Muslims claim that Deuteronomy 18:15, 18 prophesies about Muhammad. “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me [Moses] from among your brothers…” (18:15). “I will raise up a prophet like you [Moses] from among their fellow Israelites. I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell the people everything I command him” (18:18).
Muslims say Muhammad was like Moses in several ways. He was a prophet, a lawgiver, and a military leader. He was also from a tribe related to Israel, through Ishmael. Could this be true? Let’s look at the verses in context.
Who does “You” and “Among these Brothers” Refer to?
Deuteronomy 1:1 says, “These are the words Moses spoke to all Israel.” The message was for Israel. It’s very clear that the prophet would be from Israel. If we look at other parts of the Taurat, Israel didn’t expect a prophet from Ishmael, but from Isaac (Taurat, Genesis 17:18-21; 21:10-12).
God’s Book also tells us, “There has never been another prophet in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face” (Taurat, Deuteronomy 34:10). Did God speak directly to Muhammad? No! The Angel Gabriel spoke to Muhammad.
Isa Al-Masih Fulfilled the Prophecy
Isa Al-Masih was an Israelite from the tribe of Judah. He also spoke to God directly. “… I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me” (Injil, John 8:28).
He also brought a message which was in harmony with Moses. He brought the Injil and the new covenant (Injil, John 1:17). This covenant was the fulfillment and completion of the Law and the old covenant known as the Taurat. Moses brought the Taurat. Yet, Muhammad brought messages which contradict the Taurat, such as mandatory prayers, Hajj, Ramadan, etc.
Moses and Isa Al-Masih Worked Miracles, but Not Muhammad!
Another similarity Isa had with Moses was demonstrating God’s divine power through miracles. Isa raised the dead, healed the sick, controlled the weather (Injil, John 11:17-44; Luke 7:2-10; Matthew 8:23-27). Moses demonstrated similar miracles while in Egypt and in the wilderness (Exodus 14:16-21 and Numbers 21:7-9). The Quran even records miracles done by Isa. It never records Muhammad doing miracles. Therefore, none of the above criteria can apply to Muhammad.
Isa Al-Masih, Not Muhammad, Brought the Good News of the Gospel
As God’s Spiri
t spoke through Isa’s apostle, Peter, in Acts 3:22, “Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people. Listen carefully to everything he tells you.’”
What does Isa tell us? He brought the good news that God saves sinners. We must believe that Isa died and was resurrected to redeem us from our sins. “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name [Isa Al-Masih] under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
[We invite you to visit us at https://www.isaandislam.com/way-of-salvation to learn more about God’s gift of Salvation. God loves you and waits to hear from you. Isa clearly said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (Injil, John 14:6). For a deeper understanding of Isa we suggest you subscribe to “Isa, Islam, and Al-Fatiha” at this link.]
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We encourage our readers to comment on the article above. Comments that don’t directly relate to the topic will be removed. Please start a dialogue with us by focusing on one of the following questions:
1. Why do you think God’s book prophesies the coming of Muhammad and not Isa Al-Masih?
2. What proof is there that the prophecy in Deuteronomy is about Isa?
3. What should you do with the good news Isa Al-Masih brought to the world?
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1) From among the Israelite’s “brethren” is a reference to their Ishmaelite cousins as Ishmael was the other son of Abraham who was explicitly promised to become a “great nation.”
2) A prophet like unto Moses. There were hardly any two prophets who were so much alike as Moses and Muhammad. Both were given a comprehensive law code of life, both encountered their enemies and were victors in miraculous ways, both were accepted as prophets/statesmen and both migrated following conspiracies to assassinate them.
Analogies between Moses and Jesus overlook not only the above similarities but other crucial ones as well (e.g. the natural birth, family life and death of Moses and Muhammad). Jesus was regarded by His followers as the Son of God and not exclusively a messenger of God, as Moses and Muhammad were.
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Dear Thomas,
Thank you for your comment. Of course you and I are going to come different conclusions when we read Deuteronomy 18 because we come to the passage with different belief systems. But I have a hard time understanding how Deuteronomy 18:18 can be referring to Muhammad.
