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| ABOUT HOLY QUR'AN |
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LET US KNOW A LITTLE ABOUT HOLY QUR'AN, WHAT IS HOLY QUR'AN?
HELLO EVERY MUSLIM HOW ARE YOU. HOPE YOU ALL BE FINE AND WISH YOU ALL THE BEST.
DEARS: HERE WE HAVE PASTED SOME INFORMATION ABOUT HOLY QUR'AN.
PLEASE WE KINDLY REQUEST FROM YOU TO READ IT OVER AND TAKE INFORMATION FROM THIS.
THANKS FOR VISITING.
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PREFACE TO THE QUR'AN.
In the name of Allah, the Beneficient, the Merciful
The Qur'an ("Qor-Ann") is a Message from Allah to humanity. It was transmitted to us in a chain starting from the Almighty Himself (swt) to the angel Gabriel to the Prophet Muhammad (saas). This message was given to the Prophet (saas) in pieces over a period spanning approximately 23 years (610 CE to 622 CE). The Prophet (saas) was 40 years old when the Qur'an began to be revealed to him, and he was 63 when the revelation was completed. The language of the original message was Arabic, but it has been translated into many other languages.
The Qur'an is one leg of two which form the basis of Islam. The second leg is the Sunnah of the Prophet (saas). What makes the Qur'an different from the Sunnah is primarily its form. Unlike the Sunnah, the Qur'an is quite literally the Word of Allah, whereas the Sunnah was inspired by Allah but the wording and actions are the Prophet's. The Qur'an has not been expressed using any human's words. Its wording is letter for letter fixed by no one but Allah.
Prophet Muhammad (saas) was the final Messenger of Allah to humanity, and therefore the Qur'an is the last Message which Allah has sent to us. Its predecessors such as the Torah, Psalms, and Gospels have all been superceded. It is an obligation - and blessing - for all who hear of the Qur'an and Islam to investigate it and evaluate it for themselves. Allah has guaranteed that He will protect the Qur'an from human tampering, and today's readers can find exact copies of it all over the world. The Qur'an of today is the same as the Qur'an revealed to Muhammad (saas)"Alif Laam Raa. A book which we have revealed to you (Muhammad) so that you may lead the people from out of the darknesses into the light by their Lord's leave to the path of the All-Mighty, the Praiseworthy."
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WHAT IS HOLY QUR'AN?
The Qur'an comprehends the complete code for the Muslims to live a good, chaste, abundant and rewarding life in obedience to the commandments of Allah, in this life and to gain salvation in the next. It is the "chart of life" for every Muslim, and it is the "constitution" of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth.
The Qur'an is the eternal contemporary of the Muslims. Each generation of Muslims has found new sources of strength, courage and inspiration in it. It is also, for them, a "compass" in the turbulent voyage of life, as it has explained itself in the following verses:
. . . Indeed, there has come to you light and a clear book from Allah; With it Allah guides him who fill follow His pleasure into the ways of safety and brings them out of utter darkness into light by his will and guides them to the right path. (V: 15-16)
It has created an all but new phase of human thought and a fresh type of character. It deserves the highest praise for its conceptions of Divine nature in reference to the attributes of Power, Knowledge, and Universal Providence and Unity--that its belief and trust is one God, creator of Heaven and Earth is deep and fervent, and that it embodies much of a noble and moral earnestness. It is Qur'an which transformed the simple shepherds and wandering Bedouins of Arabia into the founders of empires, the builders of cities, the collectors of libraries. If a system of religious teachings is evaluated by the changes which it introduces into the way of life, the customs and beliefs of its follower, then Qur'an as a code of life is second to none. It is not strange then, that more translations and more commentaries of the Holy Qur'an have been published than that of any other book claimed to be the Divine Revelation...
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FACT ABOUT THE QUR'AN.
The Glorious Qur'an is the Word of Allah as revealed to His Prophet, Muhammad, peace be on him and his progeny.
On reading the Qur'an one is at once convinced that it is the Word of Allah, for no man can write such perfect guidance on so many subjects.
The Holy Qur'an says that no man will be able to forge even a part of it and that no corruption shall touch it from any side. It is a miracle that the Holy Qur'an has remained unchanged and unaltered during all these 1400 years and it shall remain so till the Day of Resurrection, for Allah, has taken it on Himself to protect it.
The Book of Allah is like an ocean. The less learned, like children, collect pebbles and shells from its shores. The scholars and thinkers, like pearl divers, bring out from it the highest philosophy, wisdom and rulse of a perfect way of living.
For easy dailiy recitation, the Qur'an is divided into thirty equal parts. One part takes only twenty-four reading minutes, and the whole Book requires twelve reading hours. There are 114 chapters, and 6,226 verses, containing 99,464 words made up of 330, 113 letters...
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INTRODUCTION TO THE QUR'AN.
Praise be to Allah, the Cherisher and Sustainer of the worlds, Who has said in His Noble Book:
"There has come to you from Allah Light and a Perspicuous Book." (5.15)
And may peace and blessings be upon the Seal of the Prophets, Muhammad, who has said that:
"The best among you is he who learned the Qur'an and then taught it."
(Narrated by the six except Muslim)
May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, his family and all his Companions.
The Glorious Qur'an is the Book of Allah, the Wise and Worthy of all Praise, Who has promised to safeguard it from any violations in its purity. It becomes incumbent upon each and every person who seeks the dignity of this world and the bliss of the Hereafter to regulate his life according to it, to implement its commandments and to pay homage to the magnificence of the One Who revealed it. This can be an easy task for those favoured with guidance from Allah, especially those blessed by an understanding of Arabic, the language of the divine communication. But for those not acquainted with Arabic, their ignorance is a barrier between them and this source of guidance and illumination. A translation of the message of Allah is thus a task not to be taken lightly or performed superficially.
Before we begin to study the Qur'an, we must realise that unlike all other writings, this is a unique book with a supreme author, an eternal message and a universal relevance. Its contents are not confined to a particular theme or style, but contain the foundations for an entire system of life, covering a whole spectrum of issues, which range from specific articles of faith and commandments to general moral teachings, rights and obligations, crime and punishment, personal and public law, and a host of other private and social concerns. These issues are discussed in a variety of ways, such as direct stipulations, reminders of Allah's favours on His creation, admonitions and rebukes. Stories of past communities are narrated, followed by the lessons to be learned from their actions and subsequent fates.
The Qur'an enjoys a number of characteristics unique to it alone, some of which are as follows:
It is the actual Word of Allah; not created but revealed for the benefit of all mankind.
"Blessed is He Who sent down the Criterion to His servant, that it may be An admonition to all creatures."
It is complete and comprehensive. The Almighty says:
"Nothing have We omitted from the Book."
In another place we read:
"And We have sent down to thee the Book explaining all things."
