Among the thousands of other miracles of Prophet Muhammad
(pbuh), his greatest miracle is the miracle of the Holy Qur'an.
It is a Living Miracle which is present before us today and
which will stay with us till the Day of Judgment. The whole
Qur'an is written in beautiful poetic verses in the Arabic
language. Muhammad (pbuh) was not a poet and did not recite any
poetry in his life other than the Qur'an. The Arabs at that time
were great poets, but non of them even came close to the Holy
Qur'an in it's eloquent and style. This un-lettered Prophet
Muhammad (pbuh) brought into this world a book, the like of
which no man can ever produce. Many have tried but failed
miserably. This challenge still stands today after 1400 years:
"Say: If the whole of mankind and Jinns were to gather
together to produce the like of this Qur'an, they could not
produce the like thereof, even if they backed up each other with
help and support." [Holy Qur'an 17:88]
No man has yet found a contradiction in the Holy Qur'an (some
false claims have been made by non-Muslims, due to the fact that
they did not understand the Arabic language):
"Do they not consider the Qur'an (with care)? Had it
been from other than Allah they would surely have found therein
many contradictions." [Holy Qur’an 4:82]
The kind of wisdom and knowledge it contains within it can
only suggest that its author is Almighty Allah himself, for
Muhammad (pbuh) was not learned by any man:
"And Thou (O Muhammad) was not able to recite a book
before this (book came), nor art Thou (able) to transcribe it
with thy right hand: In that case, indeed, would the talkers of
vanities have doubted." [Holy Qur'an 29:48]
Beginning
of Revelation
It has been recorded in various Hadith' (eg. Bukhari and
Muslim) that Muhammad (pbuh) was forty years of age. He was in a
cave of Hira, some three miles north of the City of Mecca. He
used to go there frequently to medicate and pray to Allah. It
was the 27th night of the Muslim month of Ramadan. In the cave
the Archangel Gabriel appears before him and commands him in his
mother tongue:
"IQRA'" which means "READ!"
or "Recite" or "Repeat". Muhammad (pbuh)
replies:
"Maa-ana-beqaa-Ri’in"
which means: I am not
learned! (fulfilling a prophecy in Isaiah 29:12, see the page
"Muhammad (pbuh) in the Bible") The angel embraces him
forcefully until Muhammad (pbuh) could not bear it anymore. He
then releases him and commands him the second time
"Read" and again Muhammad (pbuh) replies "I am
not learned". The angel embraces him the second time until
he could not bear it and commands him again "Read" and
again Muhammad (pbuh) gives the answer "I am not
learned". Thereupon the angel embraces him the third time
and then releases him and says:
"Iqra-bissmi-Rabbikal-laziKhalaq",
which translates to "READ IN THE NAME OF THY LORD AND
CHERISHER WHO CREATED-". Only then did Muhammad (pbuh)
repeat the words after the angel as they were put into his
mouth. Following the above verse of Sura Al-Alaq (chapter 96 of
the Holy Qur’an), four more verses were repeated and recited
on Muhammad’s (pbuh) first call and subsequently in written
form in the Holy Qur’an.
During the next twenty-three years of his prophetic life,
words were "put into his mouth", and he uttered them.
They made an indelible impression on his heart and mind: and as
the volume of Sacred Scripture (Holy Qur'an) grew, they were
recorded on palm-leaf fiber, on skins and on the shoulder blades
of animals; and in the hearts of his devoted disciples. Before
his demise, these words were arranged in the order in which we
find them today in the Holy Qur'an.
Unlike the Bible, which contains the words of God, words of
Prophet of God, and words of historian all in one volume, the
Muslims have three separate volumes containing these three kinds
of words. Not a single word in the Holy Qur'an is the word of
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) himself. The Holy Qur'an is not like a
story of events that happened in time (like in the Bible). It is
a book of guidance and truth in which you will find answers to
all your questions and many more. It contains all kind of wisdom
and knowledge:
"And We have explained to man in this Qur'an every kind
of similitude: yet the greater part of men refuse (to receive
it) except with ingratitude!" [Holy Qur'an 17:89]
"Those who reject Faith say: "Why is not the Qur'an
revealed to him all at once?" Thus (is it revealed) that We
may strengthen thy heart thereby (O Muhammad) and We have
rehearsed it to thee in slow well-arranged stages gradually. And
no question do they bring to thee but We reveal to thee the
truth and the best explanation (thereof)." [Holy Qur'an
25:32,33]
Holy
Qur'an is a Guardian Over Other Scripture
"And in their footsteps We sent Jesus the son of
Mary confirming the law that had come before him: We sent him
the Gospel: therein was guidance and light and confirmation of
the law that had come before him: a guidance and an admonition
to those who fear Allah. Let the people of the Gospel Judge
by what Allah hath revealed therein. If any do fail to judge by
(the light of) what Allah hath revealed they are (no better
than) those who rebel. To thee (O Muhammad) We sent the
Scripture in truth confirming the scripture that came before it
and guarding it in safety; so judge between them by what Allah
hath revealed and follow not their vain desires diverging from
the truth that hath come to thee. To each among you have We
prescribed a Law and an Open Way. If Allah had so willed He
would have made you a single people but (His plan is) to test
you in what He hath given you: so strive as in a race in all
virtues. The goal of you all is to Allah; it is He that will
show you the truth of the matters in which ye dispute."
