Signs of Messengership
Narrations about his characteristics, and signs of his Messengership
When it comes to the signs of Prophet Muhammad’s ﷺ Prophethood and Messengership one must know that they were inscribed in previous scriptures, and transmitted from monks, rabbis and the knowledgeable People of the Book. His description, nation, names and his signs, even the seal that was to grace the area between his shoulder blades was known to them.
In the poetry of Tubba, the story of the king of Yemen who wanted to destroy Yathrib with its Jews but were told by Prophet Samuel that a Prophet ﷺ would migrate there is told. There were other poets who wrote about the signs of the Prophet ﷺ such as Al Aws ibn Haritha who lived between the era of Prophets and worshipped One God rather than idols.
Ka’b ibn Lu’ayy, was the first person to call for prayer gatherings on a Friday and he too spoke of the coming of a Prophet ﷺ.
Sufyan ibn Mujashi, from Tamin proclaimed the coming of an Arab Prophet ﷺ and mentioned his name as being Muhammad ﷺ.
Quss ibn Sa’ida, a Christian bishop from Najran was knowledgeable of the signs of the Prophet ﷺ as was Sayf ibn Dhi Yazin, a king of Himyar who conquered Yemen and defeated the Abyssinians and spoke to Sayyidina Abdul Muttalib of a hidden book that he had read in which it was announced that a Prophet would be born in Tihama.
Zaid ibn Amr whose grandfather was Nufayl, described the Prophet ﷺ and said he would be from the children of Sayyidina Abdul Muttalib. The description and news of the forthcoming Prophet was also known by Waraqa ibn Nawfal, Athkalan Al Himyari and the Jewish scholar Samuel.
Before the Torah and the Gospel were tampered with the description and mention of the names of the attributes of the last Prophet of Allah ﷺ together with his signs and place of birth, were to be found and the sincere people who had knowledge of their untampered Books embraced Islam.
Amongst the Jewish converts were the rabbi, who took the name of Sayyidina Abdullah ibn Salaam, Sayyidina ibn Sa’ya, Sayyidina ibn Yamin, Sayyidina Mukharyia, and Sayyidina Ka’b as well as other Jewish scholars. Amongst the Christians was Sayyidina Buhaira, Nestor and the governor of Bosra, Sayyidina Daghatir, the bishop of Syria, Sayyidina Al Jarud, Sayyidina Salman of Persia, Sayyidina Negus of Abyssinia and others.
News of these conversions reached and were acknowledged by the Emperor Heraclius, the Pope of Rome, Christian hierarchy, the head of the Coptic church in Egypt, the prominent Jewish scholar Suriya’s son, Akhtab and his brother, Ka’b, Asad’s son, Az-Zubair, Batiya’s son to mention but a few, however all were blinded by envy, pride and rivalry and refused to accept the fact that the Prophet ﷺ was an Arab and not of their race.
There are many authentic records that speak of how both the Jews and Christians could not do otherwise but admit to the existence of these descriptions that the Prophet ﷺ were written in their scriptures. Whenever any of the People of the Book came to challenge him, the Prophet ﷺ would quote their scriptures as an argument against them. He reproached them for tampering with the words in their scriptures, and for the concealment of their contents, and the twisting of words that would otherwise made his affair clear to the unsuspecting.
He invited the Christian Bishops to join him in a supplication in which he and his
family were willing to make that those who lied would be cursed, but they declined. When the bishops realised they would be exposed in their true light, they avoided confrontation with him thereby avoiding the exposure of their falsified books. Had they found their books contained other than that which he said, it would have been by far easier for them to present it rather than be subjected to the confiscation of their property, in some cases their lives, and status. He challenged the Jews with a verse from the Qur’an saying, “So henceforth whoever fabricates lies against Allah – it is they who are the unjust.”[1]
[1] Surah No:3. Verse No:94