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 (PBUH), and Isaiah names the servant as Israel elsewhere. Do not claim the chapter can only refer to Muhammad (SAW) — 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 (SAW) 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 (PBUH) [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 (PBUH), 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 (PBUH), 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
وَكَذَٰلِكَ أَوْحَيْنَآ إِلَيْكَ رُوحًۭا مِّنْ أَمْرِنَا ۚ
wakadhālika awḥaynā ilayka rūḥan min amrinā
And thus We have revealed to you a Spirit by Our command.
ٱلَّذِينَ يَتَّبِعُونَ ٱلرَّسُولَ ٱلنَّبِىَّ ٱلْأُمِّىَّ ٱلَّذِى يَجِدُونَهُۥ مَكْتُوبًا عِندَهُمْ فِى ٱلتَّوْرَىٰةِ وَٱلْإِنجِيلِ يَأْمُرُهُم بِٱلْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَىٰهُمْ عَنِ ٱلْمُنكَرِ وَيُحِلُّ لَهُمُ ٱلطَّيِّبَـٰتِ وَيُحَرِّمُ عَلَيْهِمُ ٱلْخَبَـٰٓئِثَ وَيَضَعُ عَنْهُمْ إِصْرَهُمْ وَٱلْأَغْلَـٰلَ ٱلَّتِى كَانَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ ۚ فَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ بِهِۦ وَعَزَّرُوهُ وَنَصَرُوهُ وَٱتَّبَعُوا۟ ٱلنُّورَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أُنزِلَ مَعَهُۥٓ ۙ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْمُفْلِحُونَ
alladhīna yattabiʿūna l-rasūla l-nabiya l-umiya alladhī yajidūnahu maktūban ʿindahum fī l-tawrāti wal-injīli yamuruhum bil-maʿrūfi wayanhāhum ʿani l-munkari wayuḥillu lahumu l-ṭayibāti wayuḥarrimu ʿalayhimu l-khabāitha wayaḍaʿu ʿanhum iṣ'rahum wal-aghlāla allatī kānat ʿalayhim fa-alladhīna āmanū bihi waʿazzarūhu wanaṣarūhu wa-ittabaʿū l-nūra alladhī unzila maʿahu ulāika humu l-muf'liḥūna
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
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 Bibleיְהוָה כַּגִּבּוֹר יֵצֵא
The LORD will march out like a champion; he will triumph over his enemies.
Read it in their BibleFrom the Sunnah
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
The spoken script for this entry is inside the app.
Members get the word-for-word delivery guide — how to open, what to say, the likely replies and how to close warmly — plus notes, a dawah journal and the study assistant.
Open the app