(All quotations are from the New King James Version.)  

In the Old Testament, Genesis, 21:21 it is said: 'He (Prophet Ismaaeel) dwelt in the  
Wilderness of Paran; and his Mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.' Psalm 83:  
4-6 talks about the enemies of among others Ishmaelites, and Hagrites (Hagar being the  
mother of Prophet Ismaaeel). Psalm 84: 4-6 "4- Blessed are those who dwell in your  
House; They will still be praising You. 5- Blessed is the man whose strength is in You,  
whose heart is set on the pilgrimage. 6- As they pass through the valley of Baca. They  
make it a spring; The rain also covers it with pools."  

There are several interesting points in the above verses. The name Baca could be Hebrew  
whereas the word Mecca is Arabic. Added to this the fact that there is a designated House  
of God built by Abraham peace be upon him in Mecca where yearly pilgrimage was  
performed from the time of Abraham and Ismaaeel peace be upon them both, even to this  
day. The valley of Baca could indeed be the same as the valley of  Mecca. The above  
verses seem to place Hagar, Ismaaeel and their children in the valley of Mecca where  
Prophet Muhammad, (Peace and Blessing of God be upon him), was born.  

Isaiah, 21:12-17 mentions 12 . . . In the forest in Arabia you will lodge . . . 15 For they fled  
from the swords , from the drawn sword, from the bent bow, and from the distress of war.  
(Probable connection with the enemies mentioned in Psalm 83: 4-6 quoted above; also  
settlement in Arabia is confirmed; the verse 16 which follows, also confirms these verses  
are about Ismaeelites, Kedar being the 2nd son of Prophet Ismaaeel). 16 For thus the Lord  
. . . all the glory of Kedar will fall; 17 and the remainder . . . people of Kedar will be  
diminished . . .  

Isaiah 42:1-13 These are very moving verses about 'God's elect servant' who will bring  
forth justice to the Gentiles. A point worth noting is that Gentiles are the non Jews and it  
was confirmed by Jesus peace be upon him that he was sent to the Jews. Moreover  
Muhammad peace and blessings of God be upon him is consistently named by God as  
Mustafaa which means 'elected' and 'Abd' which means 'servant'. Prophet Muhammad  
always referred to himself consistently as the 'servant of God'. The above verses cannot  
be about Jesus peace be upon him as many Christians believe, for at least two reasons.  
Firstly, the Christians and the Catholics describe him as the son of God and not the servant  
of God; whereas Prophet Muhammad is known exclusively as the Servant and the  
Messenger of God. Secondly, Jesus was sent exclusively to the Jews whereas Prophet  
Muhammad was sent among the Gentiles.  
  

REFERENCES AND CITATIOINS FROM THE BIBLE ABOUT THE COMING OF  
PROPHET MUHAMMAD (Peace and Blessing of God Be Upon Him)  

There are several citations in the Bible prophesing the coming of prophet  
Muhammad, (Peace and Blessing of God Be Upon Him). Isaiah 42: 4 says ' He will not fail  
nor be discouraged, till he has established justice in the earth; . . . The Ministry of Jesus  
peace be upon him lasted only three years and at the time of his departure from this world  
it could not be truthfully said that 'he established justice in the earth'. However, Prophet  
Muhammad, peace and blessings of God be upon him, preached for 23 years and most  
certainly 'established justice in the earth' before he departed from the earth. It is therefore  
reasonable to conclude that verses 1-13 refer to the coming of Prophet Muhammad, peace  
and blessings of God be upon him.  

Deuteronomy 18:18 "I will raise for them a Prophet like you (Moses) from among their  
brethren and will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak unto them, all that I  
command him".  

Let me make some comments about the above: Christians believe that this is a reference  
to Jesus peace be upon him. One important word here is "Prophet". Christians believe  
Jesus is the son of God not a prophet of God. Another important word is "brethren". If it  
were Jesus the word would have been "children" because Jesus peace be upon him came  
from the children of Isaac. Since Ismaaeel peace be upon him was the brother of Isaac  
peace be upon him, the reference is therefore to the children of Prophet Ismaaeel peace be  
upon him who will be brethren to the children of Isaac peace be upon him. Again the only  
Prophet from the brethren of the Jews and the Christians was Prophet Muhammad peace  
and blessings of God be upon him.  

