Surah As-Saff (61) — Ayah 6

(Ayah 6) ➊ {وَ اِذْ قَالَ عِيْسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ يٰبَنِيْۤ اِسْرَآءِيْلَ …:’’ مُصَدِّقًا لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيَّ مِنَ التَّوْرٰىةِ ‘‘} has two meanings and both are correct. One is that I am not refuting the previously revealed book, the Torah, but rather confirming it. See the commentary of Surah Al-Ma'idah (46). The second is that my existence proves true the glad tidings given about me in the Torah; I am the fulfillment of those prophecies, therefore it is obligatory upon you to believe in me.

➋ {وَ مُبَشِّرًۢا بِرَسُوْلٍ يَّاْتِيْ مِنْۢ بَعْدِي اسْمُهٗۤ اَحْمَدُ:} From this, it is understood that 'Isa (peace be upon him) gave the glad tidings of the coming of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) with explicit mention of his blessed name {’’ اَحْمَدُ ‘‘}. Jubayr bin Mut'im (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: [ إِنَّ لِيْ أَسْمَاءً ، أَنَا مُحَمَّدٌ وَأَنَا أَحْمَدُ وَأَنَا الْمَاحِي الَّذِيْ يَمْحُو اللّٰهُ بِيَ الْكُفْرَ، وَأَنَا الْحَاشِرُ الَّذِيْ يُحْشَرُ النَّاسُ عَلٰی قَدَمِيْ، وَ أَنَا الْعَاقِبُ ] [ بخاري، التفسیر، باب قولہ تعالٰی : «یأتی من بعدي اسمہ أحمد » : ۴۸۹۶ ] "I have several names: I am Muhammad, and I am Ahmad, and I am al-Mahi (the one who erases) by whom Allah will erase disbelief, and I am al-Hashir (the gatherer) behind whom people will be gathered, and I am al-'Aqib (the last, after whom there is no prophet)."

{’’ اَحْمَدُ ‘‘} ({أَفْعَلُ}) is an elative (comparative/superlative) noun which comes in the meaning of both the active and passive participle. If in the meaning of the active participle, it means "one who praises much," and in reality, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was one who praised Allah greatly, and the people of his ummah are {’’حَمَّادُوْنَ‘‘} (those who praise much). If in the meaning of the passive participle, it means "one who is much praised." In this case, this blessed name is synonymous with "Muhammad." An example of the elative noun coming in the passive participle meaning is found in the Qur'an, where it is said: « اَلَمْ تَرَ اِلَى الَّذِيْنَ اُوْتُوْا نَصِيْبًا مِّنَ الْكِتٰبِ يُؤْمِنُوْنَ بِالْجِبْتِ وَ الطَّاغُوْتِ وَ يَقُوْلُوْنَ لِلَّذِيْنَ كَفَرُوْا هٰۤؤُلَآءِ اَهْدٰى مِنَ الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا سَبِيْلًا » [ النساء : ۵۱ ] "Have you not seen those who were given a portion of the Book? They believe in idols and false gods and say about the disbelievers that they are more guided than the believers." In this verse, {’’ اَهْدٰى ‘‘} is not in the meaning of the active participle (more guiding), but in the meaning of the passive participle, i.e., "more guided." Similarly, in Surah Fatir (42), {’’ اَهْدٰى ‘‘} is in the meaning of the passive participle. In the glad tidings of 'Isa (peace be upon him), two things are especially noteworthy: one, the specification of the time of the coming of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), that he will come after the Messiah (peace be upon him); the second, the explicit mention of the blessed name {’’ اَحْمَدُ ‘‘}, so that there remains no ambiguity or obscurity regarding him. As for the name, according to the statement of the Qur'an, it is certain that this name was present in the Gospel. The greatest proof of this is that if the statement of the Qur'an were false, the Christians of the time of the Qur'an's revelation would certainly have refuted it. The absence of this name in the present Gospels cannot be considered proof of its negation, because the original Gospel does not exist in the world today. The Gospels before us in Arabic, English, or Urdu are all translations upon translations. The differences among these translations are as great as those among the Gospels themselves. The translators translate every word, even if it is a proper noun, whereas names should not be changed or translated. Then, when there is also a habit of concealing the truth and altering it, the matter goes far astray. Despite this, with the specification of the time and the attributes of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), the glad tidings are present in several places in the Gospel, which do not apply to anyone other than him. Here are some references from the Gospel of John in which the coming of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is foretold. The Messiah (peace be upon him) said: "And I will pray to the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that he may abide with you forever, even the Spirit of truth." [ یوحنا، باب ۱۴، فقرہ : 17،16 ] "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you." [ یوحنا، باب ۱۴، فقرہ : ۲۶ ] "After this I will not talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in me." [ یوحنا، باب ۱۴، فقرہ : ۳۰ ] "But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me." [ یوحنا، باب ۱۵، فقرہ : ۲۶ ] "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come." [ یوحنا، باب ۱۶، فقرہ : 13،12]

These references are taken from the Gospel of John, which is accepted by all Christian sects. In the Gospel of Barnabas, the name "Muhammad" is mentioned repeatedly, but the present Christians, who are followers of Paul, do not accept it, so references from the Gospel of John have been cited. In these, the glad tidings of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) are given with such attributes that do not apply to anyone other than him. For example, "He will give you another Helper, that he may abide with you forever," and "He will teach you all things," and "the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in me." Reflect! After the Messiah (peace be upon him), who other than the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) fits these attributes?

➌ { فَلَمَّا جَآءَهُمْ بِالْبَيِّنٰتِ:} Some have said that this refers to the Messiah (peace be upon him), because at the beginning of the verse his address is mentioned, but the preferred opinion is that it refers to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), i.e., when that "Ahmad" whose glad tidings 'Isa (peace be upon him) gave came to them with clear signs, they denied him, calling him manifest magic, even though they recognized him, as it is said: « فَلَمَّا جَآءَهُمْ مَّا عَرَفُوْا كَفَرُوْا بِهٖ فَلَعْنَةُ اللّٰهِ عَلَى الْكٰفِرِيْنَ» [ البقرۃ : ۸۹ ] "Then when there came to them that which they recognized, they disbelieved in it; so the curse of Allah is upon the disbelievers." Ibn Jarir al-Tabari has given this meaning, and Ibn Kathir and many other commentators have sufficed with this meaning. This is also supported by the words {’’ وَ هُوَ يُدْعٰۤى اِلَى الْاِسْلَامِ ‘‘} in the following verse, because at the time of the revelation of this Surah, the one inviting to Islam was Ahmad (peace and blessings be upon him), not the Messiah (peace be upon him).

➍ { قَالُوْا هٰذَا سِحْرٌ مُّبِيْنٌ:} That is, they said about the signs and miracles he brought that this is manifest magic, or for emphasis, instead of calling the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) a magician, they called him magic itself, just as instead of {’’ زَيْدٌ عَادِلٌ‘‘} they say {’’ زَيْدٌ عَدْلٌ‘‘}.