Prophecies About Prophet Muhammad ﷺ By Prophet Ezekiel

(Cite: Khan, Dr. (Mufti) Imran & Hamdani, Mufti Shah Rafi Uddin. (2018), Prophecies About Prophet Muhammad By Prophet Ezekiel , Encyclopedia of Muhammad , Seerat Research Center, Karachi, Pakistan, Vol. 1, Pg. 281-303.)

Both in the Holy Quran and the Bible, the relationships amongst the prophets due to common ancestry or time are in fact based on certain common points in their missions. For example, the Quranic verse:

وَإِنَّ مِنْ شِيعَتِهِ لَإِبْرَاهِيمَ 83 إِذْ جَاءَ رَبَّهُ بِقَلْبٍ سَلِيمٍ 84¹

And indeed Abrahamis from his (Nooh’s) group. When he csme to his Lord, with a sound heart. (Free frome faleshood)

This verse apparently indicates that Abraham was among the followers of Noah . However, there is a long gap between these two prophets. Therefore, the meaning of the verse is that Abraham was the one who followed the same way as Noah . Similarly, in the Bible, Jesus , who was miraculously born without a father, has been described as the son of David and David as the son of Abraham . Although it requires to bridge over many generations to connect the one with the other and the fact that Jesus cannot have a physical genealogy from David through a father. Also, in the Holy Qur'an, her contemporary Israelite rabbis - called Virgin Maryam “Sister of Harun ”, it was a custom among the Israelites that they gave or linked their children to the names of renowned peo¬ple, or people were linked with one of their renowned ancestors.

Starting from this point, we see in the Bible that the Children of Isra¬el were expecting another Joseph (Shiloh) and another David . Therefore, the names of these second Joseph and David must be taken as attributive ones, both the light of the explanation above and the prophecies asso¬ciated with them. David , being an attributive name, means, as we have explained above, a beloved uncle. Considering his being called the soil of Abraham and the fact that the Holy Prophet was from the lineage of Ishmael , the elder brother of Isaac and the beloved uncle of Jacob , from whom the Children of Israel descended. Muhammad may be considered as the dearly loved uncle of the Israelites and of David . It is highly amusing that while, for example, Jesus has been called “A Spirit from God,” and Abraham “The Friend of God” in Islamic tradition, Muhammad has been called “The Beloved One of God”.

The Book of Ezekiel is the third of the latter prophets in the Hebrew Bible, following the books of Isaiah and Jeremiah. It records the visions of or revelations to Ezekiel , who lived in the 6th century B.C. According to the Book, Ezekiel was exiled to Babylon during Nebuchadnezzar's invasion of Judah. He is also believed to be a teacher of Pythagoras, the famous Greek philosopher. His years of prophethood cover 22 years from 593 to 571 B.C., a period which spans the final destruction of Jerusalem in 586.

First Prophecy

Four hundred years after David , Ezekiel gave the good news of the second advent of David as follows:

لِذَلِكَ هَكَذَا قَالَ ٱلسَّيِّدُ ٱلرَّبُّ لَهُمْ: هَأَنَذَا أَحْكُمُ بَيْنَ ٱلشَّاةِ ٱلسَّمِينَةِ وَٱلشَّاةِ ٱلْمَهْزُولَةِ. لِأَنَّكُمْ بَهَزْتُمْ بِٱلْجَنْبِ وَٱلْكَتِفِ، وَنَطَحْتُمُ ٱلْمَرِيضَةَ بِقُرُونِكُمْ حَتَّى شَتَّتْمُوهَا إِلَى خَارِجٍ. فَأُخَلِّصُ غَنَمِي فَلَا تَكُونُ مِنْ بَعْدُ غَنِيمَةً، وَأَحْكُمُ بَيْنَ شَاةٍ وَشَاةٍ. وَأُقِيمُ عَلَيْهَا رَاعِيًا وَاحِدًا فَيَرْعَاهَا عَبْدِي دَاوُدُ، هُوَ يَرْعَاهَا وَهُوَ يَكُونُ لَهَا رَاعِيًا. وَأَنَا ٱلرَّبُّ أَكُونُ لَهُمْ إِلَهًا، وَعَبْدِي دَاوُدُ رَئِيسًا فِي وَسْطِهِمْ. أَنَا ٱلرَّبُّ تَكَلَّمْتُ. وَأَقْطَعُ مَعَهُمْ عَهْدَ سَلَامٍ، وَأَنْزِعُ ٱلْوُحُوشَ ٱلرَّدِيئَةَ مِنَ ٱلْأَرْضِ، فَيَسْكُنُونَ فِي ٱلْبَرِّيَّةِ مُطْمَئِنِّينَ وَيَنَامُونَ فِي ٱلْوُعُورِ. ²

“So now, I, the Sovereign Lord, tell you that I will judge between you strong sheep and the weak sheep. You pushed the sick ones aside and butted them away from the flock. But I will rescue my sheep and not let them be mistreated anymore. I will judge each of my sheep and separate the good from the bad. I will give them a king like my servant David to be their one shepherd, and he will take care of them. I, the Lord, will be their God, and a king like my servant David will be their ruler. I have spoken. I will make a covenant with them, that guarantees their security. I will get rid of all the dangerous animals in the land so that my sheep can live safely in the fields and.Sleep in the forests.

In order to be able to see more closely the prophecy of Ezekiel regard¬ing the Holy Prophet , it is best to give a significant anecdote from the life and mission of David as the Holy Quran states:

﴿وَهَلْ أَتَاكَ نَبَأُ الْخَصْمِ إِذْ تَسَوَّرُوا الْمِحْرَابَ 21 إِذْ دَخَلُوا عَلَى دَاوُودَ فَفَزِعَ مِنْهُمْ قَالُوا لَا تَخَفْ خَصْمَانِ بَغَى بَعْضُنَا عَلَى بَعْضٍ فَاحْكُمْ بَيْنَنَا بِالْحَقِّ وَلَا تُشْطِطْ وَاهْدِنَا إِلَى سَوَاءِ الصِّرَاطِ 22 إِنَّ هَذَا أَخِي لَهُ تِسْعٌ وَتِسْعُونَ نَعْجَةً وَلِيَ نَعْجَةٌ وَاحِدَةٌ فَقَالَ أَكْفِلْنِيهَا وَعَزَّنِي فِي الْخِطَابِ 23 قَالَ لَقَدْ ظَلَمَكَ بِسُؤَالِ نَعْجَتِكَ إِلَى نِعَاجِهِ وَإِنَّ كَثِيرًا مِنَ الْخُلَطَاءِ لَيَبْغِي بَعْضُهُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ إِلَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ وَقَلِيلٌ مَا هُمْ وَظَنَّ دَاوُودُ أَنَّمَا فَتَنَّاهُ فَاسْتَغْفَرَ رَبَّهُ وَخَرَّ رَاكِعًا وَأَنَابَ فَغَفَرْنَا لَهُ ذَلِكَ وَإِنَّ لَهُ عِنْدَنَا لَزُلْفَى وَحُسْنَ مَآبٍ 25 يَادَاوُودُ إِنَّا جَعَلْنَاكَ خَلِيفَةً فِي الْأَرْضِ فَاحْكُمْ بَيْنَ النَّاسِ بِالْحَقِّ وَلَا تَتَّبِعِ الْهَوَى فَيُضِلَّكَ عَنْ سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَضِلُّونَ عَنْ سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ شَدِيدٌ بِمَا نَسُوا يَوْمَ الْحِسَابِ 26³

And did the news of the two disputants reach you? When they scaled the wall into Dawud’s mosque. When they entered upon David, so he feared them – they said, “Do not fear! We are two disputants, one of whom has wronged the other, therefore judge fairly between us and do not judge unjustly – and show us the right way.” “This is my brother; he has ninety-nine ewes, and I have one ewe, and he now says ‘Give that one also to me’ – and he is very demanding in speech.” Said Dawud, “He is indeed being unjust to you in that he demands to add your ewe to his ewes; and indeed most partners wrong one another, except those who believe and do good deeds – and they are very few!” Thereupon Dawud realised that We had tested him, so he sought forgiveness from his Lord, and fell prostrate and inclined (towards his Lord). We, therefore, forgave him this; and indeed for him in Our presence are, surely, proximity and an excellent abode. “O Dawud! We have indeed appointed you as a Viceroy in the earth, therefore judge between mankind with the truth, and do not follow desire for it will lead you astray from Allah’s path; indeed for those who stray away from Allah’s path is a severe punishment, because they forgot the Day of Reckoning.”

Among the prophets, while Abraham was specially distin¬guished with Imamate (leadership) ⁴ and Solomon with Kingdom, ⁵ David was favoured with Caliphate in the sense of judging among people with truth and justice. The Children of Israel or the Israelites founded a great state with David . However, dissension and disintegration had set in among them after Solomon . The "fat preyed upon the weak;" that is the tribes more wealthy and powerful drove away from the weak and poor, and they began collaborating with infidels against each other. The Holy Prophet in Madina found them scattered into different tribes fighting with each other. The Holy Prophet made with them an agreement of peaceful co-existence in Madina, and they could apply to him to judge the disagreements between them. ⁶ That is, the Holy Prophet , acted as the second David among them. This was the fulfilment of the prophecy of Ezekiel .

