God has joined the Prophet’s name to His Own—
whenever, in the five daily prayers, the muʾadhdhin proclaims, “I bear witness….”

And from His Own Name He carved one to honor him:
the Lord of the Throne is Maḥmūd, and this is Muḥammad. (1)

As for “Ahmad,” it is a superlative form, meaning that he is more deserving of praise than anyone else. The Arabs say, “This person is aḥmad than that one,” that is, worthier of being praised than the other. The name therefore bestows superiority over all others in the matter of praise: “Muḥammad” signifies an increase in the quantity of praise, whereas “Ahmad” signifies an increase in its quality.

Some scholars say the name means that he praises Allah more than anyone else; on that reading it carries the sense of ḥāmid or ḥammād (one who constantly praises). On the first reading it means maḥmūd (the one who is praised).

If “Paraclete” is taken to mean “praise,” it is a verbal noun used as a proper name, intensifying the idea of abundant praise—just as Arabic may call a man “ʿadl” (justice) or “riḍā” (contentment) and the like.

This clarifies the secret of what the Quran quotes from Christ: “bringing good tidings of a messenger who will come after me, whose name is Ahmad” ⦗al-Ṣaff 6⦘, for that is precisely the sense of “Paraclete,” as explained above.

The Torah likewise contains a passage I have rendered into Arabic: “As for Ishmael, I have heard your prayer. Behold, I have blessed (him; I will make him fruitful and multiply him) (2) with Muʾadh-Muʾadh.” (3) Such is the exact wording.