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The Amazing
Qur'an
by
Dr. Gary Miller
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.
Introduction
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.
Merchant Marine
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 Muhammad, 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, Muhammad 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" (Surah
Nur, 24:40) 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 certain place and time.
Certainly, the scientific ideas expressed in it also do not seem
to originate from the desert fourteen centuries ago.
The Smallest Thing
Many centuries before the onset of Muhammad'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 [Surah
Saba', 34:3] 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.
Honey
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 (s) 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 (s) 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 (s), 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 Muhammad (s), 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!
Prophet Muhammad (s) and the Qur'an
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
encyclopaedias and various books claim that the Qur'an was the
product of hallucinations that Muhammad underwent. If these
claims are true - if it indeed originated from some
psychological problems in Muhammad'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.
It is common knowledge that Muhammad (s) had a very difficult
life. All of his daughters died before him except one, and he
had a wife of several years who was very dear and important to
him, who not only proceeded him in death but died 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 Muhammad (s) 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 Muhammad'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 life. Indeed, if the Qur'an was a product
of his psychological reflections, then these subjects, as well
as others, would be prevalent or at least mentioned throughout.
Scientific Approach to the Qur'an
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.
Falsification Test
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 very surprised when I first
discovered this challenge. It states [Surah An-Nisa, 4:82]:
"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 and 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.
Ask Those Who Have Knowledge
Another interesting attitude that exists in the Qur'an
repeatedly deals with its advice to the reader. The Qur'an
informs the 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 of
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
Embryology
A
few years ago, a group of men in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia collected
all of 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 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 section 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 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 [Surahs
al-Hajj 22:5; al-Mu'minun 23:14; and Ghafir 40:67] - 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.
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.
Sceptic's Reaction
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 PRAYER 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 they were not scientists, maybe
they did some 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 that 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 (s) 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!"
Geology
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
speciality. 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 previous
examples of embryology and geology, the Qur'an has clearly
emerged authentic. [Qur'an and Scientific Knowledge]
You Did Not Know This Before!
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.
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.
[Note: The city of Derbend (Durbend, Derbent, Derband) is
located in Daghestan on the West coast of the Caspian sea, about
150 miles south-east of Grozny, Chechnia and about 140 miles
north north-west of Baku, Azerbaijan. Derband was also known as
Bab al-Abwab in early Muslim history. Al-Tabari mentions it in
his famous work 'Tarikh al-rusul wa'l Muluk' when discussing the
events of 14 A.H. (646 C.E.), during the reign of the second
rightly guided Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab (ra). The city is also
mentioned by Yaqut in Mu'jam al-Buldan. It had fortifications
meant to repel invasions from the north of Caucasus, and where
once powerful Kingdom of Khazar ruled. The history of Khazars
has been well documented since the middle of the first
millennium C.E., and their kingdom disintegrated in 966 C.E.
Derbend was used as the main point of entry from the north of
Caucasus to the south into Persian territory.
Abdullah Yusuf Ali, the famous translator of the meaning of the
Qur'an, discusses some opinions on Dhul Qarnayn (Zul-Qarnain) in
Appendix VII at the end of Sura 'Kahf', the 'Cave". The famous
historian Ibn Kathir mentions that Dhul-Qarnayn was a pious
king, who lived during the time of Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham,
pbuh) and he performed the Tawaaf around the Ka'bah with Prophet
Ibrahim (pbuh) when he built it. See 'Muslim Minorities' site
for a Map showing
Derbend.]
Proof of Authenticity
An Approach
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 in
the other direction, in that the burden of proof 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. And 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
immediately or even 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 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 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.
Exhausting the Alternatives
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 yet come up with an explanation that works. In fact, all
alternatives have bee exhausted. As has been well established by
non-Muslims, these alternatives basically are reduced 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 (s), thought he was
a prophet. He was crazy!" They are convinced that Muhammad (s)
was fooled somehow. Then on the other hand, there is a group
which alleges, "Because of this evidence, one thing we know for
sure is that that man, Muhammad (s) was a liar!" Ironically,
these two groups never seem to get together without
contradicting.
