Copyright: Truth Tracts ® 1996 The Domini Project


Contents
Is there a prediction of Muhammad in the Taurat?

Al A'raf 7:157
“Those who follow the apostle, the unlettered Prophet, whom they find mentioned in the Taurat and the Injil...”

Al Saff 61:6
“...Jesus, the son of Mary said: 'O children of Israel! I am the apostle of Allah (sent) to you, confirming the Taurat (which came) before me and giving glad tidings of an apostle to come after me, whose name shall be Ahmad'.”

Qur'anic translation taken from Yusuf Ali.

 Is there a prediction of Muhammad in the Taurat?

 Comparison: Who is the Prophet Like Moses?

 Contrast: The Prophet Cannot be Muhammad

 Consideration: This Prophet Must be Jesus

 Conclusion: Without a Prediction, Where is Muhammad's Authority?

This pamphlet was compiled by an interdenominational group of evangelical Christians concerned with Muslim-Christian dialogue.

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1: Is there a prediction of Muhammad in the Taurat?
Is there a prediction of Muhammad in the Taurat?

Are there predictions concerning Muhammad outside the Qur'an? Have any of the previous Jewish and Christian scriptures spoken about his coming? Some Muslims believe that in the Taurat there is reference to the prophecy which the Qur'an speaks of in Sura 7:157 and 61:6 concerning Muhammad.

“I (the LORD) will raise up for them a Prophet like you (Moses) and he will tell them everything I command him.” (Deuteronomy 18:18)

 Comparison: Who is the Prophet Like Moses?

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2: Comparison: Who is the Prophet Like Moses?
Comparison: Who is the Prophet Like Moses?

Our purpose here is to learn what evidence supports the Muslim claim that it is Muhammad who is “a Prophet like you [Moses].” Who should be the Prophet referred to in these verses — Muhammad or Jesus, the promised Messiah?

In order to support their claim, Muslim apologists have tried to list the criteria that Moses and Muhammad share, saying that both were married and had children, both led battles, both were leaders, etc. What they fail to realise is that any prophet could claim many of these parallels for himself. A handier method would be to identify those attributes which Moses fulfilled which were unique to his ministry and which would necessarily be unique to the One who is “a Prophet like you (Moses).”

Consider these nine comparisons:

 Contrast: The Prophet Cannot be Muhammad

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3: Contrast: The Prophet Cannot be Muhammad
Contrast: The Prophet Cannot be Muhammad

Can we say that Muhammad is the promised one, this “Prophet like Moses?” From what we have just read, we find that Muhammad was not born in the prophetic line of Moses, had no personal relationship with God, nor was he established in authority by God, as were both Moses and Jesus.
More importantly, the mission of Muhammad was nothing like that of Moses and Jesus, for it was Moses and Jesus who offered themselves as a sacrifice for the sins of their people (Exodus 32:30-32; Deuteronomy 34:10-12; Matthew 26:28).

Most significantly, however, is the fact that, beginning with Moses and ending with Jesus, the means of forgiveness and reconciliation with God were brought about (Leviticus 4:2; 6:24,25; 14;13 and Hebrew 19:22). This is the real criteria for “a Prophet who is like you (Moses).” Many prophets can claim to be like Moses from the standpoint of human reasoning. Only one can claim to be like Moses from the standpoint of God's reasoning. His desire to save mankind, which Moses first began by bringing the Children of Israel out of captivity from Egypt, and which Jesus finally accomplished by bringing all believers out of captivity from sin 2,000 years ago.

 Consideration: This Prophet Must be Jesus

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4: Consideration: This Prophet Must be Jesus
Consideration: This Prophet Must be Jesus

Muhammad can never claim to parallel the essential and unique aspects of Moses' ministry on earth as Jesus can. Those who worked alongside Jesus and who predated Muhammad by nearly 700 years came to this same conclusion. Consider the following witnesses from John and Luke:

•	John 1:45 “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law....”

•	John 5:46 “If you believed Moses, you would believe me [Jesus], for he wrote about me.”

•	John 6:14 “Surely this [Jesus] is the Prophet who is to come into the world.”

•	Acts 3:22 “For Moses said, 'The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from among your own people....'” (i.e. own brothers=sons of Israel.)

 Conclusion: Without a Prediction, Where is Muhammad's Authority?

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5: Conclusion: Without a Prediction, Where is Muhammad's Authority?
Conclusion: Without a Prediction, Where is Muhammad's Authority?

In order to prove that Muhammad was a true prophet, the Qur'an stipulated that in the Taurat and the Injil predictions concerning him could be found (Suras 7:157 and 61:6). Yet we find none of these prophecies in either the Taurat or the Injil (e.g. John 16:7). What does this say for the authority of Muhammad?

At the heart of the argument, for a Muslim, is the desire to find any external predictions for the coming of Muhammad in the Taurat and the Injil as referred to in Sura 7:157. Without it, the only criteria for Muhammad's authority is the Qur'an, while the only authority for the Qur'an is Muhammad. This is circular reasoning, which is not a valid scholarly argument. Since the evidence for any prediction by Moses concerning Muhammad does not exist in the Taurat, this creates a problem for Muslims who must produce external criteria for the authenticity of their prophet. Without it, Muhammad has no outside evidence to prove his prophethood.

Furthermore, internally, the Qur'an claims (Sura 29:27) that prophethood belongs solely to the line of Isaac and Jacob, of which Muhammad has no part. Consequently, the authority for the beliefs of over one billion Muslims hangs on the single testimony of one finite man. This solitary man himself admitted his lack of power (Sura 20:49) and sinfulness (Sura 40:55) in contrast with the claim by Jesus to have all power (Matthew 28:18) and to be without sin (I Peter 2:22).

As you read these verses and consider what has been said, you too must come to a conclusion. Based on the evidence before you, you must decide who indeed is the person spoken of in the Taurat, Deuteronomy 18:18: Muhammad or Jesus.

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