Abraham is widely regarded as 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
descendants of Abraham (Genesis 12:2-3). Such fulfillment is
wholeheartedly accepted by Muslims whose faith considers the belief in and
respect of all prophets an article of faith.
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” women such as Sarah, Isaac’s mother, or a “Bondwoman”
such as Hagar, Ishmael’s mother). This is only consistent with the moral
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?
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 Jesus, was
regarded by His followers as the Son of God and not exclusively a messenger of
God, as Moses and Muhammad were and as Muslims belief Jesus 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.
Isaiah 42:1-13 speaks of the beloved of God. His elect and messenger
who will bring down a law to be awaited in the isles and who “shall not fail not
be discouraged till he have set judgment on earth.” Verse 11, connects
that awaited one with the descendants of Ke’dar. Who is Ke’dar? According to
Genesis 25:13, Ke’dar was the second son of Ishmael, the ancestor of prophet
Muhammad.
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.
Indeed the incident of the migration of the prophet and his persecuted
followers is vividly described in Isaiah 21:13-17. That section foretold
as well abut the battle of Badr in which the few ill-armed faithful miraculously
defeated the “mighty” men of Ke’dar, who sought to destroy Islam and intimidate
their own folks who turned to Islam.
For twenty-three years, God’s words (the Qur’an) were truly put into
Muhammad’s mouth. He was not the “author” of the Qur’an. The Qur’an was
dictated to him by Angel Gabriel who asked Muhammad to simply repeat the
words of the Qur’an 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 Ishmaelites) 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 on who “shall not speak of himself,
but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak . . .” (John 16:13).
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. Anther related point is that the Qur’an 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.
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 1:19-21).
In the Gospel according to John (Chapters 14, 15, 16) Jesus spoke of
the “Paraclete” or comforter who will come after him, who will be sent by Father
as another Paraclete, who will teach new things which the contemporaries of
Jesus could not bear. While the Paraclete is described as the spirit of truth,
(whose meaning resemble Muhammad’s famous title Al-Amin, the
trustworthy), he is identified in one verse as the Holy Ghost (John 14:26).
Such a designation is however inconsistent with the profile of that Paraclete.
In the words of the Dictionary of the Bible, (Ed. J. Mackenzie) “ These
items, it must be admitted do not give an entirely coherent picture.”
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 “Paraclete”.
It was Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) who as 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 teachings will remain forever because he was the last messenger
of God, the only Universal Messenger to unite the whole of humanity under God
and on the path of PRESERVED truth. He told of many things to come which
“came to pass” in the minutest detail meeting, the criterion given by Moses to
distinguish between the true prophet and the false prophets (Deuteronomy
18:22). He did reprove the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment
(John 16:8-11).
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).
In Matthew 21:19-21, Jesus spoke of the fruitless fig tree (A
Biblical symbol of prophetic heritage) to be cleared after being given a last
chance of three years (the duration of Jesus’ ministry) to give fruit. In a
later verse in the same chapter, Jesus said: “Therefore, say I unto you, The
Kingdom of God shall be taken away from you, and given to a nation bringing
forth the fruit thereof” (Matthew 21:43). That nation of Ishmael’s
descendants (the rejected stone in Matthew 21:42) which was victorious
against all super-powers of its time as prophecied be Jesus: “And whosoever
shall fall on this stone shall be broken, but on whomsoever it shall fall, it
will grind him to powder” (Matthew 21:44).
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 together 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”!
One of the signs of the prophet to come from Paran (Mecca) is that he will
come with “ten thousands of saints” (Deuteronomy 33:2 KJV). That was the
number of faithful who accompanied Prophet Muhammad to Paran (Mecca) in
his victorious, bloodless return to his birthplace to destroy the remaining
symbols of idolatry in the Ka’bah.
Says God as quoted by Moses:
And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words
which shall speak in my name, I will require it of him. (Deuteronomy 18:19).
Dear Readers:
May the light of truth shine in your heart and mind. May it lead you to
peace and certitude in this life and eternal bliss in hereafter. (AMEEN)
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