The Amazing Quran
One thing which surprises non-Muslims who are examining
the book very closely is that the Qur'an does not appear to them to be
what they expected. What they assume is that they have an old book which
came fourteen centuries ago from the Arabian desert; and they expect that
the book should look something like that an old book from the desert. And
then they find out that it does not resemble what they expected at all.
Additionally, one of the first things that some people assume is that
because it is an old book which comes from the desert, it should talk
about the desert. Well the Qur'an does talk about the desert - some of its
imagery describes the desert; but it also talks about the sea - what it's
like to be in a storm on the sea. Some years ago, the story came to us in Toronto about a
man who was in the merchant marine and made his living on the sea. A
Muslim gave him a translation of the Qur'an to read. The merchant marine
knew nothing about the history of Islam but was interested in reading the
Qur'an. When he finished reading it, he brought it back to the Muslim and
asked, "This Muhammed, was he a sailor?" He was impressed at how
accurately the Qur'an describes a storm on a sea. When he was told, "No as
a matter of fact, Muhammed lived in the desert," that was enough for him.
He embraced Islam on the spot. He was so impressed with the Qur'an's
description because he had been in a storm on the sea, and he knew that
whoever had written that description had also been in a storm on the sea.
The description of "a wave, over it a wave, over it clouds" was not what
someone imagining a storm on a sea to be like would have written; rather,
it was written by someone who knew what a storm on the sea was like. This
is one example of how the Qur'an is not tied to a certain place and time.
Certainly, the scientific ideas expressed in it also do not seem to
originate from the desert fourteen centuries ago. Many centuries before the onset of Muhammed's prophethood,
there was a well-known theory of atomism advanced by the Greek
philosopher, Democritus. He and the people who came after him assumed that
matter consists of tiny, indestructible, indivisible particles called
atoms. The Arabs too, used to deal in the same concept; in fact, the
Arabic word dharrah commonly referred to the smallest particle known to
man. Now, modern science has discovered that this smallest unit of matter
(i.e., the atom, which has all of the same properties as its element) can
be split into its component parts. This is a new idea, a development of
the last century; yet, interestingly enough, this information had already
been documented in the Qur'an which states: " He [i.e., Allah] is aware of an atom's weight in
the heavens and on the earth and even anything smaller than that..."
Undoubtedly, fourteen centuries ago that statement would
have looked unusual, even to an Arab. For him, the dharrah was the
smallest thing there was. Indeed, this is proof, that the Qur'an is not
outdated. Another example of what one might expect to find in an
"old book" that touches upon the subject of health or medicine is outdated
remedies or cures. Various historical sources state that the Prophet gave
some advice about health and hygiene, yet most of these pieces of advice
are not contained in the Qur'an. At first glance, to the non-Muslims this
appears to be a negligent omission. They cannot understand why Allah would
not "include" such helpful information in the Qur'an. Some Muslims attempt
to explain this absence with the following argument: "Although the
Prophet's advice was sound and applicable to the time in which he lived,
Allah, in His infinite wisdom, knew that there would come later medical
and scientific advances which would make the Prophet's advice appear
outdated. When later discoveries occurred, people might say that such
information contradicted that which the Prophet had given. Thus, since
Allah would never allow any opportunity for the non-Muslims to claim that
the Qur'an contradicts itself or the teachings of the Prophet, He only
included in the Qur'an information and examples which could stand the test
of time." However, when one examines the true realities of the
Qur'an in terms of its existence as a divine revelation, the entire matter
is quickly brought into its proper perspective, and the error in such
argumentation becomes clear and understandable. It must be understood that
the Qur'an is a divine revelation, and as such, all information in it is
of divine origin. Allah revealed the Qur'an from Himself. It is the words
of Allah, which existed before creation, and thus nothing can be added,
subtracted or altered. In essence, the Qur'an existed and was complete
before the creation of Prophet Muhammed, so it could not possibly contain
any of the Prophet's own words or advice. An inclusion of such information
would clearly contradict the purpose for which the Qur'an exists,
compromise its authority and render it inauthentic as a divine revelation.
Consequently, there was no "home remedies" in the Qur'an
which one could claim to be outdated; nor does it contain any man's view
about what is beneficial to health, what food is best to eat, or what will
cure this or that disease. In fact, the Qur'an only mentions one item
dealing with medical treatment, and it is not in dispute by anyone. It
states that in honey there is healing. And certainly, I do not think that
there is anyone who will argue with that! If one assumes that the Qur'an is the product of a man's
mind, then one would expect it to reflect some of what was going on in the
mind of the man who"composed" it. In fact, certain encyclopedias and
various books clam that the Qur'an was the product of hallucinations that
Muhammed underwent. If these claims are true - if it indeed originated
from some psychological problems in Muhammed's mind - then evidence of
this would be apparent in the Qur'an. Is there such evidence? In order to
determine whether or not there is, one must first identify what things
would have been going on in his mind at that time and then search for
these thoughts and reflections in the Qur'an. It is common knowledge that Muhammed had a very difficult
life. All of his daughters died before him except one, and he had a wife
of several years who was dear and important to him, who not only proceeded
him in death at a very critical period of his life. As a matter of fact,
she must have been quite a woman because when the first revelation came to
him, he ran home to her afraid. Certainly, even today one would have a
hard time trying to find an Arab who would tell you, "I was so afraid that
I ran home to my wife." They just aren't that way. Yet Muhammed felt
comfortable enough with his wife to be able to do that. That's how
influential and strong woman she was. Although these examples are only a
few of the subjects that would have been on Muhammed's mind, they are
sufficient in intensity to prove my point. The Qur'an does not mention any
of these things - not the death of his children, not the death of his
beloved companion and wife, not his fear of the initial revelations, which
he so beautifully shared with his wife - nothing; yet, these topics must
have hurt him, bothered him, and caused him pain and grief during periods
of his psychological reflections, then these subjects, as well as others,
