SOME LOGICAL &  RATIONAL ANSWERS

(ONE OF THE CHAPTERS OF MY FORTHCOMING BOOK “INTRODUCING THE QURAN TO NON-MUSLIMS”———–

Prof . M. Shamim
(RTD.Professor of Mech.Engg. B.I.T.Sindri)
(mshamimbit@gmail.com)
Pho 91-9334499528

  • Why the Quran is believed to be a divine book?
  • Why Muhammad is believed to be the Messenger of God?

These two questions  are interlinked:  logically if one is true, the other is necessarily true.As a premise, if it is proved that the Quran is a divine book, revealedby God then it is logically  concluded that the man on whom,it is revealed must be the Messenger of God;conversely if it is proved that Muhammad is a messenger of Allah and not a liar or imposter then  the claim of his that this Book is from God must be accepted : this argument stands the test of logic;we cannot accept the Message and reject the Messenger, or vice versa. Both must be

accepted  or  rejected  but not realized singly.

We examine the Divine status of the Quran here rationally.

               Broadly we may divide the discussion in two categories: External factors and internalfactors.

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EXTERNAL FACTORS:

[Various defiant views and opinions are presented as to the source of the Quran. The following list of “possible” authors reflects the main theories

  • Under “external evidence” we present an argument which is called in the science of logic ” process of elimination”, where we get to the answer of the question – “Who is the author of the Quran?” – by eliminating all alternative answers to this question which are definitely implausible. In other words, the definite or (at least) most probable author or the source of the Quran is identified by eliminating unacceptable alternative candidates:
  • Muhammad
  • Some other Arab poet(s), scholars, etc.
  • Some non-Arab scholars, or poets or religious personalities
  • Monks or Rabbis (i.e. from the Bible or Judeo-Christian sources)
  • God
  • If not God then “who”?

1 -DID MUHAMMAD AUTHOR THIS BOOK?

Did the man who presented the Book to the world claim that he was the Author? No, never, rather he disclaimed it although it would have been easier for him to announce the authorship.No one in the history of the world has ever claimed to have written the Quran.

But we know that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was the only Arabian who first presented,preached and practicedthis book, so any detractormay argue that the first possible source of Quran is one who first presented it to the world.Let us examine this.

“Muhammad was an illiterate person. This is a historical fact ——- had he been a literate one, the enemies might have surely raised thisdoubt?

  • How can an illiterate person come up with such a vastly rich, supremely poetic,  overwhelminglyintellectual and an inspiring text that rocked the entire Arabia nay the entire world ?
  • Muhammad never attended any school, no one ever taught him.  He

had no teacher on any subject.  How could he have theknowledge of all the science, astronomy, oceanography and metaphysicsetc. thatis contained in the Quran ?

  • For the argument’s sake, suppose he was literate and therefore he had a teacher;who was he and what barred that gentleman to come forward

to pat his disciple when he achieved the triumph.

  • Also how is it that the Prophet’s detractors in Makkah could not locate that teacher? It was common knowledge in the township of  Makkah that the Prophet was illiterate, and there is no record of the pagan Arabs in Makkah accusing Muhammad of notbeing illiterate.

Allah the Almighty also answered this in the Qur’an, when it says what means: “And thou wast not [able] to recite a Book before this [Book came] nor art thou [able] to transcribe it with thy right hand: in that case indeed would the talkers of vanities have doubted. Nay here are signs self-evident in the hearts of those endowed with knowledge: and none but the unjust reject Our signs.” (S.Ankabut 29:48–49).

 

  • If Muhammad was illiterate as claimed, he might be dictating the Book with the help of his followers ?

 

«  This doubt raises a very serious question on the truthfulness of his claim to be the Messenger of Allah : what for he claimed that he is a Messenger of God  and what for he claimed that he receives revelations of  God? Was he a liar? An imposter?  Let us examine this  doubt  purely on logical basis:

I) What for one lies?One lies togain earthly items: land, riches or such things

Or gain fame, respect and status in the society; Muhammad   , before proclamation of prophet hood at the age of forty ,had a loving wife   whose established trade he was handling so he had no dearth of riches rather after being prophet  he had to pass through famish situations.   Similarly his distinguished high character had

erned him the name of “AMEEN”(the trustworthy )People of the city often came to him to seek his advice in matters of their problems to get cases of disputes solved.

