by Dr. Ali Shehata
Was Muhammad Prophesied In Other Scriptures?
This question doesn’t require too much research, as the answer is clearly found in the Quran. God, in mentioning the characteristics of the true believers, states what can be translated to mean:
Those who follow the Messenger,
the Prophet who can neither read nor write,
whom they will find described in the Torah and the Gospel.
He will enjoin on them that which is right and
forbid them that which is wrong.
He will make lawful for them all good things
and prohibit for them only the foul;
and he will relieve them of their burden
and the iron chains that they used to wear.
Those who believe in him, and honor him, and help him,
and follow the light which is sent down with him,
Indeed, they are the successful. {7:157}
So here, the Quran states what many Jewish and Christian readers may find difficult to believe. God is telling us that Muhammad, the Prophet pbuh who can neither read nor write, has been already mentioned in both the Jewish and Christian scriptures.
“But, I’ve been reading the Bible all my life, and I never read anything about Muhammad,” some of you might be thinking. But, God doesn’t lie, and the description of Muhammad pbuh is there, but many readers of the Bible have unfortunately failed to notice this because their interpretation of the Bible is so heavily influenced by others.
The Nature of Prophecy in the Bible
The famous author and Biblical scholar, Ahmad Deedat, reminded his readers of a very important aspect concerning Biblical prophecy when he asked the following question, “Where is Jesus mentioned in the Old Testament?”
Most Christians would now say that Jesus is mentioned in countless parts of the Old Testament. But, oddly enough, if you tried to find the name Jesus in the Old Testament you would be looking for a really long time – because it’s not there. What is there though, is the description of Jesus.
Looking through Isaiah and Jeremiah, you can find many descriptions which only the Messiah could fit. And this is how we can conclude that he was prophesied, and thus accept him as one of the Messengers of God. So, why then should we accept anything different concerning Muhammad pbuh? What we should be looking, for instead of his name, is his description – a description that only Muhammad pbuh could fit.
Once again, it needs to be made clear that a number of the subjects that are being presented in this book are the subject of entire books elsewhere. This issue is no different. There are several books discussing the issue of Muhammad pbuh in the Bible, and here, I will only give a summary of the strongest and most comprehensive arguments.
The Prophet of Deuteronomy
One of the strongest, and most compelling, arguments revolves around the words of Deuteronomy 18:15-22. Traditionally, these verses have been used as a reference to Jesus, but the following analysis will provide clear evidence that this prophecy refers only to Muhammad pbuh. The other notable aspect of this Biblical verse is the conclusion it draws concerning the believers’ responsibility concerning this Prophet, and the dire consequences of rejecting or denying him.
Deuteronomy Chapter 18:
15 The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him.
16 For this is what you asked of the LORD your God at Horeb, on the day of the assembly when you said, "Let us not hear the voice of the LORD our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die."
17 The LORD said to me, "What they say is good.
18 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.
19 If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to account.
20 But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death."
21 You may say to yourselves, "How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the LORD?"
22 If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.
So from the above verses, we can conclude the following about this promised Prophet.
1. He is like Moses.
2. He will emerge from the brethren of the Israelites.
3. God will put His words into this Prophet’s mouth.
4. This Prophet will tell them everything which God commands.
5. Whoever rejects this Prophet will be taken to account by God, meaning such a person will be punished.
A review of all current day commentaries on the Bible (from the Christian perspective) state that this prophesied prophet is a reference to Jesus Christ. This, though, is absolutely incompatible with the some of the aforementioned characteristics, as well as other verses from the New Testament, as will now be documented.
1. Much has been written in other books concerning the similarity of Muhammad pbuh and Moses pbuh. A summary of these points will be given here and the reader will be left to research further if they are interested.
Both Moses pbuh and Muhammad pbuh had normal human births, normal human deaths, received their first revelations from God while atop a mountain, led their respective communities on a migratory journey, received a legal as well as spiritual revelation, fought their enemies in war, and returned to their birthplaces victorious over their enemies. Moreover, both Moses pbuh and Muhammad pbuh were separated from their parents in infancy, both were married, both had children, and both became prophets in their middle age.
