Old Testament prophecies about Muhammad


As has already been mentioned in this chapter, the Muslims believe in the Torah and the Gospel, and hold that they are the word of God and originated from Him. They also believe that the two texts were subject to corruption and distortion. One might then ask why the Muslims use such distorted texts as evidence. This is an old and often repeated question. The answer to this is given by Ibn Hazm in his book Al-Fay sal: "The Muslims acknowledge the Torah and the Gospel, they do not in anyway deny them. Moreover, we consider anyone who denies them to be an unbeliever, and we believe also that the disbelievers among the Children of Israel have changed the Torah and the Psalter. They added to them and took things away from them.

And God the Almighty protected some parts of them against corruption to serve as evidence against them according to His will:

{ He shall not be questioned as to what He does, but they shall be questioned. } (Qur'an 21:23) And in the very same way the disbelievers among the Christians changed the Gospel, adding to it and taking away from it, and likewise God protected some parts of it to serve as evidence against them according to His will." (28)

Now to deal with the Old and New Testament prophecies concerning Prophet Muhammad (peace of Allah be upon him).

Firstly

in Deuteronomy the fifth and the last book of the Torah we read the following passage:

"The Lord came from Sinai and rose from Seir unto them; he shined forth from Mount Paran."

(Deut. 33: 2)

Seir stands for the hills in Jerusalem where Jesus preached, whilst Paran signifies the heights of Mecca where the chosen Prophet Muhammad proclaimed his mission. The heavenly light signifies inspiration, Revelation and Divine prompting. Its interpretation needed three stages: inauguration, continuation and completion. We may therefore interpret this passage of the Torah about the dawn of law-giving as follows: "The Lord came" signifies the arrival, the inauguration. "He rose from Seir"- is the continuation, the rising of the sun, the appearance of Jesus in Jerusalem. The Revelation on Paran represents the completion, with the mission of Muhammad.

The former Jewish rabbi as-Samaw'al al-Maghribi

(d.576 A. H.; 1180 A. C.) who converted to Islam, looked at the same passage and then stated that the Jews know that Seir is the mountain range Sharat (Genesis 36:8, 20, 21; Deut. 2:5), on which lived the children of Esau who followed Jesus.

The same author goes on to say that there is clear evidence from the Torah that Mount Paran is the mountain of Mecca; in fact the Torah states that, when Ishmael parted from his father, Abraham settled in the wilderness of Paran (Genesis 21:21).(29)

As-Samaw'al, moreover, says: "Mount Paran is the abode of the people of Ishmael. If the Torah alluded in this verse to prophecy coming from Mount Paran, it follows that it is the prophecy unto the people of Ishmael, because it is they who are the dwellers of Paran. All will then see that the allusion to prophecy from the progeny of Ishmael points to Muhammad, for it was he who was sent forth from Mecca, formerly the abode of Ishmael. This indicates that the mountains of Paran are those of Mecca, and that the Torah, in this passage, alluded to the mission of Muhammad and announced it; but the Jews, in ignorance and error, fail to connect these two verses. They admit the premises but, in their excessive ignorance, not the conclusion. The Torah bears witness to their poor understanding and counsel, namely, in the passage..(30)

This is a clear-cut prophecy pointing to Prophet Muhammad and the Islamic faith, which has risen from Mecca and spread all over the world.

Moreover, in Deuteronomy 32:21 and also in Isaiah 65:1 we find another foretelling concerning the final seal of the prophets. The prophecy, in Deuteronomy, reads as follows:

"They made me jealous by what is no god and angered me with their worthless idols. I will make them envious by those who are not a people; I will make them angry by a nation that has no understanding."

