By Ahmed Deedat
CHAPTER ONE
WHAT THEY SAY
CHRISTIANS CONFESS
Dr. W. Graham Scroggie of the MOODY BIBLE INSTITUTE, Chicago, one of the most
prestigious Christian Evangelical Mission in the world, answering the question — "Is the Bible
the Word of God?" (also the title of his book), under the heading: IT IS HUMAN, YET
DIVINE. He says on page 17:
"Yes, the Bible is human, though some, out of zeal which is not according to knowledge, 1 have
denied this. Those books2 have passed through the minds of men, are written in the language of
men, were penned by the hands of men, and bear in their style the characteristics of men."
(Emphasis added).
Another erudite Christian scholar, Kenneth Cragg, the Anglican Bishop of Jerusalem, says on
page 277 of his book, "The Call of the Minaret":
"Not so the New Testament3 . . . There is condensation and editing; 4 there is choice,
reproduction and witness. The Gospels have come through the mind of the Church behind
the authors. They represent experience and history." 5
If words have any meaning, do we need to add another word of comment to prove our case? No!
But the professional propagandists, after letting the cat out of the bag, still have the face to try to
make their readers believe that they have proved beyond the shadow of any doubt that the Bible
is the "irrefragable 6 Word of God." Their semantic gymnastics — equivocating, and playing
with words — is amazing!
1. Out of ignorance.
2. The Bible is not Just a Book. It is a selection and compilation of many books.
3. As opposed to the Qur’ân.
4. Another word for Interpolating.
5. Emphasis are mine.
6. Indisputable.
Both these Doctors of Religion are telling us in the clearest language humanly possible that the
Bible is the handiwork of man, all the while pretending that the are proving to the contrary. An
old Arab saying goes: "IF SUCH ARE THE PRIESTS, GOD BLESS THE CONGREGATION."
With this sort of drivel, the hot-gospeller and the Bible-thumper is "inspired" to harry the
"heathen." 1 A theological student — a not-yet-qualified young evangelist — from the University
of Witwatersrand, became a frequent visitor to the Newtown Mosque in Johannesburg, with the
"noble" thought of "witnessing"2 to the members of its congregation. When I was introduced to
him, (and having learnt his purpose), I invited him to lunch at my brother's residence — a
stone's-throw from the Mosque. While discussing the authenticity of the Bible over the dinner
table and sensing his stubborn dogmatism, I put out a feeler: "Your Professor Geyser, (The Head
of the Department of Theology) does not believe the Bible to be the Word of God." Without the
slightest surprise he answered, "I know." Now I personally had no knowledge of the Professor's
conviction about the Bible. I had only assumed so from a controversy which raged around him
about the "Divinity of Christ." 3 He had taken issue with the orthodox believers on this point
some years ago. I continued further, saying, "Your lecturer does not believe the Bible as being
God's Word." The young evangelist, responded again, "I know" but he continued this time-with
the words, "but I believe that it is the Word of God!" There is no real remedy for such people.
Even Jesus bewailed this sickness:
"... seeing they see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand." (Matthew 13:13)
Al-Qur'an, the Holy Book of God, also condemns this mulish mentality:
These pages are now addressed to those sincerely humble souls, who are genuinely interested in
seeking the Light of God, and who wish to be guided by it. As for the other, with a sickness in
their souls, the facts presented herein can only increase the disease of their hearts.
1. See "How Lost are the Heathen?" by the same MOODY PRESS of Dr. Scroggie.
2. When the Christian talks of "witnessing" he means propagating, proselytizng, converting.
3. This subject is dealt extensively in the book — "CHRIST IN ISLAM"
CHAPTER TWO
THE MUSLIMS' STANDPOINT
PRESUMPTUOUS CHRISTIANS
Whether Catholic, Protestant or a "Cultist," of the thousand -and - one - sects - and -
denominations-of-Christianity, never will you find a missionary who will not, prima facie,
presuppose that his potential convert accepts his "Holy Bible" as the book of final authority on
every religious opinion? The only answer the prospective proselyte has is to quote verses from
the Bible which are contradictory to the missionary's or debate their interpretations.
THE DOGGED QUESTION
When the Muslim proves his point from the Christian's own Holy Scripture, and when the
professional priest, parson or predikant cannot refute the arguments — the inevitable Christian
evasion is — "DO YOU ACCEPT THE BIBLE AS GOD'S WORD? On the face of it, the
question seems to be an easy one, but a simple "Yes" or "No" cannot be given as an answer. You
see, one has first to explain one's position. But the Christian will not give one the opportunity.
He gets impatient. "Answer — 'Yes or No!' " he insists. The Jews did the same to Jesus two
thousand years ago, except that surprisingly he was not strait-jacketed, as is the fashion today!
The reader will readily agree that things are not always either BLACK or WHITE. Between
these two extremes there are various shades of GREY. If you say "Yes" to his question, then it
would mean that you are prepared to swallow everything HOOK, LINE and SINKER, from
Genesis to Revelation from his Bible. If you respond with a "No" he quickly unhooks himself
from the facts you have presented, and rallies support from his co-religionists in the audience
with; "You see, this man does not believe in the Bible! What right has he to expound his case
from our Book?" With this hydra-like somersault he rests content that he has safely evaded the
issue. What is the Muballigh1to do? He has to explain his position vis-a-vis the Bible, as he
ought to do.
1. MUBALLIGH: The Propagator of Islam
THREE GRADES OF EVIDENCE
We Muslims have no hesitation in acknowledging that in the Bible, there are three different
kinds of witnessing recognizable without any need of specialized training. These are:
1. You will be able to recognize in the Bible what may be described as "The Word of God."
2. You will also be able to discern what can be described as the "Words of a Prophet of God."
3. And you will most readily observe that the bulk of the Bible is the records of eye witnessess or
ear witnesses, or people writing from hearsay. As such they are the "Words of a Historian"
You do not have to hunt for examples of these different types of evidences in the Bible. The
following quotations will make the position crystal clear:
The FIRST Type:
(a) I will raise them up a prophet . . . and I will put my words in ... and he shall speak unto them
all that I shall command him." (Deuteronomy 18:18)
(b) I even, I am the Lord, and beside me there is no saviour." (Isaiah 43:11)
(c) "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the end of the earth: for I am God, and there is non else."
(Isaiah 45:22)
Note the first person pronoun singular (highlighted in green) in the above references, and without
any difficulty you will agree that the statements seem to have the sound of being GOD'S WORD.
The SECOND Type:
(a) "Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying Eli, Eli, lama sabachtani? . . ." (Matthew 27:46)
(b) "And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; the Lord
our God is one Lord:" (Mark 12:29)
(c) "And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is
God." (Mark 10:18).
Even a child will be able to affirm that: Jesus "cried" Jesus "answered" and Jesus "said" are
the words of the one to whom they are attributed, i.e. the WORDS OF A PROPHET OF GOD.
