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QURAN Compilation.
2) Qur’an: Present order of the Qur'an 3) PRESENT QUR’AN IS NOT THE ORIGINAL BUT THAT OF USMAN (r.a.)
4) AYAHS OF SURAHS COMPILATION
5) SHIA’S CONCEPT OF ONE SURAH
8) MISCONCEPTION OF QURAN SAVING
12) LIST OF SURAH AND TOTAL VERSES
14) VIDEOS
Question : May I ask how was the Qur'an compiled? It is said that at first it was written on leaves, pieces of skin, stones and also memorized by many people, some of whom died before all verses of the Qur'an were compiled and brought from different areas in Makkah and Madinah. Who started the work of its collection and publication? Since it was not checked finally by the Prophet, who was the final authority then? Some people claim that the Qur'an is not published in its real sequence. There are also claims that some leaves were accidentally eaten by goats and some were not included due to political reasons. Please comment. Answer : The Qur'an is the final message Allah has sent to mankind. It was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) through the Archangel Gabriel, who brought the Prophet complete verses or parts of verses, or passages or complete surahs, as he was commanded by Allah. When the angel brought down to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) a passage of the Qur'an, he did not bring it written on a piece of paper [or other material]. He recited it to him and the Prophet immediately memorized it. In his keenness to learn it by heart straight-away, the Prophet used to vocalize the words as he heard them from the angel. He was then asked by Allah not to do so. Allah promised him that He Himself will see to it that the Qur'an is kept complete and intact and properly read. This order is contained in Quran : "We have, without doubt, sent down the Message; and We will assuredly Guard it (from corruption)." [Al- Hijr 15:9] As you are well aware, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) did not read or write. When he received a portion of the Qur'an, he called in one or more of his scribes to write it down. He employed for this task a number of his companions whose number totaled 29. Many of these were of the highest caliber in their faith and integrity. They included all the first five caliphs, Abu Bakr, Umar, Usman, Ali and Muawiah. However, the task of writing the revelations was most particularly associated with two of them, Muawiah and Zaid ibn Thabit, despite the fact that Muawiah was a latecomer to Islam. Paper, as we know, was not yet invented. Those scribes wrote the Qur'an on various forms of writing material which was available to them. These included sheets cut out of the branches of the beet tree or other writing sheets made of wood, animal hide, stone or bones. This started even in the period when the Prophet and his companions were a small persecuted community in Makkah. Many of the companions of the Prophet had some parts of the Qur'an written down and treasured in their homes. The Qur'an is divided into 114 surahs, some of which are short, while others are very long. The revelation did not proceed with only one surah at a time, but the Prophet might have continued to receive parts of several surahs at the same time. When a passage was sent down to him, it was followed by an order from Allah, through the Angel Gabriel, indicating its position in the surah to which it belonged. These manuscripts did not form a single or coherent set. The Prophet did not keep anything written down in his own home. But most of his companions who were with him in Makkah and Madinah memorized much of the Qur'an, and some of them were able to learn it all by heart. The Prophet used to teach his companions either individually or in groups. We note that Abdullah ibn Masood, a learned companion of the Prophet, was pleased to assert that he memorized more than 70 surahs as he learned them directly from the Prophet. In Ramadan every year, the Prophet used to revise the Qur'an with the Angel Gabriel to ensure that he did not overlook any verse or part of it. In the last year of the Prophet's blessed life, Gabriel recited the Qur'an to him twice. To the Prophet, this was an indication that his life on earth was approaching its end. It was in the first year after the Prophet had passed away that the need to compile the Qur'anic documents in a single, easy to use, set became apparent. Umar ibn Al-Khattab made the proposal to the first caliph, Abu Bakr, shortly after the battle of Yamamah in which several hundred Muslims were killed; seventy amongst those killed were the ones who had learned all or most of the Qur'an by heart. Umar feared that the number of those people would rapidly decrease as a result of battles the Muslim state might have to fight. Abu Bakr approved the proposition and entrusted the task to Zaid ibn Thabit, who was not merely a scribe entrusted by the Prophet to write down the Qur'anic revelations but he was also a young man who had learned all [of Qur'an] by heart and witnessed the Prophet's final recitation of the Qur'an. Certain rules were laid down including one which stipulated that no written text would be acceptable unless two people of integrity would testify that it was indicated by the Prophet himself as a part of the Qur'an. When Zaid completed the task, he handed it over to Abu Bakr who handed it over to Umar whom he nominated his successor when he died a year later. During the reign of Usman, the third caliph, the need to have reference copies of the Qur'an became apparent. Usman instructed Zaid ibn Thabit and four others to write down five more copies and he sent one copy to each of the main centers in the Muslim State to serve as reference to scholars and students of the Qur'an. Usman also ordered that all documents which were at variance with these copies be burned down. This was to make sure that those pieces of writing materials on which parts of the Qur'an were written and to which the writer might have added a word of explanation, as was the habit of some of them, were burned, so that they would not be confused later as having a fuller text. We should realize that Usman's action was a highly commendable one and enjoyed the support of all the surviving companions of the Prophet, many of whom had learned the Qur'an by heart. People were thus able to have their own copies of the Qur'an and check these against the master copies that Usman sent to the various cities. Needless to say, the memorization of the Qur'an was not only encouraged but widespread among Muslims in those early generations, and indeed in subsequent generations up to our present time. The fact that we do not have any differences in the Qur'an we read and recite today and the copies that have been preserved from various generations up to the time of Usman is a testimony to the fact that Allah has preserved the Qur'an intact as He indeed promised to do. It is not true that some Iranians make any claim about the correct order of the Qur'an which is at variance with what the Sunnis have. If you pick up any copy of the Qur'an published in Iran today, you will find it identical to copies that are available in all Muslim countries. According to some Iranians, however, the number of surahs in the Qur'an are 111, because they consider the surahs 8 and 9 to be one surah; and surahs 93 and 94 also as one surah and also surahs 105 and 106 to be one surah. In other words, they have identical text, in the same order, but three different parts of surahs are classified by them as three single surahs. Even this insignificant shifting is not common to all copies of the Qur'an printed in Iran. Some of these have the same number or surahs as we find in our copies of the Qur'an. As for the absurd claim that some leaves were eaten by goats and some were hidden away or disregarded for political reasons, these remain without proof. Moreover, if there was only one copy of each document, that might have been a disaster, but the Qur'an was committed to memory by so many of the Prophet's companions that not a word of it could have disappeared without it being pointed out by those companions of the Prophet. The compilation of the Qur'an in its reference sets was undertaken in the first year after the Prophet had passed away. At that time, those who learned the Qur'an by heart in Madinah were in hundreds, if not in thousands. No distortion could have crept in without its being immediately discovered. [How can it be when we have Allah's own statement that He Himself will see to it that the Qur'an is kept complete and intact.]
2. Qur’an: Present order of the Qur'an Question: The present order of the Qur'an is not according to its revelation. What was the reason for this? Was it done according to a particular directive by the Prophet? Answer: The Qur'an is Allah's Book which He revealed to the Prophet through the Angel Gabriel. Everything that has to do with the Qur'an is, therefore, directed by Allah. It is true that the Qur'an was revealed at different times and places and some verses were revealed to provide guidance with regard to particular occasions and events. However, the Prophet could be receiving Qur'anic revelations of different surahs at the same period in time, with all of these surahs not being complete yet. When he received such revelation, he also received guidance as to its place in the Qur'an. The Angel Gabriel would tell him : these verses come after such and such verse of such and such a surah. Nothing was left to discretion or to competent scholarship. Allah's Book is given in the order Allah has chosen. The same applies to the arrangement of the surahs. It is true that the arrangement does not follow a chronological order. It is arranged in the best order which a book meant to provide guidance to all generations of humanity should take. It was often the case that Qur'anic revelations dealt with particular events as and when they happened in the life of the Muslim community. Hence the order of revelation suited that particular and additional purpose. As for later generations, they have the Qur'an complete and they refer to any part of it as suits their circumstances. The ordering of the surahs is also divine. The Prophet used to receive the Angel Gabriel when the two of them recited the Qur'an to each other, once every Ramadhan. In the last year of the Prophet's life, they recited the Qur'an to each other twice. Moreover, the Prophet used to read the Qur'an in the order we have now. The compilation of the Qur'an which took place after the Prophet had passed away was ordered by Abu Bakr, the Prophet's first successor as a ruler of the Muslim state. You are certainly aware that Abu Bakr's reign lasted only two years. He put in charge of this task a young companion of the Prophet who knew the Qur'an by heart and had a full command of its recitation and ordering. He completed his task before Abu Bakr had passed away. Some fifteen years later, the third caliph, Uthman, appointed the same man, Zaid ibn Thabit, as the head of a commission charged with writing six copies of the Qur'an, making use of the earlier compilation, to send one copy to each capital of the Islamic provinces to remain as a reference for Qur'anic scholarship.
Revelation of
Quran continued for 23 lunar years (610 to 632 AD), 13 years in Makkah
and 10 years in Madina, 86 Makki Surah and 28 Madani. Present Quran
Srahs are as per guidelines of prophet (PBUH). Some examples of Suarahs
in present complications are:
Surat Al Alaq
was first surah but placed as 96.
(1/96)
Surat Al
Mudassar was second surah but placed as 74.
(2/74)
Surat Al
Muzammil was third surah but placed as 73.
(3/73)
Surat Al Qalam
was fourth surah but placed as 68.
(4/68)
Surat Al
Akhlas was fifth surah but placed as 1.
(5/1)
Quranic Surahs Order and Revelation Order
So all surahs
and their text are as per prophet’s continued directions, reciting in
daily prayers and also in Ramadan, and also as per command by prophet to
Zaid ibn Thabit (RTU) and others from time to time. [Preservation of the original text of the Qur'an, in its unaltered form, is guaranteed by Allah Himself. “Verily, We, it is We Who have sent down the Dhikr (i.e. the Qur’aan) and surely, We will guard it (from corruption)” (Al-Hijr 15:9) It is no wonder that we see no change in the order of the Qur'an, in its every detail. 3. PRESENT QUR’AN IS NOT THE ORIGINAL BUT THAT OF USMAN (r.a.) Question: There were many versions of the Qur’an all of which were burnt by Usman (r.a.) except for one. Therefore is it not true that the present Qur’an is the one compiled by Usman (r.a.) and not the original revelation of God? Answer: One of the most common myths about the Qur’an, is that Usman (r.a.), the third Caliph of Islam authenticated and compiled one Qur’an, from a large set of mutually contradicting copies. The Qur’an, revered as the Word of Allah (swt) by Muslims the world over, is the same Qur’an as the one revealed to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). It was authenticated and written under his personal supervision. We will examine the roots of the myth which says that Usman (r.a.) had the Qur’an authenticated. 1. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) himself supervised and authenticated the written texts of the Qur’an Whenever the Prophet received a revelation, he would first memorize it himself and later declare the revelation and instruct his Companions (R.A. – Radhi Allahu Taala Anhu) – May Allah be pleased with him who would also memorize it. The Prophet would immediately ask the scribes to write down the revelation he had received, and he would reconfirm and recheck it himself. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was an Ummi who could not read and write. Therefore, after receiving each revelation, he would repeat it to his Companions. They would write down the revelation, and he would recheck by asking them to read what they had written. If there was any mistake, the Prophet would immediately point it out and have it corrected and rechecked. Similarly he would even recheck and authenticate the portions of the Qur’an memorized by the Companions. In this way, the complete Qur’an was written down under the personal supervision of the prophet (pbuh). 2. Order and sequence of Qur’an divinely inspired The complete Qur’an was revealed over a period of 22½ years portion by portion, as and when it was required. The Qur’an was not compiled by the Prophet in the chronological order of revelation. The order and sequence of the Qur’an too was Divinely inspired and was instructed to the Prophet by Allah (swt) through archangel Jibraeel. Whenever a revelation was conveyed to his companions, the Prophet would also mention in which surah (chapter) and after which ayat (verse) this new revelation should fit. Every Ramadhaan all the portions of the Qur’an that had been revealed, including the order of the verses, were revised and reconfirmed by the Prophet with archangel Jibraeel. During the last Ramadhaan, before the demise of the Prophet, the Qur’an was rechecked and reconfirmed twice. It is therefore clearly evident that the Qur’an was compiled and authenticated by the Prophet himself during his lifetime, both in the written form as well as in the memory of several of his Companions. 3. Qur’an copied on one common material The complete Qur’an, along with the correct sequence of the verses, was present during the time of the Prophet (pbuh). The verses however, were written on separate pieces, scrapes of leather, thin flat stones, leaflets, palm branches, shoulder blades, etc. After the demise of the prophet, Abu Bakr (r.a.), the first caliph of Islam ordered that the Qur’an be copied from the various different materials on to a common material and place, which was in the shape of sheets. These were tied with strings so that nothing of the compilation was lost.
