Rays from the Same Lamp

A natural question to ask someone who believes in any prophet is: ‘What are the criteria for your belief in him?’  Reasonable criteria would be:

(i)   evidence for his claim.

(ii)  consistency in his teachings (about God, afterlife, and similar issues of belief)

(iii) similarity to the teachings of earlier prophets.

(iv) integrity: he must be a man of high morals.

The Bible lends support to our criteria.  The Old Testament says of a false prophet:

1.    Pretends to be sent by God.

2.    Described as covetous,  drunken,  immoral and profane,  influenced by evil spirits.

3.    Prophesizes falsely,  lies in the name of the Lord,  out of his own heart,  in the name of false gods.

4.    Often practices divination and witchcraft.

5.    Leads people into error,  makes to forget God’s name,  teaches profaneness and sin,  and oppresses.

The New Testament says of Jesus’ criteria to identify false prophets:

"Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.  Ye shall know them by their fruits.  Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?  Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit."

We learn the following:

(i)   prophecy will continue after Jesus.

(ii)  beware of false prophets.

(iii) the criteria to identify a false prophet is his fruits, that is his works or deeds.

As stated earlier, Muhammad claimed unequivocally, ‘I am God’s Messenger.’  If a person evaluates his claim on the above criteria, he will find it meets the criteria completely.

In Islamic doctrine, all prophets constitute a spiritual fraternity of brothers with a single ‘father,’ but different ‘mothers.’  The ‘father’ is prophethood and unity of God, the ‘mothers’ are the different Laws they brought.  Emphasizing the spiritual fraternity of all prophets, Prophet Muhammad said:

"I am the closest of all people to the son of Mary (Jesus).  The prophets are paternal brothers, their mothers are different, but their religion is one." (Saheeh Al-Bukhari, Saheeh Muslim)

All prophets are ‘rays’ from the same ‘Lamp’: the central message of all prophets throughout ages was to dedicate worship to God only.  That’s why Islam views denying a single prophet as equivalent to denying them all.  The Quran states:

"Indeed, those who deny God and His messengers, and wish to separate God from His messengers, saying: ‘We believe in some but reject others’ and want to pursue a path in-between - it is they, they who are truly denying the truth: and for those who deny the truth We have readied shameful suffering.  But as for those who believe in God and His messengers and make no distinction between any of them - unto them, in time, will He grant their rewards [in full].  And God is indeed much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace." (Quran 4:150-152)

Denying the prophethood of Muhammad is tantamount to denying all prophets.  The prophethood of Muhammad is known just like the prophethood of Moses and Jesus is known: the numerous reports of their miracles that have reached us.  The Book brought by Muhammad (the Quran) is fully preserved, and His Law is complete and applicable to today’s world.  Moses brought the Law and justice, Jesus brought grace and flexibility.  Muhammad combined between the Law of Moses and the grace of Jesus.

If someone were to say, ‘he was an imposter,’ others are more fit to be charged with this accusation.  Hence, denying Muhammad is denying one’s own prophets.  If a reasonable person looks at two bright stars, he must acknowledge both are stars, he cannot say to one, ‘Yes, this one is a bright star,’ but deny the other!  Doing so would be denying reality and a lie.

Make a table of all the prophets you believe in.  Start from the first one to the last one you believe in.  Answer the following questions:

What is the evidence I believe he was a true prophet?

What was the mission of the prophet in his own words?

Did he bring a Law?  Is his Law applicable today?

What scripture did he bring?  How is its content and meaning?

Is the scripture preserved in the original language it was revealed in?  Is it considered a literary authority, free of internal inconsistencies?

What do you know of his morals and integrity?

Compare all the prophets you have listed and then answer the same questions about Muhammad.  Then ask yourself, ‘Can I honestly take Muhammad out of my list because he does not meet the criteria as other prophets?’  It will not take too much effort to discover that the evidence for Muhammad’s prophethood is stronger and more convincing.

A skeptic need consider what is so unusual about Muhammad’s claim to be a prophet?  When did God declare an end to prophecy before him?  Who decided that there would not be any more divine communication with human beings?  With no evidence to block divine revelation, it is natural to accept a continuity of revelation:

"Indeed, We have sent you with the truth, as a bearer of glad tidings and a Warner: for there never was any community but a Warner has [lived and] passed away in its midst." (Quran 35:24)

"And We sent forth Our messengers, one after another: [and] every time their messenger came to a community, they gave him the lie: and so We caused them to follow one another [into the grave], and let them become [mere] tales: and so - away with the folk who would not believe!" (Quran 23:44)

This is true especially when the truth was perverted by Jews and Christians, the Christians claiming Jesus was the son of God and Jews calling him an illegitimate son of Joseph the Carpenter.  Muhammad brought the truth: Jesus was God’s noble prophet born of a miraculous virgin birth.  As a result, Muslims believe in Jesus and love him, neither going to the extreme like the Christians, nor disparaging him like the Jews.