would be prevalent or at least mentioned throughout. A truly scientific approach to the Qur'an is possible
because the Qur'an offers something that is not offered by other religious
scriptures, in particular, and other religions, in general. It is what
scientists demand. Today there are many people who have ideas and theories
about how the universe works. These people are all over the place, but the
scientific community does not even bother to listen to them. This is
because within the last century the scientific community has demanded a
test of falsification. They say, "If you have theory, do not bother us
with it unless you bring with that theory a way for us to prove whether
you are wrong or not." Such a test was exactly why the scientific community
listened to Einstein towards the beginning of the century. He came with a
new theory and said, "I believe the universe works like this; and here are
three ways to prove whether I am wrong!". So the scientific community
subjected his theory to the tests, and within six years it passed all
three. Of course, this does not prove that he was great, but it proves
that he deserved to be listened to because he said, "This is my idea; and
if you want to try to prove me wrong, do this or try that." This is
exactly what the Qur'an has - falsification tests. Some are old (in that
they have already been proven true), and some still exist today. Basically
it states, "If this book is not what it claims to be, then all you have to
do is this or this or this to prove that it is false." Of course, in 1400
years no one has been able to do "This or this or this, " and thus it is
still considered true and authentic. I suggest to you that the next time
you get into dispute with someone about Islam and he claims that he has
the truth and that you are in darkness, you leave all other arguments at
first and make this suggestion. Ask him, "Is there any falsification test
in your religion? Is there anything in your religion that would prove you
are wrong if I could prove to you that it exists - anything?" Well, I can
promise right now that people will not have anything - no test, no proof,
nothing! This is because they do not carry around the idea that they
should not only present what they believe but should also offer others a
chance to prove they're wrong. However, Islam does that. A perfect example
of how Islam provides man with a chance to verify it authenticity and
"prove it wrong" occurs in the 4th chapter. And quiet honestly, I was
surprised when I first discovered this challenge. It states: "Do they not consider the Qur'an? Had it been from
any other than Allah, they would surely have found therein much
discrepancy." This is a clear challenge to the non-Muslim. Basically, it
invites him to find a mistake. As a matter of fact, the seriousness and
difficulty of the challenge aside, the actual presentation of such a
challenge in the first place is not even in human nature and is
inconsistent with man's personality. One doesn't take an exam in school
after finishing the exam, write a note to the instructor at the end
saying, "This exam is perfect. There are no mistakes in it. Find one if
you can!". One just doesn't do that. The teacher would not sleep until he
found a mistake! And yet this is the way the Qur'an approaches people.
Another interesting attitude that exists in the Qur'an repeatedly deals
with its advice to the reader. The Qur'an informs that reader about
different facts and then gives the advice: "If you want to know more about
this or that, or if you doubt what is said, then you should ask those who
have knowledge." This too is a surprising attitude. It is not usual to
have a book that comes from someone without training in geography, botany,
biology, etc., who discusses these subjects and then advises the reader to
ask men of knowledge if he doubts anything. Yet in every age there have been Muslims who have followed
the advice of the Qur'an and made surprising discoveries. If one looks to
the works of Muslim scientists if many centuries ago, one will find them
full of quotations from the Qur'an. These works state that they did
research in such a place, looking for something. And they affirm that the
reason they looked in such and such a place was that the Qur'an pointed
them in that direction. For example, the Qur'an mentions man's origin and
then tells the reader, "Research it!" It gives the reader a hint where to
look and then states that one should find out more about it. This is the
kind of thing that Muslims today largely seem to overlook - but not
always, as illustrated in the following example. A few years ago, a group
of men in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia collected all if the verses in the Qur'an
which discuss embryology - the growth of the human being in the womb. They
said, "Here is what the Qur'an says. Is it the truth?" In essence, they
took the advice of the Qur'an: "Ask the men who know." They chose, as it
happened, a non-Muslim who is a professor of embryology at the University
of Toronto. His name is Keith Moore, and he is the author of textbooks on
embryology - a world expert on the subject. They invited him to Riyadh and
said, "This is what the Qur'an says about your subject. Is it true? What
can you tell us?" While he was in Riyadh, they gave him all of the help
that he needed in translation and all of the cooperation for which he
asked. And he was so surprised at what he found that he changed his
textbooks. In fact, in the second edition of one of his books, called
Before we are born... in the second edition about the history of
embryology, he included some material that was not in the first edition
because of what he found in the Qur'an. Truly this illustrates that the
Qur'an was ahead of its time and that those who believe in the Qur'an know
what other people do not know. I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Keith Moore for a
television presentation, and we talked a great deal about this - it was
illustrated by slides and so on. He mentioned that some of the things that
the Qur'an states about the growth of the human being were not known until
thirty years ago. In fact, he said that one item in particular - the
Qur'an's description of the human being as a "leech-like clot" ('alaqah)
at one stage - was new to him; but when he checked on it, he found that it
was true, and so he added it to his book. He said, "I never thought of
that before," and he went to the zoology department and asked for a
picture of a leech. When he found that it looked just like the human
embryo, he decided to include both pictures in one of his textbooks. Dr.
Moore also wrote a book on clinical embryology, and when he presented this
information in Toronto, it caused quite a stir throughout Canada. It was
on the front pages of some of the newspapers across Canada, and some of
the headlines were quite funny. For instance, one headline read:
"SURPRISING THING FOUND IN ANCIENT BOOK!"! It seems obvious from this
example that people do not clearly understand what it is all about. As a
matter of fact, one newspaper reporter asked Professor Moore,"Don't you
think That maybe the Arabs might have known about these things - the
description of the embryo, its appearance and how it changes and grows?
Maybe there were not scientists, but maybe they did something crude
dissections on their own - carved up people and examined these things."
