Glad Tidings

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Right since the beginning of mankind it has been the tradition that whenever any nation would stop worshipping God, go astray and become completely corrupt then God would send to them His messenger for their guidance who would order the people to worship HIM, would enjoin them to do good and forbid them from evil and give glad tidings of the of Paradise for those who believe warn the people with the Punishment of God if they disobey and to fear the Hell Fire which would be the abode for the disbelievers.

And Allah s.w.t. says in the Qur’an

Mankind were one community and Allah sent Prophets with glad tidings and warnings, and with them He sent the Scripture in truth to judge between people in matters wherein they differed. And only those to whom (the Scripture) was given differed concerning it after clear proofs had come unto them through hatred, one to another. Then Allah by His Leave guided those who believed to the truth of that wherein they differed. And Allah guides whom He wills to a Straight Path. [Qur'an 2:213]

And verily, We have sent among every Ummah (community, nation) a Messenger (proclaiming): "Worship Allah (Alone), and avoid (or keep away from) Taghut (all false deities, etc. i.e. do not worship Taghut besides Allah)." Then of them were some whom Allah guided and of them were some upon whom the straying was justified. So travel through the land and see what was the end of those who denied (the truth).[Qur'an 16:36]

The similarity among all these messengers was that they were sent only to a particular nation.

We Muslims believe that when Prophet Mohammed S.A.W.S was sent he was the last of Prophets among the chain of Messengers and was sent for the whole of mankind and the Book (i.e. the Qur’an) which was revealed to him is the final Revelation of Allah s.w.t. that would remain with us till the end of time.That is the promise of Allah s.w.t. as He has said in the Qur’an-

Verily, We, it is We who have sent down the Dihikr (ie. the Qur’an) and surely, We will guard it. [Qur’an 15:9]

When Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) was sent no other Prophet was going to be sent after him. Various Prophets before him has spoken about his coming and his coming has also been prophesied in the earlier Revelations of Allah s.w.t. mentioned in the Qur’an i.e. the Torah which was sent to the Jews and the Injil (Bible) that was sent to the Christians.

Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) in the Bible.

In Deuteronomy 33:2

"And he said, the Lord came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from Mount Paran, and he came with ten thousand saints; from right hand went a fiery law for them." (Deuteronomy 33:2)

Coming from Sinai refers to the appearance of Moses (pbuh) and rising up from Seir alludes that of Jesus (pbuh) because it is a series of mountain in Palestine close to where Jesus lived. The prophet who shone forth from Mount Paran could be no other than the Holy Prophet (pbuh) of

Arabia, as Paran is the ancient name of the part of Arabia where the children of Ishmael (pbuh), the ancestors of Muhammad (pbuh), settled. The Arabic form of the word Paran is Faran or Pharan. Jacut's Geographishes Worterbuch (F. Westenfielt, Leipzig, 1862, Vol. III, P834) says that Faran is a name of Mecca. The word Faran seems to be the Arabic Farran. It means two refugees. It appears that the place took the name from Hager and Ishmael (pbuh), who came there as refugees. Dr. A. Benisch call it in his translation of Pentateuch the desert of Paran.

What unmistakably points to the identity of Muhammad (pbuh) is the phrase: "he came with ten thousands of saints" and "from his right hand went a fiery law for them." At the time of the conquest of Mecca, ten thousand holy men followed at his heels and he was the bearer of the law of the Qur’an. Hence, the prophecy has been fulfilled in the person of Holy Prophet Muhammad, (peace and blessings of God be upon him).

In Isaiah 29:11-18

And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed: And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned. Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:

  Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.  Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the LORD, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us?  Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding?  Is it not yet a very little while, and Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be esteemed as a forest?  And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness.

This prophecy is quiet obvious and straight forward. Anyone who has read about the life of Prophet Mohammed pbuh would know how the he was given prophet hood and how the first verses of the Quran were revealed to him and just to mention it in brief-

Renowned compilers of authentic traditions of Islam agree on the following account of the first Revelations received by the Prophet.

