What are the Signs of a Pure Divine Scripture?
Certain individuals have claimed utterance of "divine guidance" throughout the history of humankind without being chosen by Allah the Exalted for this purpose. These people have been either mad or deluded by evil influences, and this came to pass even among well-versed prominent religious leaders. The best thing is to examine their words in their exact original form and language (not a translation of, or excerpts from, or sporadic comments) with an open mind and heart, without any prejudice. It will immediately become obvious whether or not their writings are truly walzy from Allah the Exalted or are satanic inspirations. This is why Allah the Exalted says:
"There is no compulsion in religion, the Right way is just made clear from the wrong..." (2:256)
The following are a few characteristics of the way Almighty Allah speaks. This set of examples may be a rudimentary way to gauge such claims, but examples can be extended to any degree, all the way to the entire text of the Glorious Qur'an:
A. The Commanding And Authoritative Language
The commanding and authoritative language used by Allah the Exalted is quite obvious in many of the ayat reviewed so far and will be clearer in the ayat yet to come. But the following may be used as another set of examples:
"71 - Not one of you but will pass over it (the Fire). This is with thy Lord, a Decree which must be accomplished. 72 - But We shall save those who guarded against evil, and We shall leave the wrong-doers therein, to their knees." (19: 71-72)
"They ask thee concerning (the nature of) the spirit. Say: The spirit is by command of my Lord. And of the knowledge of it very little is communicated to you." (17:85)
"16 - Move not thy tongue concerning the (Qur’an) to make haste therewith. 17 - It is for Us to collect it and to promulgate it. 18 – But when We have promulgated it, follow thou its recital. 19 - Nay more, it is for Us to explain it." (75:16-19)
I chose these examples, in particular, as they are partly addressed to His highly positioned rasul rather than to ordinary people. While they reflect the highly authoritative position of Allah the Exalted, they have the significance of clarifying His total control over what is transmitted to His messenger as wahy (Divine revelation).
Not a single one of us could escape from the Fire if it were not for His Mercy and Compassion. They illustrate that the spirit is under the command of the holy prophet's Lord, and that about the knowledge of spirit very little is communicated to him. They show that The Holy Prophet (SA) was commanded to allow the revelation to sink into his heart and mind rather than be impatient about it. It adds that Almighty Allah would certainly complete the revelation to its perfection according to His Own Plan. It assures us that all revelations would be collected and preserved for mankind and would not be forgotten or lost.
These few examples are sufficient to give the reader a feeling of authority, of being in charge and control, of commanding, and of assurance.
B. The interrogative supremacy
There are numerous direct questions asked in the Great Qur'an which are full of wisdom. These are but a few examples:
"Thinketh he (mankind) that none hath power over him?" (90:5)
"Thinketh he that none beholdeth him? Have we not made for him a pair of eyes? And a tongue and a pair of lips? And shown him the two highways? But he had made no haste on the path that is steep. And what will explain to thee the path that is steep?" (90:7-12)
"Is not Allah the wisest of Judges?" (95:8)
"Knoweth he not that Allah doth see?" (96:14)
This is another evidence of the commanding language of this Miraculous Divine Book. It provides comfort, assurance and confidence to the reader of the Glorious Qur'an that these words are expressed from an Allauthoritative and All-superior Source, Who is in absolute control, and that things are in complete check at all times and all places throughout the universe. And it renders the reader a sense of security should he/she totally depend on Him, His mercy, His judgement, His sustenance, His ability and might, His justice, His protection, and effectively submit him/herself to His Will (the true meaning of Islam).
A few more examples are:
"Is it you that cause it to grow, or are We the causers of growth?" (56: 64)
"Who is then more unjust than one who forges a lie against Allah or rejects His communications?..." (7:37)
"Do they who work evil think that they will escape Us?..." (29:4)
"...Do you then believe in a part of the Book and disbelieve in the other?..." (2:85)
"What! Did you then think that We had created you in vain and that you shall not be returned to Us?" (23:115)
In addition to these types of questions, there are as many as 976 interrogative statements, for example with what?, for what?, in what?, from what?, from whom?, for whom?, on whom?, and others such as then what?, then who?, like what?, and like who? etc. in the Noble Qur'an.
