What are the evidences of our prophet´s (PBUH) prophethood?

What are the evidences of our prophet´s (PBUH) prophethood?

Dear Brother / Sister,

a- News About His Coming In the Previous Divine Books

In the previous divine books, there are expressions that give us some information about our Prophet’s (pbuh) coming as good news and that he will be sent to humankind as a prophet. Even if they were exposed to many changes, there are many signs about him in the Old Testament and New Testament copies that are present today.     

We will present only four of them from the Old Testament:

“…Moses says: “God will create a prophet like me among your brothers; you are going to listen to whatever he says. And all the prophets, Ishmael (Samuel) and the others coming in a row have always declared these days that are mentioned.”

“…And your Lord… did not create a prophet like Moses in Israel.”

“I will create a prophet like you for them among their brothers and I will put my words in his mouth and I will command him; he will tell everything to them.”

“The Lord came from Sinai and appeared to them from Sair; He shone upon Paran Mountains and ten thousands holy people came out of it. For them there was a fire decree on the right.”

We can conclude the following from the extracts taken from the Old Testament (Torah):

Moses’ address as “your brothers” to Israelites that come from the blood of Ibrahim’s son, Isaac is a symbol of Isaac’s brother Ishmael’s blood, namely to Ishmaelites. A prophet who will come from Ishmaelites can only be our Prophet; because only our Prophet (pbuh) has come from Ishmael’s blood. Here, it comes to mind that Jesus and Joshua as being prophets come after, but in fact, both of them come from Israelites not Ishmaelites. In fact, Moses has obviously told in the second verse that there will not be a prophet like him from Israelites.

Moses means our Prophet by saying “like me” because it was our Prophet who was like Moses; neither Jesus nor Joshua in many matters such as jihad, decrees that he brought, punishments he imposed, being someone who is highly obeyed by majority and so on.

The expression “I will put my words in his mouth” is our Prophet’s ability to read the Quran by heart even if he is illiterate. Allah, the Exalted, sent His revelation to His prophet and he orally told humankind about it. In this matter, He is in a position of intercessor. This verse of the Quran points to it: “Verily this is a Revelation from the Lord of the Worlds: With it came down the Spirit of Faith and Truth― To thy heart and mind, that thou mayest admonish. In the perspicuous Arabic tongue. Without doubt it is (announced) in the revealed Books of former peoples. Is it not a Sign to them that the learned of the Children of Israel knew it (as true)? (ash-Shuara, 26/192-197.)                

The expression “coming from Sina” symbolizes the divine decrees given on Mount Sinai. The expression “appearing from Sair” symbolizes the Bible given to Jesus. And the expression “shining on Paran mountains” represents our Prophet’s leaving from Mecca. Paran –with its spelling in Arabic, Faran- is one of the old names of Mecca and it is told in the genesis part of the Bible that Ishmael lives in Paran desert. In this verse, through the expression ‘holy’, is the character of our Prophet, who is away from every kind of faults and the people in his family and his companions. Similarly, the expression “fire decree on the right” indicates Jihad in Islam.

It is also possible to see some signs in some texts of the present day Bible:

“The corner stone became the head of corner…it is marvelous in our eyes… God’s property will be taken away from you and it will be given to a nation that will bring up His fruits and anyone who falls onto that stone will break into pieces; and that stone will cause anyone that it falls onto break into pieces and turn to powder.”

“Lord will you give you another prophet; and let him be with you till the end.”

“He will teach you everything and will bring into your mind whatever I have told you before.”

“…If I don’t go, the prophet will not come… and when He comes, He will bind all the world for sin, improvement and decrees.”

The “corner stone” in first verse cannot be Jesus; because there occurred no events like breaking into pieces and turning into pieces like powder during the period of Jesus and what he brought with him. However, it happened when our Prophet came. Besides, it was not Jesus who ruled but our Prophet. As a matter of fact, it was Jesus himself who told us that He did not come to rule. On the other hand, in hadiths, our Prophet himself tells us that he is the corner stone of prophethood construction, that is, the propethood was brought into perfection and completed with our Prophet.   

In the verses that followed, the origin of the word appearing as Prophet in Greek is “Piriklitos” and “Ahmad” in Arabic. Besides, in the Quran, it is mentioned that our Prophet’s name is “Ahmad” in the Bible. In fact, we do not have many Bibles today that tell us about our Prophet’s coming and his characteristics.

b- His Excellent and Unique Ethics

It is a fact confirmed by all resources that deal with history that our Prophet (pbuh) helped everybody, supported people who were in need, lived a plain life, never lied, forgave people who behaved adversely towards him, was a reliable person in all matters  and was a perfect man having “Excellent and Great Ethics” every period of his life before and after his prophethood. The Quran mentions our Prophet’s unique ethics as follows:

“And thou (standest) on an exalted standard of character.” (al-Qalam, 68/4.)       

It can only be possible for a prophet who undergoes direct divine upbringing to live all moral values, and to give us examples of these values as a human against all kinds of detention, condition and situation in every phase of life.

