| Intorduction One thing which surprises
non-Muslims who are examining the book very closely is
that the Qur'an does not appear to them to be what they
expected. What they assume is that they have an old book
which came fourteen centuries ago from the Arabian
desert; and they expect that the book should look
something like that - an old book from the desert. And
then they find out that it does not resemble what they
expected at all.
Additionally, one of the first things that some people
assume is that because it is an old book which comes from
the desert, it should talk about the desert. Well the
Qur'an does talk about the desert - some of its imagery
describes the desert; but it also talks about the sea -
what it's like to be in a storm on the sea.
Merchant Marine
Some years ago, the story came to us in Toronto about
a man who was in the merchant marine and made his living
on the sea. A Muslim gave him a translation of the Qur'an
to read. The merchant marine knew nothing about the
history of Islam but was interested in reading the
Qur'an. When he finished reading it, he brought it back
to the Muslim and asked, "This
Muhammad,was he a sailor?" He was impressed
at how accurately the Qur'an describes a storm on a sea.
When he was told, "No as a
matter of fact, Muhammad lived in the desert,"
that was enough for him. He embraced Islam on the spot.
He was so impressed with the Qur'an's description
because he had been in a storm on the sea, and he knew
that whoever had written that description had also been
in a storm on the sea. The description of "a wave, over it a wave, over it
clouds" (Surah Nur, 24:40) was not what
someone imagining a storm on a sea to be like would have
written; rather, it was written by someone who knew what
a storm on the sea was like.
This is one example of how the Qur'an is not tied to
certain place and time.Certainly, the scientific ideas
expressed in it also do not seem to originate from the
desert fourteen centuries ago.
The Smallest Thing
Many centuries before the onset of Muhammad's
prophethood, there was a well-known theory of atomism
advanced by the Greek philosopher, Democritus. He and the
people who came after him assumed that matter consists of
tiny, indestructible,indivisible particles called atoms.
The Arabs too, used to deal in the same concept; in fact,
the Arabic word dharrah commonly referred to the smallest
particle known to man.
Now, modern science has discovered that this smallest
unit of matter (i.e., the atom, which has all of the same
properties as its element) can be split into its
component parts. This is a new idea, a development of the
last century; yet; interestingly enough, this information
had already been documented in the Qur'an (Surah Saba',
34:3) which states:
"He [i.e.,God] is aware of
an atom's weight in the heavens and on the earth and even
anything smaller than that..."
Undoubtedly, fourteen centuries ago that statement
would have looked unusual, even to an Arab. For him, the
dharrah was the smallest thing there was. Indeed, this is
proof, that the Qur'an is not outdated.
Honey
Another example of what one might expect to find in an
"old book" that touches upon the subject of
health or medicine is outdated remedies or cures. Various
historical sources state that the Prophet (s) gave some
advice about health and hygiene, yet most of these pieces
of advice are not contained in the Qur'an. At first
glance, to the non-Muslims this appears to be a negligent
omission. They cannot understand why God would not
"include" such helpful information in the
Qur'an. Some Muslims attempt to explain this absence with
the following argument: "Although
the Prophet's advice was sound and applicable to the time
in which he lived, God, in His infinite wisdom, knew that
there would come later medical and scientific advances
which would make the Prophet's advice appear outdated.
When later discoveries occurred, people might say that
such information contradicted that which the Prophet (s)
had given. Thus, since God would never allow any
opportunity for the non-Muslims to claim that the Qur'an
contradicts itself or the teachings of the Prophet (s),
He only included in the Qur'an information and examples
which could stand the test of time." However,
when one examines the true realities of the Qur'an in
terms of its existence as a divine revelation, the entire
matter is quickly brought into its proper perspective,
and the error in such argumentation becomes clear and
understandable.
It must be understood that the Qur'an is a divine
revelation, and as such, all information in it is of
divine origin.God revealed the Qur'an from Himself. It is
the words of God, which existed before creation, and thus
nothing can be added, subtracted or altered. In essence,
the Qur'an existed and was complete before the creation
of Prophet Muhammad (s), so it could not possibly contain
any of the Prophet's own words or advice. An inclusion of
such information would clearly contradict the purpose for
which the Qur'an exists, compromise its authority and
render it inauthentic as a divine revelation.