Muhammad would seclude himself in the cave of Mount Hira and worship there days and nights. He would, whenever he wished, return to his family at Mecca and then go back again, taking with him the necessities of life. Thus he continued to return to Khadijah from time to time until one day the revelation came down to him and the Angel Gabriel (Jibreel) appeared to him and said:"Iqra!" meaning “read”But as Muhammad was illiterate, having never received any instruction in reading or writing, hesaid to the angel: “I am not a reader.”The angel took a hold of him and squeezed him as much as he could bear, and then said again:"Iqra!”Then Prophet said:"I am not a reader."The Angel again seized the Prophet and squeezed him and said:"Iqra bismi rabbikalla dhi khalaq.Khalaqal insana min alaq.Iqra wa rabtukal akram. Alladhi 'allama bil qalam. Allamal insana malam yalam "

which means-

"Read in the name of your Lord who created, created man from a clot. Read, for your Lord is most Generous,

Who teaches by the pen, teaches man what he does not know."Quran[96: 1-5].

Now, in the prophecy what is even more interesting is if we go back to the original in Hebrew, the word is “א ר$ which is read as qe ”ק& ra’ and pronounced Qa-ra. The prophecy not only uses a word with the same meaning but also with a similar sound.

In the prophecy it is stated that before the time of this man who will receive the book, the people would be forsaking the words of God for the precept of men and this part of the prophecy was fulfilled when the followers of Prophet Jesus pbuh. followed the teachings of Saint Paul and forsake the teachings of Jesus .

The exodus from Mecca to Medina is prophesized in the Bible in Habakkuk 3:3 it says-

“God came from Teman, and the Holy One from mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise.”

It says his glory covered the heavens and the earth was full of his praise. It mentions two locations “Teman” and “Paran”. “Teman” according to the J. Hastings dictionary of the Bible is an Oasis just north of Medina. “Paran”, “Faran” or “Becca” are different names of Mecca and this is according to the Bible because the Bible states that Hagar and Ismail were left in Paran which is Mecca. The Prophecy begins with-

“God came from Teman, and the Holy One from mount Paran”

During the first ten years of prophet hood when Mohammed pbuh. was in Mecca very few people had accepted the religion. At that time Islam was contained and the Muslims were being prosecuted by the non-believers. But when the Muslims left Mecca and went to Medina, it was from there that Islam actually started to spread. Thus God-His guidance came from Medina and the Holy One ie. Mohammed pbuh came from Mecca, his glory covered the Heavens and the earth was full of his praise. Mohammed, his name means praised and this cannot fit anyone other than Prophet Mohammed pbuh. because there is no man in the history who is praised more than Mohammed pbuh.

In Isaiah 21:13-17

"The burden upon Arabia. In the forest in Arabia shall ye lodge, O ye travelling companions of Dedanim. The inhabitants of the Land of Tema brought water to him that was thirsty, they prevented with their bread him that fled. For they fled from the swords, from the drawn swords and from the bent bow, from the grievousness of war. For thus hath the Lord said unto me, within a year, according to the years of a hireling, and all the glory of Kedar shall fail; And the residue of number of archers, the mighty men of the children of Kedar, shall diminished: for the Lord God of Israel hath spoken it." (Isaiah 21:13-17)

The first point to bear in mind in connection with this prophecy is that Arabia is the scene of the Prophecy. This is most significant. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) appeared in Arabia.Secondly, the prophecy speaks of – “The inhabitants of the Land of Tema* brought water to him that was thirsty, they prevented with their bread him that fled.”"Him that fled" refers to the Hijra of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) to Medina which is a momentous event in the history of the world. It is upon this event that the Muslim calendar begins.The people of Medina had aided the Muslims who had come to their land in whatever way they could.Thirdly, "fled from drawn swords” conclusively proves the fulfillment of the prophecy in Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) who fled from Mecca when his house was surrounded by his enemies who stood there, with drawn swords in hands.Fourthly, another clear testimony in favor of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is found in: "within a year... all the glory of Kedar will fail... the mighty men of Kedar shall diminish." Who is Kedar? Kedar according to the Bible is one of the sons of Ishmael. In Genesis 25:13 it says-“these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: the firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth; and Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam,…”So the Children of Kedar refers to the Arabs and in particular the Quraish tribe of the Arabs.

Rev. C. Forster locates the Kedar in Hedjaz and identifies them with Koraish. See: The Historical Geography of Arabia by Rev. C. Forster, pp. 244-265.

"within a year... all the glory of Kedar will fail... the mighty men of Kedar shall diminish."This was fulfilled in the battle of Badr which occurred one year after the Hijra in which the Quraish (children of Kedar) of Mecca sustained a crushing defeat in which all of the leaders of the Quraish who were in the battle were killed.

Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) Mentioned with name in the original Aramaic Bible. In the 5th chapter of the Shir haShirim ( שיר השירים ), which is one of the five megilot or Sacred Scrolls that are part of the Hebrew Bible or for short the "Song of Solomon" (also called "Song of Songs"). That chapter is giving a prophecy about an individual to come, a mystery man. 

