Part 13 - Muhammad PBUH in the Bible (Part 2) : "Proof that Islam is the truth''
Assalamaleykum Arahmatullahi va Barakatu. May the peace & blessings of Almighty God be upon all of you. Welcome back to the proof that Islam is the Truth. And we are talking today about Muhammad in the Bible. We've been going through some of those verses in the Bible that indicate, that show, that might show us that Muhammad is the Prophet of Allah foretold in those scriptures. Certainly there are people of the book, Rabbis, Christian Priests, Emperors who recognised Muhammad for what he was, may Allah's peace & blessings be upon him, the last & final Messenger.
Let’s have a look at Isaac, the book of Isaac in the Bible. And in the 29th chapter in the 12th verse there's something remarkable here & it says: "And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee; and he saith, I am not learned" This passage is remarkable. First of all Prophet Muhammad is referred to as the "unlettered prophet", the "unlearned Prophet". The Prophet Muhammad may Allah's peace & blessings be upon him couldn't read & he couldn't write. He did not study scripture, not like Jesus who was brought up amongst the rabbis & even at the young age he amazed people with his learning of the law. So Jesus may God's peace & blessings be upon him was learned in the law.
But Muhammad lived in Arabia, a pagan land. People did not know about the scripture, except for a few people amongst the children of Israel, some Jewish tribes who lived there. Otherwise they were ignorant of that & the Prophet himself was not learned in the scripture & he is called "ummi". Ummi means not learned. And so it's exactly as the Bible is saying, the book, & one of the names of the Quran is "Al Kitab", the Book, is delivered to him who is not learned who is "ummi" saying read this. "Read this" in Arabic "ikkara", read this "ikkara" the very first verses that God revealed to the Prophet Muhammad may Allah's peace & blessings be upon him as every Muslim knows. What was it? "Ikkara" - read. The angel Gabriel comes to the Prophet Muhammad while the Prophet Sallalahu Alleyhem Va Salam he is meditating on the mountain the Jabal-al-noor the mountain of light overlooking Mecca.
He is sitting there meditating, he has escaped the troubles of Mecca, the polytheism, he goes there to think about God, about Creation, about humanity. And it is there that he receives on the night of Ramadan in his 40th birthday he receives, the angel Gabriel comes to him, says to him: "ikkara" & the Prophet says "I can't read." Again the angel Gabriel says: "ikkara" but this time he takes the Prophet & squeezes him & again the Prophet says "I cannot read." Now the angel Gabriel squeezes him even more tightly & says: "ikkara" - read! The Prophet says: "What shall I read?" So this is exactly what happens. The Prophet says: "I'm not learned, I cannot read. How can I read? I'm not of those who can read." This is exactly how it is mentioned in Isaac 29-12. Check it out for yourself & I must admit that when I first was reading the life history of Prophet Muhammad may Allah's peace & blessings be upon him as a Christian who used to be familiar with the Bible, I remember that passage from the Bible & how exactly it fitted the passage I was reading about the life of Prophet Muhammad & what happened in this event that I have just described- it was truly remarkable.
Also Isaac in the 42nd chapter, verses 1 to 13, I'm not going to read the whole of it but it refers & speaks about someone who is beloved to God. And he is mentioned as being from the descendant of Kedar. Now who is Kedar? Kedar is in fact the second son of Ishmael, a direct ancestor of the Prophet Muhammad may Allah's peace & blessings be upon him. It seems very clear from these statements in the Old Testament that the Jews were expecting a Prophet to arise amongst the children of Israel, descending from Kedar, that he will bring a law, he will be like unto Moses & that obviously many Christians who had studied the old testament or what they had or whatever scriptures they had, recognised these attributes as well.
How about the Gospels, do we have any hints as to the coming of Prophet Muhammad in the Gospels? Well, there is a passage; it is quite a controversial passage even to tell you the truth amongst Christians. But let's read it. It's in John, in the book of John, the Gospel of John, in the 14th chapter & it is the 16th verse & it goes: "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever". So the word as we find it in English is "comforter". There's a lot of controversy about what is the actual Greek "paraclitos", what does this word actually mean? But some scholars have said that the word actually in Aramaic means Ahmed. Ahmed is indeed the very name that is mentioned in the Quran of the Prophet Muhammad may Allah's peace & blessings be upon him, that's one of the names of the Prophet Muhammad, "Ahmed". And this is the name that he is referred to in the Quran & the Quran says that Gospels refer to him as Ahmed. And actually the word Ahmed in Aramaic means "the comforter" or it is similar to the word, Greek word "Paraclitos" that is used there. And it's interesting that he will abide with you forever, the final comforter, after this there will not be another.
