By: Allamah Sayyid Saeed Akhtar Rizvi
As the Holy Prophet of Islam was to bring a universal religion for the whole mankind, and as that religion was to continue up to the end of the world, all Prophets in all religions of the world had informed their followers of his advent, and told them to accept his religion without any 'ifs' and 'buts'. In many instances, they also gave the details of his personal and family life so that the people might easily recognise him.
It is not possible to mention in this small booklet all the prophecies from all the books. However, I intend to give here a few prophecies from the religious books of the Parsis, the Hindus, the Jews and the Christians.
It is necessary to point out that in many places, the good tiding about the Holy Prophet of Islam is followed by description of his family-members who were to be his successors. I have given some of such prophecies. Several useful books have been written on this subject in past centuries. Important among them are:
1. Mir'atu ' l -Makhlýqat, by late Molvi Abdu 'r-Rahman Chishti of India.This book was written in 1041 Hijri (=1631-32 C.E.). It contains translations from relevant parts of the sacred books of Hinduism.
2. Basharat - e - Ahmadi, by late Molvi Abdul-Aziz, of Lucknow
3. Anisu'l -a'laam, by late Fakhrul-Islam Muhammad Sadiq. He was an Armenian and formerly a Christian priest. He knew Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Syrian, Armenian, Persian and Arabic. He accepted Islam because of his research in the meaning of 'Paracletos' whose coming is forecasted in the Gospel of St. John. He was convinced that it referred to the Holy Prophet of Islam.
His book in two volumes, in Persian, was published in 1891 A.D. It is a treasure of valuable research for all those who are interested in comparative religion; and almost all books written afterwards are based upon it (though few people have acknowledged this debt).
The Parsi prophecies have been taken from the Zoroastrian prophecies found in Zend Avesta and Dasatir, as quoted in A.H. Vidyarthi & U. Ali's book, Muhammad in Parsi, Hindu and Buddist Scriptures.
The prophecies given here have been taken from these books.
Barm Uttar Khand
Barm Uttar Khand is a book of Hindu religion. Late Abdu 'r-Rahman Chishti (11th century of Hijra) translated it into Urdu, in his ' Mir' atu ' l - Makhlu - q ýt ' .According to that book, the famous Hindu avatar, Mahadev told his wife, Parbati, all the events of the future, while they were on the mountain, Kailash Parbat, and Bishist Muni, his disciple, wrote it down. The relevant parts are translated here from Muqaddamah Anwaru'l-Qur'an (by late Maulana Sayyid Rahat Husain Gopalpuri) pp.40-43. Mahadevji says:- "After six thousand years, the Almighty (God) will create a wonderful person among the children of Adam in Mundarne, which is between the seas.[1] …….O Parbati, he will be from the loin of Kant Bunjh; [2] and he (Abdullah) will have the piety and knowledge of God like a river; so (from that river) will emerge a pearl. And the name of his wife will be 'Sank Rakhiya ' [3]
And he (i.e. Abdullah) will have read three books; and he will leave the fourth book after reading only: 'Alif Lam Mim'… … O Parbati, he (i.e. Abdullah) will be a chief in his tribe; people from all villages will come to his door and will follow him. (Abdullah's son) will have no fear of the creatures; he will be very brave and having the knowledge of Allah, and his name will be 'Mahamat'.
People will be astonished to see his style… … And he will not worship as the people of his tribe will be worshipping and he will tell the people that "I have been told by that Almighty and Only One (God) not to indulge in such senseless worship; and I am not turning but to Allah; therefore, you should follow me."[4]
O Parbati, Mahamat will teach his own shari'at to all the creatures, by abrogating all ways of worship and all previous shari'ats; and he will try to make all people follow him. Gradually, countless people will come into his religion, and many of them will reach God. And as people use our Sakh era, likewise, upto the end of Kaljug (the last era) people will use the era of Mahamat.[5]
.. … O Parbati, after him (after the death of Muhammad's son) the Almighty who has none like Him, will give a daughter[6] to Mahamat who will be better than 1000 sons, and she will be very beautiful and matchless, and very perfect in the worship of God. Never shall she utter any wrong, and she will be protected from every sin—big or small; and through her father she will reach nearer to God. That Almighty (God) will give two sons[7] to the daughter of Mahamat, both will be handsome and beloved of God, strong, having the knowledge God, courageous, brave and matchless in the …of virtuous deeds. And the Almighty will not create, after them, any human being having such perfection in hidden and known virtues.
