Muslim Christian Dialogue

15. My Servant, Messenger, and Elect

MY SERVANT, MESSENGER AND ELECT

A further fulfillment of the prophecy of Muhammed is found in Isaiah 42. 1. "Behold My servant, whom I uphold; Mine elect, in whom My soul delighteth; I have put My spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles." Also called "My messenger" in verse 19. No doubt all Prophets were indeed servants, messengers and elect of Allah. Yet no Prophet is universally called by these specific titles as Muhammed (pbuh). In Arabic: "Abduhu wa Rasuluhul Mustapha," i.e. His slave servant and His elected messenger. The testimony of a person accepting Islam is: "I bear witness that there is no deity except Allah, Who has no partner and I bear witness that Muhammed is His servant and messenger." This same formula is repeated five times a day through the minarets of the mosques as a call for prayers, another five times daily, immediately before the beginning of each prayer, nine times a day in the "Tashahhud" during the five obligatory prayers, and several more times if a Muslim performs additional recommended prayers. In other words, this formula is repeated dozens of time a day by each Muslim throughout the world. The most common title of Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) is Rasulullah, i.e. the messenger of Allah.

2. "He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street." This describes the high moral character and decency of Prophet Muhammed (pbuh).

3. " . . . He shall bring forth judgment unto truth." He chastised the Jews for making God into a Jewish God for the Jews only, which they still do. And he chastised the Christians for making God into three, and in elevating Jesus to be son of God etc.

4. "He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he has set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law." Compare with Jesus, (pbuh) who did not prevail over his enemies and was rejected by his own people: the Jews.

5. " I, the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles." "And will keep thee," i.e. no other Prophet will come after him. In a short time many Gentiles and many Jews living in Madina were guided into Islam. His sayings and teachings (Hadiths) are preserved intact completely separate from the Qur'an.

6. "To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house." "Blind eyes, life of darkness" denotes here the pagan life of servitude to idols and men. "Bring out the prisoners from the prison" denotes the abolishment of slavery for the first time in the history of mankind by the Prophet of Islam (pbuh).

7. "I am the Lord, that is My name, and My glory will I not give to another, neither My praise to graven images." The Prophet of Islam destroyed over 360 idols that were in the Ka'bah when he conquered Makkah without a drop of blood being shed. Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) is unique among all Prophets as he is the "Seal of all Prophets" and his teachings remain undistorted till today. Not so the scriptures of Christianity and Judaism!

8. "Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, " A new song as it is not in Hebrew or Aramaic, but in Arabic. The praise of God and His messenger Muhammed (pbuh) is chanted five times daily from the minarets of thousands of mosques all around the world. i.e. 90 The ends of the earth. 9. "Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar doth inhabit: let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains." From Mount Arafat near Makkah, the Pilgrims chant every year the following: "Here I am (for Your service) O' Allah. Here I am. You have no partner. Here I am. Verily Yours is the praise, the blessings and sovereignty. There is no God besides You." Isaiah 42 can never be applied to an Israelite Prophet, as Kedar is the second son of Ishmael. See Genesis 25:13.

10. "Let them give glory unto the Lord, and declare his praise in the islands." And really Islam spread to the small islands as far as Indonesia and the Caribbean Sea.

11. "He shall prevail against his enemies." In a short period, of only 23 years, the Kingdom of God on earth was established with the advent of Muhammed (pbuh) and he prevailed over his enemies. This 42nd chapter of Isaiah fits perfectly and precisely to the character of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).