One of the ways in which a person proves his prophethood is honesty, whether it be in regards to incidents in the past, in their everyday life, or things to come in the future.  In addition to the Quran, there are many sayings of Prophet Muhammad which contain prophecies he made in his lifetime dealing with near and distant future.  Some of them have come true, others await fulfillment.  Hudhaifah, a disciple of Prophet Muhammad, tells us:

"The Prophet once delivered a speech in front of us wherein he mentioned everything [all the signs] that would happen till the Final Hour without leaving anything.  Some of us remembered it and some forgot it.  After that speech, I used to see events taking place which were referred to in that speech, but I had forgotten them before their occurrence.  Then I would recognize such events as a man recognizes another man who has been absent and then sees and recognizes him." (Saheeh Al-Bukhari)

There are at least 160 known and confirmed prophecies of Prophet Muhammad which were fulfilled in his lifetime and the first generation after him.  We will mention some here.

(1)  Preceding the Battle of Badr, the first and decisive confrontation with pagan Meccans in the second year of migration from Mecca in 623 CE, Prophet Muhammad foretold the precise spot every pagan Meccan soldier would fall.  Those who witnessed the battle saw the prophecy come true with their own eyes.[

(2)  Prophet Muhammad prophesized the Battle of the Confederates (al-Ahzab) would be the last invasion the tribe of Quraish (the pagan Meccans) would launch against the Muslims.  It was fought in the fifth year of migration, 626 CE and was the last military conflict between the two sides.  All Meccans embraced Islam after a few years.]

(3)  The Prophet informed his daughter, Fatima, that she would be the first member of his family to die after him.  There are two prophecies in one: Fatima will outlive her father; Fatima will be the first member of his household to die after him.  Both were fulfilled.

(4)  The Prophet Muhammad prophesized Jerusalem would be conquered after his death.]  The prophecy was fulfilled when, according to Encyclopedia Britannica: "In 638 the Muslim Caliph, Umar I, entered Jerusalem."

(5)  The Prophet Muhammad prophesized the conquest of Persia  It was conquered by Umar’s commander, Sa’ad ibn Abi Waqqas.  In the words of Encyclopedia Britannica:

"…raids into Sasanian territory were quickly taken up by Muhammad’s Caliphs, or deputies, at Medina - Abu Bakr and Umar ibn al-Khattab… an Arab victory at Al-Qadisiyyah in 636/637 was followed by the sack of the Sasanian winter capital at Ctesiphon on the Tigris.  The Battle of Nahavand in 642 completed the Sasanids’ vanquishment."

(6)  The Prophet Muhammad prophesized the conquest of Egypt.  In the words of Encyclopedia Britannica:

"Amr… undertook the invasion in 639 with a small army of some 4,000 men (later reinforced).  With what seems astonishing speed the Byzantine forces were routed and had withdrawn from Egypt by 642… Various explanations have been given for the speed with which the conquest was achieved."[10]

(7)  The Prophet foretold confrontation with the Turks.[11]  The first conflict took place in thecaliphate of Umar in 22 AH.[12]

(8)  The Prophet foretold the first maritime battle to be undertaken by Muslims would be witnessed by Umm Haram, the first woman to participate in a naval expedition.  He also prophesied the first assault on Constantinople.[13]

The first maritime battle in Muslim history was in 28 AH in the rule of Mu’awiya.  It was witnessed by Umm Haram as foretold by Prophet Muhammad, and Yazid ibn Mu’awiya led the first attack on Constantinople in 52 AH.[14]

(9)  The prophecy that Rome, Persia, and Yemen will be conquered was made during the Battle of Confederates in 626 CE,[15]  under extreme circumstances, as is described by the Quran:

"[Remember] when they came at you from above you and from below you, and when eyes shifted [in fear], and hearts reached the throats and you assumed about God [various] assumptions.  There, the believers were tested and shaken with a severe shaking.  And [remember] when the hypocrites and those in whose hearts is disease said, ‘God and His Messenger did not promise us except delusion.’" (Quran 33:10-12)

(10) Prophet Muhammad prophesized an imposter claiming to speak in the name of God would be killed at the hands of a righteous man in Muhammad’s lifetime.[16]  Al-Aswad al-Ansi, an imposter prophet in Yemen, was killed in the Prophet’s lifetime by Fayruz al-Daylami.[17]

There are at least an additional 28 prophecies pertaining to the end times which are awaiting fulfillment.

Indeed these well-documented prophecies are clear proofs of the Prophethood of Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him.  There is no possible way that the Prophet could have knowledge of these incidents except if it were inspired by God Himself, all in order to further prove the authenticity of the Muhammad, that he was not an imposter, but rather a Prophet raised by God to deliver humanity from Hellfire.