IS THE QUR’AN GOD’S WORD? -1

Many people have a misconception that Prophet Muhammad (May peace be upon him) was the founder of the religion of Islam. In fact, Islam is in existence since man first set foot on the earth. God Almighty has sent several revelations and messengers to this earth. All the previous Prophets sent by Allah (SWT) were meant only for their people and their nation and the complete message was meant for a particular time period. That is the reason that the miracle they performed like the parting of the sea, like raising the dead to life convinced the people of that time but cannot be examined and verified by us today. Prophet Muhammad (May peace be upon him) was the last and final messenger of God Almighty sent to the whole of humanity and his message is meant till eternity. The Qur’an mentions in Surah Al-Ambiya, Ch. No. 21, Verse No. 107...Arabic... ‘That we have sent not thee but as a mercy to the whole of humankind, as a mercy to all the world. Since Prophet Muhammad may peace be upon him, was the last and final messenger and his message was everlasting, that is the reason, the miracle given to him by Allah (SWT) should also be everlasting and examinable by us at all the time. Though Prophet Muhammad (May peace be upon him), performed several miracles which are mentioned in the Hadith, that is the traditions, he never emphasized them. Those Muslims believe in all these miracles. We only boast of the ultimate miracle given to him by Allah (SWT) that is the Holy Qur’an. Al-Qur’an is the miracle of all times. It proved itself to be a miracle 1400 years ago. It can be reconfirmed today and forever. In short, it is the miracle of miracles. Probably the only point common amongst the people, whether they be Muslims or non Muslims is that the Qur’an was recited the first time by the man born in the city of Makkah in Arabia in the 6th Century by the name Muhammad (May peace be upon him) regarding the source of the Holy Qur’an, there can be basically 3 different assumptions. The first is that the Holy Qur’an, its author is Prophet Muhammad (May Peace be upon him) himself consciously, sub-consciously or unconsciously. The second assumption that can be is that Prophet Muhammad (May peace be upon him) he obtained it from other human sources or from other religious scripture. And the 3rd is that the Holy Qur’an does not have human author but it is verbatim the word or the revelation of God Almighty. Let us examine today all the three basic assumptions. The first being that Prophet Muhammad (May peace be upon him) was the author himself consciously, sub-consciously or unconsciously. It is highly abnormal to challenge the testimony of a person who disclaims the responsibility of any great work. Whether it is literally, whether it be scientific or otherwise. But this is exactly what the orientalists do who doubt the origin of the Qur’an, when they say that Prophet Muhammad (May peace be upon him) was the author. The Prophet never ever claimed that he was the author of the Qur’an. In fact, he always said that it was a revelation from Allah (SWT). To think otherwise is illogical and would mean that he was telling a lie, God forbid. History tells us that never has the prophet been ever reported of telling a lie till the prophethood that is till the age of 40. And all the people acclaimed him as a person who was honest, who was noble, who was chaste. No wonder they gave him the title Al-Ameen - the trustworthy. Friends and foes alike. Even those people who said that he was a liar, God forbid, after he claimed prophethood, even then, they kept their valuables with him for safe keeping. Then why should an honest person lie and say that the Qur’an is a word of God and that he was a prophet. Let us examine the claims made by the orientalists. Some say that prophet Muhammad (May peace be upon him) he attributed the Qur’an and said he was a prophet for material gains, for worldly benefits, I do agree there are several people who falsely claim to be prophets, saints and preachers for wealth. And they acquire riches and lead a luxurious life. We have several throughout the world. Especially in our country India. Prophet Muhammad was financially better off before than after prophethood. He had married a rich business woman by the name of Khadijah (May Allah be pleased with her) at the age of 25. 15 years before prophethood and his life after he claimed he was a prophet was unenviable. According to the collection of Hadith by An-Nawawi in Riyadh as Saleheen, Hadith No. 492, it says, that Ayesha (May Allah be pleased with her) who was the wife of our beloved prophet Muhammad (May peace be upon him) said that there were times when one or two months would pass without having fire been lit in the house because they did not have any cooked food. They survived on water and dates and sometimes supplemented by the goat milk given by the people of Madinah. This was not just a temporary phase. It was a way of life for the prophet. According to Riyadh as Saleheen, Hadith No. 465 and 466, Hazrat Bilal (May Allah be pleased with him) he said that whenever the prophet received gifts and provision for the future he gave it to the poor and the needy and never kept it back for himself. Then why should you doubt that the prophet told a lie, Nauzubillah for material gains. And there is a verse in the Qur’an which negates this thing. It is from Surah Al-Baqarah, Ch. No. 