Need of such a “lie”?

If we were to say that the Muhammad (pbh)claimed prophet hood for fame glory and status, we  see that what actually occurred was the exact opposite. Muhammad, before his

claim to Prophet Hood, enjoyed a high status in all aspects” He was of the most noble of

tribes, of the most noble of families, and was known for his truthfulness. After his claim, he

became  a social outcast. For 13 years in Makkah, he and his followers faced excruciating

torture, which led to the death of some of his followers, ridicule, sanctioning, and excommunication

from  society.

Second. Is it possible for a liar to be consistent on his lie for a period of  23  years with unwavering certitudeA liar will falter  sometimes, somewhere  he make a mistake and will be caught  .

ThirdDid he lie to unite all Arabs  to become a king or political leader ?

The book he resented shows no such signs, nowhere one can find a single  sentence calling Arab nationalism. In fact the Makkanspresented him kingship with a condition that he renounce his  Call to Islam,  this he kicked out  unequivocally.

FourthCan a liar withstand turmoil and show conviction for a long period,  as the history tell us, that  Muhammad  endured excruciating pains for his Message?  (see the detail of this discussion in my book,: “INTRODUCING PROPHET MUHAMMAD”.)

  • FifthIt is a matter of common experience that even to prepare a small article one requires a lot  of source materials. As we knowMakkah then had hardly any scholarly figure to make consultations . There was virtually no existence of library. In absence of such source materials it is unimaginable for any person, however intelligent, to compose a  book like the Quran, covering varied topics.

 Sixth     In case of falsehood on part of Muhammad;theinconsistency in the language of the Quran, reflection of the mood of the author in his writing , descriptions of amazing facts of the universe  , all such arguments are coming under “Internal Factors” discussed below.

2  —-If some other persons  (Arabs)   were helping him ?

Who were they? In a small township of Makkah how they could not be located and exposed by theenemies of Muhammad? Moreover, it is just strange that those people never came forward to claim a share in the authorship of the Book after it became prominent.

What the Quran teaches goes DIRECTLY contrary to the pagan Arab culture,

religion, and gods, that existed before the Quran was revealed:

i)Quran condemns idol worshipping, but the Arabs, loved their idol

gods, and worshipped them passionately.

 ii)Quran raised the statusof women; the Arabs treated women next to animals.At the birth of girl child they felt ashamed so much so that at times they buried them alivewhich the Quran (and Muhammad )rebuked in strongest terms.

iii)Quran condemns and prohibits taking interest on money, whereas, the Arabs freely charged heavy interest rates in loans and businesses.

iv) Quran condemns and prohibits Alcohol drinking, whereas, the Arabs consumed alcoholfreely.The Quran condemns and prohibits gambling, whereas,the Arabs were some of the worst gamblers.

  • Thus we conclude logically:During the time of the Holy Prophet (pbuh), the Arabs would indulge in all the social evils that the Quran condemns and prohibits. How can Arabs then write something that would negate their entire social norms and  beliefs?

3 —JUDEO-CHRISTIAN INFLUENCE?

We subdivide this argument in two sub-sections:

a)Some Jew  or Christian person or persons might have helped Muhammad in writing the Quran.

b)Muhammad (pbuh)might have plagiarised from the Bible.

Letus examine these:

(a)Go through any biography of the Prophet even by his detractors, no one indicates that there was any Jew or Christianfamily  in Makkah;of course  in Madinah there were different tribes of Jews, but no one tells that the Prophet had any contact with any Jew before Migration to Madinah.

  • What they claim is thathe  met some Christian monks during histrade travel to Syria who taught him all that is written in the Quran. Does this argument appeal to you?Check this rationally:
  • Did those monks give him all materials in book-formor  written on such odd materials asscrapes of leathers , thin flat stones ,palm branches , wooden pieces , shoulder blades of animals , etc. –—-and all these Muhammad (pbuh) carried with him and no other fellow traveller noticed it ! And more importantly he being an illiterate person what he did with these?
  • If it is argued that the monks gave him only  oral sermons—then the question arises about the lengths of duration of the meetings and about capacity of an illiterate person to acquire and retain it ?And yet again why these meetings were not noticed by any fellow travellers?
  • And most important of all, no enemy of Makkah who  all the time spied on  him to find faults with him,never claimed that Muhammad (pbuh) had made some contact with such and such monks and learnt from them what he was uttering after gaining  prophet hood.(to level such trivial charge never occurred to them !)
  • After migration to Madinah the Prophet did come in contact with the  Jewish people who after a very short initial amicable  period became hostile to him ,they were all the time in search of some faults to show him down; in that circumstances  the allegation that he took help in writing the Quran does not stand.
  • Moreover it seems ludicrous that scholars of the Bible or the Torah were helping Muhammad (pbuh) in writing the Quran in which there are a number of verses critical of the actions of the scholars of these two scriptures.