The same two sons of Mahamat will be his successors; and they will have numerous children; and they will bring people into the religion of Mahamat day by day by their true arguments; and they will illuminate the religion of Mahamat. And Mahamat will love them more than all his people, even more than his own daughter. And these two sons will be perfect in the religion of Mahamat; they will not do any work for their own pleasure, and all their utterances and deeds will be for the pleasure of the Almighty.
O Parbati, a few years after the death of Mahamat, some evil man will unjustly murder these grandsons of Mahamat without any cause; just for the sake of worldly greed; the whole world will become 'headless' by their death. Their killers will be ' Maliksh' (atheists), cursed in both worlds; they will have no love for Mahamat and will never get deliverance from ' Nark' (i.e. Hell). But in appearance, they will remain in the religion of Mahamat, and gradually others also will follow them, and stubbornly will do many deeds against the way of Mahamat and his sons. Only a few people will remain on the path of Mahamat. Majority will follow the path of those who killed the sons of Mahamat; yet in appearance they will be called the followers of Mahamat; and in the last days of k aljug (last era) there will be many of those hypocrites and will create disturbance in the whole world."
After that Mahadevji explains the appearance of Imam Mahdi; coming of Quiyamat and arrival into Paradise of Bibi Fatima together with her followers.
Kalki Puran
In many holy books of Hindus, mention has been made of coming of ten Avatars . So far nine have come and tenth is awaited by Hindus. The name which is ascribed to this tenth Avatar is "Kalki Avatar " (Kalki Prophet).
Description and symptoms, which are found in the books exactly correspond with those of Muhammad Mustafa (s.a.w.a)
Kalki Puran is one of the holy books of the Hindus. It is written in this book that the reason why this Prophet will be known as "Kalki" Avatar, is that he will remove Kalki (rust and darkness) from the hearts of the people, and will prevail over all the artifices of the evil people.
It is also written that people of his community will be worshippers of God.
The name of the father of Kalki Prophet is written as "Vishnuais" a combination of two words, Vishnu (God) and ais (Servant): both put together mean "Servant of God". This is the meaning of Abdullah, the name of the father of Muhammad Mustafa (s.a.w.a.).
The name of Kalki Prophet's mother is "Somti" which means "Trustworthy". And the name of Prophet Muhammad's (s.a.w.a.) mother was Amina, which also means "Trustworthy".
Further it is written that Kalki Prophet will have three brothers named Kavi, Samati, and Parak.
(1) "Kavi" means 'wise' and same is the meaning of 'Aqeel'.
(2) "Samat" means 'Knowledge' and same is the meaning of 'Ja'far'.
(3) "Parak" means "One who commands high position" and same is the meaning of 'Ali'.
Aqeel, Ja'far and Ali were three (cousin) brothers of Prophet Muhammad Mustafa (s.a.w.a.)
The birth-place of Kalki Prophet is mentioned as "Shambhal Nagari"— a name given to the Hijaz in Arabia. "Shambhal" means, "Sand" and "Shambhal Nagri" means a country of sand or "desert" which fits Arabian peninsula perfectly.
Regarding Kalki Prophet, it is also written that he will worship in cave. It is well known in Islamic world that Muhammad Mustafa (s.a.w.a.) got his first "Revelation" in the cave of mount Hira - a desert hill and his chosen place of retreat near Mecca.
Further in "Kalki Puran", it is written that he will receive education through "Prash Ram" which means "Soul of God." It is well known by all Muslims that it was the Angel Gabriel who brought the first "revelation" to Prophet Muhammad Mustafa (s.a.w.a.) in the cave of the mount Hira. Gabriel i.e. Jibra'il is called "Ar-Ruh-al-Amin" (The Trustworthy Spirit) in Islam.
Further it is written that Kalki Prophet will marry the daughter of the king of Shambhal Deep. Thus Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.a.) married the wealthiest woman of Arab, named Khadijah.
