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The Predicted One in the Book of
Isaiah
The 42nd chapter of the book of Isaiah is indeed
fascinating. It contains a complete profile of Prophet Muhammad. We'll
examine each and every verse of it one by one.
Examining the verses
Verse 1: Here is my servant,
whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit
upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations.
Note: God is always delighted with his true
righteous servants. But this special servant has to be a light to the
nations, not just Israel. This servant is not an ordinary servant,
however, this servant is the Chosen One and a Messenger.
Verse 2: He will not cry or
lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street;
Note 2: This verse means that the servant will be
very polite. Compare with the Qur'an: Be modest in
thy bearing and subdue thy voice. Lo! The harshest of all voices is the
voice of the ass. (Surah 31: 19)
Verse 3: A bruised reed he
will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench; he will
faithfully bring forth justice.
Note 3: The most important words: "he will
faithfully bring forth justice." It is a fact to which all the
biographies of Prophet Muhammad (saws) testify that he never told a lie.
He always took the side of justice. In his prophet hood, he managed to
bring justice to the pagan Arabs. Islam is sometimes called Deen e
Fitrat in Pakistan, meaning "the religion of nature."
Verse 4: He will not grow
faint or be crushed until he has established justice in the earth; and the
coastlands wait for his teaching.
Note 4: The Prophet was attacked, plots were made
to kill him, people threw trash on him, cursed him, called him a poet,
called him a philosopher, and they even fought war with him and his
faithful companions. None of the attempts of the pagans succeeded, and the
Prophet was never scared, he never grew faint (to use the words of
Isaiah), and he finally established justice in all Arabia. And
eventually his beautiful preaching spread throughout Asia and then the
world.
Verse 5: Thus says God, the LORD,
who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth
and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people upon it and spirit
to those who walk in it:
Note 5: No need for notes here.
Verse 6:
I am the LORD, I have called you in righteousness, I have
taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the
people, a light to the nations, Note 6: In
the above verse, God is speaking. The Messenger is not just an ordinary
Messenger, but he as a Covenant to all the nations, and a light for them.
In other words, a Last Messenger of the Covenant and a Light for the
Nations. These titles specially belong to Prophet Muhammad. Verse
7: to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out
the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness. Note
7: Compare with the Qur'an: A book (the Qur'an)
which we have revealed unto you (Muhammad), in order that you may lead
mankind out of the depths of darkness unto light by the leave of their
Lord to the way of Him, the exalted in power, worthy of all praise.
(Surah 14: 1) Verse 8: I
am the LORD, that is my name; my glory I give to no other,
nor my praise to idols. Note 8: The above
verse contains the message preached by Prophet Muhammad. Then,
in the verses after verse 8, we are told other characteristics of the special
Messenger. But one thing we must never forget: Verse
11: Let the desert and its towns lift up their voice, the villages
that Kedar inhabits; let the inhabitants of Sela sing for joy, let them
shout from the tops of the mountains. Note 11: The
verse explicitly screams, without doubt, that the Promised Servant is
especially linked with the villages of Kedar, in the desert. Prophet
Muhammad was an Arab, from the tribe of Kedar. Another interesting thing
to note, the tribe of Kedar is Quraysh (from which Prophet Muhammad came),
and Arabia means "desert." In other simple words: Let
Arabia and its towns lift up their voice, the villages that Quraysh
inhabits; In verse 11, we are even informed of the
location from where the special servant was to come, and even his tribe. Back
to Top. Christian
Objections Christians argue that the Servant was Jesus:
"And many followed him (Jesus), and he healed
them all, and ordered them not to make him known. This was to fulfill what
was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: `Behold, my servant whom I have chosen,
my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon
him'" Matthew 12:15-18. Firstly,
in the above verse Mathew disagrees with the Christian concept of Trinity.
Christians don't hold Jesus to be God's servant, or do they? They don't.
Here, it is also proven that earlier tradition recognized Jesus as God's
servant and not a piece of Trinity. In Islam, God is not a cake which can
be divided into three. God is one, and he does not have three forms as
Christians believe. He has one and only form only, and he is the one and
only Divinity. Mathew agrees
with Islam that Jesus and all other Prophets were servants of God. Mathew's
quote from Isaiah cannot be accepted for
the following reasons:
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The Messenger is especially linked to the Arabs. No
Prophet in Israel had to be linked with the Arabs.