It is a theoretical and a practical Book, not only moralizing but also defining specifically the permissible and the forbidden. The importance of understanding the message of the Qur'an is undeniable, but simply reciting it with the intention of seeking Allah's pleasure and reward is also an act of worship and meritorious in itself. Allah Almighty says:
"So take what the Prophet gives you, and refrain from what he prohibits you." (59.7)
Allah has perfected His religion for all mankind with the revelation of this Book. He says:
"This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed My favor upon you and have chosen for you Islam as your religion." (5.3)
It is Allah's eternal miracle revealed to the Prophet Muhammad for all succeeding generations. In response to those who doubt the authorship of the Qur'an, Allah Almighty has challenged the most articulate Arabs to produce a whole book, ten chapters or even one solitary chapter which can be remotely comparable to the Qur'an. But to this day, no one has succeeded in meeting the challenge of The Almighty. The critics of the Qur'an have been struck dumb by its ineffable eloquence and surpassing beauty.
"Say, if the whole of mankind and jinns were to gather together to produce the like of this Qur'an, they could not produce the like thereof; even if they backed-up each other with help and support."
The Almighty also says:
"Or they may say: 'He forged it.' Say: 'Bring ye then ten chapters forged, like unto it and call (to your aid) whomsoever ye can other than Allah, if ye speak the truth.'" (11.13)
And again:
"Or do they say: 'He forged it'? Say: 'Bring then a chapter like! Unto it and call (to your aid) anyone ye can besides Allah, if it be ye speak the truth.'" (10.38)
It has been revealed to re-establish the sincere worship of Allah alone, without association of any partners with Him.
"This is a Book with verses basic or fundamental (of established meaning), further explained in detail, from One Who is Wise and Well-Aware. (It teaches) that you should worship none but Allah."
"And they have been commanded no more than this: to worship Allah, offering Him sincere devotion, being true in faith, to establish regular prayer and to give Zakat, and that is the religion Right and Straight." (98.5)
It contains a complete code which provides for all areas of life, whether spiritual, intellectual, political, social or economic. It is a code which has no boundaries of time, place or nation:
"Verily this Qur'an doth guide to that which is most right." (17.9)
Allah Almighty has taken upon Himself the duty of preserving the Qur'an for ever in its entirety, as He says:
"We have without doubt sent down the Message, and We will assuredly guard it (from corruption)."
So well has it been preserved, both in memory and in writing, that the Arabic text we have today is identical to the text as it was revealed to the Prophet. Not even a single letter has yielded to corruption during the passage of the centuries. And so it will remain for ever, by the consent of Allah.
Millions of Muslims read the Qur'an daily. Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq has said that, the minimum daily reading of the Qur'an should be fifty verses or one-fourth of the part, about five minutes reading...
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WAY TO THE QUR'AN.
The Qur'an is the word of the Ever-living God; it has been sent down to guide man for all times to come. No book can be like it. As you come to the Qur'an, Allah speaks to you. To read the Qur'an is to hear Him, even to converse with Him, and to walk in His ways. It is the encounter of life with the Life-giver. 'God - there is no god but He, the Ever-living, the Self-subsisting (by whom all subsist). He has sent down upon you the Book with the Truth .. as a guidance unto mankind..' (Al 'Imran 3: 2-3).
For those who heard it for the first time from the lips of the Prophet, blessings and peace be on him, the Qur'an was a living reality. They had absolutely no doubt that, through him, Allah was speaking to them. Their hearts and minds were therefore seized by it. Their eyes overflowed with tears and their bodies shivered. They found each word of it deeply relevant to their concerns and experiences, and integrated it fully into their lives. They were completely transformed by it both as individuals and as a corporate body - into a totally new, alive and life-giving entity. Those who grazed sheep, herded camels and traded petty merchandise became the leaders of mankind.
Today we have the same Qur'an with us. Millions of copies of it are in circulation. Day and night, it is ceaselessly recited. In homes, in mosques, and from pulpits. Voluminous exegetical works exist expounding its meaning. Words pour out incessantly to explain its teachings and to exhort us to live by it. Yet eyes remain dry, hearts remain unmoved, minds remain untouched, lives remain unchanged. Ignominy and degradation appear to have become the lot of the followers of the Qur'an. Why? Because we no longer read the Qur'an as a living reality. It is a sacred book, but it tells us something of the past only, concerning Muslims and Kaafirs, Jews and Christians, the faithful and the hypocrites, who 'once upon a time used to be'.
Can the Qur'an, again, be a living, relevant force, as powerful for us now, 1400 years away, as it was then? This is the most crucial question that we must answer if we wish to shape our destiny afresh under the guidance of the Qur'an.
There appear, however, to be some difficulties. Not least of which has to do with the fact that the Qur'an was revealed at a certain point in time. Since then we have travelled a long way, made gigantic leaps in technological know-how, and seen considerable social changes take place in human society. Moreover, most of the followers of the irfaan today do not know Arabic, and many who do have a little idea of the 'living' language of the Qur'an. They cannot be expected to absorb its idiom and metaphor, so essential to exploring and absorbing the depths of the Qur'anic meaning.
Yet its guidance, by its own claim, has an eternal relevance for all people, being the word of the Eternal God.
For the truth of this claim, it seems to me, it must be possible for us to receive, experience, and understand the Qur'an as its first recipients did, at least in some measure and to some degree. We seem to almost have a right to this possibility of receiving God's guidance in its fullness and with all its riches and joys. In other words, despite the historical incidence of the revelation in a particular language at a particular time and place, we should be capable of receiving the Qur'an now (because its message is eternal), capable of making its message as much a real part of our lives as it was for the first believers and with the same urgent and profound relevance for all our present concerns and experiences.
But how do we do this? To put it very forthrightly, only by entering the world of the Qur'an as if Allah were speaking to us through it now and today, and by fulfilling the necessary conditions for such an encounter.
Firstly, then, we must realize what the Qur'an as the word of God is and means to us, and bring all the reverence, love, longing, and will to act that this realization demands. Secondly, we must read it as it asks to be read, as Allah's Messenger instructed us, as he and his Companions read it. Thirdly, we must bring each word of the Qur'an to bear upon our own realities and concerns by transcending the barriers of time, culture and change.
For its first addressees, the Qur'an was a contemporary event. Its language and style, its eloquence and rationale, its idiom and metaphor, its symbols and parables, its moments and events were all rooted in their own setting. These people were both witnesses to and, in a sense, participants in the whole act of revelation as it unfolded over a period of their own time. We do not have the same privilege; yet, in some measure, the same ought to be true for us.
By understanding and obeying the Qur'an in our own setting, we will find it, as far as possible, as much a contemporary event for ourselves as it was then. For the essence of man has not changed; it is immutable. Only man's externalities the forms, the modes, the technologies - have changed. The pagans of Mecca may be no more, nor the Jews of Yathrib, nor the Christians of Najran, nor even the 'faithful' and the 'unfaithful' of the community at Medina; but the same characters exist all around us. We are human beings exactly as the first recipients were, even though many find it extremely difficult to grapple with the deep implications of this very simple truth.
Once you realize these truths and follow them, once you come to the Qur'an as the first believers did, it may reveal to you as it did to them, make partners of you as it did of them. And only then, instead of being a mere revered book, a sacred fossil, or a source of magic-like blessing, it will change into a mighty force, impinging, stirring, moving and guiding us to deeper and higher achievements, just as it did before.
The New World that Awaits
As you come to the Qur'an, you come to a new world. No other venture in your life can be so momentous and crucial, so blissful and rewarding, as your journey to and through the Qur'an.