Consequently, there was no "home remedies"
in the Qur'an which one could claim to be outdated; nor
does it contain any man's view about what is beneficial
to health, what food is best to eat, or what will cure
this or that disease. In fact, the Qur'an only mentions
one item dealing with medical treatment, and it is not in
dispute by anyone. It states that in honey there is
healing. And certainly, I do not think that there is
anyone who will argue with that!
Prophet Muhammad (s) and the Qur'an
If one assumes that the Qur'an is the product of a
man's mind, then one would expect it to reflect some of
what was going on in the mind of the man who
"composed" it. In fact, certain encyclopedias
and various books claim that the Qur'an was the product
of hallucinations that Muhammad underwent. If these
claims are true - if it indeed originated from some
psychological problems in Muhammad's mind - then evidence
of this would be apparent in the Qur'an. Is there such
evidence? In order to determine whether or not there is,
one must first identify what things would have been going
on in his mind at that time and then search for these
thoughts and reflections in the Qur'an.
It is common knowledge that Muhammad (s) had a very
difficult life. All of his daughters died before him
except one, and he had a wife of several years who was
very dear and important to him, who not only proceeded
him in death but died at a very critical period of his
life.
As a matter of fact, she must have been quite a woman
because when the first revelation came to him,he ran home
to her, afraid. Certainly, even today one would have a
hard time trying to find an Arab who would tell you, "I was so afraid that I ran home to
my wife." They just aren't that way. Yet
Muhammad (s) felt comfortable enough with his wife to be
able to do that. That's how influential and strong woman
she was. Although these examples are only a few of the
subjects that would have been on Muhammad's mind, they
are sufficient in intensity to prove my point.
The Qur'an does not mention any of these things - not
the death of his children, not the death of his beloved
companion and wife, not his fear of the initial
revelations, which he so beautifully shared with his wife
- nothing; yet these topics must have hurt him, bothered
him, and caused him pain and grief during periods of his
life. Indeed, if the Qur'an was a product of his
psychological reflections, then these subjects, as well
as others, would be prevalent or at least mentioned
throughout.
Scientific Approach to the Qur'an
A truly scientific approach to the Qur'an is possible
because the Qur'an offers something that is not offered
by other religious scriptures, in particular, and other
religions, in general. It is what scientists demand.
Today there are many people who have ideas and theories
about how the universe works. These people are all over
the place, but the scientific community does not even
bother to listen to them. This is because within the last
century the scientific community has demanded a test of
falsification. They say, "If you have theory, do not
bother us with it unless you bring with that theory a way
for us to prove whether you are wrong or not."
Such a test was exactly why the scientific community
listened to Einstein towards the beginning of the
century. He came with a new theory and said, "I believe the universe works like
this; and here are three ways to prove whether I am
wrong!" So the scientific community subjected
his theory to the tests, and within six years it passed
all three. Of course, this does not prove that he was
great, but it proves that he deserved to be listened to
because he said, "This is my
idea; and if you want to try to prove me wrong, do this
or try that."
This is exactly what the Qur'an has - falsification
tests. Some are old (in that they have already been
proven true), and some still exist today. Basically it
states, "If this book is not
what it claims to be, then all you have to do is this or
this or this to prove that it is false." Of
course, in 1400 years no one has been able to do
"This or this or this," and thus it is still
considered true and authentic.
Falsification Test
I suggest to you that the next time you get into
dispute with someone about Islam and he claims that he
has the truth and that you are in darkness, you leave all
other arguments at first and make this suggestion. Ask
him, "Is there any
falsification test in your religion? Is there anything in
your religion that would prove you are wrong if I could
prove to you that it exists - anything?"
Well, I can promise right now that people will not have
anything - no test, no proof, nothing! This is because
they do not carry around the idea that they should not
only present what they believe but should also offer
others a chance to prove they're wrong. However, Islam
does that.
