The Greatest Prophets between Christianity and Islam: 22-Prophet Muhammad

Muhammad is the last messenger and prophet

Muhammad is considered the last messenger and prophet bringing forward a revelation and a law on which a considerable number of people acts from the time Jesus was raised up to date and even until the end of the world.

Prophet Muhammad’s followers are currently the largest in number next to Christianity’s. His message is on the rise since his times and till the Judgment Day.

Though most Jews and Christians disbelieve in Prophet Muhammad, this has not affected the fact that his prophethood is established by virtue of all sacred scriptures including the Bible and the Qur’an.

Should Prophet Muhammad be Prophesied in the Bible?

As a rule, a prophet does not have to be mentioned by name or description in the previous scriptures. This applies to Prophet Muhammad and other prophets.

For example, neither the Old Testament nor the previous sacred texts indicate that Prophet Moses was mentioned by name or description in any of the previous scriptures. Similarly, the Old Testament does not make any unequivocal mention of Jesus either by name or description.

Moreover, the Bible, including the Old Testament and the New Testament, does not represent the Torah or the Injeel revealed to Moses and Jesus respectively. Rather, it involves unidentifiable interpolations from the words of man and omissions from the words of God.

The substantiation of the Bible distortion is beyond the scope of this article. However, there are numerous pieces of evidence for that in other articles on our website.

Suffice it to say that the Old Testament may not be believed in as the Torah given its transformation into a transcendental, discriminatory, racist book wrongfully promoting the superiority of the children of Israel over all other nations.

Likewise, the New Testament may not be believed in as the Injeel given its transformation into an anthology of polytheistic, pagan writings promoting the worship of false gods along with God in contradiction to all divine messages.

What does the Qur’an Say about Prophet Muhammad’s Mention in the Torah and the Injeel?

The Qur’an tells us that Prophet Muhammad was mentioned by name and description in the previous holy scriptures, namely the Torah and the Injeel. As for the Torah, the Qur’an confirms that Prophet Muhammad’s descriptions are given therein according to the following verse:

Those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered prophet, whom they find written in what they have of the Torah and the Gospel, who enjoins upon them what is right and forbids them what is wrong and makes lawful for them the good things and prohibits for them the evil and relieves them of their burden and the shackles which were upon them. So they who have believed in him, honored him, supported him and followed the light which was sent down with him – it is those who will be the successful. (Al-A`raf 7:157)

The Qur’an quotes Jesus as prophesying and mentioning Prophet Muhammad by name “Ahmad”. In the Qur’an, we read:

And [mention] when Jesus, the son of Mary, said, “O children of Israel, indeed I am the messenger of Allah to you confirming what came before me of the Torah and bringing good tidings of a messenger to come after me, whose name is Ahmad.” But when he came to them with clear evidences, they said, “This is obvious magic.” (As-Saff 61:6)

The Qur’an even tells us that the descriptions of Prophet Muhammad’s Companions were given in the previous scriptures, namely the Torah and the Injeel. We read:

Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah; and those with him are forceful against the disbelievers, merciful among themselves. You see them bowing and prostrating [in prayer], seeking bounty from Allah and [His] pleasure. Their mark is on their faces from the trace of prostration. That is their description in the Torah. And their description in the Gospel is as a plant which produces its offshoots and strengthens them so they grow firm and stand upon their stalks, delighting the sowers – so that Allah may enrage by them the disbelievers. Allah has promised those who believe and do righteous deeds among them forgiveness and a great reward. (Al-Fatah 47:29)

Biblical Prophecies about Prophet Muhammad

Though most prophecies about Prophet Muhammad and his Companions in the Torah and the Injeel are obliterated, we still find some prophecies in the Bible which apply to Prophet Muhammad presumably rather than emphatically given the fact that not all contents of the Bible can be verified as the words of God.

