This article examines the teaching of Dr. Jamal Badawi in his leaflet called, Muhammad in the Bible. Dr. Badawi quotes the following Qur'anic verse on his title page: Those who follow the Apostle, the unlettered Prophet, whom they find mentioned in their own Scriptures, in the Torah and the Gospel (Qur'an 7:157, Yusuf Ali). He then seeks to demonstrate that Muhammad is foretold in the Bible. Sections of Dr. Badawi's material have been reproduced for academic review and are responded to in order. The Bible translation used is the RSV or NIV, and the New Bible Dictionary [1] is abbreviated to NBD. (sic) indicates that despite appearances, the text given is exact.

Dr. Badawi begins his leaflet =>

Muhammad in the Bible. - by Dr. Jamal Badawi.

Abraham is widely regarded as the Patriarch of monotheism and the common father of the Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Through his second son, Isaac, came all the Israelite prophets including such towering figures as Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, Solomon and Jesus. May peace and blessing be upon all of them. The advent of these great prophets was the partial fulfilment of God's promises to bless the nations of the earth through the descendants of Abraham (Genesis 12:2-3). Such fulfilment is wholeheartedly accepted by Muslims whose faith considers the belief in and respect of all prophets an article of faith.

Blessings of Ishmael and Isaac.

Was the first born son of Abraham (Ishmael) and his descendants included in God's covenant and promise? A few verses from the Bible may help shed some light on this question:

1) Genesis 12:2-3 speaks of God's promise to Abraham and his descendants before any child was born to him.

2) Genesis 17:4 reiterates God's promise after the birth of Ishmael and before the birth of Isaac.

3) In Genesis ch. 21, Isaac is specifically blessed but Ishmael was also specifically blessed and promised by God to become "a great nation" especially in Genesis 21:13,18.

4) According to Deuteronomy 21:15-17 the traditional rights and privileges of the first born son are not to be affected by the social status of his mother (being a "free" woman such as Sarah, Isaac's mother, or a "Bondwoman"; such as Hagar, Ishmael's mother), This is only consistent with the moral and humanitarian principles of all revealed faiths.

5) The full legitimacy of Ishmael as Abraham's son and "seed" and the full legitimacy of his mother, Hagar, as Abraham's wife are clearly stated in Genesis 21:13 and 16:3.

After Jesus, the last Israelite messenger and prophet, it was time that God's promise to bless Ishmael and his descendants be fulfilled. Less than 600 years after Jesus, came the last messenger of God, Muhammad, from the progeny of Abraham through Ishmael. God's blessing of both of the main branches of Abraham's family tree was now fulfilled.

Response: Jamal Badawi correctly refers to Genesis 12:2-3 as the promise God gave to Abraham to bless all nations through him: ... in you all the families of the earth will be blessed. Dr. Badawi then asks, Was the first born of Abraham (Ishmael) and his descendants included in God's covenant and promise? Then Dr. Badawi refers to Genesis 17:4 to show that God's blessing and covenant made with Abraham were passed to his son Ishmael. Let us read these verses in context to judge whether this interpretation is true:

Then Abram (Abraham) fell on his face; and God said to him, "Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations ... And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant" ... And Abraham said to God, "O that Ishmael might live in thy sight!" God said, "No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him and make him fruitful and multiply him exceedingly; he shall be the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this season next year." (Genesis 17:3-21, RSV)

Genesis 17 teaches that Ishmael is to be blessed and become a great nation, but the covenant, through which God will bless the world, is specifically taught to be passed to Isaac and not to Ishmael. When Genesis 17 is read in context it says the exact opposite of what Dr. Badawi is teaching.

Next, Dr. Badawi refers to Genesis 21 to imply that the blessing given to Ishmael means he also received the covenant by which all nations would be blessed. But this scripture does not say that Ishmael received the covenant; it says that he is blessed to become a nation: And I will make a nation of the son of the slave woman also, because he is your offspring. (Genesis 21:13). Thus, Genesis 21 does not say that Ishmael will mediate God's covenant of blessing to the world.

