hifriend223 wrote:
“And (remember) when Jesus of Mary said: ‘O Children of Israel! Indeed I am the messenger of Allah (sent) to you, confirming the Torah (which came) before me, and giving glad tidings of a messenger to come after me, whose name is Ahmad![2] But when he came to them with clear proofs, they say: This is mere magic.” [Qur’an 61:6]
Who is Ahmad?
There is much confusion over the term “Ahmad” as it makes its solo appearance in sura 61.
Many Muslims take the stance that it refers to the foretelling of the coming of Islam’s prophet “Muhammad”. Many Christians take the position that it refers to the coming of the Holy Spirit.
The truth is that it is neither of these.
The answer is much more startling than either side appears to be aware of – and can be found by a careful exegete of the scriptures.
Let’s begin by reviewing the classic definition for the term…
أحمد = “ahmadu”
“ahmadu” definition:
He (a man), came to a state, or result, such as was praised, or commended, or approved; properly, his affair, or case, came to such a state or result; or he did or said, that for which
he should be praised, or commended; or
that which was praiseworthy, or commendable.
It comes from the root “hamida”, which means he praised, eulogized, or commended him; spoke well of him; mentioned him with approbation; sometimes because of favor received. Also implies admiration; and it implies the magnifying, or honoring, of the object thereof; and lowliness, humility, or submissiveness, in the person who offers it.
He declared the praises of God or he praised God much with good forms of praise.
References:
An Arabic-English Lexicon, E.W. Lane, volume two, pp. 638 – 640
The Dictionary of the Holy Qur’an, 1st edition, Abdul Mannan Omar pp. 135 - 136
A Dictionary and Glossary of the Koran, John Penrice, p. 38
Concordance of the Koran, Gustav Flugel, p. 56
Thus, from the classic definition, just like the participle “Muhammad”; we are told that “ahmad” is in reference to a man, and that this man is praised or is worthy of praise.
Let’s uncover who this praiseworthy man really is.
Consider these passages from the Gospel of Luke…
Luke 1.13 -17
But the angel said to him, Do not fear, Zacharias, because your prayer was heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear a son to you, and you shall call his name John. And he will be joy and exultation to you, and many will rejoice over his birth. For he shall be great in the eyes of the Lord, and he shall not drink wine or strong drink. And he will be filled of the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb.
And he will turn many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will go out before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah "to turn the hearts of fathers to their children," and disobedient ones to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people having been prepared for the Lord. (Mal. 4.5, 6)
Luke 1.63 - 80
And asking for a writing tablet, he wrote, saying, John is his name. And all marveled. And instantly his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God. And fear came on all those living around them. And in all the hill country of Judea all these things were talked about. And all who heard laid them up in their hearts, saying, What then will this child be? And the hand of the Lord was with him. And his father Zacharias was filled of the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying, Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, because He visited and worked redemption for His people. And He raised up a Horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David; even as He spoke through the mouth of His holy prophets from the age before: Salvation from ones hostile to us, and from the hand of all the ones hostile to us, to execute mercy with our fathers, and to remember His holy covenant, the oath which He swore to our father Abraham, to give to us, that we being delivered out of the hand of those hostile to us, in order to serve Him without fear, in consecration and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.
And you, child, will be called Prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, (Mal. 3.1)
to give a knowledge of salvation to His people by remission of their sins, through the tender heart of mercy of our God, in which the Dayspring from on high will visit us, to appear to those sitting in darkness and in shadow of death, to direct our feet into the way of peace. (Isa. 9:2) And the child grew, and became strong in spirit. And he was in deserted places until the day of his showing to Israel.
Luke 3.2 - 16
Upon the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the Word of God came on John the son of Zacharias in the desert. And he came into the neighborhood of the Jordan proclaiming a baptism of repentance for remission of sins, as it has been written in the scroll of the Words of Isaiah the prophet, saying:
"The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight.”