The THIRD Type:
"And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he, (JESUS) came, if haply he (JESUS) might find
anything thereon: and when he (JESUS) came to it, (Jesus) found nothing but leaves . . ." (Mark
11:13)
The bulk of the Bible is a witnessing of this THIRD kind. These are the words of a third person.
Note the underlined pronouns. They are not the Words of God or of His prophet, but the
WORDS OF A HISTORIAN.
For the Muslim it is quite easy to distinguish the above types of evidence, because he also has
them in his own faith. But of the followers of the different religions, he is the most fortunate in
this that his various records are contained in separate Books!
ONE: The first kind — THE WORD OF GOD — is found in a Book called The Holy Qur’ân.
TWO: The second kind — THE WORDS OF THE PROPHET OF GOD, (Muhummed, may the
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) are recorded in the Books of Tradition called The
Hadeeth.
THREE: Evidence of the third kind abounds in different volume of Islamic history, written by
some of high integrity and learning, and others of lesser trustworthiness, but the Muslim
advisedly keeps his Books in separate volumes!
The Muslim keeps the above three types of evidence Jealously apart, in their proper gradations of
authority. He never equates them. On the other hand, the "Holy Bible" contains a motley type of
literature, which composes the embarrassing kind, the sordid, and the obscene — all under the
same cover — A Christian is forced to concede equal spiritual import and authority to all, and is
thus unfortunate in this regard.
CHAPTER THREE
THE MULTIPLE BIBLE VERSIONS
It will now be easy for us to analyze a Christian's claim about his Holy Book.
SEPARATING THE WHEAT FROM THE CHAFF
Before we scrutinize the various versions, let us clarify our own belief regarding the Books of
God. When we say that we believe in the Tauraat, the Zaboor, the Injeel and the Qur'an, what
do we really mean? We already know that the Holy Qur'an is the infallible Word of God,
revealed to our Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhummed Mustapha (Peace be upon him) word for word,
through the agency of the Archangel Jibraeel, (known as Gabriel in English), and perfectly
preserved and protected from human tampering for the past fourteen hundred years! 1 Even
hostile critics of Islam have grudgingly vouched for the purity of the Holy Qur’ân: "THERE IS
PROBABLY IN THE WORLD NO OTHER BOOK WHICH HAS REMAINED TWELVE
CENTURIES (now fourteen) WITH SO PURE A TEXT." — (Sir William Muir)
The Tauraat we Muslims believe in is not the "Torah" of the Jews and the Christians, though the
words — one Arabic, the other Hebrew — are the same. We believe that whatever the Holy
Prophet Moses (Peace be upon him) preached to his people, was the revelation from God
Almighty, but that Moses was not the author of those "books" attributed to him by the Jews and
the Christians.
Likewise, we believe that the Zaboor was the revelation of God granted to Hazrat Dawood
(David) (Peace be upon him), but that the present Psalms associated with his name are not that
revelation. The Christians themselves do not insist that David is the sole author of "his" Psalms.3
1. Whether Muslim or non-Muslim, you do not have lo accept this claim on faith alone. You can
verify the fact that Al-Qur’ân is the Word of God. See "AL-QURAN- The Miracle of
Miracles";
2- More evidence later on — "Moses not the author of the Biblical "Torah."
3.. Later on you’ll read how Christian "Brains Trust" confess — "Author; Principally David,
though there are other writers."
What about the Injeel? INJEEL means the "Gospel" or "good news" which Jesus Christ
preached during his short ministry. The "Gospel" writers often mention that Jesus going about
and preaching the Gospel (the Injeel):
1. "And Jesus went . . . preaching the gospel . . . and healing every disease among the people."
(Matthew 9:35)
2. "... but whosoever shall lose his fife for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it."
(Mark 8:35)
3. "... preached the gospel. . ." (Luke 20:1)
The "gospel" is a frequently-used word, but what Gospel did Jesus preach? Of the 27 books of
the New Testament, only a small fraction can be accepted as the words of Jesus. The Christians
boast about the Gospels according to St. Matthew, according to St. Mark, according to St. Luke
and according to St. John, but there is not a single Gospel "according" to (St.) Jesus himself!
We sincerely believe that everything Christ (May the peace and blessings of God be upon him)
preached was from God. That was the Injeel, the good news and the guidance of God for the
Children of Israel. In his life-time Jesus never wrote a single word, nor did he instruct anyone to
do so. What passes off as the "GOSPELS" today are the works of anonymous hands!
The question before us is: "Do you accept that the Bible is God's Word?" The question is
really in the form of a challenge. The questioner is not simply seeking enlightenment. The
question is posed in the spirit of a debate. We have every right to demand in a similar vein
— "Which Bible are you talking about?", we may ask. "Why, there is only ONE Bible!" he
mutters.
THE CATHOLIC BIBLE
Holding the "Douay" Roman Catholic Version of the Bible aloft in my hand, I ask, "Do YOU
accept THIS Bible as the Word of God?" For reasons best known to themselves, the Catholic
Truth Society have published their Version of the Bible in a very short, stumpy form. This
Version is a very odd proportion of the numerous Versions in the market today. The Christian
questioner is taken aback. "What Bible is that?" he asks. "Why, I thought you said that there was
only ONE Bible!" I remind him. "Y-e-s," he murmurs hesitantly, "but what Version is that?"
"Why, would that make any difference?" I enquire. Of course it does, and the professional
preacher knows that it does. He is only bluffing with his "ONE Bible" claim.
The Roman Catholic Bible was published at Rheims in 1582, from Jerome's Latin Vulgate and
reproduced at Douay in 1609. As such the RCV (Roman Catholic Version) is the oldest Version
that one can still buy today. Despite its antiquity, the whole of the Protestant world, including the
"cults"* condemn the RCV because it contains seven extra "books" which they contemptuously
refer to as the "apocrypha" i.e. of DOUBTFUL AUTHORITY. Notwithstanding the dire
warning contained in the Apocalypse, which is the last book in the RCV (renamed as
"Revelation" by the Protestants), it is "revealed":
". . . If any man shall add to these things (or delete) God shall add unto him the plagues
written in this Book." (Revelation 22:18-19)
But who cares! They do not really believe! The Protestants have bravely expunged seven whole
books from their Book of God! The outcasts are:
The Book of Judith
The Book of Tobias
The Book of Baruch
The Buck of Esther, etc.
* This disparaging title is given by the orthodox to Jehovah's Witnesses, the Seventh Day
Adventists and a thousand other sects and denominations with whom they do not see eye to eye.
THE PROTESTANT BIBLE
Sir Winston Churchill has some pertinent things to say about the Authorised Version (AV) of the
Protestant Bible, which is also widely known as the "King James Version (KJV)".
"THE AUTHORISED VERSION OF THE BIBLE WAS PUBLISHED IN 1611 BY THE
WILL AND COMMAND OF HIS MAJESTY KING JAMES THE 1ST WHOSE NAME IT
BEARS TILL TODAY."
