When we want to talk about Islam as a way of
life, it is a very difficult task especially in the West because of several
misconceptions and stereotypes that are prevalent about Islam and Muslims.
One of the surprising facts for most
non-Muslims is that Islam has over a billion followers all over the world. Islam
has a revelation, a holy book, called the Quran which was revealed to the
prophet Mohammed 
,
about fourteen hundred years ago. The Quran is the last and final revelation
until the end of human existence on earth.
When we talk about Islam or Christianity, we
should not consider some Muslims' and Christians' wrongdoings as a way to judge
Islam or Christianity.
As far as scripture goes, let us see what Dr.
Maurice Bucaille said in his book "The
Bible, the Quran and Science", which was published by the American
Trust Publications 1979:
| "Thanks
to its undisputed authenticity, the text of the Quran holds a unique place
among the books of Revelation, shared neither by the Old nor the New
Testament. In the first two sections of this work, a review was made of
the alterations undergone by the Old Testament and the Gospels before they
were handed down to us in the form we know today. The same is not true for
the Quran for the simple reason that it was written down at the time of
the prophet". |
Somebody with a counter argument might ask,
"How would I know that the Quran is a revelation from Allah?" Do you
have any evidence?"
I have evidence that the Quran is a revelation
from Allah and this evidence is presented in the next few pages. When the
revelation of the Quran commenced in 622 A.D., it was a linguistic miracle. The Quran
has a challenge in it. The challenge is for anybody to produce some thing like
or similar to the Quran.
This challenge was present in the Quran in Sura
no. 17, verse no. 88 which is translated as follows:
" Say: If the whole of mankind and Jinn
were together to produce the like of this Quran, they could not produce the
like thereof, even if they back up each other with help and support."
Years passed and nobody was able to meet the
challenge. Later (after several years) the challenge in the Quran was eased
asking for anyone to produce even ten Suras like those in it. This was in the
Quran in Sura
no. 11, verse no. 13 which is translated as follows:
" or they may say, "He forged
it" Say, "Bring ye then ten Suras forged, like unto it, and call (to
your aid) whomsoever ye can, other than Allah! If ye speak the truth"
Again years passed and nobody was able to
successfully meet the challenge. Later the challenge was eased for the second
time to produce one Sura like or similar to the Suras in the Quran. The
challenge (to anyone) to produce one Sura was presented in the Quran in more
than a Sura, one of them was in Sura
no. 2, Verse no. 23 which is translated as follows:
"And if ye are in doubt as to what We
have revealed from time to time to Our servant, then produce a Sura like
thereunto; and call your witnesses or helpers besides Allah, if what you say
is true."
Since then, more than fourteen hundred years
have passed, and nobody has been able to meet the challenge, and nobody will,
because the Quran is the only existing book containing the word of Allah which
no man can match or imitate. The most eloquent people in the Arabic language
spent years going over and searching the Quran, trying to find any weak or
inadequate word or sentence, but they could not. They even went further, trying
to find a way to substitute a word or a sentence in the Quran, hoping to convey
a similar meaning as the original one, but they failed to do so.
As a result of this, many people, especially
linguists, throughout the last fourteen hundred years believed in the Quran as a
revelation beyond any human capacity.
In the beginning of the modern ages, some
non-Muslims argued that the appreciation of the Arabic language has declined
even among the native speakers themselves, and that most of the non-Muslims
cannot speak Arabic. They conclude that the Quran will not stay till the end of
the human existence on earth as a miracle.
This is not a valid argument because there are
still millions of people all over the world who have a very good command of the
Arabic language and who can appreciate the linguistic miracle of the Quran. But
the Quran has something else for the modern ages. Some people have noticed that
there are many facts about the science of astronomy, human reproduction and
other scientific fields in the Quran.
Modern scientists have been amazed by the
accuracy of scientific information presented in the Quran. Some people wrote
books about this phenomenon which attracted the attention of many people in the
west - both Muslims and Non- Muslims.
