Jesus is seen in the Qur’an as confirming the Law of Moses and as having received the Gospel. Muhammad explicitly builds on the work of Jesus.

Obviously, the Bible makes no direct mention of Muhammad: it was completed centuries before his birth. The Qur’an does mention very general predictions of Muhammad, based on specific interpretations of certain Bible passages which of course are interpreted by Christians in a totally different way. An example of such differing interpretations is given below.

The Qur’an holds that Jesus announced the coming of a famous Messenger called Ahmad. Reference is made to the Gospel of John, in which the Greek word ‘parakleitos’ is used.

‘Parakleitos’ has a variety of meanings, such as comforter, helper, healer, spirit of Truth.

But there is another Greek word ‘periklutos: famous’ or, in Arabic, Ahmad. It is claimed that the word in question in John’s gospel/manuscript should be read as periklutos, rather than as parakleitos. Ahmad, the renowned, the celebrated, is another name for Muhammad.

Such Biblical passages are held by Muslims to refer to Muhammad, the uneducated prophet, who is also known as Ahmad, the Renowned. According to a generally (but not universally) accepted interpretation/translation of Qur´an verse. Muhammad was not able to read or write:

“And you were not (able) to recite a Book before this (Book came), nor are you able to transcribe it with thy right hand.” ^{29The Spider ,48}

The Muslim interpretation of the texts of the Gospel according to John is rejected by Christian scholars. They argue that the Messenger, or Comforter (parakleitos), whose coming Jesus prophesied, is the Holy Spirit who descended on the apostles during the Jewish feast of Pentecost. This gave the disciples of Jesus the courage to spread his message to the world, even after his death. The descent of the Holy Spirit is seen as the beginning of the Christian Church and is celebrated at the annual Christian feast of Pentecost, or Whitsun.