Death of someone dear

A fond goodbye to someone very dear

Although in distance he was never near

Yet he seems to have gone to a faraway place

No longer this world will he grace

Youth was on his side

But by the Creator’s decision we abide

How can he not be always in our prayer

For that is one way to show we care

For a loved one we hold dear

Fond memories of him will keep him near

But alas this world is for him no more

A reminder that we too will that fate endure.

May the Almighty grant him and all our deceased His mercy

The Comforter

As reader of my blog questioned my assertion that the Bible prophecises the coming of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)

Below (in red) are his comments and I respond lower down.

Muslims have been told that Jesus predicted the coming of Mohammad. If one looks at the context of what Jesus said, one can see that he meant someone else.

Muslims are told that the Comforter to come that Jesus promised was Mohammad. Let us see what Jesus really said.

Who is the Comforter that Jesus promised?

Jhn 14:16: And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever;

Jhn 14:26: But the Comforter, [which is] 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.

Jhn 15:26: But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, [even] the Spirit of truth, which proceeds from the Father, he shall testify of me:

Jhn 16:7: Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.

Comments
1. The Comforter will abide with them “forever.” Mohammad did not live then, and could not do this – be with them. Now that he has come and gone, he is not with anyone forever.

2. The Comforter is the Holy Ghost, not a man, who will “teach all things.” No man knows “all things,” only God.

3. The Comforter is a Spirit of Truth. Mohammad was a man, not a spirit.

4. Jesus had to leave so that the Comforter could come. That implied he was coming soon after Jesus left. Also, Jesus said that HE was sending the Comforter. Mohammad never claimed that Jesus sent him.
-
The disciples are to wait for the “promise” in Jerusalem.

Luk 24:49: And, behold, I [Jesus] send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

Luk 24:51: And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he [Jesus] was parted from them, and carried up into heaven.

Comment
1. The “coming” of the Comforter occurred in Jerusalem. That is not where Mohammad was when he felt “called.”

2. The disciples were waiting and expecting the Comforter in about 33 AD. They could not wait until the 500s AD for Mohammad, because they could not live that long.

3. The promise would give them power.

When did the Comforter come?
Act 2:1: And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.

Act 2:2: And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.

Act 2:3: And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.

Act 2:4: And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Comment

1. Jesus died at Passover. He appeared after his resurrection 3 days later, and was with them about 30 days. He then ascended into heaven. Pentecost occurs about 45 days after Passover.

2. The disciples were given the power of the Holy Ghost.
Mohammad, again, could not have come at this time, and he gave no supernatural power to anyone.

Reply to this Comment 

Dear Jim

It is indeed true that Allaah Almighty knows best and thus I am very grateful Him who has guided me and made me a Muslim – one who submits to His Oneness.

As Muslims were are fortunate to have with us His final revelation. This revelation confirms what came before it and the message of all the Prophets that there is but One God worthy of worship.  So while we are well exposed to Christians and their doctrine, these are mentioned in Quran. However, you may have limited exposure to Muslims and perhaps have not had the opportunity to properly research the Quran.  Certainly, when you understand that it is the word of our Creator, mine and yours, the Lord of Moses, David, Jesus and Muhammad (peace be upon them), then the denial of Muhammad (peace be upon him) as a Prophet of Allaah, God Almighty, will not be at issue. When you understand that Quran is the word of Allaah, you will understand that Muhammad  (peace be upon him) is the messenger of Allaah. The relevance of the prophecies in the Bible, both Old and New Testatment,  will not strengthen the belief of a Muslim – for he believes already.  As mentioned that we have Quran and the life history of Muhammad (peace be upon him) which makes the quotations releatively easy to understand.

Before we get to these verses, may I remind you that both Jews and Christains, many of them, acknowledged that Muhammad (peace be upon him) was the Prophet mentioned in the scriptures of the Jews and Christians – many accepted and many rejected. Quran even makes mention of this.

As to your points on the “Comforter”:  let’s start with three points:

1.       “Soon” – how long is “soon”.  It may indeed be a figure of speech.  For instance, God created all things in  6 days.  6 human days? – if you went to Planet mercury, a year will be something like 29 earth days. And on more distant planets the days will be extremely long in earth time. So “soon” did not mean soon, as in watch your clock. There was no indication that it was going to happen in their lifetime. Soon was just for them to convey the message that a Prophet was to come.
Time is a creation of God Almighty – read Quran to understand this better.

