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IS A TRUE OF ABRAHAMIC RELIGION?

A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF HIS PROPHETHOOD IN THE

Author Elbert Pogosjan

Student Number U1272795

Institution University Tilburg

Faculty School of Theology

Master Christianity and Society (MaCS)

Course Master Thesis

Supervisors Prof. dr. M.J.H.M Poorthuis

Examiner Prof. dr. M.J.H.M Poorthuis, Prof. dr. Ing R.P.H. Munnik

Place & Date Tilburg, June 2016

Study year 2015-2016

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Abstract

In modern times, and due to the influence of mass media, a of activities from religious fields are heard especially from the Islamic faith. The religion has grown into global consideration as one of the main world religions in the world next to Christianity. These activities have generated a lot of interest in and as well as the identity of its prophet, Muhammad. This thesis primarily examined the prophethood of Muhammad. The aim is to examine the view that he was a prophet according to the religious traditions of the Abrahamic Religions. This is done against the background that he claimed to be the last prophet of these Abrahamic Religions. In essence, this claim was the central analytical issue that this thesis researched. An analysis of this claim revealed that there are some basic elements of the Abrahamic Religions in his teachings, such as the creation, the fall of man and the Judgement Day. However, digging deeper presented some contradictions. These contradictions are so vital that other religions such as Christianity, which is also historically and theologically considered an Abrahamic Religion, seems to be an exact opposite of what Muhammad’s religion of Islam. Therefore, the biggest dilemma in this case is that Muhammad was supposed to confirm the previous Abrahamic Religions: and Christianity, which on the basis of the analytical evidences presented in this thesis, he failed to accomplish but appeared to have introduced a totally different religion resulting from very controversial teachings. Consequently, this thesis poses the burning question, “Is Muhammad a true prophet of Abrahamic Religions?” Through a comparative analysis of Christianity and Islam, a system of abrogation came up. This so-called system allows the newer teachings to replace the old ones, regardless of observable contradictions. This leaves a lot of gaps for varied interpretations as to whether Muhammad can be considered a true prophet even if not minding the aforementioned contradictions. However, in reality, there are still some aspects of these contradictions which fall outside of the category of a “teaching.” By this therefore, difficult to resolve dilemmas and notable contradictions are established in this thesis to be existing between Christianity and Islam. Furthermore, analysis revealed that there is an objective approach that can be used in establishing the fact of Muhammad as a true prophet of Abrahamic religion. This refers to the claim of Muhammad himself that he is prophesied in the and in the Gospels. By extension, the claims of Islamic scholars who through a study of biblical text often teach that Muhammad is indeed prophesised in the Bible, are rather gross misinterpretation of the text albeit through wrong formulation of words and misapplications of contexts. This thesis therefore concluded that Muhammad is not prophesied in Bible. This equally stressed that the religious propaganda of a corrupted Bible is borne out of this false premises. To argue that because the Bible has been corrupted led to the disbelief that Muhammad was indeed prophesised in the Bible is evidently false. Although an Analysis of this claim actually revealed that it does exist in Islamic sources. But it originated in the time of Muhammad and focused only on a certain Jewish group. In fact, further analysis proved the opposite: Muhammad himself believed and respected the Bible which was available in his time. In addition, evidences show that the Bible existing nowadays predated Muhammad. If indeed it was truly so that certain Bibles among some Jewish groups were corrupted, the Bible we have in our possession now must have predated Muhammad. This thesis concluded with this assertion.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction 5

Chapter 1: What is Abrahamic Religion? 13

Chapter 2: A Short Life History of Muhammad 19

Chapter 3: Muhammad in the Bible 29

Chapter 4: What Muhammad said about the Bible 46

Chapter 5: Reflection 54

Chapter 6: Conclusion 59

Bibliography 63

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Introduction

Sunni Islam and Christianity are generally considered the world biggest religions. Both of these Abrahamic religions find their roots in Judaism. It is understood from Christian point of view that Christianity is the fulfillment of Judaism according to Jesus’s statement in Matthew 5:17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the ; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them.” This belief is founded on the teaching that all the previous prophets, who were of Israel, were sent first to prepare the way for the Christ who then finally would come to bring the fulfilment. However on the other hand, Muhammad, the prophet of Islam who came after Jesus, said that he is the last of the prophets according to Surah 33:40 “Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but (he is) the Messenger of Allah, and the Seal of the Prophets: and Allah has full knowledge of all things.”. According to Allah in Surah 16:39 “and certainly We have raised in every nation an apostle...” all nations had received their prophets except the , to whom finally Muhammad was sent “..,people whose fathers were not warned,..” Surah 36:2-6, 25:24, 42:7, 6:92 . According to the , which is the source of the authoritative teachings of Allah passed on by Muhammad, the claim of Surah 5:44 is that Islam is the last of the Abrahamic religions. Also, according to Surah 5:49, the last religion revealed by Allah is called to confirm the first of the Abrahamic religions, which are Judaism and Christianity. (“To thee We sent the Scripture (Quran) in truth, confirming the scripture that came before it, and guarding it in safety”). Likewise, Suras 5:44-49 makes it clear that the scriptures which came before it (the Quran) are the Tawrah which is considered as the Torah and the Injil also known as the Gospels. The Old Testament, also called the Tenach, is the book that is used by , which is the main book in Judaism. The New Testament is the main book for Christians, yet Christians also accept the Old Testament as divine revelation of . , one of the most respected and the most consulted commentator in next to Ibn Abbas, Imam al- Suyuti, Al Tabari et all, confirms in his commentary on surah 5:48 that the scriptures that came before it are the Tawrah and the Injil:

Allah mentioned the Tawrah that He sent down to His Prophet Musa, the one whom He spoke directly to, praising it, commanding that it should be implemented, before it was abrogated. Allah then mentioned the Injil, praised it and commanded its people to adhere to it and follow it, as we stated. He next mentioned the Glorious Qur'an that He sent down to His honorable servant and Messenger. Allah said, (And We have sent down to you the

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Book in truth...) meaning, with the truth that, no doubt, is coming from Allah, (confirming the Scripture that came before it) meaning, the Divinely Revealed Books that praised the Qur'an and mentioned that it would be sent down from Allah to His servant and Messenger Muhammad.1

In other words, from Islamic view, the Abrahamic religions consist of Judaism, Christianity, and finally Islam. Therefore, according to Islam these should confirm each other with Islam regarded as the seal of the Abrahamic religion.2 However, when the teachings of Christianity and Islam are compared, they do not seem to match up. Rather, there are contradictions and apparent differences. For example, the teachings on marriage in Islam vary strongly when compared to that of Christianity. Jesus, the founder of Christianity, taught that a man should marry one woman and that the two will become one flesh. This is used as a metaphor for a body. In Mark 10:6-8, we read that: “God made them male and female. For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. So they are no longer two but one flesh.” Similarly, Paul in 1 Timothy 3:2 adds that “Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober- minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach.” In fact, according to Matthew 19:9, marrying another wife is equal to committing adultery: “I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.” This translates into breaking the legal requirement of the Ten Commandments as contained in Exodus 20:14: “Thou shall not commit adultery.” Muhammad on the other hand taught that it is allowed for a man to have four wives as taught in Sura 4:3: “If ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly with the orphans, marry women of your choice, two or three or four; but if ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly (with them), then only one, or (a captive) that your right hands possess, that will be more suitable, to prevent you from doing injustice.” He further teaches in Sura 23:1-6, Sura 4:24, and Sura 33:50 that other woman who are in possession of man’s right hand, are allowed. Thus, we read that “1 the believers must (eventually) win through. Those who humble themselves in their prayers. And they who turn away from ill speech. And they who are observant of zakah. Who abstain from sex. Except from their wives or those their right hands possess, for indeed, they will not be blamed.”

1 Quran Tafsir Ibn Kathir, “Surah 5:48,” accessed August 24, 2016, http://www.qtafsir.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=768&Itemid=60.

2 M. Poorthuis and B. Roggema, The Three Rings, Textual Studies in the Historical Trialogue of Judaism, Christianity and Islam (Leuven: Peeters Publishers, 2005), 223.

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Maududi, a highly respected commentator and a Middle-age scholar and as well as a reformation leader comments on the possession of the right hand as follows:

Two categories of women have been excluded from the general command of guarding the private parts: (a) wives, (b) women who are legally in one’s possession, i.e. slave-girls. Thus the verse clearly lays down the law that one is allowed to have sexual relation with one’s slave-girl as with one’s wife, the basis being possession and not marriage. If marriage had been the condition, the slave-girl also would have been included among the wives, and there was no need to mention them separately.3

In Sahih Muslim, which is one of the five reliable and trustworthy in Islamic tradition next to Sahih al-Bukhari, Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi and ibn Maja, there is an instance where the teachings are brought into action by with Muhammad being present:

Abu Sirma said to Abu Said al Khudri: "O Abu Said, did you hear Allah's messenger mentioning about al-azl (coitus interruptus)?" He said, "Yes", and added: "We went out with Allah's messenger on the expedition to the Mustaliq and took captive some excellent Arab women; and we desired them for we were suffering from the absence of our wives, (but at the same time) we also desired ransom for them. So, we decided to have sexual intercourse with them but by observing azl" (withdrawing the male sexual organ before emission of semen to avoid conception). But we said: "We are doing an act whereas Allah's messenger is amongst us; why not ask him?" So, we asked Allah's messenger and he said: "It does not matter if you do not do it, for every soul that is to be born up to the will be born.4

Same passage is also found in Abu Dawud (Vol. 2, no 2167); which means the transaction, also known as isnad, is accurate and trustworthy in the Islamic tradition. In Islamic tradition if the isnad of the is weak, also called daeef, in that case one can say that the hadith passage is not authentic, which is not the case in this example. Another example is the notion on the crucifixion of Jesus Christ in Christianity and in Islam. The Bible teaches in all the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), that Jesus was crucified. According to Habermas the crucifixion and death of Jesus is also a strong

3 Sayyid Abul A’La Maududi, “The Meaning of the Quran,” Islamic Publications, vol. 3 note 7-1 (2000): 241.

4 Sahih Muslims, “Al-Azl (incomplete sexual intercourse): Coitus Interruptus,” Sahih Muslim Book 008, Hadith Number 3371, vol. 2, no. 3371, accessed August 24, 2016, http://hadithcollection.com/sahihmuslim/136-Sahih%20Muslim%20Book%2008.%20Marriage/11334-sahih- muslim-book-008-hadith-number-3371.html.

7 historical fact5 But Muhammad taught that Jesus was not crucified nor was he killed according to Sura 4:157: “That they said (in boast), "We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah," but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not.” There is only one branch of Islam- the Ahmadiya- which differ from the Sunni, Shia, and the Sufi that holds the believe that Jesus was actually crucified yet barely survived. In Sunni Islam, there is a consensus that Jesus, also known as Isa in Islamic tradition, was not crucified and also not killed. According to ibn Kathir the person that was crucified and killed instead of Jesus was a person who was disguised by Allah to look like Jesus so that the people would be confused thinking that they killed the real Jesus.6 Thirdly, in comparing the two teachings of Christianity and Islam, the view of life in heaven or Kingdom after the resurrection can be cited. Jesus taught according to Matthew 22:30 that after the resurrection there will be no marriage: “At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the in heaven.” In the case of Islam, Muhammad teaches that after the resurrection people will have a wife in paradise, also known as Jannah. An example of this reference is found in Surah 55:56-57: “In them (Jannah) will be (Maidens), chaste, restraining their glances, whom no man or before them has touched.” Ibn Kathir’s commentary, which is called tafsir in Islamic tradition, on this passage reads:

(Qasirat At-Tarf) chaste females, wives restraining their glances, desiring none except their husbands, seeing them as the most beautiful men in Paradise. This was said by Ibn `Abbas, Qatadah, `Ata' Al-Khurasani and Ibn Zayd. It was reported that one of these wives will say to her husband, "By Allah! I neither see anything in Paradise more handsome than you nor more beloved to me than you. So praise be to Allah Who made you for me and made me for you.'' Allah said, (whom never deflowered a human before nor Jinn) meaning they are delightful virgins of comparable age who never had sexual intercourse with anyone, whether from mankind or , before their husbands. This is also a proof that the believers among the Jinns will enter Paradise. Artat bin Al-Mundhir said, "Damrah bin Habib was asked if the Jinns will enter Paradise and he said, `Yes, and they will get married. The Jinns will have Jinn women and the humans will have female humans.7

5 Gary R. Habermas, The Historical Jesus; Ancient Evidence For The Life of Christ, Joplin: College Press Publishing Company, 1996. 158 6 For a discussion, see ibn Kathir tafsir, available at: http://www.qtafsir.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=585&Itemid=59.

