I myself was influenced by my knowledge of the
Bible to accept the Prophethood of Muhammad, and have had two Jewish rabbis admitting
to me in Speaker's Corner that Muhammad was the Prophet spoken of in their books.
It has long been recognised that a sure sign of the truth of a claim to Prophethood
is the ability of that individual to accurately and consistently predict future
events. This is especially true of Christians who often demand "what did Muhammad
prophecy?". This is because the Bible lays down this as a means to distinguish
a true Prophet from a false . Everybody is able to predict the future sometimes,
some are able to get it right a lot of the time, but only someone who is receiving
information from the One who has complete knowledge of the future can get it right
every time. There are many predictions both in the Qur'an and the authenticated
sayings of the Prophet Muhammed that have been fulfilled.
1. The Qur'an says: "Ye
shall enter the Sacred Mosque, if Allah wills, secure, heads shaved, hair curt
short, and without fear" (48:28). This passage
was revealed after the Prophet had been stopped by the Quraish from making 'Umrah
(the Minor Pilgrimage) and a treaty was made between the Muslims and pagans at
Hudaybia, six years after the Prophet's emigration from Mecca. From this position
of weakness, in merely two years the verse was fulfilled, Mecca was captured,
and the Muslims performed the pilgrimage, shaving their heads, and some cutting
their hair.
2. The Qur'an says: "Allah
has promised to those of you who believe, and do good deeds, that He will surely
grant them in the land inheritance of power as He granted it to those before them;
that He will establish in authority their religion which He has chosen for them.
And that He will change their state after fear to one of security and peace. They
will worship Me alone and not associate aught with Me."
(24:55)
And also: "Say to those who deny faith, soon you will be vanquished." (3:12)
and "When comes the help of Allah and Victory, and you see the people enter Allah's religion in multitudes . . ." (110:1-2)
The first verse was revealed at a time of the Muslim's weakness, promising the righteous victory, and the second predicting the peoples entering into Islam in crowds, and so it came to pass, after the capture of Mecca, and in the time of the Caliphs Abu Bakr, 'Umar, 'Uthman and 'Ali, who were from the most pious companions of the Prophet, were established by Allah in the land, defeating the Persian and Roman empires, so that Islam was established from Spain to parts of China in a mere twenty years. This, in part, fulfills another prophecy of the Qur'an: "It is He who has sent the Messenger with guidance, and the religion of truth, to make it triumphant over all religions." (9:32)
Christianity, Judaism, paganism have never regained
any lasting dominance, physically and intellectually since the coming of Islam.
The secular philosophies of communism and capitalism are in the process of being
dealt death blows. At the present rate of growth Islam will over take Christianity
by 2025 in terms of numbers. See also Qur'an 48:18-21 and 1:13, which promise
victory and the taking of booty - which were also fulfilled.
3. The Qur'an says: "The
Roman Empire has been defeated in a land close by; but they, even after this defeat,
will gain victory in a few years. Allah's is the command, in the past and in the
future. On that day shall the believers rejoice, with the help of Allah, He helps
whom He wills. And He is the mighty and the most Merciful. It is the promise of
Allah. Allah never departs from His promise: but most men understand not. They
crave for the outer things of life, but of the hereafter they are heedless."
(30:1-7)
The Eastern Roman (i.e. Byzantine) Empire suffered
a massive defeat at the hands of the Persians who captured Jerusalem in 614, and
after that Egypt and Syria fell, and Constantinople was laid siege to - ("a
land close by"). The pagan Arabs delighted in this, as it seemed to signal
to them the success of idolatry over the followers of revelation. When this verse
was revealed it seemed impossible that Rome would recover. The word, translated
"a few", is bid'a, which actually means from three to nine years.
Ubayy, a pagan Arab, wagered Abu Bakr one hundred camels that this would never
occur. By the year 623, Heraclius, the Byzantine Roman Emperor, took to the field
and vanquished the Persians in a series of battles, culminating in the battle
of Niveveh in 627. Ubayy had been killed, so his relatives paid the dept. At this
same time the Muslims had been victorious over the pagan Quraish and were rejoicing,
as the Qur'an foretold.
4. In part of a long narration found in the
two authoritative books of Hadith, the Prophet was sitting in a garden.
'Uthmaan ibn Afan walked in and the Prophet asked Abu Musa 'Ashari (the narrator)
to inform him of the good news of paradise, and also that the people would mutiny
against him. The Prophecy was fulfilled in that 'Uthmaan became the leader of
the Muslims, and secondly some of the people rose against him and slew him.
5. 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, the fourth Rightly
Guided Caliph, had also been informed by the Prophet of his assassination in such
detail that he knew the man who was going to kill him, and identified him and
pointed him out to the people. They asked 'Ali why he did not kill the man and
he replied: "Then who will kill me?" The night preceding his assassination
'Ali had come out, and gazed at the sky and said: "By Allah he never told a
lie, nor was a lie ever told to him." The next day the same man killed 'Ali,
and his blood spilled down his beard, as the Prophet had described.
