It has always been the Wisdom of God that before the advent of a Major
Prophet or Messenger, God reveals the future coming to preceding prophets so
that they could prophesy to their people what is to come so that they may be
prepared for the acceptance of the truth when it comes. Therefore, if the
Prophet of Islam, Muhammad(saw) is true and from God, it stands to reason that
his coming had to have been foretold in preceding scriptures such as the Old
and New Testament.
Interestingly, at the advent of Jesus (peace be upon him) the Jews were expecting three prophets – as foretold in the Old Testament. According to the Gospel of John 1:19-21 the Jews was expecting first, the prophet Elias (Elijah), secondly the Messiah (Christ), and thirdly a prophet of such universal fame that in his case no other specification was necessary to identify him “THAT PROPHET” was enough. Thus, when Jesus(as) claimed to be the Messiah, the Jews began to inquire as to where was the prophet Elijah(as) for there was a parallel prophecy that before the coming of the Messiah, Elijah(as) must come first in a second coming. So, according to Matthew 17: 11-13, Jesus(as) response to this inquiry was to the effect that, Elijah(as) did come, but in power and spirit of the Prophet John the Baptist(as). The Jews however were not prepared to accept figurative speech as the answer and conclusion, so in their investigation they underwent intense difficulties in search of the forerunner to their expected Messiah, because the time for his appearance was imminent. And this, John 1: 19-25 confirmed as the record of John the Baptist(as) when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to interrogate him with the following questions.
First Question: “Who art Thou? And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed: ‘I am not the Christ.’”
This is only obvious; if Jesus was the Messiah, then John could not be the Messiah as well! The Jews were expecting a single Messiah, not two. Therefore, the Jews asked John the Baptist (peace be upon him) a second question:
“Art thou Elias (Elijah)? His answer was: “I am not.”
Now, what I really hope for is that you become interested in the next questions posed to John the Baptist(as) which is:
“Art thou THAT PROPHET?” … And he answered: “NO”.
And the next question is:
"Why baptizes thou then if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither That Prophet?” (John 1:19-25).
Concerning these verses, I once debated it with a Christian friend who stressed his argument that the statement “That Prophet” could have meant the same Jesus. Among other explanations, I brought to his attention the grammatical rule used in context. Since the question put to John by the emissaries indicated the first, second and third person and the word “that”, which is third person singular number, how then, could the word “THAT” mean Jesus who was the first object of question? After much twisting and turning, finally he agreed that in fact, there had been no other Prophet of God after Christ(as), except the Holy Prophet Muhammad(saw), therefore, on this ground, the verse was applicable.
I hope from this brief explanation that you too would realize that during the advent of Jesus and John the Baptist (peace be upon them), the Jews were expecting a third prophet whom they referred to as That Prophet. No doubt, they knew that both Jesus and John the Baptist were Jews, still, there were pending prophecies concerning a Great Prophet, “a stranger” who was to come from among the Gentiles who had not yet come; and who according to Revelation 12:5 was to “rule all nations with a rod of iron..”
Moreover concerning that stranger who is not of the people Israel, and cometh out of a far country in the name of God, 1st Kings tells us of a supplication made by an Israelite prophet on behalf of this stranger:
“Hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place (O God), and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for: that all people of the earth may know thy name…” (1st Kings 8: 41- 43)
So the Jews at the time of John the Baptist and Jesus (peace be upon them), feared the day of the coming of the Stranger since he was the cornerstone and completion of the house of the Prophet Abraham(as). As foretold by the Prophet Isaiah(as); his religion and followers will be called by a new name which the mouth of God Himself shall name:
“And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name” (Isaiah 62:2).
This prophecy found fulfilment in Islam, and is clearly noted in verses of the Qur’an which states in Chapter five verse four:
‘This day have I perfected your religion for you and completed My favor upon you and have chosen for you Islam as religion’ (Qur’an 5:4).
Again we read in another Chapter 3:20;
‘Surely, the true religion with Allah is Islam.’
The Gospel of Matthew clearly says that Jesus (peace be upon him) pronounced the end of the Israelite dispensation when he declared to his people:
“Did ye never read in the Scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes? Therefore say I unto you, the kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them” (Matthew 21:42-45).
Remarkably, this prophecy was made at a time a promised made to Hagar and her son Ishmael (peace be upon them) was still pending. The promise reads as follows:
“...and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her. What grieves thee Hagar? Fear not: for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is. Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in your hand; for I will make him a GREAT NATION” (Genesis 21: 17-18).
Hagar and Ishmael were both Gentiles and at the time of Jesus, God’s Great Nation promise to them had not yet fulfilled. If we accept that God’s Words are true and final, we will agree that no human malice, be it prejudice or jealousy, can nullify God’s Words. In fact, as a result of the fulfillment of this promise, today we see that more than one fifth of the earth’s inhabitants are Muslims—a religious civilization which came into existence some six hundred years after the advent of Jesus (peace be upon him).
The amazing thing about this phenomenon is that, its founder was a circumcised Gentile; descendant of Hagar and Ishmael (peace be upon them), the last and final Lawgiving Prophet and Messenger of God sent to all of mankind. There is no argument to this fact; giving that some 1,400 years ago, Islam fulfilled the Biblical promise made to the Gentiles through Hagar and Ishmael (peace be upon them).
