The Amazing Quran

موضوع: The Amazing Quran الثلاثاء أبريل 07, 2009 5:38 pm

:soma:

Calling the Qur'an amazing is not something done only by Muslims, who have an appreciation for the book and who are pleased with it; it has been labeled amazing by non-Muslims as well. In fact, even people who hate Islam very much have still called it amazing.


	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. 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 Muhammed, 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, Muhammed 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" 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 a certain place and time. Certainly, the scientific ideas expressed in it also do not seem to originate from the desert fourteen centuries ago. Many centuries before the onset of Muhammed'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 which states: " He [i.e., Allah] 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. 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 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 Allah 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, Allah, 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 had given. Thus, since Allah would never allow any opportunity for the non-Muslims to claim that the Qur'an contradicts itself or the teachings of the Prophet, 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. Allah revealed the Qur'an from Himself. It is the words of Allah, 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 Muhammed, 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! 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 clam that the Qur'an was the product of hallucinations that Muhammed underwent. If these claims are true - if it indeed originated from some psychological problems in Muhammed'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

موضوع: رد: The Amazing Quran الثلاثاء أبريل 07, 2009 6:02 pm

It is common knowledge that Muhammed had a very
difficult life. All of his daughters died before him except one, and he had a
wife of several years who was dear and important to him, who not only proceeded
him in death 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 Muhammed 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
Muhammed'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 psychological reflections, then these subjects, as well as
others, would be prevalent or at least mentioned throughout.
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. 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 surprised when I first discovered
this challenge. It states:
"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 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. Another interesting attitude that exists
in the Qur'an repeatedly deals with its advice to the reader. The Qur'an informs
that 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 if 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. A
few years ago, a group of men in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia collected all if 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 of 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 second edition
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. Truly this illustrates
that 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 -
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. 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 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 there were not scientists, but maybe they did
something 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 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 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."!
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. 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 specialty. 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 Qur'an has clearly emerged authentic. 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.

موضوع: رد: The Amazing Quran الثلاثاء أبريل 07, 2009 6:04 pm

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. It must be stressed here
that the Qur'an is accurate about many, many things, but accuracy does not
necessarily mean that a book is a divine revelation. In fact, accuracy is only
one of the criteria for divine revelations.
For instance, the telephone book is accurate, but
that does not mean that it is divinely revealed. The real problem lies in that
one must establish some proof of the source the Qur'an's information. The
emphasis is on the reader. One cannot simply deny the Qur'an's authenticity
without sufficient proof. If, indeed, one finds a mistake, then he has the right
to disqualify it. This is exactly what the Qur'an encourages. Once a man came up
to me after a lecture I delivered in South Africa. He was very angry about what
I had said, and so he claimed, "I am going to go home tonight and find a mistake
in the Qur'an." Of course, I said, "Congratulations. That is the most
intelligent thing that you have said." Certainly, this is the approach Muslims
need to take with those who doubt the Qur'an's authenticity, because the Qur'an
itself offers the same challenge. An inevitably, after accepting it's challenge
and discovering that it is true, these people will come to believe it because
they could not disqualify it. In essence, the Qur'an earns their respect because
they themselves have had to verify its authenticity. An essential fact that
cannot be reiterated enough concerning the authenticity of the Qur'an is that
one's inability to explain a phenomenon himself does not require his acceptance
of the phenomenon's existence or another person's explanation of it.
Specifically, just because one cannot explain
something does not mean that one has to accept someone else's explanation.
However, the person's refusal of other explanations reverts the burden of proof
back on himself to find a feasible answer. This general theory applies to
numerous concepts in life, but fits most wonderfully with the Qur'anic
challenge, for it creates a difficulty for one who says, "I do not believe it."
At the onset of refusal one immediately has an obligation to find an explanation
himself if he feels others' answers are inadequate. In fact, in one particular
Qur'anic verse which I have always seen mistranslated into English, Allah
mentions a man who heard the truth explained to him. It states that he was
derelict in his duty because after he heard the information, he left without
checking the verity of what he had heard. In other words, one is guilty if he
hears something and does not research it and check to see whether it is true.
One is supposed to process all information and decide what is garbage to be
thrown out and what is worthwhile information to be kept and benefited from at a
later date. One cannot just let it rattle around in his head. It must be put in
the proper categories and approached from that point of view. For example, if
the information is still speculatory, then one must discern whether it's closer
to being true or false. But if all of the facts have been presented, then one
must decide absolutely between these two options. And even if one is not
positive about the authenticity of the information, he is still required to
process all of the information and make the admission that he just does not know
for sure. Although this last point appears to be futile, in actuality, it is
beneficial to the arrival at a positive conclusion at a later time in that it
forces the person to at least recognize, research and review the facts. This
familiarity with the information will give the person "the edge" when future
discoveries are made and additional information is presented. The important
thing is that one deals with the facts and does not simply discard them out of
empathy and disinterest.
The real certainty about the truthfulness of the
Qur'an is evident in the confidence which is prevalent throughout it; and this
confidence comes from a different approach - "Exhausting the Alternatives." In
essence, the Qur'an states, "This book is a divine revelation; if you do not
believe that, then what is it?" In other words, the reader is challenged to come
up with some other explanation. Here is a book made of paper and ink. Where did
it come from? It says it is a divine revelation; if it is not, then what is its
source? The interesting fact is that no one has with an explanation that works.
In fact, all alternatives have bee exhausted. As has been well established by
non-Muslims, these alternatives basically are reduces to two mutually exclusive
schools of thought, insisting on one or the other. On one hand, there exists a
large group of people who have researched the Qur'an for hundreds of years and
who claim, "One thing we know for sure - that man, Muhammad, thought he was a
prophet. He was crazy!" They are convinced that Muhammad (SAW) was fooled
somehow. Then on the other hand, there is another group which alleges, "Because
of this evidence, one thing we know for sure is that that man, Muhammad, was a
liar!" Ironically, these two groups never seem to get together without
contradicting. In fact, many references on Islam usually claim both theories.
They start out by saying that Muhammad (SAW) was crazy and then end by saying
that he was a liar. They never seem to realize that he could not have been
both!
For example, if one is deluded and really thinks
that he is a prophet, then he does not sit up late at night planning, "How will
I fool the people tomorrow so that they think I am a prophet?" He truly believes
that he is a prophet, and he trusts that the answer will be given to him by
revelation. As a matter of fact, a great deal of the Qur'an came in answer to
questions. Someone would ask Muhammad (SAW) a question, and the revelation would
come with the answer to it. Certainly, if one is crazy and believes that an
angel put words in his ear, then when someone asks him a question, he thinks
that the angel will give him the answer. Because he is crazy, he really thinks
that. He does not tell someone to wait a short while and then run to his friends
and ask them, "Does anyone know the answer?" This type of behavior is
characteristic of one who does not believe that he is a prophet. What the
non-Muslims refuse to accept is that you cannot have it both ways. One can be
deluded, or he can be a liar. He can be either one or neither, but he certainly
cannot be both! The emphasis is on the fact that they are unquestionably
mutually exclusive personal traits.

» The Amazing Qur'an by Gary Miller
» You Ask And The Quran Answers !
» Death in Quran
» The Quran on the Cerebrum
» Quran Healing