Muhammad(sa) in the Bible

26 The Review of Religions – July 2005 The world today looks forrational and historical evidence to prove the truth of a person who claims to be from God. These criteria fully support the truth of our Holy Prophet Muhammad( s a ). Rational Te s t Rational thinking indicates that the world was in dire need of reve- lation, of water from the fountain of spiritual guidance, at the time when the Holy Prophet( s a ) a p p e a r e d . He led an ideal life, a perfect example to be followed throughout the future. He started his mission against immense difficulties. He and his followers met strong persecution and opposition. But he was protected and helped by God in miraculous ways. Before his death his mission was firmly established all over Arabia and was rapidly spreading to other c o u n t r i e s . He worked miracles. He foretold the future, and his prophecies were fulfilled not only in his lifetime but continue to be fulfilled in our time as well. He brought a teaching which has attracted countless adherents since he appeared. In short, all rational tests prove that the mission of the Holy Prophet M u h a m m a d( s a ) was truly from God. The Historical Te s t There is also another test, the historical one, which our present day world requires of a messenger of God. A notable American Bishop of the Catholic Church wrote in a nationally famous magazine that the test of history available to all men, all civili- sations and all ages can be applied only to Jesus( a s ) b e c a u s e : T h e re were no pre d i c t i o n s about Buddha, Muhammad, or anyone else – except Christ. Muhammad(sa) in the Bible By Dr. Khalil Ahmad Nasir 27 MUHAMMAD(SA) IN THE BIBLE The Review of Religions – July 2005 Others just came and said “ H e re I am, believe me.” Christ alone steps out of the line and answers: My coming was foretold, even to the smallest detail. This statement is quite challenging and requires attention. We Muslims believe that Jesus( a s ) was a true prophet of God. We also accept his advent as having been foretold in the previous scriptures. But what about Muhammad( s a )? We find that his coming was foretold in clear and precise terms not only by Jesus( a s ) himself but by M o s e s( a s ) and other Biblical Prophets as well. In fact it seems from whatever words of Jesus( a s ) are available to the world, that the bringing of glad tidings of a great coming prophet was one of the chief objects of his mission. Again and again, Jesus( a s ) said that he was sent to the world only to give as much guidance as the people of his own time could bear. As for complete teaching which would stay forever with mankind, he said: ‘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.’ (J o h n 1 4 – 2 6 ) Only the prophet of Islam( s a ) c o u l d have fulfilled this prophecy of J e s u s( a s ). Muhammad( s a ) was truly sent in his name because he bore testimony to his truth. The Holy Q u r’an says: The Messiah, son of Mary, was no more than a messenger. All messengers before him have passed away. ( C h . 5 : V. 7 6 ) The Holy Qur’an reports that the angels told Mary: ‘O Mary, Allah gives you glad tidings of a word from Him; his name shall be the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, honoured in this world and here a f t e r, and of those who aree granted nearness to God. ( C h . 3 : V. 4 6 ) 28 MUHAMMAD(SA) IN THE BIBLE The Review of Religions – July 2005 The Holy Prophet( s a ) testified to the truth of Jesus( a s ) as a divine and honored Teacher and Prophet, and declared those who thought him accursed mistaken and misguided . The Holy Qur’an described his teachings as ‘guidance and light.’ Elaborating the same prophecy, J e s u s( a s ) s a i d : ‘Nevertheless I tell you the truth; it is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not a w a y, 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 judge- ment. … I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. How be it 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 s h o w you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you.’ (John 16:7-14) This prophecy clearly lays down t h a t : 1. The Comforter will come after the departure of Jesus( a s ). 2. When the Comforter comes, he will reprove the world of sin, truth and justice. 3. He will guide the world into all t r u t h . 