Let's look again. Let's look in John 15 in the verse 26: "But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me". Another fact of course that Prophet Muhammad testified to Jesus. The Quran mentions about Jesus & the Prophet Muhammad made it, & Allah has made it a part of our religion that we cannot be a Muslim unless we believe in Jesus. Of course we believe in Jesus as we believe he truly was a Prophet of God & the Messiah to the children of Israel. Not as it is falsely claimed "heart of God" & the "son of God" which we believe is a blasphemy against God.
So John 14:26 tells us "But the Comforter, the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." And John 16 in 7 to 14 verses says: "Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and righteousness, and of judgment." An important thing I want to mention here. Some Christians claim that comforter is the holy spirit, the holy spirit that inspires them & helps them to speak in tongues, & so on, & this is the holy spirit, they claim that, you know, fills them & guides them.
However there is a problem with this. Because Jesus says "if I do not go away, the holy spirit will not be able to come". Yet the holy spirit is with the disciples while Jesus is there as well. So to say that this comforter is exactly the holy spirit in the sense that Christians understand it doesn't seem to fit the verses. In fact if we understand the holy spirit to be the angel Gabriel, that's what Muslims believe "Ruh Al Kuddus" is the holy spirit, "ruh" - spirit, "kuddus" - holy. "Ruh Al Kuddus" is in fact the same, one & the same Angel Gabriel who brings down the revelation. So the new revelation will not come, the holy spirit will not come with a new revelation untill Jesus has left, so Jesus has to go for the Comforter, the Ahmed, for Muhammad Sallalahu Alleyhem Va Salam to come. And it says "and he will reprove the world of sin, and of judgement & of righteousness "And sin "because they don't believe in me" meaning they don't believe in Jesus truly, as the Messiah. Not as God & the son of God. No. This is a false believe about Jesus. They don't believe in Jesus as the Messiah that was foretold in their scriptures.
"Of righteousness because I go to my Father & you will see me no more", in other words if there's no Prophet with the people then it is so much harder for them follow God's guidance & to be righteous, & "of judgement because the price of this world is, the prince of this world is judged. And I have yet many things to say unto you but you cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you unto all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, he shall speak." Do you remember that? What we read from Isaac? What we read from Deuteronomy 18-18? It is the same words repeating themselves. "He does not speak of himself" - he does not speak by his own desires, he speaks what is revealed to him. Jesus is repeating those words, & "he will show you things to come" (16:13). And one of the things we are going to be showing you in a forthcoming episode, are the prophesies of the Prophet Muhammad, how the Prophet foretold about the things that are going to come to pass & we can see those things happening right in front of us these days. "And he shall glorify me" meaning he shall glorify Jesus. How? By telling the truth about Jesus & keeping people away from the lies that have been told about Jesus "for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you" (16:14).
These controversy we admit about these passages even amongst Christians it is very controversial but it is interesting that Rudolf Bultmann in the Gospel of John, a commentary he says: "The Paraclete is a parallel figure to Jesus himself; and this conclusion is confirmed in the fact that the title is suitable for both." Meaning both Jesus & the Comforter. So he must be like Jesus, he must be similar to Jesus & it is similar to Jesus. And "It is clear from 14:16 that the source thought there were sendings of two Paracletes, Jesus and his successor, the one following the other". So what we see as I have described how this description of the Comforter is so suitable for the Prophet Muhammad may Allah's peace & blessings be upon him.
And it is perhaps these verses in the chapter in the, sorry the Gospel of John that those Christians understood as to be referring to the coming of the Prophet Muhammad. Certainly when you combine those things with the other prophesies & the Old Testament that we have been talking about in Deuteronomy & how "God will make a great nation out of Ishmael". Who on Earth could that great nation from Ismail be if it is not the Prophet Muhammad & his companions, & a great civilisation founded upon the belief in the One God, the worship of the One God, the creator of the Heavens & the Earth. The Quran that calls us to respect & love Moses, Abraham, Jesus, Noah, the Prophets sent to the children of Israel, they are mentioned in the Quran. Who else could it be? Who else is this great nation if it is not the Ummah, the nation of Muhammad may Allah's peace & blessings be upon him. So I hope if you are a Christian or if you are perhaps a Jew watching this, this is giving you something to think about. Certainly the Muslims I'm sure, their faith will only be enhanced & increased because of these amazing things.
