ill-armed faithful miraculously defeated the "mighty" men of Ke'dar, who sought to destroy Islam and intimidate their own folks who turned to Islam.

THE QUR'AN (KORAN) FORETOLD IN THE BIBLE?

For twenty-three years, God's words (the Qur'an) were truly put into Muhammad's (pbuh) mouth. He was not the “11th author” of the Qur'an, the Qur’an was dictated to Muhammad (pbuh) by Angel Gabriel, who asked him to simply repeat the words of the Qur'an as he heard them. These words were then committed to memory and to writing by those who hear them during Muhammad's lifetime and under his supervision.
Was it a coincidence that the prophet "like unto Moses" from the "brethren" of the Israelites (i.e. from the Ishmaelites) was also described as one in whose mouth God will put his words and that he will speak in the name of God., ( Deuteronomy 18:18-20 ). Was it also a coincidence the "Paraclete" that Jesus foretold to come after Him was described as one who "shall not speak of himself, but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak (John 16:13).

Was it another coincidence that Isaiah ties between the messenger connected with Ke'dar and a new song (a scripture in a new language) to be sang unto the Lord (Isaiah 42:10-11 ). More explicitly, prophesies Isaiah "For with stammering lips, and another tongue, will he speak to this people" (Isaiah 28:11 ). This latter 'verse correctly describes the "stammering lips" of Prophet Muhammad reflecting the state of tension and concentration he went through at the time of revelation. Another related point is that the Qur'an was revealed in piece-meals over a span of twenty-three years. It is interesting to compare this with Isaiah 28:10 which speaks of the same thing.

THAT PROPHET-PARACLETE-MUHAMMAD

Up to the time of Jesus (peace be upon him), the Israelites were still awaiting for that prophet like unto Moses prophesied in Deuteronomy 18:18 . When John the Baptist came, they asked him if he was Christ and he said "no". They asked him if he was Elias and he said "no". Then, in apparent reference to Deuteronomy 18:18 , they asked him "Art thou that Prophet" and he answered, "no". ( John 1: 1 9-2 1).

In the Gospel according to John ( Chapters 14, 15, 16 ) Jesus spoke of the "Paraclete" or comforter who will come after him, who will be sent by Father as another Paraclete, who will teach new things which the contemporaries of Jesus could not bear. While the Paraclete is described as the spirit of truth, (whose meaning resemble Muhammad's famous title Al-Amin, the trustworthy), he is identified in one verse as the Holy Ghost ( John 14:26 ). Such a designation is however inconsistent with the profile of that Paraclete. In the words of the Dictionary of the Bible , (Ed. J. Mackenzie) "These items, it must be admitted do not give an entirely coherent picture."

Indeed history tells us that many early Christians understood the Paraclete to be a man and not a spirit. This might explain the followings who responded to some who claimed, without meeting the criteria stipulated by Jesus, to be the awaited "Paraciete".

It was Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) who was the Paraclete, Comforter, helper, admonisher sent by God after Jesus. He testified of Jesus, taught new things, which could not be borne at Jesus' time, he spoke what he heard (revelation), he dwells with the believers (through his well-preserved teachings). Such teachings will remain forever because he was the last messenger of God, t he only Universal Messenger to unite the whole of humanity under God and on the path of PRESERVED truth. He told of many things to come which "came to pass" in the minutest detail meeting, the criterion given by Moses to distinguish between the true prophet and the false prophets (Deuteronomy 18:22 ). He did reprove the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment ( John 16:8-11 ).

WAS THE SHIFT OF RELIGIOUS LEADERSHIP PROPHESIED?

Following the rejection of the last Israelite prophet, Jesus, it was about time that God's promise to make Ishmael a great nation be fulfilled (Genesis 21:13, 18 ).
In Matthew 21:19-21, Jesus spoke of the fruitless fig tree (A Biblical symbol of prophetic heritage) to be cleared after being given a last chance of three years (the duration of Jesus' ministry) to give fruit. In a later verse in the same chapter, Jesus said: "Therefore, say I unto you, The Kingdom of God shall be taken away from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruit thereof" (Matthew 21:43). That nation of Ishmael's descendants (the rejected stone in Matthew 21:42) which was victorious against all super-powers of its time, as prophesied by Jesus: "And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken, but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder" (Matthew 21:44).

OUT OF CONTEXT COINCIDENCE?

Is it possible that the numerous prophecies cited here are all individually and combined out of context misinterpretations? Is the opposite true, that such infrequently studied verses fit together consistently and clearly point to the advent of the man who changed the course of human history, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)? Is it reasonable to conclude that all these prophecies, appearing in different books of the Bible and spoken by various prophets at different times were all coincidence? If this is so, here is another strange " coincidence"!

One of the signs of the prophet to come from Paran (Mecca) is that he will come with "ten thousands of saints" (Deuteronomy 33:2 KJV). That was the number of faithful who accompanied Prophet Muhammad to Paran (Mecca) in his victorious, bloodless return to his birthplace to destroy the remaining symbols of idolatry in the Ka'bah.

God says as quoted by Moses: “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.” (Deuteronomy, 18:19)

JESUS WAS A PROPHET AND ALSO A PARACLETE

A Christian who has studied the Bible would be proud to admit that the prophecy made by prophet Moses for the coming of "a Prophet like me" (Deut. 18:15), undoubtedly refers to the coming of Jesus Christ, since Jesus himself had acknowledged before Jews; "Moses wrote of me." (see John 5:46). These learned Christians have no problem in admitting the fact that Jesus was "a prophet like his predecessor Moses".

In his Epistle quoted below, apostle John records that Jesus was "a Paraclete".
"My little children, I am writing these things to you that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have a Paraclete with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." 1 John. 2:1

John has also recorded in his Gospel 14:16, quoted below, that Jesus (after his departure) will pray to the God, and the God will give us "another Paraclete". This opens up a way for a future date male Prophet to be "a Paraclete", as well. To say: only a "Spirit" can be a Paraclete and not a male individual, would be to deny: "Jesus was a Prophet and a Paraclete".
"And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Paraclete, that he may abide with you into the age (to come)." John 14:16

Note: We often read the above verse ending as; "for ever". The fact of the matter is; "into the age" is the literal translation of the original Greek phrase; 'eis ton aiona'.
In the next verse, i.e. 14:17, John records, "another Paraclete" is the "Spirit of Truth" (not the Holy Spirit). WHAT WILL "HE" DO?
Jesus Christ did indicate that the Paraclete will do certain things in his time. Let us examine if "he", Prophet Muhammad, did those things.