C. The language of peace, serenity and security
Having seen the stern interrogative language of the Glorious Qur'an, let us now examine its soft language of security, peace and tranquillity:
"But whoever believes, and works righteousness, he shall have a goodly reward, and easy will be his task as We order it by Our command." (18:88)
"60 - ...those who repent and believe, and work righteousness will enter the Garden and will not be wronged in the least. 61 - Gardens of Eternity, those which (Allah) the Gracious, has promised to His obedients in the Unseen. His promise will certainly come to pass. 62 - They will not there hear any vain discourse, but only salutations of peace (salam) and they will have therein their sustenance, morning and evening.
63 - Such is the Garden which We give as an inheritance-to those of Our obedients who guard against evil." (19:60-63)
According to Yusuf cAli, the distinguished translator of the Precious Qur'an, the Arabic word salam, translated as "Peace", has a much wider meaning. This word is derived from the Arabic root "S-L-M", and has various significant meanings such as:
* A sense of security and permanence, which is unknown in this life, as in salam.
* Soundness; freedom from defects; perfection, as in the word salam.
* Preservation, salvation, deliverance, as in the word sallama.
* Salutation, accord and harmony with those around us.
* Resignation in the sense that we are satisfied (and not discontented).
* The ordinary meaning of peace for salam, i.e., freedom from any jarring element.
* Total submission (to the will of Allah the Exalted), as in taslim.
All these shades of meaning are implied in the word Islam. If all the above can characterise the Heavens, then the ultimate destiny of Islam is the Heavens.
D. The mystic elements
The strength of the mystical contents of the Holy Qur'an, nourishing the inner aspects of our being, has been the aspiration for the ripening of sufism and mysticism over the centuries. This part of the Glorious Qur'an is responsible for the illumination of many great men and women, who have achieved unimaginable levels of insight and knowledge. One of the examples of such a reflection is the following ayah:
"Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The parable of His Light is as if there were a Niche and within it a Lamp, which is enclosed in Glass. The Glass as it were a brilliant star, lit from a blessed tree, an olive, neither of the east, nor of the west, whose oil is well-nigh luminous, though fire hardly touched it. Light on Light! Allah guides to His Light whoever He will. Allah sets forth Parables for Men, and Allah Knoweth all things." (24:35)
Volumes and volumes have been written to explore the sublime meaning of this magnificent ayah. Yusuf ‘Ali, the distinguished translator of the Noble Qur'an, says no notes (comments) can do adequate justice to the full meaning of this ayah, but here follows his attempt:
"Physical light is but a reflection of the true Light in the world of Reality, and that true Light is Allah. We can only think of Allah in terms of our phenomenal experience, and in the phenomenal world, light is the purest thing we know, but physical light has drawbacks incidental to its physical nature: e.g. (1) it is dependent upon some source external to itself; (2) it is a passing phenomenon; if we take it to be a form of motion or energy it is unstable, like all physical phenomena; (3) it is dependent on space and time: its speed is 186,000 miles per second, and there are stars whose light takes thousands of years before it reaches the earth. The perfect Light of Allah is free from any such defects. The first three points in the parable centre around the symbols of the Niche, the Lamp, and the Glass, as follows:
"1. The niche (mishkah) is the little shallow recess in the wall of an Eastern house, fairly high from the ground, in which a light used to be placed, before the era of electricity. Its height enabled it to diffuse the light in the room and minimised the shadows. The background of the wall and the sides of the niche helped to throw the light well into the room, and if the wall was white-washed, it also acted as a reflector. The opening in front made the way for the light. So with the spiritual Light, it is placed high, above worldly things; it has a niche or habitation of its own, in Revelation and other Signs (ayat) of Allah; its access to men is by a special Way, open to all, yet closed to those who refuse its rays.
"2. The Lamp is the core of the spiritual Truth, which is the real illumination; the niche is nothing without it. The niche is actually made for it.
"3. The Glass is the transparent medium through which the Light passes. On the one hand, it protects the light from moths and other forms of low life (lower motives in man) and from gusts of wind (passions), and on the other, it transmits the light through a medium which is made up of and akin to the grosser substances of the earth (such as sand, soda, potash, etc.), so arranged as to admit the subtle to the gross by its transparency. So the spiritual Truth has to be filtered through human language or human intelligence to make it intelligible to mankind."
