So I've constantly read and heard that the Jewish and Christian communities of Arabia had a prophecy stating that a prophet would arise from the region, and this is usually found in Islamic articles and books as support for Muhammad's claim to prophethood.
Is there any verifiable evidence for such a tradition, preferably prior to Muhammad's era?
EDIT: this is getting downvoted but I'm just asking a question, I'm not trying to make a doctrinal statement here. Sheesh.
One question: Do you mean "Were pre-Islamic communities expecting or waiting for a prophet to appear in the region and a prophecy to come true?" or do you mean "Now that we know there was a prophet from Arabia named Muhammed, were there any prophecies predicting his coming?"
Which of these you have in mind matters; while I'm not an expert on the matter, the kind of question you're asking requires a different kind of expertise. "Were they awaiting a prophet" would require someone with knowledge in pre-Islamic Arabia, "(Now that we know) Were there any signs or prophecies..." would require someone with knowledge of Biblical studies and Tanakh/Dead Sea Scrolls/etc.
(Don't know why you're being downvoted for asking a legitimate question)