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The Messenger had to be given to all nations, and not
just Israel. It is a fact that Islam and Christianity testify to that
Jesus was a messenger to the children of Israel only. I am sure that
the Qur'an confirms that Jesus was only sent to Israel (Surah 61: 6),
and so to does the Bible: “I am not sent but
unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Matthew 15:24)
The other objection is that this special Servant was
also linked with the people of Sela, not just Kedar. The fact is that this
servant is a light to all nations, not only Kedar, even if he connected
with Kedar. But it is clear that he is that he is linked with Kedar than
all others: Let the desert (Arabia
also means "desert") and its towns lift up their voice,
the villages
that Kedar inhabits; let the inhabitants of Sela sing for joy, let them
shout from the tops of the mountains. (Isaiah 42: 11) We
see a special reference to Kedar, let the desert and its town shout - the
villages that Kedar inhabits. Back to
Top. My
Objections Strange huh? This time I am including my
objections too? My objections are for the Christians and
Jews. Just as the Qur'an claims, they misinterpret their Scriptures and
read them out of context. I think that this was something that lead them
to interpret Isaiah 42 in Jesus, even though the Servant's description
does
not fit him. The Jews, on the other hand, are hopeless
cases. I know 100% that in their hearts, they are denying their own
interpretations about Isaiah 42, I know that they know that this special
Servant is an Arab an not Israel... they are just have to make blind
belief on what they have been taught. And yes, the
following don't support Christians:
He will not dim lightly or be bruised till he has
established justice in the earth. (42:4)
The Christ was bruised and could not establish justice on earth while
he was on earth, but Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh) did establish justice in
Arabia in his life time.
nor My praise to graven images. (42:8)
It indicates that the future Messenger (Pbuh) will specifically destroy
idolatry. Jesus Christ did not preach to the pagan Romans but the sons of
Israel, the Jews, who were aware of the Unity of God.
Back to Top.
Interesting reports Does
Islam claim that Isaiah 42 was fulfilled in Prophet Muhammad? There is an
Islamic report (hadith) from two independent narrators about the
description of Prophet Muhammad in the "Law." The description
from Jewish Scriptures contained in them is totally similar to Isaiah 42.
But the problem is still there, the hadith mentions the Torah and not some
other Jewish Scripture (that is Isaiah). This could have occurred because
the narrator must have been not a Jew who later converted to Islam. Now
the hadith: Narrated Ata bin Yasir:
I met 'Abdullah bin 'Amr bin Al-'Aas and asked him, "Tell me about the description of Allah's Messenger which is mentioned in the Torah."
He replied, "Yes. By Allah, he is described in the Torah with some of the qualities attributed to him in the Quran as follows:
"O Prophet! We have sent you as a witness (for Allah's true religion). And a giver of glad tidings (to the faithful believers). And a
Warner (to the disbelievers), and a guardian of the illiterates. You are My slave and My messenger I have named you Al-Mutawakkil (who depends on Allah). You are neither discourteous, harsh nor a noise-maker in the markets, and you do not do evil to those who do evil to you, but you deal with them with forgiveness and kindness. Allah will not let him die [The Prophet (pbuh)] till he makes straight the crooked people by making them say: No god but Allah, by which 'blind eyes, deaf ears and closed hearts' will be opened."
(Sahih Al-Bukhari, Vol 3, Hadith No. 335) The second
hadith's turn now. This hadith is a report of the answer of a former
Jewish Rabbi who converted to Islam during the era of the companions.
However, this two mentions that it is from the "Torah" whereas
it is found in Isaiah. The following has been taken from a magazine called
"Islam Voice":
Ka’ab was one of the Rabbis who accepted Islam
during the era of the companions. To question as which of the verses of
Jewish scriptures refer to Prophet Muhammad, he related a relevant part in
Arabic. Imam Bukahri has recorded his reply in Bukhari Kitab-ut-Tafsir
(Surah Fateha) His narration is very similar to ‘Isaiah 42:1-8’ from
the Bible. Before reproducing the two i.e. Ka’ab’s narration and the
present day verses of the Isaiah, it may be mentioned that Ka’ab’s
narration is being translated from his Arabic version of the 7th century
in English.
Such variation as shall be observed in the
comparison below, is not extraordinary and is no different from the
incongruency between the readings of various Bible versions of even the
same age. Another point to remember is that Ka’ab was not reading from
an open book. He related it in his own words from memory which accounts
for the difference in the order of the verses. Now see the following
comparison.
