6.7: Moses foretells of
Muhammad's coming
"I (God) will raise them up a Prophet from among their
brethren, like unto thee (moses), and will put my words in
his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall
command him."
Deuteronomy 18:18
There are many verses in the Old Testament that predict
the coming of Jesus (pbuh). This one, however, is not one of
them. This can be clearly seen from the following four
points:
a) Like unto moses
Muslims believe in all of the previous prophets. They
make no distinction between them, nor do they place one
above the others in piety. However, they are all human, and
as humans they differ from one another in their
characteristics. Let us compare these characteristics:
1) Both Christians and Muslims agree that both Moses and
Muhammad (pbut) had fathers and mothers. They both also
believe that Jesus (pbuh) had only a mother and no father.
Therefore, Muhammad is like Moses, but Jesus is unlike
Moses.
2) Both Moses and Muhammad (pbut) married and begat
children. Jesus (pbuh) never married nor had any offspring.
Therefore, Muhammad is like Moses, but Jesus is unlike
Moses.
3) Moses (pbuh) was accepted by the Jews and to this day,
as a nation, they accept him as their prophet.
Muhammad (pbuh) was accepted by his people, and as a
nation, over one billion Muslims around the world accept
him as the prophet of Allah. Jesus (pbuh), however, was
rejected by his people (the Jews) as stated in the
Christian's own Bible: "He (Jesus) came unto his own, but
his own received him not" (John 1:11) Therefore,
Muhammad is like Moses, but Jesus is unlike Moses.
4) Both Moses and Muhammad (pbut) were kings on Earth in
the sense that they had the ultimate power of government,
the power to inflict capital punishment. When the
Jews brought before Moses (pbuh) the Israelite who had been
caught collecting firewood on the Sabbath, Moses had him
stoned to death (Numbers 15:36). Muhammad (pbuh) had similar
authority. When a woman came before him confessing (with no
witnesses) to having committed adultery, he gave her a
chance to consider the severity of her claim and the
punishment she would receive. When she insisted, he ordered
her stoned to death and ordered his companions to respect
her for her sincere repentance. Jesus (pbuh), however,
explicitly refuted the claim that he had a kingdom on
earth. When he was dragged before the Roman Governor
Pontious Pilate with a charge of sedition he said: (John
18:36) "Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this
world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my
servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews:
but now is my kingdom not from hence." Jesus
(pbuh) would not resort to lying to save his skin. Thus, he
had no earthly kingdom. Further, in John 8:1-7 we read the
story of the woman who was taken in adultery by the Jews and
brought before Jesus (pbuh). They were hoping to trap him by
either having him contradict the laws of Moses (pbuh) by not
stoning her, or by placing him in a bad position with the
Roman empire by taking the law into his own hands and
ordering her stoned. Jesus cleverly extracted himself from
this predicament by commanding them: "He that is without
sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her." So
the woman was set free. Therefore, Muhammad is like
Moses, but Jesus is unlike Moses.
5) Both Moses and Muhammad (pbut) came with a new and
comprehensive set of laws for their people. The law brought
by prophet Moses was named the Judaic Law, and the law
brought by prophet Muhammad was named the Shari'ah. Jesus
(pbuh) however, as witnessed by Matthew, claimed to have not
introduced any new laws, but to have come to renew the law
of Moses (pbuh) and to have neither added nor subtracted
from it. In Matthew 5:17-18 we read: "Think not that I am
come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to
destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till
heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no
wise pass from the law, till all be
fulfilled." Therefore, Muhammad is like Moses,
but Jesus is unlike Moses.
6) Moses lead his people in a secret mass exodus from
their hometown to Median in an attempt to flee the
persecution of their enemies. Muhammad (pbut) too emigrated
with his followers from their home town to Madinah in secret
in order to flee the torture of their enemies. Jesus,
however, never led his followers in a any sort of mass
exodus from their hometowns . Therefore,
Muhammad is like Moses, but Jesus is unlike Moses.
7) Moses was victorious over his enemies both morally as
well as physically. Pharaoh was defeated by Moses and all of
his army were drowned in the sea. Muhammad (pbuh) too met
his enemies in battle and defeated them all. This too was a
moral as well as a physical victory. Jesus (pbuh) on the
other hand is claimed in the Bible to have been crucified by
his enemies. Thus, his victory was only a moral one.
Therefore, Muhammad is like Moses, but Jesus is unlike
Moses.
