Old Testament Prophecy
By:
Shahid Bin Waheed شاهد
بن وحيد
بسم الله الرحمن
الرحيم
الحمدلله
رب العالمين والصلوة
والسلام على اشرف
الانبياء وسيدالمرسلين
نبينا محمد صل
ا لله عليه وعلى
آله واصحابه وازواجه
اجمعين - امابعد
Thanks to be Allaah, Sustainer of the Universe, and blessing and salutation to be the most distinguish of the Messengers and foremost among the Prophets, our Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allaah be on him and on his wives, children and Companions.
019:001 In the third month,
when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same
day came they into the wilderness of Sinai.
019:002 For they were
departed from Rephidim, and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched
in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mount.
019:003 And Moses went up
unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt
thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel;
019:004 Ye have seen what I
did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you
unto myself.
019:005 Now therefore, if
ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar
treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
019:006 And ye shall be
unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are the words which thou
shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
019:007 And Moses came and
called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these
words which the LORD commanded him.
019:008 And all the people
answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do. And
Moses returned the words of the people unto the LORD.
019:009 And the LORD said
unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear
when I speak with thee, and believe thee forever. And Moses told the words of
the people unto the LORD.
019:010 And the LORD said
unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to day and to morrow, and let
them wash their clothes,
019:011 And be ready
against the third day: for the third day the LORD will come down in the sight
of all the people upon mount Sinai.
019:017 And Moses brought forth the people out of
the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount.
019:018 And mount Sinai was
altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the
smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked
greatly.
019:019 And when the voice
of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God
answered him by a voice.
019:020 And the LORD came
down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the LORD called Moses up to
the top of the mount; and Moses went up.
019:021 And the LORD said
unto Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they break through unto the LORD
to gaze, and many of them perish.
019:022 And let the priests
also, which come near to the LORD, sanctify themselves, lest the LORD break
forth upon them.
019:023 And Moses said unto the LORD,
The people cannot come up to mount Sinai: for thou chargedst us, saying, Set
bounds about the mount, and sanctify it.
019:024 And the LORD said
unto him, Away, get thee down, and thou shalt come up, thou, and Aaron with
thee: but let not the priests and the people break through to come up unto the
LORD, lest he break forth upon them.
019:025 So Moses went down
unto the people, and spake unto them.
020:018 And all the people saw the thunderings,
and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and
when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.
020:019 And they said unto
Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us,
lest we die.
020:020 And Moses said unto
the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be
before your faces, that ye sin not.
020:021 And the people
stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.
020:022 And the LORD said
unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, Ye have seen that
I have talked with you from heaven.
Israelites were not
contended at Mount Sinai to receive the Commandments from God through Moses, as
we read in Exodus cited above. Israelites were rather eager to hear the God
communicating with Moses on the Mount Sinai. Whereas in the second instance to
hear God speaking with Moses and Israelites directly and to see the God through
their own eyes.
Once the wish was granted and the very first
encounter to witness God scared the life out of Israelites, which is evidence
in Exodus 20:19 (“And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will
hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.”). Thereafter we read in Exodus 20 to 22:
“020:020 And Moses said unto the people,
Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your
faces, that ye sin not. 020:021 And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near
unto the thick darkness where God was. 020:022 And the LORD said unto Moses,
Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, Ye have seen that I have
talked with you from heaven.”
The Deuteronomy contains what happened next, in
which we read very precise details of the dialogue between God and Moses and
the Law given in Exodus. The request of the Israelites to be spared from a
direct address by God is granted. God reveals His “Master Plan” to Moses with His eternal scheme of revelation of
His Ever-Lasting and Final Word The Glorious Qur’aan through His last
Prophet Muhammad. Who would be an Ishmaelite making it perfectly clear that
it is the only way the request would be satisfied.
Let us read Deuteronomy
18:16-22 of Old Testament”
018:016 According to all
that thou desiredst of the LORD thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly,
saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, neither let me see
this great fire any more, that I die not.
018:017 And the LORD said
unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken.
018:018 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.
018:019 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my
words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.
