by Dr. Ali Shehata
Prophecies of the Qur’an
There are numerous instances of prophecy found in the text of the Quran, but once again due to the introductory nature of this work, I will only select a few examples from both the Quran, and in the next section, from the Hadith.
1. The first prophecy to be discussed will focus on an event that was fulfilled during the life of the Prophet, namely the defeat of the Imperial Army of Persia by the Byzantine Roman army, after their initial defeat. God says in the surah entitled “The Romans” (surah 30), what is translated to mean:
In the name of God, the Merciful, the Gracious
2. The Romans have been defeated
3. In a land close by, and they, after their defeat will be victorious -
4. In less than ten years. With God is the Decision, in the past and in the Future. On that Day shall the Believers rejoice,
5. With the help of God. He helps whom He pleases, and He is the Mighty, the Merciful.
6. (This is) God's promise! God will not fail His promise, but most people do not know.
7. Most of them only consider the superficial dimensions of the present life, but of the hereafter they are absolutely heedless.
8. Do they not reflect within themselves? Indeed, God did not create the heavens and the earth and all that is between them except with truth, and for an appointed term. Yet truly many amongst mankind are disbelievers in the meeting with their Lord.
9. Do they not travel through the earth, and see what was the end of those before them? They were superior to them in strength. They tilled the soil and built upon it more than these have built. Their Messengers came to them with Clear Signs which they rejected to their own destruction. Indeed, it was not God Who was unjust to them, but they were the ones who wronged their own souls.
10. Then evil was the end of those who did evil, because they denied the Signs and revelations of God and used to mock them.
11. It is God Who begins the process of creation, then to Him you shall be brought back.
12. On the Day that the Hour will be established, the guilty will be struck dumb with despair.
13. There will be none to intercede for them from amongst those whom they (illegitimately) made equal with God. And they will reject their partners (whom they ascribed unto Him).
14. On the Day that the Hour will be established—that Day shall all humanity be sorted out.
15. Then as to those who believed and did righteous deeds, such shall be honored and made to enjoy a luxurious life in a Garden of Delight.
16. And as to those who disbelieved and rejected Our Signs and revelations, and rejected the meeting of the Hereafter; such will be brought to the ultimate doom.
17. Therefore give glory to God at the break of evening and in the early morning.
18. And to Him belongs praise in the heavens and the earth, and at nightfall and when you are at mid-day. {30:1-18}
These verses were revealed concerning the victory of Persia over the Byzantine Roman Imperial territories of Greater Syria, and most importantly the city of Jerusalem which was its capital at that time. Heraclius, the emperor of the Byzantine Roman Empire, was forced to flee to Constantinople (current day Istanbul) where he was besieged by the Persians for a lengthy period.
The pagans amongst the Arabs who opposed the Prophet Muhammad pbuh were pleased with the Persian victory over the Romans, because the Persians were pagans like them as well. On the other hand, the Muslims had hoped for a Roman victory, because the Romans were People of the Book (Christians).
When the results of the battle were made known to the Prophet, he said, “They will certainly prevail,” and when asked to specify a time period he replied, “In less than ten years,” as the verse states. Seven years later, the Romans were able to push back the Persians after this heavy loss, regaining what they had previously lost in the years before.
Why so special you might wonder? What’s the big deal, nations battle back and forth all the time. The unusual nature of this prophecy comes not only in its specification of a time period, but also due to the deplorable state of the Byzantine Empire at that time.
Heraclius became Caesar of the Byzantine, or eastern Roman, Empire in 610, inheriting an empire left in ruins by Justinian. At that time, the empire had been overrun by the Slavs and Avars in the Balkans, and by the Persians in Asia Minor. In 611, the Persians invaded Syria, taking Damascus in 613, and in 614 they captured Jerusalem. They pillaged the city, destroyed churches, including the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, and took the relic of the cross back to their lands.