It is a journey that will take you through the endless joys and riches of the words that your Creator and Lord has sent to you and all mankind. Here you will find a world of untold treasures of knowledge and wisdom to guide you on the pathways of life, to mould your thoughts and actions. In it you will find deep insights to enrich you and guide you along the right course. From it you will receive a radiant light to illuminate the deeper reaches of your soul. Here you will encounter profound emotions, a warmth to melt your heart and bring tears running down your cheeks.
It is crucial for you because, as you travel through the Qur'an, at every step you will be summoned to choose, and to commit to Allah. To read the Qur'an is nothing less than to live the Qur'an willingly, sincerely, devotedly, and totally. The outcome of your entire life depends on how you heed the call given by God. The journey is therefore decisive for your existence, for mankind, for the future of human civilization.
A hundred new worlds lie in its verses.
Whole centuries are involved in its moments.
Know, then, that it is the Qur'an, and only the Qur'an, which can lead you on and on to success and glory in this-world and in the world-to-come.
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WHAT IS QUR'AN 2?
It is beyond man's power to comprehend, or to describe, the greatness and importance of what the Qur'an holds for him. Yet, to begin with, you must have some idea of what it is and what it means to you, such that you are inspired to immerse the whole of your self in the Qur'an, in total commitment, complete dedication and ceaseless pursuit, as it demands.
The Qur'an is Allah's greatest blessing for you. It is the fulfilment of His promise to Adam and his descendants:
'There shall come to you guidance from Me, and whosoever follows My guidance no fear shall be on them, neither shall they sorrow" (al-Baqarah 2: 38).
It is the only weapon to help your frail existence as you struggle against the forces of evil and temptation in this-world. It is the only means to overpower your fear and anxiety. It is the only 'light' (nur), as you grope in the darkness, with which to find your way to success and salvation. It is the only healing (shifaa') for your inner sicknesses, as well as the social ills that may surround you. It is the constant reminder (dhikr) of your true nature and destiny, of your station, your duties, your rewards, your perils.
It was brought down by one who is powerful and trustworthy in the heavens - the angel Jibra'il. Its first abode was that pure and sublime heart, the like of which man has never had - the heart of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be on him.
More than anything, it is the only way to come nearer and closer to your Creator. It tells you of Him, of His attributes, of how He rules over the cosmos and history, of how He relates Himself to you, and how you should relate to Him, to yourself, to your fellow men and to-every other existence.
The rewards that await you here are surely many, increasing manifold in the Hereafter, but what awaits you at the end of the road, promises Allah in the Hadith quds, 'the eye has seen not, nor the ear heard, nor the heart of man ever conceived', and, adds Abu Hurayrah: read if you wish [in al-Sajdah 32: 17]: 'No human being can imagine what joys are being kept hidden for them in reward for all that they did' (Bukhari, Muslim).
Most important to remember is that what you read in the Qur'an is the word of Allah, the Lord of the worlds, which He has conveyed to you in a human language, only because of His mercy and care and providence for you. 'The Most-merciful, He has taught the Qur'an' (al-Rahman 55: 1-2). 'A mercy from your Lord' (al-Dukhan 44: 6). The majesty of the Qur'an, too, is so overpowering that no human being can comprehend it. So much so that, says Allah: 'If We had sent down this Qur'an upon a mountain, you would have seen it humbled, split asunder out of the fear of Allah' (al-Hashr 59: 20).
This act of Divine mercy and majesty is enough to awe and overwhelm you, to inspire you to ever-greater heights of gratitude, yearning and endeavour to enter the world of the Qur'an. Indeed, no treasure is more valuable and precious for you than the Qur'an, as Allah says of His generosity:
O men! There has come to you an exhortation from your Lord, healing for what is in the hearts, and a guidance, and a mercy for believers. Say: In [this] bounty of Allah, and in His mercy - in it let them rejoice. It is better than whatever they amass (Yunus 10: 574).
Hazards and Perils
Rejoice you must, in the mercy and blessing and generosity of Allah. Seek you must, for the treasures that await your search herein. But the Qur'an opens its doors only to those who knock with a sense of yearning, a sincerity of purpose and an exclusive attention that befit its importance and majesty. And only those are allowed to gather its treasures, while they walk through it, who are prepared to abandon themselves completely to its guidance and do their utmost to absorb it.
It may quite possibly happen therefore that you may read the Qur'an endlessly, turn its pages laboriously, recite its words beautifully, study it most scholarly, and still fail to make an encounter with it that enriches and transforms your whole person. For, all those who read the Qur'an do not profit from it as they should. Some remain unblessed; some are even cursed.
The journey has its own hazards, as it must, just as it has its own precious and limitless rewards. Many never turn to it, though the Book always lies near at hand, and many are turned away from its gates. Many read it often, but come back empty-handed; while many others who read it never really enter its world. Some do not find, but are lost. They fail to hear God even among His own words; instead, they hear their own voices or those other than God's. Still others, though they hear God, fail to find inside themselves the will, the resolve and the courage to respond and live by His call. Some lose even what they had and, instead of collecting priceless gems, they return with back-breaking loads of stones which will hurt them for ever and ever.
What a tragic misfortune it would be if you came to the Qur'an and went away empty-handed - soul untouched, heart unmoved, life unchanged; 'they went out as they came in'.
The Qur'an's blessings are limitless, but the measure of your taking from it depends entirely upon the capacity and the suitability of the receptacle you bring to it. So, at the very outset, make yourself more deeply aware of what the Qur'an means to you and what it demands of you; and make a solemn determination to recite the Qur'an in an appropriate manner, so that you may be counted among 'Those whom We have given the Book, they recite it as it ought to be recited; it is they who believe in it' (al-Baqarah 2: 121).
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TELAWAH MEANT HOW TO RECITE?
Tilawah is the word that the Qur'an uses to describe the act of its reading. No single word in English can convey its full meaning. 'To follow' is closest to its primary meaning. To read is only secondary, for in reading too, words follow each other, one closely behind the other, in an orderly and meaningful sequence. If one word does not follow the other, or if the sequence and order is not observed, the meaning is destroyed.
So, primarily, tilawah means, move closely behind, to go forward, to flow in a sequence, to go in pursuit, to take as a guide, leader, master, a model, to accept the authority, to espouse the cause, to act upon, walk after, practise a way of life, to understand, to follow the train of thought - or to follow. Reading the Qur'an, understanding the Qur'an, following the Qur'an - that is how those who have any right to claim faith in it relate themselves to it.
Tilawah or recitation is an act in which your whole person, soul, heart, mind, tongue and body participates. In short your whole existence becomes involved. In reading the Qur'an, mind and body, reason and feeling lose their distinction; they become fused. As the tongue recites and words flow from the lips, the mind ponders, the heart reflects, the soul absorbs, tears well up in the eyes, the heart quakes and trembles, the skin shivers and softens just as the heart does, there no longer remains any duality between the two, even your hair may stand on end. And 'so he walks in a light from his Lord ... that is God's guidance, whereby He guides whomsoever He will' (al-Zumar 39: 22-3).
To read the Qur'an thus, as it deserves to be read, is not a light task; but nor is it too difficult or impossible. Otherwise the Qur'an could not have been meant for laymen like us, nor could it be the mercy and the guidance that it surely is. But obviously it does entail much travail of heart and mind, soul and intellect, spirit and body, and requires that certain conditions be observed and obligations be fulfilled - some inwardly, some outwardly. You should know them all, now, and endeavour to observe them before you enter the glorious world of the Qur'an.
