Do You Know This Book

موضوع: Do You Know This Book السبت يونيو 01, 2013 3:24 pm

Of
all the acclaimed masterpieces that the world has seen, nothing can be
compared to the book known as the Qur'an. Millions have become Muslims
upon simply hearing a verse from this amazing book, yet still the
majority knows nothing of it. The Qur'an is the Final Revelation from
the Creator to humanity. It was revealed in the year 610 CE to the
Prophet Muhammed (saws), and completed over a period of 23 years. These
23 years of revelation resulted in a book which comprised of 114
chapters and over 6000 verses. All of this was to become the primary
source of law for the whole of mankind to live and die by.
The impact of this book is such that Allah says :
"Had
We[1] revealed this Qur'an upon a mountain, surely you would have seen
it humble itself and crumble out of the fear of Allah. Such are the
parables We put forward to mankind so that they may reflect" (Surah Al-Hashr 59:21)
However,
it seems as if the hearts of the people have become harder then the
mountains which tower above us. When the Qur'an is recited or even
mentioned, people turn away with disgust. In the West, this is primarily
due to the negative exposure from the media. It has resulted in many
non-Muslims not even wanting to hear the name of this amazing book.
Muslims too, have become hardhearted because of the cultural influences
of the West. Many young Muslims perceive the Qur'an to be nothing more
then an old wrapped up book, which comes off the highest shelf once a
year during Ramadan!
If people were to truly reflect upon this book,
they would realise that nothing in this world is quite the same. So why
should this claim be accepted over others? Why should the Qur'an be
given precedence over the likes of the Bible, the Gita[2] or the Granth
Sahib[3] ? The following reasons will inshallah give an indication as to
why this book deserves the attention of all humanity.
Preservation
"There
is probably in the world no other book which has remained twelve
centuries with so pure a text". Writing 200 years ago, these are the
words of the famous English critic of Islam, Sir William Muir. But as
Muslims we do not need Williarn Muir to tell us this. 1400 years ago,
the Muslims accepted this reality when Allah revealed to them:
"Indeed it is We who have sent down the reminder (the Qur'an), and indeed it is Us who shall preserve it" (Surah Al-Hijr 15:9)
These
words have proved true to this very day. From the moment the first
words were revealed to Muhammed (saws), to this very day, every single
letter and word of the Qur'an has remained unchanged.
Before Islam,
all the revelations sent were not given this divine assurance. This is
why we find that books like the Bible are riddled with corruption and
inaccuracies. It is well known that man has tampered with the Bible to
the extent that annually different versions are produced to suit trends
and desires[4]. In fact this has been going on for so long that it is
almost impossible to see what of the words of the Creator are left, if
any!
With the Qur'an it is the exact opposite. The contents of this
amazing book are stored in the hearts of millions of Muslims worldwide.
Children as young as 12 have memorised the entire book in its original
language, Arabic. There is no other religious scripture on earth which
is orally preserved in its original language by so many and over such a
period of time, without having been tampered somewhere along the line.
The Bible is a prime example of this. Many Christians believe that
English is the divine language of the Bible. However Jesus (as) spoke
Aramaic. From Aramaic, his life-story was translated into Hebrew. From
Hebrew it was translated into Greek. From Greek to Latin, and then
finally from Latin to English! There has not been a single vicar, priest
or layman in recorded history who has even memorised the Bible in
English, let alone the Aramaic! As Muslims we believe the Qur'an can
only be in the language it was revealed in, i.e. Arabic. Anything else
is a translation and not the divine words of the Creator. A true test of
this divine preservation would be to burn all the books and manuscripts
in existence, to see which can return as it was. The Qur'an would be
the only book which would return in its original form, letter for
letter, word for word.
Many Christians say that the Qur'anic claim of
preservation needs to be backed-up by manuscript evidence. For us this
is not a necessary criteria, but in order to quell the doubts, the
Muslims have ample proof. Two copies of the Qur'an are in existence
which date back to the Third Caliph Uthmaan (ra), 20 years after the
death of the Prophet (saws). These two copies are to be found in the
Topkapi museum, Istanbul, Turkey and in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The
Tashkent copy is thought to have been the personal copy of the Caliph as
it still contains stains of his blood, which was shed when he was
murdered whilst reading it. Any copy of the Qur'an which is compared to
these copies, will show that there is not a single difference between
what we have today and what was in existence 1400 years ago. Thus
Allah's promise holds true.

