Title: JESUS Prophet of Islam

Authors: Muhammad 'Atar' ur-Rahim & Ahmed Thomson

Publisher: IIPH

Theme: Pillars of Faith

Preface to the Edition

Revised and Augmented

Jesus, Prophet of Islam was written between 1975 and 1977. After the death of his wife, Colonel Muhammad Ata'ur-Rahim, aleyhi rahma, left Pakistan to settle in London and complete his studies on life of sayyidina `Isa (Jesus), peace be upon him, and to write this book he had been dreaming of for a long time. Although he had a good command of English and a very good sense of humor, his written English was not always grammatically correct. Born into a Muslim family and brought up as such, Colonel Rahim did not know what it was like to live and think as a Christian. Since English is my. mother tongue, and that I was brought up as a Christian, I was able to help, and had the joy of being chosen to assist Colonel Rahim in the writing of his book.

The days we spent working together on the book, not only organizing the information that Colonel Rahim had already gathered, but also carrying out further research, particularly at the British Library, are precious moments, and we have learned a lot from each other, about the nature and history of Christianity, about the nature and history of Islam, and about life itself. Almost every line is the result of sometimes lively discussions, and although Colonel Rahim always received my contributions and observations with interest, and often incorporated them into the text, we amicably agreed that he would always have the last word on what should be kept or eliminated.

The book was finally completed, typewritten by Maryam Toby, may she rest in peace, read and re-read for final corrections, then prepared for printing by Adbal-Hayy Moore and Abu'l-Qasim Spiker, and finally printed, published and distributed. Since then, the book has rarely gone out of print, despite numerous typographical errors and a dubious introduction added to subsequent editions which greatly diminished the quality and content of the first edition.

Although the first edition of the book was generally well received, one of the criticisms that we heard from time to time was that it was in some places too detailed, and therefore a bit boring, for the general public. I remember Colonel Rahim mentioning to me that as far as the chapter called Jesus in the Quran was concerned, many more ayat (verses) could have been included, especially those directly addressed to Christians and "People of the Book” — a term generally describing any group of people whose religion was more or less based on divine revelation predating the Quran, and which specifically defines Jews and Christians.

It was with these criticisms and this comment from Colonel Rahim in mind that I embarked on the revision of the first edition. I have not only shortened some of the longer passages and increased the number of ayat from the Quran, but also included additional information that has come to light over the past eighteen years. This required a partial restructuring of the original text with the addition of a chapter entitled Trinitarian Christianity in Europe.

In drawing attention to the additional information that appears in this new edition, I would like to express my gratitude to Dr. Maurice Bucaille's book, The Bible, The Koran and Science, from which we use extracts, and which had no yet been published in the first edition of Jesus, Prophet of Islam. Dr. Bucaille's scrupulous and unbiased approach to the authenticity, accuracy and reliability of the content of both the Bible and the Quran, and his rational analysis of whether or not they match the empirical evidence of scientists, are both instructive. and enlightening, and those who have not yet read his book should do so!

In presenting this revised and expanded edition to the general public, I hope not only that Colonel Rahim would approve of the changes made if he were there to see them, but also that everyone who reads this book will learn something important and above all that they will enjoy reading it. It was certainly a pleasure to help Colonel Rahim write the first edition, and it was also a pleasure to revise the original text after so many years, reminding myself of what a truly human human being Colonel Rahim was.

Colonel Rahim's warmth and wisdom were extraordinary, and many of the discussions we shared and his incisive observations are still in my mind today. Anyone who had the pleasure of meeting him remembers him with great fondness. He was just as his name indicated, a gift from a Merciful Lord — and this revised edition is dedicated to him. May we be reunited in the beyond, in the Garden of Paradise!

Like any book written by a human being, there are inevitably imperfections and deficiencies. We have read thousands of pages in order to be able to write dozens. We hope that this book can nevertheless supplement the knowledge that the reader already possesses, giving him a glimpse of what is perhaps unknown, or half-forgotten or presumed too quickly.

