Now compare these to the following verse of the holy Qur’an which drives home the ultimate truth: “Your companion (Muhammad) does not err, nor does he go astray; Nor does he speak out of desire. It is naught but revelation that is revealed, The Lord of Mighty Power has taught him.(1) It cannot be overlooked that Jesus (a.s) gives a unique requirement that would help to identify the last Prophet: “He shall glorify me.(2) If anyone had come claiming to be this Prophet, but did not give due honor to Jesus (a.s) as Prophet and Messiah, he would be the wrong one. At the same time, this Prophet to come would not be a follower of Jesus (a.s), that is, a Christian, because Jesus (a.s) said that this Prophet would reveal things of which Jesus (a.s) himself was unaware.
If Jesus (a.s.) had brought “all the truth, there would have been no need for him to single out someone else who would come with all the truth. Likewise, since this Prophet would bring all the truth he would have to be the last one, the seal of the Prophet is. Therefore, we would have to look for someone who, like Abraham (a.s) in whose line he would come, would be neither Jew nor Christian but would believe in God. He would “glorify Jesus (a.s.) by insisting that Jesus (a.s) was a true Messenger of God and by acknowledging that Jesus (a.s) was the true Messiah. But, the teaching of this Prophet would come from God Himself.
As a revelation from God, the message of this last Prophet would confirm what God revealed previously by means of the original Torah and the original Gospel, but his message would be no mere plagiarized copy, no condensed edition of either the Torah or the Gospel. God Almighty had said, “I… will put My words in his mouth;’ and it is proper that these words agree with previously revealed words of the One and Same God “Whatsoever he shall hear (from God), that shall he speak. History has recorded that Christians during the first few centuries after Christ, not only believed in these above-mentioned facts but eagerly awaited the coming of the last Prophet, as foretold by Jesus (a.s).
It was only during the 3rd century, when hordes of Roman pagans began converting to Christianity, the pure monotheistic message of Prophet Jesus (a.s) showed signs of pollution, with weird heathen ideas such as God Father’, God Son’, Holy Ghost’ and Trinity’ creeping in. This strange Holy Ghost interpretation gained currency only after Christians began to look upon God as a Trinity with the Holy Ghost being an aspect of it. Neither the word Trinity nor its concepts can be found anywhere in the Bible. The Paraclete would be a man, not a ghost, because the same word is applied to Jesus (a.s) himself.(3)
The annals of history prove that faithful Christians from time to time stood up against these heretical ideas. But, when Constantine assumed the reins of the Roman Empire, not only did he espouse the cause of the heretics, but also launched a mass persecution against the true believers, forcing them to flee to deserts and inaccessible mountains to live as hermits. Finally the following passage from the French Encyclopedia, Larousse’, is a sufficient admittance to the truth of Islam: “Muhammad’ is a derivative of the word Mahmood’, whose root-word is Hamid’, which means glorifying. Strangely another word is derived from the same origin and that is Ahmad’.
It is widely believed, Christians in the Arabian Peninsula used the word “Ahmad” for the Greek word Paraclete’ mentioned in the Bible, which means the Glorified or Promised one. Muslims subsequently made great efforts saying this refers to Prophet Muhammad, as described by the Qur’an.(4) Thus it is clear that despite centuries of disastrous human interference in the Torah and the Bible, portions remain indicating the eternal truth of Islam. The Encyclopedia Brittanica has the following comments on the Gospels: “They resemble oil paintings rather than photographs. Legendry and apologetic motifs, and the various preoccupations of the communities for which they were first produced, can readily be discerned as influences upon their narratives.
The coming of Muhammad (s.a.w) was heralded, not only by Moses (a.s) and Jesus (a.s), but by all the prophets. Even Abraham (a.s), the father of the prophets, foretold his coming, and prayed God for a guide and rescuer. This is explicitly referred to by the Qur’an which quotes Abraham’s prayer: “Our Lord! and raise up in them an Apostle from among them who shall recite to them Your revelations, and teach them the Book and the Wisdom and cleanse them (of false beliefs); surely You are the Mighty, the Wise.(5)
The verse given below declaring the prophethood of Muhammad (s.a.w) is a clear answer to Abraham’s (a.s.) prayer mentioned above; for Muhammad (s.a.w), was a direct descendent of Abraham (a.s.) through his eldest son Ishmael (a.s): “He it is Who raised among the unlettered, an Apostle from among themselves, who recites to them His revelations and cleanses them (of false beliefs), and teaches them the Book and the Wisdom, although they were before certainly in clear error.(6)
These facts are quite obvious to a rational thinker and any seeker of truth interested in finding the path of guidance, like Negus, the Christian king of Abyssinia, who positively responded to the call of truth. When the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) wrote to Negus citing proofs of his prophethood, foretold in the Torah and the Gospel and invited him to accept Islam, Negus immediately surrendered ( became Muslim) to the message of Islam. History has preserved his eternal words as a fair testimony of a just man, free from the effects of the environment, or the pressures of obstinacy and bigotry; “I call Allah as witness that he (Muhammad s. a.w.) is the prophet awaited for by the followers of the Scriptures… .
Thus, anyone pursuing truth can clearly discern that Muhammad (s.a.w.) had been heralded by the previous prophets, and that he was the awaited one to reform mankind and deliver them, from darkness and going astray. Yes, it was he whom all the prophets had heralded and prayed Allah to send.
NOTES:
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1. (Holy Quran: 53:2 5)
2. (John 16: 14)
3. (John 2:1)
4. (in Chapter 61)
5. (Holy Quran: 2:129)
6. (Holy Quran 62:2)
