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third heaven and then unto Paradise, where he heard and
saw words and objects that could not be described. The
Churches and their commentators have believed this man
to be St. Paul himself. Although the language is such as to
convey to us the idea that he himself is the man, yet out
of modesty it is that he keeps it a secret lest he should be
considered a proud man (2 Cor. xii. 1-4). Although the
teaches us that the Apostles of Jesus (pbuh) Christ (pbuh) were
all holy and inspired men, yet their writings cannot be
relied upon, because the wrangling and disputant Churches
have subjected them to interpolations. The Gospel of St.
Barnabas states that Paul afterwards fell into an error and
misled many of the believers.

That Paul does not reveal the identity of the person seen
by him in the vision, and that the words which he heard
in Paradise “cannot be spoken and no man is permitted to
speak them,” shows that Paul was not himself the person
who was taken up to Heaven. To say that Paul, for reason
of humility and out of modesty, does not praise himself is
simply to misrepresent Paul. He boasts of having rebuked
St. Peter to his face, and his epistles are full of expressions
about himself which do rather confirm the idea that Paul
was neither humble nor modest.

Besides, we know from his writings to the Galatians
and the Romans what a prejudiced Jew he was against
Hagar and her son Ishmael (pbuh) . The glorious person he
saw in his vision could be no other than the person seen by
Daniel! It was Muhammad (pbuh) that he saw, and durst not
report the words which were spoken to him by the Almighty
because on the one hand he was afraid of the Jews, and
because on the other he would have contradicted himself
for having glorified himself so much with the Crossand the
Crucified. I am half convinced that Paul was allowed to
see the Barnasha whom Daniel had seen some six centuries
before, but “the angel of Satan who was continually