2.       Did not Paul write a few chapters/books in the New Testament? Was he present during the Pentacost? If not how was he inspired by the Holy Ghost “soon”. Did Peter have a licence from the Holy Ghost to inspire Paul to be an important author/scribe of the New Testament.
You said: When did the Comforter come?Act 2:1: And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
So was Paul there?

3.       Does the New Testament hold anything new to what Jesus (peace be upon him) taught? For does your Bible not say quoting Jesus (peace be upon him): “I have yet many things to say, but ye cannot bear it all now.....”
If so, what was new?
Muhammad (peace be upon him)  brought us Quran, as revealed to him from God Almighty though Angel Gabriel (peace be upon him). Quran teaches us what we ought to know and what was intended by Almighty God for us to know. Everything has its relevance.

4.       Jhn 14:16: And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever;So the “comforter” – the one you claim to be the comforter – is with us now?
Muhammad (peace be upon him) brought a message that is abiding with us and will abide with us until the end of time.  When his wife was asked about him, his life, she replied his life was the Quran. In us following him (peace be upon him) he teachings abide with us and will so until the end of time.

Yes, I have already said much and to not prolong this much further, suffice to say that I do not know if anything was lost in the translation of what is in the Bible you quoted.  I suggest that if you possibly read Quran it will add to what i have stated above.  The Quran is preserved by millions in their hearts, having memorised this Glorious Book  - a miracle indeed.

Btw – to which denomination do you belong.

PS! Quran states about Jesus PBUH:

1.       Miraculaous birth from virgin mother

2.       Spoke in cradle

3.       Performed miracles such as forming bird with clay and blowing into in and bird becomes alive – by the Permission of God Almighty

4.       He is a Prophet and not one of three (btw Bible does not speak of Trinity?)

5.       He was not crucified

6.       He was raised up by God Almighty.

 I pray that Almighty accepts your sincerity and rewards you for it.

Ettiquette

Really why don’t I blog more often … one gets busy and does one blog for the sake of blogging.

Something happened and I was not sure of the ideal forum to respond – so I blog again :)

So yesterday I watch a video on youtube – it was of a religious nature – and is my nature that I often can’t resist commenting. But I try to add meaningful comments. Yet what is disturbing is that the response to my comment is vulgar, from a person supposedly defending his religiously viewpoint. Now I take no personal affront to this as insults since I am merely a creation of Almighty Allaah. However, it is not uncommon to find this type of responses on religious (and political) forums. Perhaps it is such that some people go onto these forums not to engage in discussion/debate but only to hurl insults and abuse. This has sadly lead to the closure of some forums where good discussion did take place, but sadly hijacked by those who have no meaningful way to express themselves except being crude and vulgar.

As stated earlier, that personal insults one can take, but then these people go beyond that and start abusing aspects of the religion itself. We may have opinions and we may thus differ on important aspects of religion, but certainly that can be done in civil manner. Yes, I do admit that sometimes one can type something and the reader may infer something from the tone – but that may be a perception and it may be the reader itself having a particular frame of mind at that time.

So as a Muslim I would find it difficult if a fellow Muslim becomes abusive regarding another religion or even adherents to that religion. We may though find that certain questions or comments may have connotations of ridicule but may such comments or questions may be better understood through further engagement. This is rather different from someone making blatant comments in a threatening way.

Islam, through the Quran and the practices and teaches of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), teaches us that clearly. As Muslims we accept all the Prophets before him, Muhammad (peace be upon him), and we send our greeting upon them all. It is blasphemous to speak ill of any of them and among them are Abraham, Moses, David, John the Baptist and Jesus – peace be upon them all. Some of these Prophets (peace be upon them) were given scriptures which we as Muslim acknowledge. We further acknowledge that they – peace be upon them – all taught the same message of the worship of One God.

There are meaningful ways of finding out about Islam and engaging Muslims. The snippets in news broadcasts and the print media and the portrayal of Muslims in movies do not do justice to the religion in any way.

 Let's talk and respect each other - lets have some ettiquette