The nation referred to in the above passage is the Arab nation, who were obscure and unnoticed at that time. It is important to note

that the above Biblical passage should be read against the following verses of the Holy Qur'an:

{ It is He Who has raised up from among the common people a Messenger from among them, to recite His signs to them, to purify them, and to teach them the Book and the Wisdom, though before that they were in manifest error.}

(Qur'an 62: 2)

{ That is their likeness in the Torah, and their likeness in the Gospel: is like a seed that puts forth its shoot, and strengthens it, and it grows stout and rises straight upon its stalk, pleasing the sowers, that through them He may enrage the unbelievers. }

(Qur'an 48: 29)

Again in Deuteronomy 18:18, we read:

"I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren like unto thee; and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him."

"Among their brethren" is important - this means from brothers of the Jews, but not from the Jews themselves. The Jews apply this prophecy to Joshua the son of Nun. The Christians take it as a reference to Jesus. However, firstly, this prophecy cannot be applied to Joshua, since in Deut. 34: 10 it is stated:

"And there hath not arisen a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face."

Joshua was with Moses, and it is not accepted that the reference is to someone present at the time. Moreover, Joshua was from among the Israelites, so how can he be from among the others?

The Christian explanation of the above prophecy is even more improbable than that of the Jews; first, Jesus was himself a Jew, like Moses and Joshua, and thus he must be excluded from the prophecy for the same reason. Again, the prophecy talks about a prophet from among the brothers of the Jews; Jesus was one of them, not of their brothers. The more we dissect this prophecy, the more we are certain that it is in no way a reference to Jesus.

One would ask, in which way can Jesus be said to be like Moses? Is it because his mother was a Jew (as we know he has no father), or is it because he is called a prophet by the evangelists, who also gave him many other titles?

One can also ask, was Jesus the only Jewish prophet to come after Moses? On record we have many other post-Mosaic Jewish prophets, such as Solomon, Isaiah, Daniel, Malachi and John the Baptist. They all were Jews and prophets.

In fact the dissimilarities between Moses and Jesus are various and obvious. The Indian Muslim scholar Sheikh Rahmat Allah al-Hindi counted ten points of difference between Moses and Jesus; later Ahmad Deedat expanded this figure to fifteen (31) To report but a few examples: Moses had father and mother, like Muhammad, but Jesus was born miraculously. Moses and Muhammad married and begot children, but Jesus remained a bachelor all his life. Muhammad and Moses were acknowledged as prophets by their own people during their lifetime. As for Jesus,

"He came unto his own and they that were his own received him not"

(Johnl: 11)

Moses and Muhammad were prophets as well as rulers, and they exercised their power in their lifetime. Jesus said that his kingdom was not of this world, and he refused to pass judgment.

Moses and Muhammad brought new laws to their people. Jesus said that he came not to destroy the Torah but to fulfill it.

Both Moses and Muhammad died natural deaths, while Jesus was crucified on the cross, according to the Christian belief, and ascended to heaven according to the Qur'an and the Muslim tradition, without crucifixion.

God has not raised up a prophet from among the brethren of the Children of Israel except Muhammad.

Professor 'Abd al-Ahad Dawud (formerly Reverend David Benjamin Keldani) comments on Deuteronomy 18:18 by saying, "If these words do not apply to Muhammad, they still remain unfulfilled. Jesus himself never claimed to be the prophet alluded to. Even his disciples were of the same opinion: they looked to the second coming of Jesus for the fulfillment of the prophecy (Acts 3:17-24). So far it is undisputed that the first coming of Jesus was not the advent of the Prophet like unto thee and his second advent can hardly fulfill the words. Jesus, as is believed by his Church, will appear as a Judge and not as a law-giver; but the promised one has to come with a 'fiery law' in his right hand."(32)

Moreover and more important still, the above prophecy in Deuteronomy 18:18 clearly states that God says "I will put my words in his mouth", and this again referred to the unlettered Muhammad who was taught the Qur'an by God through the agency of the Archangel Gabriel. The Qur'an was but a Revelation sent down to Jim. It was put into his mouth and written in his heart and mind.

Thereafter, the Quran was written down on anything available -palm-leaves, skins, and even on shoulder-bones - and above all thousands of Muslims committed the Qur'an to their memory, until our own time. It is very important to note that according tc the verse under discussion, Prophet Muhammad came also to the Jews and they thus have to follow him.

