Prophecies?

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ADNAN
In a previous post I asked Matt to show us that why should we accept the
Bible, and reject the Quran. Give us objective proofs that will show that
the Bible is from God. If Muslims can use similar arguments to prove Islam,
Matt, then,  should show us that how his claims are superior to Muslim
"proofs"?

First of all we are dealing with prophecy fulfillment, and as I said that
the authors of the NT could have easily written a biography of Jesus in
such a way to show that he fulfilled all these prophecies of the OT. People
who wrote the biography of Muhammad were not familiar with OT, and were not
eagerly looking for the prophecies of Muhammad in the Bible. Why should we
reject Muslim prophecy claims, and accept only Christian claims?  (same can
be said about every other Christiian so-called "proof").

Here I am quoting from a Muslim apologist. (If I post from from Muslim
apologists, this does not mean I am a Muslim; I am an agnostic). 

These are only the prophecies which Muhammad supposed to have "fulfilled"
in the Bible, there are other prophecies in the Quran and haddith which
according to Muslims were amazingly fulfilled in future after Muhammad.


>From Mish’al ibn Abdullah's book, "What Did Jesus Really Say"?


.............................

There are many predictions of the coming of Jesus (pbuh) in the Old
Testament.  Many Christians have even told us that the Bible has predicted
much of what has occurred after the time of Jesus (pbuh) including the Pope
and Israel.  Unlike the Jews, Muslims do not contest the claimed prophesies
of the coming of Jesus (pbuh) since the Qur’an commands them to believe in
him.  We have also seen in the verse which was presented at the very
beginning of this chapter how the Qur’an tells us that both the Torah of
Moses as well as the Injeel (Gospel) of Jesus both contain prophesies of
Muhammad However, if we ask the Christians whether they can find any
mention of Muhammad (pbuh) in the Bible, their immediate response is an
emphatic "No!"  But if the Bible has predicted all of these other things
then we must ask: why does it have absolutely nothing at all to say about
the man who single-handedly convinced many billions of people over the ages
to believe in the miraculous birth of Jesus (pbuh), his message, the piety
and chastity of his mother Mary (pbuh), the miracles of Jesus (pbuh), and
the fact that he was one of the greatest messengers of God for all time?

There is not a single prophesy in the Old Testament that mentions Jesus
(pbuh) by name.  Messiah, translated "Christ" is not a name.  It is a
description, a title.  It means "the anointed one."  Even "Jesus" is not
Jesus’ true name.  "Jesus" is a Latinized version of the Hebrew name
"Yeshua," which itself is the shortened form of "Yehoshua" - God Saves.
When the Christians claim that a verse professes the coming of Jesus (pbuh)
what they have done is to compare the description found in that verse to
Jesus (pbuh) and if it fits him then they say that it speaks of him.  Using
the Christian's same system we claim that there is indeed not one, but more
than TEN verses in the Bible that speak of the coming of Muhammad (pbuh) as
God’s last messenger, but that previous commentators have misunderstood
them (just as the Christians tell us that the Jews have done with the Old
Testament prophesies of Jesus, pbuh).  The reader will notice that in what
is to follow the verses are explained very simply, using the obvious
meanings of the words themselves without having to resort to forced
abstract and metaphysical meanings for these verses.  These verses speak
about major events, locations, and milestones in Islamic history as well as
the characteristics of both Islam and Muhammad (pbuh).

Now the prophesies:
"Those unto whom We gave the Scripture recognize him (Muhammad) as they
recognize their sons. But verily, a party of them conceal the truth while
[well] they know it"  The noble Qur’an, al-Baqarah(2):146

6.1:  Three distinct prophesies:
In the Bible we read of the test that the Jews applied to Jesus (pbuh) in
order to ascertain his truthfulness.  The Jews had a prophecy that required
Elias to come before Jesus (pbuh): 

"Elias verily cometh first"  
Mark 9:12 

(also John 3:28).  They had not seen Elias yet so they doubted the claim of
Jesus (pbuh).  Jesus, however, responded to them that Elias had already
come but that they did not recognize him.  In Matthew we read:

"But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him
not.........Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John
the Baptist."
Matthew 17:12-13

John, however refutes the claims of Jesus (pbuh).  This is one of the
Christian's "dark sayings of Jesus" that their scholars have tried to
reconcile for centuries.  We will leave this matter for them to work out
among themselves (This matter is resolved in the Gospel of Barnabas.
Please see chapter 7 for more).