In the same way that this Glass needs constant cleaning in order for the light to pass through, mankind should also maintain such transmissibility by regular prayer (salat), the zakdh, and other purification means. Salat purifies the soul in the same way that bathing cleanses the body.
"The glass by itself does not shine. But when the light comes into it, it shines like a brilliant star. So men of Allah who preach Allah's Truth, are themselves illuminated by Allah's Light and become the illuminating media through which that Light spreads and permeates human life."
This is a good example of how a low-level matter, such as glass, takes on a higher level quality, illumination, when it is in proximity with the main source (of Light). Another example is a piece of black, solid carbon which takes on the glowing, warm and radiant qualities of fire, if placed next to a raging fire. This demonstrates how blissful we shall feel if we constantly choose to associate ourselves with the radiant and blessed people, and to follow their path.
"The Olive tree is not a very impressive tree in its outward appearance. Its leaves have a dull greenish-brown colour, and in size it is inconspicuous. But its oil is used in sacred ceremonies and forms a wholesome ingredient of food. The fruit has a specially fine flavour. This Olive is not localised. It is neither of the East nor of the West. It is universal, for such is Allah's Light. It shines in all directions beyond time and space limitations."
... whose Oil is well-nigh luminous, though fire hardly touched it ...
"Pure olive oil is beautiful in colour, consistency, and illuminating power. The world has tried all kinds of illuminants, and for economic reasons or convenience, one replaces another. But for coolness, comfort to the eyes, and steadiness, vegetable oils are superior to electricity, mineral oils, and animal oils. And among vegetable oils, olive oil takes a high place and deserves its sacred associations. Its purity is almost like light itself; you may suppose it to be almost light before it is lit."
This is why the expression "light on light" is used in this ayah.
"So with spiritual Truth: it illuminates the mind and understanding imperceptibly, almost before the human mind and heart have been consciously touched by it."
... Light on light! Allah does guide, whom He will, to His Light ...
"Glorious, illimitable Light, which cannot be described or measured. And there are grades and grades of it, passing transcendently into regions of spiritual height, which man's imagination can scarcely conceive of. The topmost pinnacle is the true prototypal Light, the real Light, of which all others were reflections, the Light of Allah."
This beautiful ayah is one of the examples for the mystic elements of the Glorious Qur'an.
E. Perfect two-way communication and reflection
This subject has been discussed in more detail when we looked into the definition of nabiy (Prophet of Almighty Allah) and rasul (Apostle of Exalted Allah), page 8. Please consider the following ayah, in which you will find the reflection of a perfect, two-way communication:
"They ask thee concerning wine and gambling. Say: In them is great sin, and some profit for mankind, but the sin is greater than the profit. And they ask thee how much they are to spend (in charity). Say: What is beyond your needs. Thus doth Allah make clear to you His Signs (Words) in order that ye may reflect." (2:219)
There are fifteen ayat which begin with the expression "They ask thee". There are more ayat which do not explicitly start with this expression; however, it is obvious that they are reflections upon certain earthly matters or questions in the everyday life of people. These ayat make the reading of the Glorious Qur'an most interesting.
It is always intriguing to listen to a dialogue, particularly when led by the Almighty, the Wise, the Knowing, and the Merciful One. Another interesting element of this feature is the very effective reflection of down-to-earth matters about which common and uncommon people wonder, think, or ask questions for their day-to-day life. This is why the Glorious Qur'an is The Book of Guidance for Allah's dan (His recommended way of life).
By now, we have reviewed sufficiently to enable us to distinguish the difference between the style of writing in the Holy Qur'an and the way human beings write. If this distinction is not yet apparent, there is still a considerable opportunity to grasp this point as one reads through, and finally, when one reads the Glorious Qur'an Itself.
It is remarkable that experts have clearly shown that there is a distinct difference between the style, grammar and vocabulary of the Prophet's own words (called hadith, plural ahadith) and those of the Miraculous Qur'an. This is another proof of the Glorious Qur'an being purely words of Allah the Exalted transmitted to Muhammad (SA), either directly, or through the Angel Gabriel (PBUH). No other religious book offers this feature of Absolute Purity. This is the very feature which makes the Precious Qur'an uniquely Divine.