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

Note: The Qur'an is a compilation of the "Divine Revelations" that were received by Prophet Muhammad, over a period of 23 years, through the archangel Gabriel. The Prophet used to recite whatever he used to hear. His companions used to write down whatever he recited. The Qur'an does not contain the writings or teachings of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), as often mentioned by some misinformed authors.
2. "He shall glorify me." John 16:14
Note: The Qur'an glorifies the birth of Jesus through Virgin Mary. It confirms; Jesus was a Messiah, a Messenger of God, the Spirit from God, the Word of God and the Righteous Prophet.
3. "He shall take mine and shall disclose it to you." Jn. 16:14
Note: Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) did declare himself a Messenger/Prophet of God like Abraham, Moses and Jesus.
4. "He will teach you all things." John 14:26
Note: The Qur'an teaches a way of life. It guides mankind, how to live a pious life socially, politically and spiritually.
5. "He will bring to your remembrance all that I said to you." John. 14:26
Note: The Qur'an speaks about the teachings of Jesus and even quotes him.
6. "He will bear witness of me" John 15:26
Note: The Qur'an attests the miracles performed by Jesus the Messiah. It also mentions one astonishing miracle performed by Jesus that the Gospel writers have not recorded (V:110). The Qur'an acknowledges that these miracles and signs were performed with the leave of Allah, by His righteous Servant and Messiah, Jesus. The same is also attested in the Book of Acts 2:22; 3:13 (NASB).

A MALE SALVIFIC FIGURE LIKE JESUS

The passage quoted below from the world renowned and distinguished Anchor Bible confirms that the original concept among the noted Christian scholars and populace, for the Paraclete was for a male salvific figure, but that concept was later confused with the "Holy Spirit".
"The word parakletos is peculiar in the NT to the Johnannine literature. In 1 John ii 1 Jesus is a parakletos (not a title), serving as a heavenly intercessor with the Father. ...Christian tradition has identified this figure (Paraclete) as the Holy Spirit, but scholars like Spitta, Delafosse, Windisch, Sasse, Butlmann and Betz have doubted whether this identification is true to the original picture and have suggested that the Paraclete was once an independent salvific figure, later confused with the Holy Spirit." (Page 1135)

THE NEGATION OF "HOLY SPIRIT"

The concept that the Paraclete (comforter, advocate) is the "Holy Spirit" is unequivocally negated by the following verse:
"But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Paraclete shall not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you." John 16:7

This verse clearly indicates that the coming of the Paraclete was subject to the departure of Jesus. His departure from this world was a *pre-condition* for the arrival of the Paraclete.

We know that the "Holy Spirit" was already present during and before the ministry of Jesus. The Holy Spirit was in existence since the day of the Creation and was hovering upon the surface of the earth (Gen. 1:2). It was also present with the prophets of the Old Testament. No Bible believing Christian can deny that the "Holy Spirit" was present at River Jordan when Christ was Baptized by John the Baptist. Since there is no more than ONE "Holy Spirit", Jesus would not have made his own departure a *pre-condition* for its arrival.

"HE" NOT "IT"

"When the Paraclete comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of Truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness of me." John 15:26
This verse further clears the confusion, if there is any. Here the Paraclete is called the "Spirit of Truth" and not the "Holy Spirit". These are two separate terms and two independent entities. The first entity takes the pronoun "he" being a male figure. Whereas, the second one takes the pronoun "it". The Greek word 'pneu'ma' (spirit) is of neutral gender and takes the pronoun "it". Whereas, in almost all the verses referring to Paraclete quoted below, the pronoun used is "he".
"But the Paraclete, the Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you." John 14:26

Notes:
1. In the older MSS, Codex Syriacus discovered in 1812 on Mount Sinai by Mrs. Agnes S. Lewis (and Mrs. Bensley), the text of John 14:26 reads; "Paraclete, the Spirit"; and not "Paraclete, the Holy Spirit". "The Spirit" is a reference to "the Spirit of Truth" as in 15:26.
2. In 1 John 4:6, the terms "the spirit of truth" and "the spirit of error" are used for the human beings.
3. History records that prophet Muhammad was known for his Truth and Honesty, long before he received the Divine Revelations.
A PROPHET IN THE LAND OF KEDAR
Prophet Isaiah is considered to be one of the major prophets of the Old Testament. In the Book of Isaiah there are several prophecies about the coming of the Messiah. In chapter 42, Isaiah begins with a prophecy for the coming of prophet Jesus. After verse number nine, God declares through Isaiah, the "new things" that are to "spring forth" in the
Land of Kedar.

In the Bible there is only one personality called Kedar. He was the grandson of prophet Abraham, through his son Ishmael (see Gen. 25:13). Kedar's descendants had settled in Paran (Syno-Arabian dessert). In the Rabbinic literature Arabia is called the "Land of Kedar". Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was a descendant of Kedar.

God declares through Prophet Isaiah:
"Behold, the former things are come to pass, and the new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them. `Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth'. Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voices, the villages that Kedar doth inhabit: let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains. Let them give glory unto the Lord, and declare His praise in the inlands." Isaiah Chapter 42, Verses 9-12.

God did reveal in the Land of Kedar, through prophet Muhammad (pbuh)- a direct descendant of Kedar, a "New Song" - The Qur'an (Koran). This happens to be the only Scripture to be revealed in the language of the Kedarites. The verses of the Qur'an are recited like a poem. Nearly 1.2 billion Muslims, residing all over the world, recite this "new song" and Glorify Allah, in their daily prayers, five times in a day. The initial Revelation came to prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in a cave of Mount Hira near the city of Mecca. There are several mountains near Mecca. During the annual Islamic Pilgrimage called "Hajj", Muslims from all over the world, assemble in Mecca and shout Glory to the Lord from the top of Mount Arafat. The pilgrims continuously give Glory to Allah on their ways, to and from Mecca.

THE LORD SHALL GO AS "A MIGHTY MAN OF WAR"

"The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up jealousy like a man of war: he shall cry, yea, roar; he shall prevail against his enemies." Isaiah 42:13
In the Old Testament, the God often speaks "I" will do this, or "I" have done this; whereas, He has chosen human beings to do these jobs on His behalf. (see 2 Samuel 12:7-12).

Prophet Muhammad did go forth as "a mighty man of war" against the Pagan Arabs, the enemies of The Lord. He did stir up jealousy among the most influential and dominating Pagan tribe in Arabia. With a war cry and roar of "Allahu Akbar" ("The God is the Greatest"), the Prophet of Islam did prevail upon the enemies of Lord - the idolaters. No doubt, the Islam was spread with a "war cry", but that was not a cry of a man seeking the personal power. It was a cry of the Lord, who no longer wanted to hold HIS PEACE against HIS ENEMIES. After the victory, Allah bestowed HIS FAVOR upon mankind and gave the Message of "TRUE PEACE" - The Islam. Once a person whole heartedly submit himself or herself to Allah (become a Muslim), the "True Peace" from Allah is bound to enter his or her body, mind and soul. The relationship of that individual with Allah is now direct, having no Church or Papal Authority acting as a vicar or an intermediary.
"I have long time holden my peace; I have been still, and refrained myself, now will I cry like a travailing woman; I will destroy and devour at once." Verse 14.

The prophets that came before Muhammad had all tried with peaceful missions. But, the concept of sharing God's Glory continued to surface again and again, in one way or other. It was with the war cry, through the descendants of Kedar (Arabs), these sinful practices were destroyed and devoured, inside and outside of Arabia. The spread of Islam was swift, wide spread and at once.

ISLAM TURNS THE DARKNESS INTO LIGHT

"And I will bring the blind by a way they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known; I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things I will do unto them, and not forsake them." Isaiah Chapter 42, Verse 16.

