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PREDICTIONS
OF THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD
Examples
of the news the Quran gives concerning the future
The
triumph of the Byzantines over the Persians
The
Byzantine and Persian Empires were the super-powers of the
time. It was during the years when the few believers were
severely persecuted in Makka that the Persians utterly
defeated the Byzantines. They had sweeping victories, and
conquered Aleppo, Antioch, and the chief Syrian provinces,
including Damascus. Jerusalem fell to their arms in
614-615. The Christians were massacred and their churches
burnt. The Persian flood of conquest went on to Egypt, and
reached as far as Tripoli in North Africa. Another Persian
army ravaged Asia Minor and reached right up to the gates
of Constantinople. The Makkan pagans rejoiced greatly, and
redoubled their taunts and persecution against the
Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, whose Message
was a renewal of the Message of Jesus preached in
Palestine. The following Quranic verses, which were
revealed just at that time, gave certain tidings of a very
near victory of the Romans over the Persians:
Alif
Lam Mim. The Romans have been defeated in a land
close by, but they, after their defeat, will be
victorious, within nine years. God’s is the
command in the former case and in the latter, and on
that day believers will rejoice, with the help of
God. He helps to victory whom He wills. He is the
All-Mighty, the All-Compassionate. (30:1-5)
No
one at that time could make such a prediction. But the
Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, conveyed these
Divine Revelations to his followers. They confirmed him
without hesitation and Abu Bakr bet the Makkan polytheists
that the Romans would be victorious in nine years.
Heraclius, the Roman Emperor attacked the Persians
initially by sea in 622 (the year of the Hijra), and after
decisive battles and three successive campaigns, put them
to rout in a few years. His victories happened at the same
time as the believers won the victory of Badr over the
Makkan polytheists. Thus the verses above contained two
predictions, both of which came true in nine years.
The
Quran gave the news of the conquest of Makka two years
before
It
was only six years after the Prophet, upon him be peace
and blessings, had emigrated to Madina that he left for
Makka for a minor pilgrimage. However, the Makkans stopped
him at Hudaybiya and a peaceful treaty was concluded after
negotiations. Some articles of the Treaty were objected to
by the believers but the Quranic verses which were
revealed following the conclusion of the Treaty described
it as a manifest victory and gave the believers the
decisive glad tiding, which is as follows:
In
truth, God fulfilled the vision of His Messenger:
You will surely enter the Sacred Mosque, if God
wills, in full security; you will have your heads
shaved, your hair shortened, and you will have
nothing to fear. He knew what you knew not, and He
granted, besides this, a near victory. He it is Who
has sent His Messenger with guidance and the
religion of truth, that He may cause it to prevail
over all religion. God is enough for a witness.
(al-Fath, 48.27-8)
One
year later the Muslims performed the minor pilgrimage and
the year after they conquered Makka. Also, Islam has been
prevalent over all other religions for centuries and, if
God wills, it will have a world-wide superiority in a near
future.
The
Quran gave the news that the dead body of Pharaoh would
one day be discovered
In
ancient Egypt, Pharaoh used to torture the Children of
Israel. God sent Moses to him with the mission of inviting
him to believe in One God and allow the Israelites to
leave Egypt with Moses. Pharaoh refused and the struggle
between them continued for a long time. However, one night
Moses succeeded in marching towards the frontier with his
people but Pharaoh, becoming aware of his attempt, set out
to follow him. When Moses reached the Red Sea, he touched
it with his staff, and a furrow opened across the sea.
Pharaoh attempted to follow him, but was engulfed with his
legions. While narrating this event, The Qur’an makes a
very interesting prediction:
Today
We shall preserve your body that you may be a sign
to those after you: although most men give no heed
to Our signs. (Yunus, 10.92)
The
dead body of Pharaoh was later found floating on the
Western shores of the Sinai peninsula. The native
residents can still show you to this land, which is now
known as Jabal Firawn (Hill of Pharaoh). A few miles from
this hill is a hot spring called Hammam Firawn (the Bath
of Pharaoh).
