(13.) The appearance both of Jesus Christ and of Mohammed was expected amongst the Jews and others, having been foretold by prophets.

a. 'When John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, and said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?' (Matt. xi. 2, 3.)
Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the Law, and the Prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph' (John i. 45).

b. 'The Jewish Rabbis and the Christian Priests, as well as the Diviners amongst the Arabs, had already been speaking of Mohammed before his public mission, when its time had drawn near: the former, in accordance with the testimony of their prophets, which they found in their books, concerning him and his time; and the latter, in accordance with the information, which evil spirits had brought them, of what they had overheard of the celestial conversations, before they were prevented from listening, by stars being hurled at them. Assim Ibn Amr narrated that men of his tribe assured him that, next to God's grace and guidance, they had been led to adopt Islam by what they had heard from the Jews, saying, "We were polytheists and idolaters, but they possessed a book and knowledge which we were without. We often had war with them and when we did them any harm, they would say, "The time is at hand when a prophet will be sent with whose help we shall destroy you, like Ad and Irem." Generally we paid no attention to this threat; but when God sent Mohammed, and he preached to us, we followed him; for then we understood that with which they had been threatening us; but we anticipated them, by believing in him, whilst they themselves remained unbelieving." — Salama Ibn Wakash, one of the warriors of Bedr, related, "Once, when I was still very young, a Jew who enjoyed their protection, came to the Beni Abd el Ashhal and spoke of the Resurrection, the Account, the Balance, Paradise, and Hell. When the idolaters asked him what sign he had in proof of this, he answered, A prophet is to arise from that land, pointing to Yemen and Mecca;

and on their inquiring further, When will this happen? he replied whilst pointing at me, the youngest among them, If this lad reaches his proper age, he may live to see it. And in fact, continued Salama, a day and a night did not pass, before God sent Mohammed into our midst and we believed in him, whereas he, from envy and stubbornness, remained unbelieving. When we said to him, Woe unto thee; didst not thou say so and so of him? he replied, Yes, I did, but this is not the right one." A sheikh of the Beni Koreiza gave this report: Some years before Islam, a certain Jew from Syria, Ibn el Haggaban by name, settled amongst us, who certainly was the most excellent non-Moslem I ever knew. Whenever there was a drought, he, at our request, went out with us to the field and offered up prayers for rain; and scarcely had he risen, before a cloud passed by and drenched us, a thing which happened very often. When his dying hour approached, he said, "O ye Jews, the reason why I have left a land of wine and corn, and come into a land of want and hunger, is this, that I have expected the appearance of a prophet whose time is at hand, and who is to emigrate to this country. I have been waiting for him, in order to follow him. Do not let others anticipate you by their believing in him, for, in accordance with his mission, the blood of his adversaries will be shed, their children made captives, and nothing can protect you against him." Afterwards, when God sent Mohammed, and he besieged the Beni Koreiza, those men, who then were still young, said, "O ye sons of Koreiza, by God, this is the prophet promised by Ibn el Haggaban." But they said, "No, he is not." Those men, however, took God for a witness that he was exactly such as he had been described; and they embraced Islam, and thus their blood, their goods, and their families were saved.' (Ibn Ishak.)

(14.) Whilst they were honouring a Penitentiary Institution, by accommodating themselves to it, a Supernatural Occurrence and Voice inaugurated their own Public Mission.

a. 'John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins' (Mark i. 4). Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. And Jesus, when he was baptized,