This is supported by the following words :

"The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee, of the brethren, like unto me, unto him ye shall hearken."

(Deuteronomy 18: 15)

The next prophecy to deal with is Isaiah 21:6. where we read:

"For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman; let him declare what he seeth: And when he seeth a troop, horsemen in pairs, a troop of asses, a troop of camels, he shall hearken diligently with much heed. And he cried as a lion: O Lord, I stand continually upon the watchtower in the daytime, and I set in my ward whole nights: And, behold, here cometh a troop of men, horsemen in pairs. And he answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods are broken unto the ground. O thou my threshing, and the corn of my floor: that which I have heard from the Lord of hosts. the God of Israel, have I declared unto you."

The burden of Dumah.

"One calleth unto me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night? Ths watchman said, the morning cometh, and also th? night: if ye will inquire, inquire ye: turn ye, come."

The burden upon Arabia.

"In the forest of Arabia shall ye lodge. O yc traveling companies of Dedanites. Unto him that was thirsty they brought water: the inhabitants of the land of Tema did meet the fugitives with their bread. For they tied away from the swords, from the drawn sword, and from the bent bow, and from the grievousness of war."

In this passage there is more than one indication of the coming of Prophet Muhammad, and the place where he shall come, e.g., the rider on the camel in contrast with the rider on the donkey. This refers to Jesus and to Muhammad; none of the camel riders had ever proclaimed himself as a prophet or approached Medina where the Jews lived except Prophet Muhammad. Moreover, the birthplace of Prophet Muhammad and its surroundings are mentioned in the passage.

In the same book we find also prophecies about Kedar, the great ancestor of our prophet and the son of Ishmael (peace be upon them). The prophecy also alludes to the holy sites and to the prayers of the pilgrims and their glorification of God in Mecca and its surroundings. The prophecy also speaks of the decline of Babylon and the destruction of its gods, and this only happened after the rise of Islam.

It is very interesting to note in this context that there is a Jewish apocalypse of the mid 8th century called the Secrets of Rabbi Simon Bin Yohay, which tries to explain the Islamic conquest of Palestine in Jewish terms, and in the light of Jewish experience. The apocalypse speaks of the Ishmaelite kingdom saying: "Was it not enough, what the wicked kingdom of Edom did to us, but we must have the kingdom of Ishmael too? At once Metatron the prince of the countenance answered and said: Do not fear, son of man, for the Holy One, blessed be He, only brings the kingdom of Ishmael in order to save you from this wickedness.

He raises up over them a prophet according to His will and will conquer the land for them and they will come and restore it in greatness, and there will be great terror between them and the sons of Esau. Rabbi Simon answered and said: how do we know that they are our salvation? He answered: Did not the prophet Isaiah say thus: And he saw a troop with a pair of horsemen, etc.? Why did he put the troop of asses before the troop of camels, when he need only have said: A troop of camels and a troop of asses? But when he, the rider on the camel, goes forth, the kingdom will arise through the rider on an ass. Again: a troop of asses, since he rides on an ass, shows that they are the salvation of Israel, like the salvation of the rider on an ass." (33)

It is clear from this quotation that the Ishmaelite kingdom was recognized as the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies, and that the Jews found their deliverance at the hands of the Muslims, but the apocalypse also speaks of the Muslims as invaders, and of Prophet Muhammad as prophet only for the Arabs, not for the whole world, and we can perceive that the writer of this apocalypse is trying to say that the Islamic kingdom was intrinsically temporary, only a step towards the messianic age which the Jews expected. Apart from this, it is clear that the learned Jews accepted Prophet Muhammad as a fulfillment of the prophecy which they expected from their Holy Book. Of course, there are some Jewish sects who believe that Muhammad was a Prophet, but only for the Arabs; this idea is rather persistent among the Jews. But if anyone believes that Muhammad is a Prophet at all, he should be accepted as such without geographical limitations (34)

Having dealt with a few of the Old Testament references to Prophet Muhammad let us turn our attention to the New Testament. Of course, it

should suffice to rely on the Old Testament prophecies, since these are believed by both Jews and Christians. But it is interesting to note that

The New Testament also contains references to and prophecies of Prophet Muhammad.