2, Verse No. 79, which says ...Arabic... ‘Then vow to those who write the book with their own hands’...Arabic... ‘And then say, this is from Allah’...Arabic... ‘To traffic with it for a miserable price’...Arabic... ‘Then vow to those for what their hands do write’...Arabic... ‘Then vow to those for what they earn’. This Verse is talking about the people who wrote the book with their own hands and said it is from God Almighty or they changed the words of Allah (SWT). There were every possibility that if Prophet Muhammad (May peace be upon him) himself would have written the Qur’an and attributed it to Allah (SWT) in some point of his life, he would have been exposed. Then he would be called as the biggest hypocrite and would called as the biggest hypocrite and would be cursing himself in his own book some people say that prophet Muhammad (May peace be upon him) attributed the Qur’an to Allah (SWT) and called himself a prophet for status, for power, for glory, for leadership. What are the qualities of a person who wants power, status, leadership and glory. He wears fancy clothes. He eats very good food. He lives in mansions and in monumental buildings. He has guards etc., our beloved prophet Muhammad (May peace be upon him) he milked his own goat. He mend his own clothes, he repaired his own shoes, he even many a times did the household work. He was an amazing model of simplicity and humbleness. He sat on the floor, he went to shop in the market without any guards. Even when the poor people used to invite him, he used to dine with them and eat graciously whatever was given to him. So much so that, that it is mentioned in the Qur’an in Surah Tauba, Ch. No. 9, Verse No. 61, said… ‘Oh! He listens to everybody what kind of a person is this who listens to every Tom, Dick and Harry’. Once when the representative of the pagan Arab by the name of Udba. He came to the prophet and said… ‘If you give up this claim of prophethood, we will give you all the wealth in Arabia. We will make you the leader of Arabia and crown you the king. Only thing that we want is that you should give up this message that there is only one God’ and the prophet refused. By the revelation of the Qur’an from Surah Fussilat, Ch. No. 41. There were several attempts made once through his Uncle Abu Talib that you give up your message and we will make you the wealthiest man in Arabia. The prophet said… ‘Oh! My Uncle, even if they put the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left, I will not give up this mission until I die. Why should a person lead a life of such suffering and sacrifices when he was triumphant even with his advisories. And he was so humble and noble that, at all the times of victory, he always said, it is due to the help of Allah (SWT) and not my own genius. Some of the orientalists, they come up with a new theory, that the prophet, he was suffering from Mythomania. God forbid, Mythomania is a mental disorder in which a person tells a lie and he believes in it. So they said that our prophet Muhammad (May peace be upon him) told a lie Nauzubillah and he believes in it. If a psychiatrist has to treat a mythomaniac, he will pose him with facts because these people can not face facts. Suppose a person says I am the king of England. The psychiatrist will not tell him that he is crazy, he is mad. He will say okay if you are the king of England, where is your queen. He will say she is gone to my mother in laws place. Where is your minister, he has died. Where are the guards, the moment you keep on posing facts, finally the mythomaniac will say I think I am not the king of England. The Qur’an does the same. Qur’an poses the people with facts and questions. In fact it is not prophet Muhammad (May peace be upon him) who was Mythomaniac, it is these people who are actually Mythomaniac because they say that the prophet lied and they believe in it and Qur’an treats such people by posing facts by posing questions. If you doubt, if you think that the Qur’an has been forged, do so and so, so and so things. If you think that the Qur’an is not from Allah (SWT) what about this. It poses several questions, which we will be dealing with InshaAllah, during the course of the talk. Some have come up with a theory called the religious illusion theory or the sub conscious theory in which the prophet they say Nauzubillah used to form his subconscious mind, he derived the Qur’an unknowingly. And some of them said he was crazy. God forbid. Let us analyze their claim. A person if he is suffering from the disease or if he is crazy, they fail to realize that the Qur’an was revealed during a course of time which was 23 years. The Qur’an was not revealed at one time. It was revealed over a period of 23 years in stages part by part. If this Qur’an as they claim is from a mind which is sub conscious or a crazy mind, it could not have been so consistent. And neither can a person be under the false impression that he is a prophet when everything is coming from his sub conscious mind for a period of 23 years. There are several facts in the Qur’an which can disprove this. For example Qur’an mentions about several historical events which no one at the time of the prophet knew. There are several prophecies, which are, mentioned which have been fulfilled. There are several scientific facts which were known that time and had been confirmed today. It is impossible for these sort of facts to come out from