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THE
QURAN IS THE WORD OF GOD AND AN
UNDENIABLE
PROOF FOR MUHAMMAD’S PROPHETHOOD
The
Quran is completely different
from all the other books in the
world
When
we study the Quran even superficially
from the viewpoint of its wording,
styles, and meaning, we will certainly
conclude that it is completely different
from all the other books in the world.
So, in rank and worth it is either below
all of them-even Satan cannot claim
this, nor does he conceive of it-or
above them. Since it is above all of
them, it must be the Word of God.
The
Quran, which he brought, has
challenged all mankind with all
their literary geniuses and
scientists, from the first day of
its revelation to the Last Day, to
produce a like of it or even a
single chapter of it
The
Quran openly declares:
You
(O Muhammad) was not a reader of
any Scripture before it, nor did
you write (such a Scripture)
with your right hand, for then
those who follow falsehood might
(have a right) to doubt it. (al-Ankabut,
29.48)
It
is an established, undeniable fact that
the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace
and blessings, was unlettered. Whereas
the Quran, which he brought, has
challenged all mankind with all their
literary geniuses and scientists, from
the first day of its revelation to the
Last Day, to produce a like of it or
even a single chapter of it:
If
you are in doubt concerning that
which We have sent down onto Our
servant (Muhammad), then produce
a chapter of the like thereof,
and call your witnesses,
supporters, who are apart from
God, if you are truthful. (al-Baqara,
2.23)
Mankind
have since been unable to produce a like
of only one of its chapters, including,
of course, its shortest ones like sura
al-Ikhlas or sura al-Kawthar; those who
have ventured to do that have all laid
themselves open to ridicule. This is a
clear proof for the Divine authorship of
the Quran.
The Quran was revealed in
23
years, yet there are not any
contradictory points in it
The
revelation of the Quran lasted 23
years. It is inconceivable that any book
written by a mortal being in 23 years,
one which is a book of Divine truths,
metaphysics, religious beliefs and
worship, prayer, law and morality, a
book fully describing the other life, a
book of psychology, sociology,
epistemology, and history, and a book
containing scientific facts and the
principles of a happy life, does not
have any contradictory points. Whereas,
the Quran openly declares that it has
no contradictions at all and therefore
is a Divine Book:
Will
they not then ponder on the Quran?
If it had been from other than
God they would have found
therein much contradiction and
incongruity. (al-Nisa’, 4.82)
The Qur’an is beyond compare from
the viewpoint of its styles and
eloquence
The
Quran is beyond compare from the
viewpoint of its styles and eloquence.
All the sentences, words and even
letters used in the Quran form such a
miraculous harmony that, with respect to
rhythm, music, and even geometric
proportions and mathematical measures,
and with respect to how many times each
is used in the whole of the Quran,
each is in the exact place it must be
and interwoven and interrelated with
others. The literary masterpiece of no
one, including the sayings of the
Prophet himself, upon him be peace and
blessings, cannot compete with the Quran.
Prophet Muhammad was unlettered and
no one had heard him say even a
couple of poetry. However, the Quran
also challenged the known experts in
poetry and oratory and forced them
to surrender
In
the period when the Quran was
revealed, in addition to eloquence,
poetry and oratory enjoyed great
prestige in the Arabian peninsula. They
used to hold poetry competitions and the
poems of the winners write in gold and
hang on the wall of the Ka‘ba. The
Prophet Muhammad was, as everybody
knows, unlettered and no one had heard
him say even a couple of poetry.
However, the Quran also challenged
the known experts in these fields and
forced them to surrender. When those who
persisted in unbelief heard the Quran,
they were captivated by it.
Nevertheless, in order to prevent the
spread of Islam, they labeled it as
something magical and advised people not
to listen to it. But when those, like
Hansa and Lebid, who believed in the Quran,
gave up inventing poetry after the Quran’s
revelation in respect for and awe of its
styles and eloquence, the unbelievers
had to confess: ‘If we call it a piece
of poetry, it is not. If we designate it
a piece of rhymed prose, it is not. If
we describe it as the word of a
soothsayer, it is not.’ At times, they
could not help listening to the Prophet’s
recitation secretly at night but they
could not overcome their arrogance and
so believe in its Divine origin.