In fact, many references to Islam usually claim both theories.
They start out by stating that Muhammad (s) was crazy and then
end by saying 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.
The Critic's Trail
As a matter of fact, a great deal of the Qur'an came in answer
to questions. Someone would ask Muhammad (s) 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 behaviour 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 br either one or neither one, but he certainly
cannot be both! The emphasis is on the fact that they are
unquestionably mutually exclusive personality traits.
The following scenario is a good example of the kind of circle
that non-Muslims go around in constantly. If you ask one of
them, "What is the origin of the Qur'an?" He tells you that it
originated from the mind of a man who was crazy. Then you ask
him, "If it came from his head, then where did he get the
information contained in it? Certainly the Qur'an mentions many
things with which the Arabs were not familiar." So in order to
explain the fact which you bring him, he changes his position
and says, "Well, maybe he was not crazy. Maybe some foreigner
brought him the information. So he lied and told people that he
was a prophet." At this point then you have to ask him, "If
Muhammad was a liar, then where did he get his confidence? Why
did he behave as though he really thought he was a prophet?"
Finally backed into a corner, like a cat he quickly lashes out
with the first response that comes to his mind. Forgetting that
he has already exhausted that possibility, he claims, "Well,
maybe he wasn't a liar. He was probably crazy and really thought
that he was a prophet." And thus he begins the futile cycle
again.
As has already been mentioned, there is much information
contained in the Qur'an whose source cannot be attributed to
anyone other than Allah. For example, who told Muhammad (s)
about the wall of Dhul-Qarnayn - a place hundreds of miles to
the north? Who told him about embryology? When people assemble
facts such as these, if they are not willing to attribute their
existence to a divine source, they automatically resort to the
assumption someone brought Muhammad (s) the information and that
he used it to fool the people. However, this theory can easily
be disproved with one simple question: "If Muhammad (s) was a
liar, where did he get his confidence? Why did he tell some
people out right to their face what others could never say?"
Such confidence depends completely upon being convinced that one
has a true divine revelation.
A
Revelation - Abu Lahab
Prophet Muhammad (s) had an uncle by the name of Abu Lahab. This
man hated Islam to such an extent that he used to follow the
Prophet around in order to discredit him. If Abu Lahab saw the
Prophet (s) speaking to a stranger, he would wait until they
parted and the would go to the stranger and ask him, "What did
he tell you? Did he say, 'Black'? Well, it's white. Did he say
'morning'? Well, it's night." He faithfully said the exact
opposite of whatever he heard Muhammad (s) and the Muslims say.
However, about ten years before Abu Lahab died, a little chapter
in the Qur'an (Surah al-Lahab, 111) was revealed about him. It
distinctly stated that he would go to the fire (i.e., Hell). In
other words, it affirmed that he would never become a Muslim and
would therefore be condemned forever. For ten years all Abu
Lahab had to do was say, "I heard that it has been revealed to
Muhammad that I will never change - that I will never become a
Muslim and will enter the Hellfire. Well, I want to become
Muslim now. How do you like that? What do you think of your
divine revelation now?" But he never did that. And yet, that is
exactly the kind of behaviour one would have expected from him
since he always sought to contradict Islam.
In essence, Muhammad (s) said, "You hate me and you want to
finish me? Here, say these words, and I am finished. Come on,
say them!" But Abu Lahab never said them. Ten years! And in all
that time he never accepted Islam or even became sympathetic to
the Islamic cause.
How could Muhammad (s) possibly have known for sure that Abu
Lahab would fulfil the Qur'anic revelation if he (i.e.,
Muhammad) was not truly the messenger of Allah? How could he
possibly have been so confident as to give someone 10 years to
discredit his claim of prophethood? The only answer is that he
was Allah's messenger; for in order to put forth such a risky
challenge, one has to be entirely convinced that he has a divine
revelation.
The Flight
Another example of the confidence which Muhammad (s) had in his
own prophethood and consequently in the divine protection of
himself and his message is when he left Makkah and hid in a cave
with Abu Bakr (ra) during their emigration to Madeenah. The two
clearly saw people coming to kill them, and Abu Bakr was afraid.
