Prophecies About Prophet Muhammad ﷺ By Prophet Daniel

(Cite: Khan, Dr. (Mufti) Imran & Hamdani, Mufti Shah Rafi Uddin. (2018), Prophecies About Prophet Muhammad By Prophet Daniel , Encyclopedia of Muhammad , Seerat Research Center, Karachi, Pakistan, Vol. 1, Pg. 245-258.)

Daniel also informed his people about the arrival of Muhammad . His prophecies are also mentioned in the Bible in the following manner;

First Prophecy

Daniel states the following about the unity of Holy Prophet’s religion:

إن ملكوت اللّٰه و عظمة المملكة الممتدة تحت رقعة السماء كلها سوف تعطي لعباد اللّٰه ثعالي و أولياءه، وسيكون ملكوتهم هذا مملكة أبدية، تخدمها جميع الممالك الأخري، و تعمل بطاعتها. ¹²

No doubt Allah’s rule and His kingdom’s greatness, spread under the sky, will be soon granted to the Allah’s servants and His friends. And soon their empire will be turned in an eternal kingdom; which will be served by the other kings and they will obey it.

'Allah's rule and His kingdom's greatness, spread under the sky' means that the polytheistic beliefs would be uprooted and would be replaced by the correct monotheistic belief. Before the advent of Islam, the Holy Kaaba was filled with around 360 idols which were worshipped on a daily basis, the real teachings of Jesus were defaced and forged concepts such as Trinity entered Christianity, and the scholars of the Jews had destroyed their religion by changing the word of God with their own inventions. In these dark times, Islam was brought by Prophet Muhammad which destroyed these distorted forms of religions and replaced them with Islam. When Islam was established, the Kingdom of God was established.

'And soon their empire would be turned in to an eternal kingdom' refers to the expansion of the Islamic empire. In the beginning, Islam was only restriced to parts of Arabia, but later on it spread worldwide and covered a major part of the world. When it expanded * world wide, other kings served them by accepting Islam such as Negus of Abyssinia. Those who did not accept Islam served by paying Jizya.

Islam was known as a religion amongst all the nations who believed in Allah but none of them understood the true belief of Allah rather most of the powers were given in the hands of the idolaters, except the regime of Solomon , David and Joshua's rule.

Jesus informed his disciples that Allah’s rule is near. This rule meant that there would be a religion in existence among the believers and that society would be armed by the belief of Allah such that they could encounter the enemies who would hinder in the preaching of Islam in the form of Jihad.

It can be further explicated that the rule of Allah is Islam. Jesus informed his disciples about the emergence of Islam through tidings and prophecies and made it clear for the Jews that the prophet to whom they were waiting for wouldn’t be a Jew nor will be the descendent of David , rather he will be the descendent of Ishmael and his name will be “Ahmed”. Soon he will establish an Islamic state according to Allah’s will and the arms of the Mujahedeen will be buoyed by Allah.

This nation was made upon such believers who not only believed in Allah but they used to take His name in the commencement of every work and they rightly praised upon its end. They would be as Daniel has described: they would be Allah’s friend. This adjective is true upon Muhammad and his companions and the people who believed in Allah.

The eternity and the sublime heights of this nation are verified by this statement of Daniel : And soon their empire will be turned in an eternal kingdom; which will be served by the other kings and they will obey it.

These traits were only found in the Muslims. The survival of this nation includes no class distinction rather all are equivalent in the eyes of Allah, there is no discrepancy among black and white, rich and poor, ruler and ruled. On the occasion of the last sermon, Muhammad said:

”عن جابر بن عبد اللّٰه قال: خطبنا رسول اللّٰه صلى اللّٰه عليه وسلم في وسط أيام التشريق خطبة الوداع، فقال: يا أيها الناس، إن ربكم واحد، وإن أباكم واحد، ألا لا فضل لعربي على عجمي، ولا لعجمي على عربي، ولا لأحمر على أسود، ولا أسود على أحمر، إلا بالتقوى، إن أكرمكم عند اللّٰه أتقاكم، ألا هل بلغت؟ قالوا: بلى يا رسول اللّٰه، قال: " فليبلغ الشاهد الغائب“. ³

Jabir Bin Abdullah reported that Prophet delivered his speech in the days of Tashreeq on the occasion of the last sermon and said: “O people! Surely your Lord is one and indeed your father is one. An Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over black nor does a black have any superiority over white except by piety (and good actions). “Indeed the more honorable among you, in the sight of Allah, is one who is more pious among you”. (Prophet said) “Have I given the message?” they said: “Yes, O Prophet of Allah”. (Prophet then) said: “Thus, whoever is present tell to whoever is absent”.

Second Prophecy

Daniel states the following about Islam and the rule of Abbasid people:

طوبي لمن أمل أن يدرك الأيام الألف و الثلاثة و الخمسه و الثلاثين. ⁴⁵

Obsequiousness is for those who wished for one thousand three hundred and thirty five days.

Ali ibn Sahl Rabban Al-Tabari discussed this prophecy and said: if we take a closer look, it is observed that the respective tiding is indicating towards Islam and especially towards Abbasid state because because these words of Daniel must either refer to the number of the days or months or years or it might be a secret related to the prophethood. Therefore, if the number is taken as the number of days it is not acceptable for the Israelites because there was not any good news in the world which would happen after 4 years of happiness. This figure cannot be taken for months because nothing happened even after one thousand three hundred and thirty-five months although this includes one hundred eleven years and months. Similarly, if it is said that this is referred to years, this is not possible because there were five hundred years from Daniel to Jesus . And the time from Jesus till the present ⁶ year is eight hundred sixty seven years according to Lunar calendar, which ended around three to four years before the Abbasid state. ⁷ Abdullah Al-Saheem further writes in the explanation: according to AD and CE, the year they are indicating is around 253 A.H which indicates towards the rise of the Islamic state up to its climax, greatness, perfection and control on the surroundings. (as it is found at that time.) ⁸

Third Prophecy

Before discussing the third prophecy of Daniel it should be clear in the mind that he was a prophet for the Israelites and had much resemblance to Jacob . Jacob was also a foreigner in the land of Babylon and was a victim but Allah had gifted him acquaintance of interpretation of dreams which increased his value and dignity in the eyes of the King. He always believed in monotheism and was not tempted by the worldly events to shift away from the path of Islam.

