Prophet Muhammad in the Bible

By  Fethullah Gülen

According to Islam, almost all previous prophets predicted Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings upon them all). Despite the distortions suffered by the Torah, the Psalms, and the Gospels, we find indications of his coming.

For example, the Torah promises the coming of the Prophet Muhammad,

The Lord said to me (Moses): "what they say is good. I will raise up for them a prophet like you among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I will myself call him to account." (Deuteronomy 18:17–19)

The phrase "a prophet like you among their brothers" clearly refers to a prophet from the line of Ishmael, the brother of Isaac, who is the forefather of Moses' people (the children of Israel).

The only prophet who came from this line after Moses and resembled him in many ways (e.g., bringing a new law, and waging war on his enemies), is Prophet Muhammad.

Also, Deuteronomy 34:10 clearly states that no prophet like Moses ever appeared among the Israelites: "[with respect to his virtues and awesome deeds,] a prophet like Moses, whom the Lord knows face to face, no longer appeared among Israel."

The Quran points to the same fact,

[We have sent to you a messenger as a witness over you, even as we sent to pharaoh a messenger] (Al-Muzzammil 73:15). 

The sentence: "I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him", in the above Biblical verse, means that the promised prophet will be unlettered and speak whatever is revealed to him.

God states this in the Quran what means,

{ He does not speak out of [his own] desire. it is but a revelation revealed } (An-Najm 53:3–4).

The following verse, "the Lord came from Sinai and dawned over them from Seir; he shone forth from mount Paran" (Deuteronomy, 33:2), refers to the prophethood of Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad, respectively, upon them be peace.

Prophet Moses spoke to God and received the Torah at Sinai; Prophet Jesus received divine revelation at Seir, a place in Palestine; and God manifested Himself to humanity for the last time through his revelation to Prophet Muhammad at Paran, a mountain range near Makkah.

The Torah mentions (Genesis 21:21) Paran as the desert area where Prophet Abraham, upon him be peace, left Hagar and their son Ishmael. The Zamzam well also is located there. As stated explicitly in the Quran (Ibrahim 14:35–37), Abraham left them in the valley of Makkah, at that time an uninhabited place within Paran's mountain ranges.

The verse in Deuteronomy, according to the Arabic version published in London (1944) and the Ottoman Turkish version (Istanbul: 1885), continues: "he came with myriads of holy ones; in his right hand appeared to them the fire of the shari'a."

This verse refers to the promised Prophet, Muhammad who would have numerous companions of the highest degree of sainthood. The "fire of the shari'a" alludes to the fact that he would be allowed, even ordered, to fight his enemies.

In the gospel of Matthew, we come across an interesting verse in which Jesus said:

Have you never read in the scriptures: "the stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvellous in our eyes? Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed." (Matthew 21:42–44)

This capstone cannot be Prophet Jesus, for the verses refer to crushing victories won by the "capstone's" followers. No people were ever crushed because they resisted Christianity.

Christianity spread in the Roman Empire only after it underwent some changes and was reconciled with roman religion(s). Western dominion of the world came via scientific thought's triumph over the Medieval Church, and took the form of ruthless colonialism.

Islam, on the other hand, ruled almost half of the old world for centuries. Its original purity was never diluted, its enemies were defeated many times, and it successfully defended itself against Christianity.

Currently, Islam is once again rising as a pure, authentic religion, way of life, and hope for human salvation. Moreover, Prophet Jesus himself alludes to this by stating that the kingdom of God will be taken away from his followers and given to a people who will produce its fruit, as seen above.

Moreover, in a telling detail recorded by the hadith scholars, Al-Bukhari and Muslim, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) describes himself as the "capstone," thereby completing the building of prophethood.

Another reference to the prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, is found in the gospel of John:

But I tell you the truth: it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Paraklit will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment. (John 16:7-8)

In these verses, Prophet Muhammad is referred to as Paraklit, a Greek word meaning "the distinguisher between truth and falsehood." Christian interpreters have given this word different meanings, such as "counsellor" (Gideon’s International), "helper" (American Bible Society), or "comforter" (the Company of the Holy Bible), and claimed that it refers to the Holy Spirit. But they have never been able to establish whether the Holy Spirit came and did what Jesus foretold it would do.

If, according to Christians, the Holy Spirit is archangel Gabriel, he came many times to Prophet Muhammad  to bring divine revelation. Further, Jesus mentioned and predicted the Paraklit with various names, but always with the same function, as seen in the following verses:

"When the Paraklit comes — the spirit of truth — who comes from the Father, he will testify about me." (John 15:26)

I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking what is mine and making it known to you (John 16:12–14)

These are only a few of the Bible's allusions to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

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Fethullah Gülen is a modernist Islamic scholar, writer, and leader of the Gülen movement. He is the author of over 60 books. Gülen was recently listed among the top hundred public intellectuals by foreign policy magazine.