The Prophet Muhammad PBUH as a Mercy to All Worlds: Proofs of His Prophethood - Part 4
By
Kaniz Fatma, New Age Islam
12 February
2024
This Part Provides A Few Proofs That
Demonstrate The Prophetic Status Of The Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him),
In Response To The Commentator, Namely Rizz, Who Asked For Proofs Of The
Prophetic Status.
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(Representative photo from file)
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Some
Christians and Jews want evidence supporting Muhammad's (peace be upon him)
prophetic status. It is an extremely weird thing that they have never attempted
to acknowledge the proofs regarding the arrival of the Last Prophet that are
stated in the Bible and the Quran.
Allah
Almighty says in the Quran:
“And
when there came to them a Book from Allah confirming that which was with
them—although before they used to pray for victory against those who
disbelieved—but [then] when there came to them that which they recognized, they
disbelieved in it; so, the curse of Allah will be upon the disbelievers.” [2:89]
Maulana
Shafi Usmani, the author of the Maarif ul Quran, says,
“The Torah
had in several places foretold the coming of the Holy Prophet. The Jews
themselves used to tell the Arabs that a new prophet and a new Divine Book were
soon to come. But when the Holy Quran came down from Allah, even when they had
recognized its authenticity, the Jews denied it out of sheer spite. The verse
says that the Holy Quran confirms the Torah. It means that the Holy Quran is
concrete evidence of the truth of the prophecies made in the Torah about the
coming of the Holy Prophet and of the Holy Quran. One who believes in the Torah
cannot justifiably deny the Holy Quran and the Holy Prophet, for such a denial
would involve a denial of the Torah itself.” (Maarif ul Quran, 2:89)
Maulana Maududi
writes in his commentary:
“Before the
advent of the Prophet, the Jews were eagerly awaiting a Prophet whose coming
had been prophesied by their own Prophets. The Jews used to pray for his advent
so that the dominance of the unbelievers could come to an end and the age of
their own dominance could be ushered in. The people of Madina were witnesses to
the fact that these same Jewish neighbours of theirs had yearned for the advent
of such a Prophet. They often used to say, ‘People may oppress us today as they
wish, but when our awaited Prophet comes, we will settle our scores with our
oppressors.’ Since the people of Madina had themselves heard such statements,
they were inclined to embrace the religion of the Prophet all the more readily,
lest their Jewish neighbours supersede them in acquiring this honour. It was
therefore astonishing for them to find that when the promised Prophet did
appear, those same Jews who had so eagerly looked forward to welcoming him
turned into his greatest enemies. The statement ‘and they recognized it’ is confirmed
by several contemporaneous events. The most authentic evidence in this
connection is that of Safiyah, a wife of the Prophet, who was herself the
daughter of one learned Jewish scholar (Huyayy b. Akhtab) and the niece of
another (Abu Yasir). She says that when the Prophet migrated to Madina, both
her father and uncle went to meet him and conversed with him for quite a while.
When they returned home, she heard the following conversation:
Uncle: Is
he really the same prophet whose advent has been prophesied in our Scriptures?
Father: By
God, he is.
Uncle: Do
you believe that?
Father:
Yes.
Uncle. Then
what do you intend to do?
Father: I
will continue to oppose him and will not let his claim prevail as long as I
live. (Ibn Hisham, Sirah, eds., Mustafa al-Saqqa’ et al., 2 vols., II edition,
Cairo, 137511955, see vol. 1, pp. 518 f. See also Ibn Ishaq, The Life of
Muhammad, tr. and notes by A. Guillaume, London, Oxford University Press, 1955,
pp. 241 f. – Ed., cited in Tafhim al-Quran, 2:89.
According
to some commentators, the Jews previously prayed, “O God, send this prophet we
find written off in our [book], so that we can punish the idolaters and slay
them,” but they then rejected him—that is, Muhammad—because he was not of the
Israelites. (Tafsir Ibn Kathir, 2:90).