In the case of Daniel , The king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar in 586 B.C had conquered Jerusalem and made around a hundred thousand Jews as his captives and took them to Iraq. In those captives were Daniel and his companions Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah who were selected to attend the court. Once Nebuchadnezzar saw a strange dream and was disturbed about it. The King ordered the diviners and the magicians to figure out and interpret the dream. Everybody was upset but Daniel prayed to Allah with humility hence Allah revealed its interpretation to Daniel thus he reached to the King through the preference of an official Aryuuk and said:

أَنْتَ أَيُّهَا ٱلْمَلِكُ كُنْتَ تَنْظُرُ وَإِذَا بِتِمْثَالٍ عَظِيمٍ. هَذَا ٱلتِّمْثَالُ ٱلْعَظِيمُ ٱلْبَهِيُّ جِدًّا وَقَفَ قُبَالَتَكَ، وَمَنْظَرُهُ هَائِلٌ. رَأْسُ هَذَا ٱلتِّمْثَالِ مِنْ ذَهَبٍ جَيِّدٍ. صَدْرُهُ وَذِرَاعَاهُ مِنْ فِضَّةٍ. بَطْنُهُ وَفَخْذَاهُ مِنْ نُحَاسٍ. سَاقَاهُ مِنْ حَدِيدٍ. قَدَمَاهُ بَعْضُهُمَا مِنْ حَدِيدٍ وَٱلْبَعْضُ مِنْ خَزَفٍ. كُنْتَ تَنْظُرُ إِلَى أَنْ قُطِعَ حَجَرٌ بِغَيْرِ يَدَيْنِ، فَضَرَبَ ٱلتِّمْثَالَ عَلَى قَدَمَيْهِ ٱللَّتَيْنِ مِنْ حَدِيدٍ وَخَزَفٍ فَسَحَقَهُمَا. فَٱنْسَحَقَ حِينَئِذٍ ٱلْحَدِيدُ وَٱلْخَزَفُ وَٱلنُّحَاسُ وَٱلْفِضَّةُ وَٱلذَّهَبُ مَعًا، وَصَارَتْ كَعُصَافَةِ ٱلْبَيْدَرِ فِي ٱلصَّيْفِ، فَحَمَلَتْهَا ٱلرِّيحُ فَلَمْ يُوجَدْ لَهَا مَكَانٌ. أَمَّا ٱلْحَجَرُ ٱلَّذِي ضَرَبَ ٱلتِّمْثَالَ فَصَارَ جَبَلًا كَبِيرًا وَمَلَأَ ٱلْأَرْضَ كُلَّهَا. هَذَا هُوَ ٱلْحُلْمُ. فَنُخْبِرُ بِتَعْبِيرِهِ قُدَّامَ ٱلْمَلِكِ. أَنْتَ أَيُّهَا ٱلْمَلِكُ مَلِكُ مُلُوكٍ، لِأَنَّ إِلَهَ ٱلسَّمَاوَاتِ أَعْطَاكَ مَمْلَكَةً وَٱقْتِدَارًا وَسُلْطَانًا وَفَخْرًا. وَحَيْثُمَا يَسْكُنُ بَنُو ٱلْبَشَرِ وَوُحُوشُ ٱلْبَرِّ وَطُيُورُ ٱلسَّمَاءِ دَفَعَهَا لِيَدِكَ وَسَلَّطَكَ عَلَيْهَا جَمِيعِهَا. فَأَنْتَ هَذَا ٱلرَّأْسُ مِنْ ذَهَبٍ. وَبَعْدَكَ تَقُومُ مَمْلَكَةٌ أُخْرَى أَصْغَرُ مِنْكَ وَمَمْلَكَةٌ ثَالِثَةٌ أُخْرَى مِنْ نُحَاسٍ فَتَتَسَلَّطُ عَلَى كُلِّ ٱلْأَرْضِ. وَتَكُونُ مَمْلَكَةٌ رَابِعَةٌ صَلْبَةٌ كَٱلْحَدِيدِ، لِأَنَّ ٱلْحَدِيدَ يَدُقُّ وَيَسْحَقُ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ. وَكَالْحَدِيدِ ٱلَّذِي يُكَسِّرُ تَسْحَقُ وَتُكَسِّرُ كُلَّ هَؤُلَاءِ. وَبِمَا رَأَيْتَ ٱلْقَدَمَيْنِ وَٱلْأَصَابِعَ بَعْضُهَا مِنْ خَزَفٍ وَٱلْبَعْضُ مِنْ حَدِيدٍ، فَٱلْمَمْلَكَةُ تَكُونُ مُنْقَسِمَةً، وَيَكُونُ فِيهَا قُوَّةُ ٱلْحَدِيدِ مِنْ حَيْثُ إِنَّكَ رَأَيْتَ ٱلْحَدِيدَ مُخْتَلِطًا بِخَزَفِ ٱلطِّينِ. ⁹

“Your Majesty, in your vision you saw standing before you a giant statue, bright and shining, and terrifying to look at. Its head was made of the finest gold; its chest and arms were made of silver; its waist and hips of bronze, its legs of iron, and its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. While you were looking at it, a great stone broke loose from a cliff without anyone touching it, struck the iron and clay feet of the statue, and shattered them. At once the iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold crumbled and became like the dust on a threshing place in summer. The wind carried it all away, leaving not a trace. But the stone grew to be a mountain that covered the whole earth. “This was the dream. Now I will tell Your Majesty what it means. Your Majesty, you are the greatest of all kings. The God of heaven has made you emperor and given you power, might, and honor. He has made you ruler of all the inhabited earth and ruler over all the animals and birds. You are the head of gold. After you there will be another empire, not as great as yours, and after that a third, an empire of bronze, which will rule the whole earth. And then there will be a fourth empire, as strong as iron, which shatters and breaks everything. And just as iron shatters everything, it will shatter and crush all the earlier empires. You also saw that the feet and the toes were partly clay and partly iron. This means that it will be a divided empire. It will have something of the strength of iron, because there was iron mixed with the clay.