Tidings
of the Last Day
A
considerable part of the Quran is about the events of the
Last Day. The Quran describes how the world will be
destroyed and re-built again and how the dead will be
raised, assembled in the Place of Mustering, and, after
being judged, will go to either Paradise or Hell. The
Quran also gives a vivid description of Paradise and Hell
and the life in them.
Examples
of the Prophet’s predictions which exist in books of
Tradition
‘Umar
reports in a narration recorded in Sahih al-Muslim:
‘Before
the Battle of Badr started, God’s Messenger, upon
him be peace and blessings, walked around the
battlefield and pointed to some locations, saying,
Abu Jahl will be killed here, ‘Utba here, Shayba
here, Walid here, and so on. By God, we found, after
the battle, the dead bodies of all those men in the
exact places that God’s Messenger had pointed
out.’1
While
in Makka under great tortures, the Prophet predicted the
future victories of Islam.
Bukhari
and Abu Dawud quote Habbab ibn Arat, who said:
Once,
during the days of trouble and torture in Makka, I
went to God’s Messenger, who was sitting in the
shade of the Ka‘ba. I was still a slave in the
hands of the Makkans then. They inflicted on me
severe tortures. Unable to endure those tortures any
more, I requested God’s Messenger to pray to God
for help and salvation. But he turned towards me and
said: “By God, previous communities had to endure
more pitiless tortures. Some of them were made to
lie in ditches and cut in two with saws but this did
not make them forsake their faith. They were skinned
alive but they never became weak against the enemy.
Surely God will perfect this religion, but you
display undue haste. A day will come when a woman
will travel alone by herself from San’a to
Hadramawt fearing nothing but wild beasts. However,
you show impatience.”
Habbab
concluded:
By
God, what God’s Messenger predicted that day, have
all come true. I have personally witnessed it all.2
The
Messenger predicted ‘Ammar’s martyrdom in a civil war
Bukhari,
Muslim and Ahmad ibn Hanbal record:
During
the construction of the Prophet’s Mosque in
Madina, God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and
blessings, told ‘Ammar: “What a pity O ‘Ammar,
a rebellious group will kill you. 3
Ammar
was killed in the Battle of Siffin by the supporters of
Mu‘awiya, who rebelled against Caliph ‘Ali.
The
Prophet foretold that Fatima would join him first of all
after his death
Before
his death, the Messenger called his daughter Fatima
to his bedside and informed her that she would be
the first among his family to join him after his
death. Fatima joined her father, the pride of
mankind, six months later.4
The
Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, predicted the
Mongol invasion, saying:
The
Hour will not come before you fight against a people
with red faces, small, slant eyes and flat noses.
They wear hairy leather boots.5
The
Messenger predicted the caliphate of Abu Bakr and ‘Umar
As
related by Hakim, Tirmidhi, Ibn Hanbal and Ibn Maja,
by repeatedly declaring, You should, after my death,
follow the way of Abu Bakr and ‘Umar,8 the
Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, meant that
Abu Bakr and ‘Umar would succeed him as caliphs.
He also predicted that Abu Bakr’s reign would be
short, whereas ‘Umar would remain longer to be
able to make many conquests.6
The
Prophet predicted the conquest of many important cities.
According
to authentic narrations, the Prophet, upon him be
peace and blessings, gave his community the glad
tidings that they would conquer Damascus, Jerusalem,
Iraq, Persia, Istanbul (Constantinople) and Cyprus,
and that the religion of Islam would reach as far as
the remotest corners of the world in the east and
west.7
The
Prophet predicted the forms of government after him
The
Prophet declared:
This
affair began with Prophethood and as a mercy; then
it will be mercy and Caliphate; afterwards it will
change into a cruel monarchy, and finally into an
iniquity and tyranny. He also prophesied: Surely,
the Caliphate after me will last thirty years;
afterwards it will a cruel monarchy.8
Whatever
the noble Prophet predicted came true.