7 Ibn Kathir, “Surah 55:54-57.” 8

Also, there is the teaching of having multiple wives in the paradise as well. Those who are considered as the true believers of Allah and Muhammad will have more wives in paradise. Ibn Kathir in his commentary of Surah 56:33-37 states the following:

(In Paradise, the believer will be given such and such strength for women.) Anas said, "I asked, `O Allah's Messenger! Will one be able to do that' He said, (He will be given the strength of a hundred (men).)'' At-Tirmidhi also recorded it and said, "Sahih Gharib.'' Abu Al-Qasim At-Tabarani recorded that Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah was asked, "O Allah's Messenger! Will we have sexual intercourse with our wives in Paradise'' He said, (The man will be able to have sexual intercourse with a hundred virgins in one day.) Al-Hafiz Abu `Abdullah Al-Maqdisi said, "In my view, this Hadith meets the criteria of the Sahih, and Allah knows best.8

The final example is that of Jesus’s position of Jesus. In the teachings of the Bible, Jesus is considered to be the Son of God. In Mark 14:61-64, the accounts of Jesus trial show his claim to divinity: “Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” 62 “I am,” said Jesus.” John Gills, comments on the divine nature of Jesus in this manner:

And Jesus said, I am…That is, the Son of God; in proof of which he adds, and ye shall see the son of man sitting on the right hand of power; that is, of God, who is all power, the Lord God Almighty: and coming in the clouds of heaven; either at the destruction of , or at the last day, referring to the prophecy in Daniel 7:13.9

On this subject, Muhammad teaches that Jesus is no Son of God but a mere prophet as found in Surah 5:75: “Christ the son of Mary was no more than a messenger; many were the messengers that passed away before him. His mother was a woman of truth. They had both to eat their (daily) food. See how Allah doth make His signs clear to them; yet see in what ways they are deluded away from the truth!” From this brief analysis, one cannot but notice the dilemma. In this regard, where Islam is supposed to be a confirmation of the previous Abrahamic religions as stated earlier, it appears to be the opposite. Clearly, the emerging picture becomes even more confusing when Muhammad seems to call people to believe in the previous scriptures, the Torah and the Injil as it is stated for example in Sura 29:46: “And do not argue with the People of the Scripture except in a way that is best, except for those who commit injustice among them, and say, "We

8 Ibn kathir, “Surah 56:33-37.”

9 John Gill’s Exposition on Entire Bible, “Mark 14:62,” Biblehub, accessed August 26, 2016, http://biblehub.com/commentaries/gill/mark/14.htm. 9 believe in that which has been revealed to us and revealed to you. And our God and your God is one; and we are Muslims [in submission] to Him."” Imam ibn Abbas, another trustworthy commentator in Sunni Islam, comments on this passage as follows:

And argue not with the People of the Scripture) the Jews and Christians (unless it be in (a way) that is better) i.e. by the Qur'an, (save with such of them as do wrong) from among the delegation of Najran, then you can do so by means of Mula'anah; (and say: We believe in that which has been revealed unto us) i.e. the Qur'an (and revealed unto you) the Torah and the Gospel; (our God and your God is One) He has no son or partner, (and unto Him we surrender) we are sincere to Him in our worship and profession of Allah's divine Oneness, and we believe in Him.10

To be more specific, in Surah 5:43 Muhammad calls to the Jews to judge according to their book, specifically the Old Testament, which also was revealed by Allah. In his words, “But how is it that they come to you for judgement while they have the Torah, in which is the judgement of Allah? Then they turn away, [even] after that; but those are not [in fact] believers.” Ibn Abbas adds in his commentary that the surah was revealed in a context where Jews came to Muhammad to ask him about the matter of stoning, to which Muhammad replied to judge, so also to believe and follow, by the book which was given to them, the Torah:

How come they unto thee for judgement) regarding stoning, this is mentioned by way of showing amazement (when they have the Torah, wherein) in the Torah (Allah hath delivered judgement (for them)) the judgement of stoning? (Yet even after that) after the exposition in the Qur'an and the Torah (they turn away. Such (folk) are not believers) in the Torah.11

In the commentary of ibn Kathir of Surah 5:41, the full context of Jews going to Muhammad to ask in the matter of stoning is written. Muhammad replies to the Jews as following concerning the matter of stoning:

The Prophet recited; (Bring here the Tawrah and recite it, if you are truthful.) So they brought the Tawrah and read from it until the reader reached the verse about stoning. Then he placed his hand on that verse and read what was before and after it. `Abdullah bin Salam, who was with the Messenger of Allah, said, "Order him to remove his hand,'' and

10 Quran Tafsir Tawnir al-Miqbas min Tafsir Ibn Abbas, “Surah 29:46,” accessed August 26, 2016, http://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=73&tSoraNo=29&tAyahNo=46&tDisplay=yes&U serProfile=0&LanguageId=2.

11 Tafsir Ibn Abbas, “Surah 5:43.”

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he removed his hand and under it was the verse about stoning. So the Messenger of Allah commanded that the adulterers be stoned, and they were stoned…They arranged a pillow for the Messenger of Allah and he sat on it and said, They arranged a pillow for the Messenger of Allah and he sat on it and said, (I trust you and He Who revealed it to you.) He then said.12

Not does it only seem that Muhammad believed and taught the Jews to believe in their Torah, but he also said the same to the Christians concerning their own scripture which is the New Testament the Gospels to be more specific, that they should believe and judge with it according to Surah 5:47 “And let the People of the Gospel judge by what Allah has revealed therein. And whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed - then it is those who are the defiantly disobedient.” Ibn Kathir in his Tafsir adds the following concerning this Surah: “Say "O People of the Scripture! You have nothing (guidance) until you act according to the Tawrah, the Injil, and what has been sent down to you from your Lord.”13 Therefore, to sums up the dilemma which one faces when looking at the confirmation matter of Islam in comparison to the previous Abrahamic religions, one cannot but notice the disparity in their scriptural claims. Muhammad teaches that Islam is the last of the revelations as discussed in Surah 5:48, at the same time he also calls people to believe the previous revelations such as the Old Testament and the New Testament, yet seems to contradict these teachings, thus rendering his supposed confirmation theory invalid. This naturally raises the question whether there is a misunderstanding, which will be the first part of analysis in this thesis. If there is no misunderstanding, then the further analysis will be whether Muhammad is truly a prophet of God of the Abrahamic religion. In that case first a clarification of what Abrahamic religion is will be given and how prophets are to be seen. Then the analysis will focus on the person of Muhammad. Finally, the result of the analysis will be applied on the prophethood of Muhammad in order to seek an answer to the question “whether Muhammad is a true prophet of God of Abrahamic religion”, which is the main question of this thesis. Concerning the methodology, it consists of a phenomenological approach of Islamic and Christian sources backed up with commentary as was done above. So for Christian sources, Bible in English Standard Version (ESV) with commentaries will be used. For Islamic sources, the Quran which is the main source of Islam, the Hadiths which is the second main source of Islam, Tafisrs (Islamic commentaries) and Sirats (historical Islamic works) will be

12 Tafisr Ibn Kathir, “Surah 5:41.” 13 Tafsir ibn Kathir, “Surah 5:47.” 11 used. Apart from these two sources external historical and academic sources will be used to clarify some contexts or teachings. The purpose of this paper in the first place is to give an answer concerning the prophethood of Muhammad, secondly to give a clarification how Muhammad is to be seen within Abrahamic worldview.

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Chapter 1

What is Abrahamic Religion?

Abrahamic religion finds its origin in . Before going into what an Abrahamic religion is, it is important to give a short background on who Abraham was. According to the book of Genesis in the Torah, God chose Abraham and established His covenant with him. God promised to grant him descendants as numerous as the stars. But Abraham’s wife, , was barren and was unable to bear a child for him. To solve this problem, Sarah proposed to Abraham to use Hagar, one of her maids, as a surrogate mother for conceiving a child. Abraham did as Sarah proposed. Thus, Hagar became pregnant and gave birth to . Despite this human arrangement, God made it clear to Abraham that the child and the covenant would come through the offspring of Sarah. Eventually, Sarah did conceive and had a male child who was named Isaac. Abraham then was commanded by God to sacrifice Isaac. Abraham obeyed, but moments before the slaughter of Isaac, God restrained him. He had passed the test. He blessed Abraham for his faithfulness and he made a covenant that will extend to all his descendants. The Islamic view on Abraham are in some ways different than the accounts found in Genesis. But these differences are beyond the scope of this thesis. What is relevant though is that in Islamic thought there is no mention of the covenant that God made with Abraham, which will be discussed in this chapter. However, and despite these differences, both Christianity and Islam see Abraham as a progenitor and the originator of the hope they share. In Galatians 3:29, we read Paul declaring that “And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.” This sums up Christians’ view on Abraham. In Surah 2:130, we read that “And who would be averse to the religion of Abraham except one who makes a fool of himself. And We had chosen him in this world, and indeed he, in the Hereafter, will be among the righteous.” This points to the Islamic view. However, where there is somewhat a consensus of the Abrahamic religions is the fact that they all claim to worship the one God of Abraham, who created heaven and earth, who sends prophets and passes judgment on the day of judgement to all people. These points will be analysed more in depth. Both Christianity and Islam teach the creation of heaven and earth and as well as the creation of man. Hence, man was placed in the garden and then rejected from it because of

13 breaking the only commandment given by God, which was not to eat the forbidden fruit. This breaking of the commandment brought forth the birth of the sinful nature of man which led to the expulsion from God’s presence. This is also known as the concept of original sin. Because of the original sin, people are naturally not born in paradise because of their sinful nature, instead an act has to take place for a man to get back to God and His paradise, which is one of the core teachings of Abrahamic religions. Also in Islam, there is a concept of original sin, but the term is not explicit. According to Sahih al-Bukhari:

The Prophet said, "Adam and argued with each other. Moses said to Adam. 'O Adam! You are our father who disappointed us and turned us out of Paradise.' Then Adam said to him, 'O Moses! Allah favored you with His talk (talked to you directly) and He wrote (the Torah) for you with His Own Hand. Do you blame me for action which Allah had written in my fate forty years before my creation?' So, Adam confuted Moses, Adam confuted Moses," the Prophet added, repeating the Statement three times.14

It is clear to see that because of Adam, other people are indirectly cast out of paradise that is in other words people are not born in it. In Muwatta Malik book 46, section 1, an identical passage is repeated which confirms the isnad, which was the authentic transmission, “Adam and Musa argued and Adam got the better of Musa. Musa rebuked Adam, 'You are Adam who led people astray and brought them out of the Garden.” Imam Bukhari in his hadith Sahih al- Bukhari 3431 adds that “Abu Huraira said, "I heard Allah's Messenger saying, there is none born among the off-spring of Adam, but touches it. A child therefore, cries loudly at the time of birth because of the touch of Satan, except Mary and her child." Then Abu Huraira recited: "And I seek refuge with You for her and for her offspring from the outcast Satan." So on this part there seems to be a consensus in Christianity and also in Islam. Secondly there is the call of Abraham and the covenant which God made with him in the Old Testament. The promise of covenant starts in Genesis 12:1-3:

Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

From Christian point of view, this covenant was the first visible step undertaken by God for the restoration of man from original sin. The promise of God to Abraham “you will be a

14 Al-Bukhari, “Sahih al-Bukhari Book 77 Hadith 611,” Book of Divine Will (Qadar), Vol. 8, accessed August 24, 2016, https://muflihun.com/bukhari/77/611.

14 blessing” and “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” in Genesis 12 is indirectly understood as “through your descendants blessing and salvation will come”. This thinking in Christianity comes because through the descendants of Abraham, Jesus Christ was born. And who, according to Christianity, brought the restoration for all people from the original sin. This is taught in Mark 10:45 “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” In other words, from Christian view, God chose one man, through whom he formed a nation, Israel, and from that nation God reached out through Jesus Christ to peoples of other nations for the purpose of restoration from the original sin. In so doing, the curse that was done away with on the cross by Jesus, would grant the restored people access to God again. But looking from Islamic view, there is absolute no mention of the covenant which God made with Abraham, also no sign of the restoration plan as is understood in Christianity. In fact, Islam teaches that the crucifixion never took place as discussed in Surah 4:157, which by its core message removes the restoration plan by God as taught in Christianity, a teaching which forms part of the hope of Christians. Also, the concept of one bearing the burden of sin does not exist in Quran according to Surah 6:164 "Is it other than Allah I should desire as a lord while He is the Lord of all things? And every soul earns not [blame] except against itself, and no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another. Then to your Lord is your return, and He will inform you concerning that over which you used to differ.". The third example is that of repentance and forgiveness for sins in Abrahamic Religions. Moses, one of the descendants of Abraham, was chosen by God to free His people, the Hebrews which were the descendants of Abraham, from slavery. Soon after the Freeing the Hebrew people, God revealed to Moses His laws, which was written down and called the Torah (also called The Law). In the Torah, God prescribed a particular requirement for atoning for one’s sins. It is a ritual system where the priest is required to sacrifice a particular animal for penitence for his sins and the sins of the nation. The ritual description is given in Leviticus chapters 1, 4, 5 and 7 mainly. The reason behind the sacrificing of a particular animal is revealed by God in Leviticus 17:11 “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.” Ellicott in his commentary concerning this passage writes that “As the blood of the victim is identical with its life, and represents the soul of the animal, hence God has appointed it as a substitute for the sinner’s life. Thus, the life of the sacrifice

15 atones for the life of the offerer.”15 Paul in his letter to the Hebrews adds in chapter 9:22 that “Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” In other words, the sin of a man which brings forth death according to James 1:15 can be atoned by the blood of the animal at the sacrifice. In effect, it becomes a means by which man can be forgiven, as to say the blood then functions as the catalyst which turn death back to life because of the life force in the blood. In the Christian view, Jesus is the real sacrifice who became the ultimate Lamb of God who broke the curse of original sin of humanity and took it upon himself. By his sacrifice, others can have possible access to life in God’s Kingdom. Jesus states in John 6:53 “So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” testifies on behalf of Jesus who approaches him for baptism and states in John 1:26 “… “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” We observe that in Islam there is absolutely no sacrificial system for the repentance of sins nor does Islam teaches that for sin, blood is needed as requirement for repentance. Islam has a ritual only based on the sacrifice which was done by Abraham16 where God gave Abraham a ram to sacrifice instead of his son according to Surah 37:107: “And We ransomed him with a great sacrifice.” Imam al-Suyuti in his tafsir al-Jalalayn of Surah 37:107 comments on the replacement of the son with a ram thus:

Then We ransomed him, the one whom he had been commanded to sacrifice, namely, Ishmael or Isaac — two different opinions — with a mighty sacrifice, [a mighty] ram from Paradise, the same one that Abel had offered as as sacrifice: , peace be upon him, brought it and the lord Abraham sacrificed it as he cried, Allāhu akbar, ‘God is Great.

The forgiveness of sins in Islam comes mainly through repentance and good deeds, which mainly means prayer. Repentance according to Surah 39:53 is described in this statement:

Say, "O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful." and good deeds according to Surah 11:114 “And establish prayer at the two ends of the day and at the approach of the night. Indeed, good deeds do away with misdeeds. That is a reminder for those who remember.

15 Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers, “Leviticus 17:11,” Biblehub, accessed August 24, 2016, http://biblehub.com/commentaries/leviticus/17-11.htm.

16 Jamal J. Elias, Islam (London: Routledge, 1999), 75. 16

Finally, there are the prophets and their message. According to the Christian perspective, all the prophets were assigned to do two things, bring people in remembrance to follow God’s commandments and to prophecy about the coming of the Messiah, who is Jesus Christ in Christianity. Jesus in Matthew 11:13 states that “For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John.” John Gill’s commentary remarks on this passage records that “because all the inspired writers and prophets, who were before him, prophesied of the Messiah as to come; and either spoke of him in obscure terms, or represented him under dark shadows and figures: whereas John spake of him as already come, and in plain terms, and directed to his very person.” Which also indirectly seems that all the prophets who prophecies of the coming of Christ and called the people to follow God’s Laws were the descendants of Abraham, the people of the covenant, because “all the prophets” refers to books of prophets of Old Testament. Hence these prophets in the books of prophets were all descendants of Abraham, Isaac and who prophesized the coming of Christ. The prophets in Christian view were able to prophecy and follow their task by the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God guided the prophets in their missions. For example, in Judges 6:34, we read that “But the Spirit of the LORD clothed Gideon, and he sounded the trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called out to follow him.” John Gill’s in his commentary adds that “…the Spirit of God filled him, or, as in the Hebrew text, "clothed" (y) him with zeal, strength, and might, moved and animated him to engage...”17 In another instance, king prays to God and asks God not to take away the Holy Spirit from him after committing a sin according to Psalm 51:12 “Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.” Muhammad however teaches that the prophets are not necessarily descendants of Abraham. In fact, Islam teaches that every nation has received their own prophet according to Surah 10:47 “And for every nation is a messenger. So when their messenger comes, it will be judged between them in justice, and they will not be wronged.” The central message of these prophets in Islam was the tawhid, which is the call to worship the supreme God, or some statements explicitly state the God of Abraham. Also, the presence of the Holy Spirit in prophets does not exist in Islam. In fact, Holy Spirit as the Spirit of God does not exist at all in Islamic tradition. The Holy Spirit, also

17 Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible, “Judges 6:34,” Biblehub, accessed August 24, 2016, http://biblehub.com/commentaries/judges/6-34.htm.

