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Muhammad (peace be upon him) predicted in Deuteronomy 33: 2 Firstly of all, here are the few first verses of Deuteronomy 33, from the RSV Bible: This is the blessing with which Moses, the man of God, blessed the Israelites before his death. He said: The Lord came from Sinai, and dawned from Seir upon us; he shone forth from Mount Paran. With him were myriads of holy ones; at his right, a host of his own. Later, the chapter informs us of the blessings that Moses (peace be upon him) left for the Israelites. Before proceeding, let me all tell you that Deuteronomy is a Jewish Scripture. Therefore, it is important to look at short Jewish commentaries. That's why I referred to a good Jewish Bible translation, from the "Navigating the Jewish Bible" web site. This site is displayed in many "links pages" of Jewish web sites. The Jews have translated Deuteronomy 33: 2 as follows: Instead of the few last words of the RSV translation, it states that the Lord had a "Law" in his right hand. The difference between the Jewish and Christian translation is obvious. They both, when compared, differ in meaning a little bit too. That you can notice. In the RSV, we read that "With him were myriads of holy ones, at his right, a host of his own." But on the Jewish web site's commentary, we find that this passage is referring to a Law in the Lord's hand with whom were myriads (the Holy Ones), and in more clear words a Law for the Holy Ones. Before continuing to prove that Prophet Muhammad is mentioned in Deuteronomy 33: 2, we must answer the objections by Christian Missionaries. They say that Deuteronomy 33: 2 is actually talking about the Lord and not a human, and the second objection is that Deuteronomy 33: 2 is describing some thing that has happened. Firstly, a few objections should be answered. Christian Missionaries claim, as they see it written, that Deuteronomy 33: 2 is actually referring to God himself, and not to some one else. This argument is very illogical and also is Shirk (polytheism) from a Muslim point of view. Also, the Bible doesn't support this theory. No one can see God: [John 1:18] No man hath seen God at
any time. Therefore, the word "Lord" may be a reference to a human being because the Lord, as we all know, did convey his messages through humans. My above statement may not be understood by some people. They will call it "shifting the subject." My meaning can be expressed in a parable. Who brought Moses out of Egypt? The Lord, of course. Who was with the Israelites when they were going out of Egypt? Therefore, expressions like "the Lord came out of Egypt, and with the Lord were thousands of people" may be references to human beings. To continue my argument, I shall refer to the most simple and the first thing that should have had been brought in this argument. In Deuteronomy 33: 2, the Lord is being compared with the sun and therefore it cannot be a reference to the Lord's physical form but his guidance. Further more, it is argued that Deuteronomy is talking about something that has already happened. Firstly, this a common way a predictions. Even the Qur'an uses a "past participle" in 7: 157 which mentions the prediction contained in the Torah about the Gospel and the Gentile Prophet (Muhammad peace be upon him). Further more, this cannot be the past because Moses had nothing to do with Seir. Seir is according to my partner, MENJ: It is usually associated with the chain of mountains West and South of the Dead Sea extending through Jerusalem, and Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus (pbuh). It was later extended to include the mountains on the East side as well (Dictionary of the Bible, John L. McKenzie, S.J., p. 783). However, Seir is also identified with the Northern border of the tribal territory of Judah and usually with Saris near Kesla (Chesalon), barely nine miles West of these two cities (The Eerdmans Bible Dictionary, by Allen C. Myers, pp. 921-922, and The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, V4, p. 262) Prophet Moses (pbuh) never in his lifetime entered Palestine, and thus, this could not be a reference to him. I think that the "past sentence" discussion ends. Expressions containing words such as "the right hand," as used in Deuteronomy 33: 2 mean: "Biblical phrases referring to
the right hand reflect a widespread human cultural attitude, namely the
recognition that for most people the right hand is both stronger and more
adept than the left, and is the hand with which many tasks are
instinctively undertaken ... Eccl. 10:2 links 'a wise man's heart' with
his right hand, and 'a fool's heart' with his left. When the Son of Man
separates the sheep from the goats at the Last Judgment, it is to the
damned 'on the left hand' that he says, 'Depart from me, ye cursed, into
everlasting fire' (Matt. 25:41) ...The right hand is often mentioned as a
symbol of strength, both for human beings and anthropomophically for God
(e.g. Job 40:14; Isa. 48:13)" So in other words, a Law will be from the right hand of the Lord, of course through a Prophet. Now coming to the main body. In the prophecy, Sinai is a reference to Moses. That is, guidance was started from Sinai. And the of dawn guidance was in Seir, where Jesus was crowned with the honor of being a great Messenger of Allah. Then, guidance shown, from Mt. Paran. Paran is a reference to the place of the Arabs, and therefore also to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), an Arab. In simple words, this a diagram of guidance:
(by my partner, MENJ) However, sometimes it is still argued that Paran was to be below Sinai, as Bible maps show. Paran is also referred in the book of Deuteronomy, and the current day Torah also states that Moses and the Israelites passed through it. Even now a days, Makkah, the place of the Arabs, is sometimes referred to as "Paran", which is spoken as "Faran." My partner MENJ has a good explanation: Paran is a reference to the city of Makkah in the Arabian Peninsula. The wilderness of Paran is where Abraham's wife Hagar and his eldest son Ishmael settled (Genesis 21:21) in the Arabian desert, specifically, Makkah. Makkah is, of course, the capital of Islam in Arabia and the birthplace of Mohammed (pbuh). Mount Paran is the chain of mountains in that same region which the Arabs call the "Sarawat Mountains". Muhammad (pbuh) received his first revelation in the cave of "Hira'a" located in these mountains. Jesus never in his life traveled to Paran. Mohammed, however, was born there. He became the prophet of Islam there. And it was the capital of the Islamic religion in that day and this. No prophet of the Bible ever came from the Arabian city of Paran (Makkah). Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is the only prophet of God who has ever fulfilled this prophesy. And if Ishmael really did settle in a place 10, 000 miles away from Makkah, as Bible "maps" state, then how did Arabs originate in Makkah? And why still today, the word "Faran" is sometimes used in reference to Makkah? But the main question is still there. Why does the current day Torah state that Moses passed through Paran? This cannot be answered, even we know that Faran (Paran) is Makkah. If Moses had passed through Paran, then this would favor the Christian Missionaries in their "past tense" argument. But then again, Moses didn't enter Seir too and now it doesn't support the past tense argument. The case of Paran should be closed with the best answer that it refers to the place of the Arabs. We conclude that Deuteronomy 33: 2 states that the LORD's guidance began to rise like the sun with Moses on Sinai. Then the LORD's guidance dawned like the sun from Seir, through Prophet Jesus. And then, finally, the Lord's guidance shone like the brightness of the sun, from the settlement of the Arabs, through Prophet Muhammad. Peace be upon all the Prophets.
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