Prophethood
13 items across 3 content types
Debate Excerpts (5)
Individual points from debates discussing this topic
“How does the opening connect purpose, revelation, and prophecy?”
He frames life's purpose as submitting the finite self to the ultimate lawgiver, then situates Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad in one prophetic continuum. He argues Muhammad's prophethood is evidenced by a preserved revelation (Quran), its falsification challenge, and historically bold predictions (including imperial outcomes he cites as highly improbable at the time).
“How does Islam explain the before Abraham was, I am statement without requiring Jesus to be God?”
Uthman explains that in Islamic theology, the prophethood of every prophet was decreed and established before the creation of the world. There is even a Hadith where Adam saw the names and qualities of all his descendants, including prophets like David. So Jesus saying before Abraham was, I existed — referring to his prophethood being established before Abraham's time on earth — is entirely consistent with the prophetic tradition. The Jews who heard it were likely confused about the age question: how could this thirty-year-old man say he existed in the time of Abraham? They were reacting to what seemed like an absurd age claim, not necessarily to a claim of divine pre-existence.
“What is the third prompt?”
Uthman announces the third prompt: I believe Jesus is a prophet of God and a servant of God in accordance with the Bible.
“What is the messenger analogy that proves a messenger of God cannot be God?”
Uthman gives a concrete analogy: if he wants to send a message to someone, he sends a person — say, Ameen — as his messenger. Ameen would say I am a messenger of Uthman. But if Uthman himself came to deliver the message, he would not say I am a messenger of Uthman — he would say I am Uthman and here is my message. The fact that Jesus is described throughout the Bible as a prophet of God, a messenger of God, and a servant of God places him in the role of the sent one, not the sender. If Jesus were God himself, these descriptions would be self-defeating. God does not send himself and then describe the sent one as his own servant.
“Can the messenger of God be God himself? What does the messenger relationship imply?”
Uthman argues that being the vehicle of God, the message of God, and the messenger of God does not make you God — it makes you the most excellent of God's messengers. Moses was a messenger of God, the vehicle for God's revelation, and the channel of the message — but Moses was not God. If God himself came to earth, he would not be described as a messenger OF God. He would simply be God. The word of belongs to a possessive relationship: you can only be the messenger of someone else. A being cannot simultaneously be God and be a messenger sent from God — these are logically exclusive categories. Jesus being the most complete messenger of God in the Christian framework still places him as a distinct being from God.
Questions (3)
Did Buddhist scriptures predict the coming of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ?
Muslim scholars argue that the six criteria given for identifying the 'next Buddha' — as recorded in the Gospel of Buddha compiled by Paul Carus — match Prophet Muhammad ﷺ precisely on all six points: attaining supreme insight at night, looking exceedingly bright at enlightenment, dying a natural death, dying at night, looking bright before death, and ceasing to exist on earth after death. Important caveat: the text cited is a 19th-century Western compilation, not a classical canonical Buddhist scripture.
Is Isaiah 29:12 a prophecy about Prophet Muhammad ﷺ?
Islamic scholars identify Isaiah 29:12 as a precise description of the first revelation received by Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. The verse reads: 'And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned.' This is a verbatim match to the moment Angel Jibreel commanded 'Iqra!' (Read!) and the Prophet ﷺ responded 'Ma ana bi-qari'' (I am not learned) — the exact exchange recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari.
What does the Bhavishya Purana say about Prophet Muhammad ﷺ?
The Bhavishya Purana — one of Hinduism's 18 major Puranas — contains a passage that Muslim scholars argue explicitly names 'Muhammad' and describes his followers with seven characteristics that match Islamic practice precisely: circumcision, no topknot on the head, keeping beards, announcing the Adhan (call to prayer), eating all lawful food except pork, striving in God's path, and being known as Muslims. Note: The age and authenticity of this specific passage are disputed among scholars.
Articles (5)
Common Ground: Bible Teachings That Align with the Qur'an and Islamic Practice
From monotheism to fasting, modesty to caring for orphans — the parallels between the Qur'an and the Bible are more extensive than most people realise.
TheOpenQuran Research
One of the most effective approaches in interfaith dialogue is to build on shared foundations. Muslims and Christians — and Muslims and Jews — share far more in common than their differences suggest. This article explores specific Bible verses that directly parallel Quranic teachings: the same insistence on one God, the same call to sincere private prayer, the same practice of fasting, the same prohibition of pork and alcohol, the same call to modesty, the same emphasis on caring for orphans and the poor. The Bible does not merely tolerate these Islamic practices — it commands them.
Did Jesus Die for Our Sins? A Biblical and Qur'anic Response
Examining the doctrine of atonement — what the Bible actually says about sin, sacrifice, and forgiveness
Sheikh Ahmad Deedat
The doctrine of atonement — that Jesus died to pay for humanity's inherited sin — is the cornerstone of mainstream Christianity. Yet the Bible itself, in its most direct prophetic statements, teaches the opposite: that sin is personal and non-transferable, that God does not require blood sacrifice to forgive, and that the path to salvation is repentance and righteous action. This article examines the doctrine of Original Sin and its foundation in the sacrifice narrative, the Islamic understanding of Jesus as 'Word of God' and 'Spirit from God,' and what Luke 24 reveals when Jesus himself corrects the misconception that he is a resurrected spiritual being.
Jesus in His Own Words: Bible Verses That Challenge the Claim of Divinity
A systematic look at what the Bible records Jesus saying about himself, God, and the limits of his knowledge and power.
TheOpenQuran Research
Muslims, Christians, and Jews all hold Jesus in esteem — but they disagree profoundly about his nature. This article does not rely on the Qur'an alone. It examines what the Bible itself records Jesus saying about God, about his own limitations, about his need to pray, and about his role as a sent messenger. The evidence — drawn from Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Hebrews, and the epistles — presents a consistent portrait of a man who was subordinate to God, had limited knowledge, experienced human needs, and directed worship to the Father. This article presents that evidence systematically and acknowledges the Christian interpretive response at each point.
Prophet Muhammad ﷺ in the Bible, Torah, and World Scriptures: The Complete Evidence
How the Torah, Gospels, Hindu Vedas, and Buddhist scriptures all prophesied the final Messenger of God
TheOpenQuran Research
Is Muhammad ﷺ mentioned in the Bible, Torah, and world scriptures? Yes — and this is the complete evidence. From Deuteronomy 18:18 and Isaiah 42 to Song of Solomon's 'Muhammadim' in Hebrew, the Gospel of John's Comforter, the Hindu Bhavishya Purana naming him explicitly, the Vedas' Narasansha, and the Buddhist six-criteria prophecy — every major tradition points to one man.
Is Muhammad ﷺ Really in the Bible? The Evidence, the Objections, and the Answers
A rigorous examination of the Quranic claim, the textual evidence, and every major scholarly challenge
TheOpenQuran Research
The Quran explicitly claims that Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is described by name in the Torah and the Gospel, and that Jesus himself predicted him. Critics raise four major objections to the Muslim textual evidence. This article presents the strongest case for each objection — and then systematically answers each one using historical, linguistic, and logical analysis drawn from the work of Dr. Zakir Naik, comparative religion scholars, and the Quran itself.