Da'wah

Deuteronomy 18:18

I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.

[Deuteronomy 18:18]

Prophet Moses (pbuh) is assumed to have said that the above quoted verse of the Bible, was told to him by God Almighty. In this verse God Almighty is saying that He will raise a Prophet, and the Christians claim that this prophecy refers to Jesus (pbuh). Let us analyse who this Prophet is..

The Christians argue that as God said to Moses (pbuh) that the Prophet will be “like unto thee” and Jesus (pbuh) is like Moses (pbuh) because Moses (pbuh) was a Jew (an Israelite) and Jesus (pbuh) was also a Jew, so he is like Moses (pbuh). Then then surely all the Prophets after Moses like David, Solomon, Ezekiel, Hosea, Jonah, Joel, Zechariah and John the Baptist (peace be upon them all) were all Jews. Then why do they ignore the earlier Prophets?

A careful observation of the verse will reveal that the Prophet being prophecised here is not Jesus (pbuh) or any of the Prophet before him, but the Prophet after him, the Last and Final of them all and that is Prophet Muhammad (blessings of Allaah and peace be upon him). Let us analyse the verse part by part...

The verse starts as: "I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren...", God Almighty says to Moses (pbuh) that He will raise the Prophet from the brethen of Moses (pbuh). As Moses (pbuh) was a Prophet to the Israelites, so in this verse they have been referred to as a single entity. And as the Prophet was to be raised among their brethren so he must be raised among the Ishmaelites. We know, Abraham (pbuh) had two sons, Isaac (pbuh) and Ishmael (pbuh); therefore the children of one are the brethren of the children of the other. Muhammad (blessings of Allaah and peace be upon him) surely was an Ishmaelite while Jesus (pbuh) was an Israelite. Had this prophecy been about Jesus (pbuh), then God should have told the Moses (pbuh) and the Israelites that the Prophet will be raised among their descendents or sons, not their among their brethren.

Further it says:"...like unto thee...", that is the Prophet will be like Moses (pbuh). Let us see who was like Moses (pbuh), Jesus (pbuh) or Muhammad (blessings of Allaah and peace be upon him).

Both Muhammad (blessings of Allaah and peace be upon him) and Moses (pbuh) had a father and a mother but Jesus (pbuh) only had a mother and no father.
Both Muhammad (blessings of Allaah and peace be upon him) and Moses (pbuh) were born in a normal, natural course but Jesus (pbuh) was born miraculously without any male intervention.
Both Muhammad (blessings of Allaah and peace be upon him) and Moses (pbuh) married and had children while Jesus (pbuh) according to the Bible remained bachelor all his life.
Both Muhammad (blessings of Allaah and peace be upon him) and Moses (pbuh) died natural deaths but according to Christianity Jesus (pbuh) was violently killed on the Cross. However, Islam does not agree with this. According to Islam, Jesus was not crucified but was raised up alive. For more, please refer: "Was Christ (PBUH) really crucified?"
Both Muhammad (blessings of Allaah and peace be upon him) and Moses (pbuh) lie buried on earth, but according to Christians (and even Muslims) Jesus (pbuh) is in the heaven.
Although Muhammad (blessings of Allaah and peace be upon him) and Moses (pbuh) also faced many difficulties during their propagation but before their demise both of them were accepted by their people as Messengers of God. But Jesus (pbuh) was rejected by his own people; [John 1:11].
Both Muhammad (blessings of Allaah and peace be upon him) and Moses (pbuh) were Prophets as well as Kings, (they were Kings in a sense that they had the power of life and death over their people). But Jesus (pbuh) never tasted such power. He claimed only a spiritual kingdom for himself; [John 18:36].
Both Muhammad (blessings of Allaah and peace be upon him) and Moses (pbuh) brought new Laws for their people but Jesus (pbuh) did not come with a new Law. He came only to fulfill the previous Judaic Law; [Matthew 5:17-18]
Neither Muhammad (blessings of Allaah and peace be upon him) nor Moses (pbuh) is supposed to come back again in this world, but Jesus (pbuh) is believed to come again by both Christians as well as Muslims.

These arguments are enough to prove that it is Muhammad (blessings of Allaah and peace be upon him) who is like Moses (pbuh) and not what the Christians claim!

The next verse says:

"And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in My name, I will require it of him".

[Deuteronomy 18:19]

God says that the Prophet will speak in His name. In whose name?? Well... beginning of every chapter of the Qur'an (except one chapter) gives the answer! Every chapter of the Qur'an (besides chapter 9) begins with what can be translated as: "In the Name of The God, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful". See even this fulfills the prophecy even further.

Furthermore, in the above verse (i.e. verse 19), God Almighty is giving a warning to those who will not believe and follow that Prophet. God says: "...whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in My name, I will require it of him". Some versions have it as, "...I will punish them". So whosoever will not believe in that Prophet are to fall in some very serious problem!!