Arabic became so rich through the
Quran and attained such a high
level that it developed as the
language of the most magnificent
civilization of world history with
all its scientific, religious,
metaphysical, literary, economic,
juridical, social and political
aspects
Despite
the high level poetry reached at that
time, the vocabulary of Arabic was not
as advanced as the same degree. It was
difficult, even impossible, to express
in it metaphysical ideas or scientific,
religious and philosophical concepts.
Restricted to the words and expressions
to explain the thoughts and feelings of
desert men and the simple life they led,
this language became so rich through the
Qur’an and attained such a high level
that it developed as the language of the
most magnificent civilization of world
history with all its scientific,
religious, metaphysical, literary,
economic, juridical, social and
political aspects. It is impossible for
an unlettered one to prepare the ground
for and give way to such a philological
revolution unparalleled in human
history.
Despite its apparent simplicity, the
Quran has such depths of meaning
that everyone from the commonest of
people to the most high-ranking
scholar, scientist and literary man,
finds his share in it
Despite
its apparent simplicity, the Quran
has such depths of meaning that everyone
from the commonest of people to the most
high-ranking scholar, scientist and
literary man, finds his share in it. The
Quran is such a book that it
illuminates the ways of both poets,
musicians and orators, sociologists,
psychologists, scientists, economists
and jurists. Also, the founders of all
the true spiritual orders and the
schools of law and conduct found in it
the principles of their orders and
schools. The Quran has shown
everybody the ways to solve their
problems. It also satisfies everyone in
his spiritual quests. Is there another
book of the same character, quality and
level next to the Quran?
No one has ever been heard to be
bored with the recitation of the Quran
However
beautiful and interesting, we can read a
book at most two or three times and then
are bored with it. However, no one has
ever been heard to be bored with the
recitation of the Quran. Hundreds of
millions of Muslims recite portions from
it in their five daily prayers and most
of them recite it from beginning to end
at least once a year. There have been
hundreds of thousands of people reciting
it from the beginning to the end once or
twice or even three times a month. The
more frequently one recites it, the more
one benefits from it and the more desire
one feels to recite it. One never gets
tired of it, its wording, meaning and
content, nor does the Quran lose
anything of its originality and
freshness. As time passes, it breathes
into minds and souls new truths and
meanings, thus increasing them in
activity and liveliness.
The Quran describes man with all
his physical and spiritual aspects
and contains principles to solve all
the problems that may appear at any
time and in any place concerning all
the social, economic, juridical,
political and administrative fields
of life. Furthermore, it satisfies
both the mind and spirit at the same
time and guarantees happiness in
both worlds.
However
great a genius one may be, it is
impossible for one to establish rules to
solve all kinds of problems that mankind
may encounter until the Last Day. Even
the best of systems that do not
originate in the Quran or the Divine
Revelation cannot last without
undergoing revisions at least every 50
years. More important than this, none of
those systems can promise man eternal
happiness; the principles of all of them
are restricted to the worldly life,
which is transient and infinitely short
when compared to the afterlife. By
contrast, none of the principles which
the Quran laid down centuries ago has
become outmoded and worn-out with the
passage of time, nor do they have any
defects or shortcomings. For example,
the Quran enjoins that wealth should
not become a means of prosperity
circulated only among the rich (al-Hashr,
59.7); that government offices should be
entrusted to competent persons qualified
for them and absolute justice should be
the rule in public administration and
judging between people (al-Nisa’,
4.58), and it lays down that a man has
only that for which he makes effort (al-Najm,
53.39) and that whoever kills a human
being unjustly is as if he had killed
all mankind (al-Ma’ida, 5.32). All
such eternal, golden principles and many
others like the prohibition of usury,
gambling, alcohol and all kinds of
illicit intercourse, and the injunctions
with respect to praying, fasting,
alms-giving and good conduct-principles
strengthened through love and fear of
God and through the promise of an
eternal, happy life and fear of the
eternal punishment of Hell-constitute
another undeniable proof for the Divine
authorship of the Quran.
