Question:

Dr, a Muslim presented me with these arguments. I find it difficult to refute. There are too many coincidences.. Can these be true Sir?

And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned. (Isaiah 29:12 KJV) Truth stands out clear from Error (Qur’an 2:256) Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in the Old Testament: The Qur’an mentions in Surah Al-Araf chapter 7 verse 157: "Those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered Prophet, whom they find mentioned in their own (scriptures) in the law and the Gospel".

1. MUHAMMAD (PBUH): prophesied in Deut 18:18: "I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and I will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him." The Christians say that this prophecy refers to Jesus (pbuh) because Jesus (pbuh) was like Moses (pbuh). Moses (pbuh) was a Jew, as well as Jesus (pbuh) was a Jew. Moses (pbuh) was a Prophet and Jesus (pbuh) was also a Prophet. If these two are the only criteria for this prophecy to be fulfilled, then all the Prophets of the Bible who came after Moses (pbuh) such as Solomon, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Malachi, John the Baptist, etc. (pbut) will fulfill this prophecy since all were Jews as well as prophets. However, it is Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) who is like Moses (pbuh): i) Both had a father and a mother, while Jesus (pbuh) was born miraculously without any male intervention. [Mathew 1:18 and Luke 1:35 and also Al-Qur’an 3:42-47] ii) Both were married and had children. Jesus (pbuh) according to the Bible did not marry nor had children. iii) Both died natural deaths. Jesus (pbuh) has been raised up alive. (4:157-158) Muhammad (pbuh) is from among the brethren of Moses (pbuh). Arabs are brethren of Jews. Abraham (pbuh) had two sons: Ishmail and Isaac (pbut). The Arabs are the descendants of Ishmail (pbuh) and the Jews are the descendants of Isaac (pbuh). Words in the mouth: Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was unlettered and whatever revelations he received from Almighty God he repeated them verbatim. "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] iv) Both besides being Prophets were also kings i.e. they could inflict capital punishment. Jesus (pbuh) said, "My kingdom is not of this world." (John 18:36). v) Both were accepted as Prophets by their people in their lifetime but Jesus (pbuh) was rejected by his people. John chapter 1 verse 11 states, "He came unto his own, but his own received him not." vi) Both brought new laws and new regulations for their people. Jesus (pbuh) according to the Bible did not bring any new laws. (Mathew 5:17-18).  It is Mentioned in the book of Deuteronomy chapter 18:19. "And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not harken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him."

3. prophet Muhammad (pbuh) mentioned by name in the Old Testament: Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is mentioned by name in the Song of Solomon chapter 5 verse 16:"Hikko Mamittakim we kullo Muhammadim Zehdoodeh wa Zehraee Bayna Jerusalem." "His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem." In the Hebrew language im is added for respect. Similarely im is added after the name of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) to make it Muhammadim. In English translation they have even translated the name of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) as "altogether lovely", but in the Old Testament in Hebrew, the name of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is yet present.

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in the New Testament: Al-Qur’an Chapter 61 Verse 6:"And remember, Jesus, the son of Mary, said, ‘O Children of Israel! I am the messenger of Allah (sent) to you, confirming the Law (which came) before me and giving glad tidings of a messenger to come after me, whose name shall be Ahmed.’ But when he came to them with clear signs, they said, ‘This is evident sorcery!’ All the prophecies mentioned in the Old Testament regarding Muhammad (pbuh) besides applying to the Jews also hold good for the Christians.

1. John chapter 14 verse 16:"And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever." 2. Gospel of John chapter 15 verse 26: "But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me." 3. Gospel of John chapter 16 verse 7: "Nevertheless I tell you the truth; it is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you". "Ahmed" or "Muhammad" meaning "the one who praises" or "the praised one" is almost the translation of the Greek word Periclytos. In the Gospel of John 14:16, 15:26, and 16:7. The word ‘Comforter’ is used in the English translation for the Greek word Paracletos which means advocate or a kind friend rather than a comforter. Paracletos is the warped reading for Periclytos. Jesus (pbuh) actually prophesised Ahmed by name. Even the Greek word Paraclete refers to the Prophet (pbuh) who is a mercy for all creatures. Some Christians say that the Comforter mentioned in these prophecies refers to the Holy Sprit. They fail to realise that the prophecy clearly says that only if Jesus (pbuh) departs will the Comforter come. The Bible states that the Holy Spirit was already present on earth before and during the time of Jesus (pbuh), in the womb of Elizabeth, and again when Jesus (pbuh) was being baptised, etc. Hence this prophecy refers to none other than Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).

4. Gospel of John chapter 16 verse 12-14: "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you unto all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me". The Sprit of Truth, spoken about in this prophecy referes to none other than Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)

Answer:

These arguments sound good, but if they are looked at carefully, they are really VERY weak. These are the same tired arguments used by Muslims for a long time. They only work if one completely ignores the obvious Christian interpretation of these passages. Let me explain one example at a time.

1. About Isaiah 29:12. It reads: Or if you give the scroll to someone who cannot read and say, "Read this, please," he will answer, "I don’t know what to read." If we look at the context, this is about a scroll delivered to Isaiah. It is so ridiculously out of context to say that this is a prophecy about a prophet who cannot read. The only way to see this as a future prophet who is illiterate is to read it INTO the passage, as it certainly is not in the passage. It is talking about an actual scroll and a person who cannot read it. Is this something which happened to Muhammed? This is really rather obviously reading out of the context. No one reading this passage–NO ONE–would interpret this as a prophecy of a prophet who is illiterate. This is so obviously out of context that the argument is really a bit embarrassing.

