Traces of the Prophet in Earlier Scripture
Salam alaikum, I wanted to share something fascinating about how the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is hinted at in the Bible. For example, Haggai 2:7 mentions 'the desire of all nations'-in Hebrew, that word is 'ḥemdâ', from the root ḥ-m-d, meaning desire or beloved. In Arabic, the root ḥ-m-d means praise, and it's directly connected to the name Muhammad (the praised one). The consonants match beautifully: mem, ḥet, mem, dalet in Hebrew, and mīm, ḥāʾ, mīm, dāl in Arabic. There's also talk of a 'latter house' whose glory exceeds the former, and in that place, peace (shalom) will be given-shalom in Hebrew, salam in Arabic, which is the core of Islam. Many see this as pointing to the Kaaba in Makkah. Deuteronomy 18:18 promises a prophet 'like you' from among their brothers, one who speaks God's words. Jeremiah 28:9 says the prophet of peace (shalom again) will be recognized when his word comes true. Even the Book of Habakkuk mentions 'mount Paran'-a region where Ishmael settled-and a holy one coming from there, with 'horns' in his hand, which might connect to the Quran through the Arabic 'qarn'. These are just linguistic and thematic links, but they make you reflect. The Quran itself says in 73:15 that a messenger has been sent, just as one was sent to Pharaoh. Subhanallah, the signs are there for those who ponder.