Short answer
The prophet like Moses is Muhammad (ﷺ), not Jesus. God (﷾) told Moses He would raise up a prophet "like unto thee" from among the Israelites' "brethren". The Torah calls Israel's near kin their brethren, and Arab tradition traces the Arabs to Ishmael, Isaac's brother. Moses and Muhammad (ﷺ) match point by point. Each brought a full law, led his followers away from persecution, ruled his people and defeated his enemies. Each had a father and a mother, married, had children, and lies buried. Jesus differs: Christians say he rose from the dead, Muslims that God (﷾) raised him. The Torah's last chapter says no prophet like Moses had yet arisen in Israel. In John's Gospel, John the Baptist denies being the Christ. The priests then ask separately whether he is "that prophet". So people awaited two figures. Muslims hold that Jesus was the Christ and Muhammad (ﷺ) is the Prophet.
Full explanation
The Christian reading
Christians read Deuteronomy 18 as a prophecy of Jesus. In Acts, Peter, a disciple of Jesus, quotes it in a sermon about Jesus. In John's Gospel, Jesus says that Moses wrote of him.
“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.”
“For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me.”
The promise to Moses
Deuteronomy is part of the Torah, the first five books of the Bible. In it, God (﷾) promises a prophet like Moses, from among Israel's brethren (brothers, near kin), with God's (﷾) words put in his mouth. The verse also says how he will speak, as Moses did: God (﷾) puts His words in his mouth, and he speaks all that God (﷾) commands. The Prophet (ﷺ) recited the Qur'an as God's (﷾) words, not his own (53:3-4). In verse 15 Moses says "from the midst of thee, of thy brethren". In verse 18, God's (﷾) own words say only "from among their brethren". God (﷾) then warns that He will call to account anyone who will not listen to the words this prophet speaks in His name. The Qur'an carries the same warning: no other religion will be accepted.
“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.”
“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;”
“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.”
“If anyone desires a religion other than Islam (submission to Allah), never will it be accepted of him; and in the Hereafter He will be in the ranks of those who have lost (All spiritual good).”
“Nor does he say (aught) of (his own) Desire. It is no less than inspiration sent down to him:”
Like unto Moses: point by point
Moses and Muhammad (ﷺ) each brought a full law. Jesus said he came to fulfil the law, not to replace it. Both ruled and judged their people by God's (﷾) law, as when a Sabbath-breaker was judged in Moses' day. Jesus said his kingdom was not of this world. Both led their followers out of persecution, from Egypt and from Mecca. Both defeated their enemies in this world. Both had a father and a mother. Jesus was born of a virgin, as Christians and Muslims agree. Both married and had children. Jesus did not. Both were in the end accepted by their people. John says Jesus' own "received him not". Neither was condemned and put to death by his own people, and both lie buried. Moses died in the land of Moab "according to the word of the Lord" and was buried there. Muhammad (ﷺ) died in his last illness at home in Medina. Christians say Jesus was condemned by the council of his own people, was killed by his enemies and rose from the dead. Muslims hold that he was raised to God (﷾). Neither Christians nor Muslims hold that Moses or Muhammad (ﷺ) was God. Most Christians say Jesus is God. On each point Muhammad (ﷺ) is like Moses, and Jesus is not.
“He came unto his own, and his own received him not.”
“And all the congregation brought him without the camp, and stoned him with stones, and he died; as the Lord commanded Moses.”
“Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.”
“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”
“So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord. And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Beth–peor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day. And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated. And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days: so the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended. And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him: and the children of Israel hearkened unto him, and did as the Lord commanded Moses. And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face,”
“Ye have heard the blasphemy: what think ye? And they all condemned him to be guilty of death.”
“She said: "How shall I have a son, seeing that no man has touched me, and I am not unchaste?"”
| Point | Moses | Muhammad | Jesus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birth | A father and a mother | A father and a mother | A mother, no father |
| Family | Married, had children | Married, had children | Never married, no children |
| Law | Brought a full law | Brought a full law | Came to fulfil the law, not to replace it |
| Rule | Ruled his people | Ruled his people | Said his kingdom was not of this world |
| Emigration | Led his followers out of Egypt | Led his followers out of Mecca | Led no such emigration |
| Death | Died and was buried in Moab | Died at home in Medina and was buried | Christians say he was condemned by his own people's council and killed; Muslims hold that God (﷾) raised him to Himself |
| Called God (﷾) by his followers | No | No | Most Christians say he is God |
On each point Muhammad (ﷺ) is like Moses, and Jesus is not.
"From among their brethren"
The Torah uses "brethren" for Israel's near kin, not only for Israelites. Moses calls the Edomites, the sons of Isaac's son Esau, "your brethren the children of Esau". If Esau's sons are Israel's brethren, so are the sons of Isaac's brother Ishmael. Both Isaac and Ishmael were sons of Abraham. God (﷾) promised to make Ishmael a great nation. In Arab and Islamic tradition, the Arabs of Mecca descend from him. The Torah's closing chapter adds that no prophet like Moses had arisen in Israel. So the promise was still waiting when the Torah was complete. Jesus was an Israelite, a Jew. The Qur'an describes Muhammad (ﷺ) as a messenger sent to his people from among themselves. Some Jewish teachers read the promise as the whole line of Israel's prophets. But the Torah closes by saying no prophet like Moses had arisen in Israel, and in John's day people still awaited "that prophet".
“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:”
“Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation.”
“So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord. And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Beth–peor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day. And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated. And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days: so the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended. And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him: and the children of Israel hearkened unto him, and did as the Lord commanded Moses. And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face,”
“Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.”
