The Shaykh’s comment on the Gospel wisdom that 'Isa (peace be upon him) said to his disciples: “Beware of those who falsely claim prophethood,” and they said: “How shall we know them?”
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The Shaykh : Yes, Abu 'Adnan.
The questioner : When you quoted the hadith in which the number of sects among the Muslims was mentioned, which is seventy-three sects, all in the Fire except one, and you mentioned what this sect is, of course according to what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, it came to my mind while you were explaining to say: “Count for me the sects that are not saved.” Then I said to myself: “We do not need them, because we have taken the description of the saved sect. And these other sects must be known by their deviation from the saved sect. So we are no longer in need of counting them.” I was going to say to you: “Count them for me,” then I said: “We have already known the saved sect.”
The Shaykh : Well done.
The questioner : And we are not in need of counting the rest, whether seventy-three sects or guessing if they reached sixty or fifty...
The Shaykh : This reminds me of a Gospel wisdom—and you know that the Gospel is a book of the sacred books, as they say today, which Allah (Mighty and Majestic) revealed to 'Isa (peace be upon him).
The questioner : As they claim.
The Shaykh : No, not as they claim. Seek forgiveness from your Lord. This is the truth, but what should be said is: they distorted it, changed it, and altered it. As for its revelation, that is a fact.
The questioner : I seek forgiveness from Allah.
The Shaykh : And what I wanted to reach is that despite this alteration, some useful things remained in it. Among them is that 'Isa (peace be upon him) once admonished the disciples, as was his custom. And the Gospel, in reality, as it has reached us, is mostly admonitions and advice. From these advices, he warned them after informing them of the coming of prophets, and these prophets will be false prophets. But the Seal of the Prophets will come, and he is Muhammad ibn 'Abd Allah, the Seal of the Prophets. So beware of those who falsely claim prophethood. They said to him: “How shall we know them?” Here is the point in the answer of 'Isa (peace be upon him): “You will know them by their fruits.” You will know them by their fruits. It is not that he will name them for him and describe them to him by their specific identities. This is a matter that cannot be limited. But you will know them by their fruits. That is, by their lying and deceiving people, and their attempt to seize their wealth, and in many cases, their women’s honor. So you will know them by their fruits. So avoid them and do not believe except in the truthful Prophet, who is Ahmad ibn 'Abd Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and in all the prophets.
The questioner : But I do not think they deleted this from their written text...
The Shaykh : I do not know the truth of it, but this is narrated from the Gospel. As for whether it exists? I had read, of course, long ago the Torah and the Gospel, but I read it only once for general knowledge, so some things are in my mind, and most of them have gone with the wind. As for this, it is mentioned in our books as being from the admonitions of 'Isa (peace be upon him) to the disciples. Yes.
The questioner : When you quoted the hadith in which the number of sects among the Muslims was mentioned, which is seventy-three sects, all in the Fire except one, and you mentioned what this sect is, of course according to what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, it came to my mind while you were explaining to say: “Count for me the sects that are not saved.” Then I said to myself: “We do not need them, because we have taken the description of the saved sect. And these other sects must be known by their deviation from the saved sect. So we are no longer in need of counting them.” I was going to say to you: “Count them for me,” then I said: “We have already known the saved sect.”
The Shaykh : Well done.
The questioner : And we are not in need of counting the rest, whether seventy-three sects or guessing if they reached sixty or fifty...
The Shaykh : This reminds me of a Gospel wisdom—and you know that the Gospel is a book of the sacred books, as they say today, which Allah (Mighty and Majestic) revealed to 'Isa (peace be upon him).
The questioner : As they claim.
The Shaykh : No, not as they claim. Seek forgiveness from your Lord. This is the truth, but what should be said is: they distorted it, changed it, and altered it. As for its revelation, that is a fact.
The questioner : I seek forgiveness from Allah.
The Shaykh : And what I wanted to reach is that despite this alteration, some useful things remained in it. Among them is that 'Isa (peace be upon him) once admonished the disciples, as was his custom. And the Gospel, in reality, as it has reached us, is mostly admonitions and advice. From these advices, he warned them after informing them of the coming of prophets, and these prophets will be false prophets. But the Seal of the Prophets will come, and he is Muhammad ibn 'Abd Allah, the Seal of the Prophets. So beware of those who falsely claim prophethood. They said to him: “How shall we know them?” Here is the point in the answer of 'Isa (peace be upon him): “You will know them by their fruits.” You will know them by their fruits. It is not that he will name them for him and describe them to him by their specific identities. This is a matter that cannot be limited. But you will know them by their fruits. That is, by their lying and deceiving people, and their attempt to seize their wealth, and in many cases, their women’s honor. So you will know them by their fruits. So avoid them and do not believe except in the truthful Prophet, who is Ahmad ibn 'Abd Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and in all the prophets.
The questioner : But I do not think they deleted this from their written text...
The Shaykh : I do not know the truth of it, but this is narrated from the Gospel. As for whether it exists? I had read, of course, long ago the Torah and the Gospel, but I read it only once for general knowledge, so some things are in my mind, and most of them have gone with the wind. As for this, it is mentioned in our books as being from the admonitions of 'Isa (peace be upon him) to the disciples. Yes.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.