Open Challenge To the Disbelievers
by Rashad Khalifa, Ph.D. / a 1989 article

The last book of the Old Testament, the Book of Malachi, one of the prophets of Israel, Chapter 3, as well as the Quran, Chapter 3, predict the advent of God’s Messenger of the Covenant. God says in Malachi 3: "I will send my messenger, the Messenger of the Covenant, and he shall prepare the way before Me."

I have given you hundreds of solid Quranic proofs that I am God’s Messenger of the Covenant. Can you give me one, just one, good reason why I could not be God’s messenger?

So far, the disbelievers have come up with reasons that reveal their utter ignorance of the Quran. Here are all the reasons they have produced since I challenged them with my initial announcement:

1. Muhammad was the last messenger of God:

   Not true. According to the Quran, which came to us through Muhammad, Muhammad was the last prophet, and not the last messenger. This is clearly stated in 7:35, 16:2, 33:40, and 40:15. Furthermore, the Quran warns us, through a prominent precedent, against the erroneous claim that Muhammad was the last messenger. Verse 34 of Sura 40 points out that the people after Joseph’s death claimed that he was the last messenger. Yet, look who came after Joseph - Moses, David, Solomon, Zachariah, John, Jesus, and Muhammad, to name a few.

2. The words "Prophet" (Nabi) and "Messenger" (Rasool) are exactly the same:

   False. Why then did the Quran use two different words to describe Muhammad: "a messenger of God, and the final prophet" (33:40)? Why not just use the phrase "he was the final prophet" (Khaatam Al-Nabiyyeen) to include the finality of all the messengers and all the prophets?

3. A "Prophet" has no book, while a "Messenger" brings a new book:

   Wrong again. Satan has reversed everything for you. Your ignorance of the Quran is pitiful. The definitions of "Prophet" and "Messenger" are clearly given in the Quran 3:81. According to the Almighty Creator of all the prophets and messengers, "Prophet" is one who is given a scripture, while "Messenger" is one who confirms existing scripture; he does not bring a new book. Go read 3:81 in any translation you like.

4. Aaron is described in 19.53 as a "prophet" even though he did not bring a book; the book was given to Moses:

   If you read the Quran, you would not make such a statement so revealing of your ignorance. In Verse 37:117, God informs us that the scripture was given "to both Moses and Aaron," specifically "to the two of them." There is no contradiction in the Quran. A "prophet" is defined as one who brings a new book, Aaron is described as a "prophet," and we are told that he was given the Torah along with Moses.

5. Muhammad was among the prophets who made the covenant:

   According to the Quran, 33:7, Muhammad was one of the prophets who made that famous covenant, ONE COVENANT, to believe in and support God’s messenger of the Covenant.

6. Others before you have made the same claim, and they were liars, such as Ghulam Ahmad and Bahaullah:

   The Quran teaches us to demand proof (2:111, 21:24, 27:64); what was their proof? Also, did they uphold the Quran alone, and the worship of God alone? Ghulam Ahmad and his followers are steeped in Hadith, and the Bahais do not follow the Quran.

7. The Quran did not specifically say that the name of God’s messenger shall be "Rashad Khalifa"!!!

   Not very smart; is it? Can you imagine how many Rashad Khalifas the world will have if this stupid demand was met? Since this is the age of mathematics and computers, the Almighty has coded the name of His messenger mathematically. See the evidence below.

IRREFUTABLE QURANIC PROOF

The detailed proofs are presented in Appendix Two of my new translation: QURAN: THE FINAL TESTAMENT with the ARABIC TEXT, 1989.

Believers in all corners of the globe have examined the evidence and are blessed with unshakable certainty about the identity of God’s Messenger of the Covenant. They know that the time has come, and that God has now sent His Messenger of the Covenant to restore and purify the message delivered by all His prophets.

As stated in Malachi 3:1-3: "The Messenger of the Covenant, whom you delight in, shall come, says the Lord of hosts. But who will endure the day of his coming? And who can stand when he appears? For he is like the refiner’s fire, or like fullers’ soap. He will sit refining and purifying, like the purifying of gold."

Some basic Quranic proofs, sufficient for those who are permitted by God to see and hear, were presented in the August 1988 issue of M.P., and the Certificate of Proof is available for anyone who asks for it. What I am presenting here is a tiny sample of the vast and utterly overwhelming evidence provided by our Almighty Creator to strengthen the believers, and to augment and confirm the stubborn arrogance of the disbelievers.

As shown in the famous INDEX TO THE WORDS OF THE QURAN, Page. 320, the root word for "Rashad" is found in the Quran 19 times: 2:186, 2:256, 4:6, 7:146, 11:78, 11:87, 11:97, 18:10, 18:17, 18:24, 18:66, 21:51, 40:29, 40:38, 49:7, 72:2, 72:10:, 72:14, and 72:21.

The root word for "Khalifa," in the context which means "succeeding" in the Quran occurs also 19 times. These 19 entries, in the order listed in the INDEX, are 7:169, 19:59, 24:55, 6:133, 11:57, 7:129, 24:55, 7:169, 19:59, 2:30, 38:26, 6:165, 10:14, 10:73, 35:39, 7:69, 7:74, 27:62, and 57:7. Note that the root "Khalafa’ occurs in some verses more than once.

God’s evidence is more specific when it comes to the specific words "Rashad" and "Khalifa." "Rashad" occurs in 40:29 and 40:38, while "Khalifa" occurs in 2:30 and 38:26.

As explained in the last issue of M.P., the first "Khalifa" (2:30) refers to Satan, while the second "Khalifa" (38:26) refers to a human "Khalifa." Add the suras and verses where we see "Rashad" and "the human Khalifa," we get 38+26+40+29+38 = 171 = 19x9. The Messenger of the Covenant is mentioned in 3:81. The gematrical value of the word "Rashad" is 505. The gematrical value of the word "Khalifa" is 725. By adding these values to the number of verse, 81, we get 505 + 725 + 81 = 1311 = 19x69.

I was most assertively told, through Gabriel, that Sura 36, Ya Seen, and more specifically Verse 36:3 [Surely, you are one of the messengers], refers to me, and I was provided with the following mathematical proof:

1. Sura 36 is No. 19 among the initialed suras.
2. The number of verses from 3:81 to Sura 36 is 3330. By adding the gematrical value of "Rashad’ (505), plus the gematrical value of "Khalifa" (725), plus the number of verses from 3:81 to Sura 36 (3330), we get 505 + 725 + 3330 = 4560 = 19x240.
3. From 3:81 to 36:3, the number of verses between them is 3332. Now, put the gematrical value of "Rashad" (505) next to the value of "Khalifa" (725), followed by the number of verses (3332), and you get 5057253332, which equals 19x19x14009012.
4. The number of verses inclusive of 36:3 is 3333. Add "Rashad’ (505), and you get 3838, or 19x202.

One of the most specific verses related to God’s Messenger of the Covenant is 5:19: "O people of the scripture, our messenger has come to you to explain things to you, after a period without messengers." Besides the fact that the verse number is "19," the name of the messenger is mathematically coded as "Rashad Khalifa." By adding the gematrical value of "Rashad" (505), plus the value of "Khalifa" (725), plus the number of the sura (5), plus the number of the verse (19), we get 505 + 725 + 5 + 19 = 1254 = 19x66.