6. Whilst the Muslims were fighting the Jews
in Khyber, after some days of attempting to besiege the fortress, the Prophet
said that the next morning he would entrust the flag to a man to whom Allah would
give victory. He gave the flag to 'Ali, and the same day the fortress was conquered
under Ali's command.
7. The Prophet saw 'Ali and Zubair one day
laughing together, and he asked Ali if he loved Zubair. Ali replied: "How could
I not love him since he is my nephew and co-religionist." The Prophet asked
Zubair the same question, who gave a similar response. The Prophet then told Zubair
that he would fight 'Ali, and that he would be the oppressor. So in the Battle
of Jamal, when Ali and Zubair, in opposing camps came face to face. 'Ali reminded
Zubair of the incident, and Zubair recalled, and said that he had forgotten, and
he immediately left the battle field. So the battle took place as the Prophet
had predicted, and Zubair was the oppressor, since Ali was the Rightful Caliph,
and to oppose him with violence was wrong.
8. The Prophet said: "The Caliphate will
last for thirty years, then there will be a biting kingship." So it happened.
The rule of the Rightly Guided Caliphs was exactly thirty years: Abu Bakr for
two, 'Umar for ten, 'Uthman for twelve, 'Ali for two and a half and Hassan three
and a half. After that evil spread and kingship was established.
9. The Prophet also predicted the capture
of Egypt, and told his companions to treat the people well, and that they would
seize the treasures of the Persian Choseros (Emperor), who lives in the
white palace, all of which they accomplished, and that Suraqa bin Malik (one of
the companions) would have the bracelets of Caesar put on his hands. So it happened
that some such bracelets fell into the possession of 'Umar and he called Suraqa,
and placed the bracelets on him, reminding him of the Prophet's words.
10. A narration in the most authoritative
of the Hadith books, Saheeh al-Bukhari, told Auf bin Malik to look
for six incidents before the last day: "The first,my death; the second the conquest
of Jerusalem; third, an epidemic among them; fourth, the abundance of wealth so
that a man would not gladly accept one hundred dinars even if given it; fifth,
a trouble that would involve all Arab families without exception; sixth, a treaty
with the Christians, which the Christians would violate, etc.. (the hadeeth
describes this last event, not yet fulfilled). Jerusalem was captured, and after
this in 16 A.H. an epidemic broke out in Umwas and seventy thousand died. Wealth
became plentiful, especially during the Caliphate of 'Uthman, and after that in
the time of 'Umar ibn AbdulAzziz, when the collectors of zakat found no
one poor enough to receive it. Also the rebellious war arose in the time of 'Uthman
and became worse after his murder, so none of the Arabs families were not involved
in some respect.
11. The Prophet mentioned that the Muslims
would conquer both Rome and Constantinople. He was asked which would fall first,
and the Prophet said: "The city of Heraclius", i.e. Constantinople. Constantinople
was taken by the Muslims in the fifteenth century. Rome still remains to be conquered,
as it will be. So the order is correct, and rest still to be fulfilled. What is
noteworthy about these statements of the Prophet is that they were made at a time
when no one could imagine that a small city state, permanently under siege by
the pagan Arabs, would reach such heights of power and strength, and that these
predictions are not couched in some vague terminology open to various interpretations,
like the Bible's Book of Revelation's "Beast of 666", and monsters with
horns and little horns, or the meanderings of Nostradamus. The language is clear,
their assertions direct, and often with specific names and dates.
12. The Prophet also predicted the dividing
of the Muslims into many sects and mentioned some of their characteristics. The
Prophet mentioned that some people would do to 'Ali what the Christians did to
Jesus. This clearly refers to the Shi'a, who exaggerate in love and praise
of 'Ali. One of the Shi'a sects, the Nusaria, actually worship him as the
manifestation of Allah. The Prophet also mentioned that a group would arise who
will deny Allah's Qadr (Divine Decree) and he called them the "Magians
of the Ummah", and so it happened, and they were called the Qadaria.
He also mentioned the appearance of those who would claim the Qur'an is created,
and of those who would tell people to take only from the Qur'an and ignore the
Sunnah (Prophetic Tradition), and these things have all come to pass. The
Prophet also predicted that from the tribe of a certain individual a group would
arise who would used the verses of Qur'an pertaining to unbelievers on the believers,
and that they should be fought and killed. So it happened that the first of the
deviant sects to arise was the Khawarij, who said that 'Ali and Muwawia
were unbelievers, and whoever did not believe this, then they also were unbelievers,
and they would slaughter the Muslims, and they arose from the tribe of Tamim,
as the Prophet had said.