The next important phrase is "Like you ( Moses)". Even a cursory comparison will show  
us that Jesus peace be upon him was very unlike Prophet Moses peace be upon him.  
Prophet Moses' birth was natural whereas the birth of Jesus was miraculous without a  
father, to a virgin, peace be upon her. Prophet Moses married and had children, Jesus did  
not marry and of course did not have any children. The ministry of Jesus peace be upon  
him lasted three years and did not see the laws of God establish in his time. Prophet  
Moses peace be upon him, preached the law of God for many decades and saw in his time,  
the law of God established. Comparing Prophet Moses peace be upon him, with Prophet  
Muhammad peace and blessings of God be upon him, brings out an amazing similarity.  
Muhammad's birth was natural, he was married and had children; preached the law of God  
for 23 years and saw in his own time God's Law established in his land.  

The phrase: "I will put My words in his mouth", takes on great significance because  
Prophet Muhammad peace and blessings of God be upon him, was unlettered; he did not  
know how to read or write. Normally God would put the message in the Prophet's mind. In  
this case attention is drawn towards "words" being put into the "mouth". Prophet  
Muhammad's sayings as well as eye witness accounts describe his receiving the verses of  
the Holy Quraan, and his tongue moving with the words being put in his mouth.  

Turning to the New Testament, let us look at John 14: 15-16. It says: "14- If you love Me,  
keep My commandments. 16- And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another  
"comforter" (Helper in other versions), that he may abide with you forever". Also John  
15: 26-27, John 16: 5-8 and John 16 12-14.  

Jesus peace be upon him, spoke the Gospel in his native language which is Aramaic. The  
earliest translations were in Greek. It is very very interesting that the Greek word which  
was eventually translated into English as "Comforter" (Helper) is "Parqaleeta" and the  
meaning of this word is "one whom people praise exceedingly". It does not mean "the  
Holy Ghost" which is what we are told the so called "Comforter" means. I do not have the  
slightest clue as to how this meaning was given to the word Parqaleeta. What is even more  
fascinating is the fact that the name Muhammad has exactly the same meaning as  
Parqaleeta "one whom people praise exceedingly"! One of my friends wrote very  
beautifully in his book about the meaning of the word Muhammad: 'The most praised one.  
He is praised upon earth and in the heavens, from the beginning to the end, by men jinn  
and angels, rocks and trees and animals, by prophets before him since Adam, by saints  
until Doomsday. As all of this cannot give him due praise, we beg God to praise him. He is  
the only One who truly knows the value and the mystery of His Muhammad and He is the  
only One who can truly praise him'. The celestial name of  Prophet Muhammad peace and  
blessings of God be upon him is Ahmad. I will quote from the Holy Quraan about the  
connection of  Prophet Muhammad with the Bible as follows:  

Chapter 61  

     5: "And remember Moses said to his people: "O my people! why do ye vex and  
     insult me though ye know that I am the apostle of Allaah (sent) to you?" Then  
     when they went wrong Allaah let their hearts go wrong: for Allaah guides not  
     those who are rebellious transgressors.  
  

     6: And remember Jesus the son of Mary said: "O Children of Israel! I am the  
     Prophet of Allaah (sent) to you confirming the Law (which came) before me and  
     giving glad Tidings of a Prophet to come after me, whose name shall be  
     Ahmad." But when he came to them with Clear Signs they said "This is  
     evident sorcery!"  

Allaah is one of the 100 names of the One and only God. Allaah is the name of His Essence  
while the other 99 are the names of His Attributes.  

As for "abide with you forever" since Prophet Muhammad is the final Prophet and the  
Holy Quraan the final Testament and Revelation from God, his teachings which are more  
or less the same as of all the other Prophets and Messengers of God, Divine teachings of  
God, he will abide in his teachings forever.  
  
  
  
  
IS iSLAAM INTOLERANT OF OTHER RELIGIOUS MINORITIES?  