Only then will you reap the full harvest of blessings that await you in the Qur'an. Only then will the Qur'an open its doors to you. Only then will it let you dwell inside it and dwell inside you. Nine months spent in the womb of your mother have transformed a drop of water into 'you' - hearing, seeing and thinking. Can you imagine what a lifetime spent with the Qur'an - seeking, hearing, seeing, thinking, striving - can do for you? It can make you into an entirely new 'being' - before whom even angels will feel proud to kneel.
Ascending at every step taken within the Qur'an and every moment spent therein, you will reach towering heights. You will be gripped by the power and beauty that breathe and move within the Qur'an.
From Abdullah Ibn 'Amr Ibn al-'As: The Prophet, Allah's blessings and peace be on him, said, 'The companion of the Qur'an will be told: recite and ascend, ascend with facility as you used to recite with facility in the world. Your final abode is the height you reach at the last verse you recite' (Abd Da'ud, Tirmidhi, Ahmad, Nasa'i)...
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The Demand of the Qur'an for a Direct Confrontation.
The Noble Qur'an was revealed in the Arabic language, one of the richest languages in the world from the point of view of firmness of structure and abundance of vocabulary. It descended like a flash of lightning in the darkness of the Age of Ignorance, and in the manner in which it conveyed various types of subject matter in the most concise of sentences it had nothing in common with the conventional language of the Arabs. At the time that the Qur'an was revealed, the literary talent and eloquence of the Arabs was at its peak. Works created by poets and orators commanded the attention and admiration of everyone, and literature constituted the only art cultivated by the Arab elite.
The Qur'an, which constituted the documentary proof of the messengerhood of the Prophet of Islam and the raw materials of which its constituent letters and words was revealed over a period of twenty-three years in accordance with the particular needs that emerged over time. Thus it guided the Prophet and his companions step by step toward their exalted goals. The words and expressions of the Qur'an are harmonious and its words are set together pleasingly and with the utmost beauty, and in complete accord with the subtle meanings they express. This unique combination of wording and meaning is a special feature of the Qur'an and another aspect of its miraculousness.
With the revelation of the Qur'an, the Arabs made the acquaintance of a fresh and new form of speech which was neither prose nor poetry, but the melody of which was more beautiful and attractive than that of poetry and the discourse of which was more eloquent and effective than that of prose. Whoever heard it was drawn toward it and transformed by it. It was utterly different from all forms of human speech by virtue of the superiority of its concepts, the eloquence of its style and outward form, and its exposition of meanings in the most concise way.
The firm laws and clear logic of the Qur'an showed human beings the way to correct religion and living, and inspired them with the determination to create an epic unparalleled in history. The Qur'an destroyed utterly the superstitions that the oppressors and their helpers had elaborated throughout history.
The Qur'an established a mode of thought leading to the truth, which is identified as thought that eschews all obstinacy, caprice and fanaticism. From the very first day that the Prophet began preaching his message of monotheism, he summoned people also to a realistic vision of the world. When inviting them to faith, he addressed their wisdom and intelligence and called on them to use their eyes and their ears to perceive the truth. He unshackled them from custom and usage, from obstinately clinging to ancient heritages, and strove to convince them that they should not perversely insist on retaining the beliefs and loyalties that had been born of polytheism. Although these efforts earned him bitter harassment, he was not dismayed, and he did not give up before fulfilling the role that the Creator had given him in improving men's lives. Many of the polytheists did not permit themselves to listen to the Qur'an for they were well aware of its remarkable effect and afraid that its profound and astonishing influence might conquer their hearts as well, drawing them ineluctably towards it.
Ibn Hisham writes in his life of the Prophet:
So strong was the heartfelt desire of the people to hear the Quran that even some of the unbelievers of the Quraysh would stealthily go near the Prophet's house at night, remaining there until dawn, in order to listen throughout the night to the pleasing melody of the Qur'an as recited by the Messenger of God. This happened many times.
When the revelation of the Qur'an began, the Most Noble Messenger clearly proclaimed the Qur'an to be the Word of God, and said it was impossible for any human being to duplicate it; if anyone disagreed, he ought to make an attempt to copy it, and should feel free to seek help from any source in doing so. None was able to take up this challenge and produce even a short surah similar to the Qur'an.
Still more remarkable is the fact that the utterances of the Prophet, whose tongue would recite the Qur'an, bore no resemblance whatsoever to the Qur'an. This is in itself a convincing proof that the Qur'an originated from a source other than the mind of the Prophet.
The Qur'an Modifies the Conditions of its Challenge
The Quran issued a challenge not only to the contemporaries of the Prophet but also to men in all ages. In order to demonstrate the incapacity and impotence of people to imitate it, it issued the following universal proclamation:
Were all of mankind to come together and wish to produce the like of the Qur'an, they would never succeed, however much they aided each other. (17:88)
It then modifies the challenge and reduces its scope by saying:
Do people imagine that this Qur'an is not from Us, and that you, Oh Prophet, are falsely attributing it to Us? Tell them that if they are speaking truly they should produce ten surahs resembling the Qur'an, and that they are free to call on the aid of anyone but God in so doing. (11:13)
Then, at a third stage, the scope of the challenge is reduced still further: the deniers are called on to produce only a single surah resembling the Qur'an:
Oh people, if you doubt the heavenly origin of this Book which We have sent down to Our servant, the Prophet, produce one surah like it.
Since we know that some of the shorter surahs consist only of a few brief sentences, this final challenge constituted a definitive proof of the human being's inability to imitate the Qur'an. It is remarkable that the Prophet who thus challenged the Arabs to a kind of literary contest, despite all their literary resources, was someone who had never in the course of the forty years of his life participated in any of their literary competitions or acquired any superiority in eloquence over this own people. Let us not forget that this challenge was issued to a people whose leaders were threatened by the devastating attacks of the Qur'an, their lives, their property, their ancient customs, their ancestors, their whole social position. If it had been at all possible for the Arabs to respond to the challenge of the Quran, they would have taken it up immediately, with the unstinting aid of the masters of eloquence that were by no means rare in that age. Thus they would have invalidated the proofs of the Qur'an and won an everlasting victory.
Furthermore, as a matter of general principle, if one consistently follows and studies the style of a certain form of speech, he will ultimately be able to imitate it. But the Qur'an forms an exception to this rule: however much one tries to practice the use of the Qur'anic style, he will never be able to create something resembling the Qur'an. This reveals to us a significant truth: mere learning and study can never give us the capability to imitate the Qur'an. History has not a single instance to show in which this particular aspect of the miraculousness of the Qur'an has been negated; it cannot point to a single book comparable to the Qur'an.
Even among the speeches and sayings of the Prophet, nothing can be found which resembles the Qur'an from the point of view of style and eloquence. If the forces opposing Islam, with all of their skilled rhetoricians, had been able to create works capable of competing with the Qur'an, there would have been no need for them to endure losses and casualties by going to war, to suffer hardship and expend material resources. They could have won an easy victory by means of propaganda, a kind of cold war, and put paid to the rise of Islam within itself, its place of origin.