One of these books is a specialized book in
embryology entitled The Developing Human by Dr. Keith L. Moore,
published by W.B. Saunders, 1982. In the third edition of this book, Dr. Moore
said:
"It is cited in the Koran, the holy book
of the Muslims, that human beings are produced from a mixture of secretions
from the male and the female. Several references are made to the creation of a
human being from a sperm drop and it is also suggested that the resulting
organism settles in the woman like a seed, six days after its beginning. (The
human blastocyst begins to implant about six days after fertilization.) The
Koran, (and prophet saying), also states that the sperm drop develops 'into a
clot of congealed blood' (an implanted blastocyst or a spontaneously aborted
conceptus would resemble a blood clot.) Reference is also made to the
leech-like appearance of the embryo... "
This was part of what Dr. Moore wrote in his
book. Later, after more research and study of the Quranic terms used to describe
the development of the embryo in the mother's womb and other related
descriptions, Dr. Moore found that the Quranic terms and statements are amazing
in their scientific accuracy.
Therefore, Dr. Moore decided to add a chapter
to the next edition of his book to discuss the scientific accuracy of the Quranic
version, which was revealed fourteen hundred years ago. In the seventh Saudi
Medical Meeting, Dr. Moore wrote a paper about human embryology in the Quran and
the Hadith. He said in the paper: "I was amazed at the scientific accuracy
of these statements (in the Quran), which were made in the 7th century
A.D."
Now the question is: if the Quran describes
these scientific facts with great accuracy, how could it be a human work? Let us
see what Dr. Maurice Bucaille said after he had read the Quran:
"My first goal was to read the Quran and
to make a sentence by sentence analysis of it... my approach was to pay
special attention to the description of numerous natural phenomena given in
the Quran; the highly accurate nature of certain details referring to them in
the Book, which was only apparent in the original, struck me by the fact that
they were in keeping with present-day ideas although a man living at the time
of Mohammed couldn't have suspected this at all...what initially strikes the
reader confronted for the first time with a text of this kind is the sheer
abundance of subjects discussed... whereas monumental errors are to be found
in the Bible I could not find a single error in the Quran. I had to stop and
ask myself: if a man was the author of the Quran how could he have written
facts in the seventh century A.D. that today are shown to be in keeping with
modern scientific knowledge?... What human explanation can there be to this
observation? In my opinion there is no explanation; there is no special reason
why an inhabitant of the Arabian Peninsula should have had scientific
knowledge on certain subjects that was ten centuries ahead... It is an
established fact that at the time of the Quranic Revelation, i.e. within a
period of roughly twenty three years straddling Hegira (622 A.D.), scientific
knowledge had not progressed for centuries and the period of activity in
Islamic civilization, with its accompanying scientific upsurge, came after the
close of the Quranic revelation."
In addition to what Dr. Bucaille said, there
are more examples from different scientific fields other than embryology.
When I searched the Quran for verses which
refer to scientific facts, I found a large number of such verses. I will try to
give as many examples as the space permits.
The Quran states several facts about astronomy
which were discovered in the late twentieth century. One of these facts is about
the expansion of the universe. Let us see what Dr. Bucaille said about that:
"The expansion of the universe is the
most imposing discovery of modern science today. It is a firmly established
concept and the only debate centres around the way this is taking place. It
was first suggested by the general theory of relativity and is backed up by
physics in the examination of the galactic spectrum; the regular movement
towards the red section of their spectrum may be explained by the distancing
of one galaxy from another. Thus the size of the Universe is probably
constantly increasing and this increase will become bigger the further away
the galaxies are from us. The speeds at which these celestial bodies are
moving may, in the course of this perpetual expansion, go from fractions of
the speed of light to speeds faster than this."
The following Verse of the Quran Sura
51, verse 47 where God is speaking, may perhaps be compared with modern
ideas;
"The heaven, we have built it with
power. Verily we are expanding it."
"Heaven" is the translation of the
word "sama" and this is exactly the extraterrestrial world that is
meant. "We are expanding it" is the translation of the plural present
participle "musi'una" of the verb "aus'a" meaning "to
make wider, more spacious, to extend, to expand".
Another example from a different scientific
field is about the living things in general which we can find in more than one
verse in the Quran. For example Sura
21, Verse 30 was chosen by Dr. Bucaille to present how the Quran talked
about these scientific facts. The Verse is translated as follows:
"Do not the Unbelievers see that the
heavens and the earth were joined together, then we clove them asunder and we
got every living thing out of the water. Will they then not believe?"
The notion of "getting something out of
something" does not give rise to any doubts. The phrase can equally mean
that every living thing was made of water (as its essential component) or that
every living thing originated in water. The two possible meanings are strictly
in accordance with scientific data. Life is in fact of aquatic origin and
water is the major component of all living cells. Without water, life is not
possible. When the possibility of life on another planet is discussed, the
first question is always: does it contain a sufficient quantity of water to
support life?
