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Throughout history, there have been
messengers and prophets, men sent from the Creator, bringing
laws or revelation on how man should conduct his life. They were
given miracles which proved to mankind that they were bringing
revelation. A miracle is something which goes against the laws
of nature. For example prophet Musa (Moses) had a stick which
parted the Red Sea. Prophet Isa (Jesus) had the ability to cure
the sick by just touching them.
But how do we know if these messengers existed? The miracles
performed by the above prophets were only miracles for that
specific period of time. But how do we know that they were not
just legends or fables? They are not proof for us. So what
miracle do we have right now to convince us and guide us through
our lives?
There are many texts available today claiming divine status from
God. But is the guidance contained in them in its original form
and is it applicable to all situations at all times? Any text
claiming to be divine must not contain contradictions,
discrepancies or adulterations, since this would question the
perfection of God and the validity of the text.
If we apply this acid test to these ‘divine texts’, we find that
non except the Qur’an fulfill the above criteria. Many religions
contain aspects of the same truth (since messengers have come to
teach each nation) but this truth has been tampered with by man.
Muslims believe that the Qur’an is the Word of God. They believe
it is complete, i.e. it provides answers for all of life’s
affairs and it has kept its authenticity. i.e. nothing has been
removed or added to it by any man since it was revealed, but as
we could not believe in the Creator, God (Allah [swt]), until we
became intellectually convinced, similarly the ‘divine’ message
must be examined and proved. There needs to exist a rational
proof for the validity of the text, not a blind emotional
argument.
The Qur’an was revealed to Muhammad (saw - may be peace and
blessings of Allah [swt] be upon him and his family). At the
time it was revealed, the pagan Arabs were deeply into poetry.
It was an indication of nobility in society. People used to go
to the desert for days just to write poetry. The Arabic language
has great fluidity and depth of expression, so it was held high
in esteem by the Arabs.
So we need to consider the authorship of the Qur’an. The Qur’an
can only the work of the following:
Non-Arab
Arab
Muhammad (saw)
The Creator, Allah (swt)
Firstly, it is important to point out here that the Qur’an was
revealed in Arabic. Because of the high standard of the Arabic
used by the Qur’an, indeed its very excellence and mastery of
the language, it is not from a non-Arab. It is well known that,
a non-Arab aged 16 called Jabr was charged with conspiring with
Muhammad (saw) in writing the Qur’an, but Allah (swt) replied to
these allegations:
"And we know well that they say: only a man teaches him. The
speech of him at whom they falsely hint is notably foreign,
while this is Arabic, pure and clear." [T.M.Q 16:103]
Now one would turn to the Arabs for the authorship of the Qur’an,
having dismissed the theory that a non-Arab could have written
it as being ridiculous. One of the disbelieving Arab poets of
the time, Walid ibn Al-Mughira said after hearing the Qur’an,
"None of you is more conversant than I with poetry, melodious
hymns and songs, and by God never did I hear anything similar to
which he says. It is so sweet and so graceful that it remains at
the summit with nothing to surpass it."
People who disbelieved the divine authenticity were sent
revelation challenging them to bring forth any similar writing:
"...They may say, ‘He forged it.’ Say, ‘Bring ye then ten surahs
(chapters) forged, like unto it, and call (to your aid)
whomsoever ye can other than God! If ye speak the truth.’ [T.M.Q
11:13]
And when the Arabs failed to meet this, they were challenged
once more.
"And if ye are in doubt as to what we have revealed from time to
time to our servant,
then produce a chapter like there unto call to your witnesses or
helpers
(if there are any) besides God, if your doubts are true." [T.M.Q
2:23]
They tried to bring the like of the Qur’an but they failed. And
this challenge has remained until this day for everyone, both
Muslim and non-Muslim and both the Arab and the non-Arab.
Clearly, it is not the speech of an Arab, let alone non-Arab.
The Qur’anic challenge is unique because the Creator, Allah (swt),
pushes man to use his ability to undermine the authenticity of
the Qur’an. Such a profound yet simple challenge. Imagine
throughout the history of Islam, all her enemies needed to
defeat this challenge to destroy the whole basis of Islam. Yet
not one, non-Muslim Arab or non-Arab has been able to do this
even though all the tools of the Arabic language are at their
disposal.
It is also inconceivable that the Qur’an is the speech of
Muhammad (saw). After all he is one of the Arabs. Also, whatever
level of genius people may assign to him, he is still a human
being and one of his tribe and nation. Since the Arabs failed to
bring the like of the Qur’an, this equally applies to Muhammad
(saw). He could not bring the like of it, thus it is not from
him. It is important to point out that none of the Arabs, who
despised Muhammad (saw), particularly at that time, that were
the most acquainted with the styles of Arabic speech ever
claimed that the Qur’an was Muhammad’s (saw) speech, or even
similar to his speech. Moreover, it is clearly documented that
Muhammad (saw) was illiterate i.e. he could not read not write.
Infact illiteracy is a proof in itself.
Also the traditions (ahadith) of Muhammad (saw) are completely
unlike the linguistic style of the Qur’an. This is the case even
though Muhammad (saw) would utter the revealed Qur’anic verse
and say the tradition at one sitting. How could a man maintain a
completely different style for 23 years? Strangely, people could
copy the style of his traditions but not that of the Qur’an! We
have established that the Qur’an could not have originated from
a non-Arab, Arab or Muhammad (saw). This leaves us with the only
real source, the Creator, Allah (swt). He (swt) says:
"Do they not ponder about the Qur’an? If it had come from God
they would surely have found therein much contradictions."
[T.M.Q:82]
To this day Muslim and non-Muslim scholars have not been able to
find any contradiction or mistake in the Qur’an. Moreover, if
one was to compare letter by letter a copy of the Qur’an
published today to one of the first copies of the Qur’an
available then one would find that not a single letter has been
omitted or added. Copies of the Qur’an dating back to the first
century of Islam can be found in Istanbul and Tashkent.
Furthermore, the Meaning of the Qur’an has become a proof in
that it foretold events, and explained issues which man had yet
to discover. For example, the science of embryology is merely 30
years old. Certainly, 1400 years ago, where there were no
microscopes, let alone ultrasound. Yet the Qur’an goes into
depth about how life starts, the pairing of gametes, the
dividing of cells, the forming of the three body layers, and the
development of organs.
Thus it is clear that the basis of Islam, the Quran, could only
have come from the one who created language in order to produce
a book that surpasses the language of any human. And from the
one who created science in order to put in the Quran knowledge
that no human knew of, only until recently. Therefore, the Quran
can only have come from the Creator, Allah (swt).
Source > >
http://www.pzq.cjb.net
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