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 Muhammed 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 Muhammad'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 a~er 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
various angles from which one can approach the Qur'an have undoubtedly been
subjective in nature; 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 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."