Points 4 and 5 of Dr. Badawi's argument seek to show that Ishmael was the legal heir of Abraham, and thus would inherit the covenant and promise. However, the covenant of God's blessing is not a simple matter that follows the law of inheritance for earthly possessions. Rather, it is always given by the sovereign choice of God and not on the basis of position in a family. God is not responsible to anyone and chooses as he wills: he has mercy upon whomever he wills, and he hardens the heart of whomever he wills (Romans 9:18, RSV). Abraham had at least six other sons along with Ishmael and Isaac. Abraham's sons were blessed by God and many of them also became nations along with the Israelites and the Ishmaelites (see Genesis 25). But from among the sons of Abraham God chose Isaac to inherit the covenant.

Dr. Badawi continues his leaflet =>

Muhammad: The Prophet Like Unto Moses.

Long (sic) time after Abraham, God's promise to send the long-awaited Messenger was repeated this time in Moses' words. In Deuteronomy 18:18, Moses spoke of the prophet to be sent by God who is:

1) From among the Israelites, "brethren", a reference to their Ishmaelite cousins as Ishmael was the other son of Abraham who was explicitly promised to become a "great nation".

2) A prophet like unto Moses. There were hardly any two prophets who were so much alike as Moses and Muhammad. Both were given comprehensive law code of life, both encountered their enemies and were victors in miraculous ways, both were accepted as prophets/statesmen and both migrated following conspiracies to assassinate them. Analogies between Moses and Jesus overlooks not only the above similarities but other crucial ones as well (eg. the natural birth, family life and death of Moses and Muhammad but not of Jesus ...)

Response: Dr. Badawi is right to refer to Deuteronomy 18:18 as a verse which predicts the coming of another prophet after Moses. Here is the verse in context. The context describes the characteristics of the prophet like Moses:

Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. ... (instead) I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. ... But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death."(Deuteronomy 18:10-20, NIV)

Is Muhammad the fulfilment of this prophecy? Dr. Badawi claims that Muhammad is the fulfilment for two reasons. Firstly, Muhammad was a descendent of Ishmael and the Ishmaelites are the "brothers" who are mentioned in Deuteronomy 18:18. Secondly, Muhammad is like Moses and Deuteronomy 18:18 says that the prophet will be like Moses.

There are five reasons why Dr. Badawi's identification of Muhammad as the fulfilment of Deuteronomy 18:18 is incorrect.

Reason 1. Deuteronomy 18:11 says that the true prophet like Moses will not be involved with the casting of spells. But Muhammad was accepted casting spells.

'Auf b. Malik Ashja'i reported We practised incantation in the pre-Islamic days and we said: Allah's Messenger, what is your opinion about it? He said: Let me know your incantation and said: There is no harm in the incantation which does not smack of polytheism. (Muslim: book 26, number 5457, Siddiqui)

Reason 2. Deuteronomy 18:20 says that any prophet who presumes to speak what God has not spoken to him is not a true prophet like Moses. Muhammad admitted that he spoke words in God's name that God did not say:

I ascribed to Allah, what He had not said. (Ibn Sa'd, vol. 1, p. 237)

I have fabricated things against God and have imputed to Him words which He has not spoken. (Al-Tabari, vol. 6, p. 111)

Reason 3. The title of Dr. Badawi's leaflet is, Muhammad in the Bible. And as the title suggests, and the content of the leaflet shows, Dr. Badawi is attempting to teach from the Bible. Now the Bible actually tells us who the prophet of Deuteronomy 18:18 is.

(Jesus said:) If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote of me. (John 5:46, RSV)

The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. ... Now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Christ would suffer. Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you--even Jesus. He must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets. For Moses said, "The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you must listen to everything he tells you. Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from among his people." (Acts 3:13-23, NIV)

These verses from the Bible indicate that Jesus is the prophet that Moses spoke of. If Dr. Badawi genuinely wanted to show from the Bible who the prophet is, then why did he not refer to these Bible verses? They explain that prophet like Moses is Jesus.