God Almighty made a covenant of peace with the promised David . It is a known fact that Islam means submission to God and the ensuing peace. God Almighty pronounces in the Holy Quran that the two most grievous sins incompatible with the human existence and detestable in God's sight are bloodshed and causing disorder and corruption on the earth. As The Quran states:

مِنْ أَجْلِ ذَلِكَ كَتَبْنَا عَلَى بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ أَنَّهُ مَنْ قَتَلَ نَفْسًا بِغَيْرِ نَفْسٍ أَوْ فَسَادٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ فَكَأَنَّمَا قَتَلَ النَّاسَ جَمِيعًا وَمَنْ أَحْيَاهَا فَكَأَنَّمَا أَحْيَا النَّاسَ جَمِيعًا وَلَقَدْ جَاءَتْهُمْ رُسُلُنَا بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ ثُمَّ إِنَّ كَثِيرًا مِنْهُمْ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ فِي الْأَرْضِ لَمُسْرِفُونَ 32⁷

For this reason; We decreed for the Descendants of Israel that whoever kills a human being except in lieu of killing or causing turmoil in the earth, so it shall be as if he had killed all mankind; and whoever saves the life of one person, is as if he had saved the life of all mankind; and undoubtedly Our Noble Messengers came to them with clear proofs – then after this indeed many of them are oppressors in the earth.

He also describes disorder rooted in rebellion to God and recognising no laws is even far graver and more sinful than killing. As the Holy Quran states:

…وَالْفِتْنَةُ أَشَدُّ مِنَ الْقَتْلِ191… ⁸

… and the turmoil they cause is worse than slaying…

…وَالْفِتْنَةُ أَكْبَرُ مِنَ الْقَتْلِ…217⁹

… and the turmoil they cause is worse than killing...

For this reason, He sternly forbids disorder and cor¬ruption in many verses of the Quran (e.g., Baqarah, 2: 60; Aaraaf, 7: 74, 85; Hud, 11: 85; Shuara, 26: 183; Qasas, 28: 77) and orders Muhammad and his community in the Holy Quran to strive until there is no longer disorder, corruption and rebellion on the earth. It is legendary in Islamic tradition that in a land where absolute justice is fully applied, and everything occurs according to God's dictates, Wolves and sheep will live together in peace, and leopards will lie down with young goats. Calves and lion cubs will feed together, and little children will take care of them. Cows and bears will eat together, and their calves and cubs will lie down in peace. Lions will eat straw as cattle do. ¹⁰ Not only the Holy Prophet himself but also many of his successors such as Abu Bakr , `Umar , `Ali and the Ummayyad Caliph `Umar ibn `Abd al-`Aziz have worldwide fame for justice. For example, it is recorded in history books that all the things pre¬dicted by both Isaiah and Ezekiel were witnessed during the reign of Caliph `Umar bin `Abd al-`Aziz (682-720).

The Holy Prophet , the promised David said, as Ezekiel prophesied and proclaimed:

عن عبد اللّٰه بن عمر رضي اللّٰه عنهما، أنه: سمع رسول اللّٰه صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول: ”كلكم راع ومسئول عن رعيته، فالإمام راع وهو مسئول عن رعيته، والرجل في أهله راع وهو مسئول عن رعيته، والمرأة في بيت زوجها راعية وهي مسئولة عن رعيتها، والخادم في مال سيده راع وهو مسئول عن رعيت. ¹¹

"Each of you is a shepherd (manager, director), and each of you is responsible for your flock. The ruler is a shepherd responsible for his subjects. A husband is a shepherd responsi¬ble for his family. A woman is a shepherd and is responsible for her hus¬band's house. A servant is a shepherd and is responsible for managing the duties or property his master entrusted to him."

Second Prophecy

Ezekiel says the following about the up and downs of Jewish community:

أن أمك مغروسة على الماء بد مك فهي الكرمة التي أخرجت ثمارها ؤأغصانها من مياه لاثيرة ؤتفرعت منها أغصان إن أمّك مغروسة على الماء بدمك، فهي كالكرمة التي أخرجت ثمارها وأغصانها من مياه كثيرة، وتفرعت منها أغصان كالعصى قوية مشرفة على أغصان الأكابر والسادات، وارتفعت وبسقت أفنانهن على غيرهن، وحسنت أقدارهن بارتفاعهن والتفاف سعفهن، فلم تلبث الكرمة أن قلعت بالسخط، ورمى بها على الأرض، وأحرقت السمائم ثمارها، وتفرق قواها، ويبس عصي عزها، وأتت عليها النار فأكلتها، فعند ذلك غرس في البدو وفي الأرض المهملة العطشى، وخرجت من أغصانه الفاضلة نار أكلت ثمار تلك حتى لم يوجد فيها عصا قوية بعدها ولا قضيب ينهض أمر السلط. ¹²¹³

No doubt your mother is grown from your blood in the water, she is just like a creeping which has taken its fruits and bushes out of the water. From them, strong bushes grow like a thick stick and give a shadow on other bushes, and due to their height and curls, their beauty enhances. This creeping plant was in this condition that brutally uprooted in ferocity, hot wind burned its flowers, and it lost its energy and its stem dried, and fire engulfed it. Then it grew in an uncultivated dried land and fire came out from its bushes and burned all the fruits of the remaining tree due to this no stem or any strong tree remained from the order of God.

This prophecy explains the Jewish community as a beautiful grapevine when it was stayed under the shadows of the prophets, it stayed with respect and honour. When its association with prophets taken away, they made God annoyed. Thus, God uprooted its roots and broke its base into bits and pieces. Air scattered that grapevine (nation), fire swallowed it and its respect and hostility ruined and vanished. When the Holy Prophet emerged and Islam prevailed throughout the world, the Jewish nation first suffered in troubles because of their opposition to Islam. After conquering the territories when Islam came in its full strength they again came under its shadow and lived the lives of peace and tranquility as they used to spend under the shadows of Children of Israel’s prophets.

Third Prophecy

A very important prophecy of Ezekiel , which has widely been discussed in connection with the revival of Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile or interpreted by some about the distant future of the Israelites, is as follows:

كَانَتْ عَلَيَّ يَدُ ٱلرَّبِّ، فَأَخْرَجَني بِرُوحِ ٱلرَّبِّ وَأَنْزَلَنِي فِي وَسْطِ ٱلْبُقْعَةِ وَهِيَ مَلآنَةٌ عِظَامًا، وَأَمَرَّنِي عَلَيْهَا مِنْ حَوْلِهَا وَإِذَا هِيَ كَثِيرَةٌ جِدًّا عَلَى وَجْهِ ٱلْبُقْعَةِ، وَإِذَا هِيَ يَابِسَةٌ جِدًّا. فَقَالَ لِي: «يَا ٱبْنَ آدَمَ، أَتَحْيَا هَذِهِ ٱلْعِظَامُ؟» فَقُلْتُ: «يَا سَيِّدُ ٱلرَّبُّ أَنْتَ تَعْلَمُ». فَقَالَ لِي: «تَنَبَّأْ عَلَى هَذِهِ ٱلْعِظَامِ وَقُلْ لَهَا: أَيَّتُهَا ٱلْعِظَامُ ٱلْيَابِسَةُ، ٱسْمَعِي كَلِمَةَ ٱلرَّبِّ: هَكذَا قَالَ ٱلسَّيِّدُ ٱلرَّبُّ لِهَذِهِ ٱلْعِظَامِ: هَأَنَذَا أُدْخِلُ فِيكُمْ رُوحًا فَتَحْيَوْنَ. وَأَضَعُ عَلَيْكُمْ عَصَبًا وأَكْسِيكُمْ لَحْمًا وَأَبْسُطُ عَلَيْكُمْ جِلْدًا وَأَجْعَلُ فِيكُمْ رُوحًا، فَتَحْيَوْنَ وَتَعْلَمُونَ أَنِّي أَنَا ٱلرَّبُّ». فَتَنَبَّأْتُ كمَا أُمِرتُ. وَبَيْنَمَا أَنَا أَتنَبَّأُ كَانَ صَوْتٌ، وَإِذَا رَعْشٌ، فَتَقَارَبَتِ ٱلْعِظَامُ كُلُّ عَظْمٍ إِلَى عَظْمِهِ. ونَظَرْتُ وَإِذَا بِٱلْعَصَبِ وَٱللَّحْمِ كَسَاهَا، وبُسِطَ ٱلْجِلْدُ علَيْهَا مِنْ فَوْقُ، وَلَيْسَ فِيهَا رُوحٌ. فَقَالَ لِي: «تَنَبَّأْ لِلرُّوحِ، تَنَبَّأْ يَاٱبْنَ آدَمَ، وَقُلْ لِلرُّوحِ: هَكذَا قَالَ ٱلسَّيِّدُ ٱلرَّبُّ: هَلُمَّ يَارُوحُ مِنَ ٱلرِّيَاحِ ٱلْأَرْبَعِ وَهُبَّ عَلَى هَؤُلَاءِ ٱلْقَتْلَى لِيَحْيَوْا». فَتَنَبَّأْتُ كَمَا أَمَرَني، فَدَخَلَ فِيهِمِ ٱلرُّوحُ، فَحَيُوا وَقَامُوا عَلَى أَقدَامِهِمْ جَيْشٌ عَظيمٌ جِدًّا جِدًّا.

