IS
MUHAMMAD MENTIONED IN THE BIBLE ?
Is Muhammad Mentioned in the Old
Testament?
Christ's comingj£ foretold in the Old
Testament in marry different places. If, therefore, the Most High God intended
to send into the world a prophet far greater than Christ, we should find
predictions concerning this future propheLjn the Old Testament, and still more
in the New Testament. It is natural, therefore, for Muslims to seek such
prophecies in the jjible regarding the founder of their religion. If Muhammad
was the Seal of the Prophets—the person on whose account God created the
universe— it would be very strange for God not to have told us to look for and
obey the coming Prophet. Those who believe in Muhammad tell us that clear and
unmistakable predictions regarding him are found in the Bible. Muslims also say
that other predictions of Muhammad's coming were once there, but were removed by
Jews and Christians.41
The appeal to the Bible in this matter
implies that the Bible is (1) divinely inspired, and (2) uncorrupt. Otherwise,
of what use would it be to refer to such a book as authoritative? If our Muslim
friends admit these two points, then an inquiry into the alleged biblical
prophecies regarding Muhammad may be very interesting and instructive. But if
they do not admit these points of fact, it is difficult to see what use it is
for them to refer to the Bible at all in seeking proof of their prophet's
mission. Of course, many learned Muslims all, in fact, who have carefully studied the matter do admit these two facts.42 Genesis 49:10
The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes; and to Him shall be
the obedience of the people.
It is asserted that this passage refers to
Muhammad, since "Judah" comes from a Hebrew verb meaning "to
praise," the same meaning for the Arabic name Muhammad. But the context of
Genesis shows that Shiloh was to be born among the descendants of Judah.
Muhammad, however, came from the Arabian tribe of the Quraish. He was not
Jewish. Moreover, the scepter departed from Judah more than 550 years before
Muhammad was born. Deuteronomy 18:15, 18
The Lord your God will raise up for you a
Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear, I will
raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My
words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.
Muslims assert that the prophet predicted
in Deuteronomy is Muhammad. Since "from your midst" does not appear in
either the ancient Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint) or the Samaritan
Pentateuch, the original text must state that the prophet would come from the
relatives of the Israelites, the descendents of Ishmael, the Arabs.
However, there is earlier ancient Hebrew
manuscript evidence supporting the customary reading. In addition,
"brethren" naturally and commonly refers to one's closest relatives
(e.g., the Israelite tribes). A qualifier would indicate less close relatives
(e.g., the Ishmaelite tribes).
It is said that Muhammad was like Moses in
many points. Both were brought up in their enemies' houses, appeared among
idolaters, were at first rejected by their own people and afterward accepted by
them, each gave a law, fled from their enemies (Moses to Midian, Muhammad to
Medina, a name of a similar meaning), marched to battle against their enemies,
wrought miracles, and enabled their followers to conquer Palestine. These
correlations prove nothing.
God Himself has explained in the Gospels
that this prophecy referred to Christ, not to Muhammad. Compare Deuteronomy
18:15, "Him you shall hear," with Matthew 17:5, "... This is My
beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!" (See also Mark 9:2 and
Luke 9:35.) Jesus explains that this and other passages refer to Himself (John
5:46; Genesis 12:3; 24:4; 18:18; 22:28; 28:14). He was descended from Judah
(Matthew 1:1-16; Luke 3:23-38; Hebrews 7:14), was born in Israel, and spent
almost all of His life among the Jews. In Acts 3:25-26, this prophecy is cited
as referring to Christ Jesus.
Psalm 45:3-5
Gird Your Sword upon Your thigh, O Mighty
One,
With Your glory and Your majesty.
And in Your majesty ride prosperously
because of truth, humility, and righteousness;
And Your right hand shall teach You awesome
things.
Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the
King's enemies;
The peoples fall under You.
In Islam, Muhammad is called "the
Prophet with the sword." However, a close study of the context of these
verses easily refutes the claim that they refer to Muhammad. Verse six declares,
"Your throne, O God, is forever and ever." Muslims never claim that
Muhammad was God. Furthermore, Hebrews 1:8-9 clearly states that verse six is an
address to Christ.
Isaiah 21:7
And he saw a chariot with a pair of
horsemen, A chariot of donkeys, and a chariot of camels.
Muslims think that the words "a
chariot of donkeys" in this verse are a prediction of the coming of
Christ, who entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey, and that "a chariot (or
troop) of camels" refers to Muhammad, since he always rode on a camel. In
fact, the context shows that this chapter refers to neither Christ nor Muhammad.
It is a prophecy of the fall of Babylon, as we learn from verse 9, and tells how
travellers bring word of the capture of the city and the destruction of its
idols, which took place under Darius in 519 b.c.
and again in 513 b.c.
