God has promised forgiveness and a great reward to those...

God has promised forgiveness and a great reward to those Jews and Christians who become believers and Muslims and cultivate righteousness. And when Isa son of Maryam said: 'Children of Isra'il I am indeed the Messenger of Allah to you, confirming the Torah that is before me, and giving good tidings of a Messenger who shall come after me, whose name shall be Ahmad And when he brought them clear signs, they said: 'This is a manifest sorcery.

(61:6) Those unto whom We have given the Book, and they recognise it as they recognize their sons, even though there is a party of them who conceal the truth and that wittingly. (2:146) Those to whom We have given the Book recognise him (Muhammad) as they recognize their own sons. Those who have lost their own souls they do not believe. (6:20) It comes out clearly from these verses (ayahs) that the previous prophets informed the people of the coming of Muhammad (S) and of his characteristics.

Clear glad tidings exist in their religious books, so that when Muhammad (S) appeared together with Islam, no room remained for any kind of doubt. If there had been no such news in the Christian and Jewish Holy Scriptures at the time of Muhammad (S) it would not have been expected from the radiant thought of someone like Muhammad (S) to stand up and proclaim.

In order to prove his messengership before all the people of the Book proclaim and say, “My name and my characteristics have appeared in the Torah and the Injil which are in your possession at this very moment.” Because the enemies of Muhammad (S) did not give up, and to annihilate his message, they collected together the copies of the Torah and Injil to prove that such characteristics were not in these books.

History is a witness that they tried every way that there was in their opposition to (S) and even rose up to fight him. But they never managed with this facile and simple ruse to prove that these characteristics were not mentioned in their holy Scriptures. It is clear that abundant information concerning the Prophet of Islam existed in the sacred books.

Some More Historical Evidence Before the rise of Islam, two circles or groups of people had grown up in Medina The first were Jews who had left their original lands in the hope to witness the advent of the Prophet of Islam (S). The second were the tribes of Aws and Kharaj, who were the descendants of Tubba‘ the king of Yemen.