Short answer
Yes. The Bible points to him in several places. God (﷾) promised Moses a prophet like himself, raised from among Israel's brethren (their kin), with God's (﷾) words in his mouth. Muhammad (ﷺ) fits that promise far better than Jesus does. Jesus promised another Comforter who could not come until he had gone. Isaiah foretells God's (﷾) servant, and a new song sung in the villages of Kedar, a son of Ishmael. Ishmael grew up in the wilderness of Paran, and God (﷾) promised to make him a great nation. The Prophet (ﷺ) came from Ishmael's line. The Qur'an told the Jews and Christians of his day that they would find him in their own books. Muslims hold that these promises were fulfilled in him.
Full explanation
A prophet like Moses, from Israel's brethren
God (﷾) promises Moses a prophet "from among their brethren, like unto thee", with God's (﷾) words in his mouth. This is in Deuteronomy, the last book of the Torah (the first five books of the Bible). The Torah uses "brethren" for Israel's kin outside Israel. Moses calls the sons of Esau "your brethren". The sons of Ishmael, Isaac's brother, are kin in the same way, through Abraham. The Torah closes by saying that no prophet like Moses had yet arisen in Israel. So the promise was still waiting. Muhammad (ﷺ) recited the Qur'an as words put in his mouth. And he was like Moses where Jesus was not. He was born of a father and mother, and he married and had children. He brought a new law, led his people out in an emigration, ruled them, defeated his enemies, and died once his mission was complete. Moses died in Moab. Muhammad (ﷺ) died in his last illness at home in Madinah. By contrast, the New Testament Gospels say that the council of Jesus' own people condemned him to death. The Qur'an says he was not killed.
“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. 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.”
“And command thou the people, saying, Ye are to pass through the coast of your brethren the children of Esau, which dwell in Seir; and they shall be afraid of you: take ye good heed unto yourselves therefore:”
“And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face,”
“That they said (in boast), "We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah";- but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not:-”
"That Prophet" was not the Christ
The priests sent to John the Baptist asked him three separate questions. Was he the Christ (the Messiah)? Was he Elijah? Was he "that prophet"? Later the crowds made the same distinction: some said Jesus was the Prophet, others the Christ. For the people who were waiting, the Prophet foretold by Moses and the Christ were two different figures. Christians accept Jesus as the Christ, and so does the Qur'an. In these questions, the Prophet and the Christ are two people. Muslims hold that Muhammad (ﷺ) is the Prophet.
“And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.”
“Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet. Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee?”
Another Comforter, who could not come while Jesus stayed
Jesus promised that the Father would send "another Comforter". The Greek word is parakletos. John's first letter uses it of Jesus himself, translated "advocate". So the first Comforter was a man. This one could not come unless Jesus went away. Yet the New Testament Gospels say the Holy Ghost was already at work. John the Baptist was filled with it from the womb, and it descended on Jesus like a dove at the Jordan. The promised one would not speak of himself, but only what he heard, and he would glorify Jesus. Muslims hold that this was Muhammad (ﷺ), who recited what the angel Gabriel brought him. The Qur'an revealed to him honours Jesus as the Messiah. The Catholic scholar Raymond Brown records that a number of scholars doubted the Paraclete was originally the Holy Spirit at all.
“And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;”
“My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:”
“Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.”
“For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb.”
“And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.”
“I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.”
In his appendix on the Paraclete, Brown notes that the word is peculiar to John's writings, and that in 1 John 2:1 Jesus himself is a parakletos. He records that Christian tradition identifies the Paraclete with the Holy Spirit, but that scholars including Spitta, Delafosse, Windisch, Sasse, Bultmann and Betz doubted this, suggesting the Paraclete was once an independent saving figure later confused with the Holy Spirit. Brown himself keeps the traditional identification.
The servant, and the new song in the villages of Kedar
Isaiah 42 speaks of God's (﷾) chosen servant, who will not fail till he has set judgment in the earth. Isaiah was a prophet of Israel. The same chapter calls for a new song to the LORD, sung in the villages that Kedar inhabits. Kedar was the second son of Ishmael, and his people lived in the Arabian desert. The Prophet (ﷺ) brought a new scripture in Arabic. His own tribe, the Quraysh, traces its line to Ishmael. Isaiah 60 even brings the flocks of Kedar and the rams of Nebaioth, Ishmael's firstborn, to God's (﷾) altar.