Song of Songs 5:15 compares this prophetic mystery man to the land of "Lebanon" which is the land of the Arabs. This implies that the mystery man would be an Arab.

Song of Songs 5:10 says: "My beloved is white and ruddy, pre-eminent above ten thousand." This is a prophecy of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.s. as he conquered Mecca. It is a well known

historically documented fact that in the year 630 CE Muhammad (pbuh) entered Mecca as the leader of an army of "ten thousand men". This verse and the preceeding verse (v. 11) also match Muhammad's s.a.w.s physical discription as found in Muslim sources (light skin and black hair).

In reading the English translation of Song of Songs 5:16 it finishes the description by saying: "He is altogether lovely" but what most people don't know is that the name of that man was given in the original megilot. Here is the name written in ancient Hebrew as it appears in verse sixteen: It is read as : "Mahammad". According to Ben Yehuda's Hebrew-English Dictionary, it is . מחמדcorrectly pronounced as "Mahammad". 

?ו=,   טז CכAל ?ו=, מHמCתHק?Fים, ו ��יחFכ Rה רOעFי, ב?Cנו=ת מ�ח�מ�ד Cז י ו Fה דו=דR ם; ז?שVWלFVם Cרו .י

tz hikko mamtaqqi m we kullo mahammadim ze do di we ze re ’i benot ye ru sala im

16 His mouth is most sweet; yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.'[Song of Songs: Chapter 5 verse 16]

You can visit the link given below to see and listen to the Song of Songs in its original form, in Hebrew. (please notice the "im" in Hebrew is a plural of respect):http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt3005.htm

In Deuteronomy 18:17-19 Prophet Moses says-"And the Lord said unto me. They have well spoken that which they have spoken, I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren like unto thee, and will put my words in 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."

Also, Peter describing the time of "That Prophet" says:"He shall send Jesus Christ which before was preached unto you; whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. For Moses truly said unto the fathers, a Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people." (The Acts 3:20-23)

These words of Peter evidently imply that the advent of "that prophet" will take place before the second advent of Jesus Christ (peace be upon him). Jesus (pbuh) pointed out in the parable of the vineyard that after him shall come the Lord of vineyard and added:

"The kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation bringing forth fruits thereof." (Matthew 21:43)

The prophecy fits Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) exactly and it doesn’t fits anyone else.

Now, someone can say that this would be some prophet from amongst the Jews since all the prophets from the time of Moses to Jesus were Jews and Moses was speaking to the Jews.This prophet cannot be a Jew because it says in Deuteronomy 34:10 "And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face" It is clear that there would be no Prophet from the children of Israel who is like Moses.So who is this Prophet then? The answer is right there in the prophecy. It says-"Prophet from among their brethren" so in the prophecy it also excludes the Jews, it says from among the brethren of the Jews. Who are the brethren of the Jews? There is only one nation that fulfill this description and that is the Arabs. Abraham pbuh. had only two sons Isaac and Ishmael. Isaac is the Father of Jews and Ismail is the father of the Arabs. Thus the promise of God would be fulfilled: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 he beget, and I will make him a great nation. (Genesis 17:20)and Jesus had said-"The kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation bringing forth fruits thereof." (Matthew 21:43)

The prophecy further goes on to say-"and will put my words in his mouth" So this prophet will not be speaking of his own but will be speaking words put in his mouth and again this fits exactly on Mohammed pbuh. Allah s.w.t. says-

"Your companion [Muhammad] has not strayed, nor has he erred, Nor does he speak from inclination. It is not but a revelation revealed,..." Quran 53:2-4.

It was Jibreel who was putting the words of Allah s.w.t. in the mouth of Mohammed pbuh..

The Whole of the Quran is the Words of Allah s.w.t. and more of this will be discussed later on Inshallal (If Allah wills).Now the Bible is different. Christians claim that the Bible is inspired by God but the words are the words of men and they admit that the Bible has many authors and that the chapters or the books of the Bible are named after these authors.Dr. W Graham Scroggie of the Moody Bible Institute, he says in his book "Yes the Bible is human although some out of zeal which is not according to knowledge have denied this. Those books have been passed through the minds of men, are written in the language of men, were penned by the hands of men and bear in their style the characteristics of men.