4. The book revealed to him will contain no human word. 5. He will foretell things to come. 6. He will glorify Jesus( a s ) a n d clear him of all charg e s . Now when we take this prophecy point by point, it is unmistakably proven that it applies to none else but the Holy Prophet M u h a m m a d( s a ). He came after J e s u s( a s ). The Comforter was sup- posed to reprove the followers of J e s u s( a s ). Obviously, he could not be a Christian or a Jew. The prophecy must relate to one who belonged to another people but respected J e s u s( a s ) and promoted reverence for him. The Holy Prophet( s a ) w a s neither a Jew nor a Christian. He was an Ishmaelite. But he defended the honor of Jesus( a s ). Thus the Q u r’an says: [ . . . W h e reas the Jews] s l e w him not, nor crucified him, but he was made to appear to them 29 MUHAMMAD(SA) IN THE BIBLE The Review of Religions – July 2005 like one crucified, and those who differ therein are cert a i n l y in a state of doubt about it: they have no definite knowledge t h e reof, but only follow a c o n j e c t u re; and they did not c o n v e rt this conjecture into a c e rtainty; on the contrary, Allah exalted him to Himself. (Ch.4: V. 1 5 8 ) Here the Holy Qur’an specifically says that Jesus( a s ) was saved from that accursed death designed for him by his enemies. However, they only suspected that they had succeeded in crucifying him. But Allah had not only saved him but admitted him to the circle of His favored ones. Of the promise, ‘He will show you things to come,’ we need only say that no other prophet has told the world of things to come as much as has the prophet of Islam( s a ). The prophecy said that ‘he shall not speak of himself, but whatsoever he shall hear, that he shall speak.’ This description can only apply to the Prophet Muhammad ( s a ). The New and Old Testaments do not contain a single book in which m a n ’s word has not been mixed with God’s. The Qur’an is nothing but the word of God from begin- ning to end. Not a word even of the P r o p h e t( s a ) is to be found in it. When Peter appeared before the people of Jerusalem, his words were: ‘Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you.’ John starts one of his conversations with ‘I, John, who am your brother.’ On the same lines we read the utterances of Philip, James and others in the B i b l e . About the Holy Prophet( s a ), the Q u r’an says: Nor does he speak out of his own desire. It is nothing but p u re revelation that has b e e n revealed by God. ( C h . 5 3 : V s . 4 – 5 ) The prophecy had said: ‘He will guide you unto all truth.’ Again M u h a m m a d( s a ) was the only prophet who claimed to have brought a universal and perfect l a w. The Holy Qur’an says: This day have I perfected your religion for you and completed 30 MUHAMMAD(SA) IN THE BIBLE The Review of Religions – July 2005 My favour upon you. ( C h . 5 : V. 4 ) How clearly has the prophecy been fulfilled in the person of the Prophet Muhammad(sa) in all of its details. Sometimes an unsuc- cessful attempt is made to dim the glory of this marvelous prophecy by claiming that this Comforter was the Holy Ghost who came after Jesus(as) to his disciples. One wonders how this claim can be harmonised with the fact that the person foretold in the verses is described with the pronoun ‘he,’ which could not possibly refer to a spirit. Then, was not the Spirit of Truth supposed to come only after the departure of Jesus(as)? Should it be then assumed that the Holy Ghost was not with Jesus ( a s )? Obviously no devoted Christian will accept this assumption. One can also inquire where that truth is which is not found in the New Testament but was later brought by the Holy Ghost. A Prophet From Thy Brethren The fact is that before Jesus(as), Moses(as) had also foretold of a great prophet in clear and precise words. When Moses( a s ) went to Mount Horeb under the command of God he addressed the Israelites saying: ‘The Lord thy God will raise unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me, unto him ye shall hearken.’ ( D e u t e ro n o m y 18:15) And again, God’s words to Moses(as): ‘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. 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.’ (Deuteronomy 18:18-19) It is evident from these verses that M o s e s( a s ) foretold a Law-giving Prophet who was to appear after him, and who was to be from among the brethren of Israel. That he was to be a Law-giver and 31 MUHAMMAD(SA) IN THE BIBLE The Review of Religions – July 2005 not an ordinary Prophet is obvious from the words ‘like unto Moses,’ since Moses(as) was also a Law- giver. The promulgation of ‘a new Law’ means the initiation of a new movement, a new nation. A prophet with a new Law is obviously no ordinary teacher or r e f o r m e r. He has to present a comprehensive teaching, incorpo- rating fundamental principles as well as detailed rules. Was Jesus(as) such a prophet? Was he a Law- giver? Did he bring a new Law into the world to replace an old one? The answer, in his own words is: ‘Think not that I am come to destroy the Law, or the prophets: I am not come to d e s t r o y, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Ti l l heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the Law, till all be fulfilled.’ (Matthew 5:17-18) And the followers of Jesus(as) went so far as to declare: And the Law is not of faith: but, the man that doeth them shall live in them. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law. (Galatians 3:12-13) Jesus(as) laid no claim to a new Law; his disciples regarded the Law as a curse. It was the Holy Qur’an which announced from the very outset that: This is the (complete and perfect) Book, there is no doubt in it. It is a guidance for the righteous. (Ch.2:V.3) The prophecy also said that the Promised One was to be raised not from among Israel but from their brethren. Muhammad(sa) was from the brethren of the Israelites, the Ishmaelites. It also told that God would put his words in his mouth. The New Testament gospels do not consist of words which God put in Jesus’s(as) mouth. They only tell us his story and what he himself and his disciples said and did. The Holy Qur’an, on the other hand, says: 32 MUHAMMAD(SA) IN THE BIBLE The Review of Religions – July 2005 S a y,(O Muhammad), I am only a man like unto you: but I have received the reveleation that your God is only One God. (Ch.18: V. 111 ) The prophecy spoke of ‘words which he shall speak in my name.’ Strange as it may seem, there is not a single example of words which Jesus(as) may be said to have received from God with the command to pass them on. The Holy Qur’an, on the other hand, specifically claimed to be the word from God. The words of the Lord had announced that the Promised One would be a prophet. Jesus ( a s ), according to the Christian evangelists, did not claim to be a prophet. Matthew reports that he asked his disciples, ‘Whom do men say that I the son of man am?’ Peter replied that he was the Christ, the Son of the living God. (Matthew 16:13-16) Thus Jesus(as) denied being either John the Baptist(as) or Elias(as) or one of the prophets. Muhammad(sa) was proclaimed as not only a prophet but also as ‘like unto Moses(as),’ when the Qur’an said: Verily, We have sent to you a Messenger, who is a witness over you, even as we sent a Messenger to Pharaoh. ( C h . 7 3 : V. 1 6 ) In short, one thousand nine hundred years before the advent of the prophet of Islam( s a ), Moses( a s ) declared that his own Law was, in the divine scheme, not the last Law; that the world was to have a fuller Law later on; and that, God would send in the latter days another Messenger of His. This Messenger was to teach all truth; it was he who was to mark the last stage in the spiritual advancement of man. The world had to wait for another Book and another Prophet. If, therefore, the Qur’an and the Holy Prophet( s a ) have come after the Bible and after the Prophets M o s e s( a s ) and Jesus( a s ), and if they claim to have come from God as guidance to man, their claim must be treated as just and true. It must be taken as the fulfillment of ancient prophecies. The revelation of the Qur’an was not a gratuitous revelation, a redundant in the pre- 33 MUHAMMAD(SA) IN THE BIBLE The Review of Religions – July 2005 sence of other revelations. Indeed, if the Qur’an had not been revealed, promises made by God through His messengers would have gone unfulfilled, and the world would have become aff l i c t e d with doubt and disbelief. Divine Light From Paran The prophecies of the Bible had even led its followers to that part of the world where the great Prophet was to appear. Thus it was said: ‘And he said, the Lord came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; and shined forth from Mount Paran and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for them.’ ( D e u t e ro n o m y 3 3 : 2 ) In this verse Moses( a s ) is promised three manifestations of the glory of God. The first of these appeared on Sinai in the time of Moses. Ti m e passed. The second manifestation promised in the prophecy was to take place at Seir, a part of the world near where the miracles of J e s u s( a s ) took place. ‘Rising up from S e i r,’ therefore, meant the advent of Jesus( a s ). The third manifestation of divine glory was to take its rise from Paran, and Paran (Arabic Faran) is the name of the hills which lie between Makkah, the birth place of M u h a m m a d( s a ), and Madinah, the town where he died. According to the Old Testament, Ishmael, the ancestor of Muhammad( s a ), lived in this part. Thus we have in the B i b l e : ‘And God was with the lad (Ishmael): and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer. And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran.’ ( G e n e s i s 2 1 : 2 0 – 2 1 ) Historical and geographical evidence shows that the descendents of Abraham lived in Arabia. All of them held Makkah and Ka’aba, the house of worship built by Abraham ( a s ), in great reverence. His son Ishmael first settled in Makkah. Genesis gives the names of twelve sons of Ishmael including two named Tema and Kedar. (Genesis 25:13- 16) This is further supported by the testimony of Isaiah where we read: ‘The burden of Arabia. In the 34 MUHAMMAD(SA) IN THE BIBLE The Review of Religions – July 2005 forest of Arabia shall ye lodge, O ye traveling companies of Dedanim.The inhabitants of the land of Tema brought water to him that was thirsty, they provided with their bread him that fled. For they fled from the swords, from the bent bow, and from the grievousness of war. For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Within a year, according to the years of an hireling, and all the glory of Kedar shall fail: And the residue of the number of archers, the mighty men of the children of Kedar, shall be diminished: for the Lord God of Israel hath spoken it.’ (Isaiah 21:13-16) This prophetic passage is a picture of the Battle of Badr which took place about a year after the Holy P r o p h e t ’s( s a ) migration from Makkah to Madinah. In this battle the sons of Kedar, the people of Makkah and the territories around, unable to withstand the fierceness of Muslim swordsmen and archers, sustained disastrous defeat. God made a handful of men, poorly armed and without provisions, the means of inflicting this humiliation on an army led by experienced generals. The battles with the Makkans continued against heavy odds until such time that the Prophet M u h a m m a d( s a ) entered Makkah after a struggle of several years. This was the time when ten thousand saints accompanied him. The Holy Prophet(sa) declared that the message of God had been completed in the form of the Holy Q u r’an. Thus the prophecy of M o s e s( a s ) was fulfilled that the Lord would shine forth from Paran with ten thousand saints, with a fiery Law in his right hand. Thus also the prophecy of Jesus was fulfilled that the spirit of Truth ‘will guide you unto all truth.’ His fiery Law, the Holy Qur’ a n , consumed all impurities of flesh and turned the impure hearts into pure ones. Could Jesus(as) have fulfilled this wonderful prophecy? He did not rise from Paran. He had only twelve disciples and not ten thousand saints. Isaiah had spoken of one that fled; the flight of Muhammad(sa) is such an impor- tant part of Muslim history that the 35 MUHAMMAD(SA) IN THE BIBLE The Review of Religions – July 2005 Islamic calendar starts from the very year of migration. ‘The Earth Was Full Of His P r a i s e ’ This advent was also prophesied by Habakkuk several centuries before J e s u s( a s ). Thus we have: ‘God comes from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah, His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise. And his brightness was as the light; he had horns coming out of his hands: and there was the hiding of his power. Before him went the pestilence, and the burning coals went forth at his feet. He stood and measured the earth: he beheld, and drove asunder the nations; and the everlasting mountains were scattered, and the perpetual hills did bow: his ways are everlasting. I saw the tents of Cushan in aff l i c t i o n ; and the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble.’ (Habakkuk 3 : 3 – 7 ) This again shows that the third manifestation mentioned earlier was going to be by one who would appear from the land of Tema and Mount Paran. The earth was going to be full of his praise. It is not a mere accident, then, that the Holy Prophet of Islam( s a ) was named Muhammad, which literally means, the Praised One. Only a man with a name as beautiful as his personality and character could answer to the description of Habakkuk. T h e enemies of Muhammad( s a ) s u ff e r e d destruction, pestilence and humil- iation of ‘burning coals’ in encountering him in spite of overwhelmingly stronger and l a rger forces. M o s e s( a s ) died while he was still fighting his enemies. Jesus( a s ) w a s put on the Cross. The prophet( s a ) who beheld and drove the nations a s u n d e r, as mentioned by Habakkuk, could be, therefore, none else but Muhammad( s a ). His enemies who looked like ‘everlasting mountains and per- petual hills’ with their immense power were completely routed. Later ‘the tents of Cushan’ and the ‘curtains of the land of Midian,’ that is, the land of Canaan then under the Roman Caesar, also found their salvation in surrendering to the servants of the 36 MUHAMMAD(SA) IN THE BIBLE The Review of Religions – July 2005 Holy Prophet( s a ) in the time of that C a e s a r’s successors. The Prince Of Peace In Isaiah we find many passages about a coming prophet which