Reason 4. In Deuteronomy 18:18 God says:

I will raise up for them a prophet like you (Moses) from among their brothers ... (Deuteronomy 18:18, NIV)

Dr. Badawi says that the word brothers indicates that the prophet was to come from the Ishmaelite tribe since the Ishmaelites were a brother tribe of the Israelites. This is both true and false. It is true that the Ishmaelites were a brother nation to the Israelites - but so too were the Edomites, Moabites, Ammonites, and many others nations. So it is false to assume that the word brothers automatically means Ishmaelites for it could apply to any of these other brother nations. Who it applies to depends upon the context. In the Law of Moses the word brother normally refers to a brother Israelite. When the word brother is meant to apply to Israel's brother nations the context makes this clear, usually by referring to which nation it means (see Deuteronomy 3:4). But the context of Deuteronomy 18:18 does not refer to any of these other nations. Therefore, from the context, the word brothers just has the normal meaning of fellow Israelite. This means the prophet like Moses is to be an Israelite.

Reason 5. In Deuteronomy 18:18 God says that he will raise up for the Israelites a prophet like Moses. Dr. Badawi says that Muhammad is more like Moses than Jesus is, and therefore Muhammad is the prophet like Moses. The error Dr. Badawi has made here is that he has chosen what aspects to compare between Moses, Muhammad and Jesus rather than listening to what God says must be compared. In Dr. Badawi's comparison he has compared aspects like military activity, the nature of their birth and death, and other aspects of their lives. He has also conveniently chosen not to compare certain aspects which don't agree with his conclusion, eg. which men were Jewish and which performed miracles? By his selective choosing of which aspects to compare and which to ignore Dr. Badawi can make Muhammad appear like Moses. This situation leaves us with an important question, which aspects are essential to compare in order to know if a prophet is like Moses?

God has graciously told us one aspect that must be compared if a prophet is to be like Moses:

To the law (of Moses) and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn. (Isaiah 8:20)

In this verse we see that for a prophet to be a genuine prophet of God his prophecy must agree with the word that God gave to Moses. Therefore what the prophet like Moses says must agree with what Moses said. This is the crucial comparison that must be made. If a prophet contradicts what Moses said then it doesn't matter how many other aspects of his life are like Moses; he has failed the essential comparison, and so it not like Moses.

So the question for us is, does Muhammad's prophecy (the Qur'an) agree with what Moses said in the Law? The answer to this is no. Muhammad contradicts Moses at many major points and so is not a prophet like Moses. Here is one major example - the concept of justice.

In the Law of Moses the punishment for stealing is that the thief must repay the property he stole plus an additional amount to compensate (Leviticus 6:1-5, Exodus 22:3-4). If the thief cannot repay then he is forced to work to repay his debt (Exodus 22:1). The maximum length of time that he can work is six years, then he must be released (Deuteronomy 15:12-14). This type of justice is property punishment for a property crime.

In the Qur'an however a thief is to have his hand cut off (Qur'an 5:38). This type of justice is a permanent lifelong physical punishment for a property crime and is a fundamentally different type of justice to that found in the Law of Moses. Muhammad's prophecy (the Qur'an) does not agree with the Law of Moses and therefore Muhammad is not a prophet like Moses.

Dr. Badawi continues his leaflet =>

The Awaited Prophet Who Was To Come From Arabia.

Deuteronomy 33:1-2 combines references to Moses, Jesus and Muhammad. It speaks of God (i.e. God's revelation) coming from Sinai, rising from Seir (probably the village of Sa'ir near Jerusalem) and shining forth from Paran. According to Genesis 21:21, the wilderness of Paran was the place where Ishmael settled (i.e. Arabia, specifically Mecca).

Indeed the King James Version of the Bible mentions the pilgrims passing through the valley of Ba'ca (another name of Mecca) in Psalms 84:4-6.