17 known as Ruh al Qudus, or Ruh al Ameen, the trustworthy Spirit, is referred to the Gabriel.18 He reveals the revelations of Allah to the prophets. Yet, in Islam, the most interesting notion are the prophecies. In Islamic tradition the prophecies about the Messiah Jesus Christ, al-masih, as the saviour of Israel and establisher of peace and everlasting Kingdom is not formulated. Instead, according to Muhammad he is prophesied in the previous scriptures such as in the Torah and in the Gospels according to for example Surah 7:157 “Those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered prophet, whom they find written in what they have of the Torah and the Gospel, …” Imam al-Suyuti in his Tafsir al-Jalalayn comments concerning this passage “those who follow the Messenger, the uninstructed Prophet, Muhammad (s) whom they will find inscribed in their Torah and Gospel, in name and description.” Also, according to ibn Abbas in his tafsir Tanwir al-Miqbas min Tafsir ibn Abbas same commentary, we read “(Those who follow the messenger) the religion of the Messenger, (the Prophet who can neither read nor write) i.e. Muhammad (pbuh) (whom they will find) with his traits and description (described in the Torah and the Gospel (which are) with them.” And also, ibn Kathir in his tafsir comments in same way according to this passage in Surah 7:157:

Those who follow the Messenger, the Prophet who can neither read nor write whom they find written with them in the Tawrah and the Injil,) This is the description of the Prophet Muhammad in the Books of the Prophets. They delivered the good news of his advent to their nations and commanded them to follow him. His descriptions were still apparent in their Books, as the and the priests well know.

In other words, in Islam it is believed that Muhammad is prophesied in the Torah and the Gospels. This therefore means, despite the differences in Christianity and Islam, there exists an approach which can be as far as possible objectively tested. Looking at all the prophectic claims of Muhammad and analysing them an answer can be given to the main question whether Muhammad is a true prophet of Abrahamic religion or not. If he is prophesied in the Torah and the Gospels and there are even some slight reasons to believe he is, then one can say that he is a true prophet. If he is not prophesied and there is no strong foundation to this claim, then he is not to be considered as a true prophet of Abrahamic religion. But before going into the prophecies it is important to get a clearer picture of who Muhammad was.

18 Shaykh Safiu-Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri, Tafsir Ibn Kathir (10 Volumes, Abridged) (SI: Darussalam Publishers, 2000), 275-276. 18

Chapter 2

A Short Life History of Muhammad

Muhammad was born in at about AD 570 to the tribe of . He is believed to be a descendant of Ishmael according to the biography of , who is a Muslim historian who wrote the first historical biography of Muhammad. His ancestry goes from his father Abdullah B. Abdul Muttalib, then to Adnan and until Nabit. From there, it descended back to Ishmael the son of Abraham whom he had through Hagar, as recorded in the Sirat.19 Sirat means historical biography. This ancestry confers on him an Arab identity. The first thing to note, from Christian standpoint, is that he is outside of the Abrahamic covenant which is mediated through Isaac. However, there is an instance in the Torah where a non-Hebrew man called , not a descendant of Isaac, is also considered to be a prophet in Numbers 22 until 24. In fact, in Numbers 24:2-4, Balaam prophesy and declared that: “When Balaam looked out and saw Israel encamped tribe by tribe, the Spirit of God came on him and he spoke his message: “The prophecy of Balaam son of Beor, the prophecy of one whose eye sees clearly, the prophecy of one who hears the words of God, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who falls prostrate, and whose eyes are opened...” So, this grants the idea that it is not necessary to be a descendant of Isaac to be a prophet, outsiders of the covenant of Abraham and Isaac can also become a prophet, so it should not be a problem for Muhammad being an outsider and holding the probability of being a prophet. At the age of forty, Muhammad was visited by Angel Jibril, known as Gabriel in Christianity. He notified Muhammad of his mission and that he was to be the prophet of Allah.20 Although there is a lot to share about what happened after he was commissioned by the Angel until the time of his death, only some parts of his mission and teachings are relevant for this thesis. The first of his mission, which was the most important, was to call the people to Tawhid, which is worshipping the one and only God, Allah. This matter was very important in Mecca because there was a strong polytheism in the city.21 In Mecca, there was, and still is till today a building called the where Muslims pray towards to as a form of worship to

19 Ibn Hishā m Abd al-Malik, The Life of Muhammad, trans. Alfred Guillaume (: Oxford University Press, 1967), 3.

20 Abd al-Malik, The Life of Muhammad, 111.

21 Abd al-Malik, The Life of Muhammad, 35.

19

Allah. During the time of Muhammad, the building was surrounded by three hundred and sixty idols which were being worshipped by the people of Mecca. According to Islamic tradition, Muhammad’s task was to make sure people turn away from this polytheistic worship and bring them to the Tawhid. Eventually he succeeded in bringing the Tawhid to the Meccanites. The idols near the Kaaba were destroyed where the people were brought to worship Allah only. There is however a very interesting matter concerning the Kaaba. It is not necessarily the building that is the focus of discussion or the act of praying towards the building, but the set up blackstone that was erected and still standing at the corner of the building which Muslims bow to five times a day. The was placed by Muhammad himself.22 Countless Muslims have since touched and kissed the stone. This glorification of the stone is still practiced today. It is taught according to Tirmidhi in his hadith that Muhammad said that the stone was originally white, but it became black because it sucked the sins of those people who touched it.23 This glorification of the black stone finds its origin in the fact that also Muhammad himself practiced this according to Sahih al Bukhari.24 This point, of course, leads to the discussion on whether this act is acceptable in the eyes of God, especially from the context of the Old Testament passages such as Leviticus 26:1: “You shall not make idols for yourselves or erect an image or pillar, and you shall not set up a figured stone in your land to bow down to it, for I am the LORD your God.” This command is repeated in the Torah. For instance, Exodus 20:1-6, Deuteronomy 4:10-19, Deuteronomy 16:22 pointedly states “do not erect a sacred stone, for these the Lord your God hates.” Another important part of the Muhammad’s revelation is the teaching of abrogation, which according to Surah 2:106 sheds light on the subject matter of this thesis. We read, “We do not abrogate a verse or cause it to be forgotten except that We bring forth [one] better than it or similar to it. Do you not know that Allah is over all things competent?” This teaching is known as abrogation, or also known as Nashq in Islamic tradition. This teaching is directly related to the teachings of Muhammad in his time and also the teachings from the Quran. For example, ibn Abbas in his commentary remarks that:

22 Muhammad Mustafa Al-A'zami, The History of The Qur'anic Text: From Revelation to Compilation: A Comparative Study with the Old and New Testaments (London: Islamic Academy, 2003), 24.

23 Saying of the Prophet, Collection of Tirmizi, VII, 49.

24 Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 2, Book 26, Number 673. 20

Then Allah mentions what was abrogated of the Qur'an and that which was not abrogated, as a direct reference to the claim of the Quraysh who said to the Prophet: O Muhammad! Why do you command us to do something and then forbid it, saying: (Such of Our revelations as We abrogate) We do not erase a verse that was acted upon before and which is now not acted upon (or cause to be forgotten) or leave unabrogated so that it is acted upon, (We bring one better) We send Gabriel with that which more profitable and easier to act upon (or the like) in reward, benefit and action. (Knowest thou not) O Muhammad (that Allah is Able to do all things?) of the abrogated and unabrogated.25

This abrogation can be understood from the example of alcohol consumption, which was first allowed but then forbidden. According to Sahih Hadith, “Narrated Jabir: Some people drank alcoholic beverages in the morning (of the day) of the Uhud battle and on the same day they were killed as martyrs, and that was before wine was prohibited.” 26 Although the passage, also known as ayah, of the nashq is related to the Quranic context only, in this thesis it will be played in favour of Islam to argue that it is a general statement which can also be stretched to both the Old and the New Testament teachings, because this system also exists in Christianity which will be discussed below here. By this when there seems to be a contradiction in teaching from Islamic side with the previous Abrahamic Religions, it can be interpreted as being the abrogation of the previous teachings, of Old Testament or New Testament. This is a possible scenario also in Christianity. Moses who brought The Law introduced the teachings of Exodus 21:24 “eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.” Jesus Christ however taught in Matthew 5:38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. This of course is a form of abrogation where the previous teaching is being replaced by a new one. In the case of Christianity, it is called fulfilment instead of abrogation, because Jesus was to fulfil the Law of Moses. In this case however, fulfilment is brought and interpreted in the case of mercy, truth and justice according to John 1:17 “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”. So, because of the existence of abrogation system in Abrahamic religion, the teachings of Islam which seem to contradict Christianity, as we have seen in the Introduction, can be justified. This follows the example of marriage given in the introduction. However, the

25 Ibn ‘Abbâs, “Surah 2:106.”

26 Sahih al Bukhari, “Prophetic Commentary on the Qur'an (Tafseer of the Prophet (pbuh) Volume 6, Book 60, Number 142,” accessed August 26, 2016, http://www.quranexplorer.com/Hadith/English/Hadith/bukhari/006.060.142.html.

21 system of abrogation is only applicable to teachings, which means some aspects are still to be considered as contradictions, for example the case of crucifixion of Jesus Christ. This of course is not a teaching but an event which has a fundamental meaning in Christianity. Abrogation in Islam is also used in the case of peace and justice, which is a very relevant subject nowadays and needs a lot of clarification. In the early phase of Muhammad’s mission, some equality ayah’s, passages, have been revealed for instance in Surah 2:256 “There shall be no compulsion in [acceptance of] the religion. The right course has become clear from the wrong. So, whoever disbelieves in and believes in Allah has grasped the most trustworthy handhold with no break in it. And Allah is Hearing and Knowing.” Ibn Abbas in his commentary of this ayah states “(There is no compulsion in religion) no one from among the and the Magians should be coerced to believe in the divine Oneness of Allah after the Arabs' embrace of Islam.” 27 Also in the same period, he establishes peace treaties with the Jews and the citizens in and around Medina.28 However, the more Muhammad grew in having followers and power, the more the revelations changed, abrogated, until the point where there was, and still is, only hatred and violence towards non- Muslims. For the start, to understand the abrogation system, the chronology of the Quranic Surahs must be examined. According to Islamic tradition29 and Theodor Nöldeke,30 who is a scientist on Quranic manuscript and the chronology of the Surah’s, Surah 5 and Surah 9 also known as the Surah of the sword are considered to be the last Surah’s which contain a teaching. For instance, at the final phase of Muhammad’s mission an offensive , also known as the “lesser struggle” next to the “greater struggle” which is Jihad against one inner self31, is taught by him. For instance, offensive Jihad is revealed in Surah 9:5 towards the inhabitants of Mecca unless they convert to Islam in four months’ time “And when the sacred months have passed, then kill the polytheists wherever you find them and capture them and besiege them and sit in wait for them at every place of ambush. But if they should repent, establish

27 Ibn ‘Abbâs,” Surah 2:256.”

28 Abd al-Malik, The Life of Muhammad, 231.

29 WikiIslam, “Chronological Order of the Quran,” accessed August 26, 2016, https://wikiislam.net/wiki/Chronological_Order_of_the_Qur'an.

30 Theodor Nö ldeke, Friedrich Schwally, and O Pretzl, Texts and Studies on the Qur'an: The History of the Qur'an (Leiden: Brill, 2013).

31Ahmad ibn Naqib Al-Misri, Reliance of the Traveller: The Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law ʻumdat Al-Salik, ed. Nuh Ha Mim Keller (Beltsville, MD: Amana Corporation, 1999), 600-604. 22 prayer, and give zakah, let them [go] on their way. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.”. This offensive Jihad is now allowed and possible according to Ibn Kathir because the offensive Jihad of Surah 9:5 abrogates “all” terms of peace treaty. Thus, we read,

(I have been commanded to fight the people until they testify that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, establish the prayer and pay the Zakah.) This honorable Ayah (9:5) was called the Ayah of the Sword, about which Ad-Dahhak bin Muzahim said, "It abrogated every agreement of peace between the Prophet and any idolator, every treaty, and every term.'' Al-`Awfi said that Ibn `Abbas commented: "No idolator had any more treaty or promise of safety ever since Surah Bara'ah was revealed. The four months, in addition to, all peace treaties conducted before Bara'ah was revealed and announced had ended by the tenth of the month of Rabi` Al-Akhir.''32

After Surah 9:5 and the capture of Mecca, there was an elaborate offensive Jihad teaching according Surah 9:29 towards all who are non-muslims “Fight those who do not believe in Allah or in the Last Day and who do not consider unlawful what Allah and His Messenger have made unlawful and who do not adopt the religion of truth from those who were given the Scripture - [fight] until they give the jizyah(tax) willingly while they are humbled.”. The next ayah, Surah 9:30, teaches hatred and destruction towards Jews and Christians: “The Jews say, "Ezra is the son of Allah "; and the Christians say, "The Messiah is the son of Allah." That is their statement from their mouths; they imitate the saying of those who disbelieved [before them]. May Allah destroy them; how are they deluded?” Although Surah 9:29 seems like it is referring to those outside of Abrahamic religion, it is however not according to ibn Kathir and imam al-Suyuti. Ibn Kathir states according to Surah 9:29 that “…This honorable Ayah was revealed with the order to fight the People of the Book, after the pagans were defeated, the people entered Allah's religion in large numbers, and the Arabian Peninsula was secured under the Muslims' control. Allah commanded His Messenger to fight the People of the Scriptures, Jews and Christians, on the ninth year of Hijrah…” 33 Ibn Abbas in his tafsir also adds, “(Fight against such of those who have been given the Scripture) the Jews and Christians (as believe not in Allah nor the Last Day)” 34 Secondly, there is Surah 5 which is also one of the two last Surah’s that contains a teaching. Yet again also in this Surah the teachings of offensive lesser Jihad are found. For