Muhammad(saw) was that “stranger” not of the people of Israel, but came from the house of the Prophet Abraham(as). He was a Prophet and Messenger of God who brought a Divine system of codes for social and moral reformation. He brought a Holy Book (Qur’an) with Divine Guidance, Messages, Laws and Commandments so that all people of the earth may come to know True God and a True-living religion.
Thus, Islam is the promised spiritual Kingdom supplicated for by Jesus and his circumcised followers and to which God proclaimed in the Qur’an that, it is He who has sent the Prophet Muhammad(saw) “with guidance and the religion of truth to proclaim it over all religion” [Qur’an 9:33]. And that: ‘Whoso seeks a religion other than Islam, it shall not be accepted from him, and in the life to come he shall be among the losers’ [Qur’an 3:86].
Many Bible users think that the Bible is God’s final Word and that there is nothing to learn from any other Holy Book. Therefore, it might be a little unsettling for some Bible users to accept the above Qur’anic injunction as Divine. But let us ponder on this a little, for the God of Abraham is not a God of confusion. Had God not willed Islam to be last and final of religions for mankind, would He have fulfilled His Biblical promised to Hagar and Ishmael (peace be upon them) after the advent of the last and final Jewish Messiah (Jesus)? Would He God reveal a Holy Book after the New Testament? The Qur’an is the last Revealed Holy Book. If the Old and New Testament were not meant to be replaced, there would be no need for the coming of a Law giving Prophet, after Jesus.
There are many prophecies written in the Bible; many of which found fulfilment through Islam. To argue this in refutation at this stage will be dishonest and hypocritical. In fact, prophecies of the coming of the Prophet Muhammad(saw) are found in the religious Scriptures of almost every faith, but the Bible, being the forerunner of Islam contains the largest number of such prophecies. How could the Bible be totally silent on the founder of the second largest religion on the planet?
There are joining arguments from the standpoint of both the Bible and Islamic teachings concerning events surrounding the foundation for building Mecca, the homeland for Islam. In fact, Biblical passages of Genesis 21 is astonishing in telling its version of the story of the first two persons to settle in Paran now called Mecca. Other passage of the Old Testament makes mention of a Gentile prophet who was to raise from Mount Paran reads as follows:
“And he said, The Lord came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for them” (Deut. 33:2).
Explanation: Coming from Sinai refers to the appearance of the Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) and rising up from Seir alludes to that of Jesus (peace be upon him). The Prophet who shone forth from Mount Paran could be no other than the Holy Prophet of Arabia; Paran as already mentioned is the ancient name for Mecca. What unmistakable points to the identity of Muhammad(saw) are “he came with ten thousands of saints” and “from his right hand went a fiery law for them.” At the time of the conquest of Mecca, ten thousand holy men followed at his heels and he was the bearer of the law of Qur’an. Hence these prophecies have been wonderfully fulfilled in the person of the Holy Prophet Muhammad(saw).
Islam is the promised Nation supplicated for by Jesus’ followers and to which God proclaimed in the Qur’an that, it is He who has sent the Prophet Muhammad(saw) “with guidance and the religion of truth to proclaim it over all religion”. Thus the living and everlasting blessings of God continue till the Day of Judgment through Islam. It is the true living religion of our time where all unfilled prophecies foretold in preceding Holy Books find fulfilment.
Many prophecies contained in preceding Holy Books have been fulfilled in Islam over the ages and have reinforced the faith of the Muslims in the existence of the All-Knowing and Living God and His final Lawgiving Prophet and Messenger, Muhammad(saw). This process continues to this day, for example all religions expect the Messiah to come in the Latter Days, relatively close to the end of this physical world as we know it. Secondly, they all expect this person to be a "Second Coming" of some type, usually of a Prophet they have to come to give a special place to, or even idolize. Examples can be seen from all the major religions: the Hindus expect Shri Nishkalank Avtar, The Sikh's scriptures call him Mahdi Mir, The Zoroasterians hope for the appearance of Soashyant, the third spiritual son of Zoroaster. The Buddhists believe that Buddhisttua Maitreya - the future Buddha, will ultimately descend from his present abode in one of the Heavens. In Judaism, belief in and fervent expectation of Elijah from Heaven followed by the Messiah are firmly established tenets. Christians, since the early times after Paul’s conversion have been expecting the second coming of Jesus Christ. The Muslims are also expecting the same Christ to descend from Heaven, but as a Muslim. And the Shi'ite (a sect among the Muslims) believes that the "Hidden Imam" who mysteriously disappeared 1100 years ago, they say, will come back as Imam Mahdi. But, the phenomenon of so many waiting respectively for the appearance of their Promised one pose a serious question; would God the Almighty send so many Promised Ones with different teachings to different religions all at the same time? Obviously, all these expectations are to be fulfilled in a single person and not many.
The conclusion therefore is unavoidable that all these prophecies refer to one and the same person who shall, by means of his spiritual powers, gather together men of all faiths, and guide the nations of the world along the right path through the last and final religion Decreed by God the Almighty. Thus, the metaphorical prophecy of a second coming of a Promised one manifested among the Muslims in the 19th century. The founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community was Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (peace be upon him) who in 1891, after receiving revelation from God, claimed that his advent was in fulfilment of the metaphorical second coming of Jesus of Nazareth and the divine guide (Al-Imam Mahdi) foretold by the Prophet Muhammad(saw). His claim constitutes the basis of the beliefs of the Ahmadiyya Muslims.
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