[News]

News:

[qwickmalik]

DESCRIPTION OF THE HOLY PROPHET MUHAMMAD SALLALLAHU ALAIHI WASALLAM IN THE TAURAT AND INJEEL

Allah Almighty says in the Holy Qur'aan:

    "Those who will serve the Messenger, unlettered the Communicator of hidden news when they will find with them written in the Taurat and Injeel. He will bid them to do good and will forbid them from doing evil, and will make lawful for them clean things and will forbid for them unclean things, and will take off from them that burden and shackles which were upon them. Then those who believe in him and honour him and help him and follow that light which has been sent down with him, they are the persons who attained their objects."
    [Surah 7: Ayat 157]

In the above mentioned verse Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala says that those who wish for success in this world and in the next, should follow `the Rasool', `the Nabi' and `Ummi', three qualities or titles of the beloved Rasool Sallallahu Alaihi Wassallam which are also mentioned in the Taurat and Injeel (bible). The meaning of `Rasool' is `messenger' and `Nabi' is `one who gives information of the unseen'. The meanings of these two words are well known, however, the word `Ummi' requires some discussion. In an authentic book of Tafseer (interpretation of the verses of the Holy Qur'aan), `Tafseer Ruhul Ma'ani', it is stated that one reason for `Ummi' being a title of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wassallam is because one of the names of Makkah is "Ummul Kurah". Because he was born and lived in Makkah for so many years and because of his connection with the city and he was given the title of "Ummi" just as someone from Madina would be known as Madani or someone from Iraq would be known as Iraqi.

Another meaning given in the same book is `one who has never learnt to read or write' under the guidance of a teacher. It would be that his condition would be as if his mother had just given birth to him. Hazrat Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi Wassallam was not taught by any human, angel or jinn, but by the Almighty, thus his knowledge is like an ocean and his teachings will always be pertinent, even till the Day of Judgement.

The knowledge of Hazrat Adam Alaihis Salaam was also very wide and for this reason the angels were ordered to bow before him.

As we are all aware, there are many languages in the world. Each one would have its own word to describe a particular thing. For example, in English we say water, in Arabic `maa', in Urdu `paani' and in Persian `aab'. In this manner the names of everything and the purpose of their creation were taught to Adam Alaihis Salaam. The great Ulama of Islam are of the opinion that the knowledge of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam is like an ocean and the knowledge of the other Prophets (On them be peace) is like a drop of that ocean. Thus the knowledge of Adam Alaihis Salaam is like that of a drop in comparison to that of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam

To say that an ordinary person is "Ummi" would signify a default in his personality. To understand this point consider this: Pride is considered to be a bad quality in character, but when we say that Almighty Allah has pride it is His praise, likewise the word "Ummi" when used for the Holy Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wassallam signifies his praise since without being educated by any worldly teacher he possesses knowledge about all creation.

In the words "Those who find written about him in the Tauraat and Injeel" indicates to us that the personality of Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi Wassallam was discussed in the original, unchanged scriptures of the Jews and Christians.

Imaam Jalaludeen Suyuti Rahmatullahi Ta'ala Alaihi narrates that the grandson of Hazrat Abdullah Ibn Salaam Radiyallahu Anhuma (Hazrat Abdullah Ibn Salaam Radiyallahu Anhu was a very learned Jewish scholar of that time) says:

    "I asked my grandfather about the Holy Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wassallam and he explained that when he became aware of the presence of Nabi Alaihis Salaam in Makkah he left his homeland to go there and when he met the Holy Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wassallam he was asked, `Are you Ibn Salaam? Are you the great scholar of the Jews?' He replied in the affirmative and the Holy Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wassallam asked him, taking the oath of Allah to answer the question truthfully, `Have you found my qualities described in the Book of Allah (Tauraat)?' Ibn Salaam replied, `I bear witness that you are the Messenger of Allah, and Allah will make you and your religion prevalent over the whole world. I have found your qualities in the Tauraat." The following verse was then read, `Oh giver of the unseen news, undoubtedly we have sent you as a witness, and a giver of glad-tidings, and a warner. You are my servant and Messenger, I have named you Mutawakil (one who has complete trust in Allah)....." [Al-Khasaaisul Kubra, Vol 1]

Imaam Jalaludeen Suyuti Rahmatullahi Ta'ala Alaihi narrates that the uncle of our beloved Nabi Sallallahu Alaihi Wassallam, Hazrat Abbas Radiyallahu Anhu once enquired from Kaabul Akhbaar a great Jewish scholar of his time why he accepted Islam during the time of Hazrat Umar Radiyallahu Anhu instead of in the time of Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi Wassallam or the time of Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddique Radiyallahu Anhu. He replied, "My father wrote something for me from the Tauraat, he closed it and thereafter he gave it to me, and said, `Act upon this and follow it.' My father made me promise to do as he said and not to open it until a difficult time comes. Time passed and Islam spread far and wide, and I found nothing but good in the religion and at that point I opened the letter and therein I found a description of the Holy Prophet Alaihis Salaam and his Ummah. Therefore I have come now and accepted Islam."

Another Sahabi asked Ka'abul Akhbaar, "Have you found anything about our beloved Rasool (Sallallahu Alaihi Wassallam) in the Tauraat?" He said, "I have found written, `Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, his birth will be in Makkah and thereafter he will travel to Madina."

In a Hadith narrated by Hazrat Abu Hurairah Radiyallahu Anhu, our Holy Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wassallam said,

    "When Allah revealed the Tauraat to Moosa (Alaihis Salaam) and when he received the verses regarding this Ummah he prayed, `Oh Allah, I have found in the Tauraat that there will be an Ummah that will come last but yet their positon will be the best and intercession regarding them will be accepted, Oh Allah make them my Ummah.' Allah replied, `This is the Ummah of Muhammmad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wassallam).' Thereafter Moosa (Alaihis Salaam) said, `Their holy scripture will be stored in their hearts and they will recite it from there, Oh Allah make them my Ummah.' Allah replied that, `This is the Ummah of Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wassallam).'Then Moosa (Alaihis Salaam) asked, `That Ummah that has knowledge of the past as well as future, Oh Allah, make them my Ummah.' Again Allah replied,`That is the Ummah of Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam)."

From this, it is clear that the previous Ummahs were informed about the coming of our Beloved Rasool Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. How fortunate are we not that the status of this Ummah has also been described in the previous scriptures by virtue of being the followers of the Beloved of Allah, Sayyidina wa Mawlana Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi Wassallam.

 

[qwickmalik]

SONG OF SONGS 5:16

 

This is the most controversial part of the text. When discussing the "Machamad" in verse 16 of Chapter 5 in Shir Hashirim (Song of Songs), most of the emphasis is placed on the first half of the verse. However, this has caused a major disregard for the rest of the verse in Hebrew which has extremely seriously connotations when properly translated. They may be even more serious then the usage of the name "Muhammad" in itself. May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon the Prophet Muhammad. Allow me to repost the verse in English as well as Hebrew:

"His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem."

"Chikko mamtakeem, v'chulo MUCHAMADIM, ze DODEE v'ze RA'EE, bano Yarushalaym" [Hebrew transliteration of Shir Hashirim (Song of Songs) 5:16]

Now let us break up this verse into parts and deal with each aspect separately.

1. MACHAMMADIM - From "MACHAMAD" which in this particular verse, the words "altogether lovely" was translated from mahmad (). is translated into "lovely". "Altogether" is added as a contextual reference to "v'chulo" which means "in entirety" or "absolutely". "MACHAMAD" means "desirable, praiseworthy, beautiful, etc". Though it is archaic, it is found elsewhere in the Bible to describe precious and coveted items. The fact that this "MACHAMAD" evidently may well be the Prophet Muhammad (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) has already been thoroughly outlined and established.

To add further weight to these argument, let us take a closer look at this four character word. The way this word is written is Hebrew is . That happens to be the EXACT same way Muhammad's name is written in Hebrew.

Now, when writing in Hebrew, there is no difference between the word mahmad () and Muhammad (). The only difference is in the vowels used when pronouncing this word. Hebrew is an ancient language, and there are no vowels. It is made up of 22 consonants. In ancient times, the reader decided on his own which vowels to add in. It was not until the 8th century that vowels were introduced, in the form of dots and lines. However, this has nothing to do with real Hebrew. The word mahmad () in ancient times would most likely have been pronounced "mahamad".

According to Ben Yehuda's Hebrew-English Dictionary, is correctly pronounced "mahamad" (not mahmad) which is very close to Muhammad.

Ben Yehuda's Hebrew-English Dictionary defines "" as "lovely, coveted one, precious one, praised one". The correct way to say "praised one" in Arabic is Muhammad, so this is the same word!

As was stated before, the name Muhammad () and the word mahmad () are spelled exactly the same way in Hebrew, and both have the same meaning. The only reason they are pronounced different is because of vowels (dots and lines) introduced in the eighth century.


2. DODEE - From "DOWD" (pronounced d - long "o" - d). In this particular verse it is translated into "beloved". However, "DOWD" also means "paternal uncle", that is to mean the father's brother, in Hebrew. This complicates the verse and makes it all the more interesting. In the book of Leviticus the word "dowd" is found 5 times [10:4, 20:20 (twice in this verse), 25:49 (twice in this verse)] and used as "paternal uncle" only and not used any other way. The verse Numbers 36:11, where it is said "..were married unto their FATHER'S BROTHERS' sons", the word used is "DOWD". There are many other examples where "DOWD" is used as "paternal uncle" (father's brother) and not "beloved".

3. RA'EE - From "RAY'AA" which is translated in this particular verse into "friend". However, "RA'YAA" in Hebrew means "co-worker in same area, field or margin". It is translated as "neighbor" 102 times in the Old Testament. Actually, it is translated as "neighbor" more than any other definition in the Old Testament. It is used to mean one member of the same organization or group. In chapter 11 of Genesis it is used in reference to the group of builders raising the Tower of Babel. Co-workers, comrades, etc. would all be considered "RAY'AA".

Thus, if the "MACHAMAD" in this verse 5:16 of Shir Hashirim (Song of Songs) is a mere reference to some love sick girl's object of desire why is this "MACHAMAD" called the girl's "PATERNAL UNCLE" as well as "COMRADE" or "CO-WORKER"? If a girl was merely describing her obsession why would she use such utterly unromantic terms such as these which allude to a male co-worker who is possibly a paternal uncle?