“Allah did confer a great favour on the believers when He sent among them a messenger from among themselves, rehearsing unto them the Signs of Allah, sanctifying them, and instructing them in Scripture and Wisdom, while, before that, they had been in manifest error.”
“And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ. And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.”
"That prophet" was not the Christ
John's Gospel shows that the people waiting for these promises did not think "the Prophet" and "the Christ" (the Messiah) were the same man. The priests asked John the Baptist who he was. He said he was not the Christ. They then asked whether he was Elijah, and whether he was "that prophet". He denied both. Later the crowds split. Some said Jesus was the Prophet, and others said he was the Christ. So even those who called Jesus the Prophet treated it as a different title from the Christ. Christians hold that Jesus is the Christ, and the Qur'an calls him the Messiah. So the Prophet (ﷺ) is another man.
“And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ. 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?”
The Qur'an and the first witness
The Qur'an draws the line to Moses itself. It says God (﷾) sent Muhammad (ﷺ) as a messenger, as He sent a messenger to Pharaoh. It says the People of the Book (the Jews and Christians) find him written in the Law and the Injil (the Gospel Jesus preached). And a Christian saw the link to Moses at the very start. Waraqa ibn Nawfal had become a Christian and used to write in Hebrew from the Christian scripture of his day. The hadith calls it the Injil. After the first revelation, he said this was the angel God (﷾) had sent to Moses. Waraqa died a few days later.
“We have sent to you, (O men!) a messenger, to be a witness concerning you, even as We sent a messenger to Pharaoh.”
“"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."”
Aisha describes the first revelation. In the cave of Hira the angel told the Prophet (ﷺ) to read, and three times he answered that he could not read, before the first verses of Surat al-Alaq were given to him. Khadija took him to her cousin Waraqa ibn Nawfal, an old, blind man who had become a Christian and wrote out parts of the Gospel in Hebrew letters. Waraqa said this was the angel God had sent to Moses, and a few days later he died.
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, a disciple of Jesus, says the prophet Moses foretold is Jesus, so the question is settled.
The response
Acts gives Peter's reading. But the Torah's own words decide it. The prophet is like Moses, and Jesus is unlike Moses on point after point. And in John's Gospel the Jews of Jesus' day kept "the Prophet" and "the Christ" apart.
Where it lands — The text of Deuteronomy points away from Jesus, and John's Gospel shows that the Prophet and the Christ were expected as two different figures.
John 5:46 — Gospel of John, chapter 5, verse 46
“For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me.”
Cited for
Jesus said Moses "wrote of me", which must mean Deuteronomy 18.
The response
The verse does not name any passage of Moses. It cannot make Jesus fit the description in Deuteronomy 18, which he does not fit.
Where it lands — Jesus' words do not identify Deuteronomy 18 as the passage he meant.
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
"Brethren" in Deuteronomy means fellow Israelites (17:15; 18:2), and verse 15 says "from the midst of thee".
The response
The word covers both. Deuteronomy 2:4 calls the sons of Esau "your brethren". God's (﷾) words in verse 18 say only "from among their brethren", and Peter quotes the promise in Acts the same way: "of your brethren". And the Torah closes with no such prophet having arisen in Israel.
Where it lands — The word allows Israel's kin, and the wording of verse 18 leaves the door open to them.
Perspectives
Jewish: a prophet from Israel's own midst
Jewish tradition reads Deuteronomy 18 as promising prophets from within Israel. Moses says the Lord will raise up a prophet "from the midst of thee, of thy brethren", so the prophet must be an Israelite.
Moses says the prophet will come "from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me". So, they say, he must be an Israelite.
Rebuttal
When God (﷾) Himself gives the promise three verses later, He says "from among their brethren", and the Torah calls the children of Esau Israel's brethren. And the Torah closes by saying that no prophet like Moses had arisen in Israel. The prophet like Moses is to be looked for among Israel's kin.
Mainstream Christian
The prophet like Moses is Jesus, as Peter preached in Acts. Jesus said so too, when he told his hearers that Moses wrote of him.
Peter applies Deuteronomy 18 to Jesus in Acts 3:22.
Rebuttal
Grant that Peter applies the verse to Jesus. But the Torah's words come first: the prophet is "like unto thee", "from among their brethren". Jesus is unlike Moses on point after point, and in John's Gospel the people of Jesus' day kept the Prophet and the Christ apart.
Jesus said that Moses wrote of him.
Rebuttal
Grant that Jesus said Moses wrote of him. The verse names no passage. It cannot make Jesus fit Deuteronomy 18, which says "like unto thee" and "from among their brethren".
The Islamic perspective
The prophet like Moses is Muhammad (ﷺ). He is from Israel's brethren the Ishmaelites, like Moses in life, law and leadership, and he brings God's (﷾) words in his mouth.
Deuteronomy 18:18 promises a prophet "from among their brethren, like unto thee", with God's (﷾) words in his mouth.
The Torah uses "brethren" for Israel's near kin, such as the children of Esau.
Muhammad (ﷺ) matches Moses in birth, family, rule, law, emigration, victory, and death and burial in the ground, where Jesus does not. Neither Moses nor Muhammad (ﷺ) was condemned by his own people, as Christians say Jesus was.
When the Torah closes, no prophet like Moses had arisen in Israel.
In John's Gospel the people waiting for the promises asked about "that prophet" and "the Christ" as two different figures.
The Qur'an compares the sending of Muhammad (ﷺ) to the sending of Moses to Pharaoh.