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From the Animal Kingdom there are so many facts
stated in the Quran. One of these facts is about the source of the constituents
of animal milk which has been described in the Quran fourteen hundred years
before. It has been understood only in recent times. Let us see how Dr. Bucaille
explained that when he made comments on Sura
16, Verse 66 which is translated as follows:
"Verily, in cattle there is a lesson for
you. We give you to drink of what is inside their bodies, coming from a
conjunction between the contents of the intestine and the blood, a milk pure
and pleasant for those who drink it."
"From a scientific point of view,
physiological notions must be called upon to grasp the meaning of this verse.
The substances that ensure the general nutrition of the body come from
chemical transformations which occur along the length of the digestive tract.
These substances come from the contents of the intestine. On arrival in the
intestine at the appropriate stage of chemical transformation, they pass
through its wall and towards the systematic circulation. This passage is
effected in two ways: either directly, by what are called the Lymphatic
vessels', or indirectly, by the portal circulation. This conducts them first
to the liver, where they undergo alterations, and from here they then emerge
to join the systematic circulation. In this way every thing passes through the
blood-stream.. The constituents of milk are secreted by the mammary glands.
These are nourished, as it were, by the product of food digestion brought to
them via the bloodstream. Blood therefore plays the role of collector and
conductor of what has been extracted from food, and it brings nutrition to the
mammary glands, the producers of milk, as it does to any other organ. Here the
initial process which sets everything else in motion is the bringing together
of the contents of the intestine and blood at the level of the intestinal wall
itself. This very precise concept is the result of the discoveries made in the
chemistry and physiology of the digestive system. It was totally unknown at
the time of the Prophet Mohammed and has been understood only in recent times.
The discovery of the circulation of the blood, was made by Harvey roughly ten
centuries after the Quranic Revelation. I consider that the existence in the Quran
of the verse referring to these concepts can have no human explanation on
account of the period in which they were formulated."
The last example I would cite from Dr.
Bucaille's book is what I consider a very interesting one, because this example
illustrates where the Quran showed the people facts that have not even been
discovered without the help of the information given in the Quran. This example
is about the story of the Pharaoh and Moses which was presented in the Quran in
more than one Sura.
The Verses which inspire Dr. Bucaille to do the
research around this incident are in Sura 10: Verse 90,
91
& 92,
which mean as follows:
"We (Allah) took the children of Israel
across the sea. Pharaoh with his hosts pursued them in rebellion and hostility
till, when the fact of his drowning overtook him he said: I believe there is
no True God except the God in whom the Children of Israel believe. I am of
those who submit themselves to Him. (It was said to him) 'Now! Thou has
rebelled and caused depravity: This day we save thee in the body so that thou
mayest be a sign for those who come after thee' But verily, many among mankind
are heedless of Our signs."
This is what the Holy Quran said about the
story of Moses and the Pharaoh and the sign Allah left for the people who come
after the Pharaoh to see who has a revelation from Allah and who does not have.
Let us hear from Dr. Bucaille how he conducted research to verify this Quranic
story:
"In June 1975, the Egyptian high
authorities very kindly allowed me to examine the parts of the Pharaoh's body
that had been covered until then. They also allowed me to take photographs...
What may already be derived from this examination is the discovery of multiple
lesions of the bones with broad lacunae, some of which may have been mortal
although it is not yet possible to ascertain whether some of them occurred
before or after the Pharaoh's death. He most probably died either from
drowning, according to the scriptural narrations, or from very violent shocks
preceding the moment when he was drowned or both at once. The connection of
these lesions with the deterioration whose sources have been mentioned above
renders the correct preservation of the mummy of the Pharaoh somewhat
problematical, unless precautionary and restorative measures are not taken
very soon. These measures should ensure that the only concrete evidence which
we still possess today concerning the death of the Pharaoh of the Exodus and
the rescue of his body, willed by God; does not disappear with the passage of
time. It is always desirable for man to apply himself to the preservation of
relics of his history, but here we have something which goes beyond that: it
is the material presence of the mummified body of the man who knew Moses,
resisted his pleas, pursued him as he took flight and lost his life in the
process. His earthly remains were saved by the Will of God from destruction to
become a sign to man, as it is written in the Quran.
