THE AMAZING
QUR'AN
A LECTURE BY GARY
MILLER
Calling the Qur'an amazing is not
something done only by Muslims, who have an appreciation for the book and who
are pleased with it; it has been labeled amazing by non-Muslims as well. In
fact, even people who hate Islam very much have still called it amazing.
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:
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."
WRITTEN FROM THE VIDEO
TAPE BY Muhammed A. Asadi
Lahore,
Pakistan.
18 September
1990
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