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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is not outdated.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that touches upon the subject of health or medicine is outdated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:
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."
Article by Gary Miller
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