Now I'm going to read a really a fantastic, it's a long story, it's an amazing story & it's well worth reading. And it's the story of a man called Anselm Tormeeda. And he was a priest & a Christian Scholar. And he was a person who wrote a book. He converted to Islam & he wrote a book "the gift to the intelligent or refuting the arguments of the Christians" & in the introduction to his book he writes the story of how he became Muslim. It's really fascinating & especially in respect to the Paraclete, & who is the Paraclete. So let's go through it. It's a long story, a fantastic story, I'll do my best to get through it, make it interesting. first of all this Anselm was born in a city of Majorka & as he mentions he describes Mayorka, & that big merchant ships used to come there, to the harbour with different goods.
And he is mentioning that the city is a city & an island both at the same time. Now he says that his father was a well-respected man in the city & that he was his only son. And when he was six he was sent to a priest who taught him the Gospel & logic. That's obviously common in those times that the priests in fact were the only people who were really learned, & they could read & write. And there were also many of them well-instructed in philosophy. So he learned the Gospel & logic & which he finished in six years. So this is by the time that he was twelve. "I lived in the church with an aged priest. He was greatly respected by the people because of his knowledge and religiousness and asceticism, which distinguished him from the other Christian priests.
Questions and requests for advice came from everywhere, from Kings and rulers, along with presents and gifts. They hoped that he would accept their presents and grant them his blessings. This priest taught me the principles of Christianity and its rulings. I became very close to him by serving and assisting him with his duties until I became one of his most trusted assistants, so that he trusted me with the keys of his room in the church and of the food and the drink stores. He kept for himself only the key of a small room where he used to sleep. I think, and Allah knows best, that he kept his treasure chest in there. I was a student and a servant for a period of ten years, then he fell ill and failed to attend the meetings of his fellow priests.
During his absence, the priests discussed some religious matters, until they came to what was said by the Almighty Allah through his prophet Jesus in the Gospel: “After him will come a Prophet called Paraclete.” " - It's interesting that he says: " “After him will come a Prophet called Paraclete.” They argued a great deal about this Prophet and as to who he was among the Prophets. Everyone gave his opinion according to his knowledge and understanding; and they ended without achieving any benefit in that issue. I went to my priest, and as usual he asked about what was discussed in the meeting that day. I mentioned to him the different opinions of the priests about the name Paraclete, and how they finished the meeting without clarifying the matter. He asked me: “What was your answer?” I gave my opinion which was taken from interpretation of a well known exegesis. He said that I was nearly correct like some priests, and the other priests were wrong. “But the truth is different from all of that. This is because the interpretation of that noble name is only known to a small number of very well versed scholars.
And we posses only a little knowledge.” I fell down and kissed his feet, saying: “Sir, you know that I travelled and came to you from a far distant country, I have served you now for more than ten years; and have attained knowledge beyond estimation, so please favour me and tell me the truth about this name.” The priest then wept and said: “My son, by God, you are very much dear to me for serving me and devoting yourself to my care. Know the truth about this name, and there is a great benefit, but there is also a great danger. And I fear that when you know this truth, and the Christians discover that, you will be killed immediately.” I said: “By God, by the Gospel and He who was sent with it, I shall never speak any word about what you will tell me, I shall keep it in my heart.” He said: “My son, when you came here from your country, I asked you if it is near to the Muslims, and whether they made raids against you and if you made raids against them. This was to test your hatred for Islam.
Know, my son, that Paraclete is the name of their Prophet Muhammad, to whom was revealed the fourth book as mentioned by Daniel. His way is the clear way which is mentioned in the Gospel.” I said: “Then sir, what do you say about the religion of these Christians?” He said: “My son, if these Christians remained on the original religion of Jesus, then they would have been on God’s religion, because the religion of Jesus and all the other Prophets is the true religion of God.