New Testament prophecies concerning Muhammad

The first thing to capture our attention in the New Testament is that there are many passages referring to the coming of the Divine kingdom.

Even the word evangel or Gospel means the good news of the coming.

The preaching of good news is a substantial constituent of Jesus' teaching. Bearing this in mind, and reading in the Quran that Jesus foretold the coming of Muhammad by name, makes us reconsider these references in the Gospel to "good news which is to come".

First

Matthew 3: Iff. we read that John the Baptist said: "Repent; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." In the same Gospel (4:12-17) we are informed that when Jesus heard that John was in prison he began to repeat John's message, "Repent; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." In verse 23 Jesus was preaching the good news of the kingdom. In chapter 6 Jesus commanded the disciples to pray "Thy kingdom come." In chapter 10 he also commanded them to preach that "the kingdom of heaven is at hand." It is quite obvious here that Jesus followed the same line as John the Baptist in teaching that the kingdom of heaven is near; he also commanded his disciples and Apostles to preach its coming. Moreover, he told them to pray to God to hasten its coming.

This means that the subject matter of the above foretelling was not Jesus himself nor anyone or anything of his own time, nor was it something his power to accomplish, he would not have said that it was "at hand" or "near" using exactly the same words as John, his contemporary.

It is crystal clear from the above passages that both Jesus and John the Baptist foretold the coming of the kingdom of God, and prayed to God for its coming. In our view the kingdom of God means the Islamic kingdom, established, fostered and ruled by Prophet Muhammad. The Islamic kingdom is godly since it acknowledges no separation between so-called secularism and religion. In other words, the kingdom of God on earth is a religion, a powerful community of believers in one God, equipped with faith and forces or power to fight for its existence and absolute independence against the kingdom of darkness, against all those who oppose the will of God and misrepresent Him.

Here I would like to point out that Christians are in error concerning the concept of the kingdom of God spoken of by Jesus. Even the Apostolic writers failed to understand it, to the point that they avoided the usage of the terms "king" and "kingdom" of God in their writings.

The Christians are divided concerning the nature and position of that kingdom. Is it eschatological? Is it a spiritual or political organization? Is it national or universal? Is it the Church or the Christian community in general? Or is it the company of the newborn and sinless Christians washed and cleansed with the blood of the lamb of God, Jesus, as the Salvationists or Quakers believe? Does this kingdom exist in this world or in another? If it is in this world, did it ever manifest itself or is it still to come? Or will it, as some modern Christian theologians have fancied, emerge out of this world that we know after the world has developed under the Christian influence?

This is to illustrate how the Christians are in confusion about the concept and position of the kingdom of God and its function.

Finally

the kingdom of God must mean the Muslim Ummah, Community or Nation and Sovereignty. Jesus' annunciation of the kingdom of God to come should be understood in contrast with the ungodly pagan Romans. The Islamic kingdom is for all people and all people are equal in its domain.

As early as Ibn Ishaq (85-151 A. H.) the biographer of Prophet Muhammad, the Muslims identified the Paraclete - referred to in John's Gospel only three times (14:26; 15:26; 16:13) even though the concept is referred to a fourth time with the Prophet Muhammad. Ibn Ishaq refers to John 15:26, " But when the comforter (Paraclete) is come whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall bear witness of me."

And then he says: "The Munahhemana (God bless and preserve him) in Syriac is Muhammad in Greek; he is the Paraclete. " (35)

Ibn Hazm takes it for granted that the Paraclete referred to in John's Gospel (14:16), in which Jesus prayed to God "to give his followers another Paraclete that may be with them forever" is none other than Muhammad.

