The next point of
discussion also concerns the prophethood of Muhammad pbuh from Biblical
grounds.One of the commonly quoted, albeit
entirely incorrect, arguments made against the progeny of Ishmael becoming
prophets, or part of the covenant between God and Abraham pbuh, is the following
verse from Genesis 17:19-21
Then God said, "I will
bless Ishmael.But your wife Sarah will
have a son by you.And you will name him
Isaac.I will establish my covenant with
him. It will be a covenant that lasts forever. It will be for Isaac and for his
family after him.As for Ishmael, I have
heard you. You can be sure that I will bless him. I will give him
children.I will greatly increase his
numbers.He will be the father of 12 rulers.And I will make him into a great nation.But I will establish my covenant with
Isaac.By this time next year, Sarah
will have a son by you."
So one could then conclude
that the covenant, or agreement, between Abraham pbuh and God which amounts to the
lineage of prophets and guidance, will be only for Isaac.The poor son Ishmael, on the other hand,
would be made into a great nation, but had no share in the inheritance of
prophethood it seems.
Or so many would have you
think.The reality is that the above mentioned
verses are so entirely in contradiction with the remainder of Genesis 17, that
it is hard not to notice.Were verses
19-21 later additions or corrupted text?No one can say for sure, but let us look at the context of Genesis 17 to
see for ourselves below (emphasis mine).
Genesis 17
1 When Abram was
ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am God
Almighty; walk before me and be blameless.
2 I will confirm my
covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers."
3 Abram fell face down, and
God said to him,
4 "As for me, this is
my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations.
5 No longer will you be
called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many
nations.
6 I will make you very
fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you.
7 I will establish my
covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants
after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your
descendants after you.
8 The whole land of
Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting
possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God."
9 Then God said to Abraham,
"As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you
for the generations to come.
10 This is my
covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep:
Every male among you shall be circumcised.
11 And you shall be
circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be the sign of the
covenant between Me and you.
12 For the generations to
come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including
those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner—those who
are not your offspring.
13 Whether born in your
household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in
your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant.
14 Any uncircumcised
male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his
people; he has broken my covenant."
So let us now begin our
examination of these verses.
In verse 7, it states that
God said to Abraham pbuh: “I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant
between me and you and your descendants after you, for the generations to come,
to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.”
This verse states that all
of Abraham’s descendants, without making any exception for whom their
mother is, shall be part of the covenant.Another very significant point made in this verse is that the God of
Abraham is also the God of those that become part of the covenant.Once it is proven beyond the shadow of a doubt
that the community of Muhammad pbuh (the Muslims) is also part of this great
covenant, then there shall be no room left for those who try to say that the
God of Islam is different than the God of the Jews or the God of the
Christians.
The first evidence that the
people of Islam are indeed included, by virtue of Ishmael, in this covenant
comes in the next verse where God promises to Abraham that the land of Canaan
shall belong to the people of this covenant. It is further interesting to note
that this is a promise that was unconditional, and confirmed by God in the Bible
at least 55 times with an oath, and at least 12 times with a statement, to be
everlasting. Hence, in order to best understand this promise, one must know
exactly where is Canaan?Two different definitions
exist today*, with a) the first definition representing all the land between
the Nile River in Egypt and the Euphrates River in present day Iraq, and b) the
second representing what is today the borders of the Israeli and Palestinian
territories. No matter what definition is used though, it is important to know
that Canaan was always centred on Palestine.
* The lack of clarity as
regards the exact boundaries of Canaan is secondary to difficulty in
identifying some of the geographical reference points mentioned in the Old
Testament of the Bible.
Either way you look at it,
since the coming of Muhammad pbuh which is now approximately 1400 years ago, these
lands – whether you use definition (a) or (b) – have been under the control of
the Muslims for over 1200 of those 1400 years, orabout 85% of the time.So any unbiased reader would have to admit
that possessing the Holy Land, as it is often called, for over 1200 years is a
point that cannot be ignored.It is true
that other disbelieving nations did possess this land, but no nation has kept
it so long as have the Muslims, and they have imbued the whole territory with
prayer, fasting, charity, righteousness and contemplation of God’s words unlike
any before them.
The next evidence is represented
in verse 10 and 11: “This is my covenant with you and your descendants after
you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised.
And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be the
sign of the covenant between Me and you.”So this means that the sign of God’s people, or the people of the
covenant, is that their men are circumcised.So, was Ishmael circumcised?
In Genesis 17:23 we
read:“On that very day Abraham circumcised
his son Ishmael”.And later in verse 26
it reiterates the same point by saying, “Abraham and his son Ishmael were both
circumcised on that same day”.Furthermore, the Prophet Muhammad pbuh carried out this tradition and
instructed all Muslim boys to be circumcised.So once again, the Muslims are found to possess an attribute of the
covenant, whereas the very people who claim to be inheritors of this covenant,
the Christians, have left the command of circumcision!How could any reject, or try to get around,
this command when God had so clearly stated in verses 11 and 13 that this
covenant would be “in the flesh” and “forever to come”? As if to put an
exclamation point on the idea, there is also verse 14 which says:
Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the
flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.
So in summary, there is no
sound argument to be made for Ishmael, or the people of Muhammad, not being
part of this covenant since:
1)Ishmael is a descendant of Abraham pbuh, and Muhammad pbuh is in turn a
descendant of Ishmael,
2)The Muslims have been in possession of the land of Canaan for the
overwhelming majority of their history, and
3)Both Ishmael and all the Muslims are circumcised according to the
terms of the covenant.
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.
