Salaamun alaykum, dear readers!
Verse 7:157 states that Muhammad’s mention is found in the Torah and Gospels that are “with them” (meaning contemporary Bibles). Here is the relevant Quranic citation:
- [7:157] The ones who follow the messenger, the ummi prophet whom they find written down in the Taurat and the Injeel with them…
Deuteronomy 18: First Parallel with Muhammad
Muhammad is not mentioned by name anywhere in the Bible.
However, the Bible makes a number of qualities and descriptions of a future prophet, and it happens to be that Muhammad is a person that fit those descriptions.
Here is God giving a description of a future prophet to Moses in Deuteronomy, which is a description that the prophet Muhammad matches with very well:
- I will raise up for them a prophet like you (Moses) from among their brethren, and will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which he speaks in My name, I will require it of him. But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’ (Deuteronomy 18:18-21, New King James Version)
The prophet like Moses mentioned in Deuteronomy has parallels with Muhammad.
First Parallel: Speaking God’s Words in the Name of God
The first parallel is the phrase “I will put My words in His mouth” and “which He speaks in My name”.
As we know, the entirety of the Quran is supposed to be God’s direct words, in His point of view and authorship, which Muhammad was commanded to recite and relay to people.
And even within the Quran, Muhammad was commanded to say certain things to the people, as indicated whenever the command “Say” appears in the Quran.
We also know that in the Quran, there are 112 Bismillahs (which means “In the name of God”) acting as a prefix, or “verse 0” in each Surah, with the first Surah having it as verse 1.
The prefix “in the name of God” before each Surah is to let the reader know that the Surah is God’s direct words (“My words”) being recited by Muhammad to the people in God’s name (“which He speaks in My name”), or in other words, on behalf of God and with His authority.
Second Parallel: The Death Sentence
The second parallel that prophet like Moses in this Deuteronomy passage has with Muhammad is that this prophet was sentenced to death if he were to speak in God’s name something that God did not tell him to speak. That’s because if that were the case, the prophet would be attributing something to God that isn’t true.
The Quran sentences Muhammad to death from aortic rupture the moment he was to do something like that intentionally, falsely making up statements and attributing them to God.
- [69:44-46] But if he made up against Us some of the sayings, We definitely would have seized him by the right, and We definitely would have severed the aorta from him.
Third Parallel – Prophet Like Moses
The third is that the prophet is like Moses in some respects.
Just like Moses did for the Jews, Muhammad came from God with a different set of rules and worship rituals (the Quran) for a group of people (both Gentiles and Jews).
Also like Moses, Muhammad and his people suffered persecution for a time and was forcibly evicted from his home town, by his own people. The same people who, when they learned that the Muslims were migrating to Madina after the exile, waged war against the Muslims and the residents of Medina for protecting Muhammad and his people.
Some may say that this refers to Jesus and not Muhammad; but how can the Christian version of Jesus (who is also God himself, a part of a trinity) be comparable to a mere human like Moses? That’s like saying a human is comparable to an entity millions of times less massive than an electron.
And in both the Bible and the Quran, Jesus had no father and was born of the virgin Mary, but Muhammad and Moses both had two biological parents.
Fourth Parallel: The Prophet Comes from the Brethren of the Israelites
Finally, the fourth parallel that Muhammad has with this prophet mentioned in Deuteronomy is that he comes from among “their brethren”, and who is “their”?
This pronoun “their” refers to the Israelites, because the previous verses (Deuteronomy 18:15-16) show Moses speaking to all the Israelites.
The prophet Muhammad was descended from Abraham through his son Ismael. Therefore, he is an Ismaelite, the group of people who are the brethren, or brothers, of the Israelites.
Many Jews might interpret “brothers of the Israelites” as fellow Israelites, because Jews (being descended from Judah) are like a tribe of people with a common heritage. But it is equally as possible that “brothers of the Israelites” refers to Ismaelites too.
Now, Christians believe this prophet mentioned in Deuteronomy 18 is Jesus. However, the New Testament seems to back up the interpretation of the prophet in Deuteronomy as not Jesus:
- In John 1:19-21 when priests and Levites asked John the Baptist who he was. John, knowing they were asking if he was the Christ (Messiah), responded that he wasn’t the Christ. When they asked if he was Elijah, he said no. When they asked if he was the prophet (the one mentioned in Deuteronomy), he responded no.
- Again, in John 7:40-44, when people heard about Jesus, some remarked that he really was the prophet like Moses from Deuteronomy. Some remarked that he really was the foretold Christ.
This shows that in the New Testament, the prophet like Moses mentioned in Deuteronomy was known to be distinct from the Christ (which is Jesus).
Not only that, but the prophet like Moses from Deuteronomy has God’s direct words being put in his mouth which this prophet speaks in God’s name, and is sentenced to death if he falsely attributes any statement to God.
- If the Christian Jesus (who is seen as God in human form) was the prophet of Deuteronomy, then that would mean God is putting His revelations into His own mouth?
- That would also mean God is sentencing Himself to death as a penalty for falsely attributing any statement against Himself?
- That seems like a logical and theological contradiction from the perspective of Christian doctrine, unless the prophet of Deuteronomy is someone who isn’t God Himself.
