SONG OF SONGS 5:16
This is the most controversial
part of the text. When discussing the "Machamad" in verse 16 of
Chapter 5 in Shir Hashirim (Song of Songs), most of the emphasis is placed on
the first half of the verse. However, this has caused a major disregard for the
rest of the verse in Hebrew which has extremely seriously connotations when
properly translated. They may be even more serious then the usage of the name
"Muhammad" in itself. May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon the
Prophet Muhammad. Allow me to repost the verse in English as well as Hebrew:
"His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether
lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of
Jerusalem."
"Chikko mamtakeem, v'chulo MUCHAMADIM, ze DODEE v'ze RA'EE, bano
Yarushalaym" [Hebrew transliteration of Shir Hashirim (Song of Songs) 5:16]
Now let us break up this verse into parts and deal with each aspect separately.
1. MACHAMMADIM - From "MACHAMAD"
which in this particular verse, the words "altogether lovely" was
translated from mahmad (). is translated into "lovely".
"Altogether" is added as a contextual reference to "v'chulo"
which means "in entirety" or "absolutely". "MACHAMAD"
means "desirable, praiseworthy, beautiful, etc". Though it is archaic,
it is found elsewhere in the Bible to describe precious and coveted items. The
fact that this "MACHAMAD" evidently may well be the Prophet Muhammad
(may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) has already been thoroughly
outlined and established.
To add further weight to these argument, let us take a closer look at this four
character word. The way this word is written is Hebrew is . That happens to be
the EXACT same way Muhammad's name is written in Hebrew.
Now, when writing in Hebrew, there is no
difference between the word mahmad () and Muhammad (). The only difference is in
the vowels used when pronouncing this word. Hebrew is an ancient language, and
there are no vowels. It is made up of 22 consonants. In ancient times, the
reader decided on his own which vowels to add in. It was not until the 8th
century that vowels were introduced, in the form of dots and lines. However,
this has nothing to do with real Hebrew. The word mahmad () in ancient times
would most likely have been pronounced "mahamad".
According to Ben Yehuda's Hebrew-English Dictionary, is correctly pronounced
"mahamad" (not mahmad) which is very close to Muhammad.
Ben Yehuda's Hebrew-English Dictionary defines "" as "lovely,
coveted one, precious one, praised one". The correct way to say
"praised one" in Arabic is Muhammad, so this is the same word!
As was stated before, the name Muhammad () and the word mahmad () are spelled
exactly the same way in Hebrew, and both have the same meaning. The only reason
they are pronounced different is because of vowels (dots and lines) introduced
in the eighth century.
2. DODEE - From "DOWD"
(pronounced d - long "o" - d). In this particular verse it is
translated into "beloved". However, "DOWD" also means
"paternal uncle", that is to mean the father's brother, in Hebrew.
This complicates the verse and makes it all the more interesting. In the book of
Leviticus the word "dowd" is found 5 times [10:4, 20:20 (twice in this
verse), 25:49 (twice in this verse)] and used as "paternal uncle" only
and not used any other way. The verse Numbers 36:11, where it is said
"..were married unto their FATHER'S BROTHERS' sons", the word used is
"DOWD". There are many other examples where "DOWD" is used
as "paternal uncle" (father's brother) and not "beloved".
3. RA'EE - From "RAY'AA" which
is translated in this particular verse into "friend". However, "RA'YAA"
in Hebrew means "co-worker in same area, field or margin". It is
translated as "neighbor" 102 times in the Old Testament. Actually, it
is translated as "neighbor" more than any other definition in the Old
Testament. It is used to mean one member of the same organization or group. In
chapter 11 of Genesis it is used in reference to the group of builders raising
the Tower of Babel. Co-workers, comrades, etc. would all be considered "RAY'AA".
Thus, if the "MACHAMAD" in this verse 5:16 of Shir Hashirim (Song of
Songs) is a mere reference to some love sick girl's object of desire why is this
"MACHAMAD" called the girl's "PATERNAL UNCLE" as well as
"COMRADE" or "CO-WORKER"? If a girl
was merely describing her obsession why would she use such utterly unromantic
terms such as these which allude to a male co-worker who is possibly a paternal
uncle?
The Prophet Muhammad (may Allah's Peace and Blessings be upon him) was a direct
descendant from Ishmael (peace be upon him) who is the paternal uncle of the
Nation of Israel who are descended from Ishmael's younger brother, Isaac (peace
be upon him). Thus, calling an Arab a paternal uncle would not be an erroneous
idiom at all.