Is Muhammad Mentioned in the New
Testament?
Matthew 3:2
"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is
at hand!"
"The kingdom is at hand" is the
call of John the Baptist, repeated by Jesus (Matthew 4:17), and said by Muslims
to be a prediction of the establishment of the power of Islam, the Quran being
the Law of the Kingdom. But "the kingdom of heaven," or as it is also
called, "the kingdom of God," does not refer to the Islamic kingdom,
since the heaven and God of Islam are not the heaven and God of the Bible.
The biblical kingdom of God has temporal
and spiritual aspects, present and future implications. Long before the rise of
Islamic power, Christ announced the presence of the kingdom, saying, "But
if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come
upon you" (Matthew 12:28). In Mark 9:1, Christ told His disciples that some
of them would not taste death until they saw the kingdom of God present with
power. Did they see Muhammad and the "kingdom" of Islam? Certainly
not.
Mark 1:7
"There comes One after me who is
mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and
loose."
The Muslim Injil (gospel) of Jesus is not
the same thing as the New Testament or the Gospels. Muslims maintain that the
gospel of Jesus is the record of God's Word given through Jesus. The New
Testament Gospels, they say, are the words of men – the recollections of Matthew, Mark, and those compiled
by Luke and John. Only occasionally can we find Jesus' gospel buried in the
midst of man's words and opinion. One of the preserved lines of Jesus' gospel,
they say, is in Mark 1:7, where Jesus supposedly prophesied of Muhammad,
"There cometh after Me he that is mightier than I."
This shows how hopelessly impossible it is
for Muslims to find any prophecy regarding Muhammad, for verse six of this
chapter tells us that these words were not spoken by Jesus but by John the
Baptist. The context clearly shows this to be true (see also Matthew 3:11-14;
Luke 3:16-17; and John 1:26-34). It will not do to say that Christ was already
in the world, and that therefore He could not be said to come after John. Christ
began to preach only after John had been cast into prison and beheaded (see Mark
1:14; also compare Matthew 4:12, 17), thus ending the forerunner's ministry.
John 4:21
Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me,
the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem,
worship the Father."
This is supposed by some Muslims to be a
declaration that Jerusalem would no longer be the Holy City and the
"Qiblah" (focus of prayers), but that its place would be taken by
another city, which, the Muslims say, must be Mecca.
Yet in verses 23-24, Christ Himself
explained the meaning of His own words, saying that true and acceptable worship
does not depend upon the place where it is offered but upon the state of the
worshipper's heart. Hence, He does away with the possibility of there ever
afterward being a need for any "Qiblah" on earth.
John 14:16, 17, 26
"And I will pray the Father, and He
will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever, even the
Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor
knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. But the
Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will
teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to
you."
Muslims assert that the Greek pamcleton (helper)
mentioned by Christ is Muhammad, whose name they believe to be a translation of
the term. They contend that the prophecy in this passage was fulfilled in
Muhammad, since he received the Quran from the angel Gabriel (whom Muslims
believe to be the Holy Spirit) and bore witness to Christ (John 14:26),
acknowledging Him as a prophet (John 16:14), as born of a virgin, as a worker of
miracles, as having ascended up to Heaven without dying but not as God's Son
(having never claimed to be such), and as having had the Gospel brought to Him.
But the Paracleton could not possibly refer
to Muhammad for these reasons:
First of all, the word paracleton does
not mean anything at all like Muhammad. Paracleton means helper, comforter,
sustainer, and advocate. The first of these titles is clearly not suited to
Muhammad, the "Prophet with the Sword," and the Quran itself denies
the title of Advocate to all but God Himself.
Second, in the New Testament, the title
Paracleton is directly applied only to the Holy Spirit (John 13:16, 17, 26;
15:26; 16:13) and by implication to Christ (John 13:16; 1 John 2:1). The
Paracleton of whom Christ speaks is not a man but the invisible Spirit of Truth,
who was then dwelling with Christ's disciples and would soon be in their hearts
(John 14:17; 16:14).
Third, the Paracleton was to be sent by
Christ (John 15:26; 16:7), which Muslims cannot admit concerning Muhammad.
Fourth, the Paracleton's work was not to
gather armies and gain victories with earthly weapons, but to convict men of
sin, the very essence of sin being disbelief in Christ (John 16:9).
Fifth, His teaching was to glorify not
Himself but Christ and to do the work Christ sent Him to do (John 16:14-15).
No!
These are some of the important biblical
passages which Muslims emphasize contain prophecies concerning Muhammad. Quite
clearly not a single one constitutes a prediction about him. Muhammad is not
mentioned explicitly or implicitly in the Bible, God's oldest written revelation
(and the only written revelation as far as Christians are concerned). But Christ
Jesus is found in the Quran. And what it says about Him places Him far above the
founder of Islam.