Short answer
No. The passages people quote do not hold up when you read them. The Bhavishya Purana verse praises Shiva, and that part of the Purana was written over a thousand years after the Prophet (ﷺ). Kalki is a Brahmin still to come. The Allopanishad was made in Akbar's time. Narashamsa is a name of Agni. "Ahmad" is aham, the Sanskrit word for "I". Sushrava and the Kuntap hymn are about kings. Maitreya is a Buddha of a far future. Islam does not need any of this. The Qur'an names the Torah and the Gospel as books that mention him, and it never names the Vedas. It also forbids Muslims to claim what they do not know. So the case for Muhammad (ﷺ) rests on what anyone can check: his life, and the Book he brought. Islam invites you to examine both.
| Claim | Written before him | Speaks of him | Fits his life |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bhavishya Purana | |||
| Kalki | |||
| Allopanishad | |||
| Narashamsa | |||
| Kuntap hymn | |||
| Sushrava | |||
| "Ahmad" in the Sama Veda | |||
| Maitreya |
- Yes
- No
- By name, as an enemy
Full explanation
Why the answer is no
Many Muslims have heard that the Hindu and Buddhist books name the Prophet (ﷺ). It would be easy to repeat that. But the Qur'an says not to pursue what you have no knowledge of. It also says not to cover truth with falsehood. So a Muslim may use a claim only if the text really says it. Each claim below gets the same three questions. Was the text written before he lived? Does it speak of him, and not of someone else? Does what it says fit his life? A prophecy must pass all three. None of these does.
“And pursue not that of which thou hast no knowledge; for every act of hearing, or of seeing or of (feeling in) the heart will be enquired into (on the Day of Reckoning).”
“And cover not Truth with falsehood, nor conceal the Truth when ye know (what it is).”
A verse is said to foretell Muhammad (ﷺ).
Was it written before he lived?
If not, it foretells nothing.
Does it speak of him, and not of someone else?
Read the verses around it, and see who is named.
Does what it says fit his life?
A prophecy must fit the man, not just one word.
A prophecy must pass all three. None of these does.
The Bhavishya Purana: the verse praises Shiva
The Puranas are Hindu sacred histories, part of the remembered tradition (smriti). The name Bhavishya means "of the future". The claim rests on one chapter, numbered 3.3.3. King Bhoja crosses the Indus, and a foreign teacher called Mahamada appears. The king then bathes "Mahadeva", the dweller in the desert, in Ganges water. Those who use the claim say the king is honouring Muhammad (ﷺ). But Mahadeva, "the great god", is a title of Shiva. The verses call him Hara, lord of Girija and destroyer of the demon Tripura, and all of these mean Shiva. Then the god answers the king. So the king is worshipping Shiva. The line most often quoted is not about the Prophet (ﷺ) at all.
King Bhoja crosses the Indus with his army and defeats the peoples of Gandhara and Kashmir (vv. 3-4). Meanwhile, the chapter says, a foreign (mleccha) teacher called Mahamada appears with his disciples (v. 5). The king bathes Mahadeva (Shiva), the dweller in the desert (marusthala-nivasin), with Ganges water and the five products of the cow. He praises him as lord of Girija, destroyer of the demon Tripura, and guarded, or hidden, by the mlecchas (mlecchair-guptaya) (vv. 6-8). Shiva tells him to go to the shrine of Mahakaleshvara (Shiva's temple at Ujjain). The land called Vahika, he says, has been corrupted by mlecchas and has no Aryan dharma; Mahamada has come there, and the king must not go to that demonic land (vv. 9-13). The king returns home (v. 14). Mahamada later tells the king that his people will be circumcised, without the topknot, bearded and calling aloud (v. 25). The chapter names no Mecca, no Kaaba and no stone. A later chapter of the same part (3.4.22.72-78) tells of traders from a western island, of the faith of the Son of God (ishaputra), whose king ruled from the city of Kalikata (Calcutta), with his queen Vikatavati in the western island.
The chapter calls Bhoja the tenth king of the line of Shalivahana, and has him cross the Indus with the poet Kalidasa (vv. 1-3). A foreign (mleccha) man called Mahamada appears with his disciples (v. 5). King Bhoja bathes Mahadeva, the dweller in the desert, and praises Hara, lord of Girija and destroyer of the demon Tripura (vv. 6-8). The god answers him: the demon Tripura, whom he burned before, has come again, known as Mahamada, devoted to demonic (paishacha) deeds (vv. 9-12). Kalidasa calls Mahamada a rogue and the lowest of men. He recites a mantra ten thousand times, and Mahamada is turned to ashes (vv. 18-20). His disciples place the ashes in a town called Madahina (vv. 21-22). Mahamada then appears at night and says he will make a terrible paishacha religion. His people will be circumcised, without the topknot, bearded and calling aloud, and for their rite of purification they will use a pestle (musala), so they will be called musalavanta (vv. 23-27).
Gives maha-deva as "the great deity", a name of Rudra or Shiva.
