THE TIDINGS OF THE PROPHETS REGARDING
MUHAMMAD
In the previouschapters
we discussed that the grand messages of the prophets invited mankind towards the Universal Religion called Islam; which means submission and surrender to the commands of the Creator, Allah.
Islam, which guided humanity in its stages of development and promises salvation in the hereafter.
Islam which was preached by such great prophets as Abraham, Moses, Jesus (peace be upon them) and several others, scattered across the face of the earth, reached its climax with its final and most scientific message, the Holy Qur'an, which was revealed to its greatest Prophet, Muhammad (s.a.w
.). This last final call or set of legislations was to supersede all previous messages, since it is the most advanced version, equipped toserve mankind
and its scientific and technological progress till Doomsday. In otherwords
the previous messages were preparatory steps and paving measures to groom mankind intellectually for the great task of shouldering this perfect message, and believing sincerely in it.
Therefore
it was natural for the carriers of previous messages, Moses and Jesus (a.s
.), to direct their followers to await this great revelation, and whole-heartedly accept its invitation by believing in the Seal Of the prophets, Muhammad (s.a.w
).as
after him neither there will be a messenger nor a message. The sacredscriptures which
contained many passages, indicating the coming of this great Prophet, exhorted their followers to await the auspicious event and gather under Muhammad's (s.a.w
.) banner when he appears. Despite the havoc wrought on the Torah and the Gospel by the rabbis and the priests, fragments remained in these very books, heralding the great Reformer. The Jews eagerly awaited the coming of a prophet promised by God to deliver and guidemankind.
They even wrote books describing the signs of his appearance. Jews living in 'Yathreb
' and other parts of Arabia and constantly embroiled with the idol worshipping pagan Arab tribes ofAws
and theKhazraj
,
used to declare that as soon as the promised one will appear in this very land, he will put an end to the evil practices of these Arabs.
The following verses of the holy Qur'an beautifully describe these facts:
"And certainlyWe
gave Moses the Book (Torah) and after him We sent (many) apostles one after another, and We gave Jesus, son of Mary, clear proofs (of Allah's sovereignty) and we strengthened him with the holy spirit (angel Gabriel).What!
whenever
then an apostle came to you with that (teachings) which your souls did not desire, you were insolent, so you called some (apostles) liars and some (apostles) you slew.And
they (Jews) say: Our hearts are covered. Nay, Allah has cursed themon account
of their unbelief; so little it is that they believe. And when there came to them a Book (Qur'an) from Allah, verifying that which they have (Torah), although before that they used to pray for victory over those who disbelieved, but when there came to them that (Prophet) which they did recognize, (to be the truth) they disbelieved in him; so Allah's curse is on the unbelievers."
Sura
Baqara
(2:87-89)
The events which were foretold to the Jews in their books and which they were awaiting as manifest signs of the great Reformer's appearance did take place before the coming of Muhammad (s.a.w
.), a fact towards which the Qur'an points:
".... although before that they used to pray for victory over those who disbelieved, but when there came to them that (Prophet) which they did recognize (to be the truth) they disbelieved in him...".
Sura
Baqara
(2:89)
Commenting on the revelation of the above verse, the Prophet's cousin, AbdullahIbn
Abbas
who was a renowned exegete says: The Jews used to invoke Allah, in the name of the awaited Prophet (before declaration of Muhammad's (s.a.w
.)prophethood
) against the Arab tribes ofAws
andKhazraj
.
But
when Allah commanded Muhammad (s.a.w
.) to publicly announce hisprophethood
they disbelieved in him and went back on their words; on the pretext that he was not from the Israelites but was an Arab and thus they shamelessly denied what they used to say in his praise.
Upon this, three of the Arabs;Muadh
ibn
Jubail
,Bishr
ibn
Bara andDawud
ibn
Salamah
, who had renouncedidolatory
and accepted Islam, reminded them in the following words: "O Jews; Fear Allah and accept Islam; because you yourself used to pray for victory over us by the right of Muhammad (s.a.w
.), while we wereidolators
, remember you used to praise him and foretell hisprophethood
and describe his attributes to us" To this Salamibn
Mushkim
; the Jew, replied that Muhammad (s.a.w
) brought nothing to them they knew and he is not the prophet, which they were telling about.