32 Ibn Kathir, “Surah 9:5.”

33 Ibn Kathir, “Surah 9:29.

34 Ibn ‘Abbâs, “Surah 9:29.”

23 instance, to situate the context, Surah 5:32 states how Allah had commanded that the Jews, children of Israel, should live “…We decreed upon the Children of Israel that whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption [done] in the land - it is as if he had slain mankind entirely. And whoever saves one - it is as if he had saved mankind entirely. And our messengers had certainly come to them with clear proofs. Then indeed many of them, [even] after that, throughout the land, were transgressors.”. Aside from the fact that this was not revealed in the Torah or any book in the Tenach but is a tradition passed on in the , the next ayah now speaks in contrary to the Jews on what Muslims should practice instead: “The penalty for those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger and strive upon earth [to cause] corruption is none but that they be killed or crucified or that their hands and feet be cut off from opposite sides or that they be exiled from the land. That is for them a disgrace in this world; and for them in the Hereafter is a great punishment.” Seeing the fact that no one can physically wage war against Allah, ibn Kathir clarifies what waging war against Allah means: “`Wage war' mentioned here means, oppose and contradict, and it includes disbelief, blocking roads and spreading fear in the fairways.” So, anyone who disbeliefs Allah is commanded to be fought, which confirms the teachings of the Surah 9 as the last teaching which abrogates all previous teachings that contain peace between a non-Muslim. This is the correct way according to ibn Kathir because it is the newest religion which because of it should dominate the other previous ones:

Muhammad's religion shall always be dominant and victorious over all other religions. This is why Allah allowed Muslims to conquer the eastern and western parts of the world and the kingdoms of the earth. Furthermore, all countries submitted to them; they demolished Kisra (king of Persia) and destroyed the Czar, ridding them of their treasures and spending these treasures for Allah's sake. All this occurred just as their Prophet told them it would.35

In the Sirat of ibn Ishaq we see the lesser Jihad also in action where Muhammad totally destroyed Jewish villages for example Banu Qurayza, there he beheaded 800 Jews in one day.36 Or in the village of Khaybar where all Jewish men were killed in front of their wives and children. Their leader was scourged and beheaded for gold and his wife taken as a concubine for Muhammad. 37

35 Ibn Kathir, “Surah 3:35.”

36 Abd al-Malik, The Life of Muhammad, 461.

37 Abd al-Malik, The Life of Muhammad, 510. 24

Likewise, in Surah 9:30, there is also the strong hate teachings that comes into view especially towards the Jews as is found for example in hadith Sahih al Bukhari "Allah's Apostle said, The Hour will not be established until you fight with the Jews, and the stone behind which a will be hiding will say: 'O Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, so kill him'." 38 Also Surah 5:51, which is once again to be considered as one of the last teachings forbid taking Jews or Christians as friends: “O ye who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians for friends. They are friends one to another. He among you who taketh them for friends is (one) of them. Lo! Allah guideth not wrongdoing folk.” Where the followers of Muhammad are to make friends with unbelievers, it is allowed only for the sake of protection. Ibn Kathir adds to this part as:

unless you indeed fear a danger from them) meaning, except those believers who in some areas or times fear for their safety from the disbelievers. In this case, such believers are allowed to show friendship to the disbelievers outwardly, but never inwardly. For instance, Al-Bukhari recorded that Abu Ad-Darda' said, "We smile in the face of some people although our hearts curse them.'' Al-Bukhari said that Al-Hasan said, "The Tuqyah is allowed until the Day of Resurrection.39

Finally, in his deathbed, Muhammad spoke these words as is recorded in Sahih al Bukhari:

Narrated ‘Aisha: Allah’s Apostle in his fatal illness said, ‘Allah cursed the Jews and the Christians, for they built the places of worship at the graves of their prophets.’ And if that had not been the case, then the Prophet’s grave would have been made prominent before the people. So (the Prophet) was afraid, or the people were afraid that his grave might be taken as a place for worship.40

This statement seems contradictory of the promise that God made in Genesis 12:1-3, “I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonours you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Eventually, God clarifies that this blessing also counts for his offspring Isaac, the child of the covenant and Isaac’s son, Jacob according to Genesis 28:10-16: “I will give to you and to your descendants; and your descendants shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and by you and your descendants shall all the families of the earth bless

38 Sahih al Bukhari Volume 4, Book 52, Numbers 177.

39 Ibn Kathir, “Surah 3:28.”

40 Sahih al Bukhari Volume 2, Book 23, Numbers 472. 25 themselves.” This contradiction would mean that when Allah was cursing the Jews, he went back from his promise and in fact Allah cursed himself, because he states that “those who dishonour/curse you will be will be cursed.” These short analyses clarify equivocally that Muhammad’s teaching and his nature are the exact opposite of Jesus Christ and as well as the promises made in previous scriptures. On one account, Jesus Christ instead of cursing begs for mercy for his accusers who put him to death as written in Luke 23:34 where he says “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Secondly he charged very strictly not to hate but love even one’s enemies according to Matthew 5:44, “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Also, another important teaching is found in Matthew 26:65: “Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword.” This verse goes directly against the idea of lesser form of Jihad as taught by Muhammad. Summing it up therefore, on the basis of these extremity, the core teachings of Muhammad contradict that of Jesus Christ. It can be argued that instead of confirming and affirming them, they are radically different. Also, as pointed out above, their natures are fundamentally opposite. Of course, Muhammad had also teachings on love and justice, but these teachings were only considered to be legitimate for Muslims only, not the outsiders. Muhammad clarifies in Surah 48:29 that “Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah; and those with him are forceful against the disbelievers, merciful among themselves…” Ibn Kathir adds in his commentary concerning this ayah that:

Allah will bring a people whom He will love and they will love Him; humble towards the believers, stern towards the disbelievers (5:54).This is the description of the believers; harsh with the disbelievers, merciful and kind to the believers, angry without smiling before the disbelievers, smiling and beaming with pleasure before his believing brother. Allah the Exalted said in another Ayah, (O you who believe! Fight those of the disbelievers who are close to you, and let them find harshness in you.) (9:123).41

From this, it is visible that Islam in its core is a very different religion than Christianity. Stating as a matter of fact, one can argue that it contains the exact opposite teachings. It is curious that in spite of this oppositeness, it still identified as an Abrahamic Religion, revealed by the same God of Judaism and Christianity. This claim can only stand because of the abrogation system. Therefore, one can deduce that the teachings though in contrast to the previous ones, for instance Christianity, can be accepted as true (if it is true) because of the

41 Ibn Kathir, “Surah 48:29.” 26 abrogation system. As a matter of argument, in that case it can still be viewed as an Abrahamic Religion. This means, because of the abrogation system, it is hard to speak of objective truths inside Abrahamic Religion, because for example one can simply claim to believe that Islam is from God and use the abrogation as an argument. Although as discussed before, the abrogation system is limited to teachings only, for instance the event of crucifixion or the covenant with Abraham or the sacrificial system are not teachings and so therefore are in contradiction. So, by this therefore, there is a factual contradiction between Christianity and Islam, which consequently, remains a fundamental dilemma, where it comes to a point that it cannot be solved from these kinds of approaches. However, having stated this, there is an approach that can be used as an objective test to determine whether Islam can be categorised as a true Abrahamic Religion, to be more specific whether Muhammad is a true prophet of Abrahamic Religion. In this regard, we can refer to what was discussed in chapter one on the claimed prophecies of Muhammad in the Bible. If truly Muhammad is prophesied in the Bible, and supposing there are good reasons to believe he is, then that means that Christianity is completely abrogated by Islam. This then would resolve the mysteries of the contradiction teachings raised in this thesis. In that case, only the core events, like crucifixion, covenant, sacrificial system, vision of Gods Kingdom remains to be resolved. Where it the case that there is a good reason to believe that Muhammad is prophesied in the Bible, this thesis in that cases will conclude with the statement that Christians in that case should accept Islam as the final revelation from God. Or, it turns out to be the opposite, which is Muhammad is not prophesied in the Bible as a prophet to come; then that would have solved puzzle of the core dilemma’s and the contradicting teachings. In that case, this thesis will conclude with the statement that Muslims should accept the teachings of Jesus Christ as their final revelation, because the claims of Muhammad about himself in the Bible cannot be substantiated.

27

Chapter 3

Muhammad in The Bible

In accordance to Muhammad’s claim that the Bible contains prophecies about him, there are some ayahs where this statement can be found. The first one is (as discussed above) described in Surah 7:157 “Those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered prophet, whom they find written in what they have of the Torah and the Gospel...” Here Muhammad claims that his followers who supposedly had the Torah and the Gospel with them, can find Muhammad prophesied in them. The Tafsirs, Islamic commentaries, as given above show that this ayah means that Muhammad is described by name and description in them. The statement which describes that Muhammad is prophesised by name can also be found in Surah 61:6, where it states that “And [mention] when Jesus, the son of Mary, said, "O children of Israel, indeed I am the messenger of Allah to you confirming what came before me of the Torah and bringing good tidings of a messenger to come after me, whose name is ."” So, according to Muhammad, Jesus Christ himself had spoken these words and prophesied the coming of Muhammad. The word Ahmad means to Praise, while Muhammad means the Praised One. Ibn Abbas remarks on this passage adds that: “I have come to you with the good tidings (of a messenger who cometh after me, whose name is the Praised One. Yet when he) i.e. Jesus and it is also said: Muhammad (pbuh) (hath come unto them with clear proofs).”42 Another very interesting ayah is found in Surah 10:94 which speaks not of the prophesy of Muhammad but of his teachings: “So if you are in doubt, [O Muhammad], about that which We have revealed to you, then ask those who have been reading the Scripture before you. The truth has certainly come to you from your Lord, so never be among the doubters.” In this ayah, we can see that Allah is speaking to Muhammad and tells him to ask the Jews and Christians for confirmation and reliability of the revelations that he receives. In other words, the claim is if Muhammad is ever in doubt whether it is true what Allah reveals to him, he should ask the Jews and the Christians. Ibn Abbas in his tafsir states concerning this passage that:

(And if thou) O Muhammad (art in doubt concerning that which We reveal unto thee) concerning that with which We sent Gabriel, i.e. the Qur'an, (then question those who read the Scripture) i.e. the Torah ((that was) before you) 'Abdullah Ibn Salam and his followers.

42Ibn Abbâs, “Surah 61:6.” 28

The Prophet (pbuh) did not ask nor was he ever in doubt about the Qur'an. Rather, Allah was addressing with these words the people of the Prophet.43

According to Ibn Abbas, Muhammad, first of all, didn’t go to the Jews and Christians because he was not in doubt. Secondly, according to Ibn Abbas, this ayah was meant for his followers who doubted, they could go to those who have the old scriptures such as the Torah and the Injil, the Gospel, for confirmation. A similar thing is said by imam al-Suyuti in his tafsir:

So, if you, O Muhammad (s), are in doubt concerning what We have revealed to you, of stories — hypothetically speaking — then question those who read the Scripture, the Torah, before you, for it is confirmed [therein] with them and they can inform you of its truth. The Prophet (s) said, ‘I have no doubt, nor will I question.’44

Observe that the passage and the tafsirs are speaking of confirmation of the revelation in general, which in that sense also includes the teachings. However, we have seen in previous chapter that the teachings were in perfect contradiction. By this it would seem that there is enough evidence to show that this claim does not hold the substance which it presumes to have to have. Furthermore, Ibn Kathir gives a more specific explanation on this ayah. He correlates the presumed confirmation which is supposedly found in the Torah and the Gospel according to Surah 10:94 with Surah 7:157, where it speaks of the prophecies of Muhammad in the Bible.45 Therefore, the confirmation that is thus inferred according to Surah 10:94, would then mean that followers of Muhammad find him prophesied again in the Torah and the Gospel. Also, as seen in chapter two, Christians are instructed to judge according to their own scripture, the Gospel, as written in Surah 5:47: “And let the People of the Gospel judge by what Allah has revealed therein.” Similarly, Jews according to their scripture as found in Surah 5:43: “But how is it that they come to you for judgement while they have the Torah, in which is the judgement of Allah?” There are past and current Islamic Scholars who have looked up and studied the Bible to show passages where Mohammed is allegedly prophesied in the Bible. Arguably, the most famous and well-read Islamic apologetics are Ahmed Deedat who is considered the

43 Ibn ‘Abbâs, “Surah 10:94.”

44 Al-Jalalayn, “Surah 10:94.”

45 Ibn Kathir, “Surah 10:94.” 29 forerunner of Islamic apologetics; Zakr Naik and Shabir . Their inputs and claims concerning the prophecies of Muhammad in the Bible are analysed in the following section. Ahmed Deedat in his book “What the Bible says About Muhammad” gives a chronological summary of what he claims to be prophecies of Muhammad in the Bible. He begins his argument in the Torah. According to him, Muhammad is prophesied in Deuteronomy 18:1846 “I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.” He debates that the reason why Muhammad is considered to be the prophet here is because there is a reference to someone who is going to come from among the brothers who Moses was talking to in this context. Given that in this context, Moses is talking to the Hebrew people who are the descendants of Isaac, Jacob et all. Now, Deedat’s argument is that the brother in this passage refers to Ishmael. He therefore concludes by asking the question that who are these brothers of the , the descendants of Jacob being referred to, he claims they are the Ishmaelites, because Ishmael was the brother of Isaac. Judging by what was said in chapter 2, because it is believed that Muhammad is a descendant of Ishmael, this explains why Deedat is trying to make this connection. According to his argument, the passage clearly shows that the prophet referred to in Deuteronomy 18:18 is none other than Muhammad. But before analysing this claim, it is important to note that the approach used is the method often employed in the field of systematic theology. For all the claims, the pertinent questions to ask are:  what is the context?  Is the passage a prophecy?  Is it already fulfilled?  And of course, is there even any slight chances that this can refer to Muhammad? But as mentioned earlier in the preceding statements, if the answer is yes; there is good reason to believe that this refers to Muhammad, then one can believe that Muhammad is indeed prophesied in the bible. What then is the context of Deuteronomy 18:18? The book of Deuteronomy especially from chapter 18 onwards, documents the last phase of the forty years of wandering in the desert by the Hebrews. This followed their freedom from slavery by God through the leadership of Moses. In Deuteronomy 18, Moses in his last speech to the people, gives them hope that after him someone like him will come. The context starts from the beginning of

46Ahmed Deedat, What the Bible Says About Muhammad: (Peace Be Upon Him) (S.1: Kazi Publications, 1991), 3. 30 chapter 18:1 where we see that Moses is speaking to his Hebrew people: “The Levitical priests, all the tribe of Levi, shall have no portion or inheritance with Israel. They shall eat the LORD's food offerings as their inheritance. They shall have no inheritance among their brothers; the LORD is their inheritance, as he promised them.” It can be noted in this passage that it speaks of brothers as in the community of Israel. Israel has twelve tribes according to Genesis 49, Reuben, , Levi, Judah, Zebulun, Issachar, Dan, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Joseph and . These names come from the twelve children of Jacob, who is named Israel by God in Genesis 32:28. These are considered to be brothers of each other, who are also known as Israelites. The context continues and it is seen that same approach is used in Deuteronomy 18:15: “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen”. For clarity, the entire quotation is hereby cited:

just as you desired of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.’ 17 And the Lord said to me, ‘They are right in what they have spoken. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.”47

Here, is Moses addressing? Naturally, he is speaking to the Hebrews, the nation of Israel, which is made up of the twelve tribes that descended from the twelve brothers as we have seen from the beginning of Deuteronomy 18. This can also be deduced from the statement itself. Thus, “brothers” in plural form, and not “brother” purportedly referring to Ishmael in singular form. It is therefore rather strange to connect the brothers to Ishmael, who is actually four centuries back from the time of Abraham. There is also no evident connection between the descendants of Ishmael and Isaac after they both buried Abraham around four hundred years before Moses spoke prophetically in this context. In fact, from that moment on until Muhammad, is approximately about two thousand and six hundred years. This means that almost any person living in Asian region could have claimed to be this prophet because of the bloodline mixes. So the likelihood of Deuteronomy 18:18 referring to Muhammad is evidently a weak argument and does not do justice to the biblical context.