It is also written that Kalki Prophet will migrate to the hills of North. Thus on the command of God, Prophet Muhammad Mustafa (s.a.w.a) had to migrate from Mecca to Medina which is in the North.
From Kalki Avatar
17 years after the first appearance in 1970, of my book, Pandit Vedaprakash Upadhyai, a Bengali Brahmin of Allahabad University, published his book 'Kalki Avatar'. In that book he declared that the description of the "awaited" leader and guide Kalki Avatar, fits only to the Prophet Muhammad of Arabia. His views were endorsed by eight other eminent Pandits.
He mentions the Purans and gives its interpretation. We give here a gist of his descriptions:
1. Kalki Avatar will be the last Messenger of God, and will appear for the guidance of the whole world. (It is selfexplaining.)
2. He will be born on an isle. (Arabia is surrounded on three sides by the sea.)
3. His father's name is Vishnubhagat. (Vishnu = God; Bhagat = devotee or slave; Vishnubagat = Slave of God = 'Abdullah.)
4. His mother's name is Sumaani. (Sumaani = Peace = Aminah.)
5. His staple food will be dates and olives. (Exactly.)
6. He will be the most honest and truthful person. (As-Sadiq al-Amin = the Prophet's well-known attributes.)
7. He will be born in an honourable clan. (The Quraysh and especially the Bani Hashim were the most honourable tribe and clan.)
8. God will teach him through His messenger in a cave. (The first revelation was brought to him by Jibra'il in the cave of Hira.)
9. God will give him a very speedy horse to travel the whole world and the seven skies. (It indicates Buraq and Ascension—Mir'aj.)
10. He will be an excellent horse-rider and swordsman. (No need to comment.)
From at Harvaved
Late Molvi Abdu 'r-Rahman Chisti has given many quotations from other Purans and even Veds. One of which is translated here from Muqaddamah Tafsir Anwaru 'l- Qur'an: -
(a) Atharva Ved: Lailaha Harni Papan Illallaha Paran Padam Janm Baikunth Birap newti to jane name Muhammadam.
Translation: Saying 'La Ilah' removes the sins saying 'Illallah' bestows Parm Padwi
if you want paradise eternal
Always recite the name 'Muhammad'
The present Atharva Ved does not have the above words. But the founder of Arya Samaj Dyanand Sarswati has admitted in his book, 'Satyarth Parkash (Urdu) (Chapter 14; p. 739) that Alloo Upnishad mentions the name of Muhammad as Rasul. He contends that someone, in the days of Akbar (the Mughal emperor) must have added it in the Atharva Ved. Then he writes: "Someone may say that how can you claim it when nobody has said or written so in all these days? How can we accept your claim (of later addition) without any proof? But this claim cannot be wrong by non-acceptence of anyone." What a claim! And what a proof!
Old and New Testaments
Now we come to the Jewish and the Christian scriptures. Before giving some of the prophecies from the Bible, one important thing should be made clear from the start.
It is the common practice of the Jews and the Christians to translate even proper names. Thus whenever they find the name 'Muhammad', they translate it as 'the praiseworthy', 'lovely' or words like that. This practice has helped them in 'hiding the truth' from the world, as the people reading the translations can never suspect that the sentence refers to a certain person. Now, if that practice is followed by others, a non- English speaking man will translate the name of 'Livingstone' as a 'stone which was alive.' Then he will elaborate on this theme and will try to prove that in the 19th century, stones in Europe had life, and one of such stones had come to Africa and had travelled upto Kigoma and Ujiji in Tanzania.
Add to it the frequent changes and alterations which the Christians are so wont to make in the Old and the New Testaments, and then you can appreciate the true position.
Book of Genesis
Anyhow, let us begin from Genesis. I will use the King James version throughout this chapter.
Genesis 17:20, records the promise of God to Prophet Ibrahim: "And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall be beget, and I will make him a great nation."
The prayer referred to in this sentence, is given in detail in many places in the Qur'an, which runs as follows: "And remember when Ibrahim and Ismail raised the foundations of the House (with this prayer): "Our Lord! Accept this (service) from us for Thou art the Hearing, the Knowing.