To refute these Jewish denials the above verse was revealed.
Al-Aiyashi
, in his famous exegesis on the holy Qur'an has recorded ImamJa'afar
As-Sadeq's
(a.s
.) narration to AbuBasir
. The Imam says that the Jews had been informed in their books, that the migration (Hejira
) route of the last Prophet would pass through somewhere between the places called 'Ayr
' and 'Ohud
'.in
the Hejaz.
Keen to locate the place the Jews migrated to the Hejaz to await the eventual coming of the last Reformer.
Passing along MountHadad
, they thought it rhymed perfectly with the predictedOhud
and they dispersed along the valley, making settlements in 'Taima
', 'Fadak
'
and 'Khaiber
'. After some time a group ofTaima
Jews longing to see their brethren, hired the services of a Bedouin and his camels, who promised to show them the predicted lands, calledAyr
andOhud
. When the party reached the city ofYathreb
(Medina)
the Bedouin told them that this isAyr
and that isOhud
. Immediately the Jews dismounted and informed the Bedouinthat they no longer required either his services or his camels, because they had reached their avowed goal and intend to settle there
. They wrote to their brethren inFadak
andKhaiber
about their discovery of the promised place and invited them to join them inYathreb
. TheKhaiber
andFadak
Jews, as they had grown roots in those places showed reluctance in deserting their settlements,but however
assured theYathreb
Jews, that since it is in close proximity to their places, when it happens (the appearance of the awaited Prophet), they will rush toYathreb
.
Gradually as time passed the Jews, profiting in trade and commerce amassed considerable wealth and bought large properties in and aroundYathreb
.
Theirnew found
wealth and prosperity attracted the covetous eyes of 'Tubba
', King of Yemen, who raided them. The Jews fortified themselves and after a long siege, the conflicting parties came to terms. KingTubba
revealed his intentions of permanently settling inYathreb
,
to which the Jews objected, saying thatYathreb
being the future migration place of the expected Prophet, it is sacred to them and no one else may reside there until then. The King of Yemen persuaded them that in that case hewill
leave two of his near relatives from theAws
andKhazraj
tribes inYathreb
, so that they may also support the promised Reformer when he appears.
In course oftime
the numbers of theAws
andKhazraj
who were Arabs greatly increased and soon they started vying with the Jews for supremacy and laid their hands on Jewish lands and properties. It was during these conflicts against the idol-worshipping Arabs (theAws
andKhazraj
tribes) that the Jews who were expecting the last Prophet and had migrated to Arabia solely for this purpose, used to rebuke the pagan Arabs by saying:
"When Muhammad (s.a.w
) finally appears, we shall drive you from our lands and properties."
But when Muhammad (s.a.w
.) did finally appear and declared hisprophethood
, it were these very same Jews who generations ago had come in his search - who rejected him saying that he was an Arab and not of the Israelites.
Whereas the pagan Arabs of the tribes ofAws
andKhazraj
renouncedidolatory
,
accepted Islam and rallied to his cause, for which ironically the Jews had waited so long, only to deviate at the last moment. Thus it is towards this fact that the Holy Qur'an draws attention."
"...although
before that they used to pray for victory over those who disbelieved..."
Sura
Baqara
(2:89)
It will not be out of context to cite the following passages from the Old Testament, which to any discernible and rational mind are a pointer to theprophethood
of Muhammad (s.a.w
.)
"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."
"And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I willrequite
it of him."
Deuteronomy (18:18,19
)
"And as for Ishmael I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall bebeget
and I will make him a great nation."
Genesis (17:20)
"Here isMy
servant, whom I uphold, My chosen one in whom I delight, I have bestowed My spirit upon him, and he will make justice shine on the nations. He will not call out or lift his mice high, or make himself heard in the open market. He will not break a bruised reed, or snuff out asmouldering
wick; he will make justice shine on every race, never faltering, never breaking down, he will plant justice on earth, while coasts and islands wait for his teaching.Thus speaks the Lord Who is God, He Who created the skies and stretched them out, Who fashioned the earth and all that grows in it, Who gave breath to its people, the breath of life to all who walk upon it: I, the Lord, have called you with righteous purpose and taken you by the hand; I have formed You and appointed you to be a light to all peoples, a beacon for the nations...
