Truth Will Prevail - Muhammad in the Song of Solomon

Truth Will Prevail Productions has released a film rated Approved for All Audiences by the International Motion Picture Association entitled The Absolute Truth About Muhammad in the Bible. The 19 minute film claims that the name of Muhammad is mentioned in the Bible's Song of Songs, and can be viewed here and here.

The Arab media, including the Egyptian press and satellite TV channels, has picked up on the story. With great gusto and pride, talk show pundits boast that now it is "American and Jewish scholars, not just us Muslims" who recognize Muhammad was prophesied in the Bible.

Rashid at Daring Question on the Arabic Al Hayat channel has produced an extensive analysis of the production, as well as its claim that Muhammad was foretold in the Song of Solomon. Arabic speakers can watch it here.

The Song of Songs, also known as the Song of Solomon, is a Biblical love poem recited by both a man and his dark-skinned lover (this website has put some of it into music). The erotic language of the poem has been long criticized by both secularists, who accuse it of being pornographic, and Muslims who claim its explicit vocabulary renders it unworthy to be considered sacred (and must be another example of how those nefarious Jews deliberately tampered with their Scriptures!). Some Orthodox Jews and fundamentalist Christians, also uncomfortable with the sexuality of the poem, have seen in it allegorical references to Moses (for the Jews) and Jesus (for the Christians). In a sudden turn of events, the producers at Truth Will Prevail have gone from considering the poem unworthy of being in Scripture at all to being a prediction of the coming of Muhammad!

The problem is that the film itself is a complete fake. There is no Truth Will Prevail production company, and the International Motion Picture Association has never rated a film entitled The Absolute Truth About Muhammad in the Bible. The entire film consists of clips pulled from Youtube including some with voiceovers that say something completely different than the original text. One scene of a man poring over texts, which the film portends is a scholar discovering references to Muhammad from the Hebrew Scriptures, was taken from a National Geographic documentary that had nothing to do with the subject of the film.

What about the claim that Muhammad is in the Song of Solomon? In the first place, it is curious that Muslims even consider that poem part of Scripture. Muslims understand revelation from the perspective of how it was allegedly given to Muhammad. Under some physical influence (some writers described perspiration dripping from him), he uttered sentences given him directly by the angel Gabriel. Muslims believe that although there were many prophets, only five were given a risalah or revelation from God.  These were Abraham, (whose message was lost to history), Moses (the Torah or first five books of the Old Testament), David (the Zabur or Psalms), Jesus (whose risalah was included in the Injil or Gospels written by his disciples), and Muhammad.

The Song of Solomon was written by Solomon, who was not one of those five prophets. Muhammad, who perhaps never even heard of Biblical authors such as Amos or Obadiah, did not indicate that any of Solomon's writings were Scripture. Why would Muslims today claim that Muhammad's name is found in a text of which their Prophet was perhaps not even aware, let alone recognized as sacred?

The supposed mention of Islam's prophet occurs in Song of Solomon 5:16. Concluding a description of the physical beauty of her lover, the woman says, "His mouth is sweetness itself; he is altogether lovely. This is my lover, this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem." How does the film conclude the adjective "altogether lovely" is the name of Muhammad?

Arabic and Hebrew are both related Semitic languages, and many words in both languages have similar meanings. They both have a triliteral verb system, which means that many words with a related definition are formed from one three-letter root. In Arabic, the verb ha-ma-da means to praise. The passive particle of this verb, mu-ham-mad or Muhammad, is "the Praised One".

The three-letter verb in Hebrew ha-ma-da means to covet or desire. The adjectival form of this verb,  that which is desired, is mu-ha-meed. Adjectives are made plural in Hebrew by adding -eem, and the Hebrew word in Song of Solomon 5:16 translated as altogether lovely is mu-ha-meed-eem.

Believe it or not, the creator of the film found an online audio file of a Rabbi reading Song of Solomon 5:16 in Hebrew. When the Rabbi read the word "muhameedeem", the filmmaker clipped off  "-eem" and claimed the Rabbi was repeating the name "Muhammad". To make the whole story even more ridiculous, the filmmaker found an online English voice audio service that read in stilted English the text inserted by the filmmaker which he claimed was being said by Jewish Rabbis and Biblical scholars.

A forged film using non-existent evidence to prove Muhammad was a Prophet of God! It would all be funny if it weren't so sad. The sadness stems from the fact that hundreds of millions of Muslim young people around the world, who are not allowed to think critically or creatively, are exposed to rubbish like this and taught that it is true.