Prophet Muhammad ﷺ in the Bible

The idea that the Bible prophesized the coming of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ may be surprising to many people since the general perception is that he has no connection to the Bible. It is because of the teachings of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ that billions of Muslims, since his time and until today, have revered Abraham, Moses, John, and Jesus (peace be upon them all).

We will present some prophecies regarding the Prophet from Old and New Testament.

Prophecy of Deuteronomy

Many Christians believe this prophecy foretold by Moses to be in regards to Jesus.  Jesus was foretold in the Old Testament, but as will be clear, this prophecy does not befit him, but rather is more deserving of Muhammad.  Moses foretold the following:

1. The Prophet Will Be Like Moses

Areas of Comparison	Moses	Jesus	Muhammad ﷺ
Birth	normal birth	miraculous, virgin birth	normal birth
Mission	prophet only	said to be Son of God	prophet only
Parents	father & mother	mother only	father & mother
Family Life	married with children	never married	married with children
Acceptance by own people	Jews accepted him	Jews rejected him (John 1:11)	Arabs accepted him
Political Authority	Moses had it (Num 15:36)	Jesus refused it (John 18:36)	Muhammad had it
Victory Over Opponents	Pharaoh drowned	said to be crucified	Meccans defeated
Death	natural death	claimed to be crucified	natural death
Burial	buried in grave	empty tomb	buried in grave
Divinity	not divine	divine to Christians	not divine
Began Mission at age	40	30	40
Resurrection on Earth	not resurrected	resurrection claimed	not resurrected

 

2. The Awaited Prophet will be from the Brethren of the Jews

The verse in discussion is explicit in saying that the prophet will come amongst the Brethren of the Jews. Abraham had two sons: Ishmael and Isaac.  The Jews are the descendants of Isaac’s son, Jacob. The Arabs are the children of Ishmael.  Thus, the Arabs are the brethren of the Jewish nation.

The Bible affirms:

‘And he (Ishmael) shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.’ (Genesis 16:12)

‘And he (Ishmael) died in the presence of all his brethren.’ (Genesis 25:18)

The children of Isaac are the brethren of the Ishmaelites.  Likewise, the Prophet Muhammad is from among the brethren of the Israelites, because he was a descendant of Ishmael the son of Abraham.

3. God Will Put His Words in the Mouth of the Awaited Prophet

The Quran says of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ:

This is quite similar to the verse in Deuteronomy 18:18:

"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" (Deuteronomy 18:18)

The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ came with a message to the whole world, and from them, the Jews.  All, including the Jews, must accept his prophethood, and this is supported by the following words:

"The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken." (Deuteronomy 18:15)

4. A Warning to Rejecters

The prophecy continues:

Deuteronomy 18:19  "And it shall come to pass, [that] whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require [it] of him." (in some translations: "I will be the Revenger").

Interestingly, Muslims begin every chapter of the Quran in the name of God by saying:

Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Raheem

"‘In the Name of God, the Most-Merciful, the Dispenser of Grace."

 Prophecy of Isaiah

The 42^nd chapter of Isaiah starts by God describing a special person that He will send.

Isaiah was originally written in Hebrew. Arabic and Hebrew share a lot of common words because they are both Semitic languages. Here is how three words used by Isaiah describe the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ as he is described in Arabic:

• Isaiah uses the Hebrew word “ebed” for servant. The Arabic word for servant is “abd”. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is known as God’s Servant, in Arabic “abdullah”
• “Chosen one” is “Mustafa” in Arabic. This is another of the names of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ
• The one in whom God ‘delights in’ shows that this person is beloved to God. ‘Habibullah’ in Arabic, which means “Beloved of God”, also happens to be one of Prophet Muhammad’s ﷺ descriptions

Who is Kedar, and where did he settle? The Old Testament (Genesis 25:13) tells us that Kedar was one of the sons of Ishmael, the son of Abraham. The Old Testament scholar Charles Foster says about Kedar:

“Namely, of the land of Kedar; which every reader conversant with Arabian geography will recognise as a most accurate delineation of the district of Hedjaz (Western Saudi Arabia), including its famous cities of Mecca and Madina.”[1]

The Old Testament (Genesis 21:21) also tells us that Ishmael dwelt in a place called Paran. According to Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible and Strong’s Bible Dictionary, Paran is in Arabia 

What will this special person bring? The prophecy continues:

The statement “a new song” means a new law, a new way of worship. This is exactly what Islam represents. The emphasis on the new song here is singing the praise of God all over the earth. The Qur’an opens with the statement “Praise be to God, Lord of the worlds” and is recited by Muslims all over the world during prayers every day.