The Bhavishya Purana: a hostile tale, written late
Read on, and the chapter turns against the man it names. Shiva says Mahamada is the demon Tripura come again. The poet Kalidasa recites a mantra, and Mahamada is turned to ashes. The chapter calls his religion demonic. A Muslim cannot take the name and leave the rest, so the chapter gives him nothing. Nor did these things happen. The Prophet (ﷺ) was born about 570 and died at sixty-three, in Aisha's house. No report puts him at the Indus. Kalidasa lived in the fifth century, before the Prophet (ﷺ) was born. The King Bhoja known to history ruled in the eleventh century. So the tale joins men of different ages. It is also late. The same part of the Purana names Akbar and the city of Calcutta. It dates a king at Calcutta to the year 1840 of the Vikrama era, which is about 1783. R. C. Hazra, a scholar of the Puranas, wrote that this part knows British rule in India and "is practically a new work". That is over a thousand years after the Prophet (ﷺ), so it foretells nothing. Its circumcised, bearded people describe Muslims its writer already knew. Even its name for them, musalavanta, echoes Musalman, the Persian form of the word Muslim.
The chapter calls Bhoja the tenth king of the line of Shalivahana, and has him cross the Indus with the poet Kalidasa (vv. 1-3). A foreign (mleccha) man called Mahamada appears with his disciples (v. 5). King Bhoja bathes Mahadeva, the dweller in the desert, and praises Hara, lord of Girija and destroyer of the demon Tripura (vv. 6-8). The god answers him: the demon Tripura, whom he burned before, has come again, known as Mahamada, devoted to demonic (paishacha) deeds (vv. 9-12). Kalidasa calls Mahamada a rogue and the lowest of men. He recites a mantra ten thousand times, and Mahamada is turned to ashes (vv. 18-20). His disciples place the ashes in a town called Madahina (vv. 21-22). Mahamada then appears at night and says he will make a terrible paishacha religion. His people will be circumcised, without the topknot, bearded and calling aloud, and for their rite of purification they will use a pestle (musala), so they will be called musalavanta (vv. 23-27).
Records that Muhammad (ﷺ) was born in Makkah in the Year of the Elephant, which Muslim tradition places at about 570 CE; that his father Abdullah died before he was born and his mother Amina when he was six; that he was raised by his grandfather Abd al-Muttalib and then by his uncle Abu Talib; that he traded for Khadija, a respected merchant woman of Makkah, and married her when he was twenty-five.
Aisha reports that the Prophet (ﷺ) died at the age of sixty-three.
Aisha reports that in his final illness the Prophet (ﷺ) kept asking his wives where he would stay the next day, looking forward to her turn. His wives allowed him to stay where he wished, and he stayed in Aisha's house until he died there, on the day of her usual turn.
Concludes that there is good reason to suppose that Kalidasa lived in the beginning of the fifth century CE, and not in the sixth.
Writes that "the famous Bhoja" came to the throne of Dhara, then the capital of Malwa, about 1018 CE, and reigned for more than forty years.
The chapter names the emperor Akbar (Akabara, v. 44). It tells of traders from a western island, of the faith of the Son of God, who come to the city of Kalikata (Calcutta), and of a queen Vikatavati in the western island, whose husband stays at Kalikata (vv. 72-76). It says he became king when 1,840 years of the Vikrama era had passed, and that seven kings of his line then ruled for sixty-four years (vv. 77-78).
Describes the four parts of the printed Bhavishya Purana. Of the Pratisarga Parva he says it "is indeed rather special", and he quotes the Purana scholar R. C. Hazra. Hazra writes that it tells stories of Adam and Noah, speaks of Timur, Nadir Shah and Akbar with their descendants, and "even knows the British rule in India and names Calcutta and the Parliament". Hazra concludes that this part "is practically a new work". Rocher also reports that in 1903 the Sanskrit scholar Theodor Aufrecht called the printed Bhavishya a literary fraud, because this part retells the Bible's Genesis.
Explains that Muslim is the name Muhammad (ﷺ) gave to the faithful. Its Persian plural is Musliman, which came to be used as a singular, and so the word Musalman was formed.
- 5th century
Kalidasa
The poet whose mantra turns Mahamada to ashes in the tale.
- Born about 570
The Prophet (ﷺ)
He died at sixty-three. No report puts him at the Indus.
- 11th century
King Bhoja
The King Bhoja known to history.
- About 1783 or later
This part of the Purana
It names Akbar and Calcutta, and dates a king at Calcutta to about 1783.
Kalki: a Brahmin, still to come
The page on why a Hindu should consider Islam shows that Kalki is a descent of the Lord, not a messenger. The texts rule out the claim in other ways too. The Mahabharata, the Hindu epic, says he will be a Brahmin, born in a Brahmin family at Sambhala. The Bhagavata Purana agrees. The Prophet (ﷺ) was an Arab of Quraysh, not a Brahmin. The Mahabharata says Kalki will exterminate all the mlecchas, the peoples outside Hindu society. It says he will then give the Earth to the Brahmins at a horse sacrifice. The Prophet (ﷺ) did neither. The time fails as well. Kalki comes near the close of the Kali age, the last of the four ages in Hindu teaching. The Vishnu Purana gives that age 432,000 years. By the common reckoning it began in 3102 BC, so over 426,000 years remain. The Prophet (ﷺ) died about 1,400 years ago. This claim also collides with the last one. The Bhavishya calls Mahamada a mleccha, and Kalki destroys the mlecchas. So the two claims cannot both be true, and neither fits him.
“And commissioned by Time, a Brāhmana of the name of Kalki will take his birth. And he will glorify Vishnu and possess great energy, great intelligence, and great prowess. And he will take his birth in a town of the name of Sambhala in an auspicious Brāhmana family.”
