Summary of 3.5 “Characteristics”
When we analyzed the forty-second chapter of the Book of Isaiah in the Bible, it was quite obvious that there were many indications on the identity of the prophesied prophet. And we said that those indications applied to none other than Prophet Mohammed.
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First of all, the verses say that this prophet is mentioned as the servant of God and His messenger. Even though all prophets are messengers of God, only Mohammed has been clearly and universally considered as Mohammed the Messenger of God. Secondly, the chapter indicated that this prophet will rule, he will become a judge among the people, and that his rule would not only be limited to prophecy and prophet-hood but he’d also become a leader of a community and a head of state. Again, after Moses, David and Solomon, there’s not other prophet really that meets this criterion.
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Thirdly, it mentions that this prophet will not cry, or give up or feel discouraged and he shall not fail. This definitely applies to a prophet who, God willing was able to continue and complete his mission and bring it to finality and have victory over his adversaries who sought to destroy him. There is also mention about the universality of this prophet’s message, and that the isles will be waiting for his law. We said again, after Moses there is not prophet who claims to bring a new code of law other than Prophet Mohammed.
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It is mentioned that through him, God will open the eyes of the blind and bring those who are prisoners in darkness and nothing could be more descriptive of the ignorance of the Arabs before Islam and the fact that they have opened their eyes to the truth through the final Prophet Mohammed may peace and blessings be upon him.
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Additionally, this chapter mentions that God says that His glory will not be given to another, which means that His revelation given to this prophet would be the final revelation and no other prophet will come after him. Fourteen hundred years have passed since Prophet Mohammed and I don’t think anyone could strongly claim that s/he has received a new revelation from God.
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The chapter moves on to say that a new song will be sung unto the Lord. Again, we said that this is a reference to the fact that the new scripture (as the term song is referring to) would be a different language, a ‘new song,’ a new language other than the language in which other scriptures have been revealed.
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Finally, we prove that the context of this chapter is really dealing with none but Prophet Mohammed. The evidence is conclusive from verses 11 in which it mentions the joy of the settlements of Kedar. According to the Bible, Kedar is the second son of Ishmael (the son of Abraham), which means this prophet is a descendent of Ishmael. As we mentioned, no other major prophet has come from the Ishmaelite side of the family of Abraham, other than Prophet Mohammed.
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3.6 About the Qur’an and Ka’bah
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Host: Throughout this series, we’ve been looking at a number of references relating to this expected prophet in the Bible. We’ve looked at references that deal with lineage and we’ve traced the lineage of Abraham’s first son Ishmael and we’ve followed it through. We’ve seen that there have been no major prophets that have come from that line other than Prophet Mohammed may peace and blessings be upon him, who meets the criteria as set in the Bible. In addition to what we’ve already covered, are there other references in the Bible that give any clues on the lineage of this expected and prophesied prophet that will come?
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Jamal Badawi:
In the Book of Isaiah, in chapter 11, there is mentioned in the very first verse ‘And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots.’ The word Jesse has been sometimes misinterpreted to mean the father of David. Some try to apply that to Prophet Jesus, may peace and blessings be upon him, saying, that he is the son of David. Based on Christian sources these are not the correct interpretations.
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According to the Shean’s Encyclopedia Biblica, it says, ‘Jesse is contracted from Ishmael.’ It is the contraction of the term Ishmael. In Hebrew, Ishmael is said ‘yeshmael,’ which can be abbreviated to ‘yesshie,’ which is written in English as Jesse.’ Just according to the Encyclopedia Biblica, itself, it is known that Jesse is the contracted name of Ishmael.
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If you assume just for the sake of argument, that this was the father of David, you wouldn’t say from the stem of Jesse you’d say from the stem of David. David is much more prominent in the Old Testament than his father.
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That’s not all. We find that the remaining description of this coming prophet, in chapter 11 in the Book of Isaiah, apply to none really other than Prophet Mohammed. Some of the descriptions apply only to him, while others apply to him and may apply to others, but all of them apply to him.