1. Ka’ab’s narration: In Torah, He
said, O Prophet! We have sent you as witness and bearer of glad tiding,
Isaiah’s reading : Whom I uphold, My
chosen, in whom My soul delights, he will bring froth justice to the
nations.
2. Ka’ab : And the shelter of unlettered
(who are unaware of the Divine law). (the word
"unlettered" here may have been used in the Jewish way, which
means "Gentile," that is non-Jewish)
Isaiah : And the coast-lands wait for his law. (The
coast-lands wait for his law, the coast-lands include the Gentiles)
3. Ka’ab : You are my slave and My
Prophet (Pbuh).
Isaiah : Behold my servant I have pout My spirit upon him.
4. Ka’ab : I have named you, ‘one who
trusts in God’.
Isaiah : I have called you in righteousness. I have taken you by
the hand and kept you.
5. Ka’ab : Neither pitiless nor harsh,
he will not eliminate evil through evil but will forgive and forgoe.
Isaiah : A bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick
he will not quench, he will faithfully bring forth justice.
6. Ka’ab : Nor he will make noise in the
streets.
Isaiah: He will not cry or lift up his voice, or make it heard in
the street.
7. Ka’ab : And Allah will not give him
death until through him, He gets the crooked people straightened.
Isaiah : He will not burn dimly or be discouraged till he has
established justice in the earth.
8. Ka’ab : Till the people proclaim
there is none worship able but one God.
Isaiah : I am The Lord that is My name, My glory I give to no
other, nor My praise to graven images. (The Message preached by Prophet
Muhammad)
9. Ka’ab: Through him, He will open the
blind eyes, deaf ears and veiled hearts.
Isaiah: I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to
the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners
from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.
It is very clear that Islam claims the prophecy of Isaiah 42 was
fulfilled in Prophet Muhammad.
The main question is that the reports mention the words of Isaiah to be
found in the Law, whereas they are found in Isaiah. At this point, I would
like to remind the readers that Islamic reports have been transmitted by a
number of people, and small changes occur without doubt. For example, both
the reports quoted here mention the Torah, whereas their is difference in
between the words which mention Prophet Muhammad. Therefore, we safely
conclude that firstly, Allah knows best, and then secondly small changes
occur very fast. However, there are 99.99 % common things in both the
hadith:
Report 1(a): O Prophet! We have sent you as a witness
(for Allah's true religion). And a giver of glad tidings (to the faithful
believers).
Report 2(a): O Prophet! We have sent you
as witness and bearer of glad tiding,
Report 1 (b): And a
Warner, and a guardian of the illiterates.
Report 2 (b):
And the shelter of unlettered.
Report 1 (c): You are My slave and My messenger I have named you Al-Mutawakkil
(who depends on Allah)
Report 2 (c): You are my slave and My
Prophet I have named you, ‘one who trusts in God’. (Al-Mutawakkil
in other words.)
Report 1 (d): You are neither discourteous, harsh nor a noise-maker in the markets, and you do not do evil to those who do evil to you, but you deal with them with forgiveness and kindness.
Report 2 (d): Neither
pitiless nor harsh, he will not eliminate evil through evil but will
forgive and forgoe. Nor he will make noise in the streets.
Report 1 (e): Allah will not let him die
till he makes straight the crooked people by making them say: No god but Allah, by which 'blind eyes, deaf ears and closed hearts' will be opened."
Report 2 (e): And
Allah will not give him death until through him, He gets the crooked
people straightened till the people proclaim there is none worship able
but one God. Through him, He will open the blind eyes, deaf ears and
veiled hearts.
Now, its your turn to compare them with Isaiah. Compare both of these
reports with the LORD'S words in Isaiah 41: 1-8:
Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in
whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth
justice to the nations. He will not cry or lift up his voice, or make it
heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning
wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. He will
not grow faint or be crushed until he has established justice in the
earth; and the coastlands wait for his teaching. .... [one verse
deleted about the Lord of the "heaven" so that no interference
is caused, you can see that in any other Bible] ...
I am the LORD, I have called you in righteousness, I have
taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the
people, a light to the nations, to open the eyes that
are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison
those who sit in darkness. I am the LORD, that is my name;
my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to idols.
Now, we conclude from Islamic reports that Isaiah 42 is a prophecy of
Muhammad.
Back to Top.
Conclusion
Isaiah 42 is a prophecy of Prophet Muhammad.
Back to Top.
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