Some
traditions relate that some Arab Muslims, who were formerly idolaters, would
remind the Jews by saying, “Reverence God and embrace Islam. You used to ask
for victory over us by means of Muhammad while we were people of idolatry,
telling us that he was being sent and describing his attributes to us” (Tafsir
Tabari, 2:90).
Some
commentators believe that that which they recognized could also be understood
to mean “that which they knew” or “that which they were acquainted with” and
did not stem from a detailed description of the Prophet, but rather from an
understanding of the general attributes of prophethood and truth that he
displayed (Tafsir Razi, 2:290, cited in the Study Quran).
This essay
titled ‘The Prophecies of Prophet’ investigates the Prophet Muhammad’s
prophetic status, emphasising his several prophecies of the future that are
based on genuine hadith and scriptures from the Qur'an. It emphasises how these
prophecies, which were given access to the invisible world, came to pass as
predicted, which makes them among the strongest evidence of his prophetic
abilities.
The Prophet
Muhammad, peace be upon him, is true, as evidenced by several signs and proofs
mentioned in the Quran and the Bible. He didn't have any sin or small-time
resentment, for instance. He grew up in the Arabian Peninsula as one who did
not know how to read and write, did not travel outside its limits to acquire
religious knowledge, and did not spend any time learning religion. At forty
years of age, he brought information from heaven that no previous or subsequent
generation could have.
Allah also
provided him with additional protection and care, which kept him secure during
trying times. He surely would have been executed if he hadn't had this
protection.
Both the
Torah and the Injeel (Gospel) foretold of his coming. When some of the People
of the Book—Jews and Christians—saw that the prophecies mentioned in their
books were applied to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), they converted
to Islam. The Old and New Testaments of the Bible, as well as the versions
recognised by the People of the Book, still contain passages that explicitly
allude to the prophetic status of Muhammad (peace be upon him). The Gospel of
Barnabas, which Christians consider to be the most authentic of the Gospels,
contains one such passage.
During the
lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad, Abdullah ibn Salam—a Jew before converting to
Islam—said, "I immediately knew that this was not the face of a
liar." "I have never heard anything superior or more balanced than
this," remarked Tufayl ibn 'Amr. Several people validated his prophetic
status due to his credibility as an honest person. After forty years of
cohabitation, Quraysh's leadership declared, "We have experienced nothing
but honesty from him." After seeing miracles, some people came to believe
because they realised that nothing ordinary could have explained these
incredible events. [See Mohammad Elshinawy, The Final Prophet: Proofs of
Prophethood of Muhammad PBUH]
God
Almighty revealed the evidence supporting Muhammad's prophetic status in such a
way that it is obvious to any sincere inquirer.
God
Almighty says,
“And [even] if We opened to them a gate from
heaven and they continued therein to ascend, they would say, ‘Our eyes have
only been dazzled. Rather, we are a people affected by magic.’” (Surat Al-Hijr 15:14–20)
A
prerequisite for having a genuine faith in Islam is the belief in all of God's
prophets and messengers, and the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is
certainly no exception to that rule.
Allah says,
“Muhammad is not the father of [any] one of your men, but [he is] the
Messenger of Allah and the last of the prophets. And ever is Allah, of all
things, knowing." (33:40)
This verse
suggests that the Prophet Muhammad is the final prophet and messenger of Allah
and that anyone who rejects the prophetic status of Muhammad (peace be upon
him) has denied the existence of the One who sent him, that is, God Almighty.
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Kaniz
Fatma is a classic Islamic scholar and a regular columnist for New Age Islam.
Previous
Article:
Part 1: The Prophet as a
Mercy to All Worlds: His Moral Conduct and Compassion for Unbelievers - Part 1
Part
2: The Prophet as a Mercy to All Worlds: His Forgiveness and
Compassion for Unbelievers - Part 2
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-personalities/prophet-mercy-worlds-prophethood-part-4/d/131701
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