Now, in John we read 

"And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites
from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?  And he confessed, and denied not;
but confessed, I am not the Christ.  And they asked him, What then? Art
thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered,
No."
John 1:19-21

We notice that there are three distinct prophecies here: 1) Elias, 2)
Jesus, 3) That prophet.  The Jews were not waiting for two prophecies, but
three.  This can be further clarified by reading John:

"And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be:
a) not that Christ,
b) nor Elias,
c) neither that prophet?"
John 1:25

If "that prophet" were Jesus (pbuh) wouldn't the third question in both
verses be redundant? Further, we must remember that "That prophet" can not
apply to any prophet before the time of Jesus (pbuh) because at the time of
Jesus (pbuh) the Jews were still waiting for all three.  Notice how when we
let the Bible speak for itself, without forcing the holy spirit or other
supernatural meanings on it in the commentary, or forcing three questions
to be only two, how clear these verses become.  For much more evidence in
this regard, please read chapter 7 regarding the Dead Sea Scroll prophesies
of "two messiahs" and how the Jews who wrote the scrolls and who were
waiting for the coming of Jesus (pbuh) clearly state in these scrolls that
they were waiting for not one, but TWO messiahs, the first of which would
be announced by an eschatological prophet.


6.2:  Foretells the story of the chapter of "Al-Alak":
"And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is
sealed, which [men] deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, [I
pray thee]: and he saith, I cannot; for it [is] sealed:  And the book is
delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, [I pray thee]: and
he saith, I am not learned. Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this
people draw near [me] with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me,
but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is
taught by the precept of men:  Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a
marvelous work among this people, [even] a marvelous work and a wonder: for
the wisdom of their wise [men] shall perish, and the understanding of their
prudent men shall be hid.  Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their
counsel from the LORD, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who
seeth us? and who knoweth us?  Surely your turning of things upside down
shall be esteemed as the potter's clay: for shall the work say of him that
made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed
it, He had no understanding?  [Is] it not yet a very little while, and
Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall
be esteemed as a forest?  And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of
the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of
darkness."Isaiah 29:11-18

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was illiterate.  His entire life he never learned
to read nor write.  The exact circumstances of this first revelation were
as follows:  It was the habit of Muhammad (pbuh) to frequently remove
himself from the midst of his fellow Arabs and their heathenistic actions
and spend many days secluded in the cave of "Hiraa" in the mountains of
Makkah where he would pray to God according to the religion of Abraham
(pbuh).  After many years of this, and having reached the age of forty
(610AD), the angel Gabriel suddenly appeared before him and ordered him to
"Iqra!" (read, recite, repeat, proclaim).  Muhammad (pbuh), in his terror
thought he was being asked to read, so he stammered: "I am unlettered."
The angel Gabriel again ordered him to "Iqra!"  Muhammad (pbuh) again
replied: "I am unlettered."  The angel Gabriel now took a firm hold of him
and commanded him "Iqraa in the name of Allah who created!".  Now Muhammad
(pbuh) began to understand that he was not being asked to read, but to
recite, to repeat.  He began to repeat after him, and Gabriel revealed to
him the first verses of the Qur'an, those at the beginning of the chapter
of Al-Alak(96):

"Read(Iqraa): In the name of your Lord who created, Created man from a
clot. Read(Iqraa): And your Lord is the Most Bounteous, Who teaches by the
pen, Teaches man that which he knew not."
The noble Qur’an, Al-Alak(96):1-5

As mentioned above, the actual word angel Gabriel used to address Muhammad
(pbuh) was the Arabic word "Iqra."  It is derived from the Arabic root word
"qara".  However, if we were to go back to the original Hebrew form of the
verses of Isaiah 29:11, we would find that the actual word which is
translated into English as "Read this [I pray thee]" is the Hebrew word
qara’, {kaw-raw’}.  Is it not an amazing coincidence that the Hebrew text
used not only a word with the same meaning, but the exact same word itself ?

Verse 11 of Isaiah tells us that the final book (the Qur’an) was revealed
to previous prophets, however, they could not read it. It was "sealed" for
them because it was meant for the last prophet, and until the last
prophet’s time came, the people would not yet be able to "bear" this
message (John 16:13).  It was also sealed for them because it was revealed
in Arabic. 