[2:79 Woe, then, unto those who write down, with their own hands, (something which they claim to be) divine writ, and then say. “This is from God,” in order to acquire a trifling gain thereby; woe, then, unto them for what their hands have written, and woe unto them for all that they may have gained.

There are passages  that are highly critical of such Jewish and Christian scholars (for example go through 2:83-116)]

(b) Did Muhammad (pbuh)plagiarize  from the Bible ?

This allegation has been raised by many Orientalists and Missionary people .Moreover in the western countries,among the masses it is a common perception about the Quran that it is just a plagiarized version of the Bible so they see it as a despised and degraded book.

We examine this allegation here in depth with logical reasoning.

 First, to plagiarize from the Bible,Muhammad (pbuh) must be:

i)literate ,

ii)if not being literate, he must be helped by a band of Biblical  scholars.

 iii) an  Arabic version of the Bible must  be available. The first two points we just discussed above and we saw that they don’t stand on logical tests. Examine the third option:

v  It is  a historical fact that there was no Arabic version of the Bible at the time of Muhammad (pbuh) so  where from  could he could plagiarize it ? Check this fact in the Internet:

There was no Arabic translation of the Bible available during the Prophet’s time. For a detailed account of this subject, read the article: Is The Bible Really The Source of The Qur’an?(www.onislam.net/english,www.islamic-awareness.org/sources/bible.html)
Ernst Würthwein informs us in his book, The Text Of The Old Testament:
“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.” (Ernst Würthwein, The Text Of The Old Testament (Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1988, pp. 104.)

 

  • Ø    The New Catholic Encyclopaedia (Vol. 1, pp. 721-72) confirms that during the time of the Muhammad (pbuh)  :

“The Hijaz [Arabian peninsula] had not been touched by Christian preaching. Hence organisation of the Christian church was neither to be expected nor found.”

  • The first translations of the Hebrew Bible in Arabic appeared after the advent of Islam. In fact, the oldest dated manuscript of the Old Testament in Arabic dates from the first half of the ninth century  that is about 200 years after the death of Muhammad (pbuh).
  • The oldest known, dated manuscripts containing Arabic translations of the New Testament are in the collections of St. Catherine’s monastery at Mt. Sinai. Sinai Arabic MS 151 contains an Arabic version of the Epistles of Paul, the Acts of the Apostles, and the Catholic Epistles. It is the oldest dated New Testament manuscripts. The colophon of this MS informs us that one BisrIbn as-Sirri made the translation from Syriac in Damascus during Ramadan of the Higrah year 253, i.e., 867 AD.( Sidney H Griffith, “The Gospel In Arabic: An Enquiry Into Its Appearance In The First Abbasid Century”, OriensChristianus, Volume 69, p. 131-132.)
  • In such a case  wherefrom did Muhammad (pbuh) get so many details some of which are even absent in the Bible?If the Qur’an was ‘principally but not exclusively dependent on Jewish and Christian traditions then how one can explain  the following important points ?:

Some of the Prophets mentioned in the Qur’an i.e. Hud for the Thamud and Salih for the Aad people are not even mentioned in the Bible.

  • Information given in the Qur’an about Prophet Ibrahim, specifically about his teachings on monotheism and the resultant struggle, is not found in the Bible.
  • There is no mention of  :Jesus speaking from the cradle confirming the chastity of his mother, his giving life by God’s permission to birds made of clay, the table descending from heaven.
  • Musa traveling to the “meeting place of two seas”.
  • The incident of Pharaoh’s plan to kill Musa and that a “believer” in Pharaoh’s courtdissuaded him from carrying out his plan.
  • Musa struck the rock and “12 springs gushed forth for each of the Jewish tribes.”
  • The magicians in Pharaoh’s court declare their belief in God after losing the contest with Musa (pbuh) and they were killed for it.

