192 OBJECTIONS ON THE GROUND OF MUHAMMAD'S

Al Muddaththir, 34)! Your argument would prove Hinduism and every other false faith true, if the contention were to be granted. There are perhaps more Hindus in the world than Muhammadans, and their religion is older far. There are more Christians than either. Of course we gladly acknowledge that Islam contains certain great truths, as for example the doctrine of the Unity of God. But this does not make the religion true as a whole.

201. M. Well, at least the prophecies regarding Muhammad still to be found in the Bible are quite enough to prove that he was a true prophet.

C. You must really take one line of argument or the other. If you rely upon the Bible, as we now have it, as containing prophecies regarding Muhammad, and deem those prophecies the best, if not the only, proof of the truth of his claims, then you must confess that the Bible exists free from corruption, as indeed has been proved (chapter II). Otherwise you are building upon the sand1. On the other hand, if you reject the Bible, you have no other proof of Muhammad's claims. [If you accept the Bible, it confutes many of the most cherished tenets of Islam, and thereby disproves the truth of the Qur'an and Muhammads claims; but you

1 A Muslim may retort that by referring to the testimony of the Qur'an we are placing ourselves in the same position. But it should be pointed out that we appeal to the Qur'an not as if it had any real authority, but solely to show him that, from his own standpoint, many of his arguments against Christianity are untenable.
DIVINE MISSION AS LAST OF THE PROPHETS 193

may draw from it what you believe to be prophecies regarding Muhammad. If you reject the Bible, these latter fail you and you are none the better off; for your Qur'an testifies to the truth and authenticity of the Bible, and, if the latter be not worthy of credence, there must be something radically wrong with the Qur'an.]

202. M. Surah III., Al 'Imran, 75 leads us to expect to find prophecies of Muhammad in the Old Testament, and Surah LXI., As Saff, 6 assures us of a very distinct prophecy which Jesus, in the Gospel, uttered regarding him. I proceed therefore to adduce first the Old Testament and then the New Testament predictions concerning Muhammad.

First of all comes the wonderful prophecy in Deut. xviii. 18, where God said to Moses, "I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him."

This prophecy evidently refers to Muhammad. For (1) the promised prophet was not to be from among the Israelites but from among their brethren, the Ishmaelites (compare Gen. xxv. 9, 18); and (2) no such prophet ever did arise among the Israelites (Deut. xxxiv. 10).

C. This last verse refers only to the time when the final chapter of Deuteronomy was written, as is evident from the word "yet." [On the other hand Deut. xviii. 15 shows that the prophet foretold