47 Deuteronomy 18:16-18 (English Standard Version). 31

Arguably, there are some points which make it objectively impossible to claim that Moses is referring to Ishmael as the “brothers.” Two reasons are hereby given. The first reason can be found in Genesis 12:9-12 which reads:

Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, laughing. So she said to Abraham, “Cast out this slave woman with her son, for the son of this slave woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac.” And the thing was very displeasing to Abraham on account of his son. But God said to Abraham, “Be not displeased because of the boy and because of your slave woman. Whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for through Isaac shall your offspring be named.

Notice the last sentence of the quotation “for through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” Inferentially, this means Ishmael according to God is not not seen as a descendant of Abraham. The only thing that God gave to Ishmael because in the natural he was the son of Abraham, was the blessing of descendants as Abraham was promised in Genesis 21:13, “And I will make a nation of the son of the slave woman also, because he is your offspring.” In Genesis 15:13, God again clarifies who the descendants are: “Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years.” This is speaking of the slavery of the Hebrew people, Israel, in Egypt for four hundred years. This was revealed to Abraham before Ishmael and Isaac were born. So the descendants that God speaks of are the through Isaac again. Also, Genesis 22:1 confirms this assertion: “After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” God clearly states in this passage that Abraham only has one son, who is the only son Isaac. By this, it clearly shows that it is not possible to claim that these brothers in plural in Deuteronomy 18 is referring to Ishmael. It is impossible because this same God who gave Moses the prophecy said that only Isaac is to be seen as a descendant of Abraham. In conclusion, who then can this person be referring to? According to John 5:46, Jesus states the following: “For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me.” Many commentaries show that this statement has reference to the prophecy spoken by Moses in Deuteronomy 18:15. For example, “He wrote of me - He wrote of the Messiah, and I am the Messiah, Genesis 3:15; Genesis 12:3; compareJohn 8:56; Genesis 49:10; Deuteronomy 18:15” according to Barnes notes commentary and as all the law of Moses pointed to and “prefigured me, so he in particular wrote of me, Genesis 3:15 Deu 18:15” according to

32

Matthew Poole’s commentary.48. Also, the Apostles of Jesus testify the same in the book of Acts that:

Repent therefore, andturn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago. Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you.49

Observe that Muhammad teaches in Islam (as earlier mentioned in this thesis) to believe the words of Jesus (Isa) and to judge according to the Gospel or the Torah whether one was in doubt. By this, the words of Jesus are important going by this viewpoint. Jesus can therefore be believed when he says it is him. If it happens to be false, then that would mean that Jesus who is considered to be a prophet is lying, which is of course against the teachings of Islam. The words of Jesus’s Disciples are also of huge importance. First of all, according Surah 3:55 the Disciples of Jesus Christ are superior to the unbelievers:

[Mention] when Allah said, "O Jesus, indeed I will take you and raise you to Myself and purify you from those who disbelieve and make those who follow you [in submission to Allah alone] superior to those who disbelieve until the Day of Resurrection. Then to Me is your return, and I will judge between you concerning that in which you used to differ.50

Secondly they will in no way be considered as losers, in other words they shall not go astray as stated in Surah 61:14:

O you who have believed, be supporters of Allah, as when Jesus, the son of Mary, said to the disciples, "Who are my supporters for Allah?" The disciples said, "We are supporters of Allah." And a faction of the Children of Israel believed and a faction disbelieved. So We supported those who believed against their enemy, and they became dominant.51

Imam al-Suyuti clarifies that this passage refers to the twelve followers of Jesus, as described as apostles in the Gospel: “he disciples said, ‘We will be God’s helpers!’ [These] al-

48 Biblehub Commentary on John 5:46.

49 Acts 3:19-22 (ESV).

50 Sahih International, “Surah 3:55.”

51 Surah 61:14, Sahih International, “Surah 61:14.” 33 hawāriyyūn [were] the intimates of Jesus, for they were the first to believe in him. They were twelve men of pure white complexion (hawar); but it is also said that [their epithet derives from the fact that] they were bleachers (qassārūn) who bleached (yuhawwirūna) clothes.”52 However, imam al-Qurtubi has a more specific explanation in his tafsir of Surah 61:14. He states the exact names of the disciples:

It was said that this verse was revealed about the apostles of Jesus, may peace and blessing be upon him. Ibn Ishaq stated that of the apostles and disciples that Jesus sent (to preach) there were Peter and Paul who went to Rome; Andrew and Matthew who went to the land of the cannibals; Thomas who went to Babel in the eastern lands; Philip who went to Africa; John went to Dac-sos(?) which is the tribe to whom the sleepers of the cave belonged; Jacob went to Jerusalem; Bartholomew went to the lands of Arabia, specifically Al-Hijaz; Simon who went to the Barbarians; Judas and Barthas(?) who went to Alexandria and its surrounding regions.53

Same explanation is also found in the history of al-Tabari volume 4, page 123. Thus, we can infer that the testimony of the apostles of Jesus are to be taken seriously not only in Christianity but as well in Islam, based on the fact that Islam teaches that they are counted as victorious in their faith. The point being emphasized is that the testimony of the apostles lends an extra voice to the point which was already proven that Muhammad is not to be considered the prophet to come in Deuteronomy 18, it is rather Jesus. The second point made by Deedat concerning prophecy of Muhammad in the Bible is found in Song of Solomon 5:16. There he states that “Muhammad is mentioned by name in the Song of Solomon 5:16. The Hebrew word used there is Muhammudim.54 As was done in the previous point, the same systematic analysis will be used here. So, what is the context of the Song of Solomon. Reading the whole Song of Solomon one can see very easily that the small book is actually like a love poem or a letter. With regards to the context, let us start from the beginning Song of Solomon 1:1:

The Song of Songs, which is Solomon's. Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! For your love is better than wine; your anointing oils are fragrant; your name is oil poured out; therefore virgins love you. Draw me after you; let us run. The king has brought me into his chambers. …If you do not know, O most beautiful among women, follow in the tracks of the lock, and pasture your young goats beside the shepherds' tents. I compare you, my love,

52 Al-Jalalayn, “Surah 61:14.”

53 Muhạ mmad Ibn Ahṃ ad Qurtubi, Tafsir Al-Qurtubi, Classical Commentary of the Holy Qurʼan (London: Dar al-Taqwa, 2003), 61:14.

54 Deedat, What the Bible Says About Muhammad, 3. 34

to a mare among Pharaoh's chariots. Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments, your neck with strings of jewels. … Behold, you are beautiful, my love; behold, you are beautiful.55

The context quite clearly shows that it is a romantic poem, where two people who are in love with each other write or speak to each other. In this case, king Solomon and his beloved wife, are the lovebirds described in the book. The entire small book is filled with these kinds of songs until the last chapter. It will suffice to consider the context of the Song of Solomon chapter 5. Before we do that, let us for the sake of argument see another passage somewhere in between Song of Solomon chapter 1 and chapter 5 to show that the book still focuses on the love poems between Solomon and his wife. Looking at Song of Solomon 4:4, we read:

Your neck is like the tower of David, built in rows of stone; on it hang a thousand shields, all of them shields of warriors. Your two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle, that graze among the lilies. Until the day breathes and the shadows flee, I will go away to the mountain of myrrh and the hill of frankincense. You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you.56

It therefore follows that the same love poems are to be found here also. Looking at chapter 5 which Deedat claims to be a prophesy of Muhammad, let us use a large part of the passage for clarification:

My beloved is radiant and ruddy, distinguished among ten thousand. His head is the finest gold; his locks are wavy, black as a raven. His eyes are like doves beside streams of water, bathed in milk, sitting beside a full pool. His cheeks are like beds of spices, mounds of sweet-smelling herbs. His lips are lilies, dripping liquid myrrh. His arms are rods of gold, set with jewels. His body is polished ivory, bedecked with sapphires. His legs are alabaster columns, set on bases of gold. His appearance is like Lebanon, choice as the cedars. His mouth is most sweet, and he is altogether desirable. This is my beloved and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.57

It can be clearly seen that the woman is boasting about his beloved man, Solomon, and she is sharing that with the daughters of Jerusalem. It is left to be seen how Deedat can claim that in the phrase “he is altogether desirable” Muhammad is prophesied by the woman. He makes this claim because according to him the word in Hebrew used here is “Muhammudim.” But before going into whether the word actually is Muhammudim, it is important to conclude

55 Song of Solomon, 1:1-4, 1:8-10, 1:15 (ESV).

56 Song of Solomon 4:4-7 (ESV).

57 Song of Solomon 5:10-16 (ESV). 35 about the context. It is very hard to take the claim serious where in the half sentence “he is altogether desirable” Muhammad is supposed to be prophesied. The whole context, in fact, the whole book shows that it is a love poem between Solomon and his wife. This makes it hard to believe that such a small half sentence would then be speaking of Muhammad instead of Solomon. If it were to be speaking of Muhammad, then all the references where the woman speaks should be attributed to Muhammad, this is very unlikely. Secondly, the whole Song of Solomon is not a prophetic book. There are strong arguments that the context speaks in present tense. That is seen for example in the parts where the woman is boasting about her husband and sharing that with the daughters of Jerusalem. Also the fact that Solomon and his wife are speaking to each other in present tense, shows that the book is not referring to something in the future. Thirdly, the references made in the Quran about Muhammad in the Bible are to be found in the Torah and in the Gospels. Song of Solomon is not the Torah or the Gospels, but is one of the books of Tenach. But for the sake of argument, the force of the argument of this thesis shall be that the statement “to be found in Torah,” refers to whole Old Testament. By far, it is hard to claim that this is a prophecy of Muhammad.

However, looking at the Hebrew word, the fact is that this is not a prophecy about

Muhammad. According to Deedat, the Hebrew word is “Muhammudim”, with “im” referring to form of respect. However, the real Hebrew word which is used here is not Muhammudim,

,in Hebrew ַמ ֲ חַמ ִּד ם ,but Machmadim.58 According to a dictionary, the word Machmadim means delight, desire, charm and loveliness.59 This by definition shows that it is a totally different word than Ahmad or Muhammad, which means praised and the praised one.

The Semitic construction of the word Machmadim by itself shows that it is a different word,

MCHMD for Machmadim and HMD for Ahmad or MHMD for Muhammad. If the woman is referring to Muhammad, then she could have used those words, because it is possible to pronounce the name Muhammad in Hebrew. Or she would have said the “praised one.” The

58 Interlinear translation, “Song of Solomon 5,” accessed September 6, 2016, http://www.scripture4all.org/OnlineInterlinear/OTpdf/can5.pdf.

to English ֲם ח ַמ ִּד ַמ Google translate Word 59 ttps://translate.google.nl/?hl=nl#iw/en/%D7%9E%D6%B7%20%D7%97%D6%B2%20%D7%9E%D6%B7%20 %D7%93%D6%BC%D6%B4%20%D7%99%D7%9D. 36 above shows that Deedat was; or not capable of translating the Hebrew word and as well as finding its meaning or he intentionally hid the truth concerning the word. This second claim can therefore be refuted that by no means this refers to Muhammad, not from its context neither from the meaning of the word. If someone will claim to believe that it is Muhammad, because the word Machmadim resembles the word Muhammad, then one should be also

in Hebrew, means ַ עְכָּמ ,”consistent in other aspects as well. For instance, the word “akhbar mouse. So if one is to claim that in Song of Solomon 5:16 it is Muhammad, because the word

Machmadim sounds like Muhammad, then in that case it should also be said that when

“Allahu Akbar” is recited, which mean Allah is Great, they actually mean Allah is a mouse, because the word “akhbar” sounds like “akbar”. Secondly, if the measure is to look for words that sound a little bit the same, in that case every person in any context can be found as a prophet who is prophesied. Consistency requires that no person will do that. In view of this, the conclusion again is that Song of Solomon 5:16, is not a prophecy about Muhammad.

The third argument posed by Deedat on Muhammad being in the Bible is found in Isaiah 29:12.60 The passage goes as follows: “And when they give the book to one who cannot read, saying, “Read this,” he says, “I cannot read.” According to Deedat, this is a prophesy directed at the event that took place in the cave of Hira, where Muhammad was (according to Muhammad himself) visited by Djibril (angel Gabriel). The angel then instructed Muhammad to read as stated in Surah 96:1-5 “Recite in the name of your Lord who created - Created man from a clinging substance. Recite, and your Lord is the most Generous - Who taught by the pen - Taught man that which he knew not.” Muhammad then replied by saying that he cannot read.61 According to Deedat, what is written in Isaiah 29:12 refers to that particular moment. In other words, a prophetic passage concerning that event in cave of Hira. Firstly, as done in previous example, the context shall be examined. Starting from Isaiah 29:9, we read that:

Astonish yourselves and be astonished; blind yourselves and be blind! Be drunk, but not with wine; stagger, but not with strong drink! For the LORD, has poured out upon you a spirit of deep sleep, and has closed your eyes (the prophets), and covered

60 Deedat, What the Bible Says About Muhammad, 9.

61 Abd al-Malik, The Life of Muhammad, 111. 37

your heads (the seers). And the vision of all this has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed. When men give it to one who can read, saying, “Read this,” he says, “I cannot, for it is sealed.” And when they give the book to one who cannot read, saying, “Read this,” he says, “I cannot read.” And the Lord said: “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men, therefore, behold, I will again do wonderful things with this people, with wonder upon wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden.

