Muhammad Foretold In The Old Testament

We will now look at another prophecy in the Bible, this one in the old testament, Deuteronomy, Chapter 18, Verse 18 & 19 :

" 18. I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put My words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.
19. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto My words which he shall speak in My name, I will require it of him. "
In the above verse, Allaah foretells Prophet Moses(pbuh) that He will raise a prophet, like unto him, LIKE MOSES, and in the subsequent verse gives a grave warning making it mandatory to follow the promised prophet, when he arrives.

" whosoever will not hearken unto My words which he shall speak in My name, I will require it of him. "

The Qur’aanic verse 46:10 mentions the above prophecy:

" Say: ' Do you see? whether this message be from Allaah, and yet you reject it, and a witness from among the Children of Israel bore witness of ONE LIKE HIM......'. "

Let us study the similarities between Moses (pbuh) and Muhammad (pbuh), which are not present in Jesus (pbuh). This comparison proves that Jesus is not like Moses (Jesus is unlike Moses) but Muhammad is like Moses and therefore, the prophecy of the Old Testament applies to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and not to Prophet Jesus (pbuh).

1. Parents: Moses had a father and a mother. Muhammad also had a father and a mother. But Jesus had only a mother. Therefore, Muhammad is like Moses and Jesus is not like Moses.
2. Marriage: Moses married and begot children. Muhammad also married and begot children. But Jesus remained a bachelor till he stayed on the earth. Therefore, Muhammad is like Moses and Jesus is not like Moses.
3. Acceptance by people: At the end, Moses was accepted by his people in his lifetime. Muhammad too was accepted by his people in his lifetime. But Jesus was not accepted by the Jews (to whom he was sent). Therefore, Muhammad is like Moses and Jesus is not like Moses.
4. New laws: Moses brought new laws for his people. Muhammad too brought new laws. But Jesus brought no new law but tried to implement what was already there. Therefore, Muhammad is like Moses and Jesus is not like Moses.
5. Death: Moses died a natural death. Muhammad too died a natural death. But Jesus was taken up unto the heaven. Therefore, Muhammad is like Moses and Jesus is not like Moses.
6. Name: Moses’ name begins with the sound of ‘M’ and Muhammad’s name also begins with the sound of ‘M’, be it in any language. That means the beginning letter of the names of these two prophets is phonetically same or homogenous in any language. On the other hand, Jesus’ name does not begin with ‘M’. Moreover, the name of Jesus(pbuh) is such that it begins in a phonetically heterogeneous manner in different languages. It begins in English with ‘J’ , an ‘Y’ in Tamil for Yesu, and with the sound of ‘EE’ for Eesa in Arabic and a different kind of ‘J’ in French with a ‘Zh’ sound. So, there is no question of Jesus’ name conforming with that of any other name, leave alone Moses’ .
The prophecy is fulfilled in favour of MUHAMMAD not only in respect of the LIKENESS OF MOSES, but in respect of every word contained in the above verses.

1. “ I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren” is fulfilled in the sense THE JEWS belong to the lineage of ISAAC (pbuh) and THE ARABS belong to the lineage of ISHMAEL (pbuh), who are both sons of the same father, ABRAHAM (PBUH). Thus, Muhammad (pbuh) is raised from among the brethren of Jews.
2. “and I will put My words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him”, is fulfilled in the manner of revelation through the Archangel Gabriel. Muhammad (pbuh), who is unlettered, is made to repeat the words that Allaah commands through the angel.
3. “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto My words which he shall speak in My name, I will require it of him.” is fulfilled as every chapter of the Qur’aan, the words of Allaah, begins with the words: “In the name of Allaah, the most beneficent, the most merciful.”
We have studied so far about the prophecy of the Old Testament, as to how it perfectly relates to Muhammad (pbuh). Now, we shall study the relationship of this prophecy with the prophecy of the New Testament which we have already studied in the previous article.

We have seen that the prophecy of John 16:13 indicates that the expected prophet will “not speak of his own will, but whatsoever he hears, shall he speak”, which, in essence, is what God attributes to the expected prophet in the Deuteronomy 18:18 prophecy as well, by saying: “I will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.”