Many Companions of the Prophet used to write down the revelation of the Qur’an on their own whenever they heard it from the lips of the Prophet. However what they wrote was not personally verified by the Prophet and thus could contain mistakes. All the verses revealed to the Prophet may not have been heard personally by all the Companions. There were high possibilities of different portions of the Qur’an being missed by different Companions. This gave rise to disputes among Muslims regarding the different contents of the Qur’an during the period of the third Caliph Usman (r.a.). Usman (r.a.) borrowed the original manuscript of the Qur’an, which was authorized by the beloved Prophet (pbuh), from Hafsha (may Allah be pleased with her), the Prophet’s wife. Usman (r.a.) ordered four Companions who were among the scribes who wrote the Qur’an when the Prophet dictated it, led by Zaid bin Thabit (r.a.) to rewrite the script in several perfect copies. These were sent by Usman (r.a.) to the main centres of Muslims. There were other personal collections of the portions of the Qur’an that people had with them. These might have been incomplete and with mistakes. Usman (r.a.) only appealed to the people to destroy all these copies which did not match the original manuscript of the Qur’an in order to preserve the original text of the Qur’an. Two such copies of the copied text of the original Qur’an authenticated by the Prophet are present to this day, one at the museum in Tashkent in erstwhile Soviet Union and the other at the Topkapi Museum in Istanbul, Turkey. 5. Diacritical marks were added for non-Arabs The original manuscript of the Qur’an does not have the signs indicating the vowels in Arabic script. These vowels are known as tashkil, zabar, zair, paish in Urdu and as fatah, damma and qasra in Arabic. The Arabs did not require the vowel signs and diacritical marks for correct pronunciation of the Qur’an since it was their mother tongue. For Muslims of non-Arab origin, however, it was difficult to recite the Qur’an correctly without the vowels. These marks were introduced into the Quranic script during the time of the fifth ‘Umayyad’ Caliph, Malik-ar-Marwan (66-86 Hijri/685-705 C.E.) and during the governorship of Al-Hajaj in Iraq. Some people argue that the present copy of the Qur’an that we have along with the vowels and the diacritical marks is not the same original Qur’an that was present at the Prophet’s time. But they fail to realize that the word ‘Qur’an’ means a recitation. Therefore, the preservation of the recitation of the Qur’an is important, irrespective of whether the script is different or whether it contains vowels. If the pronunciation and the Arabic is the same, naturally, the meaning remains the same too. 6. Allah Himself has promised to guard the Qur’an Allah has promised in the Qur’an : "We have, without doubt, sent down the Message; and We will assuredly Guard it (from corruption)." [Al- Hijr 15:9] 4. Ayahs of Surahs Compilation Question : Why are the sourats in Quran are not ordered, are they? (since the first sourat is the one which begins with "Iqraa"). Answer: Praise be to Allah.
The fact there is
scholarly consensus, and many texts stating the order of aayahs in one
soorah, that is very well known. The consensus was reported by many
scholars, including Al-Zarkashi in al-Burhaan and Abu Ja’far, who
said: “The order of the aayahs in their soorahs came about because this
is how it was instituted by the Prophet
The texts regarding
this matter include the following:
‘Uthmaan said: “The Messenger of Allah
Ahmad narrated in
al-Musnad (4/218) with a hasan isnaad from ‘Uthmaan ibn Abi’l-‘Aas
that he said:
“I was
sitting with the Messenger of Allah “Verily, Allâh enjoins Al-‘Adl (i.e. justice and worshipping none but Allâh Alone — Islâmic Monotheism) and Al-Ihsân [i.e. to be patient in performing your duties to Allâh, totally for Allâh’s sake and in accordance with the Sunnah (legal ways) of the Prophet in a perfect manner], and giving (help) to kith and kin (i.e. all that Allâh has ordered you to give them, e.g., wealth, visiting, looking after them, or any other kind of help), and forbids Al-Fahshâ’ (i.e. all evil deeds, e.g. illegal sexual acts, disobedience of parents, polytheism, to tell lies, to give false witness, to kill a life without right), and Al-Munkar (i.e. all that is prohibited by Islâmic law: polytheism of every kind, disbelief and every kind of evil deeds), and Al-Baghy (i.e. all kinds of oppression). He admonishes you, that you may take heed.” [An-Nahl 16:90]. Al-Bukhaari narrated in al-Saheeh (no. 4536) that Ibn Abi Maleekah said: “Ibn al-Zubayr said: ‘I said to ‘Uthmaan, “This aayah that is in al-Baqarah (interpretation of the meaning), “And those of you who die and leave behind wives should bequeath for their wives a year’s maintenance and residence without turning them out …” [Al-Baqarah 2:240] has been abrogated by the other, so why are you writing it down?” He said, “Leave it as it is, my nephew, I will not change anything from its place.”’
Muslim narrated (no.
1617) that ‘Umar
said: “I did not ask the Prophet There are also the ahaadeeth about the aayahs at the end of Soorat al-Baqarah. Muslim narrated (no. 809) from Abu al-Darda’ that whoever memorizes the first ten aayahs of Soorat al-Kahf will be protected from the Dajjaal; according to another version, whoever recites the last ten verses will be protected.
The Prophet’s
recitation of various soorahs in the presence of his companions
indicates that the order of their aayahs is something that was
instituted and commanded by him, and that the Sahaabah did not put the
aayahs in a different order from that in which the Prophet
Al-Qaadi Abu Bakr
said in al-Intisaar: “The order of the aayahs is something that
is obligatory and binding. Jibreel used to say (to the Prophet
He also said: “What
we think is that all of the Qur’aan which Allah revealed and commanded
that it should be written down, and which was not abrogated after being
revealed, is that which is contained between the covers of the
Mus-haf of ‘Uthmaan, and that there is nothing lacking or added to
it. Its order is the same as that commanded by Allah, may He be exalted,
and instituted by the Prophet
Al-Baghawi said in
Sharh al-Sunnah: “The Messenger of Allah Order Of Surahs
With regard to the
order of Soorahs, was this also instituted by the Prophet
Ibn Faaris said:
“There were two aspects to the compilation of the Qur’aan. One was
putting the soorahs in a certain order, such as putting al-Sab’ al-Tiwaal
(the seven long soorahs) first, and following them with the Mi’een,
which is what the Sahaabah did. The second aspect is the compilation of
the aayahs within the soorahs. This was instituted by the Prophet
Al-Karmaani said in
al-Burhaan: the order of the soorahs as it is now is the same as
that in al-Lawh al-Mahfooz which is with Allah. This is the order
in which the Prophet
Al-Zarkashi said in
al-Burhaan: “The difference between the two views is one of
wording. Those who support the second view say that it was taught to
them so that they could learn the reasons of Revelation and the sequence
of the words. Hence Maalik said that they compiled the Qur’aan according
to what they had heard from the Prophet
Al-Bayhaqi said in
al-Madkhil: “At the time of the Prophet
Ibn ‘Atiyah said:
“The order of many of the soorahs was known during the lifetime of the
Prophet Abu Ja’far said: “The reports support most of what Ibn ‘Atiyah said, and a little is left which is open to debate, such as the hadeeth, ‘Recite the two shining ones, al-Baqarah and Aal ‘Imraan.’” (Reported by Muslim, no. 804). Al-Bukhaari narrated (no. 4739) that ‘Abd-Allah ibn Mas’ood (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “Bani Israa’eel (al-Israa’), al-Kahf, Maryam, Ta-Ha and al-Anbiya’, these are among the earliest and most beautiful soorahs and they are my treasures,” (meaning, these are among the earliest I recited).
Abu Ja’far al-Nahhaas
al-Mukhtaar said that the soorahs were compiled in this order from the
Messenger of Allah
Ibn Hajar said, “the
fact that the soorahs, or most of them, are in a given order does not
contradict the idea that this was instituted by the Prophet They said, “We wrote it down in chapters of six soorahs, five soorahs, seven soorahs, nine soorahs, eleven soorahs and thirteen soorahs, and the chapter of al-Mufassal, from Qaaf until the end. This indicates that the order of the soorahs – as it appears in the Mus-haf now – existed at the time of the Messenger of Allah, or it is possible that what was known in order at that time was Hizb al-Mufassal specifically, which is not the case with the rest.” Question: I have also heard by a Shia colleague that their is a surat in their book which is not in the QURAN. Can you confirm this? The surat in question is called SURAT AL-WILAYAT. Answer: Praise be to Allah. With regard to Soorat al-Wilaayah, some of the Shi’ah scholars and imams have stated that it exists. Any of them who denies that does so by way of taqiyah (dissimulation). One of those who clearly stated that it exists is Mirza Hussein Muhammad Taqiy al-Noori al-Tubrusi (d. 1320 AH). He wrote a book in which he claimed that the Qur’aan had been distorted and that the Sahaabah has concealed some parts of it, including Soorat al-Wilaayah. The Raafidis honoured him after his death by burying him in al-Najaf. This book by al-Tubrusi was published in Iran in 1298 AH, and when it was published there was a great deal of controversy because they wanted the doubts about the validity of the Qur’aan, which were known only to their leaders, to remain scattered throughout hundreds of their major books, and they did not want that to be compiled in one book. At the beginning of his book he said: “This is a good and noble book entitled Fasl al-khitaab fi ithbaat tahreef Kitaab Rabb il-Arbaab (Decisive comment on the distortion of the Book of the Lord of Lords)… He mentioned aayahs and soorahs which he claims that the Sahaabah concealed, including ‘Soorat al-Wilaayah,’” the text of which, according to them, and as quoted in this book, is: “O you who believe, believe in the Prophet and the Wali [i.e., ‘Ali] whom We have sent to guide you to the straight path, a Prophet and a Wali who are part of one another, and I am the All-Knowing, All-Aware…” And they have another soorah which they call Soorat al-Noorayn: “O you who believe, believe in the two lights (al-noorayn) which We have sent down to you to recite to you My Verses and to warn you of the punishment of a great Day. They are part of one another and I am the All-Hearing, All-Knowing. Those who fulfil the covenant with Allah and His Messenger mentioned in the verses (of the Qur’aan), the Gardens of delight will be theirs, but those who disbelieve after they believed by breaking their covenant and disobeying the command of the Prophet, they will be thrown into Hell. They have wronged themselves and gone against the wasiyyah of the Prophet (i.e., the appointment of ‘Ali as khaleefah), and they will be given to drink of boiling water…” and other such nonsense. You can see the entire soorah, along with a telegraphic picture of the Persian mus-haf at the following site: http://arabic.islamicweb.com/shia/nurain.htm Prof. Muhammad ‘Ali Sa’oodi – who was one of the greatest experts of the Ministry of Justice in Egypt – examined an Iranian mus-haf kept by the Orientalist Bryan and he obtained a copy of this soorah; above the lines of Arabic script there is written the translation in the Iranian language. As it was mentioned by al-Tubrusi in his book, Fasl al-khitaab fi ithbaat tahreef Kitaab Rabb il-Arbaab, it is also mentioned in their book Dabastan Madhaahib, which is in Farsi, written by Muhsin Faani al-Kashmiri. This book has been printed numerous times in Iran, and this false soorah was quoted from it by the Orientalist Noeldeke in his book The History of Qur’anic Manuscripts, 2/120, and was published by the French Asian newspaper in 1842 (p. 431-439). It was also mentioned by Mirza Habibullaah al-Haashimi al-Kho’i in his book Manhaaj al-Baraa’ah fi Sharh Nahj al-Balaaghah (2/217); and by Muhammad Baaqir al-Majlisi in his book Tadhkirat al-A’immah (p. 19, 20) in Farsi, (published by) Manshoorat Mawlana, Iran. See also al-Khutoot al-‘Areedah li’l-Asas allati qaama ‘alayha deen al-Shi’ah by Muhibb al-Deen al-Khateeb. This claim of theirs is a denial of the words of Allah (interpretation of the meaning): “Verily, We, it is We Who have sent down the Dhikr (i.e. the Qur’aan) and surely, We will guard it (from corruption)” [Al-Hijr 15:9] Hence the Muslims are unanimously agreed that anyone who claims that anything in the Qur’aan has been altered or changed is a kaafir. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said: The same applies to those among them who claim that some verses of the Qur’aan have been taken away or concealed, or who claim to have some esoteric interpretations that exempt him from having to do the actions prescribed in sharee’ah etc., who are called al-Qaraamitah and al-Baatiniyyah, and who include al-Tanaasukhiyyah [names of esoteric sects]. There is no dispute that they are kaafirs. Al-Saarim al-Maslool, 3/1108-1110. Ibn Hazm said: The view that the Qur’aan has been altered is blatant kufr and is a rejection of what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said. Al-Fasl fi’l-Ahwa’ wa’-Milal wa’l-Nihal, 4/139. And Allah knows best. 6. ANY CHANGE IN QURANQuestion : I have read in an anti Islamic website run by a Christian theologist from England that the scholar "Al-Sagistany" wrote in his book called "Almasahif" that the Muslim leader "Al-Hajjajj " changed letters in the Quran in about at least ten words . He claims that "Alsagistany" reported this and that he wrote it under the title: "Ma Ghayarraho Alhajjajj Fe Moshaf Othman". This Christian also narrates in Arabic what he claims to be a copy of this page with the ten words which he claims had letters changed in them. I have tried to find a copy of that book to search the matter but I failed. Please try your best efforts to make this matter clear. Also it is unimaginable to me that the whole Muslim scholars and memorizers of Quran could have just accepted someone to change in the Quran without stopping this or not knowing about it. Even if Alsagistany really reported this, it really does not make sense at all; First of all because we are not like Christians and Jews who don’t memorize their books totally and it is mainly left to religious scholars. Instead very large numbers of Muslims memorize the Quran and almost all read it. So changes could not have just passed unnoticed except by Alsagistany especially that at this era there were already several total copies of the Quran in all Muslim countries. Secondly, if it is very difficult to believe that these changes were not noticed by scholars or people at the time, then it is far more difficult to imagine that any Muslim scholar or even lay man would know of the changes to the book of Allah and keep quiet and not fight this thing and just accept it. Sir, it just could not happen. So please try to find this book and clarify the matter for me in great detail with definite evidence and proofs as much as Allah will help you. I appreciate your cooperation and again forgive me for my long letter but I cannot tell you how important this matter is to me. I put all my trust and hope in Allah that I will find a really clear and clear cut answer. Answer: Praise be to Allah. Firstly: It is not possible for a Muslim to entertain doubts concerning the immutability of the Qur’aan, because Allah has guaranteed to preserve the Qur’aan. Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “Verily, We, it is We Who have sent down the Dhikr (i.e. the Qur’aan) and surely, We will guard it (from corruption)” [Al-Hijr 15:9] The Qur’aan was preserved in the hearts of the Sahaabah who had memorized it, and on the trunks of trees and thin white stones until the time of the caliph Abu Bakr al-Siddeeq (may Allah be pleased with him). During the Riddah wars many of the Sahaabah who had memorized the Qur’aan were killed, so Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) was afraid that the Qur’aan may be lost. He consulted the senior Sahaabah concerning the idea of compiling the entire Qur’aan in one book so that it would be preserved and would not be lost, and this task was entrusted to the great hafiz Zayd ibn Thaabit and others who had written down the Revelation. Al-Bukhaari narrated in his Saheeh that Zayd ibn Thaabit (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “Abu Bakr As-Siddeeq sent for me when the people of Yamamah had been killed (i.e., a number of the Prophet's Companions who fought against Musaylimah). (I went to him) and found 'Umar bin al-Khattaab sitting with him. Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said (to me), ‘ ‘Umar has come to me and said: “Casualties were heavy among the Qurra' of the Qur'aan (i.e. those who knew the Qur’aan by heart) at the Battle of Yamaamah, and I am afraid that more heavy casualties may take place among the Qurra' on other battlefields, whereby a large part of the Qur'an may be lost. Therefore I suggest that you [Abu Bakr] should issue orders that the Qur’aan be collected.” I said to 'Umar, “How can you do something that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did not do?" 'Umar said, “By Allah, this is something good.” ‘Umar kept on urging me (to accept his proposal) until Allah opened my heart to it and I began to realize the good in the idea which 'Umar had realized.’ Then Abu Bakr said (to me): ‘You are a wise young man and we have a great deal of confidence in you. You used to write down the Revelation for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). So you should seek out the Qur’aan [i.e., the fragments on which it is written] and collect it (in one book).’ By Allah, if they had ordered me to move one of the mountains, it would not have been harder for me than this command to collect the Qur’aan. I said (to Abu Bakr), ‘How can you do something which the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did not do?’ Abu Bakr said, ‘By Allah, it is a good thing.’ Abu Bakr kept on urging me (to accept his proposal) until Allah opened my heart to it as He had opened the hearts of Abu Bakr and ‘Umar. So I started to look for the Qur’aan and collected it from (the fragments on which it was written of) palm-stalks, thin white stones and the hearts of men (i.e., from men who knew it by heart), until I found the last verse of Soorat al-Tawbah with Abu Khuzaymah al-Ansaari, and I did not find it with anybody other than him. The verse is : ‘Verily, there has come unto you a Messenger from amongst yourselves. It grieves him that you should receive any injury or difficulty…’ [At-Tawbah 9:128 – interpretation of the meaning] … until the end of Soorat Baraa’ah (Soorat al-Tawbah). These fragments remained with Abu Bakr until he died, then with ‘Umar for the rest of his life, then with Hafsah bint ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both).” Secondly: With regard to al-Hajjaaj, it was not his idea to write out the Mus-haf, rather he was commanded by an intelligent man to do that. There follows the complete story: Al-Zarqaani said: It is known that the Mus-haf of ‘Uthmaan was unpointed (i.e., it had no diacritical marks). Whatever the case the addition of diacritical marks to the Mus-haf did not happen, according to the well-established view, until the era of ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Marwaan, when he realized that Islam had spread widely and the Arabs were mixing with the non-Arabs, which was having an effect on the Arabic language, so that there was much confusion about the correct reading of the Mus-hafs and it was becoming very difficult for people to tell the letters apart. By his deep insight, he realized that he should do something to solve the problem. So he commanded al-Hajjaaj to take care of this important matter. In obedience to the caliph, Al-Hajjaaj appointed two men to deal with this matter, namely Nasr ibn ‘Aasim al-Laythi and Yahya ibn Ya’mar al-‘Adwaani, both of whom were qualified and able to do the task required of them, because they were knowledgeable, righteous, pious and experts in Arabic language and the various readings of the Qur’aan. They had also both studied under Abu’l-Aswad al-Du’li. May Allah have mercy on these two shaykhs, for they succeeded in their work and gave the Mus-haf diacritical points for the first time. They added dots to all the letters that look similar, not adding more than three dots to any one letter. That became widespread among the people and was very effective in dispelling confusion concerning reading of the Mus-haf. It was said that the first person to add diacritical marks to the Mus-haf was Abu’l-Aswad al-Du’li, and that Ibn Seereen had a Mus-haf to which diacritical marks had been added by Yahya ibn Ya’mar. These opinions may be reconciled by noting that Abu’l-Aswad was the first one who added diacritical marks to the Mus-haf, but he did that for his own individual use, then Ibn Seereen followed him in that, and that ‘Abd al-Malik was the first one to add diacritical marks to the Mus-haf in an official and public manner that was spread widely among the people in order to dispel any confusion with regard to reading Qur’aan.” Manaahil al-‘Irfaan, 1/280, 281 Thirdly: With regard to what is mentioned in the question, quoting from al-Masaahif by Ibn Abi Dawood, there follows the report concerning that and the ruling thereon: It was narrated from ‘Abbaad ibn Suhayb from ‘Awf ibn Abi Jameelah that al-Hajjaaj ibn Yoosuf changed eleven letters in the Mus-haf. He said that in Soorat al-Baqarah 2:259 it said lam yatasanna wa’nzur, with no ha’, and he changed it to lam yatasannah wa’nzur (they show no change, and look…) In al-Maa'idah 5:48 it said sharee’atan wa minhaajan, and he changed it to shir’atan wa minhaajan (a law and a clear way) In Yoonus 10:22 it said, Huwa alladhi yunshirukum and he changed it to Huwa alladhi yusayyirukum (He it is Who enables you to travel…) In Yoosuf 12:45 it said Ana aateekum bi ta’weelihi and he changed it to Ana unabbi’ukum bi ta’weelihi (I will tell you its interpretation) In al-Zukhruf 43:32 it said, Nahnu qasamnaa baynahum ma’aayishahum and he changed it to Nahnu qasamnaa baynahum ma’eeshatahum (It is We Who portion out between them their livelihood) In al-Takweer 81:24 it said Wa ma huwa ‘ala’l-ghaybi bi zaneen and he changed it to Wa ma huwa ‘ala’l-ghaybi bi daneen (and he withholds not a knowledge of the unseen) Kitaab al-Masaahif by al-Sajistaani, p. 49. This report is da’eef jiddan (very weak) or mawdoo’ (fabricated), because its isnaad includes ‘Abbaad ibn Suhayb, whose hadeeth is to be rejected. ‘Ali ibn al-Madeeni said: his hadeeth is no good. Al-Bukhaari, al-Nasaa’i and others said: he is matrook (to be rejected). Ibn Hibbaan said: he was a Qadari who promoted his innovated ideas, and he narrated things which a beginner in this field would realize were fabricated if he heard them. Al-Dhahabi said: he is one of those who are to be rejected. See Meezaan al-I’tidaal, by al-Dhahabi, 4/28. The text of the report is also false, because it does not make sense that these changes could be made in the Qur’aan and then spread throughout the world. Even some of the non-Muslims, such as the Raafidis (Shi’ah) who think that the Qur’aan is incomplete, rejected this and criticized its text. Al-Kho’i, who is one of the Raafidis, said: “This claim is like the hallucination of one who is suffering a fever, or like the fairy tales of the insane or of children. Al-Hajjaaj was one of the governors of the Umayyads, and he is too incapable to do anything to the Qur’aan. He is even incapable of changing any of the minor issues of Islam, so how could he change the thing which is the foundation of the religion and the basis of sharee’ah? Where would he get the power to introduce this change throughout the realm of Islam and beyond at the time when the Qur’aan was well known throughout the Muslim world? How come no historian has ever mentioned this disastrous event even though it is so serious and they would have a lot of motives to mention it? How come no one among the Muslims of his time narrated it? How could the Muslims have turned a blind eye to such an action after the reign of al-Hajjaaj came to an end? Even if we assume that he could have gathered all the copies of the Qur’aan and that not one single copy escaped his grasp anywhere in the far-flung regions of the Islamic world, how could he have removed it from the hearts of the Muslims and those who had memorized it, the number of whom at that time is known only to Allah.” (al-Bayaan fi Tafseer al-Qur’aan, p. 219) What the questioner mentions about Imam al-Sajistaani, and that he wrote a book called Ma Ghayyarahu al-Hajjaaj fi Mus-haf ‘Uthmaan (What al-Hajjaaj altered in the Mus-haf of ‘Uthmaan) is not true, rather it is a blatant lie. All there is, is the commentary that al-Sajistaani wrote concerning the words quoted above from al-Hajjaaj, entitled Baab Ma Kataba al-Hajjaaj ibn Yoosuf fi’l-Mus-haf (Chapter on what al-Hajjaaj wrote in the Mus-haf). On this basis, we cannot rely upon this report under any circumstances whatsoever. The fact that until now it has not been proven that anyone has succeeded in his attempt to change even one letter (of the Qur’aan) is sufficient to prove that it is a lie. If what has been narrated is true, then it would be possible to repeat it, especially at the times when the Muslims were weak and their enemies plotted against them. It is such specious arguments that prove that these claims are false, and that our enemies are incapable of refuting the evidence of the Qur’aan or its clarity, so they resorted to attacking it. Question : I was wondering if it is true that there is no evidence that there is no trace of a Qu'ran being written in the 7 th century? Answer: Praise be to Allah. This is a false and incorrect statement made by those who try to find faults with Islam so as to put people off this religion. It is sufficient to know that Allah has guaranteed to preserve the Qur’aan, as He says (interpretation of the meaning): “Verily, We, it is We Who have sent down the Dhikr (i.e. the Qur’aan) and surely, We will guard it (from corruption).” [Al-Hijr 15:9] Moreover, the fact that the transmission of the Qur’aan by memory and in writing was mutawaatir – narrated by groups to groups [to such an extent that so many people could not conceivably have agreed upon a lie] – is well known to anyone who has the slightest acquaintance with Islamic knowledge, especially knowledge of recitations and reciters.
There
are still many people nowadays who have learned the Qur’aan orally, with
isnaads directly going back to the Prophet One of the miracles of Allah’s protection of the Qur’aan is the fact that those who try to tamper with it are always found out.