The first thing to notice when reading from the context is that God is actually rebuking the ones, in plural, who He is talking to. It states that they shall fall into deep sleep, their eyes will be closed by God and this all will lead to the consequence of their inability to read and understand what is written, showing thereby that they serve God only with their lips. So, looking at the context, can this be considered as Muhammad according to Deedat? Of course, no Muslim would accept the dishonour towards Muhammad in such a way. Because saying this is Muhammad, with the context considered, would mean that Muhammad served God only with his lips, with his heart far away from God and therefore his eyes are closed from the truth. This means again that Deedat did not have full knowledge concerning the matter, in this case the context. Perhaps, he did know the context but intentionally left it out without mentioning it fully in his book in order to make it look like as if it is a positive prophecy concerning Muhammad.

However, the passage Deedat picked and presented outside of its context consists of two sentences. These two sentences begin from Isaiah 29:11-12: “When men give it to one who can read, saying, “Read this,” he says, “I cannot, for it is sealed.” And when they give the book to one who cannot read, saying, “Read this,” he says, “I cannot read.” Deedat attributes Isaiah 29:12 to Muhammad, who is considered to be the man who cannot read (according to Surah 29:48). Then according to Isaiah 29:11 another prophet as Muhammad should be awaited, but in this case, someone who can read yet refuses to acknowledge that he can read. So, does Muhammad teach that another prophet is to come after him? The answer is clearly no, as seen in Surah 33:40 “Muhammad is not the father of [any] one of your men, but [he is] the Messenger of Allah and last of the prophets. And ever is Allah, of all things, Knowing.” Also, there was no prophet before Muhammad who was instructed to read a sealed book, where that prophet, who could read and write then said that he could not because it was sealed. There are only two instances before Muhammad where the Bible speaks of a seal and a book. The first one is found in the book of Daniel, where God shows Daniel some future

38 events which accordingly was recorded by Daniel. Afterwards, God tells him to roll up and seal that recorded book for a later time as found in Daniel 12:4: “But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.” This sealing was commanded to be unsealed according to Jamieson-Fausset- Brown commentary: “shut up … seal the book—John, on the contrary, is told (Re 22:10) not to seal his visions.”62 This was commanded to John according to the book of revelation 22:10, “And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near.” This shows that there is an instance of a sealed book starting at Daniel until John from the Revelation. Now the question, did God call a prophet who could read and write, who was instructed to read a sealed book and yet said that he can’t read it because it was sealed? No there is no such mention or a book that records such kind of a prophet or an event. Which means that the meaning of the used sentence has a total different meaning as how Ahmed Deedat intends to use it. This once again shows that this passage cannot be interpreted as a prophecy concerning Muhammad. The meaning of the passage in Isaiah 29 from Christian perspective is as John Gill’s in his commentary states:

In short, the sum of it is this, that neither the learned nor unlearned, among the Jews, cared to read their Bibles, or to search the Scriptures, and the prophecies in them, concerning the Messiah, and that neither of them understood them; these things were hid from the wise and prudent, as well as from the ignorant and unlearned of the people, in common, and were only made known to a few babes and sucklings.63

The fourth argument by Deedat is found in the John’s gospel. According to Deedat, in John 1:19-25 one can clearly see that the Jews are waiting for someone who is considered to be the prophet as referred to by Moses in Deuteronomy 18:15-18.64 We read in John 1:19-23 that:

And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” And they asked him, “What then? Are you ?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” So they said to him, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straightg the way of the Lord,’ as the

62 Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary, “Daniel 12:4,” Biblehub, accessed September 15, 2016, http://biblehub.com/commentaries/daniel/12-4.htm.

63 Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible, “Isaiah 29:12,” Biblehub, accessed September 15, 2016, http://biblehub.com/commentaries/isaiah/29-12.htm.

64 Deedat, What the Bible Says About Muhammad, 11.

39

prophet Isaiah said.” 24(Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.) 25They asked him, “Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”65

What Deedat is trying to show here to his readers is that the Jews are expecting three different figures: Elijah, The Messiah, and The Prophet. By this he tries to show that The

Prophet here is Muhammad, because John the Baptist is being called the Elijah according

Matthew 11:14; “And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come” and

Jesus being called the Messiah according to John 4:25-26: “The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.”

Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.” This fourth claim of Muhammad being in the

Bible can actually be assessed with a straightforward point that it is a repetition in some ways. Jesus gives an answer to who that Prophet is as discussed in the first claim of this chapter. He states the following in John 5:46 “For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me.” As discussed in the first claim, seeing the fact that Jesus is being called one of the prophets in Islam, his words in John 5:46 are then to be taken as the truth. This means that the prophecy concerning the Prophet mentioned in John 1, which according to the prophecy of Deuteronomy 18:15-18, is speaking of Jesus and not Muhammad. Therefore, Muhammad is not prophecied in John 1. Islamic Scholar , in his book “Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in The Bible” used exact same arguments as Deedat did, which was actually originally that of ibn Qayyim from thirteenth century but not as elaborated as in modern age66. However, Naik adds in his last claim the words of Jesus, which he spoke at the last supper according to John 14:16: “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever.” Also, he adds two other passages to support his claim that Jesus was talking about the coming of Muhammad. The first is found in John 15:26 where Jesus says “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he

65 John 1:19-25 (ESV).

66 M. Poorthuis, and B. Roggema, The Three Rings, Textual Studies in the Historical Trialogue of Judaism, Christianity and Islam (Leiden: Peeters Publishers, 2005), 225.

40 will bear witness about me.” The second one is found in John 16:7: “Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.” As mentioned earlier, his argument is that Jesus is speaking of Muhammad here as the Helper who is to come. Here, he argues as follows:

Ahmed” or “Muhammad” meaning “the one who praises” or “the praised one” is almost the translation of the Greek word Periclytos. In the Gospel of John 14:16, 15:26, and 16:7. The word ‘Comforter’ is used in the English translation for the Greek word Paracletos which means advocate or a kind friend rather than a comforter. Paracletos is the warped reading for Periclytos. Jesus (pbuh) actually prophesised Ahmed by name. Even the Greek word Paraclete refers to the Prophet (pbuh) who is a mercy for all creatures.67

In this argument, Naik is trying to place Muhammad by his name and description in the Bible as it is stated in Surah 61:6 that he should by Jesus “…his name shall be Ahmad”. Here he tries to link the meaning of the word Ahmad, the one who praises, with the word “Comforter” in the King James Version and “Helper” in the English Standard Version (ESV). However, it should be noticed that from the approach he uses, he did not look for the definition of words but words that sound almost the same. He says “Ahmed” or “Muhammad … is almost the translation of the Greek word Periclytos…Paracletos is the warped reading for Periclytos.” By this, it already proves that his claim and argument cannot be taken seriously. But for the sake argument, his claims shall be further analysed. As seeing, the fact that Naik himself admits and shows that the words in their original language and meaning are different, leaves us only two things to analyse, that is the context and the meaning the passages. Let us first examine the last two passages of John which Zakir used as argument. He used John 15:26 and John 16:7, where Jesus says he is the one who will send the Helper. According to Naik, Muhammad was sent by Jesus Christ. It is widely accepted in Islamic tradition that it is Allah who has called Muhammad to be a prophet and sent him to preach that what he taught.68 Therefore, that would mean that according to Naik, Jesus Christ is Allah. This, of course, cannot be accepted from Islamic view because Jesus (Isa) is seen as a mere prophet in Islam as discussed before according to Surah 5:75: “Christ the son of Mary was no more than a

67 Zakir Naik, “Prophet Muhammad in The Bible,” Islam 101, accessed September 10, 2016, http://www.islam101.com/religions/christianity/mBible.htm.

68 Abd al-Malik, The Life of Muhammad, 111. 41 messenger; many were the messengers that passed away before him…” In fact, it is a to say that Jesus is Allah. Shirk literally means blasphemy, which is considered to be an unforgivable sin in Islam according to Surah 4:48: “Indeed, Allah does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills. And he who associates others with Allah has certainly fabricated a tremendous sin.” Who is this Helper Jesus is talking about, the one he was going to send? Considering the context, it is quite clear that he is referring to the Holy Spirit according to John 14:26: “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” Reading John chapter 14 until chapter 16, one can see the description and the task of the Holy Spirit which is given by Jesus. The Holy Spirit shall be with the Apostles forever according to John 14:16: “to be with you forever.” Muhammad was born six hundred years after the Apostles so he could not have been in them. Secondly, the Holy Spirit who will be in Apostles is a Spirit and is invisible according to John 14:17: “the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him.” Finally, we can see this promise coming into action in John 20:22: “And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” This concludes the final claim of Muhammad being prophesised in the Bible. Judging from the approach used, it can be said that Muhammad is not prophesied in the Bible according to the statements and claims made so far. Thus, according to Muhammad’s own claim that he is prophesied in the Bible, he cannot be a prophet because he is not prophesied in the Bible. However, I believe many Islamic scholars have noticed quite fast after studying the Bible to find Muhammad and saw that he is not prophesied anywhere in it. They therefore came new propositions in order to hold on to their position of Muhammad being a true prophet. The idea that is being held now is that the claim that the Bible is corrupted.69 This is also known as the teachings of tahrif, which is also referred to as falsification of scripture. The claim of the accusers is that the Jews and Christians have intentionally corrupted the scriptures based on Surah 2:79 that says “So woe to those who write the "scripture" with their own hands, then say, "This is from Allah," in order to exchange it for a small price. Woe to them for what their hands have written and woe to them for what they earn.” Also in Surah 4:46, we read that “Among the Jews are those who distort words from their [proper] usages and say, "We hear and disobey” and "Hear but be not heard" and "Ra'ina," twisting their tongues and defaming

69 Ahmed Deedat, Is the Bible God's Word (SA: African Islamic Mission Publications, 1988), 2.

42 the religion….”. Lastly, there is the example of Ibn Abbas stating it more explicitly in the Hadith Sahih al Bukhari that:

Ibn Abbas said, "O Muslims? How do you ask the people of the Scriptures, though your Book (i.e. the Quran) which was revealed to His Prophet is the most recent information from Allah and you recite it, the Book that has not been distorted? Allah has revealed to you that the people of the scriptures have changed with their own hands what was revealed to them and they have said (as regards their changed Scriptures): This is from Allah, in order to get some worldly benefit thereby." Ibn Abbas added: "Isn’t the knowledge revealed to you sufficient to prevent you from asking them? By Allah I have never seen any one of them asking (Muslims) about what has been revealed to you.”70

The teaching of this tahrif is very strange and unexpected seeing from the fact that as discussed in previous chapters, Islam was to be the confirmation which was revealed by Allah as the final religion of Abraham. Why then did Muhammad then subsequently revealed that if the people are in doubt concerning the revelations then they could go and ask the Jews and

Christians concerning the reliability of the message according to Surah 10:94? In the next

chapter, the final element will be analysed to determine if Muhammad is a true prophet of

Abrahamic religion. The focus will be on what the Islam teaches concerning the tahrif. If there is good reasons to believe what Islam teaches that the Bible is corrupted and whether indeed, Bible is intentionally corrupted. Where the message is lost, then indeed one can be sceptic about Muhammad being a true prophet of Abrahamic religion. Sceptic, because no one can prove now whether he is a true prophet, because the only reliability test lies in the Bible.

He was supposed to be prophesied in it according to his own claim, but as seen in the research of this chapter, he is not.

70 Sahih al Bukhari Volume 3, Book 48, Number 850. 43

Chapter 4

What Muhammad said about the Bible

Before going into the discussion of what Muhammad teaches about the Bible, it is important to discuss again the importance of the Torah and the Gospels. Muhammad reveals in Surah 5:44 that it is Allah who send the Torah: “Indeed, we sent down the Torah, in which was guidance and light.” To be more specific, in Surah 32:23, we read about whom it was revealed: “And We certainly gave Moses the Scripture, so do not be in doubt over his meeting.” Same is also revealed concerning the Gospel according to Surah 5:46: “And We sent, following in their footsteps, Jesus, the son of Mary, confirming that which came before him in the Torah; and We gave him the Gospel, in which was guidance and light and confirming that which preceded it of the Torah as guidance and instruction for the righteous.” Accordingly, the Gospel was to confirm the Torah as stated. Finally, Allah revealed the Quran according to Surah 5:48: “And We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], the Book in truth, confirming that which preceded it of the Scripture and as a criterion over it.” Imam al-Suyuti clarifies that the revealed book of this ayah is the Quran which is supposed to confirm the previous scriptures:

And We have revealed to you, O Muhammad (s), the Book, the Qur’ān, with the truth (bi’l-haqq is semantically connected to anzalnā, ‘We have revealed’) confirming the Book that was before it and watching over it, testifying [to it] — the ‘Book’ means the Scriptures. So judge between them, between the People of the Scripture, if they take their cases before you, according to what God has revealed, to you, and do not follow their whims, deviating, away from the truth that has come to you.71

These revelations and confirmation teachings are summarised again in Surah 3:3: “He has sent down upon you, [O Muhammad], the Book in truth, confirming what was before it. And He revealed the Torah and the Gospel.” Also, the revelations of Surah 29:46 can be added to prove the point “And do not argue with the People of the Scripture except in a way that is best, except for those who commit injustice among them, and say, "We believe in that which has been revealed to us and revealed to you. And our God and your God is one; and we are Muslims [in submission] to Him." Seeing that Islam is clear about the fact that the Torah and the Gospel were sent down by Allah and are therefore the words of Allah, we find some

71 Al-Jalalayn, “Surah 5:48.” 44 troubles with the other ayahs assuming that the Torah and the Gospel is corrupted according to Islam. Surah 18:27 states “And recite, [O Muhammad], what has been revealed to you of the Book of your Lord. There is no changer of His words, and never will you find in other than Him a refuge.” Again, the same reference is found in Surah 6:115: “And the word of your Lord has been fulfilled in truth and in justice. None can alter His words, and He is the Hearing, the Knowing.” Given these Qur’anic evidences, how then can it be that the Muslims nowadays belief that Islam teaches that the Bible, Torah and the Gospel to be more specific, is corrupted. As discussed earlier, the tahrif interpretation comes from Surah 2:79, Surah 4:46 and the Hadith which was cited at the end of the previous chapter. Therefore, in order to understand what the context actually referring to, it is important to highlight the context of these passages. This matter will be analysed very carefully, by summing up three mufasirs, the authors of the tafsirs, in this case imam al-Suyuti, Ibn Abbas and Ibn Kathir. Starting with imam al-Suyuti, he writes in his tafsir of Surah 2:79 the following concerning those who are accused in this ayah that “these are the Jews, the ones that altered the description of the Prophet in the Torah, as well as the ‘stoning’ verse, and other details, and rewrote them in a way different from that in which they were revealed. …”72 This passage accuses Jews of intentionally removing the description of Muhammad, probably referring to the Torah seeing the fact that it is the book that they hold. His commentary on Surah 4;46 makes it clear that it is indeed referring to the Jews who have distorted the description of Muhammad in the Torah. There we find “Some, group, from among the Jews distort, alter, the words, that God revealed in the Torah pertaining to the descriptions of Muhammad (s) from their contexts, those [contexts] in which they were placed, and they say, to the Prophet (s), when he commands them something”73 This gives a clearer idea of what the accusation is based on and how it is played in this context. Some groups of Jews are being accused of actively and intentionally changing the description of Muhammad in their Torah. Which means the context of the tahrif is playing at the time of Muhammad. Secondly, the tafsir of ibn Kathir will be discussed. Commenting in his tafsir on Surah 2:79 which says, “…Woe to them because of what they have written with their own hands, the lies, falsehood