8) Both Moses and Muhammad (pbut) died natural deaths.
Jesus (pbuh), is claimed by the Christians to have died
violently on the cross. Therefore, Muhammad is
like Moses, but Jesus is unlike Moses.
9) Both Moses and Muhammad (pbut) lie buried in the
ground. Jesus (pbuh), however, is claimed by the Christians
to abide in heaven. Therefore, Muhammad is like Moses, but
Jesus is unlike Moses.
10) Most Christians claim that Jesus (pbuh) is God. No
Christian or Muslim, however, claims that Moses or Muhammad
(pbut) was God. Therefore, Muhammad is like Moses, but Jesus
is unlike Moses.
11) Both Moses and Muhammad (pbuh) began their prophetic
missions at the age of forty. The Bible tells us that Jesus
(pbuh) began at thirty. Therefore, Muhammad is like Moses,
but Jesus is unlike Moses.
12) Christians claim that Jesus (pbuh) was resurrected
after his death. Neither Muslims nor Christians claim that
Moses or Muhammad was resurrected. Therefore, Muhammad is
like Moses, but Jesus is unlike Moses.
There are many additional points that could be mentioned
but we will suffice with these for now.
b) Cannot be a Jew
Well, is Muhammad (pbuh) the only prophet who is "Like
unto Moses"? For example, what about Jesus (pbuh)? Well, we
should then notice that Jesus (pbuh) was a Jew,
"Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it
that thou (Jesus), being a Jew, askest drink of me,
which am a woman of Samaria?"
John 4:9
and the Bible specifically denies that this awaited
prophet will be a Jew. We are told that in Deuteronomy:
"And there arose NOT a prophet since in Israel
LIKE unto Moses."
Deuteronomy 34:10
This awaited prophet, however, must be "LIKE
unto thee (Moses)." So he will come from
OUTSIDE of Israel.
c) Is from the BRETHREN of the Jews
If this prophet can not be a Jew, then what is left? In
this verse, God speaks to Moses (pbuh) about the Jews as a
racial entity. The awaited prophet is claimed to not be
"from the Jews" or "from among themselves" but rather
"from among their (the Jew's) brethren." Who are the
brethren of the Jewish nation? The Jews are the sons Jacob,
the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham. Isaac's older brother
was Ishmael, the father of the Arabs. Thus, the brethren of
the Jewish nation is the nation of the Arabs. This statement
is further reinforced by the following definition of
"Brethren" in the Hebrew Dictionary of the Bible:
"personification of a group of tribes who were
regarded as near kinsmen of the Israelites."
Muhammad in the Bible, Jamal Badawi, p. 16
Please compare this expression with that of the
Qur'an:
"Indeed Allah has conferred a great favor upon the
believers (Muslims) when He sent among them a messenger
from among themselves, reciting unto them His verses,
purifying them and teaching them the Book and wisdom;
although before that they were in manifest error."
The noble Qur'an, Aal-Umran(3):164
There has come unto you (O Muslims) a messenger from
among yourselves (Muhammad, pbuh). It grieves him that you
should receive any injury or difficulty, full of concern for
you, for the believers [he is] full of pity, kind
and merciful.
The noble Qur'an, Al-Tawba(9):128
d) Put my words in his mouth
If we were to read the Qur'an we would find that it
contains many verses stating "I am your Lord, so worship
Me" (Al-Anbia: 92, Al-Muminoon: 52), "Verily, I am
Allah" (Taha: 14, Al-Namil: 9, Al-Qasas: 30), "I am
thy Lord" (Taha: 19). These verses are not preceded by
"I heard God say...," or "And God said...," or similar
statements which would be the words of a man transmitting
the words of God, rather, their form is that of the first
person who speaks of himself. Neither Muhammad (pbuh) nor
any Muslim ever claimed that Muhammad (pbuh) was God,
therefore, Muhammad (pbuh) was speaking with his mouth the
words of God. Similarly, we can find in the Qur'an more than
four hundred verses of the form "Say (O Muhammad)
: ..." In other words God Almighty is putting His
words into Muhammad's (pbuh) mouth and commanding him to
speak them.
We also find in the Qur'an verses which command Muhammad
(pbuh) to perform a certain action, such as the opening
verses of Al-Muzzamil(73), or which even go so far as to
reproach Muhammad (pbuh), such as the chapter of
Al-Tahreem(66) or the chapter of Abasa(80).
