Does the Bible predict Muhammad?

If Muslims don’t believe the Bible, why do they use it to support Muhammad’s prophethood? In fact, Muslims claim that the Bible was once full of prophecies about Muhammad, but that Jews and Christians deleted as many as possible after he came. This clearly cannot be true because our translations are based on manuscripts surviving from centuries before Muhammad. However we still need to explain the ‘prophecies’ that Muslims claim were not deleted.

The Holy one from Paran?

First Muslims say that Muhammad is ‘the Holy One from Mount Paran’ referred to in Habakkuk 3:3. He is also allegedly mentioned in Deuteronomy 33:2: ‘The LORD came from Sinai and dawned over them from Seir; He came with myriads of holy ones.’ Muslims claim that Moses came from Sinai, Jesus from Seir and Muhammad from Mount Paran, and that the myriads referred to are the ten thousand soldiers who joined him in one of his battles. This misinterpretation originated with a nineteenth-century geographer who identified Paran with Mecca and Teman with Medina. In fact Paran is 1,000km away from Mecca; evident from the narrative of the Israelites’ wanderings (Dt 1:1). How could the Israelite spies leave Paran (Nu 13:3), explore the whole of Canaan (21-22), cut some grapes (23) and bring them back to Paran fresh (27) in a mere 40 days if they were really on a 2,000km round trip from Mecca?

From the context it is clear that the ‘Holy One from Paran’ (Hab 3:3; Dt 33:2) is God himself.

A prophet like Moses?

Islam’s next claim is that Muhammad is ‘the Prophet’ of Deuteronomy 18:15 to whom John the Baptist refers in John 1:21. Moses says that this prophet will be like himself and be raised up by God from among the Israelite’s brothers. But Muhammad descended from Ishmael rather than Moses’ true ancestor Isaac! Furthermore, the Apostle Peter reveals the true identity of the prophet in Acts 3:22. It is none other than Jesus himself.

Jesus and Moses are very similar. Both were born in poverty and both escaped death when infants were ordered killed by Pharoah and Herod respectively. Both were prepared for a period Matt 4:1) and both liberated their people from slavery (Ex cf John 8:32-36). Both exercised control over water (Ex 14:21 cf Mt 8:26) and both addressed God face to face (Ex 33:11 cf Mt 17:3). Both had illuminated faces (Ex 34:29 cf Matt 17:2) and both died because of sin (Nu 20:12 cf 1 Cor 15:3).

Parakletos or periklytos?

Finally, Muslims will point out Sura 61:6 which says, ‘Jesus, son of Mary said, I am indeed the Messenger of God to you, confirming the Torah that is before me and giving good tidings of a messenger who shall come after me whose name shall be Ahmad.’ Ahmad (‘praised one’) is allegedly the Counsellor of John 14:16 ‘I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counsellor to be with you...’

The Greek word for Counsellor is parakletos (literally, one who draws alongside, as in a defence court lawyer). Muslims claim that John originally wrote periklytos, allegedly Greek for ‘Praised One’. However not a single Greek manuscript of John 14:16 or 14:26 (where parakletos is used again) contains periklytos. In John 14 we are told that the parakletos will be with the disciples forever (v16), will live inside them and will neither be seen nor known by the world (v17). Furthermore he will remind them of what Jesus taught (v26). Could any of this be said of Muhammad? Could it apply to anyone else than the third person of the trinity himself, the Holy Spirit, who is repeatedly identified by name in the passage (Jn 14:17, 26; 15:26; 16:13)?

Conclusion

It is clear from the biblical context that the terms 'Holy One, 'Prophet' and 'Counsellor' refer to Father, Son and Holy Spirit- the three persons of the trinity. The suggestion that they are prophecies of Muhammad is both ludicrous and blasphemous.

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