a subconscious mind or a crazy mind. And the Qur’an testifies in Surah Araf, Ch. No. 7, Verse No. 184, ‘Do they not deflect that their companion is not one possessed with evil but he is a perpetious warner’. The Qur’an repeats in Al-Qalam, Ch. No. 68, Verse No. 2, ‘Thou is not by the grace of thy lord crazy or possessed’. It is said in Surah Tawkir, Ch. No. 81, Verse No. 22, ‘Your companion is not possessed and mad’. So why should a person lie, it is not possible to discuss all the various theories put forward by them. If any one had any new theory they are most welcome to put it during question answer time and InshaAllah, I will try my level best to clarify it. The second assumption is that the prophet copied it from other religious scriptures or he got it from some human source. One historical fact is sufficient to prove this theory wrong. That is out beloved prophet Muhammad (May peace be upon him) he was an illiterate and Qur’an testified in Surah Ankabut, Ch. No. 29, Verse No. 48, that those was not able to recite any book before this book was revealed, nor was thou able to transcribe it before this. In that case indeed the talkers of vanities would have doubted. Allah (SWT) knew that people would doubt the source of the Qur’an. That is the reason that in his divine wisdom, he chose his last and final messenger Prophet Muhammad (May peace be upon him) to be an Ummi, an illiterate and unlettered prophet. Otherwise, surely, the talkers of vanities, the babblers in the market place would have something to say and if the prophet was literate, the critics, the cynics would have had some weight to say that the prophet copied it from somewhere else and rehatched it in a new form, Nauzubillah! But even this claim is denied. A point hardly big enough to hang a fly and our Qari, brother Ashraf Mohammedy, he recited the verses of the Qur’an from Surah Sajdah, Ch. No. 32, Verse No. 1 to 3…Arabic… ‘Alif lam meem’. ‘This is the revelation of book without doubt from the lord of the worlds. Do they say he has forged it? Nay! It is a truth from thy lord, so that thou may admonish a people to whom no warner was sent before. So that they may receive some guidance’. The Qur’an is unlike any other religious scriptures which has a typical human type of narration like a storybook. How does the storybook begin? It begins with once upon a time, foxes and grapes, wolf and the lamb. Similarly, if you read other scriptures, it says, in the beginning was God, he made the heavens and the earth. In the beginning was the word. It may say now it came to pass as though so it happened. The Qur’an does not have such human narration in the beginning was so and so and if you read the other religious scriptures, they have a typical sequence of the human narration’s. It talks about a particular person, talks about his family, about the children and the sequence runs in order - Chapter 1, Chapter 2, it is in order. Qur’an too speaks about people and their family lives but it speaks not in a particular sequence like the human story book. The Qur’an has its own unique style. It is a unique book. The people who cannot prove that Qur’an is a work of a human being then they finally come up and say that the Qur’an is the deception? They will not be able to point out a single deception in the whole Qur’an. People they believe in things for which they have got no proof or reason. And they fool themselves but stick into it. For example if I believe that this particular man, he is my enemy for which I have got no proof for which I have got no reason. But the moment that man comes in front of me, because of my false belief, I start behaving like an enemy. He reacts and too behaves like my enemy and then I satisfy myself see! I was right. This man is my enemy because he is behaving like my enemy. If it had not been for my initial false belief, that man would have never behaved like my enemy. So people believe in things without proof and reason and fool themselves by sticking to it. Qur’an says that the revelation goes in parallel with reason. Some people says that holy scriptures, they are beyond reasoning if they are beyond reasoning, then how can we decipher, which of the Holy Scriptures are true and which are false. The Qur’an infact encourages reasoning, it encourages a discussion. Many Muslims feel that you should avoid religious discussions. You should avoid getting into a dialogue where religion is concerned. And they are sadly mistaken. The Qur’an says in Surah Nahl, Ch. No. 16, Verse No. 125…Arabic… that is, ‘Invite all to the way of thy lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching and argue with them and reason with them in the ways that are best and most gracious’. Qur’an encourages discussion, encourages reasoning. No wonder the Arabic words ‘Qalu’ which means they say is mentioned 332 times and the Arabic word ‘Qul’ which means say is also mentioned 332 times. This proves that the Qur’an encourages discussion. There is a theory known as exhausting the alternatives. The Qur’an says that this book, this book the Qur’an it is a revelation from God Almighty. If it is not, then what is it? You give the other alternative. Some may say it is a handiwork of Prophet Muhammad (May peace be upon him). It has been disproved. Some may say he lied for material gain Nauzubillah! That has been disproved whatever claims they have got, put forth and see whether they stand the test.