The
point is, everything that was revealed to the Prophet When we realize that the Qur’aan was written down and compiled by the Sahaabah, and ‘Uthmaan sent copies of the Mus-haf during his reign to all the main centres of Islam, so that it would be a reference for them, and there were no disputes concerning them, then how can we say that there is no written trace of the Qur’aan in the seventh century? Moreover, there are several ancient manuscripts of the Qur’aan in libraries and museums which bear visible testimony to the fact that nothing has been changed in the Book of Allah. Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “And verily, it is an honourable well‑fortified respected Book (because it is Allah’s Speech, and He has protected it from corruption). (41) Falsehood cannot come to it from before it or behind it, (it is) sent down by the All‑Wise, Worthy of all praise (Allah).” [Fussilat 41:41-42] Question: Recently I became aware of some scholarly research done by German scholars into the inerrancy of the Quran. Some of their findings are discussed in an Atlantic Monthly article entitled "What Is the Koran?" written by Toby Lester, published in the January 1999 issue of that magazine. The gist of their research is that some very old fragments of the Quran found in a mosque in Yemen show small but significant aberrations from the standard Quranic texts. In some cases, the writing on the fragments found had been washed off and different writing substituted overtop. The article tries to cast doubt on the Muslim view of the Quran as being absolutely reliable, and tries to show instead that it is a literary text that has been subject to change just like any other. I am not a Muslim, but I know that the Quran holds a position in Islam that is similar to that of Christ in Christianity. In view of this, sir, how would you respond to these attempts to dispute the absolute inerrancy of the Quran? In your view, do these scholars have false motives that render their findings untrustworthy? Or do you have another response to these attacks on the verity of the Quran? Answer: Praise be to Allah. 1 – The proof that the copies of the Holy Qur’aan that we have before us is not just one or two pieces of evidence, rather it is proven by a vast amount of evidence that no fair-minded person can study without becoming convinced that it is exactly as Allah revealed it to Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). 2 – There have been generations coming one after another, reciting the Book of Allah and studying it, memorizing it and writing it down. They have not omitted a single letter, and no one can change even the vowel point of a single letter. Writing is just one means of preserving it; basically it is preserved in their hearts. 3 – The Qur’aan has not come down to us on its own, such that the so-called alterations could be made. Rather the interpretation of its verses, the meanings of its words, the reasons for its revelation, the grammar of its words and the commentary on its rulings have all been transmitted. When such care has been given to this Book, how could sinful hands find a way to distort even one letter of it, or add a word, or take away a verse? 4 – The Qur’aan speaks of matters of the unseen, in the future, which Allah revealed to His Messenger Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) to show him that they came from Allah. If a human being wants to write a book, he can describe an event or express a point of view, but if any human being were to speak about matters of the unseen, in this field he can only base that on speculation and lies. But the Qur’aan told of the defeat of the Romans by the Persians, at the time when there was no means of communication to inform the Arabs of this event. The same verses also foretold that they (the Persians) would be defeated after a certain number of years. If what the Qur’aan said was not accurate, then the kaafirs would have had a great opportunity to criticize the Qur’aan. 5 – If you read any verse of the Qur’aan, then you go to America or Asia or the jungles of Africa, or to the deserts of Arabia or any place where there are Muslims, you will find that all of them have the exact same verse, memorized by heart or in their books; not a single letter of it will have been altered. So what is the importance of this unknown manuscript in Yemen which we have not seen, and in which some ignorant may have altered, in recent times, one verse or one word? Does this argument carry any weight when properly researched and discussed? Especially when the people claim to be fair-minded and objective in their research. What would be their response if we went to one of their most trusted books by a well-known author, a book of which there are many copies in the world, all of them exactly the same, and we claimed that there was a copy of this book in some country or other in which there was extra material and alterations, and it was different from what is in their copies? Would they pay any attention? Their answer would be the same as ours. 6– The manuscript copies which are in the Muslims’ possession cannot be proven to be authentic in this simplistic manner, for we have experts who know the history of calligraphy and we have principles and guidelines through which we may determine whether a manuscript is genuine, such as the names and signatures of the people who heard it and read it. We do not think that these features are present in this so-called copy of the Qur’aan in Yemen or in others. 7 – We are happy to conclude our answer with this true story that happened in Baghdad during the ‘Abbasid era, when a Jew wanted to find out how true are the books attributed by their followers to God, namely the Torah among the Jews, the Gospel among the Christians and the Qur’aan among the Muslims. He went to the Torah and added and took away a few minor things that were not very obvious, then he gave it to a scribe from among the Jews and asked him to make copies of it. It did not take long before these copies were placed in the synagogues of the Jews and were in circulation among their major scholars. Then he went to the Gospel and added and took away a few things as he had done with the Torah, and he gave it to their scribes and asked them to make copies of it. It was not long before it was being read in their churches and was in circulation among their scholars. Then he went to the Qur’aan and added and took away a few things as he had done with the Torah and the Gospel. Then he gave it to a Muslim scribe to make copies of it. When he went back to get his copy, the scribe threw it in his face and told him that this was not the Qur’aan of the Muslims! From this experiment the man came to know that the Qur’aan is the true Book of Allah and that all other books were the works of human beings. If the scribes of the Muslims could tell that this copy had been tampered with, then how could it go into circulation among the Muslim scholars undetected? If the questioner wants to repeat this ancient experiment nowadays, all she has to do is to do the same as that Jewish man did, who later became Muslim; she can add and take away things from these three books and see what happens as a result. But we do not tell her to show her copy of the Qur’aan to a scribe, rather we tell her to show it to Muslim children, and they will tell her where the mistakes are in her copy! Some Muslim states have printed Mus-hafs in which there were mistakes, and young children found them before the grown-ups did! Question:
As we hear many claims spread by non-Muslims questioning the authenticity of the Glorious Qur’an, would you kindly help us refute such false claim?
Answer: The Holy Qur'an was presented to the people of Arabia by the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. It was presented in parts over a period of 23 years of his prophetic life. The book presents itself as the word of Allah and the Holy Prophet also presented it as such.
The
Muslims believe that the Holy Qur'an, being the revealed word of Allah,
is the cornerstone of their faith. They get their philosophy, beliefs
and laws from this book it is the basic source of the Islamic faith. It
is the Word of Allah revealed to His Messenger, Muhammad, peace be upon
him, who read it out before the world loud and clear. Not only did he
recite it to the people of Arabia, he also made elaborate arrangements
to ensure that its contents be preserved and his Companions should learn
it by heart and should also write it down. The Holy Prophet's stress on
the supremacy of the Book of Allah, over all other sources of knowledge,
was unequivocal and categorical.
The Holy
Qur'an has reached us through the process of Tawatur (historical
continuity and perpetuation achieved through transfer from
generation-to-generation) When we say that the Quran has reached us
through Tawatur, we imply that so many people in every generation
conveyed it to the next and so on that there can be no doubt about its
authenticity. It was not transmitted by a few persons in one generation
to a few persons in the next. It was handed over by the entire
generation to the next generation. The Generation of the Companions
witnessed the revelation and compilation of the Holy Quran during the
life of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and then
handed it over to the next generation and so on. When generations and generations of people without interruption hold the Quran as the one and only version of the divine guidance received from the Holy Prophet, such reports would not infringe upon its authenticity. The evidence for the Quran is so overwhelming, involving millions of people, that it would simply override any odd reports that may be found anywhere.” Excerpted, with slight modifications, from http://www.sunnahonline.com/ilm/quran/0005.htm There is no other book in world which is challenged by this way. Allah says in Quran. “say if all the humankind and jinn’s were to gather together to produce the like of the Quran, they will not be able to do it even if they helped each other”. (Al-Isra 17 : 88) In the light of the above, dear brother, it’s clear that all what non-Muslims say or fabricate against the Glorious Quran is totally groundless, for the authenticity of the Quran is not only upheld by Muslims but confirmed by non-Muslims as well, as will be clarified in the following: “Attesting to the Qur'an’s authenticity, in his best-seller book The Bible, The Qur’an and Science the French researcher, historian, scientist Dr. Maurice Bucaille writes:
"Thanks to
its undisputed authenticity, the text of the Qur’an holds a UNIQUE Place
among the books of Revelation, shared neither by the Old nor the New
Testament. In the first two sections of this work (meaning his book), a
review was made of the alterations undergone by the Old Testament and
the Gospels before they were handed down to us in the form we know
today. The same is not true for the Quran for the simple reason it was
written down at the time of the Prophet; we shall see how it came to be
written, i.e. the process involved . . .. As the Revelation progressed,
the Prophet and the believers following him recited the text by heart,
and it was written down by the scribes in his following. It therefore
starts off with two elements of authenticity that the Gospels do not
possess."
The Qur’an
is unique in consistency, harmony, intelligence and rationality:
Because contradictions and inconsistencies call for the negation of one part, which is in conflict with the other and this automatically invalidates portions of the book. In turn that makes it difficult for a man to remain true to any one value, thereby creating mental conflict, emotional and spiritual instability. "Skip some, follow some," “pick and choose" and "no absolutes" become the pattern. And these exercise an extremely damaging influence upon a truth-conscious, rational man with regard to belief in Allah and with regard to the credibility of the book itself. And it leads to dilemmas where sincere minds become "disjointed" and "disenchanted," eventually steering them away from the book or turn them into hypocrites.
Dr.
Maurice Bucaille, who had absolutely no reason to favor one book,
especially that of Islam, over the others (if anything, as human nature
is, he would only favor the books of his own religion, but not the
Quran) attests to the Quranic claim in his book. "The Quran ... is not
only free from contradictions in its narrations, the sign of various
human manipulations to be found in the Gospels, but provides a quality
of its own for those who examine it objectively and in the light of
science i.e. its complete agreement with modern scientific data.” There have been many other religious books and revelations before the Quran. But of these, only the Holy Quran had the most electrifying impact upon the people. Its lightning-like rapidity, in a short few decades, reached the hearts and minds of the masses of several continents, transforming the lives of idolaters, alcoholics, exploiters, abusers, perverts, into men and women of pristine monotheism, of highest virtue and piety. Call it what you may - the most sensational spiritual revolution, or the spiritual blitzkrieg, the revolution of which the mankind had never witnessed before. To this very day, no other religion comes even close to matching Quran's record of the spectacular impact on lives of masses.” Lastly, The God has only given His guarantee for this book which is not given by Him to any other book. Allah says in Quran “Verily, We, it is We Who have sent down the Dhikr (i.e. the Qur’aan) and surely, We will guard it (from corruption)” (Al-Hijr 15:9) Excerpted, with some modifications, from http://www.iica.org/invitation/the_glor.html
Question : Was the entire Quran revealed through archangel Jibrael (Gabriel)? Answer : By: Shahid Bin Waheed بسم الله الرحمن الرحيمA number of Islamic websites and/or Muslims have proudly spread this disinformation besides some other kind of disinformation that the entire Glorious Quran was revealed by Allah upon Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) through the archangel Jibrael. Fact of the matter is that Allah did not reveal the entire Glorious Quran through the archangel Jibrael. Most Muslims have grossly mistaken due to their apparent ignorance, thinking the first revelation of Ayaat 96:1-5 through the archangel Jibrael as one and only mode of descent. Therefore, they have erroneously concluded that the entire Quran was revealed through the archangel Jibrael. In order to clearly understand this subject one must need the complete and conclusive knowledge of the mode of descent of the Glorious Qur’aan. In the Qur’aanic vocabulary the descent is called Wahi, which use to come to Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in several forms and modes. In the Books of Ahadeeth we read the following on this subject: Sahih Bukhari: Vol: 1 Book: 1 THE BOOK OF THE BEGINNING OF REVELATION 1-CHAPTER: How the Divine Inspiration started to reveal to Allah's Apostle (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) And the Saying of Allah: (the Exalted and Almighty) “… Indeed, We have inspired you as We inspired Noah and the Prophets after him….” (An-Nisa 4:163). 2- CHAPTER: [2] 'Aisha, the mother of the Faithful (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated: (A) Al-Harith bin Hisham (may Allah be pleased with him) asked Allah's Apostle (the blessing and peace of Allah be upon him): “O Allah's Apostle (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) How did the revelation come to you? Allah's Apostle (the blessing and peace of Allah be upon him) replied: “Sometimes it was (revealed) like the ringing of a bell, this form (of revelation) was the hardest of all, and then this state passes off after I have grasped what is inspired. Sometimes the Angel came to me in the form of a man and talked to me and I memorized whatever he said”. 'Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) added: Verily I saw the Prophet (the blessing and peace of Allah be upon him) being inspired on the very cold day and noticed the sweat dropping from his forehead (as the Inspiration was over)”. The parts of this Hadith are in: 3215. The methods of Wahi upon Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in several forms and modes, which are as follows: 1. Ringing of BellsThe first method was that he used to hear a sound similar to the ringing of bells. Since the Ahadeeth mentions only this much, therefore, it cannot be elaborated any further that in what sense this kind of Wahi has been similar to the sound of bells. 2. True DreamsProphet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to have true dreams. 3. Diccourse with AllahLike Musa our beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also had the privilege of direct discourse with Allah, in fact in much better fashion as it happened on the night of Ascension (Isra/Miraj). 4. Angel Coming in Human GuiseIn the traditions we read that archangel Jibrael used to come in human form and convey the message i.e. Wahi. 5. Angel Coming in his Original AppearanceThis happened only three times in the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
6. Inspiration in the Heart Through this method Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to receive the inspiration in the heart.
