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The Spirit of Truth?

Surah Bani Israil (17:81)

In a series that seeks to prove that Muhammad was prophecied in the Bible, we find some Muslims making the following claim:

In John 16:12-14, Jesus says:

"I have yet many things to tell you, but you cannot bear them now. Howbeit, when the Spirit of Truth is come, he will guide you into all truth; for he shall not speak of himself, but whatsoever he shall hear shall he speak. And he will show you things to come; and he shall glorify me."

Muhammad truly glorified Jesus. In fact, without believing in Jesus, one cannot be a Muslim. Qur'an states that Jesus was one of the greatest 'anbiya (Arabic meaning 'prophet', the word Jesus used to describe himself). He was born of a miraculous birth from the chaste virgin Mary and he proved himself by many miracles. Truly, Muhammad was the Paraclete (or prophet) or Spirit of Truth as foretold by Jesus as one to guide into all truth. The Qur'an bears clear witness to this, saying in 17:82:

Say [to the people] that the Spirit of Truth has come and falsehood is vanquished.

[Qur'an 17: 82]        

(Source: http://www.soa.uc.edu/org/msa/meci/Prophesy6.html)

Whether Muhammad is the "Comforter" or "Spirit of Truth" announced by Jesus in chapters 14-16 of the Gospel according to John has been discussed many times. See for example Who is the "Comforter"?, The "Paraclete" as a prophecy of Muhammad (Ahmad)?, and other discussions.

In this article we want to focus on the last part of the above quotation which is a very imaginative translation of the Qur'an to say the least. Other Muslim translators render this verse:

Pickthall Yusuf Ali Shakir
And say: Truth hath come and falsehood hath vanished away. Lo! falsehood is ever bound to vanish. And say: "Truth has (now) arrived, and Falsehood perished: for Falsehood is (by its nature) bound to perish." And say: The truth has come and the falsehood has vanished; surely falsehood is a vanishing (thing).

No proper translation contains the word "Spirit" here, because the Arabic does not say anything about it either: Wa qul jaaa -al-Haqqu wa zahaqal-Baatil: innal-Baatila kaana zahuuqaa. The Arabic word for "Spirit" is Ruh which does not appear in this verse.

What is the Qur'an actually talking about in this verse? About a person? No, the next verse makes it clear:

Pickthall Yusuf Ali Shakir
And We reveal of the Qur'an that which is a healing and a mercy for believers though it increase the evil-doers in naught save ruin. We send down (stage by stage) in the Qur'an that which is a healing and a mercy to those who believe: to the unjust it causes nothing but loss after loss. And We reveal of the Quran that which is a healing and a mercy to the believers, and it adds only to the perdition of the unjust.

Obviously, it is the truth of the Qur'an that has come. The reference is not to the person of Muhammad.

Furthermore, Al-Haqq is one of the 99 names of Allah. We read: "... Allah is the Truth (al-Haqq) ..." (Surah 22:6). To apply the name of God to Muhammad is utter blasphemy.

It is amazing how some Muslims have no problem corrupting the clear text and meaning of the Qur'an, their very own scripture, in order to deceive Christians and others so that by any means, some might join Islam.

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