But they changed it and became unbelievers.” I asked him: “Then, sir, what is the salvation from this?” He said “Oh my son, embracing Islam.” I asked him: “Will the one who embraces Islam be saved?” He answered: “Yes, in this world and the next.” I said: “The prudent chooses for himself; if you know, sir the merit of Islam, then what keeps you from it?” He answered: “My son, the Almighty Allah did not expose me to the truth of Islam and the Prophet of Islam until after I have become old and my body weakened. Yes, there is no excuse for us in this; on the contrary, the proof of Allah has been established against us. If God had guided me to this when I was your age, I would have left everything and adopted the religion of truth. Love of this world is the essence of every sin, and look how I am esteemed, glorified and honoured by the Christians, and how I am living in affluence and comfort!
In my case, if I show a slight inclination towards Islam they would kill me immediately. Suppose that I was saved from them and succeeded in escaping to the Muslims, they would say, do not count your Islam as a favour upon us, rather you have benefited yourself only by entering the religion of truth, the religion that will save you from the punishment of Allah! So I would live among them as a poor old man of more than ninety years, without knowing their language, and would die among them starving. I am, and all praise is due to Allah, on the religion of Christ and on that which he came with, and Allah knows that from me.” So I asked him: “Do you advise me to go to the country of the Muslims and adopt their religion?” He said to me: “If you are wise and hope to save yourself, then race to that which will achieve benefit for you in this life and the next.
But my son, none is present with us concerning this matter; it is between you and me only. Exert yourself and keep it a secret. If it is disclosed and the people know about it they will kill you immediately. I will be of no benefit to you against them. Neither will it be of any use to you if you tell them what you heard from me concerning Islam, or that I encouraged you to be a Muslim, for I shall deny it. They trust my testimony against yours. So do not tell a word, whatever happens.” I promised him not to do so. He was satisfied and content with my promise.
And I began to prepare for my journey and bid him farewell. He gave me fifty golden dinars & then I took a ship to the city of Majorca where I stayed with my parents for six months. Then I travelled to Sicily and remained there for five months, waiting for a ship bound for the land of the Muslims. Finally a ship arrived bound for Tunis." Anyway he goes on to mention how he went to Tunis & he got off the ship & the Christian scholars who heard of his arrival came to greet him, because he was famous, he had become famous by this time for his knowledge. And so the Christians scholars came to greet him. But instead indeed he went to embrace Islam.
So this is the story of Anselm Tormeeda & of course how he recognised, how his teacher had recognised that Paraclete was in fact Prophet Muhammad as had been mentioned in the Injil. Join us next time for another episode of the "Proof that Islam is the Truth". And until then Assalamaleykum Arahmatullahi va Barakatu, may the peace & blessings of Allah be with you always & may Allah guide us all closer to the Truth.
Let’s have a look at Isaac, the book of Isaac in the Bible. And in the 29th chapter in the 12th verse there's something remarkable here & it says: "And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee; and he saith, I am not learned" This passage is remarkable. First of all Prophet Muhammad is referred to as the "unlettered prophet", the "unlearned Prophet". The Prophet Muhammad may Allah's peace & blessings be upon him couldn't read & he couldn't write. He did not study scripture, not like Jesus who was brought up amongst the rabbis & even at the young age he amazed people with his learning of the law. So Jesus may God's peace & blessings be upon him was learned in the law.
But Muhammad lived in Arabia, a pagan land. People did not know about the scripture, except for a few people amongst the children of Israel, some Jewish tribes who lived there. Otherwise they were ignorant of that & the Prophet himself was not learned in the scripture & he is called "ummi". Ummi means not learned. And so it's exactly as the Bible is saying, the book, & one of the names of the Quran is "Al Kitab", the Book, is delivered to him who is not learned who is "ummi" saying read this. "Read this" in Arabic "ikkara", read this "ikkara" the very first verses that God revealed to the Prophet Muhammad may Allah's peace & blessings be upon him as every Muslim knows. What was it? "Ikkara" - read. The angel Gabriel comes to the Prophet Muhammad while the Prophet Sallalahu Alleyhem Va Salam he is meditating on the mountain the Jabal-al-noor the mountain of light overlooking Mecca.