No Mistakes
Man
as a creature is fallible. For this reason anything which is produced
by him will naturally have faults. With the Qur'an, such a notion cannot
even be considered as it is from the one who is Infallible. In fact
Allah clarifies this matter beautifully when he says:
"Do they not consider the Qur'an? Had it been from other then Allah surely they would have found much discrepancies within it"
(Surah An-Nisa 4:82)
Throughout
history many have tried to scrutinise and search the Qur'an for
mistakes and errors. To this day no one has been able to bring a shred
of proof showing that this book is not from Allah. Some Christians have
even called it the work of the Devil because the book affected them so
much when they read it! With other scriptures, contradictions, mistakes
and absurdities are constantly present. When people contrast these
ambiguities with the Qur'an, it often results in the acceptance of this
faultless book.

The Arabic Language
Upon
hearing Qur'anic recitation, you may be rather startled. Besides
hearing the reciter of the prayer, you often hear people in the
background sobbing and wailing heavily. So what is it that makes these
people cry so much? It is nothing more then the beauty and eloquence of
this book which moves millions to tears. This beauty is expressed in the
language of Arabic. Allah says :
"Indeed We have revealed this as an Arabic Qur'an so that you may understand" (Surah Yusuf 12:2)
At
the time of the Prophet (saws) three modes of expression were used.
There was normal speech, the speech of the soothsayer and poetry. The
Arabs were the masters of their language, and poetry was their cultural
highlight. Arabic poetry is split into 16 categories, each separate from
the other. When the Qur'an was proclaimed to the Arabs it amazed them
beyond all limits. It was like nothing they had ever heard before. It
did not fit into the 16 categories of poetry, nor was it the speech of a
soothsayer, and it certainly was not normal speech. If it was not all
these, then it could only be the word of Allah.
The eloquence and
majesty of the early chapters of the Qur'an moved many to tears, and the
beautiful Qur'anic Arabic converted millions of Arabs in the
Middle-East. Not only did the Qur'an effect the lives of these Arabs,
but it also transformed their culture. Even today, no serious study of
the Arabic language is possible without reference to this book.
The
reaction of some pagans was that they accused Muhammed (saws) of being a
soothsayer and a madman. In order to silence them, Allah issued a
challenge. At first he asked them to produce a book like the Qur'an.
When it could not be done, Allah asked them to produce ten chapters like
it. When this too could not be done Allah finally stated: "And if you are in doubt as to what We have revealed to Our slave, then produce a chapter like it" (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:23)

The
smallest chapter in the Qur'an is only 3 verses long (Chapter 108). The
pagans at the time of the Prophet (saws) could not even produce
something as small as this, and since then no one else has completed
this impossible task. All of this is in light of the fact that the
Prophet Muhammed (saws) could not read or write, thus refuting those who
say that the Qur'an was his own handiwork.
The Qur'an is the Final
book of revelation. After it there will be no more. However, many have
tried to deny this by producing their own new versions of the Qur'an.
Among them have been the two false prophets, Musailama[5] and Ghulam
Ahmed[6]. Many Chapters in the Qur'an are named after animals, such as
the Ant, Spider etc. Musailama tried to copy this, and went about
creating a chapter in his book called the Weasel! In Arabic it is called
Al-Wabl and it hardly causes people to be struck in awe! On the other
hand Ghulam Ahmed, the 'British stooge', claimed to receive revelation
in cockney English!! Such foolishness could never compare to the beauty
of the Qur'an with its clear and beautiful Arabic language.