Thus, there is a thread of a common attribute running between these two prophecies, which establishes the identity of the expected prophet. Both these prophecies indicate that the expected prophet will be unlettered.

Allaah commands Muhammad in Qur'aan: (7:158)

" Say ( O Muhammad) :
' O mankind ! Indeed I am messenger of Allaah unto you all;
(messenger of) Him unto Whom belongs the Sovereignty of the heavens and the earth.
There is no God except Him;
(it is) He (who) gives both life and death;
So believe in Allaah and His messenger, the unlettered prophet who believes in Allaah and His words;
and follow him; so that you may be guided. ' "
Thus, we have studied two prophecies from the bible, which unmistakably relate to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). These are sufficient proofs and reason for the possessors of the earlier books to embrace Islaam. The prophecies can not be taken lightly. The warning in Deuteronomy 18:19 is so stern that the Jews and the Christians would do well to take it seriously, and believe in the promised prophet (pbuh), now that he has come and has been unmistakably identified.

WHAT JESUS (PBUH) PREACHED AND WHO WAS HIS TARGET-AUDIENCE ?

Jesus (pbuh) throughout his life strove to establish what was already there in the Bible (Old Testament) and he did not bring a new set of laws. To this end, he preached untiringly and performed various miracles with the leave of Allaah, so that his people could be impressed and taken to the right path.

But sadly, Christian preachers hardly talk about the laws in the old testament, like the forbidden foods, prohibition of taking or giving of interest, adultery, idolatry, theft, etc. Instead Christian preaching today revolves round and round the personality of Jesus Christ(pbuh) and not around his teachings that were intended to purify their lives from sinning. Their saying that “Jesus' blood will cleanse you from all sins" amounts to an inducement to sinning.

Jesus’ mission was targeted for a limited people. As Jesus (pbuh) himself says: “ I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Matthew 15:24) and not for the entire world.

ISLAAM AND MUSLIMS IDENTIFIED IN THE BIBLE.

Having foretold the arrival of the Last Prophet and having told his people to look forward to the guidance of that prophet, Jesus (pbuh) gives more hints that identify Islaam and Muslims and most of his actions and speeches during his last days, (specially after the so-called ‘resurrection’), are supportive of Muhammad, Islaam and Muslims. And he even wants his followers/preachers to limit their activity to a specific geographical area till the prophet comes. This might seem surprising, but all of it is true.

This starts with his first pronouncement after the so-called resurrection, when Jesus(pbuh) says: “Peace be unto you.” (Luke 24:36). This is how the muslims greet each other, but in Arabic, “Assalaamu Alaikum”, anywhere between ten to hundred times a day.

“Peace” is one of the synonyms of the word “Islaam”. It is the name of the religion, and also means “surrender”. Thus, Jesus (pbuh) starts his post-"resurrection" life...... with the greeting that a Muslim uses whenever he encounters another: “Peace be unto you.” Jesus’(pbuh) later sayings, detailed below, which are supportive of certain things related to Islaam, prompts one to think that Jesus(pbuh) could have also meant the religion Islaam when he said: “Peace be unto you”, to mean “Islaam unto you.”

Now, let us listen to Jesus (pbuh), as to how he prophesies the muslim nation, just before his ascension unto heaven: The bible quotes Jesus (pbuh) having prophesied about the believers:

“ These signs shall follow the believers:
In My name shall they cast out devils,
they shall speak with new tongues.” (Mark 16:17)
Any reader of this verse may think that Jesus (pbuh) is prophesying that the believers shall cast out devils in Jesus’ name. But that is not the truth. This is a distorted statement of Jesus' saying that the believers shall cast out devils in God's name.

How can we say that ?

You would have seen the inscription of Biblical verses on the walls of the Christian hospitals and Churches. After the words that denote the Lord, the word "Jesus" would be found written, even if the verse is from the Old Testament.