The Roman Catholics, believing as they do that the Protestants have mutilated the Book of God,
are yet aiding and abetting the Protestant "crime" by forcing their native converts to purchase the
Authorised Version (AV) of the Bible, which is the only Bible available in some 1500 languages
of the lesser developed nations of the world. The Roman Catholics milk their cows, but the
feeding is left to the Protestants! The overwhelming majority of Christians — both Catholics and
Protestant — use the Authorised (AV) or the King James Version (KJV) as it is alternatively
called.
GLOWING TRIBUTES
First published, as Sir Winston says, in 1611, and then revised in 1881 (RV), and now re-revised
and brought up to date as the Revised Standard Version (RSV) 1952, and now again re-re-
revised in 1971 (still RSV for short). Let us see what opinion Christendom has of this most
revised Bible, the RSV:-
1. "THE FINEST VERSION WHICH HAS BEEN PRODUCED IN THE PRESENT
CENTURY." — (Church of England Newspaper)
2. "A COMPLETELY FRESH TRANSLATION BY SCHOLARS OF THE HIGHEST
EMINENCE." — (Times literary Supplement)
3. "THE WELL-LOVED CHARACTERISTICS OF THE AUTHORISED VERSION
COMBINED WITH A NEW ACCURACY OF TRANSLATION." — (Life and Work)
4. "THE MOST ACCURATE AND CLOSE RENDERING OF THE ORIGINAL" — (The
Times)
The publishers (Collins) themselves, in their notes on the Bible at the end of their production, say
on page 10: "THIS BIBLE (RSV), IS THE PRODUCT OF THIRTY-TWO SCHOLARS,
ASSISTED BY AN ADVISORY COMMITTEE REPRESENTING FIFTY CO-OPERATING
DENOMINATIONS." Why all this boasting? To make the gullible public buy their product? All
these testimonies convince the purchaser that he is backing the right horse, with the purchaser
little suspecting that he is being taken for a ride.
"THE WORLD'S BEST SELLER"
But what about the Authorised Version of the Bible (AV), the "World's Best Seller?" These
Revisers, all good salesmen, have some very pretty things to say about it. However, their page
iii, paragraph six of the PREFACE of the RSV reads;
"THE KING JAMES VERSION (alternative description of AV) HAS WITH GOOD REASON
BEEN TERMED 'THE NOBLEST MONUMENT OF ENGLISH PROSE.’ ITS REVISERS
IN 1881 EXPRESSED ADMIRATION FOR 'ITS SIMPLICITY, ITS DIGNITY, ITS
POWER, ITS HAPPY TURNS OF EXPRESSION ... THE MUSIC OF ITS CADENCES,
AND THE FELICITIES OF ITS RHYTHM.’ IT ENTERED, AS NO OTHER BOOK HAS,
INTO THE MAKING OF THE PERSONAL CHARACTER AND THE PUBLIC
INSTITUTIONS OF THE ENGLISH-SPEAKING PEOPLES. WE OWE TO IT AN
INCALCULABLE DEBT."
Can you, dear reader, imagine a more magnificent tribute being paid to the "Book of Books" than
the above? I, for one, cannot. Let the believing Christian, now steel himself for the un-kindest
blow of all from his own beloved Lawyers of Religion; for in the very same breath they say:
"YET THE KING JAMES VERSION HAS GRAVE DEFECTS." And, "THAT THESE
DEFECTS ARE SO MANY AND SO SERIOUS AS TO CALL FOR REVISION . . ." This is
straight from the horse's mouth, i.e. the orthodox Christian scholars of "the highest eminence."
Another galaxy of Doctors of Divinity are now required to produce an encyclopedia explaining
the cause of those GRAVE AND SERIOUS DEFECTS in their Holy Writ and their reasons for
eliminating them.
This is a photographic reproduction from the R.S.V. 1971.
CHAPTER FOUR
FIFTY THOUSAND ERRORS (?)
CHAPTER FOUR
The Jehovah's Witnesses in their "AWAKE!" Magazine dated 8 September, 1957, carried this
startling headline — "50000 ERRORS IN THE BIBLE?" (See below for the reproduction).
While I was still formulating the theme of this booklet, I heard a knock at my door one Sunday
morning. I opened the door. A European gentleman stood there, grinning broadly. "Good
morning'" he said. "Good morning" I replied. He was offering me his "Awake" and
"Watchtower" magazines. Yes, a Jehovah's Witness! If a few had knocked at your door
previously, you will recognize them immediately. The most supercilious lot of people who ever
knocked at people's doors! I invited him in.
As soon as he settled down, I produced the full reproduction of what you see below. Pointing to
the monograph at the top of the page, I asked, "Is this your's?" He readily recognised his own. I
said, "It says: 50 000 Errors in the Bible, is it true?" "What's that!" he exclaimed. I repeated, "I
said, that it says, that there are 50 000 errors in your Bible." "Where did you get that?" He asked.
(This was published 23 years ago, when he was perhaps a little nipper) I said, "Leave the fancy
talk aside — is this your's?" pointing again to the monograph — "Awake!" He said, "Can I have
a look?" "Of course," I said. I handed him the page. He started perusing. They (the Jehovah's
Witnesses) are trained. They attend classes five times a week in their "Kingdom Halls."
Naturally, they are the fittest missionaries among the thousand -and - one - sects - and -
denominations of Christendom. They are taught that when cornered, do not commit yourself to
anything, do not open your mouths. Wait for the Holy Ghost to inspire you with what to say.
I silently kept watching him, while he browsed the page. Suddenly he looked up. He had found
it. The "Holy Ghost" had tickled him. He began, "The article says that "most of those errors
have been eliminated." I asked "If MOST are eliminated, how many remain out of 50000?
5000? 500? 50? Even if 50 remain, do you attribute those errors to God?" He was speechless. He
excused himself by suggesting that he will come again with some senior member of his Church.
That will be the day!
If I had this booklet ready, I would have offered him, saying — "I would like to do you a favour,
give me your name and address, and your telephone number. I will lend you this booklet — IS
THE BIBLE GOD'S WORD?" for 90 days. I want a written reply!" If you do this, And a few
other Muslims do the same. They and the other missionaries will never darken your doors again.
I believe that this publication will prove the most effective talisman to date. Insha-Allah!
This "cult" of Jehovah's Witnesses which is so strong in its condemnation of the orthodox
Trinitarians, for playing with the "Word of God," is itself playing the same game of semantic
gymnastics. In the article under review — "50000 ERRORS IN THE BIBLE?" — they say:
"there are probably 50 000 errors . . . errors that have crept into the Bible text . . . 50000 such
serious (?) errors… most of those so-called errors... as a whole the Bible is accurate." (?)
We do not have the time and space to go into the tens of thousands of — grave or minor —
defects that the authors of the Revised Standard Version (RSV) have attempted to revise. We
leave that privilege to the Christian scholars of the Bible. Here I will endeavour to cast just a
cursory glance at a "half-a-dozen" or so of those "minor" changes.
1. "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign: Behold, a VIRGIN shall conceive, and
bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."