They called into play all their resources in an effort to meet the challenge of the Qur'an, but all their efforts came to naught. They were unable to point even to a single error or defect in the Qur'an and were obliged to admit that its words were situated on a higher plane than the thought and speech of the human being. The verses of the Qur'an penetrated the depths of human beings' hearts with such unprecedented swiftness that all people of sound mind and heroic disposition eagerly embraced its message.
By contrast, the devotees of ignorance and mental stagnation, people who assigned little value to wisdom and thought, and whose lives were spent in the swamp of neglect and lack of awareness, were the principal element in opposing Islam and urging others to do so. In order to conceal from people's view the miraculous nature of the Qur'an, they attributed the Qur'an to the workings of magic, seeking thus to explain the extraordinary attraction exerted by its verses and its unique influence. Sometimes they would also subject the converts to Islam to harassment and a hail of contempt and ridicule, or through force and coercion they would attempt to prevent the people from thinking freely. Their whole method of struggle against Islam was, in fact, childish, and it betrayed their weakness and utter helplessness.
For example, they instructed a group of people to go and make a noise, to whistle and clap their hands, while the Prophet was reciting the verses of the Qur'an, so that the people would not fall under the influence of its eloquence and power to attract. The methods followed by the leaders of Quraysh and their insistence on preventing the message of the Qur'an from reaching the ears of the people showed that a deadly serious struggle between truth and falsehood was not indeed underway. The Qur'an itself unmasks the methods they followed and the negative role that they played:
The polytheists said: 'Do not listen to the verses of the Quran, and make a noise while they are being recited; perhaps you will thus triumph.
But this attempt forcibly to sever the connection between people's minds and the Qur'an did not last long. As soon as the shackles of coercion and fear were loosened from the minds of people, even some of the leaders of the polytheists who were firmly attached to the rites and customs of the Age of Ignorance would conceal themselves behind the coverings of the Ka'bah not far from where the Prophet was sitting, in order to listen to him reciting the verses of the Qur'an in prayer. This shows how deeply the image the Qur'an had traced of itself was able to penetrate deep into the souls of the people, so that the polytheists were ultimately unable to accomplish anything effective against the message of the Qur'an, although it represented a call to battle fatal to their interests. This impotence on the part of the enemies of Islam belongs to the dawn of Islam: the masters of eloquence were unable to imitate or compete with the Qur'an.
Now that we are in the fifteenth century since the Qur'an first laid down its challenge, a time when the progress of learning has opened up new horizons of thought in front of us, we can appreciate the Divine origin of the Qur'an and its infinite values by reference to other matters, quite apart from the unique and inimitable structure and eloquence of the Qur'an. We can perceive the Qur'an to be an everlasting miracle, because the position of revelation vis-a-vis its deniers remains firmly the same, and the challenge of the Qur'an still resounds to all of mankind:
If you doubt the heavenly origin of this book, produce one surah like it. (2:23)
Can the person of today take up the challenge of the Qur'an and produce a surah like it, thereby conquering the stronghold of Islam and invalidating the claims of its Prophet? Both in past and present times, there have been obstinate and impudent enemies of Islam among the experts on Arabic language and literature. If it had been possible for them to meet the challenge of the Qur'an, that eternal miracle of harmony and symmetry, and produce a single surah like it, they would certainly have devoted themselves fully to such a destructive undertaking.
Islam has proposed, then, a very simple challenge to those who oppose it. Why then do the deniers of prophethood choose roundabout ways, avoiding this direct method of confronting and defeating Islam? Is it not because the door is firmly closed on meeting the challenge posed by the Qur'an?
Gibb, a certain Christian scholar, says:
Even if we attempt to reorder the words of the Quran, we will not be able to put them in a new and meaningful order; we must replace them exactly where they were before.
Despite the passage of time, historical documents and evidence still provide such a clear picture of the Prophet of Islam and his characteristics that all historians are unanimous that the Prophet was an unlettered man who had never known books or teachers and never learned how to write. The Qur'an itself addressed him as follows, proclaiming his characteristics to the members of Meccan society who were acquainted with all the stages of his life:
Before this, you did not read any book, nor did you write anything with your hands. (29:48)
The Divine nature of the Prophets message is thus demonstrated. Is it at all possible that someone should proclaim to the members of his own society, in utter contradiction of the truth, that he is unlettered and has never studied, without anyone voicing an objection? The dark cultural environment of that day was, in any event, a stranger to scholars and teachers; nothing existed that the Prophet might have studied. Those people who knew how to read and write were few and far between and none of the historians records a single instance of the Prophet having read a single line or written a single word before the beginning of his prophetic mission.
How remarkable it is that such a man who had never studied became the standard-bearer of a movement calling for science and free thought! With the beginning of his messengerhood and his entry on the stage of human history, mankind entered a new stage of progress. With the suddenness of a flash of lightening, he introduced his people to the world of learning and writing and laid the foundations of a movement that transformed the degenerate society of Arabia into the nucleus of a great world civilization. A few centuries later, that civilization could boast of the most splendid scientific accomplishments and the greatest scholars and researchers.
A consideration of these facts concerning the phenomenon of Islam, particularly as they are judged by non-Muslim scholars, helps us to understand better the profoundly miraculous nature of the Qur'an. The author of Muhammad, the Prophet Who Must Be Examined Anew, writes as follows:
Although he was unlettered, the very first verses that were revealed to him contain mention of the pen and of knowledge, of learning and teaching. There is no other religion that places such emphasis, in its very origin, on knowledge and learning.
If Muhammad had been a scholar, the revelation of the Qur'an in the cave of Hira would not have been surprising, for a scholar knows well the value of learning. But he was unlettered and had never studied with any teacher. I congratulate the Muslims that the acquisition of knowledge was so highly valued at the very inception of their religion.
Laura Vaccia Vaglieri, professor at the University of Naples, has the following to say:
The heavenly book of Islam is miraculous and inimitable. Its style is totally unprecedented in Arabic literature, and its peculiar impact on the spirit of the human being derives from its special and superior characteristics. How is it possible that such a book should be the work of Muhammad, an Arab who had never studied?
We find in this book a treasury of knowledge beyond the capacity of the greatest philosophers and statesmen, and for this reason it is also impossible to regard the Qur'an as the work of an educated person.
Smith writes in his book, Muhammad and Islam:
I boldly assert that one day the loftiest of human philosophers and the most veracious principles of Christianity will confess and bear witness that the Quran is the Word of God and that Muhammad is the Messenger of God. An unlettered and unlearned Prophet was chosen by God to bring the Quran to mankind, a book that has in the course of history produced thousands of other books and treatises, brought libraries into being and filled them with books, and placed before mankind laws and philosophies and educational, intellectual and ideological systems.
He arose in an environment where there was no trace of learning and civilization. In the whole of Medina, there were only eleven people who knew how to read and write, and in all the branches of the Quraysh, in Mecca and its environs, not more than seventeen people were literate.
The teachings of the Qur'an, which mentions knowledge and the pen in its opening verses, brought about a tremendous transformation. Islam proclaimed study to be a religious duty, and made the black ink of the scribe and the scholar to be superior to the red blood of the martyr.
