encyclopedia

Prophet Malachi – His Prophecy Of The Messenger To Come

Published on: 17-Jan-2026

(Cite: Hamdani, Mufti Shah Rafi Uddin & Khan, Dr. (Mufti) Imran. (2018), Prophet Malachi Alaihis Salam, Encyclopedia of Muhammad Sallallah o Alaih Wasallam, Seerat Research Center, Karachi, Pakistan, Vol. 1, Pg. 332-334.)

The earliest specific reference to Malachi Alaihis Salam is in the book in the Apocrypha called 2 Esdras, where he is listed as the last of the “leaders of the people,” and his role as “the messenger of the Lord”. 1 Malachi Alaihis Salam is a word from the Hebrew language which means, “My messenger or sent by Me.” He was the last Prophet of the ancient ruling time. He is also called by the name of “Khatam” because his mentioned prophecies were about the ending of that stint.

Nothing is known of Malachi's personal life, or indeed if he existed at all. The book was assigned the name "Malachi" due to its references to God's purifying "messenger" or "angel" (Malachi). Nevertheless, Malachi Alaihis Salam had a significant impact on Judaism, particularly because of its dramatic promise of Elijah's coming as a forerunner to the Day of the Lord and the associated expectation of the Messiah. In Christianity, Malachi's Alaihis Salam prophecies are connected to the birth and ministry of John the Baptist, who is identified as fulfilling the prediction of Elijah's return. Malachi Alaihis Salam is of particular importance in the new religious tradition of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and Unificationism. 2 In the Bible, Malachi Alaihis Salam is mentioned as ‘my messenger’. As the Bible states:

١ «هَأَنَذَا أُرْسِلُ مَلَاكِي فَيُهَيِّئُ ٱلطَّرِيقَ أَمَامِي. وَيَأْتِي بَغْتَةً إِلَى هَيْكَلِهِ ٱلسَّيِّدُ ٱلَّذِي تَطْلُبُونَهُ، وَمَلَاكُ ٱلْعَهْدِ ٱلَّذِي تُسَرُّونَ بِهِ. هُوَذَا يَأْتِي، قَالَ رَبُّ ٱلْجُنُودِ». 3
The Lord Almighty answers, “I will send my messenger to prepare the way for me. Then the Lord you are looking for will suddenly come to his Temple. The Messenger you long to see will come and proclaim my covenant.”

Malachi, as opposed to the other prophetical books, lays much stress upon ceremonial observance. He was Yahweh's (God) messenger and tried his best to ensure that the Law of Moses, with its statutes and observances, was strictly observed. Yet he was not a formalist, and his book breathed the genuine prophetic spirit. Thus, from the idea of the brotherhood of all Israelites, he deduced the social duties which they owe to one another. According to him, the ceremonial observance was only of value as long as it leads to spiritual service. He exposed the moral degeneracy of his time, time is given over to adultery, false swearing, oppression of the hireling and the widow and the fatherless. He has been particularly severe towards those who had entered into wedlock with heathen women.

The conditions that existed under his predecessors Haggai Alaihis Salam and Zechariah Alaihis Salam seem to have existed at the time of Malachi. The Exile was a matter of the past; the Temple was built, and sacrifices were being offered. According to Malachi Alaihis Salam, the people had strayed away from Yahweh, and sought, by an assumption of indifference and by mockery, to hide their restlessness. The exiles had been disillusioned when they found that the land of their fathers was a wilderness. Moreover, drought, locusts, and failure of harvests had deepened their discontent. Yahweh's sanctuary had been rebuilt, but still, the spiritual condition of the people did not improve; they were growing impatient and were asking for proofs of Yahweh's love. Under the pressure of these unfavourable circumstances, priests and individuals neglected to show Yahweh the honour due to Him. Hence Malachi Alaihis Salam laid stress upon the inevitableness of the Day of Judgment, the coming of which would prove to the sceptical that devotion and fear of God was not in vain, but will be rewarded. The messenger of Yahweh and the Last Judgment form the closing theme of Malachi's prophecy. 4

The Book of Malachi Alaihis Salam

The Book of Malachias in the Hebrew comprises three chapters, and in the Greek Bible contains four. The book is divided into two parts, and in the first book, the prophet first inveighs against the priests guilty of prevarication in their discharge of the sacrificial ritual, by offering defective victims, and in their office of doctors of the Law. He then accuses the people in general, condemning the intestine divisions, the mixed marriages between Jews and Gentiles, and the abuse of divorce. The second part contains a discourse full of promise. To a first complaint concerning the impunity which the wicked enjoy, Yahweh replies that the Lord and the angel of the New Testament are about to come for purifying the sons of Levi and the entire nation; if the people are faithful to their obligations, particularly in respect to the tithes, they will be loaded with divine blessings. To a second complaint concerning the afflictions that fall to the lot of the just, while the wicked succeed in everything, Yahweh gives an answer that on the day of his justice the good will take a glorious revenge. The book closes with a double epilogue; the first recall the remembrance of Moses, and the laws promulgated on Mount Horeb; the second announces the coming of Elijah Alaihis Salam before the day of Yahweh. The unity of the book taken as a whole is unquestionable, but many critics consider as the addition of another hand either both the epilogues or at least the second.5

The date of Malachi’s Alaihis Salam demise is unknown, and so is his tomb and other details. Most of his works are preserved in the Book of Malachi, and from this book, the prophecies regarding Prophet Muhammad ﷺ will be quoted.

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