Quranic and Non-Quranic Wahi . The Wahi that was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was of two kinds. One compromised the Ayaat of the Glorious Quran in which the words and meanings (both) are from Allaah, and they have been preserved in the Quran forever. So that even an iota or a dot has not changed nor can be changed. This type of Wahi is called or is termed as Wahi Matluw that is, the Wahi recited i.e. the Glorious Qur’aan.
The second type of Wahi is that which does form part of the Glorious Quran, but a large number of commands and tenets have been sent through it. This type is known as non-Quranic Wahi, which is by definition the one that is not recited or Wahi Ghayr Matluw. Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has said: “I have been given the Quran and with it other similar things.” Hadeeth Qudsi is one of the examples of this kind of Wahi Ghayr Matluw .
Another good example of Wahi Ghayr Matluw is the Quranic Ayaah 2:144, which reads, “Verily! We have seen the turning of your (Muhammad SAW) face towards the heaven. Surely, We shall turn you to a Qiblah (prayer direction) that shall please you, so turn your face in the direction of Al-Masjid- al-Haram (at Makkah). And whosesoever you people are, turn your faces (in prayer) in that direction. Certainly, the people who were given the Scriptures (i.e. Jews and the Christians) know well that, that (your turning towards the direction of the Kabah at Makkah in prayers) is the truth from their Lord. And Allah is not unaware of what they do” (Al-Baqarah 2:144) Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is also called the Prophet of two Qibla, since in the early days of Islam; Muslims were praying Salah facing the Jerusalem. As we can see the Ayaah 2:144 above is about changing the Qibla to Makkah (Ka’abah). But the command to face the Jerusalem is not found in the Quran, as it was Wahi Ghayr Matluw, however, the Ayaah 2:144 confirms that there was a command to face the Jerusalem in the early days of Islam. Readers must note that this is a very comprehensive subject within the Quranic sciences and simple cannot be summed up in this brief treatise. Needless, to say that it is not true that the entire Glorious Quran was revealed by Allah through the archangel Jibrael. Tuesday, June 21, 2005 Excerpted, with some modifications, from: http://www.islam-is-the-only-solution.com/Q&A.htm
11.
Who Wrote The Quran?
Memphis Dawah E
In the name of Allah Most Beneficent Most Merciful. All praise is for
Allah the Exalted and may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon His
Messenger Muhammad and his family and companions and all those who
follow them and their way until the Day of Resurrection.
"Do they not
then consider the Quran
carefully? Had it been from other than Allah, they would surely
have found therein much contradiction" (An-Nisa
4:82) God created man for a noble purpose: to worship Him and lead a righteous life based on His commands and guidance to mankind.
Mankind learned this by God sending Messengers with clear and practical
instructions of the meaning of life and how to worship God properly
God also revealed to these Prophets and Messengers knowledge about what
will happen after death and the rewards and punishments for one’s
actions. These Prophets and
Messengers convey the same prevailing
message which is entrusted to
them by God.
They proclaimed
God sent a Prophet and/or Messenger to every nation throughout the
history of mankind.
"And verily, We have sent among every Ummah (community, nation) a
messenger (proclaiming):
Worship Allah (Alone) and avoid (or keep away from) all false deities
……."
(An-Nahl 16:36)
Some of them we have been informed of and others we have not. These
Prophets and Messengers
include, but not limited to: Adam, Noah, Abraham, Ismail, Isaac, Jacob,
Joseph, Moses, Aaron, Lot, David, Solomon, Elias, Elisha, Hood, Thul
Kifi, Enoch, Jonah Job Shu’aib, Saalih, Ezra, Zachariyyah, John, Jesus,
Muhammad and others peace
and blessings be upon them all. Some of them were sent with Books while
others were not
Some of the books that we were informed of are the Scriptures of
Abraham, the Torah of Moses, the Zaboor of Dawood, and the Injeel which
was revealed to Jesus
All of these scriptures contained the same basic message from God to
mankind. Each Prophet
brought specific instructions from God addressed to a particular people
for certain times in history and particular circumstances although the
essential message remained the same
A few examples of this would be the fact that Moses' contemporaries were
excellent in magic. So his major miracle was to defeat the best
magicians of his days. Jesus contemporaries were recognized as skillful
physicians. Therefore, his miracles were to raise the dead and cure the
incurable diseases. The Arabs, the contemporaries of the Muhammad, were
known for their eloquence and magnificent poetry. So Muhammad's (Peace
and Blessings be upon him)
Major miracle was the Quran, the equivalent of which the whole legion of
the Arab poets and orators could not produce despite the repeated
challenge from the Quran itself.
However, the beauty and power of Muhammad’s (Peace and Blessings be upon
him) major miracle is that it removes the constraints of place and time.
It is the permanent miracle
for all generations to see.
Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be upon him) is the final Messenger and
that his Prophethood is also not limited to time and place, and is for
all peoples (after the advent of his Prophethood) in all times until the
Day of Judgement. Now, many who would agree with every thing we have stated above may reject this about Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be upon him) his Messengership and the scripture with which he was sent. (The Qur’an).
It is our objective here to prove without a shadow of a doubt that the
Qur’an
Is in fact from God Himself and by extension that Muhammad
(Peace and Blessings be upon him) is in fact a Messenger of God.
For we cannot accept the Message and reject the Messenger, or vice
versa. Both must be accept or both must be rejected. We can basically
divide the groups of opinions on the Qur’an into three groups
Those who say that Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be upon him) himself
wrote the Qur’an. Those who say that the Qur’an was written by someone
else and taught to Muhammad (Peace and blessings be upon him)
Those who believe that the Qur’an is the pure word of God having no
human author.
However, if it is proven that the Qur’an is indeed from God, then it is
necessary for us to believe in it, follow it and accept Muhammad (Peace
and Blessings be upon him) and a Messenger of God.
We ask the reader to reflect...
Those who claim that the Qur’an was written by Muhammad (Peace and
Blessings be upon him) have given him a different motive for doing so
and can basically be divided into the following groups
1. For Material Gain/ Power and Glory
2. To Unite the Arabs or to morally reform them
3. Epileptic Seizures or Self
4. Delusions
With Muhammad being perhaps the most well documented man in human
history, we can easily examine these claims and compare them to his
life.
Firstly, the claim that Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be upon him) wrote
the Qur’an is not new. His own people made this claim. In response, to
this claim, God revealed the following:
Say: "…. It is not for me to change it on my own accord; I only follow
that which is revealed unto me. Verily, I fear if I were to disobey my
Lord, the torment of the Great Day (i.e. the Day of Resurrection). Say:
"If Allah had so willed, I should not have recited it to you nor would
He have made it known to you. Verily, I have stayed amongst you a life
time before this. Have you then no sense?"
(Younus 10:15-16)
This verse is telling his critics to reflect on the fact that Muhammad
(Peace and Blessings be upon him) lived amongst them from forty(40)
years before reciting the Qur’an to them while never showing any signs
of inclination to poetry and themselves knowing that he was illiterate.
If he could not read or write, then where did these magnificent verses
come from?
Also reflect on the fact that Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be upon him)
is commanded in the verses above to “Say” twice. This is a command to
make a certain statement to the people. One can find this command
“Say” 332 times throughout the Qur’an.
In other places in the Qur’an he is ordered to “proclaim”, “Glorify Your
Lord”, “Prostrate Yourself” etc. So we ask is this how a man talks to
himself or writes a book?
Also one must consider the fact that even before his Prophethood
Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be upon him) was known amongst his people
as “Al-Amin”, the trustworthy and the truthful. No one ever recorded a
lie against him. Many Western historians agree with this analysis:
"If a man like Muhammad were to assume the dictatorship of the modern
world, he would succeed in solving its problems that would bring it the
much needed peace and happiness. "George Bernard Shaw
"My choice of Muhammad to lead the list of the world's most influential
persons may surprise some readers and may be questioned by others, but
he was the only man in history who was supremely successful on both the
religious and secular level." Michael H. Hart,
THE 100 A RANKING OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL PERSONS IN HISTORY= New York
Hart Publishing Company, Inc 1978, p 33
"Muhammad was the soul of kindness, and his influence was felt and never
forgotten by those around him."
Diwan Chand Sharma, The Prophets of the East, Calcutta 1935, p 22
"He was Caesar and Pope in one; but he was Pope without Pope's
pretensions, Caesar without the legions of Caesar: without a standing
army, without a bodyguard, without a palace, without a fixed revenue; if
ever any man had the right to say that he ruled by the right divine, it
was Mohammed, for he had all the power without its instruments and
without its supports."
Bosworth Smith, Mohammad and Mohammadanism, London,
1874, p92
"Philosopher, orator, apostle, legislator, warrior, conqueror of ideas,
restorer of rational dogmas, of a cult without images; the founder of
twenty terrestrial empires and of one spiritual empire, that is
Muhammad. As regards all standards by which human greatness may be
measured, we may well ask, is there any man greater than he?" Lamartine,
HISTOIRE DE LA TURQUIE, Paris, 1854, Vol II, pp 276-277
"It is impossible for anyone who studies the life and character of the
great Prophet of Arabia, who knows how he taught and how he lived, to
feel anything but reverence for that mighty Prophet, one of the great
messengers of the Supreme. And although in what I put to you I shall say
many things which may be familiar to many, yet I myself feel whenever I
read them, a new way of admiration, a new sense of reverence for that
mighty Arabian teacher." Annie Besant, THE LIFE AND TEACHINGS OF MUHAMMAD, Madras,1932, p4.
"His readiness to undergo persecutions for his beliefs, the high moral
character of the men who believed in him and looked up to him as leader,
and the greatness of his ultimate achievement all argue his fundamental
integrity. To suppose Muhammad an impostor raises more problems than it
solves. Moreover, none of the great figures of history is so poorly
appreciated in the West as Muhammad." W. Montgomery Watt, MOHAMMAD AT
MECCA, Oxford, 1953, p. 52.
So, we ask the reader to reflect on the following:
Is it logical to believe that Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be upon him)
who, until the age of forty and, as we mentioned earlier, was known to
his people as al-Amin (The Trustworthy) and who is still admired even by
Western scholars for his honesty and integrity, all of a sudden began to
write a book that is unmatched in literary merit and that has not be
matched by legions of the Arab poets and orators of the highest caliber
throughout history?
Is it reasonable to say that Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be upon him),
made a false claim and on that very falsehood trained thousands of
individuals of outstanding character, integrity, and honesty who were
able to establish the best human society that the world has ever known?
Material Gain? Power and Glory?
Some claim that Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be upon him) wrote the
Qur’an for some type of material gain or for power and glory. However,
this claim is at odds with the historical evidence. In fact, when one
studies the history of Muhammad’s (Peace and Blessings be upon him)
life, we find that he was actually materially more well off BEFORE
claiming Prophethood than afterwards.
At twenty five years old, Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be upon him) was
married to the wealthy widow named Khadijah and lived a life of
relative comfort. However, after his call to Prophethood, his standard
of living declined dramatically, sometimes going two months without
cooking anything, surviving only on dates and water, because of the
extreme hardships that he and his family endured after proclaiming God’s
message.
This would not be a temporary sacrifice, but a way of life for him until
he died. At no time in his Prophethood did he ever live in a fancy
palace, wear the finest clothes or enjoy the luxuries of this world.
Even after the early Muslims became successful and started to make
financial gains, Muhammad’s (Peace and Blessings be upon him) wives
complained about their living conditions and wondered why they had to
continue to live so poorly when there was (seemingly) no need.
A revelation then came from God stating:
“O Prophet! Say to your wives: If you desire the life of this world, and
its glitter, Then come! I will make a provision for you and set you free
(i.e., divorce) in a handsome manner But if you desire Allah and His
Messenger, and the home of the Hereafter, then verily, Allah has
prepared for the good doers amongst you an enormous reward.
(i.e.,Heaven)
(Al-Ahzab 33:28-29)
One of Muhammad’s (Peace and Blessings be upon him) companions,
describing his room said: “I noticed that the contents of his room
comprised of only three pieces of tanned skin and a handful of barley in
a corner. I looked but failed to find anything else. I began to cry. He
(Muhammad, Peace and Blessings Be Upon Him) said: “Why are you weeping”?
I replied, ‘O’ Prophet of Allah!
Why should I not cry? I can see the patterns
of the mat imprinted on your body and I am also beholding all that you
have in this room. O’ Prophet of Allah! Pray that Allah may grant ample
provisions for us. The Persians and the Romans, who have no true faith
and who do not worship Allah but they worship their Kings, live in
gardens with streams flowing in their midst. But the chosen Prophet and
accepted slave of Allah should live in such dire poverty?!”
