‘Ahmad in the Bible?’
No, of course not.
One of my colleagues told me that the average attention span is 47 seconds. So here’s a 47 second (or 1 minute version) of the full ‘Ahmad in the Bible’ blog that follows:
I don’t usually engage with Muslim apologetics, especially in blogs. I’m not critiquing Islam itself, but apologetics often goes too far and poorly, which seems to have influenced Muslim apologists.
This response addresses the claim that Jesus said “Ahmad” in John 15–16. The video introduces the Greek word ‘parakletos’ from John 16.7, which is debated among scholars for its meaning. The presenter argues that ‘parakletos’ refers to Ahmad, based on the Qur’an’s Surah 61:6, which mentions a prophet named Ahmad (meaning “praised”). This claim lacks scholarly backing, and the argument hinges on speculative wordplay rather than evidence. The video dismisses the linguistic complexities of ‘parakletos’ in favor of an unsubstantiated translation. The presenter also ignores the fact that Jesus wasn’t speaking in Greek, making the argument about translating ‘Ahmad’ back into Greek irrelevant.
Ultimately, this approach is a poor example of apologetics, filled with conjecture and ignoring context. It’s a shame that time is spent on such arguments rather than engaging with texts more deeply and thoughtfully.
with thanks to ChatGPT, especially for its robust style!
Read the full blog here:
I don’t normally do this — engage with Muslim apologetics in a blog. This is what I usually write about - How to Read the Quran (links to my other writing are listed at the end). I have a problem with apologetics, usually of the Christian variety, it tries to do too much, often badly. Our bad habits seem to have rubbed off on Muslim apologists, but more of that later perhaps. Just so you know, this is not a critique of Islam, I don’t have any problem with Islam*.
I am writing this in response to Jesus Said “Ahmad” in John 15–16! (click the link to watch on YouTube, except you can’t now as it has been made private. I must have given them a lot of traffic! Update: I posted this blog on Facebook and someone said I was lying about visibility on YouTube but it is still ‘Private’ today, 7/2/2025). I will note the claims made by the presenter and respond to them.
The video opens by introducing the Greek word ‘parakletos’ which appears in John 16.7 (translated ‘Advocate’ in the New Revised Standard Version). Glenn Neilsen in a Masters thesis to Concordia University comments that the word is a crux exegetica (little agreement in the various attempts to explain its meaning and origin). It is suggested that there is a visible gap between the title and the functions ascribed to it. Various translators have offered a range of different words to translate it. It is suggested that none have met with widespread approval and failed to capture accurately and comprehensively John’s use of the title.
The conclusion, in the video, is that parakletos does not mean what is usually suggested but means something else. The presenter therefore offers a search for a different meaning, without referring to what New Testament Greek scholars may have offered. The presenter takes us to the ‘Ahmad’ verse in the Qur’an (61.6), a bold move! I have written on Surah 61 here, opening with verse 6:
‘Jesus son of Mary said, “O Children of Israel, I am God’s Messenger to you, confirming what preceded me of the Torah, and announcing good news of a messenger who will come after me, whose name is Ahmad.”’
The meaning of ‘Ahmad’ is ‘praised’. After some description of this, the presenter returns to parakletos. ‘Kletos’ is rooted in the verb ‘kaleo’ (to call or tell and includes ideas of fame and celebration) and, on its own, is usually translated as ‘praise’. I don’t know how this works when it forms part of another whole word.
The presenter goes on to link the meaning of ‘Ahmad’ with the meanings of the two parts of parakletos, seeking to establish equivalence. He actually says that parakletos could mean the same as Ahmad (‘praised’ or ‘more praised’), without offering examples of this as translation. Remember all of the varying translations referred to at the beginning did not give an example of this hypothetical ‘translation’.
The apparent lack of agreement about translation gives a reason for offering this speculative translation. This is essentially an uninformed approach (wishful thinking, or eisegesis) to translation, or rather word-play. Even so, the presenter acknowledges that the ‘praised’ translation is one option out of three or more. The presenter then offers another argument about translating the Arabic Ahmad back into Greek (as if that would make sense …), Jesus was not speaking to his disciples in Greek, illustrating the complete pointlessness of this argument!
Of course, this idea harmonises the Gospel and the Qur’an, though John’s Gospel is as far away from Islamic theology and belief as can be. Mark’s Gospel with a less-developed Christology and Luke, which shares elements of the Nativity story with Surah 19 are closer. This continues with pointless speculation regarding the Greeks not knowing about ‘Ahmad’.
The video continues with discussion of some Christian, presumably apologetic, objections to the ‘praised’ translation. There is something very odd about Christians and Muslims debating New Testament Greek as either for or against a point of Islamic apologetic! They have nothing to do with each other. The fact that various lexicons and works of Greek literature are referenced shows how desperate the apologetic agenda is.
Of course, I do like the idea of Muslims, or even Christians, getting to know New Testament Greek (most Christians do not)! Though I have to wonder how all this time could be better spent … i.e. reading the whole Gospel in the vernacular first (start with The Devil’s in the Desert, beginning of Mark’s Gospel).
This video provides a case study for us all in how not to do apologetics! Much would be gained by setting out appropriate parameters and understanding what might be considered as actual evidence (an alien concept to so much popular apologetic, if it even deserves to be called that!), rather than spurious argument. It’s such a shame that the presenter spends so much time engaging with Greek literature, to no purpose.
After some time the presenter moves on to some more Christian discussion. He takes an interest in George Eldon Ladd and others referring to the ‘parakletos’ as a teacher/prophetic teacher, including in the sense of revealer of Jesus. Christian apologetics, towards Jews, seems to have muddied the waters in that the presenter then brings in the famous apologetic verse, in two religions, of Deuteronomy 18.15. This is another text where typical Muslim apologetic is (over)-ripe for a good critique! I have felt an increasing need to write about Deuteronomy 18 even, or especially, as I am now Muslim — stop twisting texts! So here it is A New Prophet Like Moses.
Moving on, the presenter engages (finally!) with the context of the parakletos reference in John 16.7 — ‘for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you’ (a verse of Trinitarian significance for anyone familiar with the Creeds). Of course, there could be no suggestion, if the Paraclete is the Prophet Muhammad, that he could have been sent by Jesus! The idea of Muhammad testifying about Jesus, especially as he is presented in John’s Gospel, is very problematic. There is some engagement with the question of sending but the presenter does not understand why ‘send’ is significant (see Trinity comment above). Understand the other better before attempting to reinterpret their texts …
Of course, this discussion is only building on the existing speculation that I have already described. It’s very hard to see any link between Jesus leaving and the Prophet Muhammad arriving (the context of these chapters in John’s Gospel), especially given what the Qur’an says about different revelations and scriptures for different people and that Muhammad came with a message for Arabs. But context doesn’t matter when doing apologetics …
If you enjoyed this (which is surprisingly popular!) please read ‘Jumbled up in Jerusalem’.
More on John’s Gospel (Christian Bible studies) here:
This last one is on the John 14.6 ‘problem’ — ‘I am the Way, the Truth and the Life …’
And on the Qur’an (all written some years before I converted), three popular stories from How to Read the Qur’an, plus a bonus article on Grace:
Links from this article:
Or you may be interested in Partner blogs
* in fact I converted to Islam in 2023
