Neither Christians nor Jews regard any passage of their scriptures as referring to Mohammed.
"I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren,
like unto thee,
and I will put my words in his mouth;
and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him." (Deuteronomy.18:18).
First thing is "a prophet from among their brethren". Note that it does not say "from among them" but "from among their brethren". Who are the brethren of the israelites? The ishmaelites! If Ishmael and Isaac are the sons of the same father Abraham (peace be upon them all), then they are brothers. And so the children of the one are the brethren of the children of the other. So God is telling you that a Prophet will come, who is a descendent of Ishmael (peace be upon him).
Next: "Like unto thee".
Some say the verses refer to Jesus (peace be upon him) but let's put that to the test and examine the "like"s:
Both Moses (pbuh) and Muhammad (pbuh) had a mother and father, Jesus (pbuh) did not.
Both Moses (pbuh) and Muhammad (pbuh) had a normal birth, Jesus (pbuh) did not.
Both Moses (pbuh) and Muhammad (pbuh) married and had children, Jesus (pbuh) did not.
Both Moses (pbuh) and Muhammad (pbuh) were accepted by their people in their lifetime, while Jesus (pbuh) on the whole was not accepted by the Jews he was sent to.
Both Moses (pbuh) and Muhammad (pbuh) died natural deaths, Jesus (pbuh) did not.
And the list goes on...
So the Prophet like unto Moses (peace be upon him) is Muhammad (peace be upon him).
Next:"And I will put my words into his mouth"
History tells us that Muhummad (pbuh) was forty years of age. He was in a cave some three miles north of the City of Mecca. In the cave the Archangel Gabriel commands him in his mother tongue: 'Iqra'' which means Read! or Proclaim! or Recite! Muhummed (pbuh) was terrified and in his bewilderment replied that he was not learned! The angel commands him a second time with the same result. For the third time the angel continues.
Now Muhummad (pbuh) grasps what was required of him was to repeat. And he repeats the words as they were put into his mouth:
"Read! In the name of your Lord and Cherisher, who created-
Created man, from a clinging substance:
Read! And thy Lord is most bountiful,-
He who taught (the use of) the pen,
Taught man that which he knew not".
(Holy Qur'an 96:1-5)
These are the first five verses which were revealed to Prophet Muhummad (peace be upon him) which now occupy the beginning of the 96th chapter of the Holy Qur'an.
"If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to account." (Deuteronomy 18:19)
"in my name" -113 chapters of the Qur'an as revealed by Allah to, and spoken by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) all begin with "
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful." God's words, spoken by the Prophet, in His name. With this formula in fact, Muslims begin every lawful act. And in the first revelation to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), mentioned above, what were the words that came immediately after Read? Have a look... "in the name of your Lord."
The Prophecy is fulfilled in Prophet Muhummad (peace be upon him) to the letter.
"If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to account." (Deuteronomy 18:19)
So God is telling you in the Bible to believe in prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). And I invite you to do so.
O Mankind, the Messenger has come to you with the truth from your Lord, so believe; it is better for you. But if you disbelieve - then indeed, to Allah belongs whatever is in the heavens and earth. And ever is Allah Knowing and Wise. (Qur'an 4:70)
Say, [O Muhammad], "O mankind, indeed I am the Messenger of Allah to you all, [from Him] to whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth. There is no deity except Him; He gives life and causes death." So believe in Allah and His Messenger, the unlettered prophet, who believes in Allah and His words, and follow him that you may be guided. (7:158)
The Crucifixion is loving sacrifice
There is nothing loving about such a notion or concept.
With Allah forgiving Adam (peace be upon him) and honouring him and guiding him, as per Islam, none of the above is needed. In Islam, there is no concept of original sin, nor of God expecting perfection which cannot be achieved, nor of a broken relationship with God that requires reconciling, nor of damnation requiring a saviour. No innocent person is made to suffer or die for other's sins.