(Isaiah 7:14 - AV)
The indispensable "VIRGIN" in the above verse has now been replaced in the RSV with the
phrase "a young woman," which is the correct translation of the Hebrew word almah. Almah is
the word which has occurred all along in the Hebrew text and NOT bethulah which means
VIRGIN. This correction is only to be found in the English language translation, as the RSV is
only published in this tongue. For the African and the Afrikaner, the Arab and the Zulu, in fact,
in the 1 500 other languages of the world, Christians are made to continue to swallow the
misnomer "VIRGIN."
BEGOTTEN, NOT MADE
"Jesus is the only begotten son of God, begotten not made," is an adjunct of the orthodox
catechism, leaning for support on the following:
2. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only BEGOTTEN son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16 - AV)
No priest worth his cloth would fail to quote "the only BEGOTTEN of the Father!" when
preaching to a prospective convert. But this fabrication — "BEGOTTEN" — has now been
unceremoniously excised by the Bible Revisers, without a word of excuse. They are as silent as
church-mice and would not draw the reader's attention to their furtive excision. This
blasphemous word "BEGOTTEN" was another of the many such interpolations in the "Holy
Bible." God Almighty condemned this blasphemy in the strongest terms soon after its
innovation. He did not wait for 2000 years for Bible scholars to reveal the fraud.
The Muslim World should congratulate the "Fifty cooperating denominations" of
Christendom and their Brains Trust the "Thirty-two scholars of the highest eminence" for
bringing their Holy Bible a degree nearer to the Qur-anic truth.
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"CHRISTIAN MES-A-MATHICS"
3. "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the FATHER,
the WORD, and the HOLY GHOST: and these three are one."
1st Epistle of John 5:7 - AV
This verse is the closest approximation to what the Christians call their Holy Trinity in the
encyclopaedia called the BIBLE. This key-stone of the Christian faith has also been scrapped
from the RSV without even a semblance of explanation. It has been a pious fraud all along and
well-deservedly has it been expunged in the RSV for the English-speaking people. But for the
1499 remaining language groups of the world who read the Christian concoctions in their mother
tongues, the fraud remains. These people will never know the truth until the Day of Judgement.
However, we Muslims must again congratulate the galaxy of D.D.’s who have been honest
enough to eliminate another lie from the English (RSV) Bible, thus bringing their Holy Book yet
another step closer to the teachings of Islam. For the Holy Qur'an says:
* Not one in a trinity. Not one in a trinity.
THE ASCENSION
One of the most serious of those "grave defects" which the authors of the RSV had tried to
rectify concerned the Ascension of Christ. There have been only two references in the Canonical
Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and of John to the most stupendous event in Christianity — OF
JESUS BEING TAKEN UP INTO HEAVEN. These two references were obtained in every
Bible in every language, prior to 1952, when the RSV first appeared. These were:
4a. "So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was TAKEN UP INTO HEAVEN,
and sat down at the right hand of God." (Mark 16:19)
4b. "While he blessed them, he parted from them, and was CARRIED UP INTO HEAVEN."
(Luke 24:51)
Now please look at the image below, which is a photocopy where the quotation 4a above ought
to appear. You will be shocked to note that Mark 16 ends at verse 8, and after an embarrassing
expanse of blank space the missing verses appear in "small print" as a footnote at the bottom of
the page. If you can lay your hands on a RSV 1952, you will find the last six words of 4b above,
i.e. "AND WAS CARRIED UP INTO HEAVEN" replaced by a tiny "a" to tell you to see the
footnote if you please, where you will find these missing words. Every honest Christian has to
admit that he does not consider any footnote in any Bible as the word of God. Why should the
paid servants of Christianity consign the mightiest miracle of their religion to a mere footnote?
From the Chart — "The Origin and Growth of the English Bible" — appearing below, you
will note that all the Biblical "Versions" prior to the Revised Version of 1881 were dependent
upon the ANCIENT COPIES — those dating only five or six hundred years after Jesus. The
Revisers of the RSV 1952, were the first Bible scholars who were able to tap the "MOST
Ancient Copies" fully, dating three and four centuries after Christ. We agree that the closer to
the source the more authentic is the document. Naturally "MOST" Ancient deserves credence
more than mere "ANCIENT." But not finding a word about Jesus being "taken up" or "carried
up" into heaven in the MOST ANCIENT manuscripts, the Christian fathers expurgated those
references from the RSV 1952.
THE DONKEY CIRCUS
The above facts are a staggering confession by Christendom that the "inspired" authors of the
Canonical Gospels did not record a single word about the ASCENSION of Jesus- Yet these
"inspired" authors were unanimous in recording that their Lord and Saviour rode a donkey into
Jerusalem as his mission drew to a close.
“ . . . And they sat him thereon." (The
Donkey) (Matt. 21:7)
“ . . . And they set Jesus Thereon." (The
Donkey) (Luke 19:35)
“ . . . And he sat upon him." (The Donkey)
(Mark 11:7)
“ . . . Jesus ... sat thereon:" (The Donkey)
(John 12:14)
Could God Almighty have been the author of this incongruous situation — going out of His Way
to see that all the Gospel writers did not miss their footing recording of His "son's" donkey-ride
into the Holy City — and yet "inspiring" them to black-out the news about His "son's" heavenly
flight on the wings of angels?
NOT FOR LONG!
The hot-gospellers and the Bible-thumpers were too slow in catching the Joke. By the time
they realised that the corner-stone of their preaching — THE ASCENSION OF JESUS — had
been undermined as a result of Christian Biblical erudition, the publishers of the RSV had
already raked in a net profit of 15 000 000 dollars! (Fifteen Million). The propagandists made a
big hue and cry, and with the backing of two denominational committees out of the fifty, forced
the Publishers to re-incorporate the interpolations into the "INSPIRED" Word of God in every
new publication of the RSV after 1952, the expunged portion was "RESTORED TO THE
TEXT."
It is an old, old game. The Jews and the Christians have been editing their "Book of God" from
its very inception. The difference between them and the ancient forgerers is that the ancient
forgers did not know the art of writing "prefaces" and "footnotes", otherwise they too would
have told us as clearly as our modern heroes have about their tampering, and their glib excuses
for transmuting forged currency into glittering gold.
"MANY PROPOSALS FOR MODIFICATION WERE SUBMITTED TO THE COMMITTEE
BY INDIVIDUALS AND BY TWO DENOMINATIONAL COMMITTEES ALL OF THESE
WERE GIVEN CAREFUL ATTENTION BY THE COMMITTEE.
"TWO PASSAGES, THE I LONGER ENDING OF MARK (16:9-20) . . . AND LUKE 24:51
ARE RESTORED TO THE TEXT." (Preface — Collins' pages vi and vii)
"Why 'restored'"? Because they had been previously expunged! Why had the references to the
Ascension expunged in the first place? The MOST Ancient manuscripts had no references to the
Ascension at all. They were interpolations similar to 1 John 5:7 about the Trinity. (Refer to the
earlier example 3). Why eliminate one and re-instate the other? Do not be surprised! By the time
you lay your hands on a RSV, the "Committee" might also have decided to expunge the whole of
their invaluable Preface. The Jehovah's Witnesses have already eliminated 27 revealing pages of
their FOREWORD to their "New World Translation of the CHRISTIAN GREEK
SCRIPTURES," (this is their way of saying — New Testament).