All the above accounts are absent in the Bible.

v  The Qur’an contradicts the following accounts given in the Bible:

  • Original sin of Adam and its consequences on mankind which is the very, if not only, basis of the religion of Christianity. It is a common view held in Christendom there is no such concept in the Quran
  • That it was originally Eve who was led  astray by Satan and she in turn made Adam commit  the

Sin; the Quran contradicts  itvery clearly at various places and states that Satan lead bothof them astray.

  • The original sin was passed on to the entire human race, due to which man has to toil for his living and the woman has to give birth to the child in pain according to Bible. The Qur’an specifically states that Adam sought Allah’s forgiveness and Allah accepted his supplications and forgave him.
  • The angels visiting Ibrahim on their way to Lut;
  • The preaching of Nuh was specifically monotheism according to the Qur’an;
  • The Qur’an categorically denies the concept of Trinity and confirm that Jesus was no more than a Prophet – not god, not the son of god and not the Trinity;
  • The Qur’an categorically states that Jesus was not crucified nor killed;
  • The Qur’an states that all the prophets are noble men sent by Allah and clears all of the prophets from evil intention or evil actions, as  chargedagainst them  in the Bible.
  • The Qur’an testifies that all the prophets of God such as Musa or Haroun were sincere to their mission for which they were sent by God, and never betrayed their mission as suggested in the Bible, or sinned as in the case ofLut, David, Solomon and others ,who according to the Bible are alleged to have committed different sins and some such sins we Muslims can never think of.

More details are given in the Qur’an as compared to the Bible:Biblical narratives and the Quran – Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblical_narratives_and_the_Quran

You +1’d this publicly. Undo

QUR’AN AND BIBLE COMPARED

www.worldevangelicals.org/…/pdf/Qur’an_and_Bible_Compared.You +1’d this publicly. Undo

 

 

It is quite clear from the above discussions  thatthe Qur’ân is not borrowed from the Bible, neither the Old Testament nor from New Testament in Arabic. This point, although not directly, is also mentioned in the Qur’ân. The Qur’ân defends itself from such accusations.

[ You can go through these  Articles related to “The Borrowing Theories Of The Qur’ân”(www.islamic-awareness.org/Quran/source/bborientalist.html ) ] and http://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/105267/religion/the_colors_in_bible_and_quran.html

The Orientalists,The Bible & The Qur’ân: A Brief Review Of Bible Borrowing Theories

The Defense of TheQur’ân Against The Bible Borrowing Theory

The Prophet’s Wives Teaching The Bible?

Did WaraqaIbnNawfal Teach The Prophet?

On The Judeo-Christian Sources Of al-Khidr&Dhul-Qarnayn

The Ten Wise Jews: Source Of The Qur’ân?

Haman, TheQur’ân& The Bible

Problem Of The Parallels

Islamic- Awareness.org Qur’ân Sources Is The Bible Really The Source Of The Qur’ân?  

v  If ,for the sake of discussion we assume that Muhammad (pbuh)copied some passages and facts from the Bible,how it is that he did not copy the incorrect information contained in it .

v  Dr Maurice Bucaille argues this point well in his famous work,TheBible,TheQuran and Science:

v  “Furthermore the scientific errors contained in the Bible – such as those describing man’s first appearance on earth, which, as we have seen, may be deduced from the Genealogies that figure in Genesis are not to be found in the Qur’an.

Thus, if Muhammad   were the author of the Qur’an (a theory upheld by some people), it is difficult to see how he could have spotted the scientific errors in the Bible dealing with such a wide variety of subjects and have proceeded to eliminate every single one of them when he came to compose his own text on the same theme”.

INTERNAL EVIDENCES 

Internal Evidences are based on the statements available in the Quranitself.

As to the form of the Qur’an—i.e., linguistic and literary features—any strict comparative analysis identifies the Qur’an to be not only superior to any other text—preceding or following, including the sayings of the Prophet himself, who received and delivered the revelation—but also to be a perfect, flawless and the most eloquent composition. This perfection can be witnessed and proved on the levels of the individual words (semantics), sentence (grammar and rhetoric), and whole surahs (chapters).Athorough examination of the Qur’an shows that each of thewords  was selected and phrased in the most appropriate manner to fulfil the most precise meaning and most effective impact, whether cognitive, psychological, passionate, or phonetic, on the reader or listener.

