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Prophet Muhammad in the Bible

Prophet Muhammad in the Bible
"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 they know it" The Qur'an, al-Baqarah(2):146

Reference to Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad (pbut) in that order: 1

Deuteronomy 33:1 "And this [is] the blessing, wherewith Moses the man of
God blessed the children of Israel before his death. And he said, The LORD
came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from
mount Paran , and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right
hand [went] a fiery law for them.".

This is a chronological succession of prophets which is narrated through reference to
location. This prophesy is reported at the end of Deuteronomy in association with the
story of the death of prophet Moses (pbuh). It was a blessing and glad tidings bestowed by
prophet Moses upon his followers just prior to his death. It was designed to give his
followers hope upon the occasion of the passing of their prophet that God is not
abandoning them, rather, the best is yet to come, and He shall continue to bless mankind
with His guidance and His light.

Sinai is a reference to Moses (pbuh). It is an obvious reference to mount Sinai where
Moses (pbuh) received his revelation (Exodus 19:20). Seir is a reference to Jesus (pbuh).
It is usually associated with the chain of mountains West and South of the Dead Sea
extending through Jerusalem, and Bethlehem , the birthplace of Jesus (pbuh). It was later
extended to include the mountains on the East side as well (Dictionary of the Bible, John
L. McKenzie, S.J., p. 783). However, Seir is also identified with the Northern border of
the tribal territory of Judah and usually with Saris near Kesla (Chesalon), barely nine
miles West of these two cities (The Eerdmans Bible Dictionary, by Allen C. Myers, pp. 921-
922, and The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, V4, p. 262) Prophet Moses (pbuh)
never in his lifetime entered Palestine, and thus, this could not be a reference to him.

As we have already seen in section 6.5, Paran is a reference to the city of Makkah in the
Arabian Peninsula. The wilderness of Paran is where Abraham's wife Hagar and his eldest
son Ishmael settled (Genesis 21:21) in the Arabian desert. Specifically, Makkah. Makkah
is, of course, the capital of Islam in Arabia and the birthplace of Mohammed (pbuh).
Mount Paran is the chain of mountains in that same region which the Arabs call the
"Sarawat mountains". Mohammed (pbuh) first became the prophet of Islam in the cave of
"Hira'a" located in these mountains. Jesus never in his life traveled to Paran.
Mohammed, however, was born there. He died there. And it was the capital of the I slamic
religion in that day and this. All of the prophets of the Bible including Jesus and Moses
(pbuh) all came from either Palestine or from Babylon. No prophet of the Bible ever came
from the Arabian city of Paran (Makkah). Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is the only prophet
of God who has ever fulfilled this prophesy.

We also read in verse 33:2 that a fiery law shall issue forth from the right hand of the
prophet from Paran. The reference to "right" hand is a reference to strength, justice, and

1 Taken from the Book: "What Did Jesus Really Say" by Misha'al al-Khadi
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guidance. In Islam, all clean and decent actions are performed with the "right" hand
(eating, shaking hands, etc.), while all dirty or undesirable actions are done with the left
hand (washing one's private parts, picking up garbage, etc.). In the Qur'an, the good are
described on the Day of Judgment as receiving their book of deeds in their "right" hands,
while the wicked receive theirs in their "left" hand. This can be seen for example in Al-
Haqah(69):13-37. This general attitude is conveyed in the Bible too. We read:

"Biblical phrases referring to the right hand reflect a widespread human cultural
attitude, namely the recognition that for most people the right hand is both stronger and
more adept than the left, and is the hand with which many tasks are instinctively
undertaken ... Eccl. 10:2 links `a wise man's heart' with his right hand, and `a fool's heart'
with his left. When the Son of Man separates the sheep from the goats at the Last
Judgment, it is to the damned `on the left hand' that he says, `Depart from me, ye cursed,
into everlasting fire' (Matt. 25:41) ...The right hand is often mentioned as a symbol of
strength, both for human beings and anthropomophically for God (e.g. Job 40:14; Isa.
48:13)" A Dictionary of Biblical Tradition In English Literature, David Lyle Jeffrey, p.
442.

This fiery law that shall issue from the right hand of the prophet from Paran will be a
new law for the children of Israel and not the same one they had been practicing in the
time of Moses (pbuh) and later. This is held out by simple logic; if I already own
something, then I can not say that my neighbor shall bring "for me" this same "something"
which I already own. In such a case, he would have "brought" nothing, and it would have
been more logical to say he would "confirm" the preexistent law. No prophet of the Bible
ever in his lifetime either came from Paran or preached the replacement of the law of
Moses (pbuh). Even Jesus (pbuh) came to confirm and reinforce the law of Moses
(Matthew 5:17-19), as explained in detail in chapter one. Muhammad (pbuh) is the only
prophet of God who fulfilled both of these requirements.

However, if we look closely, we will find that the prophesy contains one more
requirement. It tells us that this prophet from Paran who will bring a fiery new law shall
come with 10,000 saints. Once again, two years before the death of prophet Muhammad
(pbuh), in the year 630 AD, he lead 10,000 of his followers to their final and decisive
victory against the pagans of Makkah. This was one of the most bloodless victories of all
history. The Muslims took control of Makkah, the capital of paganistic Arabia, virtually
without a single casualty. Upon entering Makkah victorious, Muhammad did not take it's
inhabitants as prisoners. Even though these people had been torturing and killing his
companions and himself for so many years, he commanded that they not be tortured, nor
should retribution be sought against them. Rather, he set them all free. Most of them
entered into Islam.

Once again, we find that prophet Moses (pbuh) was appointed seventy very close and
devout followers (Exodus 24:1-9, Numbers 11:16-25). Jesus (pbuh) was appointed eleven
very close and devout followers (if we were to exclude Judas), as seen in Matthew 10:1-5,
Mark 3:14-19, etc. Prophet Muhammad, once again, was the only one to fulfill this
requirement. Mr. Kais Al-Kalbi asks the question:

"When this verse Deut 33:2 was translated from Hebrew to English, the phrase `10,000
saints' was kept the same. But when this verse was translated from Hebrew to Arabic,
the phrase `10,000 saints' was intentionally changed to `holy valley', why?" Kais Al-
Kalbi, Prophet Muhammad, the last messenger in the Bible, third edition, pp. 231-232.

The wording also bears out this chronological succession of prophets. Came: arrival of
the sun in the morning. Rose up: like the light of dawn. Shined forth: Mid-day sun
which lights up the Earth from East to West. Islam has indeed come to shine all over the
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earth as the mid-day sun. It is estimated to have 1.2 billion adherents throughout the
globe, and it is the fastest growing religion in the world today.

"This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed My favor upon
you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion." The Qur'an, Al-
Maidah(5):3



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From SP