The Prophet Muhammad (may Allah's Peace and Blessings be upon him) was a direct descendant from Ishmael (peace be upon him) who is the paternal uncle of the Nation of Israel who are descended from Ishmael's younger brother, Isaac (peace be upon him). Thus, calling an Arab a paternal uncle would not be an erroneous idiom at all.

The Prophet Muhammad (May Allah's Peace and Blessings be upon him) came with the same message as the Israelite prophets such as Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, David and Solomon (among others). Thus, he would have been a "RA'YAA" of the Prophets. Not using the shallow definition of "friend" but the true and proper definition as it is found 102 times in the Bible as "neighbor".



So the correct translation would be:

"His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is MUHAMMAD. This is my (paternal) UNCLE, and this is my COMRADE, O daughters of Jerusalem." [Correct translation of Shir Hashirim (Song of Songs) 5:16]

This is definitely not erroneous if weighed against any work of scholarship regarding the Hebrew language. There are many, many, serious implications when these outlined words are taken in context as they were understood based upon the Bible's own usage in its other books.

"Abu Musa al Ash`ari reported that Allah's Messenger (May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) mentioned many names of his and said, 'I AM MUHAMMAD, AHMAD. Muqaffi, Hashir, the Prophet of Repentance, and the Prophet of Mercy." [Saheeh Muslim, 30:5813]

Note: Haggai 2:7 states "And I will shake all nations, AND THE DESIRE OF ALL NATIONS SHALL COME: and I will fill this house with glory saith the Lord of hosts."

In the Hebrew text it says "CHMD" pronounceable as "ACHMAD" (which is "AHMAD" in Arabic) in the place of "desire of all nations". Thus, the translation would be, "And I will shake all nations, AND AHMAD SHALL COME: and I will fill this house with glory saith the Lord of hosts."

Immediately after that, Haggai 2:9 says "The glory of this latter house shall be greater than the former: and in this place will I give PEACE, saith the Lord of hosts."

So which latter house? Since the last temple was destroyed by the Romans there has been no Jewish temple rebuilt there. There only stands the Dome of the Rock and Masjid al-Aqsa which is certainly a place of "Peace" or Islam.

"...and never have I seen anyone more handsome than Allah's Apostle (May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)." [Saheeh Muslim, 30:5770]

 

IN CONCLUSION:

"Describing the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), who passed by her tent on his journey of migration, Umm Ma'bad Al-Khuza'iyah said to her husband,

'He was innocently bright and had broad countenance. His manners were fine. Neither was his belly bulging out nor was his head deprived of hair. He had black attractive eyes finely arched by continuous eyebrows. His hair glossy and black, inclined to curl, he wore long. His voice was extremely commanding. His head was large, well formed and set on a slender neck. His expression was pensive and contemplative, serene and sublime. The stranger was fascinated from the distance, but no sooner he became intimate with him than this fascination was changed into attachment and respect. His expression was very sweet and distinct. His speech was well set and free from the use of superfluous words, as if it were a rosary of beads. His stature was neither too high nor too small to look repulsive. He was a twig amongst the two, singularly bright and fresh. He was always surrounded by his Companions. Whenever he uttered something, the listeners would hear him with rapt attention and whenever he issued any command, they vied with each other in carrying it out. He was a master and a commander. His utterances were marked by truth and sincerity, free from all kinds of falsehoods and lies." [Zad al Ma`ad 2:45]

If Songs 5:10-16 is discussing a man to come after that time, it is without a doubt Song of Muhammad (peace be upon him), as it not only describes him but also mentions his name. As I have shown, it is obviously not "reading into the text what they wish was there" that Muhammad is in the Bible. It is quite evidently there. Even if one chooses not to accept it, one must maintain that this is definitely not an absurd issue from any perspective. To say that all these people who described the Prophet (the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) read Song of Songs in the Old Testament and may plotted to make the Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) sound like this "Machamad" in Song of Songs is outright ridiculous. Then one would also have to say that the plot predated even the Prophet's (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) birth as the name "Muhammad" was given to him by his parents whom I seriously doubt were in on the conspiracy while these companions were babies at the time, as one can see such vain skepticism delves into the area of folly and imbecility.

These verses may or may not refer to the Prophet Muhammad (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) of Mecca and Medina who preached Islam in the 7th century AD and led to a quarter of humanity calling themselves "Muslims". We may never know for sure. However, this evidence is far from dismissed or even dismissable. It can't be ignored. If the objective reader weighs the evidence, I know, and you all know as well, there is some serious consternation at hand for the skeptic. Any Christian surely should take into account what they had just read here, and consider the Qur'an before making a decision.

Source: http://www.geocities.com/islamimiracles6/song_of_songs_5_16.htm

[qwickmalik]

Song of Songs 5:16 - Analyzing the Context Against Recorded Historical Records
by Shibli Zaman

"The whole word is not worth the day on which the Song of Songs was given to Israel; for all the writings are holy, but the Song of Songs is the holiest of the holy."
[Rabbi Akiva (died AD 135), Tractate of Yaddayim (3:5), Mishna]

"...and the book itself as an allegory depicting in great detail the experiences of the nation in its relations with its God from the Exodus down to *THE COMING OF THE MESSIAH AND THE BUILDING OF THE THIRD TEMPLE.* This in general is also the interpretation of the Midrash Rabbah and such famous scholars as Saadia ben Joseph, Rashi, and Ibn Ezra, although they differ considerably among themselves in details."
[The Interpreter's Bible Encyclopedia]

Allow me to elucidate this by bringing in its context. The area in question is chapter 5 of Shir Hashirim which is titled "Song of Songs" or "Song of Solomon" in English translations. It is a poem which uses heavy allegory and poetic license. It is a description of a woman's yearning for her "beloved" whom she is telling "the daughters of Jerusalem" about. The Christian world interprets this as a metaphor that one should love God with the same passion as one loves their lover.
 
I will type each verse with an shockingly corresponding Hadeeth. I will also include some of Umm Ma`bad al-Khuza`iyah's description of the Prophet (s) which she told her husband as recorded in Zad al Ma`ad, 2:45 and found in the earliest books of "Seeratun-Nabi" or "History of the Prophet". Remember these are hundreds of years, a different language and an entire nation apart.
SHIR HASHIRIM (also called "Song of Songs" or "Song of Solomon") 5:10-16

SONG OF SONGS 5:10
"My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand."
 
HADEETH ON WHITE AND RUDDY (reddish) SKIN:
Rosy color [Saheeh Bukhari 4:747]; "White man reclining on his arm" [Saheeh Bukhari, 1:63]; Whiteness of his armpits [Saheeh Muslim, 4:1000]; Whiteness of his legs [Saheeh Muslim, 4:1014, 19:4437]; Whiteness of his cheek [Saheeh Muslim 4:1208]; Whiteness of his belly [Saheeh Muslim 19:4442]. In all these narrations his whiteness is pointed out as something exceptional for an Arab.
 
HADEETH ON "THE CHIEFEST AMONG TEN THOUSAND":
 
"The Prophet left Medina (for Mecca) IN THE COMPANY OF TEN THOUSAND (Muslim warriors) in Ramadan" [Saheeh Bukhari 5:574]
 
Also see Saheeh Bukhari 5:622; 626
 
BIBLE CONCORDANCE: "...and he came with TEN THOUSANDS OF SAINTS: from his right hand went a fiery law for them." [Deuteronomy 33:2] Hopefully, inshaa' Allah, if time permits, I will write a lengthy exegesis substantiating this verse's connection with the Prophet Muhammad (May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). I will have to save that for another article.
SONG OF SONGS 5:11
"His head is as the most fine gold, his locks are bushy, and black as a raven."
 
"His hair GLOSSY AND BLACK, INCLINED TO CURL, he wore long." [Zad al Ma`d 2:45]
 
"His head was large, well formed and set on a slender neck." [Zad al Ma`ad 2:45]
 
"When he (The Prophet, May Allah peace and blessings be upon him) died, HE HAD SCARCELY TWENTY WHITE HAIRS IN HIS HEAD AND BEARD." [Saheeh Bukhari 4:747,748]
 
"Anas was asked about the old age of Allah's Apostle (May Allah peace and blessings be upon him). He said, 'ALLAH DID NOT BLEMISH HIM WITH WHITE HAIR." [Saheeh Muslim 30:5784]
 
"I said to him: O son of my brother, the hair of the Messenger of Allah (May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was THICKER THAN YOUR HAIR AND THEY WERE FINER (than yours)." [Saheeh Muslim, 3:642]
SONG OF SONGS 5:12
"His eyes are as the eyes of doves by the rivers of waters, washed with milk, and fitly set."
 
"He had black attractive eyes finely arched by continuous eyebrows." [Zad al Ma`d 2:45]
 
"Allah's Messenger (May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had a broad face with REDDISH (wide) EYES.." [Saheeh Muslim 30:5776] (Note: Doves have reddish eyes. To see the eyes of a Whitewing dove of Palestine click http://shibli.zaman.net/images/whitewing.jpg)
SONG OF SONGS 5:13
"His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers: his lips like lilies, dropping sweet smelling myrrh."
 
"He (The Prophet, May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also patted my cheek and I experienced a coolness or a fragrance of his hand as if it had been brought out from the scent bag of a perfumer." [Saheeh Muslim, 30:5758]
 
"I never smelt ambergris or musk as fragrant as the fragrance of the body of Allah's Messenger (May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)." [Saheeh Muslim, 30:5759]
 
"I never smelt musk or ambergris and found its fragrance as sweet as the fragrance of Allah's Messenger (May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)." [Saheeh Muslim 30:5760]
 
"Allah's Messenger (May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had the most handsome face amongst men." [Saheeh Muslim 30:5772]
SONG OF SONGS 5:14
"His hands are as gold rings set with the beryl: his belly is as bright ivory overlaid with sapphires."
 
"The Prophet had big hands, and I have never seen anybody like him after him" [Saheeh Muslim 7:792]
 
"I never touched brocade and silk (and found it) as soft as the softness of the palm of Allah's Messenger (May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)" [Saheeh Muslim, 30:5760] 
 
"WHITENESS OF HIS BELLY" [Saheeh Muslim 19:4442]
SONG OF SONGS 5:15
"His legs are as pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine gold: his countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars."
 
"He (The Prophet, May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was innocently bright and had BROAD COUNTENANCE." [Zad al Ma`ad 2:45]
 
"..my knee touched the thigh of the Prophet of Allah (May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). The wrapper got aside from his thigh, and I could see its whiteness." [Saheeh Muslim 19:4437]
SONG OF SONGS 5:16
"His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem."
 