The Prophet (Peace and
Blessings be upon him) was resting against his pillow, but when he heard
me talk like this, he sat up and said “O’ Umar! Are you still in doubt
about this matter? Ease and comfort in the hereafter are much better
than ease and comfort in this world. The disbelievers are enjoying their
share of the good things in this world, whereas the Believers have all
such things in store for them in the next“
(Muslim)
Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be Upon Him) died poor and his deprivation
of this world was self imposed.
The most significant refutation to this claim that Muhammad (Peace and
Blessings be upon him) was seeking wealth and power is the following
story when the Chiefs of Makkah came to him trying to get him to stop
preaching his message:
“O’ Muhammad, You are, as you know a noble from your tribe and your
lineage assures you a place of honor. And now you have brought to your
people a matter of grave concern, whereby you have split their
community, declared their way of life to be foolish, spoken shamefully
of their gods and religion and called their forefathers disbelievers.
Listen to what I propose and see if any of it is acceptable to you. If
it is wealth that you seek, we will gather our wealth and make you the
richest amongst us. If you seek honor, we will make you our overlord and
we will make no decision without your consent. If you seek Kingship,
then we will make you our King. And if you can not get rid of this demon
that appears to you, we will find you a physician and spend all our
money until you are cured.”
When he finished, Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be upon him) had
received revelation which stated:
“Haa Meem. A revelation from Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most
Merciful. A Book whereof the Verses are explained in detail; A Qur'an in
Arabic for people who know. Giving glad tidings and warning, but most of
them turn away, so they don’t listen. And they say: "Our hearts are
under coverings (screened) from that to which you invite us, and in our
ears is deafness, and between us and you is a screen, so work you (on
your way); verily, we are working (on our way). Say: "I am only a human
being like you. It is inspired in me that your God is One, therefore
take Straight Path to Him and obedience to Him, and seek forgiveness of
Him. And woe to the polytheists. Those who give not the Zakât and they
are disbelievers in the Hereafter. Truly, those who believe and do
righteous gooddeeds, for them will be an endless reward that will never
end”
(Al-Fussilat 41:1-8)
So had his aim been wealth and power, then he could have easily achieved
his goal without going through the hardship and poverty he went through
up until his death.
To Unite The Arabs?
The claim that Muhammad’s (Peace and Blessings be upon him) goal was to
unite the Arabs is also difficult to defend when one looks into the life
of Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be upon him) and his own statements
against nationalism, tribalism etc.
Firstly, again, had this been his goal, he could have archived it when
the Chiefs of Makkah offered him wealth and riches in exchange for him
agreeing to stop preaching.
Secondly, the concept of nationalism does not exist in Islam. Islam made
the bond of faith and truth and falsehood the most important basis for
binding people together and not nationalism, tribe affiliation, race, or
ethnicity. Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be upon him) himself spoke out
on numerous occasions against this type of ideology stating:
"Let people stop boasting about their forefathers who have died, who are
merely fuel for the Hell Fire; or they will certainly be more
insignificant with Allah than the beetle which rolls dung with its nose.
Allah has removed from you the partisanship of the days of
jaahiliyyah (refers to the Pre Islamic days) and the boasting about
one's forefathers. Indeed a person is either a pious Believer or a
wretched sinner. All of mankind are the children of Adam, and Adam was
created from clay.
[Related by Abu Dawood and Tirmithi]
Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be upon him) also said:
"Indeed there is noexcellence for an Arab over
a Non-Arab, nor a Non-Arab over an Arab, nor a white person over a black
one, nor a black person over a white one, except through piety”.
[Related by Ahmad]
The Qur’an is filled with the same message. One example of this is in
the following verse:
“O’Mankind!
We have created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations
and tribes, that you may know one another. Verily, the most honourable
of you with Allah is that (believer) who has At‑Taqwa (i.e. he is one of
the Muttaqoon (the pious)”. (Al-Hujuraat
49:13)
The examples from both the Qur’an and the statements of Muhammad (Peace
and Blessings be upon him) are too numerous to mention them all but this
should suffice to make the point.
Regardless of one’s color, nationality, or tribe, anyone who believes in
the Islamic message is part of the brotherhood.
With the above being the case, the logical question beckons that had
this been written by Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be upon him) as these
people allege for the purpose of uniting the
Arabs, then why would he have put the exact opposite message in this
book? Indeed, from the story we quoted above, we can see that this
Islamic message actually divided the Arabs into two distinct groups:
Muslims and non-Muslim.
Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be upon him) also had companions that were
from different tribes and were other than Arab.
He had Epilepsy?
Other people who reject the Prophethood of Muhammad (Peace and Blessings
be upon him) agree because of the historical evidence of Muhammad’s
(Peace and Blessings be upon him) impeccable character and truthfulness
that he would not have deliberately fabricated the Qur’an and his
Prophethood, so they allege for some reason that he either had epilepsy
or was delusional and actually believed that he was a Prophet.
Firstly, again keeping in mind that Muhammad is perhaps history’s most
well documented man, there is absolutely no evidence from his life to
support this claim, and all evidence suggests that Muhammad (Peace and
Blessings be upon him) lived a normal and sane life all the way up to
his death at the age of sixty (60). However in spite of that, we will
nonetheless prove that this claim is false and malicious.
Secondly, even some Orientalists (non-Muslims who have achieved
considerable status as authorities on Islam) themselves have rejected
these claims of epilepsy as false and ridiculous. Daniel commenting on
the claim of epilepsy said:
“...epilepsy as applied to the Prophet was the explanation of those who
sought to amuse rather than to instruct” Khalifa, Mohammad The Sublime
Qu’ran and Orientalism p.13
John Davenport said,
"This remark that Muhammad has suffered the attacks of epilepsy is one
of the false, awkward sayings of the Greeks by which they meant to stain
the prestige of the propagator of a new religion, and turn the world of
Christianity against his moral behavior and qualities." Udhri Taqsir,
p.20
There are various types of epilepsy, the main ones being:
·
Grand mal
·
Petit mal
·
Psychomotor
Grand Mal includes generalized convulsions in which there is sudden
unconsciousness with falling and shaking of the limbs. Sometimes the
person screams just before the seizure and it is followed by stiffening
and halted respiration. Next come jerky moves and one can bite one’s
tongue and the person experiences a headache. Afterwards, they have no
recollection of what happened.
When Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be upon him) received revelation, it
was described like the ringing of a bell, while other times the Angel
Gabriel came to him in the form of a man and delivered the message
directly. When one compares grand mal to the
description of Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be upon him) receiving
revelation, it is obvious that he did not
suffer from grand mal.
Petit Mal involves momentary lapses of awareness and more than seventy
percent (70%) of patients have their first attack before the age of
twenty. It involves no involuntary movements and can happen several
times in a day without interruption of consciousness. This too, is in
opposition to the description of Muhammad’s (Peace and Blessings be upon
him) receiving revelation.
Firstly, Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be upon him) was forty (40) years
old when he began to receive revelation. And each time he received
revelation, it was for several minutes – not moments.
Psychomotor seizures involve convulsions. They last only a few seconds
are accompanied with screams and mumbles which do not make words and
sentences, much less entire chapters of a book which are not only
completely understandable, but of the highest eloquence.
Epilepsy takes control of one’s thoughts during seizures, yet Muhammad
(Peace and Blessings be upon him) was in complete control during the
revelation and was able to recall the event in detail, unlike one who
would have an epileptic seizure.
Beyond the above facts, one must ask how could Muhammad (Peace and
Blessings be upon him) unconsciously know about previous nations? How
could he unconsciously answer questions people asked him and be so
correct? No one ever stood up to claim that they too are familiar with
these stories.
How could he know about future events which would later come to pass?
How could he have known that the Persians and Romans would go to war and
who would win the war years in advance?
Therefore when the facts are examined, the epileptic seizures theories
can
not only be easily ruled out as absurd but we can only conclude that
this claim is made out of outright
maliciousness because the evidence is
overwhelmingly against them.
Norman Daniel commenting on the slanders made against Muhammad (Peace
and Blessings be upon him) said:
"All writers(referring to Western Writers) tended more or less to cling
to fantastic tales about Islam and its Prophet... The use of false
evidence to attack Islam was all but universal."
Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, One world Publications 1993,
p. 267
Daniel also goes on to explain:
"At the worst there was the assertion of the fantastic, and its
repetition without discrimination; at the best there was the selection
of only those
facts that served the purpose of controversy." ibid, p.268
Nonetheless, material gain; desire for power; desire to unify the Arabs
and ever having had epilepsy are all easily ruled out when any unbiased
reader one looks into the life of
Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be upon him)
Second Claim:
Someone other than Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be upon him)
wrote the Qur’an.
Some people claim that Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be upon him) did
not write the Qur’an, but actually either copied it from other sources
or learned it from someone else. Let us examine these claims separately.
Copied from Other Sources?
Amongst those who claim that Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be upon him)
did not write the Qur’an but got it from other sources are those who
claim that he simply copied either the Apocrypha (Some of the scriptures
not included in the canon from the Council of Nicea in325 CE that became
known as the Bible, and later the “Catholic Version” of the Bible)
and/or the Bible itself.
The first problem with this argument is that Muhammad (Peace and
Blessings be upon him) as we mentioned earlier was illiterate and could
not copy what he could not read.
Please keep in mind what we stated earlier about Muhammad’s (Peace and
Blessings be upon him) well known impeccable character and the fact that
it was known that he was illiterate and that there is also no record of
the pagan Arabs in Mecca accusing Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be upon
him) of not being illiterate.
Had he not been illiterate, as the Qur’an itself stated, would this have
not been easy to prove during Muhammad’s lifetime by his enemies who
were eager to discredit him? This fact alone
shows that it was common knowledge during his lifetime that he was
indeed illiterate and no one questioned this.
Secondly, even if one were to assume, for argument’s sake, that he could
read, then the first Arabic translation of what is known as the “Old
Testament” was not produced until some two hundred (200) years after
Muhammad’s (Peace and Blessings be upon him) death and the first Arabic
translation of the “New Testament” did not appear until one thousand
years after his death.
Sidney Griffith, after extensive study, concludes that:
All one can say about the possibility of a pre-Islamic, Christian
version of the Gospel in Arabic is that no sure sign of its actual
existence has yet emerged.
"The Gospel In Arabic: An Enquiry Into Its Appearance In The First
Abbasid Century", Oriens Christianus,
Volume 69, p. 166
Ernst Würthwein states in his book The Text Of The Old Testament that:
With the victory of Islam the use of Arabic spread widely, and for Jews
and Christians in the conquered lands it became the language of daily
life. This gave rise to the need of Arabic versions of the Bible, which
need was met by a number of versions mainly independent and concerned
primarily for interpretation.
The Text Of The Old Testament,1988, William B Eerdmans Publishing
Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan, pp.104.
So it is clear that no Arabic translations of the Bible or the Apocrypha
existed during the lifetime of Muhammad (Peace and Blessing be upon him)
Thirdly, the historical evidence suggests that there was no Christian or
Jewish influence in the Hijaz (Inner part of the Arabian Peninsula) and
particularly in Makkah where Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be upon him)
was born and raised.
Before the birth of Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be upon him) the Hijaz
was for the most part ignored by the major empires of that time (The
Persian and Roman) and left isolated with the exception of the time of
when the Ethiopian King Abraha briefly tried and failed to conquer
Makkah during the year Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be upon him) was
born.
The New Catholic Encyclopedia states concerning the time of the Muhammad
(Peace and Blessings be upon him) that:
The Hijaz [Arabian Peninsula] had not been touched by Christian
preaching. Hence organization of the Christian church was neither to be
expected nor found.
New Catholic Encyclopedia, Op.Cit, Vol.1, pp.721-722
There is a wealth of historical evidence to show similar evidence that
there was no Christian influence in the Hijaz where Muhammad (Peace and
Blessing be upon him) lived, so we must ask ourselves who then would
have taught him the Bible and/or the
apocrypha (which were not even in Arabic) for him to later take from
these sources, that he would have had to memorize, to later write the
Qur’an?
The Hijaz was so isolated that four men from amongst the Makkans who
were searching for the true religion of Abraham had to leave Makkah in
search of it. Waraqa Ibn Nawfal, was amongst them and returned as a
Christian. We will discuss him more in detail below.
Fourthly, the Qur’an itself answers these claims that someone was
teaching Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be upon him) and at the same time
points to the fact that the Arabic used in the Qur’an is pure.
“And indeed We know that they (The Disbelievers) say: "It is only a
human being who teaches him (Muhammad Peace and Blessings be upon him)."
The tongue of the man they refer to is foreign, while this (the Qur'an)
is a clear Arabic tongue”
(An-Nahl
16:103)
The Qur’an also says referring to Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be upon
him)
“Neither did you (Muhammad, Peace and Blessing be upon him) read any
bookbefore it (the Qur'an), nor did you write any book with your hand.