When the Kali age has almost passed, the Lord will descend (v. 16). Kalki will appear in the house of Vishnuyashas, the chief Brahmin of the village of Shambhala (v. 18). He will ride the swift horse Devadatta and kill robbers in the guise of kings by the million (vv. 19-20). Then the Krita age, the age of purity, will return (vv. 23-24).
Wathila ibn al-Asqa' reports that the Prophet (ﷺ) said God chose Kinana from the descendants of Ishmael, chose Quraysh from Kinana, chose Banu Hashim from Quraysh, and chose him from Banu Hashim. In Sahih Muslim it stands under the heading on the merit of the Prophet's lineage.
“And surrounded by Brāhmanas, that Brāhmana will exterminate all the mlecchas”
“Having exterminated the thieves and robbers, Kalki will, at a great Horse-sacrifice, duly give away this Earth to the Brāhmanas.”
“When the practices taught by the Vedas and the institutes of law shall nearly have ceased, and the close of the Kali age shall be nigh, a portion of that divine being who exists of his own spiritual nature in the character of Brahma, and who is the beginning and the end, and who comprehends all things, shall descend upon earth: he will be born in the family of Vishńuyaśas, an eminent Brahman of Sambhala village, as Kalki, endowed with the eight superhuman faculties.”
The four ages together last twelve thousand divine years, and each divine year is 360 years of men. The Kali age has one thousand of them, with a dawn before it and a dusk after it of one hundred each. That makes 1,200 divine years, which is 432,000 years of men.
In his notes to the first chapter, Burgess explains that the Surya Siddhanta, a classical Hindu treatise on astronomy, and the treatises that follow its method reckon everything from the start of the present age, the Kali yuga. They set that start at midnight on the meridian of Ujjain, between 17 and 18 February 3102 BC.
The chapter calls Bhoja the tenth king of the line of Shalivahana, and has him cross the Indus with the poet Kalidasa (vv. 1-3). A foreign (mleccha) man called Mahamada appears with his disciples (v. 5). King Bhoja bathes Mahadeva, the dweller in the desert, and praises Hara, lord of Girija and destroyer of the demon Tripura (vv. 6-8). The god answers him: the demon Tripura, whom he burned before, has come again, known as Mahamada, devoted to demonic (paishacha) deeds (vv. 9-12). Kalidasa calls Mahamada a rogue and the lowest of men. He recites a mantra ten thousand times, and Mahamada is turned to ashes (vv. 18-20). His disciples place the ashes in a town called Madahina (vv. 21-22). Mahamada then appears at night and says he will make a terrible paishacha religion. His people will be circumcised, without the topknot, bearded and calling aloud, and for their rite of purification they will use a pestle (musala), so they will be called musalavanta (vv. 23-27).
Kalki: the matching names do not match
The claim's supporters also match details. They say Kalki's father Vishnuyashas is the Prophet's (ﷺ) father Abdullah, because both names mean "servant of God". They say his mother Sumati is Amina, and that Sambhala is Mecca. They say his birth on the twelfth of Madhava is the twelfth of Rabi al-Awwal. The words do not say this. The standard Sanskrit dictionary gives yashas as fame or glory. So Vishnuyashas is "Vishnu's fame", with no word for servant in it. It gives Sumati as "good mind". It gives Sambhala as a town in India, which some place at Sambhal near Moradabad. Madhava is the second month of spring in the Hindu calendar, and Rabi al-Awwal belongs to another calendar. The mother's name and the birth date are not in the Mahabharata, the Vishnu Purana or the Bhagavata passage. They come from the Kalki Purana, a minor Purana. Ludo Rocher, a scholar of the Puranas, says it was composed in Bengal "at a relatively recent date". So the match rests on words that mean something else, and on details from a late text.
Gives yashas as honour, glory, fame, renown, and Vishnu-yashas as a name of Kalki in the Mahabharata and of Kalki's father in the Puranas. Gives sumati as "good mind or disposition, benevolence, kindness", and as the name of Kalki's mother in the Kalki Purana. Gives Shambhala, also written Sambhala, as a town between the Rathapra and the Ganges, which some identify with Sambhal in Moradabad. Gives Madhava as the second month of spring, more usually called Vaishakha (April-May).
When the Kali age has almost passed, the Lord will descend (v. 16). Kalki will appear in the house of Vishnuyashas, the chief Brahmin of the village of Shambhala (v. 18). He will ride the swift horse Devadatta and kill robbers in the guise of kings by the million (vv. 19-20). Then the Krita age, the age of purity, will return (vv. 23-24).
“When the practices taught by the Vedas and the institutes of law shall nearly have ceased, and the close of the Kali age shall be nigh, a portion of that divine being who exists of his own spiritual nature in the character of Brahma, and who is the beginning and the end, and who comprehends all things, shall descend upon earth: he will be born in the family of Vishńuyaśas, an eminent Brahman of Sambhala village, as Kalki, endowed with the eight superhuman faculties.”
Vishnu says he will appear at Shambhala in the house of Vishnuyashas, of his mother Sumati. The birth is set on the twelfth day of the bright half of the month of Madhava.
Counts the Kalki Purana as an upapurana, a minor Purana. In it Vishnu promises to be born as the son of Vishnuyashas and Sumati of Sambhala village. Rocher says it probably belongs to Bengal, "where it was composed at a relatively recent date". The one fixed point he gives is a Dacca University manuscript dated Shaka 1726 (1804 CE), so it is older than that.