Also in 614, the Slavs destroyed the administrative city of Salona. Only Constantinople, Thessalonica, and a few other cities on the Adriatic Sea remained under Byzantine control during this Slavic invasion. The Persians approached Constantinople from the east as the Avars and Slavs pushed down from the north. Heraclius himself was nearly killed by the Avars in 617. The Persians also continued their absolute domination of the Romans by assaulting Egypt, capturing Alexandria in 619.
In 619, the Emperor Heraclius countered this near destruction of his empire by forging a treaty with the Avars, offering them a sizeable tribute (essentially paying them off), so that he could strike the Persians. With the financial backing of the influential and wealthy Byzantine church, Heraclius marched east to gather his troops in the spring of 622. He at last succeeded in driving the Persian forces out of the former Roman territories of Asia Minor and Armenia.
This represents his first series of victories against the Persians, putting an end to their streak of triumphs against the Romans. It is also this string of Roman victories that was prophesied in the Quran, as it was the beginning of the end for Persian domination in the former Roman territories, and it occurred approximately seven to eight years after the loss of Jerusalem. Heraclius’ impressive final victory over the Persians, driving them totally out of Greater Syria and Jerusalem, came only five years later in 627 during the great battle of Ninevah.
2. Another amazing prediction was when the Prophet told his followers that they would be victorious over the people of Makkah, who at that time were their chief enemies. He saw himself making the minor pilgrimage in a vision and told his Companions about it. Knowing that the visions of a Prophet are like revelation and would come true, the believers prepared to go for the minor pilgrimage.
However, upon reaching the outskirts of Makkah, the Makkans stopped him at a place called Hudaybiya, and a peace treaty was concluded there after negotiations. Some articles of the Treaty were strongly objected to by the believers, and many wondered why they should return to Madinah without having performed the minor pilgrimage as they were upon the Truth and the pagans of Makkah were upon disbelief. Yet, the verses which were revealed following the conclusion of the Treaty described it as a clear victory, and gave the believers the decisive glad tidings of victory over the pagans of Makkah in the near future, which is as follows:
Certainly has God showed to His Messenger the vision in truth. You will surely enter the Sacred Mosque, if God wills, in safety, with your heads shaved, and [hair] shortened, not fearing [anyone]. He knew what you did not know and has arranged before that a conquest near [at hand]. He knew what you knew not, and He granted, besides this, a near victory. It is He who sent His Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth, to manifest it over all religion. And sufficient is God as Witness. {48:27–28}
One year later the Muslims were able to perform the minor pilgrimage fulfilling the vision of the Prophet, and the year after, that they conquered Makkah. Indeed, although there were only about fifteen hundred Muslim men at the time of the treaty of Hudaybiyah, two years later the Prophet was able to peacefully conquer Makkah with an army of ten thousand Muslim men, as the two years of peace allowed the Message to spread far and wide in the Arabian Peninsula.
3. Another interesting prediction comes concerning the Pharaoh of Egypt, who oppressed the Children of Israel. God sent Moses pbuh to him with the mission of inviting him to believe in the One God, and to permit the Israelites to leave Egypt with Moses pbuh. Pharaoh refused and the struggle between them continued for several years. However, one night Moses pbuh succeeded in marching towards the Red Sea with his people, but Pharaoh, becoming aware of his attempt and resolving to annihilate the Children of Israel once and for all, set out in hot pursuit.
When Moses reached the Red Sea, he touched it with his staff upon guidance from God, and a miraculous path opened through the sea allowing the Children of Israel to pass into safety. Pharaoh attempted to follow him, but was drowned with his legions. This story, thus far, is very familiar to both Jews and Christians as it is also reported in the Bible, yet what follows is an ending (and amazing prophecy) found only in the Quran:
And We took the Children of Israel across the sea, and Pharaoh and his soldiers pursued them in tyranny and enmity until, when drowning overtook him, he said, "I believe that there is no deity except that in whom the Children of Israel believe, and I am of those who submit." Now? And you had disobeyed [Him] before and were of the corrupters? So today We will save you in body that you may be to those who succeed you a sign. And indeed, many among the people, of Our signs, are heedless. {10:90-92}
In the mid twentieth century, scientists examined the bodies of the dead Pharaohs and Kings of Ancient Egypt that had been excavated and put out for display in the Cairo Museum. They were able to narrow down the body of the Pharaoh of Moses pbuh with certainty to two bodies housed in the Museum, one of which happened to have multiple fractures of the bones of the skull seen by x-ray and evidence of drowning from a detailed examination of his thoracic cavity, as might happen if a mountain of water crashed down upon him*. So once again the Quran comes forth with a prediction only realized in the past one hundred years!