F. The telegraphic style of Almighty Allah's sentences
In the Great Qur'an, Allah the Exalted speaks in a telegraphic style without losing the meaning of His message. This is Divine perfection expressing all matters using the most effective expressions, the most efficient language, and the most precise vocabulary within a unique structure, full of valuable parables. To those who have been deceived to accept words of a human being as words of Allah (no matter how beautiful they may be), I would sincerely recommend to reading at least ten pages of the Noble Qur'an just to see for themselves how Allah the Exalted speaks. For the beginners it might be a good idea to start with small Surahs toward the end of the Glorious Qur'an. They are short, rhythmic and poetic, and are easy to begin with and enjoy.
It is amazing that Muhammad's (SA) own word, hadith, is distinctly different from the wahy of Allah the Exalted in many aspects, even though they both come out of the same mouth, by the same tongue of the same person. Let us review some examples. In the Great Qur'an we read this telegraphic statement:
"Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but (he is) the rasul of Allah, and the seal of the nabiys..." (33:40)
Compare this with a hadith from the Messenger of Allah the Omnipotent for style, vocabulary, and expression:
"The parable of myself and the parable of the Prophets is as the parable of a place of which the construction has been made good but wherein the place of a brick has been left out. The on-lookers went round it wondering at its good construction except for the place of the brick. It is I who closed up the place of the brick (according to Allah's command). The construction has therefore been sealed by me, and the Messengers have come to an end with me. I am the brick and the seal of the prophets. "
One of the best examples for the telegraphic style of the Qur'anic ayat is the famous surah, al-Ikhlas. (The Absolute Purity). The entire surah, with tremendous significance and impact, is as follows:
"Say: He Allah, is One. Allah is the Absolute Self-Sufficient. He begets not, nor is He begotten, and there is not a single one to equate with Him." (112)
In the Arabic language, it takes even less wording to express this profound, purposeful and significant message, which is the cardinal aspect of the turning point from a multi-god worship to the great concept of tawhad (please refer to the Glossary).
G. Delightfully easy and uncomplicated vocabulary
It might be a good idea to see what the Glorious Qur'an Itself says:
"Verily, We have made this (Qur'an) easy, in thy tongue, in order that they (people) may give heed." (44:58)
Not only is the Noble Qur'an pleasantly uncomplicated, It is also charming and mellifluous; Its rhythm elevates the spirit of mankind to high levels. Even the allegorical part, which may not always be fully comprehensible, is delightfully stimulating. One important evidence for the miraculous nature of the Glorious Qur'an is the very fact that many wise promises and warnings, glad tidings and admonitions, educational examples and historical events, and highly scientific facts are eloquently explained within simple vocabulary!
H. The repetitive style
The Precious Qur'an is a Book of Guidance. It has two fundamental objectives. Its first function is to provide knowledge, for educational purposes, about subjects that we did not know, and which we can now understand by reading The Book. The second function of the Final Testament, however, goes beyond educational aspects, and has to do with the training of individuals and societies to build up certain personal, social, cultural, communal and correctional characteristics.
For educational purposes, where a person reads certain material to understand its meaning, repetition is unnecessary if the matter is clearly stated. But for a build-up of personalities and societies, the reading material should go beyond the scope of plain understanding; it must become a native part of the reader for day-to-day practice. Not only does this type of reading material need continuous repetition, but it should also be attractive enough to generate the desire for repeated readings. This is the very feature Allah the Exalted placed in the Glorious Qur'an and this is why the Great Book is uniquely Divine.
I. Long-term readership, preservation and maintenance
This unique feature belongs only to the Glorious Qur'an. No other Scripture in the world has ever been in this position. Normally, the larger the readers' circle, the more opportunities arise for changes, additions, improvements, amendments and corrections. But the Glorious Qur'an is uniquely different! It has remained unchanged! Since it did not undergo any updating, and remained as It was fourteen centuries ago, we should expect It to have become outmoded or obsolete, and therefore ineffective. But the Glorious Qur'an is uniquely different! It shines more and more as It ages!
J. The amalgamative style
Many beginners are bothered by this style, and ask why the Glorious Qur'an is written in a disarranged and mixed-up style. They wonder why all matters relating to a certain subject could not be pulled together in one chapter, as in the majority of books we read today. This matter is very intriguing, and I shall try to review it with a few examples:
The most beautiful formal garden, full of fragrant flowers and blossoms, with complete separation of various sections, can soon become dull and boring if visited frequently. But a beautiful site, in a natural form, full of wild flowers of all colours and fragrances, mixed and mingled naturally with other shrubs and trees, is always pleasing and refreshing even if visited frequently.
