Confirmation by the Previous Prophet

Hawzah News Agency ­– One of the ways by which the truth of a prophetic claim is affirmed is by confirmation given by the previous Prophet. For it is to be assumed that the prophethood of the previous Prophet was proven with conclusive evidence; so, naturally, his words can be the basis for evaluating the prophethood of the succeeding Prophet.

Some verses of the Holy Qur'an indicate that the People of the Book recognized the Prophet of Islam just as clearly as they had recognized their own children; in other words, the distinguishing signs of his prophethood were clearly indicated in their revealed scriptures. The Prophet of Islam claimed to be the Prophet prophesied in their scripture and none denied the truth of his claim, as it is said in the Qur'an:

Those unto whom We gave the Scripture recognize [the Prophet] as they recognize their sons. But lo! a party of them knowingly conceal the truth. (Sura al-Baqara, II: 146)

The Prophet of Islam claimed that the Prophet Jesus gave good tidings regarding his own advent when he said:

Lo! I am the Messenger of God unto you, confirming that which was] revealed] before me in the Torah, and bringing good news of a Messenger who cometh after me, whose name is Ahmad. (Sura al-Saff, LXI: 6)

The People of the Book did not refute this claim, even though they refused to acknowledge its truth.

In passing, it is interesting to note that the Gospel, despite having been subjected to centuries of interpolations and alterations, still contains the prophecy of Jesus pertaining to a person named Parakletos (meaning 'the Praised', thus 'Muhammad') in the Gospel of St John, chapters 14–16, to which researchers can refer.

Reference:

Ayatollah Jafar Sobhani, Doctrines of Shii Islam, A Compendium of Imami Beliefs and Practices, Translated and Edited by Reza Shah-Kazemi, published by I.B.Tauris Publishers,London • New Nork  2003.