For example, about Muhammad’s prophethood, the New Testament tells us that in Jesus’ times people were awaiting a messiah and a prophet not to mention Elijah. That is why they asked John the Baptist if he was the prophet, and he replied in the negative. Maybe, there was a biblical prophecy about Prophet Muhammad for no prophet was sent from this time on except for him.

In the New Testament, we read: “And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent from Jerusalem priests and Levites to him, to ask him: Who art thou? And he confessed, and did not deny: and he confessed: I am not the Christ. And they asked him: What then? Art thou Elias? And he said: I am not. Art thou the prophet? And he answered: No. They said therefore unto him: Who art thou, that we may give an answer to them that sent us? What sayest thou of thyself? He said: I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Isaias. And they that were sent, were of the Pharisees. And they asked him, and said to him: Why then dost thou baptize, if thou be not Christ, nor Elias, nor the prophet?” (John 1:19-25)

About Prophet Muhammad’s illiteracy, we read as a likely prophecy in the Bible: “And the book is given unto him that cannot read, saying, Read this, I pray thee. And he shall say, I cannot read.” (Isaiah 29:12)

The above biblical verse may be identical to the following situation in the story of the beginning of revelation. Lady `A’ishah, the mother of the believers, reported that while Prophet Muhammad was in Hiraa’ Cave, the angel came to him and asked him to read. The Prophet replied, “I do not know how to read.” The Prophet added, “The angel caught me (forcefully) and pressed me so hard that I could not bear it any more. He then released me and again asked me to read and I replied, ‘I do not know how to read.’ Thereupon he caught me again and pressed me a second time till I could not bear it any more. He then released me and again asked me to read but again I replied, ‘I do not know how to read (or what shall I read)?’ Thereupon he caught me for the third time and pressed me, and then released me and said, ‘Read in the name of your Lord, who has created (all that exists), has created man from a clot. Read! And your Lord is the Most Generous.” (Al-`Alaq 96.1, 96.2, 96.3) (Al-Bukhari)

As a possible reference to enjoining what is right, forbidding what is wrong, making lawful the good things and prohibiting the evil ones by Prophet Muhammad, we read:

“The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, from thy brethren, like unto me. Unto Him ye shall hearken, according to all that thou desired of the LORD thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not.’ And the LORD said unto me: ‘They have well spoken that which they have spoken. I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren like unto thee, and will put My words in His mouth; and He shall speak unto them all that I shall command Him.” (Deuteronomy 18:15-18)

We also read:

“This is my servant; I strengthen him, this is my chosen one; I delight in him. I have put my Spirit on him; he will bring justice to the nations. He will not cry out or shout or make his voice heard in the streets. He will not break a bruised reed, and he will not put out a smoldering wick; he will faithfully bring justice. He will not grow weak or be discouraged until he has established justice on earth. The coasts and islands will wait for his instruction.” (Isaiah 42:1-4)

We further read:

Nevertheless, I am telling you the truth. It is for your benefit that I go away, because if I don’t go away the Counselor will not come to you. If I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world about sin, righteousness, and judgment: About sin, because they do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see me; and about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. “I still have many things to tell you, but you can’t bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth. For he will not speak on his own, but he will speak whatever he hears. He will also declare to you what is to come. (John 16:7-13)

As for relieving people of burdens and shackles, Prophet Muhammad might have been the stone which the Bible prophesied of its shattering of idols as a metaphor for fighting idolatry, breaking their yoke and spreading monotheism. About that, in the Bible, we read:

“Your Majesty, as you were watching, suddenly a colossal statue appeared. That statue, tall and dazzling, was standing in front of you, and its appearance was terrifying. The head of the statue was pure gold, its chest and arms were silver, its stomach and thighs were bronze, its legs were iron, and its feet were partly iron and partly fired clay. As you were watching, a stone broke off without a hand touching it, struck the statue on its feet of iron and fired clay, and crushed them. Then the iron, the fired clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were shattered and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors. The wind carried them away, and not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. This was the dream; now we will tell the king its interpretation.” (Daniel 2:31-36)

As for bringing glad tidings of a messenger called “Ahmad”, we do not find such glad tidings explicitly in the New Testament. This is quite expected. Since the clergymen in Christianity have divided God into three pieces or parts, known as “Holy Trinity”, is it strange that they obliterate Prophet Muhammad’s mention in the remaining sacred texts?