ALLAH IN THE CHRISTIAN BIBLE
The Rev. C. I. Scofield, D. D. with a team of 8 Consulting Editors, also all D.D.’s in the
"Scofield Reference Bible" thought it appropriate to spell the Hebrew word "Elah" (meaning
God) alternatively as "Alah" The Christians had thus swallowed the camel — they seemed to
have accepted at last that the name of God is Allah — but were still straining at the gnat by
spelling Allah with one "L"! (Photographic reproduction of the Bible page showing the word
"ALAH" is preserved here for posterity below). References were made in public lectures to this
fact by the author of this booklet. Believe me, the subsequent "Scofield Reference Bible" has
retained word for word the whole commentary of Genesis 1:1, but has, by a clever sleight-of-
hand, blotted out the word "Alah" altogether. There is not even a gap where the word "Alah"
once used to be. 1 This is in the Bible of the orthodox! One is hard pressed to keep up with their
Jugglery.
1. See "WHAT IS HIS NAME" for more information on this Biblical omission of the word
Allah. Under the section of "Now you see it, now you don’t".
CHAPTER FIVE
DAMNING CONFESSIONS
Mrs. Ellen G. White, a "prophetess" of the Seventh Day Adventist Church, in her Bible
Commentary Vol. 1, page 14, has this confession to make about the fallibility of the "Holy
Bible."
"THE BIBLE WE READ TODAY IS THE WORK OF MANY COPYISTS WHO HAVE IN
MOST INSTANCES DONE THEIR WORK WITH MARVELLOUS ACCURACY. BUT
COPYISTS HAVE NOT BEEN INFALLIBLE, AND GOD MOST EVIDENTLY HAS NOT
SEEN FIT TO PRESERVE THEM ALTOGETHER FROM ERROR IN TRANSCRIBING."
In the following pages of her commentary, Mrs. White testifies further: "I SAW THAT GOD
HAD ESPECIALLY GUARDED THE BIBLE" (from what?) "YET WHEN COPIES OF IT
WERE FEW, LEARNED MEN HAD IN SOME INSTANCES CHANGED THE WORDS,
THINKING THAT THEY WERE MAKING IT PLAIN, WHEN IN REALITY THEY WERE
MYSTIFYING THAT WHICH WAS PLAIN, BY CAUSING IT TO LEAN TO THEIR
ESTABLISHED VIEWS, WHICH WERE GOVERNED BY TRADITION."
DEVELOPED SICKNESS
The mental malady is a cultivated one. This authoress and her followers can still trumpet from
roof tops that "Truly, the Bible is the infallible Word of God." "Yes, it is adulterated, but
pure" "It is human, yet divine." Do words have any meaning in their language? Yes, they have
in their courts of law, but not in their theology. They carry a "poetic license" in their preaching.
THE WITNESSES
The most vociferous of all the Bible-thumpers are the Jehovah's Witnesses. On page 5 of their
"FOREWORD" mentioned earlier, they confess:
"IN COPYING THE INSPIRED ORIGINALS BY HAND THE ELEMENT OF HUMAN
FRAILTY ENTERED IN, AND SO NONE OF THE THOUSANDS OF COPIES EXTANT
TODAY IN THE ORIGINAL LANGUAGE ARE PERFECT DUPLICATES. THE RESULT
IS THAT NO TWO COPIES ARE EXACTLY ALIKE" Now you see, why the whole
"foreword" of 27 pages is eliminated from their Bibles. Allah was making them to hang
themselves with their own erudition.
POT-LUCK
Out of over four thousand differing manuscripts the Christians boast about, the Church fathers
just selected four which tallied with their prejudices and called them Gospels of Matthew, Mark,
Luke and John. We will deal with each of them in their proper place. Here/ let us go over the
conclusion of the Jehovah's Witnesses' research as recorded in the now expunged Foreword:
"THE EVIDENCE IS, THEREFORE, THAT THE ORIGINAL TEXT Of THE CHRISTIAN
GREEK SCRIPTURES 1 HAS BEEN TAMPERED WITH, THE SAME AS THE TEXT OF
THE LXX THE SAME AS THE TEXT OF THE LXX2 HAS BEEN,"
Yet this incorrigible Cult has the effrontery to publish 9 000 000 (Nine Million) copies as a First
Edition of a 192-page book entitled — "Is the Bible REALLY the Word of God?" We are
dealing here with a sick mentality, for no amount of tampering, as they say, will
"APPRECIABLY AFFECT THE AUTHENTICITY OF THE BIBLE" (?). This is Christian
logic.
1. New Testament.
2. "LXX" meaning Seventy, is the JWs alternative title of the Old Testament Do not be
mystified; they have a habit of calling a simple four letter word, a "tetragrammaton." meaning
Seventy, is the JWs alternative title of the Old Testament Do not be mystified; they have a habit
of calling a simple four letter word, a "tetragrammaton."
A PATIENT HEARING
Dr. Graham Scroggie in his aforementioned book, pleads, on page 29. for the Bible:-
"AND LET US BE PERFECTLY FAIR AS WE PURSUE THE SUBJECT (Is the Bible the
Word of God?). BEARING IN MIND THAT WE ARE TO HEAR WHAT THE BIBLE HAS
TO SAY ABOUT ITSELF. IN A COURT OF LAW WE ASSUME THAT A WITNESS WILL
SPEAK THE TRUTH, AND MUST ACCEPT WHAT HE SAYS UNLESS WE HAVE GOOD
GROUNDS FOR SUSPECTING HIM, OR CAN PROVE HIM A LIAR. SURELY THE BIBLE
SHOULD BE GIVEN THE SAME OPPORTUNITY TO BE HEARD, AND SHOULD
RECEIVE A LIKE PATIENT HEARING."
The plea is fair and reasonable. We will do exactly as he asks and let the Bible speak for itself.
In the first five books of the Bible — Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy
— there are more than 700 statements which prove not only that God is NOT the Author of these
books, but that EVEN Moses himself had no hand in them. Open these books at random and you
will see:
• "And the Lord said unto him. Away, get thee down . . ."
• "And Moses said unto the Lord, the people cannot come. . ."
• "And the Lord said unto Moses, Go on before the people . . ."
• "And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying . . ."
• "And the Lord said unto Moses, Get down, charge the . . ."
It is manifest and apparent that these are NEITHER the Words of God NOR of Moses. They
indicate the voice of a third person writing from hearsay.
MOSES WRITES HIS OWN OBITUARY?
Could Moses had been a contributor to his own obituary before his demise? Did the Jews write
their own obituaries? "So Moses . . . DIED . . . And he (God Almighty) BURIED HIM
(Moses) ... he was 120 years old when he DIED ... And there arose not a prophet SINCE in
Israel like unto Moses …" (Deut. 34:5-10). We will analyze the rest of the Old Testament
presently from other angles.
