The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in the Torah and the Psalms
The Prophet in the Torah and the Psalms *
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One of the Companions once asked God’s Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) to talk about himself. The Messenger remarked, “I am the one for whose coming Abraham prayed and of whom Jesus gave glad tidings.”
This is an allusion to the following Qur’anic verses:
((Abraham prayed): “Our Lord, raise up in their midst a Messenger from among them who shall recite unto them Your revelations, and teach them the Book and Wisdom, and purify them. Verily you are the All-Mighty, the All-Wise.”) (Al-Baqarah 2:129)
(When Jesus, son of Mary, said: “O children of Israel! I am indeed a Messenger of God to you, confirming that which was [revealed] before me in the Torah, and bringing good tidings of a Messenger who shall come after me, whose name is Ahmad [the Praised One].”) (As-Saff 61:6)
The Messenger of God did not appear unexpectedly. All the preceding Prophets had spoken about him and predicted him. It is stated explicitly in the Qur’an (Aal `Imran 3:81) that Allah made a covenant with the Prophets that they would believe in and help the Messenger who would come after them, confirming the Message that they brought.
Although subjected to many distortions and alterations, the current versions of the Torah, the Gospel, and the Psalms still contain verses alluding, implicitly or explicitly, to the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). The late Husayn Jisri found one hundred and fourteen such allusions and quoted them in his Risalah al-Hamidiyah. We shall cite here a few examples.
The Lord came from Sinai and dawned over them from Sair; He shone forth from Mount Paran (Deuteronomy 33:2)
This verse refers to the Prophethood of Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad (peace be upon all of them). Sinai is the place where the Prophet Moses spoke to God and received the Torah. Sair, a place in Palestine, is where the Prophet Jesus received Divine Revelation. Paran is where God manifested Himself to mankind for the last time through His Revelation to our Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).
Paran is a mountain range in Makkah. It is mentioned in the Torah (Genesis 21:19–21) as the area in the desert where Hagar was left by her husband Abraham (peace and blessings be upon him) to live with her son, Ishmael. The well of Zamzam appeared there. As it is known and stated explicitly in the Qur’an (Ibrahim 14:35–37), Abraham left Hagar and Ishmael in the valley of Makkah, which was then an uninhabited place between the mountain ranges of Paran.
It is because of the explicit predictions of the Torah, its followers were expecting the Last Prophet and knew that he would appear in Makkah.
The verse of Deuteronomy continues,
He came with myriads of holy ones; in his right hand was an axe of fire with two edges.
This verse refers to the promised Prophet who would have numerous Companions of the highest degree of sainthood and be allowed, and even ordered, to fight against his enemies.
The following verses of the Torah also promise the coming of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).
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 18:17–9)
It is clear from these verses that what is meant by “a Prophet like you among their brothers” is a Prophet who will come from the line of Ishmael, since Ishmael is the brother of Isaac, who is the forefather of the Children of Israel. The only Prophet who came after Moses and resembled him in many ways, for example, in the bringing of new laws and the waging of war on his enemies, was the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). The Qur’an 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)
`Abdullah ibn `Amr is reported to have said, “It was common knowledge to the communities of previous religions that God would send a Prophet to the whole of humankind as a bearer of good tidings and a warner. I had personally read in the Torah these verses about him:
We have sent you, O Prophet, to the whole of mankind as a bearer of good tidings and a warner; and as a support and refuge for the common folk. You are my servant and Messenger. I have called you Mutawakkil [the one who puts his trust in God]. He is not one rude, repelling and angry, and shouting in the streets. He does not repel evil with evil; instead, he excuses and forgives. God will not make him die before He guides through him the deviating nation to the right path by declaring there is no deity but God.”
This report of `Abd Allah ibn `Amr was confirmed by `Abdullah ibn Salam and Ka`b Al-Ahbar, who were the most learned scholars of the Jewish community at the time of the Prophet and who later converted to Islam.
We also read about the Seal of the Prophets (peace and blessings be upon him) in the Psalms of David.
He will rule from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth. The desert tribes will bow before him and his enemies will lick the dust. The kings of Tarsish and of distant shores will bring tribute to him; the Kings of Sheba and Seba will present him gifts. All kings will bow down to him and all nations will serve him. For he will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no-one to help. He will take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from death. He will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in his sight.
Long may he live! May gold from Sheba be given to him. May people ever pray for him and bless him all day long. Let corn abound throughout the land; on the tops of the hills may it sway. May his name endure for ever; may it continue as long as the sun. All nations will be blessed through him, and they will call him blessed. (Psalms, Chapter 72:8–17).
