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BIBLICAL PROPHECIESIbrāhim (Abraham, peace be upon him) is widely regarded as the Patriarch of monotheism and the common father of the Jews, Christians and Muslims. Through his second son, Ishāq (Isaac), came all Israelite prophets including such towering figures as Ya'qūb (Jacob), Yūsuf (Joseph), Mūsa (Moses), Dāwūd (David), Sulaimān (Solomon), and 'Īsa (Jesus), may peace and blessings be upon them all. The advent of these great prophets was in partial fulfillment of Allāh's (God's) promises to bless the nations of earth through the descendents of Abraham (Genesis 12:2-3). Muslims, whose creed considers the belief in and respect of all prophets an article of faith, wholeheartedly accept such fulfillment. BLESSINGS OF ISHMAEL AND ISAACWas the first born son of Abraham, Ismā'īl (Ishmael) and his descendants included in God's covenant and promise? A few verses from the Bible may help shed some light on this question:
After Jesus (peace be upon him), the last Israelite messenger and prophet, it
was time that God's promise to bless Ishmael and his descendants be fulfilled.
Less than 600 years after Jesus came the last messenger of Allāh, Muhammad ( MUHAMMAD (
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From among the Israelite's "brethren", a reference to their Ishmaelite cousins as Ishmael was the other son of Abraham who was explicitly promised to become a "great nation." |
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A prophet like unto Moses. There were hardly any two prophets who were so
much alike as Moses and Muhammad (peace be upon them). Both were given a
comprehensive law code of life, both encountered their enemies and were victors
in miraculous ways. Both were accepted as prophets/statesmen and both migrated
following conspiracies to assassinate them. Analogies between Moses and Jesus
overlook not only the above similarities but other crucial ones as well, for
example, the natural birth, family life and death of Moses and Muhammad ( ) but
not of Jesus, who was regarded by His followers as the Son of God and not
exclusively a messenger of God as Moses and Muhammad () were and as Muslims
believe Jesus was (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon them all). |
Deuteronomy 33:1-2 combines references to Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad (). It
speaks of God (i.e. God's revelation) coming from Sinai, rising from Seir
(probably the village of Sa'ir near Jerusalem) and shining forth from Paran.
According to Genesis 21:21, the wilderness of Paran was the place where Ishmael
settled (i.e. Arabia, specifically Makkah).
Indeed the King James Version of the Bible mentions the pilgrims passing through
the valley of Ba'ca (another name of Makkah) in Psalms 84:4-6.
Isaiah 42:1-13 speaks of the beloved of God. His elect and messenger who will
bring down a law to be awaited in the isles and who "shall not fail nor be
discouraged till he have set judgment on earth." Verse 11 connects that
awaited one with the descendants of Ke'dar. Who is Ke'dar? According to Genesis
25:13, Ke'dar was the second son of Ishmael, the ancestor of prophet Muhammad ().
) MIGRATION FROM MAKKAH TO MADĪNAH: Prophecied In The Bible?Habakkuk 3:3 speaks of God (God's help) coming from Te'man (an oasis north of
Madīnah, according to J. Hasting's Dictionary of the Bible) and the holy one
(coming) from Paran. That holy one who under persecution migrated from Paran
(Makkah) to be received enthusiastically in Madīnah was none but Prophet
Muhammad ().
Indeed, the incident of the migration of the prophet and his persecuted followers is vividly described in Isaiah 21:13-17. That section foretold as well about the battle of Badr in which the few ill-armed faithful miraculously defeated the "mighty" men of Ke'dar, who sought to destroy Islam and intimidate their own folks who turned to Islam.
For twenty-three years, Allāh's words (the Qur'ān) were truely put into
Muhammad's () mouth. He was not the "author" of the Qur'ān. The
Qur'ān was dictated to him by the Angel Gabriel who asked Muhammad () to
simply repeat the words of the Qur'ān as he heard them. These words were then
committed to memory and to writing by those who hear them during Muhammad's ()
life time and under his supervision.
Was it a coincidence that the prophet "like unto Moses" from the
"brethren" of the Israelites (i.e. from the Ishmaelites) was also
described as one in whose mouth God will put his words and that he will speak in
the name of God (Deuteronomy 18:18-20)? Was it also a coincidence the "Paraclete"
that Jesus (peace be upon him) foretold to come after Him was described as one
who "shall not speak of himself, but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall
he speak
" (John 16:13)?
