Chapter 6: Muhammad in the
Bible
"Those who
follow the Messenger, the unlettered Prophet whom they find
written in the Torah and the Gospel with them. He enjoins
upon them that which is right and forbids for them that
which is evil. He makes lawful for them all things that are
good and prohibits for them all that is foul and he relieves
them from their burden and the fetters that they used to
wear. Then those who believe in him, honor him, assist him,
and follow the light which is sent down with him: they are
the successful"
The noble Qur'an, Al-A'araf(7):157.
"And when there came to them a messenger from Allah,
Confirming what was with them, a party of the people of the
book threw away the book of Allah behind their backs as if
(it had been something) they did not know"
The Qur'an, Al-Bakarah(2): 101
"And because of their breaking of their covenant, We
have cursed them and made hard their hearts. They change the
words from their places and they forget a portion
thereof"
The noble Qur'an, Al-Maida(4): 13.
Before starting this topic, let me first clear up a
common misconception. Many Christians require of all Muslims
to either accept all of the Bible or to reject all of the
Bible. Therefore, they sometimes find a Muslim's attitude
towards the Bible bewildering. For this reason, I will
explain how a Muslim is commanded to deal with the
Bible.
Muslims are told that Allah Almighty sent down an
"Injeel" upon Jesus (pbuh). The Qur'an then goes on to
describe how mankind later changed this "Injeel" and altered
it's original message to them. For this reason, Muhammad
(pbuh) told all Muslims to deal with the Bible with respect
since it started out as the true word of God. Muhammad
(pbuh) told his followers that if they were to reject the
whole book, then they might be rejecting words that remain
the true word of God. He told them that the Qur'an had been
sent down to "bear witness over" that which was changed by
mankind in the Bible and to return it to the original
teachings of God through it's own guardianship. We read this
in the Qur'an:
"And unto you (O Muhammad) have We revealed the
Scripture (Qur'an) with the truth, confirming that which was
before it of the Scripture, and a watcher/corrector over it.
So judge between them by that which Allah has revealed, and
follow not their desires away from the truth which has come
unto you.."
The noble Qur'an, Al-Maidah(5):48.
The actual word used in this verse was the Arabic word
"Muhaimin" which means
"Guardian/warden/overseer/watcher/protector." For this
reason, Muhammad (pbuh) commanded them to accept only that
which is verified by the Qur'an and to reject that which
contradicts the Qur'an.
Muslims have recorded that the "people of the book" at
the time of Muhammad (pbuh) had been expecting a new prophet
to be coming soon. There are many historical reports to this
effect. We are told that the Jews of Yathrib (Al-Madinah
Al-Munawarah) were constantly threatening it's Arab citizens
with his impending arrival and that they would follow him
and slaughter them in a similar manner as A'ad and Iram
where slaughtered, and this was one of the major reasons
that the Arabs of Yathrib followed Muhammad (pbuh) so
quickly. To beat the Jews to him. There are also other
similar stories, such as the story of Salman Al-Farisi, the
story of the monk Bahira, and the story of Al-Najashi, the
king of Ethiopia among many others.
There are many predictions of the coming of Jesus (pbuh)
in the Old Testament. Many Christians have even told us that
the Bible has predicted much of what has occurred after the
time of Jesus (pbuh) including the Pope and Israel. Unlike
the Jews, Muslims do not contest the claimed prophesies of
the coming of Jesus (pbuh) since the Qur'an commands them to
believe in him. We have also seen in the verse which was
presented at the very beginning of this chapter how the
Qur'an tells us that both the Torah of Moses as well as the
Injeel (Gospel) of Jesus both contain prophesies of Muhammad
However, if we ask the Christians whether they can find any
mention of Muhammad (pbuh) in the Bible, their immediate
response is an emphatic "No!" But if the Bible has predicted
all of these other things then we must ask: why does it have
absolutely nothing at all to say about the man who
single-handedly convinced many billions of people over the
ages to believe in the miraculous birth of Jesus (pbuh), his
message, the piety and chastity of his mother Mary (pbuh),
the miracles of Jesus (pbuh), and the fact that he was one
of the greatest messengers of God for all time?
There is not a single prophesy in the Old Testament that
mentions Jesus (pbuh) by name. Messiah, translated
"Christ" is not a name. It is a description, a title.
It means "the anointed one." Even "Jesus" is not Jesus' true
name. "Jesus" is a Latinized version of the Hebrew name
"Yeshua," which itself is the shortened form of "Yehoshua" -
God Saves. When the Christians claim that a verse professes
the coming of Jesus (pbuh) what they have done is to compare
the description found in that verse to Jesus (pbuh)
and if it fits him then they say that it speaks of him.
Using the Christian's same system we claim that there is
indeed not one, but more than TEN verses in the Bible that
speak of the coming of Muhammad (pbuh) as God's last
messenger, but that previous commentators have misunderstood
them (just as the Christians tell us that the Jews have done
with the Old Testament prophesies of Jesus, pbuh). The
reader will notice that in what is to follow the verses are
explained very simply, using the obvious meanings of the
words themselves without having to resort to forced abstract
and metaphysical meanings for these verses. These verses
speak about major events, locations, and milestones
in Islamic history as well as the characteristics of both
Islam and Muhammad (pbuh).
Now the prophesies:
"Those unto whom We gave the Scripture recognize him
(Muhammad) as they recognize their sons. But verily, a party
of them conceal the truth while [well] they know it"
The noble Qur'an, al-Baqarah(2):146
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