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.
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
Muhammad 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 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
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, 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, 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
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 to anyone other than Allah. For example, who told Muhammad
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 the
information and that he used it to fool the people. However, this theory
can easily be disproved with one simple question: "If Muhammad 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 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 possibly have known for sure that Abu Lahab would fulfill the
Qur'anic revelation if he (i.e., Muhammad) 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
Muhammed's message. They used to say, "The devils bring Muhammad
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 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."
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 after 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 I various angles from which one can approach the |
Qur'an have undoubtedly been subjective in nature; I 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 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:
"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:
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!
"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."