It is an intrinsic trait of humankind to enjoy natural mixing and commingling. One of the beautiful aspects of the mosques in cosmopolitan communities is the very mixing of people coming from various parts of the world, with different complexions, colours, languages, nationalities, costumes, but united through Allah the Exalted as one body. Can you imagine how uninteresting it would be if we were to segregate these people in separate sections of a mosque? This also applies to the Glorious Qur'an. This Great Book could not have maintained its standing record of the mostfrequently-read book of the world for over fourteen centuries if it were written in the boring form of a manual.
It should also be borne in mind that the Glorious Qur'an is a Book of Guidance for all people and for all times. Fourteen centuries ago, people were not used to classification, indexing, bibliography, heading, subheading, references, and computerised shortcuts. But today, all these facilities are available and are being used while the original format of the Precious Qur'an remains unchanged. The Glorious Qur'an has been entered into computers by many institutions all over the world, and has been analysed in many ways with amazing results and findings. Therefore, one should not consider the original format as a limitation. As we have seen before, placement of ayat and Surahs is exactly the way Allah the Exalted commanded it and this is the way It remained throughout.
Modern psychology recommends that we should not concentrate on one subject for too long, and should bring in a change to refresh the work and increase performance or comprehension. This is a built-in feature of the Glorious Qur'an, which gives the history of ancient civilisations, moves on to certain social rules about, say, weddings, eating or worship, then on to ethical lessons and morality, and on to the description of this world, and its purpose, while moving to what action or word Allah the Exalted inspired in the heart or mind of a prophet, and finally the reaction of the community of believers. This amalgamative style is the paramount cause of the joy felt in the recitation of this Munificent Book.
Modern businessmen keep changing the order of things in a department store. Giant stores keep moving various departments around. They know the merits of customer curiosity. It makes people wander around to find what they came to buy, and in this pleasant stroll, pick up a lot of things that they had no intention of buying when they came in. The very same wisdom in the Glorious Qur'an is teaching millions of earnest seekers things that they were not initially looking for. How could these modern techniques be known over fourteen centuries ago by any human being of that time?
K. The historical events
There are many historical events mentioned in the Glorious Qur'an, which were totally unknown to humankind at that time. There are two important reasons for this feature:
First, it proves its miraculous nature by giving the detailed account of circumstances that Muhammad (SA) could not possibly have known about in any imaginable way. Second, it is a very intricate educational technique. People take offence when they are directly told of their misconduct, and the results of their actions. Most often, they may not believe that the expected tribulation will afflict them. But being given examples of earlier civilisations as a proof of what happened to them, they do not react obstinately as the sharp edge of condemnation is not aimed at them. They are much more willing to accept the point if someone else is being blamed and criticised.
Moreover, they are obliged to believe the consequences as they are already a matter of history. Given historical examples, it does not take much imagination to prove the end result of an evil act. This is why the Glorious Qur'an is full of interesting educational, historical stories and parables. Book printing and reading is much more common now than it used to be centuries ago. In order to promote the idea of learning through historical events, not only does the Glorious Qur'an give numerous historical examples about the doers of good and of evil, it also encourages us to go around and discover for ourselves signs of disastrous floods, earthquakes, etc. that afflicted some disbelieving ancestors. These historical examples are too many to include in this introductory review, but for the recommended "exploratory expedition" these ayat can be referred to: 3:137, 6:11, 16:36, 27:69, 29:20, 30:42.
I. The language of Absolute Knowledge about everything
The Great Qur'an is full of knowledge on a wide range of matters, definitely unknown to human beings at the time of Muhammad (SA). As science gradually gropes forward, humankind becomes more and more amazed at the absolute truth of the Qur'anic knowledge revealed over fourteen centuries ago, when human beings had no idea about these matters. This subject is a vast one, and is certainly beyond the scope of this brief monograph.
The Glorious Qur'an gives evidence of the truth on various aspects of life, the earth, its shape, its rotation, the mountains, their continuous movement and their importance in the stability of the earth, the water source and its storage, information about the skies, the sun and the moon and other planets, the plants, the animals, the insects, and the amazing and disciplined world order, the sophisticated abilities and performances in the entire universe as a whole, the spirit, the composition of human and mammal milk, what mankind is made of, human embryology and the beginning of life, man's destiny, Almighty Allah's attributes, the history of various civilisations, the history of previous Divine prophets and messengers, the names of previous Divine books, and so on.