"Chikko mamtaqeem, v'chulo MACHAMADIM, zedowdee v'zere'ee Benot Yarushalaim." [Hebrew transliteration of Shir Hashirim (Song of Songs) 5:16]
 
"His mouth is most sweet, yea he is MUHAMMAD, this is my beloved and this is my friend, oh daughters of Jerusalem." [Correct translation of Shir Hashirim (Song of Songs) 5:16]
 
"Abu Musa al Ash`ari reported that Allah's Messenger (May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) mentioned many names of his and said, 'I AM MUHAMMAD, AHMAD. Muqaffi, Hashir, the Prophet of
Repentance, and the Prophet of Mercy." [Saheeh Muslim, 30:5813]
 
Note: Haggai 2:7 states "And I will shake all nations, AND THE DESIRE OF ALL NATIONS SHALL COME: and I will fill this house with glory saith the Lord of hosts."
 
In place of "desire of all nations", the Hebrew text uses one single word: "CHMD" which is pronouncable as "ACHMAD" (which is "AHMAD" in Arabic). Thus, the translation would be, "And I will shake all nations, AND AHMAD SHALL COME: and I will fill this house with glory saith the Lord of hosts."
 
Immediately after that, Haggai 2:9 says "The glory of this latter house shall be greatesr than the former: and in this place will I give PEACE, saith the Lord of hosts."
 
So which latter house? Since the last temple was destroyed by the Romans there has been no Jewish temple rebuilt there. There only stands the Dome of the Rock and Masjid al Aqsa which is certainly a place of "Peace" or Islam.
 
"and never have I seen anyone more handsome than Allah's Apostle (May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)." [Saheeh Muslim, 30:5770]

IN CONCLUSION:
 
"Describing the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings be upon him), who passed by her tent on his journey of migration, Umm Ma'bad Al-Khuza'iyah said to her husband,
 
'He was innocently bright and had broad countenance. His manners were fine. Neither was his belly bulging out nor was his head deprived of hair. He had black attractive eyes finely arched by continuous eyebrows. His hair glossy and black, inclined to curl, he wore long. His voice was extremely commanding. His head was large, well formed and set on a slender neck. His expression was pensive and contemplative, serene and sublime. The stranger was fascinated from the distance, but no sooner he became intimate with him than this fascination was changed into attachment and respect. His expression was very sweet and distinct. His speech was well set and free from the use of superfluous words, as if it were a rosary of beads. His stature was neither too high nor too small to look repulsive. He was a twig amongst the two, singularly bright and fresh. He was always surrounded by his Companions. Whenever he uttered something, the listeners would hear him with rapt attention and whenever he issued any command, they vied with each other in carrying it out. He was a master and a commander. His utterances were marked by truth and sincerity, free from all kinds of falsehoods and lies."
[Zad al Ma`ad 2:45]
 
To say that all these people who described the Prophet (May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) read Song of Songs in the Old Testament and plotted to make the Prophet (May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) sound like this "Machamad" in Song of Songs is outright ridiculous. Then one would also have to say that the plot predated even the Prophet's (May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) birth as the name "Muhammad" was given to him by his parents who I seriously doubt were in on the conspiracy while these companions were babies at the time. As one can see such vain skepticism delves into the area of folly. Unless strong refutation against each and every one of these insurmountable facts can be presented we are left with no other conclusion other than:

"His words are most sweet, yea he is definitely Muhammad, this is my beloved and this is my friend, O daughters of Jersusalem."

[qwickmalik]

Isaiah 42 describes Muhammad

1- Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.

Until "...delighted"

If we consider "mine elect" as a noun then Mine elect = God's elect = Mustafa (in Arabic) the name of our Prophet Muhammad Mustafa (SAV). Otherwise it is true for all prophets of God.

After "..delighted..."

All prophets after Jacob (pbuh) mentioned in the Bible came for Israelites not Gentiles. This includes Jesus (pbuh) (look Matthew 15:21-26, Matthew 10:5-6 and many more). And Jesus (pbuh) did not stay on earth long enough to do that. But Muhammad (pbuh) was a Gentile and he brought message and judgment to Gentiles first.

2- He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heart in the street.

Here the word "not cry" is used as "not complain about the duty that I gave him" because we see in verse 13 God says "... he shall cry". There is a difference between these two using of the word cry. Now if we read your Bible Matthew 26:39-42, we can not say that Jesus (pbuh) never complained.

But if you read the life of Muhammad (pbuh) , the history of Islam you cannot find even one complaining word of Muhammad (pbuh) about the mission (duty) that given by God Almighty.

3- A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.

This is true almost all prophets.

4- He shall not fall nor be discouraged, till he had set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.

Until "earth:"

Jesus (pbuh) couldn't finish his mission which had continued only for ~3 years. He fall and discouraged (you will find many places in NT about this) and he couldn't set judgment in the earth, because his followers were a few and they had little faith (you will find many places in NT about this). And yet they "forsook him and fled" at the time that Roman soldiers came to arrest Jesus (pbuh). And Jesus (pbuh) himself says "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

But Muhammad established a state and ruled with his law that given by God. Therefore he set judgment in the earth and he did not fall and he was not discouraged.

After "earth:"

Here God says "his law", and in verse 9 says "former things come to pass". This means that he (new prophet) will bring new law. But if we read the Bible again, we see that Jesus (pbuh) says Matthew 5:17 "Think not I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy but fulfill". And if we read further we understand that Jesus (pbuh) did not come with new law.

But Muhammad (pbuh) came with new law.

5- Thus saith God the Lord, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which come out of it ; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein;

6- I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles.

Muhammad (pbuh) is a descendent of Abraham (pbuh) and came to Gentiles.

7- To open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.

"To open blind eyes". If we read verse 19 we will see more clearly that the word blind is used as idiom.

Meaning, he will show people the things that they did not know and will show people how to comprehend God and His message.

Prison is used as an idiom too. If a spirit doesn't know God and doesn't obey Him, then that spirit is in prison of Satan, and that person is prisoner of Satan. By accepting oneness of God and by obeying Him, the spirit of a person will be free and this makes that person free from prison of Satan. And in verse 8 God clearly states what He meant.

8- I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.

(With explanation of verse 7) we understand that the person that God is talking about will come to a place that people worship idols as their gods. If we read verse 17, we may understand this better.

From verses 7 and 8, we understand that God is not talking about Jesus (pbuh) but Muhammad (pbuh). Because Jesus (pbuh) came to Israelites and they were not worshipping idols. But Muhammad (pbuh) came during the Jahilliya (ignorance) period of Arabs and destroy the idols. If we read verse 17, it will be understood more clearly.

9- Behold, the former things come to pass, the new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.

As we read in verse 4 and my explanation of it, the person, God is talking about, will come new law. And this person cannot be Jesus (pbuh) because of the reasons stated above. This person is nobody but prophet Muhammad (pbuh).

10- Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise, ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein; the isles and inhabitants thereof.

If you want to hear this new song please listen to someone reciting the Qur'an. The new song that God talking about is Noble Qur'an. If you hear how people recite the Noble Qur'an, you will understand what God is talking about.

11- Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar doth inhabit: let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains.

12- Let them give glory unto the Lord, and declare his praise in the islands.

Kedar is son of Ishmael (pbuh) (Genesis 25:13-16), and has nothing to do with Jesus (pbuh). This verse (verse 11) is not talking about Jesus (pbuh) but Muhammad (pbuh). As you know Muhammad (pbuh) is descendent of Abraham (pbuh) through Ishmael (pbuh). And the cities that they inhabited are in Arabia namely Telma (Tema/Teman), Yathrib (Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah), Paran (Makkah) etc. And if you observe the ritual of Muslims (especially during Hajj), you will see that cities (Makkah and Al-Madinah) lift up their voices** and people shout and glorify Allah from top of mountains, especially Mt. Arafat**. The rock is the rock that God sent to Adam from heaven, and it is located at the side of Kaba. As you know Muslim people make 7 tours around Kaba and kiss this rock while glorifying the Lord.

**in fact, you can see this in every Muslim country, when people are called to prayer, muezzins read the Adhan (calling to prayer) that sounds like a song. And even far from city you can hear this Adhan, it will look like that city lifted up its voice. Meaning of Adhan is

Allah is the greatest, Allah is the greatest

Allah is the greatest, Allah is the greatest

I'm witness that there is no god but Allah

I'm witness that there is no god but Allah

I'm witness that Muhammad is His messenger

Come to prayer, come to prayer

Come to salvation, come to salvation

Allah is the greatest, Allah is the greatest

There is no god but Allah.

13- The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up jealousy like a man of war: he shall cry, yea, roar; he shall prevail against his enemies.

14- I have long time holding my peace; I have been still, and refrained myself: now will I cry like a travailing women; I will destroy and devour at once.

Until Islam, God had never ordered any prophets to fight against unbelievers to destroy them. Believer were fighting only to defense themselves. But Allah ordered Muhammad (pbuh) to fight against unbelievers, and slay them if they don't accept Allah. And if you study the life of Muhammad (pbuh) you will see that he was the commander of the army and he fought with his sword and he lost one of his teeth during the war. And God destroyed unbelievers at once (with only during of one prophet).

15- I will make waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs; and I will make the rivers islands, and I will dry up the pools.

Here God is talking about deserts of Arabia. In desert place, mountains and hills of sand are not steady, they diminish with winds and another one appears. And you can not find rivers but small water islands as described by God.

Also this verse has nothing to do with Jesus (pbuh)

16- And I will bring blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked thins straight. These things I will do unto them, and not forsake them.

As God says above, He did not send to pagan Arabs until Muhammad (pbuh) as stated in verse 22. Until Muhammad (pbuh), Arabs were worshipping idols, killing baby girls, drinking alcohol, gambling etc. Allah a way (Islam, unity of God) that they did not know, made Qur'an and Muhammad (pbuh) guided (as light before) them, and made crooked things (mentioned above) straight.

This verse also has nothing to do with Jesus (pbuh).

17- They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images, that they say to the molten images, Ye are our gods.

This is exactly what pagan Arabs did, when they heard the message that given to Muhammad (pbuh) by God. They offered money, authority and many things to our prophet and he did not accept any of them. They ashamed, because they thought that all other Arabs will mock them, and will not visit the Kaba (at that time they were using Kaba as place of the idols that all other Arab tribes were using) and this would be their economic end. And they turned graven images and they asked help from those images.

This verse also has nothing to do with Jesus (pbuh).

18- Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see.

19- Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I sent? who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the Lord's servant?