Those who seek among modern data for proof of
the veracity of the Holy Scriptures will find a magnificent illustration of
the verses of the Quran dealing with the Pharaoh's body by visiting the Royal
Mummies Room of the Egyptian Museum, Cairo! "
These are a few examples just to illustrate
what I am talking about in this booklet. There are over a hundred of these
examples in several scientific fields in the Quran which all have been proven to
be scientifically true, in this Book which was revealed fourteen hundred years
ago. Anybody who would like to examine more of these concepts could read the Quran
and find out for himself or, an interested person could get Dr. Bucaille's book "The
Bible, The Quran and Science" which is available in bookstores,
and check the accuracy of what he referred to. Not only Dr. Bucaille and Dr.
Moore, but many scholars have researched these concepts and a lot of this
research was presented on September 23rd, 1985 in the conference which was held
in Cairo under the title of "The Scientific Concepts in the Quran."
Several papers were presented at the
conference. One of the most interesting papers was from Dr. T.V. Persuade, a
professor at the University of Manitoba, Canada, about human reproduction.
Another interesting paper was presented by Dr. Marshal Johnson Ph.D., the
Director of Daniel Baugh Institute, Philadelphia, USA, also about embryology in
the Quran. Dr. Johnson said at the conference that he started to use the Quranic
terms in teaching embryology to his students because they were more accurate and
easier to learn than the terms in textbooks.
Dr. Arthur Elson from the City University in
London, UK, stated that he was amazed by the scientific accuracy of the
statements which had been made in the Quran. He had no doubt in his mind that
these were not human words because these facts had just been discovered
recently.
I would like to quote a Verse from the Quran
which may sum up the purpose of having these scientific facts in the Quran as
signs for the people.
The verse is from Sura
41, Verse 53 which is translated as follows:
"We (Allah ) will show them (the
unbelievers) Our signs in the farthest regions, and within their own selves
until it becomes manifest to them that this is the Truth."
What is the Quran all about?
The Quran is written in beautiful prose that
continues to be marveled at by the experts of the Arabic language. But it is not
merely a literary masterpiece.
The Quran contains scientific facts and
explanations that fascinate scientists of all fields. But it is not an
encyclopedia of science.
The Quran mentions stories of people and places
in the past with vivid detail. But it is not merely a book of history.
So what is the Quran?
The Quran is a revelation from the Creator of this
universe to all human beings. Its most important message is the Unity of God -
that there is only One Supreme Being who has no partners and is not
dependent on anyone or anything. He is the Creator of everything and
the whole universe is in His control. He is the only One worthy of being
worshipped.
It is impossible for the created to fully
comprehend the Creator - so the Quran makes us aware of Him by mentioning His
Attributes. He is the most Merciful, the Loving, the Majestic, the
Oft-Forgiving. The name that He has chosen for Himself is Allah.
In His infinite mercy, Allah has not left
mankind to wander searching for the correct path. He has revealed the Quran
which includes a code for all people to follow. Islam is not just a set of
beliefs. It is a complete way of life which covers all spheres of human activity
- the social, economic, political, educational as well as the spiritual. Islam
enjoins good manners for every occasion and stresses treating people,
particularly relatives and neighbors, with kindness. The family enjoys a high
status in Islam - it is viewed as the nucleus of society.
Allah has also sent messengers to guide mankind
to the truth and to be an example for others to emulate. Stories of these
messengers starting from Adam and including those of Noah, Abraham, Moses and
Jesus, and ending with Mohammed (may peace be upon them all) are found in the
Quran.
This final revelation from Allah to mankind has
been safeguarded from any alteration. Since the Quran has been preserved in its
original Arabic it has not lost any meaning in translation to another language.
Millions of people from all parts of the world have memorized the complete
Quran. So even if all printed copies of the Quran were destroyed it would
continue to live in the hearts of these people.
What do Muslims believe?
There is only one God, Allah, who alone is
worthy of being worshipped. Mankind has been guided at various times by the
messengers of Allah of whom the most prominent were Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus
and Mohammed. The final message was sent to the last prophet, Mohammed, which
replaces all previous messages. None of the prophets claimed to be god or
part-god - they were human and were obedient to Allah.
Finally, I want to inform you that Islam is the
universal message of God to all mankind and prophet Mohammed
is the last and final messenger of God. He said in the Gracious Quran which is
translated as follows:
"And any one who chooses a way of life
other than Islam (Submission to the One Lord of the worlds), it will not be
accepted from him and in the hereafter he will be one of the losers."
(3:85)
