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DO YOU KNOW
THIS BOOK ?
Humanity has received divine guidance through two channels: the word of
Allah and the prophets who were chosen by Him to communicate His will to
humanity. These channels have always functioned together, and if one is
ignored or neglected, the will of Allah cannot be known with any degree of
accuracy. The Hindus neglected their prophets and focused all of their
attention on their books, which proved to be only word puzzles that
eventually were no longer understood by the people. Similarly, the
Christians, disregarding the Bible, attached importance only to the person
of Jesus Christ and eventually deified him. This resulted in the loss of the
very essence of Tawhid (monotheism) contained in the Bible.
As a matter of fact, the main scriptures revealed before the Noble Qur'an
i.e. the Old Testament and the New Testament, acquired book form long after
the days of the prophets. Moreover, the New Testament was not recorded in
the language spoken by Jesus Christ, believed to be Aramaic, but in Greek.
This was because the early Christians made no serious effort to preserve
their revelation during the lifetime of their prophet. The Old and New
Testaments, which together form the Christian Bible, now consist of
translations of various individuals' accounts of the original revelations as
well as the additions and deletions made by the faithful.
The Noble Qur'an, as the last revealed book of God, is extant in its
original form. Allah Himself guaranteed its preservation. The entire Qur'an
was recorded in written form during the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad
(Peace Be Upon Him) on pieces of palm leaves, parchments, bones, and other
suitable surfaces.
Moreover, there were tens of thousands of his followers who memorized the
whole Qur'an, and the Prophet himself used to recite it to the angel Gabriel
once a year and twice when he was about to die.
After the Prophet's death, Abu Bakr, the first caliph, oversaw the
collection of the Qur'an into one volume by the prophet's scribe, Zaid Ibn
Thabit. This volume remained with Abu Bakr who, when he was about to die,
entrusted it to his successor, Umar Ibn Al- Khattab who, in turn, passed it
on to Hafsa, the Prophet's wife. It was from this original copy that Uthman,
the third caliph, prepared several other copies and sent them to different
Muslim territories.
The Qur'an was preserved so meticulously because it was to be the book of
guidance for all humanity forever. Thus it does not address only the Arabs,
even though it was revealed in their language. It speaks to man as a human
being:
"O Man! What has seduced you from your Lord?" (Qur'an, 82:6 ).
The practical nature of the Qur'anic teachings is established by the
examples of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) and of pious Muslims throughout history.
The Noble Qur'an's instructions are aimed at the general welfare of mankind
and are based on possibilities within his reach. Its wisdom is conclusive in
all of its various dimensions. It does not condemn or torture the flesh, nor
does it neglect the soul. It does not humanize God nor does it deify man.
Everything is carefully placed where it belongs in the total scheme of
creation.
Those scholars who allege that Muhammad (P.B.U.H.) wrote the Noble Qur'an
claim something illogical. Is it logical to believe that an illiterate
Prophet, who, until the age of forty, was not known for any scholarly or
literary training or achievements, began all of a sudden to write a book
that is without equal in literary merit and that could not be surpassed by
the whole legion of the Arab poets and orators of the highest caliber?
Secondly, is it justifiable to say that Muhammad (P.B.U.H.), who was known
to his people as Al-Amin (The Trustworthy) and who is still admired by
non-Muslim scholars for his honesty and integrity came forth with a false
claim, and on that falsehood trained thousands of individuals of character,
integrity, and honesty who were able to establish the best human society
that the world has ever known? Surely, any sincere and unbiased searcher of
truth will come to believe that the Qur'an is the revealed book of Allah.
Lastly, could anyone living in the sixth century CE. utter such scientific
truths as the Qur'an contains? Over the past few decades much interest has
been shown in the scientific content of the Qur'an. Scientific data, which
has been discovered in recent times, has been existent in this book for over
1400 years. In fact the very common origin of this universe is stated
clearly by Allah, the Most High:
"Do not the disbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined
together, then We parted them. And We made from water every living thing.
Will they then not believe?" (Qur'an, 21:30 ).
This parting of the heavens and the earth is more commonly known to
scientists as the 'big bang'. It is also a fact that life originated from
water and that every living cell is composed of 85% water. Without water
life is impossible.
The mountains of the earth, like icebergs, have roots going deep into the
ground. This ensures that they will not topple with their extreme heights -
this is known as 'isostasy'. In this way the mountains are like the pegs
which are used to anchor a tent. But this fact is already known to us when
Allah says:
"Have We not made the earth an expanse and the mountains pegs?" (Qur'an,
78:6-7 ).
"... and (Allah) has cast into the earth firm mountains lest it should shake
with you." (Qur'an, 31:10 ) .
The embryological data, which is found in the Noble Qur'an, is astounding.
Allah describes the formation of a baby inside the womb from the very moment
the sperm reaches the ovum, to its formation into a human. This data, which
was only discovered about 30 years ago, has amazed many Western scientists.
