CHAPTER 6: THE PROPHETS PROPHESIZED THE ADVENT OF MUHAMMAD
The prophets, who came before Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) foretold his coming. This is known through the following ways:
First: That which is mentioned in the books of the people of the Scripture and which talks about his coming.
Second: The words of those who are familiar with such books and who found the prophecy of his coming mentioned therein whether those people embraced Islam or not.
For example, the Ansar (supporters) narrated that their neighbors from among the people of the Scripture used to say that he (Muhammad) would be sent and that he is the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). He was mentioned in their books and they were waiting for him. This was the main reason that made the Ansar believe him when he called them to embrace Islam. The Ansar believed him and gave him their pledge of allegiance without fearing or desiring anything.
That is why it is said, “Medina was conquered with (the aid of) the Qur’an and not with the sword like other cities.”
Allah told us, in the Qur’an, about the people of the Scripture,
which means, “And indeed, We gave Musa (Moses) the Book and followed him up with a succession of Messengers. And We gave Isa (Jesus), the son of Maryam (Mary), clear signs and supported him with Ruhul-Qudus (Jibril, Gabriel). Is it that whenever there came to you a Messenger with what you yourselves desired not; you grew arrogant? Some, you disbelieved and some, you killed. And they say, ‘Our hearts are wrapped (i.e., do not hear or understand Allah’s Word).’ Nay, Allah has cursed them for their disbelief, so little is that which they believe. And when there came to them (the Jews), a Book (this Qur’an) from Allah confirming what is with them (the Tawrah, Torah and the Injil, Gospel), although a foretime they had invoked Allah (for coming of Muhammad Peace be upon him) in order to gain victory over those who disbelieved, then when there came to them that which they had recognized, they disbelieved in it. So let the Curse of Allah be on the disbelievers. How bad is that for which they have sold their own selves, that they should disbelieve in that which Allah has revealed (the Qur’an), grudging that Allah should reveal of His Grace unto whom He will of His slaves. So, they have drawn on themselves wrath upon wrath. And for the disbelievers, there is disgracing torment.” (Al-Baqarah, 2: 87-90)
Another example from the Ansar is (supporters) that he was mentioned in their books. Heraclius, the Byzantine Emperor, Al-Muqawqas, the King of Egypt and ruler of Alexandria, Negus, the King of Abyssinia, and those who came to him at Mecca spoke about his coming. Allah mentioned them in the Qur’an when talking about the Jews,
which means, “Although a foretime they had invoked Allah (for coming of Muhammad Peace be upon him) in order to gain victory over those who disbelieved, then when there came to them that which they had recognized, they disbelieved in it.” (Al-Baqarah, 2: 89)
He also said about the Christians,
which means, “And when they (who call themselves Christians) listen to what has been sent down to the Messenger (Muhammad), you see their eyes overflowing with tears because of the truth they have recognized. They say: “Our Lord! We believe; so write us down among the witnesses.” (Al-Ma’idah, 5: 83)
And He, the Almighty said,
which means, “Those to whom We gave the Scripture (i.e., the Tawrah, Torah and the InjiI, Gospel, etc.) before it, – they believe in it (the Qur’an), And when it is recited to them, they say, ‘We believe in it. Verily, it is the truth from our Lord.'” (Al-Qasas, 28: 52-53)
It is recorded in AL-Bukhari and Muslim (Recorded by Al-Bukhari, Bad’ Al-Wahy (Book of the Beginning of Revelation), hadith no. 7; and by Muslim, Al-Jihad was-Siyar (Book of Jihad and Expedition), hadith nos. 1773-1774.) Ibn ‘Abbas narrated from Abu Sufyan bin Harb that when Heraclius asked him about the character of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and he told him, he said, “If what you are saying about him is true, he is a prophet. And I knew he was going to be sent but I did not think it would be from among you. If I knew, I would come to him bearing all hardship and if I were (there) with him, I would wash his feet (serve and follow him).”
Al-Bukhari added this part in his narration, “Ibn An-Natur, the Prince of lla’ (Jerusalem) appointed by Heraclius added that Heraclius had a soothsayer who used stars in fortune-telling. When they asked him, he said, Tonight when I looked at the stars 1 saw that the king of those who circumcise had appeared. So, who practices circumcision?’ They said, ‘Nobody practices circumcision but the Jews, so do not worry about them. Just send to (the princes in) your cities to kill all the Jews therein.’