He is sitting there meditating, he has escaped the troubles of Mecca, the polytheism, he goes there to think about God, about Creation, about humanity. And it is there that he receives on the night of Ramadan in his 40th birthday he receives, the angel Gabriel comes to him, says to him: "ikkara" & the Prophet says "I can't read." Again the angel Gabriel says: "ikkara" but this time he takes the Prophet & squeezes him & again the Prophet says "I cannot read." Now the angel Gabriel squeezes him even more tightly & says: "ikkara" - read! The Prophet says: "What shall I read?" So this is exactly what happens. The Prophet says: "I'm not learned, I cannot read. How can I read? I'm not of those who can read." This is exactly how it is mentioned in Isaac 29-12. Check it out for yourself & I must admit that when I first was reading the life history of Prophet Muhammad may Allah's peace & blessings be upon him as a Christian who used to be familiar with the Bible, I remember that passage from the Bible & how exactly it fitted the passage I was reading about the life of Prophet Muhammad & what happened in this event that I have just described- it was truly remarkable.
Also Isaac in the 42nd chapter, verses 1 to 13, I'm not going to read the whole of it but it refers & speaks about someone who is beloved to God. And he is mentioned as being from the descendant of Kedar. Now who is Kedar? Kedar is in fact the second son of Ishmael, a direct ancestor of the Prophet Muhammad may Allah's peace & blessings be upon him. It seems very clear from these statements in the Old Testament that the Jews were expecting a Prophet to arise amongst the children of Israel, descending from Kedar, that he will bring a law, he will be like unto Moses & that obviously many Christians who had studied the old testament or what they had or whatever scriptures they had, recognised these attributes as well.
How about the Gospels, do we have any hints as to the coming of Prophet Muhammad in the Gospels? Well, there is a passage; it is quite a controversial passage even to tell you the truth amongst Christians. But let's read it. It's in John, in the book of John, the Gospel of John, in the 14th chapter & it is the 16th verse & it goes: "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever". So the word as we find it in English is "comforter". There's a lot of controversy about what is the actual Greek "paraclitos", what does this word actually mean? But some scholars have said that the word actually in Aramaic means Ahmed. Ahmed is indeed the very name that is mentioned in the Quran of the Prophet Muhammad may Allah's peace & blessings be upon him, that's one of the names of the Prophet Muhammad, "Ahmed". And this is the name that he is referred to in the Quran & the Quran says that Gospels refer to him as Ahmed. And actually the word Ahmed in Aramaic means "the comforter" or it is similar to the word, Greek word "Paraclitos" that is used there. And it's interesting that he will abide with you forever, the final comforter, after this there will not be another.
Let's look again. Let's look in John 15 in the verse 26: "But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me". Another fact of course that Prophet Muhammad testified to Jesus. The Quran mentions about Jesus & the Prophet Muhammad made it, & Allah has made it a part of our religion that we cannot be a Muslim unless we believe in Jesus. Of course we believe in Jesus as we believe he truly was a Prophet of God & the Messiah to the children of Israel. Not as it is falsely claimed "heart of God" & the "son of God" which we believe is a blasphemy against God.
So John 14:26 tells us "But the Comforter, the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." And John 16 in 7 to 14 verses says: "Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and righteousness, and of judgment." An important thing I want to mention here. Some Christians claim that comforter is the holy spirit, the holy spirit that inspires them & helps them to speak in tongues, & so on, & this is the holy spirit, they claim that, you know, fills them & guides them.
However there is a problem with this. Because Jesus says "if I do not go away, the holy spirit will not be able to come". Yet the holy spirit is with the disciples while Jesus is there as well. So to say that this comforter is exactly the holy spirit in the sense that Christians understand it doesn't seem to fit the verses. In fact if we understand the holy spirit to be the angel Gabriel, that's what Muslims believe "Ruh Al Kuddus" is the holy spirit, "ruh" - spirit, "kuddus" - holy. "Ruh Al Kuddus" is in fact the same, one & the same Angel Gabriel who brings down the revelation. So the new revelation will not come, the holy spirit will not come with a new revelation untill Jesus has left, so Jesus has to go for the Comforter, the Ahmed, for Muhammad Sallalahu Alleyhem Va Salam to come. And it says "and he will reprove the world of sin, and of judgement & of righteousness "And sin "because they don't believe in me" meaning they don't believe in Jesus truly, as the Messiah. Not as God & the son of God. No. This is a false believe about Jesus. They don't believe in Jesus as the Messiah that was foretold in their scriptures.