Amongst them is Dr Keith Moore from the University of Toronto, Canada. Dr
Moore is a recognized authority in embryological circles, with his
university textbook being set as a standard text in many universities
throughout the world. When Dr Moore was asked as to how this information in
the Qur'an could be explained, he replied: "It could only have been divinely
revealed."
What they say about the Qur'an
Without necessarily agreeing completely with their statements, we would like
to quote some of the opinions of important non-Muslim scholars who have
studied the Qur'an. Such comments show that the non-Muslim world is taking a
more serious view of the Qur'an and that it is beginning to appreciate its
truth. We appeal to all people who are seeking spiritual truth to study the
Qur'an in light of the aforementioned points. Cast your preconceived notions
aside and listen to what these people have to say.
However often we turn to it [the Qur'an], at first disgusting us each time
afresh, it soon attracts, astounds, and in the end enforces our reverence...
Its style, in accordance with its contents and aim, is stern, grand,
terrible - ever and anon truly sublime. Thus this book will go on exercising
through all ages a most potent influence.
Goethe
Quoted in T P Hughes'
Dictionary of Islam, p 526.
The Qur'an admittedly occupies an important position among the great
religious books of the world. Though the youngest of the epoch-making works
belonging to this class of literature, it yields to hardly any in the
wonderful effect which it has produced on large masses of men. It has
created an all but new phase of human thought and a fresh type of character.
It first transformed a number of heterogeneous desert tribes of the Arabian
peninsula into a nation of heroes, and then proceeded to create the vast
politico-religious organizations of the Muhammadan world which are one of
the great forces with which Europe and the East have to reckon today.
G.Margoliouth
Introduction to e.
M. Rodwell's
The Koran, New York Every man's Library, 1977, p. Vll.
A work, then, which calls forth so powerful and seemingly incompatible
emotions even in the distant reader distant as to time and still more so as
to mental development - a work which not only conquers the repugnance with
which he may begin its perusal, but changes this adverse feeling into
astonishment and admiration, such a work must be a wonderful production of
the human mind indeed and a problem of the highest interest to every
thoughtful observer of the destinies of mankind.
Dr.Steingass
Quoted in T. P. Hughes'
Dictionary of Islam, pp. 526-7.
That observation makes the hypothesis advanced by those who see Muhammad as
the author of the Qur'an untenable. How could a man, from being illiterate,
become the most important author, in terms of literary merits, in the whole
of Arabic literature? How could he then pronounce truths of a scientific
nature that no other human being could possibly have developed at that time,
and all this without once making the slightest error in his pronouncement on
the subject?
Maurice Bucaille,
The Bible, the Qur'an
and Science, 1978, p 125.
Here, therefore, its merits as a literary production should perhaps not be
measured by some preconceived maxims of subjective and aesthetic taste, but
by the effects which it produced in Muhammad's contemporaries and fellow
countrymen. If it spoke so powerfully and convincingly to the hearts of his
hearers as to weld hitherto centrifugal and antagonistic elements into one
compact and well organized body. Animated by ideas far beyond those which
had until now ruled the Arabian mind, then its eloquence was perfect, simply
because it created a civilized nation out of savage tribes, and shot a fresh
woof into the old warp of history.
Dr. Steingass
Quoted in Hughes'
Dictionary of Islam, p. 528.
In making the present attempt to improve on the performance of my
predecessors, and to produce something which might be accepted as echoing
however faintly the sublime rhetoric of the Arabic Qur'an, I have been at
pain to study the intricate and richly varied rhythms which-apart from the
message itself-constitute the Qur'an's undeniable claim to rank amongst the
greatest literary masterpieces of mankind ... This very characteristic
feature-'that inimitable symphony' as the believing Pickthall described his
Holy Book, 'the very sounds of which move men to tears and ecstasy' -has
been almost totally ignored by previous translators; it is therefore not
surprising that what they have wrought sounds dull and net indeed in
comparison with the splendidly decorated original.
Arthur J Arberry
The Qur'an Interpreted London:
Oxford University Press, 1964,p.X
The outlook of the Muslim craftsman or artist, who is never concerned with
display for its own sake, nor with progressing ever forward in his own
ingenuity, but is content to submit a man's craft to God ... reflects, I
believe, the memorable passage in the Qur'an, "whithersoever you turn there
is the face of God and God is all-embracing, all knowing."
Prince Charles'
Speech at Wilton
A totally objective examination [of the Qur'an] in the light of modern
knowledge leads us to recognize the agreement between the two, as has been
already noted on repeated occasions. It makes us deem it quite unthinkable
for a man of Muhammad's time to have been the author of such statements, on
account of the state of knowledge in his day. Such considerations are part
of what gives the Qur'anic revelation its unique place, and forces the
impartial scientist to admit his inability to provide an explanation which
calls solely upon materialistic reasoning.
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