Records that Muhammad (ﷺ) was born in Makkah in the Year of the Elephant, which Muslim tradition places at about 570 CE; that his father Abdullah died before he was born and his mother Amina when he was six; that he was raised by his grandfather Abd al-Muttalib and then by his uncle Abu Talib; that he traded for Khadija, a respected merchant woman of Makkah, and married her when he was twenty-five.
| In the Hindu texts | Said to be | What it really is |
|---|---|---|
| Vishnuyashas, his father | Abdullah | "Vishnu's fame" |
| Sumati, his mother | Amina | "Good mind", from a late text |
| Sambhala | Mecca | A town in India |
| The twelfth of Madhava | The twelfth of Rabi al-Awwal | The second month of spring in the Hindu calendar, from a late text |
The Allopanishad: written in Akbar's time
This short text calls itself an Upanishad, one of the philosophical texts at the end of the Veda. It claims a place in the Atharva Veda, and it uses the word Allah. Sir Charles Eliot, a British scholar of Indian religion, says it can hardly be called anything but a forgery. He links it to the Emperor Akbar's new creed. It is not in the list of 108 Upanishads that the Muktika Upanishad gives. It declares the Allah (﷾) of "Muhammad Akbar" to be the God (﷾) of gods. That is the emperor's own name: history knows him as Jalalu-d din Muhammad Akbar, and he ruled from 1556 to 1605. He came over 900 years after the Prophet (ﷺ) died. The text also identifies its Allah with Mitra, Varuna, the sun, the moon and Indra. Islam teaches the reverse: Allah (﷾) is One, and there is none like Him. So the text is not old, it is not about the Prophet (ﷺ), and no Muslim could accept what it teaches.
Writes that the Allopanishad, or Allah Upanishad, appears to have been written in connection with the Emperor Akbar's new creed; that it purports to be an Upanishad of the Atharva Veda and can hardly be described as other than a forgery; and that it declares the Allah of "Muhammad Akbar" to be the God of gods and identifies him with Mitra, Varuna, the sun, moon, water and Indra. In a footnote he cites Schrader's Catalogue of the Adyar Library (1908), which states that in the north of India the Allopanishad is recited by Brahmans at the Vasantotsava and on other occasions.
Rama names 108 Upanishads to Hanuman, beginning with the Isha, Kena, Katha, Prashna, Munda and Mandukya. No Allopanishad or Allah Upanishad is in the list.
Writes that history knows the emperor only as Jalalu-d din Muhammad Akbar. He was enthroned in February 1556 and died in October 1605.
“Say: He is Allah, the One and Only; Allah, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him.”
Narashamsa: a name of Agni, the fire
The Vedas are the highest layer of Hindu scripture (shruti). The Rig Veda's hymns use the word Narashamsa. Arthur Macdonell, a scholar of the Vedas, says it means "he who is the object of men's praise". That is close to the meaning of the name Muhammad (ﷺ), "the praised one", and that is why the claim is made. But the hymns say who is meant. Rig Veda 1.13 invokes "Dear Narâṣaṅsa" to the sacrifice, in a hymn to Agni, the god of the sacred fire. Rig Veda 3.29 says that Agni is called by this name. Macdonell adds that it is twice used of the god Pushan. So the word names gods of the Vedic rite. A shared meaning is not a prophecy. And the one named here is invoked at a sacrifice, while the Qur'an says to invoke no one along with Allah (﷾).
Treats Narashamsa under Agni, the god of fire. It is an epithet with a fixed place as the third verse of the Apri hymns, the hymns of the fire rite. It is twice used of the god Pushan, and otherwise only of Agni. It appears to mean "Praise of men" in the sense of "he who is the object of men's praise".
“Dear Narâṣaṅsa, sweet of tongue, the giver of oblations, I Invoke to this our sacrifice.”
“As Germ Celestial he is called Tanûnapât, and Narâṣansa born diffused in varied shape.”
“"And the places of worship are for Allah (alone): So invoke not any one along with Allah;”
The Kuntap hymn: a poet thanks a king
Atharva Veda 20.127 is the first of the Kuntap hymns. It opens with the same word, narashamsa. Ralph Griffith, its translator, renders it here as "a laud", a song of praise. Those who use the claim read its numbers as the people of Mecca, and its camels, gold and cows as events in the Prophet's (ﷺ) life. The verses are simpler than that. A poet calls on people to listen. He names a man, Kaurama, and lists the gifts he and his people received. Griffith describes it as a hymn in praise of the generosity of "Kaurama King of the Ruṣamas". He adds that these songs "have no religious character". So the hymn is a thank-you to a generous king. It speaks of gifts already given, and it foretells no one.
“Listen to this, ye men, a laud of glorious bounty shall be sung. Thousands sixty, and ninety we, O Kaurama, among the Ruṣamas have received. Camels twice-ten that draw the car, with females by their side, he gave. Fain would the chariot's top bow down escaping from the stroke of heaven. A hundred chains of gold, ten wreaths, upon the Rishi he bestowed, And thrice-a-hundred mettled steeds, ten-times-a-thousand cows he gave.”
Sushrava: Indra's victory, in the past
Rig Veda 1.53.9 tells of twenty kings and 60,099 followers who came in arms against "friendless" Sushrava. The claim says Sushrava is Muhammad (ﷺ), and that the kings are his enemies at Mecca. But the verse speaks to Indra, a god of the Vedic hymns. Indra is the one who overthrows them, and the verse says it has already happened. Griffith notes that Sushrava is said to be a king, and the Hindu commentator Sayana calls him one. If this were about the Prophet (ﷺ), it would have Indra save him. No Muslim can say that. The Qur'an says there is no help except from Allah (﷾). So the verse is neither a prophecy nor about him.
