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The Sealed Nectar

 The Sealed Nectar by Shaykh Safi ur-Rahman

 It is a very well established fact that all the prophets that came before gave tidings of yet another prophet yet to come. People of the time of Muhammad were expecting a prophet to rise up from among them as well. Let's take a look at what the Quran, Old and New Testament and what some others say about the coming of a prophet.

 

Abraham asked God to send unto the people a messenger from among the Arabs. The Quran says, "Our Lord! Send amongst them a messenger of their own who shall recite unto them your verses and instruct them in the book (Quran) and the wisdom and purify them. Verily! You are the all-mighty, the all-wise." {Quran 2:129}

 

God tells us in the Quran that Jesus himself even gave us news of a prophet to come, "And remember when Jesus son of Mary said: "O children of Israel! I am the messenger of God unto you, confirming the Torah which came before me, and giving glad tidings of a messenger to come after me, whose name shall be Ahmad (Ahmad or Muhammad share the same root in Arabic and both mean the one who praises God). But when he (Muhammad) came to them with clear proofs, they said: "This is plain magic." {Quran 61:6}

 

The Quran say that all messengers took a covenant, "And Remember when God took the covenant of the prophet, saying: "Take what ever I gave you from the book and the wisdom, and afterwards there will come to you a messenger confirming what is with you; you must, then, believe in him and help him." God said: "Do you agree to it and will you take up my covenant which I conclude with you?" They said: "We agree." He said: "Then bear witness; and I am with you among the witnesses."{Quran 3:81}

 

The Quran also mentions what the Old and New Testaments say about his coming, "Those who follow the messenger, the prophet who can neither read nor write(i.e. Muhammad) whom they find written with them in the Torah (Old Testament – Deuteronomy 15) and the Gospel (New Testament – John 16), – he commands them for Monotheism; and forbids them from polytheism; he allows them as lawful all things good, and prohibits them as unlawful all things evil, he releases them from their heavy burdens of God covenants with the children of Israel and from the fetters (bindings) that were upon them. So those who believe in him (Muhammad), honor him, help him and follow the light (Quran) which has been sent down with him, it is they who will be successful." {Quran 7:157}

 

A companion of the prophet once asked him to talk about himself. He Said, "I'm the one for whose coming Abraham prayed for and of whom Jesus gave glad tidings."

 

People of Arabia knew a prophet was coming. The Ansar (Natives of Medina, but the word literally means helpers, as the Natives of Medina helped the immigrants from Mecca) related in Mutawaatir that the Jews of Medina had informed them of the coming of the messenger of God and they knew he would be Arab. This is one of the reasons the people of Medina accepted Muhammad so quickly when he preached Islam to them. We find in: "Saheeh As-Seerah An-Nabawiyyah" that Salamah ibn Salamah Waqsh, an Ansar and one of the Muslims who participated in the Battle of Badr said, "We had a Jewish neighbor who lived among the clan of Banu Abd-Al-Ashhal. Just prior to the advent of Islam of the prophet this neighbor left his house came out to us, and sat in the gathering of Abd-Al-Ashhal. He said, 'A Prophet will be sent in the direction of these lands.' And he pointed towards Mecca and Yemen. They asked, 'And when will we see him.' The Jewish man looked at me – as I was one of the youngest people among them – and said, 'When this boy exhausts his years (i.e. reaches old age), he will be around when the prophet is sent.' By God the days and nights did not depart for me until God sent his messenger, who was alive in our midst. We believed in him but that very same Jewish man disbelieved in him, out of jealousy and as a form of transgression…"

 

Muhammad's own grandfather Abd Al-Muttalib believed he would be a prophet and he was not the only one. His ancestor Kab ibn Luayy said, "Suddenly Prophet Muhammad will appear; he will give tidings, and is truthful in his tidings."

 

The Jews at that time knew of his coming and even his own family knew he would someday be the prophet that every one said was coming. The Christians knew of his coming as well. The following is the story of Khadija's, the prophets wife, cousin whose name was Waraqa ibn Nawfal and who happened to be a Christian scholar. When Khadija had told him about the first revelation, he said, "Muhammad is a truthful man. What he saw is what occurs at the beginning of prophethood. The being who came to him is Gabriel, who also came to Moses and Jesus. Muhammad will be a prophet. If I live long enough to witness his declaration of prophethood, I will believe in him and support him." {Bukhari}

 

