The Meaning of Paraclete: Answering an Objection

بِسۡمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحۡمٰنِ الرَّحِیۡمِ

 

A member of the Khatme Nubuwwat Forum, Mr. Zia Rasul Amini, launched an impure accusation against Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, alleging that the latter blasphemed against the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ (God forbid). He alludes to a quotation attributed to Hadrat Mirza:

 

حضرت عیسی ^ع نے اپنے بعد فارقلیط کے آنے کی پیشگوئی کی تھی۔ عیسائیوں نے اس سے روح القدس مراد لی۔ حلانکہ فی الحقیقت اس سے حضرت نبی کریم ^ص مراد تھے۔ لفظ فارقلیط ۔ دو الفاظ فارق اور لیط سے مرکّب ہے۔ لیط شیطان کو کہتے ہیں۔

 

Translation: Jesus prophesied the coming of Paraclete after him. Christians take it to mean the Holy Spirit. But in reality it is referring to the Prophet Muhammad^S. The word “Paraclete” is a compound of two words – Fârq – and – Lît. Satan is called “Lete”.

 

Reference: Malfuzat-i-Ahmadiyya; v.3 pp. 3 – 4

 

 

So it becomes clear that the objection against this passage is that it implies that, God forbid, the Prophet ﷺ has been called “Satan” because Hadrat Mirza affirms that he is the Paraclete – and Lete, the second part of Paraclete, means Satan.

 

Before I answer this deceptive but altogether baseless objection, the reader should bear in mind that this quote is taken from a book compiled by one Muhammad Manzur Ilahi, a member of the Anjuman Isha’at-i-Islam, Lahore, the official name of the “Lahori” branch of the Ahmadiyya movement. The “Lahori” branch is nowadays an obscure, tiny sect with very few followers, as compared to the mainstream group of Ahmadiyya presently led by Mirza Masrur Ahmad, who are commonly known as the “Qadiani” branch.

 

But even supposing that this quotation of Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad attributed to him by Manzur Ilahi is authentic; far from being a blasphemy against the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ it is actually a commendation and tribute to his praiseworthy status. While the one who made this objection pointed to the fact that “Lete” means Satan according to Ghulam Ahmad, he failed to understand that just because “Lete” means Satan doesn’t mean that the Prophet Muhammad is, God forbid, “Lete”. Rather, Ghulam Ahmad affirms that Prophet Muhammad is Paraclete, and not simply Lete. The difference between “Paraclete” and “Lete” is like the proverbial difference between the sky and the earth!

 

The word Paraclete (Farqlit) is a compound of two words: farq and lit. The former means ‘one who breaks or crushes’ and the latter means ‘serpent’, ‘the devil’ or ‘Satan’. Paraclete thus means ‘one who crushes the devil’s head’

 

Concerning the word “Farq”:

 

William Gesenius and Francis Brown, A Hebrew and English Lexicon. This word or its derivatives are used in the sense of ‘breaking to pieces’, ‘rending asunder’ and ‘crushing’ in the following verses as well: Genesis, 27 : 40; Lamentations, 5 : 8; Zechariah, 11 : 16; Exodus, 16 : 32; 1 Kings, 19 : 11; Ezra, 19 : 12

Concerning the word “Lit”:

 

Leviathan means ‘a serpent’ and also Satan (A Hebrew and English Lexicon). This word is also used in this very sense in Job, 41 : 1.

 

In conclusion, the objection against Hadrat Mirza is baseless. The name Paraclete means “one who crushes the devil’s head”. The person who made this objection, Mr. Zia Rasul Amini of the Khatme Nubuwwat Forum, simply picked up on one word of the compound noun meaning ‘Satan’ and made the fatal mistake of ignoring the entire meaning ‘One who crushes Satan’, an apt description of our beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