Christians claim that the Bible has many "authors," and
that while the "inspiration" is from God, still, the
words are those of mortal men.
Dr. W Graham Scroggie of the Moody Bible institute,
Chicago, says on page 17 of his book "It is human, yet
divine":
"...Yes, the Bible is human, although some out of zeal
which is not according to knowledge, have denied this. Those
books have passed through the minds of men, are written in
the language of men, were penned by the hands of men and
bear in their style the characteristics of men ..."
Kenneth Cragg, the Anglican Bishop of Jerusalem, says on
page 277 of his book, "The call of the minaret":
"... Not so the New testament ...There is condensation
and editing; there is choice reproduction and witness. The
Gospels have come through the mind of the church behind the
authors. They represent experience and history ..."
(Both quotes have been obtained from the books of Ahmed
Deedat)
The Qur'an, however, is the book of God in both word and
meaning. An example of this is a teacher who sends two
students to teach what they have learned from him. The first
is told to "teach them what I taught you." While the second
is given a textbook written by this teacher and told to read
verbatim from this book and say nothing of his own accord.
The first will convey the thoughts of the teacher. The
second will convey both his thoughts and his words.
Sir William Muir says:
"There is probably in the world no other book which
has remained twelve centuries (at the time of this quote)
with so pure a text"
Life of Muhammad from original sources, Sir William Muir,
Edinburough, J. Grant, p. xxii-xxiii
This matter becomes clearer when studying for example the
personal greetings and salutations of Paul and his friends
at the ends of Titus (3:15), 2 Timothy (4:19), 1
Thessalonians (5:26) ... etc. These words are not the word
of God but the personal greetings of Paul and his friends.
There are many such examples to be found in the Bible. The
Qur'an contains no such verses from Muhammad (pbuh). The
words of Muhammad (pbuh) are collected in a completely
separate reference from the Qur'an called "The Sunnah" (or
the "Hadeeth"). We notice from all this that even the Church
itself does not claim that the Bible is the actual word of
God, but His "inspiration" (his teachings) through the words
of men. The Qur'an, however, is the actual word of
God.
"And (remember) when Abraham and Ishmael were raising
the foundations of the House (the Ka'aba in Makkah),
[praying]: Our Lord! Accept from us [this
service]. Verily! You, [only You,] are the
Hearer, the Knower. Our Lord! And make us submissive unto
You and of our offspring a nation submissive unto You, and
show us our ways of worship, and relent toward us. Verily!
You, [only You,] are the Relenting, the Merciful.
Our Lord! And send among them a messenger from among them
who shall recite unto them Your verses, and shall instruct
them in the Book and in wisdom and shall purify them.
Verily! You, [only You,] are the Mighty, the Wise.
And who desires other than the path of Abraham except he who
befools himself? Truly, We chose him in this world, and
Verily! In the Hereafter he shall be among the righteous.
When his Lord said unto him: Surrender! (literally: 'Be a
Muslim!') he said: I have surrendered (Literally: 'I have
become a Muslim') to the Lord of creation."
The noble Qur'an, Al-Baqarah(2):127-131
e) Grave Warnings for all who do not follow
him:
So what shall we say to those who say: "Jesus has
redeemed us. We have no need to follow any future
prophets."? After the above verse of Deuteronomy, God
himself threatens severe retribution against all those who
do not follow this awaited prophet. In Deuteronomy we
read:
"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 some
translations: "I will be the Revenger")
Deuteronomy 18:19
Well, do Muslims read the word of God (The Qur'an) in His
name? The answer is: Yes. Muhammad (pbuh) never in his
lifetime claimed that the Qur'an was his words, but the
words of God it is only the West which claims that it is his
words. Further, when a Muslim reads a verse or chapter of
the Qur'an, you will find that they have been taught to
always start their recitation with the words: "In the
name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful." The Qur'an
contains 114 Chapters. If we were to follow them on down we
would find that the first chapter, second chapter, third
chapter, and so on all begin with the words "In the name
of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful." (there is one
exception). So not only Muhammad (pbuh), but all Muslims in
general recite the words of God in His name. Indeed, the
Qur'an does even confirm this same warning of
Deuteronomy:
"And whosoever seeks other than Islam as their
religion it will not be accepted from him, and he shall be
in the hereafter among those who have lost"
The noble Qur'an, A'al Umran(3):85
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