Let the wilderness and its towns rejoice, and the villages of the tribe ofKedar
(Qaydar
)
.
Isaiah (42:1-6,11
)
These prophesies
could apply to none of the Hebrew prophets. Even Jesus (a.s
.) made it plain that his mission was far from being universal, saying: "I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel".
(Mathew 15:24)
His calling was limited and it was the laternon Jewish
converts, not Jesus (a.s
.) who gave Christianity its inclusive nature. Nor was Jesus (a.s
) or any of the Hebrew prophets related in any way toKedar
(Qaydar
). In promising a great prophet from the Arabs, Isaiah (a.s
.) was merely amplifying the prophecy made previously by Moses (a.s
.).
God revealed to Moses (Deuteronomy 18:18,19
) that a prophet would arise from the brothers of the Hebrews the Arabs, who were children of the brother of Isaac, Ishmael (peace be upon them)- who would commandworld wide
attention and obedience.
Ishmael's (a.s
.) descendants came to be known as Arabs, a term which in Hebrew, meant those who inhabited the 'Arabah
' (desert). Further, of all the sons of Ishmael (a.s
.) the one mentioned most prominently in the Old Testament isKedar
. In some versesKedar
is synonymous with the Arabs in general.' This is an important indication that the line ofKedar
was marked by God for a unique purpose for it was fromthis
line Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w
.) sprang.
JESUS' PROPHECY ABOUT MUHAMMAD
"And when Jesus son of Mary said: O Children of Israel! Surely I am the apostle of Allah to you, verifying that which was (revealed) before me of the Torah, and giving the good tidings of an Apostle who will come after me, whose name is Ahmad..."
Sura
Saff
(61:6)
"Those who follow the Apostle - Prophet theUmmi
whom they find ordained for them in the Torah and the Gospel, he enjoins them good and forbids them evil..."
Sura
A'raf
(7:157)
The Gospel of Jesus (a.s
.) brought into sharper focus the identity of the one who wouldfulfil
the promise to make the line of Ishmael (a.s
.) a great nation.In the Gospel of John - a New Testament book which is not the Gospel of Jesus (a.s
.) and which may be considered as representing only in general terms portions of Jesus' teaching - Jesus (a.s
.) informs his close companions that his work among them was drawing to conclusion, but God would send someone else after a time to carry forward the prophetic movement.
This someone, however, would be the last of the prophets.
The following passages of the New Testament lend further proof to theProphethood
of Muhammad (s.a.w
):
"And this is the record of John (the Baptist) when the Jews sent priests andlevites
from Jerusalem to ask him, who art thou?
And
he confessed, and denied not; but confessed I am not the Christ.
And
they asked him, what then?Artthow
Elias?
And
hesaith
I am not. Art thou THAT PROPHET?And
he answered, No.
And they asked him, and said unto him, whybaptizest
thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither THAT PROPHET."
John (1:19-21,25
)
"If ye love me, keep my commandments.
And
I will pray the Father and He shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever.
But
the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to yourrememberance
, whatsoever I have said unto you.
Hereafter I will not talk much with you: fur the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me."
John (14:15, 16,26,30
)
"But when the Comforter is come, whom I shall send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, whichproceedeth
from the Father, he shall testify of me."
John (15:26)
"Nevertheless I tell you the truth; it is expedient fur you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you.
And
when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and ofjudgement
:
Of sin, because they believe not on me;
Ofrighteouseness
, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;
Ofjudgement
because the prince of this world is judged.
I
have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he willshew
you things to come.
He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shallshew
it unto you."
John (16:7-14)
A careful study of these passages brings to light the following facts:
1) Jesus Christ (a. s.) prophesies the corning of a Comforter after him.
2) The coming of the Comforter depends on Christ's departure.
3) He is sent by Almighty Allah
.
4) He will teach everything.
5) He will draw attention towards what the Christ had foretold.
6) He will testify and glorify Christ.
7) He will not speak byhimself but what he divinely hears
.
8) He will foretell future events.
9) The world will follow his religion.
10) He will stay forever.