2. About Deuteronomy 18:18 This is by far the most common falsely claimed "prophecy" of Muhammed in the Bible. If we look at the argument it is so weak as to be almost humorous. First, the author lists a number of things about which Moses was similar to Muhammed but not like Jesus. We could play this game in reverse. The correct question to ask is in what sense does God mean that the future one like Moses will be like him? For example: OK, I can agree that Moses had a wife and children and Jesus did not, but the similarity to Muhammed who had more than 20 wives is very questionable. I will also agree that Moses and Muhammed both had natural deaths, but is that the likeness that God is focusing in on.? Dying is not exactly an unusual qualification, given that virtually everyone who has ever lived died. If this qualifies Muhammed, then it qualifies all humans who have ever lived (except Jesus) This is an argument that Moses is like Muhammed, because he died like Moses? A truly weak argument. I could list an unlimited number of similarities between Moses and Jesus in which Muhammed was different. Both were Jews, Muhammed was not. In fact, because Muhammed was not a Jew, he was absolutely disqualified to be one of Moses’ brothers. Moses worked miracles, Jesus worked miracles and Muhammed did not. Moses led Israel out of slavery in Egypt, while Jesus leads us out of spiritual slavery. Moses was threatened with death by an angry king as a baby. Jesus was threatened with death by an angry king. Look at the "similarities the author lists between Moses and Muhammed: They both had parents, they both were married and they both died. The great majority of people who have ever lived had these qualities. Is this the similarity God is talking about? The similarity is that both were prophets to God’s people–the Jews. Both saved the people. Both were "called out of Egypt." Both delivered a covenant to God’s people. Moses gave bread to the people, Jesus is the bread of life. Moses gave water out of a rock, Jesus gave the Holy Spirit, which is the spring of water for eternal life. It is really quite outrageous to say that Mohammed is the fulfillment of this Jewish prophecy to the Jewish people about a fellow-Jew. It only works when given to a Muslim who does not think about the context in the Bible

3. Then this person claims that Muhammed is mentioned in the Old Testament. OK. Let’s look at the passage in question. Song of Solomon 5:16. "His mouth is sweetness itself; he is altogether lovely. This is my lover, this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem. This passage is a woman talking about the kisses of her lover. She is saying that her lover’s kiss is sweet.  This is a prophecy that there will be a prophet named Muhammed? Really? Is this Muslim teacher serious? How gullible does he expect us to be? Now, what about the Hebrew word? It is mamtaqqim according to my Hebrew dictionary. This author conveniently changes this name to mohammedim, to which the Hebrew word is only quite vaguely similar.

So, these are the Old Testament prophecies which are supposedly predictions of Muhammed. If this is the best argument that Muslims have, then their arguments are not worth the paper they are written on. In every case, we have a Muslim reading the Old Testament, not to discover what it says and means but for the single purpose of finding "evidence" for Muhammed, no matter how out of context the example must be. Compare this to OT prophecies of Jesus which are quite specific. Psalms 22:16-18 has the Messiah crucified and his clothing gambled over. Micah 5:2 has the Messiah born in Bethlehem. Zechariah 11:12 has him betrayed for 30 pieces of silver. Now, these are prophecies!

I am sorry, but the New Testament examples of "prophecies" of Muhammed are even weaker, if that is possible. They are weaker, not because they are not specifically about Muhammed, but because they are so absolutely obviously about someone else.

1. John 14:16. "If you love me you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever–the Spirit of Truth." Of course, Muslims always end their quite of John 14:16 right before Jesus identified the Counselor he was sending. This is the Holy Spirit. Is Muhammed with us forever? I think not. He died and was buried. Jesus is talking about the Holy Spirit who dwells in us forever. Acts 2:38-39 is a promise that for those who repent and are baptized, they will be forgiven of their sins and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Peter went on to say that this promise was "for all who are far off–for all whom the Lord our God will call." The very idea that a man who denied the deity of Jesus and who denied the saving ministry of Jesus and who denied the crucifixion of Jesus and who was not born for more than five hundred years after Jesus gave this promise was the one prophesied by Jesus is really blasphemous and is such a weak argument as to almost not even deserve a response. Only a Muslim who never reads the New Testament can possibly believe this bogus interpretation of a prophecy of Jesus.

2. John 15:26 is similarly taken rather obviously out of context. Jesus is telling his apostles about the Holy Spirit who he would send to them, saying that the Holy Spirit would testify about Jesus, but that they must also testify about Jesus. Muhammed never testified about Jesus. He never preached about Jesus Christ even once. Besides he came more than five hundred years after Jesus made this promise to his apostles that this counselor would begin to testify about him before they went out and did so as well. Would anyone reading this passage in its context think: "Oh yeah, this is about an Arab man who will live 600 years aftger Jesus and who never testified about him as the apostles did.?

3. John 16:12-14 Here Jesus implies that when he leaves, this Counselor will come to them. This is what happened. Just a few days after Jesus was resurrected and ascended to heaven, the promised Holy Spirit was given to the apostles and them promised for all who believe in Jesus. It really is quite silly to claim that Jesus is talking to his apostles about a man would not be born for well over five hundred years after he made this statement. Again, the only way anyone could possibly believe this is to not read the Bible in its context. This is a clear case of reading Muhammad INTO the New Testament rather than finding him in the New Testament.

John Oakes