It is an undeniable fact that before the advent of Islam, the pagan Arabs were like the blinds. Their religious and social concepts were crooked. The revelation of this "new song" brought them out of that darkness. Earlier, God had not sent any prophet to these people. By sending Muhammad, God fulfilled His above promise and also the following promise to Abraham;
"And *also* of the son of the bondwoman I will make a nation, because he is thy seed." Genesis 21:13.

Please note the word "also" in above promise. The nations of Judaism and Christianity came out from the descendants of Abraham and Sarah. The nation of Islam came out from the descendants of Abraham and Hagar. Judaism, Christianity and Islam are three children of Abraham by God's Covenants with Abraham.

"They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images; they say to the molten images, 'Ye are our gods.'" Isaiah 42 Verse 17.

History records that Prophet Muhammad did put the pagan idolaters to great shame when he demolished before them, their 365 idols that were installed in Ka'bah (Mecca), the most respected place of pilgrimage in the whole of Arabia. Today, Ka'bah is the Grand Mosque of Islam. Muslims from all over the world face towards Ka'bah while reciting their daily ritual prayers.

What The Bible Says About Muhammed

SAY: "DO YOU SEE ? WHETHER THIS MESSAGE BE FROM ALLAH (God Almighty), AND YET YOU REJECT IT, AND A WITNESS FROM AMONG THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL BORE WITNESS OF ONE LIKE HIM......." (Holy Qur'an 46:10). (see note 1)

Mr.Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen,

The subject of this evening's talk - "What the BIBLE says about MUHAMMED" - will no doubt come as a surprise to many of you because the speaker is a Muslim. How does it come about that a Muslim happens to be expounding prophecies from the Jewish and Christian Scriptures?
As a young man, about 30 years ago, I attended a series of religious lectures by a Christian theologian, a certain Rev. Hiten, at the "Theatre Royal", Durban in South Africa.

Pope or Kissinger?

This Reverend gentleman was expounding Biblical prophecies. He went on to prove that the Christian Bible foretold the rise of Soviet Russia, and the Last Days. At one stage he went to the extent of proving that his Holy Book did not leave even the Pope out of its predictions. He expatiated vigorously in order to convince his audience that the "Beast 666" mentioned in the Book of Revelation the last book of the New Testament was the POPE, who was the Vicar of Christ on earth. It is not befitting for us Muslims to enter into this controversy between the Roman Catholics and the Protestants. By the way, the latest Christian exposition of the "Beast 666" of the Christian Bible is Dr.Henry Kissinger(2). Christian scholars are ingenious and indefatigable in their efforts to prove their case.
Rev. Hiten's lectures led me to ask that if the Bible foretold so many things - not even excluding the "Pope" and "Israel" - then surely it must have something to say about the greatest benefactor of mankind(3) , the Holy Prophet Muhammed (may the peace of Allah be upon him).

As a youngster I set out to search for an answer. I met priest after priest, attended lectures, and read everything that I could lay my hands relating to the fields of Bible prophecies. Tonight I am going to narrate to you one of these interviews with a dominee(4) of the Dutch Reformed Church.

Lucky Thirteen

I was invited to the Transvaal(5) to deliver a talk on the occasion of Birthday celebration of the Holy Prophet Muhammed. Knowing that in that province of the Republic, the Afrikaans language is widely spoken, even by my own people, I felt that I ought to acquire a smattering of this language so a s to feel a little "at home" with the people. I opened the telephone directory and began phoning the Afrikaans-speaking Churches. I indicated my purpose to the priests that I was interested in having a dialogue with them, but they all refused my request with "plausible" excuses. No.13 was my lucky number. The thirteenth call brought me pleasure and relief. A dominee Van Heerden agreed to meet me at his home on the Saturday afternoon that I was to leave for Transvaal.

He received me on his verandah with a friendly welcome. He said if I did not mind, he would like his father-in-law from the Free State (a 70 year old man) to join us in the discussion. I did not mind. The three of us settled down in the dominee's library.

Why nothing?

I posed the question: "What does the Bible say about Muhummed?" Without hesitation he answered, "Nothing!" I asked: "Why nothing? According to your interpretation the Bible have so many things to say about the rise of Soviet Russia and about the Last Days and even about the Pope of the Roman Catholics?" He said, "Yes, but there was nothing about Muhummed!" I asked again, "Why nothing? Surely this man Muhummed who had been responsible for the bringing into being a world-wide community of millions of Believers who, on his authority, believe in:
(1) the miraculous birth of Jesus,
(2) that Jesus is the Messiah (note 6)
(3) that he gave life to the dead by God's permission, and that he healed those born blind and the lepers by God's permission.

Surely this book (the Bible) must have something to say about this great Leader of men who spoke so well of Jesus and his mother Mary?"

The old man from the Free State replied. "My son, I have been reading the Bible for the past 50 years, and if there was any mention of him, I would have known it."

Not One by name!

I enquired: "According to you, are there not hundreds of prophecies regarding the coming of Jesus in the Old Testament." The dominee interjected: "Not hundreds, but thousands!" I said, "I am not going to dispute the 'thousand and one' prophecies in the Old Testament regarding the coming of Jesus Christ, because the whole Muslim-world has already accepted him without the testimony of any Biblical prophecy. We Muslims have accepted the de facto Jesus on the authority of Muhummed alone, and there are in the world today no less than 900,000,000 followers (now 1.5 billion followers) of Muhummed who love, respect and revere Jesus Christ as a great Messenger of God without having the Christians to convince them by means of their Biblical dialectics. Out of the 'thousands' of prophecies referred to, can you please give me just one single prophecy where Jesus is mentioned by name? The term 'Messiah', translated as 'Christ', is not a name but a title. Is there a single Prophecy where it says that the name of the Messiah will be JESUS, and that his mother's name will be MARY, that his supposed father will be JOSEPH THE CARPENTER; that he will be born in the reign of HEROD THE KING, etc. etc.? No! There are no such details! Then how can you conclude that those 'thousand' Prophecies refer to Jesus (Peace be upon him)?"

What is Prophecy?

The dominee replies: "You see, prophecies are word-pictures of something that is going to happen in the future. When that thing actually comes to pass, we see vividly in these prophecies the fulfillment of what had been predicted in the past." I said: "What you actually do is that you deduce, you reason, you put two and two together." He said: "Yes." I said: "If this is what you have to do with a 'thousand' prophecies to justify your claim with regards to the genuineness of Jesus, why should we not adopt the very same system for Muhummed?" The dominee agreed that it was a fair proposition, a reasonable way of dealing with the problem.

I asked him to open up Deuteronomy, chapter 18, verse 18, which he did. I read from memory the verse in Afrikaans, because this was my purpose in having a little practice with the language of the ruling race in South Africa. (8)

'N PROFEET SAL EK VIR HULLE VERWEK UIT DIE MIDDE VAN HULLE BROERS, SOOS JY IS, EN EK SAL MY WOORDE IN SY MOND LE, EN HY SY SAL AAN HULLE SE ALLE WAT EK HOM BEVEEL. Deut.18: 18.