Isaiah 42:1-13 speaks of the beloved of God. His elect and messenger who will bring down a law to be awaited in the isles and who "shall not fail nor be discouraged till he have set judgement on earth". Verse 11 connects that awaited one with the descendants of Ke'dar. Who is Ke'dar? According to Genesis 25:13, Ke'dar was the second son of Ishmael, the ancestor of the Prophet Muhammad.

Response: Dr. Badawi claims that Deuteronomy 33:1-2 predicts that revelation will come from Sinai, Jerusalem, and Mecca. These verses say:

This is the blessing with which Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death. He said, "The LORD came from Sinai, and dawned from Se'ir upon us; he shone forth from Mount Paran" (Deuteronomy 33:1-2, RSV)

Firstly, these verses do not even mention revelation of any sort at all. So the verse is not even speaking about revelation. Secondly, Dr. Badawi has incorrectly identified two of the locations: he says that Se'ir is near Jerusalem. It is not. Se'ir is in the country of Edom (NBD) south of the Dead Sea while Jerusalem is to the north of the Dead Sea. Then he claims that the Wilderness of Paran is Mecca; again this is wrong. The Wilderness of Paran is about 200km south west of the Dead Sea (NBD) and is approximately 1000km from Mecca!

Next, Dr. Badawi refers to Psalm 84 and says that the Baca Valley is Mecca. The verse from Psalm 84 is:

Blessed are the men whose strength is in thee, in whose heart are the highways to Zion. As they go through the valley of Baca they make it a place of springs; the early rain also covers it with pools. (Psalm 84:5-6, RSV).

These verses only tell how pilgrims travel through the Baca Valley; they do not say that a Prophet will arise from there. Therefore, even if the Baca Valley of Psalm 84 is the same as the Bakkah of Mecca that does not prove that a Prophet will arise from there. The Bible, however, uses valleys to describe our experience of God. In Psalm 23 there is the Valley of the Shadow of Death, in Joel 3:14 the Valley of Decision, and in Isaiah 22 the Valley of Vision. The word (Baca) is Hebrew for weep(ing) (NBD). So the Valley of Baca is literally translated the Valley of Weeping. In this Psalm it symbolises the weeping and difficulties that pilgrims have to endure when they travel across harsh terrain on their pilgrimage.

Then, Dr. Badawi claims that Isaiah 42:1-13, connects the awaited one with the descendants of Ke'dar. Let us consider some of these verses:

Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him, he will bring forth justice to the nations ... Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise from the end of the earth! Let the sea roar and all that fills it, the coastlands and their inhabitants. Let the desert and its cities lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar inhabits; let the inhabitants of Sela sing for joy, let them shout from the top of the mountains. Let them give glory to the LORD, and declare his praise in the coastlands. (Isaiah 42:1-12, RSV)

It is true that they are connected, but so too are the people of Sela. In fact, all people from the ends of the earth are connected and will praise God when he brings his chosen Servant. Isaiah 42 is not saying from which nation the Servant will come, as Dr. Badawi claims; it just tells us that many nations will praise God when his Servant does come.

The Bible actually tells us who the Servant of Isaiah 42 is:

And many followed him (Jesus), and he healed them all, and ordered them not to make him known. This was to fulfil what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: "Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him" (Matthew 12:15-18, RSV).

In Isaiah 53 God foretells more about his Servant:

Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? ...

Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.

We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.

By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken.

He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.

Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.

After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.

Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. (Isaiah 53:1-12, NIV)

There has only ever been Servant who was an offering for sin, who bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. This Servant is Jesus who died on the cross to pay for our sins. Jesus said of himself: For the Son of man also came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Mark 10:45, RSV) For Christ also died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God. (1 Peter 3:18, RSV)

Dr. Badawi continues in his leaflet =>

Muhammad's Migration From Mecca To Medina: Prophesied In The Bible?

Habbakuk 3:3 speaks of God (God's help) coming from Te'man (an Oasis north of Medina according to J. Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible), and the holy one (coming) from Paran. That holy one who under persecution migrated from Paran (Mecca) to be received enthusiastically in Medina was none but prophet Muhammad.