* La Bible, le Coran et la Science: Les Écritures Saintes examinées à la lumière des connaissances modernes, Seghers 1976, (ISBN 978-2221501535), Pocket 2003, (ISBN 978-2266131032)
Before moving on to the next point, these days, many people sadly repeat the lie that any stories of ancient peoples found in the Quran were simply copied by Muhammad pbuh from the Bible. What makes this particular prophecy so interesting is the fact that it is nowhere to be found in today’s Bible, leaving us with one of two conclusions: a) either the Bible has been corrupted and this information used to be there in the past, but has now been lost, or b) that Muhammad pbuh is indeed the Prophet and Messenger of the One God who received revelation from Him, including details not revealed previously. You be the judge.
4. On the same note, the Qur'an describes the ruler of Egypt as "King" in the time of Joseph pbuh, whilst Moses pbuh addresses the ruler as "Pharaoh". This is a small, but telling, accuracy, for in the time of Joseph pbuh the rulers were from the Hykos Dynasty, and were Semites. They did not refer to themselves as "Pharaohs". This term was only used later by the native Egyptian dynasties that supplanted the Hykos Dynasty in the time of Moses pbuh. The Bible again proves inaccurate on this point referring to both as "Pharaoh". The Qur'an also correctly describes aspects of the ancient Egyptian religion, in particular the worship of Pharaoh as a god. These facts have only been realized in the twentieth century after extensive archaeological research, and hence, could only be known to Muhammad pbuh through revelation from the All-Knowing.
5. Another prophecy which has come to pass only in the past one hundred years is the re-establishment of the state of Israel. In the Quran, God states:
And We said unto the Children of Israel after him, “Disperse throughout the land, but when the promise of the Hereafter comes to pass We shall bring you together as a crowd gathered out of various nations.” {17:104}
Here it clearly mentions that after the splitting up of the Children of Israel, that God would gather them together from different nations, which accurately describes the continued migration of Jews from countries around the world to the state of Israel even till this day. Furthermore, in the beginning of surah 17, from which this prophecy is taken, there is also the prophecy that God will destroy the Children of Israel as a punishment for their continued disobedience and flaunting of His law. Thus whenever God gives the Children of Israel power in the land, they should be careful to live up to the laws and codes which He has given them and avoid violating them.
6. The last prophecy from the Quran that shall be discussed is that of the hostility among the different Christian sects that was prophesied to continue until the Day of Resurrection. God said:
And from those who call themselves Christians, We took their covenant, but they have abandoned a good part of the Message that was sent to them. So We planted amongst them enmity and hatred till the Day of Resurrection, and God will certainly inform them of what they used to do. {5:14}
The famous commentator and Quranic scholar Ibn Katheer said about this verse:
“So We planted amongst them enmity and hatred till the Day of Resurrection” means, “We sowed amongst them enmity and hatred of one another, and they will remain like that until the Hour begins.” Hence the Christian groups, no matter what their types, will continue to hate one another and denounce one another as disbelievers and curse one another. So each group forbids the others to come to its place of worship, and the Byzantines denounced the Jacobites as disbelievers, and the Nestorians denounced the Arians, and so on. Each group denounces the others as disbelievers in this world and will do so on the Day of Judgement.
And this is their reality till this day, as many Christians themselves have witnessed. This kind of prophecy in the Quran is a type that had the people involved wished, they could have changed their ways, and thus disprove the Quran. Yet, they do not and cannot change as a result of their abandonment of their covenant with God, and this is another sign of the truth and miraculous nature of the Quran.
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