018:020 But the prophet,
which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him
to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet
shall die.
018:021 And if thou say
in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken?
018:022 When a prophet
speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass,
that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken
it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.
The Glorious Quraan says in Surah Al-Imraan Ayah 164:
لَقَدْ مَنَّ اللَّهُ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ إِذْ بَعَثَ فِيهِمْ رَسُولًا مِنْ أَنْفُسِهِمْ يَتْلُو عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتِهِ وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَإِنْ كَانُوا مِنْ قَبْلُ لَفِي ضَلَالٍ مُبِينٍ
Allah
did confer a great favor on the Believers when He sent among them a Messenger from
among themselves, rehearsing unto them the Signs of Allah, sanctifying them,
and instructing them in Scripture and Wisdom, while before that, they had been
in manifest error.
We further read in Surah Al-Maidah, Ayah 20
(Qur’aan 5:20):
وَإِذْ
قَالَ مُوسَى لِقَوْمِهِ
يَا قَوْمِ اذْكُرُوا
نِعْمَةَ اللَّهِ
عَلَيْكُمْ إِذْ
جَعَلَ فِيكُمْ
أَنْبِيَاءَ وَجَعَلَكُمْ
مُلُوكًا وَآتَاكُمْ
مَا لَمْ يُؤْتِ
أَحَدًا مِنَ الْعَالَمِينَ
Remember Moses said to his people: "O my People!
Call in remembrance the favor of Allah unto you, when He produced prophets
among you, made you kings, and gave you what He had not given to any other
among the peoples.
Jews
like to give this prophecy a spin by claiming that it is about Isaiah, and
Christian as usual claim it to be about Jesus. Let us not forget the Christians
claim that entire OT is about Jesus, it is absurdly laughable. However, Jewish
and Christian claim fail hopelessly in the face of the context of the very
Bible itself: “from among thy brethren, like unto thee.”
We notice that the Prophet has to be like
“Moses” and not from the Israelites themselves, but among from their brethren Ishmaelites.
Further examining the qualities of that Prophet and his characteristics no one
matches but the Prophet Muhammad according to Qur’aanic decree.
If for the sake of argument claims of Jews
and/or Christians about Isaiah and/or Jesus are to entertain, that makes the
language and/or wording of the prophecy very absurd and should have been “from
among thee and thy children.” Instead of “brethren”
We read in Glorious Qur’aan Surah Al-Baqaraah, Ayaat 125-129
(Qur’aan 2:125-129):
وَإِذْ
جَعَلْنَا الْبَيْتَ
مَثَابَةً لِلنَّاسِ
وَأَمْنًا وَاتَّخِذُوا
مِنْ مَقَامِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ
مُصَلًّى وَعَهِدْنَا
إِلَى إِبْرَاهِيمَ
وَإِسْمَاعِيلَ
أَنْ طَهِّرَا
بَيْتِيَ لِلطَّائِفِينَ
وَالْعَاكِفِينَ
وَالرُّكَّعِ
السُّجُودِ (125) وَإِذْ
قَالَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ
رَبِّ اجْعَلْ
هَذَا بَلَدًا
آمِنًا وَارْزُقْ
أَهْلَهُ مِنَ
الثَّمَرَاتِ
مَنْ آمَنَ مِنْهُمْ
بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ
الْآخِرِ قَالَ
وَمَنْ كَفَرَ
فَأُمَتِّعُهُ
قَلِيلًا ثُمَّ
أَضْطَرُّهُ إِلَى
عَذَابِ النَّارِ
وَبِئْسَ الْمَصِيرُ
(126) وَإِذْ يَرْفَعُ
إِبْرَاهِيمُ
الْقَوَاعِدَ
مِنَ الْبَيْتِ
وَإِسْمَاعِيلُ
رَبَّنَا تَقَبَّلْ
مِنَّا إِنَّكَ
أَنْتَ السَّمِيعُ
الْعَلِيمُ (127) رَبَّنَا
وَاجْعَلْنَا
مُسْلِمَيْنِ
لَكَ وَمِنْ ذُرِّيَّتِنَا
أُمَّةً مُسْلِمَةً
لَكَ وَأَرِنَا
مَنَاسِكَنَا
وَتُبْ عَلَيْنَا
إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ
التَّوَّابُ الرَّحِيمُ
(128) رَبَّنَا وَابْعَثْ
فِيهِمْ رَسُولًا
مِنْهُمْ يَتْلُو
عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتِكَ
وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ
الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ
وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ
إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ
الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ
(129)
Remember We made the House a place of
assembly for men and a place of safety; and take ye the Station of Abraham as a
place of prayer; and We covenanted with Abraham and Isma'il, that they should
sanctify My House for those who compass it round, or use it as a retreat, or