Thanks to the teachings of the Qur'an and its emphasis on the cultivation of knowledge, countless scholars made their appearance and wrote innumerable books. Different scientific disciplines were derived from the Qur'an and spread across the world by Muslim thinkers. The world was illumined with the light of the Qur'an and the culture of Islam.
Ref: Seal of the Prophets and His Message, Musavi Lari
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Do we deserve the Qur'an ?
"The Most Gracious, teacher of the Quran." (55:1-2)
From this verse, the believers know that Allah is the teacher of the Quran. The believers also know that Allah does not come to our door, knock, and tell us, "It is Me, Allah, coming to teach you the Qur'an." But rather, God will teach us the Qur'an by one or more of many ways.
"We granted Solomon, the correct understanding..." (21:79)
He may grant you the correct understanding, as He did for His Prophet, Solomon, or teach you by using another human being, a believer, or a non-believer. Allah may use an incident, a dream, a TV show, a movie, a newspaper article, a dog, a pig or an ant to teach you what He wants from the Qur'an.
"No human being can communicate with Allah ecxept through inspiration, or from behind a barrier, or by His sending a Messenger, through whom He reveals what He wills. He is the Most High, Most Wise." (42:51)
Of the many ways Allah chooses to communicate to us His message, Allah emphasized that He communicates with us by sending a Messenger through whom He reveals what He wills. Allah communicates to His human Messengers through His angle messenger and He communicates with the human beings through His human Messengers.
Those who do not see the Qur'an, or have a barrier around their heart do not see that. Allah did communicate with us through a Messenger, a human Messenger. That Messenger did not speak a heavenly language or behaved like an angel. He did not advertise ahead of time that he would be communicating to us what Allah wanted us to know. Whatever Allah wanted him to teach us would have come in any form. The secret here was that : whenever and whatever the Messenger spoke for the message, we are able to find it in the Qur'an. We were blessed by a Messenger who always pointed to the Qur'an for every thought, idea or correction that he came up with.
"O people of the scripture, our Messenger has come to you, to recite to you (to clarify for you) (make things clear unto you), after a period of time without Messengers, lest you say, "We did not receive any preacher or warner." A preacher and warner has now come to you. Allah is omnipotent." (5:19)
This was Allah’s communication with us through His Messenger. We have the complete freedom to accept this communication, reject it, make fun of it, ridicule it, call it idol-worship, replace it with our opinion or dump it in the trash after the Messenger has gone.
"Surely those who slide back, after the guidance has been manifested to them, the devil has enticed them, and has misled them." (47:25)
As Allah told us in the Qur'an and as pointed to us by the Messenger of the covenant, all the rituals of Islam were given to Abraham and passed down to us generation after generation. (22:78) Our Shahada, Salat, Zakat, Fasting and Hajj were given to Abraham, corrupted after him by the Scholars and then corrected again to us through the Last Messenger.
Throughout the Qur'an, Allah gives us, sometimes in detail, the stories of previous generations and how they believed or disbelieved, and how they were guided or misguided. Allah also repeatedly informs us about the reason behind telling us these stories.
"…God thus cites the example for the people, that they may take heed."
"We cite these examples for the people, that they may reflect."
If we do not learn from the Qur'an we do not deserve it.
Who misleads the people ?! Who corrupts the message?!
"He is the One who sends down to His servant clear revelations, in order to lead you out of the darkness into the light. GOD is Compassionate towards you, Most Merciful."
The student of the Qur'an will find out that, Qur'an is telling us that the messengers of Allah will lead the people from darkness into the and that nowhere in the Qur'an does Allah tell us a story of a community misled by its messenger or given the wrong teachings by him. On the contrary, it is the people who came after the departure of every messenger who misled and misguided the people. They did it in the name of new knowledge and/or new understanding. The religious leaders, the scholars and the self-proclaimed scholars are on the top of the list of this corruption.
" They have set us their religious leaders and scholars as idols, instead of God…"
The difference between now and then is that the scholars of today do not have to be graduates of Scholars school, but they could be students or graduates of Harvard, Stanford, UCLA, USC, UA...etc. . They could be anyone who has an opinion specially the one who honors his opinion too much, as in (I, me and my). Do we follow the Messenger and the Qur'an or do we follow the knowledgeable people?
The student of the Qur'an will also notice that, nowhere in the Qur'an does Allah tell us of a person, knowledgeable or not, correcting the message of His messengers. The Qur'an does tell us of the wise man teaching Moses good lessons in his life, but not teaching him his message or preaching his message for him. We are ordered in the Qur'an to follow the messengers for their message and we were never ordered to follow other people, knowledgeable or not for their knowledge or intelligence.
When Allah chose His messengers, He did not specifically choose the most knowledgeable or the most intelligent, but he chose the most honest to deliver the message. The messenger’s own knowledge or intelligence was irrelevant.
There is no mention in the Qur'an of any messenger of Allah, correcting mistakes made by a previous messenger.
It is also significant to notice that there is no mention in the Qur'an of any messenger of Allah, correcting mistakes made by a previous messenger. Messengers of Satan will claim that they are sent to correct the previous messengers of Allah in their quest to mislead and misguide the people. They do this in the name of new knowledge and/or new understanding. Those who will use the Qur'an as their guide will realise that any new messenger of Allah will ONLY confirm what the previous Messengers had brought. Even if they add new information, it should not contradict the previous message. Allah’s message does not change by the change of messengers. Allah’s message has always been the same.
If we believe the Qur'an we should know by now that history will repeat itself. Some people after the departure of the Messenger will distort the message that he corrected from the Qur'an by the Qur'an. They will claim new knowledge and/or new understanding. They do not see their own shortcoming and misguidance. They are the descendants of the same people who distorted the messages of Abraham, Moses and Jesus. They will push the people to believe like them or call them idol-worshipers. Those who are weak at heart and the doubters will fall victim to their claim while the strong believers who hold to the Qur'an as their guide and reference will stand strong, confident and guided despite these claims. They will not be tempted by the sweetness or the eloquence of these people's talk. Allah reminded us of their example in the Qur'an.
"When you see them, you may be impressed by their looks. And when they speak, you may listen to their eloquence. They are like standing logs. They think that every call is intended against them. These are the real enemies; beware of them. GOD condemns them; they have deviated." (63:4)
Should we believe the Qur'an ?! Should we learn from the Qur;an ?! We better.
"This has been consistently the case with all the messengers that we sent before you, and you will find that our system never changes."
It is very important to know that our understanding of the Qur'an should not be frozen in a frame of time or a personality. We should realize that our understanding of the Qur'an will continue to grow, because more knowledge will be available to us. This new knowledge will help us understand the wisdom behind certain Qur'anic teachings, that we may not be fully comprehending at this time. Or, help us understand new areas that were never known before. Good examples for us are the origin of the universe and the big bang theory or the development of the human embryo. Neither one was known to the previous generations when they read the Qur'an. This knowledge will not create a new religion or change a well founded Qur'anic rule. We should be open minded to look at all claims without fear or hesitation. We should be certain and proud that we have the right religion, the right book and the right path.
Since the departure of the Messenger, we have heard all kinds of claims and distortions of the clear message we have. Satan has been so upset that the submitters are so confident in their belief and their hold to the Qur'an. He worked his agents day and night to come up with all kinds of claims from messengership to new understanding theories.
If we do not learn from the Qur'an, we do not deserve it.
