Bible prophecies about the advent of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)
Abraham is widely regarded as the Patriarch of monotheism and the common father of the Jews, Christians and Muslims. Through his second son, Isaac, came all Israelite prophets, including such towering figures as Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, Solomon and Jesus. May peace and blessing be upon them all. The advent of these great prophets was in partial fulfillment of God’s promises to bless the nations of earth through the descendents of Abraham (Genesis 12:2-3). Such fulfillment is wholeheartedly accepted by Muslims whose faith considers the belief in and respect of all prophets an article of faith.
BLESSING OF ISHMAEL AND ISAAC
Was the first born son of Abraham (Ishmael) and his descendants icluded in God’s covenant and promise? A few verses from the Bible may help shed some light on this question :
Genesis 12:2-3 speaks of God’s promise to Abraham and his descendants before any child was born to him.
Genesis 17:4 reiterates God’s promise after the birth of Ishmael and before the birth of Isaac.
In Genesis, ch.21. Isaac is specifically blessed but Ishmael was also specifically blessed and promised by God to become “a great nation” especially in Genesis 21:13, 18.
According to Deuteronomy 21:15-17 the traditional rights and privileges of the first born son are not to be affected by the social status of his mother (being a ‘free’ woman such as Sarah, Isaac’s mother, or a “Bondwoman” such as Hagar, Ishmael’s mother). This is only consistent with the moral and humanitarian principles of all revealed faiths.
The full legitimacy of Ismael as Abraham’s son and “seed” and the full legitimacy of his mother, Hagar, as Abraham’s wife are clearly stated in Genesis 21:13 and 16:3.
After Jesus, the last Israelite messenger and prophet, it was time that God’s promise to bless Ismael and his descendants be fulfilled. Less than 600 years after Jesus, came the last messenger of God, Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) , from the progency of Abraham through Ishmael. God’s blessing of both of the main branches of Abraham’s family tree was now fulfilled. But are there additional corroborating evidences that the Bible did in fact foretell the advent of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)?
MUHAMMAD (peace and blessings be upon him):
The Prophet Like Unto Moses
A long time after Abraham, God’s promise to send the long-awaited Messenger was repeated, this time in Moses’ word.
In Deuteronomy 18:18, Moses spoke of the prophet to be sent by God who is :
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”.
A prophet like unto Moses. There were hardly any two prophets who were so much alike as Moses and Muhammad. 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 (e.g. 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 Muslim belief Jesus was).
THE AWAITED PROPHET WAS TO COME FROM ARABIA
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 wilder-ness of Paran was the place where Ishmael settled (i.e. Arabia, specifically Mecca).
Indeed the King James version of the Bible mentions the pilgrims passing through the valley of Ba’ca (another name of Mecca) 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 judgement 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 the prophet Muhammad.
MUHAMMAD’S MIGRATION FROM MECCA TO MEDINA : PROPHECIED IN THE BIBLE?
Habakkuk 3:3 speaks of God (God’s help) coming from Te’man (an Oasis North of Medina 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 (Mecca) to be received enthusiastically in Medina was none but Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).
Indeed the incident of the migration of the Prophet and his persecuted followers is vividly described in Isaiah 21:13-17. that section forerold as well about the battel of Badr in which the few ill-armed faithfull miraculously defeated the “mighty” men of Ke’dar, who sought to destroy Islam and intimidate their own folks who turned to Islam.
THE QURAN (KORAN) FORETOLD IN THE BIBLE?
For twenty-three years, God’s words (the Quran) were truly put into Muhammad’s mouth. He was not the “author” of the Quran. The Quran was dictated to him by Angel Gabriel who asked Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) to simply repeat the words of the Quran as he heard them. These words were then committed to memory and to writing by those who heard 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., (Duteronomy 18:18-20). Was it also a coincidence that the “Paraclete” that Jesus 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 sung 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 Quran was revealed in piece-meal over a span of twenty-three years. It is interisting to compare this with Isaiah 28:10 which speaks of the same thing.
THAT PROPHET – PARACLETE – MUHAMMAD
Up to the time of Jesus, the Israelites were still awaiting that Prophet like unto Moses prophecied 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 spoke of the “ Paraclete” or comporter who will come after him, who will be sent by 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 resemble Muhammad’s famous title Al-Amin, the trustworthy), he is identified in one verse as the Holy Ghost (John 14:26). Such a designation is however incosistent 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 followings who responded to some who claimed, without meeting the criteria stipulated by Jesus, to be the awaited “Paraclete”.
It was Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) 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 God, 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 to distinguish between the true prophet and the false prophets (Deuteronomy 18:22). He did reprove the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgement (John 16:8-11).
WAS THE SHIFT OF RELIGIUS LEADERSHIP PROPHECIED?
Following the rejection of the last Israelite prophet, Jesus, 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 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 prophecied 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).
OUT OF CONTEXT COINCIDENCE?
Is it possible that the numerous prophecies cited here are all individually 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 coinsidence? If this is so, here is another strange “coincidence”!
One of the signs of the Prophet to come from Paran (Mecca) is that he will come with “ten thousands of saints” (Deuteronomy 33:2 KJV). That was the number of faithful who accompanied Prophet Muhammad to Paran (Mecca) in his victorious, bloodless return to his birthplace, to destroy the remaining symbols of idolatry in the Ka’bah.
Says God as quoted by Moses :
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).
Dear Readers:
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.