bow, or prostrate themselves (therein in Prayer). (126) And remember Abraham
said: "My Lord, make this a City of Peace, and feed its People with
fruits' such of them as believe in Allah and the Last Day." He said:
"(Yea), and such as reject Faith, for a while will I grant them their
Pleasure, but will soon drive them to the torment of Fire, an evil destination
(indeed)!" (127) And remember Abraham and Isma'il raised the foundations
of the House (with this prayer): "Our Lord! Accept (this service) from us:
for Thou art the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing. (128) "Our Lord! Make of us
Muslims bowing to Thy (Will); and of our progeny a people Muslim, bowing to Thy
(Will); and show us our places for the celebration of (due) rites; and turn
unto us (in Mercy) for Thou art the Oft-Returning, Most Merciful. (129) "Our
Lord! Send amongst them a Messenger of their own, who shall rehearse Thy Signs to them and
instruct them in Scripture and Wisdom, and sanctify them: for Thou art the
Exalted in Might, the Wise."
Deuteronomy 34:10 further impeach
the claims of Jews and Christians for Isaiah and/or Jesus to be the prophet “like
unto thee”:
034:010 And there arose
not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face,
Christians claims that Jesus is “like unto thee” (like
Moses), I wonder why they forget that Moses was not son of God, neither he was
human and god at the same time like Jesus is claimed by Christians to be. Moses
got married and died a natural death. He fought the Holy war. Contrary to that
Jesus never fought the Holy war, never led an army beside his terrorist attack
on temple according to Bible. Jesus never got married, didn’t have children and
didn’t die natural death and never got buried like Moses. Jesus according to Christians died on the
cross and rose again after three days, while Moses didn’t die on the cross
neither rose again. On the other hand Isaiah was a disciple of Moses. Teacher
and disciple are not the same or equal. Isaiah lived at the time of Moses
making no occasion for a prophecy about him to be the case since the prophecy
says, “I will raise” a clear significant that the prophet will be raised
in future time. We must remember that Isaiah was declared prophet at the time
of Moses.
When we compare Moses and Muhammad (PBUT) we learn that:
We have sent to you, (O men!) a Messenger, to be a witness concerning you, even as We sent a Messenger to Pharaoh.
وَمَا يَنْطِقُ عَنِ الْهَوَى (3) إِنْ هُوَ إِلَّا وَحْيٌ يُوحَى (4)
Nor does he say (aught) of
(his own) Desire. (4) It is no less than inspiration sent down to him:
We further read in Glorious Qur’aan 69:43-46 that says:
تَنْزِيلٌ
مِنْ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
(43) وَلَوْ تَقَوَّلَ
عَلَيْنَا بَعْضَ
الْأَقَاوِيلِ
(44) لَأَخَذْنَا
مِنْهُ بِالْيَمِينِ
45) ثُمَّ
لَقَطَعْنَا مِنْهُ
الْوَتِينَ (46))
(This is) a Message sent down from the Lord of the
Worlds. (44) And if the Messenger were to invent any sayings in Our name, (45)
We should certainly seize him by his right hand, (46) And We should certainly
then cut off the artery of his heart:
Further examination of the prophecy
(Deuteronomy 18:19 which reads “018:019 And it shall come to pass, that
whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I
will require it of him.” This
refers to bringing the Code of Life, the Law; waging war against infidels and
retaliation etc. this was given to neither Jesus nor Isaiah. We read in New
Testament Matthew 5:17 (“005:017 Think not that I am come to destroy the
law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill”). Muhammad
is the Seal of the Prophets, the last Messenger; he is the Prophet of this
prophecy. This prophecy clearly states that if that prophet falsely speaks
other than the commands of God, he will be killed. (Deuteronomy 018:020 “But
the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not
commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even
that prophet shall die.”). It is the fact that despite of all the hate, enmity
and multiple attempts on the life of Muhammad, he didn’t die and his enemies
hopelessly failed to kill him.