Indeed the incident of the migration of the prophet and his persecuted followers is vividly described in Isaiah 21:13-17. That section foretold as well about the battle of Badr in which the few ill-armed faithful miraculously defeated the "mighty" men of Ke'dar, who sought to destroy Islam and intimidate their own folks who turned to Islam.

Response Again Dr. Badawi refers to Paran being Mecca. We have already seen that Paran is 1000km from Mecca. He also claims that, J. Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible, says that Teman is an oasis north of Medina. Hasting's dictionary [2] does not! Look at a scanned copy from Hastings' dictionary for yourself:

p. 897

Edom was an ancient country just south of the Dead Sea (NBD). Teman was a major well known district in Edom; it is about 800km from Medina! The details Jamal Badawi has referred to from Hasting's dictionary are not those for Teman, but in fact those for Tema:

p. 897

Tema is the oasis town north of Medina, not Teman. Dr. Badawi has taken the information of Tema and said that it applies to Teman! This is poor scholarship and deceitful. If Jamal Badawi wants to be taken seriously as an academic then he must quote information correctly and not twist it. What makes his misquote all the more serious is that in his next quote from the Bible (Isaiah 21:13-17) the Tema of Arabia is mentioned and so Dr. Badawi must have known that there was a difference between Tema and Teman:

The oracle concerning Arabia. In the thickets in Arabia you will lodge, O caravans of De'danites. To the thirsty bring water, meet the fugitive with bread, O inhabitants of the l and of Tema. For they have fled from the swords, from the drawn sword, from the bent bow, and from the press of battle. For thus the Lord said to me, "Within a year, according to the years of a hireling, all the glory of Kedar will come to an end; and the remainder of the archers of the mighty men of the sons of Kedar will be few; for the LORD, the God of Israel, has spoken." (Isaiah 21:13-17, RSV)

Dr. Badawi claims that Isaiah 21:13-17 predicts the Battle of Badr (one of Muhammad's battles). This is an extreme example of teaching out of context for this Scripture clearly says, Within a year, and this word of God came to Isaiah around 700 B.C. That is 1300 years before Muhammad.

Dr. Badawi continues in his leaflet =>

The Qur'an (Koran) Foretold In The Bible?

... Was it another coincidence that Isaiah ties between the messenger connected with Ke'dar and a new song (a scripture in a new language) to be sang unto the Lord (Isaiah 42:10-11). More explicitly, prophesies Isaiah "For with stammering lips, and another tongue, will he speak to this people" (Isaiah 28:11). This latter verse correctly describes the "stammering lips" of prophet Muhammad reflecting the state of tension and concentration he went through at the time of revelation. Another related point is that the Qur'an was revealed in piece-meals over a span of twenty-three years. It is interesting to compare this with Isaiah 28:10 which speaks of the same thing.

Response: Dr. Badawi teaches that when Isaiah 42:10 says: Sing to the LORD a new song, it is foretelling a scripture in a new language. This is a ridiculous interpretation of this verse. Firstly, there no mention of any scripture, new or old, in this verse, so how can it foretell the coming of any scripture? Secondly, Dr. Badawi makes the ridiculous claim that the word song means language. The word song means song!

Next, Dr. Badawi teaches that Isaiah 28 foretells Muhammad's state of tension and concentration. What is the context of Isaiah 28? After the death of King Solomon, Israel engaged in civil war and the kingdom of Israel was divided between north and south. Ephraim was a major tribe of the northern kingdom. This kingdom began to worship two golden calves (1 Kings 12:28). Moses had warned Israel that if they turn to other gods then:

The LORD will bring a nation (army) against you from afar, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flies, a nation whose language you do not understand, a nation of stern countenance, who shall not regard the person of the old or show favor to the young (Deuteronomy 28:49-50, RSV)

Isaiah 28 is God's reminder to faithless Ephraim (Northern Israel) that he is now going to send this army whose language you do not understand to punish Ephraim:

Woe to the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim ... The proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim will be trodden under foot ... Nay, but by men of strange lips and with an alien tongue the LORD will speak to this people ... that they may go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken. (Isaiah 28:1-13, RSV)

This historical event happened in 722 B.C. when the Assyrian army conquered Israel; it has nothing to do with Muhammad's state of tension and concentration.

