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Salamun Alaikum (Peace be upon you


PARAKLETOS OR PERIKLYTOS?



!opyright " #$$% &oseph A 'slam: Article last modified #(
th
)ay #$*+


't is often claimed by many )uslims that due to the phonetic closeness of the ,iblical -reek term
Periklytos (The much praised with Parakletos (as it appears in the .ew Testament and usually
rendered as /!omforter/0 that a translator or later scribe could have confused the two e1pressions
or corrupted it intentionally.

This hypothetical assertion has its basis in seeking support for the veracity of Prophet
)uhammad/s
(pbuh
ministry which in turn0 has its roots in )uslim interpretations such as those of
verses 2*:2 and 3:*43.

061.006
5And when0 &esus0 the son of )ary0 said: 67 !hildren of 'srael8 ' am the messenger of -od (sent
to you0 confirming the 9aw before me0 and giving -lad Tidings of a )essenger to come after
me Ara!i"# mi$ !a%&i'0 whose name shall be Ahma&.6 ,ut when he came to them with !lear
Signs0 they said0 6this is evident sorcery86:

00(#1)(
6Those who follow the )essenger 0 the gentile Ara!i"# ;miyya' Prophet whom they find
written down with them Ara!i"# makt*!a$ i$&ah*m' in the Torah and -ospels (who en<oins
them good and forbids them evil0 and makes lawful to them the good things and makes
unlawful to them impure things0 and removes from them their burden and the shackles which
were upon them= so (as for those who believe in him and honour him and help him0 and follow
the light which has been sent down with him0 these it is that are the successful6

Please see relate& arti"le +1, !elo- which discusses both verses. Please also see relate& arti"le +.,
!elo- which discusses the term /ummi/.

There is $o &o"*me$te& e/i&e$"e i$ a$y a$"ie$t 0e- Testame$t ma$*s"ript0 even those that
pre&ate the 1*ra$ that such a confusion or corruption of a term /Periklytos/ ever took place.
All ,iblical instances of the term are found as /Parakletos/ (comforter and $ot Periklytos. The word
/Periklytos/ does not appear anywhere in the -reek .ew Testament or the 7ld Testament in -reek
(Septuagint.

A genuine mistake of this term made by a scribe remains highly unlikely as there seems to be no
discrepancy in all the verses within the different ,iblical manuscripts e1tant today where the term
/Parakletos/ has been encountered. >owever0 a deliberate corruption could possibly be argued for
but strong motives would need to be considered for such an assertion to be viable. Two strong
motives are advanced below which are theological in nature.

(* An intentional corruption of the term as /&esus/ was considered the final saviour by
!hristendom.

(# An intentional corruption of the term to deny any support for Prophet )uhammad
(pbuh
in
particular.

The second option is not tenable as no early manuscript pre&ati$2 the 1*ra$ !y ma$y "e$t*ries
e1hibits any discrepancy of the term.

>owever0 it can be argued that the term was generally changed to deny any future law bearing
prophet/s or messengers for the hypothetical reason cited in option *. ?or this to have been a
feasible occurrence0 the change would have had to be made when the earliest -ospels were
committed to writing within decades of the end of Prophet &esus/s
(pbuh
ministry. @ue to its early
dissemination0 this would not have amounted to a change0 but an original transcription.

That the earliest scribes with possible theological slants (centuries before the !ouncil of .icaea
would have risked the introduction of such a term as /Parakletos/ which could leave an element of
doubt also seems highly unlikely. Arguably0 it would have remained far safer and easier to remove
any mention of such a term alto2ether rather than inviting the possibility of a theological dispute.

There3ore4 there appears $o "o$/i$"i$2 moti/e 3or a &eli!erate o!3*s"atio$ o3 the term
%Periklytos%. Rather4 the term %Parakletos% seems like a 2e$*i$e tra$s"riptio$.

The earliest e1tant e1tract of the .ew Testament today is in -reek and is dated around 1.) A5. The
fragment e1ists (no larger than one/s credit card at the Aylands library in )anchester0 Bngland. 7n
one side it contains a section from verses C*DCC and on the other C3DC( from the *(th chapter of the
-ospel of &ohn.

Appro1imately 43$$ .ew Testament )anuscripts in -reek are known with ma$y differences
between them. Some are insignificant like accidental spelling errors0 scribal errors while others are
intentional0 some theological. A plethora of scriptures are available to any ardent student of .ew
Testament scholarship to scrutinise these changes0 which are also comprehensively documented.
The EuranFs assertion that changes have i$&ee& occurred are well proven and there are great
insights as to the possible reasons why. This area of ,iblical scholarship is well advanced0 well
documented0 comprehensive and highly erudite which should deserve appreciation even though it
can be critiqued and contested.

-iven all the differences known which have been painstakingly understood (accidental0 intentional
etc0 there is not one shred of e/i&e$"e in a$y a$"ie$t 0T ma$*s"ript o3 -hi"h there are
$*mero*s that a corruption of the term GPeriklytosF suggested by )uslim doctors e/er took place. To
any unbiased scholar of the .ew Testament0 this will arguably remain a fantastic claim advanced by
)uslims to provide support for a particular theological position.

