1. This constitutes a brief preamble to the discourse (for its explana- tion, see: The 5th volume of Tafhim al-Qur'ān, and Sūrah al-Ḥadīd, 57: nn. 1-2). The Surah opens with this note in order to prepare the hearers and readers to grasp the truth better, and also to declare that God is totally independent. He is above and beyond anyone's help, support, faith or sacrifice for His divinity. If God urges the believers to have sincerity in their faith (īmān) and engage in jihad with their lives and wealth, in order to uphold the truth, it is all in their own interest. Otherwise, the will of God is accomplished by dint of His own power and through His own design, even if no effort at all is made to accomplish it. He achieves all what He wills even if the whole world joins together to try to frustrate it or stubbornly resist it.

2. This is one meaning of the passage in general which is evident from its wording. At the same time, it has a special meaning which emerges from reading this injunction along with the verse that follows it. The first meaning is that there should be complete agreement between the words and deeds of the true Muslim. He should do whatever he says and if he does not intend to do something, or does not have the courage to take up something, he should not announce that he will do it. Disparity between word and deed is one of the worst qualities in man and God abhors it. This should not mar the conduct of the person who claims to believe in God. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has explained that this moral defect betrays the hypocrisy of the person who says something and does something else. According to a ḥadīth:

The hypocrite has three traits, even if he happens to pray, observe the fast and claim to be Muslim: (1) When he speaks, he lies; (2) When he makes a promise, he does not honour it; and (3) when he is entrusted with something, he proves dishonest.

(al-Bukhārī, Kitāb al-Īmān, 24; and Muslim, Kitāb al-Īmān, 106-108).

In another tradition, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

Four character traits indicate that a person is a hypocrite if they are all found in him. Likewise, if a person has one of these four traits, then he suffers from one degree of hypocrisy until he gives it up:

1. That when he is entrusted with something, he proves dishonest;

2. When he speaks, he lies;.

3. When he makes a pledge, he violates it;

4. and when he quarrels, he crosses all limits of decency and morality (al-Bukhārī, Kitāb al-Īmān," 24; and Muslim, Kitāb al-Imān, 106).

Muslim jurists are almost unanimous that, if one makes a pledge to God (for instance he vows to do something) or enters into an agreement with other fellow human beings or promises somebody to do something, then it is incumbent upon him to do as he intended or promised, unless what he has vowed to do or promised is by itself sinful. If it is sinful, he should not honour or carry out the agreement or promise and, for getting out of his commitment, he should pay compensation which is specified in verse 8-9 of Surah al-Ma'idah (Ibn al-'Arabī, Aḥkām al-Qur'ān and al-Jaṣṣāṣ, Aḥkām al-Qur'ān).

This is the general import of these Qur'ānic verses. As for their more specific meaning, this becomes obvious when they are read along with the verse that follows. The objective is to reproach those people who make tall claims about offering their lives for the cause of Islam but, when the time of test and trial finally comes, they flee the battlefield. The Qur'an censures the believers of weak faith at several places. For example, in Surah al-Nisā', 77, Allah says: "Have you not seen those who were told: 'Restrain your hands, and establish the prayer, and pay the Zakat.' But when fighting was enjoined upon them, some of them feared men as one should fear God or even more and said: 'Our Lord, why have you ordained fighting for us? Why did you not grant us a little more respite?'" (Surah al- Nisa', 4: 77).

The believers used to say: "Why is a Surah (that would ordain fighting) not revealed?" But when a definitive Surah was revealed wherein fighting was mentioned, you saw that those in whose hearts there was a sickness looked at you as though they were about to faint at the approach of death. Pity on them" (Surah Muḥammad, 47: 20).

On the occasion of the battle of Uhud in particular, these weaknesses came to light more prominently, which is continuously indicated in Surah Al 'Imrān.

Upon assessing the revelation of these verses, the commentators of the Qur'an have specified various forms of weaknesses which are censured here. Ibn 'Abbas informs that prior to the promulgation of jihad as an obligatory duty, some Muslims used to express their wish that, were they to know which action pleases God most, they would certainly do it. However, when they were told that that action is engaging in jihad in the cause of God, they found it very hard to honour their promise. Muqatil ibn Ḥayyan states that these very people fled upon facing a trial at the battle of Uhud, and abandoned the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the battlefield. Ibn Zayd reports that many people used to assure the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that they would march out along with him to confront the enemy whenever it was required to do so. However, when the time of the test came, their promises proved false. Qatādah and al-Daḥḥāk add that some of them did join in jihad but they did not do anything in the battlefield. On their return, though, they still boasted and bragged about their bravery and achievements. Allah reproaches such people in the above verses.

3. Firstly, only the believers who are blessed with God's good pleasure and approval are prepared to offer their lives and disregard all kinds of danger in His cause. Secondly, God loves the army that has the following three characteristics: (1) it fights in God's way with full understanding and does not fight for a cause which is disapproved by God; (2) it is not marred by indiscipline and misconduct. Rather, it fights in unison and is well-arrayed in the battle; (3) while taking on the enemy, it is like a solid, cemented wall. The last quality is by itself highly meaningful. No army can fight a battle like a solid and cemented edifice unless it has the following distinctive features:

A perfect blending between faith and objectives which should unite completely the officers and soldiers of the army in a well- knit body.

All members of the army trust one another. This is possible only when all the members of the army are committed to their goal and do not have any impure motive. For war is a tremendous trial which truly tests one's mettle. The loss of trust breeds doubt and scepticism in the army.

A high standard of morality: when the officers and soldiers of any army do not abide by a high moral code, they lose love and respect for each other and cannot remain immune from mutual clashes and conflicts.

Total commitment to the goal and a firm resolve for its attainment which inspires the whole army with a spirit of invinciblity, gallantry, utter bravery and self-sacrifice. This is what inspires an army to behave like a solid, cemented edifice.

These were the foundations on which a mighty military machinery was erected under the leadership of the Prophet. The superpowers of the day were annihilated when they confronted this army. For centuries, no other world power could stand up or take on this unique military force.

4. At several places the Qur'an describes at length how the Children of Israel harassed Prophet Moses (peace and blessings be upon him)

despite knowing that he was the Prophet of God as well as their benefactor. On several occasions they maligned him and were disloyal to him. On this see the following Qur'ānic passages: Surah al-Baqarah, 2: 51, 55, 60-67 and 71; al-Nisa', 4: 153; al-Ma'idah, 5: 20-26; al-A'raf, 7: 138- 141 and 148-151; and Ța-Hā, 20: 86-98.

The Jews' account of their own history, as featuring in the Bible, abounds in instances of their harassment of Prophet Moses (peace and blessings be upon him). For instances see: Exodus: 5: 20-21; 14: 11-12; 16: 2-3 and 17: 3-4; Numbers. 14: 1-15; 14: 1-10, 16 and 20: 1-5. An allusion is made to these instances in order to caution the Muslims not to behave with their Prophet in this same reprehensible manner that the Children of Israel behaved towards their Prophet. Otherwise, they would inevitably meet the same horrible fate as that of the Children of Israel.

