Who is The Teacher of Righteousness mentioned in the Dead Sea Scrolls?

by Rasheed,

The Teacher of Righteousness is an ecstalogical (End of Time) figure from the Dead Sea Scrolls. Scholars and researchers are baffled about his identity. Geza Vermes, a prominent scholar who was one of the few scholars working on the Dead Sea Scrolls said: “Unfortunately, as the most vital topic of all, the question of the identity of the Teacher of Righteousness, we can be nothing like as clear”. Most western scholars assume the Teacher to be a Jewish person. Not enough thought is given to the possibility that the Teacher could be a reference to somebody outside the Jewish nation.

The Quran and Muslim tradition have maintained that prophet Muhammad was foretold in the Torah and other Jewish and Christian scripture, and that, a great effort was made by centrers of power to conceal his identity as the final prophet sent by GOD.

The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls was a promising development, but the scrolls were suppressed for almost 60 years, and were made available only to a small number of scholars (Read the excellent investigation by Michael Baigen in his book “The Dead Sea Scroll Deception“) .

As a Muslim, I do expect to find some references to prophet Muhammad in the Torah. I will not be surprised if there were prophecies about Jesus in the Torah, for he was a prophet too as far as I am concerned. However I find some prophecies in the Torah are easier to understand if they were taken as a reference to Muhammad than is the case with Jesus. Amongst the later, are prophecies about The Teacher of Righteousness.

This article, by biblical researcher Sarah Klitenic, illustrates the problems surrounding the identification of the T.o.R.I will put here a few pointers to explain why I believe the Teacher of Righteousness is quite possibly a reference to prophet Muhammad pbuh.

In the article, the author states her belief that the Teacher is a prophet, she wrote:

1-“He [The Teacher] is never explicitly referred to as prophet, but descriptions, context, and tradition lead one to believe that the Teacher is in fact a prophet”.

2-The well is the Law, and those who dug it were the converts of Israel who went out of the land of Judah to sojourn in the land of Damascus….The Staff is the Interpreter of the Law of whom Isaiah said, He makes a tool for His work; and the nobles of the peoples are those who come to dig the well with the staffs with which the staff ordained that they should walk in all age of wickedness- and without them they shall find nothing- #until he comes who shall teach righteousness at the end of days”

quote 2 above, is from the text of Scroll [1 QH IV, 8-10], which the author uses and summarises as:

3- “The Teacher himself is in no way a messianic figure. He will not return at the endtime, but he does anticipate the arrival of his eschatological counterpart.”

Now it is a well known fact that prophet Muhammad (pbuh) has anticipated the second coming of Jesus (pbuh), and that when comes he will reveal to his followers that Muhammad (pbuh was indeed the Final Messenger and Seal of the prophets of GOD.) In the Book of Bukhari, which is the highest authority in documenting the Sayings [Hadith] of the Prophet (pbuh), it is written:Allah’s Messenger said “How will you be when the son of Mariam (i.e. Jesus) descends amongst you and he will judge people by the Law of the Quran and not by the law of Gospel”

The author then proceeds to confirm that:

4- “It should also be made clear in the initial stages of this inquiry what the Teacher of Righteousness is not: he is not John the Baptist, he is not Jesus Christ.”

The author, next, quotes from the Scrolls again, Pesher (4QpPs 1-10 iii 15):

5- “he steps of the man are confirmed by the Lord and He delights in all his ways; though [he stumbles, he shall not fall, for the Lord shall support his hand]”

6- “The Teacher is similar to the other prophets both in his manner of interpretation and the reasons behind his revelation. In the following passage, the Teacher is similar to the prophets in a number of ways: And they, teachers of lies and seers of falsehood,have schemed against me a devilish scheme,to exchange the Law engraved on my hear to Theefor the smooth things (which they speak) to Thy people.And they withhold from the thirsty the drink of Knowledge, and assuage their thirst with vinegar…(1 QH IV, 8-10)Like the Staff, the Teacher is needed by those thirsty for knowledge. In this passage, we also see that the Teacher’s righteousness is not fully human; because the Law is engraved on his heart by God, his interpretation of the Law is a divine interpretation.41 God has given the Teacher the power to ‘interpret all the words of his servants the prophets’42 and then God feeds the Teacher His words by which to prophesy.Here, the relationship between God and the Teacher is inextricably close; like the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel, the Teacher cannot escape his righteousness, despite the distress it causes him“

