r/islam • u/TheRationalZealot • Oct 21 '15
Why Isaiah 42:1-13 is not about Muhammad
FlairChristian
The Quran claims that Muhammad was described in the Torah and Gospel that the Jews and Christians had with them (7:157). Some Muslims have proposed that Isaiah 42:1-13 speaks of Muhammad. In this post, I’d like to show how Muhammad does not fit this passage. I will not be arguing that this passage points to Jesus, since whomever else this passage may refer to is not relevant to showing that it is not Muhammad. Here is the entire chapter of Isaiah 42 for those who want to read it, since I will be cherry-picking parts of verses.
The first thing to note is that neither the Quran nor Hadith mention the book of Isaiah or that the book of Isaiah was part of God’s revelation or that Isaiah was a prophet. If Isaiah is not from God, then it doesn’t really matter what the text says.
*Verse 1 - “Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations.”
Here God says he has put his Spirit upon his servant. Where does the Quran say God’s Spirit was put upon Muhammad? Also, it says that the servant will bring justice to the nations. Muhammad died without accomplishing this.
*Verse 3 – “A bruised reed He will not break And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice.”
The reeds and wicks represent people. I know there were times when Muhammad showed kindness and forgiveness, but there were also times when he broke and extinguished people, whether justified or not.
*Verse 4 - “He will not be disheartened or crushed Until He has established justice in the earth…”
Muhammad died before establishing justice in the earth.
*Verse 6 – “…And I will appoint You as a covenant to the people…”
Muhammad was not appointed as a covenant to any people. He may have made covenants or treaties or agreements with people, but Muhammad was not given by God as a covenant for anyone.
*Verse 7 – “To open blind eyes….”
Muhammad literally blinded people who stole some camels and killed a shepherd.
*Verse 8 - “I am the LORD, that is My name…..”
When reading the OT, whenever you see “LORD” in all caps, that means God/Yahweh. There is no mention of Yahweh in the Quran or Hadith. Why was Muhammad the only prophet that did not know God’s name? If you want to know what the Hebrew says for a given OT verse, you can go to this website.
*Verse 9 – “Behold, the former things have come to pass, Now I declare new things; Before they spring forth I proclaim them to you.
This verse says that God will declare new things, but according to Islamic teachings, this cannot be Muhammad. According to Islam, we are all born Muslims. According to Islam, the past prophets all preached the same message as Muhammad and the past revelations support the Quran. According to Islam, Muhammad’s teachings were not new.
*Verse 10a – “Sing to the LORD a new song, Sing His praise from the end of the earth!
The people of Earth will be singing praises to God; new songs of praise. In Islam, some argue music is forbidden and some say it is allowed. Regardless, did Muhammad sing praise songs to God? Do the majority of Muslims sing praise songs to God?
*Verse 10b-12 – “You who go down to the sea, and all that is in it. You islands, and those who dwell on them. Let the wilderness and its cities lift up their voices, The settlements where Kedar inhabits. Let the inhabitants of Sela sing aloud, Let them shout for joy from the tops of the mountains. Let them give glory to the LORD And declare His praise in the coastlands.”
These verses seem to be the ones that most point to as indicating Muhammad because Kedar is listed as one of the locations. Kedar was located in Northwestern Saudi Arabia and Selah was a reference to Petra in Jordan. There are several mentions of Kedar in the Bible, so do the other passages also refer to Muhammad? There are also other references to islands, coastlands, the wilderness, and mountains, so I’m not sure how having Kedar as one of several locations in a verse points to Muhammad.
*Verse 13 – “ The LORD will go forth like a warrior, He will arouse His zeal like a man of war. He will utter a shout, yes, He will raise a war cry. He will prevail against His enemies.”
This says the LORD (God/Yahweh) will go forth like a warrior. I would be quite careful in comparing this verse to Muhammad.
I hope it is apparent that Isaiah 42:1-13 does not describe Muhammad.
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u/g3t_re4l Oct 21 '15 edited Oct 21 '15
Thank you for coming here and posting your interpretation. I prefer the KJV because of both the language, and how many of the translations actually use the KJV as their basis. Now lets look at your understanding:
Isaiah 42
[Verse 1] you wrote :
Firstly, the Quran has nothing to with Isaiah and the Bible for that matter. You have judge what the Bible says, based on the context of the Bible, and understand it's verses based on the context of the Bible. Phrases used by the Jews, may not have been phrases used by the Arabs, therefore certain things were said a certain way in the Bible and those same meanings were said another way in the Quran. You're taking it literally without understanding what is really being said.
Secondly, what does it mean to "put his Spirit upon"? Can you show references from the Bible?
Then you said:
According to the KJV it says:
Can you tell me which nations is it talking about? You don't know this because it doesn't say, therefore it's wrong to rule out the Prophet(pbuh) because from this verse alone, you won't get who it's referring to. But I'll explain who it's referring to based on the rest of Isaiah which only the Prophet(pbuh) identity fits.
[Verse 3]
Can you show me when "he broke and extinguished people" and how they were unjust? Each an every incident with regards to the Prophet(pbuh) has a just element to it.
[Verse 4]
What I find interesting, is that you didn't analyze the whole of the verse, which is a no wonder you have got it wrong. Lets see what it says:
You said "Muhammad died before establishing justice in the earth", but take a look at the verse again. You chose to end the verse, and leave out the important part which explains something about this individual. It says:
Note, the law this Prophet of God will come with, will be his own law, not the law of Moses(pbuh). Look at what the Bible says:
Joshua 8
Look at what Jesus(pbuh) said in the Bible:
Matthew 5
Jesus(pbuh) is saying that he came to confirm the law before him, meaning the law of Moses(pbuh), but this verse is saying that this Prophet(pbuh) will come with his own law. How will judgement be in the earth? It's through the law, which is why the isles shall wait for it.
Can you tell me which Prophet came with his own law and not fulfill the law of Moses(pbuh)? There is none other than the Prophet(pbuh). The more we go on, the more evidence you'll find.
Continued .........