The Quran unveils the mystery of
man, creation and the universe
Also,
the Qur’an unveils the mystery of man,
creation and the universe. These three
creatures of God, that is, man, the Qur’an
and the universe, are the three ‘books’
which make the Creator known to us. They
are the three versions or expressions of
the same truth. Therefore, the One Who
has created man and the universe is He
Who has revealed the Qur’an.
The Qur’an is the embodiment of
Muhammad in words or Muhammad is the
embodiment of the Qur’an in belief
and conduct
You
cannot find one who does exactly what he
tells others to do or one whose work
exactly reflects himself. However, the
Qur’an is exactly identical with the
Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and
blessings, who received it from God and
designed his life according to it. It
may be said that the Qur’an is the
embodiment of Muhammad in words or
Muhammad is the embodiment of the Qur’an
in belief and conduct. They are the two
expressions of the same truth. When
asked about the conduct of Muhammad,
upon him be peace and blessings, ‘A’isha
Siddiqa answered: ‘Don’t you read
the Qur’an? The conduct of Muhammad,
upon him be peace and blessings,
consisted in the Qur’an.’ This
clearly shows that both the Qur’an and
Muhammad, upon him be peace and
blessings, are the works of God
Almighty.
Even though revealed in parts on
certain occasions, the Qur’an is
equally universal and objective
where it deals with particular
issues as it is exact and precise
where it deals with universal
matters
A
writer usually writes under the
influence of the conditions surrounding
him. It is almost impossible to find a
writer, whether he be a realist or
idealist or even a science-fiction
writer, who can write completely
detached from the conditions surrounding
him. By contrast, even though revealed
in parts on certain occasions, the Qur’an
is equally universal and objective where
it deals with particular issues as it is
exact and precise where it deals with
universal matters. It uses precise
expressions even while describing the
beginning of creation and end of time
and the creation of man and his future
life in the other world. Also, just as
it sometimes draws universal conclusions
from particular events, so too it
sometimes goes from universal principles
to particular events. This is typical of
the Qur’anic style, which is
impossible to find in any human work and
is, therefore, another sign of its
Divine origin.
The Qur’an contains at least the
principles of all the branches of
knowledge either in summary or
detail and not even a single piece
of the knowledge it contains has
ever been contradicted.
There
has been no one in human history who has
written books accurate to the same
degree on both religion and law and
sociology and psychology and eschatology
and morality and history and literature
and so on. However, the Qur’an
contains at least the principles of all
the branches of knowledge either in
summary or detail and not even a single
piece of the knowledge it contains has
ever been contradicted. Must this not be
enough for one unprejudiced to
acknowledge its Divine origin?
“As time passes, the Qur’an
grows ever younger.”
Which
writer can claim that whatever he writes
is absolutely correct and cannot be
contradicted until the Last Day? At a
time when the conclusions of science
soon become ‘outmoded’ and worn-out
and even the previous Divine Scriptures
such as the Torah and Gospels undergo
continuous alterations-even a
superficial study of the issues of the
Bible published in different times and
in different languages will be enough to
see the great alterations it has
undergone-the truths of the Qur’an
retain their freshness or, in the words
of Said Nursi, ‘as time passes, the
Qur’an grows ever younger.’ Despite
all the efforts to find mistakes and
contradictions in it exerted since the
beginning of its revelation, it has
remained unchanged and displayed its
uniqueness, conquering every day new
hearts and its hidden unlimited
treasures being discovered one by one or
growing to full bloom like a heavenly
rose with countless petals.
The Qur’an addresses and
legislates for all in all times
However
knowledgeable you are and if you are
famous for your truthfulness, can you
speak on behalf of the president, the
prime minister and all of the ministers,
and also on behalf of the associations
of literary men, lawyers and craftsmen,
and the board of university lecturers
and scientists? If you can, can you
claim that you represented them all as
perfectly as each would want you to? If
you can, can you legislate for all the
affairs of the country? This is just
what the Prophet achieved through the
Qur’an. Now, how can you claim that an
unlettered one, who had had nothing to
do with any such affairs until his
fortieth year, achieved this without
Divine inspiration and support?
If Prophet Muhammad had written the
Qur’an by himself, he should never
have mentioned some incidents
concerning him.