Isaiah 42: Second Description Muhammad
Another passage from the Old Testament gives descriptions that the prophet Muhammad matches very well with, and that is chapter 42 of the book of Isaiah.
Interestingly, this unnamed servant that God mentions in Isaiah 42 is said to be sent to the Gentiles (non-Jews), bringing forth justice to them and being a light for them.
This rules out Jesus, whose original mission in both the Quran and the Bible was to the Jews and not the Gentiles. In Islam, the Quran is the only scripture ever sent by God as a “light” to the Gentiles of the whole world, since the previous scriptures were sent only to certain groups of people (such as the Torah and Gospel for the Jews, and other non-Israelite prophets and messengers were sent with messages pertaining only to their people).
Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights, I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles. (Isaiah 42:1, New King James version)
“I, the Lord, have called You in righteousness, and will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the Gentiles. (Isaiah 42:6)
But He (Jesus) answered and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Matthew 15:24)
[Quran 3:49] And he (Jesus) is a messenger to the Children of Israel: “Indeed, I have certainly come to you with a sign from your Lord…
[4:174] O people (Gentiles and Jews), a proof has certainly come to you from your Lord, and We have brought down to you a clear light (Quran).
[5:15] O People of the Book, certainly, Our messenger has come to you, who clarifies for you much of what you used to obscure of the Book, and pardons from much. Certainly, a light has come to you from God, and a clear Book.
Curiously, further into the chapter, we notice a little more evidence that this servant mentioned in the beginning of Isaiah 42 will come from Arabia. There is mention of Kedar (a term that refers to the Arab nomads in general, because it is said that they descended from Kedar, who is the son of Ismael).
There is also mention of “inhabitants of Sela” singing along with this servant. Mount Sela is a mountain in Madina, indicating that the servant in Isaiah 42 is likely an inhabitant of Madina, or someone who will profoundly impact the behavior of inhabitants of Madina:
- Sing to the Lord a new song, and His praise from the ends of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, you coastlands and you inhabitants of them! Let the wilderness and its cities lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar inhabits. Let the inhabitants of Sela sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains. Let them give glory to the Lord, And declare His praise in the coastlands. The Lord shall go forth like a mighty man; He shall stir up His zeal like a man of war. He shall cry out, yes, shout aloud; He shall prevail against His enemies. (Isaiah 42:10-13)
This passage from Isaiah 42 mentions that the “servant” mentioned in the beginning of Isaiah 42 will sing a “new song” which will then be sung by the Kedarites (Arab) people and the inhabitants of Mount Sela which is in Medina, Saudi Arabia. This new song will involve singing God’s praises.
And this passage mentions that beyond Kedar and Mount Sela, those who inhabit the coastlands and the mountains in the whole world, and the cities of the wilderness, will also sing this new song.
That new song ostensibly is the Quran, a book recited in a song-like manner (God in the Quran commands to recite the Quran with “tarteel“, which is a rhythmic, measured, and melodious style) that brings a brand-new law for the Gentiles. Hence, the Quran meets the criteria of a “new song”.
The Quran was revealed as a message to the whole world, but given to a prophet who lived in Arabia (Kedar) and lived in Medina where Mount Sela is, thus mirroring the passage’s claim that the song will be sung by the whole world, with special emphasis on Kedar and Sela.
The Muslims recite the Quran in this song-like manner during each Salat as required by God in the Quran, so the prophet Muhammad, in a way, sung the Quran for the 1.9 billion Muslims of the world to listen and sing along every day at least during their mandatory Salat prayers, multiple times a day.
The opening chapter of the Quran (Surah al-Fatiha) is recited by Muslims during every Salah, along with any other Quranic passage of their choice, and the second verse is, “Praise is for God, the Lord of the worlds.”
So, 1.9 billion Muslims all across the globe sing this “new song” multiple times on a daily basis, which involves God’s praises, including the people of Kedar (Arabs) and Sela (the people of Medina), thus heavily matching the prophecy of Isaiah 42.
- [73:4] Or add upon it, and recite the Quran with tarteel.
- [25:32] And the ones who disbelieved said, “Why was the Quran not brought down upon him altogether!” Like that, it was for We may make firm your heart thereby, and We have recited it with tarteel.
Even more curiously, this passage from Isaiah 42 states that God (figuratively, likely through the servant/prophet that was mentioned in the beginning of Isaiah 42) will go forth like a “mighty man”, stir up His zeal like a “man of war”, and prevail against His enemies. The prophet Muhammad is widely known for doing that by uniting Arabia under Islam, prevailing over his enemies, and creating zeal for God as both a prophet and a warrior.
Conclusion
In conclusion, there are descriptions of a future prophet that was mentioned in Deuteronomy 18 and Isaiah 42. Due to the many parallels between Muhammad and the prophet that is the subject of Isaiah 42 and Deuteronomy 18, he very much seems to fit the description of that mentioned future prophet.
This future prophet foretold in the Old Testament was also mentioned twice in the New Testament, specifically on the Book of John.
Thus, the Quran is right that the prophet Muhammad was mentioned in the previous scriptures, although it was done by description rather than by name.
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