1– The structure and style of the Quran–the absence of inconsistencies

The Qur’an is the book without inconsistencies; one part of its text, (or doctrine) does not clash with the other. In fact, it sets the absence of contradiction, irrationality, and incoherence, as one of the criteria for checking the authenticity of any divine revelation.

  • It states “Do they not ponder the Qur’an (with care)? Had this book been from anybody but Allah, you would have found many inconsistencies.” (S-Nisa4:82).

If the allegation against Muhammad (pbuh) that he imitated from several books like  the Bible , the Torah etc, or that some anonymous persons  helped him in supplying the source materials then he must have beenadopting a “pick and choose”techniquein writing the Quran . If that had been  the case such a technique must have  led to a large number of discrepancies. But to the surprise of all there is none.

2 —The style of the Quran is quite different from that of Muhammad (pbuh)’s own speech.

The people living along with him and observing him all through long years upto the age of forty when Muhammad (pbuh) was bestowed with prophet hood ,were accustomed to his own style of talks ——- and suddenly they found him uttering a speech quite different. There was a marked difference between the speech of Muhammad (pbuh)’s own day to day talk and that of the Quran.

  • This difference can be seen and checked even today by comparing the narrations of the Quran and the collections of his sayings called “ Ahadees”.

v  It does not make sense that a man may have two UNIQUE,

Distinguishable, and completely different styles of speech in

Public.This is yet another reason why Muhammad (pbuh) couldn’tpossibly have written the Quran.

v  Quran was revealed over a period of 23 years. A very long

period indeed!  Is it possible for someone to maintain the same linguistic cadence in his spoken language and the style used in the Quran, that has no match in between them.

3 —The moodof the author must reflect on his writings:Test the Quran on this criterion

 

As we have described Quranic verses were revealed at different situations and circumstances in the long 23 years of prophet hood. At times, as a human being,Muhammad (pbuh) was under much physical and mental stress. it was natural that his anguish would reflect in the Quranic verses if those were written by him .

Take an example. Surah Ahqaf, the 46thchapter of the Quran was revealed at the time of his coming back from Tai’f , a city 65 km  from Makkah where he went , after being persecuted and rejected by Makkans in the Year of Sorrow(The Year of SorrowThe 10th year of the Prophethood was a year of extreme persecution and distress in the Holy prophet’s life. The Quraish and the other tribes had continued their boycott of the BaniHashim and the Muslims for three years and the Holy Prophet and the people of his family and Companions lay besieged in Shi’bAbiTalib,a valley in Makkah. The Quraish had blocked up this locality from every side so that no supplies of any kind could reach the besieged people;many a times they had to eat even grass and leaves out of hunger.                        At last, when the siege was lifted this year, Abu Talib, the Holy Prophet’s uncle, who had been shielding him for ten long years, died, and hardly a month later his wife, Khadijah, who had been a source of peace and solace  for him ever since the beginning of the call, also passed away. Because of these tragic incidents, which closely followed each other, the Holy Prophet used to refer to this year as the year of sorrow and grief.) He went to Taifwith a hope to find a refuge there .But therefrom he was compelled to leave . When he was leaving the city, the chiefs of the city  set their scoundrels behind him, who went on hurling abuses on  him  and pelting him with stones for a long way from either side of the road till he  was covered with wounds and his shoes were filled with blood. Wearied and exhausted he took shelter in the shade of the wall of a garden outside Ta’if, and prayed:

  • “O God, to Thee I complain of my weakness, little resource, and lowliness before men. O Most Merciful, Thou art the Lord of the weak, and Thou art my Lord. To whom wilt Thou confide me? To one afar who will misuse me?Or to an enemy to whom Thou hast given power over me?If Thou art not angry with me I care not. Thy favour is more wide for me. I take refuge in the light of Thy countenance by which the darkness is illumined, and the things of this world and the next are rightly ordered, lest Thy anger descend upon me or Thy wrath light upon me. It is for Thee to be satisfied until Thou art well pleased. There is no power and no might save in Thee.” (IbnHisham:A. Guillaume’s Translation, p. 193).

Every word of this   supplication makes it clear that he as a mortal being, was in much physical and mental stress. But, amazingly, the Surah al- Ahqaf revealed at the very same time is free from such human feelings .This and other instances in various places of the Quran clearly indicate that Muhammad (pbuh) is not the author of this Book.