In Islam, as Adam and Eve (peace be upon them) asked for forgiveness and were forgiven, so we too ask for Allah's forgiveness for our sins, as He loves for us to turn to Him in repentance, and loves forgiving. This forgiveness comes freely, just by Allah's will, when we sincerely ask for forgiveness and truly repent. Forgiveness does not require any type of sacrifice by God, or any purchase price. Both Adam and Eve repented and were forgiven by their Loving, Merciful Lord; and indeed Adam was then chosen to be the first person to receive guidance from Allah, was honoured by Allah, and is counted among all the other Prophets of Islam:
See the following verse translations from the Qur'an:
They said, "Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves, and if You do not forgive us and have mercy upon us, we will surely be among the losers." (7:23)
Then Adam received from his Lord [some] words, and He accepted his repentance. Indeed, it is He who is the Accepting of repentance, the Merciful. (2:37)
Then his Lord chose him and turned to him in forgiveness and guided [him]. (20:122)
Prophet Adam (peace be upon him) repented sincerely, so God forgave him. As simple as that. No sacrifice needed.
I find Islam to be the only religion that recognises Allah's power to forgive with just His will. All other religions seem to claim that forgiveness requires a purchase price and if we can't pay it, somebody else has to pay it on our behalf.
In Islam, forgiveness comes without a purchase price or sacrifice. We do not/can not: buy, sacrifice for, earn or steal it. It comes freely when we sincerely ask for forgiveness and truly repent, accepting Allaah's will.
That is love - not a painful, torturous, and slow sacrifice.
Without the Atonement, God's readiness to forgive us would be capricious, not reasoned. And reasonable, God is - otherwise, nature, the universe, wouldn't be reasonable, following fixed laws.
Atonement = At-one-ment; Reconciliation.
It is actually denigrating to God's Power that He should not be able to forgive or remove sins without begetting a son and then sacrificing the son. It ascribes imperfection to God. This is not forgiveness, but atonement. One thing pays the price for another. Perfection is being able to forgive, freely, abundantly, at will. That is perfection.
God is, of course, absolutely One; but within that Oneness, there is Threeness, in no way contradicting the Oneness.
It absolutely and completely contradicts oneness.
Let's take the number 1. That number can be manipulated, by multiplying, dividing, adding or subtracting.
This is what various groups of people have wrongly done over the years with their beliefs about God.
Some have multiplied the number, and believe in many gods.
Others have divided the number, and believe in many gods in one, such as the trinity (or 3 = 1 or 1 = 3)
Some have added, by worshipping God, but then also worshipping and praying to others such as Mary (peace be on her), or saints etc along with Him.
And others, such as atheists, have subtracted, by saying there is no God.
Regardless of what people do to the number 1, it always remains the number 1 and does not itself change, and cannot itself never not be 1.
So what is the original and true belief
without any change or manipulation?
1.
1slam.
Mysterious ? - well, yes - God IS mysterious (the more mysterious the more you think of God), His existence (before, above and outside time) a complete mystery.
In Islam there are no such mysteries or mental acrobatics to contend with. The concept of God is clear, simple, logical, makes sense, and befits the Majesty of God. Anyone from a young toddler, can understand, that:
There is only One God. He alone should be worshipped. He is our Creator, Sustainer, and Lord.
He does not beget, nor is He begotten. He has no sons, daughters, spouses, siblings, parents, cousins, or relatives of any sort.
He is eternal and does not die. He does not depend on anyone/anything yet we all depend on Him. He is free of all want and need.
There is nothing like Him. He is all Hearing, all Seeing, all Knowing, all Powerful, Incomparable, the Creator of the Universe.
He did not/does not, become flesh, dwell in human or animal bodies, nor are there any incarnations of Him. He is not mixed up in His creation in any way.
He is not composed of persons, nor a trinity. There are no secondary, lesser, greater, equal, or multiple gods, nor any intermediaries. And no denying of God's existence either.
There are no sharers, associates, persons or parts whatsoever in His exclusive Divinity. Simply, He is One, in every sense. One truly means One.
Peace.