He has combined all kind of excellent characteristics to form the greatest personality. He was absolutely brave and doughty but he was also excessively humble, meek and mild. Furthermore, the most importantly, his bravery and doughtiness never went ahead to break hearts and his humility and forgiving characteristic never fell down to an equal level of contempt and cowardice. Together with his solemnity and earnestness, our Prophet was a smiling and restful person. In addition, as well as his strong and austere characteristics, he was a person who loved everybody and showed mercy to them. In spite of being in a spiritual position that his lovers directed toward him with their deepest feelings, he was humble enough to talk to a child. Yet, he was extremely generous but he was also very economical; he would not to go beyond a point where extravagance started. The fact that he had all these characteristics, ethical values and many more like these and that he served as an example in accordance with them can only be explained by being a special human being and a person of duty (prophethood).

Our Prophet (pbuh), who preferred to live a plain life during his life, always refused the worldly promises offered to him again and again such as ranks and fortune in the period of Makkah. He also had an important role for his family and children to keep away from such things which he always kept himself away from. His sensitivity will be understood better about these matters if we look at his family where receiving charities and alms are forbidden and if we look at his daughter Fatimah for whom there was even no permission to wear a necklace. The fact that he did not change after all kinds of achievements, victories and financial possibilities acquired in the period of Madinah shows us the honesty degree of his great and unique ethics. The fact that he did not get confused and that he did not feel conceited and that he finished his duty as he started even after the greatest victories and conquests is a brilliant evidence of his prophethood.

In short, if there had been a lie or a sign of insincerity in his words and behaviors, he would certainly have been unable to hide it in his prophethood period or before the prophethood, and as a result, his opponents seeking for an opportunity would have reached their targets by benefiting from this situation without needing to grab their swords. 

Then, we can easily say that even if he had not shown any miracles, He, himself is a great evidence and witness for his honesty and prophethood.    
               
c- Revolutions He realized in the history of Humanity

It is impossible to show anybody else who comprehended and raised human beings that are complex creatures and who turned them into exemplary people in history who became pathfinders and teachers for civilized nations.
 
He is a rightful Prophet sent by God with true messages. The immaculate life that he led and the unique revolution that he realized are sound evidences that he speaks in the name of Allah.

We find it useful to make some remarks about the issue.

How can one suspect of him being a true Prophet? He embraced life at every point and built up a flawless universal system which he commenced with a man, a child, a slave and a woman integrating it into life in a period of twenty-three years, which is actually a really short time. How can one explain the fact that he speaks as an expert at every field gives straight answers and says immortal words despite the fact that he had no pedagogic education, did not graduate from any military school, never got in contact with a telescope or microscope in his life and he was illiterate?
Our Prophet extracted the most valuable guides of humanity out of a society that consisted of stubborn, oppressing and conceited people of the desert where the weak and the poor were kept down and where people were valued by their lineage and tribes. In this very society, interest, black-marketeering and power ruled. How can this situation be explained by anything except for the fact that he is a Prophet.

It is obvious that it is very hard to alter beliefs and habits, especially obsessions rooted in the brain and heart; it is even harder to make people who are over a certain age quit faulty and superstitious beliefs. In our modern world, making someone give up smoking is considered a great success let alone making people quit practices like taking alcohol, prostitution, bribing, defrauding and theft. Although scientist keep telling harms of alcohol, smoking and gambling, people still cannot be persuaded to quit them.

Let us have a look at the century which was completely changed by our Prophet. We witness that although he was not a ruler, which means he did not conduct his mission by force and as a matter of fact he did not have the possibility to do it by forcing people, he removed not one or ten but hundreds of habits and customs in a very short time with very little resources from various tribes and communities that consisted of stubborn, conservative and tradition-addicted people with deeply rooted customs. Moreover, not only did he remove those habits and customs but also he replaced them with features that make a man a real human. Is it not the duty of every single person that knows all of the facts mentioned above to say ’You are the Messenger of Allah’?

While doing all of  these, he did not benefit from intimidating or forcing; instead, he followed a way to conquer their hearts and minds; he persuaded them kindly that actually led them to love this religion. If he had used intimidation and brutal force, it would not have been possible for the religion he brought to reach today. He not only gained the love of his friends with his behavior which consists of tolerance, tenderness and being merciful but he also earned the love of his enemies who fought against him with their swords such as Khalid bin Walid, Wahshi, Abu Sufyan, Hind, Ikrimah and  Safwan.

He is the model for a quarter of the population of the world with the Quran he conveyed to people and with its living interpretation, his Sunnah. Besides, if it is not possible, and it is not possible, to show a second person whose name is heard all over the world five times a day, then, should not one think that this very person can only be a Prophet getting his power from Allah?

d- The news he gave about the past and the future

Only Allah can now ghaib (the unknown, the unseen). The Quran attracts attention to this truth in its many verses. In this respect, our Prophet would not have known about the future events as he was a human being but he knew about the future to the extent that Allah told him. The issue is expressed in a verse as follows;

“He (alone) knows the Unseen, nor does He make any one acquainted with His Mysteries― Except a messenger whom He has chosen”. (Jinn, 72/26-27.)