20- Seeing many things, but thou observest not; opening the ears, but he heareth not.

In this verses God talks to Christians and Jews.

In verse 18: Hear you (Christians and Jews) deaf, and look you (Christians and Jews) blind, you may see that above things are happening every day in Islamic world.

In verse 19: God says, "Who is blind or deaf? My messenger (Muhammad (pbuh) and his followers) or you?

In verse 20: You do see these things but you don't pay attention, you don't comprehend. You do hear the Qur'an and you know that Muslims sing new song and Muslim cities lift up their voices and they shout from top of mountains, they glorify Me, but you don't pay attention, you don't comprehend.

Indeed, Christians and Jews think that Muslims do not see the right path (blind). Even you wrote that "What Muslims do not understand...".

These verses also have nothing to do with Jesus (pbuh).

21- The Lord is well pleased for his righteousness' sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable.

In Qur'an many places Allah calls Prophet as "My friend" (friend is not exactly translation for Habeeb/Habib, because Habeeb is closer then friend but I couldn't find another word for this). And He magnified the law and people still follow his law. Jesus did not bring new law, and non of the Christians follows the law that he was following.

This verse also has nothing to do with Jesus (pbuh)

22- But this is a people robbed and spoiled; they are all of them snared in holes, and they are hid in prison houses: they are for a prey, and none delivereth; for a spoil, and none saith, Restore.

In this verse God talks about corrupted society of pagan Arabs. And, indeed, He had not send any prophets to Arabs until Muhammad (pbuh). That's why "none saith, Restore". But up to Jesus (pbuh), many prophets had been send to Israelites.

This verse also has nothing to do with Jesus (pbuh)

23- Who among you will give ear to this? who will hearken and hear for the time to come?

Who will become Muslim?

Conclusion:

Isaiah 42 describes Prophet Muhammad.

[qwickmalik]

Genuine Prophets Preach Only Islam
   

     There is no nation known to history like the people of Israel, which during a period of less than four hundred years, was infested with myriads of false prophets, not to mention the swarms of sorcerers, soothsayers and all sorts of witchcrafts and magicians. The false prophets were of two kinds: those who professed the religion and the Torah (Law) of Yahweh and pretended to prophesy in His Name, and those who under the patronage of an idolater Israelite monarch prophesied in the name of Baal or other deities of the neighboring heathen peoples. Belonging to the former category there were several impostors as contemporaries with the true prophets like Mikha (Micah) and Jeremiah, and to the latter there were those who gave much trouble to Elijah, and caused the massacres of the true prophets and believers during the reign of Ahab and his wife Jezebel. Most dangerous of all to the cause of true faith and religion were the pseudo-prophets, who conducted the divine services in the temple as well as in the Misphas and pretended to deliver the oracles of God to the people. No prophet, perhaps, received at the hands of these impostors more of persecution and hardships than the Prophet Jeremiah.

While still a young man, Jeremiah began his prophetic mission about the latter quarter of the seventh century before the Christian era, when the Kingdom of Judah was in great danger of invasion by the armies of the Chaldeans. The Jews had entered into alliance with the Pharaoh of Egypt, but as the latter had been badly defeated by the troops of Nebuchadnezzar, Jerusalem's doom was merely a question of time. In these critical days, during which the fate of the remnant of the people of God was to be decided, the Prophet Jeremiah was stoutly advising the king and the leaders of the Jews to submit and serve the King of Babylon, so that Jerusalem might be saved from being burnt down to ashes and the people from being deported into captivity. He poured out all his eloquent and fiery discourses into the ears of the kings, the priests, and the elders of the people, but all of no avail. He delivered message after message from God, saying that the only remedy for saving the country and the people from the imminent destruction was to submit to the Chaldeans; but there was no one to lend ear to his warnings.

Nebuchadnezzar comes and takes the city, carries away with him the king, the princes, and many captives, as well as all the treasures of the temple, including the gold and silver vessels. Another prince, and a third one, is appointed by the Emperor of Babylon to reign as his vassal in Jerusalem. This king, instead of being wise and loyal to his master of Babylon, revolts against him. Jeremiah incessantly admonishes the king to remain loyal and to abandon the Egyptian policy. But the false prophets continue to harangue in the temple, saying: "Thus says the Lord of hosts, Behold, I have broken the yoke of the King of Babylon, and in two years' time all the Jewish captives and the vessels of the House of God will be returned to Jerusalem." Jeremiah makes a wooden yoke round his own neck and goes to the temple and tells the people that God has been pleased to place in this way the yoke of the monarch of Babylon upon the neck of all the Jews. He is struck on the face by one opponent prophet, who breaks to pieces the wooden yoke from Jeremiah's neck and repeats the harangue of the false prophets. Jeremiah is thrown into a deep dungeon full of mire, and is fed only on a dry loaf of barley a day until a famine prevails in the city, which is besieged by the Chaldeans. The pseudo-prophet Hananiah dies as Jeremiah had foretold. The wall of the city is thrown down somewhere, and the victorious army rushes into the city, the fleeing King Zedekiah and his retinue are seized and taken to the King of Babylon. The city and the temple, after being pillaged, are set on fire and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem are carried into Babylonia; only the poorer classes are left to cultivate the land. By order of Nebuchadnezzar, Jeremiah is granted a favor of staying in Jerusalem, and the newly appointed governor, Gedaliah, is charged to guard and well look after the prophet. But Gedaliah is killed by the rebellious Jews, and then they all flee to Egypt, carrying Jeremiah with them. Even in Egypt he prophesies against the fugitives and the Egyptians. He must have ended his life in Egypt.

His books, as it now stands, is quite different from the text of the Septuagint; evidently the copy from which the Greek text was written by the Alexandrian translators had a different order of chapters.

The Biblical critics consider that Jeremiah was the author, or, at any rate, a compiler, of the fifth book of the Pentateuch called Deuteronomy. I myself am of the same opinion. Jeremiah was a Levite and a priest as well as a prophet. There is much of Jeremiah's teachings in Deuteronomy which are unknown in the rest of the Old Testament writings. And I take one of these teachings for my present subject, which I consider as one of the gems or golden texts of the Old Testament and must be esteemed very precious and holy.

After this detailed explanation I hasten to the main point which I have selected for the topic of this article: How to distinguish a genuine prophet from a false prophet. Jeremiah has supplied us with a fairly satisfactory answer, namely:

"THE PROPHET WHO TEACHES ISLAM"

In the Book of Deuteronomy (xiii. 1- 5, xviii. 20 - 22) God the Almighty gives some instructions concerning the false prophets who may prophesy in the Name of the Lord and in such an insidious way that they could mislead His people. Further, he tells us that the best way to find out the impostor's perfidy was to anticipate the fulfillment of his predictions, and then to put him to death when his fraud was divulged. But, as is well known, the ignorant cannot well distinguish between the genuine prophet and the imposter, just as much as they to-day are unable to definitely discover which of the two, a Roman Catholic priest or a Calvinist minister, is a genuine follower of Jesus Christ! A false prophet would also foretell events, work wonders, and do other religious things similar - at least in appearance - to those performed by a true one. The competition between the Prophet Moses and the magicians of Egypt is an apt illustration of this statement. Thus it is Jeremiah who gives us the best way of testing the veracity, the genuineness, of a prophet, and that way is the sign of Islam. Please read the whole chapter xxviii. of Jeremiah, and then ponder and reflect on the ninth verse: -

"The prophet which foretells the Islam (Shalom), at the coming of the word of the Prophet, that prophet will be recognized to have been sent by God in truth" (Jer. xxviii. 9).

This translation is strictly literal. The original verb naba, usually translated as "to foretell" or "to prophesy," and the noun nabi, "a prophet" has given the impression that a prophet is a person who foretells the future or past events by the aid of divine revelation. This definition is only partially true. The complete definition of the word "Prophet" must be: "one who receives oracles or messages from God, and delivers them faithfully to the person or people intended." It is evident that a divine message need not necessarily be a foretelling of past and future events. In the same way verb "prophesy" does not necessarily mean to reveal the past or future occurrences, but rather to preach or promulgate the message from God. Consequently to prophesy is to deliver and utter a new oracle, its nature or character being quite immaterial. To read the words of a prophet would be to prophesy no more than would a prophet deliver an oracle when making a discourse or public speech of his own accord. In the Qur'an God orders His beloved worshiper Prophet Muhammad to declare: "Say: 'I am only human like you, revealed to me is that your God is One God....'" Ch. 18:110 so that we may be careful not to attribute to any of the prophets the quality of knowing and saying everything through the Revelation. The Divine Revelations used to come at intervals, while the prophets in their personal intercourse and knowledge might be liable to mistakes and errors. A prophet is not appointed by God to teach humanity physics, mathematics, or any other positive science. It would be very unjust on our part to blame a prophet for a slip of language or a mistake committed as a man.

A prophet, therefore, is the subject of test and examination only when he officially and formally delivers the Message he has received from his Lord. His private affairs, his family concerns, and his personal attainments do not concern us so much as his mission and office. In order to find out whether a prophet is genuine or an impostor, it is not fair to give a verdict against his prophetical character because he is reported to have been a little harsh or rude to his mother or because he believed in the literal inspiration and the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch. While making this observation, I have in mind the case of Jesus Christ, and many others in the history of Israel on other points.

It is mala fides and ill will to accuse prophets of sensuality, rudeness, ignorance in sciences, and of other personal frailties. They were men like ourselves and subject to the same natural inclinations and passions. They were protected from mortal sins and from the perversion of the message they had to hand further. We must be extremely careful not to exalt the prophets of God too high in our imagination, lest God be displeased with us. They are all His creatures and worshipers; they accomplished their work and returned to Him. The moment we forget God and concentrate our love and admiration upon the person of any of the messengers of God we are in danger of falling into the sin of polytheism.

Having so far explained the nature and the signification of the prophet and the prophecy, I shall now endeavor to prove that no prophet could be genuine unless, as Jeremiah expressly says, he preaches and propagates the religion of Islam.

In order to understand better the sense and the importance of the passage under our contemplation we should just cast a glance over the preceding verse where Jeremiah tells his antagonist Prophet Hananiah: "The prophets that have been before me and before thee from old (times) prophesied against many lands, and against great kingdoms, concerning war and evil and pestilence." Then he proceeds: -

"The prophet that prophesies concerning Islam as soon as the word of the prophet comes, that prophet is known to have been sent by the Lord in truth."