ثُمَّ قَالَ لِي: «يَا ٱبْنَ آدَمَ، هَذِهِ ٱلعِظَامُ هِيَ كُلُّ بَيتِ إِسْرَائِيلَ. هَا هُمْ يَقُولُونَ: يَبِسَتْ عِظَامُنَا وَهَلَكَ رَجَاؤُنَا. قَدِ ٱنْقَطَعْنَا. لِذَلِكَ تَنَبَّأْ وَقُلْ لَهُمْ: هَكذَا قَالَ ٱلسَّيِّدُ ٱلرَّبُّ: هَأَنَذَا أَفتَحُ قُبُورَكُمْ وأُصْعِدُكُمْ مِنْ قُبُورِكُمْ يَا شَعْبِي، وَآتِي بِكُمْ إِلَى أَرْضِ إِسْرَائِيلَ. فَتَعْلَمُونَ أَنِّي أَنَا ٱلرَّبُّ عِنْدَ فَتْحِي قُبُورَكُمْ وَإِصْعَادِي إِيَّاكُمْ مِنْ قُبُورِكُمْ يَاشَعْبِي. وأَجْعَلُ رُوحِي فِيكُمْ فتَحْيَوْنَ، وَأَجْعَلُكُمْ فِي أَرْضِكُمْ، فَتَعْلَمُونَ أَنِّي أنَا ٱلرَّبُّ تَكَلَّمْتُ وَأَفْعَلُ، يَقُولُ ٱلرَّبُّ».

أمة واحدة لملك واحد

وَكَانَ إِلَيَّ كَلَامُ ٱلرَّبِّ قَائِلًا: «وَأَنْتَ يَا ٱبْنَ آدَمَ، خُذْ لِنَفْسِكَ عَصًا وَاحِدَةً وَٱكْتُبْ عَلَيْهَا: لِيَهُوذَا وَلِبَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ رُفَقَائِهِ. وَخُذْ عَصًا أُخْرَى وَٱكْتُبْ عَلَيْهَا: لِيُوسُفَ، عَصَا أَفْرَايِمَ وَكُلِّ بَيْتِ إِسْرَائِيلَ رُفَقَائِهِ. وَٱقْرِنْهُمَا ٱلْوَاحِدَةَ بِٱلْأُخْرَى كَعَصًا وَاحِدَةٍ، فَتَصِيرَا وَاحِدَةً فِي يَدِكَ. فَإِذَا كَلَّمَكَ أَبْنَاءُ شَعْبِكَ قَائِلِينَ: أَمَا تُخْبِرُنَا مَا لَكَ وَهَذَا؟ فَقُلْ لَهُمْ: هَكَذَا قَالَ ٱلسَّيِّدُ ٱلرَّبُّ: هَأَنَذَا آخُذُ عَصَا يُوسُفَ ٱلَّتِي فِي يَدِ أَفْرَايِمَ وَأَسْبَاطَ إِسْرَائِيلَ رُفَقَاءَهُ، وَأَضُمُّ إِلَيْهَا عَصَا يَهُوذَا، وَأَجْعَلُهُمْ عَصًا وَاحِدَةً فَيَصِيرُونَ وَاحِدَةً فِي يَدِي. وَتَكُونُ ٱلْعَصَوَانِ ٱللَّتَانِ كَتَبْتَ عَلَيْهِمَا فِي يَدِكَ أَمَامَ أَعْيُنِهِمْ. وَقُلْ لَهُمْ: هَكَذَا قَالَ ٱلسَّيِّدُ ٱلرَّبُّ: هَأَنَذَا آخُذُ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ مِنْ بَيْنِ ٱلْأُمَمِ ٱلَّتِي ذَهَبُوا إِلَيْهَا، وَأَجْمَعُهُمْ مِنْ كُلِّ نَاحِيَةٍ، وَآتِي بِهِمْ إِلَى أَرْضِهِمْ، وَأُصَيِّرُهُمْ أُمَّةً وَاحِدَةً فِي ٱلْأَرْضِ عَلَى جِبَالِ إِسْرَائِيلَ، وَمَلِكٌ وَاحِدٌ يَكُونُ مَلِكًا عَلَيْهِمْ كُلِّهِمْ، وَلَا يَكُونُونَ بَعْدُ أُمَّتَيْنِ، وَلَا يَنْقَسِمُونَ بَعْدُ إِلَى مَمْلَكَتَيْنِ. وَلَا يَتَنَجَّسُونَ بَعْدُ بِأَصْنَامِهِمْ وَلَا بِرَجَاسَاتِهِمْ وَلَا بِشَيْءٍ مِنْ مَعَاصِيهِمْ، بَلْ أُخَلِّصُهُمْ مِنْ كُلِّ مَسَاكِنِهِمِ ٱلَّتِي فِيهَا أَخْطَأُوا، وَأُطَهِّرُهُمْ فَيَكُونُونَ لِي شَعْبًا وَأَنَا أَكُونُ لَهُمْ إِلَهًا. وَدَاوُدُ عَبْدِي يَكُونُ مَلِكًا عَلَيْهِمْ، وَيَكُونُ لِجَمِيعِهِمْ رَاعٍ وَاحِدٌ، فَيَسْلُكُونَ فِي أَحْكَامِي وَيَحْفَظُونَ فَرَائِضِي وَيَعْمَلُونَ بِهَا. وَيَسْكُنُونَ فِي ٱلْأَرْضِ ٱلَّتِي أَعْطَيْتُ عَبْدِي يَعْقُوبَ إِيَّاهَا، ٱلَّتِي سَكَنَهَا آبَاؤُكُمْ، وَيَسْكُنُونَ فِيهَا هُمْ وَبَنُوهُمْ وَبَنُو بَنِيهِمْ إِلَى ٱلْأَبَدِ، وَعَبْدِي دَاوُدُ رَئِيسٌ عَلَيْهِمْ إِلَى ٱلْأَبَدِ. وَأَقْطَعُ مَعَهُمْ عَهْدَ سَلَامٍ، فَيَكُونُ مَعَهُمْ عَهْدًا مُؤَبَّدًا، وَأُقِرُّهُمْ وَأُكَثِّرُهُمْ وَأَجْعَلُ مَقْدِسِي فِي وَسْطِهِمْ إِلَى ٱلْأَبَدِ. وَيَكُونُ مَسْكَنِي فَوْقَهُمْ، وَأَكُونُ لَهُمْ إِلَهًا وَيَكُونُونَ لِي شَعْبًا. فَتَعْلَمُ ٱلْأُمَمُ أَنِّي أَنَا ٱلرَّبُّ مُقَدِّسُ إِسْرَائِيلَ، إِذْ يَكُونُ مَقْدِسِي فِي وَسْطِهِمْ إِلَى ٱلْأَبَدِ». ¹⁴

I felt the powerful presence of the Lord, and his spirit took me and set me down in a valley where the ground was covered with bones. He led me all around the valley, and I could see that there were very many bones and that they were very dry. He said to me, “Mortal man, can these bones come back to life?” I replied, “Sovereign Lord, only you can answer that!” He said, “Prophecy to the bones. Tell these dry bones to listen to the word of the Lord. Tell them that I, the Sovereign Lord, am saying to them: I am going to put breath into you and bring you back to life. I will give you sinews and muscles, and cover you with skin. I will put breath into you and bring you back to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.” So I prophesied as I had been told. While I was speaking, I heard a rattling noise, and the bones began to join together. While I watched, the bones were covered with sinews and muscles, and then with skin. But there was no breath in the bodies. God said to me, “Mortal man, prophesy to the wind. Tell the wind that the Sovereign Lord commands it to come from every direction, to breathe into these dead bodies, and to bring them back to life.” So I prophesied as I had been told. Breath entered the bodies, and they came to life and stood up. There were enough of them to form an army. God said to me, “Mortal man, the people of Israel are like these bones. They say that they are dried up, without any hope and with no future. So prophesy to my people Israel and tell them that I, the Sovereign Lord, am going to open their graves. I am going to take them out and bring them back to the land of Israel. When I open the graves where my people are buried and bring them out, they will know that I am the Lord. I will put my breath in them, bring them back to life, and let them live in their own land. Then they will know that I am the Lord. I have promised that I would do this—and I will. I, the Lord, have spoken.” Judah and Israel in One Kingdom The Lord spoke to me again. “Mortal man,” he said, “take a wooden stick and write on it the words, ‘The kingdom of Judah.’ Then take another stick and write on it the words, ‘The kingdom of Israel.’ Then hold the two sticks end to end in your hand so that they look like one stick. When your people ask you to tell them what this means, tell them that I, the Sovereign Lord, am going to take the stick representing Israel and put it with the one that represents Judah. Out of the two I will make one stick and hold it in my hand. “Hold in your hand the two sticks and let the people see them. Then tell them that I, the Sovereign Lord, am going to take all my people out of the nations where they have gone, gather them together, and bring them back to their own land. I will unite them into one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. They will have one king to rule over them, and they will no longer be divided into two nations or split into two kingdoms. They will not defile themselves with disgusting idols anymore or corrupt themselves with sin. I will free them from all the ways in which they sin and betray me. I will purify them; they will be my people, and I will be their God. A king like my servant David will be their king. They will all be united under one ruler and will obey my laws faithfully. They will live on the land I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where their ancestors lived. They will live there forever, and so will their children and all their descendants. A king like my servant David will rule them forever. I will make a covenant with them that guarantees their security forever. I will establish them and increase their population and will see to it that my Temple stands forever in their land. I will live there with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people. When I place my Temple there to be among them forever, then the nations will know that I, the Lord, have chosen Israel to be my own people.”

