The Real Revolution  

So after reading the previous blog and thinking about it, you could very well be thinking, “Big whoop.  Loads of religions have similarities.  That was just a stab in the dark.”  If that is how you feel, and that is completely ok, or if you feel positive towards what you read and heard, then check this blog out. 

Whispers in the distance

God says to Moses, in Deuteronomy, Chapter 18:15, “A prophet from your own midst, from your brothers, like me, is what Jehovah your God will raise up for you –to him you people should listen” (New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures).  This, it can be agreed, talks about a prophet who will come from the midst of them.  Older Bibles would comment on this specific verse but would not speak of the verses that followed.  Those Bibles said that verse 15 spoke of Jesus.  However, taking the next verses into account, one can see that these verses were not in reference to Jesus.   In verse 18, God says to Moses, “A prophet I shall raise up for them from the midst of their brothers, like you; and I shall indeed put my words in his mouth, and he will certainly speak to them all that I shall command him.”  These are no ordinary words, but a prophecy.  We see that this prophet will only speak that which God speaks to him.  It can be understood that he will be given great power and authority for he speaks God’s Command.  This verse prophesizes of a prophet who will come being like Moses.  So let’s do a bit of comparing and contrasting. 

-Moses was an orphan.  Muhammad was also an orphan, having both parents pass before he was 6.  Was Jesus an orphan?  No, Jesus was raised by his mother who did not die during Jesus’ time in his home. 

-Both Moses and Muhammad were raised in a pagan society.  Moses with the pharaoh’s polytheistic family and Muhammad with the polytheistic Meccans.  Jesus was not raised amongst polytheists, he was raised Jewish in the holy land. 

-Moses and Muhammad both received the call to prophethood in quite a terrifying manner.  Moses saw the burning bush which frightened him.  The angel Gabriel appeared to Muhammad, after which Muhammad rushed home in wondrous fear. 

-Taking a look at Moses, we see he had to flee for his life after he received the call to prohethood.  Muhammad also had to leave his birthplace after receiving the call to prophethood for he had a price on his head. 

-Both fought jihad.  Moses fought a holy war and so did his first deputy, ‘khalifa’, Joshua.  Muhammad also fought a jihad to defend the law. 

-Both were also given a law to elevate their people to a higher status.  Both systems are followed to this day via the Jews and Muslims. 

-The most important comparison is that both prophets were successful against their enemies.  That is important because it is not seen in the case of Jesus, who seemed to be overcome by his enemies (but not completely). 

This puts the Christians in a predicament because they say that Jesus is the Son of God or literally God.  This statement negates any possibility of him being the fulfillment of this prophecy for the verse states that a prophet will be raised, neither a God nor a son of God.  Jesus did not bring a new law and Christians say he was not a prophet.  Therefore, two key likenesses to Moses are broken.  To even allude that this verse is in reference to Jesus, the Christians would have to admit to his prophet status, thereby negating their belief of his status as Son of God, and then try to show similarities between Jesus and Moses. 

Even the blind cannot turn away from the mountain

Continuing with Deuteronomy, we come to Chapter 33:1-2.  “Now this is the blessing with which Moses the man of the God blessed the sons of Israel before his death.”  First and foremost, this is interesting because this is the revealed book of God to Moses.  Yet we are being told something about Moses in the third person.  Here’s what was given as a blessing to the Children of Israel.  The verses that follow in this chapter say, “Jehovah—from Sinai he came, And he flashed forth from Se’ir upon them.  He beamed forth from the mountainous region of Pa’ran, and with him tens of thousands of holy ones.  In his right hand a fiery law.”  There are three places mentioned from which the Lord came.  Something to note is that this does not reference to God manifesting Himself there and walking around those areas.  This is a metaphorical statement.  First, Sinai is mentioned.  Mount Sinai is associated with the commandments of Moses.  Secondly, Mount Seir is mentioned.  Mount Seir is located about twenty miles from Jerusalem.  This mountain, therefore, is very close to where Jesus originated.  The final mountain is Paran.  There is also a reference regarding ten thousand saints and a fiery law coming with whatever comes from Paran.  Historically, geographically, everything-ically, Paran is in Arabia (http://www.biblestudysite.com/map-ex3.jpg).  From this land, we see Muhammad came, speaking what God told him and commanding over ten thousand people when he marched peacefully into Mecca with the law of Islam.

** NOTE **The mountains were mentioned because they have great significance metaphorically and literally.  Mountains are awe-inspiring and huge.  They are not easily moved and are known throughout the land.  They are visible from faraway, as opposed to rivers and streams which can be hidden within valleys.  Mountains also have a reputation of being associated with holy men.  Religions the world over tend to have some relationship with a mountain.