72 Al-Jalalayn, “Surah 2:79.”

73 Al-Jalalayn, “Surah 4:46.”

45 and alterations…”74 he chooses be more general and did not go into specific details. He writes concerning Surah 4:46 that:

Allah states that the Jews, may Allah's continued curse fall on them until the Day of Resurrection, have purchased the wrong path instead of guidance, and ignored what Allah sent down to His Messenger Muhammad. They also ignored the knowledge that they inherited from previous Prophets, about the description of Muhammad, so that they may have a small amount of the delights of this life. … (there are some who displace words from (their) right places) meaning, they intentionally and falsely alter the meanings of the Words of Allah and explain them in a different manner than what Allah meant.75

Once again, Ibn Kathir remains general while repeating the surah in other sense, in his commentary concerning this ayah. There is also Ibn Abbas who states in his tafsir according to Surah 2:79 that:

(Therefore woe) severe punishment, and it is said this means: a valley in hell (be unto those who write the Scripture with their hands) change the description and traits of Muhammad (pbuh) in the Book (and then say, “This is) in the Book that has come (from Allah”, that they may purchase) through changing and altering it (a small gain therewith) a small gain in terms of means of subsistence and surplus of property.76

On this ayah, ibn Abbas clarifies the reason behind the alteration. According to him the Jews altered the description of Muhammad for personal gains. Commenting on Surah 4:46 he states that:

(Some of those who are Jews) Malik Ibn al-Sayf and his friends (change words from their context) they change the traits and description of Muhammad after these were exposited upon in the Torah, and then come to Muhammad (and say: “We hear) your words, O Muhammad (and disobey) your command, when he is not around them; and we (hear thou) O Muhammad (as one who heareth not” and “Listen to us!” distorting with their tongues and slandering religion.77

74 Ibn Kathir, “Surah 2:79.”

75 Tafsir ibn Kathir, “Surah 4:46.”

76 Ibn ‘Abbâs, “Surah 2:79.”

77 Ibn ‘Abbâs, “Surah 4:46.”

46

This concludes the whole context of the accusation. As seen in the commentary of the most prominent and most used tafsirs in Sunni Islam, it is clear that the context of the accusation of some Jewish groups finds its context in the time of Muhammad. To be more specific, this group consisted of Malik ibn al-Sayf and his friends. In the historical biography by ibn Ishaq, the context is given where Muhammad speaks with Malik ibn al-Sayf and where he accuses him of falsifying his own scripture. We read thus:

Rafi b. Haritha and Sallam b. Mishkam and Malik b. al-Sayf and Rafi b. Huraymila came to him [Muhammad] and said: ‘Do you not allege that you follow the religion of Abraham and believe in the Torah which we have and testify that it is the truth from God?’ He replied, ‘certainly, but you have sinned and broken the covenant contained therein and concealed what you were ordered to make plain to men, and I dissociate myself from your sin.’ They said, ‘We hold by what we have. We live according to the guidance and the truth and we do not believe in you and we will not follow you.’ So, God sent down concerning them: ‘Say, O Scripture folk, you have no standing until you observe the Torah and the Gospel and what has been sent down from your Lord. What has been sent down to thee from the Lord will assuredly increase many of them in error and unbelief. But be not sad because of the unbelieving people.78

Notice that Muhammad personally accuses Malik ibn Sayf and his friends for concealing the truth and then finishes his conversation with him by reciting that he has no ground to stand on unless he reads what is truly in his scripture. By which it means that the accusation of the corruption of the Bible which is alleged by Muhammad in the Islamic sources concerns Jewish Malik ibn Sayf and his friends. Here are some passages to prove that Muhammad in general believed the Torah and the Gospel to be authentic and true in his time. Firstly, let us consider the historical biography of ibn Ishaw again to show that Muhammad in the context shown above believes the previous scriptures to be true and authentic. In one instance Muhammad writes to the Jews of Khaybar that he is a prophet like Moses and that they will find him mentioned in their scripture:

The apostle wrote to the Jews of Khaybar … ’In the name of God the compassionate the merciful from Muhammad the apostle of God friend and brother of Moses who confirms what Moses brought. God says to you, O scripture folk, and you will find it in your

78Abd al-Malik, The Life of Muhammad, 268.

47

scripture “Muhammad is the apostle of God; and those with him are severe against the unbelievers, merciul among themselvs.”79

Muhammad clearly refers to the Jews to find in their scriptures, meaning the scripture which they possess. Secondly, if the scripture were corrupted and Allah did notify Muhammad of this matter, then in that case he would have never stated to the Jews to find him in their scriptures. More importantly, consulting the Quran the main authoritative source in Islam, we find the same teachings. On one instance, there was a matter of discussion on what food is prohibited and what is not, to this, Muhammad replied according to Surah 3:93: “All food was lawful to the Children of Israel except what Israel had made unlawful to himself before the Torah was revealed. Say, [O Muhammad], "So bring the Torah and recite it, if you should be truthful."” If the Torah was corrupted, then this revelation would have been a deception because it would then mean that the Jews were commanded to judge by a corrupt book. A similar teaching is also found in Surah 5:43: “But how is it that they come to you for judgement while they have the Torah, in which is the judgement of Allah? Then they turn away, [even] after that; but those are not [in fact] believers.”. Same teaching also applies to Christians as discussed in the previous chapters according to Surah 5:47: “And let the People of the Gospel judge by what Allah has revealed therein. And whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed - then it is those who are the defiantly disobedient.” In fact, Imam al- Suyuti adds in his commentary regarding those who do not judge by their scriptures which Allah has sent down concerning this Surah “Whoever does not judge according to what God has revealed — those are the wicked.”80 Another example is Surah 2:41 in which Muhammad again reveals to show that the scriptures which came before the Quran, Torah and the Gospels, are present and authentic: “And believe in what I have sent down confirming that which is [already] with you, and be not the first to disbelieve in it. And do not exchange My signs for a small price, and fear [only] Me.” Imam al-Suyuti adds in his tafsir concerning this ayah that:

(And believe in that which I revealed) through the Archangel Gabriel, (confirming) the Oneness of Allah and the description and traits of Muhammad (pbuh) and some prescribed laws (that which ye possess already) of scripture, (and be not first to disbelieve therein) in Muhammad (pbuh) and the Qur'an (and part not with My revelations) by not revealing the

79 Abd al-Malik, The Life of Muhammad, 256.

80 Al-Jalalayn, “Surah 5:47.” 48

description and traits of Muhammad (for a trifling price) in exchange for means of substance, (and keep your duty unto Me), fear Me regarding this Prophet (pbuh).81

The call to believe in the Torah and the Gospels is as discussed in previous chapters also seen in the actions of Muhammad, who personally lays his hand on the Torah and testifies to believe in it and in the one who revealed it according to the Hadith of Abu Dawud: They placed a cushion for the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) who sat on it and said: Bring the Torah. It was then brought. He then withdrew the cushion from beneath him and placed the Torah on it saying: I believed in thee and in Him Who revealed thee.”82 This is also found in the tafsir of ibn kathir on Surah 5:41 as discussed in previous chapters. As seen in this analysis, a clarification is given concerning what the tahrif’s teaching exactly stands for. The accusation for corrupting the Torah was aimed at the small group of Jews, Malik ibn al-Sayf and his friends, aside from that we only find teachings to believe and judge with the Torah and the Gospel which was present in the time of Muhammad. In fact, as seen, even Muhammad went to the Jews and personally told them to judge with their scriptures concerning him and told them to believe in the Torah they had in their possession. Also, concerning Christian sources, there is no sign of general accusation except confirmation and authentic teachings. So, what is the source of the idea that Muslims currently believe that Islam, Muhammad in particular, teaches that the Bible we have today is corrupted. These teachings come originally from who was an Islamic scholar. After studying the Bible and the Quran he came to the following conclusion:

In his defence of Islam against Christians, Ibn-Khazem came up against the contradictions between the Quran and the Gospels. One obvious example was the Quranic text, “They slew him not and they crucified him not.” (Surah 4:156) “Since the Quran must be true,” Ibn - Khazem argued, “it must be the conflicting Gospel texts that are false. But Muhammad tells us to respect the Gospel. Therefore, the present text must have been falsified by the Christians.” His argument was not based on historical facts, but purely on his own reasoning and on his wish to safeguard the Quran. Once he was on this path, nothing could stop him from pursuing this accusation. In fact, it seemed the easiest way to attack the opponents. “If we prove the falsehood of their books, they lose the arguments that they take from them.” This led him eventually to make the cynical statement: “The

81 Al-Jalalayn, “Surah 2:41.”

82 Sunan Abu Dawud 4434, accessed September 16, 2016, http://www.searchtruth.com/book_display.php?book=38&translator=3&number=4434. 49

Christians lost the revealed Gospel except for a few traces, which God has left intact as an argument against them.”83

Here, the historical picture of the teaching and the misbelief concerning the concept of tahrif teaching is made known. This accusation of falsification of Bible is since then strongly challenged by its opponents. The challenge was to provide any evidence that the scriptures were intentionally falsified by Jews and Christians and secondly to also provide an authentic scripture as evidence for the real Injil or Torah where Muhammad still was mentioned.84 However, there is another dilemma for Islam concerning the tahrif teachings. Let us consider the possibility that all the Bibles were intentionally being corrupted by the Jews in the time of Muhammad. That would mean that across the whole world, the description of Muhammad was to be removed, in all the tens of thousands of Bibles. That would mean that these Jews, Malik ibn al-Sayf and his friends, were omnipresent. They had to be everywhere to be able to do this considering that the bible was spread through out of whole European continent to until the Asia. This of course is an absurd idea and hard to been taken serious. Secondly, the Bible which we have nowadays predates even Muhammad. For example, Codex Sinaiticus from fourth century, Codex Vaticanus also around fourth century, Codex Alexandrius from fifth century and so on. Bruce Metzger writes concerning church father Tertullian that:

By way of summary, [just after 200 A.D.], Tertullian cites all the writings of the New Testament except 2 Peter, James, and 2 and 3 John. .... Tertullian regarded the Scriptures of the Old Testament as divinely given and he attributed to the four Gospels and the apostolic Epistles an authority equal to that of the Law and the Prophets. The orally transmitted "rule of faith" and the written Scriptures were mutually appealed to, and any writing that did not conform to the rule of faith could not be accepted as Scripture.85

Therefore, the Bible that we have nowadays is the same Bible as Muhammad had in his time. By this, the thesis can be concluded.

83 I. DI MATTEO, (`Il "takhrif" od alterazione della Bibbia secondo i musulmani', Bessarione 38 (1922) 64- 111; 223-260; `Le preteze contradizzioni della S. Scrittura secondo Ibn-Hazm', Bessarione 39 (1923) 77-127, E. FRITSCH, op. cit., p. 66.

84 Poorthuis and Roggema, The Three Rings, 221.

85 Bruce Metzger, The Canon of the New Testament: Its Origin, Development, and Significance (Waco, TX: Clarendon Press, 1997), 160. 50

However, before going into the conclusion, it is interesting to note according to Islamic literature, it is the Quran that seems to be the corrupted book especially in the sense that it failed to be a complete revelation. According to the hadith, there are two Surah’s that did not make it in the canon of the Quran. The first one is the Surah of Rajam, also known as stoning. According to Sahih al-Bukhari, we learn that:

Allah sent Muhammad with the Truth and revealed the Holy Book to him, and among what Allah revealed, was the Verse of the Rajam (the stoning of married person (male & female) who commits illegal sexual intercourse, and we did recite this Verse and understood and memorized it. Allah's Apostle did carry out the punishment of stoning and so did we after him. I am afraid that after a long time has passed, somebody will say, 'By Allah, we do not find the Verse of the Rajam in Allah's Book,' and thus they will go astray by leaving an obligation which Allah has revealed. And the punishment of the Rajam is to be inflicted to any married person (male & female), who commits illegal sexual intercourse, if the required evidence is available or there is conception or confession.86

Another whole chapter, Surah, which is lost is called Surah Bara’at.

We used to recite a surah which resembled in length and severity to (Surah) Bara'at. I have, however, forgotten it with the exception of this which I remember out of it: "If there were two valleys full of riches, for the son of Adam, he would long for a third valley, and nothing would fill the stomach of the son of Adam but dust." And we used so recite a surah which resembled one of the surahs of Musabbihat, and I have forgotten it, but remem.87

Both of these Surah’s are nowhere to be found in the Quran. Now, were it so, then one would say despite the fact that the hadith teaches that Quran is not complete, that the Quran is still authentic word of Allah, because Allah promised to protect his revelation as discussed above. Then in that case, same can be said about the Bible, both the Old and New Testament, because they too are to be considered the words of Allah according to Muhammad. In fact, both Old and New Testament separately teach that the Word of God cannot be corrupted. For instance, in Isaiah 40:9, it states “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.” In New Testament, in Matthew 24:35 we read that “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” Also, to attest to the importance of scripture in Abrahamic Religions, Jesus Christ states in John 10:35 that “Scripture cannot be broken.”

86 Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 8, Book 82, Number 817.