“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. He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.”
“Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein; the isles, and the inhabitants thereof. 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.”
“And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: the firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth; and Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam,”
“All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee: they shall come up with acceptance on mine altar, and I will glorify the house of my glory.”
Ishmael in the wilderness of Paran
Moses blessed Israel with a picture of God's (﷾) revelation: from Sinai, from Seir, and shining from Mount Paran. Ibn Kathir, a 14th-century commentator, records the reading of earlier scholars that the three places stand for three revelations. The Torah came at Sinai. The Injil (the Gospel Jesus preached) came from the land of Jerusalem. The Qur'an came from the mountains of Makkah. That is the classical Muslim reading of the verse. The case for it rests on what the Bible says about Ishmael. Genesis says he grew up in the wilderness of Paran, and God (﷾) had promised to make him a great nation. His first sons were Nebajoth and Kedar. Ezekiel, another prophet of Israel, names Kedar beside Arabia. Isaiah 60:7 (above) has the flocks of Kedar and the rams of Nebaioth accepted on God's (﷾) altar. Sahih Muslim reports that the Prophet (ﷺ) named his line. Allah (﷾) chose Kinana from the descendants of Ishmael, Quraysh from Kinana, and Banu Hashim from Quraysh. Then He chose the Prophet (ﷺ) from Banu Hashim.
“And he said, The Lord came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for them.”
On the fig and the olive, Mount Sinai and "this city of security", Ibn Kathir reports the view that they stand for three places where God sent a prophet with a law: Jerusalem, where Jesus was sent; Sinai, where God spoke to Moses; and Makkah, where Muhammad (ﷺ) was sent. The same scholars add that the end of the Torah names the same three places: God came from Sinai, shone from Seir, and appeared from the mountains of Paran, which they identify as the mountains of Makkah. They read Seir as the mountain of Jerusalem, where Jesus was sent.
“And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.”
“And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.”
“And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: the firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth; and Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam,”
“Arabia, and all the princes of Kedar, they occupied with thee in lambs, and rams, and goats: in these were they thy merchants.”
“All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee: they shall come up with acceptance on mine altar, and I will glorify the house of my glory.”
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.
The kingdom given to another nation
Jesus spoke of the stone the builders rejected becoming the head of the corner. He warned that the kingdom of God (﷾) would be taken from his hearers and given to a nation bringing forth its fruits. God (﷾) had promised Abraham that of Hagar's son too He would make a nation. The Prophet (ﷺ) described himself as the one brick missing from the corner of the house the prophets had built. He called himself the last of the prophets.
“Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.”
“And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed.”
Abu Hurayra reports that the Prophet (ﷺ) compared himself and the prophets before him to a man who built a fine house but left the place of one brick empty in a corner. People walked round it, admired it, and wished the brick were in place. He said: I am that brick, and I am the last of the prophets.
The Qur'an's challenge to Jews and Christians
The Qur'an told the Jews and Christians around the Prophet (ﷺ) that they would find him described in the Torah and the Injil. It records Jesus giving good news of a messenger to come after him, named Ahmad. It records Abraham and Ishmael praying for a messenger from their own descendants. The Prophet (ﷺ) said that no prophet came between Jesus and himself. No impostor would have staked his claim on being found in the books of two faiths. Those were books he could not read, and he made that claim before the very scholars who kept them.
“"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!"”
“"Our Lord! send amongst them a Messenger of their own, who shall rehearse Thy Signs to them and instruct them in scripture and wisdom, and sanctify them: For Thou art the Exalted in Might, the Wise."”