The professor immediately pointed out to him that he
[i.e., the reporter] had missed a very important point - all of the slides
of the embryo that had been shown and had been projected in the film had
come from pictures taken through a microscope. He said, "It does not
matter if someone had tried to discover embryology fourteen centuries ago,
they could not have seen it!". All of the descriptions in the Qur'an of
the appearance of the embryo are of the item when it is still too small to
see with the eye; therefore, one needs a microscope to see it. Since such
a device had only been around for little more than two hundred years, Dr.
Moore taunted, "Maybe fourteen centuries ago someone secretly had a
microscope and did this research, making no mistakes anywhere. Then he
somehow taught Muhammad (SAW) and convinced him to put this information in
his book. Then he destroyed his equipment and kept it a secret forever. Do
you believe that? You really should not unless you bring some proof
because it is such a ridiculous theory." In fact, when he was asked "How
do you explain this information in the Qur'an?" Dr. Moore's reply was, "It
could only have been divinely revealed."! Although the aforementioned example of man researching
information contained in the Qur'an deals with a non-Muslim, it is still
valid because he is one of those who is knowledgeable in the subject being
researched. Had some layman claimed that what the Qur'an says about
embryology is true, then one would not necessarily have to accept his
word. However, because of the high position, respect, and esteem man gives
scholars, one naturally assumes that if they research a subject and arrive
at a conclusion based on that research, then the conclusion is valid. One
of Professor Moore's colleagues, Marshall Johnson, deals extensively with
geology at the University of Toronto. He became very interested in the fact that the Qur'an's
statements about embryology are accurate, and so he asked Muslims to
collect everything contained in the Qur'an which deals with his specialty.
Again people were very surprised at the findings. Since there are a vast
number subjects discussed in the Qur'an, it would certainly require a
large amount of time to exhaust each subject. It suffices for the purpose
of this discussion to state that the Qur'an makes very clear and concise
statements about various subjects while simultaneously advising the reader
to verify the authenticity of these statements with research by scholars
in those subjects. And as illustrated by the Qur'an has clearly emerged
authentic. Undoubtedly, there is an attitude in the Qur'an which is not
found anywhere else. It is interesting how when the Qur'an provides
information, it often tells the reader, "You did not know this before."
Indeed, there is no scripture that exists which makes that claim. All of
the other ancient writings and scriptures that people have, do give a lot
of information, but they always state where the information came from.
For example, when the Bible discusses ancient history, it
states that this king lived here, this one fought in a certain battle,
another one had so may sons, etc. Yet it always stipulates that if you
want more information, then you should read the book of so and so because
that is where the information came from. In contrast to this concept, the
Qur'an provides the reader with information and states that this
information is something new. Of course, there always exists the advice to
research the information provided and verify its authenticity. It is
interesting that such a concept was never challenged by non-Muslims
fourteen centuries ago. Indeed, the Makkans who hated the Muslims, and
time and time again they heard such revelations claiming to bring new
information; yet, they never spoke up and said, "This is not new. We know
where Muhammad (SAW) got this information. We learned this at school."
They could never challenge its authenticity because it
really was new! In concurrence with the advice given in the Qur'an to
research information (even if it is new), when 'Umar was caliph, he chose
a group of men and sent them to find the wall of Dhul-Qarnayn. Before the
Qur'anic revelation, the Arabs had never heard of such a wall, but because
the Qur'an described it, they were able to discover it. As a matter of
fact, it is now located in what is called Durbend in the Soviet Union. It
must be stressed here that the Qur'an is accurate about many, many things,
but accuracy does not necessarily mean that a book is a divine revelation.
In fact, accuracy is only one of the criteria for divine revelations. For instance, the telephone book is accurate, but that
does not mean that it is divinely revealed. The real problem lies in that
one must establish some proof of the source the Qur'an's information. The
emphasis is on the reader. One cannot simply deny the Qur'an's
authenticity without sufficient proof. If, indeed, one finds a mistake,
then he has the right to disqualify it. This is exactly what the Qur'an
encourages. Once a man came up to me after a lecture I delivered in South
Africa. He was very angry about what I had said, and so he claimed, "I am
going to go home tonight and find a mistake in the Qur'an." Of course, I
said, "Congratulations. That is the most intelligent thing that you have
said." Certainly, this is the approach Muslims need to take with those who
doubt the Qur'an's authenticity, because the Qur'an itself offers the same
challenge. An inevitably, after accepting it's challenge and discovering
that it is true, these people will come to believe it because they could
not disqualify it. In essence, the Qur'an earns their respect because they
themselves have had to verify its authenticity. An essential fact that
cannot be reiterated enough concerning the authenticity of the Qur'an is
that one's inability to explain a phenomenon himself does not require his
acceptance of the phenomenon's existence or another person's explanation
of it. Specifically, just because one cannot explain something
does not mean that one has to accept someone else's explanation. However,
the person's refusal of other explanations reverts the burden of proof
back on himself to find a feasible answer. This general theory applies to
numerous concepts in life, but fits most wonderfully with the Qur'anic
challenge, for it creates a difficulty for one who says, "I do not believe
it." At the onset of refusal one immediately has an obligation to find an
explanation himself if he feels others' answers are inadequate. In fact,
in one particular Qur'anic verse which I have always seen mistranslated
into English, Allah mentions a man who heard the truth explained to him.