“Every valley shall be filled up, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the crooked places shall be made into straight, and the rough into smooth ways;" "and all flesh shall see the salvation of God."( Isaiah 40.3-5) Then he said to the crowds going out to be baptized by him, Offspring of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Then bring forth fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say within yourselves, We have Abraham as father. For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham out of these stones. And also the axe is already laid to the root of the trees; therefore, every tree not producing good fruit is being cut down and being thrown into the fire. And the crowd asked him, saying, What then shall we do? And answering, he said to them, The one that has two tunics, let him give to him that has not. And the one that has food, let him do the same. And tax collectors also came to be baptized. And they said to him, Teacher, what shall we do? And he said to them, Continue to do no more than that commanded to you. And also ones serving as soldiers asked him, saying, And we, what shall we do? And he said to them, Do not shake violently anyone nor accuse falsely, and be satisfied with your wages. But the people were expecting, and all reasoning in their hearts about John, lest perhaps he is the Christ, John answered all, saying, I indeed baptize you with water; but He stronger than I comes, of whom I am not fit to loosen the thong of His sandals. He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire,
Luke 7.22 - 33
And answering, Jesus said to them, Going, report to John what you saw and heard; that blind ones are seeing again, lame ones are walking about, leprous ones are being cleansed, deaf ones are hearing, dead ones are being raised, poor ones are preached the Gospel. (Isa. 35:5, 6; 61:1) And blessed is he who is not offended in Me. And John's messengers going away, He began to speak to the crowds about John: What did you go out to the deserted places to see? A reed being shaken by the wind? But what did you go out to see? A man who had been dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those in splendid clothing and being in luxury are in king's palaces. But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, Even more than a prophet.
This is he about whom it has been written:
"Behold, I send My messenger" before Your face, who "will prepare Your way before You." (Mal. 3.1)
For I say to you, among those born of a woman, no prophet is greater than John the Baptist. But the least one in the kingdom of God is greater than he is. And all the people and the tax collectors hearing, they justified God, having been baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and the lawyers set aside God's counsel as to themselves, not being baptized by him. And the Lord said, Then to what shall I compare the men of this generation? And to what are they like? They are like children sitting in a market and calling to one another, and saying, We piped to you, and you did not dance; we mourned to you, and you did not weep. For John the Baptist has come neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, He has a demon.
Luke 11.15 - 20
But some of them said, He casts out the demons by Beelzebub the chief of the demons. And tempting Him, others were seeking a miraculous sign from Heaven from Him. But knowing their thoughts, He said to them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to ruin, and a house against a house falls. And also if Satan is divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? Because you say I cast out the demons by Beelzebub. And if I cast out the demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Because of this they shall be your judges. But if I cast out the demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
Compare to…
وإذ قال عيسى ابن مريم يبني إسرءيل إني
رسول الله إليكم مصدقا لما بين يدي من التورية
ومبشرا برسول يأتي من بعدي اسمه أحمد فلما
جاءهم بالبينت قالوا هذا سحر مبين
Wa-ith qala AAeesa ibnu maryama ya banee isra-eela innee rasoolu Allahi ilaykum musaddiqan lima bayna yadayya mina alttawrati wamubashshiran birasoolin ya/tee min baAAdee ismuhu ahmadu falamma jaahum bialbayyinati qaloo hatha sihrun mubeenun
61.6 And when Jesus, Mary's son, said: “My son’s of Israel, I came, “allah's” messenger to you; fulfilling the truth altogether manifest before, from the scriptures of the Jews and Christians; and one who rejoices another on account of a messenger; He comes from after thee, His name should be praised.” So when He came to them on account of the manifest evidences, they said: “He obviously allies himself to the devil.”
61.6 paraphrases Jesus’ quote from Malachi, which pertains to John the Baptist preparing the way for Him, as recorded in the Biblical Gospels.
Let’s summarize exactly what is being stated in 61.6…
• Jesus quotes from the Old Testament (alttawrati).
• Jesus is quoted as saying that He, Himself came (innee) as the one spoken of from BOTH the OT (alttawrati); AND from the one who rejoices another (mubashshiran).
• Observe that the text specifically stresses two vantage points that Jesus Himself fulfills and confirms as truth:
1) Before, from the OT (alttawrati).
&
2) After, from the one who rejoices Him (mubashshiran...i.e. John the Baptist).