[Holy Qur'an 5:46-48].
So the Holy Qur'an is a scripture that confirms what was revealed before it (i.e. the Torah, Psalms, Gospel etc.) and also it is a book that will "guard it in safety". The Arabic word here is "Muhaimin", and this word is often used to refer to the man at the end of an assembly line whose job is to check for quality. He is the "quality control" guy. If something is up to his standard, he accepts it, and if it does not comply to his standard and quality, he rejects it. This is how the Qur'an is in relation to the previous scripture. If anything agrees with it, it is accepted, and if it disagrees, it has to be rejected, as explained in the verse above.
Holy
Qur'an is Guarded from Corruption
"We have without doubt sent down the Message; and We
will assuredly guard it (from corruption)." [Holy Qur'an
15:9]
It is a fact that the Holy Qur'an we have today is EXACTLY
the same as when it was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). If
you open any Qur'an from anywhere in the world, and compare it
with an ancient copy of the Holy Qur'an, you will see that the
Arabic scripture is identical to the dot. There are many
TRANSLATIONS of the Holy Qur'an but there is only ONE version.
The Bible on the other hand has many different versions.
Unlike the Bible, the Holy Qur'an does not contradict with
modern science. Here are some examples, bearing in mind that
these discoveries were made centuries later:
Scientific
Facts in the Holy Qur'an
Creation of the
Universe
"Your Lord is Allah Who created the Heavens and the
Earth in six days." [Holy Qur'an 7:54].
"A revelation from Him Who created the Earth and the
Heavens." [Holy Qur'an 20:4]
Holy Qur'an has not laid down a sequence for the Creation of
the Earth and Heavens. Compare this with the bible's version
that heaven and earth were created in successive phases that are
totally unacceptable; especially the one placing the Creation of
the Earth (on 3rd day) before that of the Heaven (on the 4th
day), when it is known fact that our planet comes from its own
star, the Sun.
"And
Allah
turned to Heaven when it was smoke." [Holy
Qur'an 41:11].
Modern knowledge tells us that the heavens and
the earth were formed from Gaseous matter.
"Do not the Unbelievers see that the Heavens and the
earth were joined together, then We clove them asunder?"
[Holy Qur'an 21:30].
The theory of "Big Bang" or
expanding universe was only recently discovered
"Praise be to
Allah, the Lord
of the Worlds."
[Holy
Qur'an 1:1]
"Allah
is the one Who created the Heavens and the Earth
and all that is between them." [Holy Qur'an 25:59]
Astronomy - Light and Movement
"It is not permitted to the Sun to catch up the Moon nor
can the Night outstrip the Day: each (just) swims along in (its
own) orbit (according to Law)." [Holy Qur'an 36:40]
"[Allah
is] the One Who created the night, the day, the
Sun and the Moon. Each one is traveling in an orbit with its own
motion." [Holy Qur'an 21:33]
"O assembly of jinns and men, if you can penetrate
regions of the Heavens and the Earth, then penetrate them! You
will not penetrate them save with [Our] Power." [Holy
Qur'an 55:33].
Here is a prophesy to man's journey into space
and to the moon.
The Earth
"Hast thou not seen that
Allah
sent water down from the
sky and led it through sources into the ground? Then He caused
sown fields of different colours to grow." [Holy Qur'an
39:21]
"And We got every living out of water. Will they then
not believe:" [Holy Qur'an 21:30].
Is has only recently
been discovered that all life originated from water.
"(Allah
is the One Who) sent water down from the sky and
thereby We brought forth pairs of plants each separate from the
other." [Holy Qur'an 20:53].
It is only known that plants
as well as animal have different sex, a male and a female plant.
"And fruit of every king He made in pairs, two and
two." [Holy Qur'an 13:3]
"Verily, in cattle there is a lesson for you. We give
you to drink of what is inside their bodies, coming, from a
conjunction between the contents of the intestines and the
blood, a milk pure and pleasant for those who drink it."
[Holy Qur'an 16:66].
One thousand years before the circulation of blood, and
roughly thirteen centuries before it was known what happened in
the intestine to ensure that organs were nourished by the
process of digestive absorption, a verse in the Qur'an describes
the source of the constituents of milk, in conformity with these
notions.
The Creation of Man
"Allah fashioned man from something which clings"
[Holy Qur'an 96:2]
"'We fashioned the thing which clings into a chewed lump
of flesh and We fashioned the chewed flesh into bones and We
clothed the bones with intact flesh.' Then We developed out of
it another creature. So blessed be Allah, the Perfect
Creator." [Holy Qur'an 23:14].
The term 'chewed flesh' (mudgha) corresponds exactly to the
appearance of the embryo at a certain stage in its development.