The English translation reads as follows:
"I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren,
like unto thee,
and I will put my words in his mouth;
and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him." Deut.18:18.

Prophet Like Moses

Having recited the verse in Afrikaans, I apologised for my uncertain pronunciation, The dominee assured me that I was doing fine. I enquired: "To whom does this prophecy refer?" Without the slightest hesitation he answered: "JESUS!" I asked: "Why Jesus?... his name is not mentioned here." The dominee replied: "Since prophecies are word-pictures of something that is going to happen in the future, we find that the wordings of this verse adequately describe him. You see the most important words of this prophecy are 'SOOS JY IS' (like unto thee), - LIKE YOU - like Moses, and Jesus is like Moses. " I questioned: "In which way is Jesus like Moses?" The answer was: "In the first place Moses was a JEW and Jesus was also a JEW; secondly, Moses was a PROPHET and Jesus was also a PROPHET - therefore Jesus is like Moses and that is exactly what God had foretold Moses - "SOOS JY IS". "Can you think of any other similarities between Moses and Jesus?" I asked. The dominee said that he could not think of any. I replied: "If these are the only two criteria for discovering a candidate for this prophecy of Deuteronomy 18:18, then in that case the criteria could fit any one of the following Biblical personages after Moses:- Solomon, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Malachi, John the Baptist etc., because they were also ALL Jews as well as Prophets. Why should we not apply this prophecy to any one of these prophets, and why only to Jesus? Why should we make fish of one and fowl of another?" The dominee had no reply. I continued: "You see, my conclusions are that Jesus is most unlike Moses, and if I am wrong I would like you to correct me."

Three Unlikes

So staying, I reasoned with him: "In the FIRST place Jesus is not like Moses, because, according to you - 'JESUS IS A GOD', but Moses is not God. Is this true?" He said: "Yes." I said: "Therefore, Jesus is not like Moses! SECONDLY, according to you - 'JESUS DIED FOR THE SINS OF THE WORLD', but Moses did not have to die for the sins of the world. Is this true?" He again said: "Yes." I said: "Therefore Jesus is not like Moses! THIRDLY, according to you - 'JESUS WENT TO HELL FOR THREE DAYS', but Moses did not have to go there. Is this true?" He answered meekly: "Y-e-s." I concluded: "Therefore Jesus is not like Moses!" "But dominee," I continued: "these are not hard facts, solid facts, they are mere matters of belief over which the little ones can stumble and fall. Let us discuss something very simple, very easy that if your little ones are called in to hear the discussion, would have no difficulty in following it, shall we?" The dominee was quiet happy at the suggestion.

Father and Mother

(1) "Moses had a father and a mother. Muhummed also had a father and a mother. But Jesus had only a mother, and no human father. Is this true?" He said: "Yes." I said: "DAAROM IS JESUS NIE SOOS MOSES NIE, MAAR MUHUMMED IS SOOS MOSES!" Meaning: "Therefore Jesus is not like Moses, but Muhummed is like Moses!" (By now the reader will realize that I was using the Afrikaans language only for practice purposes. I shall discontinue its use in this narration).

Miraculous Birth

(2) "Moses and Muhummed were born in the normal, natural course, i.e. the physical association of man and woman; but Jesus was created by a special miracle. You will recall that we are told in the Gospel of St.Matthew 1:18".....BEFORE THEY CAME TOGETHER,(Joseph the Carpenter and Mary) SHE WAS FOUND WITH CHILD BY THE HOLY GHOST.' And St.Luke tells us that when the good news of the birth of a holy son was announced to her, Mary reasoned:'.......HOW SHALL THIS BE, SEEING I KNOW NOT A MAN? AND THE ANGEL ANSWERED AND SAID UNTO HER, THE HOLY GHOST SHALL COME UPON THEE, AND THE POWER OF THE HIGHEST SHALL OVERSHADOW THEE:......'(Luke 1:35). The Holy Qur'an confirms the miraculous birth of Jesus, in nobler and sublime terms. In answer to her logical question:
" O MY LORD! HOW SHALL I HAVE A SON WHEN NO MAN HATH TOUCHED ME? "
The angel says in reply:
"EVEN SO:
ALLAH CREATETH WHAT HE WILLETH:
WHEN HE HATH DECREED A PLAN,
HE BUT SAITH TO IT "BE,"
AND IT IS " (9) (HOLY QUR'AN, 3:47).

It is not necessary for God to plant a seed in man or animal. He merely wills it and it comes into being. This is the Muslim conception of theof birth of Jesus. (When I compared the Qur'an and the Biblical versions of the birth of Jesus to the head of the Bible Society in our largest City, and when I enquired: "Which version would you prefer to give your daughter, the QUR'ANIC version or the BIBLICAL version?" The man bowed his head and answered: "The Qur'anic.")

In short, I said to the dominee: "Is it true that Jesus was born miraculously as against the natural birth of Moses and Muhummed?" He replied proudly:"Yes!" I said:"Therefore Jesus is not like Moses, but Muhummed is like Moses. And God says to Moses in the Book of Deuteronomy 18:18 "LIKE UNTO THEE" (Like You, Like Moses) and Muhummed is like Moses."

Marriage Ties

(3) "Moses and Muhummed married and begat children, but Jesus remained a bachelor all his life. Is this true?" The dominee said: "Yes." I said: "Therefore Jesus is not like Moses, but Muhummed is like Moses."

Jesus Rejected by his People

(4) "Moses and Muhummed were accepted as prophets by their people in their very lifetime. No doubt the Jews gave endless trouble to Moses and they murmured in the wilderness, but as a nation, they acknowledged that Moses was a Messenger of God sent to them. The Arabs too made Muhummed's life impossible. He suffered very badly at their hands. After 13 years of preaching in Mecca, he had to emigrate from the city of his birth. But before his demise, the Arab nation as a whole accepted him as the Messenger of Allah. But according to the Bible: 'He (Jesus) CAME UNTO HIS OWN, BUT HIS OWN RECEIVED HIM NOT.' (John 1:11). And even today, after two thousand years, his people- the Jews, as a whole, have rejected him. Is this true?" The dominee said: "Yes." I said: "THEREFORE JESUS IS NOT LIKE MOSES, BUT MUHUMMED IS LIKE MOSES."