Daniel further said:

وَفِي أَيَّامِ هَؤُلَاءِ ٱلْمُلُوكِ، يُقِيمُ إِلَهُ ٱلسَّمَاوَاتِ مَمْلَكَةً لَنْ تَنْقَرِضَ أَبَدًا، وَمَلِكُهَا لَا يُتْرَكُ لِشَعْبٍ آخَرَ، وَتَسْحَقُ وَتُفْنِي كُلَّ هَذِهِ ٱلْمَمَالِكِ، وَهِيَ تَثْبُتُ إِلَى ٱلْأَبَدِ. لِأَنَّكَ رَأَيْتَ أَنَّهُ قَدْ قُطِعَ حَجَرٌ مِنْ جَبَلٍ لَا بِيَدَيْنِ، فَسَحَقَ ٱلْحَدِيدَ وَٱلنُّحَاسَ وَٱلْخَزَفَ وَٱلْفِضَّةَ وَٱلذَّهَبَ. ٱللهُ ٱلْعَظِيمُ قَدْ عَرَّفَ ٱلْمَلِكَ مَا سَيَأْتِي بَعْدَ هَذَا. اَلْحُلْمُ حَقٌّ وَتَعْبِيرُهُ يَقِينٌ. حِينَئِذٍ خَرَّ نَبُوخَذْنَصَّرُ عَلَى وَجْهِهِ وَسَجَدَ لِدَانِيآلَ، وَأَمَرَ بِأَنْ يُقَدِّمُوا لَهُ تَقْدِمَةً وَرَوَائِحَ سُرُورٍ. فَأَجَابَ ٱلْمَلِكُ دَانِيآلَ وَقَالَ: حَقًّا إِنَّ إِلَهَكُمْ إِلَهُ ٱلْآلِهَةِ وَرَبُّ ٱلْمُلُوكِ وَكَاشِفُ ٱلْأَسْرَارِ، إِذِ ٱسْتَطَعْتَ عَلَى كَشْفِ هَذَا ٱلسِّرِّ. ¹⁰

At the time of those rulers the God of heaven will establish a kingdom that will never end. It will never be conquered, but will completely destroy all those empires and then last forever. You saw how a stone broke loose from a cliff without anyone touching it and how it struck the statue made of iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold. The great God is telling Your Majesty what will happen in the future. I have told you exactly what you dreamed, and have given you its true meaning.” Then King Nebuchadnezzar bowed to the ground and gave orders for sacrifices and offerings to be made to Daniel. The king said, “Your God is the greatest of all gods, the Lord over kings, and the one who reveals mysteries. I know this because you have been able to explain this mystery.”

The words of prediction “At the time of those rulers the God of heaven will establish a kingdom that will never end.” are fulfilled through the last prophet, Muhammad and the rule of Islam was established which has been progressing for the fifteen hundred years and will always be promoted (if Allah wills) till the Day of Judgment. Christian scholars tried to use this prophecy by different illogical interpretations in the favour of Jesus but history proofs that their rule was not formed until three and a quarter hundred years of Jesus . Jesus himself told the people, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, who will stay with you forever.” ¹¹ After this view, should the fact given by Jesus himself be accepted or the one given by commentators of Bible?

Similarly, the words of prediction “It will never be conquered, ¹² but will completely destroy all those empires and then last forever.” was fulfilled by the Muslims as they broke many great kingdoms into pieces while Jesus said repeatedly, “My kingdom does not belong to this world; if my kingdom belonged to this world, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish authorities. No, my kingdom does not belong here!” ¹³

In the predictions, the words of “two iron legs” are meant as the two branches of the East and the West of the divided Roman Empire which apparently had the strength of the iron but was defeated by the new empire of Islam. Commentators of the Bible take the statement “God of heaven will establish a kingdom” as the Kingdom of Jesus , although this meant the kingdom of Muhammad . The progress of Islam broke Roman and Persian Empires and alone dominated in the region.

Sheikh Safar-ul-Hawali states that the dream of Nebuchadnezzar and its interpretation that this dream is considered in the books of Christians as the most authentic one. Christians believed in the dream and its interpretation for many years. They didn’t doubt in the prediction and its indication to Kaldanyun’s rule on Babylon and the second was the rule of Persian Empire which was formed after the rule of Babylon and the government was extent till the lands of Iraq, Syria and Egypt and the third rule was of the Greek Empire which had the rule of Alexander the Macedonian (323-336 B.C) who destroyed the Persian rule. The fourth government was of the Roman Empire which was divided into two parts, eastern Constantinople and the western Italy and was defeated by the Muslim armed forces. ¹⁴

Fourth Prophecy

Through many historic facts and incidents Christians of that time knew about the arrival of the last Prophet in near future. And the day came when Emperor Heraclius who was a scholar said that:

ملک الختان قد ظھر. ¹⁵¹⁶

The king of the circumcised nation has arrived.

Because this fact caused more of his trust on the fact that the last messenger of Allah had arrived and he openly testified it in front of Abu Suffiyan that:

فسيملك موضع قدمي هاتين. ¹⁷

His kingdom will soon reach up to the place where I am stepping by my feet.