5. That is, it is not Allah's way to force people to follow the straight path of guidance if they are bent on following the crooked ways of sin and disobedience. From this, it automatically follows that the deviation of a person or nation from the straight path is not initiated by God but by the person himself or the nation itself. However, the Divine Law is such that God provides the means of deviation only to those who are bent on disobeying Him. Moreover, He does not forcibly dignify those who are intent on disobeying Him by enabling them to embrace true guidance and tread the path of righteousness. It is thus clear that God does not induce any individual or community to follow error, but it is they who initiate it. The Divine Law nonetheless is such that one who opts for error is facilitated in his pursuit of the same, rather than in following the straight path. God lets them persist in the error they chose and also stray into whatever alleys they may wish to follow. God has blessed the human being with freedom of choice and it is up to every human individual and group to decide whether they want to obey or disobey their Lord. It is their choice to follow the straight path or its opposite and God does not coerce anyone in the exercise of this choice. When one opts for the way of obedience and guidance, God does not push him forcibly to the path of error and disobedience. By the same token, if one has resolved to follow disobedience and reject the way of righteousness, it is not God's way to force him into pursuing the way of obedience and guidance. Nonetheless, the truth that stands out here is that one cannot move even a single step on the path one chooses unless God provides for one the ways, means and conditions required to follow that particular path. This is what is known as God-given success (tawfiq). It is God Who enables one to be successful and productive in one's efforts. Now, if one is not at all interested in seeking God's grace and instead follows evil, one gets the same. As one commits evil and one's mindset becomes corrupted, one becomes temperamentally perverse and bent on following crooked ways. Gradually, one loses all ability to do anything good. This is what is meant by the Qur'ānic statement "So when they deviated, God made their hearts deviant." Given this, it is against the Divine Dispensation that one should seek error and actively pursue it, through investing all one's efforts and energy in this, and yet be compelled to accept guidance. For this would defeat the very purpose of the trial for which man has been granted freedom of choice in this world. If guidance is forced on people, then there is no logical ground for rewarding them for it. If one were to go by this logic, then the one who is not forced into guidance and, hence, persists in error, should not be punished either, as in this case, God is responsible for his deviation. On being interrogated on the Day of Judgement, he might ask why he was not forced into guidance when there was a provision for it. This is what is meant by the Qur'ānic assertion that God does not direct the evildoers to the right path. Those who choose the path of sin and disobedience are not granted God-given success to follow the way of obedience.

6. This refers to the second disobedience of the Children of Israel. They committed the first disobedience in the time of their glory, whereas the second was committed at the end of that period upon being overtaken by God's enduring scourge. The main purpose of narrating these two instances is to warn the Muslims against the dire consequences of disobeying their Prophet as did the Israelites with their Prophet.

7. This statement is open to three meanings, all of which are correct. (1) The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) says: "I have not brought a new religion but the same religion which was presented earlier by Prophet Mūsā (peace and blessings be upon him). I have not come to repudiate the Torah but to confirm it just as the messengers of God have always been confirming the messengers who preceded them. Therefore, there is no reason why you should hesitate in accepting my Messengership." (2) "I am the confirmation of the same person regarding whose advent glad tidings are found in the Torah. So, instead of opposing me, you should welcome me because my advent is foretold by former prophets." (3) The third meaning becomes obvious when the sentence is read along with the above two meanings. It also means: "I confirm the good news about the advent of Aḥmad (peace and blessings be upon him) which features in the Torah. I myself tell the good news about his appearing on the scene." Taken in this sense, the statement of Prophet Jesus alludes to Prophet Mūsā's good news which he conveyed to his community about the advent of the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him). In it he says:

The above stands out as an explicit prophecy of the Torah which is not applicable to anyone other than the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). Prophet Moses (peace and blessings be upon him) is seen here conveying to his community God's statement that, I will raise up for you a Prophet from among "Your brethren" - himself you shall heed – just as you desire of the Lord or God in Horeb on the Day of the Assembly, when you said, "Let me not hear again in the voice of the Lord my God or see those great fire any more, lest I die.""" And the Lord said to me, "They have rightly said all that they have spoken. I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I shall command him. And whoever will not give heed to my words which he shall speak in My name, I myself will take account

of that" (Deuteronomy; 18 15-19). The Torah has stated that this Prophet will be raised up for them from among their brethren and only the Ishmaelites qualify for the appellation of "brethren of the Israelites," because they had an ethnic bond with the Israelites, being from Prophet Abraham's progeny. Furthermore, the above could not apply to any Israelite Prophet for there appeared not one but many Prophets among the Israelites after Prophet Moses and the Bible is full of their history.

Another significant point regarding the glad tidings is that the Prophet who will be raised will be like Prophet Moses (peace and blessings be upon him). This obviously does not imply that he would resemble Prophet Moses in his physical features or circumstance of life, for no one is like another in these respects. It also does not mean his resemblance in the characteristics of his Prophethood which were hinted at, for many Prophets appeared on the scene after Prophet Moses (peace and blessings be upon him). Thus, resemblance in these two aspects are out of the question and the only plausible similarity between the two is that the promised Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would bring a Divine Law just like Prophet Moses (peace and blessings be upon him) did. This distinction is specific only to Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), which is not found in any other Prophets (peace and blessings be upon them). This is because all the Israelite Prophets (peace and blessings be upon them) who preceded him were followers of the Mosaic Law and none of them had brought a permanent Divine Law (shari'ah) of his own.

The above interpretation is further reinforced by the wording of the Old Testament (Torah): According to all thou (i.e the Israelites) the Prophet will be just as you desire of the Lord or God at Horeb on the Day of the Assembly, saying, "let me not hear again the voice of the Lord or God, neither let me see this great fire any more, lest I die not." And the Lord said unto them, "They have well spoken that which they have spoken. I will raise them up a Prophet like you from among their brethren; and I will put my words in his mouth" (Deuteronomy, 16-19). Here Horeb represents the mountain on which Prophet Moses (peace and blessings be upon him) had received the Divine Law for the first time. As for the reference to the Israelites' request, it means that they asked that, if any new law is granted again, it should not be granted in the same horrible circumstances in which it was obtained at the feet of the Horeb mountain. Both the Qur'ān and Bible contain an account of this (see: Surah al-Baqarah, 2: 55-56 and 63; al-A'raf 7: 155-171; and the

Bible, Exodus, 19: 17-18). As for the response to their request, Prophet Moses (peace and blessings be upon him) told the Israelites that God had accepted their prayer and promised to raise up for them a Prophet in whose mouth He will put His own words. Furthermore, such horrible conditions will not be created there when the law is granted again and that they will be unlike those conditions witnessed at the feet of the Horeb mountain. Instead, Divine Words will be put in the mouth of the Prophet who will be appointed to that office, and he will receive those words in his mouth which he will recite before mankind. In the light of this clarification, there is no doubt that the above allusion is to Prophet Muḥammad (peace and blessings be upon him) alone and nobody else. He was the only Prophet who received an enduring and permanent Divine Law after that of Prophet Moses (peace and blessings be upon him). Likewise, when the commands of the Shari'ah were given, there was no crowd as those of the Israelites who gathered at the feet of the Horeb mountain. Such conditions were not there when the rulings of the Shari'ah (Aḥkām-al-Shari'ah) were given.

