In the Holy Qur’an, there are many proofs of the authenticity of the Messenger of Allah. One of the repeated arguments is that there are many prophecies of his coming in the previous scriptures, and he is undoubtedly the only proof of the Prophets’ predictions (sws) mentioned in these scriptures.
Prophet Dawud (David) and Hajj of the Holy House of God
Muslim scholars continue to describe these prophecies in detail by studying the previous books. One of these is described in the Gospel in the words of Jesus (sws) in the book of Matthew (chapter 21:42-44).
The stone that the builders rejected became the cornerstone.
God did this, and it is marvelous to us.
We will explain the whole meaning of this prophecy at the end of the article. For now, understand that this prophecy is not originally from Jesus, but it was already written in the books of the Jews. At first, Prophet Jesus (sws) asked the Jewish scholars and other leaders. “Have you not read in the holy book about the stone that builders rejected….”
It is clear from these words that the above prediction was in the holy book before Jesus, and due to its importance, Jesus not only repeated it but also elaborated and detailed it. So it was not a prophecy from the Prophet Jesus (sws) but the words of another being, which he repeated and further explained.
Those scholars who keep a keen eye on divine books know that this prediction is actually from Hazrat Dawud (David), and it is the most crucial prediction made in the Psalms regarding the Prophet Muhammad (sws). However, no one will be able to understand the simile and allegory used in the prediction from the Bible, unless they know the fact that Hazrat Dawud (sws) predicted this prophecy in front of Holy Haram while performing Hajj.
The life conditions of Prophet Dawud (peace be upon him)
Readers may find it strange at what time Prophet Dawud (sws) performed Hajj. But in his book Torah, the hymns (songs) in praise of Allah sung by him, along with other historical facts, make it clear that Hazrat Dawud not only had achieved the blessing of Hajj but predicted that famous prediction at the same time. This prophecy was so well-known among the Jews that Jesus stated it without any specific reference.
Historically, Muslims have very little information about Hazrat Dawud, even though he is one of the most significant individuals in the chain of messengers and prophethood. The famous divine book, like Psalms, was revealed to him, and he is mentioned repeatedly in different chapters of the Holy Quran. Hence, it seems much more appropriate that before discussing the prediction, we first should talk about Hazrat Dawud’s life history because this prediction cannot be understood without understanding his life conditions.
The era of Prophet Dawud is labeled as 1000 BC, 1000 years after Abraham and 1000 years before Christ. About 500 years before Hazrat Dawud, while according to some other traditions (two and a half to two hundred years before) under the leadership of Hazrat Musa (Moses), Israelits was saved from Pharaoh. After that, the Israelites conquered Palestine under the leadership of his successor, Joshua bin Nun (Joshua), but he did not establish an organized state. The Israelites were divided into different groups and scattered in that conquered area. After that, in the centuries that followed, the Israelites accepted the influence of the surrounding polytheist tribes and continued to suffer from various deviations and misguidance. Consequently, the surrounding polytheist nations were given dominion over them as a punishment. Their Holy Chest (the Ark of the Covenant), central to their religious practices, was also taken away from them.
That was the time in which Hazrat Dawud (sws) was born. The Jews requested their Prophet Shamuel (Samuel) to pray to Allah to appoint a king for their people to fight under him and win victory over the polytheists so that they could take back their Holy chest and the conquered territories. In Surah Al-Baqarah of the Holy Qur’an, Allah has described the incident of Talut (Saul), who was made their King at the insistence of the Israelites. The sign of his appointment by Allah was that during his reign, the Holy Chest was returned to the Jews. Then, the Jews, under his leadership, defeated the polytheist army of Goliath (Jalut) and took complete possession of Palestine. In this war, Prophet David killed Goliath, and the King married his daughter to him.
However, later on, popularity and success as a military general made the King afraid of him, and his life was at stake, so he left the palace to save his life. After that, the King’s men chased him, and he struggled to save his life. That was the time when the prayers and hymns of the Psalms began. After the death of King Talut, Prophet David became the King of Palestine. Finally, he conquered all parts of Palestine and merged them into his empire.