We find in the Holy Quran a verse much shorter, but almost of the same significance as the words of Ezekiel above:

أَوْ كَالَّذِي مَرَّ عَلَى قَرْيَةٍ وَهِيَ خَاوِيَةٌ عَلَى عُرُوشِهَا قَالَ أَنَّى يُحْيِي هَذِهِ اللَّهُ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا فَأَمَاتَهُ اللَّهُ مِائَةَ عَامٍ ثُمَّ بَعَثَهُ قَالَ كَمْ لَبِثْتَ قَالَ لَبِثْتُ يَوْمًا أَوْ بَعْضَ يَوْمٍ قَالَ بَلْ لَبِثْتَ مِائَةَ عَامٍ فَانْظُرْ إِلَى طَعَامِكَ وَشَرَابِكَ لَمْ يَتَسَنَّهْ وَانْظُرْ إِلَى حِمَارِكَ وَلِنَجْعَلَكَ آيَةً لِلنَّاسِ وَانْظُرْ إِلَى الْعِظَامِ كَيْفَ نُنْشِزُهَا ثُمَّ نَكْسُوهَا لَحْمًا فَلَمَّا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُ قَالَ أَعْلَمُ أَنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ 259¹⁵

Or like him* who passed by a dwelling and it had fallen flat on its roofs; he said, “How will Allah bring it to life, after its death?”; so Allah kept him dead for a hundred years, then brought him back to life; He said, “How long have you stayed here?”; he replied, “I may have stayed for a day or little less”; He said, “In fact, you have spent a hundred years – so look at your food and drink which do not even smell stale; and look at your donkey (whose bones even are not intact) – in order that We may make you a sign for mankind – and look at the bones how We assemble them and then cover them with flesh”; so when the matter became clear to him, he said, “I know well that Allah is Able to do all things.” (*Prophet Uzair – peace be upon him.)

The Revival Of The Jews And Jerusalem

Almost all Bible commentators tend to take the words mentioned above of Ezekiel in allegorical significance. One of them, H. Alves, writes:

“This is a prophecy concerning the national restoration of Israel. God's earthly people have long been buried as a nation, and the ten tribes hid-den out of sight in many countries of the world. They are spoken of here as "dry bones," "very dry." When the Lord comes back to earth again, these dry bones, so to speak, will be raised and brought to life. Then this prophecy will be literally fulfilled. Israel will be restored to the covenant rights given to that nation by God long ago, and placed and established in the land that God gave to His earthly people.”

ommentary is as follows:

“This is fulfilled through the restoration of Israel as the people of Jeho¬vah, to which the leading of the people back into the land of Israel essentially belongs. The way was opened and prepared for this fulfil¬ment by the return of a portion of the people from the Babylonian cap¬tivity under Zerubbabel and Ezra, which was brought to pass by the Lord, by the rebuilding of the cities of Judah and the temple which' had been destroyed, and by the restoration of political order. But all this was nothing more than a pledge of the future and complete restoration of Israel. For although the Lord still raised up prophets for those who had returned and furthered the building of His house, His glory did not enter the newly erected temple, and the people never attained to inde¬pendence again that is to say, not to permanent independence but continued in subjection to the imperial power of the heathen. And even if, according to Ezra, very many more of the exiles may have returned to their native land, by whom, for example, Galilee was repopulated and brought into cultivation again, the greater portion of the nation remained dispersed among the heathen. The actual restoration of Israel as the people of the Lord commenced with the founding of the new kingdom of God, the "kingdom of heaven," through the appearing of Christ upon the earth. But in as much as the Jewish nation as such, or in its entirely, did not acknowledge Jesus Christ as the Messiah foretold by the prophets and sent by God, but rejected its Saviour, there burst afresh upon Jerusalem and the Jewish nation the judgment of dispersion among the heathen; whereas the kingdom of God founded by Christ spread over the earth, through the entrance of believers from among the Gentiles. This judgment upon the Jewish people, which is hardened in unbelief, still continues, and will continue until the time when the full number of the Gentiles has entered into the kingdom of God, and Israel as a community shall also be converted to Christianity, acknowledge the crucified one as its Saviour, and bow the knee before Him.”¹⁶

In short, Bible commentators agree on taking this prophecy allegorically and referring to a (final) revival of Jerusalem and the gathering of the Jews in "The land that God gave to them" or "in the kingdom of God through conversion to Jesus .”

However, based on certain concrete and historical facts, some Muslim researchers find in the famous prophecy of Ezekiel , references to Muhammad and the spread of Islam, in the embrace of which numerous Israelites have either become Muslims or lived happily, and Jerusalem has remained a place of peace and security for centuries. What follows is a composition of what they put forth:

Ten Lost Tribes Of Israel

Israel is the nation that descended from the twelve sons of Jacob . Encyclopedia Judaica gives the names of the twelve tribes of Israel that are named after these sons as follows: Asher, Benjamin, Dan, Gad, Issachar, Joseph (Yusuf) , Judah, Levi, Naphtali, Reuben, Simeon, Zebulun.

After the demise of Solomon , the most powerful prophet and king of Israel, his son Rehoboam succeeded him. However, the northern ten tribes of Israel, the tribes other than those of Judah and Benjamin, rejected him as their king and formed the Northern Kingdom. Thus, the United Kingdom of Israel, which was founded in about the 930s B.C., was divided into two: the Kingdom of Israel (or the Northern Kingdom), which was formed of the ten tribes mentioned, and the Kingdom of Judah (or the Southern Kingdom). The latter came into existence by the Tribes of Judah and Benjamin remaining loyal to Rehoboam. Some of the members of Levi and Simeon were also found in the Southern Kingdom.

The ten tribes of Israel were thus cut off and separated from the other Israelites and raised their kingdom in Samaria. Their rule lasted for two centuries; and then Shalmaneser, the king of Assyria, put an end to that Kingdom of Israel or the Northern Kingdom in 722 B.C. Scores of thousands of the conquered Israelites were driven into captivity. In their place came other settlers from Assyria. They occupied the cities of the land of Israel and became half-assimilated with the remaining native Israelites. The people of Israel, however, who for the most part were deported to the Assyrian Empire, disappeared completely without leaving any indication of their fate in the region. No trace was found of the Ten Tribes and where they had gone and what had become of them remained a puzzle for many centuries.

Partial Fulfilment Of The Prophecy

As it is stated in Keil and Delitzsch, the Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament and has been quoted above, the way was opened and prepared for the fulfilment of the said prophecy of Ezekiel . In the desolate and deserted valley, through which Ezekiel had to pass was obviously Jerusalem. Both Jeremiah and Ezekiel lamented its destruction. The Babylonian King, Nebuchadnezzar destroyed it, putting an end to the Kingdom of Judah and driving the remaining two tribes of Israel into exile in Babylonia. However, God the All-Merciful answered the lamentation of Jeremiah and Ezekiel . He assured them that the sacred city of Jerusalem, which was now a ruin full of dry bones, and its Temple would be rebuilt after a hundred years, on condition that the Children of Israel would obey God, Who came to their rescue and the Babylonian Empire collapsed. In 539 B.C., 65 years after the destruction of Jerusalem, the Persian Emperor Cyrus conquered Babylonia, and the following year, he allowed the Children of Israel to return and settle once again in their homeland.

