Modern Muslim apocalyptic preachers have linked the humanlike figure in Daniel 7:13 to Muhammad, with some arguing that this “Son of Man” figure represents the Prophet rather than Jesus.
In the original Aramaic text of this verse, the phrase "with the clouds" is written as עִם־עֲנָנֵי (‘im ‘anāney). Dawah apologists claim that the root vowels and consonants here resemble an ancient variant or cognate of the Arabic root H-M-D (from which "Muhammad" or "Ahmad" is derived), meaning "the praised one."
They combine this linguistic claim with Haggai 2:7 (where the Hebrew word Chemdah—desire/precious thing—is used) and Song of Solomon 5:16 (where the Hebrew word Machamaddim—altogether lovely—is used).
They argue that Daniel wasn't seeing a mysterious divine figure in the clouds; he was literally writing down a phonetic prophecy of the name "Muhammad" arriving with a heavenly, clouds-like dispensation of power.
This argument relies entirely on the audience not knowing how to read Biblical Aramaic. It collapses the moment you look at the actual words.
Daniel 7:13:
In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven...
The Aramaic words are עִם־עֲנָנֵי שְׁמַיָּא (‘im ‘anāney šəmayyā).
To turn "with the clouds" (‘im ‘anāney) into "Muhammad", a Dawah apologist has to completely ignore the letter Ayin (ע) at the beginning of both words, mangle the consonants, and invent a word that does not exist.
The root of Muhammad's name is the Arabic Ḥ-M-D (حمد). The Aramaic word for clouds here comes from the root ‘-N-N (ענן). They share zero linguistic lineage.
It is the equivalent of looking at the English phrase "in an attic" and claiming it secretly spells the name "Timothy.
If a Muslim apologist insists on overriding the grammar to force Muhammad into being the "Son of Man" figure in Daniel 7, they accidentally destroy their own theology.
The very next sentence details the absolute, divine nature of the authority and worship handed over to this specific figure.
Daniel 7:14:
He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him..."
The Aramaic word for "worshiped" here is פְּלַח (pelach). Throughout the entire Book of Daniel, pelach is reserved strictly and exclusively for the religious worship of a deity (such as in Daniel 3:28 and 6:16).
By demanding that the Son of Man is Muhammad, the Dawah script forces Muhammad into a position where he receives pelach—divine worship—from every nation on earth. In Islam, assigning divine worship to a human is Shirk (the ultimate, unforgivable sin of idolatry).
The Dawah apologist is trapped: either the text is not talking about Muhammad, or they are guilty of turning their own prophet into a false god.
Jesus, however, explicitly claimed this verse for Himself at His trial (Mark 14:62), because as the divine Son of God, He is worthy of that worship.
The Dawah script claims that the "Little Horn" of Daniel 7 is Christian Rome (Constantine), and that God used the rise of Islam to judge Rome. This creates an impossible historical paradox for them.
The prophecy states that the exact same people group who are oppressed by the Roman Beast are the ones who ultimately inherit the kingdom.
Daniel 7:21-22:
As I watched, this horn was waging war against the holy people and defeating them, until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favor of the holy people of the Most High...
If the Little Horn is Christian Rome, then the "Holy People" or "Saints" being oppressed by Rome must be the Christians. If the saints are Christians, then God's judgment vindicates Christianity, not Islam.
If the apologist tries to claim the "Saints" are actually Muslims, it is a historical absurdity. Muslims did not exist during the 4th-century reign of Constantine to be warred against and defeated by Roman decrees.
The early Church was the entity that was brutally persecuted by Rome, survived, and ultimately inherited the cultural and religious framework of the empire through the Gospel.
To link Constantine's era to the arrival of Islam, Dawah apologists manipulate the prophetic timeline given in the text.
Daniel 7:25 states the saints are given into the hands of the oppressive horn for "a time, times and half a time."
Islam apologist arbitrarily invent a rule that "a time" equals 100 years, creating a 350-year gap to stretch from Constantine (325 AD) to the Islamic conquests (630s AD).
In biblical prophecy, "a time, times, and half a time" is explicitly 3.5 literal or symbolic years (1 year + 2 years + 0.5 year), which mirrors the 42 months or 1,260 days found in the Book of Revelation (Revelation 12:6, 13:5).
It is a brief period of intense crisis, not a hidden 350-year timer manufactured to fit the date of the Fall of Jerusalem to Arab armies.
Furthermore, the core premise fails: Constantine did not change the Sabbath to Sunday; the New Testament proves the early Church was already worshiping on the first day of the week centuries prior (Acts 20:7, 1 Corinthians 16:2).
In Surah 7:157 the Quran commands Muslims to find Muhammad inside the text of the Bible as it existed during his lifetime. In Surah 61:6 the Quran claims that Ahmad is the name Isa predicted for the messenger to come.
Muslims are forced to use Daniel because the actual Torah does not contain what they need. But by reaching outside the Torah into Daniel, they inherit the New Testament's definitions of the "Stone" and the "Son of Man", both of which explicitly prove that Jesus Christ is God manifest in the flesh.
Identifying Muhammad in Daniel requires reading the text anachronistically and imposing later historical events onto ancient prophecy rather than understanding it within its original context.