Muhammad: The Prophet Like unto Moses
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:
– From among the Israelite’s “brethren” a reference to their Ishmaelite cousins. Ishmael was the other son of Abraham who was explicitly promised to become a “great nation”.
– 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. And 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, who 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).
The Awaited Prophet Was to Come From Arabia
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 Makkah).
Indeed the King James version of the Bible mentions the pilgrims passing through the valley of Ba’ca (another name of Makkah) 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 nor 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.
Muhammad’s Migration from Makkah to Madinah: Prophesied in The Bible?
Habakkuk 3:3 speaks of God (God’s help) coming from Te’man. (This is an Oasis North of Madinah according to J. Hasting’s Dictionary of The Bible). It also mentions the holy one (coming) from Paran. That holy one who under persecution migrated from Paran (Makkah) to be received enthusiastically in Madinah 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 about the battle of Badr. In it the few ill-armed faithful miraculously defeated the “mighty” men of Ke’dar. They sought to destroy Islam and intimidate their own folks who turned to Islam.
The Quran Foretold in the Bible?
For twenty-three years, God’s words (The Quran) were truly put into Prophet Muhammad’s mouth. He was not the “author” of the Quran. The Quran was dictated to him by Angel Gabriel who asked Prophet Muhammad to simply repeat the words of the Quran 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 one 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.
Another related point is that the Quran 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.
That Prophet-Paraclete-Muhammad
Up to the time of Jesus (peace be upon him), the Israelites were still awaiting for that Prophet like unto Moses prophesied 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. He would 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.”
Paraclete: Man or Spirit?
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 Muhammed (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); and he dwells with the believers (through his well-preserved teachings).
Such teachings will remain forever because he was the last messenger of God. He was 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. This was 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)
Was the Shift of Religious Leadership Prophesied?
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 prophesied by 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)
Out of Context Coincidence?
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)?
And 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 (Makkah) 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 (Makkah) 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 Reader:
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
(From Discovering Islam archives)