There can be raised no serious objection to the English wording of this passage excepting the clause "l shalom" which I have translated as "concerning Islam." The preposition "l" before "shalom" signifies "concerning" or "about," and places its subject in the objective case and not in the dative, as it would be if the predicate were a verb like "come," "go," or "give."

That "shalom" and the Syriac "Shlama," as well as the Arabic "salam" and "Islam," are of one and the same Semitic root, "shalam," and mean the same thing, is an admitted truth by all the scholars of the Semitic languages. The verb "shalam" signifies "to submit, resign oneself to," and then "to make peace;" and consequently "to be safe, sound, and tranquil." No religious system in the world has ever been qualified with a better and more comprehensive, dignified, and sublime name than that of "Islam.' The true Religion of the True God cannot be named after the name of any of His worshipers, and much less after the name of a people or country. It is, indeed, this sanctity and the inviolability of the word "Islam" that strikes its opponents with awe, fear, and reverence even when the Muslims are weak and unhappy. It is the name and title of a religion that teaches and commands an absolute submission and resignation of will and self to the Supreme Being, and then to obtain peace and tranquillity in mind and at home, no matter what tribulations or passing misfortunes may threaten us that fills its opponents with awe (1).

[qwickmalik]

Genuine Prophets Preach Only Islam contd.

------------- Footnote (1) It is interesting and significant to note how the observations of the learned professor coincide with those of the ex-Kaiser of Germany who on the occasion of his seventieth birthday celebrations at Doorn, Holland, was reported to have said in his speech: "And understand this - if ever the Muhammadans should conceive the idea that it is the command of Allah to bring order into a declining West and subjugate to His will, then - with faith in God - they will come upon the godless Europeans like a tidal wave, against which even the reddest Bolshevist, full of eagerness for combat, will be helpless." (Evening Standard, London, January 26, 1929.) ------------- End of footnote

It is the firm and unshaking belief in the Oneness of Allah and the unswerving confidence in His Mercy and justice that makes a Muslim distinguishable and prominent among non-Muslims. And it is this sound faith in Allah and the sincere attachment to His Holy Qur'an and the Prophet that the Christian missionaries have been desperately attacking and have hopelessly failed. Hence, Jeremiah's words that "the Prophet who prophesies, namely, who preaches and speaks concerning the affairs of Islam as his religion, he will at once be known to have been sent by the Lord in truth." Let us, therefore, take into serious consideration the following points:-

1. The Prophet Jeremiah is the only prophet before Christ who uses the word Shalom in the sense of a religion. He is the only prophet who uses this word with the object of setting or proving the veracity of a messenger of God. According to the Qur'anic revelation, Prophets Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and all the prophets were Muslims, and professed Islam as their religion. The term "Islam" and its equivalents, "Shalom" and Shlama," were known to the Jews and Christians of Mecca and Medina when Prophet Muhammad appeared to perfect and universalize the religion of Islam. A prophet who predicts "peace" as an abstract, vague and temporary condition cannot succeed in proving his identity thereby. In fact, the point of dispute, or rather the critical national question, controverted by the two eminent prophets known to the court and the nation like Jeremiah and Hananiah (Jer. xxviii.), could not be solved and definitely settled by the affirmation of the one and the denial of the other, of the imminent catastrophe. To predict "peace" by Jeremiah when he had all the time been predicting the great national disaster - either by the submission of the King Sidaqia to the Chaldean sovereign or by his resistance - would not only involve his failure, not to talk of his being a success in proving his veracity, but also it would make him even ridiculous. For, in either case, his presumed "peace" would mean no peace at all. On the contrary, if the Jews resisted the Chaldean army, it meant a complete national ruin, and if they submitted, an unconditional servitude. It is evident, therefore, that Jeremiah uses the term "Shalom" in the sense of a tangible, concrete, and real religious system which Islam comprises. To make it more clear, we should attentively listen to the arguments of the two opponent prophets discussing and disputing the national question in the presence of a wicked king and his court of vile flatterers and depraved hypocrites. Jeremiah has at heart the cause of God and His religion of peace, and in the vital interests of the religion of peace, or Islam, he advises the wicked king and his courtiers to submit to the yoke of Babylon and serve the Chaldeans and live. For there was no other alternative open to them. They had abandoned the God of their forefathers, polluted His temple, mocked and reviled His prophets, and committed evil and treachery (2 Chron. xxxvi. etc.). So God had delivered them into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, and would not save them. For a true and sincere worshiper of God, the religion comes first and the nation after. It is the government and the nation - especially when they have forsaken God - that are to be sacrificed for the cause of religion, and not vice versa! The other Prophet of Gibeon, called Hananiah, sought to please his master the king; he was a courtier and favorite, rich and in splendor, whereas his antagonist was always languishing and starving in the prisons and dungeons. He cares not a fillip for the religion and the real welfare of the people. He is also a prophet, for so says the Book of Jeremiah, yet he is a villain, and has exchanged God for a depraved king! He prophesies in the name of the same God as does Jeremiah, and announces the return of the booty and the captives from Babylon in two years' time.

Now, from the above imperfect description of the prophets, which of the two would you qualify as the true worshiper of God and as the loyal defender of God's religion? Surely Jeremiah would at once attract your sympathy and choice.

2. It is only the religion of Shalom, of Islam, that can testify to the character and the office of a true prophet, Imam, or any minister of God on earth. God is One, and His religion is one. There is no other religion in the world like Islam, which professes and defends this absolute Oneness of the Deity. He who, therefore, sacrifices every other interest, honor and love for the cause of this Holy Religion, he is undoubtedly the genuine prophet and the minister of God. But there is still one thing more worthy of our notice, and that thing is this. If the religion of Islam is not the standard and the measure by which to test the veracity of a prophet or minister of God, then there is no other criterion to answer that purpose. A miracle is not always a sufficient proof, for the sorcerers also work wonders. The fulfillment of a prophecy or prediction, too, is not in itself a sufficient proof; for just as one holy Spirit reveals a future event to a true prophet, so does sometimes an evil spirit the same to an imposter. Hence it is clear that the prophet who "prophesies concerning Shalom - Islam - as being the name of Faith and path of life, as soon as he receives a message from God he will be known to have been sent by Him." Such was the argument which Jeremiah had recourse to and with which he wished to convince his audience of the falsity of Hananiah. But the wicked king and his entourage would not listen to and obey the Word of God.

3. As argued in the preceding paragraph, it should be noted that neither the fulfillment of a prediction nor the work- ing of a miracle was enough to prove the genuine character of a prophet; that the loyalty and strict attachment to the religion is the best and the decisive proof for the purpose; that "Shalom" was used to express the religion of peace. Once again we repeat the same assertion that Shalom is no other than Islam. And we demand from those who would object to this interpretation to produce an Arabic word be- sides Islam and Salam as the equivalent of the Shalom, and also to find for us another word in Hebrew besides Shalom that would convey and express the same meaning as Islam. It is impossible to produce another such an equivalent. Therefore we are forced to admit that Shalom is the same as "salam" or "peace" in the abstract, and "Islam" as a religion and faith in the concrete.

4. As the Qur'an in chap. ii expressly reminds us that Abraham and his sons and grandsons were the followers of Islam; that they were neither Jews nor Christians; that they preached and propagated the worship and the faith in the one God to all the peoples among whom they sojourned or dwelt, we must admit that not only the Jews, but several other nations that descended from the other sons of Abraham and many tribes converted and absorbed by them, were also Muslims; that is to say, believers in Allah and resigned to His Will. There were the people of Esau, the Edomites, the Midianites, and numerous other peoples living in Arabia, who knew God and worshipped Him like the Israelites. These peoples had also their own prophets and religious guides like Job, Jethro (the father-in-law of the Prophet Moses), Balaam, Hud, and many others. But they, like the Jews, had taken to idolatry until it was totally eradicated by the Prince of the prophets. The Jews, in about the fifth century B.C., produced the greater portion of their canonical books of the Old Testament, when the memories of the conquest of the land of Canaan by Joshua, the temple and Jerusalem of Solomon, were events buried in the past epochs of their wondrous history. A nationalistic and Judaistic spirit of solicitude and seclusion reigned among the small remnant of Israel; the belief in the coming of a great Savior to restore the lost throne and crown of David was regnant, and the old meaning of "Shalom" as the name of the religion of Abraham and common to all the different peoples descended from him was no longer remembered. It is from this point of view that I regard this passage of Jeremiah as one of the golden texts in the Hebrew sacred writ.

[qwickmalik]

King David Calls Him: "My Lord"

The history of David, his exploits and prophetical writings, are found in two books of the Old Testa- ment, Samuel and the Psalms. He was the youngest son of Yishai (Jessie) from the tribe of Judah. While still a young shepherd, he had killed a bear and torn into halves a lion. The valiant young man swung a small stone right through the forehead of Goliath, an armed Philistine champion and saved the army of Israel. The highest reward for a successful feat displaying valor was the hand of Michal, a daughter of King Saul. David played on a harp and flute, and was a good singer. His flight from his jealous father-in-law, his adventures and attributed exploits as a bandit, are well known in the Bible. On the death of Saul, David was invited by the people to assume the reins of the kingdom, for which he had long before been anointed by the Prophet Samuel. He reigned for some seven years at Hebron. He took Jerusalem from the Jebusites and made it the capital of his kingdom. Its two hills, or mounts, were named "Moriah" and "Sion." Both these words have the same signi- fication and import as the famous mounts of "Marwa" and "Sapha" in Mecca, which words respectively mean "the place of the vision of the Lord," and "the rock" or "stone." David's wars, his very grave family troubles, his sin against the faith- ful soldier, Uriah, and his wife, Bathsheba, was not left with impunity. He reigned forty years; his life was marked with wars and family griefs. In the Bible there are some contradictory accounts about him which are evidently to be ascribed to the two opposite sources.

The alleged crime of David claimed in the Bible in connection with Uriah and his wife (2 Sam. xi.) is not even alluded to in the Qur'an, rather the Qur'an refers to his excellent pious character and that he was one of the top ranking Messengers. It is one of the superiorities of the Holy Qur'an that it teaches us that all prophets are born sinless and die sinless. It does not, like the Bible, impute to them crimes and sins - e.g. the double crime of David, mentioned in the Bible, which, according to the Law of Moses, is punishable by death - which, let alone a prophet who is a chosen worshiper of God the Almighty, we would not even think of attaching to the name of an ordinary human being.

