Islam - The Summit of Religious Evolution — Page 54
54 THE PROPHECIES IN ISAIAH The book of Isaiah contains many prophecies about the Holy Prophet of Islam. It foretells the advent of another great Prophet, the harbinger of peace and contentment for the whole world. In accordance with the Divine way, the prophecies contain a symbolic element, which has to be interpreted before their meaning can be unraveled. The use of names such as Jerusalem, Zion, etc. in this prophecy is only symbolic. However, Christian writers have been misled by these symbols into thinking that the prophecies relate to Jesus. Names by themselves do not constitute any part of the prophecies. If the general content of the prophecies does not apply to Jesus, the names Jerusalem or Israel or Zion will not justify the application. True, the names could also imply a meaning, but the proper meaning is the one that fits into the main content of the prophecies. As such the names Jerusalem and Israel will only mean My holy places or My select people , not Jerusalem or Israel per se. I. The first such prophecy from Isaiah states: 47 And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name to take away our reproach. In that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel. And it shall come to pass that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem. Once it is agreed that Zion and Jerusalem in this prophecy are but symbols, the entire content of the prophecy is seen to apply to the Holy Prophet of Islam and to no one else. The prophecy says that the Promised Prophet will bring with him wealth and splendor, that he will have treasures of the earth laid at his feet, that his people will be called holy and that polygamous marriages will be the rule at the time. Clearly, these signs do not apply to Jesus and his disciples. They never brought with them a period of wealth and splendor. The treasures of the earth were never laid at their feet and polygamy was never in vogue in their society. These signs apply only to the Holy Prophet of Islam, his followers and his time. Jesus is supposed to have disapproved of polygamous marriages. By contrast, the Holy Prophet of Islam sanctioned and even commanded polygamous marriages under certain conditions. It was in his time that wars had to be fought in defense of religion and the youth of the nation had to lay down their lives. The number of widows increased and young women had difficulty finding husbands. The Holy Prophet, accordingly, ordered polygamous marriages to prevent immorality in the society. II. Further, Isaiah states: 48 And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly: None shall be weary nor stumble among them; nor shall slumber nor sleep, neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken: whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent, their horses' hoofs shall be counted like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind: Their roaring shall be like a lion, they shall