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For example, the bible mentions that the spirit of God would rest upon him. As we mentioned in previous programs, the Qur’an indicates that it is a spirit from God that has been revealed to Prophet Mohammed. The Qur’an considers itself as a spirit from God.
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The Bible describes the coming prophet as a person who is given wisdom, knowledge and has the fear of God in his heart. Anyone who studies Islam and knows about the tradition of Prophet Mohammed would know that despite his dedication and worship of God he always indicated that he was the most fearful of God; not in the sense of being scared of God but was very particular with not having God be displeased with him.
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We find that some of the descriptions provided in the Bible don’t quite fit with any other prophet as it does with Prophet Mohammed. For example, it says that the prophesied prophet will judge in righteousness, this is in chapter 11 of the Book of Isaiah. This means that he will not only be a prophet and a spiritual leader but also a ruler. Again, who else came after Solomon, David, and Moses who was both a prophet and a ruler?
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It says, also, that the prophet will ‘smite the earth with the rod of his mouth’ (Isaiah 11:4). That is a reference to the impact of the Qur’an. The beauty and wisdom contained in the Qur’an, which challenged the eloquence of the Arabs of which they were very proud. We find, even until today, people who are not able to read the Qur’an in Arabic still turn to Islam and embrace it because of the truth and beauty of the Qur’an even in its translated form. The real conquest of Islam was through the word and not the sword as many have mistakenly portrayed it.
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In the same chapter in the Book of Isaiah, that the prophet’s resting place shall be glorious. Everyone knows that the second major holy place of Islam is Medina where the mausoleum, the grave of Prophet Mohammed is located.
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Additionally, the Bible says, he ‘shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth’ (Isaiah 11:12) It is interesting to note that historically there have been problems in finding out what happened to the lost tribes of Israel, the ten tribes of Israel. There have been much speculation and effort in uncovering this mystery. Many have traveled to find out, for example, the lineage of the Jews who lived in India. Some of them found on the basis of study on the features, and some of the customs of the people, that apparently there were Israelite tribes living in what is now known as Afghanistan and Kashmere.
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If we were to interpret this, a person who is going to assemble those dispersed tribes of Israel as referring to Prophet Jesus may peace and blessings be upon him, then we are definitely mistaken because those people are not Christians. Everyone knows that Afghanistan is almost completely Muslim. The area of Jamo Kashmere has a majority of Muslims.
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Of course, when talking about ‘assembling’ those lost tribes it doesn’t necessarily mean physically doing so. All of those tribes assemble around Islam; Islam unifies them. If we want to stick to the physical assembly, then this is also true about Islam. When it comes to the yearly pilgrimage, you’ve got Muslims with Jewish backgrounds from Afghanistan, from Kashmere and also the ancestors of Jews who lived in Arabia itself like the Jews of Bani Najjar became Muslim when the prophet migrated to Medina.
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From all of these, it is quite obvious that these descriptions not only may apply to Prophet Mohammed, but, as a whole, apply to no one so fully as they do to him.
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Host: You made references to the fact that the expected prophet would be a ruler and a head of state. Are there any other references, in the Bible, which indicate that the references you just made refer to Prophet Mohammed?
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Jamal Badawi:
There are plenty. In fact, lets look at chapter 9, particularly verses 2 through 7 in the Book of Isaiah, which actually is quite rich with these prophecies. It says, ‘The government shall be upon his shoulder.’ (Isaiah 9:6) In other words, he would shoulder the responsibility as a leader of a government and a head of state.
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Another point brought up is in the second verse, which says, ‘The people that walked in the darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.’ ‘This talks about the people who lived in darkness, and what could be darker than the pre-Islamic Arabs? They were involved in idolatry practices and all kinds of deviations from the truth. They were really living in great darkness and the light that shined forth for them was Islam, which brought about (historically speaking) a great scientific, philosophical, theological and spiritual renaissance for them. Or in other words, brought them to light.
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Additionally, looking at the same chapter, there are other descriptions given concerning the coming prophet. This prophet will be called wonderful, and anyone who studied the history of Prophet Mohammed, will realize how much he had achieve during his lifetime and how superb he was as a missionary (using this term as someone who conveys the message of God). Even his enemies crumbled and many were attracted to Islam through his manners and kindness and ended up embracing Islam after so much initial enmity.
