Biblical Prophecies on the Advent of Muhammad ﷺ, the Prophet of Islam

The Biblical prophecies on the advent of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ are evidence of the truth of Islam for people who believe in the Bible.

In Deuteronomy 18, Moses stated that God told him:

From these verses we conclude that the prophet in this prophecy must have the following three characteristics:

1. That he will be like Moses.
2. That he will come from the brothers of the Israelites, i.e. the Ishmaelites.
3. That God will put His words into the mouth of this prophet and that he will declare what God commands him.

The Qur'an itself confirms this prophecy. In Surah As-Saf, Jesus (peace be upon him) is recorded as foretelling the coming of a messenger named Ahmad — another name for Muhammad ﷺ:

There were hardly any two prophets who were so much alike as Moses and Muhammad ﷺ. Both were given a comprehensive law and code of life. Both encountered their enemies and were victorious in miraculous ways. Both were accepted as prophets and statesmen. Both migrated following conspiracies to assassinate them.

Analogies between Moses and Jesus overlook not only the above similarities but other crucial ones as well. These include the natural birth, the family life, and death of Moses and Muhammad ﷺ — but not of Jesus (peace be upon him). Moreover, Jesus was regarded by his followers as the Son of God and not exclusively as a prophet of God, as Moses and Muhammad ﷺ were — and as Muslims believe Jesus was.

So, this prophecy refers to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and not to Jesus, because Muhammad ﷺ is more like Moses than Jesus.

The Three Distinct Prophecies in the Gospel of John

One notices from the Gospel of John that the Jews were waiting for the fulfillment of three distinct prophecies: the coming of Christ, the coming of Elijah, and the coming of 'the Prophet.' This is obvious from the three questions posed to John the Baptist:

If we look in a Bible with cross-references, we will find in the marginal notes where the words 'the Prophet' occur in John 1:21, that these words refer to the prophecy of Deuteronomy 18:15 and 18:18. We conclude from this that Jesus Christ is not the prophet mentioned in Deuteronomy 18:18.

The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ himself confirmed this special connection to Jesus (peace be upon him):

Abraham had two sons, Ishmael and Isaac (Genesis 21). Ishmael became the grandfather of the Arab nation, and Isaac became the grandfather of the Jewish nation. The prophet spoken of was not to come from among the Jews themselves, but from among their brothers, i.e. the Ishmaelites. Muhammad ﷺ, a descendant of Ishmael, is indeed this prophet.

Isaiah's Prophecy and the Descendants of Kedar

Isaiah 42:1-13 speaks of the servant of God, His 'chosen one' and 'messenger' who will bring down a law:

Verse 11 connects that awaited one with the descendants of Kedar. Who is Kedar? According to Genesis 25:13, Kedar was the second son of Ishmael — the ancestor of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.

The Qur'an confirms that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is indeed the one described in the Torah and Gospel of the People of the Book:

The words of God (the Holy Qur'an) were truly put into Muhammad's ﷺ mouth. God sent the Angel Gabriel to teach Muhammad ﷺ the exact words of God (the Holy Qur'an) and asked him to dictate them to the people as he heard them. The words are therefore not his own. They did not come from his own thoughts, but were put into his mouth by the Angel Gabriel.

During the lifetime of Muhammad ﷺ, and under his supervision, these words were memorized and written down by his companions.

Also, this prophecy in Deuteronomy mentioned that this prophet will speak the words of God in the name of God. If we look at the Holy Qur'an, we find that all its chapters, except Chapter 9, are preceded or begin with the phrase: 'In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.'

A New Song in a New Language

Another indication (other than the prophecy in Deuteronomy) is that Isaiah ties the messenger connected with Kedar with a new song (a scripture in a new language) to be sung to the Lord:

This is mentioned more clearly in another prophecy of Isaiah:

The Qur'an was revealed in Arabic — 'another tongue' from the Hebrew of the Israelites. A related point is that the Qur'an was revealed in sections over a span of twenty-three years. It is interesting to compare this with Isaiah 28, which speaks of the same thing:

Note that God has said in the prophecy of Deuteronomy 18:

This means that whoever believes in the Bible must believe in what this prophet says — and this prophet is the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.

This obligation is also established in the Qur'an, where Allah describes the covenant taken from all prophets to believe in and support the final messenger:

The evidence from the Bible itself points to three key characteristics of the awaited prophet, all of which are fulfilled by Muhammad ﷺ:

1. Like Moses: Muhammad ﷺ, like Moses, received a comprehensive law, led his people, migrated from persecution, had a natural birth and death, and was accepted as a prophet and statesman — unlike Jesus (peace be upon him) who did not share all these characteristics with Moses.
2. From the Ishmaelites: The prophecy specifies 'from among their brothers' — not from among the Israelites themselves. Muhammad ﷺ is a descendant of Ishmael through Kedar, exactly as Isaiah 42:11 and Genesis 25:13 indicate.
3. God's words in his mouth: The Qur'an was revealed word-by-word through the Angel Gabriel — Muhammad ﷺ did not speak from his own thoughts. Every chapter except one begins 'In the Name of God' — speaking in God's name, exactly as Deuteronomy 18:19 foretold.

The Qur'an itself testifies that the People of the Scripture recognize the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ:

And the Qur'an describes the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and his companions in a manner that echoes the Torah and Gospel descriptions:

These Biblical prophecies, when examined honestly and without presupposition, point unmistakably to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ as the fulfillment of what Moses, Isaiah, and the Jewish tradition itself anticipated.