Therefore, unlike the Holy Bible, the Miraculous Qur'an is not primarily a book of religious history and events. It contains practically all aspects of din (the way of life prescribed by Allah the Exalted), matters such as sociology, geology, medicine, astronomy, theology, history, biology, anthropology, Divine world order, eternal peace and so forth. But it should be borne in mind that the Noble Qur'an does not claim to be a Book of law or science or of any of the above disciplines. It is a Book of Guidance for mankind.
Throughout history, many devout religious figures full of inspiration have produced uplifting writings full of beauty and grace. Many of them have been favoured with a considerable body of supporters and followers. For those who have not studied the Great Qur'an, it is very easy to accept such writings as divine scriptures, and mistake the writer for a prophet of Allah the Exalted, as these glamorous writings can entice the heart and the spirit very effectively. But those who are well-versed in the Holy Qur'an, and have understood its uniquely exalted position, can immediately tell the difference between this Divine Book and the product of a created mortal. This is a very important issue, particularly in today's life when the shallow and cosmetic image is well advertised and well accepted at the expense of valuable genuineness, nobility, logic and Truth.
Only a few examples of the scientific wisdom of the Glorious Qur'an are covered below but the full coverage can easily be the subject of a very large book:
About the earth
"Seest thou not that Allah merges Night into Day and He merges Day into Night... " (31:29)
Merging is a gradual process and could not be caused if the earth were flat. Science was finally bound to discover the very reality that the earth was a spherical body, and not a flat surface! But if every word of Allah the Exalted could have been understood at the time of revelation, mankind would have known this fact over fourteen centuries ago. In ayah 39:5, we also see "...He makes the Night overlap the Day, and the Day overlap the Night...", also confirming the fact that the earth is not a flat surface.
Is the earth truly a sphere?
In fact it is not! In 79:30, A1lah the Exalted explains how He extended the earth like an egg! Experts in Arabic literature agree that one of the old meanings of the word daha was "egg". This egg-shaped form of the earth was, of course, discovered many centuries after the Miraculous Qur'an had already spread that information. Allah-u Akbar! (this is an expression of magnification, literally meaning Allah is Greatest):
"And the earth, He extended it (as an egg) after that." (79:30)
In the field of oceanography, we find:
"Or, (the status of unbelievers) is like the depths of darkness in a vast deep ocean, overwhelmed with layer topped by layer of waves, topped with (dark) clouds. Depths of darkness, one above another..." (24:40)
Only recently did science discover that:
A. Water manoeuvres in various layers in the ocean. These layers may have different characteristics, such as salinity, density, temperature, marine biology, and so on; and they may move relative to one another.
B. Each layer acts as a filter causing the gradual disappearance of a certain light spectrum. For example, red light is excluded at about 30 metres, green at approximately 100 metres and blue at about 200 metres of depth. This continues to ultimate darkness at deeper sections of the ocean where fish could not see anything if there were no source of light within their own bodies. In the above ayah, waves and clouds are also mentioned to emphasise the degree of darkness associated with the status of unbelievers, as clouds cause absorption, and waves cause reflection of light before it can reach the surface of an ocean.
How could Muhammad (SA), who had never seen an ocean, possibly know these twentieth-century scientific discoveries over fourteen hundred years ago? This, and many similar ayat, are signs of Divine wahy revealed throughout the Glorious Qur'an.
In the field of geology:
"Have we not spread out the earth, and the mountains as pegs?" (78:6-7)
Again, this is a relatively new discovery that mountains (like teeth) are deeply rooted into the earth (mantle), as anchors to help stabilise the full system of earth, including the mountains themselves. They keep the earth in balance during the rotation, they prevent slippage of layers of earth during the rotation, and similarly to tree roots they keep mountains firmly in place.
