You must be reading different verses to me, as they say nothing of the sort. The entity concerned is clearly not a human being.
BTW according to the Oxford Greek dictionary, not to mention a couple of online ones referring specifically to Koine (NT) Greek, the meaning of ἄλλος is no more than just 'another' or 'other'. I'm struggling to think of an instance of when the English 'another' could mean anything other than "another of the same kind" anyway; surely to be 'another', a second entity has to be of the same kind of thing as the first? I'm no Greek scholar though - perhaps there is something contextual that suggests a particular emphasis of meaning.
Trumble, though you're right on the above, there is more to it than just what the word
allos means. Take a look at ALL the things that we are told are going to be true with regard to this HELPER.
14:17 "The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him."
(I can see how a Muslim might think this is true of Muhammad.)
14:17 "But you know him..."
(As this is spoken to the disciples, there was no way for them to know Muhammad who would not be born for another 600 years.)
14:17 "...for he lives with you and will be in you."
(I've heard no Muslim ever assert that Muhammad lives with us and in us.)
14:26 "But the Counselor [or "Helper" if you prefer that translation], the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name..."
(Muhammad is not sent in Jesus' name. Prophets are not sent in the name of other propehts, but in Allah's name. Also, if Muhammad were to be sent in "the FATHER'S name", would it not imply that Allah is a Father and has a son? That would be shirk.)
14:26 "...will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you."
(I can see how a Muslim would think this is true of Muhammad.)
16:7 "Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you."
(Is Muhammad sent by Jesus? I thought he was sent by Allah. This can only be true if Jesus is Allah. For Christians there is not contradiction between 14:26 and 16:7 because of our understanding of the Trinity. Somehow I don't expect Muslims to accept this to be describing either the sending of Muhammad nor the nature of the relationship between Jesus and Allah. But if it doesn't, then it can't be describing Muhammad as the Helper either.)
16:8 "When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment..."
(I can see how Muslims would think this is true of Muhammad."
16:9 "... in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me [i.e., Jesus]"
(I have a much harder time seeing how any Muslim would think that Muhammad came to call people to believe in Jesus, in his message perhaps, but to believe in Jesus personally seems a bit of a stretch.)
16:10 "...in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer"
(As long as Muslims don't mind Muhammad being connected to an understanding of Allah as "the Father", I don't suppose there is anything unIslamic about Muhammad convicting people with regard to righteousness.)
16:11 "...and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned."
(I can see how Muslims would think this is true of Muhammad.)
16:13 "But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth."
(I can see how Muslims would think this is true of Muhammad.)
16:13 "He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come."
(I can see how Muslims would think this is true of Muhammad.)
16:14 "He will bring glory to me."
(I cannot conceive of any Muslim suggesting that Muhammad came to bring glory to anyone but Allah. Unless Muslims are willing to confess Jesus and Allah as one, I would suggest that Muhammad is NOT the Helper.)
16:15 "the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you."
(The Christian understanding of this verse is that the Spirit interprets and applies the character of Jesus to the disciples and by so doing makes him central to their thinking. The Spirit makes God a reality to people. Though Muhammad makes Allah a reality to people, it hardly seems that he does so in the same way that the Spirit is described as doing so in this verse.)
Taken as a whole, the Helper (in my opinion the Holy Spirit) serves to confirm what Jesus has shared with his disciples. He does not add anything new to the teachings of Jesus. His mission is to enable people to see the validity of what Jesus taught and to help them appropriate Jesus' message as their own. All this might be understood by Muslims to be true of Muhammad, for they would assert that Jesus and Muhammad had the same message. But the Holy Spirit does one thing more that Muhammad cannot do, the Spirit becomes a source of divine power living within the individual to assist them to live as Jesus lived. The Sunnah of the Prophet might be a model of how to live the life of Islam, but it does not actually empower you or internally assist you in the same way that the Helper does. In other words, Muhammad (p) does fit some things, but he doesn't fit them all, so he must be excluded from being the Helper that Jesus is referencing. Given that, the question of the exact meaning of the word
allos becomes moot.
