We are back again, but still ascertaining what the term "Muhammad" is, or who it belongs to, and are now turning our attention to the Qur'an itself to try to find out.

Yet, here is the problem, the word "Muhammad" in Arabic (MHMD) is only found 4 times in the Qur'an. So if this is the name for the prophet of Islam, of whom this book should be all about, that is embarrassing.

In comparison, the name of the prophet Moses is referred to 136 times, while Abraham is found 79 times, and even the insignificant Egyptian Pharaoh's name is written 74 times, while the references to Jesus in his many different forms can be found between 25 to 93 times!

If Muhammad is so important to Islam and to the Qur'an, than why are there so few references to him. What is even worse, what if these 4 references are not to the Muslim prophet Muhammad at all, but to someone else?

As we have noted in the previous episodes in this series on Muhammad, the four letters 'MHMD' was a title long before it became a name for a man, or even a prophet.

That title could mean "The Praised One", or "Altogether Lovely", or "The Anointed One", or even "The "Messiah". And by the 7th century that title often was used when referring to Jesus Christ, at least by Christians who spoke Arabic.

So, understanding that it was a title when the Qur'an was being created, let's then take a look at the 4 references to Muhammad in the Qur'an and see if this title fits Muhammad, the prophet from Arabia, or the Christ Jesus from Galilee.

Mel cautions at the beginning of this episode that when we look at this title in the 7th century, we need to be aware that it could be attributed to either Jesus, or even to a Jewish exilarch (i.e. Nehemiah ben Hushiel who lived in Jerusalem) who was viewed as a Messianic figure at that time.

With that caution out of the way, let's now turn our interest to these 4 verses in the Qur'an which state the word "Muhammad":

Surah 47:2 - "As for those who believe, do good, and have faith in what has been revealed to Muḥammad—which is the truth from their Lord—He will absolve them of their sins and improve their condition."

This verse is all about a 'Muhammad' who can forgive sins, which the Muslim Muhammad cannot, but Jesus can (see Matthew 4:17 and Mark 2:10), proving that this could only be about Jesus 'The praised one'.

Surah 48:29 - "Muḥammad is the Messenger of Allah. And those with him are firm with the disbelievers and compassionate with one another. You see them bowing and prostrating in prayer, seeking Allah’s bounty and pleasure. The sign ˹of brightness can be seen˺ on their faces from the trace of prostrating ˹in prayer˺. This is their description in the Torah. And their parable in the Gospel is that of a seed that sprouts its ˹tiny˺ branches, making it strong..."

This verse points to a 'Muhammad' whose followers follow the Torah and the Gospels, which are likely Christians. It then refers to the parable of the sowers, one of Jesus' teachings.

Surah 33:40 - "Muḥammad was not the father of any of your men, but is the Messenger of Allah and the seal of the prophets. And Allah has ˹perfect˺ knowledge of all things."

Mel points out that this verse in Arabic is in the past tense, so that it should read "Muhammad WAS not the father of any of your men", referring to a former 'Muhammad', or 'Praised One'; therefore it could not be talking about the Arab Muhammad of the time of the Qur'an.

It also makes more sense with Jesus, who never married, so could not be the "father of any of your men". Furthermore, he is the "seal", or the last of the prophetic line, since he didn't marry and have any progeny. Thus, it fits Jesus better than the Islamic Muhammad.

Surah 3:144 - "Muḥammad is no more than a messenger; other messengers have gone before him. If he were to die or to be killed, would you regress into disbelief?"

This again makes more sense with Jesus, as it fits almost word-for-word a previous Surah 5:75, where the exact same statement is made of Isa, the Messiah, saying "The Messiah, son of Mary, was no more than a messenger. ˹Many˺ messengers had ˹come and˺ gone before him". So the
persons in both Surah 3:144 and Surah 5:75 are Jesus.

Furthermore, the reference to dying and being killed also fits with Jesus better than with the Muhammad of Islam, who wasn't killed.

So, in all four examples where the term 'Muhammad' is found in the Arabic of the Qur'an, rather than immediately imposing the later Islamic Traditional narrative onto these verses, which is known as 'eisegesis', its better to read them in the context of that time and place, ascertaining what the author of these verses intended, which is known as 'exegesis'. When we do that these 4 verses clearly suggest that the better candidate for them turns out to be the Jesus of Jerusalem, and not the Muhammad of Mecca.

© Pfander Centre for Apologetics & Polemics - US, January 22, 2024
(101,500) Music: 'Country Girl' by aleksound, from filmmusic-io