The phrase "another Paraclete" implies that Jesus himself was a Paraclete sent by God. This is to say that the Paraclete is not the Holy Spirit or the Spirit of God as the Christians wished it to be. The description and function given to the Paraclete in John's Gospel are characteristically of a prophet, not of the Holy Spirit. If this be so, Jesus was a prophet, just as he is called prophet once and again in the four gospels.

Here I would like to emphasize that the word "another" in Jesus' statement cannot in any way apply to the Holy Spirit, since there is one Holy Spirit only, not two or more. Thus it is out of context to say that Jesus asked God to send another Holy Spirit.

It is most important to point out that Jesus defined the activities of the coming Paraclete, a prophet, as being to teach his followers all things, to bring to their remembrance all that he said, and to bear witness of him.

By definition Prophet Muhammad was the only prophet to come after Jesus and bear witness of him. It has already been mentioned that Jesus is called in the Qur'an a word from God, a spirit from Him and prophet of God. Prophet Muhammad gave the exact and true picture of Jesus and has reminded the Christians of the real message that Jesus brought from God which they have forgotten. The Revelation given to Prophet Muhammad is called Dhikr and Tadhkirah, remembrance or an aid to help one recall to his mind the things which have been forgotten, Prophet Muhammad himself is also called Mudhakkir, reminder.(36)

God says:

{ This We recite to thee of signs and wise remembrance. Truly, the likeness of Jesus, in God's Sight, is as Adam's likeness; He created him of dust, then said He unto him, "Be", and he was. The truth is of God; be not of the doubters. }

(3: 58-60)

God says:

{ Taha. We have not sent down the Qur'an upon thee for thee to he unprosperous, but only as a reminder to him who fears, a Revelation from Him Who created the earth and the high heavens. }

(20: 1-4) God says:

{ What, do they not consider how the camels were created, how heaven was lifted up, how the mountains were hoisted, how the earth was outstretched? Then remind them! Thou art only a reminder; thou art not charged to oversee them. }

(88: 17-22)

God says:

{Recite what has been revealed to thee of the Book of thy Lord, no man can change His words. Apart from Him, thou wilt find no refuge. And restrain yourself with those who call upon their Lord at morning and evening desiring His countenance, and let not thine eyes turn away from them, desiring the adornment of the present life; and obey not him whose heart We have made neglectful of Our remembrance so that he follows his own lust, and his affair has become all excess. Say: The truth is from your Lord; so let whosoever will believe, and let whosoever will disbelieve. }

(18: 27-29)

God also says that those who do not follow His commandments pay no attention to His reminding Revelation:

{... Then whosoever follows My guidance shall not go astray, neither shall he be unprosperous, but whosoever turns away from

My remembrance, his shall be a life of narrowness, and on the Resurrection Day We shall raise him blind. He shall say: O my Lord, why hast thou raised me blind, and I was wont to see? God shall say: Even so it is. Our signs came unto thee, and thou didst forget them; and so today thou are forgotten. }

(20:123-126)

The Muslims believe that the Qur'an contains all things concerning life and afterlife. The Qur'an is the final word of God to man. Prophet Muhammad was indeed foretold in the preceding sacred books, specifically in the Injil,

Gospel, where Jesus proclaimed him by name as Ahmad. This admits no compromise.



Endnotes



28-Vol.1, p. 82.

29- See Ifham al-Yahud, p. 50.

30- Ibid, see also, Ibn Taymiyah, Al-Jawab As-Sahih, vol. 3, pp. 275 ff.

31- See Izhar al-Haqq, pp. 327 ff. and Ahmad Didat's booklet on Christianity.

32- See Muhammad in the Bible, (Sarawak, Angkalan Nahdtiatul Islam Beratu) pp. 156 f. and M. Cook.

33- Patricia Crone and M. Cook. Hagarism (London, 1985) p. 8.

34- Ibn Hazm, Al-Faisal, (Cairo, Subayh, 1964), vol. 1, p. 78.

35- Sirat Rasul Allah, p. 103.

36- See Qur'an, 3:58; 12:102; 16:44, 38:87; 20:3: 88;2L