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How Jesus Christ Described the Glory of the Prophet Muhammad
By:
Dr. Ahmad Shafaat
(1983)
We present here some traditions
attributed to prophet Jesus (may peace be upon him), in which that
great prophet talks about the Chief of all Prophets, Hazarat
Muhammad (may God bless him ever more). The traditions are naturally
in the form of prophecies, since the Prophet Jesus lived before the
time of our Lord Muhammad. But they have value not merely as
prophecies: they also provide one of the most beautiful tributes to
the glory of the Prophet of Islam ever written. The traditions are
from a version of the Gospel of Barnabas compiled by a thirteenth
century Italian on the basis of early Christian sources.
"Jesus said, Philip! God is a Good
without which there is nothing good: God is a Being without which
there is nothing that has existence; God is a Life without which
there is nothing that lives. He has no equal. He had no beginning,
nor will He have an end, but to everything has He given a beginning
and to everything shall He give an end. He has no father nor mother;
He has no sons, nor brethren nor companions."
Philip answered:
"Master, what sayest thou? It is surely
written in Isaiah that God is our father: how, then, hath He no
sons?"
Jesus answered:
"There are written by the prophets many
parables, wherefore one ought not attend to the letter, but to the
sense. For all the prophets, that are one hundred and forty-four
thousand, have spoken ambiguously. But after me shall come the
Splendor of all the prophets who shall shed light upon the
ambiguities of all that the prophets have said, because he is the
Messenger of God."
"Verily, I say unto you that every
prophet when he is come has borne the mark of the mercy of God to
one nation only. And so their words were not extended save to the
people to which they were sent. But the Messenger of God, when he
shall come, will be given as it were the seal of the hand of God,
insomuch as 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 for, so promised God to
Abraham, saying: "Behold, in thy seed I will bless all the tribes of
the earth; and as thou hast broken in pieces the idols, O Abraham,
even so shall thy seed do."
"I there fore say unto you, that the
Messenger of God is a splendor that shall give gladness to nearly
all that God has made, for he is adorned with the spirit of
understanding and counsel, the spirit of wisdom and might, of fear
and love, prudence and temperance; he is adorned with the spirit of
charity and mercy, of justice and piety and gentleness and patience,
which he has received from God three times more than He has given to
all His creatures combined. Blessed will be the time when he shall
come to the world! Believe me that I have seen him and have done him
reverence, even as every prophet has seen him. And when I saw him my
soul was filled with consolation, saying, O Admirable One! 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."
"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. By the living God, in whose presence my soul
stands, I am not the Savior whom all the tribes of the earth
expect."
Then said the Priest:
"How shall the Savior be called, and
what sign shall reveal his coming?"
Jesus answered:
"The name of the Savior shall be the
Admirable One, for, God himself gave him the name when he had
created his soul, and placed it in celestial splendor. God said,
"Wait O Admirable One (=Muhammad), for thy sake I will create
paradise, the world, and a great multitude of creatures, whereas I
make thee a present, insomuch that whosoever shall curse the shall
be cursed. When I send thee into the world, I shall send thee as My
Messenger of Salvation, and thy world shall be true insomuch that
heaven and earth shall fail but thy faith shall never fail.
Admirable One is his blessed name."
Then the crowd lifted up their voices,
saying:
"O God send Thy
Messenger. O Admirable One come quickly for the salvation of the
world."
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