Gentiles means non Jews. The Quran confirms that Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was sent to the whole of mankind, Jews and Gentiles alike. In the Quran God tells us:

In Isaiah, God emphasizes that this special person will be sent to “those who trust in idols, who say to images, ‘You are our gods’”(Isaiah 42:17)

Arabs at the start of Prophet Muhammad’s ﷺ mission were idol worshippers.

 The special person will be a warrior and will “...go forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up jealousy like a man of war: he shall cry, yea, roar; he shall prevail against his enemies.” (Isaiah 42:13)

As seen in the biography of the Prophet, Prophet Muhammad ﷺ had to engage in many battles with the idol worshipping enemies of God and ultimately prevailed against them.

 What will he achieve? According to Isaiah 42:17, idol worshippers “will be turned back in utter shame.” In just 23 short years, Arabia shunned idol worship and worshipped the One true God of Abraham.

 Prophecy of John

In this verse, Jesus promises that another "Comforter" will appear, and thus, we must discuss some issues concerning this "Comforter."

The Greek word paravklhtoß, ho parakletos, has been translated as ‘Comforter.’ According to Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, Parakletos more precisely means ‘one who pleads another’s cause, an intercessor.’ The ho parakletos is a person in the Greek language, not an incorporeal entity. In the Greek language, every noun possesses gender; that is, it is masculine, feminine or neutral.  In the Gospel of John, Chapters 14, 15 and 16 the ho parakletos is actually a person.  All pronouns in Greek must agree in gender with the word to which they refer and the pronoun "he" is used when referring to the parakletos.  The NT uses the word pneuma, which means "breath" or "spirit," the Greek equivalent of ruah, the Hebrew word for "spirit" used in the OT.  Pneuma is a grammatically neutral word and is always represented by the pronoun "it." 

All present day Bibles are compiled from "ancient manuscripts," the oldest dating back to the fourth century C.E.  No two ancient manuscripts are identical. All Bibles today are produced by combining manuscripts with no single definitive reference. The Bible translators attempt to "choose" the correct version. In other words, since they do not know which "ancient manuscript" is the correct one, they decide for us which "version" for a given verse to accept.  Take John 14:26 as an example.  John 14:26 is the only verse of the Bible which associates the Parakletos with the Holy Spirit. But the "ancient manuscripts" are not in agreement that the "Parakletos" is the ‘Holy Spirit.’ For instance, the famous Codex Syriacus, written around the fifth century C.E., and discovered in 1812 on Mount Sinai, the text of 14:26 reads; "Paraclete, the Spirit"; and not "Paraclete, the Holy Spirit."

 Why is it important?  It is significant because in biblical language a "spirit," simply means "a prophet."

 "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world." (1 John 4: 1-3)

 It is instructive to know that several biblical scholars considered parakletos to be an ‘independent salvific (having the power to save) figure,’ not the Holy Ghost.[2]

 Was Jesus’ parakletos, Comforter, a ‘Holy Ghost’ or a person - a prophet - to come after him?  To answer the question, we must understand the description of ho parakletos and see if it fits a ghost or a human being.

 When we continue reading beyond chapter 14:16 and chapter 16:7, we find that Jesus predicts the specific details of the arrival and identity of the parakletos. Therefore, according to the context of John 14 & 16 we discover the following facts.

 Jesus said the parakletos is a human being:

 John 16:13 "He will speak."

 John 16:7 "…for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you."

 It is impossible that the Comforter be the "Holy Ghost" because the Holy Ghost was present long before Jesus and during his ministry.[3]

 John 16:13 Jesus referred to the paraclete as ‘he’ and not ‘it’ seven times, no other verse in the Bible contains seven masculine pronouns.  Therefore, paraclete is a person, not a ghost.

 2. Jesus is called a parakletos:

 "And if any man sin, we have an advocate (parakletos) with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." (1 John 2:1)

 Here we see that parakletos is a physical and human intercessor.

 3. The Divinity of Jesus a later development

 Jesus was not accepted as divine until the Council of Nicea, 325 CE, but everyone, except Jews, agree he was a prophet of God, as indicated by the Bible:

 Matthew 21:11 "...This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee."