They found an Arab and Heraclius said, ‘Go and check if he was circumcised.’ They looked and told him that the man was circumcised.
So, Heraclius asked him about the Arabs and the man said, ‘They practice circumcision.’
Then Heraclius wrote to one of his friends in Rumiyah (a city in Byzantine) who was knowledgeable like him. After that Heraclius went to Horns and did not leave before he had received a letter from his friend agreeing with his opinion concerning the appearance of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and of him being a prophet.“
The same happened with Negus, the King of Abyssinia. The Companions immigrated to his country when the disbelievers started to harm them severely and they feared for their religion. When they recited the Qur’an in front of him, he took a stick between his fingers and said, ‘’ lsa bin Maryam had never preached anything more than what you said even to the size of this stick.” So, his bishops started to complain angrily. He said, “Even if you complain! Stay, you are safe in my land.”
He said these words after the Quraish had sent him some gifts asking that he might return those Muslims to them. They said, “They abandoned our religion and were against your religion…” (Recorded by Ahmad in his Musnad, vol. 1, pp. 201-203 and v.l. 5, pp. 290-292 in the hadith of Umm Salamah, wife of the Prophet (peace be upon him).)
The hadith of Waraqah bin Nawfal is also recorded in Al-Bukhari and Muslim (Recorded by Al-Bukhari, Bad’ Al-Wahy (Book of the Beginning of Revelation), hadith no. 3; and by Muslim, Al-lman (Book of Faith hadith nos. 160-252.) which is narrated by ‘A’isha (may Allah be pleased with her) in the Book of the Beginning of Revelation. She said, “The first form of Divine Reflation came to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon Mm) as good dreams. Whenever he saw a dream, it came true like bright daylight. Then he was made to love seclusion and he used to retire in the cave of Hira’. There he would worship (Allah) for many days before he would have the desire to see his family…” She continued saying, “Khadijah accompanied him to meet her cousin Waraqah bin Nawfal bin Asad bin ‘Abdul-‘Uzza. He converted to Christianity in the pre-Islamic era and used to write the Hebrew books. He would write from the Bible in the Hebrew language as much as Allah wished him to do. So, Khadijah told him, ‘O cousin! Listen to what your son-in-law has to say!’ Waraqah listened to what he saw and then he said, ‘This is the same secret keeper (Jibril, Gabriel) that Allah used to send to Musa (Moses, peace be upon him). I wish I were young when it (the Revelation) comes to you. I wish I could be alive when your people turn you out.’ On hearing this, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) asked, ‘Will they turn me out?’ Waraqah said, ‘Yes. Never did a man come with the like of what you came with but he was treated with hostility. If I were alive on that day, I would support you strongly’ Waraqah died shortly after that.”
Third: Allah told us in the Quran about the coming of the Prophet more than once. He talked about the people of the Scripture and told us that Muhammad is mentioned in their books. This proves to any wise person that Muhammad was mentioned in their books. Anyone who knew Muhammad, whether a believer or a non-believer, was sue that he was among the wisest of people. Those who disbelieve in him do not doubt his knowledge and wisdom which helped him in establishing this great matter, which happened to no one before or after him. This means he knew that he should not do or talk about that which would make him doubted. He is the keenest person to be believed and the most knowledgeable one of the ways that makes htm believed. He is the farthest person from committing what might lead to accusing him of lying.
If he had the knowledge that he was not mentioned in their books and was certain of it, he would not have told them about it continually. He would not have informed everyone about it whether or not they believed him. The one who would do such an act would be very foolish, for it proves his lying-in front of those who believed in him, those who know him, and it contradicts his aims. It is like someone who wants to prove his right of something, so he chooses someone who is known for his truthfulness and who has not witnessed his case to testify on his behalf. He says, ‘This one will testify on my behalf and that one will testify on my behalf.”
When they are present, they say, “We will not testify on his behalf and we have not witnessed the case.”
Such an act is not done by a wise person who knows that these people were not present, that they will believe him, and that they will not testify on his behalf.
