Jesus: Man, Messenger, Messiah · 8. Prophecy of a Prophet
Isaiah 42 and the coming servant
Handle with care. Matthew 12:18-21 already applies Isaiah 42:1-4 to Jesus, and Isaiah names the servant as Israel elsewhere. Do not claim the chapter can only refer to Muhammad — argue that the Arabian details are unexplained on the standard reading.
In short
- 1.The servant is described as God's **chosen one** in whom He delights — Mustafa and Habibullah among the Prophet's names.
- 2.'He will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth' [42:4] — a servant who succeeds politically in his lifetime.
- 3.'Let the settlements where **Kedar** lives rejoice… let the people of **Sela** sing' [42:11] — Kedar is a son of Ishmael [Genesis 25:13].
- 4.'The LORD will march out like a champion… he will triumph over his enemies' [42:13].
- 5.'Sing to the LORD a new song' [42:10] — a new revelation, not a repetition of the old.
The claim being examined
Isaiah 42 is read by Christians as a prophecy of Jesus, quoted as such in Matthew 12.
The Islamic position
Muslims argue the chapter's details — Kedar, Sela, the new song from the desert, the warrior who prevails — fit the final Prophet in Arabia.
Analysis
The chapter's geography is the strongest part of the case: Kedar is an explicitly Ishmaelite Arabian tribe, and the summons to the desert and its villages to rejoice sits oddly in a reading that terminates in first-century Galilee. That said, Matthew 12:18-21 applies Isaiah 42:1-4 to Jesus, and the Servant Songs identify the servant as Israel in several places. Present the Arabian details as questions the Christian reading must answer rather than as a completed proof.
From the Qur'an
Qur'an 42:52
وَكَذَٰلِكَ أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَيْكَ رُوحًا مِّنْ أَمْرِنَا
And thus We have revealed to you a Spirit by Our command.
Qur'an 7:157
الَّذِينَ يَتَّبِعُونَ الرَّسُولَ النَّبِيَّ الْأُمِّيَّ الَّذِي يَجِدُونَهُ مَكْتُوبًا عِندَهُمْ فِي التَّوْرَاةِ وَالْإِنجِيلِ
Those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered Prophet, whom they find written in what they have of the Torah and the Gospel.
From the Bible
Isaiah 42:11
יִשְׂאוּ מִדְבָּר וְעָרָיו חֲצֵרִים תֵּשֵׁב קֵדָר
Let the wilderness and its towns raise their voices; let the settlements where Kedar lives rejoice.
Read it in their BibleIsaiah 42:13
יְהוָה כַּגִּבּוֹר יֵצֵא
The LORD will march out like a champion; he will triumph over his enemies.
Read it in their BibleGenesis 25:13
נְבָיֹת וְקֵדָר
The sons of Ishmael: Nebaioth the firstborn, then Kedar.
Read it in their BibleFrom the Sunnah
Sahih al-Bukhari 3445 · Sahih
Do not exaggerate in praising me as the Christians praised the son of Mary; I am only a servant, so say: the servant of God and His Messenger.
Sources
Abu Zakariya, Jesus: Man, Messenger, Messiah · Isaiah Servant Songs scholarship · Ibn Qutaybah on biblical prophecy · Jesus: Man, Messenger, Messiah — ch. 8, pp. 197-219
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