"A Book whereof the verses are explained in detail; a Qur’an in Arabic for
people who have knowledge" 
The noble Qur’an, Fussilat(41):3

"Had We made this as a Qur'an (in a language) other than Arabic, they would
have said: ‘Why are not its verses explained in detail? What! An Arab and
non Arabic?’ Say: ‘It is a Guide and a Healing for those who believe; and
for those who disbelieve, there is a heaviness (deafness) in their ears,
and it is a blindness upon them: They are as those who are called from a
place far distant (so they neither hear nor understand)’" 
The noble Qur’an, Fussilat(41):44

For more details on why the Arabic language was selected as the language of
the Qur’an, please read chapter 13.

Indeed, the Qur’an was revealed to a man who could neither read nor write
so that it might be apparent to mankind that he could not have received it
from the writings of man, but only from God Almighty.

"Neither did you (O Muhammad) read any book before it, nor did you write
any book with your right [hand].  In that case, indeed, the followers of
falsehood might have doubted Nay, it is but clear signs in the breasts of
those endowed with knowledge: and none but the unjust reject Our signs." 
The noble Qur’an, Al-Ankaboot(29):48-49.

As we see in the above verses of Isaiah, by the time Prophet Muhammad
(pbuh) received this book from God, mankind will have been reduced to
worshipping God in words alone, while their hearts shall be far removed
from true belief.  They will have forsaken the true belief in God in favor
of "the precept of men" (the laws of men).  We have already seen the
confirmation of this in chapter one where we learned how "St. Paul" managed
to totally replace the message of Jesus (pbuh) with his own message, and
how the later followers of Paul believed that they were justified in using
force to get the first Christians to accept their gospels.  We also saw how
they burned Gospels that were accepted as authentic in the first centuries
CE, and killed all Christians who did not "convert."  Finally, we also saw
how St. Paul managed to reduce the message of Jesus (pbuh) to mere "words"
of  "faith" with no concrete actions or commandments required of them (i.e.
Romans 3:28).

Verse 14 now goes on to explain how when mankind accepts this situation,
then the wisdom of the wise men shall perish and all that shall be left is
mankind’s corruption. Once again, we have seen this in chapter one, where
we learned the historical details of how the followers of Jesus (pbuh) and
the apostles were murdered and their books destroyed.

This is indeed the same situation described by Muhammad (pbuh) in one of
his sayings.  In Sahih Al-Bukhari we read that Abdullah ibn Amr ibn Al-‘As
said:
"I heard Allah's Apostle (pbuh) saying, ‘Allah does not take away the
knowledge, by taking it away from (the hearts of) the people, but takes it
away by the death of the religious learned men till when none of them
remain, people will take as their leaders ignorant persons who when
consulted will give their verdict without knowledge. So they will go astray
and will lead the people astray.’"

In verse 15, we are told that there will remain among those corrupt
individuals those who shall know the truth but shall strive to hide it from
becoming known.  Once again, we have seen this in chapters, one, and two.
For more, see chapter 7.  Once again, when the Qur’an was revealed, it
confirmed this situation, we read:

"Those unto whom We gave the Scripture recognize (this prophet) as they
recognize their sons. But lo! a party of them conceal the truth which they
themselves know." 
The noble Qur’an, Al-Baqara(2):14

"And whether you hide your word or publish it, He certainly has (full)
knowledge, of the secrets of (all) hearts." 
The noble Qur’an, Al-Mulk(67):13

Verses 16 goes on to tell us how this treachery, concealment of the truth,
and "overturning" of verses, laws, and obligations shall be exposed, and
the wicked shall be held accountable for their deeds.  Yet again, in the
Qur’an we read:

"That Day shall We set a seal on their mouths. But their hands will speak
to us, and their feet bear witness, to all that they used to do" 
The noble Qur’an, Ya-seen(36):65

"And (remember) the day that the enemies of Allah shall be gathered to the
Fire so that they will (all) be collected there.  Till, when they reach it,
their hearing and their eyes and their skins will testify against them as
to what they used to do.  And they will say to their skins ‘Why did you
testify against us?’  They will say: ‘Allah has caused us to speak, [for He
is] the One who caused all things [which He willed] to speak, and He
created you the first time, and unto Him you are returned".  
The noble Qur’an, Fussilat(41):19-21.