• Jesus proclaims that He fulfills both the OT scripture, & that of John the Baptist’ proclamation of Him.
• The one who rejoices another (wamubashshiran…i.e. John the Baptist) appears in only three Koranic locations (34.45, 48.8, & 61.6) and refers to this praiseworthy man (i.e Jesus). Observe that the two other locations are in the context of “Muhammad” (i.e. Jesus).
• Further, the one who rejoices does so on account of a “messenger” (birasoolin).
• We are told that this “messenger” is a man that comes (ya/tee) from after thee (baAAdee).
• This “messenger’s” name (ismuhu) is worthy of praise (ahmadu). Thus, just like the participle “Muhammad”, “ahmadu” refers to a man that is praised as deity.
• The implication of Jesus’ statement in the Koran is profound, as He is proclaiming that He is the Lord that John the Baptist has prepared the way for. Jesus is claiming to be God Almighty in this ayah!
• The sequence marker “fa” (signifying cause & effect), then connects what we were just told regarding Jesus’ fulfillment of the scriptures, to His reception by some of the people – who though that He allied Himself to the devil.
Observe this Koranic quote from Jesus, which borrows the same phraseology as that of 61.6 – confirming that Jesus is the subject spoken of as “Ahmad”, and also confirming His deity…
ومصدقا لما بين يدي من التورية ولأحل لكم
بعض الذي حرم عليكم وجئتكم باية من ربكم
فاتقوا الله وأطيعون
Wamusaddiqan lima bayna yadayya mina alttawrati wali-ohilla lakum baAAda allathee hurrima AAalaykum waji/tukum bi-ayatin min rabbikum faittaqoo Allaha waateeAAooni
3.50 "And fulfilling the truth altogether manifest before, from the scriptures of the Jews and Christians; and by it has been made lawful by your portion (of) which is forbidden to you, and I came to you on account of an apparent sign from your Lord, so you take as a shield “allah”, and obey me!"
More on John the Baptist…
When John the Baptist’ name is called-out in the Koran it is always in the context of Jesus Christ:
John the Baptist: 3.38-40, 6.85-86, 19.7-15, 21.90
Thus, it should come as no surprise to discover that John the Baptist’ attributes are also intertwined in the context of the Koranic passages that describe “Muhammad” & “Ahmad” (i.e. Jesus Christ), as John is blazing the path for Jesus - such it is with the two other ayahs that utilize the participle “wamubashshiran” as found in 61.6…
إنا أرسلنك شهدا ومبشرا ونذيرا
Inna arsalnaka shahidan wamubashshiran wanatheeran
48.8 Certainly we sent as a witness, and one who rejoices another, and a warner.
This passage is one of several that describe John the Baptist, in an ayah that culminates with the mentioning of “Muhammad” (i.e. Jesus Christ).
Compare to this nearly verbatim ayah…
يأيها النبي إنا أرسلنك شهدا ومبشرا ونذيرا
Ya ayyuha alnnabiyyu inna arsalnaka shahidan wamubashshiran wanatheeran
33.45 O! you the prophet, certainly we sent as a witness, and one who rejoices another, and a warner.
This ayah builds upon 48.8 by adding the detail that John the Baptist is also a Prophet – as told to us by Jesus in the Gospels.
Further, this ayah comes on the heels of the mentioning of “Muhammad” (i.e. Jesus Christ) in 33.40.
Observe the parallels:
Luke
• Jesus quotes from what has been written
• Jesus fulfills the scriptures
• John the Baptist rejoices the coming of Jesus Christ
• John is declared to be a Prophet
• John prepares the way of the Lord coming after him
• People say Jesus allies Himself with Beelzebub
• Jesus is God
61.6
• Jesus quotes from the OT
• Jesus fulfills the scriptures
• One witness is rejoicing on account of a messenger that is to come after him
• The one coming after him is praised as deity
• The witness is declared to be a Prophet
• People say Jesus allies Himself to the devil
• Jesus is God
Bottom line…
John the Baptist blazes the trail for Jesus Christ.
“Muhammad” = “Ahmad” = Jesus Christ