Was it another coincidence that Isaiah ties between the messenger connected with
Ke'dar and a new song (a scripture in a new language) to be sang unto the Lord
(Isaiah 42:10-11)? More explicitly prophesies Isaiah, "For with stammering
lips, and another tongue, will he speak to this people" (Isaiah 28:11).
This latter verse correctly describes the "stammering lips" of Prophet
Muhammad () reflecting the state of tension and concentration he went through
at the time of revelation. Another related point is that the Qur'ān was
revealed piece-meal over a span of twenty-three years. It is interesting to
compare this with Isaiah 28:10 which speaks of the same thing.
)Up to the time of Jesus (peace be upon him) the Israelites were still awaiting that prophet like unto Moses prophesied in Deuteronomy 18:18. When John the Baptist came they asked him if he was Christ and he said, "No." They asked him if he was Elias and he said, "No." Then, in apparent reference to Deuteronomy 18:18, they asked him "Art thou that Prophet?" and he answered, "No." (John 1: 19-21)
In the Gospel according to John (Chapters 14, 15, 16), Jesus (peace be upon him)
spoke of the "Paraclete," or comforter, who will come after him, who
will be sent by the Father as another Paraclete, who will teach new things which
the contemporaries of Jesus could not bear. While the Paraclete is described as
the spirit of truth, (whose meaning resembles Muhammad's () famous title Al-Amīn,
the trustworthy), he is identified in one verse as the Holy Ghost (John 14:26).
Such a designation is, however, inconsistent with the profile of that Paraclete.
In the words of the Dictionary of the Bible, (Ed. J. Mackenzie) "These
items, it must be admitted, do not give an entirely coherent picture."
Indeed, history tells us that many early Christians understood the Paraclete to be a man and not a spirit. This might explain the followers who responded to some who claimed, without meeting the criteria stipulated by Jesus, to be the awaited "Paraclete."
It was Prophet Muhammad () who was the Paraclete. Comforter, helper,
admonisher, sent by God after Jesus. He testified of Jesus, taught new things,
which could not be borne at Jesus' time. He spoke what he heard (revelation), he
dwells with the believers (through his well-preserved teachings). Such teachings
will remain forever because he was the last messenger of Allāh, the only
Universal Messenger to unite the whole of humanity under God and on the path of
PRESERVED truth. He told of many things to come which "came to pass"
in the minutest detail, meeting the criterion given by Moses (peace be upon him)
to distinguish between the true prophet and the false prophets (Deuteronomy
18:22). He did reprove the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment (John
16:8-11).
Following the rejection of the last Israelite prophet, Jesus (peace be upon him), it was about time that God's promise to make Ishmael a great nation be fulfilled (Genesis 21:13, 18).
In Matthew 21:19-21, Jesus spoke of the fruitless fig tree (a Biblical symbol of prophetic heritage) to be cleared after being given a last chance of three years (the duration of Jesus' ministry) to give fruit. In a later verse in the same chapter, Jesus (peace be upon him) said:
"Therefore, say I unto you, the Kingdom of God shall be taken away from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruit thereof" (Matthew 21:43). That nation of Ishmael's descendants (the rejected stone in Matthew 21:42) which was victorious against all super-powers of its time as prophesied by Jesus: "And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken, but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder" (Matthew 21:44).
Is it possible that the numerous prophecies cited here are all individual and
combined-out-of-context misinterpretations? Is the opposite true, that such
infrequently studied verses fit together consistently and clearly point to the
advent of the man who changed the course of human history, Prophet Muhammad
(peace and blessings be upon him)? Is it reasonable to conclude that all these
prophecies, appearing in different books of the Bible and spoken by various
prophets at different times were all coincidence? If this is so here is another
strange "coincidence"!
One of the signs of the prophet to come from Paran (Makkah) is that he will come
with "ten thousands of saints" (Deuteronomy 33:2). That was exactly
the number of faithful who accompanied Prophet Muhammad () to Paran (Makkah) in
his victorious, bloodless return to his birthplace to destroy the remaining
symbols of idolatry in the Ka'bah.
Says Allāh, as quoted by Moses (peace be upon him):
And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words, which
he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him. (Deuteronomy 18:19)
May the light of truth shine in your heart and mind. May it lead you to peace and certitude in this life and eternal bliss in the Hereafter.
Ameen
Connecticut Council of Masajid
P.O. Box 4456, Hamden, CT 06514
info@ccminc.faithweb.com
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Muhammad in the Bible