It states that he was derelict in his duty because after he heard the
information, he left without checking the verity of what he had heard. In
other words, one is guilty if he hears something and does not research it
and check to see whether it is true. One is supposed to process all
information and decide what is garbage to be thrown out and what is
worthwhile information to be kept and benefited from at a later date. One
cannot just let it rattle around in his head. It must be put in the proper
categories and approached from that point of view. For example, if the
information is still speculatory, then one must discern whether it's
closer to being true or false. But if all of the facts have been
presented, then one must decide absolutely between these two options. And
even if one is not positive about the authenticity of the information, he
is still required to process all of the information and make the admission
that he just does not know for sure. Although this last point appears to
be futile, in actuality, it is beneficial to the arrival at a positive
conclusion at a later time in that it forces the person to at least
recognize, research and review the facts. This familiarity with the
information will give the person "the edge" when future discoveries are
made and additional information is presented. The important thing is that
one deals with the facts and does not simply discard them out of empathy
and disinterest. The real certainty about the truthfulness of the Qur'an is
evident in the confidence which is prevalent throughout it; and this
confidence comes from a different approach - "Exhausting the
Alternatives." In essence, the Qur'an states, "This book is a divine
revelation; if you do not believe that, then what is it?" In other words,
the reader is challenged to come up with some other explanation. Here is a
book made of paper and ink. Where did it come from? It says it is a divine
revelation; if it is not, then what is its source? The interesting fact is
that no one has with an explanation that works. In fact, all alternatives
have bee exhausted. As has been well established by non-Muslims, these
alternatives basically are reduces to two mutually exclusive schools of
thought, insisting on one or the other. On one hand, there exists a large
group of people who have researched the Qur'an for hundreds of years and
who claim, "One thing we know for sure - that man, Muhammad (SAW), thought
he was a prophet. He was crazy!" They are convinced that Muhammad (SAW)
was fooled somehow. Then on the other hand, there is another group which
alleges, "Because of this evidence, one thing we know for sure is that
that man, Muhammad (SAW), was a liar!" Ironically, these two groups never
seem to get together without contradicting. In fact, many references on
Islam usually claim both theories. They start out by saying that Muhammad
(SAW) was crazy and then end by saying that he was a liar. They never seem
to realize that he could not have been both! For example, if one is deluded and really thinks that he
is a prophet, then he does not sit up late at night planning, "How will I
fool the people tomorrow so that they think I am a prophet?" He truly
believes that he is a prophet, and he trusts that the answer will be given
to him by revelation. As a matter of fact, a great deal of the Qur'an came
in answer to questions. Someone would ask Muhammad (SAW) a question, and
the revelation would come with the answer to it. Certainly, if one is
crazy and believes that an angel put words in his ear, then when someone
asks him a question, he thinks that the angel will give him the answer.
Because he is crazy, he really thinks that. He does not tell someone to
wait a short while and then run to his friends and ask them, "Does anyone
know the answer?" This type of behavior is characteristic of one who does
not believe that he is a prophet. What the non-Muslims refuse to accept is
that you cannot have it both ways. One can be deluded, or he can be a
liar. He can be either one or neither, but he certainly cannot be both!
The emphasis is on the fact that they are unquestionably mutually
exclusive personal traits. The following scenario is a good example of the kind of
circle that non-Muslims go around in constantly. If you ask one of them,
"What is the origin of the Qur'an?" He tells you that it originated from
the mind of a man who was crazy. Then you ask him, "If it came from his
head, then where did he get the information contained in it? Certainly the
Qur'an mentions many things with which the Arabs were not familiar." So in
order to explain the fact which you bring him, he changes his position and
says, "Well, maybe he was not crazy. Maybe some foreigner brought him the
information. So he lied and told people that he was a prophet." At this
point then you have to ask him, "If Muhammad (SAW) was a liar, then where
did he get his confidence? Why did he behave as though he really thought
he was a prophet?" Finally backed into a corner, like a cat he quickly
lashes out with the first response that comes to his mind. Forgetting that
he has already exhausted that possibility, he claims, "Well, maybe he
wasn't a liar. He was probably crazy and really thought that he was a
prophet." And thus he begins the futile circle again. As has already been mentioned, there is much information
contained in the Qur'an whose source cannot be attributed t anyone other
than Allah. For example, who told Muhammad (SAW) about the wall of
Dhul-Qarnayn - a place hundreds of miles to the north? Who told him about
embryology? When people assemble facts such as these, if they are not
willing to attribute their existence to a divine source, they
automatically resort to the assumption someone brought Muhammad (SAW) the
information and that he used it to fool the people. However, this theory
can easily be disproved with one simple question: "If Muhammad (SAW) was a
liar, where did he get his confidence? Why did he tell some people out
right to their face what others could never say?" Such confidence depends
completely upon being convinced that one has a true divine revelation. For
example, the Prophet (SAW) had an uncle by the name of Abu Lahab. This man
hated Islam to such an extent that he used to follow the Prophet around in
order to discredit him. If Abu Lahab saw the Prophet (SAW) speaking to a
stranger, he would wait until they parted and then would go to the
stranger and ask him, "What did he tell you? Did he say, 'Black.'? Well,
it's white. Did he say, 'Morning.'? Well, it's night." He faithfully said
the exact opposite of whatever he heard Muhammad (SAW) and the Muslims
say. However, about ten years before Abu Lahab died, a little chapter in
the Qur'an was revealed to him. It distinctly stated that he would go to
the Fire (i.e., Hell). In other words, it affirmed that he would never
become a Muslim and would therefore be condemned forever. For ten years
all Abu Lahab had to do was say, "I heard that it has been revealed to
Muhammad (SAW) that I will never change - that I will never become a
Muslim and will enter the Hellfire. Well I want to become a Muslim now.
How do you like that? What do you think of your divine revelation now?"
But he never did that. And yet, that is exactly the kind of behavior one
would have expected from him since he always sought to contradict Islam.
In essence, Muhammad (SAW) said, "You hate me and you want to finish me?