Dr. Badawi continues his leaflet =>

That Prophet - Paraclete - Muhammad.

... In the Gospel according to John (Chapters 14,15,16) Jesus spoke of the "Paraclete" or comforter who will come after him, who will be sent by (sic) Father as another Paraclete, who will teach new things which the contemporaries of Jesus could not bear. While the Paraclete is described as the spirit of truth (whose meaning resemble Muhammad's famous title Al-Amin, the trustworthy) he is identified in one verse as the Holy Ghost (John 14:26). Such a designation is however inconsistent with the profile of that Paraclete ... It was Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) who was the Paraclete, Comforter, helper.

Response: The Greek word (paraclete) refers to someone who acts as a counsellor, a helper, an intercessor, or a representative for someone else. Jesus acted this way for his disciples as he taught them about God and begged God to be merciful to them. Jesus was the first Paraclete. However, Jesus promised that after he had returned to heaven, God would send another Paraclete to be with the disciples. Jesus said:

And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Counsellor (Paraclete), to be with you forever. (John 14:16, RSV).

Jesus then tells us that the Paraclete is the Holy Spirit:

These things I have spoken to you, while I am still with you. But the Counsellor (Paraclete), the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things. (John 14:25-26, RSV).

This is very clear teaching; Jesus directly identifies the Paraclete as the Holy Spirit. Therefore, since Muhammad in not the Holy Spirit he is not the Paraclete. However, against what Jesus clearly teaches Dr. Badawi claims that the promised Paraclete is in fact Muhammad. To better understand who the second Paraclete is, and why Jesus calls him the Holy Spirit, we must consider what the Bible teaches about the Holy Spirit.

The Bible records how God gave his Holy Spirit to his Prophets and other individuals to empower them to know and do his will. However, God promised that a time would come when all his people would have the Holy Spirit:

I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances (Ezekiel 36:27, RSV).

And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit (Joel 2:28, RSV).

These two prophesies were revealed hundreds of years before Jesus. The Prophet, John the Baptist, said that Jesus was the man who would fulfil God's promise and give the Holy Spirit to God's people:

And John bore witness, "I saw the Spirit descend as a dove from heaven, and it remained on him (Jesus). I myself did not know him; but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, `He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.'" (John 1:32-33, RSV)

Jesus promised that those who believed in him would receive the Spirit after he had been glorified through death and resurrection:

Jesus stood up and proclaimed, "If any one is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, `Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.'" Now this he said about the Spirit, which those who believed in him were to receive; for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. (John 7:37-39, RSV)

Jesus particularly told his Apostles that the Holy Spirit would come and help them remember and know all his teaching, so that they could be faithful witnesses:

These things I have spoken to you, while I am still with you. But the Counsellor, 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. (John 14:25-26, RSV)

After his death and resurrection (see John 19ff), Jesus told his Apostles that the time had come for them to receive the Holy Spirit:

you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth (Acts 1:8, RSV).

After Jesus said this, he ascended into heaven and left his Apostles (Acts 1:9). Then the Spirit came, as Jesus promised, and the Apostles were all filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4, RSV). The Spirit then taught the Apostles just as Jesus had promised in John 14:25-26:

Now we (Apostles) have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is from God, that we might understand the gifts bestowed on us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:12-13 also Ephesians 3:4-6, RSV).

The Apostle Peter proclaims God's promise for us today:

And Peter said to them, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." (Acts 2:38, RSV).

Jesus calls the Paraclete the Holy Spirit because the Paraclete is the Holy Spirit. God announced, through his prophets, that he would give his Holy Spirit to his people. Jesus came and fulfilled this promise. Jesus gave the Holy Spirit to his Apostles, and as they preached the Gospel more people received the Holy Spirit. The Paraclete in John 14, 15, 16, is the Holy Spirit, as Jesus clearly said and not Muhammad.