Certainly, if Muhammad (s) was a liar, a forger and one who was
trying to fool the people into believing that he was a prophet,
one would have expected him to say in such a circumstance to his
friend, "Hey, Abu Bakr, see if you can find a back way out of
this cave." Or "Squat down in that corner over there and keep
quiet." Yet, in fact, what he said to Abu Bakr clearly
illustrated his confidence. He told him, "Relax! Allah is with
us, and Allah will save us!" Now, if one knows that he is
fooling the people, where does one get this kind of attitude? In
fact, such a frame of mind is not characteristic of a liar or a
forger at all.
So, as has been previously mentioned, the non-Muslims go around
and around in a circle, searching for a way out - some way to
explain the findings in the Qur'an without attributing them to
their proper source. On one hand, they tell you on Monday,
Wednesday and Friday, "The man was a liar," and on the other
hand, on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday they tell you, "He was
crazy." What they refuse to accept is that one cannot have it
both ways; yet they need both theories, both excuses to explain
the information in the Qur'an.
An Encounter with a Minister
About seven years ago, I had a minister over to my home. In the
particular room which we were sitting there was a Qur'an on the
table, face down, and so the minister was not aware of which
book it was. In the midst of a discussion, I pointed to the
Qur'an and said, "I have confidence in that book." Looking at
the Qur'an but not knowing which book it was, he replied, "Well,
I tell you, if that book is not the Bible, it was written by a
man!" In response to his statement, I said, "Let me tell you
something about what is in that book." And in just three to four
minutes, I related to him a few things contained in the Qur'an.
After just those three or four minutes, he completely changed
his position and declared, "You are right. A man did not write
that book. The Devil wrote it!" Indeed, possessing such an
attitude is very unfortunate - for many reasons. For one thing,
it is a very quick and cheap excuse. It is an instant exit out
of an uncomfortable situation.
As a matter of fact, there is a famous story in the Bible that
mentions how one day some of the Jews were witnesses when Jesus
(pbuh) raised a man from the dead. The man had been dead for
four days, and when Jesus arrived, he simply said, "Get up!" and
the man arose and walked away. At such a sight, some of the Jews
who were watching said disbelievingly, "This is the Devil. The
Devil helped him!" Now this story is rehearsed very often in
churches all over the world, and people cry big tears over it,
saying, "Oh, if I had been there, I would not have been as
stupid as the Jews!" Yet, ironically, these people do exactly
what the Jews did when in just three minutes you show them only
a small part of the Qur'an and all they can say is, "Oh, the
Devil did it. The devil wrote that book!" Because they are truly
backed into a corner and have no other viable answer, they
resort to the quickest and cheapest excuse available. [Jesus ('Isa)
and other Prophets of Allah].
The Source of the Qur'an
Another example of people's use of this weak stance can be found
in the Makkans' explanation of the source of Muhammad's message.
They used to say, "The devils bring Muhammad that Qur'an!" But
just as with every suggestion made, the Qur'an gives the answer.
One verse [Surah Al-Qalam 68:51-52] in particular states:
"And they say, 'Surely he is possessed [by jinn],' but it
[i.e., the Qur'an] is not except a reminder to the worlds."
Thus it gives an argument in reply to such a theory. In fact,
there are many arguments in the Qur'an in reply to the
suggestion that devils brought Muhammad (s) his message. For
example, in the 26th chapter Allah (SWT) clearly affirms:
"No evil ones have brought it [i.e., this revelation] down.
It would neither be fitting for them, nor would they be
able. Indeed they have been removed far from hearing."
[Surah ash-Shu'ara 26:210-212]
And in another place [Surah an-Nahl 16:98] in the Qur'an, Allah
(SWT) instructs us:
"So when you recite the Qur'an seek refuge in Allah from
Shaytan, the rejected."