"Of righteousness because I go to my Father & you will see me no more", in other words if there's no Prophet with the people then it is so much harder for them follow God's guidance & to be righteous, & "of judgement because the price of this world is, the prince of this world is judged. And I have yet many things to say unto you but you cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you unto all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, he shall speak." Do you remember that? What we read from Isaac? What we read from Deuteronomy 18-18? It is the same words repeating themselves. "He does not speak of himself" - he does not speak by his own desires, he speaks what is revealed to him. Jesus is repeating those words, & "he will show you things to come" (16:13). And one of the things we are going to be showing you in a forthcoming episode, are the prophesies of the Prophet Muhammad, how the Prophet foretold about the things that are going to come to pass & we can see those things happening right in front of us these days. "And he shall glorify me" meaning he shall glorify Jesus. How? By telling the truth about Jesus & keeping people away from the lies that have been told about Jesus "for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you" (16:14).
These controversy we admit about these passages even amongst Christians it is very controversial but it is interesting that Rudolf Bultmann in the Gospel of John, a commentary he says: "The Paraclete is a parallel figure to Jesus himself; and this conclusion is confirmed in the fact that the title is suitable for both." Meaning both Jesus & the Comforter. So he must be like Jesus, he must be similar to Jesus & it is similar to Jesus. And "It is clear from 14:16 that the source thought there were sendings of two Paracletes, Jesus and his successor, the one following the other". So what we see as I have described how this description of the Comforter is so suitable for the Prophet Muhammad may Allah's peace & blessings be upon him.
And it is perhaps these verses in the chapter in the, sorry the Gospel of John that those Christians understood as to be referring to the coming of the Prophet Muhammad. Certainly when you combine those things with the other prophesies & the Old Testament that we have been talking about in Deuteronomy & how "God will make a great nation out of Ishmael". Who on Earth could that great nation from Ismail be if it is not the Prophet Muhammad & his companions, & a great civilisation founded upon the belief in the One God, the worship of the One God, the creator of the Heavens & the Earth. The Quran that calls us to respect & love Moses, Abraham, Jesus, Noah, the Prophets sent to the children of Israel, they are mentioned in the Quran. Who else could it be? Who else is this great nation if it is not the Ummah, the nation of Muhammad may Allah's peace & blessings be upon him. So I hope if you are a Christian or if you are perhaps a Jew watching this, this is giving you something to think about. Certainly the Muslims I'm sure, their faith will only be enhanced & increased because of these amazing things.
Now I'm going to read a really a fantastic, it's a long story, it's an amazing story & it's well worth reading. And it's the story of a man called Anselm Tormeeda. And he was a priest & a Christian Scholar. And he was a person who wrote a book. He converted to Islam & he wrote a book "the gift to the intelligent or refuting the arguments of the Christians" & in the introduction to his book he writes the story of how he became Muslim. It's really fascinating & especially in respect to the Paraclete, & who is the Paraclete. So let's go through it. It's a long story, a fantastic story, I'll do my best to get through it, make it interesting. first of all this Anselm was born in a city of Majorka & as he mentions he describes Mayorka, & that big merchant ships used to come there, to the harbour with different goods.
And he is mentioning that the city is a city & an island both at the same time. Now he says that his father was a well-respected man in the city & that he was his only son. And when he was six he was sent to a priest who taught him the Gospel & logic. That's obviously common in those times that the priests in fact were the only people who were really learned, & they could read & write. And there were also many of them well-instructed in philosophy. So he learned the Gospel & logic & which he finished in six years. So this is by the time that he was twelve. "I lived in the church with an aged priest. He was greatly respected by the people because of his knowledge and religiousness and asceticism, which distinguished him from the other Christian priests.
Questions and requests for advice came from everywhere, from Kings and rulers, along with presents and gifts. They hoped that he would accept their presents and grant them his blessings. This priest taught me the principles of Christianity and its rulings. I became very close to him by serving and assisting him with his duties until I became one of his most trusted assistants, so that he trusted me with the keys of his room in the church and of the food and the drink stores. He kept for himself only the key of a small room where he used to sleep. I think, and Allah knows best, that he kept his treasure chest in there. I was a student and a servant for a period of ten years, then he fell ill and failed to attend the meetings of his fellow priests.
During his absence, the priests discussed some religious matters, until they came to what was said by the Almighty Allah through his prophet Jesus in the Gospel: “After him will come a Prophet called Paraclete.” " - It's interesting that he says: " “After him will come a Prophet called Paraclete.” They argued a great deal about this Prophet and as to who he was among the Prophets. Everyone gave his opinion according to his knowledge and understanding; and they ended without achieving any benefit in that issue. I went to my priest, and as usual he asked about what was discussed in the meeting that day. I mentioned to him the different opinions of the priests about the name Paraclete, and how they finished the meeting without clarifying the matter. He asked me: “What was your answer?” I gave my opinion which was taken from interpretation of a well known exegesis. He said that I was nearly correct like some priests, and the other priests were wrong. “But the truth is different from all of that. This is because the interpretation of that noble name is only known to a small number of very well versed scholars.