8. This very significant Qur'ānic verse has been the subject of severe polemics and treated by the enemies of Islam with the worst kind of criminal dishonesty, going as far as resorting to criminal treachery in order to discredit the above verse. This verse refers to an unambiguous prediction by Prophet Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding the coming of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), which specified him by name. It is therefore necessary that we study and discuss it in some details.

1. This verse names the Prophet (peace be upon him) as Aḥmad. Literally, Ahmad carries two meanings: (a) the one who gives the highest praise to God; and (b) he who has been praised by others, or the one who is most praiseworthy among God's servants. It is evident from Prophetic traditions that Aḥmad was also one of the well known names of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). Muslim, Abū Dāwūd and al-Ṭayālisī have narrated on the authority of Abū Mūsā al-Ash'arī that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I am Muḥammad and I am Aḥmad and I am al-Ḥāshir (the Assembler)." Other identical narrations to this effect are cited by Imam Mālik, al-Bukhārī, Kitāb al-Manāqib, 17, Muslim, Kitāb al-Faḍā'il," 134 and 135, al-Dārimi, al-Tirmidhi, Kitāb al-Adab, 67, and al-Nasa'ī on the authority of Jubayr ibn Muț'im. The Companions knew well that Ahmad was the Prophet's name as is borne out by Ḥassan ibn Thabit's following couplets: "God and the angels surrounding His throne and all blessed beings have sent blessings upon the blessed Ahmad."

History also bears out that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was called both Muḥammad and Ahmad. No one was named Ahmad before him because this name does not appear in any Arabic literature. However, after his appearance on the scene, numerous persons have been named Aḥmad or Ghulam Aḥmad. This is a weighty testimony to the fact that, since the days of his Messengership up to this day, it was recognized that Ahmad is the Prophet's name. Had this not been his name, those who named their children "the servant of Ahmad" could not have anyone else in mind.

2. The Gospel of St John indicates that, at the advent of the Prophet Jesus Christ, the Israelites looked forward to the appearance of these three figures: (1) the Messiah, (2) Elijah (i.e the second coming of Prophet Ilyās); and (3) the Prophet. The Bible contains the following relevant passages:

'And this testimony of John (Yahya [peace be upon him]), when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?" He confessed, and did not deny, "I am not the Christ." Then they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" And he answered, "No." They said to him then, "Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?" He said, "I am the voice of the one crying in the wilderness: "Make straight the way for the Lord," as the Prophet Isaiah said.'

Now, because they were sent by the Pharisees, they asked him, "then why are you baptising, if you are neither the Christ nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?" (John, 1: 19-25)

Unmistakably, the above wording confirms that the Children of Israel were looking forward to the advent of a Prophet, apart from Christ and Elijah. Prophet John (Yaḥya) (peace and blessings be upon him) was not that Prophet. The advent of this Prophet was so widely believed by the Children of Israel that only a passing reference to that Prophet was sufficient. There was no need to specify him as the one whose advent was foretold in the Torah. Furthermore, it also emerges that the appearance of that Prophet was imminent. That is why when Prophet John (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked these questions, he did not rule out the advent of that Prophet itself nor did he cross question to them, asking which Prophet they meant.

3. Let us now study what is foretold continuously in chapter 14 and 16 of the Bible, the Book of John:

"And I will pray to the Father, and he will give you another Comforter, to be with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him; you know him, for he dwells with you, and will be inside you" (14: 16-17).

These things, I have spoken to you, while I am still with you. But the Comforter, that is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance that I have said to you" (14:25-26).

"I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and has nothing in me" (14:30).

But when the Comforter comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will testify of me (15: 26).

Nevertheless I tell you the truth; it is to your benefit that I go away, for if I do not go away, then the Comforter will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send him to you" (16: 7).

I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. But when the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the path of truth; for he will not speak on his own authority, whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come in the future. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that which belongs to the Father is mine; therefore I have said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you (16: 12-15).

4. For decoding the above passage, it should be noted first that Syriac, a dialect of Aramaic, was the popular language of Palestine during Prophet Jesus's time. Hebrew had disappeared from the

scene some 250 years before the birth of Christ in the days of the Seleucide rule and Hebrew was replaced by Syriac. Although, under the influence of the Seleucide and Roman empires in the neighbourhood, Greek also made its way into that region, it was only confined to courtiers who were Hellenized for the purpose of acquiring position and power. The ordinary Palestinians used a particular dialect of Syriac. The general public also used a particular dialect of Syriac whose accent, pronunciation and proverbs were different from the Syriac used in Damascus. The common people were so ignorant of the Greek language that when, in 7 AH, the Roman general Titus addressed the people of Jerusalem, after gaining control over it, his speech had to be translated into Syriac. It is, therefore, clear that the Prophet Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) must have spoken to his disciples in Syriac.

Another point worth noting is that all the four Gospels of the Bible in Syriac are authored by Greek speaking Christians who had accepted Christianity after the era of Prophet Jesus. They received Prophet Jesus's sayings and actions orally and only through Syriac-speaking Christians, and not in written form, and they must have translated these Syriac reports into their own language. None of the Gospels was written before 70 CE. As for the Book of John in the Gospel, it was probably written 100 years after Prophet Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) in the city of Ephesus, in Asia Minor. Furthermore, no particular copy of the Gospel is preserved in the Greek in which it was initially inscribed and of the several manuscripts dating to the pre-printing era, none is dated earlier than the 4th century. It is therefore difficult to guess what changes may have occured in this text during the first three centuries. What is most dubious is that the Christians consider deliberate alteration in the Gospels as a perfectly legitimate act (see: Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1946 edition). The author of the article of the "Bible" maintains: "The main source of the evidence and variations are the manuscript of the New Testament, dating from the end of the 10th century or even later. In the process of copying, these manuscripts underwent revisions. Some of these revisions were unintentional as scribes skipped a word or a line, or as they mistook one character for another. Every revision came from the desire of the scribe to harmonise the text of one Gospel with another or of one Testament with the other; or from his pious wish to "correct" or clarify the text at another point. But now that variation in the text exists, collection of the manuscripts is a difficult task" (see: "Bible" in Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1973).

Given this, it is hard to say with certainty that the sayings of Prophet Jesus's disciples in the Gospel have been accurately recorded without any alteration.

Another important point to consider is that three centuries after the Muslim conquest, the Palestinian Christians retained Syriac as their language and it was only natural that Arabic replaced Syriac in the ninth century. The early Muslim scholars gained knowledge of Christianity from the Syriac speaking Palestinians. Hence, these should be considered more authentic than the body of knowledge which depends on the material translated from Syriac into Greek and then from Greek into Latin. The Syriac speaking Christians were more likely to have retained the original sayings of Prophet Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him).