However, there were still 35 years for the word of God to be fulfilled. It was through the guidance of Ezra , when the Children of Israel took up a fresh, firm resolve to walk in the way of God's good pleasure that the promise of the reconstruction of the Temple and the revival of Jerusalem came to be fulfilled exactly after a hundred years, in the reign of Darius Hystaspes. But, in addition to the fact that this related only to the two tribes of Israel, Judah and Benjamin, and the ten tribes continued to remain in the mist of history, neither the Lord's glory fully entered the newly erected Temple, nor the people ever attained to full and permanent independence again. Therefore, the Jews asserted emphatically: "The full fulfilment of the prophecy is still an event of the future." It is written in the Book of Zachariah, who lived almost five centuries after Ezekiel : "Ho! Ho! Flee from the land of the north, says the Lord; for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heavens, says the Lord." ¹⁷ And again: "And they that are far off shall come and help to build in the temple of the Lord, and you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. And this shall come to pass if you will diligently obey the voice of the Lord, your God." ¹⁸

The Ten Lost Tribes Of Israel In The Bible And The Basic Mission Of Jesus

The most honoured and renowned of the ten lost tribes were the tribe of Joseph that comprised the Children of Ephraim. It was written about Joseph’s tribe: "Rachel is crying for her children." ¹⁹ Her lamentation was warranted because the Lord promised her that, eventually, the exile of the Jews would end and they would return to their land. Therefore, Rachel is the mother of Joseph , all the hopes of the Jews were linked with Joseph’s tribe. While Jacob was on his death-bed, he conferred most of his blessings on this tribe and uttered a prophecy about their prosperity and success, saying:

"Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a fountain; his branches run over the wall. The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and persecute him: But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong, by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, (From thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel)."²⁰

We also read in the Holy Quran that Jacob , when he was on his death-bed, took a solemn promise from his sons, saying:

أَمْ كُنْتُمْ شُهَدَاءَ إِذْ حَضَرَ يَعْقُوبَ الْمَوْتُ إِذْ قَالَ لِبَنِيهِ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ مِنْ بَعْدِي قَالُوا نَعْبُدُ إِلَهَكَ وَإِلَهَ آبَائِكَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْمَاعِيلَ وَإِسْحَاقَ إِلَهًا وَاحِدًا وَنَحْنُ لَهُ مُسْلِمُونَ 133²¹

In fact, some of you yourselves were present when death approached Yaqub and when he said to his sons, “What will you worship after me?” They said, “We shall worship Him Who is your God, and is the God of your fathers, Abraham and Ismail and Ishaq (Isaac) – the One God; and to Him, we have submitted ourselves.”

Moses too, in the last moments of his life, invoked for this tribe blessing, both spiritual and temporal:

وَلِيُوسُفَ قَالَ: «مُبَارَكَةٌ مِنَ ٱلرَّبِّ أَرْضُهُ، بِنَفَائِسِ ٱلسَّمَاءِ بِٱلنَّدَى، وَبِاللُّجَّةِ ٱلرَّابِضَةِ تَحْتُ، وَنَفَائِسِ مُغَلَّاتِ ٱلشَّمْسِ، وَنَفَائِسِ مُنْبَتَاتِ ٱلْأَقْمَارِ. وَمِنْ مَفَاخِرِ ٱلْجِبَالِ ٱلْقَدِيمَةِ، وَمِنْ نَفَائِسِ ٱلْإِكَامِ ٱلْأَبَدِيَّةِ، وَمِنْ نَفَائِسِ ٱلْأَرْضِ وَمِلْئِهَا، وَرِضَى ٱلسَّاكِنِ فِي ٱلْعُلَّيْقَةِ. فَلْتَأْتِ عَلَى رَأْسِ يُوسُفَ وَعَلَى قِمَّةِ نَذِيرِ إِخْوَتِهِ. بِكْرُ ثَوْرِهِ زِينَةٌ لَهُ، وَقَرْنَاهُ قَرْنَا رِئْمٍ. بِهِمَا يَنْطَحُ ٱلشُّعُوبَ مَعًا إِلَى أَقَاصِي ٱلْأَرْضِ. هُمَا رِبْوَاتُ أَفْرَايِمَ وَأُلُوفُ مَنَسَّى». ²²

About the tribe of Joseph he said: “May the Lord bless their land with rain and with water from under the earth. May their land be blessed with sun-ripened fruit, Rich with the best fruits of each season. May their ancient hills be covered with choice fruit. May their land be filled with all that is good, blessed by the goodness of the Lord, Who spoke from the burning bush. May these blessings come to the tribe of Joseph, because he was the leader among his brothers. Joseph has the strength of a bull, the horns of a wild ox. His horns are Manasseh's thousands and Ephraim's ten thousand. With them, he gores the nations and pushes them to the ends of the earth.”

It is unthinkable that Joseph should have been abandoned, and that the word of God had failed in this case. Therefore, these ten tribes, including the Children of Joseph , the Sons of Ephraim, must have settled somewhere and been expecting the Lord's promise to them to be fulfilled.

Jacob had also conferred blessings on Joseph’s two sons Ephraim and Manasseh. He had given Ephraim, the younger son, more blessings. Joseph had kindly reminded him that Manasseh was the first born, but Jacob , had set Ephraim before Manasseh. As the Bible says:

وَقَالَ يُوسُفُ لِأَبِيهِ: «لَيْسَ هَكَذَا يَا أَبِي، لِأَنَّ هَذَا هُوَ ٱلْبِكْرُ. ضَعْ يَمِينَكَ عَلَى رَأْسِهِ». فَأَبَى أَبُوهُ وَقَالَ: «عَلِمْتُ يَا ٱبْنِي، عَلِمْتُ. هُوَ أَيْضًا يَكُونُ شَعْبًا، وَهُوَ أَيْضًا يَصِيرُ كَبِيرًا. وَلَكِنَّ أَخَاهُ ٱلصَّغِيرَ يَكُونُ أَكْبَرَ مِنْهُ، وَنَسْلُهُ يَكُونُ جُمْهُورًا مِنَ ٱلْأُمَمِ». ²³

He said to his father, “Not that way, father. This is the older boy; put your right hand on his head.” His father refused, saying, “I know, son, I know. Manasseh's descendants will also become a great people. But his younger brother will be greater than he, and his descendants will become great nations.”

As a result, Ephraim's dynasty became so much dignified that its name came to be synonymous with the rulership of Israel. Therefore, this promised son and his tribe could not have become non-existent and extinct. Furthermore, God Almighty sent His prophet, Jesus to seek and find the ten lost tribes of Israel, and bring them back to the true religion of God. Jesus is reported to have said in a dynamic language:

وَإِذَا ٱمْرَأَةٌ كَنْعَانِيَّةٌ خَارِجَةٌ مِنْ تِلْكَ ٱلتُّخُومِ صَرَخَتْ إِلَيْهِ قَائِلَةً: «ٱرْحَمْنِي، يا سَيِّدُ، يا ٱبْنَ دَاوُدَ! اِبْنَتِي مَجْنُونَةٌ جِدًّا». فَلَمْ يُجِبْهَا بِكَلِمَةٍ. فَتَقَدَّمَ تَلَامِيذُهُ وَطَلَبُوا إِلَيْهِ قَائِلِينَ: «ٱصْرِفْهَا، لِأَنَّهَا تَصِيحُ وَرَاءَنَا!». فَأَجَابَ وَقَالَ: «لَمْ أُرْسَلْ إِلَّا إِلَى خِرَافِ بَيْتِ إِسْرَائِيلَ ٱلضَّالَّةِ». ²⁴

A Canaanite woman who lived in that region came to him. “Son of David!” she cried out. “Have mercy on me, sir! My daughter has a demon and is in a terrible condition.” But Jesus did not say a word to her. His disciples came to him and begged him, “Send her away! She is following us and making all this noise!” Then Jesus replied, “I have been sent only to the lost sheep of the people of Israel.”

مَاذَا تَظُنُّونَ؟ إِنْ كَانَ لِإِنْسَانٍ مِئَةُ خَرُوفٍ، وَضَلَّ وَاحِدٌ مِنْهَا، أَفَلَا يَتْرُكُ ٱلتِّسْعَةَ وَٱلتِّسْعِينَ عَلَى ٱلْجِبَالِ وَيَذْهَبُ يَطْلُبُ ٱلضَّالَّ؟ وَإِنِ ٱتَّفَقَ أَنْ يَجِدَهُ، فَٱلْحَقَّ أَقُولُ لَكُمْ: إِنَّهُ يَفْرَحُ بِهِ أَكْثَرَ مِنَ ٱلتِّسْعَةِ وَٱلتِّسْعِينَ ٱلَّتِي لَمْ تَضِلَّ. ²⁵

“What do you think a man does who has one hundred sheep and one of them gets lost? He will leave the other ninety-nine grazing on the hillside and go and look for the lost sheep. When he finds it, I tell you, he feels far happier over this one sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not get lost.

هَؤُلَاءِ ٱلِٱثْنَا عَشَرَ أَرْسَلَهُمْ يَسُوعُ وَأَوْصَاهُمْ قَائِلًا: إِلَى طَرِيقِ أُمَمٍ لَا تَمْضُوا، وَإِلَى مَدِينَةٍ لِلسَّامِرِيِّينَ لَا تَدْخُلُوا. بَلِ ٱذْهَبُوا بِٱلْحَرِيِّ إِلَى خِرَافِ بَيْتِ إِسْرَائِيلَ ٱلضَّالَّةِ. ²⁶

These twelve men were sent out by Jesus with the following instructions: “Do not go to any Gentile territory or any Samaritan towns. Instead, you are to go to the lost sheep of the people of Israel.