"Other-Wordly" Kingdom

(5) "Moses and Muhummed were prophets as well as kings. A prophet means a man who receives Divine Revelation for the Guidance of Man and this Guidance he conveys to God's creatures as received without any addition or deletion. A king is a person who has the power of life and death over his people. It is immaterial whether the person wears a crown or not, or whether he was ever addressed as king or monarch: if the man has the prerogative of inflicting capital punishment - HE IS A KING. Moses possessed such a power. Do you remember the Israelite who was found picking up firewood on Sabbath Day, and Moses had him stoned to death? (Numbers- 15:13). There are other crimes also mentioned in the Bible for which capital punishment was inflicted on the Jews at the behest of Moses. Muhummed too, had the power of life and death over his people. There are instances in the Bible of persons who were given gift of prophecy only, but they were not in a position to implement their directives. Some of these holy men of God who were helpless in the face of stubborn rejection of their message, were the prophets lot, Jonah, Daniel, Ezra, and John the Baptist. They could only deliver the message, but could not enforce the Law. The Holy Prophet Jesus (Peace b.u.h) also belonged to this category. The Christian Gospel clearly confirms this: when Jesus was dragged before the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate, Charged for sedition, Jesus made a convincing point in his defense to refute the false charge: JESUS ANSWERED, "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"(John 18:36) This convinced Pilate (A Pagan) that though Jesus might not be in full possession of his mental faculty, he did not strike him as being a danger to his rule. Jesus claimed a spiritual Kingdom only; in other words he only claimed to be a Prophet. Is this true?" The dominee answered: "Yes." I said: "Therefore Jesus is not like Moses but Muhummed is like Moses."

No New Laws

(6) "Moses and Muhummed brought new laws and new regulations for their people. Moses not only gave the Ten Commandments to the Israelites, but a very comprehensive ceremonial law for the guidance of his people. Muhummed comes to a people steeped in barbarism and ignorance. They married their step-mothers; they buried their daughters alive; drunkenness, adultery, idolatry, and gambling were the order of the day. Gibbon describe the Arabs before Islam in his "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire", THE HUMAN BRUTE, ALMOST WITHOUT SENSE, IS POORLY DISTINGUISHED FROM THE REST OF THE ANIMAL CREATION.' There was hardly anything to distinguish between the "man" and the "animal" of the time; they were animals in human form.

"From this abject barbarism, Muhummed elevated them, in the words of Thomas Carlysle, 'into torch-bearers of light and learning.' 'TO THE ARAB NATION IT WAS AS A BIRTH FROM DARKNESS INTO LIGHT. ARABIA FIRST BECAME ALIVE BY MEANS OF IT. A POOR SHEPHERD PEOPLE, ROAMING UNNOTICED IN ITS DESERTS SINCE THE CREATION OF THE WORLD. SEE, THE UNNOTICED BECOMES WORLD NOTABLE, THE SMALL HAS GROWN WORLD-GREAT. WITHIN ONE CENTURY AFTERWARDS ARABIA WAS AT GRANADA ON ONE HAND AND AT DELHI ON THE OTHER. GLANCING IN VALOUR AND SPLENDOUR, AND THE LIGHT OF GENIUS, ARABIA SHINES OVER A GREA SECTION OF THE WORLD. ...' The fact is that Muhummed gave his people a Law and Order they never had before.

"As regards Jesus, when the Jews felt suspicious of him that he might be an imposter with designs to pervert their teachings, Jesus took pains to assure them that he had not come with a new religion - no new laws and no new regulations. I quote his own words: 'THINK NOT THAT I AM COME TO DESTROY THE LAW, OR THE PROPHETS: I AM NOT COME TO DESTROY, BUT TO FULFIL. FOR VERILY I SAY UNTO YOU, TILL HEAVEN AND EARTH PASS, ONE JOT OR ONE TITLE SHALL IN NO WISE PASS FROM THE LAW, TILL ALL BE FULFILLED.' (Mathew 5:17-18). In other words he had not come with any new laws or regulation he came only to fulfill the old law. This what he gave the Jews to understand- unless he was speaking with the tongue in his cheek trying to bluff the Jews into accepting him as a man of God and by subterfuge trying to ram a new religion down their throats. No! This Messenger of God would never resort to such foul means to subvert the Religion of God. He himself fulfilled the laws. He observed the commandments of Moses, and he respected the Sabbath. At no time did a single Jew point a finger at him to say, 'why don't you fast' or 'why don't you wash your hands before you break bread', which charges they always levied against his disciples, but never against Jesus. This is because as a good Jew he honoured the laws of the prophets who preceded him. In short, he had created no new religion and had brought no new law like Moses and Muhummed. Is this true?" I asked the dominee, and he answered: "Yes." I said:" Therefore, Jesus is not like Moses but Muhummed is like Moses."

How they Departed

(7) "Both Moses and Muhummed died natural deaths, but according to Christianity, Jesus was violently killed on the cross(10). Is this true?" The dominee said: "Yes." I answered: "Therefore Jesus is not like Moses but Muhummed is like Moses."

Heavenly Abode

(8) "Moses and Muhummed both lie buried in earth, but according to you, Jesus in heaven. Is this true?" The dominee agreed. I said: "Therefore Jesus is not like Moses but Muhummed is like Moses."

Ishmael The First Born

Since the dominee was helplessly agreeing with every point, I said, "Dominee, so far what I have done is to prove only one point out of the whole prophecy- that is proving the phrase 'LIKE UNTO THEE' - 'Like You' 'Like Moses'. The Prophecy is much more than this single phrase which reads as follows : "I WILL RAISE THEM UP A PROPHET FROM AMONG THEIR BRETHREN LIKE UNTO THEE......." The emphasis is on the words- "From among their brethren." Moses and his people, the Jews, are here addressed as a racial entity, and as such their 'brethren' would undoubtedly be the Arabs. You see, the Holy Bible speaks of Abraham as the "Friend of God". Abraham had two wives - Sarah and Hagar. Hagar bore Abraham a son - HIS FIRST-BORN- '......And Abraham (11) called HIS SON'S name, which Hagar bare Ishmael.' (Genesis 16:15). 'And Abraham took Ishmael HIS SON......" (Genesis 17:23). 'And Ishmael HIS SON was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.'(Genesis 17:25). Up to the age of THIRTEEN Ishmael was the ONLY son and seed of Abraham, when the covenant was ratified between God and Abraham. God grants Abraham another son through Sarah, named Isaac, who was very much the junior to his brother Ishmael.

Arabs and Jews

If Ishmael and Isaac are the sons of the same father Abraham, then they are brothers. And so the children of the one are the BRETHREN of the children of the other. The children of Isaac are the Jews and the Children of Ishmael are the Arabs - so they are BRETHREN to one another. The Bible affirms, 'AND HE (ISHMAEL) SHALL DWELL IN THE PRESENCE OF ALL HIS BRETHREN.' (Genesis 16:12). 'AND HE (ISHMAEL) DIED IN THE PRESENCE OF ALL HIS BRETHREN.(Genesis 25:18). The children of Isaac are the brethren of the Ishmaelites. In like manner Muhummed is from among the brethren of the Israelites because he was a descendant of Ishamel the son of Abraham. This exactly as the prophecy has it- 'FROM AMONG THEIR BRETHREN'.(Deut.18:18). There the prophecy distinctly mentions that the coming prophet who would be like Moses, must arise NOT from the 'children of Israel' or from 'among themselves', but from among their brethren. MUHUMMED THEREFORE WAS FROM AMONG THEIR BRETHREN!

