Throughout the history of mankind, the credentials of all the prophets
of God have always been questioned and Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is
no exception. The Qur’an informs us that the credentials of the prophets
of God are in their noble personal character and the compelling truth of
the message which they bring from their Lord. With regard to Prophet
Muhammad, there are four arguments supporting his authenticity.

First argument
As we have seen in Section 4, Prophet Muhammad was a man of very
high integrity and was very highly respected by his people. He was even
known by one of his nick names ‘the truthful and the trustworthy’. The
Prophet began his prophetic mission at the age of forty. It defies all logic
and reason to imagine that a man of such noble character can suddenly at
this advance age turn a liar and an imposter.

One may argue that perhaps he wanted to enhance his social status. But he
was already a highly respected person who belonged to the most powerful
and respected tribe of Quraysh in Makkah. In fact, at the beginning of
his prophetic mission he was offered a position of leadership in order
to dissuade him from proclaiming the prophetic message and he flatly
refused.

This proves that he was not seeking any social status.

Second argument
The messengers of God are supported by a Divine message which is
revealed to them. Prophet Muhammad was supported by the Qur’an.
As demonstrated in Section 7, the Qur’an could not have been written
by the Prophet; it is certainly a Divine revelation. In fact, humanity has
been challenged in the Qur’an itself to produce anything like it, if anyone
has any notion that the Prophet wrote it. After all, as mentioned earlier,
the Prophet was not a scholarly person who could write such a book. The

Qur’an is a living credential of the Prophet’s authenticity and in fact, it is
the only miracle claimed by the Prophet.

Third argument
Prophet Muhammad began a movement which positively transformed
human civilization in such a comprehensive and rapid manner than any
other movement in human history. Furthermore, no religion had more
sustained influence on human civilization and development than Islam.
This rapid and sustained transformation of human civilization could not
have been achieved by a movement championed by an imposter. Again,
such a thought defies all reason and logic.

Forth argument
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was foretold in the scriptures of all major
religions: Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism.
In the Qur’an we are informed that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) has been
foretold in both the Jewish as well as the Christian scriptures.
Those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered prophet,
whom they find mentioned in their own (Scriptures); in
the Torah and the Gospel. (Qur’an 7:157)
In Deuteronomy 18:18 we read:

I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren,
like unto thee (Moses), and will put my words in his mouth,
and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command
him.

There is no prophet who came after Moses and fit this verse of the Old
Testament except Prophet Muhammad: Firstly, the brethren of the Jews
are the Arabs. The Children of Israel descended from Isaac and the Arab
race descended from Ishmael. Isaac and Ishmael are the sons of Abraham
and therefore their descendants are brethren. Secondly, Muhammad is
like unto Moses, whereas Jesus is not: (1) Both Moses and Muhammad
had a father and a mother. Jesus only had a mother and no father. (2) Both
Moses and Muhammad were naturally conceived in the wombs of their
mothers. Jesus was conceived in the womb of his mother by a miracle. (3)
Moses and Muhammad married and had children, whereas Jesus did not.
(4) Moses and Muhammad brought new laws and regulations for their
people, whereas Jesus did not. (5) Moses and Muhammad both died a
natural death. In both Islamic and Christian beliefs, Jesus did not depart
this earth in a natural way. Thirdly, as we are also informed in the Qur’an
(53:3-4), Prophet Muhammad did not speak from himself but his words
were a direct revelation or inspiration from God.

Coming to the New Testament, in the Gospel of John we read:
I have yet many things to say unto you, but you 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 show things to come. He shall glorify
me, for he shall receive of mine and shall show it unto you.
(John 16:12-14)

These verses speak of ‘the Spirit of truth’ who will not speak from himself,
again. The Spirit of truth cannot be the Holy Spirit, because the Holy
Spirit was already with Jesus (Luke 4:1and 3:22, John 20:22, Acts 2:4,
etc). Furthermore, this Spirit of truth shall glorify Jesus. There is no
prophet who came after Jesus and glorified him except Muhammad, (see
Section 11). There is no doubt that the ‘the spirit of truth’ who was to
come after Jesus was Muhammad, peace be upon them all.
Furthermore, in the Bible Prophet Muhammad is foretold in Isaiah


29:12, John 14:16, John 16:7, Matthew 21:43 and Acts 3:22. Note that
the word ‘Comforter’ mentioned in these biblical verses is a translation
of the Greek word ‘Paracletos’. This word is a corruption of the original
Greek word ‘Periclytos’ which translates to ‘the praised one’ or in Arabic,
‘Ahmad’ or ‘Muhammad’.

Careful and unbiased study also shows that Prophet Muhammad was
foretold in the Hindu as well as Buddhist scriptures. In his book entitled
“Muhammad in the Hindu Scriptures”, Dr. Ved Prakash Upaddhay has
uncovered in the Hindu scriptures many references to the Prophet. The
Vedas speak of a coming Sage whose description fits that of Prophet
Muhammad. His description, which is originally in Sanskrit language,
includes:
1. Narashagsa which translates as ‘the praised one’. This is the meaning of
both of the Prophet’s name, Ahmed and Muhammad. Furthermore,
the place of birth and the qualities of Narashagsa exactly fit those of
the Prophet.
2. Antim Rishi or ‘the Final Sage’. Prophet Muhammad was the last
messenger to mankind.
3. Kalki Avatar, that is the Sage who will come for the last generation.
Prophet Muhammad was sent as the last messenger for the entire
humanity.
4. Kauram, which means an emigrant. Prophet Muhammad was an
emigrant in Madinah, (see Section 4).
5. His father is mentioned as “Vaishnuvesh” which means ’Slave of God’
and his mother as “Sumati” which means ‘Peace’. These two names
correspond to ‘Abdallah’ and ‘Amna’ in Arabic, which are the names of
the Prophet’s father and mother.
6. The name of the coming Sage is Mamaha. This is not a Sanskrit word
but it seems to be the Sanskrit form of the Arabic name Muhammad.
In the Buddhist scripture Gautama Buddha gave a prophecy of the coming
of Antim Buddha or the Ultimate Sage, whose name will be Maitreya.
(Gospel of Buddha by Carus, page 217). The description of Maitreya fits
the description of Prophet Muhammad:
1. Prophet Muhammad was the last messenger, the Ultimate Sage.
2. Maitreya means ‘The Merciful’. Prophet Muhammad is described in
the Qur’an (21:107) as being ‘merciful’ to all the people of the world.
3. Maitreya will have all the characteristics of a Buddha: He will come
from an aristocratic family, will retire to a cave and visited by Angels,
will have wives and children, work for a living, and he will complete
his normal life, i.e. he will die a natural death. All this description fits
Prophet Muhammad.
4. Maitreya will be a ruler. Muhammad was not only a Prophet but also
the ruler of the Muslim nation.
5. Maitreya will speak of the previous Buddhas. Muhammad did speak
extensively about the previous messengers. The Qur’an mentions the
stories of twenty-five prophets who came before Prophet Muhammad.
6. Maitreya will not have a teacher in the world. Prophet Muhammad
was unlettered and had no worldly teacher. All his knowledge came
by revelation from God.

To sum up, the credentials of the Prophet are in his noble character, the
message which he brought, the sustained transformation of the human
civilization brought about by his movement, and the prophesies of his
coming which are found in the scriptures of all major religions.