Moreover, the text says, “a prophet like you,” which indicates that he will possess a universal law just as Moses did; this alone refutes the claim that Samuel is the one intended.
It is likewise impossible to apply the prophecy to Joshua for three reasons:
- He is one of the Children of Israel, not one of their brothers.
- He was not Moses’s equal, and the Torah that is now in their hands (1) states, “Never again has there arisen in Israel a prophet like Moses” (2).
- Joshua was a prophet during Moses’s own lifetime, whereas the promise speaks of a prophet whom God will raise up after Moses.
By these same three arguments the prophecy cannot refer to Aaron, and in addition Aaron died before Moses and was made a prophet alongside him during his lifetime.
A fourth argument excludes them all: the glad tidings say that a Book will be sent down to him and will be made manifest to the people (3) from his very mouth. No one after Moses enjoyed this distinction except the Prophet ﷺ. This is among the signs of his prophethood foretold by the earlier prophets. The Exalted said:
“Indeed, it is a revelation from the Lord of all worlds, which the Trustworthy Spirit has brought down upon your heart so that you may be one of the warners, in a clear Arabic tongue. And indeed, it is found in the scriptures of the former peoples. Is it not a sign for them that the scholars of the Children of Israel recognize it?” [Al-Shuʿarāʾ 26:192-197].
Thus the Quran was sent down upon the heart of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and was conveyed to the community from his very lips.