Take another example which vividly clarifies the same point : the Revelation of the 48th chapter, “THE VICTORY”

                           The prophet at the seventh year of Hijrah travelled towards Makkah with 1400 of his companions with an intention of performing Umrah in the sacred Kaaba located in Makkah ,the home of his blood thirsty enemies . They carried no weapon with them except one  traditionalsword  yet they were barred to enter the city . They were subjected to agree to a treaty which was , outwardly , in total favour of the enemies . The companions of the Prophet felt humiliated and dejected so much so that they did not carry out his orders of offering ritual sacrifices of the camel they had taken with them . This was very shocking to the Prophet,this was the first time in his life that his companions did not even move to carry out his orders. In such a situation, on the return to Madinah , the surah Fatah (victory ),the 48th chapter of the Quran was revealed ——- the opening line itself declares (48:1) (O Prophet), surely We have granted you a clear victory

Therewasnowhere victoryseen. The  dejectedcompanions asked what sort of victory is this?We were debarred from the House of Allah; our sacrificial camels also could not go to their right places; the Holy Messenger of Allah had to halt at Hudaibiyah, and in consequence of this truce two of our oppressed brothers (Abu Jandal and Abu Basir) were handed over to their oppressors.”

  • But this declaration was not from the Prophet but from Allah who knew the Unseen future that victory was  surelynigh. Had this been from the authorship of the Prophet, such confident declaration —— could not have been pronounced.

   4—Some Recordings of the Quran hitherto Unknown to the Arabs and some Predictions

 Within the Quran are recorded facts about ancient times that were unknown to Muhammad (pbuh)’s contemporaries e.g. the story of Joseph. In certain cases the prediction of the Quran was fulfilled although there was not an even inkling at the time of prediction e.g. victory of Byzantines over Persians after initialdefeat(see its detail in the preface of  30thchapter(v.2-4)“The Romans have been defeated in the neighbouring land;but after their defeat they shall gain victory in a few years.All power belongs to Allah both before and after. On that day will the believers rejoice”(http://www.quranenglish.com/tafheem_quran/030-1.htm.com by A.A.Maududi)

5—Unique Impartiality in theQuranic Descriptions

We must also consider this factor also ,Muhammad (pbuh) was an Arab, the Arabs & Jews are noted for their rivalry, despite this the name of Jesus (a Jew) is mentioned 25 times, Moses far more than this but the name of Muhammad (pbuh) in the Quran is mentioned only 4 times

  • Once again reason dictates that if the Quran was written by Muhammad (pbuh) he would favour himself more than others. The mother of Muhammad (pbuh) is not mentioned by name  even once in the Quran, nor the name of the most loving wife Khadija who supported him at times of distress; far from mentioning their names even no indication is there. Mary the mother of Jesus on the other hand has a whole chapterby her name,the  19th chapter of the Quran. See with what reverence the Quran describes Mary in the following verse:

“Behold! The angels said: “O Mary! God has chosen you and

Purifiedyou – Chosen you above the women of all nations.”

Qur’an-3:42

The above verse refers to Mary the mother of Jesus (PBUH). Such an honour to Mary is not to be found even in the Christian Bible.

The famous orator Ahmad Deedat elaborates this point well :The Jews are told in Bible that their father, Abraham, had two wives -Sarah andHagar. They say that they are the children of Abraham throughSarah, his legitimate wife; that their Arab brethren havedescended through Hagar, a “bondwoman”, and as such, the

Arabs are of inferior breed.

v  Will anyone please explain the anomaly as to why Muhammad (pbuh) (pbuh)(if he is the author) chose this Jewess Mary for such honour?Theanswer is simple – HE HAD NO CHOICE – he had no right to speakof his own desire.(He had to submit to The Will of Allah)“IT IS NO LESS THAN AN INSPIRATION SENT DOWNTO HIM.” (Qur’an, 53:4).

6  —Quran’s scientific Information.

Let us examine the Qur’an more closely. Starting with the content, could the knowledge therein have been within the reach of any human source, i.e., the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), his contemporaries, or the whole human civilization and for several centuries ahead? How could a book revealed at that point of history refers —in precise terms—to scientific phenomena and historical events—that were unknown or misunderstood before their subsequent verification?

