#14
- What They Say About The Quran
Humanity has received the Divine guidance only through
two channels: firstly the word of Allah, secondly
the Prophets who were chosen by Allah to communicate
His will to human beings. These two things have always
been going together and attempts to know the will
of Allah by neglecting either of these two have always
been misleading. The Hindus neglected their prophets
and paid all attention to their books that proved
only word puzzles which they ultimately lost. Similarly,
the Christians, in total disregard to the Book of
Allah, attached all importance to Christ and thus
not only elevated him to Divinity, but also lost the
very essence of TAWHEED (monotheism) contained in
the Bible.
As a matter of fact, the main scriptures revealed
before the Qur'an, i.e., the Old Testament and the
Gospel, came into book-form long after the days of
the Prophets and that too in translation. This was
because the followers of Moses and Jesus made no considerable
effort to preserve these Revelations during the life
of their Prophets. Rather, they were written long
after their death. Thus, what we now have in the form
of the Bible (the Old as well as the New Testament)
is translations of individuals' accounts of the original
revelations which contain additions and deletions
made by the followers of the said Prophets. On the
contrary, the last revealed Book, the Qur'an, is extant
in its original form. Allah Himself guaranteed its
preservation and that is why the whole of the Qur'an
was written during the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad
(PBUH) himself though on separate pieces of palm leaves,
parchments, bones etc.. Moreover, there were tens
of thousands of companions of the Prophet who memorized
the whole Qur'an and the Prophet himself used to recite
it to the Angel Gabriel once a year and twice in the
year he died. The first Caliph Abu Bakr entrusted
the collection of the whole Qur'an in one volume to
the Prophet's scribe, Zaid Ibn Thabit. This volume
was with Abu Bakr till his death. Then it was with
the second Caliph Umar and after him it came to Hafsa,
the Prophet's wife. It was from this original copy
that the third Caliph Uthman prepared several other
copies and sent them to different Muslim territories.
The Qur'an was so meticulously preserved because
it was to be Book of Guidance for humanity for all
times to come. That is why it does not address the
Arabs alone in whose language it was revealed. It
speaks to man as a human being:
"O Man! What has seduced you from your Lord."
The practicability of the Qur'anic teachings is established
by the examples of Muhammad (PBUH) and the good Muslims
throughout the ages. The distinctive approach of the
Qur'an is that its instructions are aimed at the general
welfare of man and are based on the possibilities
within his reach. In all its dimensions the Qur'anic
wisdom is conclusive. It neither condemns nor tortures
the flesh nor does it neglect the soul. It does not
humanize God nor does it deify man. Everything is
carefully placed where it belongs in the total scheme
of creation.
Actually the scholars who allege that Muhammad (PBUH)
was the author of the Qur'an claim something which
is humanly impossible. Could any person of the sixth
century C.E. utter such scientific truths as the Qur'an
contains? Could he describe the evolution of the embryo
inside the uterus so accurately as we find it in modern
science?
Secondly, it is logical to believe that Muhammad
(PBUH), who up to the age of forty was marked only
for his honesty and integrity, began all of a sudden
the authorship of a book matchless in literary merit
and the equivalent of which the whole legion of the
Arab poets and orators of the highest caliber could
not produce? And lastly, is it justified to say Muhammad
(PBUH), who was known as AL-AMEEN (the trustworthy)
in his society and who is still admired by the non-Muslim
scholars for his honesty and integrity, came forth
with a false claim and on that falsehood could train
thousands of men of character, integrity and honesty,
who were able to establish the best human society
on the surface of the earth?
Surely, any sincere and unbiased searcher of truth
will come to believe that the Qur'an is the revealed
Book of Allah.
Without necessarily agreeing with all they said,
we furnish here some opinions of important non-Muslim
scholars about the Qur'an. Readers can easily see
how the modern world is coming closer to reality regarding
the Qur'an. We appeal to all open-minded scholars
to study the Qur'an in the light of the aforementioned
points. We are sure that any such attempt will convince
the reader that the Qur'an could never be written
by any human being.
Goethe, quoted in T.P. Hughes' Dictionary of Islam,
p. 526:
"However often we turn to it [the Qur'an] at
first disgusting us each time afresh, it soon attracts,
astounds, and in the end enforces our reverence...Its
style, in accordance with its contents and aim is
stern, grand, terrible – ever and anon truly
sublime – Thus this book will go on exercising
through all ages a most potent influence."
G. Margoliouth, Introduction to J.M. Rodwell's The
Koran, New York: Everyman's Library, 1977, p. vii:
"The Koran admittedly occupies an important
position among the great religious books of the world.
