The Chosen One and the Son of Man: The Case for Muhammad ﷺ

This working paper argues that the expected figure described across the Hebrew Bible, the Second Temple literature and the Gospels is best identified with the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. It examines the promise to Ishmael (Genesis 17), the prophet like Moses (Deuteronomy 18), the chosen servant of Isaiah 42 and its Arabian setting, the kingdom that follows Rome in Daniel 2 and 7, the Chosen One and Son of Man of the Parables of Enoch, the transfer of the kingdom in the Gospels, Jesus' sayings about a coming Son of Man, and the vision of 4 Ezra 13. It then sets these beside the Prophet's own claims, transmitted in mass-attested (mutawatir) reports as well as other intertexts with authentic solitary (Sahih Ahad) reports, and the testimony of seventh-century Jewish and Christian sources. The case is cumulative and no single verse is made to carry it. Major Christian objections are also answered at their strongest, including the creed of 1 Corinthians 15, the atonement, and the historicity of the crucifixion. Critical scholarship is stated openly where it differs. Every quotation and page number has been checked against the cited editions, and full references are given in the bibliography.