By Ahmad Deedat

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

BAPTIST CONTRADICTS JESUS

In New Testament times, we find that the Jews were still expecting the fulfillment of the prophecy of 'ONE LIKE MOSES'; refer John 1:19-25. When Jesus claimed to be the Messiah of the Jews, the Jews began to enquire as to where was Elias? The Jews had a parallel prophecy that before the coming of the Messiah, Elias must come first in his second coming. Jesus confirms this Jewish belief:

...... ELIAS TRULY SHALL FIRST COME, AND RESTORE ALL THINGS. BUT I SAY UNTO YOU, THAT ELIAS IS COME ALREADY, AND THEY KNEW HIM NOT, ...... THEN THE DISCIPLES UNDERSTOOD THAT HE SPAKE UNTO THEM OF JOHN THE BAPTIST." (Matthew 17:11-13)

According to the New Testament the Jews were not the ones to swallow the words of any would-be Messiah. In their investigations they underwent intense difficulties in order to find their true Messiah. And this the Gospel of John confirms: "AND THIS IS THE RECORD OF JOHN," (the Baptist) "WHEN THE JEWS SENT PRIESTS AND LEVITES FROM JERUSALEM TO ASK HIM, WHO ART THOU? AND HE CONFESSED AND DENIED NOT; BUT CONFESSED, I AM NOT THE CHRIST." (This was only natural because there can't be two Messiahs (*14) at the same time. If Jesus was the Christ then John couldn't be the Christ!) "AND THEY ASKED HIM, WHAT THEN? ART THOU ELIAS? AND HE SAITH, I AM NOT." (Here John the Baptist contradicts Jesus! Jesus says that John is "Elias" and John denies that he is what Jesus ascribes him to be). One of the TWO (Jesus or John), God forbid! Is definitely not speaking the TRUTH! On the testimony of Jesus himself, John the Baptist was the greatest of the Israelite prophets: "VERILY I SAY UNTO YOU, AMONG THEM THAT ARE BORN OF WOMEN THERE HAS NOT RISE A GREATER THAN JOHN THE BAPTIST: ......" (Matthew 11:11)

We as Muslims know John the Baptist as Hazrut YAHYAA Alai-his-salaam (peace be upon him). We revere him as a true prophet of Allah. The Holy Prophet Jesus known to us as Hazrut ISAA Alai-his-salaam (peace be upon him), is also esteemed as one of the mightiest messengers of the Almighty. How can we Muslims impute lies to either of them? We leave this problem between Jesus and John for the Christians to solve, for their "sacred scriptures" abound in discrepancies which they have been glossing over as the "dark sayings of Jesus". (*15) We Muslims are really interested in the last question posed to John the Baptist by the Jewish elite -- "ART THOU THAT PROPHET? AND HE ANSWERED, NO." (John 1:21).

THREE QUESTIONS!

Please note that three different and distinct questions were posed to John the Baptist and to which he gave three emphatic "NO's" as answers. To recapitulate:-

1. Art thou the Christ? 2. Art thou Elias? 3. Art thou that prophet?

But the learned men of Christendom somehow only see two questions implied here. To make doubly clear that the Jews definitely had T-H-R-E-E separate prophecies in their minds when they were interrogating John the Baptist, let us read the remonstrance of the Jews in the verses following --

"AND THEY AKSED HIM, AND SAID UNTO HIM, WHY BAPTIZEST THOU THEN, IF THOU BE

(a) NOT THE CHRIST, (b) NOR ELIAS, (c) NEITHER THAT PROPHET?" (John (1:25)

The Jews were waiting for the fulfillment of THREE distinct prophecies: One, the coming of CHRIST. Two the coming of Elias, and Three, the coming of THAT PROPHET.

"THAT PROPHET"

If we look up any Bible which has a concordance or cross-references, then we will find in the marginal note where the words "the prophet", or "that prophet" occur in John 1:25, that these words refer to the prophecy of Deuteronomy 18:15 and 18. And that 'that prophet' -- 'the prophet like Moses' -- "LIKE UNTO THEE", we have proved through overwhelming evidence that he was MUHAMMAD and not Jesus!

We Muslims are not denying that Jesus was the "Messiah", which word is translated as "Christ" (*16). We are not contesting the "thousand and one prophecies" which the Christians claim abound in the Old Testament foretelling the coming of that Messiah. What we say is that Deuteronomy 18:18 does NOT refer to Jesus Christ but it is an explicit prophecy about the Holy Prophet MUHAMMAD.

The dominee, very politely parted with me by saying that it was a very interesting discussion and he would like me very much to come one day and address his congregation on the subject. A decade and a half has passed since then but I am still awaiting that privilege.

I believe the dominee was sincere when he made the offer, but prejudices die hard and who would like to lose his sheep?

THE ACID TEST

To the lambs of Christ I say, why not apply that acid test which the Master himself wanted you to apply to any would be claimant to prophethood? He had said: "BY THEIR FRUITS YE SHALL KNOW THEM. DO MEN GATHER GRAPES FROM THE THORNS, OR FIGS FROM THE THISTLES? EVERY GOOD TREE WILL BEAR GOOD FRUIT AND EVERY EVIL TREE WILL BEAR EVIL FRUIT ...... BY THEIR FRUITS YE SHALL KNOW THEM." (Matthew 7:16-20).

Why are you afraid to apply this test to the teachings of Muhammad? You will find in the Last Testament of God -- the Holy Qur'an -- the true fulfillment of the teachings of Moses and Jesus which will bring to the world the much-needed peace and happiness. "IF A MAN LIKE MUHAMMAD WERE TO ASSUME THE DICTATORSHIP OF THE MODERN WORLD, HE WOULD SUCCEED IN SOLVING ITS PROBLEMS THAT WOULD BRING IT THE MUCH NEEDED PEACE AND HAPPINESS." (George Bernard Shaw)

THE GREATEST!

