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6.10: Reference to Moses,
Jesus, and Muhammad (pbut) in that
order
"And this [is] the blessing, wherewith moses
the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his
death. And he said, The LORD came from Sinai, and rose up
from Seir unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran, and
he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand
[went] a fiery law for them."
Deuteronomy 33:1
Fig. 8 The succession of the prophets of God, like the
rising sun
This is a chronological succession of prophets which is
narrated through reference to location (see Fig. 8). This
prophesy is reported at the end of Deuteronomy in
association with the story of the death of prophet Moses
(pbuh). It was a blessing and glad tidings bestowed by
prophet Moses upon his followers just prior to his death. It
was designed to give his followers hope upon the occasion of
the passing of their prophet that God is not abandoning
them, rather, the best is yet to come, and He shall continue
to bless mankind with His guidance and His light.
Sinai is a reference to Moses (pbuh). It is an
obvious reference to mount Sinai where Moses (pbuh) received
his revelation (Exodus 19:20).
Seir is a reference to Jesus (pbuh). It is usually
associated with the chain of mountains West and South of the
Dead Sea extending through Jerusalem, and Bethlehem, the
birthplace of Jesus (pbuh). It was later extended to include
the mountains on the East side as well (Dictionary of the
Bible, John L. McKenzie, S.J., p. 783). However, Seir
is also identified with the Northern border of the tribal
territory of Judah and usually with Saris near Kesla
(Chesalon), barely nine miles West of these two cities (The
Eerdmans Bible Dictionary, by Allen C. Myers, pp. 921-922,
and The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, V4, p. 262)
Prophet Moses (pbuh) never in his lifetime entered
Palestine, and thus, this could not be a reference to
him.
As we have already seen in section 6.4, Paran is a
reference to the city of Makkah in the Arabian Peninsula.
The wilderness of Paran is where Abraham's wife Hagar and
his eldest son Ishmael settled (Genesis 21:21) in the
Arabian desert, specifically, Makkah. Makkah is, of course,
the capital of Islam in Arabia and the birthplace of
Mohammed (pbuh). Mount Paran is the chain of mountains in
that same region which the Arabs call the "Sarawat
mountains". Muhammad (pbuh) received his first revelation in
the cave of "Hira'a" located in these mountains (see Fig.
9). Jesus never in his life traveled to Paran. Mohammed,
however, was born there. He became the prophet of Islam
there. And it was the capital of the Islamic religion in
that day and this. No prophet of the Bible ever came from
the Arabian city of Paran (Makkah). Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)
is the only prophet of God who has ever fulfilled this
prophesy.
We also read in verse 33:2 that a fiery law shall issue
forth from the right hand of the prophet from Paran.
Muhammad (pbuh) did indeed come with a new law called the
Shari'ah. The reference to "right" hand is a reference to
strength, justice, and guidance. In Islam, all clean and
desirable actions are performed with the "right" hand
(eating, shaking hands, etc.), while all other actions are
done with the left hand (washing one's private parts,
picking up garbage, etc.). In the Qur'an, the good are
described on the Day of Judgment as receiving their book of
deeds in their "right" hands, while the wicked receive
theirs in their "left" hand. This can be seen for example in
Al-Haqah(69):13-37. This general attitude is also conveyed
in the Bible. We read:
"Biblical phrases referring to the right hand reflect
a widespread human cultural attitude, namely the recognition
that for most people the right hand is both stronger and
more adept than the left, and is the hand with which many
tasks are instinctively undertaken ... Eccl. 10:2 links 'a
wise man's heart' with his right hand, and 'a fool's heart'
with his left. When the Son of Man separates the sheep from
the goats at the Last Judgment, it is to the damned 'on the
left hand' that he says, 'Depart from me, ye cursed, into
everlasting fire' (Matt. 25:41) ...The right hand is often
mentioned as a symbol of strength, both for human beings and
anthropomophically for God (e.g. Job 40:14; Isa. 48:13)"
A Dictionary of Biblical Tradition In English Literature,
David Lyle Jeffrey, p. 442.
This fiery law that shall issue from the right hand of
the prophet from Paran will be a new law for the
children of Israel and not the same one they had been
practicing in the time of Moses (pbuh) and later. This is
held out by simple logic; if I already own something, then I
can not say that my neighbor shall bring "for me" this same
"something" which I already own. In such a case, he would
have "brought" nothing and it would have been more logical
to say he would "confirm" the preexistent law. No prophet of
the Bible ever in his lifetime either came from Paran or
preached the replacement of the law of Moses (pbuh). Even
Jesus (pbuh) came to confirm and reinforce the law of Moses
(Matthew 5:17-19), as explained in detail in chapter one.
Muhammad (pbuh) is the only prophet of God who fulfilled
both of these requirements.
However, if we look closely, we will find that the
prophesy contains one more requirement. It tells us that
this prophet from Paran who will bring a fiery new law shall
come with 10,000 saints. Once again, two years before the
death of prophet Muhammad (pbuh), in the year 630 AD, he
lead 10,000 of his followers to their final and decisive
victory against the pagans of Makkah (see chapter 10). This
was one of the most bloodless victories of all history. The
Muslims took control of Makkah, the capital of paganistic
Arabia, virtually without a single casualty. Upon entering
Makkah victorious, Muhammad did not take it's inhabitants as
prisoners. Even though these people had been torturing
himself and his companions, and killing many of them over
many years, still, Muhammad commanded that they not be
tortured, nor should retribution be sought against them.
Rather, he pardoned them all and set them free. Most of them
entered into Islam.
Once again, we find that prophet Moses (pbuh) was
appointed seventy very close and devout followers (Exodus
24:1-9, Numbers 11:16-25). Jesus (pbuh) was appointed eleven
very close and devout followers (if we were to exclude
Judas), as seen in Matthew 10:1-5, Mark 3:14-19, etc.
Prophet Muhammad, once again, was the only one to fulfill
this requirement. Mr. Kais Al-Kalbi asks the question:
"When this verse Deut 33:2 was translated from Hebrew
to English, the phrase '10,000 saints' was kept the
same. But when this verse was translated from Hebrew to
Arabic, the phrase '10,000 saints' was intentionally changed
to 'holy valley', why?"
Prophet Muhammad the last messenger in the Bible, third
edition, Kais Al-Kalbi, pp. 231-232.
The wording also bears out this chronological succession
of prophets. Came: daybreak and the arrival of the
sun in the morning. Rose up: like the light of dawn.
Shined forth: Mid-day sun which lights up the Earth
from East to West. Islam has indeed come to shine all over
the earth as the mid-day sun. It is estimated to have 1.2
billion adherents throughout the globe, and according to
Western sources, it is said to be the fastest growing
religion in the world today.
"This day have I (God) perfected your religion for
you, completed My favor upon you, and have chosen for you
Islam as your religion."
The noble Qur'an, Al-Maidah(5):3
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