Miracles and Sacrifice
From a Judeo-Christian perspective, one always hear about Abraham’s son, Isaac.  He would have a son, great tribes would come from him, and there would be a redeemer from Isaac’s progeny.  There is not much of a positive story, or even much mention, about Hagar in the Judeo-Christian world.  Although from the Egyptian royal family, she was first a handmaid of Abraham and then his wife.  Genesis 17 talks about Hagar.  Abraham is very old and his wife, Sarah, is old and barren.  She is nervous because there is a promise of a son to be born to them, yet she has no means of conceiving the child.  However, Abraham is not so weak in faith.  Genesis 17:17 speaks of Abraham who prostrates before God, asking how a 100 year old man and a 90 year old woman can give birth to a son.  God reassures him.

In Genesis 16, the story goes that Abraham’s wife takes Hagar and gives her to Abraham as his wife.  Abraham marries Hagar.  However, Sarah becomes jealous because right away Hagar becomes pregnant.  Hagar is mistreated by Sarah and so Hagar runs away.  When Hagar is in the wilderness, an angel found her by a fountain of water and said to her ‘Ha’gar, maidservant of Sar’ai, just where have you come from and where are you going?”  To this Hagar said, “Why, from Sar’ai my mistress I am running away.”  And the angel went on to say to her: “Return to your mistress and humble yourself under her hand.” Then Jehovah’s angel said to her: “I shall greatly multiply thy seed, so that it will not be numbered for multitude.”  (16:1-10).  This is a story that is not told much.  This tells that the progeny of Hagar will form a great nation. 

Later we read in Chapter 17 that God says to him, “Your wife Sarah will also have a son and I will establish a covenant with him” (17:19).  In 17:20, “As for Ishmael, I have heard thee.  Behold, I have blessed him and I will make him fruitful and will multiply him exceedingly.  Twelve princes shall he beget and I will make him a great nation.”  Abraham rejoiced because he would be father of two incredibly great sons.  Christians are not taught this part of the story and as a result, miss out on a great Biblical prophecy. 

What ends up happening is that Sarah has her son after Ishmael has been several years old.  Ishmael pokes fun at Isaac (Genesis 21:9) at one point and Sarah gets angry. Sarah goes to Abraham and says to cast out the bondwoman Hagar and her son because “the son of this woman will not be heir with my son, with Isaac” (Genesis 21:10).  The next verse shows how Abraham felt about it.  He was very grieved over this because he had to part with his son.  Allah tells him to listen to his wife and reinforces the revelation that the son of the bondwoman will make a great nation for him and his seed.  In faith, Abraham rises the next morning, gives Hagar some bread and water, and sets her and their son out on their way.  In 21:21, Ishamael and his mother settled in the land of Paran. 

So where is Paran?  Paran is where Ishmael settled.  The great nation that was born under Ishmael will be affirmed by any scholar to be the land of Arabia for the Ishmaelites are the Arabs.  And who came from the Arabs?  Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).

Sing a Song

Yes, we went there.  We mentioned the name Muhammad.  However, this is not something to be disconcerted about for the Bible itself mentions the name “Muhammad”.  Have your attention now?  Good.  If one takes the Hebrew Bible, opens up to the Songs of Solomon, Chapter 5, one will see a description of a person.  This is not just a description of attributes, rather an actual physical description.  This person will be dazzling, ruddy (red-faced), head of gold, black hair, beautiful eyes, lips dripping with myrrh, etc.  To read the physical description on Muhammad (pbuh) from his companions, read http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/056.sbt.html#004.056.747 .

Reading these verses from Solomon, one could say it describes any Semitic/Arab man.  The specific reference comes in the final verse where the song says, “He is altogether lovely.”  In English, this, directly, means little.  So what does the Hebrew show?  The Hebrew for ‘altogether lovely’ comes in four Hebrew letters that are: mem, heet, mem, dalet.  To put an English equivalent, it would look MHMD.  The Hebrew alphabet was only composed of 22 consonants, vowels not being introduced until much later in the form of lines and dots.  How would one pronounce this?  Well, a reader could be very skeptical reading all this.  So here’s a link to listen to the Hebrew verse itself.  After clicking it, wait for the program to load.  Once loaded, scroll down to “Songs of Solomon 005”.  Move the cursor to the 2:30 minute mark and give it a listen.  http://www.talkingbibles.com/Pages/hebrew_song_of_solomon_page.html

Audibly, one hears “Mahammadim”.  The ‘im’ was a suffix added to denote plural or formality, something we see in many languages today.  In removing the ‘im’, we are left with “Mahammad”, a Hebrew word meaning “desirable, praiseworthy, lovely.”  To translate these English words into Arabic would lead one to the Arabic word, “Muhammad”.  This person whose lips spoke words of myrrh quality, healing as only myrrh can,  gave the people a prophecy that was well worth the wait.

Moral of the story:  You may feel defensive having now read this.  But you yourself know what it is you have read.  Nobody was telling you anything from a pulpit, nobody was forcing anything into your mind.  You read this (hopefully) the whole way through.  But fret not, this is far from over.  There is much more to be written for there is so much that has been said.  Keep your mind open. 