Words in the Mouth

"The prophecy proceeds further:'.......AND I WILL PUT MY WORDS INTO HIS MOUTH.......' What does it mean when it is said 'I will put my words in your mouth'? You see, when I asked you (the dominee) to open Deuteronomy chapter 18, verse 18, at the beginning, and if I had asked you to read, and if you had read: would I be putting my words into your mouth?" The dominee answered: "No." "But," I continued: "If I were to teach you a language like Arabic about which you have no knowledge, and if I asked you to read or repeat after me what I utter i.e.:
"SAY: HE IS ALLAH THE ONE AND ONLY;
ALLAH, THE ETERNAL ABSOLUTE;
HE BEGETTETH NOT, NOR IS HE BEGOTTEN:
AND THERE IS NONE LIKE UNTO HIM.
(Holy Qur'an 112:1-4) ( I read them in Arabic )

Would I not be putting these unheard words of a foreign tongue which you utter, into your mouth?" The dominee agreed that it was indeed so. In an identical manner, I said, the words of the Holy Qur'an, the Revelation vouchsafed by the Almighty God to Muhummed, were revealed.

History tells us that Muhummed was forty years of age. He was in a cave some three miles north of the City of Mecca. It was the 27th night of the Muslim month of Ramadaan. In the cave the Archangel Gabriel commands him in his mother tongue: 'IQRA' which means READ! or PROCLAIM! or RECITE! Muhummed was terrified and in his bewilderment replied that he was NOT LEARNED! The angel commands him a second time with the same result. For the third time the angel continues.

Now Muhummed, grasps, that what was required of him was to repeat! to rehearse! And he repeats the words as they were put into his mouth:
"READ! IN THE NAME OF THE LORD AND CHERISHER, WHO CREATED-
CREATED MAN, FROM A (MERE) CLOT OF CONGEALED BLOOD:
READ! AND THY LORD IS MOST BOUNTIFUL,-
HE WHO TAUGHT (THE USE OF) THE PEN,
TAUGHT MAN THAT WHICH HE KNEW NOT".
(Holy Qur'an 96:1-5)

These are the first five verses which were revealed to Muhummed which now occupy the beginning of the 96th chapter of the Holy Qur'an.

The Faithful Witness

Immediately the angel had departed, Muhummed rushed to his home. Terrified and sweating all over he asked his beloved wife Khadija to 'cover him up!' He lay down, and she watched by him. When he had regained his composure, he explained to her what he had seen and heard. She assured him of her faith in him and that Allah would not allow any terrible thing to happen to him. Are these the confessions of an imposter? Would imposters confess that when an angel of the Lord confronts them with a Message from on High, they get fear-stricken, terrified, and sweating all over, run home to their wives? Any critic can see that his reactions and confessions are that of an honest, sincere man, the man of Truth- 'AL-AMIN' - THE Honest, the Upright, the Truthful. During the next twenty-three years of his prophetic life, words were 'Put into his mouth', and he uttered them. They made an indelible impression on his heart and mind: and as the volume of the Sacred Scripture (Holy Qur'an) grew, they were recorded on palm-leaf fibre, on skins and on the shoulder-blades of animals; and in the hearts of his devoted disciples. Before his demise these words were arranged according to his instructions in the order in which we find them to-day in the Holy Quran.

The words (revelation) were actually put into his mouth, exactly as foretold in the prophecy under discussion: 'AND I WILL PUT MY WORDS IN HIS MOUTH.'(Deut. 18:18).

Un-lettered Prophet

Muhummed's experience in the cave of Hira, later to be known as Jabal-un Noor - The Mountain of Light, and his response to that first Revelation is the exact fulfillment of another Biblical Prophecy. In the Book of Isaish. Chapter 29, verse 12, we read: "AND THE BOOK" (al-Kitaab,al-Quran the 'Reading', the 'Recitation') "IS DELIVERED TO HIM THAT IS NOT LEARNED," (Isaiah 29:12) "THE UNLETTERED PROPHET " (Holy Qur'an 7:158) and the biblical verse continues :
"SAYING, READ THIS, I PRAY THEE:" (the words "I pray thee", are not in the Hebrew manuscripts; compare with the Roman Catholics' "Douay Version and also with the "Revised Standard Versions") "AND HE SAITH, I AM NOT LEARNED." ("I am not learned." is the exact translation of the Arabic words which Muhummed uttered twice to the Holy Ghost - the Archangel Gabriel, when he was commanded : "READ!").

Let me quote the verse in full without a break as found in the "King James Version," or the "Authorised version" as it is more
popularly know "AND THE BOOK IS DELIVERED TO HIM THAT IS NOT LEARNED, SAYING, READ THIS I PRAY THEE: AND HE SAITH, I AM NOT LEARNED." (Isaiah 29:12).

Important note:

It may be noted that there were no Arabic Bibles (12) in existence in the 6th Century of the Christian Era when Muhummed lived and preached! Besides, he was absolutely unlettered and unlearned. No human had ever taught him a word. His teacher was his Creator:
"HE DOES NOT SPEAK (AUGHT), OF (HIS OWN) DESIRE:
IT IS NO LESS THAN INSPIRATION SENT DOWN TO HIM:
HE WAS TAUGHT BY ONE MIGHTY IN POWER,"
(Holy Qur'an 53:3-5).
Without any human learning, 'he put to shame the wisdom of the learned'.

Grave Warning

"See!" I told the dominee, "how the prophecies fit Muhummed like a glove. We do not have to stretch prophecies to justify their fulfillment in Muhummed."

The dominee replied, "All your expositions sound very well, but they are of no real consequence, because we Christians have Jesus Christ the "incarnate" God, who has redeemed us from the Bondage of Sin!"
I asked, "Not important?" God didn't think so! He went to a great deal of trouble to have His warnings recorded. God knew that there would be people like you who will flippantly, light-heartedly discount his words, so he followed up Deuteronomy 18:18 with a dire warning: "AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS, " (it is going to happen) "THAT WHOSOEVER WILL NOT HEARKEN UNTO MY WORDS WHICH HE SHALL SPEAK IN MY NAME, I WILL REQUIRE IT OF HIM. (in the Catholic Bible the ending words are - "I will be the revenger", I will take vengeance from him - I will take revenge!) "Does not his terrify you? God Almighty is threatening revenge! We shake in our pants if some hoodlum threathens us, yet you have no fear of God's warning?"

"Miracle of Miracles! in the verse 19 of Deuteronomy chapter 18, we have a further fulfillment of the prophecy in Muhummed!
Note the words-'.....MY WORDS WHICH HE SHALL SPEAK IN MY NAME," In whose name is Muhummed speaking?"

I opened Yusuf Ali's translation of the Holy Qur'an, at chapter 114- 'Sura Nas', or Mankind - the last chapter, and showed him the formula at the head of the charpter: and the meaning: "IN THE NAME OF GOD, MOST GRACIOUS, MOST MERCIFUL." And the heading of chapter 113: and the meaning: "IN THE NAME OF GOD, MOST GRACIOUS, MOST MERCIFUL". And every chapter downwards 112 , 111, 110.......was the same formula and the same meaning on every page, because the end SURAS (chapters) are short and take about a page each.

