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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. Say (O
Muhammad) :
‘O Mankind! Verily I am the messenger of Allah to you all. The One to Whom
belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth, no god is there but He.
It is He who 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’
” [The noble Qur'an, Al-A'araf(7):157-158.]
“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 its 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 its 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 its 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 |