Allah communicates with us by His sending of a messenger through whom he reveals what He wills.
Messengers of Allah do not mislead the people or misguide them.
All the corruption of religions were done by the people who came after the messengers and claimed new knowledge or new understanding.
We should be able to purge all the lies, fabrication and confusion created by the hypocrites by using the Qur'an as a reference. We should be certain and proud that we have the right religion, the right book and the right path.
It is time to call on all the submitters to take their Qur'an seriously and learn from its lessons and never be intimidated or shaken by all the noise around them. We have the best reference, we have the ultimate truth, we have the Qur'an...
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Who Wrote the Holy Qur'an?
Qur'an, in Arabic, could only have been written by ONE of 3 possible sources:
The Arabs
Mohammad (peace be upon him)
Allah (GOD)
Besides the above mentioned sources, Qur'an couldn't possibly have been written by ANYONE else.
(NOTE: The first part is not meant to be a rigorous proof. It is something to ponder upon. However, the second part, about Mohammad [pbuh] wrote it' contains more extensive proof.)
No other source is possible, because Qur'an is written in pure, rich, and poetic Arabic, which was not known to anyone other than the above mentioned sources, at that time. The Arabic language was at its peak in expression, richness, vocabulary, artistic, and poetic value during the time the Qur'an was being revealed. Anyone speaking the classical Arabic ( the Arabic of Qur'an at the time it was revealed) would argue that a non-Arab entity couldn't possibly have written such an extensive and brilliant piece of literature in the Arabic language. Qur'an could only have been written by an Arabic speaking entity. An entity, who's knowledge, style, vocabulary, grammar, and way of expression was so powerful that it impacted the entire Arabian peninsula, the east, the west, and continues to impact people all over the globe today!
At no other time, in the history of Arabic language, had it ever achieved its peak in expression, literature, and development, than the time of Arabia during the 6th Century, the time when Qur'an was being revealed. At no other time in the history of Arabic language had the language ever achieved its highest potential than the time of Arabia during the 6th Century, the time when Qur'an was being revealed. The language reached its peak in richness, artistic value, and poetry, during that time. With the Arabic language at its peak, and the best of Arabic writers, poets present in Arabia, it is impossible that a non-Arabic speaking entity would write a book like Qur'an and have such a dynamite impact on the Arabs!
So only an Arabic speaking entity could have write Quran. With that in mind, we're left with three choices:
The Arabs wrote it.
Mohammad (peace be upon him) wrote it.
Allah (GOD) wrote it.
Let us examine the three choices one by one:
(1) Arabs Wrote it ? ---------------------
What Qur'an teaches goes DIRECTLY against the pagan Arab culture, religion, and gods, that existed before the Qur'an was revealed. Qur'an condemns idol worshipping, but the Arabs, loved their idol gods, and worshipped them regularly. Qur'an raised the status of women; the Arabs treated women next to animals. The Arabs would never write something that goes against their most important belief of idol worshipping. Qur'an goes against most of the social habits (such as backbiting, slandering, name calling, etc) which the Arabs were heavily indulged into. For example, the Arabs would call insulting nicknames such as Abu Jahal (the father of ignorance). Qur'an condemns and prohibits taking interest on money, whereas, the Arabs freely levied heavy interest rates in loans and businesses. Qur'an condemns and prohibits alcohol drinking, whereas, the Arabs consumed alcohol freely. The Qur'an condemns and prohibits gambling, whereas, the Arabs were some of the worst gamblers. The Arabs would never write something so comprehensively against just about all of their customs and culture and religious beliefs, as the Qur'an is.
During the time of the Holy Prophet (pbuh), the Arabs would indulge in all the social habits that the Qur'an condemns and prohibits. How can Arabs then write something that would negate their entire society's norms and ideologies ?
Did a group of Arabs or an individual Arab write Qur'an? Perhaps a rebel Arab beduoin, or a society's misfit, or someone with different ideals and norms decided one day to write Qur'an? The answer to these questions is also 'no'. Because, if we read Qur'an, we notice that there is no author! No individual has his/her name written on the cover of Qur'an! Anytime an individual writes a book, he/she writes his/her name on the cover. The author's name always appears on his/her book, and there is always an author who is credited for writing that book. No one in the history of the world has EVER claimed to have written the Qur'an, nor anyone's name ever appeared in front of the Qur'an as being the 'author'. This is the only book in the world without an author. No one in the world has ever been accused of writing the Holy Qur'an, except the Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him), by non-muslims.
Qur'an has no author, and no group or individual in Arabia ever claimed to have written it, nor any group or an indvidual recited, taught, and explained Qur'an except the Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) and his followers. The Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) was the only Arabian who first practiced, explained, and preached Qur'an, and ended up making a lot of Arab tribes his enemies. Any historian, Muslim or non-Muslim would argue that the only possible source of Qur'an can be the Prophet Mohammad (pbuh), the man responsible to recite it, teach it, and expalin it to the people of Arabia. In fact, many historians today still think that only Mohammad (pbuh) could possibly have written it.
This leads one to conclude that the Prophet (pbuh) must have written it!
(2) Mohammad (pbuh) wrote it ? ------------------------------
First, he was illiterate!! How can an illiterate person come up with such a rich, poetic, intellectual, and inspiring text that it rocked the entire Arabia?
Mohammad (pbuh) never went to school ! No one taught him. He had no teacher of any kind in any subjects. How can he have the knowledge of all the science, astronomy, oceanography, etc that is contained in the Qur'an ? (For example, the mention of ocean currents, stars, earth, moon, sun and their fixed paths in Soorah Rahman; and many other scientific statements that are found in Qur'an, that I cannot state in this short article)
When the Qur'an was revealed, the Arabic language was at its peak in richness, poetic value, literature, etc. The Qur'an came and challenged the best literature in Arabic, the best poetry in Arabic of the time. Mohammad (pbuh) being illiterate could not possibly have come up with something so immaculate that it even exceded the best of poetry, and literature in Arabic at the time of the language's PEAK of development. Arabic language had never been so rich in expression, poetic value, vocabulary, and variety in literature, as it was in the time of the writing of the Qur'an. At a time like this, the Qur'an came and exceeded the best of Arabic in all aspects of the language: poetry, literature, expression, etc. Any classical Arabic speaker would appreciate the unbeaten, unchallenged, and unmatched beauty of the language of the Qur'an.
An illiterate man is simply not capable of writing such a book.
Mohammad (pbuh) had no reason to come up with something like the Qur'an and cause the entire society of Arabia to become his enemy. Why would he do something like that? Why would he write something going against almost all of the norms of the society, and lose his family, relatives, friends, and other loved ones , and not to mention all the wealth he lost ?
The Qur'an was revealed over a period of 23 years ! A very long time! Is it possible for someone to maintain the same exact style of Arabic speech, as demonstrated in the Qur'an, for over 23 years?
Also, what the Prophet Mohammad (saaw) used to say is recorded in what we call his hadeeth (sunnah). If we look at the Arabic style of the hadeeth, and compare it with the style of Qur'an, we can clearly see that they are clearly DIFFERENT, and DISTINGUISHABLE Arabic styles. The prophet (saaw) spoke in public. It does not make sense that a man has two UNIQUE, Distinguishable, and completely different styles of speech in public. Yet another reason why Mohammad (saaw) couldn't possibly have written the Qur'an.