 
 

The Bible foretells of the rise and fall of several empires including Persia and Rome.  It also foretells of other events.  As Muslims, we do not dispute that, we respect the Bible.  However, we do not see it as an inerrant Word of God from cover to cover.  This is because the Bible has been proven by Christian scholars that there have been alterations to the Bible.  As a result, we are taught to study the Bible very carefully.  We have talked about these alterations in previous shows regarding Paul and the Bible. 

Five Pillars of the Bible

Is Islam really so different from the faith practiced in the Bible?  We look at both faiths today and they certainly look quite different.  Dark skinned versus light skinned, clothing styles, facial hair, etc.  But what about the inside?  Surely, between the hardcovers, there must be some similarities.  So let’s examine the basics. 

The First Pillar
The fundamental basis in a religion would have to be regarding the Creator.  The Bible preaches belief in One God.  The first pillar of Islam is the same, believing in One God.  The One God who the possessor of all attributes, such as Gracious, Merciful, Master of the Day of Judgement, and Forgiving.  We see these qualities in the Quran and in the Bible.  In the Old Testament, the Children of Israel are warned over and over again to not go running after false gods.  This warning is very necessary because they are surrounded by pagans.  They should continue to worship the One God of their forefathers and of Abraham and Moses.  This is the same in Islam because the God of Abraham and Moses is the God of Islam.  Both of these prophets’ stories and missions are communicated in detail in the Quran.  The first commandment of God was to worship Him and Him alone.  Just the same, the first pillar of Islam not only professes in the belief of one God, but also states that there are no other gods besides Him. 

The Second Pillar

Having mentioned the Creator, now a believer should know what to do with his/her Creator.  This brings in the act of prayer.  In both the Bible and Islam, prayer is a basis of faith.  Jews pray three times a day and Muslims pray five times a day.  The Children of Israel pray towards what was the temple of Solomon.  Interesting to note, the Muslims’  also used to pray towards the temple of Solomon.  As time went on, the Muslims’ shifted their prayer to the Ka’aba in Mecca.  Finally, in regards to prayer, when one is praying in a submissive manner or a extremely thankful manner, one can see that they pray with their face on the ground.  We see that Jesus prayed in this way the night before he was put on the cross.  Abraham did the same when he was given glad tidings of a son.  Similarly, Muslims prostrate themselves before God many times throughout the day. 

The Third Pillar

We have mentioned God and worshipping God.  So what is a good way of purifying oneself to obtain a closer relationship with God?  This third pillar would then be that of fasting.  Prophets would generally go through a fast before something significant was revealed to them.  Moses fasted before he went up into the mountain and Jesus fasted for forty days before he began his ministry.  Presently, we see variations of Christianity going through periods of fasts.  The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) fasted often throughout his life.  Muslims also fast during the month of Ramadan. 

The Fourth Pillar
The fourth pillar is charity.  Charity is mentioned throughout the Old Testament (Deut. 24: 19.   Ps. 41: 1; Acts 11: 29-30) and the New Testament (Matt. 6: 1-4; Luke 11: 41; Acts 24: 17).  The same holds true throughout the Quran (Chapter 2 : Verse 272; Chapter 9 : Verse 75; Chapter 21 : Verse 74).


The Fifth Pillar
To briefly recap, we have seen that there is a belief in God, prayer to worship God, fasting to purify oneself before God, and giving charity to please God.  These things are everyday things.  What would be the penultimate experience in a believer’s life?  This leads to the fifth pillar, the pilgrimage.  Many know that Muslims perform a pilgrimage to Mecca.  Some people might think that there is no pilgrimage in the Bible.  But actually, it was considered meritorious by the Jews to visit the temple of Solomon.  That was the central unity of Jews.  This temple was eventually ransacked, destroyed, rebuilt, overrun by corruption, and ended up becoming a marketplace.  We know that Jesus went in there and overthrew tables of the moneylenders because he saw the evil that was there.  There is a parallel to this in Islam.  The Kaaba, rebuilt by Abraham and Ishmael, was later corrupted and filled with idols.  It also became a center of commerce.  The Arabs were very scared of losing all their commerce when they saw Muhammad preaching word of One God.  People would no longer come and spend money and worship their idols there.  Eventually, the Kaaba was purified. 

We see great parallels on every single level.  The Five Pillars of Islam are virtually identical to that of the Judeo-Christian beliefs.  So when we talk about Islam, we are not talking about something so foreign and so different.  The Quran affirms that Islam is no different from the past monotheistic faiths in Chapter 4 verse 164: “Surely We have sent revelation to thee as we have sent revelations to Noah and the prophets after him; and We sent revelation to Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and his children and to Jesus and Job and Jonah and Aaron and Solomon and we gave David a book.” 

Moral of the story:  Allah has been the same God throughout all the prophets and so the Quran should not be something completely foreign to people who believe in the Bible.