“With all-outstripping chariot-wheel, O Indra, thou far-famed, hast overthrown the twice ten Kings of men, With sixty thousand nine-and-ninety followers, who came in arms to fight with friendless Suṣravâs.”
“Allah made it but a message of hope for you, and an assurance to your hearts: (in any case) there is no help except from Allah. The Exalted, the Wise:”
"Ahmad" in the Sama Veda: the word is aham, "I"
The Sama Veda repeats a verse of the Rig Veda, 8.6.10. The claim says it tells of Ahmad receiving the law from his Lord. The Sanskrit begins aham id dhi, and in the running text those words join up. Aham is simply the Sanskrit word for "I". So the verse says, "I from my Father have received deep knowledge". The speaker is the hymn's poet, whom Griffith's Sama Veda names as Vatsa. The next verse has him say, "I make, like Kaṇva, beauteous songs". Sayana takes "my Father" to be Indra. If aham meant Ahmad, the Gita's aham sarvasya prabhavah, "I am the origin of all", would make Ahmad the origin of everything. No Muslim can say that. The Prophet (ﷺ) told his followers to call him the servant of Allah (﷾). So aham is a common word and not a name, and the verse foretells no one.
“I from my Father have received deep knowledge of the Holy Law: I was born like unto the Sun. After the lore of ancient time I make, like Kaṇva, beauteous songs, And Indra's self gains strength thereby.”
Prints the same verse in the Sama Veda, in the words "I from my Father have received deep knowledge of eternal Law: I was born like unto the Sun." His note gives its source as Rig Veda 8.6.10, says it is ascribed to Vatsa, and reports Sayana's reading of "my Father" as Indra, the protector of the truth.
“The wise, full of love, worship me, believing that I am the origin of all, and that all moves on through me.”
Umar reports that he heard the Prophet (ﷺ) say: do not over-praise me as the Christians over-praised the son of Mary; I am only a servant, so call me the servant of Allah and His Messenger.
| The word | Who the verse is about |
|---|---|
| Narashamsa | Agni, the god of the sacred fire |
| Kuntap hymn | King Kaurama, thanked for his gifts |
| Sushrava | A king, in a victory given to Indra |
| Aham | "I": the poet of the hymn |
Maitreya: a Buddha of a far future
Buddhist texts speak of Metteyya (in Sanskrit, Maitreya), a Buddha to come. Some Muslims say he is Muhammad (ﷺ). The Digha Nikaya, among the Pali texts, gives the details. He will arise when people live for 80,000 years. The royal capital then will be Varanasi, renamed Ketumati. He will be "a fully awakened Buddha", teaching as the Buddha taught, "just as I do today". He will lead many thousand mendicants, or monks. None of this is the Prophet (ﷺ). He lived in Mecca and Medina, and died at sixty-three. He claimed only to be a man who received revelation. The Qur'an says God (﷾) did not prescribe monasticism. The name Maitreya means friendly or kind, and the Qur'an calls the Prophet (ﷺ) a mercy for all creatures. Two words of kindness do not make two people one. So Muslims should not say this. The page on what Muslims think of the Buddha gives the reasons.
“And the Blessed One named Metteyya will arise in the world—perfected, a fully awakened Buddha,”
“He will teach the Dhamma that’s good in the beginning, good in the middle, and good in the end, meaningful and well-phrased. And he will reveal a spiritual practice that’s entirely full and pure, just as I do today. He will lead a Saṅgha of many thousand mendicants, just as I lead a Saṅgha of many hundreds today.”
Gives maitreya, from maitri, as "friendly, benevolent", and as the name of a Bodhisattva and future Buddha.
Aisha reports that the Prophet (ﷺ) died at the age of sixty-three.
Ibn Abbas reports that the Prophet (ﷺ) began to receive revelation at forty, stayed in Mecca thirteen years receiving it, was then ordered to migrate, lived ten years as an emigrant, and died at sixty-three.
“Say: "I am but a man like yourselves, (but) the inspiration has come to me, that your Allah is one Allah: whoever expects to meet his Lord, let him work righteousness, and, in the worship of his Lord, admit no one as partner.”
“Then, in their wake, We followed them up with (others of) Our messengers: We sent after them Jesus the son of Mary, and bestowed on him the Gospel; and We ordained in the hearts of those who followed him Compassion and Mercy. But the Monasticism which they invented for themselves, We did not prescribe for them: (We commanded) only the seeking for the Good Pleasure of Allah; but that they did not foster as they should have done. Yet We bestowed, on those among them who believed, their (due) reward, but many of them are rebellious transgressors.”
“We sent thee not, but as a Mercy for all creatures.”
| Point | Metteyya in the Digha Nikaya | Muhammad (ﷺ) |
|---|---|---|
| Length of life | Among people who live for 80,000 years | He died at sixty-three |
| Where | Varanasi, renamed Ketumati | Mecca and Medina |
| Who he is | A fully awakened Buddha | A man who received revelation |
| His followers | Many thousand mendicants | No monasticism prescribed |
Where the Qur'an says he is foretold
The Qur'an does say that earlier books mention him, and it is specific. It says the Jews and Christians find him in "the law and the Gospel". It says Jesus gave glad tidings of a messenger named Ahmad. It says the Qur'an is announced in the Books of former peoples, and it names the learned of the Children of Israel as those who knew it. It never names the Vedas, the Puranas or the Pali texts. That is why the page on the Bible answers yes, and this one answers no. One point stays open. Ibn Kathir says the earlier prophets gave this news, as God (﷾) took a covenant from them. And God (﷾) sent a warner to every people, not all of them named to us. So India's warners may have spoken of him. But no one can show which words are theirs, and Muslims do not claim what they cannot show.