وَلِي خِرَافٌ أُخَرُ لَيْسَتْ مِنْ هَذِهِ ٱلْحَظِيرَةِ، يَنْبَغِي أَنْ آتِيَ بِتِلْكَ أَيْضًا فَتَسْمَعُ صَوْتِي، وَتَكُونُ رَعِيَّةٌ وَاحِدَةٌ وَرَاعٍ وَاحِدٌ. ²⁷

There are other sheep which belong to me that are not in this sheep pen. I must bring them, too; they will listen to my voice, and they will become one flock with one shepherd.

وَلَمْ يَقُلْ هَذَا مِنْ نَفْسِهِ، بَلْ إِذْ كَانَ رَئِيسًا لِلْكَهَنَةِ فِي تِلْكَ ٱلسَّنَةِ، تَنَبَّأَ أَنَّ يَسُوعَ مُزْمِعٌ أَنْ يَمُوتَ عَنِ ٱلْأُمَّةِ، وَلَيْسَ عَنِ ٱلْأُمَّةِ فَقَطْ، بَلْ لِيَجْمَعَ أَبْنَاءَ ٱللهِ ٱلْمُتَفَرِّقِينَ إِلَى وَاحِدٍ. ²⁸

Actually, he did not say this of his own accord; rather, as he was High Priest that year, he was prophesying that Jesus was going to die for the Jewish people, and not only for them, but also to bring together into one body all the scattered people of God.

It is clear in the verses of the New Testament above that the core mission of Jesus was to find the lost sheep of the house of Israel and bring them back to their original, true faith. However, since he did not live long enough to do this, he gave the glad tidings of him, of the Messenger, who was to come after him with a universal message, to find the lost sheep of the house of Israel and become their shepherd, to guide them to the true faith and be their "king", the promised David , who would govern them with justice and righteousness. Jesus’s success lay, therefore in the fact that he prepared these tribes of Israel who had lost the religion of their fathers, to return to the faith of Abraham , Jacob and Joseph .

Afghans, Kashmiris And The Tajiks Of Badakhshan

Serious researches conducted for centuries have discovered a strong connection between the lost ten tribes of Israel and the people of Afghanistan and Kashmir and Badakhshan in Tajikistan. Some writers traced these tribes to China because of some Jewish monuments found in that country. Some others found their descendants in India. Still, some others argue that these tribes became absorbed in neighbouring nations, while there are also assertions that they have been found among Western peoples.

According to Encyclopedia Americana (1956, Vol. 17, Pg. 632) tinder the heading, "Lost Ten Tribes", Dr. Giles Fletcher (1548-1611) identified the Tartars with the lost ten tribes in his The Tartars, printed in ‘Israel Redux,’ edited by S. Lee (1667), based on certain customs and rites, and the prevailing type of facial features, Dr. Francois Bernier (1620-1688), who was in the Great Moghul of India for twelve years as a French physician, in Les voyages de Bernier Contenant la Description des Etats du Grand Mogul de l'Hindoustan, speculates on the Kashmiris as descendants of the lost ten tribes, as also on the neighbouring Afghans and the Tajiks of Badakhshan, being distinctly Hebraic. ²⁹

So, according to Dr. Bernier, the people of Kashmir and Afghanistan are the same ten lost tribes of the house of Israel. Dr. Bernier, who had been for a long time in the court of the Moghul Emperor, Aurangzeb of India, writes in his book Travels in the Moghul Empire:

There are however many marks of Judaism to be found in this country. On entering the Kingdom after crossing the Peer-Punchal Mountains, the inhabitants of the frontier villages struck me as resembling Jews. Their countenances and manners, and that indescribable peculiarity which enables a traveller to distinguish the residents of different nations, all seemed to belong to that ancient people. You are not to ascribe what I say to mere fancy, the Jewish appearance of these villagers having been remarked by our Father, the Jesuit, and some other Europeans long before I visited Kashmir. ³⁰

The Jesuit father mentioned here was Catrou. He wrote his General History of the Mughal Empire in 1708 CE and stated in it (Pg. 195) that "the Kashmiris are descendants of the Jews."

George Forster, in his famous Letters on a Journey from Bengal to England (2: 20), described his visit to Kashmir:

"On first seeing the Kashmirians, in their country, I imagined from their garb, the cast of their countenance which was long and of a grave aspect, and the forms of their beards, that I had come among a nation of Jews."

In his Travels in the Himalayan Provinces, published in 1841, H. H. Wilson writes (Pg. 129):

"The physical and the ethnic character, which so sharply marks of the Kashmiris from all surrounding races, have always struck observant visitors to the valley and they universally connected them with the Jews."

Sir Alexander Burnes in his ‘Travels into Bokhara’, published in 1835 (2: 139-141) writes about the Afghans that they call themselves Bani Israel, or the children of Israel, but consider the term Yahoodi, or Jew, to be one of reproach. They say that Nebuchadnezzar, after the destruction of Israel, deported them into the towns of Ghore near Bamean and that they were called after their Chief Afghan. They say that they lived as Israelites until Khalid Ibn Walid, the Prophet's companion and the great Muslim commander summoned them in the first century of Islam. Burnes states that considering their traditions and history, he sees no real reason for discrediting them. According to him, the Afghans look like Jews, and the younger brother marries the widow of the elder. The Afghans entertain strong prejudices against the Jewish nation, which would at least show that they have no desire to claim without just cause a descent from them.

William Moorcroft travelled during 1819 to 1825 through many countries adjoining India, including Afghanistan. "The Khaibarees," he says, "are tall and have a singularly Jewish cast of features," he writes in his Travels in Himalayan Provinces of Hindustan and the Punjab; in Ladakh and Kashmir, in Peshawar, Kabul, Kunduz and Bokhara (Pg. 12). ³¹

Further more, J. B. Frazer in his book states:

"According to their own tradition, they believe themselves to be descendants of the Hebrews." ³²

In his famous work The Lost Tribes, published in 1861, George Moore states that there is the route of the Israelites from Media to Afghanistan and India marked by a series of intermediate stations bearing the names of several of the tribes and indicating the stages of their long and arduous journey.

Among more contemporary writers, Dr. Alfred Edersheim says in his The Life and Times of Jesus, the Messiah (Pg. 15):

"Modern investigations have pointed the Afghans as descendants from the Lost Tribes."

Dr. Navras Aafreedi, an Indian historian who did a genetic study on the Afridi clan of Pashtuns in Malihabad, India, said that 650 out of the 1,500 members possess genetic material similar to genetic material found in Jews.

Researches have shown not only a relationship between Afghan (Pashtun) and Jewish (Ashkenazi, Sephardic, Mizrahi) DNA, but that Afghan DNA is second closest (68. 1) to Ashkenazi DNA after Iraqi and Iraqi Jews (67.9). Though most of these researches have used Yusufzai, Afridi or Khattak samples from Pakistan and India, inferences can be drawn about Afghan DNA in general.

Rare genetic diseases among populations show a common origin. In this regard, the rare disease Inclusion body myopathy has been found among Afghans (Pashtuns), Iranian Jews and Ashkenazi. This indicates a common founder mutation. ³³

Some anthropologists tend to admit the oral traditions of the Pashtun tribes themselves. For example, according to the Encyclopedia of lslam (Houtsma, Martijin Theodoor <1987>undefined, E.J. Brill's first encyclopedia of Islam, 1913-1936), the theory of Pashtun descent from Israelites can be traced to Maghzan-e-Afghani who compiled a history for Khan-i Jehan Lodhi in the reign of Mughal Emperor Jahangir in the 17th century. Another book that led credence to Pashtun historical records, Taaqati-Nasiri, states that in the 7th century B.C. a person called the Bani Israel settled in the Ghor region of Afghanistan and from there began migrating southeast. These references to Bani Israel correspond with the commonly held view by Pashtuns that when the twelve tribes of Israel were scattered, the tribe of Joseph (Yusuf) , among other Hebrew tribes, settled in the Afghanistan region. This oral tradition is widespread among the Pashtun tribes. There have been many legends over the centuries of descent from the Ten Lost Tribes after groups converted to Christianity and Islam. Hence the tribal name Yusuf-zai in Pashto means the ‘son of Yusuf ’. A similar story is told by many historians, including the 14th century, Ibn Battuta and 16th-century Ferishta.

Other evidence showing that a considerable portion of the people of Kashmir and Afghanistan consists of Israelites in origin is that the names of several cities of Afghanistan and Kashmir have the same names as places mentioned in the Bible; i.e. they are Hebrew names. They have Gilgit for the Biblical Golgotha, and Poonch for Phenice. The meaning of Kabul (the capital of Afghanistan) in the Hebrew language (Cabin) is a dirty or displeasing city. There is also Chap-i-Babel (the well of Babylon) near Islamabad; and Thakhti-Sulaiman (the Throne of Solomon) in the vicinity of the math (temple) of Shankar Acharya. Also, there is a famous mountain range in the Pathan area of Afghanistan known as Khoje Amran, corresponding with `Imran, the father of Moses . The famous city of Bannu in Pashtun province must have been named after Asher Bacher Bannu, the eldest son of Jacob . Zebulun was the name of one of the sons of Jacob and one of the provinces of Afghanistan is Zabul. It is an interesting point that Ghazni and Zebul used to be called Zabulistan (the Land of Vebul) in the Middle Ages.