The Following is the story of Muhammad's meeting with a monk named Bahira; Abu Talib took hi nephew on a trading caravan to Syria when he was 10 or 12 years old. They stopped near Damascus and left him to watch the caravan. From the monastery, the Christian monk Bahira was observing the caravan. He was expecting the arrival of the last prophet, and so always studied people. He noticed that a cloud followed the caravan, stopping and starting when it did so, so as to shade on of its members. He thought, "This is a special characteristic of prophets. The expected prophet must be in that caravan." When it stopped near his monastery, Bahira invited its members over for a meal. Noticing the cloud still hovering over the caravan, he asked Abu Talib is someone remained behind. Abu Talib answered that they had left a young boy to watch over things. The monk asked them to fetch him. When Muhammad cam, Bahira took Abu Talib to one side and asked him about his relationship to this boy. "He is my son." Abu Talib answered, but Bahira disputed this, saying: "He can't be your son. According to our books, his father must have died before his birth." Then he added, "Let me give you this advice, take this boy back immediately. The Jews are envious. If they recognize him, they will harm him." Abu Talib made an excuse to the other caravan members and returned to Mecca with his Nephew. On a second trade journey the prophet meet Bahira once more and he said, "You will be a prophet, the last prophet. I wish God would allow me to live to see you raised up as a prophet. I would follow you, carry your shoes and protect you against your enemies!" {Ibn Hisham}

 

Salmaan Al-Faarisee originally a fire worshiper set off from his homeland Persia to seek the truth. He traveled to many places and a monk once said to him, "Verily, the time of a prophet, who will be sent with the religion of Abraham draws near. He will appear in the land of the Arabs, and he will migrate to a land that is situated between Harratain (land that is replete with volcanic rocks). Between them are date-palm trees. He will have with him signs that are not hidden: He eats from what is given to him as a gift, but he doesn't eat what is given as charity; and the stamp of prophethood is located between his shoulders. If you are able to go to those lands, then do so."{As-Seerah An-Nabawiyyah by Ibn Katheer}

 

Salmaan eventually made it to Medina but along the way he was mistakenly captured and turned into a slave. Shortly after his arrival the prophet migrated to Medina. Putting the monks words to the test, he went to the prophet, gave him food telling him he was giving it in charity. The prophet gave it to his companions but did not partake of it himself. He later gave more food this time saying it was a gift and so the prophet gave some to his companions and partook of some himself. And yet on another occasion he happened to see with his own eyes the stamp of prophethood between the prophet's shoulders and then Salmaan immediately embraced Islam. {Refer to As-Seerah An-Nabawiyyah As-Saheehah by Al-Umaree}

 

Another who was waiting for the appearance of the prophet was Umar Ibn Khattab's uncle, Zayd ibn Amr According to Amr ibn Rabia, Zayd gave a description of the expected prophet, "I am expecting a prophet that is about to come. He will appear among Ishmael's descendents and Abd Al-Muttalib's grandsons. He is of middle height, neither too tall nor too short. His hair is neither curly nor strait. His name is Ahmed. His birth place is Mecca. His people will force him to leave Mecca, and he will emigrate to Yathrib, where his religion will spread. I have traveled from place to place searching for Abraham's religion. However, all the Jewish and Christian scholars I spoke to advised me to wait for him. He is the last prophet; no prophet will come after him. I may not live long enough to see him, but I have believed in him." {Ibn Katheer, Al-Bidaya}

 

The awaited prophet as described in the Old and New Testaments:

 

"The Lord said to me (Moses): "What they say is good. I will raise up for them a prophet like you among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I will myself call him to account." {Deuteronomy 18: 17-19} This is not describing Jesus as some Christians claim as Moses is not similar to Jesus and the verse clearly states that the coming prophet will be like Moses.

 

"He will rule from sea to sea and from river to the ends of the earth. The desert tribes will bow before him, and his enemies will lick the dust. The kings of Tarsish and of distant shores will bring tribute to him; the kings of Sheba and Seba will present gifts to him. All Kings will bow down to him and all nations will serve him, for he will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help. He will take pity on the needy, and save needy from death. He will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in his sight. Long may he live! May gold from Sheba be given to him. May people ever pray for him and bless him all day long. Let corn abound throughout the land; on top of the hills may it sway. May his name endure for ever; may it continue as long as the sun. All nations will be blessed through him, and they will call him blessed." {Psalms 72:8-17}

 

"But I tell you the truth; it is for you good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Paraklit (the Greek word meaning, the distinguisher between truth and falsehood, one who is much praised, counselor, helper or comforter the translation depends on which bible you read) will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment. {John 16: 7-8}

 

"When Paraklit comes – the spirit of truth – who comes from the father, he will testify about me. {John 15:26}

 

"I have much more to say to you, more than you can bear now. But when he, the spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking what is mine and making it known to you. {John 16:12-14}

 

"I will not speak to with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming. And I posses nothing of him." {John 14:30}

 

Ibn Taymiyyah (8th century Egyptian scholar) said, "In a copy of the Psalms (Zaboor) I read a clear mention of the prophethood of Muhammad and he was even mentioned by name. I saw another copy of the Psalms (Zaboor) in which no such mention is made (which points to corruption)." {Al-Jawaab As-Saheeh}

 

Compiled by: Amena Jacobs

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