It would be good to emphasize that the title of the book was not chosen in a desire to provoke. It has always been clear, to Muslims at least, that the way of life embodied by all the Prophets - may God's blessings and peace be upon them, their families, their companions and true followers - was essentially unique and the same transaction-life,' enshrined in the worship of the One Creator of the heavens and the earth and all that exists, in the visible and invisible worlds — is the way of Islam. Like all the Prophets before him, Jesus, peace be upon him, confirmed the Prophets who had preceded him - especially Moses, peace be upon him - and announced the coming of the one who would come after him, Muhammad, that Peace and Allah's blessing be upon him. Like all the Prophets before him, the simple life that Jesus led was one of total submission to his Lord, the way of Islam. When we look at the path of Islam from this angle, then it becomes clear that not only Jesus, but also all the Prophets — and especially Muhammad — were Prophets of Islam. It is then impossible, with this definition, to make any distinction between them.

The prophetic way, the way of Islam, which has always been characterized by its flexibility and its balance between inner content and outer form, has always been susceptible to corruption in two main ways: either people have made too rigid or far too lax. If it is made too rigid, they end up with a system of rules which they then try to circumvent. If they make it too lax, then there are very few rules left to bend, but instead the lack of clarity inevitably leads to confusion. In these two extremes, it is impossible for the human being to fully understand the nature of existence.

As soon as the middle way balance between these two extremes was lost, human society tended to oscillate endlessly between one extreme and the other, from rigid orthodoxy to spongy liberalism and back again, until may Allah send another Prophet or Messenger to demonstrate what the middle way is and how this balance can be embodied and maintained.

It is in light of this pattern of behavior that the story of what became of Jesus' message in Europe can be understood, whether it was Paul rejecting the Law that Jesus, in his own words, had specifically come to confirm , not only in its spirit but also in its letter; or else the tyranny of the Spanish and medieval Inquisitions; or the impetus given by what has been called "the Reformation", and the reaction to it - the Counter-Reformation; or the accepting liberal approach of the current ecumenical movement; or the merciless genocide of the recent Serbian Crusades; to name but a few of the most significant developments that have taken place in the Pauline Christian religion over the past nineteen centuries.

I would also like to point out that the underlying purpose of this book has always been to deepen the understanding of the character of Jesus, peace be upon him, not only on the part of the reader but also on the part of the authors of the book, and not to simply enter the arena of disputes and debates which measures 'success' in terms of the number of converts recruited in order to score points against the opponent. If you, the reader, learn as much as the authors did by writing this book, or even if you only learn a little, even just one important thing, then the purpose of this book will been reached.

Finally, I would like to thank my guide and teacher, Sheikh Dr. Abdalqadir as-Sufi ad-Darqawi al-Murabit, because it is through him that I came to Islam and it is thanks to him that I came to work with Colonel Rahim, and without him I would not have been able to finish what I had started. Al-hamdoulillâh wa choukroulillâh wa lâ hawla wa lâ qouwwata illâ billdh — It is to God that the praises and thanks belong and there is neither strength nor power but in Him. And, as the Prophet Muhammad said, Allah's Blessings and Peace be upon him, "If you do not thank others, then you have not thanked God."

Ahmad Thomson

London 1416 /1995

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Post Scriptum

I would like to thank all those who participated in the effort to translate the revised and expanded edition of Jesus, Prophet of Islam Anne Hannah Farooque, Florence Safiya Ascoli-Ball, Safiya (Sylvie) Boudoukha, Lydia Favre-Rochex, Astrid Demeillier and Ève Ascoli as well as their families and friends. I would also like to thank those who contributed to its publication, in particular Afsar Siddiqui, Abia Siddiqui, Muhammad Al-Tuwaijri and Jamila Hakam — as well as their families and friends. It is easy to start a project, but much harder to finish it. Thank you for your patience and perseverance, and may Allah reward you more than you can ever imagine, amine.

Ahmad Thomson

London 1431 /2010