Prophet Dawud’s Journey to Hijaz
When Prophet David was running for his life from King Saul, his mentor, Prophet Samuel, died simultaneously. After that, Palestine became completely unsafe for him. That was when he migrated from Palestine and went to the Faraan or Paran desert (Book Samuel 25:1). Two areas are stated in the Bible under the name of the Faraan (Paran) desert. One is the area of the Sinai desert in Egypt, where the people of Moses reached after the drowning of the Pharaoh. The other is the city of Makkah in the Arab land, where, according to the Bible, Abraham settled Hagar and Ismail (Book Genesis 21:17-21). Since Hazrat Dawud wanted to escape from the reach of the King of Palestine and other polytheist nations at that moment, it is not imaginable that he would have gone to the Sinai desert in Palestine. Instead, most likely, he had visited Makkah, a safe place away from the reach of the people of Palestine due to the long journey in the desert.
That was the time when he performed the Hajj Baitullah (The plgrimmage to the House of God). The memory of that spiritual sojourn evoked him in such a way that even after he became the King of all Palestine, he continued recalling it, and a whole hymne of the Psalm (Psalm:84) is about the memories of the Hajj journey in which he mentions Makkah in its old name “Bakkah/Baca.” It should be noted that in the Holy Quran, while talking to the Jews, Allah Almighty has described Makkah by the name of Bakkah (Al Imran 3:96) . This entire research, with all the detailed arguments, can be read in Mr. Abdul Sattar Ghori’s book “The Only Son offered for Sacrifice: Isaac or Ismael.”
Prophecy of the Prophet Muhammad (sws) in the Psalm
However, the prediction I have mentioned is in another verse of the Psalm (Psalm:118). As far as I understand, this Hymn was expressed precisely in the state of Hajj. I am quoting the entire article for the reader’s convenience because it will make the scenario understandable and help clarify how the Jews and Christians turned this prophecy away from the Prophet Muhammad (sws) to others. It is also necessary that this Hymn come on the record because it is the practice of the Jews and Christians that when they see that a Muslim has presented any proof of the authenticity of the Arabic Prophet from their book, they immediately declare that translation obsolete and make a new translation in which the original content is missing.
Before quoting the passage, let me make it clear that, like other divine books, the Psalm has gone through the process of translation after translation, as a result of which it will no longer have the same effect that the Holy Quran has described that mountains and birds also used to praise and glorify God along with Prophet Dawud (sws). Still, in this case, there is a meaning due to which the Holy Quran repeatedly referred to those divine books and declared that you find the reference of our last Prophet written in these books (Al-Araf 7:157).
The Hymn of Prophet Dawud (sws)
There are several parts to this prayer. I am quoting the Hymn below and will also explain the crucial points.
Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good because His mercy endures forever
Let Israel now say that his mercy endures forever
Let the house of Aaron now say that his mercy endures forever
Let them now that fear the Lord say that his mercy endures forever
The above initial verses 1 to 4 contain the praise of Allah, while in the last verse, 29, the same subject of praise is repeated. The tribute to God is the reason for the fame of Psalm. Then, from verses 5 to 18, he explained how his enemies surrounded him, and all the nations of Palestine were against him, but he sought help from Allah and put his trust in Him. so Allah saved him from those enemies. A remarkable prophecy is made in this verse that he will defeat all his enemies, and against all the efforts of those who tried to kill him, he will live and praise Allah. How he passed through a severe trial, but in the end, Allah saved him. He says:
When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord; he brought me into a spacious place.
The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?
The Lord is with me; he is my helper. I look in triumph on my enemies.
All the nations surrounded me, but in the name of the Lord I cut them down.
They surrounded me on every side, but in the name of the Lord I cut them down.
They swarmed around me like bees, but they were consumed as quickly as burning thorns; in the name of the Lord I cut them down.
I was pushed back and about to fall, but the Lord helped me.