can be true only of Muhammad( s a ). We are told of a time when a man would call the nations of the world who would swiftly answer his call and gather around him ( I s a i a h5 : 2 6 – 30). We are told that the followers of the Promised One would be obliged to take part in wars. We are told that the advent of this prophet would be at a time when even the light would be darkened by the sin and corruption of land and sea. Isaiah also tells us that at the time God would turn away His face from the house of Jacob (Isaiah 8 : 1 3 – 1 7 ) . ‘And then: For unto us a Child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wo n d e r f u l C o u n s e l l o r, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.’ ( I s a i a h 9:6- 7) The prophecy gives promise of a king who will have five titles: (1) Wo n d e r f u l (2) Counsellor (3) The Mighty God (4) The Everlasting Father and (5) The Prince of Peace. Was Jesus(as) ever a King? Were the names enumerated in this prophecy ever applied to him? Wonderful he might have been called, because of peculiar birth, but while his deniers regarded his birth as illegitimate, his supporters were in doubt about his ancestry. He gave no exhibition of the might that is mentioned in the above verse. Nor could he be called Everlasting Father, because he himself had mentioned another one coming after him. He neither became king nor could he ever bring peace to the world. He remained oppressed by his 37 MUHAMMAD(SA) IN THE BIBLE The Review of Religions – July 2005 opponents until he was put on the Cross. He could not, therefore, be rightly called the Prince of Peace. He never attained to any government and, therefore, the words, ‘of his government there shall be no end,’ have no meaning in terms of his life. These signs mentioned in Isaiah apply only to the Prophet of Isl a m( s a ). It was he who had to shoulder the responsibilities of a state, and thus, quite against his will, had to be called king. M u h a m m a d( s a ) was Wonderful both in his name and achievements. J e s u s( a s ), in his parable of the vineyard, speaks of the house- holder who let his vineyards to husbandmen. These wicked men not only beat, killed and stoned his other servants but also his son. The Lord, says Jesus ( a s ), will come himself, destroy these wicked husbandmen and render the vineyard to those who ‘shall render the fruits in their seasons.’This will be so because: ‘The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner; and this is the Lord’s doing, and it is m a r v e l o u s in our eyes.’ (Matthew 2 1 : 3 3 – 4 4 ) This is the way in which the ‘ Wonderful’ one had to appear. When the son would be slain, then the other one would be sent who would prove to be the head of the c o r n e r. And he would seem ‘marvelous’ in the eyes of Jesus( a s ) and the whole world. And about his wonderful achievements we may quote Thomas Carlyle. He writes: ‘ To the Arab nation it was a birth from darkness into light; Arabia first become alive by means of it. A poor shepherd people, roaming unnoticed in its deserts since the creation of the world, a hero-prophet was sent down to them with a word they could believe: see, the unnoticed becomes world- notable, the small has grown world-great; within one century afterward, Arabia is at Grenada on this hand, Delhi on that, glancing in valor and splendor and the light of genius, Arabia shines through long ages over a 38 MUHAMMAD(SA) IN THE BIBLE The Review of Religions – July 2005 section of the world. Belief is great, long-living. The history of a nation becomes fruitful, soul-elevating, great, so soon as it believes. These Arabs, the man Mahomet and that one century-is it not as if a spark had fallen, one spark, on a world of what seemed black, unnoticeable sand, but lo, the sand proves explosive powder, blazes heaven-high from Delhi to Grenada. I said, the great man was always a lightning out of heaven; the rest of men waited for him like fuel and then they too would flame. (Thomas Carlyle in Heroes And H e ro – Wo r s h i p) The second name of the Promised One is Counsellor. This again applied to the Holy Prophet( s a ). A nation turned to him for advice. He, in turn, held regular consultation with his people, and made it obligatory on the State to consult the people in all important matters. The Holy Qur’an tells us that his companions sought his consul- tation regularly. The prophecy had also described him as mighty God. The Bible has often mentioned the prophets as God himself. (Exodus 7:1 and 4 : 1 6 ) Whenever a human being is spoken of as a ‘like of God’ it can only mean that he is a manifestation of the Almighty.The Holy Prophet( s a ), again, answers the description of the prophecy. There are several references relevant to this in the Holy Qur’an. At the Battle of Badr, the prophet( s a ) took a handful of gravel and threw it at the enemy. This proved a signal for a dust storm which discomfited the enemy and contributed to his defeat. Of this, God says to the Holy Prophet( s a ): . . .And thou threwest not when thou didst thro w, but it was God who thre w… ( C h . 