وَإِذْ
يَمْكُرُ بِكَ
الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا
لِيُثْبِتُوكَ
أَوْ يَقْتُلُوكَ
أَوْ يُخْرِجُوكَ
وَيَمْكُرُونَ
وَيَمْكُرُ اللَّهُ
وَاللَّهُ خَيْرُ
الْمَاكِرِينَ
Remember how the Unbelievers plotted against thee, to
keep thee in bonds, or slay thee, or get thee out (of thy home). They plot and
plan, and Allah too plans, but the best of planners is Allah.
In Surah Al-Maidah, Ayah 67 we
read:
يَا أَيُّهَا
الرَّسُولُ بَلِّغْ
مَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكَ
مِنْ رَبِّكَ وَإِنْ
لَمْ تَفْعَلْ
فَمَا بَلَّغْتَ
رِسَالَتَهُ وَاللَّهُ
يَعْصِمُكَ مِنَ
النَّاسِ إِنَّ
اللَّهَ لَا يَهْدِي
الْقَوْمَ الْكَافِرِينَ
O
Apostle! Proclaim the (Message) which hath been sent to thee from thy Lord. If
thou didst not, thou wouldst not have fulfilled and proclaimed His Mission. And
Allah will defend thee from men (who mean mischief). For Allah guideth not
those who reject Faith.
Prophet Muhammad remained
unharmed and continued to become more revered and eminent. He completed his
mission and his message spread all over the world. On the other hand if we
apply Deuteronomy 18:20 on Jesus as Jews do
to Jesus who according to Christians was killed then this prophecy makes
Jesus a liar and a imposter not a prophet like unto Moses.
Further study of Glorious Qur’aan
reveals us (Qur’aan 17:74 & 69:44-46):
And had We not given thee
strength thou wouldst nearly have inclined to them a little.
وَلَوْ تَقَوَّلَ عَلَيْنَا بَعْضَ الْأَقَاوِيلِ (44)
لَأَخَذْنَا
مِنْهُ بِالْيَمِينِ
(45) ثُمَّ لَقَطَعْنَا
مِنْهُ الْوَتِينَ
(46) فَمَا مِنْكُمْ
مِنْ أَحَدٍ عَنْهُ
الْيَقِينِ
And if the Messenger were to invent any
sayings in Our name, (45) We should certainly seize him by his right hand, (46)
And We should certainly then cut off the artery of his heart:
As we continue to explore the prophecy and signs
mentioned therein about “that Prophet” we read in Deuteronomy 18:22 (“018:022 When a prophet speaketh in the
name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing
which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously:
thou shalt not be afraid of him.”) that whatever “that Prophet” will speak and prophesies would be
fulfilled. A careful examination of Muhammad’s life, his mission and his
prophecies' an astonishing fact surfaces that all his prophecies have come to
pass and not a single of them has been missed. In fact Muhammad’s enemies
called him “Sadiq and Ameen” i.e. Truthful and Trustworthy.
Readers will find it very
interesting by reading “Acts 3:17-25” that the prophet mentioned in prophecy as “that Prophet”
stands distinguish and separate from Jesus and/or any other Prophet of the
Bible.
003:017 And now, brethren,
I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers. 003:018 But
those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets,
that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled. 003:019 Repent ye therefore,
and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of
refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. 003:020 And he shall send
Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: 003:021 Whom the heaven must
receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by
the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. 003:022 For Moses
truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto
you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever
he shall say unto you. 003:023 And it shall come to pass, that every soul,
which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.