The Prophet Muhammad (May Allah's Peace and Blessings be upon him) came with the
same message as the Israelite prophets such as Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, David
and Solomon (among others). Thus, he would have been a "RA'YAA" of the
Prophets. Not using the shallow definition of "friend" but the true
and proper definition as it is found 102 times in the Bible as
"neighbor".
So the correct translation would be:
"His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is MUHAMMAD. This
is my (paternal) UNCLE, and this is my COMRADE, O daughters of Jerusalem."
[Correct translation of Shir Hashirim (Song of Songs) 5:16]
This is definitely not erroneous if weighed against any work of scholarship
regarding the Hebrew language. There are many, many, serious implications when
these outlined words are taken in context as they were understood based upon the
Bible's own usage in its other books.
"Abu Musa al Ash`ari reported that Allah's Messenger (May the peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) mentioned many names of his and said, 'I AM
MUHAMMAD, AHMAD. Muqaffi, Hashir, the Prophet of Repentance, and the Prophet of
Mercy." [Saheeh Muslim, 30:5813]
Note: Haggai 2:7 states "And I will shake all nations, AND THE DESIRE OF
ALL NATIONS SHALL COME: and I will fill this house with glory saith the Lord of
hosts."
In the Hebrew text it says "CHMD" pronounceable as "ACHMAD"
(which is "AHMAD" in Arabic) in the place of "desire of all
nations". Thus, the translation would be, "And I will shake all
nations, AND AHMAD SHALL COME: and I will fill this house with glory saith the
Lord of hosts."
Immediately after that, Haggai 2:9 says "The glory of this latter house
shall be greater than the former: and in this place will I give PEACE, saith the
Lord of hosts."
So which latter house? Since the last temple was destroyed by the Romans there
has been no Jewish temple rebuilt there. There only stands the Dome of the Rock
and Masjid al-Aqsa which is certainly a place of "Peace" or Islam.
"...and never have I seen anyone more handsome than Allah's Apostle (May
the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)." [Saheeh Muslim, 30:5770]
IN CONCLUSION:
"Describing the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), who
passed by her tent on his journey of migration, Umm Ma'bad Al-Khuza'iyah said to
her husband,
'He was innocently bright and had broad countenance. His manners were fine.
Neither was his belly bulging out nor was his head deprived of hair. He had
black attractive eyes finely arched by continuous eyebrows. His hair glossy and
black, inclined to curl, he wore long. His voice was extremely commanding. His
head was large, well formed and set on a slender neck. His expression was
pensive and contemplative, serene and sublime. The stranger was fascinated from
the distance, but no sooner he became intimate with him than this fascination
was changed into attachment and respect. His expression was very sweet and
distinct. His speech was well set and free from the use of superfluous words, as
if it were a rosary of beads. His stature was neither too high nor too small to
look repulsive. He was a twig amongst the two, singularly bright and fresh. He
was always surrounded by his Companions. Whenever he uttered something, the
listeners would hear him with rapt attention and whenever he issued any command,
they vied with each other in carrying it out. He was a master and a commander.
His utterances were marked by truth and sincerity, free from all kinds of
falsehoods and lies." [Zad al Ma`ad 2:45]
If Songs 5:10-16 is discussing a man to come after that time, it is without a
doubt Song of Muhammad (peace be upon him), as it not only describes him but
also mentions his name. As I have shown, it is obviously not "reading into
the text what they wish was there" that Muhammad is in the Bible. It is
quite evidently there. Even if one chooses not to accept it, one must maintain
that this is definitely not an absurd issue from any perspective. To say that
all these people who described the Prophet (the peace and blessings of Allah be
upon him) read Song of Songs in the Old Testament and may plotted to make the
Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) sound like this
"Machamad" in Song of Songs is outright ridiculous. Then one would
also have to say that the plot predated even the Prophet's (may the peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) birth as the name "Muhammad" was given
to him by his parents whom I seriously doubt were in on the conspiracy while
these companions were babies at the time, as one can see such vain skepticism
delves into the area of folly and imbecility.
These verses may or may not refer to the Prophet Muhammad (may Allah's peace and
blessings be upon him) of Mecca and Medina who preached Islam in the 7th century
AD and led to a quarter of humanity calling themselves "Muslims". We
may never know for sure. However, this evidence is far from dismissed or even
dismissable. It can't be ignored. If the objective reader weighs the evidence, I
know, and you all know as well, there is some serious consternation at hand for
the skeptic. Any Christian surely should take into account what they had just
read here, and consider the Qur'an before making a decision.