IS THE QURAN A MIRACLE ?
It
is claimed by Arab scholars that the literary style of the Quran is superior to
all other books in the Arabic language. Although this is not totally true, this
no more proves its inspiration than a man's strength demonstrates his wisdom, or
a woman's beauty her virtue. Only by its teachings, principles, and content can
a book be judged rightly, not by its eloquence, elegance, or poetic strength. By
reading the life of Muhammad and the history of the Quran, one could conclude
that the Quran reflects the life and character of Muhammad. The following is the
opinion of the famed Dr. Tisdall, who is one of the most capable
twentieth-century studies of the Quran.
The
Qur'an breathes the air of the desert, it enables us to hear the battle-cries
of the Prophet s followers as they rushed to the onset, it reveals the working
of Muhammad's own mind, and shows the gradual declension of his character as he
passed from the earnest and sincere though visionary enthusiast into the
conscious imposter and open sensualist.
WAS
MUHAMMAD REALLY ILLITERATE?
Modern-day
scholars of the Quran have begun to accept the term "Gentile Prophet"
as a more correct term for "Al Nabi Al Ummi," "The Illiterate
Prophet" (Surat al-A'raf [The Heights] 7:158).
OTHER
SIMILAR POEMS ARE AVAILABLE
The
Quran is not a unique literary masterpiece. There are numerous examples of other
beautifully crafted poems, epics, and scripture from the classical period,
many much older than the Quran.
The Rig-Veda of the Aryans of India was composed in Sanskrit between 1000 and
1500 years b.c. It is larger than
the Quran, similar in nature, and was written by several men. A blind poet by
the name of Homer is responsible for the two most eloquent
poems in the exquisite Greek language, The Odyssey and Illiad. What
should we say of the Gilgamesh Epic, the Code of Hammurabi, the Book
of the Dead from ancient Egypt, and other classical masterpieces? Just
because these materials are unique or eloquent does not necessarily give them
the status of divine inspiration.-"
Imraul Qais, some of whose poems were among the famed Muallaqat (Suspended
Poems) at Ka'bah, was one of the most expressive of the ancient Arab poets
before Muhammad. In one of his poems, which was not part of the Muallaqat collection,
appear four verses which were "borrowed" and inserted by Muhammad into
the Quran (Surat al-Qamar [The Moon] 54:1, 29, 31, and 46).
Imraul Qais's daughter once heard this Surat recited aloud. She immediately
recognized her father's poem and demanded to know how her father's verses had
become part of a divine revelation, supposedly preserved on stone tablets in
heaven!4
OLD OR NEW REVELATION?
Revelation is the process by which God
imparts to man truths which cannot be known naturally. For example, since man
was not created until the sixth day, God had to reveal to Moses details
reflected in Genesis 1—5.
The uniqueness of the Quran is also claimed
to be due to the information it presents regarding the past and the future.
However, these claims cannot be substantiated.
Quranic Teachings
The teachings of the Quran concerning God,
creation, Adam and Eve, sin, the Fall, angels, heaven, hell, Abraham, Moses, the
Hebrew race, and prophets had already been revealed and proclaimed in the Old
Testament. Muhammad added nothing new. Perhaps some of this was new to his
hearers, but Jews and Christians knew even more from their Bibles. Muhammad's
revelations were in no way superior to the revelations given by earlier
prophets; neither did they unquestionably provide evidence of a fresh divine
revelation. All the above-mentioned truths and more had been revealed and taught
for centuries before the birth of Muhammad.
One of the perplexing statements in the
Quran can be construed as a revelation indeed, but not a divine one! It is the
unequivocal Quranic declaration that General Alexander the Great of Macedonia
was a prophet. How on earth or in heaven can a heathen general whose debauchery
and drunkenness contributed to his death at thirty-three ever be considered a
prophet of God Almighty? That is some revelation in the "Book whose tablets
are preserved in heaven" (Surat al-Kahf [The Cave] 18:83-100).
Theological authorities demand that six
conditions be fulfilled before any supposed revelation can be accepted as true
revelation.
(1) It must satisfy the yearning of the
human spirit to obtain eternal happiness.
(2) It must coincide with the conscience,
which is the moral law written in man's mind.
(3) It must reveal God's true attributes.
(5) It must make very plain the way of
salvation.
(6) It must reveal God Himself in books,
through prophets, and in person.5
Neither Muhammad nor the Quran fulfills all
of these six requirements. The Quran only fulfills the fourth criterion. The
other five are missing.
Muhammad's Prophecies
As to the so-called prophecies of Muhammad,
no one who diligently studies these verses can accept such a claim. Let us
examine some of the twenty-one passages which are claimed as prophetic. The
first group deals with promises of victory.
Such claims are made before a battle to
infuse courage in the fighting forces. One of any two opposing generals who
makes such a prediction will of necessity win. Yet that victory can by no means
constitute a claim by the general that he is a prophet, or as Muhammad was
declared to be, "the Seal of the Prophets" or a "Messenger of
Allah."
There is no doubt that Augustus Caesar,
Ghangiz Khan, Taimur Lang, and even the famed Arab warrior Salah Eddin promised
their followers success in battle. Yet no one considers that the fulfillment of
their promises makes them prophets or apostles of God! The fighting Arabs became
almost invincible due to their belief in Muhammad's divine mission to wage war
against the Quraish, the Jewish tribes, neighboring countries, and the world.
What more weighty reason could any human being find to achieve than being told
"Allah Almighty commands it and that is His Divine Desire"? In fact,
one finds this clearly enunciated in the following story related in Hayatul
Qulub (vol. 2, chap. 30):
Muhammad informed his Companions that the caravan had passed and that the
Quraish were advancing towards them, and that God Most High had commanded him to
fight a Jihad with them. On hearing this his Companions became very much afraid
and very anxious . . . and cried out loud and wept. Therefore, to encourage them
and enable them to fight manfully a battle upon which so much depended, Muhammad
repeated Surat al-Qamar (The Moon) 54:44, 45. 6
The promise of victory, Muhammad declared,
came from God. The Muslims were encouraged tremendously and fought valiantly and
won. Can these words be justly called prophetic?
One should never overlook that biblical
standards of prophecy demanded 100 percent accuracy, according to Deuteronomy
18:20—22:
But the prophet who presumes to speak a
word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the
name of other gods, that prophet shall die. And if you say in your heart,
"How shall we know the word which the lord
has not spoken?" — when a prophet speaks in the name of the lord,
if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the
lord has not spoken; the prophet
has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.
The following Quranic passage is supposed
to validate the prophethood of Muhammad:
The Romans have been defeated in the nearer
land, and they, after their defeat, will be victorious within ten years —
Allah's is the command in the former case and in the latter — and in that day
believers will rejoice.
But this alleged prophecy has several problems. First, there is no conclusive evidence of when the prophecy
was first given, making it impossible to date the ten-year limit accurately.
Second, the passage is ambiguous in several places since it is written
in Cufik Arabic, which does not use vowels. Third, the Muslims' rising power was
evident to everyone around, and it didn't take a prophet to predict their
eventual triumph over the infidels. Fourth, the prophecy declared victory within
ten years. In reality, it took Muhammad and his armies twelve years from the
generally accepted date of the prophecy to subdue these enemies. Fifth, the
Arabic word bid'i, which is translated as "ten years,"
signifies not ten years but no les s than three years an,d no more than nine. In
other words, Muhammad missed the prophecy's deadline by at least three years!