The Weekly News Magazine "TIME" dated July 15, 1974, carried a selection of opinions by various historians, writes, military men, businessmen and others on the subject: "Who Were History's Great Leaders?" Some said that it was Hitler; others said -- Gandhi, Buddha, Lincoln and the like. But Jules Masserman, a United States psychoanalyst put the standards straight by giving the correct criteria wherewith to judge. He said: "LEADERS MUST FULFIL THREE FUNCTIONS:-

1. Provide for the well-being of the led, 2. Provide a social organization in which people feel relatively secure, and 3. Provide them with one set of beliefs."

With the above three criteria he searches history and analyses -- Hitler, Pasteur, Caesar, Moses, Confucius and the lot, and ultimately concludes:-

"PEOPLE LIKE PASTEUR AND SALK ARE LEADERS IN THE FIRST SENSE. PEOPLE LIKE GANDHI AND CONFUCIUS, ON ONE HAND, AND ALEXANDER, CAESAR AND HITLER ON THE OTHER, ARE LEADERS IN THE SECOND AND PERHAPS THE THIRD SENSE. JESUS AND BUDDHA BELONG IN THE THIRD CATEGORY ALONE. PERHAPS THE GREATEST LEADER OF ALL TIMES WAS MUHAMMAD, WHO COMBINED ALL THREE FUNCTIONS. To a lesser degree, MOSES DID THE SAME."

According to the objective standards set by the Professor of the Chicago University, whom I believe to be Jewish, -- JESUS and BUDDHA are nowhere in the picture of the "Great Leaders of Mankind", but by a queer coincidence groups Moses and Muhammad together thus adding further weight to the argument that Jesus is not like MOSES, but MUHAMMAD is like MOSES. Deut 18:18 "LIKE UNTO THEE" -- like MOSES!

In conclusion, I end with a quotation of a Christian Reverend the commentator of the Bible, followed by that of his Master:

"THE ULTIMATE CRITERION OF A TRUE PROPHET IS THE MORAL CHARACTER OF HIS TEACHINGS." (Prof. Dummelow)

"BY THEIR FRUITS YE SHALL KNOW THEM." (Jesus Christ)

Footnotes

(14) The Jews were expecting a single Messiah not two.

(15) See the "TIMES" Magazine December 30th, 1974, article "How true is the Bible?" And write for your free copy of "50,000 Errors in the Bible?" -- a reproduction from the Christian Magazine "AWAKE!" September 8, 1957.

(16) How the word Messiah was transmuted to Christ? Write for booklet above, reference 13.


COME LET US REASON TOGETHER!

SAY: "O PEOPLE OF THE BOOK! COME TO COMMON TERMS AS BETWEEN US AND YOU: THAT WE WORSHIP NONE BUT GOD; THAT WE ASSOCIATED NO PARTNERS WITH HIM; THAT WE ERECT NOT, FROM AMONG OURSELVES, LORDS AND PATRONS OTHER THAN GOD." IF THEY THEY TURN BACK, SAY: "BEAR WITNESS THAT WE (AT LEAST) ARE MUSLIMS (BOWING TO GOD'S WILL)." (Holy Qur'an 3:64)

"PEOPLE OF THE BOOK" is the respectful title given to the Jews and the Christians in the Holy Qur'an. The Muslim is here commanded to invite -- "O People of the Book!" -- O Learned People! O People who claim to be the recipients of Divine Revelation, of a Holy Scripture; let us gather together onto a common platform -- "that we worship none but God", because none but God is worthy of worship, not because "THE LORD THY GOD IS A JEALOUS GOD VISITING THE INIQUITY OF THE FATHERS UPON THE CHILDREN UNTO THE THIRD AND FOURTH GENERATION OF THEM THAT HATE ME." (Exodus 20:5). But because He is our Lord and Cherisher, our Sustainer and Evolver, worthy of all praise, prayer and devotion.

In the abstract the Jews and the Christians would agree to all the three propositions contained in this Qur'anic verse. In practice they fail. Apart from doctrinal lapses from the unity of the One True God, (ALLAH subhanah wa ta-ala) there is the question of a consecrated Priesthood (among the Jews it was hereditary also), as if a mere human being -- Cohen, or Pope, or Priest, or Brahman, -- could claim superiority apart from his learning and the purity of his life, or could stand between man and God in some special sense. ISLAM DOES NOT RECOGNISE PRIESTHOOD!

The Creed of Islam is given to us here in a nutshell:

Say ye: "We believe in Allah, And the revelation given to us, And to Abraham, Ismaail, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes, And that given to Moses and Jesus And that given to (all) Prophets from their Lord: We make no difference Between one and another of them: And we bow to Allah (in Islam)." (Holy Qur'an 2:136)

The Muslims position is clear. The Muslim does not claim to have a religion peculiar to himself. Islam is not a sect or an ethnic religion. In its view all Religion is one, for the Truth is one. IT WAS THE SAME RELIGION PREACHED BY ALL THE EARLIER PROPHETS. (Holy Qur'an 42:13). It was the truth taught by all the inspired Books. In essence it amounts to a consciousness of the Will and Plan of God and joyful submission to that Will and Plan. IF ANYONE WANTS A RELIGION OTHER THAN THAT, HE IS FALSE TO HIS OWN NATURE, AS HE IS FALSE TO GOD'S WILL AND PLAN. Such a one cannot expect guidance, for he has deliberately renounced guidance.