He did not say anything by himself; what He said was only what God informed him. So, we will assess the news of our Prophet about ghaib in two categories as the future and the past.

a- None of the news he gave using the Quran both about a single person and past nations like Ad, Thamud and Iram has been denied by the archeological and scientific researches carried out for fourteen centuries; on the contrary, they have been confirmed as new discoveries have been made every day. In addition, he not only told us these events as stories of the past but also as exemplary scenes that need to be taken lessons from. How can it be explained that our prophet (pbuh), who was illiterate, assuredly criticized the books of divine origin like the Torah and the Gospel in the presence of the scholars living at that time and the future scholars and confirmed the correct parts of them and corrected the mistakes in them? Only by the fact that he was a prophet.

b- We can mention some of his news about the future here except for those in the Quran: Just before the Battle of Badr, the Prophet showed people the exact death locations of the idolaters such as Abu Jahl, Utba, and Shayba and they died in the exact places that the Prophet showed. He told people that it would be her daughter, Fatima, who would die first after his death in his family and she died six month after the death of the Prophet. When Hassan was a small boy he pointed to him and said, ”This is my son, Hasan; He is a Sayyid and Allah will restore peace between two large groups through him and also it happened exactly. He said that Ammar Bin Yasir was going to be killed during a mischief.  He also said that Ummu Haram who was a relative of him would attend to an expedition and it happened during Cyprus expedition…

There is news of distant future from our Prophet. Since such news require comments and deep thought, this surpasses the capacity of this work.

As a result, There is no way but kneel down in front of this illiterate person once again and say that” You are the Messenger of Allah” as he miraculously narrated it with a perfect style and precision the events that happened centuries ago before his time and also events that will take place in the future.

Miracles That He Showed

Miracle can be defined as a situation or event shown by Allah through His Prophets to support the accuracy of inspiration, strengthen the faith of believers and to break the pertinacity of deniers. We can classify the miracles of our Prophet within two separate groups. The Quran itself and the miracles about those who are created:
 
a. The Eternal Miracle: The Quran

There is no suspicion that his greatest miracle is the Quran. The Quran, with its ultra modern reality, stands in front of us as evidence that supports the prophethood of Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh).

The Quran came out in the hands of an illiterate person and the truths it includes do not conflict with each other. As it includes news from the future and the past and refers to some issues about creation, which are some of the miraculous features of the Quran, the things in the Quran are clear evidences of the fact that the Quran is the word of Allah and Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) is a prophet.

Every Prophet showed miracles associated with things which were popular at their time. For instance, during the time of Moses, magic was popular and he came up with a staff that wiped out all other magical things. Around the time of Jesus Christ, medical appliances and medicine were popular. Therefore,he was granted the miracle of healing incurable illnesses and reviving dead people. In the time of our Prophet poetry and being articulate in speech were highly important so he came up with the miraculous Quran as rhetoric would be the most effective and powerful instrument of his time and future. Therefore, our Prophet came with the miracle of the Quran, which silenced all poets, literary men and speech-makers.

b. Other miracles and the issues that should be emphasized about those miracles

Naturally, the miracles associated with our Prophet are not only limited to our Holy Book, the Quran. As he was sent as mercy to all worlds, he showed various miracles about all kinds of creatures and beings. When a sovereign sends his messenger to a country where different nations and communities reside, everyone welcomes this messenger in the name of their nation, tribe or community. In the same way, Our Prophet came to the humanity as a representative and an official. In addition, he was sent to other beings and creatures as a sign of mercy and forgiveness of Allah. That is, all beings gained their true meaning of existence when our Prophet taught humanity that there is only one God. So, all of the beings from angels to jinn, from stars to trees and stones, from animals to plants presented their thanks to him and became tools for the miracles that came out of his hand. Thus, everything became witnesses for the truthfulness of this messenger and declared it to the universe.

The point we are trying to emphasize may be regarded to include exaggerated expressions. At this point, it will be sufficient for us to remind this: it must not be forgotten that the message our Prophet brought, the mercy and forgiveness sent through him are associated with all other universes or dimensions. Based on this, it is reasonable that every dimension of the universe become a scene for those miracles that confirm his prophethood.

One cannot deny a miracle in terms of its probability. Although miracles are shown by prophets, it is Allah who creates them. Nothing is hard or easy for Him. The Quran says “It is Allah who does whatever He wishes to do”. God does things based on laws and reasons as it is a necessity of His Divine Justice. However, He does not have to do things based on reasons. Actually, it is out of question for Allah. So, He shows miracles both to show that He does not have to act based on the laws and  to prevent minds from being caught up by webs of reasons and laws. Thus, He reminds us that His power  is beyond cause and effect and that it is infinite.

All the miracles did not occur in public where everyone could clearly see them. If it had happened this way, there would be no wisdom for the existence of the human mind. In such a situation, human beings would not have their free will and they would be forced to believe, which would not be compatible with the test and trial that they underwent.

Most of the miracles were reported by a community that would not come together to tell lies. Some of the miracles were not reported by a group like the one mentioned above but they are as reliable as those since the other witnesses/sahabas (companions of the Prophet) did not object to them.

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