The
Prophet predicted the caliphate and martyrdom of ‘Uthman
According
to an authentic narration, the Prophet, upon him be peace
and blessings, declared:
‘Uthman
will be killed while reading the Quran. God will
dress him in a shirt but they will desire to remove
it from him.9
By
this saying, he meant that ‘Uthman would become Caliph
but his deposition would be sought, and finally he would
be martyred while reading the Quran. This happened exactly
as he predicted.
The
Prophet foretold the future victories of Sa‘d
As
narrated in a authentic Tradition, the noble Prophet of
God, upon him be peace and blessings, said to Sa‘d ibn
Abi Waqqas when the latter was gravely ill:
It
is hoped that you will be spared so that some people
may benefit through you and some others be harmed
through you.10
By
this, he suggested that Sa‘d would be a great commander
and make many conquests, and while many peoples would
benefit from him by converting to Islam, many others would
be harmed through him as a result of the collapse of their
states.
Sa‘d,
just as predicted by the holy Prophet, upon him be peace
and blessings, took the command of the Muslim armies and
destroyed the Persian Sassanid Empire, bringing many
peoples within the guidance of Islam.
The
Prophet predicted the conquest of Cyprus
Once,
when the Prophet woke up in the house of Umm Haram, the
aunt of Anas ibn Malik, who served the Messenger for ten
years in Madina, he smilingly said:
“I
dreamt that my community would be waging war in the
sea sitting on thrones like kings.” Umm Haram
asked: ‘Pray that I too may be with them’. He
said firmly: “You shall be.”11
All
this came true forty years later when Umm Haram
accompanied her husband ‘Ubada ibn Samit, on the
conquest of Cyprus. She died there, and her tomb has since
been a visited place.
The
Prophet predicted the appearance of Mukhtar and Hajjaj
According
to an authentic narration, the Prophet, upon him be peace
and blessings, declared:
From
the tribe of Thaqif will appear a liar who claims
Prophethood and a blood-thirsty tyrant.12
By
this, he gave tidings of the notorious Mukhtar, who
claimed Prophethood, and the criminal Hajjaj, who killed
tens of thousands of people.
The
Prophet predicted the conquest of Istanbul
Again,
according to an authentic narration, the Prophet, upon him
be peace and blessings, declared:
Surely,
Constantinople (Istanbul) will be conquered (by my
community); how blessed the commander who will
conquer it, and how blessed his army.13
He
thus foretold the conquest of Istanbul by Muslims, and
indicated the high spiritual rank of Sultan Mehmed, the
Conqueror, and the virtuousness of his army. What he
foretold took place centuries later.
1.
Bukhari, Tib, 1.
2.
Abu Dawud, Tib, 10; Muslim, Salam, 69.
3.
Tirmidhi, Tib, 2; Ibn Ma’ja, Tib, 1; I. Hanbal,
4.278.
4.
Bukhari, Tib, 30; Muslim, Salam, 98.
5.
Bukhari, Tib, 19; I. Hanbal, 2.443.
6.
Muslim, Tahara, 91.
7.
Abu Dawud, Adahi, 21; Ibn Ma’ja, Sayd, 2; I.
Hanbal, 4.85.
8.
Abu Dawud, At‘ıma, 11; Tirmidhi, At‘ıma,
39; I. Hanbal, 5.441.
9.
Muslim, Tahara, 87; Abu Dawud, Tahara, 49; Tirmidhi,
Tahara, 19.
10.
Bukhari, Jumu‘a, 8; Muslim, Tahara, 42; Abu Dawud,
Tahara, 25; Tirmidhi, Tahara, 18; Nasa’i, Tahara,
6; I. Ma’ja, Tahara, 7; I. Hanbal, 1.80.
11.
Tirmidhi, Zuhd, 47; I. Hanbal, 4.132.
12.
Kanz al-‘Ummal, 3.460.
13.
Muslim, Fitan, 110; Tirmidhi, Fitan, 59; I. Hanbal,
4.182.
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