How does these attributes of the Teacher compare with what is known about Muhammad (pbuh). The following verses from the Quran may provide answers:

{87:06-07}: “WE shall make you recite so you shalt not forget * Except what Allah please. Surely HE knows the manifest, and what is hidden” {87 Al-A’laa}

 

سورة الأعلى: سَنُقْرِؤُكَ فَلَا تَنسَى 6 إِلَّا مَا شَاء اللَّهُ إِنَّهُ يَعْلَمُ الْجَهْرَ وَمَا يَخْفَى 7

 

{26:192-194}: ” And lo! it is a revelation of the Lord of the Worlds * Which the True Spirit has brought down * Upon your heart, that you may be (one) of the warners” {26: Al-Shu’raa (Poets)}

 

سورة الشعراء : وَإِنَّهُ لَتَنزِيلُ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ 192 نَزَلَ بِهِ الرُّوحُ الْأَمِينُ 193 عَلَى قَلْبِكَ لِتَكُونَ مِنَ الْمُنذِرِينَ 194

 

{53:1-5} : “By the star when it sets * Your companion (Muhammad) errs not, nor does he deviate. * Nor does he speak out of desire * It is naught but revelation that is revealed * One Mighty in Power has taught him” {53: Al-Najm (The Star)}

 

سورة النجم 1-5وَالنَّجْمِ إِذَا هَوَى {1} مَا ضَلَّ صَاحِبُكُمْ وَمَا غَوَى {2}وَمَا يَنطِقُ عَنِ الْهَوَى {3}إِنْ هُوَ إِلَّا وَحْيٌ يُوحَى {4} عَلَّمَهُ شَدِيدُ ْالقُوَى 5

 

{15: 97-99}: “And WE know indeed that your breast straitens at what they say * glorify the praises of your Lord and be of those who prostrate themselves (to Him) * And serve thy Lord, until there comes to you that which is certain” {15: AL-Hijr}

 

سورة الحجر : وَلَقَدْ نَعْلَمُ أَنَّكَ يَضِيقُ صَدْرُكَ بِمَا يَقُولُونَ 97فَسَبِّحْ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّكَ وَكُن مِّنَ السَّاجِدِينَ 98وَاعْبُدْ رَبَّكَ حَتَّى يَأْتِيَكَ الْيَقِينُ 99

 

{3:69-71}: “A party of the People of the Scripture long to make you go astray; and they make none to go astray except themselves, but they perceive not. * People of the Scripture! Why disbelieve ye in the revelations of Allah, when ye (yourselves) bear witness (to their truth)? * O People of the Scripture! Why confound ye truth with falsehood and knowingly conceal the truth?” {3: Aal-Imran (Family of Imran)}

 

آل عمران 69 -71: وَدَّت طَّآئِفَةٌ مِّنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ لَوْ يُضِلُّونَكُمْ وَمَا يُضِلُّونَ إِلاَّ أَنفُسَهُمْ وَمَا يَشْعُرُونَ يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ لِمَ تَكْفُرُونَ بِآيَاتِ اللّهِ وَأَنتُمْ تَشْهَدُونَ *يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ لِمَ تَلْبِسُونَ الْحَقَّ بِالْبَاطِلِ وَتَكْتُمُونَ الْحَقَّ وَأَنتُمْ تَعْلَمُون

َ *

It is clear that Muhammad pbuh, satisfies all of the attributes of the Teacher described by the author in 6 above, except her assertion that the Teacher is not fully human.

I found nothing in the text of the Pesher quoted by the author, to indicate that the Teacher is not fully human !The book known as ‘2 Esdras’ from the Jewish Apocrypha, found amongst the Dead Sea Scrolls has two prophecies which clearly speak of GOD’s favour moving from Israel to another nation, please see my post on the subject