A perfect example of how Islam provides man with a
chance to verify it authenticity and "prove it
wrong" occurs in the 4th chapter. And quiet
honestly, I was very surprised when I first discovered
this challenge. It states (Surah An-Nisa, 4:82):
"Do they not consider the
Qur'an? Had it been from any other than Allah, they would
surely have found therein much discrepancy."
This is a clear challenge to the non-Muslim.
Basically, it invites him to find a mistake. As a matter
of fact, the seriousness and difficulty of the challenge
aside, the actual presentation of such a challenge in the
first place is not even in human nature and is
inconsistent with man's personality. One doesn't take an
exam in school and after finishing the exam, write a note
to the instructor at the end saying, "This exam is perfect. There are no
mistakes in it. Find one if you can!" One
just doesn't do that. The teacher would not sleep until
he found a mistake! And yet this is the way the Qur'an
approaches people.
Ask Those Who Have Knowledge
Another interesting attitude that exists in the Qur'an
repeatedly deals with its advice to the reader. The
Qur'an informs the reader about different facts and then
gives the advice: "If you want
to know more about this or that, or if you doubt what is
said, then you should ask those who have knowledge."
This too is a surprising attitude. It is not usual to
have a book that comes from someone without training in
geography, botany, biology, etc., who discusses these
subjects and then advises the reader to ask men of
knowledge if he doubts anything. Yet in every age there
have been Muslims who have followed the advice of the
Qur'an and made surprising discoveries. If one looks to
the works of Muslim scientists of many centuries ago, one
will find them full of quotations from the Qur'an. These
works state that they did research in such a place,
looking for something. And they affirm that the reason
they looked in such and such a place was that the Qur'an
pointed them in that direction.
For example, the Qur'an mentions man's origin and then
tells the reader, "Research
it!" It gives the reader a hint where to look
and then states that one should find out more about it.
This is the kind of thing that Muslims today largely seem
to overlook - but not always, as illustrated in the
following example.
Embryology
A few years ago, a group of men in Riyadh, Saudi
Arabia collected all of the verses in the Qur'an which
discuss embryology - the growth of the human being in the
womb. They said, "Here is what
the Qur'an says. Is it the truth?" In
essence, they took the advice of the Qur'an: "Ask the men who know."
They chose, as it happened, a non-Muslim who is a
professor of embryology at the University of Toronto. His
name is Keith Moore, and he is the author of textbooks on
embryology - a world expert on the subject. They invited
him to Riyadh and said, "This
is what the Qur'an says about your subject. Is it true?
What can you tell us?"
While he was in Riyadh, they gave him all the help
that he needed in translation and all of the cooperation
for which he asked.And he was so surprised at what he
found that he changed his textbooks. In fact, in the
second edition of one of his books,called Before We Are
Born... in the section about the history of embryology,
he included some material that was not in the first
edition because of what he found in the Qur'an was ahead
of its time and that those who believe in the Qur'an know
what other people do not know.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Keith Moore for
a television presentation, and we talked a great deal
about this - it was illustrated by slides and so on. He
mentioned that some of the things that the Qur'an states
about the growth of the human being were not known until
thirty years ago. In fact, he said that one item in
particular - the Qur'an's description of the human being
as a "leech-like clot" ('alaqah) at one stage
(Surahs al-Hajj 22:5; al-Mu'minun 23:14; and Ghafir
40:67) - was new to him; but when he checked on it, he
found that it was true, and so he added it to his book.
He said, "I never thought of
that before," and he went to the zoology
department and asked for a picture of a leech. When he
found that it looked just like the human embryo,he
decided to include both pictures in one of his textbooks.
Although the aforementioned example of man researching
information contained in the Qur'an deals with a
non-Muslim, it is still valid because he is one of those
who is knowledgeable in the subject being researched. Had
some layman claimed that what the Qur'an says about
embryology is true, then one would not necessarily have
to accept his word. However, because of the high
position, respect, and esteem man gives scholars, one
naturally assumes that if they research a subject and
arrive at a conclusion based on that research, then the
conclusion is valid.