Jesus Christ pbuh, on the other hand, cannot be said to be like anyone, as he was entirely unlike any other prophet. In fact, the correct translation of John 3:16 (see the Chapter on Jesus for a more detailed discussion) calls Jesus “unique”. Jesus’ birth was immaculate and unique in history, comparable only to that of Adam adam who was born without mother or father. He is the only prophet to have been lifted up into heaven without death, so as to return in the distant future; often known as the “second coming”. Furthermore, he was a young man as he lectured to the Children of Israel, and was a prophet of God before ever reaching middle age, which he will only attain in his second coming. He never married, never fought wars, never received legal revelations (only spiritual), and never achieved victory over his enemies in his life. So not only is Jesus very unlike Moses, but Jesus is very unlike anyone from amongst the prophets of God!
2. Another potential problem, depending much on interpretation, with declaring Jesus pbuh to be the prophet in question comes from the next characteristic of “the Prophet”; that he shall be from the brethren of the Israelites. In trying to formulate an understanding of who exactly are the brethren of the Jews, we look back into Genesis. The Bible refers to the Israelites as the brethren of the Ishmaelites:
“… and he [Ishmael] will live to the east of all his brethren.” [NIV, Genesis 16:12]
And this of course is rather logical when you consider it. Abraham pbuh had two sons, Ishmael pbuh and Isaac pbuh. Thus they were brothers and furthermore, their children would be considered like brethren to one another. Had the Prophet being prophesied been from the descendants of Isaac pbuh, as Jesus pbuh was, then it would have been stated, “I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among themselves”. Thus, the brethren in question here are the children of Ishmael, from which Muhammad pbuh was directly descended.
3. Next, concerning the phrase, that the words of God were “put into his mouth,” we find an interesting parallel in the Quran. In the Quran, God states what may be translated to mean:
He (Muhammad) does not speak of his own desire, it is no less than a revelation sent down to him. {53:3-4}
Moreover, even a cursory review of the Quran will reveal many verses which command Muhammad pbuh in such terms as Qul (say), Thakkir (remind), Nabbi’ (inform), etc. In other cases, someone would come to the Prophet Muhammad pbuh and ask a question, and often a verse would be revealed with a pattern similar to the following verse (They ask you … say to them):
They ask you about intoxicants and games of chance (gambling).
Say to them, “In both of them there is a great sin and some benefit for men,
but their sin is far greater than any benefit.”
And they ask you as to what they should spend.
Say to them, “Whatever you can spare.”
Thus, does God make clear to you His verses so that you may ponder. {2:219}
Yet, other passages in the Quran start with such expressions as “wa qala Rabbukum” (and your Lord has said ...). All in all, numerous verses from the Quran are thus “scripted” to a degree for the Prophet Muhammad pbuh so that He commands and transmits God’s exact words, hence God quite literally put His words “into the mouth” of His Prophet.
4. It is interesting to note that 113 out of the 114 surahs (chapters) of the Qur’an start with the opening statement, “In the name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Gracious”. In fact, the very first revelation to the Prophet Muhammad reads:
Read in the name of your Lord who created ... {96:1}
Following the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad pbuh, there is no other religious community who starts almost every action in their daily lives with this formula, “In the Name of God”.
It should be reiterated here that the Arabic term “Allah” is the Arabic equivalent of “God”. To say, “In the Name of God,” before all religious, and even non-religious, acts is a great fulfillment of the prophecy found in Deuteronomy 18:19, “... he shall speak in My name.” [NIV]
Before moving onwards to the last point though, a few comments should be made. In all fairness and honesty, it is possible to interpret some of the statements from the verse in Deuteronomy as applying to Jesus pbuh which led to some confusion regarding his identity, both during his lifetime and afterwards. The following section from John, chapter 7, highlights this confusion as to Jesus’ identity amongst the lay people of his time (emphasis mine):
40. Some in the crowd who heard these words said, "This is truly the Prophet."
41. Others said, "This is the Messiah." But others said, "The Messiah will not come from Galilee, will he?
42. Does not scripture say that the Messiah will be of David's family and come from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?"
