THE QURAN MISREPRESENTS THE HOLY SPIRIT

The Quran also presents a very confused and often contradictory view of the Holy Spirit. According to different parts of the Quran, the Holy Spirit is God's own breath (Surat al-Hyjr [Al-Hijr] 15:29); the angel Gabriel (Surat Maryam [Mary] 19:17); and divine inspiration (Surat al-Nahl [The Bee] 16:2).

Muslim Interpreters

Muslim theologians are at a loss to explain what is meant by the Holy Spirit. Some declare it is the teaching of Jesus or Gabriel, as Baidawi believes. Others accept it to mean the name of Allah, by which Jesus raised the dead. Still others will tell you that it really means the gospel itself, which Jesus preached.

I will never forget one memorable encounter I had with a grand old Muslim in Multan, Pakistan, in 1975. A missionary took me to see this Muslim gentleman who had taught him and numerous others the Urdu language. Shortly after we arrived at this elder's house, the conversation gravitated from Urdu to Arabic to Muhammad. The teacher was totally unprepared for my explanation that Paracleton is not a prophetic reference by Jesus to Muhammad. I explained that it was instead a Greek word meaning helper or comforter, and referred specifically to the Holy Spirit, who came on the apostles on the day of Pentecost (see Acts 1 and 2). I challenged him to look into the matter linguistically and textually, which we did together. The wise teacher was very receptive, and through that wonderful word Paracleton, the Holy Spirit opened his heart and he received Jesus Christ as his personal Savior and Lord. The missionary was utterly overwhelmed and excitedly told me as we left, "I have never known my teacher to be open to the gospel before today." Hallelujah for the miracle of the Holy Spirit!

The New Testament and the Holy Spirit

No one can receive satisfactory answers con­cerning the Holy Spirit from the Quran. The best in­formation and the brightest light on this subject is found in the New Testament. Here is how the Holy Spirit is presented in the Bible:

• The Third Person of the Trinity (Matthew 28:19)
• The Inspirer of Scripture (2 Peter 1:21)
• The Companion of Christian believers (John 16:7)
• The Convictor, Convincer, Converter of sinners (John 16:9-11)
• The heavenly Gift (Acts 10:45)
• The One who indwells the believer (1 Corinthians 3:16)
• The Seal of God's approval in the believer (Ephe-sians 4:30)
• The Downpayment of the believer's inheritance (Ephesians 1:13-14)
• The Anointer of believers (2 Corinthians 1: 21-22)
• The Baptizer of believers (1 Corinthians 12:13)
• The One who must fill believers (Ephesians 5:18)
• The One who calls individuals to God's service (Acts 13:2-3)
• The Giver of special gifts (1 Corinthians 12: 4-11)
• The Producer of spiritual fruits in believers (Gala-dans 5:22-23)

In fact, the entire book of Acts is a detailed ac­count of the work of the Holy Spirit in the followers of Jesus of Nazareth during the early years of Chris­tianity. Furthermore, that same Holy Spirit is at work throughout the world today. Yet never once does the Holy Spirit in any text of the Bible refer to Muhammad, the Quran, or Islam.