"Our Lord; and raise amongst them a Messenger of their own who shall recite Thy communication to them and instruct them the Book and Wisdom, and purify them, for Thou art the Mighty, the Wise." (Qur'an, 2:127-129)
Deuteronomy
God promised to Prophet Musa (a.s.): "The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken." (18:15)
"I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words into his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him." (18:18-19)
Christians try to fit this prophecy on Prophet 'Isa (a.s.). But it fits nobody except Prophet Muhammad Mustafa (s.a.w.a.) because:-
1. The Prophet was to come from among the breathen of Israel. Any Prophet coming from Bani Israel is therefore excluded from this good tiding. Now, as we know, Prophet 'Isa (a.s.) was from Bani Israel, while Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.a.) was from Bani Ismael who were the brethren of Bani Israel.
2. The Prophet was to be 'like unto Moses.' Prophet Musa (a.s.) had to make war, and Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.a.) also had to defend himself through war. But Prophet Isa (a.s.) did never enter a war.
3. Prophet Musa (a.s.) had a brother Haroon (Aaron), who was to succeed him. No such brother was to Prophet 'Isa (a.s.), while Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.a.) had Ali ibn Abi Talib (a.s.) to whom he said "Thou art to me as Aaron was to Moses, expect that there is no prophet after me."
4. Prophet Musa (a.s.) left the religious leadership to the children of Aaron. Prophet 'Isa (a.s.) did not make any such arrangement. Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.a.) made similar arrangement in his Ummah by leaving Islam in the hands of Ali and his children Hasan and Husayn (a.s.)
5. "…… and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak upto them all that I shall command him." This criterion fits Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.a.) only, because Prophet 'Isa (a.s.) did not claim it for himself, while Allah (s.w.t.) said in the Qur'an for Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.a.): "And he doesn't speak (aught) on his own accord; it is naught but a revelation revealed (unto him)." (Qur'an, 53:34)
6. Prophet 'Isa (a.s.) did never claim that he was the promised Prophet of this sentence, while Allah (s.w.t.) mentioned this similarity between Prophet Musa (a.s.) and Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.a.) in the Qur'an in the verse,
"Verily, we sent unto you a Messenger, a witness on you, as we sent a messenger unto Pharaoh." (73:15)
7. Prophet 'Isa (a.s.) did not claim that he was the like of Moses (a.s.), while Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.a.) said to Ali ibn Abi Talib (a.s.) "Thou art to me as Aaron was to Moses, expect that there is no prophet after me."
8. Prophet 'Isa (a.s.) himself said that the Prophet who was to come after him will fulfil this prophecy. See the following sentences of John: " Howbeit when he, the Spirit of Truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak." (John, 16:13)
Other Prophecies
(A) Dueteronomy
"And he (i.e. Moses) said, The Lord came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints; from his right hand went a fiery law for them." (Duet, 33:2)
The coming of Lord means coming of God's Representatives. Now the prophet of God who came from Sinai was Prophet Musa (a.s.); that who rose from Seir (a mountain in Palestine.) is Prophet 'Isa (a.s.). But who is the Prophet who shined forth from mount Paran? Paran is the name of a mountain in Mecca. The Prophet of God who shined forth from there is none other than Muhammad Mustafa (s.a.w.a.).
(B) Isaiah
"Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth…." (42:10)
The old malady of translating proper names has made this prophecy meaningless. In an Armenian translation, written in 1666 and published in 1733, it has been translated as follows: "They sing unto the Lord a new song; and his kingdom continues after him; and his name is Ahmad." (Now the name Ahmad has been translated as meaning 'his praise')
Anyhow, in this prophecy, a new song unto the Lord means a new Shari'at from God, which fits the Holy Prophet of Islam; but not so much on Prophet 'Isa (a.s.).
(C) Habakkuk
The vision of Nabi Habakkuk says: "God came from Teman and the Holy One from mount Paran. Selah … … his ways are everlasting." (3:3-6).
I believe there is no need to interpret this prophecy, which is so clear. The representative of Lord who came from Paran was Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.a.) and all other attributes can easily be applied to him.
Allamah Fakhrul-Islam Muhammad Sadiq (formerly a Christian priest) has explained more than 30 prophecies from the Old Testament. But as this is a short booklet, I have quoted only some of them here.
From New Testament
(A) "That Prophet"
"And this is the record to John (i.e., the Baptist) when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?