Here, say these words, and I am finished. Come on, say them!" But Abu
Lahab never said them. Ten years! And in all that time he never accepted
Islam or even became sympathetic to the Islamic cause. How could Muhammad
(SAW) possibly have known for sure that Abu Lahab would fulfill the
Qur'anic revelation if he (i.e., Muhammad (SAW)) was not truly the
messenger of Allah? How could he possibly have been so confident as to
give someone 10 years to discredit his claim of prophethood? The only
answer is that he was Allah's messenger; for in order to put forth suck a
risky challenge, one has to be entirely convinced that he has a divine
revelation. Another example of the confidence which Muhammad (SAW) had
in his own prophethood and consequently in the divine protection of
himself and his message is when he left Makkah and hid in a cave with Abu
Bakr during their emigration to Madeenah. The two clearly saw people
coming to kill them, and Abu Bakr was afraid. Certainly, if Muhammad (SAW)
was a liar, a forger and one who was trying to fool the people into
believing that he was a prophet, one would have expected him to say in
such a circumstance to his friend, "Hey, Abu Bakr, see if you can find a
back way out of this cave." Or "Squat down in that corner over there and
keep quiet." Yet, in fact, what he said to Abu Bakr clearly illustrated
his confidence. He told him, "Relax! Allah is with us, and Allah will save
us!" Now, if one knows that he is fooling the people, where
does one get this kind of attitude? In fact, such a frame of mind is not
characteristic of a liar or a forger at all. So, as has been previously
mentioned, the non-Muslims go around and around in a circle, searching for
a way out - some way to explain the findings in the Qur'an without
attributing them to their proper source. On one hand, they tell you on
Monday, Wednesday and Friday, "The man was a liar," and on the other hand,
on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday they tell you, "He was crazy." What they
refuse to accept is that one cannot have it both ways; yet they refuse to
accept is that one cannot have it both ways; yet they need both excuses to
explain the information in the Qur'an. About seven years ago, I had a minister over to my home.
In the particular room which we were sitting there was a Qur'an on the
table, face down, and so the minister was not aware of which book it was.
In the midst of a discussion, I pointed to the Qur'an and said, "I have
confidence in that book." Looking at the Qur'an but not knowing which book
it was , he replied, "Well, I tell you, if that book is not the Bible, it
was written by a man!" In response to his statement, I said, "Let me tell
you something about what is in that book." And in just three to four
minutes I related to him a few things contained in the Qur'an. After just
those three or four minutes, he completely changed his position and
declared, "You are right. A man did not write that book. The Devil wrote
it!" Indeed, possessing such an attitude is very unfortunate - for many
reasons. For one thing, it is a very quick and cheap excuse. It is an
instant exit out of an uncomfortable situation. As a matter of fact, there
is a famous story in the Bible that mentions how one day some of the Jews
were witnesses when Jesus raised a man from the dead. The man had been
dead for four days, and when Jesus arrived, he simply said, "Get up!" and
the man arose and walked away. At such a sight, some of the Jews who were
watching said disbelievingly, "This is the Devil. The Devil helped him!"
Now this story is rehearsed often in churches all over the world, and
people cry big tears over it, saying, "Oh, if I had been there, I would
not have been as stupid as the Jews!" Yet ironically, these people do
exactly what the Jews did when in just three minutes you show them only a
small part of the Qur'an and all they can say is, "Oh, the Devil did it.
The devil wrote that book!". Because they are truly backed into a corner
and have no other viable answer, they resort to the quickest and cheapest
excuse available. Another Example of people's use of this weak stance can
be found in the Makkans' explanation of the source of Muhammad's (SAW)
message. They used to say, "The devils bring Muhammad (SAW) that Qur'an!"
But just as with every other suggestion made, the Qur'an gives the answer.
One verse in particular states: "And they say, 'Surely he is possessed [by jinn],
'but it [i.e., the Qur'an] is not except a reminder to the worlds."
Thus it gives an argument in reply to such a theory. In
fact, there are many arguments in the Qur'an in reply to the suggestion
that devils brought Muhammad (SAW) his message. For example, in the 26th
chapter Allah clearly affirms: "No evil ones have brought it [i.e., this
revelation] down. It would neither be fitting for them, nor would they be
able. Indeed they have been removed far from hearing." And in another place in the Qur'an, Allah instructs us:
"So when you recite the Qur'an seek refuge in Allah
from Shaytaan, the rejected." Now is this how Satan writes a book? He tells one, "Before
you read my book, ask God to save you from me."? This is very, very
tricky. Indeed, a man could write something like this, but would Satan do
this? Many people clearly illustrate that they cannot come to one
conclusion on this subject. On one hand, they claim that Satan would not
do such a thing and that even if he could, God would not allow him to;
yet, on the other hand, they also believe that Satan is only that much
less than God. In essence they allege that the Devil can probably do
whatever God can do. And as a result, when they look at the Qur'an, even
as surprised as they are as to how amazing it is, they still insist, "The
Devil did this!" Thanks be to Allah, Muslims do not have that attitude.
Although Satan may have some abilities, they are a long way separated from
the abilities of Allah. And no Muslim is a Muslim unless he believes that.
It is common knowledge even among non-Muslims that the Devil can easily
make mistakes, and it would be expected that he would contradict himself
if and when he wrote a book. For indeed, the Qur'an states: "Do they not consider the Qur'an? Had it been from
any other than Allah, they would surely have found therein much
discrepancy." In conjunction with the excuses that non-Muslims advance
in futile attempts to justify unexplainable verses in the Qur'an, there is
another attack often rendered which seems to be a combination of the
theories that Muhammad (SAW) was crazy and a liar. Basically, these people
propose that Muhammad (SAW) was insane, and as a result of his delusion,
he lied to and misled people. There is a name for this in psychology. It
is referred to as mythomania. It means simply that one tells lies and then
believes them. This is what the non-Muslims say Muhammad (SAW) suffered
from. But the only problem with this proposal is that one suffering from
mythomania absolutely cannot deal with facts, and yet the whole Qur'an is
based entirely upon facts. Everything contained in it can be researched
and established as true. Since facts are such a problem for a mythomaniac,
when a psychologist tries to treat one suffering from that condition, he
continually confronts him with facts. For example, if one is mentally ill
and claims, "I am the king of England," a psychologist does not say to him
"No you aren't. You are crazy!" He just does not do that. Rather, he
confronts him with facts and says, "O.K., you say you are the king of
England. So tell me where the queen is today. And where is your prime
minister? And where are your guards?" Now, when the man has trouble trying
to deal with these questions, he tries to make excuses, saying Uh... the
queen... she has gone to her mother's. Uh... the prime minister... well he
died." And eventually he is cured because he cannot deal with the facts.