5. In view of these incontrovertible historical facts, one notes in the above Biblical passages taken from the Book of John that Prophet Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) foretold the advent of a Prophet after him, branding him as the leader of the world until eternity (sarwar 'Alam), who says the way to truth and confirms Prophet Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) himself. The interpolation of the Spirit of truth and the Holy Spirit into the above passage is aimed at distorting the clear meaning of the passage. Even then, upon a close examination of these passages, it emerges that the reference is not to the appearance of some Spirit but to the advent of a particular person blessed with universal, all-encompassing and eternal teachings which will be valid until the Last Day. For this special person the word madadgar 'helper' has been used in the Urdu translation. The Christians insist that the original expression used in the Book of John was Paracletus. However, the Christian scholars themselves find it hard to decode it. In the original Greek, Paraclete connotes many ideas: inviting to a particular place, invoking for Hell, warning, expelling, promoting, entreating and supplicating. In its Hellenic sense, it carries the following meanings; comforting, consoling and inspiring. No specific meaning is assigned to this expression in the Bible in the instances in which it has been used. Origen has translated it variously as Consolator and Deprecator. Other translators, however, rejected the above rendering for it is incompatible with Greek grammar. Moreover, this meaning does not fit into the context in which it is employed. Other translators have rendered it as 'a teacher'. Again, this is not borne out by the Greek idiom. Augustine prefers the word 'advocate' while others chose: 'assistant', 'comforter' and 'consoler' (See: "Paracletus" in A Cyclopaedia of Biblical Literature).

Now, it is interesting to note that there is another Greek expression, Periclytos which means "the praised one", which is a perfect synonym of "Muḥammad". Since it is a homonym of Paracletus, Christian scholars who altered the Scripture without any qualms of conscience may have placed Paracletus in the place of Periclytos because the latter was incongruent with their dogma. We do not have the Book of John in its original Greek to verify this and, since this Book is no longer extant, it cannot be ascertained which expression was exactly used there.

6. The issue is not which expression was employed by John in Greek, for, after all, it was a translation. Since Prophet Jesus's language was the Syriac of Palestine, he must have used a Syriac word for it. Fortunately, the original Syriac expression is found in Ibn Hisham's Sīrah and one learns about its Greek equivalent in the same source. On the authority of Muhammad Ibn Isḥāq, Ibn Hisham has copied the translation of the Book of John: 15: 23-27 and 16: 1 in full. This passage contains the Syriac word, munḥamanna, in the place of the Greek Paracletus. Then, Ibn Ishaq, or Ibn Hishām, explained that the above means Muḥammad in Syriac and Periclytos in Greek (Ibn Hishām, vol. 1, p. 248).

It is to be noted that, from a historical perspective, Syriac was the language of the ordinary Christians in Palestine up to the ninth century. Their original habitation had been part of the Muslim kingdom since the early seventh century. Ibn Ishaq died in 768 CE and Ibn Hisham in 828 CE. Syriac was very much used by the Palestinian Christians of their day and both of them had easy access to the Christians of their country. Moreover, hundreds of thousands of Syriac speaking Christians lived in the land of Islam. It was not therefore difficult for them to find out the Greek synonym of a Syriac word. And since Ibn Ishaq's citation contains the expression munḥamanna, with his or Ibn Hisham's clarification that its synonyms in Arabic and Greek are Muḥammad and Perictytos, this leaves no doubt whatsoever that the advent of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) was foretold by Prophet Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him). One also learns that the Greek Gospel of John contained the word Periclytos which had been changed into Paracletus by some Christians at a later time.

7. Another weighty and old historical evidence is 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud's following report: 'When the King, the Negus, invited the Muslim migrants to Abyssinia at his court and then learnt from Ja'far ibn Abi Talib about the teachings of the Prophet, he exclaimed: "Welcome to you and to him from whose town you have arrived. I testify that he is a Messenger of God and he is the one whose mention we find in the Gospel. He is the one whose blessed advent had been proclaimed by the son of Mary'" (Musnad of Imām Aḥmad). This story is also narrated on the authority of Ja'far and Umm Salamah. What it signifies is that, in the early seventh century, the Negus was aware of what Prophet Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) foretold about the advent of a Prophet. It also confirms that such clear predictions were mentioned in the Gospel at that time which convinced the Negus without any hesitation, and he recognised Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) as being that foretold Prophet. The report is, however, silent on the source of the Negus's information. It is not clear if it was the Gospel of St John or some other sources which also existed at that time.

8. The truth is that the four Gospels which the Christian Church has recognised as Canonical are not an authentic source of information, not just about Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) but also about Prophet Jesus's predictions, his own biography or his original teachings. The Church brands these as Canonical Gospels but it appears that the more reliable source is the Gospel of Barnabas which the Church has declared as heretical and apocryphal. The Christians have tried hard to conceal the Gospel of Barnabas and for centuries it remained lost to the world. In the sixteenth century only a single copy of its Italian translation was found in the library of Pope Sixtus V and no one had permission to read it. John Tolland laid his hand on this work in the early eighteenth century. The above copy had several owners and reached the Imperial Library, Vienna, in 1738. In 1907, an English translation of this Italian manuscript was published by Clarendon Press, Oxford. However, it appears that, soon after its publication, the Christian world realised that this work aimed at cutting the roots of their faith, especially since it was ascribed to Prophet Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him).

Therefore, all its printed copies were destroyed mysteriously and it was never reprinted. Another copy of its Spanish translation, from the Italian manuscript, was found in the eighteenth century. In his English translation of the Qur'an, George Sale has referred to it in his Preface and Preliminary Discourse. Even this was suppressed and, today, it is extremely difficult to get a copy of it. I had the privilege of getting a photocopy of it published in Oxford. In my considered opinion, it represents a great blessing which the Christians have suppressed. Out of their prejudice and obstinacy, they have indeed deprived themselves of this great blessing.

Whenever this Gospel is mentioned in Christian literature, it is simply dismissed as an apocryphal work. They hold that a Muslim may have authored it and falsely ascribed it to Barnabas. However, this is a great falsehood which has been uttered only because the book contains clear prophecies at several places. This Gospel specifically states some predictions about Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). In the first place, it is crystal clear that this Gospel has not been authored by a Muslim. Secondly, had any Muslim authored it, it would have been in circulation among Muslims on a large scale. Muslim scholars would have made abundant reference to it. On the contrary, prior to the publication of George Sale's English translation of the Qur'an, Muslims did not know even about its existence. Al-Ṭabari, al-Ya‘qūbï, al-Mas‘ūdī, al-Bīrūnī, Ibn Hazm and other Muslim scholars, who were fully conversant with Christian literature, make no reference to the Gospel of Barnabas while discussing Christianity. Ibn al-Nadim's al-Fihrist and Ḥājji Khalifah's Kashf al-Zunun as well as the catalogues of the libraries of the Muslim world do not mention this title. Before the nineteenth century, no Muslim scholar was aware of this work. The third and most important argument for the falsity of the claim that it was authored by a Muslim is that the list of non- canonical books compiled in the era of Pope Galerius I, 75 years before the Prophet's birth, does refer to the Gospel of Barnabas whose study was prohibited by a Papal decree. This naturally raises the question of how any Muslim can fabricate this Gospel when Islam had not even appeared on the scene? The Christian scholars themselves have admitted that the Gospel of Barnabas remained in circulation for a long time in Syria, Spain, Egypt and other countries during the early days of Christianity and that it was banned as heretical in the sixth century.

9. Before we cite Prophet Jesus's predictions about the advent of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) in this Gospel, it will be in order to introduce this work briefly, so that the reader knows its importance and also understands why Christian scholars are so displeased with it.