However, the words “Comforter” (paraklētos) and “Spirit of Truth” contained in the following verses may refer to Prophet Muhammad. We read:

“And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever even the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him. But ye know Him, for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you.” (John 14:16-18)

We also read:

But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of Truth who proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of Me. (John 15:26)

Did Jesus Say that There would be no Prophet after him?

Notwithstanding the foregoing, even though Jesus did not explicitly prophesy Prophet Muhammad in the current Bible, he did not negate his prophetic mission in particular or the mission of a prophet after him in general.

Rather, he just warned against such false prophets who would appear everywhere and every time and drew a distinction between them and the true prophets. About that, we read in the New Testament:

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire. Therefore, by their fruits ye shall know them.” (Matthew 7:15-20)

Prophet Muhammad in the Qur’an

There are verses in the Qur’an confirming Muhammad’s prophethood on the one hand and the divinity of the source of the Qur’an on the other hand.

The Qur’an emphasizes Prophet Muhammad’s mission as the final extension of those of the previous prophets and makes it obligatory to believe in those prophets and the scriptures sent down to them side by side with Prophet Muhammad and the Qur’an without discrimination. For example, we read:

The Messenger has believed in what was revealed to him from his Lord, and [so have] the believers. All of them have believed in Allah and His angels and His books and His messengers, [saying], “We make no distinction between any of His messengers.” And they say, “We hear and we obey. [We seek] Your forgiveness, our Lord, and to You is the [final] destination.” (Al-Baqarah 2:285)

The Qur’an does not involve deification or extolment of Prophet Muhammad just like the case in the Bible including the Old Testament and the New Testament.

We just find frequent reaffirmation of Muhammad’s prophethood. For example, we read:

Muhammad is not but a messenger. [Other] messengers have passed on before him. So if he was to die or be killed, would you turn back on your heels [to unbelief]? And he who turns back on his heels will never harm Allah at all; but Allah will reward the grateful. (Aal `Imran 3:144)

Prophet Muhammad’s mention in the Qur’an is usually associated with the assertion of the oneness of God, not to mention the reaffirmation of Muhammad’s prophethood and mission intended for all nations every time and everywhere since the time he was sent to humanity and until the Judgment Day. For example, we read:

Say, [O Muhammad], “O mankind, indeed I am the Messenger of Allah to you all, [from Him] to whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth. There is no deity except Him; He gives life and causes death.” So believe in Allah and His Messenger, the unlettered prophet, who believes in Allah and His words, and follow him that you may be guided. (Al-A`raf 7:158)

We also read:

And We sent not before you any messenger except that We revealed to him that, “There is no deity except Me, so worship Me.” (Al-Anbiya’ 21:25)

We find a clear-cut portrait of Prophet Muhammad without exaggeration or confusion. In the Qur’an, he is described, for example, as the messenger of God, the last of the prophets, witness, bearer of glad tidings, warner, caller to God, lamp spreading light and the unlettered prophet. For example, we read:

Muhammad is not the father of [any] one of your men, but [he is] the Messenger of Allah and last of the prophets. And ever is Allah, of all things, Knowing. (Al-Ahzab 33:40)

We also read:

O Prophet! Truly We have sent thee as a Witness, a Bearer of Glad Tidings, and Warner, And as one who invites to Allah’s (grace) by His leave, and as a lamp spreading light. (Al-Ahzab 33:45-46)

We further read:

It is He who has sent among the unlettered a Messenger from themselves reciting to them His verses and purifying them and teaching them the Book and wisdom – although they were before in clear error (Al-Jumua`h 62:2)

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