However
slight, there are some admonitions for
the Prophet in the Qur’an.
No one, especially if that one
claims Prophethood, mentions a
grave slander against his wife
in the book he writes by
himself. Whereas, the Qur’an
gives an important place to the
slander hypocrites uttered
against ‘A’isha, the Prophet’s
wife.
In order to show practically
that Islam does not allow any
racial discrimination and that
superiority is only by piety and
righteousness, not by birth,
color, race, wealth or position,
the Prophet married Zaynab, a
noble woman from the Hashimites,
to Zayd, an emancipated black
slave. However, verses revealed
later ordered that, in order to
put an end to an established
false tradition-namely, neither
adoption nor any other way of
declaring someone a son can
create a legal relationship
comparable to the relationship
of children and natural parents,
and there is no difficulty and
sin for believers in marriage
with the divorced wives of those
whom they once adopted as
sons-the Prophet should marry
Zaynab. This marriage was very
difficult for God’s Messenger
to enter into, but since it was
ordered by God, he had no way
out other than fulfilling it. As
‘A’isha would later say, if
the Prophet, upon him be peace
and blessings, would have
concealed something of the Qur’an,
he would have concealed this
order and would not have married
Zaynab. Also, if he had written
the Qur’an by himself, he
would never have mentioned this
incident.
Abu Talib, the Prophet’s uncle
to whose safeguarding ‘Abd al-Muttalib
entrusted him, undertook the
Prophet’s maintenance when he
was yet eight years old and,
after his declaration of
Prophethood, protected him
against the Quraysh for ten
years. The Prophet, upon him be
peace and blessings, loved his
uncle very deeply and desired
his conversion very much.
However, a verse came and
admonished the Prophet against
this desire of his which nearly
drove him to death: You guide
not whom you love, but God
guides whom He wills. He is best
aware of those who are guided
(al-Qasas, 28.56). What would
have prevented the Prophet, if
he were the author of the Qur’an,
from falsely declaring that his
uncle had accepted Islam?
There are answers to many such
questions in the Quran that one
who does not have an
all-encompassing knowledge could not
have answered them.
There
are many verses in the Quran
beginning with ‘They ask you’ and
continue with ‘Say (in answer)’.
These verses were revealed to answer the
questions put to the Prophet by Muslims
and non-Muslims, including especially
the Jews of Madina. The questions asked
were about lawful or unlawful things,
the distribution of war spoils, the
mansions of the moon, the Judgment Day,
Dhu’l-Qarnayn (one of the ancient
kings who made great conquests in Asia
and Africa), the spirit and so on. One
who does not have an all-encompassing
knowledge cannot answer such questions.
But the answers given by the unlettered
Prophet, upon him be peace and
blessings, satisfied everybody and no
one could object to him. This shows that
he was taught by God, the All-Knowing.
To claim that Muhammad-God forbid
such a thought!- invented the Quran
means that Muhammad, who was known
as Muhammad the Trustworthy, was-we
beg forgiveness for having to
narrate such a false claim-the
greatest liar and cheat history has
ever known.
As
was explained earlier, the Prophet lived
a very austere life and never pursued
any worldly gains or aims like fame,
rulership, wealth and having beautiful
women. Furthermore, he had to resist
hardships and persecutions of the
severest kind. To claim that
Muhammad-God forbid such a thought!-
invented the Quran means that
Muhammad, who was known as Muhammad the
Trustworthy, was-we beg forgiveness for
having to narrate such a false claim-
the greatest liar and cheat history has
ever known. What might have caused him
to falsely claim Prophethood despite the
severest of deprivations and
persecutions? To accuse the Prophet
Muhammad of falsely claiming Prophethood
and attribute the Quran to him, is
the most groundless and the most
degrading and meanest of accusations.
Although other Prophets like Moses
and Jesus are mentioned many times
in the Quran despite the Jews’
and Christians’ denial of
Muhammad, we come across the name
Muhammad only four times
The
Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and
blessings, saw much resistance from the
Jews and Christians. He had to fight
against the Jews of Madina several times
and expel them from the city. Despite
this, the Quran mentions the Prophet
Moses, the Prophet sent to the
Israelites, about 500 times, while the
name of Muhammad is mentioned in the Quran
only four times. The Quran also
mentions the Prophet Jesus many times.