Skeptic's Reaction
Dr. Moore also wrote a book on clinical embryology,
and when he presented this information in Toronto, it
caused quite a stir throughout Canada. It was on the
front pages of some of the newspapers across Canada, and
some of the headlines were quite funny. For instance, one
headline read: "SURPRISING
THING FOUND IN ANCIENT PRAYER BOOK!" It seems
obvious from this example that people do not clearly
understand what it is all about.
As a matter of fact, one newspaper reporter asked
Professor Moore, "Don't you
think that maybe the Arabs might have known about these
things - the description of the embryo,its appearance and
how it changes and grows? Maybe they were not scientists,
maybe they did some crude dissections on their own -
carved up people and examined these things."
The professor immediately pointed out to him that he
[i.e., the reporter] had missed a very important point -
all of the slides of the embryo that had been shown and
that had been projected in the film had come from
pictures taken through a microscope. He said, "It does not matter if someone had
tried to discover embryology fourteen centuries ago. They
could not have seen it!"
All of the descriptions in the Qur'an of the
appearance of the embryo are of the item when it is still
too small to see with the eye;therefore, one needs a
microscope to see it. Since such a device had only been
around for little more than two hundred years,Dr. Moore
taunted, "Maybe fourteen
centuries ago someone secretly had a microscope and did
this research, making no mistakes anywhere. Then he
somehow taught Muhammad (s) and convinced him to put this
information in his book. Then he destroyed his equipment
and kept it a secret forever. Do you believe that? You
really should not unless you bring some proof because it
is such a ridiculous theory." In fact, when
he was asked, "How do you
explain this information in the Qur'an?"
Dr.Moore's reply was, "It
could only have been divinely revealed!"
Geology
One of Professor Moore's colleagues, Marshall Johnson,
deals extensively with geology at the University of
Toronto. He became very interested in the fact that the
Qur'an's statements about embryology are accurate, and so
he asked Muslims to collect everything contained in the
Qur'an which deals with his speciality. Again people were
very surprised at the findings. Since there are a vast
number subjects discussed in the Qur'an, it would
certainly require a large amount of time to exhaust each
subject. It suffices for the purpose of this discussion
to state that the Qur'an makes very clear and concise
statements about various subjects while simultaneously
advising the reader to verify the authenticity of these
statements with research by scholars in those subjects.
And as illustrated by the previous examples of embryology
and geology, the Qur'an has clearly emerged authentic
You Did Not Know This Before!
Undoubtedly, there is an attitude in the Qur'an which
is not found anywhere else. It is interesting how when
the Qur'an provides information, it often tells the
reader, "You did not know this
before." Indeed, there is no scripture that
exists which makes that claim. All of the other ancient
writings and scriptures that people have do give a lot of
information, but they always state where the information
came from.
For example, when the Bible discusses ancient history,
it states that this king lived here, this one fought in a
certain battle, another one had so may sons, etc. Yet it
always stipulates that if you want more information, then
you should read the book of so and so because that is
where the information came from.
In contrast to this concept, the Qur'an provides the
reader with information and states that this information
is something new. Of course, there always exists the
advice to research the information provided and verify
its authenticity. It is interesting that such a concept
was never challenged by non-Muslims fourteen centuries
ago.
Indeed, the Makkans who hated the Muslims, and time
and time again they heard such revelations claiming to
bring new information; yet, they never spoke up and said,
"This is not new. We know
where Muhammad got this information. We learned this at
school." They could never challenge its
authenticity because it really was new!
In concurrence with the advice given in the Qur'an to
research information (even if it is new), when 'Umar was
caliph, he chose a group of men and sent them to find the
wall of Dhul-Qarnayn. Before the Qur'anic revelation, the
Arabs had never heard of such a wall, but because the
Qur'an described it, they were able to discover it. As a
matter of fact, it is now located in what is called
Durbend in the Soviet Union.
Continue to
Part 2
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