TheQur’anic references cover such wide spectrum of topics as the nature of space, relativity of time, the shape and motion of the earth, the role of mountains, water for life, the water cycle, the sources of rivers and groundwater, sea depths, embryology, hygiene and proper health practices, prophecies fulfilled (after revelation), etc.

      In scores of verses we find references to scientific wonders , some only recently discovered or confirmed , regarding , the creation of the Universe , certain very fine description related to Biology , cosmology , geography , embryology and meteorology etc.

These we have elaborately explained in a separate chapter (Scientific descriptions in  the Quran)

At this place ,as an example, we present the following passage from the Quran :

v  Surah 75:36-40

[36] Does Man think that he will be left uncontrolled, (without purpose)?
[37] Was he not a “Nutfah” of sperm emitted (in lowly form)?
[38] Then did he become a clinging “Alaquah”; then did (Allah) make and fashion (him) in due proportion.
[39] And of that “Nutfah” He made two sexes, male and female.
[40] Has not He, (the same), the power to give life to the dead?
In the above verse, it is “of that “Nutfah” (part of semen) that Allah made the two sexes, male and female.

Hence human male is responsible for the birth of a male child or a female child. The human female is not responsible for the sex determination of the child. However, in many nations the woman is blamed for the birth of a female child as in these countries they welcome the arrival of a male child.

The year 1956 is considered to mark the beginning of modern human Cytogenetics. The sex of the foetus is determined by the father’s sperm. The female ovum contains only the X chromosomes. If the sperm, or the emitted drop of semen contains the Y chromosome, then the baby will be a male, otherwise the baby will be a female.

None of the information as above exists in the Bible or any other religious book. None of this was known until the discovery of genetics in the 20th century. Indeed, in many cultures, it was believed that a baby’s sex was determined by the female’s body. That was why women were blamed when they gave birth to girls. Thirteen centuries before human genes were discovered, however, the Qur’an revealed information that denies this superstition, and referred to the origin of sex lying not with women, but with the semen coming from men.

There is no way Prophet Mohammad peace be upon him could have guessed it all 1400 years ago. It had to be a Divine Revelation from Allah Almighty.

v  Take another example: The Sun &the MoonSWIMMING  in ORBITS

v  21:33  It is He Who created the Night and the Day, and the sun and the moon: all (the celestial bodies) swim along, each in its rounded course.

Descriptions of ‘orbit’ is remarkable and the word “ yasbahoon “ (swimming )is amazing . It is the very latest information in the field of cosmology that between the stars and galaxies exists no ‘vacuum’ but is filled with ‘ inter- stellar dust ‘Interstellar Gas:

Approximately 99% of the interstellar medium is composed of interstellar gas, and of its mass, about 75% is in some form of hydrogen (either molecular or atomic), with the remaining 25% as helium. The interstellar gas consists partly of neutral atoms and molecules, as well as charged particles, such as ions and electrons. This gas is extremely dilute, with an average density of about 1 atom per cubic centimeter. (For comparison, the air we breathe has a density of approximately 30×1018 molecules per cubic centimeter.) Even though the interstellar gas is very dilute, the amount of matter adds up over the vast distances between the stars. See the detail on http://www-ssg.sr.unh.edu/ism/what1.html

Embryo behind Three Veils

 “He creates you in your mothers’ wombs, one act of creation after another, in three veils  of darkness. Thus is God, your Sustainer: unto Him belongs all dominion: there is no deity save Him: how, then, can you lose sight of the truth?” (39:6)

“The three veils of darkness” may refer to: (1) the anterior abdominal wall; (2) the uterine wall; and (3) the amniochorionic membrane (Fig. 1). Although there are other interpretations of this statement, the one presented here seems the most logical from an embryological point of view.

In fact Professor KiethMoore, the world renowned embryologist. was so amazed at the accuracy of the descriptions and the terminology used for the various stages of the development of the embryo that he modified his own textbook on the subject.He incorporated all the relevant Qur’anic passages and authentic statements of the Prophet Muhammad into his book, “The Developing Human: Clinically oriented embryology” with Islamic additions, which was published by WB Saunders in 1987 and was a standard university textbook in the United States.

 

v  . Such statements (please see a number of such statements in another chapter : “Scientific Descriptions in the Quran”) in the Quran make its modern readers more amazed than the listener of his own Muhammad (pbuh)’s times; as these scientific statements are compatible to very recent discoveries.One just wonders and can never accept how a  person of 14 centuries back could describe such statements.