One such inscription I saw is from Psalms 50:15 :
“ Call me (Jesus) in times of trouble and I will help you.”
The word “Jesus” in brackets, to explain the word “Me”, is clearly an unjustified interpolation meant to reinforce the wrong concept that Jesus (pbuh) is god.

Thus, the verse of Mark 16:17 should actually read:

“ These signs shall follow the believers: In The Lord's name shall they cast out devils, they shall speak with new tongues.”
As you would remember, I began this lecture with the sentences:

“ I seek refuge with Allaah, from satan the outcast” and
“ In the name of Allaah, the most beneficent, the most merciful.”
This, we Muslims recite as per the Qur’aanic injunctions whenever we recite Qur’aanic verses or whenever the satan whispers an evil thought in our minds, (ref. Qur’aan 16:98, 7:200 and 41:36), and we do it in the Arabic language, whatever be our mother-tongue, thus fulfilling the prophecy: " they shall speak with new tongues. "

WAIT IN JERUSALEM.....

And as to my other statement that Jesus (pbuh) wanted his followers to restrict their domain of activity to Jerusalem till Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) arrived, it is contained in verse 47 to 49 of Luke 24.

The instructions of Jesus (pbuh) to his disciples in the preceding verse (Mark 16:15) : “Go you into all the world, and preach the GOSPEL to every creature”, is to be seen in the above context. The gospel (good news) he wants them to preach to every creature is the gospel of the coming of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and his nation of believers who will cast out devils in the name of the God, speaking new tongue.

As distinct from the above instruction to go forth into all the world for preaching a limited gospel, he asks them to wait in Jerusalem till the arrival of Muhammad (pbuh), in order to be empowered to preach “repentance and remission” - the prerequisite for reform in Islaam - among all nations.

Let us study the verses from Luke 24: 47.

" 47. And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
48. And you are witnesses of these things.
49. And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: But tarry you in the City of Jerusalem, until you be endued with power from on high. "
“ tarry until you get power from on high” : Jesus’ parting advice, just before his ascension to heaven, would indeed constitute the most important advice for his followers.

Further elaboration of this advice is found in The Acts 1:5, 7 & 8:

" 5. For John truly baptized with water; but you shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
7. It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father has put in his own power.
8. But you shall receive power, after that the holy ghost is come upon you: and you shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Ju-dae'-a, and in Sa-ma-ria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. "
With the help of the above verses, we know that the condition imposed to stay in Jerusalem till they receive power is removed in the following manner and then they can be witnesses to Jesus(pbuh) both in Jerusalem and in the uttermost part of the earth :

first: " you shall receive power " ;
then: " after that the holy ghost is come upon you " ;
and: “ you shall be witnesses unto me unto the uttermost part of the earth, besides Jerusalem, Ju-dae’-a and Sa-ma-ria.”
The tidings “you shall receive power” can be attributed to the arrival/ birth of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and the prediction of the coming of holy ghost is to be taken as the bringing of the message and guidance to him by the holy ghost, Archangel Gabriel. Only after these things take place they were allowed to preach in other parts of the world, besides Jerusalem.

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is described in Qur’aan as the one “Mighty (Powerful), established in the presence of the Lord of the Throne.” (81:20) Thus the followers of Jesus Christ were ordained to restrict their preaching to Jerusalem, till the arrival of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), the one with power, “and after that the holy ghost is come upon you” which refers to the conferment of prophethood to Muhammad (pbuh), who was prophesied earlier to “guide you into all truth” in John 16:13, and then “you can be witness unto me all over the earth”.

The likeness of this in our daily life is: when you apply for a car-driving licence, the authorities first give you a learner’s licence for some period, say three months, restricting that you should not drive the vehicle beyond your locality, while you hold this licence. Then, after you get good practice you get a permanent driver’s licence and then you can drive the vehicle in all places.