Prof. Fida Hassnain (a Kashmiri Sufi historian) and Dahan Levi (a Moroccan Jewish rabbi), in their debated book The Fifth Gospel, make extensive explanations about the Israelite presence in Afghanistan and Kashmir. A summary is as follows:

In the 6th century B.C., the Jews suffered persecution and had to run away toward Syria and Babylon. Most of them migrated to Afghanistan, Bactia, and hilly areas of Gilgit. During the succeeding periods, they were lost in various lands, for they had traversed long distances. They are said to have reached Gaznah and the country of the Kush where a river flows.

They also reached the outskirts of Kashmir and settled in Hazara. Definite information is available about the Hebrew tribes of Hazara who mostly occupied themselves in trade and commerce. Hazara is situated to the south-west of Kashmir.

The Bactrians and the Scythians are early tribes that settled in the region now known as Afghanistan. The Sumerians, the Persians, Armenians and the Afghans belong to the same race of the Caucasoid of the Mediterranean stock. It is a historical fact that Afghanistan was an important country, through which the routes in the Persian region, Asia Minor, Kashmir and Central Asia passed since ancient times.

Some of the Afghan tribes trace their genealogy to the Hebrew Prophets. Some claim descent from a certain Kish, carried off by Nebuchadnezzar in 598 B.C. This would show that the Afghans are the remnant of the ten lost tribes of Israel. Both Assyria and Persia established their colonies in Afghanistan, with captives from Syria, who were Jews. It is for this reason that some tribes in Afghanistan still call themselves Bani Israel, the Children of Israel. It was during the Arab occupation that they were converted to Islam.

It is interesting to note that the Afghans carry their tribal names even at present and use them as cognomens. Prominent among their tribes are the clans elf Ama-zye (Ammazites or clan of Ama), Dawood-zye, Abrahim-zye, Shemoo-zye, Yusuf-zye, Ayub-khel, Haroon-khael, Isa-khel (clan elf Isa), Ishaq-khel, Musa-Khel, Sulayman-khel, Yayha-khel, Yaqoob-khel, Yunus-khel and Zakaria-khel. All these clans possess ancestral pedigrees which carry their ancestral line right back to Jacob .

The Afghans call themselves Bani Israel or the Children of Israel. They say that they migrated to Ghore and Bamean during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar. They were converted to Islam due to the efforts of eminent companion Khalid bin Walid after the death of the Holy Prophet . For their services to him in the wars against the infidels, they were honoured with the title of Butan which has changed to Pathan now.

We are informed that the first two tribes which were deported to Afghanistan were that of Gad and Reuben. This happened when Ashurnazirpal ruled over Assyria. This migration may have taken place during the last decade of the 8th century B.C. Out of the two tribes mentioned above the Reubenites proceeded further toward Hazara and Kashmir while the Gadites permanently settled in Afghanistan. Today, the descendants of the Gadites are known as Gaddrani. According to another source, this deportation of Jews to Afghanistan continued in an organised manner up to the reign of Nebuchadnezzar (539 B.C). It will be of interest to know that Nebuchadnezzar is known in Kashmir as Bakhatnasser and there are many stories woven around his name: among the Kashmiris, a person who is a dandy and a rogue is nicknamed as Bakhatnasser.

The Israeli tribes who had suffered persecutions got themselves settled in the hilly areas and valleys of Kashmir, Hazara, Gilgit, and Chitral. A majority of them changed their religion from time to time and became Buddhists, Shaivites and Muslims. Many writers have observed that their faces, conduct and behaviour show that they are the descendants of the ancient race of Israel.

The valley of Kashmir is known by its inhabitants as Kasheer because it was a settlement of a race known as Kash or Cush who were of Semitic origin. These people founded the towns of Kash, Kashan and Kashgar. Kash is a town in Bukhara, Kashan exists in Iran and Kashgar lies in the Chinese Turkistan.

To save themselves from the invasion of Alexander, some of the Jewish tribes spread into the mountain valleys of the Himalayas. They also reached Kashmir and Tibet via Afghanistan. These people brought their religious relics with them. Claudius found an ancient copy of the Torah in Kashmir, which was written on leather and 48 feet in length.

The Kush Tribe

Kush or Cush was the son of Ham and a grandson of Noah . He was the founder of the Kash or Cush tribe that settled in the east. This tribe founded Kash, a village near Baghdad. These people named rivers, mountains, cities and countries after the name of their ancestor Kash or Cush. In Mesopotamia, they founded a kingdom and the Kashan River in that country is a testimony to this fact. Kashmar, a village near Nishapur in Iran, was also founded by them. This tribe also proceeded toward Central Asia and founded many settlements. Kashmohra, a village in Merv; Kash, a village in Bokhara; Kashband and Kashania, villages, in Samarkand, were their settlements in central Asia. In Mesopotamia, the tribe founded the towns of Kashan, Kashaf and Kashi. They also moved to Afghanistan and established settlements at Kashgar, Kashhil, Kashek and Kashu. While the Hindu-Kush Mountains are named after them, they also founded a settlement south of this mountain range known as Kashmor.

It was Babur, the founder of the Mughal dynasty in India, who pointed out in his memoirs that the etymology of the word Kashmir is derived from this Kash or Cush tribe which inhabited the valley.

The Nila-mata-Purana is an ancient Sanskrit work dealing with the legends concerning the origin of Kashmir, its inhabitants, sacred places and rituals. It makes mention of the (thirteen) tribes that settled in the valley of Kashmir. Three of them, namely, the Darvas, the Abhesuerus and the Khashas are primarily the Jewish tribes.

It is surprising that the five places mentioned regarding the "Land of Promise" Beth-peor, Hashbon, Pisgah, Mount Nabu and the valley of Moab do exist in Kashmir even at present. According to Western scholars, all these places have remained unidentified. But the Survey of India map would reveal that all these places can be located in the Bandipur area. Beth-peor is known as Behatpur. Hasbon is now known as Hashba, Pisgah is known as Pish, Moab is known as Mowu and Nabu is known as Nabo or Nil-toop.

Influences Of The Jewish Immigration

The Jewish immigration resulted in much influence on the language, custom and behaviour of the people of Afghanistan and Kashmir. There are many Hebrew words in the present-day Kashmiri and Afghan languages. The ratio has been fixed at almost nine percent, and such Hebrew words are still in vogue. Hebrew has influenced these languages for nearly two thousand years.

Similarly, many ceremonies, like that of birth, marriage, and death are same in Kashmir as are prevalent in Palestine. Levirate marriages are a common feature among the Jews as well as the Kashmiris. Mourning for the dead is fixed at forty days among both the people. Even the coffins to carry the dead are of the same design. The Jews always orient their graves from east to west, and such graves have been found in Kashmir with Hebrew inscriptions.

It is recorded in Hebrew history that when Moses was away, the Children of Israel began worshipping a calf. Among the Hindus, the tradition of revering a cow continues even up to this day. After their occupation of the Cancan, the Jews could not help adopting some of the old religious practices. They adopted some form of idolatry and created images for worship in the shape of a bull or a serpent. Among the Hindus of India in general and among the Kashmiri Pandits, the worship of Shiva's bull and serpents is a common practice. On all festive occasions and religious ceremonies, the Hindus blow the Shank; a horn created out of a sea shell.

The Jews, on the other hand, blow the Shofar, which is a ram's horn. It is a common practice to blow the Shofar in the synagogue each morning at the time of prayers. In the same way, the Shank is blown each morning in the Hindu temples of Kashmir at the date of recitation of the Bhajan or prayers. Both the Jews and the Hindus blow these horns at the climax of their prayers. (There are many other resemblances between the religious ceremonies of the Jews and Kashmiri Hindus.)

Conclusion

In conclusion, it was necessary that Jesus should seek and save the lost tribes of Israel. God’s word can never go in vain. Therefore, He would indeed rescue and save the Sons of Joseph . As declared in the Holy Quran, ³⁴ make Ezekiel ³⁵ a sign for mankind for the truth of His word and the truthfulness of His messengers and, last of all, of the Divine mission of the Holy Prophet . This is why He brought the Sons of Joseph together in the religion of Muhammad which was, indeed, the universal inheritor of the faith of Abraham . He appointed over them one shepherd, the Holy Prophet , and one King, the Promised David (i.e., Muhammad ). This also explains the reason, as the Holy Quran declares:

وَإِذْ قَالَ عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ يَابَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ إِنِّي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ إِلَيْكُمْ مُصَدِّقًا لِمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيَّ مِنَ التَّوْرَاةِ وَمُبَشِّرًا بِرَسُولٍ يَأْتِي مِنْ بَعْدِي اسْمُهُ أَحْمَدُ فَلَمَّا جَاءَهُمْ بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ قَالُوا هَذَا سِحْرٌ مُبِينٌ 6³⁶

And remember when Eesa the son of Maryam said, “O Descendants of Israel! Indeed, I am Allah’s Noble Messenger towards you, confirming the Book Torah, which was before me, and heralding glad tidings of the Noble Messenger who will come after me – his name is Ahmed (the Praised One)”; so when Ahmed came to them with clear proofs, they said, “This is an obvious magic.”