The prophecy then states- "and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him." meaning he will not withhold any information, everything that he is given he will speak it. Allah s.w.t. says in the Quran-

"O Messenger, announce that which has been revealed to you from your Lord, and if you do not, then you have not conveyed His message." Quran 5:67.

Finally“…my words which he shall speak in my name”In the Holy Quran, all the chapters begin with the words: "In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful”

In the New Testament Jesus (peace be upon him) said before his depart-"If ye love me, keep my commands. And I will pray to the Father and He shall give you another Comforter. That he may abide with you forever; even the Spirit of truth." [John 14:15-17]

"Nevertheless, I tell you the truth; it is 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 judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me; Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. 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; and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me." [John 16:12-14]

Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) in the Hindu Scriptures.The Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas, and Brahmanas Granth are the four sacred books in Hindu religion. The last one is a commentary on the Vedas, but it is considered as a revealed book. These books are in Sanskrit, the sacred language of the Hindus. The Vedas are divided into four books: Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sam Veda and Atharva Veda. Of these, the first three books are considered the more ancient books, and the Rig Veda is the oldest of them

The prophecy containing Prophet Muhammad by name is found in Prati Sarg Parv III: 3,

3, Verse 5.

The Sanskrit text and translation of Verse 5 of Bhavishya Puran, Prati Sarg Parv III: 3, 3 are given

below.

A malechha (belonging to a foreign country and speaking foreign language) spiritual teacher will appear with his companions. His name will be Mahamad...The Sanskrit text and translation of the Puranas, Prati Sarg Parv III: 3, 3 is presented below from the work of Dr. Vidyarthi.

Translation“A malechha (belonging to a foreign country and speaking foreign language) spiritual teacher will appear with his companions. His name will be Mahamad. Raja (Bhoj) after giving this Mahadev Arab (of angelic disposition) a bath in the 'Panchgavya' and the Ganges water, (i.e. purging him of all sins) offered him the presents of his sincere devotion and showing him all reverence said, 'I

make obeisance to thee.' 'O Ye! the pride of mankind, the dweller in Arabia, Ye have collected a great force to kill the Devil and you yourself have been protected from the malechha opponents (idol worshipers, pagans).' ‘O Ye! the image of the Most Pious God the biggest Lord, I am a slave to thee, take me as one lying on thy feet.'“The Malechhas have spoiled the well-known land of the Arabs. Arya Dharma is not to be found in that country. Before also there appeared a misguided fiend whom I had killed [note: e.g., Abraha Al-Ashram, the Abyssinian viceroy of Yemen, who attacked Mecca]; he has now again appeared being sent by a powerful enemy. To show these enemies the right path and to give them guidance the well- known Mahamad (Mohammad), who has been given by me the epithet of Brahma is busy in bringing the Pishachas to the right path. O Raja! You need not go to the land of the foolish Pishachas, you will be purified through my kindness even where you are. At night, he of the angelic disposition, the shrewd man, in the guise of a Pishacha said to Raja Bhoj, "O Raja! Your Arya Dharma has been made to prevail over all religions, but according to the commandments of ‘Ashwar Parmatma (God, Supreme Spirit), I shall enforce the strong creed of the meat-eaters. My follower will be a man circumcised, without a tail (on his head), keeping beard, creating a revolution, announcing call for prayer and will be eating all lawful things. He will eat all sorts of animals except swine. They will not seek purification from the holy shrubs, but will be purified through warfare. Because of their fighting the irreligious nations, they will be known as Musalmans (Muslims). I shall be the originator of this religion of the meat-eating nation."

More Prophecies In Hindu ScripturesThe Vedas contain many prophecies about Prophet Muhammad. Some European and Hindu translators of the Vedas have removed the name referring to the Prophet, while others have tried to explain away the mantras (verses) on his life events, Ka’bah, Makkah, Medinah, Arabia, and other events using the terminology of the Hindus, such as purification rituals, and lands and rivers in India. Some mantras containing prophecies are inter-mixed with explanatory phrases, and it may be that these were commentaries and explanatory notes on the prophecies, which later became a part of the prophecy.Several prophecies are found in Atharva Veda: (1) XX: 21, Mantras 6, 7, and 9, (2) XX: 137, Mantras 7 through 9, and (3) X: 2, Mantras 26, 27, 29, 30, and 32 (4) Book 20, Hymn 127, verses 1,2,3.. Similarly, in Rig Veda, additional prophecies are found in: (1) VII: 96, Mantras 13 through 16, and (2) I: 53, Mantras 6 and 9. Finally, a prophecy is found in Sama Veda (1) Sama Veda. First Part, Book 2, Chapter 2, I, verses 6 and 8 (2) III: 10, Mantra 1. These are a sample of many prophecies. The serious reader may want to refer to scholarly work of Dr. A.H. Vidyarthi, entitled “Mohammad in World Scriptures,” 1990. This book explains the Hindu terminology used in the Mantras and the meaning and usage of certain words and phrases from within the Vedas and other Hindu Scriptures.