 Luke 24:19 "...Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people."

 4. Jesus prayed to God for another parakletos:

 John 14:16 "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another parakletos."

 5. Jesus describes the function of the other Parakletos:

 John 16:13 "He will guide you into all the truth."

 God says in the Quran of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ:

 John 16:14 "He will glorify Me."

 The Quran brought by the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ glorifies Jesus:

 Prophet Muhammad ﷺ also glorified Jesus:

 John 16:8 "he will convince the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment."

 The Quran announces:

 John 16:13 "he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, [that] shall he speak."

 The Quran says of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ:

John 14:26 "and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you."

The words of the Quran:

…reminds people of the first and greatest command of Jesus they have forgotten:

"The first of all the commandments is, ‘Hear, O Israel; the Lord our God is one Lord.’" (Mark 12:29)

 John 16:13 "and He will disclose to you what is to come."

 The Quran states:

 "That is from the news of the unseen which We reveal, [O Muhammad], to you…" (Quran 12:102)

 Hudhaifa, a disciple of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, tells us:

 

John 14:16 "that he may abide with you for ever."

Meaning his original teachings will remain forever. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was God’s last prophet to humanity (ﷺ, has an eternal life on earth.  Parakletos is not an exception either. This cannot be an allusion to the Holy Ghost, for present day creed of the Holy Ghost did not exist until the Council of Chalcedon, in 451 CE, four and half centuries after Jesus.

John 14:17 "he will be the spirit of truth"

…meaning he will be true prophet, see 1 John 4: 1-3.

John 14:17 "the world neither sees him..."

Many people in the world today do not know Muhammad ﷺ.

John 14:17 "...nor knows him"

Fewer people recognize the real Muhammad ﷺ, God’s Prophet of Mercy.

John 14:26 "the Advocate (parakletos)"

Muhammad ﷺ will be the advocate of humanity at large and of sinful believers on Judgment Day: People will look for those who can intercede on their behalf to God to reduce the distress and suffering on Day of Judgment. Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus will excuse themselves.

 Then they will come to our Prophet ﷺ and he will say, "I am the one who is able." So he will intercede for the people in the Great Plain of Gathering, so judgment may be passed. This is the ‘Station of Praise’ God promises Him in the Quran:

 

Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said:

 Some Muslim scholars suggest what Jesus actually said in Aramaic represents more closely the Greek word periklytos which means the ‘admired one.’ In Arabic the word ‘Muhammad’ means the ‘praiseworthy, admired one.’ In other words, periklytos is "Muhammad" in Greek. 

 We have two strong reasons in its support. 

 First, due to several documented cases of similar word substitution in the Bible, it is quite possible that both words were contained in the original text but were dropped by a copyist because of the ancient custom of writing words closely packed, with no spaces in between.  In such a case the original reading would have been, "and He will give you another comforter (parakletos), the admirable one (periklytos)."

 Second, we have the reliable testimony of at least four Muslim authorities from different eras who ascribed ‘admired, praised one’ as a possible meaning of the Greek or Syriac word to Christians scholars.[4]

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[1] The historical geography of Arabia, P. 130

[2] ‘...Christian tradition has identified this figure (Paraclete) as the Holy Spirit, but scholars like Spitta, Delafosse, Windisch, Sasse, Bultmann, and Betz have doubted whether this identification is true to the original picture and have suggested that the Paraclete was once an independent salvific figure, later confused with the Holy Spirit."  ‘The Anchor Bible, Doubleday & Company, Inc, Garden City, N.Y. 1970, Volume 29A, p. 1135

[3] Genesis 1: 2, 1 Samuel 10: 10, 1 Samuel 11: 6, Isaiah 63: 11, Luke 1: 15, Luke 1: 35, Luke 1: 41, Luke 1: 67, Luke 2: 25, Luke 2: 26, Luke 3:22, John 20: 21-22

[4] Sirat Rasul Allah,’ by Ibn Ishaq (85-151 CE)p, 103.  ‘Bayn al-Islam wal-Masihiyya: Kitab ‘Abi Ubaida al-Khazraji ,’ p. 220-221 by Abu Ubaida al-Khazraji (1146-1187 CE) p. 220-221.  ‘Hidaya tul-Hayara,’ by Ibn ul-Qayyim, p. 119. ‘al-Riyadh al-Aniqa,’ by al-Suyuti, p. 129.