Is it conceivable that one who falsely
claims Prophethood ever mentions the
Prophets of the peoples who show him
great hostility?
The
Quran’s mention of previous
Prophets, including especially Moses and
Jesus, upon them be peace, and the
Christians’ and Jews’ denial of
Muhammad’s Prophethood and the Divine
authorship of the Quran, is an
undeniable proof of the Prophethood of
Muhammad and the Divine authorship of
the Quran and that the Christians’
and Jews’ denial comes from purely
false reasons like jealousy, prejudice
and selfishness.
It is another argument for the
Divine authorship of the Quran
that it refers to certain facts of
creation recently established by
modern scientific methods
It
is another argument for the Divine
authorship of the Quran that it
refers to certain facts of creation
recently established by modern
scientific methods. How, except on
account of its Divine authorship, is it
possible for the Quran to be
literally true on matters of which
people had not the least inkling at the
time when it was revealed? For example,
if the Quran were not a Divine
Revelation, would it have been possible
for it to contain such a verse as this:
Do not the unbelievers realize that the
heavens and the earth were one unit of
creation before we split them asunder?
(al-Anbiya’, 21.20).
Whether
the Quran really does refer,
explicitly or implicitly, to the kinds
of facts the sciences deal with, and the
relationship between the Quran and
modern sciences, are matters of
considerable controversy among Muslim
intellectuals. We should therefore treat
the subject at length.
Conclusion
All
of the six sides or aspects of the Quran
are luminous and demonstrate its truth.
From below, it is supported upon the
pillars of proofs and evidences
(rational, scientific, historical, and
those pertaining to conscience and sound
judgment, and so on); above it, are
gleams of the seal of miraculousness: it
aims at happiness in both worlds; and
behind it are, another point of support,
the truths of the Divine Revelation. To
its right is the unanimous confirmation
of guided reasons based on proofs; and
to its left are the intellectual and
spiritual contentment of those with
sound heart and conscience, and their
sincere attachment and submission to it.
All these together bear witness that the
Quran is an absolutely formidable,
extraordinary and unconquerable
stronghold which the hand of heaven
established on the earth, and set their
seal of admission of it as a faultless,
true Word of God. The Administrator of
the universe, Who always acts in a way
to manifest unity, protect virtuousness
and goodness, and extirpate falsehood
and slander, has given the Quran the
most acceptable, high and dominant rank
of respect and success, and thereby
confirmed its truth.
Also,
the person who is the interpreter of the
Quran, upon him be peace and
blessings, believed in it and respected
it more than anything and anybody else.
He went into a sleep-like state during
the revelation of its verses and
confirmed and preached all of its
decrees and commandments with utmost
conviction and without exhibiting any
deception and error to eyes wide open
always to catch him, and without
anything to shake him. Despite being
unlettered, having founded on the Quran,
he gave, without hesitation, news and
information about the past and future
and about the facts of creation and
operation of the universe. Other sayings
of his do not resemble the Quran and
are inferior to it in certain respects.
All this together proves that the Quran
is the true, heavenly and blessed Word
of that person’s Merciful Creator.
The
fifth of mankind or even the majority of
them in certain cases have always had an
ecstatic and religious devotion to the
Quran and listened to it lovingly and
in adoration of truth, and as is
testified to by numerous observations,
signs, and events, as moths fly round a
light, angels, believing jinn and other
spirit beings gather together around it
during its recitation. This also
confirms that the Quran is accepted
by almost all the beings in the universe
and is of the highest rank.
Also,
all the groups of mankind with different
levels of understanding and learning,
from the commonest to the most
intelligent and learned, derive their
share from the teaching of the Quran,
and all the greatest scholars in Islamic
sciences such as jurisprudence,
theology, and religious methodology,
have found in the Quran the answers
to all of their questions and based
their conclusions upon it. This is
another evidence that the Quran is
the source of truths, the mine of all
true knowledge.