The story of David committing adultery and two angels having come to him thus to remind him of the sin is a puerile falsehood - wherever it may be found. It has been repudiat- ed by the best Muslim opinion. Razl says: "Most of the learned, and those who have searched for the truth among them, declare this charge false and condemn it as a lie and a mischievous story. The words istaghfora and ghafarna occurring in the text of verse 24, chap. 38 of the Holy Qur'an by no means indicate that David had committed a sin, for istighfar really signifies the seeking of protection; and David sought Divine protection when he saw that his enemies had grown so bold against him; and by ghafarana is meant the rectification of his affairs; for David, who was a great ruler, could not succeed in keeping his enemies under com- plete control.

The Old Testament does not mention the time when the gift of prophecy was granted to David. We read there that after David had committed the two sins it was Nathan the Prophet who was sent by God to chastise David. Indeed, until late in his life we find him always having recourse to other prophets. According to the Biblical accounts, there- fore, it would seem that the gift of prophecy came to him after he had thoroughly repented of his sin.

In one of the previous articles I remarked that after the split of the Kingdom into two independent States which were often at war with each other, the ten tribes which formed the Kingdom of Israel were always hostile to the dynasty of David and never accepted any other portion of the Old Testament except the Torah - or the Law of Moses as contained in the Pentateuch. This is evident from the Samaritan version of the first five books of the Old Testament. We do not meet with a single word or prophecy about David's posterity in the discourses of the great prophets, like Elijah, Elisha, and others, who flourished in Samariah during the reigns of the wicked kings of Israel. It is only after the fall of the King- dom of Israel and the transportation of the ten tribes into Assyria that the Prophets of Judeah began to predict the ad- vent of some Prince from the House of David who was soon to restore the whole nation and subdue its enemies. There are several of these obscure and ambiguous sayings in the writings or discourses of these later prophets which have given a rapturous and exotic exultation to the Fathers of the Church; but in reality they have nothing to do with Jesus Christ. I shall briefly quote two of these prophecies. The first is in Isaiah (Chap. vii., verse 14), where that Prophet predicts that "a damsel already pregnant with child shall bear forth a son, and thou shalt name him Emmanuel." The Hebrew word a'lmah does not mean "virgin," as generally interpreted by the Christian theologians and therefore applied to the Virgin Mary, but it signifies "a marriageable woman, maiden, damsel." The Hebrew word for "virgin" is bthulah. Then the child's name is to be Emmanuel, which means "God- is-with-us." There are hundreds of Hebrew names which are composed of "el" and another noun, which forms either the first or the last syllable of such compound nouns. Neither Isaiah, nor King Ahaz, nor any Jew, ever thought that the newly born infant would be himself "God-with-us." They never thought anything else but that his name only would be as such. But the text expressly says that it was Ahaz (who seems to have known the maiden with child), that would give the boy that name. Ahaz was in danger, his enemies were pressing hard against Jerusalem, and this pro- mise was made to him by showing him a sign, namely, a pregnant maiden, and not a Virgin Mary, that would come into the world more than seven hundred years later! This simple prediction of a child that would be born during the reign of Ahaz was equally misunderstood by the writer of the Gospel of Matthew (Matt. i. 23). The name "Jesus" was given by the Angel Gabriel (Matt. i. 21), and he was never called "Emmanuel." Is it not scandalous to take this name as an argument and proof of the Christian doctrine of the "Incarnation"?

The other strange interpretation of a prophetic predic- tion is from Zachariah (ix. 9), which is misquoted and utterly misunderstood by the writer of the first Gospel (xxi. 5). The Prophet Zachariah says: "Rejoice much, O daughter of Sion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King is coming unto thee; righteous and with salvation is he; meek and mounted upon an ass; and upon a colt, son of a she-ass."

In this poetical passage the poet simply wishes to describe the male ass - upon which the King is seated - by saying that it was a young ass, and this colt, too, is described as the son of a female ass. It was only one male colt or young donkey. Now Matthew quotes this passage in the following way: - "Tell the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King is coming unto thee; Meek, and mounted on a female ass, And on a colt, the son of a female ass."

Whether or not the person who wrote the above verse did really believe that Jesus, when making his triumphal entry into Jerusalem by mounting or sitting at the same time both upon the mother ass and her young colt, worked a miracle is not the question; nevertheless it is true to say that the majority of the Christian Fathers so believed; and it never occurred to them that such a show would look rather a comedy than a royal and pompous procession. Luke, how- ever, is careful, and has not fallen into Matthew's mistake. Were these authors both inspired by the same Spirit?

Zachariah foretells in Jerusalem, after the return of the Jews from captivity, the coming of a king. Though meek and humble, mounted upon a colt of an ass, still he is coming with salvation and would rebuild the house of God. He pro- phesies this at a time when the Jews are endeavoring to rebuild the Temple and the ruined town; their neighboring peoples are against them; the work of building is stopped until Darius, King of Persia, issues a firman for the cons- truction. Although no Jewish king had ever appeared since the sixth century before Christ, nevertheless they had had autonomous governments under foreign sovereigns. The sal- vation here promised, be it noted, is material and immediate, and not a salvation to come five hundred and twenty years afterwards, when Jesus of Nazareth would ride upon two asses simultaneously and enter into Jerusalem, already a large and wealthy city with a magnificent temple, simply to be captured and crucified by the Jews themselves and by their Roman masters, as the present Gospels tell us! This would be no solace at all for the poor Jews surrounded with enemies in a ruined city. Consequently, by the word "king" we may understand one of their chief leaders - Zerobabel, Ezra, or Nehemiah.

These two examples are intended to show chiefly to my Muslim readers - who may not be well acquainted with the Jewish Scriptures - how the Christians have been misguided by their priests and monks in giving stupid interpretations and meanings to the prophecies contained therein.

Now I come to David's prophecy: - "YahwaH said to my ADON, Sit at my right until I place Thine enemies a footstool under thy feet."

This verse of David is written in Psalm cxi, and quoted by Matthew (xxii. 44), Mark (xii. 36), and Luke (xx 42). In all languages the two names contained in the first unstitch are rendered as "The Lord said unto my Lord." Of course, if the first Lord is God, the second Lord is also God; nothing more convenient to and suitable an argument for a Christian priest or pastor than this, namely, the speaker is God, and also the spoken to is God; therefore David knows two Gods! Nothing more logical than this reasoning! Which of these two Domini is "the Lord" of David? Had David written, "Dominus meus dixit Domino meo," he would have made himself ridiculous, for then he would have admitted himself to be a slave or worshiper of two Lords, without even men- tioning their proper names. The admission would go even farther than the existence of two Lords; it would mean that David's second Lord had taken refuge with his first Lord, who ordered him to take a seat on his right side until he should put his enemies a footstool under his feet. This reasoning leads us to admit that, in order to understand well your religion, you are obliged to know your Bible or Qur'an in the original language in which it was written, and not to depend and rely upon a translation.

I have purposely written the original Hebrew words YaHWaH and Adon, in order to avoid any ambiguity and misunderstanding in the sense conveyed by them. Such sacred names written in religious Scripture should be left as they are, unless you can find a thoroughly equivalent word for them in the language into which you wish to translate them. The tetragram Yhwh used to be pronounced Yehovah (Jehovah), but now it is generally pronounced Yahwah. It is a proper name of God the Almighty, and it is held so holy by the Jews that when reading their Scriptures they never pronounce it, but read it "Adon" instead. The other name, "Elohim," is always pronounced, but Yahwah never. Why the Jews make this distinction between these two names of the same God is a question for itself, altogether outside the scope of our present subject. It may, however, in passing, be mentioned that Yahwah, unlike Elohim, is never used with pronominal suffixes, and seems to be a special name in Hebrew for the Deity as the national God of the people of Israel. In fact, "Elohim" is the oldest name known to all Semites; and in order to give a special character to the con- ception of the true God, this tetragram is often conjointly with Elohim applied to Him. The Arabic form, Rabb Allah, corresponds to the Hebrew form, Yahwah Elohim.

The other word, "Adon," signifies a "Commander, Lord, and master," or the same as the Arabic and Turkish nouns Amir, Sayyid, and Agha. Adon stands as the opposite term of "soldier, slave, and property." Consequently the first part of the distich is to be rendered as "God said to my Lord."

David, in his capacity of a monarch, was himself the Lord and Commander of every Israelite and the Master of the Kingdom. Whose "servant" was he, then? David, being a powerful sovereign, could not be, as a matter of fact, a slave or worshiper of any living human being whatsoever. Nor is it imaginable that he would call "his Lord" any dead prophet or saint, such as Abraham or Jacob, for whom the usual and reasonable term was "Father." It is equally con- ceivable that David would not use the appellation "my Lord" for any of his own descendants, for whom, too, the usual term would be "son." There remains, besides God, no other conceivable being who could be David's Lord, except the noblest and the highest man of the race of mankind. It is quite intelligible to think that in the sight and choice of God there must be a man who is the noblest, the most praised, and the most coveted of all men. Surely the Seers and the Prophets of old knew this holy personage and, like David, called him "my Lord."

Of course, the Jewish Rabbins and commentators of the Old Testament understood by this expression the Messiah, who would descend from David himself, and so replied they to the question put to them by Jesus Christ as quoted above from Matthew (xxii.), and the other Synoptic. Jesus flatly repudiated the Jews when he asked them a second question: "How could David call him 'my Lord' if he were his son?" This question of the Master put the audience to silence, for they could find no answer to it. The Evangelists abruptly cut short this important subject of discussion. To stop there without a further explanation was not worthy either of the Master or of his reporters. For, leaving the question of his god-head, and even of his prophetical character, aside, Jesus as a teacher was obliged to solve the problem raised by him- self when he saw that the disciples and the hearers were unable to know who then that "Lord," could be!

By his expression that the "Lord," or the "Adon," could not be a son of David, Jesus excludes himself from that title. This admission is decisive and should awaken the religious teachers of the Christians to reduce Christ to his due status of a high and holy worshiper of God, and to renounce the extravagant divine character ascribed to him much to his own disgust and displeasure.

I cannot imagine a teacher who, seeing his pupils unable to answer his question, should keep silent, unless he is him- self ignorant like them and unable to give a solution to it. But Jesus was not either ignorant or a malevolent teacher. He was a prophet with a burning love to God and man. He did not leave the problem unsolved or the question with- out an answer. The Gospels of the Churches do not report the answer of Jesus to the question: "Who was the Lord of David?" But the Gospel of Barnabas does. This Gospel has been rejected by Churches because its language is more in accordance with the revealed Scriptures and because it is very expressive and explicit about the nature of Jesus Christ's mission, and above all because it records the exact words of Prophet Jesus concerning Prophet Muhammad. A copy of this Gospel can easily be procured. There you will find the answer of Jesus himself, who said that the Covenant between God and Prophet Abraham was made on Ishmael, and that "the most glorious or praised" of men is a descendant of Prophet Ishmael and not of Prophet Isaac through Prophet David. Prophet Jesus repeatedly is reported to have spoken of Prophet Muhammad, whose spirit or soul he had seen in heaven.