None of the writers of the four Canonical Gospels, which have been included in the Bible as authentic and canonical, was a companion of Prophet Jesus and none of these four writers claim to have recorded his material on the authority of the disciples of Prophet Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him). They have in fact provided no information about their sources. It is not therefore clear whether these writers witnessed the events recorded by them or directly heard the sayings which they have related. They have not indicated any chain of narrators as their means of information. By contrast, the author of the Gospel of Barnabas insists that he was one of the twelve disciples of Prophet Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) who enjoyed his constant company and has recorded all that he saw and heard firsthand. Not just this, at the end of this work, the author says that, on his departure from the world, Prophet Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) had asked him to clear the popular misconceptions about him, saying to him it was his responsibility to present the correct events before the people of the world.

Who was this Barnabas? In the book of 'Acts' in the Bible, Barnabas features frequently as someone hailing from a Jewish family of Cyprus. His contribution to the promotion of Christianity and his generous help to Prophet Jesus's disciples are acclaimed. But nowhere is it mentioned when he exactly embraced Christianity. Furthermore, his name does not appear among the list of the twelve original disciples recorded in the three Gospels. Therefore, it cannot be said that he is the same Barnabas, the author of this Gospel or someone else. The list of the disciples given by Barnabas differs from the one given by Matthew and Mark. Barnabas's list differs at two places: instead of Tuma (Thomas) Barnabas has given his own name, and Simon the Canaanite is replaced by Jude (Judas) son of Jacob. The latter is mentioned in Luke's Gospel as well. One is therefore justified in assuming that Tuma's name was inserted at a later date in order to get rid of Barnabas's Gospel. Christian scholars had not been shy of making such interpolations into their religious books, as they did not deem this to be something unlawful.

When one studies the Gospel of Barnabas objectively and compares it with the four Gospels of the New Testament, one is bound to conclude that his Gospel is far superior to the four canonical Gospels. For this Gospel relates at length the account of the life of Prophet Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) from an eyewitness point of view. The author appears to be a participant in the very events which he describes. In contrast to the incoherent account of the four canonical Gospels, its historical narrative is more coherent and cohesive, which enables the readers to grasp the series of unfolding events by themselves. Furthermore, unlike the four canonical Gospels, it illustrates at length and effectively Prophet Jesus's teachings. Its description of monotheism, its refutation of polytheism, its affirmation of Divine Attributes, its spirit of worship and morals and manners have been presented in a most forceful and extensively rational way. Prophet Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) is found in it pressing home points of a nature which are conspicuous by their absence in the four Gospels. This Gospel informs in much greater detail the wise methods used by Prophet Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) for the teaching and tactful training of his disciples. Anyone who is familiar with Prophet Jesus's vocabulary, delivery style and temperament is bound to acknowledge that the Gospel of Barnabas is not a fabricated work, which was authored at a later period. Relatively speaking, Prophet Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) appears in his true grandeur and glory in this Gospel, which is not the case at all in the four canonical Gospels. There is no trace in this Gospel of those contradictions which abound in the four Gospels with respect to his different sayings.

In the Gospel of Barnabas, the life of Prophet Jesus and his teachings are found to precisely correspond to the life and teachings of a Prophet of God. He presents himself as a Prophet who confirms earlier Scriptures and Messengers and asserts that the teachings of earlier Prophets are the source of his knowledge about the truth and that the one who rejects the Prophets, in fact rejects God. He presents the doctrines of the unity of God, Apostleship and the Hereafter precisely as they are taught by all the Prophets and their teachings. He is seen exhorting people to perform the prayer, to observe the fast and to pay the poor-due. Barnabas mentions the timing he observed for his prayer which were the same times which correspond to Fajr, Zuhr, Asr, Maghrib, 'Isha' and Tahajjud prayers. He used to pray at these hours and always did ablution before offering the prayer. He acknowledged David and Solomon (peace and blessings be upon them) as God's Messengers, though the Jews and Christians have excluded them from the list of Prophets. He affirmed that Prophet Ishmael is the son of Abraham who was sacrificed (Dhabiḥ). Furthermore, he makes a Jewish Rabbi admit that Ishmael was the sacrificial son but the Jews distorted this fact and falsely claimed it was Prophet Isaac. His teaching about the Hereafter, the Resurrection (the Last Day) and Paradise and Hell are almost identical to those given in the Qur'ān.

10. The Christians do not oppose the Gospel of Barnabas because it contains frequent and explicit predictions about Prophet Muḥammad's advent. This Gospel was rejected long before the Prophet's birth. In order to understand the real cause for their irritation with this Gospel, a further discussion is needed.

The earliest followers of Prophet Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) considered him only a Prophet who adhered to the Mosaic Law and did not regard themselves as distinct from other Children of Israel in matters of belief, religious injunctions and rites of worship. They differed from the Jews only in their faith in Prophet Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) as the Messiah, (the Christ) whereas the Jews had refused to acknowledge him as the Messiah. At a later date, when St. Paul entered the fold of Christianity, he started preaching and proclaiming Christianity among the Romans and Greeks as well as among other non- Jewish and non-Israelite communities. In pursuance of this aim, he invented a new religion altogether whose articles of faith, doctrines and injunctions were markedly different from those taught by Prophet Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him). This man had never met Prophet Jesus during his lifetime and even remained the enemy of his followers for several years after him. Then, he entered his community and started establishing a new religion. In doing so, he did not cite any sayings of Prophet Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) as the authority upon which he based himself. Rather, he raised a super structure on the basis of his own visions and inspiration.

In creating this new religion, his only objective was to make it acceptable to the world of Gentiles. Accordingly, he proclaimed that Christians are not bound by the restrictions of the Jewish law. He waved all the restrictions arising out of the concepts of the lawful and unlawful in food. He also did away with the

practice of circumcision which was particularly disagreeable to the non-Jewish world. Worse, he invented the doctrine of the divinity of Christ and that he was the son of God as well as the concept of Atonement which means that Prophet Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) died on the cross to absolve the children of Adam of the original sin. These notions suited well the polytheistic taste of the common man. The early followers of Prophet Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) opposed these innovations. However, the floodgate opened by St. Paul brought in such throngs of non-Jewish Christians to enter this religion and the handful of true Christians could not stand against it for long. Nonetheless, until about the end of the third century AD, there were still many people who denied the divinity of Christ. But in the beginning of the 4th century, in 325 AD, the Counsel at Nicaea declared the Pauline doctrines as the basis of Christianity. Then the Roman empire itself embraced Christianity and, in the reign of Emperor Theodosius, Christianity became the state religion. Consequently, all the books questioning this doctrine were proscribed as heretical, and only those books which agreed with the Pauline viewpoint were held as canonical. In 367 AD, and for the first time, a collection of reliable and accepted books was issued by an epistle of Athanasius which was ratified by a committee chaired by Pope Damasius in 382 AD. By the end of the fifth century, Pope Gelasius endorsed this collection of books and listed also the Gospels which were "spurious and unreliable". However, no Christian scholar has ever claimed that the Pauline doctrines, which are used as the criterion for the authenticity or heresy of certain religious books, had been taught by Prophet Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) himself. More than that, even the Gospels which are accepted as canonical do not bear out any recorded sayings of Prophet Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) himself which may confirm these doctrines.