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

The Holy Qur’an is the final revelation of Allah s.w.t. which was revealed to Prophet Mohammed s.a.w.s. 1400 years ago. It is a book of Guidance for the whole of mankind.Those who doubt in the Qur’an then Allah s.w.t. says about them-

Do they not consider the Quran carefully? Had it been from other than Allah, they would have surely found in it many a contradiction.[Qur'an 4:82]

THE CHALLENGE OF THE QURANBoth Muslims as well as non-Muslims agree that Al-Qur’an is Arabic literature par excellence - That the Qur'anic literature is the most superior Arabic literature on the face of Earth.

The challenge to produce the like of the Qur'an was presented to Arabs and mankind in general who denied the Qur’an by the revelation of the following verses in different stages.

The challenge to all the creation to produce the whole of the Qur'an.

Say: "If the mankind and the jinns were together to produce the like of this Qur'an, they could not produce the like thereof, even if they helped one another."[Qur'an 17:88]

Then the challenge was made ostensibly easier by asking those who denied its divine origin to imitate just ten chapters like the Qur'an.

Or they say, "He (Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.s) forged it." Say: "Bring you then ten forged Surah (chapters) like unto it, and call whomsoever you can, other than Allah, if you speak the truth!"If then they answer you not, know then that the Revelation is sent down with the Knowledge of Allah and that La ilaha illa Huwa: (none has the right to be worshipped but He)! Will you then be Muslims?[Qur'an 11:13-14] Finally, the challenge was to produce a single chapter like the Qur'an.

And if you are in doubt concerning that which We have sent down to Our slave (Muhammad s.a.w.s), then produce a Surah (chapter) of the like thereof and call your witnesses (supporters and helpers) besides Allah, if you are truthful.But if you do it not, and you can never do it, then fear the Fire (Hell) whose fuel is men and stones, prepared for the disbelievers.[Qur'an 2:23-24]

The challenge of the Qur’an, is to produce a single Surah (chapter) like the Surahs it contains. The challenge to produce a Surah, remains unmet to this day even though the shortest Surah of the Qur'an consists of only three verses.

THE PROMISE OF ALLAH s.w.t.When prophet Mohammed S.A.W.S was sent he was the last of Prophets among the chain of Messengers and no other Messenger is going to be sent after him and the Book (i.e. the Quran) which was revealed to him is the final Revelation of Allah that would remain with us till the

end of time. and Allah s.w.t. has promised in the following verse.

Verily, those who turn away from Our Ayat* (by attacking, distorting and denying them), are not hidden from Us. Is he who is cast into the Fire better or he who comes secure on the Day of Resurrection? Do what you will. Verily! He is All-Seer of what you do.Verily, those who disbelieved in the Reminder (i.e. the Qur'an) when it came to them. And verily, it is an honourable respected Book.Falsehood cannot come to it from before it or behind it (it is) sent down by the All-Wise, Worthy of all praise.[Qur’an 41:40-42]

And in another verse Allah s.w.t. promises-

Verily, We, it is We who have sent down the Dihikr (ie. the Qur’an) and surely, We will guard it.[Quran 15:9]

Qur'an is the only preserved religious scripture that exists amongst us. It has no contradictions and no mistake in it and not a single word of it has been moved from its place since its revelation.The Qur'an has the unique distinction amongst all other scriptures that it is an entirely verbal revelation of Allah s.w.t.. That, in itself, is a guarantee that it would not be perverted or twisted.

This Divine guarantee of safeguarding the Qur’an is not confined to preserving the integrity of the text alone. It extends to all factors that bear upon the preservation of the Qur’an as the perfect source of Divine guidance for the whole of mankind, for all times. For instance, it is guaranteed that the language in which it was revealed-namely Arabic-would always continue to be a living language in current use, so that no difficulty might be met with in determining and comprehending the meaning of the Qur’an. Arabic is today spoken and written over a much greater area of the earth and by many hundred times the number of people than was the case when Qur’an was being revealed.

*Ayat has several meanings- proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.