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Here's what our famous Muslim Scholar, Ahmad Deedat said in an article under the heading, Was the Qur'an written or inspired:
"Behold! The angels said: "O Mary! God has chosen you and purified you - Chosen you above the women of all nations." Qur'an-3:42
"Chosen you above the women of all nations." Such an honour is not to be found given to Mary even in the Christian Bible!
Knowing full-well, and believing as we do, that the whole Qur'an is the veritable Word of God, we will nevertheless agree, for the sake of argument, with the enemies of Muhammed (pbuh) for a moment, that he wrote it. We can now expect some cooperation from the unbeliever.
Ask him, "Have you any qualms in agreeing that Muhammed (pbuh) was an Arab?" Only an opinionated fool will hesitate to agree. In that case there is no sense in pursuing any discussion. Cut short the talk. Close the book!
With the man of reason, we proceed. "That this Arab, in the first instance, was addressing other Arabs. He was not talking to Indian Muslims, Chinese Muslims, or Nigerian Muslims. He was addressing his own people - the Arabs. Whether they agreed with him or not, he told them in the most sublime form - words that were seared into the hearts and minds of his listeners that Mary the mother of Jesus -A JEWESS- was chosen above the women of all nations. Not his own mother, nor his wife nor his daughter, nor any other Arab woman, but a Jewess! Can one explain this? Because to everyone his own mother or wife, or daughter would come before other women.
Why would the Prophet of Islam honour a woman from his opposition! and a Jewess at that! belonging to a race which had been looking down upon his people for three thousand years? Just as they still look down upon their Arab brethren today.
SARAH AND HAGAR: The Jews get their cock-eyed racism from their Holy Book, where they are told their father, Abraham, had two wives -Sarah and Hagar. They say that they are the children of Abraham through Sarah, his legitimate wife; that their Arab brethren have descended through Hagar, a "bondswoman", and that as such, the Arabs are inferior breed.
Will anyone please explain the anomaly as to why Muhammed (pbuh) (if he is the author) chose this Jewess for such honour? The answer is simple - HE HAD NO CHOICE - he had no right to speak of his own desire. "IT IS NO LESS THAN AN INSPIRATION SENT DOWN TO HIM." (Qur'an, 53:4).
SURA MARYAM: There is a Chapter in the Holy Qur'an, named Sura Maryam "Chapter Mary" (XIX) named in honour of Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ (pbuh); again, such an honour is not to be found given to Mary in the Christian Bible. Out of the 66 books of the Protestants and 73 of the Roman Catholics, not one is named after Mary or her son. You will find books named after Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Peter, Paul and two score more obscure names, but not a single one is that of Jesus or Mary!
If Muhammed (pbuh) was the author of the Holy Quran, then he would not have failed to include in it with MARYAM, the mother of Jesus, his own mother - AMINA, his dear wife - KHADIJA, or his beloved daughter - FATIMA. But No! No! this can never be. The Quran is not his handiwork!
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Another Muslim writes:
I was reading about the charge that the prophet, Mohammed (pbuh), has written the Qur'an himself. Before you go any further in reading this post, please ask yourself whether you are an honest truth seeker or just another argumentative person, if the former, continue, otherwise, save your time and jump to the next post.
Islam is based on faith that is supported by a number of strong miracles such as knowing what events to take place ahead of time or coming up with supernatural deeds in front of people. The holy Qur'an has these signs and much more. First, The holy Qur'an predicted many events to take place ahead of the time of the revelation of that verse; for example, predicting the destruction of Persian empire at a time where the later had a monumental victory over Rome. If the prophet, as some people claim, has written the Qur'an, then he would have put his future in real jeopardy (50% chance) since neither satellite photos nor on-ground intelligence personnel were available to him at the revelation time. Further, numerous details about many natural phenomena were detailed in the Qur'an and, until recently, they were proven by experts to be amazingly accurate. For example of the physical development of the fetus inside the womb along with timing given by many verses matches exactly what leading authorities in Embryology are claiming to be recent discoveries. Moreover, verses that gives descriptions about the creation of the universe and the function of mountains in balancing earth and many other descriptions/explanations are available to be read and to be understood. If the prophet was the author, wouldn't he be prone to make weak inferences similar to those who claim that earth is square and whoever says otherwise should be killed?
The prophet also has demonstrated many supernatural miracles not by his own power, but by the power of the creator. He went to Jerasalem back in one night and gave a detailed description of the carnival that was traveling on that route and also specific accedint happend to them at that noght (in those days, it takes a month or so for a round-trip). In another ocasion, he provided water for an entire army from a small plate between his hands. There are many other miracles that require serious truth seeker to read about and to think about it.
From the above, it reasonable to conclude that the Quran is not the PROPHET CREATION. HE HAD NO WAY TO PREDICT ALL THESE EVENTS AND TO BE RIGHT ALL THE TIME, ESPECIALLY WHEN KNOWING THAT THE PROPHET HIMSELFE WAS ILLITERATE !!!
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Embryology and Life Sciences in Quran.
"The Developing Human. Clinically Oriented Embryology" K.L. Moore
The work by Prof. Keith Moore is probably the most detailed study of the subject. Prof. Keith Moore is Professor and Chairman of the Department of Anatomy, University of Toronto.
His books on anatomy and on embryology are used at many medical school as standard instruction books. The Yale Medical school uses both his books. The Yale Bookstore phone number for Medical books is: (203) 772-2081. Their general information number is (203) 432-4771. (New Haven, Connecticut)
He is *the* authority on embryology. I strongly recommend the latest edition of the latter book as it mentions how accurately the Qur'an describes embryo development.
Prof. Moore has said:
"It has been a great pleasure for me to help clarify statements in the Qur'an about human development. It is clear to me that these statements must have come to Muhammed from God or Allah because almost all of this knowledge was not discovered until many centuries later. This proves to me that Mohammed must have been a messenger of God or Allah."
Prof. Marshal Johnson, Professor and Chairman of the Department of Anatomy and Director of the Daniel Baugh Institute, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia. He says:
"The Qur'an describes not only the development of external form but emphasizes also the internal stages -- the stages inside the embryo of its creation and development, emphasizing major events recognized by contemporary science.... If I were to transpose myself into that era, knowing what I know today and describing things, I could not describe the things that were described. I see no evidence to refute the concept that this individual Mohammed had to be developing this information from some place, so I see nothing in conflict with the concept that Divine Intervention was involved...."
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That leaves us to our third option: God wrote it ! May Allah Guide Us All to Straight Path. Ameen.
"Do they not consider (ponder) on the Qur'an? If it had been from anyone except Allah, they would surely have found in it much discrepency (contradictions)."
Still unsure or doubtful ? Quran is the word of Allah. Allah challenges to His creations:
"And if you are in doubt as to what We have revealed to our servant, Then produce a Chapter like thereunto; And call your witnesses or helpers besides Allah, If you are true."
2: 24. "But if you cannot, and surely you cannot, Then fear the fire Whose fuel is men and stones, Which is prepared for those who reject."
Try reading and understanding the meaning with explanation of the following verses also ! Chapter 10, verse 38 Chapter 11, verse 13 Chapter 17 verse 88...
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