Was Muhammad a Prophet and Apostle of God?

Author : 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 PersiaIn 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 MeccaIn 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 AntichristThe 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 WorldMuhammad 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 ChildOn 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 ChristMuslims 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.

ConclusionFriends, 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).

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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.