Islaam recognizes the rights of the minority. They are not required to do army service. To  
ensure their welfare and safety, Muslim rulers initiated a tax (JAZIA) on them. Prophet  
Muhammad (Peace and blessings of God be upon him) forbade Muslim armies to destroy  
churches and synagogues. Caliph' Umar did not even allow them to pray inside a church.  
Jews were welcomed and flourished in Muslim Spain when they were persecuted in the rest  
of Europe. They consider that part of their history as the golden era. In Muslim countries,  
Christians live in prosperity, hold government positions and attend their church. Christian  
missionaries are allowed to establish and operate their schools and hospitals. However, the  
same religious tolerance is not always available to Muslim minorities as seen in the past  
during the Spanish inquisition and the Crusades, or as seen now by the events in the  
former Yugoslavia, Israel and India. Muslims do recognize that sometimes the actions of a  
ruler does not reflect the teachings of his religion.  

HOW SHOULD MUSLIMS TREAT JEWS AND CHRISTIANS?  

The Quraan calls them "People of the Book ",i.e., those who received Divine scriptures  
before the advent of Muhammad (Peace and blessings of God be upon him) Muslims are  
told to treat them with respect and justice and not fight with them unless they initiate  
hostilities or ridicule their faith. Muslim's ultimate hope is that they all will join them in  
worshipping One God and submit to His will. "Say (O Muhammad ) (Peace and blessings  
of God be upon him) O people of the Book (Jews and Christians) come to an agreement  
between us and you that we shall worship none but Allaah, and that we shall take no  
partners unto Him, and none of us shall take others for Lords beside Allaah, and if they  
turn away, then say: Bear witness that we are those who have surrendered (unto Him)."  
(Quraan 3:64)  
  

DOES ISLAAM PROMOTE POLYGAMY?  

For Muslim men to have more than one wife is a permission which is given to them in the  
Quraan provided it is not done to satisfy lust but to meet social solutions and needs. This  
permission is given provided the person is capable of treating the wives equally. It is not an  
injunction. In the pre-Islaamic period, men used to have many wives. One person had 11  
wives and when he became Muslim, he asked the Prophet Muhammad (Peace and  
blessings of God be upon him) "What should I do with so many wives?" and he said,  
"Divorce all except four." The Quraan says, "you can only marry 2 or 3 and up to 4  
women if you can be equally just with each of them." Since it is very difficult to be equally  
just with all wives, in practice, most of the Muslim men do not have more than one wife.  
Prophet Muhammad (Peace and blessings of God be upon him) himself from age 24 to 50  
was married to only one woman, Khadeejah (May Allaah be pleased with her).  
In the western society, some men who have one wife have many extra marital affairs. A survey  
was published in "U.S.A. Today" (April 4, 1988, Section D) which asked 4700 mistresses  
what they would like their status to be. They said that "they preferred being the second  
wife rather than the "other woman" because they do not have the legal rights, nor did they  
have the financial equality of the legally married wives, and it appeared that they were  
being used by these men." Historically, all the prophets except Jesus, who was not  
married, had more than one wife. So this is not something which Islaam has started; in fact,  
Islaam regulated it.  
  

DOES ISLAAM OPPRESS WOMEN?  

No. On the contrary, Islaam elevated the status of women 1,400 years ago by giving them  
the right to divorce, the right to have financial independence and support and the right to  
be identified as dignified women (Hijab) when in the rest of the world, including Europe,  
women had no such rights. Women are equal to men in all acts of piety (Quraan 33:32).  
Islaam allows women to keep their maiden name even after marriage, their earned money  
and spend it as they wish, and instructs men to be their protectors as women on the street  
can be molested. Prophet Muhammad (Peace and blessings of God be upon him) told  
Muslim men, "The best among you is the one who is best to his family". Some Muslim  
men, do oppress women today. This is because of their cultural habits or their ignorance  
about their religion. Female Genital Mutilations has nothing to do with Islaam.  
It is pre-Islamic African Custom, practiced by non Muslims including Coptic Christians as well.