In view of these glaring facts if we cast a glimpse at the life of Prophet Muhammad(s.a.w
.) we will discover the amazing truth that these points perfectly tally with his mission and hence without doubt he is the .Comforter' whose tidings Jesus (a.s
.) gave. Because the holy Qur'an revealed to ProphetMuhammad(
s.a.w
.)not only confirms and glorifies Jesus (a.s
.) and hisProphethood
but reminds people of Christ's prophecy. Besides, the Qur'an is a final revelationfor mankind
and an eternal message. It is an inexhaustible mine of information, foretells futureevents
and promises that Islam will eventually spread all over the world uniting humanity in peace and harmony.
A closer look at the word 'Comforter' as mentioned in the Bible will help us uncover some more startling facts.
Comforter here stands for the word 'Parakletos
' mentioned in the Greek version of the New Testament from which the English translationis made
.And
more precisely the meaning of 'Parakletos
' is an advocate, one who counsels or advises another from deep concern for the other's welfare.Or
to say it more clearly 'Parakletos
' would designate one who would be considered "Mercy for all creatures" (Rahmatun
lil
Alameen
), the term the holy Qur'an uses in chapter 21 verse 107 to describe Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w
.).
Moreover
scholars have pointed out that what Jesus' said in his native language of Aramaic represents another similar Greek word 'Periklytos
', which means the Admirable or the Glorified One and corresponds exactly to the Arabic word 'Ahmad'.
Hence the Qur'an's quotation of Jesus' good tidings to the Jews: "An Apostle will comealter
me whose name is Ahmad".
When Jesus declares of this coming ProphetCounsellor
that he would "abide with you forever',' he shows that there would be no need for additional prophets to succeed him. He would be the last one. He wouldlead mankind
"to every aspect of the truth." So truthful and trustworthy would he be that he will be called Al-Arnin
(The Truthful) or as the text of John 16:13 says, "the
spirit of truth", one of whom it could be said: "He has brought them the Truth." (Qur'an 23:70)
The term 'spirit' here does not mean that the corning Prophet would be other than human. In New Testament Greek, this word has also been applied to an inspired person, "the possessor of a spiritual communication" or revelation. This is why the next sentence of the verse containing this expression says: "He will guide you unto all truth; for he shall not speak of himself, but whatsoever he shall hear (from God), that shall he speak." (John 16:13).
This person would receive the revelation of truth from God and these words alone would constitute the message, not his ownopinions
or the writings of his companions. His message or revelation would befirst and foremost
and literally the Word of God. Note that this corresponds exactly to what God revealed to Moses (a.s
.) about the Prophet who would come from among the "brothers" of the Hebrews: "I....
will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him." (Deuteronomy 18:18).
Now compare these to the following verse of the holyQur'an which
drives home the ultimate truth:
"Your companion (Muhammed
) does not err, nor does he go astray;Nor
does he speak out of desire. It is naught but revelation that is revealed, The Lord of Mighty Power has taught him."
Sura
Najm
(53:25)
It cannot be overlooked that Jesus (a.s
.) gives a unique requirement that would help to identify the last Prophet: "He shall glorify me" (John 16:14). If anyone had come claiming to be this Prophet, but did not give due honor to Jesus (a.s
.) as Prophet and Messiah, he would be the wrong one. At the same time, this Prophet to come would not be a follower of Jesus (a.s
.), that is, a Christian, because Jesus (a.s
.) said that this Prophet would reveal things of which Jesus (a.s
.) himself was unaware. If Jesus (a.s
.) had brought "all the truth," there would have been no need for him to single out someone else who would come with all the truth. Likewise, since this Prophet would bring all the truth he would have to be the last one, the seal of the Prophets. Therefore, we would have to look for someone who, like Abraham (a.s
.) in whose line he would come, would be neither Jew nor Christian but would believe in God. He would "glorify" Jesus (a.s
.) by insisting that Jesus (a.s
.) was a true Messenger of God and by acknowledging that Jesus (a.s
.) was the true Messiah.But
the teaching of this Prophet would come from God Himself. As a revelation from God, the message of this last Prophet would confirm what God revealed previously by means of the original Torah and the original Gospel, but his message would be no mere plagiarized copy, no condensed edition of either the Torah or the Gospel. God Almighty had said, "I... will put My words in his mouth:' and it is proper that these words agree with previously revealed words of the One and Same God."Whatsoever he shall hear (from God), that shall he speak."