It is known that bones develop inside this mass and that they
are then covered with muscle. This is the meaning of the term
'intact flesh' (lahm).
There are many other verses relating to the development of
the human embryo. A well-known professor of Anatomy, Keith Moore
(of Toronto), changed his text books because of a piece of
information in the Holy Qur'an which was more accurate than what
he had stated.
The embryo passes through a stage where some parts are in
proportion and others out of proportion with what is later to become the individual. Maybe this is the meaning of a verse in
the sura Al Hajj, which reads as follows:
"We created you out of dust, then out of sperm, then We
fashioned him into something which clings into a little lump of
flesh, partly formed and partly unformed." [Holy Qur'an
22:5]
Next we have a reference to the appearance of the senses and
viscerae in the sura Al Sajda:
"[Allah]
appointed
for you the senses of hearing, sight and
the viscerae."
[Holy Qur'an 32:9]
Nothing here contradicts today's data. Furthermore, none of
the mistaken ideas of the time has crept into the Qur'an.
Fulfilled Prophecies
Refugee:
Only for a while
"Verily, He who (God
Almighty) ordained the Qur'an for thee, (He) will bring thee back to the Place
of Return..." [Holy
Qur'an 28:85]
"Place
of return," is
a title of the Holy City of Makkah. The Hijrat (Migration) was
when the Holy Prophet was fleeing from Makkah to Madinah. It was
a hopeless situation. Most of his followers had already migrated
to Madinah. Now it was his turn. Together with Abu Bakr (as-Siddiq)
he heard a place called Juhfa, when this assurance was given by
God that once again he will return to his birth-place Makkah,
and so he did. He migrated as a refugee and God returns him as a
conqueror, fulfilling yet another prophecy:
"And
he said, The LORD came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto
them; he (Muhammad pbuh) shined forth from mount Paran (in
Arabia), and he came with ten thousands of saints." [Deuteronomy
33:2]. (referring to Muhammad's conquest of Makkah)
Super-Power:
In Conflict
The Roman Empire has been defeated In a
land close by; but they (even) after (this) defeat of theirs
will soon be victorious Within a few years. With Allah is the
Decision in the Past and in the Future: on that Day shall the
Believers rejoice [Holy Qur'an
30:2-4]
Two
prophecies are mentioned here. First, the Romans shall be Victorious; and second, the Muslims also shall win a victory at the same time.
These prophecies
were revealed to the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)
in the year 615/16 of the Christian era. The Christian Empire of
Rome had lost Jerusalem to the Persians, and Christianity had
been humbled in the dust. In this holocaust between two of the
Superpowers of the day, the Mushriks (polytheists) of Makkah
derived vicarious pleasure in the discomfiture of the Romans by
the Pagan Persians.
When these verses of the Quran were sent down, the disbelievers of Makkah made great fun of them, and
Ubayy bin Khalaf bet Hadrat Abu Bakr ten camels if the Romans became victorious within three years. When the Holy Prophet came to know of the bet, he said,
"The Quran has used the words
bid i sinin, and the word bid in Arabic applies to a number upto ten. Therefore, make the bet for ten years and increase the number of camels to a hundred." So, Hadrat Abu Bakr spoke to Ubayy again and bet a hundred camels for ten years.
(Please note that these bets were made before betting was
forbidden in Islam. Also, the Holy Prophet commanded his
companions that the camels should be given away in charity to
the poor.)
Apparently, there was not a remote chance of the fulfilment of the either prediction in the next few years. On the one hand, there were a handful of the Muslims, who were being beaten and tortured in
Makkah, and even till eight years after this prediction there appeared no chance of their victory and domination. On the other, the Romans were losing more and more ground every next day.
It all happened
in the ninth year after these prophecies were revealed. The Roman Emperor became
victorious again. In the same year the Muslims won against the polytheists in
Makkah in the Battle of Badr.
Islam
to Prevail
Allah has promised that he shall prevail the religion of
Islam over all other religions of the world:
"It is
He Who has sent His Apostle with Guidance and the Religion of
Truth that he may proclaim it over all religions even though the
Pagans may detest (it)." [Holy Qur'an 61:9].
"...Allah's
promise is the truth and whose word can be truer than
Allah's?" [Holy Qur'an 4:122]
The
world population increased by 136% from 1934 to 1984,
Christianity with 47% and Islam with 235%. See The
Plain Truth Feb. 1984, in its 50 Year Anniversary issue,
quoting from The World Almanac and Book of Facts 1935 and
Reader's Digest Almanac and Yearbook 1983.
Islam
is the fastest growing religion in the world. Considering that
Islam started 600 years after Christianity, Christianity has
about 1000 million followers in the world today and Islam 900
million. Also, millions of people
register themselves as Christians on the census forms or their
birth certificates even though they may not have a religion.
Whereas millions of Muslims in the world, especially in the
poorer countries do not even get their names registered,
let alone their religion.
Having said that, there are more PRACTICING Muslims in
the world today than PRACTICING Christians .
e-mail: prince_zedz@hotmail.com
© 2001 (Zed).
All rights reserved.
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