“"Those who follow the messenger, the unlettered Prophet, whom they find mentioned in their own (scriptures),- in the law and the Gospel;- for he commands them what is just and forbids them what is evil; he allows them as lawful what is good (and pure) and prohibits them from what is bad (and impure); He releases them from their heavy burdens and from the yokes that are upon them. So it is those who believe in him, honour him, help him, and follow the light which is sent down with him,- it is they who will prosper."”
“And remember, Jesus, the son of Mary, said: "O Children of Israel! I am the messenger of Allah (sent) to you, confirming the Law (which came) before me, and giving Glad Tidings of a Messenger to come after me, whose name shall be Ahmad." But when he came to them with Clear Signs, they said, "this is evident sorcery!"”
“Without doubt it is (announced) in the mystic Books of former peoples. Is it not a Sign to them that the Learned of the Children of Israel knew it (as true)?”
Ibn Kathir explains that the mention of this Qur'an is found in the books of the earlier peoples, handed down from their prophets, who gave news of it in times old and recent, as Allah took a covenant from them to do. The last of them, he says, stood before his people with the good news of Ahmad, and he quotes Qur'an 61:6.
“Behold! Allah took the covenant of the prophets, saying: "I give you a Book and Wisdom; then comes to you a messenger, confirming what is with you; do ye believe in him and render him help." Allah said: "Do ye agree, and take this my Covenant as binding on you?" They said: "We agree." He said: "Then bear witness, and I am with you among the witnesses."”
“Verily We have sent thee in truth, as a bearer of glad tidings, and as a warner: and there never was a people, without a warner having lived among them (in the past).”
“We did aforetime send messengers before thee: of them there are some whose story We have related to thee, and some whose story We have not related to thee. It was not (possible) for any messenger to bring a sign except by the leave of Allah: but when the Command of Allah issued, the matter was decided in truth and justice, and there perished, there and then those who stood on Falsehoods.”
The law (the Torah)
The Gospel
The Vedas
The Puranas
The Pali texts
- Named
- Not named
Islam does not need them
A prophecy in another people's book could only ever be a support. The Qur'an asks: "is it not enough for them that we have sent down to thee the Book". Its proof is the Book itself, and it challenges anyone in doubt to produce a chapter like it. This matters for a Hindu or Buddhist reader. You are not asked to find Muhammad (ﷺ) in your own scriptures, or to accept a Muslim's reading of them. You are asked to examine a man and a Book, and both can still be examined today.
“And is it not enough for them that we have sent down to thee the Book which is rehearsed to them? Verily, in it is Mercy and a Reminder to those who believe.”
“And if ye are in doubt as to what We have revealed from time to time to Our servant, then produce a Sura like thereunto; and call your witnesses or helpers (If there are any) besides Allah, if your (doubts) are true.”
What does show he is a messenger
A man who claims to be sent is tested by his life and his message. His own people called him al-Amin, the trustworthy, before he claimed anything. The Qur'an tells him to point to that: "A whole life-time before this have I tarried amongst you". He had recited no book before, and he wrote none, yet he brought the Qur'an. The Romans had just been defeated when it said they "will soon be victorious", and it came true. His message is the one every people's messenger brought: serve God (﷾) alone. And he was sent "unto you all". The pages on whether Muhammad (ﷺ) was really a messenger of God (﷾), and on why other religions should accept him, set this out in full. So read the Qur'an for yourself, and weigh him as carefully as you would weigh any teacher.
Reports that before his mission Muhammad (ﷺ) was known among Quraysh as al-Amin, the trustworthy. When the clans quarrelled over who should set the Black Stone back in place during the rebuilding of the Ka'ba, they agreed to accept the judgement of the first man to enter, and it was he. People of Makkah left their valuables in his keeping, and at the Hijra he had Ali stay behind to return them to their owners.
“Say: "If Allah had so willed, I should not have rehearsed it to you, nor would He have made it known to you. A whole life-time before this have I tarried amongst you: will ye not then understand?"”
“And thou wast not (able) to recite a Book before this (Book came), nor art thou (able) to transcribe it with thy right hand: In that case, indeed, would the talkers of vanities have doubted.”
“The Roman Empire has been defeated- In a land close by; but they, (even) after (this) defeat of theirs, will soon be victorious- Within a few years. With Allah is the Decision, in the past and in the Future: on that Day shall the Believers rejoice-”
“For We assuredly sent amongst every People a messenger, (with the Command), "Serve Allah, and eschew Evil": of the People were some whom Allah guided, and some on whom error became inevitably (established). So travel through the earth, and see what was the end of those who denied (the Truth).”
“Say: "O men! I am sent unto you all, as the Messenger of Allah, to Whom belongeth the dominion of the heavens and the earth: there is no god but He: it is He That giveth both life and death. So believe in Allah and His Messenger, the Unlettered Prophet, who believeth in Allah and His words: follow him that (so) ye may be guided."”