Now is this how Satan writes a book? He tells one, "Before you
read my book, ask God to save you from me?" This is very, very
tricky. Indeed, a man could write something like this, but would
Satan do this? Many people clearly illustrate that they cannot
come to one conclusion on this subject. On one hand, they claim
that Satan would not do such a thing and that even if he could,
God would not allow him to; yet, on the other hand, they also
believe that Satan is only that much less than God. In essence
they allege that the Devil can probably do whatever God can do.
And as a result, when they look at the Qur'an, even as surprised
as they are as to how amazing it is, they still insist, "The
Devil did this!"
Thanks be to Allah (SWT), Muslims do not have that attitude.
Although Satan may have some abilities, they are a long way
separated from the abilities of Allah. And no Muslim is a Muslim
unless he believes that. It is common knowledge even among
non-Muslims that the Devil can easily make mistakes, and it
would be expected that he would contradict himself if and when
he wrote a book. For indeed, the Qur'an states [Surah an-Nisa
4:82]:
"Do they not consider the Qur'an? Had it been from other
than Allah, they would surely have found therein much
discrepancy."
Mythomania
In conjunction with the excuses that non-Muslims advance in
futile attempts to justify unexplainable verses in the Qur'an,
there is another attack often rendered which seems to be a
combination of the theories that Muhammad (s) was crazy and a
liar. Basically, these people propose that Muhammad was insane,
and as a result of his delusion, he lied to and misled people.
There is a name for this in psychology. It is referred to as
mythomania. It means simply that one tells lies and then
believes them. This is what the non-Muslims say Muhammad (s)
suffered from. But the only problem with this proposal is that
one suffering from mythomania absolutely cannot deal with any
facts, and yet the whole Qur'an is based entirely upon facts.
Everything contained in it can be researched and established as
true. Since facts are such a problem for a mythomaniac, when a
psychologist tries to treat one suffering from that condition,
he continually confronts him with facts.
For example, if one is mentally ill and claims, "I am the king
of England," a psychologist does not say to him "No you aren't.
You are crazy!" He just does not do that. Rather, he confronts
him with facts and says, "O.K., you say you are the king of
England. So tell me where the queen is today. And where is your
prime minister? And where are your guards?" Now, when the man
has trouble trying to deal with these questions, he tries to
make excuses, saying "Uh... the queen... she has gone to her
mother's. Uh... the prime minister... well he died." And
eventually he is cured because he cannot deal with the facts. If
the psychologist continues confronting him with enough facts,
finally he faces the reality and says, "I guess I am not the
king of England."
The Qur'an approaches everyone who reads it in very much the
same way a psychologist treats his mythomania patient. There is
a verse in the Qur'an [Surah Yunus 10:57] which states:
"O mankind, there has come to you an admonition [i.e., the
Qur'an] from your Lord and a healing for what is in the
hearts - and guidance and mercy for the believers."
At first glance, this statement appears vague, but the meaning
of this verse is clear when one views it in light of the
aforementioned example. Basically, one is healed of his
delusions by reading the Qur'an. In essence, it is therapy. It
literally cures deluded people by confronting them with facts. A
prevalent attitude throughout the Qur'an is one which says, "O
mankind, you say such and such about this; but what about such
and such? How can you say this when you know that?" And so
forth. It forces one to consider what is relevant and what
matters while simultaneously healing one of the delusions that
facts presented to mankind by Allah can easily be explained away
with flimsy theories and excuses.
New Catholic Encyclopedia
It is this very sort of thing - confronting people with facts -
that had captured the attention of many non-Muslims. In fact,
there exists a very interesting reference concerning this
subject in the New Catholic Encyclopaedia. In an article under
the subject of the Qur'an, the Catholic Church states:
"Over the centuries, many theories have been offered as to
the origin of the Qur'an... Today no sensible man accepts
any of these theories!!"
Now here is the age-old Catholic Church, which has been around
for so many centuries, denying these futile attempts to explain
away the Qur'an.