Allaah says in His Book (interpretation of the meaning):
“And (remember) when ‘Eesa (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary), said: ‘O Children of Israel! I am the Messenger of Allaah unto you, confirming the Tawraat [(Torah) which came] before me, and giving glad tidings of a Messenger to come after me, whose name shall be Ahmad.’ But when he (Ahmad, i.e. Muhammad) came to them with clear proofs, they said: ‘This is plain magic’”
[al-Saff 61:6]
“Those who follow the Messenger, the Prophet who can neither read nor write (i.e. Muhammad) whom they find written with them in the Tawraat (Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel)— he commands them for Al-Ma‘roof (i.e. Islamic Monotheism and all that Islam has ordained); and forbids them from Al-Munkar (i.e. disbelief, polytheism of all kinds, and all that Islam has forbidden); he allows them as lawful At-Tayyibaat (i.e. all good and lawful as regards things, deeds, beliefs, persons and foods), and prohibits them as unlawful Al-Khabaa’ith (i.e. all evil and unlawful as regards things, deeds, beliefs, persons and foods), he releases them from their heavy burdens (of Allaah’s Covenant with the children of Israel), and from the fetters (bindings) that were upon them. So those who believe in him (Muhammad), honour him, help him, and follow the light (the Qur’aan) which has been sent down with him, it is they who will be successful”
[al-A’raaf 7:157]
These two verses indicate that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is mentioned in the Torah and the Gospel (the Bible), no matter how much the Jews and Christians claim that he is not, for the word of Allaah is the best and most truthful of words.
Some of the things mentioned in the previous Books are as follows:
1 – In the Torah, in the Book of Deuteronomy 18:18-19 it says:
“I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him.
If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to account.”
(New International Version)
This text is still extant among them. With regard to the phrase “from among their brothers” – if that prophet were to be from among the Children of Israel, it would have said, “I will raise up for them a prophet from among them.” But it says “from among their brothers” – i.e., from among the sons of Ismaa’eel (Ishamel).
Secondly, it says in the Gospel of John 16:6-8, 12-13:
“It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor [Paraclete] will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin…
I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.”
(New International Version)
This cannot apply to anyone except the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).
Secondly:
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: It says in the Torah, in the fifth book [Deuteronomy 33:2]:
“The LORD came from Sinai and dawned over them from Seir; he shone forth from Mount Paran. He came with myriads of holy ones from the south, from his mountain slopes [or: from his right hand went a fiery law for them].”
(New International Version; alternative version of last phrase – the meaning of which is unclear in the original Hebrew texts – is from the King James Version)
This refers to the three Prophethoods: the Prophethood of Moosa (Moses), the Prophethood of ‘Eesa (Jesus) and the Prophethood of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). “Coming from Sinai” refers to the mountain where Allaah spoke to Moosa and called him and told him he was a Prophet. “Dawning over them from Seir” refers to the appearance of the Messiah from Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem). Seir is a village that is still known there to this day. So this was a foretelling of the Prophethood of the Messiah.
“Paran” refers to Makkah. Allaah likens the Prophethood of Moosa to the coming of the dawn, and the Prophethood of the Messiah after him to the rising of the sun, and the Prophethood of the Seal of the Prophets to the sun rising high in the sky and its light reaching all over the earth. And it came to pass exactly as foretold, for Allaah dispelled the night of disbelief with the Prophethood of Moosa, and the light increased with the Prophethood of the Messiah, and was completed and reached everywhere on earth with the Prophethood of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). These three Prophets who were mentioned in this foretelling were also mentioned in the beginning of Soorat al-Teen (interpretation of the meaning):
“By the fig, and the olive.
By Mount Sinai.
By this city of security (Makkah)”
[al-Teen 95:1-3]
End quote. See Hidaayat al-Hayaara, p. 110; and Ibn al-Qayyim’s comments on the Old Testament, Deuteronomy 33:1.
Fourthly:
Shaykh ‘Abd al-Majeed al-Zandaani said in his book al-Bishaaraat bi Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) fi’l-Kutub al-Samawiyyah al-Saabiqah that in the 22nd chapter of the Gospel of Barnabas it says:
“And this will continue until there comes Muhammad the Messenger of God who, when he comes, will expose this deceit to those who believe in the laws of God.”
And it says in the Book of Isaiah:
“I have made your name Muhammad O Muhammad, O beloved of the Lord, your name will abide forever.”
And it says in the Book of Isaiah:
“What I have given to him I will not give to anyone else: Ahmad, because he praises God and this praise comes from the best part of the earth, and this will bring joy to mankind and they will recite the word of divine unity on every hill and glorify God in every high place.”
Many scholars have mentioned the places in the Bible where the name of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is mentioned. Sometimes his name is mentioned clearly, and sometimes he is described in ways that can only apply to him (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).
You should note that the books of the Bible as they exist today have been altered and changed. This fact has been stated by non-Muslim historians, but despite all that we still find in the Bible the foretelling of the coming of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). Shaykh Rahmat-Allaah al-Hindi stated that every time the Christians were able to change something they did so, hence you will find that some of the ancient scholars quote passages from the Bible that no longer exist. But there are still other passages that foretell the Prophethood of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and his coming.
It should be noted that we have to arm ourselves with adequate sound knowledge in order to debate with the Christians, because even if they have no proof, they will still try to sow the seeds of doubt in people’s hearts so that they will give in to these wrong ideas and so that the truth will be concealed. “But Allaah will bring His Light to perfection even though the disbelievers hate (it)” [al-Saff 61:8 – interpretation of the meaning].
Some of the most useful books on this topic are: Izhaar al-Haqq by Shaykh Rahmat-Allaah al-Hindi; Kitaab Hidaayat al-Hayaara by Ibn Al-Qayyim; and al-Jawaab al-Saheeh by Ibn Taymiyyah. And Allaah knows best.