The Gospel of Barnabas was deemed to be a non-canonical book because it runs against the Church creed. According to the author, his aim behind writing this book is to "reform the ideas of those who, being deceived by Satan, under the pretence of piety, are preaching a most impious doctrine, calling Jesus the son of God, repudiating the circumcision ordained by God forever, and permitting every unclean meat, among whom also Paul hath been deceived." Also according to him, during Jesus's lifetime, the polytheistic Roman soldiers were the first to deify him upon witnessing his miracles. Some of them called him the son of God. This is how this false notion crept into the children of Israel. This outraged Prophet Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) and he forcefully and repeatedly refuted this false notion about himself and cursed those who ascribed such things to him. He deputed his disciples across Judaea to clarify and contradict this false notion. Owing to his blessing, his disciples displayed the same miracles which he had shown. This was meant to negate the impression that the person(s) who displays such miracles is God or the son of God. Barnabas has cited Jesus's expansive speeches which repudiate this false notion which indicate his indignation over the matter. Barnabas dismissed also the Pauline doctrine that Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) had died on the cross. He provides his eyewitness account when Judas Iscariot, after taking a bribe from the Jewish rabbis, came along with soldiers to arrest Jesus. Four angels took him away at God's command and the voice and face of Judas Iscariot was changed to that of Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him). The Gospel of Barnabas strikes at the roots of Pauline Christianity and endorses fully the Qur'ānic version of Prophet Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him), although 115 years before the revelation of the Qur'an, the Church fathers had rejected the Gospel of Barnabas owing to its above assertions.

11. The above discussion makes it abundantly clear that the Gospel of Barnabas is, in fact, a more reliable Gospel than the so-called canonical Gospels. At the outset, the author states the following objective behind writing this book: "To reform the ideas of those people who, under the spell of Satan and under the pretext of piety, are preaching most impious doctrines, calling Jesus son of God, repudiating the circumcision ordained by God, and promoting the unlawful food as lawful, among whom also Paul figures." He mentions that during Prophet Jesus' lifetime, the polytheistic Roman soldiers were the first to acclaim him as God or son of God on witnessing his miracles. Later on, the Children of Israel also took to following the same belief. This perturbed Jesus considerably and he strongly protested against such notions about him. He also cursed those who ascribed such false notions to him. He deputed his disciples to refute these false notions in Judea. Owing to his supplications, his disciples were able to perform the same miracles that Prophet Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) used to perform. This was done in order to refute the false notion that the one who performs these miracles is God or the son of God. Barnabas cites extensive speeches of Prophet Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) in which he forcefully refutes these notions. He demonstrated that Prophet Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) was aghast apropos the spread of such false beliefs. He also refutes the Pauline notion that Prophet Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) died on the cross. He relates his eyewitness account that when Judas Iscariot brought the soldiers to arrest Jesus, after taking a bribe from the Jewish high priest, four angels carried him away at God's command. It was then that the face and speech of Judas Iscariot was changed, as a result of which he resembled Prophet Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) and it was he, and not Jesus, who was put on the cross. Thus the Gospel of Barnabas strikes at the very root of Pauline Christianity and fully endorses the Qur'ānic account. It is worth noting that the Christian priests had rejected this work 115 years before the revelation of the Qur'an.

It is evident from the above discussion that the Gospel of Barnabas is actually more authentic than the so-called four canonical Gospels. It is a correct reflection on Prophet Jesus's teachings and the events of his life as well as his deeds and sayings. It is a great misfortune for the Christians that they have failed to correct their stance vis-à-vis Prophet Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) and his real teachings. They refused to do so on account of their obstinacy. Let us quote some of the glad tidings about Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) which Barnabas has reported in this Gospel on the authority of Prophet Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him). At some places in these glad tidings, Prophet Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) mentions Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) by name and, at others, he speaks of him as the Messenger of God (Rasul Allah) or as the "Messiah". Sometimes he refers to him as the "admirable one" and, at other places, he uses sentences which carry the same meaning as: Lā ilaha illā Allāh Muḥammad Rasul Allāh (There is no god but God and Muḥammad is the Messenger of God). One cannot reproduce all the narrations of glad tidings here, for they are scattered throughout the book in different words and in different contexts. Their compilation could run into a whole tract but we reproduce below only a few of them as specimens:

"For all the Prophets, one hundred and forty-four thousand in number, whom God hath sent into the world have spoken darkly. But after me shall come the Splendour of all the prophets and holy ones, and shall shed light upon the darkness of all that the Prophets have said, because he is the Messenger of God" (Ch. 17).

"The Levites and the scribes said: 'If thou be not the Messiah nor Elijah, or any prophet, wherefore dost thou preach a new doctrine and make thyself of more account than the Messiah?' Jesus answered: 'The miracles which God worketh by my hands show that I speak that which God willeth; nor indeed do I make myself to be accounted as him of whom you speak. For I am not worthy to unloose the ties of the hosen (socks) or the latchets of the shoes of the messenger of God whom ye call "Messiah", who was made before me, when shall come after me, and shall bring the word of truth, so that this faith shall have no end" (Ch. 42).

"Verily I say unto you, that every prophet when he come hath borne to one nation only the mark of the mercy of God. And so their words were not extended save to that people to which they were sent. But the messenger of God, and he shall come, God shall give to him as it were the seal of his hand, insomuch that he shall carry salvation and mercy to all the nations of the world that shall receive his doctrine. He shall come with power upon the ungodly, and shall destroy idolatry, insomuch that he shall make Satan confounded." Continuing his speech with the disciples, the Prophet Jesus makes it clear that he will be born of the Ishmaelites (Ch. 43).

"I therefore say unto you that the messenger of God is a splendour that shall give gladness to nearly all that God hath made, for he is adorned with the spirit of understanding and of counsel, the spirit of wisdom and might, the spirit of fear and love, the spirit of prudence and temperance; he is adorned with the spirit of charity and mercy, the spirit of justice and piety, the spirit of gentleness and patience, which he has received from God three times more than he has given to all his creatures. O blessed time, when he shall come to the world, believe me that I have seen him and have done him reverence, even as every prophet hath seen him: seeing that of his spirit God giveth to them prophecy. And when I saw him my soul was filled with consolation, saying: 'O Muhammad, God be with thee and may he make me worthy to untie thy shoe latchet, for obtaining this I shall be a great prophet and holy one of God" (p. 44).

"Jesus answered: 'Let not your heart be troubled, neither ye fearful: for I have not created you, but God our creator who hath created you will protect you. As for me, I am now come to the world to prepare the way for the messenger of God, who shall bring salvation to the world. But beware that you be not deceived, for many false prophets shall come, who shall take my words and contaminate my gospel.' Then said Andrew: 'Master, tell us some sign, that we may know him.' Jesus answered: 'He will not come in your time, but will come some years after you, when my gospel shall be annulled, insomuch that there shall be scarcely thirty faithful. At that time God will have mercy on the world, and so he will send His messenger, over whose head will rest a white cloud, whereby he shall be known of one elect of God, and shall be by him manifested to the world. He shall come with great power against the ungodly, and shall destroy idolatry upon the earth. And it rejoiceth me because that through him our God shall be known and glorified, and I shall be known to be true; and he will execute vengeance against those who shall say that I am more than man... He shall come with truth more clear than that of all the prophets" (Ch. 72).