The Lord is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.
Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous:
The Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!
The Lord’s right hand is lifted high; the Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!
I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the Lord has done.
The Lord has chastened me severely, but he has not given me over to death.
Verse 19 is the series of words in which he makes the famous prophecy while entering the Haram, which was mentioned at the beginning. It is clear from the style that he was reciting the previous verses on the way, but now, as he was entering the Haram and looking at the House of God in front of him, he was talking directly to Allah. He says:
Open for me the gates of the righteous; I will enter and give thanks to the Lord.
This is the gate of the Lord through which the righteous may enter.
I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation.
The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;
the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.
The Lord has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad.
Lord, save us! Lord, grant us success!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. From the house of the Lord we bless you.
The Lord is God, and he has made his light shine on us.
With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up to the horns of the altar.
You are my God, and I will praise you; you are my God, and I will exalt you.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.
Consider again the words written above: blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, (verse 26). Every piece of evidence witnesses that the person who will come is Prophet Muhammad (sws), and those words are expressed in the Haram of Makkah. The most basic proof is that during the time of Hazrat Dawud (peace be upon him), the Solomon temple was not yet built. There was no central place of worship for the Jews, but see that “this is the gate of the Lord” in this Psalm (verse 20), and “From the house of the Lord we bless you.” The words of verse 26 are the house of the Lord (translated in Arabic as Baitullah). At the time of the Prophet Dawud (sws), the building called Baitullah was the only one on the map of the world, and it was the Haram Kaaba. Furthermore, in this Psalm, he mentioned the sacrifice and the altar (verse 27). Is there any need to tell Muslims that what is the relationship between the altar and the sacrifice on the occasion of the pilgrimage?
It is obvious that the prophecy regarding the cornerstone is pointing toward Bani Ishmael. It means that this nation has been forgotten and rejected by the world, But tomorrow, it will become sacred and respected like the cornerstone of the Holy Haram, i.e., the black stone. We find this extraordinary, but it is the decision of Allah, so after that, he prayed for Bani Ismael’s health and prosperity and said we have prayed for you from the house of God.
Distortion and Interpretation
Jews and Christians have made great efforts somehow not to prove this prediction is related to the Messenger of Allah, Prophet Muhammad (sws). So, what did Jews do in this matter? They removed the name of Hazrat Dawud from this Psalm (It should be remembered that some of the Psalms were added later). Jews probably thought that when the cause has been taken away, so the effect is also removed. This prediction will lose its importance when the relationship with Hazrat Dawud (sws) gets distorted. But Hazrat Jesus (sws), by repeating this prediction in the Gospel, has emphasized its importance so much that no such effort could be effective now.
Another interpretation is that it cannot be the words of Hazrat Dawud (sws) because it mentions the house of God, the sacrifice, and the altar, as it is stated before that Solomon’s Temple was built after Hazrat Dawud’s reign. Hazrat Sulaiman/Solomon (sws) constructed it, so according to those people, there was no such thing as the house of God in the time of Hazrat Dawud. They tried to explain these verses that this Psalm is not David’s, but it belongs to the time when the Jews were returning to Jerusalem from Babylonian captivity. That is, when Bakht Nasr destroyed Jerusalem and took them to Babylon. They were allowed to return to Jerusalem after one whole century when they got rid of slavery in the era of Cyrus or Zulqarnain. In such a situation, an unknown person read this Psalm while seeing the Temple of Solomon entering Jerusalem.
However, the first part of this Psalm completely negates the above interpretation. As we explained earlier, Hazrat Dawud was subjected to constant ferocity from that era’s King and continuously struggled to save his life. And finally, he won over all his enemies with God’s help. The entire story of the victory over the enemies is in the Bible. This narrative is very briefly described in the Psalm. This narrative can not be related to the people (under siege by the Iraqis before) returning from Babylon. While here, Dawud (sws) is openly predicting this:
” All the nations surrounded me, but in the name of the Lord I cut them down. They surrounded me on every side, but in the name of the Lord I cut them down.They swarmed around me like bees, but they were consumed as quickly as burning thorns; in the name of the Lord I cut them down.” (Verses 10-12)
That is the challenge of a person surrounded by enemies, that today, I am in great trouble, but tomorrow, I will wipe out these enemies. There is no other figure in the entire history of Bani Israel against whom all the nations and tribes have risen like this, and he alone prevailed with the help of Allah. Therefore, the person reading this Psalm cannot be anyone except Hazrat Dawud (sws).