13. The Prophet mentioned that there would
be signs forewarning the approach of the last day. Among those that have clearly
come to pass are:
a. The barefooted bedouins competing in building
tall buildings. Today we find in the Arabian Peninsula, the Arabs who used to
be impoverished herders of camels and sheep, are competing in building the tallest
tower blocks.
b. The Mosques would be like palaces. This is clearly
the case, even though the Prophet ordered simplicity in the houses of Allah, the
mosques have become more and more fantastic, with golden domes, marbled floors,
lavish carpets and chandeliers.
c. Disappearance of trustworthiness, so much so that
one would only be able to say: "I know a trustworthy person in such-and-such
town."
d. The increase in killing, so that the one who kills
does not know why he killed, and the one killed does not know why he was killed.
I was recently sent an article from the Washington Post about the rise
of gang warfare. Part of the initiation ceremony was for a new gang member(some
times as young as eleven) to shoot someone. The second highest cause of death
from fifteen to thirty five in the US are gun related. The massacre of civilians
in the Vietnam War by American troops who had little idea why they were there,
and the increase of such conflicts, is further illustration of the fulfillment
of this prophecy. As are the rise of insane mass murders, of children killing
children, such as Jamie Bulger.
e. The increase of the use of riba (usury/interest)
so that no one will able to escape being tainted by it. This clearly the state
of the world economy today.
f. The enemies of the Muslims dividing the Muslim's
wealth and lands between them, the Muslims abandoning jihad, and concerning
themselves only with the worldly matters. We have already mentioned this.
g. The increase of literacy.
h. The decrease of religious knowledge due to the
disappearance of scholars.
i. The increase of musical instruments, and the Muslims
making it lawful even though the Prophet has forbidden them.
j. The increase of sexual promiscuity, and new diseases
that people had not herd of before spreading amongst them as a consequence of
that. This is clear, with the arrival of AIDS, and other previously unheard of
viruses.
k. Appearance of Dajjals (liars), each claiming
to be a Messenger of Allah, while Muhammad is the last messenger. There are numerous
examples of this, starting with Musailima, who arose in the time of the Prophet,
just before his death, to more modern liars such as Elija Muhammad, founder of
the Black American racist movement "The Nation of Islam", and India's pretender
Gulam Ahmed of Qadian.
l. Nakedness of women while still being dressed.
m. The drinking of wine becoming common, and the
Muslims making it lawful by calling it another name.
n. Shouting in the mosques.
o. The worst and most ignorant will become leaders
and they will be oppressors.
p. A man will obey his wife and disobey his mother,
and treat his friends kindly and shun his father.
q. Men will wear silk and gold, and the making of
it lawful by the Muslims even though the Prophet had forbidden it for the men
of his 'Ummah (nation).
r. People will abandon the religion for a small worldly
gain, and keeping to the religion will be like holding two hot coals.
So these are just some of the numerous prophecies
of Muhammad, that have clearly come true, and some have been fulfilled in this
age in which we live, all adding weight to the evidence in favour of his claim.
The Qur'an also provides accurate knowledge of the
past. This is also information which Muhammad was unable to receive except from
Allah. Some examples of this are:
1. The Qur'an mentions about the ark of Noah:
"The Ark came to rest upon Mount Judi"
(11:44). Recent archeological research has discovered a boat shaped object with
exactly the same dimensions as those of the Ark on Mount Judi. The Bible claims
that the Ark came to rest twenty miles away on the Mountains of Ararat. This is
not possible, since these mountains are a recent geological formation, and did
not exist at the time of Noah. The Qur'an also refers to the flood as a localised
event, destroying only Noah's people. The dates and time offered by the Bible
for the flood, and its claim that it was a world wide cataclysm, has been proven
false by all archeological evidence.
2. The Qur'an describes the ruler of Egypt
being addressed as "King" in the time of Joseph, whilst Moses addresses
the ruler as "Pharaoh". This is a small but telling accuracy, for in the
time of Joseph the rulers were from the Hykos Dynasty, and were Semites. They
did not refer to themselves as "Pharaohs". The term was used by the native
Egyptian dynasties that supplanted the Hykos, in the time of Moses. The Bible
again proves inaccurate on this point referring to both as "Pharaoh". The
Qur'an also correctly describes aspects of the ancient Egyptian religion, in particular
the worship of Pharaoh as a god.
3. The Qur'an refers to the early followers
of Jesus as "Nazarenes". This is historically accurate. The word "Christian"
was actually a nick name used by the Romans sometime after Jesus - Acts 11:26
"The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch."
4. The Qur'an makes reference to a city Iram,
which Allah destroyed for its evil doings. Until recently there was no record
of this city, and it was believed to be only a legend. In 1973, in North-Western
Syria, the 4300 year old city of Ebla was excavated. On the cuneiform clay tablets,
a record was found of all the cities with who they used to do business. Among
them was Iram.
How and from where did Muhammed gather this information?
If, as some claim, he took it from the Bible, how did he manage to correct the
Bible's mistakes?
..... 