"For the promise of God was made in Jerusalem, in the temple of Solomon, and not elsewhere. But believe me, a time will come that God will give his mercy in another city, and in every place it will be possible to worship him in truth. And God in every place will have accepted true prayer with mercy... I am indeed sent to the House of Israel as a prophet of salvation; but after me shall come the Messiah, sent of God to all the world; for whom God hath made the world. And then through all the world will God be worshipped, and mercy received" (Ch. 82).

"Jesus answered: 'As God liveth, in whose presence my soul standeth, I am not the Messiah whom all the tribes of the earth expect, even as God promised to our father Abraham, saying: 'In thy seed will I bless all the tribes of the earth' (Gen. 22: 18). But when God shall take me away from the world, Satan will raise again this accursed sedition, by making the impious believe that I am God and son of God, whence my words and my doctrine shall be contaminated, insomuch that scarcely

shall there remain thirty faithful ones: whereupon God will have mercy upon the world, and will send his messenger for whom he hath made all things; who shall come from the south with power, and shall destroy the idols with the idolaters; who shall take away the dominion from Satan which he hath over men He shall bring with him the mercy of God for salvation of them that shall believe in him, and blessed is he who shall believe his words" (Ch. 96).

"The priest asked: 'After the coming of the messenger of God, shall other prophets come?' Jesus answered: 'There shall not come after him true prophets sent by God, but there shall come a great number of false prophets, whereat I sorrow. For Satan shall raise them up by the just judgement of God, and they shall hide themselves under the pretext of my gospel"" (Ch. 97).

Anointing him with oil, but somebody's being appointed by God had become synonymous with being a Messiah. For instance, in I Kings, it has been said that God commanded "the Prophet Elijah to anoint Hazel to be king over Syria, And Jehu the son of Nimshi shall thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphet of Abelmehola shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room." (19: 15-16). None of these was anointed with oil. Their being commissioned by God amounted to their being anointed. Thus, according to the Israelite concept, the word Messiah was, in fact, synonymous with being "commissioned by God", and in this very meaning had Prophet Jesus (peace and blessings be on him) used this word for Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace and blessings). For an explanation of the Israelite meaning of the word "Messiah", see: "Messiah" in A Cyclopaedia of Biblical Literature)

"Then said the priest: 'How shall the Messiah be called, and what sign shall reveal his coming?' Jesus answered: 'The name of the Messiah is admirable, for God himself gave him the name when he had created his soul, and placed it in a celestial splendour. God said: 'Wait Muhammad; for thy sake I will create paradise, the world, and a great multitude of creatures whereof I make thee a present, insomuch that whoso shall bless thee shall be blessed, and whose shall curse thee shall be accursed. When I shall send thee into the world, I shall send thee as my messenger of salvation, and thy word shall be true, insomuch that heaven and earth shall fail, but thy faith shall never fail. Muhammad is his blessed name"" (Ch. 97)

Barnabas writes that, on one occasion, Jesus spoke to his disciples and said that one of them (who was Judas Iscariot) would sell him to the enemies for 30 pieces of gold. Then he said:

"Whereupon I am sure that whoever shall sell me, all be slain in my name, for that God shall take me up from the earth, and shall change the appearance of the traitor so that every one shall believe him to be me; nevertheless, when he dieth an evil death, I shall abide in that dishonour for a long time in the world but when Muḥammad shall come, the sacred messenger of God, that infamy shall be taken away. And this shall God do because I have confessed the truth of the Messiah, who shall give me this reward, that I shall be known to be alive and to be a stranger to that death of infamy"" (Ch. 112).

(To the disciples Jesus said:) "Verily I say unto you that if the truth had not been erased from the book of Moses, God would not have given to David our father the second one. And if the book of David had not been contaminated, God would not have committed the Gospel to me; seeing that the Lord our God is unchangeable, and hath spoken but one message to all men. Wherefore, when the messenger of God shall come, he shall come to cleanse away all wherewith the ungodly have contaminated my book' (Ch. 124).

In these clear and comprehensive prophecies there are only three things which at first sight appear to be doubtful. (1) First, in these as well as in several other passages and places in the Gospel of Barnabas, Prophet Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) is found denying that he is the Messiah. Second, at several places in this Gospel the Prophet's actual Arabic name, "Muhammad", is specified. This is not the standard practice regarding a Prophet's predictions to specify by name someone who will appear in the future. Third, in these passages Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) has been called the Messiah.

The answer to the first objection is that, in the Gospel of Barnabas and also in the Gospel of Luke, Prophet Jesus (peace and blessings be

upon him) is reported to have forbidden his disciples from calling him the Christ (the Messiah). The words in Luke are: "He said unto them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered: "The Christ of God." And he strictly charged them and commanded them to tell this to no one" (Luke: 9: 20-21). The probable reason for this is that the Messiah, whom the Israelites were awaiting, was going, according to their belief, to subdue with his sword the enemies of the truth. Therefore, Prophet Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) said that he was not that Messiah. Rather, he will come at a later time after him.

The answer to the second objection is that the extant Italian translation of the Gospel of Barnabas undoubtedly specifies the name of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) as "Muḥammad" but no one knows how many different languages this book has gone through before it was translated into Italian. Obviously, the original Gospel of Barnabas must be in Syriac because that was the language of Prophet Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) and his disciples. Had this book been available in its original language, one could have seen what name of the Prophet was written in it. What one can assume is that, originally, Prophet Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) must have used the expression munhamanna as we noted in Ibn Isḥāq's citation of the Gospel of John. Then different translators may have translated it in their own languages. At a later stage, some translator might have noted that the name Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) given in the prophecy was synonymous with the sacred name of the Prophet. Hence, the mere appearance of this name is not enough to doubt that the whole Gospel of Barnabas is the fabrication of some Muslims.

The answer to the third objection is that the word "Messiah" is a purely Israelite technical term, which has been used for Prophet Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) in the Qur'an because the Jews had denied he was the Messiah. Otherwise, it is not a Qur'ānic term nor has it been employed anywhere in the Qur'an in the same way that the Israelites had used it. Therefore, the use of the word "Messiah" by Prophet Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) for Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) when it is not used for him in the Qur'an, is not sufficient to conclude that the Gospel of Barnabas ascribed something to him which is not used in the Qur'an. In fact, it was customary among the Israelites, when somebody was consecrated, or something was set aside for a sacred cause, to anoint with holy oil that person or thing. This anointing with oil was called mash in Hebrew, and the one thus anointed "Messiah". Utensils were also anointed and set aside for use in the house of worship. This practice was followed also when priests were appointed to the office of priesthood. Likewise, when a king or Prophet assumed office, they were anointed. Thus, according to the Bible, there have been many Messiahs in the history of the Israelites. As a Priest and Prophet, Aaron (peace and blessings be upon him) was a Messiah and so were Prophet Moses (peace and blessings be upon him) being a Priest and Prophet, Saul as a King, David as a King and Prophet, Melchizedek as a Priest and King and al-Yasa' (Elisha) as a Prophet. Later on, it was no longer regarded as necessary to anoint a person with oil upon appointing him but anyone appointed by God was known as a messiah. For instance, it has been said in the Bible: "The Lord asked Prophet Elijah to anoint Hazel to be king over Syria; and Jehu, the son of Nimish, you shall anoint to be king over Israel; and Elisha as to be Prophet in your place" (No. 1 King 19: 16). None of them was anointed. That God appointed them was synonymous with their Messengership. The Israelite belief was that a Messiah is someone who is given an assignment by God and it is in this sense that the Prophet Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) spoke of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) as the Messiah (See "Messiah" in: A Cyclopaedia of Biblical Literature).