Abu Hurayra reports that the Prophet (ﷺ) said he was the nearest of all people to the son of Mary. The prophets are brothers with one father, he said, and there was no prophet between him and Jesus.
| Passage | What it says | How Muslims read it |
|---|---|---|
| Deuteronomy 18:18 | God (﷾) will raise a prophet like Moses “from among their brethren”, with God's (﷾) words in his mouth. | Israel's brethren include the sons of Ishmael. Muhammad (ﷺ), like Moses, brought a law and led his people, and recited the Qur'an as words put in his mouth. |
| John 1:21; 7:40-41 | People asked about “that prophet” and about the Christ as two different figures. | Jesus is the Christ, so the Prophet is someone else. |
| John 14:16; 16:7 | Jesus promised “another Comforter”, who could not come unless Jesus went away. | Muhammad (ﷺ), who came after Jesus and recited only what Gabriel brought him. |
| Isaiah 42 | God's (﷾) chosen servant, and a new song sung in the villages of Kedar, a son of Ishmael. | A new scripture in Arabic, brought by a man of the Quraysh, a tribe that traces its line to Ishmael. |
| Deuteronomy 33:2 | The Lord came from Sinai, rose from Seir and shone from Mount Paran. | Genesis says Ishmael grew up in Paran. Earlier scholars read the three places as three revelations: the Torah, the Injil and the Qur'an. |
| Matthew 21:42-43 | The rejected stone becomes the head of the corner, and the kingdom is given to another nation. | The Prophet (ﷺ) called himself the one brick missing from the house the prophets had built. |
The Qur'an told the Jews and Christians of his day that they would find the Prophet (ﷺ) in their own books.
How Christians read these passages
Christians read Deuteronomy 18 as a prophecy of Jesus, because Peter, a disciple of Jesus, applies it to him in Acts. They identify the Comforter with the Holy Spirit, as John 14:26 does in the KJV. And Matthew applies the opening of Isaiah 42 to Jesus. Each reading is answered verse by verse below.
“For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.”
“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”
“Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.”
Verse by verse
Acts 3:22 — Acts of the Apostles, chapter 3, verse 22
“For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.”
Cited for
Peter applies Moses' promise to Jesus, so the prophet like Moses is Jesus.
The response
In John's Gospel the Jews ask John the Baptist whether he is the Christ, and then separately whether he is "that prophet". For them the two were different figures. Jesus is also unlike Moses in the ways that matter. Moses brought a new law and ruled a nation. Jesus said he came not to destroy the law, and the Qur'an says he came confirming it. He also said his kingdom was not of this world.
Where it lands — The witnesses in John's Gospel themselves kept "that Prophet" apart from the Christ, so Deuteronomy 18 still points beyond Jesus.
Deuteronomy 18:15 — Torah, Devarim, chapter 18, verse 15
“The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;”
Cited for
Moses says the prophet will come "from the midst of thee", so he must be an Israelite.
The response
In verse 18, God's (﷾) own words to Moses, the promise is only "from among their brethren". The Torah calls Israel's kin outside Israel their brethren. Moses calls the sons of Esau "your brethren". The sons of Ishmael, Isaac's brother, are kin in the same way, through Abraham.
Where it lands — God's (﷾) own words in the promise say "their brethren". The Torah uses that word beyond Israel, so the promise is not closed to the sons of Ishmael.
John 14:26 — Gospel of John, chapter 14, verse 26
“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”
Cited for
John 14:26 calls the Comforter the Holy Ghost, so he is the Spirit, not a man.
The response
One of the earliest translations of the New Testament Gospels, the Old Syriac found at Sinai, reads only "the Spirit" here, without "Holy". By the New Testament Gospels' own account the Holy Ghost was already at work before Jesus went away. John the Baptist was filled with it from the womb, and it descended on Jesus like a dove at the Jordan. The Comforter, by contrast, could not come unless Jesus went away. The Comforter is described as a person who hears and speaks, and John's first letter calls Jesus himself a parakletos (1 John 2:1). The same letter tells believers to test every "spirit", because many false prophets have gone out (1 John 4:1). So "the Spirit of truth" can be a prophet.
Where it lands — The Holy Ghost was already at work before Jesus went away, while the Comforter could not come until he had gone. Muslims hold that the promised one is another like Jesus, who came after him.
Matthew 12:18 — Gospel of Matthew, chapter 12, verse 18
“Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.”
Cited for
Matthew applies Isaiah 42 to Jesus, so the servant is Jesus.