87 Sahih Muslim, Book 5, Number 2286. 51

Chapter 5 Reflection

Taking the previous chapter in consideration brings us to the point that the Bible we have today is not corrupted but the protected word of God who, as discussed, promised to preserve it for the mankind. Which means the claim mentioned in the Quran concerning Muhammad that he is to be found prophesied in the Bible still qualifies to the same Bible we have today. This claim is hence analysed in the previous chapters and it can safely be said that passages which, according to Muslim scholars, are attributed to Muhammad do not stand. I believe that alone is reason enough to conclude that Muhammad is not a prophet as he himself claims to be. However, there is also another difficulty which I find troubling to test. Apart from the scripture there is absolutely no way to test whether Muhammad was speaking to truth or not. Every vision he claimed to have seen or any revelation he claimed to have received was only given to him and him only. Non-other could testify to that. This is drastically different in comparison with the previous great prophets, for instance like Moses, Elijah and of course Jesus himself. The main difference is that the proof of them being a true prophet could be testified by others. Moses for example according to Exodus 14:21 splits the sea through Gods power, in 1 Kings 18:38 Elijah made God bring fire from the heaven, Jesus performed many miracles and so on. All these things were done in presence of other people and they could testify of their authenticity. In fact, the gospels are written as a form of testimony by followers of Jesus. Then we even have Apostle Paul, who was first a Christian persecutor then became a Christian himself after testifying to have seen risen Christ according to Acts 9. When it comes to Muhammad, no one can testify concerning its authenticity. If there were no objective approach to test his authenticity, which there luckily is as seen in previous chapters, then no one could ever tell if he was just making things up or genuinely receiving revelations. However, there were some non-Muslims and even Muslims who claimed that Muhammad made everything up for his own interests. For example, one of his companions, Abdullah ibn Sa’d Abi Sahr, a scribe to whom Muhammad dictated his revelations to write them down had eventually lost his Muslim faith. That is because he believed Muhammad made everything up and was easily influenced to change the received revelations.88 As stated in the tafsir of al- Baidawi concerning this context:

88 Abdallah `Abd al-Fadi, “Is the Qur'an Infallible?” Scribd, accessed September 10, 2016, https://www.scribd.com/doc/43432242/Abd-Al-Fadi-Is-the-Quran-Infallible. 52

Abdallah Ibn Sa`d Ibn Abi Sarh, who used to write for God's messenger. The verse (23:12) that says, "We created man of an extraction of clay" was revealed, and when Muhammad reached the part that says, "... thereafter We produced him as another creature (23:14), `Abdallah said, "So blessed be God the fairest of creators!" in amazement at the details of man's creation. The prophet said, "Write it down; for thus it has been revealed." `Abdallah doubted and said, "If Muhammad is truthful then I receive the revelation as much as he does, and if he is a liar, what I said is a good as what he said."89

Also, according to Al Iraqi in his Sirat:

He started saying, "I used to direct Muhammad wherever I willed. He would dictate to me 'Most High, All-Wise', and I would write down 'All-Wise' only. Then he would say, 'Yes, it is all the same'. On a certain occasion, he said, 'Write such and such', but I wrote 'Write' only, and he said, 'Write whatever you like.'" So, when this scribe exposed Muhammad, he wrote in the Qur'an, "And who does greater evil than he who forges against God a lie, or says, 'To me it has been revealed', when naught has been revealed to him." …”90

Eventually Abdullah apostatized from Islam and warned other people in Mecca that Muhammad was not a true prophet for he did not receive true revelations but made them up. Muhammad heard of this and disliked what was said about him. At the moment of capturing Mecca, Muhammad ordered some specific people to be killed, Abdullah was one of them.91 Beside the fact that some companions of Muhammad believed that he made up his revelations, there were also those who thought that his revelations were notably meant to satisfy his needs. One of the companions who thought this was non-other than his youngest wife Aisha who stated “I feel that your Lord hastens in fulfilling your wishes and desires.”.92 For instance Muhammad had an adopted son Zayd bin Haritha, who was also called Zayd ibn Muhammad which means Zayd the son of Muhammad. One day Muhammad takes a visit to Zayd’s house and finds Zayd’s wife Zaynab, whom Muhammad had given marriage to Zayd. Entering at the front door of his house Muhammad sees Zaynab wearing short clothing and finds admiration for her.93 Later on Muhammad claims to have received a revelation where Allah sais to Muhammad that he gives Zaynab to him instead of Zayd, according to Surah

89 Tafsir Anwar al-Tanzil wa Asrar al-Ta'wil by `Abdallah Ibn `Umar al-Baidawi, “Surah 6:93.”

90 Abd al-Fadi, “Is the Qur'an Infallible?”

91 Abd al-Malik, The Life of Muhammad, 550.

92 Sahih al-Bukhari, Book 65, Hadith 4788.

93 The History of al-Tabari, Volume 8. 53

33:37 and takes Zaynab for himself as a wife. After this occurrence people started to criticize Muhammad for his actions, where as a reaction to that he came yet with a new revelation saying that adopted sons are not real sons according to Surah 33:4-594 and a revelation that his followers are to show no resistance to him and to his judgement according to Surah 4:65. I personally have trouble seeing the truth and high morality out these actions, especially when Muhammad is to be seen as the highest moral standard for humanity, and also can understand why Aisha would come with such a statement. It is suspiciously strange that when the law prohibits something, for example having more than four wives’ but yet for Muhammad it is somehow allowed and if it were him not allowed then a new law would be revealed to make an exception only for Muhammad to justify his desires. Another of such examples is found in Surah 33:53:

O ye who believe! Enter not the Prophet's houses, - until leave is given you, - for a meal, (and then) not (so early as) to wait for its preparation: but when ye are invited, enter; and when ye have taken your meal, disperse, without seeking familiar talk. Such (behaviour) annoys the Prophet: he is ashamed to dismiss you, but Allah is not ashamed (to tell you) the truth. And when ye ask (his ladies) for anything ye want, ask them from before a screen: that makes for greater purity for your hearts and for theirs. Nor is it right for you that ye should annoy Allah's Messenger, or that ye should marry his widows after him at any time. Truly such a thing is in Allah's sight an enormity.95

Reading this ayah, I can’t help myself to ask the question why this ayah is revealed in the Quran. Why is it so important to teach the people to leave the house of Muhammad after they have eaten and to not annoy him? What purpose does it have in the eternal word of Allah which is supposedly meant for all generations? I can’t help to think that this ayah doesn’t guide the mankind in any way which brings us again to the point where it is not strange to come to conclusion that Muhammad made up laws and revelations to satisfy his needs. His ways are very different in comparison with how Jesus acted. Looking at the lifestyle of Jesus he did not chose to create comfort for himself when there was a chance for it. We see for example exceptions for Muhammad when it comes to the law, yet Jesus taught to go two miles when they ask you for one mile according to Matthew 5:41. It’s the total opposite of each other. These things are also seen in actions of Jesus. For example, Jesus did not need to

94 Tafsir ibn Kathir, “Surah 33:4-5.”

95 Surah 33:53, Yusuf Ali translation. 54 be baptised because he had never committed any sin, but yet chose to do it to fulfil righteousness according to Matthew 3:15. What then is there left for Muhammad if his claim that he is prophesied in Bible does not stand and if he has no one to testify of his truth, as matter of fact his own companions even testify of his suspiciousness. What does that then also mean separately for the Quran. It would mean that if Muhammad is not a true prophet, thus his revelation is not true either. Interestingly Muhammad, as he has given us objective way to find out whether he is a prophet by point us to research the Taurat and the Injil, he has also given a challenge regarding the Quran. He revealed in Surah 2:23 concerning the truthfulness of the Quran “And if you are in doubt about what We have sent down upon Our Servant [Muhammad], then produce a surah the like thereof and call upon your witnesses other than Allah, if you should be truthful.”. Consulting the tafsir of ibn Abbas concerning this ayah, he clarifies that Muhammad revealed this after he was falsely accused fabricating and making up his revelations:

And if ye are in doubt concerning that which We revealed) through the Archangel Gabriel (unto Our slave) Muhammad whom you accuse of fabrication, (then produce a surah like it) produce a surah like the surah of the Cow (al-Baqarah), (and call your witnesses), seek help from the gods that you worship, (apart from Allah), it is said that this refers to their leaders, (if ye are truthful) in your claim.96

So, the challenge that Muhammad gives here concerning the truth of the Quran is to produce a Surah that is similar to Surah al-Baqarah, which is the second and longest chapter of the Quran. I personally have trouble with this challenge. Firstly, this challenge can never be tested, because it is a subjective one. One can say for instance after serious attempt to produce a similar work, that he believes that his or her work is better and more beautiful than Surah al- Baqara. Is that person in that case wrong? No, it is simply his opinion. Secondly even if there were some who would produce a better work than Surah al-Baqarah, then again you can have people who would disagree with that person. There can simply never be an objective universal ground to this challenge. I for example believe that the Psalms are far better than Sura al- Baqara in many ways such as the content, the style etc. So, does this mean that according to my opinion the Quran challenge is met and thus it is justified for me to say that Quran is not Gods word? In this case I could not be condemned even if the Quran were a true revelation of God. However there have been experts in the past who have dedicated their lives in to

96 Ibn ‘Abbâs, “Sura 2:23.” 55 studying and judging the quality and the beauty of historical works. Ali Dashti writes concerning the Quran text analysis:

The Qor'an contains sentences which are incomplete and not fully intelligible without the aid of commentaries; foreign words, unfamiliar words, and words used with other than the normal meaning; adjectives and verbs inflected without observance of the concords of gender and number; illogically and ungrammatically applied pronouns which sometimes have no referent; and predicates which in rhymed passages are often remote from the subjects. These and other such aberrations in the language have given scope to critics who deny the Qor'an's eloquence. The problem also occupied the minds of devout Moslems. It forced the commentators to search for explanations and was probably one of the causes of disagreement over readings.97

However, Dashti was not the only one who found these dilemma’s. In the work of Bell and Watts they describe the same found dilemmas in the Quranic scripture 98. Which brings us again to the point that Muhammad is not prophesied in the Bible as a prophet to come, that he has no testimony for his authenticity, in fact the opposite and lastly his challenge cannot be met because of its subjectivity.

97 Ali Dashti, Twenty-Three Years: A Study of the Prophetic Career of Mohammad, trans. F.R.C. Bagley (California: Mazda Publishers, Costa Mesa, 1994), 48.

98 Richard Bell and William M. Watt, Introduction to the Quran (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1970), 112-113.

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Chapter 6

Conclusion

Bringing this research to a conclusion, it is important to first present the Christian view before answering the main question which was posed at the beginning of this thesis. In consideration of the fact that Muhammad, according to this thesis, cannot be found in the Bible, it is therefore interesting to know what Jesus actually did say concerning prophets. There are some passages found in the Gospels that have a direct relevance for this thesis. For example, a parable which Jesus teaches in Matthew 21:33, we read thus:

There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country. 34 When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit. 35 And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. 36 Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them. 37 Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ 39 And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.99

The interesting part in this parable is the statement that “Finally he sent his son to them.” According to the commentary in Barnes notes, an explanation is given to what “Finally” means:

Last of all ... - Mark adds that this was an only son, greatly beloved. This beautifully and most tenderly exhibits the love of God in sending his only Son, Jesus Christ, into the world to die for people. Long had he sent the prophets, and they had been persecuted and slain. There was no use in sending any more prophets to the people. They had done all that they could do.100

According to this commentary, and others such as Jamieson-Fausset-Brown, God first send all the prophets and then finally, last of all, he sends his son. This means that if the son is the last

99 Matthew 21:33 (ESV).

100 Barnes’ Note on the Bible, “Matthew 21:33,” Biblehub, accessed September 10, 2016, http://biblehub.com/commentaries/matthew/21-33.htm. 57 of all, there is no one to be expected after the son. So, no prophet is expected to come after Jesus and so Muhammad cannot even be considered to be a prophet according to this passage. The second passage can be found in Matthew 5:17-18 which states that “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” In this term the Law and the Prophets refers to the Books of old testament and of course their teachings. As discussed above, the Law is the Torah and the prophets are the twelve last prophetic books of books Old Testament. Jesus also declares in Matthew 5:17 that he came to fulfil them. The commentary of Barnes’ Notes remark on this passage that “But to fulfil - To complete the design; to fill up what was predicted; to accomplish what was intended in them.”101 In other words, according to this passage, Jesus fulfilled the Torah and what was written and prophesied in it. This means that since Jesus has claimed to have fulfilled the Torah, there is no space for Muhammad to claim to be prophesied in the Torah as was highlighted in the previous chapters. Again, according to Christianity, it is not even possible for Muhammad to be the last prophet. In fact, Christianity warns people to watch out for people who will come after Jesus and claim to be a prophet introducing new teachings, citing as an example what apostle Paul in his letter to Galatians 1:8 says: “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.” Therefore, the main question of this thesis as stated in the introduction is: Is Muhammad a true prophet of Abrahamic religion? To do justice to this question, an analysis was done to understand what an Abrahamic Religion is in the first place, and thereafter compared Christianity with Islam. From the start, it appeared that the two religions, instead of confirming each other as taught in Islam, are the exact opposite of each other. Thereon, further analysis was done in order to find an approach through which an answer to the main question could be given. However, the comparison method led to a dead end especially because of the nashq, the abrogation teachings, both in Christianity and Islam. Because of that, there was no ground for objective consensus. However, an approach that could be tested objectively is the claim by Muhammad that he is prophesied in the Bible. Analysing what Islamic scholars teach to be prophecies of Muhammad in Bible, led to the conclusion that he is actually not prophesied in the Bible. Hence came the next argument to defend Muhammad authenticity as a true prophet of Abrahamic religion. The next claim was

101 Barnes’ Note on the Bible, “Matthew 5:17.” 58 the teaching of tahrif, which is the corruption of the Bible. Analysing this claim from Islamic sources showed as result that this corruption of God’s revelation was referring to a local Jewish group. This provided next to historical evidence, enough material to claim that Muhammad was supposed to be found in the Bible in his time, which is the same Bible as we have nowadays. As has been shown in this thesis, Muhammad is not prophesied in the Bible which gives us an answer to the main question “Is Muhammad a true Prophet of Abrahamic Religion?” According to his own standards, which he himself gave to the people to test whether he indeed is a true prophet, Muhammad is not and cannot be considered to be a true prophet of Abrahamic Religion. Also from Christian perspective, there is not even any probability for Muhammad to be the last prophet of the God of Abraham, simply because Jesus teaches that there will be no new prophets coming after him with new teachings. As mentioned in chapter of Reflection, there are also no testimonies of him being authentic as was the case with Jesus or other prophets, in fact it is the opposite view where his companions testify of his suspiciousness. This thesis concludes with the statement that Muslims should follow Jesus instead of Muhammad. Judging first of all from his claim, there is enough for evidence to assert this. Secondly, his teachings strongly contradicted God’s previous revealed teachings which should not have been the case according to Islam itself and finally God warns in the New Testament that followers of God should not follow any man who comes after Jesus claiming to be a prophet with new teachings. For further research, it will be interesting to explore means of how to share this message in interreligious dialogue with Muslims. Considering this subject to be a very sensitive one, I believe it is important to be very respectful and humble when sharing this.

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