The fifth Empire (The Islamic Caliphate) indeed expanded till (Syria and Palestine) which were ruled by Heraclius and he had to leave Syria and his following words became a part of the history:

عليك السلام يا سورية سلام مودّع لا يرجو أن يرجع إليك أبدا. ¹⁸

“O the land of Syria, peace be upon you, good bye to you, there is no hope of ever meeting you.”

Most of the empires were destroyed which included worshippers of idols and Islam spread all over the world and gave them the message of peace, monotheism and justice. "The Muslim Rule" showed how much the Christians and the Jews had gone astray. They claimed to be the followers of the 'true religion' but in reality they were merely following their hearts. They had given up circumcision and had changed the laws in their holy books. They were the Muslims, led by Prophet Muhammad who established the true religion of God. But when the people of the Book (Chrisians and Jews) were asked to believe in the true religion as well, they refused and became divided. As the Holy Quran states:

وَمَا تَفَرَّقَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ إِلَّا مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَتْهُمُ الْبَيِّنَةُ 4¹⁹

Nor did the People of the Book(s) get divided until after the clear proof came to them.

There were a great number in Christians who accepted Islam, but those who denied this fact, they divided into different sects. There was no dissimilarity related to the Daniel’s prediction which said that the fourth rule was actually of Roman Empire, but now they changed the interpretation and denied the fact that this was the part of the Roman rule. They twisted situations to deny the trustworthiness of the last Prophet and refused the Prophet’s arrival and the rule of Islam on the world.

The prophecy of Daniel depended on a dream and presented a clear picture of the non-believers’ rule. All these non-believers denied the real God and prayed to their deities that they themselves had made. The dream was a real interpretation of those times when the worshipping of idols was a common practice. Somebody made the head, the chest, the legs, the foot and some made the toes of its feet. These all were indicating towards an idol which leads to polytheism. This idol “the mentioned stone” was broken by Islam, and was replaced by the establishment of the strong government, “the mountain” which was based on monotheism.

Jews and Christians named the mountain, “Millennium” for their own purposes in which Christians believe that Jesus will descend on it again and according to Jewish belief, this mountain was a premiership of the David which will be soon conquered by the Anti-Christ. They accepted an opinion that there are some points missing in the prophecy of Daniel and they try to fit them between the foot and legs of the idols. If observed, the time from the head to the foot of the idol is around six hundred years but the time that they included makes it a total of two thousand years which has not finished yet. This is still going on and will go on till the end of times. ²⁰

Ali Unal says: Scholars interpreting his dream are generally agreed on identifying the four kingdoms as follows: Head of gold is Babylon, breast and arms of silver is Medo-Persia, belly and thighs of brass is Greece (the Macedonian Empire of Alexander the Great), legs of iron is Rome, and feet partly of iron and partly of molded clay is the divided Roman Empire. According to these interpreters, especially according certain modern Jewish and Christian ones, the kingdom which God will set and shall never be destroyed, and which is represented by a stone cut out without hands which will break in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold, has not yet coarse into the world. The Jews claim that it will be the Kingdom of Israel, and the Christians argue that it will be the Kingdom of Jesus when he will come into the world second time.

It is written in the Book of Jeremiah (51: 7) that Babyon is a cup of gold and the nations which drank from it became intoxicated. It is said regard¬ing Nebuchadnezzar that he had inestimable treasures of gold, which he spent extravagantly on beautifying his city. The Hanging Gardens of Bab¬ylon are even now considered to be one of the wonders of the world. Nebuchadnezzar also spent lots of his Wealth in building the old temples anew. Therefore, the head of gold of the image which Nebuchadnezzar saw in his dream stood for Babylon. The next two kingdoms are silver and bronze which history tells us are Media-Persian and Greek or Macedonian Empires. The fourth kingdom which will be strong enough as iron, for as much as iron breaks in pieces and subdues all things, is the Roman Empire. How¬ever, this empire with two feet, part of iron and part of clay, will be a divided empire. The image also stands for idolatry. We know from histo¬ry that all the previous three kingdoms were idolaters. As for the Roman Empire, it was in the beginning a united empire and as strong as iron. However, later it was gradually, Christianized and divided into two. This also caused it to lose power. This process was represented by the two feet of the image being partly iron and partly clay. Although the two parts mingled themselves with the seed of men-although in the beginning they were founded by the same nation or originated from the same human source as a united empire, and were idolatrous, as iron does not mingle with clay, they were later divided into two and broke off its former faith.

The Heavenly Stone Which Will Utterly Destroy The Image Of Gold, Silver, Brass, Iron And Clay, Which Represents Idolatry

Then comes the heavenly stone cut off from the mountain and which smashed into pieces the great image of gold, silver, bronze, iron and clay, which represented in reality the different forms of idolatry, with the exception of a certain part of its feet. It is clear enough to understand that this heavenly stone represents Islam and the powerful Muslim state found¬ed by Muhammad , that Islam is based on the absolute Unity of God Almighty, the Lord of all creation, and in no way at all reconcilable with any kind of idolatry and/or polytheism. It also adds to this truth that Islam defeated the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire and put an end to it. Islam also rejects adoring world¬liness and anything connected with worldliness-it condemns and rejects being a slave to gold, silver and any other precious stone.

Isaiah Had Long Before Given A Prophecy

وَهُوَذَا رُكَّابٌ مِنَ ٱلرِّجَالِ. أَزْوَاجٌ مِنَ ٱلْفُرْسَانِ. فَأَجَابَ وَقَالَ: سَقَطَتْ، سَقَطَتْ بَابِلُ، وَجَمِيعُ تَمَاثِيلِ آلِهَتِهَا ٱلْمَنْحُوتَةِ كَسَّرَهَا إِلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ. ²¹

Suddenly, here they come! Riders on horseback, two by two. The sentry gives the news, “Babylon has fallen! All the idols they worshiped lie shattered on the ground.”

This prophecy was not fulfilled fully in the time of Jesus ; it was only after the conquest of Syria, Iraq and Iran by the Muslims that the graven images of Babylon were broken unto the ground. Hence the only countries where polytheism was uprooted were the ones which were under the rule of islam.