And we posses only a little knowledge.” I fell down and kissed his feet, saying: “Sir, you know that I travelled and came to you from a far distant country, I have served you now for more than ten years; and have attained knowledge beyond estimation, so please favour me and tell me the truth about this name.” The priest then wept and said: “My son, by God, you are very much dear to me for serving me and devoting yourself to my care. Know the truth about this name, and there is a great benefit, but there is also a great danger. And I fear that when you know this truth, and the Christians discover that, you will be killed immediately.” I said: “By God, by the Gospel and He who was sent with it, I shall never speak any word about what you will tell me, I shall keep it in my heart.” He said: “My son, when you came here from your country, I asked you if it is near to the Muslims, and whether they made raids against you and if you made raids against them. This was to test your hatred for Islam.
Know, my son, that Paraclete is the name of their Prophet Muhammad, to whom was revealed the fourth book as mentioned by Daniel. His way is the clear way which is mentioned in the Gospel.” I said: “Then sir, what do you say about the religion of these Christians?” He said: “My son, if these Christians remained on the original religion of Jesus, then they would have been on God’s religion, because the religion of Jesus and all the other Prophets is the true religion of God.
But they changed it and became unbelievers.” I asked him: “Then, sir, what is the salvation from this?” He said “Oh my son, embracing Islam.” I asked him: “Will the one who embraces Islam be saved?” He answered: “Yes, in this world and the next.” I said: “The prudent chooses for himself; if you know, sir the merit of Islam, then what keeps you from it?” He answered: “My son, the Almighty Allah did not expose me to the truth of Islam and the Prophet of Islam until after I have become old and my body weakened. Yes, there is no excuse for us in this; on the contrary, the proof of Allah has been established against us. If God had guided me to this when I was your age, I would have left everything and adopted the religion of truth. Love of this world is the essence of every sin, and look how I am esteemed, glorified and honoured by the Christians, and how I am living in affluence and comfort!
In my case, if I show a slight inclination towards Islam they would kill me immediately. Suppose that I was saved from them and succeeded in escaping to the Muslims, they would say, do not count your Islam as a favour upon us, rather you have benefited yourself only by entering the religion of truth, the religion that will save you from the punishment of Allah! So I would live among them as a poor old man of more than ninety years, without knowing their language, and would die among them starving. I am, and all praise is due to Allah, on the religion of Christ and on that which he came with, and Allah knows that from me.” So I asked him: “Do you advise me to go to the country of the Muslims and adopt their religion?” He said to me: “If you are wise and hope to save yourself, then race to that which will achieve benefit for you in this life and the next.
But my son, none is present with us concerning this matter; it is between you and me only. Exert yourself and keep it a secret. If it is disclosed and the people know about it they will kill you immediately. I will be of no benefit to you against them. Neither will it be of any use to you if you tell them what you heard from me concerning Islam, or that I encouraged you to be a Muslim, for I shall deny it. They trust my testimony against yours. So do not tell a word, whatever happens.” I promised him not to do so. He was satisfied and content with my promise.
And I began to prepare for my journey and bid him farewell. He gave me fifty golden dinars & then I took a ship to the city of Majorca where I stayed with my parents for six months. Then I travelled to Sicily and remained there for five months, waiting for a ship bound for the land of the Muslims. Finally a ship arrived bound for Tunis." Anyway he goes on to mention how he went to Tunis & he got off the ship & the Christian scholars who heard of his arrival came to greet him, because he was famous, he had become famous by this time for his knowledge. And so the Christians scholars came to greet him. But instead indeed he went to embrace Islam.
So this is the story of Anselm Tormeeda & of course how he recognised, how his teacher had recognised that Paraclete was in fact Prophet Muhammad as had been mentioned in the Injil. Join us next time for another episode of the "Proof that Islam is the Truth". And until then Assalamaleykum Arahmatullahi va Barakatu, may the peace & blessings of Allah be with you always & may Allah guide us all closer to the Truth.