If the psychologist continues confronting him with enough facts, finally
he faces the reality and says, "I guess I am not the king of England." The
Qur'an approaches everyone who reads it in very much the same way a
psychologist treats his mythomania patient. There is a verse in the Qur'an
which states: "Oh mankind, there has come to you an admonition
[i.e., the Qur'an] from your Lord and a healing for what is in the hearts
- and guidance and mercy for the believers." At first glance, this statement appears vague, but the
meaning of this verse is clear when one views it in light of the
aforementioned example. Basically, one is healed of his delusions by
reading the Qur'an. In essence, it is therapy. It literally cures deluded
people by confronting them with facts. A prevalent attitude throughout the
Qur'an is one which says, "Oh mankind, you say such and such about this;
but what about such and such? How can you say this when you know that?"
And so forth. It forces one to consider what is relevant and what matters
while simultaneously healing one of the delusions that the facts presented
to mankind by Allah can easily be explained away with flimsy theories and
excuses. It is this very sort of thing - confronting people with facts -
that had captured the attention of many non-Muslims. In fact, there exists
a very interesting reference concerning this subject in the New Catholic
Encyclopedia. In an article under the subject of the Qur'an, the
Catholic Church states, "Over the centuries, many theories have been
offered as to the origin of the Qur'an... Today no sensible man accepts
any of these theories."!! Now here is the age-old Catholic Church, which
has been around for so many centuries, denying these futile attempts to
explain away the Qur'an. Indeed, the Qur'an is a problem for the Catholic
Church. It states that it is revelation, so they study it. Certainly, they
would love to find proof that it is not, but they cannot. They cannot find
a viable explanation. But at least they are honest in their research and
do not accept the first unsubstantiated interpretation which comes along.
The Church states that in fourteen centuries it has not yet been presented
a sensible explanation. At least it admits that the Qur'an is not an easy
subject to dismiss. Certainly, other people are much less honest. They
quickly say, "Oh, the Qur'an came from here. The Qur'an came from there."
And they do not even examine the credibility of what they are stating most
of the time. Of course, such a statement by the Catholic Church leaves the
everyday Christian in some difficulty. It just may be that he has his own
ideas as to the origin of the Qur'an, but as a single member of the
Church, he cannot really act upon his own theory. Such an action would be
contrary to the obedience, allegiance and loyalty which the Church
demands. By virtue of his membership, he must accept what the Catholic
Church declares without question and establish its teachings as part of
his everyday routine. So, in essence, if the Catholic Church as a whole is
saying, "Do not listen to these unconfirmed reports about the Qur'an,"
then what can be said about the Islamic point of view? Even non-Muslims
are admitting that there is something to the Qur'an - something that has
to be acknowledged - then why are people so stubborn and defensive and
hostile when Muslims advance the very same theory? This is certainly
something for those with mind a to contemplate - something to ponder for
those of understanding! Recently, the leading intellectual in the Catholic Church
- a man by the name of Hans - studied the Qur'an and gave his opinion of
what he had read. This man has been around for some time, and he is highly
respected in the Catholic Church, and after careful scrutiny, he reported
his findings, concluding, "God has spoken to man through the man, Muhammad
(SAW)." Again this is a conclusion arrived at by a non-Muslim source - the
very leading intellectual of the Catholic Church himself! I do not think
that the Pope agrees with him, but nonetheless, the opinion of such a
noted, repute public figure must carry some weight in defense of the
Muslim position. He must be applauded for facing the reality that the
Qur'an is not something which can be easily pushed aside and that, in fact
God is the source of these words. As is evident from the aforementioned
information, all of the possibilities have been exhausted, so the chance
of finding another possibility of dismissing the Qur'an is nonexistent.
For if the book is not a revelation, then it is a deception; and if it is
a deception, one must ask, "What is its origin" And where does it deceive
us?" Indeed, the true answers to these questions shed light on the
Qur'an's authenticity and silence the bitter unsubstantiated claims of the
unbelievers. Certainly, if people are going to insist that the Qur'an is a
deception, then they must bring forth evidence to support such a claim.