"And what did the prophecy demand?' ......WHICH HE SHALL SPEAK IN MY NAME and in whose name does Muhummed speak?'IN THE NAME OF GOD, MOST GRACIOUS MOST MERCIFUL.' The Prophecy is being fulfilled in Muhummed to the letter "Every chapter of the Holy Qur'an except the 9th begin with theformula: IN TH E NAME OF GOD, MOST GRACIOUS, MOST MERCIFUL.' The Muslim begins his every lawful act with the Holy formula. But the Christian begins: "In the name of the Father, son and holy ghost.'"(13)
Concerning Deuteronomy chapter eighteen, I have given you more than 15 reasons as to how this prophecy refers to Muhummed and NOT to Jesus.

Baptist Contradicts Jesus

In New Testament times, we find that the Jews were still expecting the fulfillment of the prophecy of 'ONE LIKE MOSES', refer John 1:19-25. When Jesus claimed to be the Messiah of the Jews, the Jews began to enquire as to where was Elias? The Jews had a parallel prophecy that before the coming of the Messiah, Elias must come first in his second coming. Jesus confirms this Jewish belief:
".......ELIAS TRULY SHALL FIRST COME, AND RESTORE ALL THINGS. BUT I SAY UNTO YOU, THAT ELIAS IS COME ALREADY, AND THEY KNEW HIM NOT,...THEN THE DISCIPLES UNDERSTOOD THAT HE SPAKE UNTO THEM OF JOHN THE BAPTIST."(Matthew 17:11-13).

According to the New Testament the Jews were not the ones to swallow the words of any would-be Messiah. In their investigations they underwent intense difficulties in order to find their true Messiah. And this the Gospel of John confirms: "AND THIS IS THE RECORD OF JOHN,"(the Baptist) "WHEN THE JEWS SENT PRIESTS AND LEVITES FROM JERUSALEM TO ASK HIM, WHO ART THOU? AND HE CONFESSED AND DENIED NOT; BUT CONFESSED, I AM NOT THE CHRIST." (This was only natural because there
can't be two Messiahs (14) at the same time. If Jesus was the Christ then John couldn't be the Christ!) "AND THEY ASKED HIM, WHAT THEN? ART THOU ELIAS? AND HE SAITH, I AM NOT." (Here John the Baptist contradicts Jesus! Jesus says that John is "Elias" and John denies that he is what Jesus ascribes him to be. One of the TWO (Jesus or John), God forbid!, is definitely not speaking the TRUTH! On the testimony of Jesus himself, John the Baptist was the greatest of the Israelite prophets: "VERILY I SAY UNTO YOU, AMOUNG THEM THAT ARE BORN OF WOMEN THERE HAS NOT RISEN A GREATER THAN JOHN THE BAPTIST:... (Matthew 11:11).

We Muslims know John the Baptist as Hazrut YAHYAA Alai-his-salaam (peace be upon him). We revere him as a true prophet of Allah. The Holy Prophet Jesus known to us as Hazrut ISAA Alai-his-salaam (peace be upon him), is also esteemed as one of the mightiest messenger of the Almighty. How can we Musl ims impute lies to either of them? We leave this problem between Jesus and John for the Christians to solve, for their "sacred scriptures abound in discrepancies which they have been glossing over as the "dark sayings of Jesus"(15). We Muslims are really interested in the last questions posed to John the Baptist by the Jewish elite- "ART THOU THAT PROPHET? AND HE ANSWERED, NO."(John 1:21)

Three Questions!

Please note that three different and distinct questions were posed to John the Baptist and to which he gave three emphatic
"NO'S" as answers. To recapitulate:-
1) ART THOU THE CHRIST?
2) ART THOU ELIAS?
3) ART THOU THAT PROPHET?
But the learned men of Christendom somehow only see two questions implied here. To make doubly clear that the Jews definitely had T-H-R-E-E separate prophecies in their minds when they were interogating John the Baptist, let us read the remonstrance of the Jews in the verses following:
"AND THEY ASKED HIM, AND SAID UNTO HIM, WHEY BAPTIZEST THOU THEN, IF THOU BE
a) NOT THAT CHRIST,
b) NOR ELIAS,
c) NEITHER THAT PROPHET?"
(John 1:25)

The Jews were waiting for the fulfillment of THREE distinct prophecies: One, the coming of CHRIST. Two the coming of ELIAS, and Three, the coming of THAT PROPHET.

"That Prophet"

If we look up any Bible which has a concordance or cross-references, then we will find in the marginal note where the words "the Prophet", or "that Prophet" occur in John 1:25, that these words refer to the prophecy of Deuteronomy 18:15 and 18. And that 'that prophet' - 'the prophet like Moses' - "L IKE UNTO THEE", we have proved through overwhelming evidence that he was MUHUMMED and not Jesus!

We Muslims are not denying that Jesus was the "Messiah", which word is translated as "Christ"(16). We are not contesting the "thousand and one prophecies" which the Christians claim abound in the Old Testament foretelling the coming of the Messiah.

What we say is that Deuteronomy 18:18 does NOT refer to Jesus Christ but it is an explicit prophecy about the Holy Prophet MUHUMMED!"
The dominee, very politely parted with me by saying that it was a very interesting discussion and he would like me very much to come one day and address his congregation on the subject. A decade and half has passed since then but I am still awaiting that privilege.
I believe the dominee was sincere when he made the offer, but prejudices die hard and who would like to loose his sheep?

The Acid Test

To the lambs of Christ I say, why not apply that acid test which the Master himself wanted you to apply to any would be claimant to prophethood? He had said: "BY THEIR FRUITS YE SHALL KNOW THEM. DO MEN GATHER GRAPES FROM THE THORNS, OR FIGS FROM THE THISTLES? EVERY GOOD TREE WILL BEAR GOOD FRUIT AND EVERY EVIL TREE WILL BEAR EVIL FRUIT....BY THEIR FRUITS YE SHALL KNOW THEM. (Matthew 7:16-20).
Why are you afraid to apply this test to the teachings of Muhummed? You will find in the Last Testament of God - the Holy Qur'an - the true fulfilment of the teachings of Moses and Jesus which will bring to the world the much-needed peace and happiness.

"IF A MAN LIKE MOHAMED WERE TO ASSUME THE DICTATORSHIP OF THE MODERN WORLD, HE WOULD SUCCEED IN SOLVING ITS PROBLEMS THAT WOULD BRING IT THE MUCH NEEDED PEACE AND HAPPINESS."(George Bernard Shaw)

The Greatest!

The Weekly Newsmagazine "TIME" dated July 15, 1974, carried a selection of opinions by various historians, writers, military men, businessmen and others on the subject: "Who Were History's Great Leaders?" Some said that it was Hitler; others said-Gandhi, Buddha, Lincoln and the like. But Jules Mas erman, a United States psychoanalyst put the standards straight by giving the correct criteria wherewith to judge. He said: "LEADERS MUST FULFIL THREE FUNCTIONS:
(1) Provide for the well-being of the led,
(2) Provide a social organization in which people feel relatively secure
and
(3) Provide them with one set of beliefs."

