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A lecture by Ahmed
Deedat
SAY: "DO YOU SEE ?
WHETHER THIS MESSAGE BE FROM ALLAH (God Almighty), AND YET YOU
REJECT IT, AND A WITNESS FROM AMONG THE CHILDREN 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 of Muhummed who
love, respect and rev ere 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 apologized 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 sublimer 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 the of 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:
(3) "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-Worldly" 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-m others; 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 FULFILL. 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 all levied
against his disciples, but never against Jesus. This is because as
a good Jew he honored 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 averred: "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 s peaks 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 Israeli
that’s beause 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 the my selves', 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 w as terrified
and in his bewilderment replied that he was not
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 indeliable imp ression on his heart and mind: and as the
volume of the Sacred Scripture (Holy Qur'an) grew, they were
recorded on palm-leaf libre, 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
i n 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 discusiion: '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 fulfilment 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 "Authorized 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
this terrify you? God Almighty is threatening revenge! We shake in
our pants if some hoodlum threatens 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
fulfilment 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 the formula: IN THE 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 SPOKE
UNTO THEM OF JOHN THE BAPTIST."(Matthew 17:11-13). According to
the New Testament the Jews were not the
ones to s wallow 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 Joh
n 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 prophet s: "VERILY I SAY UNTO YOU, AMONG 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
Muslims 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 interrogating 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, the 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 ref er 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 AN D
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 DIC TATORSHIP
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 Masserman, a
United States psychoanalyst put the standards straight by
giving the correct criteria wherewith to judge. He said: "LEADERS
MUST FULFILL 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 Muslims 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 ou r 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 J ews it was
hereditary also), as if a mere human being - Cohe or Pope, or
Priest, or Brahuman, - 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 RECOGNIZE 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 THE
EARLIER 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 anoint. 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 Solomn 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.
END OF LECTURE
NOW :
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8- Muhammed (PBUH) The Natural Successor to Christ (PBUH)
9- Muhammed (PBUH) the Greatest
10-Arabs and Israel -- Conflict or Conciliation?
11-Al-Qur'an -- The Miracle of Miracles
12-The God that Never Was
13-Crucifixion or Cruci-Fiction?
14-The Muslim at Prayer
15-Muhammed (PBUH) the Prophet of Islam
16-Way to the Qur'an
17-"Salaah" -- The Muslim Prayer
18-Resurrection or Resuscitation?
19-Muhammed (PBUH) No. 1 with a chapter by Michael Hart
20-Combat Kit
21-The Choice - Islam and Christianity
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