Although subjected to many distortions and
alterations, the current versions of the Torah, the Gospel and the Psalms still contain
verses alluding, implicitly or explicitly, to the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and
blessings. The late Husayn Jisri found one hundred and fourteen such allusions and quoted
them in his Risalah al-Hamidiyah. We shall cite here a few examples:
The Lord came from Sinai and dawned over them
from Sair; He shone forth from Mount Paran(Deuteronomy, 33.2)
This verse refers to the Prophethood of Moses,
Jesus and Muhammad, upon all of them be peace. Sinai is the place where the Prophet Moses
spoke to God and received the Torah. Sair, a place in Palestine, is where the Prophet
Jesus received Divine Revelation. Paran is where God manifested Himself to mankind for the
last time through His Revelation to our Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings.
Paran is a mountain range in Makka. It is
mentioned in the Torah (Genesis, 21:19–21) as the area in the desert where
Hagar was left by her husband Abraham, upon him be peace, to live with her son, Ishmael.
The well of Zamzam appeared in it. As it is known and stated explicitly in the
Qur’an (Ibrahim, 14.35–7), Abraham left Hagar and Ishmael in the valley
of Makka, which was then an uninhabited place between the mountain ranges of Paran.
It is because of the explicit predictions of the
Torah that its followers were expecting the Last Prophet and knew that he would appear in
Makka.
The verse of Deuteronomy, according to the
Arabic version published in London in 1944, continues:
He came with myriads of holy ones; in his
right hand was an axe of fire with two edges.
This verse refers to the promised Prophet who
would have numerous Companions of the highest degree of sainthood and be allowed, and even
ordered, to fight against his enemies.
The following verses of the Torah also promise
the coming of Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings:
The Lord said to me [Moses]: ‘What they
say is good. I will raise up for them a Prophet like you among their brothers; I will put
my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. If anyone does not
listen to My words that the Prophet speaks in my name, I will myself call him to
account.’ (Deuteronomy, 18:17–9)
It is clear from these verses that what is meant
by ‘a Prophet like you among their brothers’ is a Prophet who will come from the
line of Ishmael, since Ishmael is the brother of Isaac, who is the forefather of the
Children of Israel. The only Prophet who came after Moses and resembled him in many ways,
for example, in the bringing of a new law and the waging of war on his enemies, is the
Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings. The Qur’an points to the same
fact:
We have sent to you a Messenger as a witness
over you, even as we sent to Pharaoh a Messenger. (al-Muzzammil, 73.15)
‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Amr, one of the
ascetics of his time, who was warned by the Prophet not to neglect sleeping with his wife,
and not to fast every day but rather on alternate days, is reported to have said:
It was common knowledge to the communities of
previous religions that God would send a Prophet to the whole of humankind as a bearer of
good tidings and a warner. I had personally read in the Torah these verses about him:
‘We have sent you, O Prophet, to the
whole of mankind as a bearer of good tidings and a warner; and as a support and refuge for
the common folk. You are my servant and Messenger. I have called you Mutawakkil [the one
who puts his trust in God]. He is not one rude, repelling and angry, and shouting in the
streets. He does not repel evil with evil; instead, he excuses and forgives. God will not
make him die before He guides through him the deviating nation to the right path by
declaring there is no deity but God.’
This report of ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Amr was
confirmed by ‘Abd Allah ibn Salam and Ka’b al-Akhbar, who were the most learned
scholars of the Jewish community at the time of the Prophet and who later converted to
Islam.
We also read about the Seal of the Prophets, upon
him be peace and blessings, in the Psalms of David:
He will rule from sea to sea and from the
river to the ends of the earth. The desert tribes will bow before him and his enemies will
lick the dust. The kings of Tarsish and of distant shores will bring tribute to him; the
Kings of Sheba and Seba will present him gifts. All kings will bow down to him and all
nations will serve him. For he will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have
no-one to help. He will take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from death.
He will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in his
sight.