His life
Called al-Amin, the trustworthy, before he claimed anything.
The Qur'an
He had recited no book before, and he wrote none.
What it foretold
A Roman victory within a few years, and it came true.
The message
Serve God (﷾) alone, and it was sent "unto you all".
Claim by claim
Bhavishya Purana 3.3.3 — Pratisarga Parva, khanda 3, chapter 3, verses 1-27
The chapter calls Bhoja the tenth king of the line of Shalivahana, and has him cross the Indus with the poet Kalidasa (vv. 1-3). A foreign (mleccha) man called Mahamada appears with his disciples (v. 5). King Bhoja bathes Mahadeva, the dweller in the desert, and praises Hara, lord of Girija and destroyer of the demon Tripura (vv. 6-8). The god answers him: the demon Tripura, whom he burned before, has come again, known as Mahamada, devoted to demonic (paishacha) deeds (vv. 9-12). Kalidasa calls Mahamada a rogue and the lowest of men. He recites a mantra ten thousand times, and Mahamada is turned to ashes (vv. 18-20). His disciples place the ashes in a town called Madahina (vv. 21-22). Mahamada then appears at night and says he will make a terrible paishacha religion. His people will be circumcised, without the topknot, bearded and calling aloud, and for their rite of purification they will use a pestle (musala), so they will be called musalavanta (vv. 23-27).
Cited for
The Bhavishya Purana describes his followers exactly: circumcised, bearded and calling aloud. No one could have known this before.
The response
That part of the Purana names Akbar and Calcutta, so its writer lived among Muslims. A description written after the fact is not a prediction.
Where it lands — The match shows what the writer knew, not what anyone foretold.
Bhavishya Purana 3.3.3 — Pratisarga Parva, khanda 3, chapter 3, verses 1-27
The chapter calls Bhoja the tenth king of the line of Shalivahana, and has him cross the Indus with the poet Kalidasa (vv. 1-3). A foreign (mleccha) man called Mahamada appears with his disciples (v. 5). King Bhoja bathes Mahadeva, the dweller in the desert, and praises Hara, lord of Girija and destroyer of the demon Tripura (vv. 6-8). The god answers him: the demon Tripura, whom he burned before, has come again, known as Mahamada, devoted to demonic (paishacha) deeds (vv. 9-12). Kalidasa calls Mahamada a rogue and the lowest of men. He recites a mantra ten thousand times, and Mahamada is turned to ashes (vv. 18-20). His disciples place the ashes in a town called Madahina (vv. 21-22). Mahamada then appears at night and says he will make a terrible paishacha religion. His people will be circumcised, without the topknot, bearded and calling aloud, and for their rite of purification they will use a pestle (musala), so they will be called musalavanta (vv. 23-27).
Cited for
The Bhoja of this chapter is not the famous one. He is an earlier king, the tenth of Shalivahana's line, who lived in the Prophet's (ﷺ) time.
The response
The chapter sets Kalidasa at this king's side, and Kalidasa lived before the Prophet (ﷺ) was born. No record knows a King Bhoja who met him. And whichever king is meant, the chapter was written after British rule began.
Where it lands — Moving the king does not move the date of the writing.
Bhagavata Purana 12.2.16-24 — book 12, chapter 2, verses 16-24
When the Kali age has almost passed, the Lord will descend (v. 16). Kalki will appear in the house of Vishnuyashas, the chief Brahmin of the village of Shambhala (v. 18). He will ride the swift horse Devadatta and kill robbers in the guise of kings by the million (vv. 19-20). Then the Krita age, the age of purity, will return (vv. 23-24).
Cited for
Kalki rides a horse and carries a sword, and he is the last. The Prophet (ﷺ) rode al-Buraq, the mount of the Night Journey, fought with a sword, and was the last prophet.
The response
Kalki kills robber-kings by the million, and then the Krita age, the age of purity, returns. Riders and swords are common to many stories. The Prophet (ﷺ) is a man and the Seal of the Prophets, not the one who ends an age.
Where it lands — Features shared with many people cannot identify one man.
Eliot, Hinduism and Buddhism (1921), on the Allopanishad
Writes that the Allopanishad, or Allah Upanishad, appears to have been written in connection with the Emperor Akbar's new creed; that it purports to be an Upanishad of the Atharva Veda and can hardly be described as other than a forgery; and that it declares the Allah of "Muhammad Akbar" to be the God of gods and identifies him with Mitra, Varuna, the sun, moon, water and Indra. In a footnote he cites Schrader's Catalogue of the Adyar Library (1908), which states that in the north of India the Allopanishad is recited by Brahmans at the Vasantotsava and on other occasions.
Cited for
The Allopanishad uses the words Allah and Muhammad, so a Hindu text does name him.
The response
The Muhammad it names is Akbar, the sixteenth-century emperor. A text written under Muslim rule can use Muslim words. That shows when it was written.
Where it lands — It is a late text about an emperor.
Rig Veda 1.13.3 — Mandala 1, Hymn 13, verse 3
“Dear Narâṣaṅsa, sweet of tongue, the giver of oblations, I Invoke to this our sacrifice.”
Cited for
Narashamsa means "the praised one", and that is what Muhammad means.
The response
The meaning is close, and that is all. The hymns apply the word to Agni and Pushan, and call on him to come to the sacrifice.
Where it lands — The word has a meaning, and the hymns say who bears it. They do not mean him.