When Jesus(pbuh) himself has said that

- HIS TARGET-AUDIENCE IS LIMITED, “ I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Matthew 15:24) NOT THE WHOLE WORLD,

- HIS MESSAGE IS INCOMPLETE, “I have yet many things to say unto you” (John 16:12)

- THE FINAL PROPHET WILL GUIDE YOU INTO ALL TRUTH, "When he, the spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth" (John 16:13)

naturally, his followers had to wait till they get the ‘power’ to go all over the world, till they know the many things Jesus(pbuh) had to say and till the spirit of truth guides them into all truth.

Now that the final prophet has come and he has guided you into all truth, accept his guidance and go you unto the uttermost part of the world, and be you witness to Jesus(pbuh), proclaim that he had already given you the glad tidings of the arrival of the last prophet ; and preach Islaam, which has repentance and remission of sins as its important features, ( avoiding the invented theory of ‘original sin’), among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You have indeed received the requisite power from on high.

The concordance to the verse of Mark 16:17 would have us believe that the signs of believers given therein “In my name shall they cast out devils and they shall speak with new tongues” already took place as described in the verses of Acts 2, given briefly below: After the ascension of Jesus (pbuh), in Jerusalem, there was a sudden sound and cloven tongues as of fire on pentecost day and everyone present was filled with holy ghost and they began to speak other tongues. Everyone was confounded because of this: people of different nationalities speaking in one tongue. They were all amazed, and were in doubt, wondering what is this. Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine. But Peter stands up and says they are not drunken but it is fulfillment of the prophecy spoken by prophet Joel, when God said: It shall come to pass in the last days, I will pour out of my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and daughters shall prophesy and your servants and handmaidens shall prophesy, etc. The prediction of Mark 16:17 can not be said to refer to such a weird and temporary phenomenon which one of the witnesses to the act attributed to new wine among the affected followers; but it is the phenomenon lasting since the days of Muhammad(pbuh) till today, in that the muslim believers speaking different languages cast out the devil in the name of Allaah, in a tongue new/foreign to them, that is, Arabic. Bible is precise in its prediction: “These signs shall follow the believers....”. It doesn’t say: “These signs will occur to the believers ...” but rather “FOLLOW”, wherever and whenever they are...... And, thus, you see the fulfillment: The sign follows the believers: They cast out the devil in His name and they speak with new tongue.

However, when some people said that the followers were affected by new wine, Peter says that it is not new wine but it is the fulfillment of a prediction in Joel 2 : 28 - 32, which foretells that in the last days everyone shall prophesy, including your slaves. But, again, that prophecy actually applies to the Muslim Ummah, the Muslim Nation, every member of which has been given the charge and responsibility of propagating the God’s word unto the people, which was hitherto a function of the prophets, because there will be no more prophets.

Allaah says in the Holy Qur’aan : 3:110. “You are the best community that has been raised up for mankind. You enjoin right conduct and forbid indecency; and you believe in Allaah.”

One of the foremost among the companions of Prophet Muhammad(pbuh) was Hazrat Bilaal. He was a black slave, but as per the tenets of Islaam, his being a slave or his belonging to the black race was not at all a hindrance in being among the foremost in the ranks of the prophet’s companions. Bilaal’s Adhaan (the call for prayers) was so sweet and effective that the Prophet was an ardent admirer of his Adhaan. Thus, a Muslim, irrespective of whether one is young or old, black or white, he is in charge of carrying out the work which the prophets used to do.

This is what the verses 28 and 29 of Joel 2 predict:

28. And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions.
29. And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.
Thus, we have so far seen how the bible and Jesus’ utterances have been supportive of and predicting about the rise of Muhammad (pbuh), and through him the belief Islaam and the believing nation of Muslims to which his followers are required to join. These constitute enough evidence for a heart inclined towards the truth. If anyone chooses to ignore the truth, after he recognises it, he himself is the loser.

In Qur'aan, Allaah has promised that Islaam will prevail over all religions. In Bible, too, Allaah has said:

And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto My words which he shall speak in My name, I will require it of him. " ( Deuteronomy, 18 : 19 )

It is better to voluntarily listen to what the prophet speaks in the God's name and follow him, rather than being forced by the Lord to follow His words.