"And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ.
"And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that Prophet? And he answered, No." (John,1:19-21).
This talk clearly shows that just before the advent of Prophet 'Isa (a.s.) (Jesus Christ), the Jews were waiting for three Prophets: Christ, Elias and 'that Prophet.'
And when John said that he was none of the three, then: "And they asked him, and said unto him, why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that Prophet?" (John, 1:25)
It also shows that 'that Prophet' commanded such a high respect that his name was not uttered and his adjective 'Prophet' is written with a capital 'P'. And his advent was so well-understood that simply addressing him as 'that Prophet' was enough to know him.
(B)"Comforter"
Prophet 'Isa (.s.) is recorded as saying to his twelve disciples:- " It is the expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgement: Of sin because they believe not on me; of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; of judgement, because the prince of this world is judged.
"I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. How be it when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come
"He shall glorify me; for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you."(John 18:7-14)
Similar references have been recorded in John, 14:26 and 15:26.
I do not think there is any need to explain how perfectly these prophecies of Prophet 'Isa (a.s.) fit on the Holy Prophet of Islam (s.a.w.a.)
There are more than thirty prophecies mentioned in "A n i s u ' l - a ' l a a m ." Now you may clearly understand the meaning of the following verses of the Qur'an: "The people of the Book know him (i.e. Muhammad s.a.w.a.) as they know their own sons; but some of them conceal the truth which they themselves know." (Qur'an, 2:146)
"Those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered Prophet, whom they find mentioned in their own scriptures in the Torah and the Injil……." (Qur'an, 7:157)
"Although from old days they (the Jews) had prayed for victory against those without faith, when there came to them that {i.e.,Muhammad (s.a.w.a.)} whom they did recognise, they refused to believe in him…" (Qur'an, 2:89)
Parsi Scriptures
Zartushtra, or Zoroaster, is acknowledged as the Founder of the Zoroastrian religion, commonly known as Parsi-ism. There are two sets of Parsi scriptures: Zend Avesta and Dasatir
I am copying some prophecies from A.H. Vidyarthi's book, Muhammad in Parsi, Hindu and Buddhist Scriptures:
Zend Avesta: God addressed Zoroaster in the following terms: The most powerful among the companions of the Muslims, O Zaratushtra, are those of the men of the primitive law, or those of the Soeshyant (not yet born) who are to restore the world." (Farvardin Yasht, XIII:17).
Dasatir: It is a collection of 15 epistles of which the epistle of Sasan I records a prophecy about the Holy Prophet of Islam in very clear words. This edition of Dasatir was published by Mulla Pheroze with the help of several other learned Zoroastrian priests at the time of Nasiru'd-Din Shah Qachar of Persia. The original text is in Pahlawi language; but every sentence is followed by its Persian translation which was obviously done by Mulla Pheroze and his team of priests.
The sum and substance of the prophecy is that the Zoroastrian people will forsake their religion and will become dissolute: "When they will commit such deeds, a man will appear from the Arabs before whose followers crown, throne, kingdom and religion shall be overthrown, and arrogant people will be subjugated. Instead of the house of idols and the temple of fire, they will look at the House of worship of Abraham without any idols in it and will make it their Qibla.
"And they will be a mercy for the worlds. And then they will capture the places of the temples of fire, and subjugate Madain, Tus, Balkh, the sacred places of the Zoroastrians and the neighbouring territories. Their prophet will be an eloquent man, and his message will be well-connected."
Notes:
[1] The Arab peninsula is surrounded on 3 sides by the sea.
[2] Kant Bunjh' means 'Servant of God, which, in Arabic becomes "Abdullah". Abdullah was the name of the father of the Holy Prophet.
[3] Sank Rakhiya' means 'Peaceful' which in Arabic is 'Amina.' Name of the mother of the Holy Prophet was 'Amina.'
[4] Compare it with the ayat of the Qur'ãn: "Say: I am commanded to worship God, and not to join partners with Him. Unto Him do I call, and unto Him is my return." (13:36)
[5] i.e. era of Hijra.
[6] Fatimah, the lady of Paradise, the Chief of all the women.
[7] Imam Hasan (a.s.) and Imam Husain (a.s.).
source : http://www.abna.ir/