"O People of the Scripture! Now has Our messenger come unto you, revealing
to you much of that which you used to hide in the Scripture, and forgiving
much.  Now has come unto you light from Allah and plain Scripture," 
The noble Qur’an, Al-Maidah(5):15

"They did not estimate Allah with an estimation due to Him when they said:
"Nothing did God send down to man [by way of revelation]" Say: "Who then
sent down the Book which Moses brought?- a light and guidance to man: But
you make it into [separate] sheets for show, while you conceal much [of its
contents]: and [by which] you were taught that which you knew not
yourselves nor [did] your fathers [know it]?." Say: ‘Allah [sent it down]’:
Then leave them to plunge in vain discourse and trifling."
The noble Qur’an, Al-An’am(6):91

Finally, we read in Isaiah 18 that when this final message is revealed to
this "unlettered" prophet, those who have been lost in darkness and
ignorance through the work of the corrupt shall be brought out of their
ignorance and their darkness and shall be returned to the true message of God.

"Wherewith God guides all those who seek His good pleasure unto paths of
peace. He brings them out of darkness unto light by His decree and guides
them unto a straight path." 
The noble Qur’an, Al-Maidah(5):16

"And that those who have been given knowledge may know that it is the truth
from thy Lord, so that they may believe therein and their hearts may submit
humbly unto Him. Lo! Allah verily is guiding those who believe unto a right
path." 
The noble Qur’an, Al-Hajj (22):54

As we saw at the very beginning of this chapter, this very prophesy was
mentioned quite clearly in the Qur’an:

"Those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered Prophet whom they find
written in the Torah and the Gospel with them.  He enjoins upon them that
which is right and forbids for them that which is evil.  He makes lawful
for them all things that are good and prohibits for them all that is foul
and he relieves them from their burden and the fetters that they used to
wear.  Then those who believe in him, honor him, assist him, and follow the
light which is sent down with him: they are the successful" 
The Qur'an,  Al-A'araf(7):157.

The complete story is narrated by Aisha (pbuh) in Sahih Al-Bukhari:
"The commencement of the Divine Inspiration of Allah's Apostle was in the
form of good dreams which came true like bright daylight, and then the love
of seclusion was bestowed upon him. He used to go in seclusion in the cave
of Hira where he used to worship (Allah alone) continually for many days
before wishing to see his family. He used to take with him provisions for
the stay and then come back to (his wife) Khadeejah to eat his food again
as before.  
One day suddenly the Truth descended upon him while he was in the cave of
Hira. The angel came to him and asked him to read. The Prophet (pbuh)
replied, "I do not know how to read." The Prophet (pbuh) added, "The angel
caught me (forcefully) and pressed me so hard that I could not bear it any
more. He then released me and again asked me to read and I replied, "I do
not know how to read." Thereupon he caught me again and pressed me a second
time until I could not bear it any more. He then released me and again
asked me to read but again I replied, "I do not know how to read (or what
shall I read)?" Thereupon he caught me for the third time and pressed me,
and then released me and said, "Read in the name of your Lord, who has
created (all that exists), created man from a clot. Read! And your Lord is
the Most Generous.'"(96):1-3.  
Then Allah's Apostle (pbuh) returned with the Inspiration and with his
heart trembling. He went to Khadeejah the daughter of Khuwaylid (his wife)
and said, "Cover me!" She covered him until his fear subsided. After that
he told her everything that had happened and said, "I fear that something
may happen to me."  Khadeejah replied, "Never! By Allah, Allah will never
disgrace you. You keep good relations with your kith and kin, help the poor
and the destitute, serve your guests generously and assist the deserving
people afflicted with calamities."
Khadeejah then accompanied him to her cousin Waraqah ibn Nawfal ibn Asad
ibn AbdulUzza, who, during the pre-Islamic period became a Christian and
used to write in the Hebrew alphabet. He would write from the Gospel in
Hebrew as much as Allah wished him to write. He was an old man and had lost
his eyesight.  
Khadeejah said to Waraqah, "Listen to the story of your nephew, O my
cousin!"  Waraqah asked, "O my nephew! What have you seen?" Allah's Apostle
described that which he had seen. Waraqah said, "This is the one who keeps
the secrets (angel Gabriel) whom Allah had sent to Moses. I wish I were
young and could live until the time when your people will turn you out."
Allah's Apostle asked, "Will they drive me out?" Waraqah replied in the
affirmative and said, "Anyone (man) who came with something similar to that
which you have brought was greeted with hostility; and if I remain alive
until the day when you will be turned out then I should support you
strongly." 
But after a few days Waraqah died (see section 6.4 and chapter 10 for the
confirmation of this prophesy of Muhammad, pbuh, being ‘driven out’)




6.3 A "Paraclete" like Jesus:
In the Bible we can find the following four passages wherein Jesus (pbuh)
predicts a great event:

John 14:16  "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another
Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever"
John 15:26  "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"
John 14:26  "But the Comforter, [which is] the Holy Ghost, whom the Father
will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things
to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you."
John 16:7-14  "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.  And when he is come, he will
reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:  Of sin,
because they believe not on me;  Of righteousness, because I go to my
Father, and ye see me no more;  Of judgment, because the prince of this
world is judged. 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
into 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: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew [it] unto you."