The burden of proof is on them, not us! One is never supposed to advance a
theory without sufficient corroborating facts; so I say to them, "Show me
one deception! Show me where the Qur'an deceives me! Show me, otherwise,
don't say that it is a deception!" An interesting characteristic of the
Qur'an is how it deals with surprising phenomena which relate not only to
the past but to modern times as well. In essence, the Qur'an is not and
old problem. It is still a problem even today a problem to the non-Muslims
that is. For everyday, every week, every year brings more and more
evidence that the Qur'an is a force to be contended with that its
authenticity is no longer to be challenged! For example, one verse in the
Qur'an reads; "Do not the unbelievers see that the heavens and the
earth were joined together, then We clove them asunder, and made from
water every living thing? Will they not then believe?" Ironically, this very information is exactly what they
awarded the 1973 Noble Prize for - to a couple of unbelievers. The Qur'an
reveals the origin of the universe - how it began from one piece - and
mankind continues to verify this revelation, even up to now. Additionally,
the fact that all life originated from water would not have been an easy
thing to convince people of fourteen centuries ago. Indeed, if 1400 years
ago you had stood in the desert and told someone, "All of this, you see
(pointing to yourself), is made up of mostly water," no one would have
believed you. Proof of that was not available until the invention of the
microscope. They had to wait to find out that cytoplasm, the basic
substance of the cell, is made-up of 80% water. Nonetheless, the evidence
did come, and once again the Qur'an stood the test of time. In reference
to the falsification tests mentioned earlier, it is interesting to note
that they, too, relate to both the past and the present. Some of them were
used as illustrations of Allah's omnipotence and knowledge, while others
continue to stand as challenges to the present day. An example of the
former is the statement made in the Qur'an about Abu Lahab. It clearly
illustrates that Allah, the Knower of the Unseen, knew that Abu Lahab
would never change his ways and accept Islam. Thus Allah dictated that he
would be condemned to the Hellfire forever. Such a chapter was both an
illustration of Allah's divine wisdom and a warning to those who were like
Abu Lahab. An interesting example of the latter type of falsification
tests contained in the Qur'an is the verse which mentions the relationship
between the Muslims and the Jews. The verse is careful not to narrow its
scope to the relationship between individual members of each religion, but
rather, it summarizes the relationship between the two groups of people as
a whole. In essence, the Qur'an states that the Christians will always
treat the Muslims better than the Jews will treat the Muslims. Indeed, the
full impact of such a statement can only be felt a~er careful
consideration of the real meaning of such a verse. It is true that many
Christians and many Jews have become Muslims, but as a whole, the Jewish
community is to be viewed as an avid enemy of Islam. Additionally, very
few people realize what such an open declaration in the Qur'an invites. In
essence, it is an easy chance for the Jews to prove that the Qur'an is
false - that it is not a divine revelation. All they have to do is
organize themselves, treat the Muslims nicely for a few years and then
say, "Now what does your holy book say about who are your best friends in
the world - the Jews or the Christians? Look what we Jews have done for
you!" That is all they have to do to disprove the Qur'an's authenticity,
yet they have not done it in 1400 years. But, as always, the offer still
stands open! All of the examples so far given concerning the various
angles from which one can approach the Qur'an have undoubtedly been
subjective in nature; however there does exist another angle, among
others, which is objective and whose basis is mathematical. It is
surprising how authentic the Qur'an becomes when one assembles what might
be referred to as a list of good guesses. Mathematically, it can be
explained using guessing and prediction examples. For instance, if a
person has two choices (i.e., one is right, and one is wrong), and he
closes his eyes and makes a choice, then half of the time (i.e., one time
out of two) he will be right. Basically, he has a one in two chance, for
he could pick the wrong choice, or he could pick the right choice. Now if
the same person has two situations like that (i.e., he could be right or
wrong about situation number one, and he could be right or wrong about
situation number two), and he closes his eyes and guesses, then he will
only be right one fourth of the time (i.e., one time out of four). He now
has a one in four chance because now there are three ways for him to be
wrong and only one way for him to be right. In simple terms, he could make
the wrong choice in situation number one and then make the wrong choice in
situation number two; OR he could make the wrong choice in situation
number one and then make the right choice in situation number two; OR he
could make the right choice in situation number one and then make the
wrong choice in situation number two; OR he could make the right choice in
situation number one and then make the right choice in situation number
two. Of course, the (only instance in which he could be totally right is
the last scenario where he could guess correctly in both situations. The
odds of his guessing completely correctly have become greater because the
number of situations for him to guess in have increased; and the
mathematical equation representing such a scenario is 1/2 x 1/2 (i.e., one
time out of two for the first situation multiplied by one time out of two
for the second situation). Continuing on with the example, if the same person now has
three situations in which to make blind guesses, then he will only be
right one eighth of the time (i.e. one time out of eight or 1/2 X 1/2 X
1/2). Again, the odds of choosing the correct choice in all three
situations have decreased his chances of being completely correct to only
one time in eight. It must be understood that as the number of situations
increase, the chances of being right decrease, for the two phenomena are
inversely proportional. Now applying this example to the situations in the Qur'an,
if one draws up a list of all of the subjects about which the Qur'an has
made correct statements, it becomes very clear that it is highly unlikely
that they were all just correct blind guesses. Indeed, the subjects
discussed in the Qur'an are numerous, and thus the odds of someone just
making lucky guesses about all of them become practically nil. If there
are a million ways for the Qur'an to be wrong, yet each time it is right,
then it is unlikely that someone was guessing. The following three
examples of subjects about which the Qur'an has made correct statements
collectively illustrate how the Qur'an continues to beat the odds. In the 16th chapter the Qur'an mentions that the female
bee leaves its home to gather food.l2 Now, a person might guess on that,
saying, "The bee that you see flying around - it could be male, or it
could be female. I think I will guess female." Certainly, he has a one in
two chance of being right. So it happens that the Qur'an is right. But it
also happens that that was not what most people believed at the time when
the Qur'an was revealed. Can you tell the difference between a male and a
female bee? Well, it takes a specialist to do that, but it has been
discovered that the male bee never leaves his home to gather food.
However, in Shakespeare's play, Henry the Fourth, some of the characters
discuss bees and mention that the bees are soldiers and have a king. That
is what people thought in Shakespeare's time - that the bees that one sees
flying around are male bees and that they go home and answer to a king.
