A Prophet of God must satisfy many criteria to be worthy of the claim, so we shall apply some of these to him - based only on objective, independent analyses of his life, mission and achievements.
PART I
1. A PROPHET OF GOD MUST HAVE DIVINE AUTHORITY FOR HIS CLAIM, AND THIS MUST BE EVIDENT TO THOSE WHO STUDY HIS LIFE OBJECTIVELY - EVEN THOSE WHO ARE NOT HIS FOLLOWERS.
“The essential sincerity of Muhammad’s nature cannot be questioned: and a historical criticism that links no facts, yields nothing to credulity, weights every testimony, has no partisan interest, and seeks only the truth, must acknowledge his claim to belong to that order of prophets...”
- Annie Bessant (Theosophist/The Life & Teachings of Muhammad/Madras 1932.
“He was Caesar and Pope in one; but he was Pope without Pope’s pretension and Caesar without the legions of Caesar: without a standing army, without a bodyguard, without a palace, without a fixed revenue; if ever any man had the right to say that he ruled by the right divine, it was Mohammad, for he had all the power without its instruments and without its support.”
- Rev. Bosworth Smith/Mohammad and Mohammadanism/London 1874
“(The Quran) is the literal revelation of God, dictated to Muhammad by Gabriel, perfect in every letter. It is ever-present miracle witnessing to itself and to Muhammad, the Prophet of God. Its miraculous quality resides partly in its style, so perfect and lofty that no one could produce a single chapter to compare with its briefest chapter, and partly in its content of teachings, prophecies about the future, and amazingly accurate information such as the illiterate Muhammad could never have gathered of his own accord.”
- Harry Gaylord Dorman/Towards Understanding Islam/New York 1948.
2. THE LAST PROPHET OF GOD - WITH SUCH AN IMPORTANT MISSION - MUST BE PROPHESISED IN PREVIOUS SCRIPTURES. ALTHOUGH THESES PROPECIES ARE OPEN TO VARYING INTERPRETATIONS, COMPELLING EVIDENCE CAN BE OBTAINED IF VARIED SOURCES ARE EXAMINED.
OLD TESTAMENT (OT)
“...he shined forth from Mount. Paran, and he came with Ten Thousand Saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for them.” [Deuteronomy 33:2 KingJamesVersion]
[Biblical scholars concur that the desert of Paran/Faran was the home of Ishmaelites. Muhammad was a direct descendant of Prophet Ishmael through his second son Kedar; Muhammad triumphantly marched into Mecca with 10,000 of his revered companions and established Islamic rule which was to spread to much of Arabia in his lifetime, and soon across northern India up to Spain.]
“...he is mahmad/mahmud/mahmudim.” [Song of Solomon 5:16]
[Here is a direct mention of Muhammad, the Arabic equivalent of mahmad. Jews interpret Song of Solomon to be about a lover and a maiden. Christians interpret it to be his love for Jesus. But in this crucial verse the object of praise is directly identified... he is mahmad (Muhammad). Readers of the English Bibles do not have a clue of this because the translators have translated the meaning of the name instead of retaining the name. Arabic and Hebrew have common roots. The root words for Muhammad are Ahmad (AHMD) or Hebrew Hamad (HAMD); and Mahmud (MHMD), meaning Praiseworthy (or Admirable/Desirable) and Praised-one (or Admirable-one) respectively. In fact these are also names of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Muhammad means The Praised One and Muhammadin (or Muhammadan, Muhammadun) are the form used in sentences according to the grammatical rules. So the object of praise was in fact a male whose name was Mahmad (or Muhammad in Arabic) which also means The Praised One. Unfortunately most Bible versions translate this to - `he is Altogether Lovely’ - thus no modern-day Christians realises the connection to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). That it refers to Muhammad is further evident since six verses earlier he is called `chief of ten thousand, (Song 5:10 KJV). Incidentally no man in Semitic history (Jew, Arab, Palestinian, etc.) was named Muhammad before this Prophet, yet today Muhammad is the commonest name in the world, more common than John or Lee or any other name! His other oft-quoted name is Mustafa, meaning The Chosen One. Indeed Muhammad Al Mustafa (pbuh) was The Praised and Chosen One who was sent as a mercy to mankind.
