Inquiry Eighteen

Wilson: The evidence which has been discussed is very convincing and offers a great support to the prophethood of Mohammad. The superiority of the Qur'an itself is primary evidence of this truth and so are the many quoted prophecies. I wonder if the Old and the New Testaments contain any prophecy foretelling the advent of the Prophet Mohammad.

Chirri: There is in the Bible more than one statement which indicate the expectation of the Prophet Mohammad. He is not mentioned by name, but the descriptions seem to fit only Mohammad.

We find in the Deuteronomy book the following statement:

"I will raise up for them (the Israelites) a prophet like you from among their brethren; and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And whoever will not give heed to My words which he shall speak in My name, I, Myself, will require it of him." 18:18-19

This statement promises that God will raise up a prophet from among the brethren of the Israelites; that that prophet will be like Moses himself; that God will put His own words in the mouth of that prophet; and that that prophet will speak those words in the name of God Who put them in his mouth.

Thus, the expected prophet has three descriptions, none of them is applicable but to the Prophet Mohammad:

1. The promised prophet will be from the brethren of the Israelites. The Israelites are related only to the Arabs. There are no people in the world that may be called the brethren of the Israelites except the Arabs, because the Israelites are the descendants of Isaac, and the Arabs are the descendants of Ishmael, the older brother of Isaac.

2. That prophet will be like Moses. Moses was a prophet of a new dispensation, and he was a secular as well as a spiritual leader to his people. This description fits only Mohammad among all the prophets who came after Moses. None of those prophets, including Jesus, was sent with new rules and dispensations. Jesus followed the dispensations of Moses and did not introduce new religious laws. Nor was he a secular leader to the Israelites. In addition to this, all those prophets, except Mohammad, came from the Israelites themselves and not from their brethren.

3. The statement described the promised prophet as a prophet who will not speak of his own. The very words of God will be put in his mouth.

No prophet except Mohammad has claimed that his book contains the very words of God. Moses himself received the revelation, but he conveyed the heavenly message by his own words. What we read in the five books of Moses is considered to be the words of Moses, not the very words of God.

All the books of which the Old Testament is composed were written and worded by human writers, and so are the four gospels. Jesus spoke the truth which he received, but he spoke in his own words. The Bible, at best, is considered a dialogue between God and man.

Only the Qur'an contains the words which Mohammad recited as the very direct words of God. Mohammad never claimed any word in the Qur'an. He recited the Qur'anic words as the words of God who put them in the mouth of Mohammad.

Thus, the descriptions seem to fit only Mohammad, and no one else.

Another statement, indicating the anticipation of Mohammad, is found in the same Deuteronomy book:

"This is the blessing with which Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death. He said: The Lord came from Sinai, and dawned from Seir upon us; He shone forth from Mount Paran, He came from the ten thousands of holy ones with flaming fire at His right hand." 33

The Lord's coming means the coming of His revelation. Moses spoke of God's manifestation to three prophets at three places: The manifestation in Sinai which represents the prophethood of Moses himself.

The other manifestation is the revelation which was received at Seir. This represents the revelation which was received by Jesus because Seir is located in the land of Jordan.

The third manifestation is the light of God which shone from the Mount of Paran. This represents the prophethood of Mohammad. The Mount of Paran is located in the country of Hijaz, the country in which Mohammad was born and lived. The following words give more indications to this fact:

"He came from the ten thousands of holy ones, with flaming fire at His right hand. "

Mohammad is the Prophet who entered Mecca, the capital of Hijaz, heading an army of ten thousand Muslims by which he subdued the idol-worshippers of Mecca.

The New Testament, also, contains some clear anticipation of the advent of Mohammad:

"Jesus said unto them (the Israelites), did ye never read in the scriptures, the stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes. Therefore say I unto you, the kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder." Matthew 21:42-44

The statement is a prophecy informing the Jews that the kingdom of God shall be taken from them, and that it will be given to another nation. No other nation after Jesus had claimed a heavenly message except the Arab nation which conveyed to the world the message of Islam which was revealed to Mohammad. Jesus called the nation which will supersede the Israelites "the stone which was rejected by the builders." This is a reference to the covenant which was made between God and Isaac, at the time of Abraham, of which Ishmael was excluded. From the Old Testament:

"As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him and make him fruitful and multiply him exceedingly: he shall be the father of twelve princes and I will make him a great nation. But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this season next year." 1:17:20-21

Ishmael and his children, according to this statement, have been excluded, at the time of Abraham, from the covenant, and for this, Jesus called them the stone which was rejected by the builders. Now Jesus was informing the Israelites that the same stone which was rejected will become the head of the corner.

Mohammad and the Arabs are descendants of Ishmael, and these are the nation which Jesus expected to supersede the Israelite nation.

Jesus described the superseding nation as a crushing stone; whoever falls on it will be broken, and on whom it may fall, it will grind him to powder. This means that that nation which will receive the kingdom of God will be a brave nation, capable of defeating any enemy that may attack it and crushing any enemy it may attack. This description is applicable only to the Arab nation which was distinguished from among all nations by carrying a spiritual message and by being brave enough to defend itself and to defeat its enemies. History, after Jesus, had witnessed many brave nations, but none of them were motivated by a heavenly revelation except the nation of Mohammad.