In that case, indeed, the followers of falsehood might have doubted”
(Al-Ankaboot 29:48)
This argument was answered over one thousand four hundred years ago,
by the Qur’an itself, yet these critics are still unable to provide any
new evidence for their erroneous claims.
Learned the Qur’an from another human?
Others, from amongst those who argue that Muhammad (Peace and blessings
be upon him) got the Qur’an from some other source allege that he was
taught by another person.
Some of them specifically allege that he was taught by Waraqa Ibn Nawfal
who, as we mentioned earlier, was one of the four men who left the pagan
faith of Makkah in search for the true religion of Abraham and returned
as a Christian.
Here we must state that the true religion of all of the Prophets
including that of Abraham and Jesus was Islam.
By “Islam”, we mean submission to God’s will. It is the same way, as we
mentioned in the introduction that all of the Prophets called to: Pure
Monotheism.
By “Christian” (in the case of those like Waraqa Ibn Nawfal and Salman
the Persian) we mean that he was a person who was following to the best
of his ability the true Islamic teachings of Jesus which was in line
with the teachings of all the other Prophets and expecting the last
Prophet. This is what is meant by the religion of Abraham that they were
in search of.
This is the religion that Waraqa Ibn Nawfal was looking for and
apparently found because when Muhammad was seeking an explanation of
what he had seen after his first revelation Waraqa told him.
"This is the same one who keeps the secrets (angel Gabriel) whom Allah
had sent to Moses. I wish I were young and could live up to the time
when your people would turn you out."
Allah's Messenger (Peace and Blessings be upon him) asked, "Will they
drive me out?"
Waraqa replied in the affirmative and said, "Anyone who came with
something similar to what you have brought was treated with hostility;
and if I should remain alive till the day when you will be turned out
then I would support you strongly." But after a few days Waraqa died.
[Sahih al-Bukhari]
While it is clear in the passage above that Waraqa died just a few days
after Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be upon him) first receive
revelation from the Angel Gabriel, it was also clear that Waraqa Ibn
Nawfal believed in his Prophethood.
So the claim that Waraqa taught the Qur’an to Muhammad (Peace and
Blessings be upon him) simply holds no water.
Others try to allege that Salman the Persian taught the Qur’an to
Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be upon him).
Salman, who was from Persia, was a Zoroastrian who converted to
Christianity and ventured to Syria to learn more about his religion.
There, he learned from one of the Christian Bishops about the coming of
the last Prophet and the signs accompanying his advent. He then traveled
to Hijaz where he was seized, sold into slavery, and taken to Madinah,
where he eventually met Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be upon him).
When he found in Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be upon him) the
fulfillment of all the signs of which he had been informed, he became a
Muslim. In Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah, we find the following account
of Salman's journey in search of the true
religion and the coming Prophet:
"`Asim ibn `Umar ibn Qatada said that he was told that Salman the
Persian told the Prophet (Peace and Blessings be upon him) that his
master in 'Ammuriya told him to go to a certain place in Syria where
there was a man who lived between two thickets. Every year as he used to
go from one to the other, the sick used to stand in his way and everyone
he prayed for was healed. He said, 'Ask him about this religion which
you seek, for he can tell you of it.' So I went on until I came to the
place I had been told of, and I found that people had gathered there
with their sick until he came out to them that night passing from one
thicket to the other. The people came
to him with their sick and everyone he prayed for was healed. They
prevented me from getting to him so that I could not approach him until
he entered the thicket he was making for, but I took hold of
his shoulder. He asked me who I was, as he turned to me and I said, 'God
have mercy on you, tell me about the Hanifiyyah, (the religion of
Abraham).'
He replied, 'You are asking about something men do not inquire of today;
the time has come near when a prophet will be sent with this religion
from the people of the haram (i.e. the hijaz). Go to him, for he will
bring you to it.'
Then he went into the thicket.
So, as we can see, had Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be upon him) been
an impostor as the people who make this claim against him imply, then
Salman would not have accepted his Prophethood, much less participated
in the writing of the Qur’an with him.
Secondly, Salman did not meet Muhammad (Peace and blessings be upon him)
until after the migration to Madinah and hence AFTER more than two-thirds of the Qur’an (which includes the stories of the Prophets
mentioned in the Bible) had already been revealed In Makkah.
Thirdly, Salman was a Persian and his original tongue was not Arabic.
The Qur’an’s literary style is so brilliant and awe-inspiring that even
Linguists who were born speaking the Arabic language have not been
successful at replicating it (despite repeated challenges from the
Qur’an itself to be discussed later)
much less a Persian who’s mother tongue was not Arabic.
Even if someone wanted to claim that it was someone other than the
people mentioned above, then we repeat the challenge of the Qur’an
“….. Say: "Bring your proof if you are truthful."
(Al-Baqarah: 2:111)
As for anyone other than that, then we ask would there not be some
evidence that someone was teaching Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be upon
him)? Would not someone have stepped forward to say that he was
Muhammad’s (Peace and Blessings be upon him) “teacher”? Yet, we find no
such evidence of this .
Third Claim: The Qur’an is the pure word of God having no human author
After having examined the theories that either Muhammad (Peace and
Blessings be upon him) wrote the Qur’an and that he got it from other
sources and discussing the flaws in those arguments, the logical
question
beckons that if Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be upon him) did not write
the Qur’an nor get it from another human or collect it from other
sources, then where did it come from?
We must now examine the theory that says that the Qur’an is the word of
God sent to Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be upon him) and by extension
that he is the Messenger of God.
The Challenge
First of all, the Qur’an in several places challenges mankind by saying:
Say: "If the mankind and the jinns were together to produce the like of
thisQur'an, they could not produce the like thereof, even if they helped
one another."
(Al-Isra 17:88)
“And if you (Arab pagans, Jews, and Christians) are in doubt concerning
that which We have sent down (i.e. the Qur'an) to Our slave (Muhammad,
Peace be upon him ), then produce a surah (chapter) of the like thereof
and call your witnesses (supporters and helpers) besides Allah, if you
are truthful” (Al-Baqarah
2:23)
“And this Qur’an is not such as could ever be produced by other than
Allah (Lord of the heavens and the earth), but it is a confirmation of
(the revelation) which was before it [i.e. the Taurat (Torah), and the
Injeel (Gospel), etc.], and a full explanation of the Book (i.e. laws
and orders, etc, decreed for mankind)
wherein there is no doubt from the Lord of the Worlds
(37)
Or do they say: "He(Muhammad, Peace be upon him) has forged it?" Say:
"Bring then a surah(chapter) like it, and call upon whomsoever you can,
besides Allah, if you are truthful!"
(Younus 10:37-38)
Or they say, "He (Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him) forged it
(the Qur’an)
." Say: "Bring you then ten forged surah (chapters) like unto it, and
callwhomsoever you can, other than Allah (to your help), if you speak
the truth!"
(Al-Hood 11:13)
“Or do they say: "He (Muhammad peace be upon him) has forged it
(this Qur’an)?" Nay! They
believe not! Let them then produce a recital like unto it
if they are truthful”
(At-Tur 52:33-34)
However, despite these repeated challenges, the Arabs who were at the
height of their poetic eloquence during the time of revelation of the
Qur'an still could not even produce the shortest surah like it. Alqama
bin Abd al Manaf confirmed this when he addressed the Quraish Tribe by
saying:
Oh Quraish, a new calamity has befallen you. Mohammed was a young man
the most liked among you, most truthful in speech, and most trustworthy,
until,
when you saw gray hairs on his temple, and he brought you his message,
you said that he was a sorcerer, but he is not, for we have seen such
people and their spitting and their knots;(i.e., signs of people who
engage in black magic). you said, a mystic, but we have seen such people
and their behavior, and we have heard their rhymes; you said a
soothsayer, but he is not a soothsayer, for we have heard their
rhymes; and you said a poet, but he is not a poet, for we have heard all
kinds of poetry; you said he was
possessed, but he is not for we have seen the possessed, and he shows no
signs of their gasping and whispering and delirium.
(signs of possession)
Oh men of Quraish, look to your affairs, for by Allah a serious
thing has befallen you.
This is a challenge that still stands today, as no one has met this
challenge in the over one thousand four hundred (1,400) years since it
was first made. This is a
point upon which we ask the reader to ponder.
Unmatched Eloquence
One of the most well-known stories of how the Qur’an’s miraculous
eloquence effected individuals is the story of al-Waleed ibn
al-Mugheerah, who was the most eloquent and
highly esteemed poet of Makkah at the time of Muhammad (Peace and
Blessings be upon him)
Al-Waleed ibn al-Mugheerah passed by Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be
upon him) and heard him reciting the Qur’an and this had a visible
effect upon him. He was shaken and startled by what he had heard. The
news of this incident spread throughout Makkah.
Abu Jahl (the arch enemy of Islam) afraid that the people of Makkah
might be affected by the news and convert to Islam, rushed to al-Waleed
and told him “Oh my uncle! Say something (against Muhammad) so that the
people will know that you are against him and hate (his message)”
Al-Waleed replied, “And what can I say? For I swear by Allah, there is
none amongst
you who knows poetry as well as I do, nor can any compete with me in
composition or rhetoric-not even in the poetry of the jinns! And yet, I
swear by Allah, Muhammad’s speech (meaning the Qur’an) does not bear any
similarity to anything I know and I swear by Allah, the speech that he
says is very sweet, and is adorned with beauty and charm. Its first part
is fruitful and its last part is abundant (meaning that it is full of
deep meaning) and it conquers (all other speech) and remains
unconquered! It shatters and destroys all that has come before it
(because of its eloquence)
Abu Jahl responded “Your people will not be satisfied until you speak
against him!” Al-Waleed therefore requested Abu Jahl “Leave me for a few
days, so that I may think of an appropriate response to give the
Qur’aish”
After a few days, Abu Jahl came back to him and asked him what he had
prepared. Al Waleed, during this time could not think of any explanation
to give except “This (the Qur’an) is a type of magic that has an effect
on its listeners.”
Biography of Prophet Muhammad, Ibn Hishaam p. 225.
In response to this God Revealed in the Qur’an
“Nay! Verily, he (al-Waleed) has been stubborn and opposing our
signs....verily he thought and plotted; so let him be cursed, how he
plotted! And once more let him be cursed; how he plotted! Then he
thought! Then he frowned and was irritated; then he turned back and was
proud! Then he said, ‘This is nothing but magic from old; this is
nothing but the word of a magician!’ I will cast him into the Hell-Fire”
(Al-Muddaththir 74:16-26)
This was the testimony of the greatest poet alive during the time of
Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be upon him)
Orientalist Author Arthur Arberry, who studied and became fluent in the
Arabic language while studying in Egypt recognized the beauty of the
Qur’an.
He said: “...the rhetoric and rhythm of the Arabic of the Qur’an are so
characteristic, so powerful, so highly emotive, that any version
whatsoever is bound by the nature of things to be but a copy of the
glittering splendor of the original”
Arthur Arberry, The Koran Interpreted
p. 24
Many other non-Muslims have also confirmed the Qur’an’sunmatched
eloquence.
Hamilton Gibb, the famous University of Oxford Arabist said:
...the Meccans still demanded of him a miracle, and with remarkable
boldness and self confidence Mohammad appealed as a supreme confirmation
of his mission to the Koran itself. Like all Arabs they were the
connoisseurs of language and rhetoric. Well, then if the Koran were his
own composition other men could rival it. Let them produce ten verses
like it. If they could not (and it is obvious that they could not), then
let them
accept the Koran as an outstanding evident miracle.
H A R Gibb, Islam - A Historical Survey, 1980, Oxford University Press,
p. 28
Alfred Guillaume wrote:
The Quran is one of the world's classics which cannot be translated
without grave loss. It has a rhythm of peculiar beauty and a cadence
that charms the ear. Many Christian Arabs speak of its style with warm
admiration, and most Arabists acknowledge its excellence. When it is
read aloud or recited it has an almost hypnotic effect that makes the
listener indifferent to its sometimes strange syntax and its sometimes,
to us,repellent content. It is this quality it possesses of silencing
criticism by the sweet music of its language that has given birth to the
dogma of its inimitability; indeed it may be affirmed that within the
literature of the Arabs, wide and fecund as it is both in poetry and in
elevated prose, there is nothing to compare with it.
Alfred Guillaume, Islam, 1990 (Reprinted), Penguin Books, pp73-74
It is a miracle in itself that for over one thousand, four hundred
years, this challenge to match the Qur’an’s is still stands unmet today
despite many failed attempts to do so.
Could a human being have known these things?
Although the Qur’an is a book of guidance for all of mankind and not a
science book , one of the great miracles of the Qur’an is its conformity
with modern science. It is a sign of its miraculous nature that it
mentions things that no human being could have possibly known one
thousand four hundred (1,400) years ago!
We will give just a few examples here with commentary from some modern
scientists who have read the Qur’an and compared it with science.
“…..