8 : V. 1 8 ) Again it says: Verily those who swear allegiance to thee indeed swear allegiance to Allah… ( C h . 4 8 : V. 11) Thus came the manifestation of Almighty God, the Holy 39 MUHAMMAD(SA) IN THE BIBLE The Review of Religions – July 2005 P r o p h e t( s a ), who was able to subjugate all his enemies in his lifetime and smash all opposition. The fourth name in the prophecy is Everlasting Father. Jesus( a s ) w a s sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel and, therefore, could not possibly have an everlasting character. On the other hand, the Holy Prophet ( s a ) w a s referred to in the Qur’an as ‘a bearer of glad tidings and a Wa r n e r for all mankind’. (Ch.34:V.29). He was promised that his teaching would abide forever with the people because at the end of days, the Promised Messiah ( a s ) w o u l d appear from among his followers and would revive the teachings of Islam and prove conclusively that the spiritual dominion of the Prophet of Islam( s a ) was everlasting and there would be no heavenly teachers then except from his f o l l o w e r s . The fifth name in the prophecy is Prince of Peace. Can Jesus( a s ) b e truly called such? He did not become a sovereign in his life. He did not ever gain power to administer forgiveness to his enemies, and therefore, there was not much occasion for him to perform what he preached. On the other hand, the very religion of M u h a m m a d( s a ) is called I s l a m , meaning peace. As for the performance of peace and f o rgiveness in Muhammad’s( s a ) l i f e we have ample evidence. Through thirteen long and weary years the prophet of Islam and his little band of devoted followers bore with calm dignity and patience the bitterest persecution at the hands of the Makkans. Starvation, flogging, scoff i n g s , humiliations, degradations and outrages of every description were the order of the day. When the P r o p h e t( s a ) took refuge in Madinah, even there he was not left in peace. Over a period of seven years of sustained and brutal persecution the Prophet of Islam( s a ) a p p e a r e d suddenly on the heights of Paran, at the head of ten thousand saints, with no battle fought and not a drop of blood shed, when any penalty inflicted upon these Makkans would have been light in comparison to their long record of misdeeds, the Prophet ( s a ) announced, gently and mercifully: 40 MUHAMMAD(SA) IN THE BIBLE The Review of Religions – July 2005 THe said, ‘No blame shall lie on you this day; may Allah f o rgive you!…’. ( C h . 1 2 : V. 9 3 ) Is it the same way that the Christians treated their enemies when they came to power? Who should then be called a true Prince of Peace, Jesus( a s ) o r M u h a m m a d( s a )? Jesus( a s ) could not a fford peace to others. His follow- ers were able to afford it, but they did not give it. The prophet of I s l a m( s a ) had the power to punish his enemies but he chose to forg i v e . M u h a m m a d( s a ), therefore, was the Prince of Peace of Isaiah’s p r o p h e c y. It was he again who also attained government and thus could fulfil the last part of this prophecy saying, ‘Of the increase of his government and peace, there shall be no end.’ C o n c l u s i o n These are just a few of the many prophecies found in the Bible about the advent of that great p r o p h e t( s a ) who was going to lead the world into all truth. M u h a m m a d( s a ) was going to be, in the words of Solomon, ‘altogether lovely’ which in Hebrew is expressed as Mahamadim. ( S o n g of Solomon 5: 10-16) He was the fulfillment of the ‘stone’ of D a n i e l ’s dream. (Daniel 2:34-35) He was the coming of the lord of the vineyard himself as foretold by J e s u s( a s ). True, there are some prophecies about Jesus( a s ) as well in the Old Testament but it is also a fact that there are many which cannot rightly be applied to him. These could be fulfilled in the person of the one who was coming with a Law and whose mission was to be not just to ‘the lost sheep of the house of Israel’ but to the whole world, one who was spoken of by J e s u s( a s ) as the Comforter and Spirit of Truth. The predictions about M u h a m m a d( s a ) in the Bible are clear and precise. The door to the Kingdom of Heaven has been opened by the fulfillment of these prophecies. Blessed are those who accept the call of the Lord of Heaven and Earth to enter His Kingdom and receive His communion.