However, that is not true at all. The fact is that they are females, and
they answer to a queen. Yet it took modern scientific investigations in
the last 300 years to discover that this is the case. So, back to the list of good guesses, concerning the topic
of bees, the Qur'an had a 50/50 chance of being right, and the odds were
one in two. In addition to the subject of bees, the Qur'an also
discusses the sun and the manner in which it travels through space. Again,
a person can guess on that subject. When the sun moves through space,
there are two options: it can travel just as a stone would travel if one
threw it, or it can move of its own accord. The Qur'an states the latter -
that it moves as a result of its own motion.'3 To do such, the Qur'an uses
a form of the word sabaha to describe the sun's movement through space. In
order to properly provide the reader with a comprehensive understanding of
the implications of this Arabic verb, the following example is given. If a
man is in water and the verb sabaha is applied in reference to his
movement, it can be understood that he is swimming, moving of his own
accord and not as a result of a direct force applied to him. Thus when
this verb is used in reference to the sun's movement through space, it in
no way implies that the sun is flying uncontrollably through space as a
result of being hurled or the like. It simply means that the sun is
turning and rotating as it travels. Now, this is what the Qur'an affirms,
but was it an easy thing to discover? Can any common man tell that the sun
is turning? Only in modern times was the equipment made available to
project the image of the sun onto a tabletop so that one could look at it
without being blinded. And through this process it was discovered that not
only are there three spots on the sun but that these spots move once every
25 days. This movement is referred to as the rotation of the sun around
its axis and conclusively proves that, as the Qur'an stated 1400 years
ago, the sun does, indeed turn as it travels through space. And returning once again to the subject of good guess, the
odds of guessing correctly about both subjects - the sex of bees and the
movement of the sun - are one in four! Seeing as back fourteen centuries ago people probably did
not understand much about time zones, the Quran's statements about this
subject are considerably surprising. The concept that one family is having
breakfast as the sun comes up while another family is enjoying the brisk
night air is truly something to be marveled at, even in modern time.
Indeed, fourteen centuries ago, a man could not travel more than thirty
miles in one day, and thus it took him literally months to travel from
India to Morocco, for example. And probably , when he was having supper in
Morocco, he thought to himself, "Back home in India they are having supper
right now." This is because he did not realize that, in the process of
traveling, he moved across a time zone. Yet, because it is the words of
Allah, the All-Knowing, the Qur'an recognizes and acknowledges such a
phenomenon. In an interesting verse it states that when history comes to
an end and the Day of Judgment arrives, it will all occurring an instant;
and this very instant will catch some people in the daytime and some
people at night. This clearly illustrates Allah's divine wisdom and His
previous knowledge of the existence of time zones, even though such a
discovery was non-existent back fourteen centuries ago. Certainly, this
phenomenon is not something which is obvious to one's eyes or a result of
one's experience, and this fact, in itself, suffices as proof of the
Qur'ans authenticity. Returning one final time to the subject of good guesses
for the purpose of the present example, the odds that someone guessed
correctly about all three of the aforementioned subjects - the sex of
bees, the movement of the sun and the existence of time zones - are one in
eight! Certainly, one could continue on and on with this example,
drawing up longer and longer list of good guesses; and of course, the odds
would become higher and higher with each increase of subjects about which
one could guess. But what no one can deny is the following; the odds that
Mohammed an illiterate, guessed correctly about thousands and thousands of
subjects, never once making a mistake, are so high that any theory of his
authorship of the Qur'an must be completely dismissed - even by the most
hostile enemies of Islam! Indeed, the Qur'an expects this kind of challenge.
Undoubtedly, if one said to someone upon entering a foreign land, "I know
your father. I have met him," probably the man from that land would doubt
the newcomer's word, saying, "You have just come here. How could you know
my father?" As a result, he would question him,"Tell me, is my father
tall, short, dark, fair? What is he like?" Of course, if the visitor
continued answering all of the questions correctly, the skeptic would have
no choice but to say, "I guess you do know my father. I don't know how you
know him, but I guess you do!" The situation is the same with the Qur'an.
It states that it originates from the One who created everything. So
everyone has the right to say, "Convince me! If the author of this book
really originated life and everything in the heavens and on the earth,
then He should know about this, about that, and so on." And inevitably,
after researching the Qur'an, everyone will discover the same truths.
Additionally, we all know something for sure: we do not all have to be
experts to verify what the Qur'an affirms. One's iman (faith) grows as one
continues to check and confirm the truths contained in the Qur'an. And one
is supposed to do so all of his life. May God (Allah) guide everyone close to the truth. Supplement An engineer at the University of Toronto who was
interested in psychology and who had read something on it, conducted
researched wrote a thesis on Efficiency of Group Discussions. The purpose
of his research was to find out how much people accomplish when they get
together to talk in groups of two, three, ten, etc. The graph of his
findings: people accomplish most when they talk in groups of two. Of
course, this discovery was entirely beyond his expectations, but it is
very old advice given in the Qur'an: Additionally, the 89th chapter of the Qur'an mentions a
certain city by the name of 'Iram (a city of pillars), which was not known
in ancient history and which was non-existent as far as historians were
concerned. However, the December 1978 edition of National Geographic
introduced interesting information which mentioned that in 1973, the city
of Elba was excavated in Syria. The city was discovered to be 43 centuries
old, but that is not the most amazing part. Researchers found in the
library of Elba a record of all of the cities with which Elba had done
business. Believe or not, there on the list was the name of the city of
'Iram. The people of Elba had done business with the people of 'Iram! "Say, 'I exhort you to one thing - that you stand
for Allah, [assessing the truth] by twos and singly, and then
reflect.....' In conclusion I ask you to consider with care the following:
"And they say, 'Why are not signs sent down to him
from his Lord?' Say, 'Indeed, the signs are with Allah, and I am but a
clear warner.' But is sufficient for them that We have sent down to you
the Book [i.e. Qur'an] which is rehearsed to them? Verily, in that is
mercy and a reminder to people who believe."
By Gary Miller
Calling the Qur'an amazing
is not something done only by Muslims, who have an appreciation for the
book and who are pleased with it; it has been labeled amazing by
non-Muslims as well. In fact, even people who hate Islam very much have
still called it amazing.