Was "the Helper" Promised by Jesus Really the Prophet Mohammed?

Some Muslim scholars claim that when Jesus promised "the Helper" (Gr., parakletos) to his disciples in John 14:16 that Christ was actually referring to the coming of the Prophet Mohammed. They argue that that the Qur'an (Surah 61:6) refers to Mohammed as "Ahmad" (periclytos) which they contend is the correct rendering of "parakletos."

As Norman Geisler and Thomas Howe explain in their book The Big Book of Bible Difficulties, "There are absolutely no grounds for concluding the 'Helper' Jesus mentioned...is Mohammed."1  They offer the following ten reasons to support their claim:

"First of all, of the 5,366 Greek manuscripts of the NT, not a single manuscript contains the word periclytos ('praised one'), as the Muslims claim it should read.

Second, Jesus clearly identifies the 'Helper' as the Holy Spirit, not Mohammed.  Jesus referred to 'the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send.' (John 14:26)

Third, the 'Helper' was given to His disciples ('you,' v. 16), but Mohammed was not.

Fourth, the 'Helper' was to abide with them 'forever' v. 16), but Mohammed has been dead for 13 centuries!

Fifth, Jesus said to the disciples, 'You know Him [the Helper]' (v. 17), but they did not know Mohammed.  He wasn't even born for 6 more centuries.

Sixth, Jesus told His apostles, the Helper will be 'in you' (v. 17).  In no sense was Mohammed 'in' Jesus' apostles.

Seventh, our Lord affirmed the Helper would be sent 'In My [Jesus'] name' (John 14:26).  But no Muslims believes Mohammed was sent by Jesus in His name.

Eighth, the Helper Jesus would send would not 'speak on His own authority' (John 16:13), whereas Mohammed constantly testifies to himself in the Qur'an (cf. Surah 33:40).

Ninth, the Helper would 'glorify' Jesus (John 16:14), but Mohammed claims to supersede Jesus, being a later prophet.

Finally, Jesus asserted that the Helper would come in 'not many days' (Acts 1:5), whereas Mohammed did not come for 600 years."2

When the historical and biblical contexts of Jesus' teaching regarding the "Helper" are considered, there are no good reasons to conclude that Jesus was referencing the Prophet Mohammed in John 14:16.

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad

Footnotes:
1. Norman Geisler and Thomas Howe, The Big Book of Bible Difficulties, p. 419.
2. Ibid., 419-420.

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