August 1, 2002, Vol.2, No.15.
Two new articles every two weeks.
Bible Question? E-mail
us.
THIS ISSUE: "Was
Muhammad a Prophet and Apostle of God?"
(see below)
and "An Overview of Islam"
To Our Muslim Friends:
Was Muhammad
a Prophet and Apostle of God?
Guest article by Ronny Milliner
In times past God revealed His will through men known as prophets.
The Hebrew writer declared, "God, who at various times and
in different ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets"
(Hebrews 1:1). No doubt, He knew that there would be men who
would arise that would claim to be prophets. Knowing this fact,
the Lord gave a test for people to determine whether one was
a true prophet or a false prophet. In Deuteronomy 18:20-22, God
told the Israelites:
"But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My
name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks
in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die. And if you
say in your heart, 'How shall we know the word which the Lord
has not spoken?'-when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord,
if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing
which the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously;
you shall not be afraid of him."
Many individuals have arisen claiming to be prophets of God,
but who have failed this simple test. They predict certain things
to come to pass, and their predictions do not come to pass. Therefore,
we can know that these individuals are false prophets. They are
not prophets of God.
What about Muhammad? Islam is the religion of Muhammad. According
to Charles Recknagel (1999), "Islam is the fastest growing
religion in the United States." It "is already the
world's largest religion, with 900 million members-about one
sixth of the world's population" (Timothy Miller). According
to a government publication, "Approximately 20,000 Americans
convert to Islam each year.By the year 2010, America's Muslim
population is set to outstrip the Jewish population, making it
the country's second-largest faith after Christianity."
Muhammad was born in Mecca about 570 A.D. When he was 25 years
old he married a wealthy widow. He earned the name al-Amin, which
means trustworthy, because of his ability to settle quarrels.
Around the age of 40, he supposedly began receiving revelation
from God. These messages came through the angel Gabriel according
to the Muslim religion. Because his teaching emphasized the belief
in one God he was persecuted. As a result, he had to flee to
Yathrib, but his followers grew in this area. He was able to
come back and defeat the people of Mecca in 630. Muhammad died
in 632.
To determine whether Muhammad was a true prophet according
to God's test in Deuteronomy 18:20-22, let us examine some of
his predictions.
His Prophecy regarding the
Conquest of Persia
In Sunna 30:2-4, Muhammad said, "The Roman Empire
has been defeated-in a land close by: But they, (even) after
(this) defeat of theirs, will soon be victorious-within a few
years." The Arabic word, Bidh'un, translated "a
few years," means a time period of three to nine years.
The Byzantines (Roman Empire) did attain their victory over the
Persians in that time frame. It was almost twelve years after
their defeat.
Entrance to Mecca
In another passage, Muhammad declared, "Truly did Allah
fulfill the vision for His Messenger. Ye shall enter the Sacred
Mosque, if Allah wills, with minds secure, heads shaved, hair
cut short, and without fear. For He knew what ye knew not, and
He granted, besides this, a speedy victory" (Sura 48:27).
This statement was made in regard to the followers of Muhammad
failing to enter Mecca to perform a ritual known as Tawaf.
Needless to say, these followers were quite angry when this promise
failed that year. Muhammad's reply to justify himself was, "Yes,
did I tell you that we would go to Ka'ba this year?"
The Coming of the Antichrist
The Muslims referred to the Antichrist as Dajjal. Muhammad
is supposed to have said,
"The flourishing state of Jerusalem will be when Yathrib
is in ruins, the ruined state of Yathrib will be when the great
war comes, the outbreak of the great war will be at the conquest
of Constantinople and the conquest of Constantinople when the
Dajjal comes forth. He (the Prophet) struck his thigh or his
shoulder with his hand and said: This is as true as you are here
or as you are sitting" (Book 37, Number 4281).
He went on to say, "The greatest war, the conquest of Constantinople
and the coming forth of Dajjal will take place within a period
of seven months" (Book 37, Number 4282). He added,
"The time between the great war and the conquest of the
city (Constantinople) will be six years, and the Dajjal will
come forth in the seventh." The Muslims conquered Constantinople
in May of 1453. Yet, Muhammad's prophecy regarding Yathrib (Medina)
failed to come to pass within the specified time frame.
The End of the World
Muhammad held to the view that the world would end after a
7,000 year period. This belief was quite common among Eastern
philosophy. It took the view of the creation being completed
in a seven day period, changed the days to a thousand years each,
and concluded that the world would only last for 7,000 years.
It was believed that Muhammad arrived on the scene 6,500 years
after creation. Thus, according to this view, the end of the
world should have been around 1132, or about 500 years after
Muhammad's death. Needless to say, this prophecy was also false.
The Appearance of a Child
On one occasion Muhammad was asked regarding the appearance
of a child in relationship to its parents. Why would a child
look like one parent as opposed to the other parent? Muhammad
had to go to Gabriel to find the answer to that question. This
supposed inspired answer stated that the child would look like
the parent that reached a sexual climax first in the conception.
Modern genetics has shown the fallacy of this supposed revelation.
Wrong concerning Christ
Muslims believe that a prophet cannot lie. Mohammad believed
Jesus to be a prophet. If Jesus was a prophet, then he should
not have been guilty of lying. Yet, Jesus claimed to be more
than a prophet; he claimed to be God (John 10:30-33). If Jesus
did not lie, then Mohammad lied when he said that Jesus was only
a prophet and denied the deity of Jesus. If Jesus did lie about
his deity, then Mohammed still lied for saying Jesus was a prophet
since a prophet cannot lie. Thus, any way that one wants to consider
it, Mohammad was a liar and thus could not have been a prophet
according to Muslim belief.
Conclusion
Friends, do not be deceived into believing that Mohammad was
a prophet. He failed God's test. Jesus, on the other hand, passed
that test. What he foretold did come to pass. He is more than
a prophet. He is the only way to the true God. "Jesus said
to him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes
to the Father except through Me'" (John 10:6).
__________________________
Sources Cited
Charles Recknagel, "United States: Islam Growing, But
Subject to Misperceptions," http://www.rferl.org/nca/features/1999/05/F.RU.990517135956.html.
Timothy Miller, "America's Alternative Religions,"
http://www.princeton.edu/~tlaloc/ISLAM.htm.
"Islam in America: A Fact Sheet," http://usembassy.state.gov/posts/pk3/wwwha009.html.
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