Fourth: It would be said: When the signs proved his truthfulness, he talked about his being mentioned in the early books and about how the prophets anticipated his coming. This proved his truthfulness. But this is not done except after establishing a separate proof of his prophethood.
The first way is the most convincing proof to the people of the Scripture and the most significant sign that he is a prophet.
Many scholars were able to derive many prophecies, which support his prophethood from different places in their books. They even compiled lengthy compilations.
Such prophecies taken from these books are like those prophesying the coming of Christ (peace be upon him).
The Jews agree upon the wordings of the prophecies but they interpret them differently. They claim that it is not Jesus Christ, ‘Isa bin Maryam (Mary), whose coming is prophesized but another person.
However, in reality, they are waiting for none other than the Antichrist. They are also waiting for the coming of Christ, ‘Isa bin Maryam, who will descend from the heavens as is mentioned elsewhere. They distort the meaning of the prophecies saying that they do not refer to an expected prophet. They have also said the same regarding His statement, “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.” (Deut, 18:18)
Some people among them say, “This is not a statement but it is an interrogation for denial.” They added an interrogative particle while the text contains nothing of the kind.
The Jews distort all the signs anticipating the coming of Christ. According to Muslims and Christians, this does not falsify the prophecies of the coming of Christ. Rather, it shows that the texts refer to it and refutes the Jews’ distortion.
The same applies to the prophecies of the coming of Muhammad in the earlier books. They are not falsified by the distortions of the people of the Scripture, the Jews and the Christians. Rather, they show the signs in these texts, which prove the prophethood of Muhammad and the invalidity of the distortions of the people of the Scripture.
Five: It is said that it is known that the spread of the religion of Muhammad (peace be upon him) all over the earth is the greatest occurrence that has ever taken place.
No other religion is known to have spread and survived like Islam. Even the law of Musa that continued and lasted did not spread like Islam but it was only known in some areas of Sham (region covering Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, and Jordan).
The law of Christ did not rule before Constantine. It only ruled in some Byzantine countries. The people embracing it were oppressed, for their lords and commoners were killed most times.
When it spread, its followers dispersed into different groups each one accusing the other of disbelief.
As for the law of Muhammad (peace be upon him), it spread in the East, in the West, and throughout the Middle of the inhabited land; the second, third, and fourth province. Its nation was prominent in the noblest of the land like in Sham, Egypt, the Peninsula, etc. This law lasted for more than seven hundred years until now.
It is known that prophets must warn people against this person claiming to be a prophet, whether he is truthful or not. They have warned people against the Antichrist, the liar, in order to beware of his trial. They said that he was a liar who could perform some miracles, which could put people to trials, though he would only remain for a short time. If those who say that Muhammad is a liar were truthful and he was not really a prophet, his trial would have been greater than that of the Antichrist in all respects. This is because the number of people who followed Muhammad is greater than those who will follow the Antichrist. If he was a liar, then the number of people put to trial is greater than those put to the trial of the Antichrist. Thus, warning against him is more important than warning against the Antichrist, for since the creation of Adam until now, there has never been a liar who appeared and lasted this long. How can it be possible that the prophets forgot to warn against such a person if he were a liar?
If he was truthful, then the prophecies are signs to believe in him. It is more important that prophets announce his coming as a future occurrence. This means that he was mentioned in their books.
The Prophet’s mention has been cited more than one hundred times in their books. Many among the people of the Scripture reported that he was mentioned in their books. Many among those who converted to Islam reported knowing that he was mentioned in their earlier books and that this was the reason behind their embracing Islam or was the most important aspect that led them to convert. Those who found him mentioned in their books and those who heard about him from the scholars of the people of the Scripture only talk about him with praise. This proves that earlier prophets mentioned him honourably and never dispraised him.
Anyone who claims prophethood and the other prophets praised him, can be nothing but a truthful person, for it is impossible that the prophets praise someone falsely assuming prophethood. Allah says,
which means, “And who can be more unjust than he who invents a lie against Allah, or says, ‘I have received inspiration,’ whereas he is not inspired in anything.” (Al-An’am, 6: 93)
This proves that the prophets must have informed people about his coming. They only talk about him with praise and not with disdain. Their mentioning him together with his claim of prophethood would only happen if he is truthful in his claim. This means that they have prophesied his coming.
By: Sheikhul-Islaam Ibn Taymiyah
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