The Euran teaches believers to /eri3y "laims 1(#66' and not to rely on 78a$9 6#116' (assumption.


:O5E; SI0AITI:<S

The !ode1 Sinaiticus is the earliest "omplete !hristian ,ible which can be dated to circa C4$ !B
(Appro1imately #4$ years before the revelation of the Euran. 't is considered one of the best te1ts
in -reek of the .ew Testament along with the manuscript of the !ode1 Haticanus. Bven in this well
attested manuscript there is no proof that any corruption or confusion of the term /Periklytos/ ever
took place. This manuscript also attests to the transcription of the term /Parakletos/ as highlighted in
red below.



:opyri2ht +1,
PARAKLETOS#

Joh$ 1)#.6

,ut when (-reek: hotan the !omforter (Parakletos is come0 whom ' will send unto
you from the ?ather0 even the Spirit of truth0 which proceedeth from the ?ather0 he
shall testify of me6 +.,
=istory o3 the :o&e> Si$aiti"*s
6,y the middle of the fourth century there was wide but not complete agreement on which
books should be considered authoritative for !hristian communities. !ode1 Sinaiticus0 one of
the two earliest collections of such books0 is essential for an understanding of the content
and the arrangement of the ,ible0 as well as the uses made of it6 +6,
$* !ode1 Sinaiticus0 eapr0 (#* fourth century0 *+(ff.0 + cols.0 +(ii.0 +C 1 C( cm. 9ondon:
,ritish 9ibrary0 Add. +C3#4. !omplete ,ible (parts of the 7ld Testament lost0 **ff. of the
Pentateuch and *f. of the Shepherd of >ermas discovered *%34 in St. !atherine/s
)onastery0 with the letter of ,arnabus and the Shepherd of >ermas0 the only fourDcolumn
manuscript of the .ew Testament. The romance of its discovery was recounted by
!onstantin von Tischendorf himself (+C 7ld Testament folios first discovered in *(++0
followed in *(4C by an abortive attempt and in *(4% by successful access to the rest of the
manuscript0 which was eventually 6presented6 to the Tsar by a complicated arrangement=
bout from the Soviet government by Bngland in *%CC for I*$$0$$$. ?acsimile edition by
Jirsopp 9ake (71ford: *%**. The te1t with numerous singular readings (and careless errors
was highly overrated by Tischendorf0 and is distinctly inferior to ,0 together with (and p34 it
represents the Ale1andrian te1t. (Bvv: #C(* ($(*K# *3$(# %4((= Acts **(* #+(*K# 2((#
*((s= Paul 3+(* +C(*K# *3#(# 4C(s= !ath: #C(* 2(*K# 2C(# *2(s= category * Plate 3 +?,




@I0AL T=O<A=TS

There is no documented proof from ,iblical sources that the ,iblical term /Parakletos/ (comforter
was ever a misrepresentation of the -reek /Periklytos/ (the much praised. All manuscripts predating
the revelation of the Euran only refer to the term /Parakletos/ (comforter. Therefore0 to assert such
a corruption of the term is untenable based on evidence.

01(.066
6And do not follow that of which you have no knowledge. 'ndeed8 the hearing and the sight and the
heart D of each of these you will be questioned6


Relate& Arti"les#

1' Ahmad
.' Las the Prophet )uhammad
(pbuh
Aeally 'lliterateM


RE@ERE0:ES

+1, These ima2es ha/e !ee$ *se& i$ a""or&a$"e -ith the :o&e> Si$aiti"*s "opyri2hts as stip*late& a$& is pro/i&e& o$ly
3or $o$B"ommer"ial e&*"atio$al *se. :opyri2ht i$3ormatio$ "a$ !e /ie-e& at +o$li$e,
http#CC"o&e>si$aiti"*s.or2Ce$C"opyri2ht.asp> +A""esse& .(th 0o/em!er .011,
The highlight marked in red is my own insertion. 't has no bearing on the original te1t other than it emphasises relevance to
the topic at hand. This is merely an illustration and has solely been utilised for educational and e1planatory purposes.
+., The Di!le# Ki$2 James Eersio$
+6, :o&e> Si$aiti"*s4 A!o*t :o&e> Si$aiti"*s4 Si2$i3i"a$"e4 +o$li$e, http#CC"o&e>si$aiti"*s.or2Ce$C"o&e>Csi2$i3i"a$"e.asp>
+A""esse& .(th 0o/em!er .011,
+?, K<RT. A4 ALA05.D4 The Te>t o3 the 0e- Testame$t4 @irst p*!lishe& as 5er Te>t &es 0e*e$ Testame$ts4 se"o$&
e&itio$4 "' 1FG1 5e*ts"he Di!le2esells"ha3t St*tt2art4 E$2lish tra$slatio$ "' 1FG(4 1FGF Hm. D. Eer&ma$s P*!lishi$2 :o4
@irst e&itio$ 1FG(4 Se"o$& e&itio$ 1FGF4 Paper!a"k e&itio$ 1FF)4 Tra$slate& !y Erroll @. Rho&es4 Pa2e 10(



&oseph 'slam
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