He creates you in the wombs of your mothers, from one stage to another,
and all along three veils of darkness surrounded you …..”
(Az-Zumar 39:6)
Dr. Keith Moore, one of the world’s prominent scientists of anatomy and
embryology at theUniversity of Toronto said:
"The realization that the embryo develops in stages in the uterus was
not proposed until the 1940's, and the stages used nowadays were not
adopted worldwide until the 15th century C.E." The Qur’an also says:
“From what thing did He create him? From Nutfa (male and female semen
drops) He created him, and then set him in due proportion”
(Abasa
80:18-19)
Commenting on this verse, Dr. Moore said:
"The idea that development results from a genetic plan contained in the
chromosomes, of the zygote was not discovered until the end of the
9th century C.E
The verses from the Qur'an (80:18-19) clearly implies that the nutfa
(i.e. the initial drop of fluid) contains the plan or blueprint for the
future
characteristics and features of the developing human being".
“Then We made the Nutfa into a clot (a piece of thick coagulated blood),
then We made the clot into a little lump of flesh, then We made out of
that little lump of flesh bones, then We clothed the bones with flesh,
and then We brought it forth as another creation. So blessed be Allah,
the Best of creators”
(Al-Mumenoon 23:14)
The best way to really appreciate the beauty of the verses above is to
see pictures of he human embryo as it goes through the various stages of
development. The reference to “...chewed lump of flesh” is remarkably
similar to the appearance of the embryo after the first month.
Consider this in light of the fact that if one reads what embryologists
said on the subject just one hundred years ago, one would laugh at its
inaccuracies.
Some of the other facts given in the Qur’an include the formation of
milk
(An-Nahl 16:66),
the orbiting of planets
(Al-Ambiya 21:33) and
(Yasin 36:40)
and the description of the water cycle
(Al-Hijr 15:22)
and
(Fatir 35:9)
Maurice Bucaille writes on this topic:
“The above 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
Professor Alfred Kroner who is one of the world’s most famous geologists
said:
"Thinking about many of these questions and thinking where Muhammad came
from, he was after all a bedouin. I think it is almost impossible that
he could have known about things like the common origin of the universe,
because scientists have only found out within the last few years with
very complicated and advanced technological methods that this is the
case.
We ask the sincere reader to ponder on these facts.
The Miracle not limited by place and time
We mentioned in the introduction that every Prophet is sent with
miracles to establish his Prophethood. Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be
upon him) performed many miracles which have been documented by those
who witnessed them such as the splitting of the moon, the increase of an
inadequate amount of food to a large number of people, and many other
miracles that were not permanent and could not be seen by every
generation in every place.
The Qur’an, however is the permanent miracle and it is not limited by
time and place. Generations far removed from Muhammad’s (Peace and
Blessings be upon him) time can witness it for themselves.
Ibn Khaldoon, a renowned Muslim historian put it very beautifully when
he said:
“Know that the greatest of all miracles, and the most sacred and blessed
and the clearest proof is that Qur’an was revealed to the Prophet (Peace
and Blessings be upon him). This is because all other miracles, in
general, were brought forth separate from the actual inspiration (that
the Prophet received), as a means of proving the truthfulness of the
inspiration. As for the Qur’an, it is the inspiration and the miracle in
one, and is therefore the clearest and most powerful miracle, since it
combines the
boast and the proof into one.” Itr, p. 113
Also, we ask the reader to reflect on the following statement of Ibn
Taymiyyah:
“The greatest (of all the miracles) is the Qur’an that the Prophet
(Peace and Blessings be upon him) came with, for it is the religion of
God and His speech, and it is proof of the Prophethood of Muhammad
(Peace and Blessings be upon him). Its very revelation is one of the
most supernatural and extraordinary of acts, for it is the call (to the
worship of God alone) and
the proof (of the Prophethood of Muhammad, peace and blessings
be upon him) and the miracle (i.e., all in one)”. Collection of Islamic
Rulings
, vol.11 p. 32
The Life Changing Effect Of The Qur’an
The Qur’an says:
“Verily this Qur’an leads to that which is most right…...”
(Al-Isra 17:9)
The Qur’an is a book for all of mankind that is meant to reform the
individual and even the society. It changes the individual that is
devoid of guidance and improves an individual if he is already on the
straight path.
Before the Prophethood of Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be upon him) the
Arabs were heavy drinkers of alcohol, engage in tribal battles and even
bury their female babies alive. Yet, when one studies the history of the
Qur’an, one finds that within a span of twenty years, due to the
miraculous effect of the Qur’an, was able to change almost all the Arabs
and non-Arabs in the Arabian Peninsula and bind them into a brotherhood
of faith and love that was so strong that if any part of the brotherhood
would anguish, the whole brotherhood was affected negatively.
These people became leaders of the world and cornerstones of a great
civilization whose influence would remain centuries. This effect lasted
long after Muhammad’s (Peace and Blessings be upon him) death. We see
this in the following passage:
The sterling character and qualities of the Muslim soldiers were once
praised by a Roman Officer in these words: “At night you will find them
prayerful; during the day you will find them fasting. They keep their
promises, order good deeds, suppress evil and maintain complete equality
among themselves”
Another testified thus: “They are horsemen by day and ascetics by night.
They pay for what they eat in territories under their occupation. They
are first to salute when they arrive at a place and are valiant fighters
who just wipe out the enemy.”
And a third testified: “During the night it seems that they do not
belong to this world and have no other business than to pray, and during
the day, when one sees them mounted on their horses, one feels that they
have been doing nothing else their whole lives. They are great archers
and great lancers, yet they are so devoutly religious and remember God
so much and so often that one can hardly hear talk about anything else
in their company”
Ibn Kathir, Bidayyah wa Nihayyah pg.53
Lack of Contradiction The Qur’an challenges mankind by saying:
"Do they not then consider the Qur’an carefully? Had it been from other
than Allah, they would surely have found therein much contradiction."
(An-Nisa 4:82)
The fact that there are no contradictions in the Qur’an, despite being
revealed over the twenty three year period, under different
circumstances, addressing different problems, is a clear indication to
the sincere and objective reader of its divine origin.
The Logical Conclusion
We have established that the Qur’an could not have been written by
Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be upon him) nor did he learn it from
someone else or collect it from other sources. Are you, the reader,
still in doubt about this?
We ask you, if you are still in doubt to then take up the challenge of
the Qur’an itself and prove it to be false. Ponder upon that fact that
not one
of the legions of brilliant poets that have lived in the past 1,400
years have been able to match the Qur’an beauty and eloquence despite
repeated challenges from the Qur’an to do so. And they never will.
Why are they not successful? Because the Qur’an is indeed the word of
God and who can compete with God? God has told us in the Qur’an that
they will never be able to do it.
Say: "If the mankind and the jinns were together to produce the like of
this Qur'ân, they could not produce the like thereof, even if they
helped one another."
(Al-Isra 17:88)
In other words, the Qur’an itself has predicted that it will remain
unparalleled and unrivaled for all of eternity. The futility of trying
to match the Qur’an’s brilliance and eloquence has been foretold:
“And if you are in doubt concerning that which We have sent down
(the Qur'an) to Our slave (Muhammad Peace be upon him), then produce a
Surah (chapter) of the like thereof and call your witnesses (supporters
and helpers) besides Allah, if you are truthful
(23) But
if you do not do it, and you can never do it, then fear the Fire (Hell)
whose fuel is men and stones, prepared for the disbelievers”.
(Al-Baqarah 2:23-24)
The above is exactly what has occurred! None have been able to meet this
challenge to his day and they can not do so.
Throughout this work, we have asked the sincere reader to ponder. We
also stated in the beginning that if we conclude that the Qur’an is the
word of God, then we must by extension accept the Messengership of
Prophet Muhammad (Peace and Blessing be upon him)
The rational criteria is at the sincere reader’s disposal, and one's
emotional commitment to religion should be preceded by an intellectual
commitment to it. Reason, in fact, is our primary means for finding the
Truth.
We can put any religion or system of beliefs to test by examining
whether it is rational, universal, applicable at all times, in all
places, and by people of all colors and languages, and whether the
religion's Scripture is free of alteration, internal and external
inconsistencies.
A scripture is internally inconsistent if it contains discrepancies and
contradictions within its text, and externally inconsistent if it
contradicts
facts (not theories) from science and nature as we know them.
For it is impossible that God does not know His creation or that which
He creates. Our experience tells us that a few minutes of reasoning can
usually leave us persuaded in the truth of God's absolute Oneness and
Uniqueness, so what remains to be studied is which religion is truly
monotheistic in its nature.
One of the major criteria for distinguishing the Truth from errors, that
we would like to stress, is the authenticity of the religious scripture.
We have presented above indisputable proof that the Qur’an is the word
of God. The reality is that Muslims are the only ones who even claim to
have an authentic scripture from God, in its original form, of which not
a single letter has been changed.
Most other religions admit that their scriptures are in fact human
writings.
And
if we say that there is a Truth and God, we are likely to believe that
God wants us to do certain things and abstain from others.
If we are of the view that God would not leave us without a reliable
Revelation, then the mere fact that Muslims are the only ones who even
claim to have an authentic revelation could attest to the truthfulness
of their claim.
However, as mentioned earlier, the Qur'an invites us to ponder and
reason and to accept faith based on knowledge, rather than the blind
following of our traditions.
As we have quoted throughout this work from the Qur’an
"Do they not then consider the Qur’an carefully? Had it been from other
than Allah, they would surely have found therein much contradiction."
(An-Nisa 4:82)
Again we ask the sincere reader to ponder.
Excerpted, from:
https://islamhouse.com/
Question: How can one know for sure, without relying on other people or texts, what the truth about existence is? Is it possible to pray to God and to receive revelation for one self? If so, is it possible to obtain answers directly from God on what is true? If so, then wouldn't this be the way to determine whether God has established some kind of religion on earth, and also the way to determine which religion it is? I am also curious to know whether Muslims believe in an evil being Satan as well as Allah. Answer: Regarding your question, it is a delicate matter whereby we have to define some terminology to create a common understanding in talking about revelations, etc.... if you mean by 'revelation' that a person who is meditating will have Angel Gabriel to descend on a person like he has done it with other prophets, then the answer is given in the Qur'an, Chapter Al-An'am, verse 124: '....God knows best with whom to place His Message....' (Al-Anam 6:124) This verse was revealed after a disbeliever told prophet Muhammad (PBUH): 'if prophethood was indeed the truth, then I would have been more eligible for it because I am older (than you, O Muhammad (PBUH).' However, if you mean by revelation what we call in Islam a kind of inspiration, then it is indeed possible that God puts in the heart of any person an inspiration to do or to accept something or not, and He (God) chooses these people. However, this type of Inspiration is different from a 'revelation', because a 'revelation' in Islam means a message from God that a person has to deliver to other people, which becomes the role of the prophets. Therefore, an inspiration is possible for anyone but a revelation is not. In that context, it is not possible to reach the truth without revealed books and prophets, because if that was possible, then the concept of sending prophets and messengers is useless. Not only are the prophets and books, the tools in our hand to show to God that we followed them and reached Him, but they are the method by which we can understand what God has. Regarding the last portion of your question, yes, Muslims believe in the existence of satan and angels. Satan and Angels are among the creatures of God that show His greatness. But Satan cannot affect the believer in God because God said to satan in the Quran, 'Certainly, you shall have no authority over My slaves (servants), except those who follow you of the Ghawin (disbelievers, those who go astray, criminals, polytheists, and evil-doers, etc.. (Al-Hijr 15:42)
Quran: Written or Revealed
- Mufti Menk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhSLUvGQjLo
Compilation of the Quran -
A Brief History by Shabir Ally
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFzBM8wJZNU
Short history of
compilation of Quran by Dr Zakir Naik.webm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m37D05_0Ok
Was the original Quran
burnt by Usmaan? What is the Authenticity of Quran
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpJ8g23ANk8
Al-Quran Miracle of
Miracles - Ahmed Deedat
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t--0wKFCrv4
The Quran or The Bible
Which is God's Word ? Sheikh Ahmed Deedat at New York City
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cti-pXVREsk
Ahmed Deedat Answers:
"Corruption in Bible or Quran?"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVZ7MLQorwA
Different VERSIONS Of Quran
Vs Different VERSIONS Of Bible by Ahmed Deedat
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8lRzGHrPC0
Dr. Yasir Qadhi Destroys
The Myth Of Different Versions Of Quran
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzSyGjsd9jY
Ahmad Deedat vs Anis
Shorrosh Debate (Quran or the Bible: Which Is God's Word?) Q&A Session
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HT57KonBCX4
Is Quran Man-made? - Nouman
Ali Khan - Animated
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjeovAKWwjs
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(peace
and blessings of Allah be upon him) and there is no dispute among the
Muslims with regard to this matter.”
