In the Gospel according to John (Chapters 14, 15, 16 KJV), Jesus spoke of the “Paraclete” or comforter who will come after him, who will be sent by God, who will teach new things which the contemporaries of Jesus could not bear.  While the Paraclete is described as the spirit of truth, (the meaning of which resembles Muhammad’s  famous title al-amin, the trustworthy), he is identified in one verse as the Holy Ghost (John 14:26 KJV).  Such a designation is however inconsistent with the profile of that Paraclete.  In the words of the Dictionary of the Bible (Ed. J. Mackenzie), “These items, it must be admitted do not give an entirely coherent picture.”

Indeed history tells us that many early Christians understood the Paraclete to be a man and not a spirit.  This might explain the followers who responded to some who claimed, without meeting the criteria stipulated by Jesus, to be the awaited “Paraclete.”

It was the Prophet Muhammad  who was the Paraclete, Comforter, helper, and admonisher sent by God after Jesus.  He testified of Jesus, taught new things which could not be borne at Jesus’ time, he spoke what he heard (the Holy Quran), he dwells with the believers (through his well-preserved teachings).  Such teachings will remain forever because he was the last messenger of God, the only Universal Messenger to unite the whole of humanity under God, upon the path of preserved truth.  He told of many things to come which came to pass in the minutest detail, meeting the criterion given by Moses to distinguish between the true prophet and the false prophets (Deuteronomy 18:22 KJV).  He did “convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment.” (John 16:8).

Blessings of Ishmael And Isaac:

Abraham is widely regarded as the Patriarch of monotheism and the common father of the Jews, Christians and Muslims.  Through His second son, Isaac, came all Israelite prophets including such towering figures as Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, Solomon and Jesus.  May peace and blessings be upon them all.  The advent of these great prophets was in partial fulfillment of God’s promises to bless the nations of earth through the descendants of Abraham (Genesis 12:2-3).¹  Such fulfillment is wholeheartedly accepted by Muslims whose faith considers the belief in and respect of all prophets an article of faith.

Was the first born son of Abraham (Ishmael) and his descendants included in God’s covenant and promise?  A few verses from the Bible may help shed some light on this question:

1) Genesis 12:2-3 speaks of God’s promise to Abraham and his descendants before any child was born to him.

2) Genesis 17:4 reiterates God’s promise after the birth of Ishmael and before the birth of Isaac.

3) In Genesis, ch. 21, Isaac is specifically blessed, but Ishmael was also specifically blessed and promised by God to become “a great nation,” especially in Genesis 21:13, 18.

4) According to Deuteronomy 21:15-17, the traditional rights and privileges of the first born son are not to be affected by the social status of his mother (being a free woman such as Sarah, Isaac’s mother, or a “maidservant” as Hagar, Ishmael’s mother).  This is only consistent with the moral and humanitarian principles of all revealed faiths.

5) The full legitimacy of Ishmael as Abraham’s son and “offspring” and the full legitimacy of his mother, Hagar, as Abraham’s wife, are clearly stated in Genesis 21:13 and 16:3.

After Jesus, the last Israelite messenger and prophet, it was time that God’s promise to bless Ishmael and his descendants be fulfilled.  Less than 600 years after Jesus, came the last messenger of God, Muhammad , from the progeny of Abraham through Ishmael.  God’s blessings for both of the main branches of Abraham’s family tree were now fulfilled.

Was The Shift of Religious Leadership Prophesied:

Following the rejection of the last Israelite prophet, Jesus, it was about time that God’s promise to make Ishmael a great nation be fulfilled (Genesis 21:13, 18).

Jesus said: “Therefore I tell you that the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.” (Matthew 21:43).  Those people among Ishmael’s descendants (the rejected stone in Matthew 21:42) who were victorious against all superpowers of their time as prophesied by Jesus: “He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.” (Matthew 21:44).

Muhammad’s  Migration Prophesied in the Bible:

Indeed the incident of the migration of the Prophet and his persecuted followers is vividly described in Isaiah 21:13-17.  That section foretold as well about the battle of Badr, in which the few ill-armed faithful miraculously defeated the men of Kedar, who sought to destroy Islam and intimidate their own folks who turned to Islam.

Out of Context Coincidence:

Is it possible that the numerous prophecies cited here are, individually and combined, all out of context misinterpretations?  Is the opposite true, that such infrequently studied verses support each other consistently and clearly, pointing to the advent of the man who changed the course of human history, the Prophet Muhammad ?  Is it reasonable to conclude that all of these prophecies, appearing in different books of the Bible and spoken by various prophets at different times, were all coincidence?

As was mentioned before, God has said about the prophet mentioned in Deuteronomy 18, who is Muhammad : “If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to account.” (Deuteronomy 18:19).²

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Footnotes:

(1) All of the verses on this page have been taken from The NIV Study Bible, New International Version, except where noted as being KJV which means King James Version.

(2) This article has been taken from the pamphlet entitled, “Muhammad in the Bible” by Dr. Jamal Badawi, with some editing.
 

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