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BIBLE PROPHECIES ABOUT THE ADVENT OF MUHAMMAD 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 blessings 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 1 2:2-3). Such Fulfillment is wholeheartedly accepted by Muslims whose faith considers the belief in and respects of all prophets an article of faith. BLESSINGS OF
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; 1) Genesis 12:2-3 speaks of God's promise to Abraham and his descendants before any child was born to him. 2) Genesis 17:4 reiterates God's promise after the birth of Ishmael and before the birth of Isaac. 3) 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. 4) 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. 5) The full legitimacy of Ishmael 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 Ishmael and his descendants be fulfilled. Less than 600 years after Jesus, came the last messenger of God, Muhammad, 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 Muhammad? MUHAMMAD:
Long time after Abraham, God's promise to send the long-awaited Messenger was repeated this time in Moses' words. In Deuteronomy 18:18, Moses spoke of the prophet to be sent by God who is: 1) 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". 2) A prophet like unto Moses. There were hardly any two prophets who
were so much alike as Moses and Muhammad. 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 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
THE AWAITED PROPHET WAS
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 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.
MUHAMMAD'S MIGRATION
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.
THE QURAN (KORAN)
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 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 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 lshmaelites) 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 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 1 6:13) 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 Quran 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
Up to the time of Jesus (peace be upon him), the Israelites were still
awaiting for 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: 1 9.2 1).
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 "Paraciete". It was Prophet Muhammad (peace 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 teacwill remain forever because he was the last messenger
of Cod, the only Universal Messenger to unite the whole of humanity under
God and on the path of
WAS THE SHIFT OF
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).
OUT OF
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 togethr consistently and clearly point
to the advent of the man who changed the course of human history, Prophet
Muhammad (peace 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"!
Says God as quoted by Moses:
Dear Readers:
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