Furthermore, Jesus never formed a gov¬ernment. Also, being the last and universal one of Divine religions, only the spiritual kingdom of Islam or Prophet Muhammad is everlasting. In addition, although the Muslim world was defeated before the West in material terms in the 20" century, it has preserved its independence, with its parts occupied having regained their independence in a short time, and the spiritual sovereignty and power of Islam has never been lost. As many Western thinkers admit as well, it has stood as a stronghold against the attacks of materialism and the like ideologies, while Christianity has con¬siderably lost ground, Only Islam remains the greatest hope for the future of humanity and the world. ²²

Fifth Prophecy

To fill the gap of the history Jews and Christians borrowed the help from the animal discussed in the coming prophecy of Daniel in which he says:

فِي ٱلسَّنَةِ ٱلْأُولَى لِبَيْلْشَاصَّرَ مَلِكِ بَابِلَ، رَأَى دَانِيآلُ حُلْمًا وَرُؤَى رَأْسِهِ عَلَى فِرَاشِهِ. حِينَئِذٍ كَتَبَ ٱلْحُلْمَ وَأَخْبَرَ بِرَأْسِ ٱلْكَلَامِ. أَجَابَ دَانِيآلُ وَقَالَ: كُنْتُ أَرَى فِي رُؤْيَايَ لَيْلًا وَإِذَا بِأَرْبَعِ رِيَاحِ ٱلسَّمَاءِ هَجَمَتْ عَلَى ٱلْبَحْرِ ٱلْكَبِيرِ. وَصَعِدَ مِنَ ٱلْبَحْرِ أَرْبَعَةُ حَيَوَانَاتٍ عَظِيمَةٍ، هَذَا مُخَالِفٌ ذَاكَ. ٱلْأَوَّلُ كَٱلْأَسَدِ وَلَهُ جَنَاحَا نَسْرٍ. وَكُنْتُ أَنْظُرُ حَتَّى ٱنْتَتَفَ جَنَاحَاهُ وَٱنْتَصَبَ عَنِ ٱلْأَرْضِ، وَأُوقِفَ عَلَى رِجْلَيْنِ كَإِنْسَانٍ، وَأُعْطِيَ قَلْبَ إِنْسَانٍ. وَإِذَا بِحَيَوَانٍ آخَرَ ثَانٍ شَبِيهٍ بِٱلدُّبِّ، فَٱرْتَفَعَ عَلَى جَنْبٍ وَاحِدٍ وَفِي فَمِهِ ثَلَاثُ أَضْلُعٍ بَيْنَ أَسْنَانِهِ، فَقَالُوا لَهُ هَكَذَا: قُمْ كُلْ لَحْمًا كَثِيرًا. وَبَعْدَ هَذَا كُنْتُ أَرَى وَإِذَا بِآخَرَ مِثْلِ ٱلنَّمِرِ وَلَهُ عَلَى ظَهْرِهِ أَرْبَعَةُ أَجْنِحَةِ طَائِرٍ. وَكَانَ لِلْحَيَوَانِ أَرْبَعَةُ رُؤُوسٍ، وَأُعْطِيَ سُلْطَانًا. بَعْدَ هَذَا كُنْتُ أَرَى فِي رُؤَى ٱللَّيْلِ وَإِذَا بِحَيَوَانٍ رَابعٍ هَائِلٍ وَقَوِيٍّ وَشَدِيدٍ جِدًّا، وَلَهُ أَسْنَانٌ مِنْ حَدِيدٍ كَبِيرَةٌ. أَكَلَ وَسَحَقَ وَدَاسَ ٱلْبَاقِيَ بِرِجْلَيْهِ. وَكَانَ مُخَالِفًا لِكُلِّ ٱلْحَيَوَانَاتِ ٱلَّذِينَ قَبْلَهُ، وَلَهُ عَشَرَةُ قُرُونٍ. كُنْتُ مُتَأَمِّلًا بِٱلْقُرُونِ، وَإِذَا بِقَرْنٍ آخَرَ صَغِيرٍ طَلَعَ بَيْنَهَا، وَقُلِعَتْ ثَلَاثَةٌ مِنَ ٱلْقُرُونِ ٱلْأُولَى مِنْ قُدَّامِهِ، وَإِذَا بِعُيُونٍ كَعُيُونِ ٱلْإِنْسَانِ فِي هَذَا ٱلْقَرْنِ، وَفَمٍ مُتَكَلِّمٍ بِعَظَائِمَ. كُنْتُ أَرَى أَنَّهُ وُضِعَتْ عُرُوشٌ، وَجَلَسَ ٱلْقَدِيمُ ٱلْأَيَّامِ. لِبَاسُهُ أَبْيَضُ كَٱلثَّلْجِ، وَشَعْرُ رَأْسِهِ كَٱلصُّوفِ ٱلنَّقِيِّ، وَعَرْشُهُ لَهِيبُ نَارٍ، وَبَكَرَاتُهُ نَارٌ مُتَّقِدَةٌ. نَهْرُ نَارٍ جَرَى وَخَرَجَ مِنْ قُدَّامِهِ. أُلُوفُ أُلُوفٍ تَخْدِمُهُ، وَرَبَوَاتُ رَبَوَاتٍ وُقُوفٌ قُدَّامَهُ. فَجَلَسَ ٱلدِّينُ، وَفُتِحَتِ ٱلْأَسْفَارُ. كُنْتُ أَنْظُرُ حِينَئِذٍ مِنْ أَجْلِ صَوْتِ ٱلْكَلِمَاتِ ٱلْعَظِيمَةِ ٱلَّتِي تَكَلَّمَ بِهَا ٱلْقَرْنُ. كُنْتُ أَرَى إِلَى أَنْ قُتِلَ ٱلْحَيَوَانُ وَهَلَكَ جِسْمُهُ وَدُفِعَ لِوَقِيدِ ٱلنَّارِ. أَمَّا بَاقِي ٱلْحَيَوَانَاتِ فَنُزِعَ عَنْهُمْ سُلْطَانُهُمْ، وَلَكِنْ أُعْطُوا طُولَ حَيَاةٍ إِلَى زَمَانٍ وَوَقْتٍ. كُنْتُ أَرَى فِي رُؤَى ٱللَّيْلِ وَإِذَا مَعَ سُحُبِ ٱلسَّمَاءِ مِثْلُ ٱبْنِ إِنْسَانٍ أَتَى وَجَاءَ إِلَى ٱلْقَدِيمِ ٱلْأَيَّامِ، فَقَرَّبُوهُ قُدَّامَهُ. فَأُعْطِيَ سُلْطَانًا وَمَجْدًا وَمَلَكُوتًا لِتَتَعَبَّدَ لَهُ كُلُّ ٱلشُّعُوبِ وَٱلْأُمَمِ وَٱلْأَلْسِنَةِ. سُلْطَانُهُ سُلْطَانٌ أَبَدِيٌّ مَا لَنْ يَزُولَ، وَمَلَكُوتُهُ مَا لَا يَنْقَرِضُ .أَمَّا أَنَا دَانِيآلَ فَحَزِنَتْ رُوحِي فِي وَسَطِ جِسْمِي وَأَفْزَعَتْنِي رُؤَى رَأْسِي. فَٱقْتَرَبْتُ إِلَى وَاحِدٍ مِنَ ٱلْوُقُوفِ وَطَلَبْتُ مِنْهُ ٱلْحَقِيقَةَ فِي كُلِّ هَذَا. فَأَخْبَرَنِي وَعَرَّفَنِي تَفْسِيرَ ٱلْأُمُورِ: هَؤُلَاءِ ٱلْحَيَوَانَاتُ ٱلْعَظِيمَةُ ٱلَّتِي هِيَ أَرْبَعَةٌ هِيَ أَرْبَعَةُ مُلُوكٍ يَقُومُونَ عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ. أَمَّا قِدِّيسُو ٱلْعَلِيِّ فَيَأْخُذُونَ ٱلْمَمْلَكَةَ وَيَمْتَلِكُونَ ٱلْمَمْلَكَةَ إِلَى ٱلْأَبَدِ وَإِلَى أَبَدِ ٱلْآبِدِينَ. حِينَئِذٍ رُمْتُ ٱلْحَقِيقَةَ مِنْ جِهَةِ ٱلْحَيَوَانِ ٱلرَّابِعِ ٱلَّذِي كَانَ مُخَالِفًا لِكُلِّهَا، وَهَائِلًا جِدًّا وَأَسْنَانُهُ مِنْ حَدِيدٍ وَأَظْفَارُهُ مِنْ نُحَاسٍ، وَقَدْ أَكَلَ وَسَحَقَ وَدَاسَ ٱلْبَاقِيَ بِرِجْلَيْهِ، وَعَنِ ٱلْقُرُونِ ٱلْعَشَرَةِ ٱلَّتِي بِرَأْسِهِ، وَعَنِ ٱلْآخَرِ ٱلَّذِي طَلَعَ فَسَقَطَتْ قُدَّامَهُ ثَلَاثَةٌ. وَهَذَا ٱلْقَرْنُ لَهُ عُيُونٌ وَفَمٌ مُتَكَلِّمٌ بِعَظَائِمَ وَمَنْظَرُهُ أَشَدُّ مِنْ رُفَقَائِهِ. وَكُنْتُ أَنْظُرُ وَإِذَا هَذَا ٱلْقَرْنُ يُحَارِبُ ٱلْقِدِّيسِينَ فَغَلَبَهُمْ، حَتَّى جَاءَ ٱلْقَدِيمُ ٱلْأَيَّامِ، وَأُعْطِيَ ٱلدِّينُ لِقِدِّيسِيِ ٱلْعَلِيِّ، وَبَلَغَ ٱلْوَقْتُ، فَٱمْتَلَكَ ٱلْقِدِّيسُونَ ٱلْمَمْلَكَةَ. فَقَالَ هَكَذَا: أَمَّا ٱلْحَيَوَانُ ٱلْرَّابِعُ فَتَكُونُ مَمْلَكَةٌ رَابِعَةٌ عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ مُخَالِفَةٌ لِسَائِرِ ٱلْمَمَالِكِ، فَتَأْكُلُ ٱلْأَرْضَ كُلَّهَا وَتَدُوسُهَا وَتَسْحَقُهَا. وَٱلْقُرُونُ ٱلْعَشَرَةُ مِنْ هَذِهِ ٱلْمَمْلَكَةِ هِيَ عَشَرَةُ مُلُوكٍ يَقُومُونَ، وَيَقُومُ بَعْدَهُمْ آخَرُ، وَهُوَ مُخَالِفٌ ٱلْأَوَّلِينَ، وَيُذِلُّ ثَلَاثَةَ مُلُوكٍ. وَيَتَكَلَّمُ بِكَلَامٍ ضِدَّ ٱلْعَلِيِّ وَيُبْلِي قِدِّيسِي ٱلْعَلِيِّ، وَيَظُنُّ أَنَّهُ يُغَيِّرُ ٱلْأَوْقَاتَ وَٱلسُّنَّةَ، وَيُسَلَّمُونَ لِيَدِهِ إِلَى زَمَانٍ وَأَزْمِنَةٍ وَنِصْفِ زَمَانٍ. فَيَجْلِسُ ٱلدِّينُ وَيَنْزِعُونَ عَنْهُ سُلْطَانَهُ لِيَفْنَوْا وَيَبِيدُوا إِلَى ٱلْمُنْتَهَى. وَٱلْمَمْلَكَةُ وَٱلسُّلْطَانُ وَعَظَمَةُ ٱلْمَمْلَكَةِ تَحْتَ كُلِّ ٱلسَّمَاءِ تُعْطَى لِشَعْبِ قِدِّيسِي ٱلْعَلِيِّ. مَلَكُوتُهُ مَلَكُوتٌ أَبَدِيٌّ، وَجَمِيعُ ٱلسَّلَاطِينِ إِيَّاهُ يَعْبُدُونَ وَيُطِيعُونَ. ²³