CHAPTER SIX
THE BOOK CHRISTENED "THE NEW TESTAMENT"
WHY "ACCORDING TO?"
What about the so-called New Testament? 1 Why does every Gospel begin with the introduction
— ACCORDING TO ... ACCORDING TO ... (See below). Why "according to?" Because not
a single one of the vaunted four thousand copies extant carries its author's autograph! Hence the
supposition "according to!" Even the internal evidence proves that Matthew was not the author
of the first Gospel which bears his name.
"And as Jesus passed forth thence, HE (JESUS) saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the
receipt of custom: and HE (JESUS) saith unto HIM (MATTHEW), follow ME (JESUS) And
HE (MATTHEW) arose, and followed HIM (JESUS)." (Matthew 9:9)
1. The "so-called," because nowhere does the "New Testament" calls itself the New Testament,
and nowhere the Old Testament calls itself the Old Testament. And also the word "Bible" is
unknown within the pages of the Bible. God forgot to give a title to "HIS" books!
Without any stretch of the imagination, one can see that the "He's" and the "Him's" of the
above narration do not refer to Jesus or Matthew as its author, but some third person writing
what he saw and heard — a hearsay account. If we cannot even attribute this "book of dreams"
(as the first Gospel is also described) to the disciple Matthew, how can we accept it as the Word
of God?
We are not alone in this discovery that Matthew did not write the "Gospel according to St.
Matthew" and that it was written by some anonymous hand. J. B. Phillips concurs with us in our
findings. He is the paid servant of the Anglican Church, a prebendary of the Chichester
Cathedral, England. He would have no reason to lie or betray to the detriment of the official view
of his Church! Refer to his introduction to the "Gospel of St. Matthew" (reproduced here below).
Phillips has this to say about its authorship.
"EARLY TRADITION ASCRIBED THIS GOSPEL TO THE APOSTLE MATTHEW, BUT
SCHOLARS NOWADAYS ALMOST ALL REJECT THIS VIEW." In other words, St.
Matthew did not write the Gospel which bears his name. This is the finding of Christian scholars
of the highest eminence — not of Hindus, Muslims and Jews who may be accused of bias. Let
our Anglican friend continue: "THE AUTHOR, WHOM WE STILL CAN CONVENIENTLY
CALL MATTHEW" "Conveniently" because otherwise everytime we made a reference to
"Matthew" we would have to say — "THE FIRST BOOK OF THE NEW TESTAMENT"
Chapter so and so, verse so and so. And again and again "The first book . . ." etc. Therefore,
according to J. B. Phillips it is convenient that we give the book some name. So why not
"Matthew?" Suppose its as good a name as any other! Phillips continues: "THE AUTHOR HAS
PLAINLY DRAWN ON THE MYSTERIOUS 'Q' WHICH MAY HAVE BEEN A
COLLECTION OF ORAL TRADITIONS." What is this "mysterious 'Q'?" "Q" is short for the
German word "quella" which means "sources." There is supposed to be another document — a
common source — to which our present Matthew, Mark and Luke had access. All these three
authors, whoever they were, had a common eye on the material at hand. They were writing as if
looking through "one" eye. And because they saw eye to eye, the first three "Gospels" came to
be known as the Synoptic Gospels.
WHOLESALE CRIBBING
But what about that "inspiration" business? The Anglican prebendary has hit the nail on the
head. He is, more than anyone else, entitled to do so. A paid servant of the Church, an orthodox
evangelical Christian, a Bible scholar of repute, having direct access to the "original" Greek
manuscripts, let HIM spell it out for us. (Notice how gently he lets the cat out of the bag): "HE
(Matthew) HAS USED MARK'S GOSPEL FREELY" which in the language of the school-
teacher — "has been copying WHOLESALE from Mark!" Yet the Christians call this
wholesale plagiarism the Word of God?
Does it not make you wonder that an eye-witness and an ear-witness to the ministry of Jesus,
which the disciple Matthew was supposed to be, instead of writing his own first hand
impressions of the ministry of "his Lord" would go and steal from the writings of a youth
(Mark), who was a ten year old lad when Jesus upbraided his nation? Why would an eye-witness
and ear-witness copy from a fellow who himself was writing from hearsay? The disciple
Matthew would not do any such silly thing. For an anonymous document has been imposed on
the fair name of Matthew.
PLAGIARISM OR LITERARY KIDNAPPING
Plagiarism means literary theft. Someone copies ad verbatim (word for word) from another's
writing and palms it off as his own, is known as plagiarism. This is a common trait amongst the
40 or so anonymous authors of the books of the Bible. The Christians boast about a supposedly
common cord amongst the writers of the 66 Protestant booklets and the writers of the 73 Roman
Catholic booklets called the "Holy Bible." Some common cord there is, for Matthew and Luke,
or whoever they were, had plagiarised 85% word for word from Mark! God Almighty did not
dictate the same wordings to the synoptists (one-eyed). The Christians themselves admit this,
because they do not believe in a verbal inspiration, as the Muslims do about the Holy Qur’ân. 1
This 85% plagiarism of Matthew and Luke pales into insignificance compared to the literary
kidnapping of the authors of the Old Testament where a hundred percent stealing occurs in the
so-called Book of God. Christian scholars of the calibre of Bishop Kenneth Cragg
euphemistically calls this stealing, "reproduction"2 and take pride in it.
1. See "AL-QURAN — The Miracles of Miracles" (coming soon)
2. See beginning of chapter one for the full quotation.
PERVERTED STANDARDS
Dr. Scroggie (referred to earlier on) most enthusiastically quotes in his book Scroggie (referred
to earlier on) most enthusiastically quotes in his book1 a Dr. Joseph Parker for his unique eulogy
of the Bible:
"WHAT A BOOK IS THE BIBLE IN THE MATTER OF VARIETY OF CONTENTS! . . .
WHOLE PAGES ARE TAKEN UP WITH OBSCURE NAMES, AND MORE IS TOLD OF A
GENEALOGY THAN OF THE DAY OF JUDGMENT. STORIES ARE HALF TOLD, AND
THE NIGHT FALLS BEFORE WE CAN TELL WHERE VICTORY LAY. WHERE IS
THERE ANYTHING" (in the Religious Literature of the world) "TO CORRESPOND WITH
THIS?" A beautiful necklace of words and phrases undoubtedly! It is much ado about nothing,
and rank blasphemy against God Almighty for authorising such an embarrassing hotch potch.
Yet the Christians gloat over the very defects of their book, like Romeo over the "mole" on
Juliet's lip!
1. "Is the Bible the Word of God?" by the Moody Press. by the Moody Press.
NOTHING LESS THAN 100%
To demonstrate the degree of plagiarism practised by the "inspired" Bible writers, I asked my
audience during a symposium at the University of Cape Town conducted between myself and
Professor Cumpsty the Head of the Department of Theology on the subject "Is the Bible God's
Word?" to open their Bibles.
