THE AMAZING QUR’AN

THE AMAZING
QUR’AN
Verses from the Holy Quran

Translation:
Verily! In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the alternation of night
and day, there are indeed signs for men of understanding.
3:191

Translation:
Those who remember Allah (always, and in prayers) standing, sitting, and lying
down on their sides, and think deeply about the creation of the heavens and the
earth, (saying): "Our Lord! You have not created (all) this without purpose, glory
to You! (Exalted be You above all that they associate with You as partners). Give
us salvation from the torment of the Fire.

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 labelled
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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 Muhammad, 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, Muhammad 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 Muhammad'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

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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 Muhammad, 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
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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 Muhammad underwent. If these
claims are true - if it indeed originated from some psychological problems in
Muhammad'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 Muhammad 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 Muhammad'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

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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
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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 of 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,

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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

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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

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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

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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 been 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

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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

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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 behaviour 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 fulfil 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 such 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!"

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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:

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"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

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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

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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 defence
of the Muslim position. He must be applauded for facing the reality that the

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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.

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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 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

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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. 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

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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. 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
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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
marvelled 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
travelling, 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'an's 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
sceptic 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

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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."

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THE END

Sources in translation of the Holy Quran

• www.quran.com

• Faith way
http://www.jameataleman.org/english.htm

• Listen to the chapter of the holy Koran

Copyright © 2009 [email protected] All rights reserved.

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