In these four verses, the word "comforter" is translated from the word
"Paraclete" ("Ho Parakletos" in Greek). Parakletos in Greek is interpreted
as "an advocate", one who pleads the cause of another, one who councils or
advises another from deep concern for the other’s welfare (Beacon Bible
commentary volume VII, p.168).  In these verses we are told that once Jesus
(pbuh) departs, a Paraclete will come.  He will glorify Jesus (pbuh), and
he will guide mankind into all truth.  This "Paraclete" is identified in
John 14:26 as the Holy Ghost.

It must be pointed out that the original Greek manuscripts speak of a "Holy
pneuma."  The word pneuma {pnyoo’-mah} is the Greek root word for "spirit."
 There is no separate word for "Ghost" in the Greek manuscripts, of which
there are claimed to be over 24,000 today .  The translators of the King
James Version of the Bible translate this word as "Ghost" to convey their
own personal understanding of the text.  However, a more accurate
translation is "Holy Spirit."  More faithful and recent translations of the
Bible, such as the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV), do indeed now
translate it as "Holy Spirit."  This is significant, and will be expounded
upon shortly.

All Bibles in existence today are compiled from "ancient manuscripts," the
most ancient of which being those of the fourth century C.E.  Any scholar
of the Bible will tell us that no two ancient manuscripts are exactly
identical.  All Bibles in our possession today are the result of extensive
cutting and pasting from these various manuscripts with no single one being
the definitive reference.

What the translators of the Bible have done when presented with such
discrepancies is to do their best to choose the correct version.  In other
words, since they can not know which "ancient manuscript" is the correct
one, they must do a little detective work on the text in order to decide
which "version" of a given verse to accept.  John 14:26 is just such an
example of such selection techniques.

John 14:26 is the only verse of the Bible which associates the Parakletos
with the Holy Spirit.  But if we were to go back to the "ancient
manuscripts" themselves, we would find that they are not all in agreement
that the "Parakletos" is the Holy Spirit.  For instance, in the famous the
Codex Syriacus, written around the fifth century C.E., and discovered in
1812 on Mount Sinai by Mrs.Agnes S. Lewis (and Mrs. Bensley), the text of
14:26 reads; "Paraclete, the Spirit"; and not "Paraclete, the Holy Spirit.".

Is this just knit picking?  "Spirit" or "Holy Spirit," what’s the big deal?
 Obviously they both refer to the same thing.  Right?  Wrong!  There is a
big difference.  A "spirit," according to the language of the Bible simply
means "a prophet" See for instance:

"Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of
God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world," 
1 John 4:1-3:

(also see 1 John 4:6), or an inspired human, for example read 1 Corinthians
2:10, 2 Thessalonians 2:2, ...etc.

We have already exhibited in chapters one and two many documented cases of
deliberate modification of the Biblical text by members of the Christian
clergy themselves, as well as deliberate large scale projects to "correct"
the Bible, and the writings of "the early fathers," (such as the deliberate
insertion of the verse of 1 John 5:7 which is now universally discarded).
It is, therefore, possible that either:

1) The word "Holy" could have been dropped by a careless copyist., or
2) Someone could have inserted the word "Holy" to convey his personal
understanding of the text.

Which was it?  In order to arrive at the answer we must follow the same
path of detective work the Biblical scholars themselves do.  We must study
the characteristics of the "Paraclete" and compare them to both the "Holy
Spirit" and to a "Spirit."  Muslims believe that Muhammad (pbuh) was the
one intended and not the Holy Ghost.  In the Christian’s own "Gospel of
Barnabas" Muhammad is mentioned by name here.  The Trinitarian church,
however, has done its utmost to obliterate all existing copies of "The
Gospel of Barnabas," and to hide it from the masses or to label it a
forgery (see chapter 7).  For this reason, it becomes necessary to show
that even the Gospels adopted by Paul’s church also originally spoke of
Muhammad (pbuh).

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