Atharva Veda 20.127.1-3 — Book 20, Hymn 127, verses 1-3
“Listen to this, ye men, a laud of glorious bounty shall be sung. Thousands sixty, and ninety we, O Kaurama, among the Ruṣamas have received. Camels twice-ten that draw the car, with females by their side, he gave. Fain would the chariot's top bow down escaping from the stroke of heaven. A hundred chains of gold, ten wreaths, upon the Rishi he bestowed, And thrice-a-hundred mettled steeds, ten-times-a-thousand cows he gave.”
Cited for
The sixty thousand and ninety in the Kuntap hymn are the people of Mecca, the enemies of the Prophet (ﷺ).
The response
The verse says "we" received them, among the Ruṣamas, and it names Kaurama. The hymn lists a king's gifts to a poet.
Where it lands — The number is a count of gifts received, and the hymn names no Mecca.
Rig Veda 1.53.9 — Mandala 1, Hymn 53, verse 9
“With all-outstripping chariot-wheel, O Indra, thou far-famed, hast overthrown the twice ten Kings of men, With sixty thousand nine-and-ninety followers, who came in arms to fight with friendless Suṣravâs.”
Cited for
Sushrava means "well praised", and he stood friendless against twenty chiefs, as the Prophet (ﷺ) did at Mecca.
The response
Being friendless is not a sign of one man. The verse is a past event addressed to Indra, who is said to win the battle.
Where it lands — A verse that gives the victory to Indra cannot be a Muslim's prophecy.
Rig Veda 8.6.10-11 — Mandala 8, Hymn 6, verses 10-11
“I from my Father have received deep knowledge of the Holy Law: I was born like unto the Sun. After the lore of ancient time I make, like Kaṇva, beauteous songs, And Indra's self gains strength thereby.”
Cited for
The Sama Veda has the very name Ahmad, the name Jesus gave in Qur'an 61:6.
The response
It has aham, "I", joined to the next word in the running text. The verse goes on, "I was born like unto the Sun", and the next verse has the poet making songs.
Where it lands — The word is a pronoun, and the speaker is the poet.
Digha Nikaya 26 — Long Discourses, discourse 26 (The Wheel-Turning Monarch), segments 19-25
“And the Blessed One named Metteyya will arise in the world—perfected, a fully awakened Buddha,”
Cited for
Maitreya means kindness, and the Prophet (ﷺ) is a mercy for all creatures. So Maitreya is Muhammad (ﷺ).
The response
The text describes a Buddha who teaches "just as I do today", at Varanasi, among people who live for 80,000 years. A name that means friendly cannot outweigh all of that.
Where it lands — Nothing in the Qur'an or the authentic reports links them, and the text describes someone else.
Perspectives
A Hindu reply
Many Hindus would say these claims misread their books, and this page agrees. Some go further: if the scriptures do not foretell him, a Hindu has no reason to look at him.
Krishna says that scripture is the authority for what should be done. If scripture does not foretell Muhammad (ﷺ), a Hindu has no need of him.
Rebuttal
Silence is not a denial: no verse here says that no messenger will come. A messenger is tested by his life and his message, and the Qur'an offers a test anyone can try. Which books hold authority is itself the question, as the page on who wrote the Vedas shows.
Muslims twist the Vedas and Puranas to win converts, so nothing they say about Hindu scripture can be trusted.
Rebuttal
A bad reading is the fault of the reading. The Qur'an forbids it, and this page sets it aside in the texts' own words. A case for Islam never rested on these claims, so dropping them costs it nothing.
Kalki will come to restore dharma, so a Hindu should wait for him and not turn to anyone else.
Rebuttal
By the common reckoning over 426,000 years of the Kali age remain, so no one alive can wait for him. A messenger has already come, sent to all people, and his Book can be examined now.
A Buddhist reply
A Buddhist may say that Metteyya is the teacher to come, and that until then the Dhamma is enough.
Metteyya will arise and teach the Dhamma again, so there is no need for a messenger from Arabia.
Rebuttal
The text places him among people who live for 80,000 years, so no one reading this can wait for him. The Qur'an says Muhammad (ﷺ) has already been sent to all people. The page on what Muslims think of the Buddha tests the teaching itself.
Muslims who still use these claims
Some Muslims reply that the Qur'an itself points to earlier books, and that these claims open doors for Hindus.
The Qur'an says it is announced in the Books of former peoples, so the Vedas must mention him.
Rebuttal
The next words name the learned of the Children of Israel, and 7:157 names the law and the Gospel. The Qur'an does not name the Vedas. So a Muslim has no ground to say a given Hindu verse is meant.
Even if the reading is weak, it opens a door. A Hindu will listen when he hears the Prophet (ﷺ) is in his own books.
Rebuttal
A door opened by a false reading closes the day the reader checks it, and it takes his trust with it. The Qur'an says not to cover truth with falsehood, and the truth needs no such help.
The Islamic perspective
The Qur'an names the Torah and the Gospel as mentioning him. It sends every reader to the Book and the man, and these need no support from other scriptures.
The Qur'an names the law and the Gospel as books that mention him, and records Jesus' glad tidings of Ahmad.
God (﷾) sent a warner to every people and took a covenant from the prophets, so what India's warners said is known to Him, and we claim nothing beyond that.
Muhammad (ﷺ) was a man and a messenger, never a descent of God (﷾), and he told his followers to call him the servant of Allah (﷾).
The Book itself is the proof that the Qur'an offers, and the challenge to produce a chapter like it stands.