I shall have, if God wills, an occasion to write on this Gospel later.

There is no doubt that the prophetical eye of Daniel that saw in a wonderful vision the great Barnasha, who was Prophet Muhammad, was also the same prophetical eye fo David. It was this most glorious and praised of men that was seen by the Prophet Job (xix 25) as a "Savior" from the power of the Devil.

Was it, then, Prophet Muhammad who Prophet David calls "my Lord" or my Adon"? Let us see.

The arguments in favor of Prophet Muhammad, who is styled "Sayyidu 'l-Mursalin." the same as "Adon of the Prophets," are decisive; they are so evident and explicit in the words of the Old Testament that one is astonished at the ignorance and the obstinacy of those who refuse to understand and obey.

1. The greatest Prophet and Adon,in the Eyes of God, and man, is not a great conqueror and destroyer of mankind, nor a holy recluse who spends his life in a cave or cell to meditate upon God only to save himself, but one who renders more good and service to mankind by bringing them into the light of knowledge of the One True God,and by utterly destroying the power of the devil and his abominable idols and wicked institutions. It was Prophet Muhammad who "bruised the head of the serpent," and that is why the Qur'an rightly calls the devil, iblis, namely the bruised one"!! He purged the Temple of the Ka'aba and all Arabia of the idols, and gave light, religion, happiness, and power to the ignorant Arab idolaters, who in a short time spread that light into the four directions of the earth. In the service of God, the works and the success of Prophet Muhammad are incomparable and unrivalled.

The Prophets, Saints, and Martyrs form the army of God against the Power of the Devil; and Prophet Muhammad alone is decidedly the Commander-in-Chief of them all. He is indeed, alone the Adon and Lord not only of David but of all the Prophets, for he has purified Palestine and the countries visited by Abraham of idolatry.

2. Since Jesus Christ admits that he himself was not the "Lord" of David nor that the Messiah was to descend from David, there remains none other than Prophet Muhammad among the Prophets to be the Adon or Lord of David. And when we come to compare the praiseworthy religious revolution that the Nobel Son of Ishmael brought about in the world, with what all the thousands of prophets put together have achieved, we have to come to the conclusion that it is alone Prophet Muhammad who deserves the meritorious title of Adon.

3. How did David know that "Wahwah said to Adon, 'Sit thou at my right until I put thine enemies a footstool under they feet'?" and when did David hear this word of God? Christ himself gives the answer, namely "David in spirit wrote this." He saw the Adon Muhammad just as Daniel had seen him (Dan. vii), and Paul had seen him (2 Cor. xii) and many others had. Of course, this mystery of "Sit thou at my right" is hidden from us. Yet we may safely conjecture that this official investiture with the honor of seating himself at the right of the Throne of God, and therefore raised to the dignity of the "Adon." not only of the Prophets but of all the Creatures, took place on the famous night of his Mi'raj to Paradise.

4. The only principle objection to Prophet Muhammad's Divine mission and superiority is his condemnation of the trinity. But the Old Testament knows no other God besides Allah, and the Lord of David did not sit at the right hand of a triple god, but at that of the One Allah. Hence among the Prophets who believed in and worshiped Allah none was so great, and accomplished such a stupendous service for Allah and mankind, as Prophet Muhammad, upon whom be peace and blessings.

[qwickmalik]

Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) Is The Son-Of-Man

In the previous discourse we perused and commented upon the marvelous vision of the Prophet Daniel (Dan. vii.). We saw how the four beasts that represented the four king- doms succeeding one another were the Powers of Darkness and how they persecuted the Jews and the early Church of Jesus, which was constituted of true believers in the One God. We also remarked that those Powers were pagan and allegorically described as ferocious brutes. Further, we saw that the "Eleventh Horn," which had eyes and mouth, which uttered blasphemies against the Most High had fought and overcome His Saints had changed the times and the Law of God, could be no other than the Emperor Constantine, who in AD. 325, promulgated his imperial rescript proclaiming the creed and the decisions of the Nicene General Council.

In this article let us follow our researches patiently with regard to the glorious BAR NASHA, or the "Son-of-Man," who was presented-upon the clouds to the Most High, to whom was given the Sultaneh (Sholtana in the original text, i.e. "dominion" or "empire") honor and kingdom for ever, and who was commissioned to destroy and annihilate the terrible Horn.

Now let us proceed forthwith to establish the identity of this "Bar nasha."

Before finding out who this Son-of-Man is, it is but essential that we should take into consideration the following points and observations: -

(a) When a Hebrew Prophet predicts that "all the nations and peoples of the earth shall serve him" (i.e. the Bar nasha) or "the people of the Saints of the Most High," we must understand that he means thereby the nations men- tioned in Genesis xv. 18-21, and not the English, the French, or the Chinese nations.

(b) By the phrase "the people of the Saints of the Most High" it is understood to mean first the Jews and then the Christians who confessed the absolute Oneness of God, fought and suffered for it until the appearance of the Bar nasha and the destruction of the Horn.

(c) After the destruction of the Horn the people and the nations that will have to serve the Saints of God are the Chaldeans, Medo-Persians, Greeks, and the Romans - the four nations represented by the four beasts that had trod upon and invaded the Holy Land.

From the Adriatic to the Walls of China all the various nations have either as Muslims received the homage or as unbelievers served the Muslims, who are the only true believers in the One God.

(d) It is remarkable to realize the significant fact that God often allows the enemies of His true religion to subdue and persecute His people because of two purposes. First, because he wants to punish His people for their lethargy, drawbacks and sins. Secondly, because He wishes to prove the faith, the patience and the indestructibility of His Law and Religion, and thus to allow the infidels to continue in their unbelief and crime until their cup is full. God in due time Himself intervenes on behalf of the believers when their very existence is on its beam-ends. It was a terrible and most critical time for all Muslims when the Allied Forces were in Constantinople during those awful years of the Armistice. Great preparations were made by the Greeks and their friends to take back the Grand Mosque of Aya Sophia; the Greek Patriarch of Constantinople went to London carrying with him a precious ancient patriarchal cope set in gems and pearls for the Archbishop of Canterbury, who was strenuously advocating the restoration of Constantinople and the grand edifice of St. Sophia to the Greeks. On the eve of the celebration of Prophet Muhammad's night journey to Heaven - called al-mi'raj - the sacred building was crammed with a great multitude of the suppliant faithful who till the dawn most earnestly supplicated the Almighty Allah to deliver Turkey, and particularly the Sacred House, from those who "would fill it with ugly idols and images as before!" In connection with that patriarchal mantle or cope, I wrote an article in the Turkish paper the Aqsham, showing the existence of a schism between the Greek Orthodox and the Protestant Anglican Churches. I pointed out that the cope was not meant as a pallium of investiture and recognition of the Anglican orders, and that a reunion between the two Churches could never be accomplished unless one or the other of the parties should renounce and abjure certain articles of faith as heretical and erroneous. I also pointed out that the cope was a diplomatic bribe on behalf of Greece and its Church. The letter ended with these words: "All depends upon the grace and miracle which this bakhskish of a pontifical cope is expected to work!"

The result is too well known to be repeated here. Suffice it to say that the Patriarch died in England, and the Almighty, who sent the Bar nasha to crush the Horn and chase out the legions of Rome from the East, raised Mustapha Kamal, who saved his country and restored the honor of Islam!

(e) It is to be noted that the Jews were the chosen people of God until the advent of Jesus Christ. In the eyes of the Muslims neither the Jews nor the Christians have a right to claim the title of "the People of the Saints of the Most High," because the former reject Jesus altogether, while the latter insult him by deifying him. Moreover, both are equally unworthy of that title because of their refusing to recognize the Last Prophet who has completed the list of the Prophets.

We shall now proceed to prove that the Bar nasha - the Son-of-Man - who was presented to the "Ancient of Days" and invested with power to kill the monster, was no other than Prophet Muhammad, whose very name literally means "the Praised and Illustrious." Whatever other person you may try to invent in order to deprive the august Messenger of Allah of this unique glory and majesty bestowed on him in the Divine Court, you will only make yourselves ridiculous; and this for the following reasons: -

1. We know that neither Judaism nor Christianity has any particular name for its faith and its system. That is to say, neither the Jews nor the Christians have any special name for the doctrines and forms of their faith and worship. "Judaism" and "Christianity" are not Scriptural nor authoriz- ed either by God or the founders of those religions. In fact, a religion, if true, cannot properly be named after its second founder, for the real author and founder of a true religion is God, and not a Prophet. Now the proper noun for the laws, doctrines, forms and practices of worship as revealed by Allah to Prophet Muhammad is "Islam," which means "making peace" with Him and among men. "Muhammadanism" is not the proper appellation of Islam. For Prophet Muhammad, like Prophet Abraham and all other Prophets, was himself a Muslim, and not a Muhammadan! Judaism means the religion of Judah, but what was Judah himself? Surely not a Judaist! And similarly was Christ a Christian or a Jesuit? Certainly neither of them! What were, then, the names of these two distinct religions? No names at all!

Then we have the barbarous Latin word "religion," meaning "the fear of the gods." It is now used to express "any mode of faith and worship." Now what is the equivalent word for "religion" in the Bible? What expression did Moses or Jesus use to convey the meaning of religion? Of course, the Bible and its authors make no use of this word at all.