Dr. Badawi continues with his leaflet =>

Was The Shift Of Religious Leadership Prophesied?

Following the rejection of the last Israelite prophet, Jesus, it was about time that God's promise to make Ishmael a great nation be fulfilled (Genesis 21:13,18).

In Matthew 21:19-21, Jesus spoke of the fruitless fig tree (A Biblical symbol of prophetic heritage) to be cleared after being given a last chance of three years (the duration of Jesus' ministry) to give fruit. In a later verse in the same chapter, Jesus said "Therefore I say unto you, The Kingdom of God shall be taken away from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruit thereof" (Matthew 21:43). That nation of Ishmael's descendants ( the rejected stone in Matthew 21:42) which was victorious against all super-powers of its time as prophesied by Jesus: "And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken, but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder" (Matthew 21:44).

Response: Dr. Badawi is right to quote Matthew 21:43 to indicate that Jesus saw a Shift in Religious Leadership. Dr. Badawi has failed, however, to refer to the rest of the chapter to get this verse in context. Jesus clearly indicates who he is shifting the religious leadership to:

And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven (Matthew 16:18-19, RSV).

When the hour came, he (Jesus) sat at table, and the apostles with him. And he said to them ... "as my Father appointed a kingdom for me, so do I appoint for you" (Luke 22:14-29, RSV).

Jesus gave the religious leadership to Peter and his other Apostles. These 12 Apostles signified the 12 tribes of the new nation of Israel who were to witness for God.

Then, Dr. Badawi claims the rejected stone in Matthew 21:42 is the nation of Ishmael's descendants and the military conquests of Muhammad. Dr. Badawi offers no evidence to support his opinion. He also ignores the fact that the Bible teaches that Jesus is the stone:

... be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by him this man is standing before you well. This is the stone which was rejected by you builders, but which has become the head of the corner. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:10-12, RSV)

Dr. Badawi concludes his leaflet =>

Out Of Context Coincidence?

Is it possible that the numerous prophesies cited here are all individually and combined out of context misinterpretations? ...

Response: Yes, Jamal Badawi has taken verses of the Bible out of context and misrepresented the Jewish and Christian Scriptures. He has misquoted J. Hastings' dictionary, and misled his readers in the identification of geographical locations. These methods show that Dr. Badawi has no academic credibility. As a result, he has failed to show that Muhammad is foretold in the Bible. Muhammad is not foretold in the Bible as the Qur'an claims.

The evaluation of Jamal Badawi's leaflet has finished but you are invited to read two related topics

1. What about Jesus? Jesus claimed that he was foretold:

   He (Jesus) said to them, "This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms." (Luke 24:44)

   Is Jesus' claim true? Is he really foretold or is the evidence for Jesus just like the evidence for Muhammad? The article entitled, "The Message of the Prophets" examines some of the prophecies that Jesus fulfils. You may like to examine the evidence for yourself and make up your own mind.

2. The Qur'an claims that Muhammad is foretold in the Bible but as we have seen he is not. This fact has led some Muslims to write their own Gospel so that it now foretells the coming of Muhammad. Click here to learn about the false Gospels that Muslims have written.

References

[1] J.D. Douglas and others (ed.), New Bible Dictionary (2nd edition; Leicester: IVP, 1987)

[2] James Hastings (ed.), Dictionary of the Bible (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1914) single volume edition. Hastings also edited a five volume dictionary of the Bible (1902), however there is no reference to an Oasis north of Medina in this edition.

Ibn Sa'd, Kitab Al-Tabaqat Al-Kabir, (translator: S. Moinul Haq) New Delhi: Kitab Bhavan, 2 volumes, no date.

The Holy Bible - New International Version (NIV), London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1997

Al-Tabari, The History of al-Tabari, vol. 6, "Muhammad at Mecca" (trans. W. Montgomery Watt & M.V. McDonald), Albany, N.Y.: State University of New York Press, 1988.

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