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It says that he’ll be called a counselor, which is one who provides guidance in all aspects of life. It mentions that he’ll also be called the Everlasting Father. In a sense, when taken metaphorically, he is the spiritual father of prophet-hood since he is the edifice and the last of all the prophets who brought the message of God into fulfillment.
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He is described as the Prince of Peace in this chapter in the Bible. The word peace, as you may know, is one of the words, which comes from the same root as the word Islam comes, in Arabic. The word Islam means the achievement of peace through submission to the will of God. Islam and peace both are derived from the same root word. As such, we can say that Prophet Mohammed is the Prince of Peace because, as the Qur’an describes him, awalu al muslimeen, the first (or foremost) of those who achieve peace by submitting to God. (39:12)
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These verses in the Bible, also, say that there would be no end to his peace (or other translations of the Bible: no end to his kingdom). There is no end to his teaching and history manifests that for Prophet Mohammed. Fourteen hundred years after him we find that Islam still continues and grows and now constitutes one-fifth of the total world population and is increasing yearly. So there really is no end in sight to Prophet Mohammed’s message and it has not been superseded by any revelation that may have come after him.
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Finally, in addition to all these points in chapter 9 of the Book of Isaiah, in the Book of Habakkuk, in chapter 3 verses 3-6, which we’ve discussed in detail in a previous program, describes the advent prophet as one who stands and measures the earth. This is a reference to the early conquest, where most of the tyrannical empires of that time crumbled under the Islamic conquest and people were brought to freedom of choice in the matter of their religion and their lives. It mentions, also, that his power will scatter the mountains. Again referring to the astounding victories that the Prophet and his followers had achieved against those tyrannical rulers.
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Furthermore, the Book of Habakkuk, says that this prophet will have the power in his horn, which is the influence and power that comes from the Qur’an.
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Host: Is there anything that you’ve come across during your reading of the Bible, which gives an indication of the kind of revelation this prophet will receive?
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Jamal Badawi:
Anyone who studies the history of Islam will find that the first revelation that came to Prophet Mohammed, as narrated in all authentic historical references was when he was meditating in the Cave of Hira outside of Mecca. Then Angel Gabrielle came to him and told him ‘Recite.’ Prophet Mohammed replied saying that he could not read. The actual wording he used was ma ana bi qari,’ which can be interpreted to mean: 1) I cannot read, 2) I am not learned and 3) what shall I read?
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Then Angel Gabrielle dictated to Mohammed the first revelation of the Qur’an. This is something that is universally understood and accepted by all authorities in Islam. Everyone knows that Prophet Mohammed was illiterate and unlearned.
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The Book of Isaiah has a description that is consistent, if not exactly the same, as how the revelation was given to Prophet Mohammed: ‘And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned.’ (29:12) This description is almost word for word what occurred between the Angel Gabrielle and Prophet Mohammed.
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Another aspect that is very distinctive of the Qur’an, which was not revealed all at once as one complete scripture, is that the Qur’an was revealed piecemeal over a period of twenty-three years. At times a single verse would be revealed and at others a small section or chapter would be revealed.
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In the Bible, in chapter 28 verses 10 in the Book of Isaiah, says, ‘For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little.’ This is precisely, not only what is known historically as how the Qur’an came about, but what the Qur’an says about itself. For example, ‘It is a Qur’an which We have divided into parts, from time to time, in order that thou (Mohammed) mightest recite it to people at intervals: We have revealed it by stages.’ (Qur’an 17:106) That is the exact description of how the Qur’an came about.
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I mentioned before in the discussion concerning chapter 42 in the Book of Isaiah saying a new song would be sung unto the Lord. As we said, a new song could equate to the revelation coming in a new language. The Qur’an is the only revelation from the revelations given to the descendents of Abraham that is in a completely different language.