In the first year that Belshazzar was king of Babylonia, I had a dream and saw a vision in the night. I wrote the dream down, and this is the record of what I saw that night: Winds were blowing from all directions and lashing the surface of the ocean. Four huge beasts came up out of the ocean, each one different from the others. The first one looked like a lion, but had wings like an eagle. While I was watching, the wings were torn off. The beast was lifted up and made to stand up straight. And then a human mind was given to it. The second beast looked like a bear standing on its hind legs. It was holding three ribs between its teeth, and a voice said to it, “Go on, eat as much meat as you can!” While I was watching, another beast appeared. It looked like a leopard, but on its back there were four wings, like the wings of a bird, and it had four heads. It had a look of authority about it. As I was watching, a fourth beast appeared. It was powerful, horrible, terrifying. With its huge iron teeth it crushed its victims, and then it trampled on them. Unlike the other beasts, it had ten horns. While I was staring at the horns, I saw a little horn coming up among the others. It tore out three of the horns that were already there. This horn had human eyes and a mouth that was boasting proudly. While I was looking, thrones were put in place. One who had been living forever sat down on one of the thrones. His clothes were white as snow, and his hair was like pure wool. His throne, mounted on fiery wheels, was blazing with fire, and a stream of fire was pouring out from it. There were many thousands of people there to serve him, and millions of people stood before him. The court began its session, and the books were opened. While I was looking, I could still hear the little horn bragging and boasting. As I watched, the fourth beast was killed, and its body was thrown into the flames and destroyed. The other beasts had their power taken away, but they were permitted to go on living for a limited time. During this vision in the night, I saw what looked like a human being. He was approaching me, surrounded by clouds, and he went to the one who had been living forever and was presented to him. He was given authority, honor, and royal power, so that the people of all nations, races, and languages would serve him. His authority would last forever, and his kingdom would never end. The visions I saw alarmed me, and I was deeply disturbed. I went up to one of those standing there and asked him to explain it all. So he told me the meaning. He said, “These four huge beasts are four empires which will arise on earth. And the people of the Supreme God will receive royal power and keep it forever and ever.” Then I wanted to know more about the fourth beast, which was not like any of the others—the terrifying beast which crushed its victims with its bronze claws and iron teeth and then trampled on them. And I wanted to know about the ten horns on its head and the horn that had come up afterward and had made three of the horns fall. It had eyes and a mouth and was boasting proudly. It was more terrifying than any of the others. While I was looking, that horn made war on God's people and conquered them. Then the one who had been living forever came and pronounced judgment in favor of the people of the Supreme God. The time had arrived for God's people to receive royal power. This is the explanation I was given: “The fourth beast is a fourth empire that will be on the earth and will be different from all other empires. It will crush the whole earth and trample it down. The ten horns are ten kings who will rule that empire. Then another king will appear; he will be very different from the earlier ones and will overthrow three kings. He will speak against the Supreme God and oppress God's people. He will try to change their religious laws and festivals, and God's people will be under his power for three and a half years. Then the heavenly court will sit in judgment, take away his power, and destroy him completely. The power and greatness of all the kingdoms on earth will be given to the people of the Supreme God. Their royal power will never end, and all rulers on earth will serve and obey them.”

Four Beasts And Four Successive Ancient Kingdoms

There is a general agreement among Jewish and Christian scholars that Daniel’s lion, bear, leopard, and the 'terrible' beast represent, respectively, the successive ancient kingdoms of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and the Roman Empire.

A lion with eagle wings appeared first. It represented the kingdom of Babylon just like the head of gold in Nebuchadnezzar's dream. A winged lion was the official symbol of the Babylonian kingdom and the gates of the city were decorated with lions and dragons.

It was the Medo-Persian Empire, which under Cyrus the Great con¬quered Babylon in 539 B.C. and was represented by a bear with three ribs in its mouth. The three ribs stand for Egypt, Lydia and Babylon, which formed an alliance against the Persians but were defeated, thus causing the Persians to gain greater strength.

The leopard with four wings and four heads is Greece or Macedonian Empire of Alexander the Great. Led by Alexander, the Macedonians quickly subdued the world in ten years. A cheetah being the fastest land animal in the world, a leopard with four wings on its back represents their speed of conquest. The four heads are the division of the kingdom into four parts.

The terrible beast, later symbolized as a dragon, stands for the cruel, crushing power of Rome which ruled the world for five centuries. The crushing iron kingdom of the Caesars is also symbolized in Daniel 2 by iron that "breaks in pieces and subdues all things." This beast has iron teeth that stand for the cruelty of Rome, and bronze claws representing the culture and language of Greece, which Rome adopted. The ten horns are the ten kingdoms which arose when the Roman Empire collapsed. According to many, the little horn that came up and had eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth represents Vatican.

The Everlasting Kingdom Of The Saints Of The Most High

The Most High God says that the last kingdom, which shall be an everlast¬ing one, shall be given to the saints of the Most High God. These are the same people as those mentioned by the prophets Enoch , Moses and Solomon . "Out of all the prophets of the world, Muhammad is the only prophet who was accompanied by "ten thousand saints" at the time of the conquest of Makkah and who had thousands and thousands of saintly, companions. Later on, Only his kingdom, his spiritual authority, can be the everlasting kingdom, for he is the last of the prophets. It is only he who came even to the ancient of days, just because all the previous prophets are the roots of his sacred tree of mission; he is heir to all of them, with his message containing all the truths claimed and conveyed by the previous messengers. His dominion and glory are universal and established both in this world and the next, and all peo¬ples, nations, and languages serve him. There is no other religion which has this kind of devoted and priceless followers in every country from all nations and languages as Islam has.