003:024 Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as
many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days. 003:025 Ye are the
children of the prophets, and of the covenant, which God made with our fathers,
saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be
blessed.
The above verses of Acts also states the
rejection and suffering of Jesus by the hands of Jews, but after “that Prophet”
mentioned in the prophecy by the Moses who will be of your brethren (the
Ishmaelites i.e. Muhammad) [this must be kept in mind that all the prophets
including Moses foretold about this promised Prophet] until this promise is not
come to pass, the heaven and earth will endure and in that time the covenant of
the God which He made with Abraham “All
the kindred of the earth be blessed, shall be fulfilled.”
What need to be noticed in Acts chapter 3:18
in which Paul’s statement “he hath so fulfilled” of Jesus and the
Prophet about whom Abraham, Moses and other prophets (PBUT) have foretold and later in acts 3:21 “Whom the heaven
must receive until the times of restitution of all things”, clearly
establishes the fact that the prophesied prophet and the pined for prophet
stands out distinctly segregating from those prophets who appeared between the
time of Moses and Jesus (PBUT). Consequently, there is no such prophet who
appeared between Moses and Jesus who can be considered an object of this
prophecy including Jesus as well.
Reading gospel of John we
come across to John 1:19-22 (“001:019
And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from
Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? 001:020 And he confessed, and denied not;
but confessed, I am not the Christ. 001:021 And they asked him, What then? Art
thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered,
No. 001:022 Then said they unto him, Who art
thou? That we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of
thyself?”).
This obviously proves that Jews were
waiting for the arrival of Muhammad (PBUH) because Jews always mentioned
Muhammad as “that Prophet”. Gospel of John further provide critical insight
about “that Prophet” indicating that he (that Prophet) is other than Jesus let
me quote John 7:40 {“ 007:040 Many of the people therefore, when they heard this
saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet}. This leaves no doubt that it is Muhammad (SAW), if it is
not him then who else can there be who was expected by the Jews and prophesied
by Moses?
Many Jews and Christians who reverted to Islaam during the
lifetime of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) confirmed and confessed especially Rabbis
and Monks that this prophecy is about Muhammad and Jews knew it from the very
beginning. To name few who reverted to Islaam is a Jew named Mukaireque, a
Roman named Zaghatir and those who confirmed but didn’t embrace Islaam were (1)
Heraclius of Byzantine (2) Abdullah bin Suriya a Jew and many others.
Another reasons, Jesus was not in the likeness of Moses!
In the New
Testament, Jesus has nowhere claimed that the prophecy in Deuteronomy 18:18 is
about him, even his (Jesus’) disciples have made no such claims on his behalf.
It is interesting to know that in fact Bible asserts to the opposite. Actually
the very prophecy that Christians claims to be about Jesus puts the Prophethood
of Jesus and Christian Church into jeopardy by declaring that:
|
018:020 |
But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. |
Bible has further echoed
something similar as we read in Deuteronomy 13:1-5!
|
013:001
|
If there
arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or
a wonder, |
|
013:002 |
And
the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us
go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; |
|
013:003 |
Thou
shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams:
for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God
with all your heart and with all your soul. |
|
013:004 |
Ye
shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments,
and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him. |
|
013:005 |
And
that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he
hath spoken to turn you away from the LORD your God, which brought you out of
the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust
thee out of the way which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in. So
shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee. |
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are not the gods whom the Israelites
knew; since they belonged to the category of ‘other gods.’ Whereas according to the Christians, Jesus
invited the people of Israel to go after such other gods. A man-god or god-man
who could be persecuted was also not known to the Israelites.
The fact
is that both (Christians & Jews) believe that Jesus was put to death and
his signs and miracles availed him not; as the
Bible (Torah) tells us that ONLY the false prophet will be met with such
fate. Thus, it appears absurd to identify Jesus with Moses (PBUT), especially
when the Prophethood of former is obviously questionable according to Bible
itself.
We further read in Deuteronomy:
|
034:010 |
And
there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew
face to face, |
Friday,
October 22, 2004