9. Originally the word Siḥr has been used. Siḥr here does not mean magic, rather it has been used in the sense of cheating and deception. In the Arabic idiom it is also a well known word for deception, as saḥarahu means khada'ahu. A land full of mirage everywhere is called arḍ sāḥirah. Likewise, when silver is plated with gold, it is said of it suḥirat al-fiḍḍah.

What this verse means is that the Messenger whose advent was foretold by Prophet Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) has appeared with clear signs of his Prophethood. However, when he came to them, the Israelities and the followers of Prophet Jesus declared his claim to prophethood to be a clear deception and fraud.

10. They declared the Prophet sent down by God to be a false prophet and also dismissed God's Revelations which were revealed to that Messenger as something fabricated by the Prophet himself.

11. That is, there is no greater injustice than accusing a true Prophet of being a false prophet. They made this even worse by hurling abuses on him and inventing all sorts of lies, false allegations, slander and calumny in order to thwart his mission, even though the Prophet was calling them to God's worship and obedience.

12. Let it be borne in mind that these verses were revealed in 3 AH, after the battle of Uḥud. By then, Islam was just confined to the city of Madīnah and the population of Muslims was not more than a few thousands while the whole of Arabia was bent on wiping out this religion (dīn). The defeat that the Muslims had suffered at the battle of Uhud emboldened the tribes of the surrounding areas. It was against this backdrop that the Qur'an declared that God's light cannot be extinguished by anyone and that it will shine forth and spread in all its fullness throughout the world, a clear prediction which came true in full. Who other than God could have predicted what the future of Islam was in those days? By human estimation, Islam was a flickering lamp which was about to be extinguished in a fierce storm.

13. The "polytheists” (mushrikūn) may abhor it. They admix the service of others with the service of God and other religions with God's religion. They are the ones who are not prepared to see that their entire way of life must revolve only around God's obedience and guidance. They insisted on remaining free to serve any deity they wished. Likewise, they based their beliefs, morals and civilization on their chosen philosophies and ideologies. Notwithstanding all this, the Qur'ān declares that the Messenger of God has not been sent to strike any deal with them. Rather, his mandate is to make God's religion and complete way of life dominant. This mission has to be accomplished in any case whether the disbelievers and polytheists like it or not, whether they support it or resist it. This proclamation occurs in the Qur'an in two places: (1) Surah al-Tawbah 9: 33 and Surah al-Fatḥ 48: 28 and it is repeated here for the third time. For further explanation, see: Tafhim al-Qur'ān, vol. 2, Sūrah al-Tawbah, 9: n. 32, and vol. 5, Surah al-Fath, 48: n. 51).

14. A bargain in which a person invests his wealth, time, energy and talents in order to earn a profit. In the same sense, faith in Allah and jihad in His cause have been called a bargain, as if to say "If you exert all your powers and invest all your resources in the way of God, you will earn the dividends which are mentioned in the following verses." The same point has been highlighted in al-Tawbah, 9: 11 (see: Tafhīm al-Qur'ān, vol. 2; and in a different way, see: Surah al-Tawbah, 9: n. 106).

15. When the believers are asked to embrace faith, it automatically means that they should turn into sincere Muslims. They should not rest content with their verbal profession of faith alone but be ready and willing to make all kinds of sacrifices in the cause of their faith.

16. That is, this bargain is far superior for them than all the worldly bargains.

17. They will accrue the dividends of this commerce in the eternal life of the Hereafter which consist of: (1) immunity from the punishment of God; (2) forgiveness of sins; and (3) entering Paradise whose blessings are eternal and everlasting.

18. Although victory and success in this world are no doubt great blessings of God, yet for the believer, the real important thing is the success of the Hereafter. That is why gains obtained in this world are mentioned second while the Hereafter is mentioned first.

19. For the companions of Prophet Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him), the word "disciples" has been generally used for them in the Bible but, later on, the word "Apostles" became the prevalent term used for them among the Christians, not in the sense that they were God's apostles, but in the sense that Prophet Jesus used to send them to different parts of Palestine as preachers. Among the Jews, this word was already in use for those who were sent to collect donations for the temple. However, the Qur'ānic term ḥawārī is better than both Christian terms used. The core of this word is taken from hur which is derived from hawr meaning whiteness. Accordingly, a washerman is called a ḥawārī because he whitens clothes by washing them. The pure and unadulterated flour from which bran is sifted is called ḥuwwārā. Metaphorically, it refers to the sincere friend and unselfish supporter. According to Ibn Sayyidah: "Anyone who goes out of his way in the support of someone stands out as his hawārī" (Lisān al-'Arab).

20. This is the last place in the Holy Qur'an where those who exert themselves in inviting people to God's Religion and in making it dominant over disbelief are mentioned. The same have been called helpers of God. Prior to this, the same theme was expressed in several places in the Qur'ān (Surah Al ‘Imrān, 3: n. 50; al-Ḥajj, 22: n. 84; Towards Understanding the Qur'an 47: nn. 9-12 and al-Ḥadīd, 57: n. 47 and it is also explained in Tafhīm al-Qur'ān, vol. 1, vol. 3 and vol. 5). Notwithstanding our detailed illustration of this truth, some people seem to be still confused about how a servant of God can be His helper while He is All- Powerful, self-Sufficient and independent of the help of all His creatures and Who does not need anyone while everyone needs Him. In fact, these people have not been called God's helper in the sense that God, Lord of the worlds, (God forbid), needs the help of any of His creatures for accomplishing something. God has granted man the choice of belief or disbelief, obedience or disobedience, yet He does not force people into becoming believers in Him and His obedient servants by means of His power and might. Rather, He has opted for the method of admonition and instruction to show them the right path through His Prophets and revealed Books. The person who accepts this admonition and instruction willingly is a Mu'min; the person who submits practically to His commands is a Muslim and a devout worshipper of God; the person who is God-conscious is a Muttaqī; and the person who vies with others for good works is a Muḥsin. Those who excel further by way of reforming and guiding other servants of God and striving for establishing a system based on obedience to God, which replaces the one erected on disbelief and wickedness, God calls them His helpers. This is fairly evident from the above verses. Had the objective been to call them the helpers of God's religion, the Qur'ān would have used the expression anṣār dīn Allāh and not anṣār Allāh. Likewise, yanṣurūna dīn Allāh would have been used instead of yanṣurūna Allāh. Since God has used the same style at several places, successively, this proves conclusively that the actual objective is to designate these people as God's helpers. But this "help" is not, God forbid, in the sense that these people fulfil some need of God for which He requires their help. Rather, it is in the sense that these people participate in the cause which God wills to accomplish through His Prophets and Books instead of applying directly His great power and might.

21. The reference here is to the Jews who did not believe in Jesus Christ, whereas those who believed in him are the Christians and the Muslims. God made both dominant over those who rejected Prophet Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him). This is to reassure the Muslims that, just as the believers in Jesus had prevailed in the past over those who disbelieved in him, so will the believers in Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) gain victory over those who do not believe in him.