His throne being like fiery flames with its wheels as burning fire points to the fact that he destroys all that is impure and the law he brings allows war. As will be discussed later, Moses gave the glad tidings of the Holy Prophet , saying: "...at his right hand was a fiery law; for them,” meaning that he will have a Sacred Law and have to make wars. In conclusion, the dream of Daniel under discussion, like the dream of Nebuchadnezzar interpreted by Daniel and which was discussed earlier, contains clear signs about Prophet Muhammad , whose 'kingdom' is everlasting and will spread as far as all corners of the world, eventually encompassing all people, nations, and languages.

• ¹  Abdul Ahad Daud (1997), Muhammad Kama Wurida Fi Kitabil Yahud Wal Nasara, Al-Fasal Al-A’ashir, Al-Islam Mumlikatullah Fi Ardihi, Pub: Maktabul A’bekan, Riyadh, Saudia, Pg. 115.
• ²  In the present (now available) Arabic Bible it is found as:
  فَأُعْطِيَ سُلْطَانًا وَمَجْدًا وَمَلَكُوتًا لِتَتَعَبَّدَ لَهُ كُلُّ الشُّعُوبِ وَالأُمَمِ وَالأَلْسِنَةِ. سُلْطَانُهُ سُلْطَانٌ أَبَدِيٌّ مَا لَنْ يَزُولَ، وَمَلَكُوتُهُ مَا لاَ يَنْقَرِضُ.
  Translation: He was given authority, honor, and royal power, so that the people of all nations, races, and languages would serve him. His authority would last forever, and his kingdom would never end.
  (The Bible, Daniel 7: 14)
• ³  Ahmed Bin Al Hussain Abu Bakar Al-Behiqi (2002), Shu’bul Iman, Fasal Wama Yajibu Hifz-ul-Lisaan, Hadith: 4774, Maktabatul Rushd Lil Nashar Wal Tauzei’, Riyadh, Saudia, Vol. 7, Pg. 132.
• ⁴  Abu Al-Hasan Ali ibn Sahl Rabban Al-Tabari (1973), Al-Deen wa Al-Doola, Nabawatu Danial Ala Al-Nabi, Dar-ul-Aafaq Al-Jadeeda, Beirut, Lebanon, Pg. 183.
• ⁵  In the present (now available) Arabic Bible it is found as:
  وبَى لِمَنْ يَنْتَظِرُ وَيَبْلُغُ إِلَى الأَلْفِ وَالثَّلاَثِ مِئَةٍ وَالْخَمْسَةِ وَالثَّلاَثِينَ يَوْمًا.
  Translation: Happy are those who remain faithful until 1, 335 days are over!
  (The Bible, Daniel 12: 12)
• ⁶  When Ali ibn Ribban Al-Tabari was writing and discussing about this prophecy. . .
• ⁷  Abu Al-Hasan Ali ibn Sahl Rabban Al-Tabari (1973), Al-Deen wa Al-Doola, Nabawatu Danial Ala Al-Nabi, Dar-ul-Aafaq Al-Jadeeda, Beirut, Lebanon, Pg. 183.
• ⁸  Muhammed bin Abdullah Al-Saheem, Muslimu Ahlil Kitabi Wa Asruhum Fi Al-Difae ‘Anil Qadaya Al- Quraniyah, Basharat Ashi’eyah, Al-Furqan, Saudia, Pg. 593-594.
• ⁹  The Bible, Daniel 2: 31-41
• ¹⁰  The Bible, Daniel 2: 44-47
• ¹¹  The Bible, John 14: 16
• ¹²  As a whole.
• ¹³  The Bible, John 18: 36
• ¹⁴  Sheikh Safar-ul-Hawali (2007), Roz-e-Ghazab, Maktabae Islamia, Lahore, Pakistan, Pg. 106-107.
• ¹⁵  Abu Abdullah Muhammad Bin Ismail Al-Bukhari (1999), Sahih Bukhari, Kitab Bad’ul Wahyi, Hadith: 7, Darussalam, Riyadh, Saudia, Pg. 4.
• ¹⁶  “Circumcision” was a practice of Abraham whose circumcision was performed at the age of eighty as stated in the narration of Abu-Hurairah: Abraham performed his circumcision by (the available tool) axe at the age of eighty.” (Ahmed Bin Muhammad Abu Abdullah Al-Shebani (1995), Musnad Al-Imam Ahmed Bin Hanmbal, Saheefa-tu-Hammam Bin Munabbah, Hadith: 8264, Dar-ul-Hadith, Cairo, Egypt, Vol. 8, Pg. 264.). After him all the other prophets followed the same pattern until Muhammad came in this world already circumcised by the blessing of Allah.
• ¹⁷  Abu Abdullah Muhammad Bin Ismail Al-Bukhari (1999), Sahih Bukhari, Kitab Bad’ul Wahyi, Hadith: 7, Darussalam, Riyadh, Saudia, Pg. 3.
• ¹⁸  Shahab-ud-din Abu Abdullah Al-Hamwi (1995), Mau’jam Al-Baldan, Dar.e.Sadir, Beirut, Lebanon, Vol. 3, Pg. 279.
• ¹⁹  Holy Quran, Al-Bayyinah (The Clear Proof) 98: 4
• ²⁰  Sheikh Safar-ul-Hawali (2007), Roz-e-Ghazab, Maktabae Islamia, Lahore, Pakistan, Pg. 109-111.
• ²¹  The Bible, Isaiah 21: 9
• ²²  Ali Aunal Harun Gultekin (2013), The Prophet Promised in World Scriptures, Tughra Books, New Jersey, USA, Pg. 242-245.
• ²³  The Bible, Daniel 7: 1-27