Science

Over
the past few decades much interest has been shown in the scientific
content of the Qur'an. Scientific data which has been discovered in
recent times, has been existent in this book for 1400 years. In fact the
very common origin of this universe is stated clearly by Allah, the
Most High:
"Do not the disbelievers see
that the heavens and the earth were joined together, then We parted
them. And We made from water every living thing. Will they then not
believe?" (Surah Al-Anbiya 21:30)
This parting of the heavens
and the earth is more commonly known to scientists as the 'big bang'. It
is also a fact that life originated from water and that every living
cell is composed of 85% water. Without water life is impossible.
The
mountains of the earth, like icebergs, have roots going deep into the
ground. This ensures that they will not topple with their extreme
heights - this is known as 'isostasy'. In this way the mountains are
like the stakes which are used to anchor a tent. But this fact is
already known to us when Allah says: "Have We not made the earth an expanse and the mountains stakes?" (Surah An-Naba 78:6-7) and "Allah has cast into the ground mountains standing firm so that it does not shake with you" (Surah Luqman 31:10)
The
embryological data which is found in the Qur'an is astounding. Allah
describes the formation of a baby inside the womb from the very moment
the sperm reaches the ovum, to its formation into a human. This data,
which was only discovered about 30 years ago, has amazed many westem
scientists. Amongst them is Dr Keith Moore from the University of
Toronto, Canada. Dr Moore[7] is a recognised authority in embryological
circles, with his university text book being set as a standard text in
many universities throughout the world. When Dr Moore was asked as to
how this information in the Qur'an could be explained, he replied: "It
could only have been divinely revealed".

History

The
Qur'an is a book of historical accuracy. One accuracy which has
corrected the mistakes of many Christians and historians is the fate of
the pharaoh who drowned in the Red Sea whilst pursuing Moses. The
Biblical story would have us believe that the matter ended when the
pharaoh drowned. But the Qur'an explains further. When he was drowning
the pharaoh confessed his faith in Allah. But it was too late, and Allah
promised him: "This day We shall preserve
you in your body, so that you may be a sign for those who come after
you. But indeed many of mankind are heedless of Our signs" (Surah Yunus 10:92)
In
1898 the tombs of various pharaohs were discovered in the Valley of the
Kings, in Egypt. In 1975 Dr Maurice Bucaille, an eminent French surgeon
was allowed to examine the mummified bodies of Rameses II and the
pharaoh who had pursued Moses - Merneptah. Dr Bucaille discovered that
Merneptah had received very violent blows to several parts of his body
and had suffered a massive heart attack. Amazingly, these are the
results which occur when someone dies from drowning! Thus Allah had
saved the body of the transgressing pharaoh as a sign for all humanity.
For
those who say that Muhammed (saws) knew his history and wrote it in the
Qur'an, the following shall prove otherwise. In the year 615 CE the
Roman army was defeated by the Persians. About this event Allah
revealed: "The Romans have been defeated
in the lowest land, but in a few years they shall be victorious again,
within three to nine years. The decision of the matter, before and
after, is only with Allah" (Surah Ar-Rum 30:2-4)
The words of
Allah proved true as the Persians were defeated at the battle of Issus, 7
years later in 622 CE. There is no possible way that Muhammed (saws)
could have known (if he wrote the Qur'an) that the Romans would be
victorious. In fact he also did not know that the 'lowest land' at which
the battle was fought was literally that. The battle in 615 CE was
fought on the shores of the Dead Sea, the lowest point below sea level
on earth, at 1300 ft.
A book with these credentials could only be
from the Creator of the heavens and the earth. A book which we need to
acquaint ourselves with. A book . . . ". . . which has been revealed to you (O' Muhammed) so that you may lead mankind out of the darkness and into the light" (Surah lbrahim 14:1)

Footnotes
1
The word 'WE' does not mean that there is more then one God. Rather it
is a plural of respect which gives Allah grandeur over his creation.
2 The Baghyad Gita is one of the Hindu scriptures.
3 The Guru Granth Sahib is the Sikh scripture
4 The most recent version of the Bible is the 'Politically Correct Version'!!
5
Musailama claimed prophethood just before the death of the Prophet
Muhammed (saws). He was from the region of Yamaamah in Arabia and from
the tribe of Haneefah.
6 Ghulam Ahmed was born in 1840 in Qadian,
India. He claimed prophethood at the request of his imperialist masters,
the British Government.
7 Besides Dr Moore, there have been many
other famous Western scientists who have accepted Islam. One of the most
prominent was the famous French oceanographer, Jacques Yves Cousteau
who has recently passed away. Cousteau was amazed at the accuracy of the
Qur'anic statements regarding underwater activity and thus embraced
Islam. As a result of his death, Cousteau's life achievements have been
highlighted in the Western media. However his acceptance of Islam was
conveniently absent from the news-reports.
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Do You Know This Book
Taken from: Invitation to Islam, Issue 2, July 1997 with slight modifications

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