In the field of astronomy:
The words "sun" and "moon" have been mentioned in the Glorious Qur'an many times. Without exception, the sun is always associated with light as a source (siraj, wahhaj, diya', etc.), whereas the moon is always referred to as a body that reflects the light (nur). This is, of course, general knowledge today, but over fourteen centuries ago, how did any one know, least of all The Prophet Muhammad (SA), (who had no earthly teacher) that the sun was a source of light, and the moon was its reflector? Please refer to the words nur, siraj and wahhaj in the Glossary. These short ayat are but two examples of such wisdom and knowledge:
"See you not how Allah has created the seven skies (heavens) one above another, and made the moon a light (nur) in their midst, and made the sun a (Glorious) Lamp (siraj)?" (71:15 & 16)
"It is He Who made the sun to be a shining glory [diya'], and the moon to be a light (of beauty), and measured out stages for her; that ye might know the number of years and the count (of time)..." (10:5)
In medical science:
A very extensive research on human embryology has recently found astonishing conclusions which had already been revealed over fourteen centuries ago. Keith L. Moore, Professor of Anatomy and Chairman of the Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine of the University of Toronto, has written a voluminous book on this subject, detailing the close match between the ayat of the Holy Qur'an and the findings of his team. The findings of this work are in perfect harmony with many ayat of the Miraculous Qur'an as well as with several hadith quotations.
This book is now available in English, German, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Italian and Portuguese.
It is difficult to reduce a 500-page book with descriptive colour pictures into a few simple paragraphs. Basically, through the revelations from the Glorious Qur'an and ahadith, one finds the most comprehensive and accurate terminology to refer to various stages of embryology, the rules of heredity, and chromosomal makeup of a new being, and many other specific pieces of information which have been either unknown or misunderstood by medical science for many centuries. Embryologists are amazed to learn that accurate periods of time associated with specific embryonic developments have been mentioned in the ahadith, such as:
"In every one of you all components of your creation are gathered together by 40 days..."
or:
"When 42 nights have passed over the drops (fertilisation), Allah sends an angel to it, who shapes it and makes its ears, eyes, skin, flesh and bones. Then he asks: Oh Lord! is it male or female? and your Lord decides and the angel records it."
The use of modern technology and magnified pictures of the embryo taken at different intervals clearly shows the development of the body as given above. The Glorious Qur'an reveals three veils of darkness that surround the embryo:
"...He creates you in the wombs of your mothers, stage by stage, one after another, in three veils of darkness..." (39:6)
Today, they are known to be: the anterior abdominal wall, the uterine wall, and the amniochorionic membrane.
As I write these words, I cannot help treasuring and adoring the quality and importance of the Wisdom and Knowledge given to us by Allah the Exalted in the Glorious Qur'an. People should be very careful when they pass judgements about many so-called "Divine" books. The Noble Qur'an is the best-known yardstick with which these claims can be examined.
Any further details on the scientific research on human embryology is beyond the scope of this book. I would like to refer the reader to the source book for this amazing information:
The Developing Human - Clinically Oriented Embryology
3rd edition (with Islamic additions), ISBN 0-7216-6472-5, 1983
Dar al-Qiblah for Islamic Literature
P .O. Box 10932, Jeddah 21443, S. Arabia.
Although there is a great deal to write about the findings of various subjects that have already been revealed in the Precious Qur'an centuries ago, I should stop at this point. These few pages are only meant to be a humble illustration of the absolute knowledge reflected by the Miraculous Qur'an. For further information one could refer to:
The Bible, the Qur'an and Science by Maurice Bucaille (French Academy of Medicine) Published by American Trust Publications, 1979 7216 S. Madison Ave., Indianapolis, IN 46227, USA.
The Qur'an and Modern Science
The Islamic Academy of Science
20B Jalan Daud, Kg Bahm, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
M. The eloquent voice of the Noble Qur'an
This is a subject that has been attested to by well-versed experts in the Arabic language. Muslim and non-Muslim scholars in this area agree that the vocabulary, style, eloquence, effectiveness, and the rich poetic rhythm of this Masterpiece is indeed miraculous (as it should be). The significance of this section of our discussion cannot be expressed any further in English.
Suffice to say that man-made songs and melodies come into fashion in a given community, and disappear after a certain period of time. But the chanting of, and listening to, the beautiful ayat of Allah the Exalted have remained delightful and enjoyable for over fourteen centuries, stimulating the soul and the heart of people of different languages, cultures and backgrounds. This uplift and enchantment is not limited to the Arab nations or those who speak Arabic. It penetrates beyond geographical boundaries, race, nationality and culture, and is independent of time.
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Author: Bahram Samii