The response
Matthew quotes only the opening verses. The same servant "shall not fail… till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law" (42:4). The chapter also calls for a new song in the villages of Kedar, Ishmael's son. The Qur'an says Jesus came to the Children of Israel confirming the Law of Moses. He made lawful to them part of what had been forbidden. In John's Gospel he also said his kingdom was not of this world. Muhammad (ﷺ) brought a law the nations took up, and his people descend from Ishmael.
Where it lands — The chapter Matthew quotes goes on to a new song in Kedar and a law the nations wait for. That fits the mission of Muhammad (ﷺ), not the Jesus of the New Testament Gospels.
Numbers 10:12 — Torah, Bamidbar, chapter 10, verse 12
“And the children of Israel took their journeys out of the wilderness of Sinai; and the cloud rested in the wilderness of Paran.”
Cited for
Paran is the wilderness south of Canaan where Israel camped after Sinai, not Arabia.
The response
Israel passed through Paran, a great wilderness. But Genesis tells us who lived there: Ishmael. God (﷾) promised to make him a great nation, and the Bible places his son Kedar beside Arabia. The Muslim case rests on who lived in Paran, not on where its borders ran.
Where it lands — Israel's passage through Paran does not make it Israel's land: the Bible names it as Ishmael's home and places his sons beside Arabia.
Perspectives
Mainstream Christian
Christians say the prophet like Moses, the servant of Isaiah 42 and the promised Comforter point to Jesus and to the Holy Spirit. They do not point, they say, to a prophet after Jesus.
Peter quotes Moses' promise in a sermon about Jesus, so the prophet like Moses is Jesus.
Rebuttal
In John's Gospel the Jews ask John the Baptist whether he is the Christ. Then, separately, they ask whether he is "that prophet". So these are two different figures. Moses brought a new law and ruled a nation, while Jesus said his kingdom was not of this world. Jesus said he came not to destroy the law, and the Qur'an says he came confirming it. So Deuteronomy 18 still points beyond him.
Because John 14:26 calls the Comforter the Holy Ghost, the promised Comforter is the Holy Spirit, not a man.
Rebuttal
The Old Syriac, an early translation of the New Testament Gospels, reads only "the Spirit" here, without "Holy". The Holy Ghost was already at work in John the Baptist and in Jesus. But the Comforter could not come until Jesus left. He hears and speaks like a person. And John's first letter calls Jesus a parakletos (2:1), and calls prophets "spirits" to test (4:1).
Because Matthew applies Isaiah's servant to Jesus, the servant of Isaiah 42 is Jesus.
Rebuttal
Matthew quotes only the opening verses of a chapter. The chapter goes on to a new song in the villages of Kedar, Ishmael's son. The Qur'an says Jesus came confirming the Law of Moses and made lawful part of what had been forbidden. In John's Gospel he also said his kingdom was not of this world. But Muhammad (ﷺ) brought a law the nations took up.
The Islamic perspective
The Bible, even in its present form, still carries promises that only Muhammad (ﷺ) fulfilled. There is the prophet like Moses from Israel's brethren. There is the Comforter who came after Jesus. There is the servant of Isaiah 42, whose chapter calls for a new song in Kedar. And there is the promise to make Ishmael a great nation.
The prophet of Deuteronomy 18 comes from Israel's brethren. The Torah says no prophet like Moses had arisen in Israel by the time it closed.
The Torah calls Israel's kin outside Israel "brethren", so the promise can reach the sons of Ishmael.
The Jews who questioned John the Baptist kept "that prophet" apart from the Christ.
The Comforter could not come until Jesus left. But the Holy Ghost was already present. So the two are not the same.
Ishmael grew up in the wilderness of Paran. The Bible places his son Kedar beside Arabia and ties a new song to Kedar's villages.
God (﷾) promised to make Ishmael a great nation. And in Isaiah 60:7 the flocks of Kedar and the rams of Nebaioth are accepted on God's (﷾) altar.
The Prophet (ﷺ) came from Ishmael's line. Sahih Muslim has him say that Allah (﷾) chose Kinana from Ishmael's descendants, and chose him from Banu Hashim.
The Qur'an says the unlettered Prophet (ﷺ), who could not read, is found written in the Torah and the Injil. It says Jesus foretold him by name.