It was mainly included in Jesus’s primary mission that he gave the glad tidings of a messenger who was to come after him. Besides, his success lay in his persuasion and preparation of the ten lost tribes of Israel to return to the faith of Abraham and Jacob by accepting Prophet Muhammad and following him.

The ten lost tribes lost their true faith and adopted different types of polytheism in the lands where they were dispersed. Islam came and breathed into them the spirit of life "from the four winds", as Ezekiel prophesied (37: 9). That is, it conferred on them the Holy Quran, which is the essence and Consummation of all the Revealed Books of the world and, in the words of Ezekiel , "The God's Spirit, which He put within them." The Holy Quran, which exists almost everywhere in Kashmir and Afghanistan, has breathed life into them. It thus brought them home into the land of Israel, meaning that they were rehabilitated into the Religion of their ancestors. The land of Israel is, in reality, the Land where the Lord is obeyed. As a result, the stick of Joseph (which was in the hand of Ephraim) and the tribes of Israel associated with him, and the stick of Judah came together and became one stick. These were the two sticks about which Jacob said in Genesis 49: 10 and 49: 25, respectively: "The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until Shiloh come: And to him shall the obedience of the peoples be"; "Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a fountain; his branches run over the wall" (King James Version). These were the two sticks, namely, the just, righteous authority to improve the earth and the blessings of the heaven and guiding people on God's way. These were joined as one in the Holy Prophet . God Almighty made an everlasting covenant of peace and security (Islam) with them through him, and the lost tribes of Israel have everlastingly come together under his banner and to those who have embraced Islam from among the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin. As the promised David , Muhammad has become their leader in this worls and hereafter.

The Temple at Jerusalem has never remained safe and secure, ever since the time it came into existence. And all the other sacred places or centres of the world, whatever religion they might belong to, have, from time to time, were captured by their enemies. It is only the Holy Ka`ba of Islam, which has remained safe and secure and independent of enemy hands ever since the day it was built. Therefore, the prophecy of Ezekiel under discussion came to be fulfilled entirely after a thousand years. It is under Islamic rule, especially in Muslim Spain and under the Ottoman State, that the Jews have enjoyed the happiest time of their history after David and Solomon . Furthermore, Jerusalem became safe and secure after Muslims conqured it around eleven centuries after Ezekiel . It has enjoyed the longest period of peace and security of its history under the Muslim rule. Also, both itself, and its environs were declared holy and inviolable in the Holy Quran. Thus, after the death of Israel, when all their bones had become dry and disjointed, the Lord brought them together again in a new life, a new religion, the true religion of God. It was based on Divine Unity and was also the religion of Abraham , Jacob and Joseph , and other Israelite prophets. As a result, they stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.

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• ¹  Holy Quran, Saffat (The Rank Makers) 37: 83
• ²  The Bible, Ezekiel 34: 20-25
• ³  Holy Quran, Suad (ص) (Arabic Alphabet) 38: 21-26
• ⁴  Holy Quran, Al-Baqarah (The Cow) 2: 124
• ⁵  Holy Quran, Suad (ص) (Arabic Alphabet) 38: 35
• ⁶  Holy Quran, Maidah (The Table Spread of Food) 5: 43
• ⁷  Holy Quran, Maidah (The Table Spread with Food) 5: 32
• ⁸  Holy Quran, Al-Baqarah (The Cow) 2: 191
• ⁹  Holy Quran, Al-Baqarah (The Cow) 2: 217
• ¹⁰  The Bible, Isaiah 11: 6-7
• ¹¹  Abu Abdullah Muhammad Bin Ismail Al-Bukhari (1999), Sahih Bukhari, Kitab-ul-Istiqraz, Hadith: 2409, Darussalam, Riyadh, Saudia, Pg. 387.
• ¹²  Abu Al-Hasan Ali ibn Sahl Rabban Al-Tabari (1973), Al-Deen wa Al-Doola, Nabawat Hizqial Ala Al-Nabi, Dar-ul-Aafaq Al-Jadeeda, Beirut, Lebanon, Pg. 177.
• ¹³  In the present (now available) Arabic Bible it is found as:
  أُمُّكَ كَكَرْمَةٍ، مِثْلِكَ غُرِسَتْ عَلَى الْمِيَاهِ. كَانَتْ مُثْمِرَةً مُفْرِخَةً مِنْ كَثْرَةِ الْمِيَاهِ، وَكَانَ لَهَا فُرُوعٌ قَوِيَّةٌ لِقُضْبَانِ الْمُتَسَلِّطِينَ، وَارْتَفَعَ سَاقُهَا بَيْنَ الأَغْصَانِ الْغَبْيَاءِ، وَظَهَرَتْ فِي ارْتِفَاعِهَا بِكَثْرَةِ زَرَاجِينِهَا، لكِنَّهَا اقْتُلِعَتْ بِغَيْظٍ وَطُرِحَتْ عَلَى الأَرْضِ، وَقَدْ يَبَّسَتْ رِيحٌ شَرْقِيَّةٌ ثَمَرَهَا. قُصِفَتْ وَيَبِسَتْ فُرُوعُهَا الْقَوِيَّةُ. أَكَلَتْهَا النَّارُ، وَالآنَ غُرِسَتْ فِي الْقَفْرِ فِي أَرْضٍ يَابِسَةٍ عَطْشَانَةٍ، وَخَرَجَتْ نَارٌ مِنْ فَرْعِ عِصِيِّهَا أَكَلَتْ ثَمَرَهَا. وَلَيْسَ لَهَا الآنَ فَرْعٌ قَوِيٌّ لِقَضِيبِ تَسَلُّطٍ. هِيَ رِثَاءٌ وَتَكُونُ لِمَرْثَاةٍ.
  Translation: Your mother was like a grapevine planted near a stream. Because there was plenty of water, the vine was covered with leaves and fruit. Its branches were strong and grew to be royal scepters. The vine grew tall enough to reach the clouds; everyone saw how leafy and tall it was. But angry hands pulled it up by the roots and threw it to the ground. The east wind dried up its fruit. Its branches were broken off; they dried up and were burned. Now it is planted in the desert, in a dry and waterless land. The stem of the vine caught fire; fire burned up its branches and fruit. The branches will never again be strong, will never be royal scepters.
  (The Bible, Ezekiel 19: 10-14)
• ¹⁴  The Bible, Ezekiel 37: 1-28
• ¹⁵  Holy Quran, Al-Baqarah (The Cow) 2: 259
• ¹⁶  Quoted by Ali Aunal Harun Gultekin (2013), The Prophet Promised in World Scriptures, Tughra Books, New Jersey, USA, Pg. 226-227.
• ¹⁷  The Bible, Zechariah 2: 6 (King James Version)
• ¹⁸  The Bible, Zechariah 6: 15 (King James Version)
• ¹⁹  The Bible, Jeremiah 31: 15
• ²⁰  The Bible, Genesis 49: 22-24 (King James Version)
• ²¹  Holy Quran, Al-Baqarah (The Cow) 2: 133
• ²²  The Bible, Deuteronomy 33: 13-17
• ²³  The Bible, Genesis 48: 18-19
• ²⁴  The Bible, Matthew 15: 22-24
• ²⁵  The Bible, Matthew 18: 12-13
• ²⁶  The Bible, Matthew 10: 5-6
• ²⁷  The Bible, John 10: 16
• ²⁸  The Bible, John 11: 51-52
• ²⁹  The Encyclopedia Americana (1956, ed.), art. ‘Lost Ten Tribes’, Vol. XVII, Pg. 632. Quoted by Ali Aunal Harun Gultekin (2013), The Prophet Promised in World Scriptures, Tughra Books, New Jersey, USA, Pg. 232.
• ³⁰  F. Bernier (1981), Travels in the Mughal Empire (trans.), Irving Brock, Londan, U.K, Pg. 432.
• ³¹ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theories_of_Pashtun_origin: Retrieved: 07-11-2016
• ³²  James B. Fraser (1834), Historical and Descriptive Accounts of Persia, Harper and Brothers, New York, USA, Pg. 298.
• ³³ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theories_of_Pashtun_origin: Retrieved: 07-11-2016
• ³⁴  Holy Quran, Al-Baqarah (The Cow) 2: 259
• ³⁵  It is one of the well-known fact that most of the commentators of the Holy Quran mentioned the name of Ezra in the explanation of this verse but as it is clear that Quran doesn’t mention the names of all the prophet but only gives an indication about some, which shows that the one mentioned in the verse must be a prophet of Allah. Ibne Hatim quoted in his Tafseer different opinions about the name of different personalities including Ezekiel which supports our argument. If it is not found anywhere even in that case the verse is open to various meanings:
  وَلِنَجْعَلَكَ اٰيَةً لِّلنَّاسِ…
  Translation: in order that We may make you a sign for mankind…
  Hence, God made Ezekiel as a sign for mankind and fulfilled the prophecy as it is mentioned above.
• ³⁶  Holy Quran, Al-Saff (The Row) 61: 6