Though the youngest of the epoch making works belonging
to this class of literature, it yields to hardly any
in the wonderful effect which it has produced on large
masses of men. It has created an all but new phase
of human thought and a fresh type of character. It
first transformed a number of heterogeneous desert
tribes of the Arabian peninsula into a nation of heroes,
and then proceeded to create the vast politico-religious
organizations of Mohammedan world which are one of
the great forces with which Europe and the East have
to reckon today."
Dr. Stiengass, quoted in T.P. Hughes' Dictionary
of Islam, pp. 526-527:
"A work, then, which calls forth so powerful
and seemingly incompatible emotions even in the distant
reader - distant as to time, and still more so as
a mental development- a work which not only conquers
the repugnance which he may begin its perusal, but
changes this adverse feeling into astonishment and
admiration, such a work must be a wonderful production
of the human mind indeed and a problem of the highest
interest to every thoughtful observer of the destinies
of mankind."
Maurice Bucaille, The Bible, the Qur'an and Science,
1978, p. 125:
"The above observation makes the hypothesis
advanced by those who see Muhammad as the author of
the Qur'an untenable. How could a man, from being
illiterate, become the most important author, in terms
of literary merits, in the whole of Arabic literature?
How could he then pronounce truths of a scientific
nature that no other human being could possibly have
developed at that time, and all this without once
making the slightest error in his pronouncement on
the subject?"
Dr. Steingass, quoted inn Hughes' Dictionary of Islam,
p. 528:
"Here, therefore, its merits as a literary
production should perhaps not be measured by some
preconceived maxims of subjective and aesthetic taste,
but by the effects which it produced in Mohammed’s
contemporaries and fellow countrymen. If it spoke
so powerfully and convincingly to the hearts of his
hearers as to weld hitherto centrifugal and antagonistic
elements into one compact and well organized body,
animated by ideas far beyond those which had until
now ruled the Arabian mind, then its eloquence was
perfect, simply because it created a civilized nation
out of savage tribes, and shot afresh woof into the
old warp of history."
Arthur J. Arberry, The Koran Interpreted, London:
Oxford University Press, 1964, p. x:
"In making the present attempt to improve on
the performance of my predecessors, and to produce
something which might be accepted as echoing however
faintly the sublime rhetoric of the Arabic Koran,
I have been at pain to study the intricate and richly
varied rhythms which – apart from the message
itself – constitute the Koran's undeniable claim
to rank amongst the greatest literary masterpieces
of mankind. This very characteristic feature –
'that inimitable symphony', as the believing Pickthall
described his Holy Book, 'the very sounds of which
move men to tears and ecstasy' – has been almost
totally ignored by previous translators; it is therefore
not surprising that what they have wrought sounds
dull and flat indeed in comparison with the splendidly
decorated original."
Maurice Bucaille, The Qur'an and Modern Science,
19812, p. 18:
"A totally objective examination of it [the
Qur'an] in the light of modern knowledge, leads us
to recognize the agreement between the two, as has
been already noted on repeated occasions, It makes
us deem it quite unthinkable for a man of Mohammed’s
time to have been the author of such statements on
account of the state of knowledge in his day. Such
considerations are part of what gives the Qur'anic
Revelation its unique place, and forces the impartial
scientist to admit his inability to provide an explanation
which call solely upon materialistic reasoning."
Qur'an on Qur'an:
Hence, indeed, We made this Qur'an easy to bear
in mind: who, then, is willing to take it to heart.
(Chapter 54:Verses 17, 22, 32, 40 [self repeating])
Will they not meditate on the Qur'an, or are there
locks on the hearts? (Chapter 47:Verse 24)
Surely this Qur'an guides to that which is most
upright and gives good news to the believers who do
good works that they shall have a great reward. (17:9)
Surely We have revealed the Reminder (Qur'an) and
We will most certainly guard it (from corruption).
(15:9)
Praise be to Allah Who has revealed the Book (Qur'an)
to His slave (Muhammad) and has not placed therein
any crookedness. (18:1)
And certainly We have explained in this Qur'an every
kind of example; and man is most of all given to contention.
And nothing prevents men from believing when the guidance
comes to him, and asking forgiveness of their Lord,
except that what happened to the ancients should overtake
them, or that the chastisement should come face to
face with them. (18:54-55)
And We reveal (stage by stage) of the Qur'an that
which is a healing and a mercy for believers and to
the unjust it causes nothing but loss after loss.
(17:82)
And if you are in doubt concerning that which We
reveal unto Our slave (Muhammad) then produce a Surah
(chapter) of the like thereof, and call your witnesses
besides Allah if you are truthful. (2:23)
And this Qur'an is not such as could be forged by
those besides Allah, but it is a verification ( of
revelations) that went before it and a fuller explanation
of the Book – there is no doubt – from
the Lord of the Worlds. (10:37)
So when you recite the Qur'an, seek refuge in Allah
from Satan the Outcast. (16:98) |