“And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray yee: and he saith, I am not learned.” [Isaiah 29:12 KJV]
[This version of Prophet Isaiah predicted exactly the event in the Cave of Hira when Muhammad (pbuh) received the first revelation of the Quran through Angel Gabriel. He is know as the illiterate, unlettered of unlearned prophet. When Angel Gabriel said to him`Read!’ he replied: `But I am not learned’; this exchange was repeated twice before Angel Gabriel proceeded with `Read in the name of your Lord...’ which was the first Quranic verse dictated to Muhammad (pbuh) and marked his appointment as the last Prophet and Messenger of God. Unfortunately Christians and Jews who do not know what happened in the Cave missed the importance of this vision; hence the story in later versions of the bible (after KJV) loses its original meaning in the translator’s attempt to relate the vision which they themselves did not understand.]
“See my servant, whom I uphold; my Chosen One, in whom I delight. I have put my Spirit upon him; he will reveal justice to the nations of the world.: [Isaiah 42:1 Living Bible]
[God’s Chosen One was Muhammad Al Mustafa. The Quran states that Muhammad was to bring justice and guidance to mankind and the whole world; whilst the Bible states that Jesus `was sent only for the lost sheep of the house of Israel’ (Matthew 15:42). This vision of Prophet Isaiah again refers to Muhammad. In fact Isaiah 42:2-4 clearly desribe Muhammad’s character.]
NEW TESTAMENT (NT)
“You shall know them by their fruits.” [Matthew 7:16 & 20]
[Jesus (pbuh) did not deny the coming of prophets after him. The above Bible passage quotes his advice to his disciples on how to differentiate true and false prophets who come after him, i.e. by their teachings, deeds and the results of this. Therefore the Christians should study the deeds and teachings of Muhammad (pbuh) and decide if he was genuine or fake.]
[There are other references to Muhammad by Jesus in the NT, but these are disputed. These refer to who are the Advocate/Comforter/Counsellor/Intercessor that Jesus said will come after him. The Christians say it is the Holy Spirit - the third `person’ of their Trinity of Godhood. The original Greek word was paraklytos or periklytos (paraclete or periclete) meaning Intercessor or Admirable respectively. Muslims believe it refers to Muhammad because he is also called Admirable (Ahmad) and The Intercessor (As-Shafaat) for the believers on the day of Judgement.]
HINDU SCRIPTURES
“A foreign spritual teacher will appear with his companions. His name will be Mohammad...” [Maharisyi Vyasa/Bhavishya Puran/Prati Sarg Parv 111: 3, 3, 5-8.]
“... will be a man circumcised, keeping beard, creating a revolution, announcing the prayer-call. Eating all kind of animals except swine...they will be known as Musalman (Muslims). I (God) shall be the originator of this religion of the meat-eating nation.” [Bhavishya Puran/Shalokas: 10-27]
[That these refer to Muhammad and the Muslims are too obvious to require explanation.]
[The Kuntap Sukt of Atharva Veda prophesised, among other things, the Prophet’s name as Praiseworthy; his ten best companions; his hundred companions who migrated to Abbyssinia; the 313 companions who faught the Battle of Badr that saved Islam; and the 10,000 companions who conquered Mecca with him. But one must know Muhammad’s lifestory to understand the prophecies.]
“... the truthful, wise powerful and generous Mamah (Muhammad) has favoured me with his words...possessing all good attributes, the mercy for the worlds has become famous with ten thousand (companions).” [Atharva Veda].
BUDDHIST SCRIPTURES
“I am not the first Buddha who came upon the earth, nor shall I be the last. In due time another Buddha will arise in the world, a holy one, a supremely enlighten one, endowed with wisdom in conduct, auspicious, knowing the universe, an incomparable leader of men, a master of angels and mortals. He will reveal to you the same eternal truths which I have taught you. He will preach in his religion, glorious in its origin, glorious at its climax, and, glorious at the goal. He will proclaim. His disciples will number many thousands, while mine number many hundred. He will be known as Maitreya...” [The Gospel of Buddha by Carus].
[There are many claimants to this `Maitreya’: among them Shankaracharya, Jesus and Muhammad - each proposed by their followers or admirers. Shankaracharya is hardly known outside the Hindu world. Jesus did not have that many disciples, certainly not many thousands. Muhammad was an incomparable leader of man and had many thousands of companions/disciples. Among the meanings given to Maitreya are loving, kindness, benevolence, friendliness, compassionate, merciful, forgiveness, goodness, providence, etc. - precisely the same meaning for Rahmat (Arabic) which, for simplicity, is translated as mercy in the Prophet’s title of `Rahmat-ul-lil-Alamin’: mercy for all the Worlds. So Gautama Buddha was indeed talking about Muhammad.]
[PART II]
[EPILOGUE]
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