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Muhammed in The Bible

Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid

category: Prophethood

source: Islam-QA.com

reads: 8257

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 prophet 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.

Blessings of Ishmael and Isaac

Was the first born son of Abraham (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:

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, Muhammed (Peace be Upon Him) , from the progeny 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 evidence that the Bible did in fact foretell the advent of Prophet Muhammed (Peace be Upon Him)?

Muhammed (Peace be Upon Him):

 

The Prophet Like Unto Moses

 

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 Muhammed. Both were given 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 overlooks not only the above similarities but other crucial ones as well (e.g. the natural birth, family life and death of Moses and Muhammed but no of Jesus, who was regarded by His followers as the Son of God and not exclusively a messenger of God, as Moses and Muhammed 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 Muhammed. 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 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 the prophet Muhammed.

Muhammed'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 Muhammed.

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.

The Qur'an Foretold in The Bible?

For twenty-three years, God’s word (the Qur’an) were truly put into Muhammed’s mouth. He was not the "author" of the Qur’an. The Qur’an was dictated to him by Angel Gabriel who asked Muhammed to simply repeat the words of the Qur’an as he heard them. These words were then committed to memory and to writing by those who hear them during Muhammed’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 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 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 Muhammed reflecting the state of tension and concentration he went through at the time of revelation. Another related point is that the Qur’an was revealed in piece-meals over a span of twenty-three years. It is interesting to compare this with Isaiah 28:10 which speaks of the same thing.

That Prophet - Paraclete - Muhammed

Up to the time of Jesus, the Israelites were still awaiting for 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 spoke of the " Paraclete" or comforter 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 Muhammed’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 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."

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