Interpretation of Christian
Christian presented the same interpretation as the other prophecies regarding Prophet Muhammad (sws) in the heavenly scriptures. In their example, they relate it to the Prophet Jesus (sws) and not to the Last Prophet Muhammad (sws). But first of all, the fact that the above prediction was forecasted in the Makkah-Haram leaves no room for the fact that the person mentioned is someone other than the Prophet Muhammad. Another more important thing is that it is mentioned in the Gospel, and after quoting the parable, Prophet Jesus (sws) explained it explicitly. So, according to that explanation, his own life and his nation could not be in any way an example of this prophecy.
The Christians say that the proof of this prophecy is Jesus Christ, while few Muslim scholars who have made the above prophecy their subject say that it refers to our Last Prophet. I am presenting this view that the proof of “cornerstone” is not an individual but a nation. That was what Hazrat Dawud (sws) explained in the Psalm and precisely what Prophet Jesus (sws) had revealed in the Gospel. However, for this, we have to understand the statement of the Gospel.
The story begins in the Gospel book of Matthew, chapter 21, verse 23, that Jesus (sws) was standing in the Temple of Soloman preaching when the Jewish leaders and priests gathered around him and began objecting: On what authority are you doing this? Prophet Jesus (sws) first warned them about their disbelief and then told them in the language of a parable that “the punishment of Allah is about to come upon them, and now they are going to be released from their position, and it will be given to another nation.” After that, he narrated the above-discussed prophecy of Prophet Dawud to them and described it as follows:
“Therefore I say unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken away from you, and shall be given to the nation that bringeth forth the fruits thereof, and whosoever shall fall upon this stone shall be broken in pieces, but upon whomsoever it shall fall shall be crushed.” When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they understood that he spoke regarding them, and they tried to arrest him, but they were afraid of the people because people identified him as a Prophet.(Matthew 21:43-46)
Prophet Jesus has made it clear that the nation in question here is not an individual, i.e., when Allah Almighty will punish the Israelites and will remove them from the position of leadership, that stone, i.e., Bani Ishmael, whom the Jews considered worthless, will become the stone of the corner. If we recall the prophecy of Prophet Dawud (sws) standing in the Haram, the cornerstone can be referred to as the Black Stone, which is placed at the end of one corner of the Haram as a most significant part. It means that the nation of Bani Ishmael, which was as insignificant as an ordinary stone, will soon become the most important in the world, like the black stone. Then Jesus described that this nation will get dominance, strength, and power so that if it collides with any nation of the world, it will eradicate it.
Who does not know that these prophecies of David and Christ (sws) had been proven accurate word by word. The Arabs, whom the Jews mockingly call “Ummi” and who were considered uncivilized by the whole world, accepted faith, then according to Prophet Dawud (sws), they blew away cards of the superpower of the world in a strange way and the nation that collided with them, got crumbled into pieces. On the contrary, followers of Prophet Jesus (sws) were exposed to the worst oppression in the early centuries. They had no power at that time to oppress other nations while others continued to crush them. Therefore, Prophet Jesus or his people could not be the proof of this prophecy. If Christians make a million efforts, without a doubt, the interpretation of this prophecy by Jesus (sws) himself is the biggest obstacle in their way. Undoubtedly, the proof of this prophecy, if any, is the entity of Prophet Muhammad (sws) and his people, i.e., the Companions of the Prophet. May Allah shower His mercy and blessings upon them all and guide us in their footsteps, Ameen.