With the above three criteria he searches history and analyses - Hitler, Pasteur, Gaesar, Moses, Confucius and the lot, and ultimately concludes:
"PEOPLE LIKE PASTEUR AND SALK ARE LEADERS IN THE FIRST SENSE. PEOPLE LIKE GANDHI AND CONFUCIUS, ON ONE HAND, AND ALEXANDER, CAESAR AND HITLER ON THE OTHER, ARE LEADERS IN THE SECOND AND PERHAPS THE THIRD SENSE. JESUS AND BUDDHA BELONG IN THE THIRD CATEGORY ALONE. PERHAPS THE GREATEST LEADER OF ALL TIMES WAS MOHAMMED, WHO COMBINED ALL THREE FUNCTIONS. To a lesser degree, MOSES DID THE SAME."

According to the objective standards set by the Professor of the Chicago University, whom I believe to be Jewish, - JESUS and BUDDHA are now - here in the picture of the "Great Leaders of Mankind", but by a queer coincidence groups Moses and Muhummed together thus adding further weight to the argument that JESUS is not like MOSES, but MUHUMMED is like MOSES: Deut.18:18 "LIKE UNTO THEE" - Like MOSES!
In conclusion, I end with a quotation of a Christian Reverend the commentator of the Bible, followed by that of his Master:
"THE ULTIMATE CRITERION OF A TRUE PROPHET IS THE MORAL CHARACTER OF HIS TEACHING."(Prof.Dummelow.)
"BY THEIR FRUITS YE SHALL KNOW THEM." (Jesus Christ)

A concluding suggestion : Come let us reason together !
SAY:"O PEOPLE OF THE BOOK!
COME TO COMMON TERMS AS BETWEEN US AND YOU:
THAT WE WORSHIP NONE BUT GOD;
THAT WE ASSOCIATE NO PARTNERS WITH HIM;
THAT WE ERECT NOT, FROM AMONG OURSELVES,
LORDS AND PATRONS OTHER THAN GOD."
IF THEN THEY TURN BACK,
SAY:"BEAR WITNESS THAT WE (AT LEAST)
ARE MUSLIMS (BOWING TO GOD'S WILL)." (Holy Qur'an 3:64)

"PEOPLE OF THE BOOK" is the respectful title given to the Jews and the Christians in the Holy Qur'an. The Muslim is here commanded to invite - "O People of the Book!" - O Learned People! O People who claim to be the recipients of Divine Revelation, of a Holy Scripture; let us gather together onto a common platform - "that we worship none but God", because none but God is worthy of worship, not because "THE LORD THY GOD IS A JEALOUS GOD VISITING THE INIQUITY OF THE FATHERS UPON THE CHILDREN UNTO THE THIRD AND FOURTH GENERATION OF THEM THAT HATE ME."(Exodus 20:25). But because He is our Lord and Cherisher, our Sustainer and Evolver, worthy of all praise, prayer and devotion.
In the abstract the Jews and the Christians would agree to all the three propositions contained in this Qur'anic verse. In practice they fail. Apart from doctrinal lapses from the unity of the One True God, (ALLAH_ Subha-nahu wa ta-ala) there is the question of a consecrated Priesthood (among the Jews it was hereditary also), as if a mere human being - Cohen or Pope, or Priest, or Brahman, - could claim superiority apart from his learning and the purity of his life, or could stand between man and God in some special sense. ISLAM DOES NOT RECOGNISE PRIESTHOOD!
The Creed of Islam is given to us here in a nutshell from Holy Qur'an:
Say ye: "We believe in Allah,
And the revelation given to us,
And to Abraham, Isma'il, Isaac,
Jacob, and the Tribes,
And that given to Moses and Jesus
And that given to (all)
Prophets from their Lord:
We make no difference
Between one and another of them:
And we bow to Allah (in Islam)." (Holy Qur'an 2:136).

The Muslim position is clear. The Muslim does not claim to have a religion peculiar to himself. Islam is not a sect or an ethnic religion. In its view all Religion is one, for the Truth is one. IT WAS THE SAME RELIGION PREACHED BY ALL THEEARLIER PROPHETS. (Holy Qur'an 42:13). It was the truth taught by all the inspired Books. In essence it amounts to a consciousness of the Will and Plan of God and a joyful submission to that Will and Plan. IF ANYONE WANTS A RELIGION OTHER THAN THAT, HE IS FALSE TO HIS OWN NATURE, AS HE IS FALSE TO GOD'S WILL AND PLAN. Such a one cannot expect guidance, for he has deliberately renounced guidance.

NOTES

(1) This refers to Moses. See Yusuf Ali's commentaries Nos. 4783/4 to this verse.
(2) Christian exegesists give progressive numerical values by sixes, to the English alphabet and add up to get the total 666.
i.e.A=6,B=12,C=18, D=24 and so on. Progression by 6's because the number of the Beast in the Bible is "666". Try it for Dr.Kissinger.
(3) The writer has just delivered another talk in the City Hall, Durban on the 10th December, 1975 on the subject "Muhummed the Greatest".
(4) "Dominee" is the Afrikaans equivalent of priest, parson and predikant.
(5) One of the Provinces of the Republic of South Africa.
(6) The word "Messiah" comes from the Arabic and Hebrew word masaha which means to rub, to massage, to annoint. The religious significance is "the one who is anointed' - priests and kings were anointed in consecration to their offices. Messiah translated Christ does not mean God. Even the heathen Cyrus is called "Christ" in the Bible, (Isaiah 45:1)
(7) Muhummed is mentioned by name in the Song of Solomon 5:16. The Hebrew word used there is Muhammuddim. The end letters IM is plural of respect majesty and grandeur. Minus "im" the name would be Muhamudd translated as "altogether lovely" in the Authorised Version of the Bible or 'The Praised One' 'the one worthy of Praise' i.e. MUHUMMED!
(8) If this lecture is translated into any language, please change the Afrikaans words into the local dialect; and do not try a free hand translation of the Biblical quotation. Obtain a Bible in the language in which translation is being made and transcribe exactly as the words occur in that Bible.
(9) Please open the Holy Qur'an 3:42 and 19:16 where the birth of Jesus is spoken about; read it with the commentary, note the high position which Jesus and his mother occupy in Islam.
(10) Write for "Was Christ Crucified?" by the writer, free on request.
(11) According to the Bible Abraham's name was Abram before it was changed by God to Abraham.
(12) There are today Arabic Bibles in Fourteen different scripts and dialects for the Arabs alone. See "The Gospels in many tongues", obtainable from the Bible Society.
(13) The Christian theologians are ignorant of even the "name of God. Because "God" is not a name, and "Father" is also not a name. What's his name? See "Muhummed-the Natural Successor to Christ", by the author, available free.
(14) The Jews were expecting a single Messiah not two.
(15) See the "TIMES" Magazine December 30th, 1974, article "How true is the Bible?" And write for your free copy of "50,000 Errors in the Bible? a reproduction from the Christian Magazine "AWAKE!" September 8, 1957.
(15) How the word Messiah was transmuted to Christ? Write for booklet above, reference 13.
Author : Ahmed Deedat

silcotron@yahoo.co.in

DA'WA ALERT

Guys, you know that when you respond to the savages, it only encourages them.

What the hell was that?

New meeting place for now is by returning to our last post date and following from there. This area seems to have been blown. There are instructions for our new location at the last place we met.