Mohammad: Prophet of Revolution

The words “Ahmad” and “Mohammad” have the same meaning: the praised one. In the Gospel of Barnabas the name of the coming prophet is given quite clearly as Mohammad. But since the Christians consider the Gospel of Barnabas to be apocryphal, we do not consider it fit to quote from that source. We cannot even be sure whether Jesus, in his prophecy, referred to Ahmad or Mohammad. Most probably he used a word with the same meaning as these names. According to the tradition of the historian Mohammad Ibn Ishaq (died 152 AH), quoted by Ibn Hisham in his biography of the Prophet, the word that Jesus used was “Munhamann”. Ibn Ishaq is considered the most authentic source on the subject of the Prophet’s life. He writes that he had learnt from scholars of the Scriptures that the word used by Jesus in his prophecy of a coming prophet was Munhamann. (Tahzeeb Seerat lbn Hisham, Vol. I, p. 500) This tradition probably reached him by way of Palestinian Christians who had come under Islamic rule. Munhamann is a Syrian word. It means the praised one. The people of Palestine, harking back to their past, still spoke the Syrian tongue. It had also been Jesus’ mother tongue. It is quite conceivable that the word used by Jesus was Munhamann, and the word had been preserved in their traditions. When the Bible was translated into Greek, the word became “Paraclete.” □ Not even martyrdom can exonerate one from debts The Prophet gave a sermon in which he extolled the struggle for the cause of God and faith in Him as the most virtuous of actions. A man rose, and asked the Prophet the meaning of what he was saying. “If I die for the cause of God, will I be cleansed of my sins?” “Yes,” “the Prophet replied,” as long as you remain steadfast, and are killed while struggling for the cause of God; as long as you are seeking to please God, and are pressing on, not falling back.” The Prophet paused for a minute. “What was it that you said?” he asked. “I asked the meaning of your words,” the man said. “If I die for the cause of God, then will I be cleansed of my sins?” “Yes,” the Prophet replied. “As long as you remain steadfast, are seeking to please God, and are pressing on, not falling back; unless, that is, you are in debt. The angel, Gabriel, has informed me of this.”