The verse actually says the prophet will be from among “their countrymen like you.” Although the Ishmaelites were related to Israel through Abraham, they were not Israelite countrymen. So the prophet could not be Muhammad because he was not from Israel. Isa Al-Masih, on the other hand, was a direct descendant of David, the greatest king of Israel.
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Jesus was not like Moses and that is the reality. That is why Jesus denied being the one whom the Israelites were waiting for. And that is the reason the Jews did not accept him. Jesus was sent to the lost sheep of Israel, the 12 tribes, but not to the world as Christians claim.
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Dear Musa Mohamed,
Jesus’ coming on earth was supposed to be a privilege for the Israelites as His covenant people through God’s promise to Abraham: “And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers. He said to Abraham, ‘Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed.’ When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways” (Acts 3:25-26).
However, He was rejected by the Jews because He did not come to deliver the Jews from the Roman Empire or to set up a kingdom so the Israelites could be the rulers. He didn’t come for political reasons as expected by the Israelites. Instead, He came to reveal Himself to His chosen people, the Israelites, and to deliver them from sin’s bondage and to give eternal life to them. Instead of receiving Him, the Israelites rejected Him. They looked forward to glorious victories, not to His crucifixion.
It’s true that during Jesus’ ministry on earth He told His disciples to go only to the Israelites. However, after He was raised from the death, He instructed His disciples to go to the nations (Matthew 28:19, Mark 16:15, Luke 24:46-47, Acts 1:8). His death was for all mankind (1 Timothy 2:4-6) and when He returns it will be to take up His people with Him and judge all people (including the Israelites).
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If Christians claim the prophecy refers to Jesus, can they explain how the text refers to Jesus as a prophet? Clearly, God was sending a prophet, not stepping down from heaven. Also, the only similarity between Jesus and Moses is Israel. However, Muhammad is in so many ways like Moses.They both attained prophet hood at 40. They both brought complete laws, Jesus didn’t. They both ruled as kings, Jesus didn’t. They both attained victories of battles in miraculous ways.
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Muslim,
If you look closely at the Injil, you will see that Jesus is like Moses. Jesus fulfilled the law that Moses gave. He also gave a new law. Jesus told his followers: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another” (Injil, John 13:34).
Jesus is the king, but His kingdom is not of this world. When He was on trial, He told Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm” (Injil, John 18:36). Because of this, His victorious battle will not be until the end of the world when He returns and defeats the anti-christ.
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Christians do not claim – Isa does Himself:
Jesus said: “If you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me.” (John 5:46)
While the Injiil specifically quotes this Deuteronomy 18 prophecy and states that Isa fulfilled it, the Qur’an only vaguely alleges that Muhammad (pbuh) was mentioned somewhere in the previous scriptures (7:157) with no reference to Musa. Nowhere does the Holy Qur’ān explicitly say that Deuteronomy 18 refers to Muhammad (pbuh). However, the Holy Injiil does explicitly state that Deuteronomy 18 refers to Isa in several places.
Allah speaks directly to Musa and Isa only:
“Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Musa, whom the LORD knew face to face, who did all those miraculous signs and wonders” (Deuteronomy 34:10-11)
“When a prophet of the LORD is among you, I reveal myself to him in visions; I speak to him in dreams. But this is not true of my servant Musa… With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles…” ( Numbers 12:6-8)
“Thus the Lord used to speak to Musa face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.” (Exodus 33:11)
The Qur’ān agrees with this. In Surah Al-Nisa 4:163-164 the Qur’ān says that Muhammad and all the other prophets were simply inspired, but to Moses Allah spoke directly. Moses is listed separately because Allah spoke to him directly.
Isa is also described of speaking with Allah face-to-face. In his transfiguration on the mountaintop (Matthew 17, Mark 9, Luke 9), Allah addressed Isa directly, like he did with Musa.
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Stefan,
Yes, you are right, that Isa tells His followers that He is the fulfillment of Deuteronomy 18. The Injil clearly refers to Isa as the fulfillment of this prophecy multiple times, along with many other prophecies. This article tells about some of the other prophecies that Isa fulfilled. https://www.isaandislam.com/isa-al-masih/allah-s-holy-prophets-foretold-the-coming-of-isa-al-masih.html
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