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Furthermore, there is a very accurate and meticulous description of the state in which the Prophet Mohammed was in when he received his first revelation in chapter 28 verses 11 in the Book of Isaiah. It says, ‘For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to his people.’ Another tongue, we’ve said, is Arabic. However, what does it mean ‘with stammering lips’? The Webster’s Dictionary gives two definitions for the word stammering. The first, is stammering in the sense of stumbling through speech and we know this meaning does not apply to Prophet Mohammed since his youth was considered a well spoken and a quite eloquent person. The second meaning given, ‘to speak or say with involvement, pauses and rapid repetition of syllables and sounds as from excitement.’ In other words, stammering could mean that the person does not have any impediments, but is so excited or under certain tension and is so involved that he speaks with pauses and repeats quickly.
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There is one verse in the Qur’an that gives the same description of what happened to Prophet Mohammed, as did the eleventh verse in chapter 28 of the Book of Isaiah. People who observed the Prophet while he was receiving a revelation noticed that he would suddenly undergo tremendous tension. He would repeat the words quickly as dictated to him through the Angel Gabriel because he knew that this was the word of God and he needed to fully commit it to memory before the Angel departed. He was extremely meticulous in not missing anything sent to him.
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That’s where this verse comes in, ‘Move not thy tongue concerning the Qur’an to make haste therewith. It is for Us to collect it and promulgate it.’ (Qur’an 75:16-17)
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Finally, there’s a prophecy, in the Bible, that says the scripture, which would be given to the advent, would be preserved in its purity and entirety. This is found in the Psalms of David: Psalm 12 verses 6 and 7. It says, ‘The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in the furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O Lord, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.’ Looking at it objectively and historically, there’s no other revelation or scripture in the entire history of mankind that remains in tact in its original language with ample evidence available that it has never been changed, or added to or mixed with any other philosophy but one and that is the Qur’an given to Prophet Mohammed may peace and blessings be upon him.
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Host: Are there any specific geographical locations, such as the Kabbah, that are particularly mentioned in the Bible?
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Jamal Badawi:
In addition to the mention of Becca, as we’ve discussed in previous programs, there are many prophecies that talk about Zion and Jerusalem- New Jerusalem specifically. Early Christians, including Paul, understood the term New Jerusalem to refer to a new holy city instead of Jerusalem in Palestine. Referring to Wall St. as the Mecca of finances doesn’t mean that Wall St. is another Mecca; it’s just used symbolically.
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In Paul’s letter to the Galatians, for example, in verse 25, ‘For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia.’ Even though he tries to belittle the descendents of Ishmael in this verse, he cannot deny that the Mount Sinai of Arabia is a reference to prophet-hood or a covenant since Mount Sinai is not in Arabia but is, instead, used symbolically.
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In addition, there are three differences in the Book of Isaiah. The first is in chapter 52, verse 1, in which it talks about New Jerusalem putting on its new beautiful attire; that it would be a place where the clean and circumcised can enter. The second is in chapter 56, verses 7 and 8, it talks about a house of God, which would be available for all people. Nothing fits more clearly to a house of God for all people, than the Kabbah where millions of people, from all around the globe, come to every year. Lastly, chapter 60, verse 11, talks of the structure whose doors will be kept open day and night. The Kabbah, for the past fourteen hundred years, has always been open to all day and night, and all seasons.
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The context of what we find in many of these passages in the Book of Isaiah mention Kedar, who are the descendents of Ishmael. How much clearer does it have to be to show that this all is pointing to Prophet Mohammed?
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Host: Can you comment on the shift of prophet-hood from the Israelite branch to the Ishmaelite branch of Abraham’s family?
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Jamal Badawi:
The Song of Solomon, chapter 5, verse 16, says, ‘His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.’ This verse mentions a person who is ‘altogether lovely.’ The original Hebrew word for that is muhammadim (Hebrew Bible printed for the British and Foreign Bible Society by Trowitzeh & Sons, Belin, Germany Page 1159). According to Christian sources, such as the Jewish Encyclopedia Biblica, the suffix im stands for dignity and greatness. That’s why, for example, the name of God is Elohim, and the im stands for dignity. Similarly, it’s like using We or Us for God when the singular should be used.
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Removing this suffix, im, we end up with muhammad, which is practically the same as Mohammed.
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