An Extra  Note by Dr Maurice Bucaille:

“It makes us deem it quite unthinkable for a man of Muhammad (pbuh)’s time to have been the author of such statements, on account of the state of knowledge in his day. Such considerations are part of what gives the Qur’anic revelation its unique place among religious and non-religious texts, and forces the impartial scientist to admit his inability to provide an explanation based solely upon materialistic reasoning.”

“the existence in the Qur’an of these scientific statements appears as a challenge to human explanation .”

 (see the detailed interesting discussion in “What is the origin of Man?”  and “the Bible, the Quran and Science” now available in the Internet: search these titles in Google )

7-Theory of Probability applied to the Quran

Let us discuss the question raised by some sceptics that Muhammad (pbuh)being  an intelligentand wise man might have guessedcorrectlyall the facts  which are compatible to modern Science.

  • Is it possible for some person however intelligentto guess correctly  so many facts ?Let us examinethis with mathematical theory of probability.

According to this theory if one guesses one thingout of two ,the probability that the guess to be correct  is 1/2;that is 50 %.;  two separate facts to be correctis 1/2 x 1/2 .In terms of percentage it is 25 % chance that he is correct. Continuing on with the example, if the same person now has three situations in which to make blind guesses, then he will only be right one eighth of the time (i.e., one time out of eight or 1/2 X 1/2 X 1/2= ½3  .In terms of percentage it comes  12.5%. Again, the odds of choosing the correct choice in all three situations have decreased his chances of being completely correct to only one time in eight. It must be understood that as the number of situations increases, the chances of being right decrease, for the two phenomena are inversely proportional. Thus for  10 situations the guess to be correct is 1/210,the percentage to be correct is 0.097 5% ;thus the probability to be correct diminishes.

  • Now have a look  on the scientific descriptions of the Quran,there are several descriptions  in different fields  of Science, even if you take 20 such descriptions, the percentage of  guess  for all to be correct  comes next to zero.
  • It concludes that no human  however intelligent  can ever  describe so many scientific facts  all correctly just by guessing.

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CONCLUSION

i)——-By ‘Logical Process of Elimination’ of all the options indicated at the beginning ,we come to conclude that the only option left is —‘God’.To some it will be a pleasant conclusion but to many it may  be abhorrent. If one agrees  with the arguments in eliminating all the options presented  above logically but is not ready to accept the one final option left ,— “that the Quran’s author must be  God”——

  • thenall principles of logic and rationality demand from him to put forward an ‘another option’—–and present logical arguments in its favour.

 

v  To find an author of the Quran other than God  remains a challenge to all sane persons.

ii)As we indicated in the beginning of this article, if either of the two claims(the Quran is a divine bookandMuhammad (pbuh) is the Messenger of God)  is established ,logically it proves the other.If  one agrees that the Quran is a Divine Book then he must submit that the man who presented it to the world must be the Messenger of God.One cannot be understood without understanding the other.

v  One cannot be believed in without believing in  another.The Quran and Muhammad (pbuh) are intertwined.

In this article we have shown logical points in favour of this argument.I hope this will satisfy many and at least it will open new windows of knowledge for inquisitive minds.

An Extra Note:

The First and  Second Laws of Thermodynamics are two well established laws in the realms of Science, it is often said that these laws  can be applied to any field of knowledge (we have used these in testing the validity of Theory of Evolution in an another chapter “What the Quran says about Theory of Evolution” ). We use the  First Law here to prove the divinity of the Quran:

v  According to First Law of Thermodynamics matter cannot be created nor destroyed. This  raises certain questions; If matter cannot be created, where did it come from? It is certainly here, and nothing natural can create it. This makes a supernatural source more than just a possible conclusion – it makes it the only conclusion that fits the Laws of Thermodynamics. If something exists when natural laws say that it cannot be created, then something or someone operating outside of those laws must be responsible.The Laws of Thermodynamics lead us not only toa  greater knowledge of the natural universe, but they  lead  us toward answers outside  the universe as well.

v  (see the detailed information and discussion in http://www.allaboutscience.org/three-laws-of-thermodynamics-faq.htm  )
If we apply the above rule to the Quran we come tothe  same type of conclusion:If all External Evidences fail to pinpoint  any mortal agency as author of this Book then the answer lies outside the Universe. That is,its author must be supernatural one.

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