History has recorded that Christians during the first few centuries after Christ, not only believed in these above-mentioned facts but eagerly awaited the coming of the last Prophet, as foretold by Jesus (a.s
.) It was only during the 3rd century, when hordes of Roman pagans began converting to Christianity, the pure monotheistic message of Prophet Jesus (a.s
.) showed signs of pollution, with weird heathen ideas such as 'God Father', 'God Son', 'Holy Ghost' and 'Trinity' creeping in.
This strange Holy Ghost interpretation gained currency only after Christians began to look upon God as a Trinity with the Holy Ghost being an aspect of it. Neither the word Trinity nor its concepts can be found anywhere in the Bible. TheParaclete
would be a man, not a ghost, because the same word is applied to Jesus (a.s
.) himself, in John (2:1).
The annals of history prove that faithful Christians from time to time stood up against these heretical ideas.
But
when Constantine assumed the reins of the Roman Empire, not only did he espouse the cause of the heretics, but also launched a mass persecution against the true believers, forcing them to flee to deserts and inaccessible mountains to live as hermits.
Finally the following passage from the FrenchEncyclopaedia
, 'Larousse,
, is a sufficient admittance to the truth of Islam: "Muhammad' is a derivative of the word 'Mahmood
', whose root-word is 'Hamd
', which means glorifying.Strangely
another word is derived from the same origin and that is 'Ahmad'. It is widely believed, Christians in the Arabian Peninsula used the word 'Ahmad' for the Greek word 'Paraclete
' mentioned in the Bible, which means 'the Glorified or Promised one'. Muslims subsequently made great efforts saying this refers to Prophet Muhammad, as described by the Qur'an (in Chapter 61)."
Thus
it is clear that despite centuries of disastrous human interference in the Torah and the Bible, portions remain indicating the eternal truth of Islam.
TheEncyclopaedia
Brittanica
has the following comments on the Gospels:
"They resemble oil paintings rather than photographs. Legendary and apologetic motifs, and the various preoccupations of the communities for which they were first produced, can readily be discerned as influences upon their narratives."
The coming of Muhammad (s.a.w
.) was heralded, not only by Moses (a.s
.) and Jesus (a.s
.), but by all the prophets.
Even Abraham (a.s
.), the father of the prophets, foretold his coming, and prayed God for a guide and rescuer. This is explicitly referred to by theQur'an which
quotes Abraham's prayer:
"Our Lord!
and
raise up in them an Apostle from among them who shall recite to them Your revelations, and teach them the Book and the Wisdom and cleanse them (of false beliefs); surely You are the Mighty, the Wise."
Sura
Baqara
(2:129)
The verse given below declaring theprophethood
of Muhammad (s.a.w
.) is a clear answer to Abraham's (a.s
.) prayer mentioned above; for Muhammad (s.a.w
.), was a direct descendent of Abraham (a.s
.) through his eldest son Ishmael (a.s
.):
"He it isWho
raised among the unlettered, an Apostle from among themselves, who recites to them His revelations and cleanses them (of false beliefs), and teaches them the Book and the Wisdom, although they were before certainly in clear error."
Sura
Jum'a
(62:2)
These facts arequite obvious
to a rational thinker and any seeker of truth interested in finding the path of guidance, like Negus, the Christian king of Abyssinia, who positively responded to the call of truth. When the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w
.) wrote to Negus citing proofs of hisprophethood
, foretold in the Torah and the Gospel and invited him to accept Islam, Negus immediately surrendered (became Muslim) to the message of Islam. History has preserved his eternal words as a fair testimony of a just man, free from the effects of the environment, or the pressures of obstinacy and bigotry; "I call Allah as witness that he (Muhammads.a.w
.) is the prophet awaited for by the followers of the Scriptures..."
Thus, anyone pursuing truth can clearly discern thatMuhammad (s.a.w
.) had been heralded by the previous prophets
, and that he was the awaited one to reform mankind and deliver them, from darkness and going astray. Yes, it was he whom all the prophets had heralded and prayed Allah to send.
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Author: Al-Balagh Foundation