Image
One of the Companions once asked God’s Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) to talk about himself. The Messenger remarked, “I am the one for whose coming Abraham prayed and of whom Jesus gave glad tidings.”
This is an allusion to the following Qur’anic verses:
((Abraham prayed): “Our Lord, raise up in their midst a Messenger from among them who shall recite unto them Your revelations, and teach them the Book and Wisdom, and purify them. Verily you are the All-Mighty, the All-Wise.”) (Al-Baqarah 2:129)
(When Jesus, son of Mary, said: “O children of Israel! I am indeed a Messenger of God to you, confirming that which was [revealed] before me in the Torah, and bringing good tidings of a Messenger who shall come after me, whose name is Ahmad [the Praised One].”) (As-Saff 61:6)
The Messenger of God did not appear unexpectedly. All the preceding Prophets had spoken about him and predicted him. It is stated explicitly in the Qur’an (Aal `Imran 3:81) that Allah made a covenant with the Prophets that they would believe in and help the Messenger who would come after them, confirming the Message that they brought.
Although subjected to many distortions and alterations, the current versions of the Torah, the Gospel, and the Psalms still contain verses alluding, implicitly or explicitly, to the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). The late Husayn Jisri found one hundred and fourteen such allusions and quoted them in his Risalah al-Hamidiyah. We shall cite here a few examples.
The Lord came from Sinai and dawned over them from Sair; He shone forth from Mount Paran (Deuteronomy 33:2)
This verse refers to the Prophethood of Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad (peace be upon all of them). Sinai is the place where the Prophet Moses spoke to God and received the Torah. Sair, a place in Palestine, is where the Prophet Jesus received Divine Revelation. Paran is where God manifested Himself to mankind for the last time through His Revelation to our Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).
Paran is a mountain range in Makkah. It is mentioned in the Torah (Genesis 21:19–21) as the area in the desert where Hagar was left by her husband Abraham (peace and blessings be upon him) to live with her son, Ishmael. The well of Zamzam appeared there. As it is known and stated explicitly in the Qur’an (Ibrahim 14:35–37), Abraham left Hagar and Ishmael in the valley of Makkah, which was then an uninhabited place between the mountain ranges of Paran.
It is because of the explicit predictions of the Torah, its followers were expecting the Last Prophet and knew that he would appear in Makkah.
The verse of Deuteronomy continues,
He came with myriads of holy ones; in his right hand was an axe of fire with two edges.
This verse refers to the promised Prophet who would have numerous Companions of the highest degree of sainthood and be allowed, and even ordered, to fight against his enemies.
The following verses of the Torah also promise the coming of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).
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 18:17–9)
It is clear from these verses that what is meant by “a Prophet like you among their brothers” is a Prophet who will come from the line of Ishmael, since Ishmael is the brother of Isaac, who is the forefather of the Children of Israel. The only Prophet who came after Moses and resembled him in many ways, for example, in the bringing of new laws and the waging of war on his enemies, was the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). The Qur’an 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)
`Abdullah ibn `Amr is reported to have said, “It was common knowledge to the communities of previous religions that God would send a Prophet to the whole of humankind as a bearer of good tidings and a warner. I had personally read in the Torah these verses about him:
We have sent you, O Prophet, to the whole of mankind as a bearer of good tidings and a warner; and as a support and refuge for the common folk. You are my servant and Messenger. I have called you Mutawakkil [the one who puts his trust in God]. He is not one rude, repelling and angry, and shouting in the streets. He does not repel evil with evil; instead, he excuses and forgives. God will not make him die before He guides through him the deviating nation to the right path by declaring there is no deity but God.”
This report of `Abd Allah ibn `Amr was confirmed by `Abdullah ibn Salam and Ka`b Al-Ahbar, who were the most learned scholars of the Jewish community at the time of the Prophet and who later converted to Islam.
We also read about the Seal of the Prophets (peace and blessings be upon him) in the Psalms of David.
He will rule from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth. The desert tribes will bow before him and his enemies will lick the dust. The kings of Tarsish and of distant shores will bring tribute to him; the Kings of Sheba and Seba will present him gifts. All kings will bow down to him and all nations will serve him. For he will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no-one to help. He will take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from death. He will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in his sight.
Long may he live! May gold from Sheba be given to him. May people ever pray for him and bless him all day long. Let corn abound throughout the land; on the tops of the hills may it sway. May his name endure for ever; may it continue as long as the sun. All nations will be blessed through him, and they will call him blessed. (Psalms, Chapter 72:8–17).
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