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 One of the ways in which a person proves his prophethood is honesty,
whether it be in regards to incidents in the past, in their everyday life, or
things to come in the future. In addition to the Quran, there are many sayings
of Prophet Muhammad which contain prophecies he made in his lifetime dealing
with near and distant future. Some of them have come true, others await
fulfillment. Hudhaifah, a disciple of Prophet Muhammad, tells us:
“The Prophet once delivered a speech in
front of us wherein he mentioned everything [all the signs] that would happen
till the Final Hour without leaving anything. Some of us remembered it and
some forgot it. After that speech, I used to see events taking place which
were referred to in that speech, but I had forgotten them before their occurrence.
Then I would recognize such events as a man recognizes another man who has been
absent and then sees and recognizes him.” (Saheeh Al-Bukhari)
There are at least 160 known and confirmed
prophecies of Prophet Muhammad which were fulfilled in his lifetime and the
first generation after him. We will
mention some here.
(1) Preceding the Battle of Badr, the
first and decisive confrontation with pagan Meccans in the second year of
migration from Mecca in 623 CE, Prophet Muhammad foretold the precise spot
every pagan Meccan soldier would fall. Those who witnessed the battle saw the
prophecy come true with their own eyes.
(2) Prophet Muhammad prophesized the Battle of the Confederates (al-Ahzab) would be the last invasion the tribe of
Quraish (the pagan Meccans) would launch against the Muslims. It was fought in
the fifth year of migration, 626 CE and was the last military conflict between
the two sides. All Meccans embraced Islam after a few years.
(3) The Prophet informed his daughter,
Fatima, that she would be the first member of his family to die after him. There
are two prophecies in one: Fatima will outlive her father; Fatima will be the
first member of his household to die after him. Both were fulfilled.
(4) The Prophet Muhammad prophesized Jerusalem would be conquered after his death. The
prophecy was fulfilled when, according to Encyclopedia Britannica: “In 638 the
Muslim Caliph, Umar I, entered Jerusalem.”
(5) The Prophet Muhammad prophesized the
conquest of Persia. It was
conquered by Umar’s commander, Sa’ad bin Abi Waqqas. In the words of
Encyclopedia Britannica:
“…raids into Sasanian territory were quickly
taken up by Muhammad’s Caliphs, or deputies, at Medina - Abu Bakr and Umar ibn
al-Khattab… an Arab victory at Al-Qadisiyyah in 636/637 was followed by the
sack of the Sasanian winter capital at Ctesiphon on the Tigris. The Battle of
Nahavand in 642 completed the Sasanids’ vanquishment.”
(6) The Prophet Muhammad prophesized the
conquest of Egypt. In the
words of Encyclopedia Britannica:
“Amr… undertook the invasion in 639 with a small
army of some 4,000 men (later
reinforced). With what seems astonishing speed the Byzantine forces
were routed and had withdrawn
from Egypt by 642… Various explanations have been given for the speed with which the conquest was
achieved.”
(7) The
Prophet foretold confrontation with the Turks.
The first conflict took place in the caliphate of Umar in 22 AH.
(8) The
Prophet foretold the first maritime battle to be undertaken by Muslims would be
witnessed by Umm Haram, the first woman to participate in a naval expedition. He
also prophesied the first assault on Constantinople.
The first maritime battle in Muslim history was
in 28 AH in the rule of Mu’awiya. It was witnessed by Umm Haram as foretold by
Prophet Muhammad, and Yazid ibn Mu’awiya led the first attack on Constantinople in 52 AH.
(9) The
prophecy that Rome, Persia, and Yemen will be conquered was made during the
Battle of Confederates in 626 CE, under
extreme circumstances, as is described by the Quran:
“[Remember] when they came at you from above you and
from below you, and when eyes shifted [in fear], and hearts reached the throats
and you assumed about God [various] assumptions. There, the believers were
tested and shaken with a severe shaking. And [remember] when the hypocrites
and those in whose hearts is disease said, ‘God and His Messenger did not
promise us except delusion.’” (Quran 33:10-12)
(10) Prophet Muhammad prophesized an
imposter claiming to speak in the name of God would be killed at the hands of a
righteous man in Muhammad’s lifetime. Al-Aswad
al-Ansi, an imposter prophet in Yemen, was killed in the Prophet’s lifetime by
Fayruz al-Daylami.
There are at least an additional 28 prophecies
pertaining to the end times which are awaiting fulfillment.
Indeed these well-documented prophecies are
clear proofs of the Prophethood of Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God
be upon him. There is no possible way that the Prophet could have knowledge of
these incidents except if it were inspired by God Himself, all in order to
further prove the authenticity of the Muhammad, that he was not an imposter,
but rather a Prophet raised by God to deliver humanity from Hellfire.
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