43. So a division occurred in the crowd because of him.
Why were they confused? One reason is because the passage from Deuteronomy at first glance could potentially apply to Jesus pbuh. “Like unto Moses,” has been interpreted by Christians to mean that Jesus pbuh was like Moses pbuh in his preaching to the Children of Israel and his powerful miracles. Being amongst the brethren of the Israelites also could mean from amongst the Israelites since they were twelve tribes and the lineage of Jesus pbuh and Moses pbuh comes from two separate tribes who were “brethren” to one another. And of course, all prophets of God shall speak in His name and say what He commands to them to say, in one way or another.
So how then can we know the identity the Prophet? There are three pieces of information taken directly from the Bible that can make us certain. Firstly and most logically, the people were waiting for two separate people to come; one was the Messiah and one was the Prophet. Notice how no one said to Jesus pbuh at any point that he was both the Messiah and the Prophet. Even the above quoted lines from John show that the people were unsure as to whether Jesus pbuh was either the Prophet or the Messiah. No one indicated or thought that they could be the same person. Jesus pbuh was of course a prophet, but the Prophet was a separate person. This same point can be understood from the questioning of John the Baptist by the Jewish priests (Saducees and Pharisees) that shall be mentioned below.
Secondly, there are numerous instances where Jesus pbuh declares himself to be the Messiah (the word Christ being the Greek word for Messiah). In fact, he even directly asks the disciples who they think he is, and Peter correctly replies that Jesus pbuh is the Messiah. Yet no where does Jesus pbuh claim to be the Prophet.
The last evidence, though, lays aside all doubt for those who are sincere, and that comes from John 7:52 wherein Nicodemus, who would later become a disciple, is reminded clearly by the other Jewish priests (as is recorded in the oldest Bible manuscripts):
… Look into it, you will find that the Prophet does not come out of Galilee.
Undoubtedly, some people will continue to try to come up with false arguments to throw doubt into this otherwise clear matter, and for this reason other evidences will be presented below. But, a serious question here has to be considered, and that is the final point from Deuteronomy.
5. Each reader must now carefully consider the serious matter of how the threat of God’s punishment is attached to the denial of this prophet! Those who deny him shall be taken to account by God as mentioned in Deuteronomy. And indeed the Prophet Muhammad pbuh himself stated,
Whoever hears about me from amongst the Jews and Christians and then denies me shall take his place in the Hell-fire. [Muslim]
Other Evidences from the Bible – the Questioning of John the Baptist
For those Christian readers who wish to understand this matter better, there is further compelling evidence. The additional evidence from the New Testament, which clearly demonstrates that Muhammad pbuh is the fulfillment of this very prophecy, is also taken from the gospel according to John.
John 1:
19 The Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask John who he was. John gave witness to them.
20 He did not try to hide the truth. He spoke to them openly. He said, "I am not the Christ."
21 They asked him, "Then who are you? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet we've been expecting?" they asked. "No," he answered.
To understand these statements, the reader must know that when John the Baptist began baptizing people, the Jewish priests and scholars came to inquire as to his identity. The Jewish scholars have always been known for their strong knowledge of the revelations and the prophecies, and so they were expecting three separate people: Elijah (his return), the Messiah, and the Prophet (the one mentioned in Deuteronomy and examined above). They summarize this when they say:
Some Pharisees who had been sent asked him, "If you are not the Christ, why are you baptizing people? Why are you doing that if you aren't Elijah or the Prophet we've been expecting?" [NIV, John 1:24, 25]
So before moving on to the central issue, who then was the Elijah that these priests were asking about? This question is later answered when Jesus pbuh, speaking to his disciples, said:
If you are willing to accept it, John is the Elijah who was supposed to come. [NIV, Matthew 11:14]
So, if John the Baptist represents Elijah. The next question would be, who is the Messiah? And this can easily be answered, without a second thought, as no one challenges that Jesus pbuh was the Messiah. So the only issue that remains then is, who was the awaited Prophet whom the Pharisees ask about? Modern day Christian theologists will say that this too is for Jesus, but how can that be so?
The Jewish scholars and priests were clearly asking about the three distinct people, as they had understood the prophecies to indicate that only three prophetic figures remained. Had Jesus pbuh been both the Messiah and the Prophet, then the priests would have asked something like, “Then who are you? Are you the Messiah and the awaited Prophet?” But instead, they clearly asked about two different people. Hence, Muhammad pbuh is the Prophet whom the Israelite priests were awaiting, and this fact should now be evidently clear to those who are truthful and sincere.
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