Some Christians are very fond of carrying their Bibles under their arms when religious
discussions or debates take place. They seem to be utterly helpless without this book. At my
suggestion a number of the audience began ruffling the pages. I asked them to open chapter 37 in
the "Book of Isaiah." When the audience was ready, I asked them to compare my "Isaiah 37"
with their "Isaiah 37" while I read, to see whether they were identical. I began, readingly slowly.
Verses 1, 2, 4,10, 15, and so on, until the end of the chapter. I kept on asking after every verse if
what I had been reading, was identical with the verses in their Bibles. Again and again they
chorused — "Yeh!", "Yeh!". At the end of the chapter with the Bible still open in my hands at
the place from which I had been reading, I made the Chairman to reveal to the audience that I
was not reading from Isaiah 37 at all but from 2 KINGS 19! There was a terrible consternation
in the audience! I had thus established 100% plagiarism in the "Holy Bible." (See below)
In other words, Isaiah 37 and 2 Kings 19 are identical word for word. Yet they have been
attributed to two different authors, centuries apart, whom the Christians claim have been inspired
by God.
Who is copying whom? Who is stealing from whom? The 32 renowned Bible scholars of the
RSV say that the author of the Book of Kings is "UNKNOWN!" See later on for a reproduction
from the RSV by "Collins'". These notes on the Bible were prepared and edited by the Right
Rev. David J. Fant, Litt. D., General Secretary of the New York Bible Society. Naturally, if the
Most Reverend gentlemen of Christiandom had an iota of belief about the Bible being the Word
of God, they would have said so, but they honestly (shamefacedly?) confess: "Author —
UNKNOWN!" They are prepared to pay lip service to Scriptures which could have been penned
by any Tom, Dick or Harry and expect everyone to regard these as the Word of God — Heaven
forbid!
Saturday, March 26, 2011
WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT MUHAMMAD (PEACE BE UPON HIM) THE PROPHET OF ISLAM
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
ISRAEL1 BORE WITNESS OF ONE LIKE HIM..." (SURA AHQAF) Holy Qur’ân 46:10.
1. This refers to Moses. See Yusuf Ali's commentaries Nos. 4783/4 to this verse.
Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, The subject of this evening's talk* - "What the
BIBLE says about MUHAMMAD (Peace be upon him)" - 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.
* This is the text of a lecture delivered by the author in the early 1970's.
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 Kissinger1. 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 2, 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 dominee3 of
the Dutch Reformed Church.
1. 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.
2. The writer has just delivered another talk in the City Hall, Durban on the 10th December
1975 on the subject "Muhammad the Greatest".
3. "Dominee" is the Afrikaans equivalent of priest, parson and predikant.
Lucky Thirteen
I was invited to the Transvaal1 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.
1. One of the Provinces of the Republic of South Africa.
Why Nothing?
I posed the question: "What does the Bible say about Muhammed?" 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
Muhammed!" I asked again, "Why nothing? Surely this man Muhammed who had been
responsible for the bringing into being a worldwide community of millions of Believers who,
on his authority, believe in:
(1) The miraculous birth of Jesus,
(2) that Jesus is the Messiah, 1
(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?" (Peace be upon them both).
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."
1. 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)
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
900,000,0001 followers of Muhummed who love, respect and revere this great Messenger of
God -Jesus Christ- 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)?"
1. This was first written in 1976.
What is Prophecy?
The dominee replied: "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?"1 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.2
'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."
(HOLY BIBLE) Deuteronomy 18:18.
1. 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 Muhamud translated as "altogether lovely" in the Authorised
Version of the Bible or 'The Praised One' 'the one worthy of Praise' i.e. MUHUMMED!
(P.B.U.H)
2. If this booklet 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.
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 saying, 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.
CHAPTER TWO
Eight Irrefutable Arguments
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 realise 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’ân 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 " 1 (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’ân 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’ânic.") 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."
1. Please open the Holy Qur’ân 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.
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 p.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 defence
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
GREAT 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 impostor 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 fulfil 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 fo ul 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.1 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."
1. For a full exposition of this topic, see "CRUCIFIXION OR CRUCI-FICTION?".
CHAPTER THREE
Further Proofs
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 Abraham1 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.
1. According to the Bible, Abraham's name was Abram before it was changed by God to
Abraham.
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 Ishmael 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.
A lecture by Ahmed Deedat
(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’ân, 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 is terrified and in his bewilderment replies "
MA ANA BEQARA which means I AM 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:
These are the first five verses, which were revealed to Muhummed, which now occupy the
beginning of the 96th chapter of the Holy Qur’ân.
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 impostar? Would impostars
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 impression on his heart and mind: and as the
volume of the Sacred Scripture (Holy Qur’ân) 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 i n the order in
which we find them today in the Holy Qur’ân.
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 Isaiah, Chapter 29, verse 12, we read: "AND THE
BOOK" (al-Kitaab, al-Qur’ân the 'Reading', the 'Recitation') "IS DELIVERED TO HIM THAT
IS NOT LEARNED," (Isaiah 29:12) "THE UNLETTERED PROPHET " (Holy Qur’ân 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 MA ANA BEQARA which
Muhummed uttered twice to the Holy Ghost - the Archangel Gabriel, when he was
commanded : IQRAA "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 known "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 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:
Without any human learning, 'he put to shame the wisdom of the learned'."
(12) There are today Arabic Bibles in Fourteen different scripts and dialects for the Arabs
alone. See "The Gospels in many tongues".
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
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’ân, at chapter 114- 'Sura Nas', or Mankind - the last chapter,
and showed him the formula at the head of the chapter:
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’ân except the 9th begin with the formula:
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.'"1
Concerning Deuteronomy chapter eighteen, I have given you more than 15 reasons as to
how this prophecy refers to Muhummed and NOT to Jesus.
1. The Christian theologians are ignorant of even the "name of God. Because "God" is not a
name, and "Father" is also not a name. See "WHAT IS HIS NAME?"
CHAPTER FOUR
New Testament Also Confirms
Baptist Contradicts Jesus
In New Testament times, we find that the Jews were still expecting the fulfilment 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 Messiahs1 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, 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)
1. The Jews were expecting a single Messiah not two.
2. See the "TIMES" Magazine December 30th, 1974, article "How true is the Bible?" And
also see "50,000 Errors in the Bible?" a reproduction from the Christian Magazine
"AWAKE!" September 8, 1957.
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, WHY 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' - "LIKE 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".1 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?
1. How the word Messiah was transmuted to Christ?. See "Christ in Islam"
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’ân - the true fulfillment 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 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!
Reverend James L. Dow in Collins Dictionary of the Bible gives further proof, that JESUS is
not like MOSES, but MUHUMMED is like Moses: "AS A STATESMAN AND LAWGIVER MOSES
IS THE CREATOR OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE. HE FOUND A LOOSE CONGLOMERATION OF
SEMITIC PEOPLE, NONE OF ......