Furthermore,
although among the unbelieving Arab
literary men those who have been the
most advanced in literature, have always
felt much need to dispute with the Quran,
they have been unable to do that even in
eloquence, which is only one of the
seven major aspects of the Quran’s
miraculousness, and have not dared to
produce the like of even one of its
suras. The others, geniuses of learning
and eloquence, who by disputing with it
in eloquence have sought fame, have been
compelled to refrain from doing so. This
clearly shows that the Quran is a
miracle, beyond the capacity of mankind.
Indeed,
in order to judge the value, sublimity,
and eloquence of a word it is asked: ‘Who
has spoken it? To whom has it been
spoken? Why has it been spoken?’ When
considered from the perspective of these
questions, again the Quran has no
equal. For the Quran is the Word of
the Lord of all beings and the Speech of
the Creator of the whole of the universe
which bears no signs to suggest that it
is a book of imitation, one fabricated
by someone and then falsely attributed
to God. God revealed the Quran to the
one whom He chose as the representative
of all the creatures, one who is His
most famous and renowned addressee, and
the extent and strength of whose faith
embraced the comprehensive religion of
Islam and caused its owner to rise to
the rank of the distance of two bows’
length, and being honored with direct
conversation with the Eternally
Besought-of-All, after which he turned
back to the world to convey to people
the principles of happiness in both
worlds. The Quran explains the
principles of happiness in both worlds
and the results of, and the Divine
purpose in, the creation of the
universe, and expounds the Prophet’s
most comprehensive faith, which sustains
all the truths of Islam: it shows and
describes the huge universe like a map
or a clock or a house and teaches about
the Artist Who made it. Certainly it is
impossible to produce a like of it or to
match the degree of its eloquence.
In
addition, numerous collections of books
on the interpretation of the Quran,
some of which cover as many as forty or
even seventy volumes-written by
meticulous scholars of the highest
intelligence and learning-expound with
proofs countless virtues of the Quran
and its subtleties and mysteries, and
disclose and affirm its numerous
predictions. Among them, the one hundred
and thirty treatises of the Risale-i Nur
explain each virtue and subtlety of the
Quran, such as its allusions to the
scientific and technical wonders of
modern civilization like trains and
aircrafts and electricity, and its
indirect references to future victories
of Muslims and the history of the
Companions after the Prophet, and the
meaningful and mysterious design of its
letters. All this means setting a seal
on the fact that the Quran is a
miracle with no equals and the Word of
the Knower of the Unseen, which is the
tongue of the world of the Unseen in
this visible world of corporeality.
It
is because of such virtues of the Quran
that its magnificent spiritual dominion
and its majestic sacred rule has been
continuing for centuries to illuminate
the earth and the ages, time and space,
and more and more people have been
embracing it with perfect respect. It is
because of the same virtues, that each
letter of the Quran yields at least
the merits, ten rewards, and ten fruits
pertaining to the eternal world, and
that the letters of certain verses and
suras, each give hundreds or even
thousands of merits, and when recited on
certain blessed occasions, the light and
merits of each of its letters multiply
by tens or hundreds. The world-traveler
came to understand this and said to
himself: ‘Based on the consensus of
its lights and mysteries, and the
concord of its fruits and results, this
Quran, miraculous in every respect,
proves and testifies to the existence,
unity, attributes, and Names of a single
Necessarily Existent One in such a
manner that the testimonies of
innumerable believers have their sources
from that testimony.’
In
a brief reference to the instruction
which that traveler has taken from the
Quran about faith and the Unity of
God, we say:
There
is no god but God-the Necessarily
Existent One, the One, the Single-the
necessity of Whose existence in His
Oneness the Quran of miraculous
exposition decisively proves, which is
accepted and sought for by the species
of angels, human beings and jinn; all of
whose verses are recited in every minute
with perfect respect by the tongues of
millions of human beings; whose sacred
rule in the regions of the earth and the
realms of space and on the faces of ages
and time; whose enlightened spiritual
dominion has prevailed with perfect
splendor over half of the globe and a
fifth of humankind for fourteen
centuries... Likewise, with the
consensus of its heavenly and sacred
suras, and the agreement of its luminous
Divine verses, and the correspondence of
its mysteries and lights, and the
concord of its truths, and results, it
manifestly attests, and is a clear proof
of, this same truth.
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