Chapters
Attributes of the Promised Messenger
Ahmed the Promised One · Alaa Alsalem
3. Attributes of the Promised Messenger
Islam specifically describes this messenger, or Imam, who is dispatched in the end times. He is undoubtedly the MahdiPBUH.
Abu Saeed Al-Khudri said that the Messenger of God said: “I give you glad tidings of the Mahdi. He will be dispatched to my nation during the time of conflict between people, and the time of earthquakes. He will fill the earth with equity and justice just as it it had been filled with inequity and injustice. The inhabitants of heaven and the earth will be pleased with him.”14
When specifying the signs of the promised messenger's character, God Almighty has said: {It is He who has sent among the Ummiyoon a Messenger from themselves reciting to them His verses and purifying them and teaching them the Book and wisdom-although they were before in clear error–15 ✶ And [to] others of them who have not yet joined them. And He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise. ✶ That is the bounty of God, which He gives to whom He wills, and God is the possessor of great bounty} Quran Chapter “The Congregation, Friday” 62:2-4. The verse means: And [to] others of them who have not yet joined them, God Almighty will send among them a messenger who recites to them His verses, purifies them, and teaches them the Book and wisdom.
Unquestionably, Prophet MuhammadPBUHAP cannot recite verses to "others", because they come after he passes away. So there must be a messenger who is also among the Ummiyoon, meaning in the Umm Al-Qura of his time.16 He has the following attributes:
A. He recites the verses.
B. He purifies the people, meaning he purifies them so they can look into the Kingdom of Heaven.
C. He teaches them the book and wisdom.
For Muslims, the only character described as being divinely dispatched among the "others" is the Mahdi.17
Since the source of knowledge for the Prophets of God is one, and He is the Truth, the Exalted, and since the character that the whole world is anticipating is one-we find the Gospel specifying the very same characteristics.
JesusPBUH said:
[44] Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. [45] “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? [46] Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes” (Matthew 24).
The above text clearly describes the servant who carries out his master's command by relaying the divine verses that indicate his trustworthiness and wisdom, and his giving of divine food to the people.
Likewise, he purifies the people-especially his followers-with that food, which is essentially divine knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. By this food, they are able to look into the Kingdom of Heaven.
However, “to give them their food at the proper time” has been expressed in another way by Prophet MuhammadPBUHAP. Ubai Ibn Kaab asked him about the Riser and his signs: "What are his indications and signs, O Messenger of God?" The ProphetPBUHAP replied, "He has knowledge, and he will spread it himself when the time of his emergence arrives.”18
As for the first verse of the text, there is another account with different wording regarding the unexpected coming of the savior, or Riser.
Imam Ali Ibn Abi TalibPBUH said: Prophet MuhammadPBUHAP was asked, “O Messenger of God, when will the Riser from among your descendants emerge?” He replied, “His example is that of the Hour {None will reveal its time except Him. It lays heavily upon the heavens and the earth.} He will come to you unexpectedly.’"19
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In the Torah, this “unexpected event” is also mentioned:
[5] . . . And in an instant, suddenly, [6] you will be visited by the LORD of hosts with thunder and with earthquake and great noise, with whirlwind and tempest, and the flame of a devouring fire (Isaiah 29).
What remains is to show the Torah’s description of the divine savior and redeemer of whom “the nations inquire”, and who “shall stand as a signal for the peoples”. These descriptions are referring to the same character:
[1] There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. [2] And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. [3] And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, [4] but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. [5] Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins. [6] The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,
. . . . .
[9] They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. [10] In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples-of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious (Isaiah 11).
I don’t think much effort is needed to understand the text and realize that the above descriptions in the Quran and the Gospel of the world reformer are the same. That being said, we have reached the point of bringing together the descriptions of the promised messenger that have been provided for all people:
The Mahdi from the progeny of MuhammadPBUHAP = the faithful and wise servant that his master has “set” = a shoot from the stump of Jesse.21
Thus, this messenger truly deserves to be the unifying word for the people of the world, praise be to God. If it did not come from God, then we would find many inconsistencies. As for the interpretation of some Christians-that the one coming from the stump of Jesse is JesusPBUH-it is definitely false, as we will demonstrate in the discussions that follow.