*Also in "THE ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF RELIGION", Moses is looked upon in the different
traditions. Under Moses in Islam; we read
"MOSES IS HIGHLY REGARDED IN ISLAM AS THE GREAT PROPHET WHO FORETOLD THE
COMING OF MUHAMMAD, HIS SUCCESSOR...THERE IS MUCH IN THE LIFE OF MUHAMMAD
THAT IS IMPLICITLY REMINISCENT OF THE MOSES TRADITION.
P121, THE ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF RELIGION, Mircea Eliade (EDITOR IN CHIEF)
Volume 10, Macmillean Publishing Company
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)
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)." (SURA AL-I-'IMRAN) Holy Qur’ân 3:64
"PEOPLE OF THE BOOK" is the respectful title given to the Jews and the Christians in the
Holy Qur’ân. 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 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’ânic verse. In practice they fail. Apart from doctrinal lapses from the
unity of the One True God, (ALLAH Subhanahu 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’ân:
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)." (SURA BAQARA) Holy Qur’ân
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’ân 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.
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
ISRAEL1 BORE WITNESS OF ONE LIKE HIM..." (SURA AHQAF) Holy Qur’ân 46:10.
1. This refers to Moses. See Yusuf Ali's commentaries Nos. 4783/4 to this verse.
Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, The subject of this evening's talk* - "What the
BIBLE says about MUHAMMAD (Peace be upon him)" - 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.
* This is the text of a lecture delivered by the author in the early 1970's.
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 Kissinger1. 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 2, 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 dominee3 of
the Dutch Reformed Church.
1. 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.
2. The writer has just delivered another talk in the City Hall, Durban on the 10th December
1975 on the subject "Muhammad the Greatest".
3. "Dominee" is the Afrikaans equivalent of priest, parson and predikant.
Lucky Thirteen
I was invited to the Transvaal1 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.
1. One of the Provinces of the Republic of South Africa.
Why Nothing?
I posed the question: "What does the Bible say about Muhammed?" 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
Muhammed!" I asked again, "Why nothing? Surely this man Muhammed who had been
responsible for the bringing into being a worldwide community of millions of Believers who,
on his authority, believe in:
(1) The miraculous birth of Jesus,
(2) that Jesus is the Messiah, 1
(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?" (Peace be upon them both).
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."
1. 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)
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
900,000,0001 followers of Muhummed who love, respect and revere this great Messenger of
God -Jesus Christ- 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)?"
1. This was first written in 1976.
What is Prophecy?
The dominee replied: "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?"1 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.2
'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."
(HOLY BIBLE) Deuteronomy 18:18.
1. 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 Muhamud translated as "altogether lovely" in the Authorised
Version of the Bible or 'The Praised One' 'the one worthy of Praise' i.e. MUHUMMED!
(P.B.U.H)
2. If this booklet 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.
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 saying, 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.
CHAPTER TWO
Eight Irrefutable Arguments
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 realise 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’ân 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 " 1 (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’ân 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’ânic.") 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."
1. Please open the Holy Qur’ân 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.
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 p.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 defence
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
GREAT 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 impostor 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 fulfil 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 fo ul 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.1 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."
1. For a full exposition of this topic, see "CRUCIFIXION OR CRUCI-FICTION?".
CHAPTER THREE
Further Proofs
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 Abraham1 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.
1. According to the Bible, Abraham's name was Abram before it was changed by God to
Abraham.
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 Ishmael 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.
A lecture by Ahmed Deedat
(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’ân, 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 is terrified and in his bewilderment replies "
MA ANA BEQARA which means I AM 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:
These are the first five verses, which were revealed to Muhummed, which now occupy the
beginning of the 96th chapter of the Holy Qur’ân.
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 impostar? Would impostars
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 impression on his heart and mind: and as the
volume of the Sacred Scripture (Holy Qur’ân) 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 i n the order in
which we find them today in the Holy Qur’ân.
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 Isaiah, Chapter 29, verse 12, we read: "AND THE
BOOK" (al-Kitaab, al-Qur’ân the 'Reading', the 'Recitation') "IS DELIVERED TO HIM THAT
IS NOT LEARNED," (Isaiah 29:12) "THE UNLETTERED PROPHET " (Holy Qur’ân 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 MA ANA BEQARA which
Muhummed uttered twice to the Holy Ghost - the Archangel Gabriel, when he was
commanded : IQRAA "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 known "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 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:
Without any human learning, 'he put to shame the wisdom of the learned'."
(12) There are today Arabic Bibles in Fourteen different scripts and dialects for the Arabs
alone. See "The Gospels in many tongues".
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
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’ân, at chapter 114- 'Sura Nas', or Mankind - the last chapter,
and showed him the formula at the head of the chapter:
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’ân except the 9th begin with the formula:
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.'"1
Concerning Deuteronomy chapter eighteen, I have given you more than 15 reasons as to
how this prophecy refers to Muhummed and NOT to Jesus.
1. The Christian theologians are ignorant of even the "name of God. Because "God" is not a
name, and "Father" is also not a name. See "WHAT IS HIS NAME?"
CHAPTER FOUR
New Testament Also Confirms
Baptist Contradicts Jesus
In New Testament times, we find that the Jews were still expecting the fulfilment 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 Messiahs1 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, 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)
1. The Jews were expecting a single Messiah not two.
2. See the "TIMES" Magazine December 30th, 1974, article "How true is the Bible?" And
also see "50,000 Errors in the Bible?" a reproduction from the Christian Magazine
"AWAKE!" September 8, 1957.
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, WHY 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' - "LIKE 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".1 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?
1. How the word Messiah was transmuted to Christ?. See "Christ in Islam"
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’ân - the true fulfillment 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 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!
Reverend James L. Dow in Collins Dictionary of the Bible gives further proof, that JESUS is
not like MOSES, but MUHUMMED is like Moses: "AS A STATESMAN AND LAWGIVER MOSES
IS THE CREATOR OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE. HE FOUND A LOOSE CONGLOMERATION OF
SEMITIC PEOPLE, NONE OF ......
*Also in "THE ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF RELIGION", Moses is looked upon in the different
traditions. Under Moses in Islam; we read
"MOSES IS HIGHLY REGARDED IN ISLAM AS THE GREAT PROPHET WHO FORETOLD THE
COMING OF MUHAMMAD, HIS SUCCESSOR...THERE IS MUCH IN THE LIFE OF MUHAMMAD
THAT IS IMPLICITLY REMINISCENT OF THE MOSES TRADITION.
P121, THE ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF RELIGION, Mircea Eliade (EDITOR IN CHIEF)
Volume 10, Macmillean Publishing Company
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)
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)." (SURA AL-I-'IMRAN) Holy Qur’ân 3:64
"PEOPLE OF THE BOOK" is the respectful title given to the Jews and the Christians in the
Holy Qur’ân. 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 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’ânic verse. In practice they fail. Apart from doctrinal lapses from the
unity of the One True God, (ALLAH Subhanahu 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’ân:
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)." (SURA BAQARA) Holy Qur’ân
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’ân 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.
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