Answering Objections to Islam · Positive Evidences
Deuteronomy 18:18 and the Prophet Like Moses
Handle with care. Do not claim Deuteronomy 18:18 can only refer to Muhammad ﷺ. Acts 3:22 applies it to Jesus, and overclaiming turns a strong typological case into a losing textual one.
In short
- 1.Brethren commonly denotes a kindred people; Ishmaelite descent fits the phrase.
- 2.Moses brought a law, led a community and died naturally — the pattern matches Muhammad ﷺ.
- 3.'I will put my words in his mouth' matches verbatim revelation recited by the prophet.
The claim being examined
Muslims read Deuteronomy 18:18 as a prophecy of Muhammad ﷺ; Christians apply it to Jesus.
The Islamic position
The criteria in the text — a prophet like Moses, from among their brethren, with God's words in his mouth — are matched more closely by Muhammad ﷺ on the traditional Christian understanding of Jesus, since a prophet "like Moses" is a lawgiver, a leader and a mortal man.
Analysis
Acts 3:22 applies the verse to Jesus, so this is a contested typology rather than a knock-down argument, and it should be presented that way. The strength of the Islamic reading lies in the specific likeness: Christian orthodoxy holds Jesus to be divine, born without a father, and not the giver of a new legal code — three respects in which he is unlike Moses. Muhammad ﷺ parallels Moses in birth, marriage, lawgiving, military leadership, migration and natural death. Ali Ataie's approach argues the typology cumulatively rather than resting on any single word.
From the Qur'an
Qur'an 73:15
إِنَّآ أَرْسَلْنَآ إِلَيْكُمْ رَسُولًۭا شَـٰهِدًا عَلَيْكُمْ كَمَآ أَرْسَلْنَآ إِلَىٰ فِرْعَوْنَ رَسُولًۭا
We have sent to you a messenger as a witness upon you, just as We sent to Pharaoh a messenger.
From the Bible
Deuteronomy 18:18
Hebrew
I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put my words in his mouth.
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Ali Ataie · Al-Qurtubi
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