Now the Scriptural term used in the vision of Daniel is the same as applied repeatedly by the Qur'an to Islam, namely, "Din" (and in the Qur'an, "Din"), which means "recompense on the Day of Judgement." And the tribune is the "Dayyana" or the "Judge." Let us read the description of this celestial Court of Judgement: "the tribunes are set, the books are opened, and the 'Dina' - recompense of judgment - is established." By the "Books" is to be understood the "Preserved Tablets" wherein the decrees of God are inscribed from which the Qur'an was revealed by the Angel Gabriel to Prophet Muhammad; and also the books of accounts of every man's actions. It was according to the decrees and laws of God contained in that "Preserved Tablet," and the wicked actions of the Horn, that the Great "Dayyana" - the Judge con- demned it to death and appointed Prophet Muhammad to be "Adon," i.e. "Commander" or "lord," to destroy the monster. All this language of Daniel is extremely Qur'anic. The religion of Islam is called "Dinu 'I-Islam." It was according to the decrees and laws of this "Dina" that the "Bar nasha" destroy- ed the Devil's religion and his lieutenant the Horn. How can it, then, be at all possible that any man other than Prophet Muhammad could be meant by the appearance of a "Son- of-Man" in the presence of the Most High? Islam is, indeed, a "judgment of peace," because it possesses an authen- ticated Book of Law, with which justice is administered and iniquity punished, the truth discerned and the falsehood con- demned; and above all, the Oneness of God, the eternal rewards for good deeds, and eternal damnation for wicked actions are clearly stated and defined. In English a magistrate is called "Justice of Peace;" that is to say, a "judge of peace." Now this is in imitation of a Muslim Judge, who settles a quarrel, decides a case, by punishing the guilty and rewarding the innocent, thus restoring peace. This is Islam and the law of the Qur'an. It is not Christianity nor the Gospel, for the latter absolutely forbids a Christian to appeal to a judge, however innocent and oppressed he may be (Matt. v. 25, 26, 38-48).

2. The Son-of-Man, or Bar nasha, is certainly Prophet Muhammad. For he came after Constantine, and not before him as Jesus or any other Prophet did. The Trinitarian regime in the East represented by the Horn, which we rightly identify with the Emperior Constantine, was permitted to fight with the Unitarians and vanquish them for a period described in the figurative, prophetical language as "time, times and half a time," which phrase signifies three centuries and a half, at the end of which all the power of idolatry on the one hand and the Trinitarian dominion and tyranny on the other were eradicated and swept away entirely. There is nothing more absurd than the assertion that Judah the Maccabaeus (Maqbhaya) was the Bar nasha on the clouds, and the Horn Antiochus. It is alleged that (if I remember aright) Antio- chus, after desecrating the Temple of Jerusalem, lived only three years and a half - or three days and a half - at the end of which time he perished. In the first place, we know that Antiochus was a successor of Alexander the Great and King of Syria, consequently one of the four heads of the winged Tiger and not the eleventh Horn of the fourth Beast as stated in the vision. In the eighth chapter of the Book of Daniel, the Ram and the He-goat are explained by a Saint as representing the Persian and the Greek Empires respec- tively. It is expressly explained that the Greek Empire immediately succeeded the Persian and that it was divided into four kingdoms, as stated in the first vision. Secondly, the Horn with the speech indicates that the person who blasphemed and changed the Law and holy days could not be a pagan, but one who knew God and associated with Him purposely the other two persons whom he had equally known, and perverted the faith. Antiochus did not pervert the faith of the Jews by instituting a trinity or plurality of Gods, nor did he change the Law of Moses and its festival days. Thirdly, it is childish to give such a magnitude and importance to local and insignificant events which took place between a petty king in Syria and a small Jewish chief, so as to compare the latter with the glorious man who received the homage of the millions of angels in the presence of the Almighty. More- over, the prophetical vision describes and depicts the Bar nasha as the greatest and the noblest of all men, for no other human being is reported in the Old Testament to have been the object of such honor and grandeur as Prophet Muhammad.

3. It is equally futile to claim for Jesus Christ this celestial honor given to the Son-of-Man. There are two main reasons to exclude Jesus from this honor; (a) If he is purely a man and prophet, and if we consider his work a success or failure, then he is certainly far behind Muham- mad. But if he is believed to be the third of the three in the Trinity, then he is not to be enlisted among men at all. You fall into a dilemma, and you cannot get out of it; for in either case the Bar nasha could not be Jesus. (b) If Jesus was commissioned to destroy the fourth Beast, then instead of paying poll-tax or tribute to Caesar and submitting himself to be bastinadoed or whipped by the Roman governor Pilate, he would have chased away the Roman legions from Palestine and saved his country and people.

4. There has never lived upon this earth a Prince - Prophet like Muhammad, who belonged to a dynasty that reigned for a long period of about 2,500 years, was absolutely independent and never bent its neck under a foreign yoke. And certainly there has never been seen on earth another man like Prophet Muhammad, who has rendered more material and moral service to his own nation in particular and to the world in general. It is impossible to imagine another human being so dignified and so worthy as Prophet Muhammad for such a magnificent glory and honor as depicted in the prophetical vision. Let us just compare the great Prophet Daniel with the Bar nasha he was beholding with awe and wonder. Daniel was a slave or captive, though raised to the dignity of a vizier in the courts of Babylon and Susa. What would, in the presence of the Almighty, be his position when compared with Prophet Muhammad, who would be crowned as the Sultan of the Prophets, the Leader of mankind, and the object of the angels' homage and admiration? Small wonder that the Prophet David calls Prophet Muhammad "My Lord" (Psa, c. 10).

5. It is no wonder to find that on his night journey to Heaven Prophet Muhammad was received with the highest honors by the Almighty and invested with power to extirpate idolatry and the blasphemous Horn from countries given by God to him and to his people as an everlasting heritage.

6. Another most amazing feature in this prophetical vision is, according to my humble belief, that the sight of a Barnasha upon the clouds and his presentation to the Almighty corresponds with and is simultaneous with the Mi'raj - or night journey of the Prophet Muhammad; in other rds, this second part of the vision of Daniel is to be identified with the Mi'raj! There are, indeed, several indications both in the language of Daniel and in the "Hadith" - the quotations of the Prophet of Allahh - which lead me to this belief. The Qur'an declares that during that night- journey God transported His worshiper from the Sacred Mosque at Mecca to the Father Temple of Jerusalem. He blessed the precincts of that Temple, then in ruins, and showed him His signs (chap. xvii).

It is related by the Holy Prophet that at the Temple of Jerusalem he officiated in his capacity of the Imam, and con- ducted the prayers with all the company of the Prophets following him. It is further related that it was from Jerusalem that he was carried up unto the Seventh Heaven, being ac- companied by the spirits of the Prophets and Angels until he was taken to the presence of the Eternal. The modesty of the Prophet which forbade him to reveal all that he saw, heard and received from the Lord of Hosts is made good by Daniel, who narrates the decision of Gods Judgement. It appears that the Spirit which interpreted the vision to Daniel was not an Angel, as thoughtlessly remarked by me else- where, but the Spirit or the Soul of a Prophet, for he calls "Qaddish" (in the masculine gender) and "Qaddush" (iv. 10; viii. 13 ), which means a Saint or a Holy Man - a very usual name of the Prophets and Saints. How glad must have been the holy souls of the Prophets and the Martyrs who had been persecuted by those four beasts especially more so when they saw the decree of death being pronounced by the Almighty against the Trinitarian regime of Constantine and the Seal of the Prophets being commissioned to kill and annihilate the uttering Horn! It will also be remembered that this vision was seen as well during the same night in which took place the journey of the Son of Man nasha from Mecca to the heavens!

From the testimony of Daniel we, as Muslims, must admit that Prophet Muhammad's journey was corporeally performed - a thing of no impossibility to the Omnipotent.

[qwickmalik]

The Son-Of-Man contd

There must exist a law in physics according to which a body is not controlled by the main body to which it belongs, or by the law of gravitation, but by the law of velocity. A human body belonging to the earth cannot escape from it unless a superior force of velocity should detach it from the force of gravitation. Then there must also exist another law in physics according to which a light body can penetrate into a thick one and a thick body into an even still thicker or harder one through the means of a superior force, or simply through the force of velocity. Without entering into the details of this subtle ques- tion, suffice it to say that before the force of velocity the weight of a solid body, whether moved or touched, is of no concern. We know the rate of the velocity of the light from the sun or a star. If we discharge a bullet at the rate, say, of 2,500 meters a second, we know it penetrates and pierces a body of iron plate which is several inches thick. Similarly, an angel, who can move with an infinitely greater velocity than that of the light of the sun and even the thought in the mind, could, of course, transport the bodies of Prophet Jesus, to save him from the crucifixion, and Prophet Muhammad in his miraculous challenge of the Ascent Journey (Miraj) with an astounding facility and rapidity, and set at nought the law of gravitation of the globe to which they belonged.

Paul also mentions a vision he had seen fourteen years before of a man who had been taken up into the third heaven and then unto Paradise, where he heard and saw words and objects that could not be described. The Churches and their commentators have believed this man to be Paul himself. Although the language is such as to convey to us the idea that he himself is the man, yet out of modesty it is that he keeps it a secret lest he should be considered a proud man! (2 Cor. xii. 1-4). Although the Qur'an teaches us that the Apostles of Jesus Christ were good people, their writings cannot be relied upon, because the wrangling and disputant Churches have subjected them to interpolations. The Gospel of St. Barnabas states that Paul afterwards fell into an error and misled many of the believers.

That Paul does not reveal the identity of the person seen by him in the vision, and that the words which he heard in Paradise "cannot be spoken and no man is permitted to speak them," shows that Paul was not himself the person who was taken up to Heaven. To say that Paul, for reason of humility and out of modesty, does not praise himself is simply to mis- represent Paul. He boasts of having rebuked St. Peter to his face, and his epistles are full of expressions about himself which do rather confirm the idea that Paul was neither humble nor modest.

Besides, we know from his writings to the Galatians and the Romans what a prejudiced Jew he was against Hagar and her son Ishmael. The glorious person he saw in his vision could be no other than the person seen by Daniel! It was Prophet Muhammad that he saw, and dare not report the words which were spoken to him because on the one hand he was afraid of the Jews, and because on the other he would have contradicted himself for having glorified himself so much with the Cross and the crucified. I am half convinced that Paul was allowed to see the Barnasha whom Daniel had seen some six centuries before, but "the angel of satan who was continually pouring blows upon his head" (2 Cor. xii 7) forbade him to reveal the truth! It this an admission by Paul that "the angel of Satan," as he calls him, prohibited him from revealing the secret of Prophet Muhammad, whom he had seen in his vision. If Paul was a true righteous worshiper of God, why was he delivered into the hands of the "angel of the Devil" who was continually beating him on the head? The more one reflects on the teachings of Paul, the less one doubts that he was the prototype of Constantine the Great!

In conclusion, I may be permitted to draw a moral for the non-Muslims from this wonderful vision of Daniel. They should take to heart a lesson from the fate which befell the four beasts, and particularly the Horn, and to reflect that Allah alone is the One True God; that the Muslims alone faithfully profess His absolute Oneness; that He is Aware of their oppressions, and that they have their Caliph of the Prophets near to the Throne of the Most High.