Indeed, the Qur'an is a problem for the Catholic Church. It
states that it is revelation, so they study it. Certainly, they
would love to find proof that it is not, but they cannot. They
cannot find a viable explanation. But at least they are honest
in their research and do not accept the first unsubstantiated
interpretation which comes along. The Church states that in
fourteen centuries it has not yet been presented a sensible
explanation. At least it admits that the Qur'an is not an easy
subject to dismiss. Certainly, other people are much less
honest. They quickly say, "Oh, the Qur'an came from here. The
Qur'an came from there." And they do not even examine the
credibility of what they are stating most of the time.
Of course, such a statement by the Catholic Church leaves the
everyday Christian in some difficulty. It just may be that he
has his own ideas as to the origin of the Qur'an, but as a
single member of the Church, he cannot really act upon his own
theory. Such an action would be contrary to the obedience,
allegiance and loyalty which the Church demands. By virtue of
his membership, he must accept what the Catholic Church declares
without question and establish its teachings as part of his
everyday routine. So, in essence, if the Catholic Church as a
whole is saying, "Do not listen to these unconfirmed reports
about the Qur'an," then what can be said about the Islamic point
of view? If even non-Muslims are admitting that there is
something to the Qur'an - something that has to be acknowledged
- then why are people so stubborn and defensive and hostile when
Muslims advance the very same theory? This is certainly
something for those with a mind to contemplate - something to
ponder for those of understanding!
Testimony of an Intellectual
Recently, the leading intellectual in the Catholic Church - a
man by the name of Hans - studied the Qur'an and gave his
opinion of what he had read. This man has been around for some
time, and he is highly respected in the Catholic Church, and
after careful scrutiny, he reported his findings, concluding,
"God has spoken to man through the man, Muhammad." Again this is
a conclusion arrived at by a non-Muslim source - the very
leading intellectual of the Catholic Church himself!
I
do not think that the Pope agrees with him, but nonetheless, the
opinion of such a noted, reputed public figure must carry some
weight in defence of the Muslim position. He must be applauded
for facing the reality that the Qur'an is not something which
can be easily pushed aside and that, in fact God is the source
of these words.
As is evident from the aforementioned information, all of the
possibilities have been exhausted, so the chance of finding
another possibility of dismissing the Qur'an is nonexistent.
Burden of Proof on the Critic
If the book is not a revelation, then it is a deception; and if
it is a deception, one must ask, "What is its origin? And where
does it deceive us?" Indeed, the true answers to these questions
shed light on the Qur'an's authenticity and silence the bitter
unsubstantiated claims of the unbelievers.
Certainly, if people are going to insist that the Qur'an is a
deception, then they must bring forth evidence to support such a
claim. The burden of proof is on them, not us! One is never
supposed to advance a theory without sufficient corroborating
facts; so I say to them, "Show me one deception! Show me where
the Qur'an deceives me! Show me, otherwise don't say that it is
a deception!"
Origin of the Universe and Life
An interesting characteristic of the Qur'an is how it deals with
surprising phenomena which relate not only to the past but to
modern times as well. In essence, the Qur'an is not and old
problem. It is still a problem even today - a problem to the
non-Muslims that is. For everyday, every week, every year brings
more and more evidence that the Qur'an is a force to be
contended with - that its authenticity is no longer to be
challenged! For example, one verse in the Qur'an [Surah al-Anbiya
21:30] reads:
"Do not the unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth
were joined together, then We clove them asunder, and made
from water every living thing? Will they not then believe?"
Ironically, this very information is exactly what they awarded
the 1973 Noble Prize for - to a couple of unbelievers.
The Qur'an reveals the origin of the universe - how it began
from one piece - and mankind continues to verify this
revelation, even up to now. Additionally, the fact that all life
originated from water would not have been an easy thing to
convince people of fourteen centuries ago. Indeed, if 1400 years
ago you had stood in the desert and told someone, "All of this,
you see (pointing to yourself), is made up of mostly water," no
one would have believed you. Proof of that was not available
until the invention of the microscope. They had to wait to find
out that cytoplasm, the basic substance of the cell, is made-up
of 80% water. Nonetheless, the evidence did come, and once again
the Qur'an stood the test of time
More on Falsification Test
In reference to the falsification tests mentioned earlier, it is
interesting to note that they, too, relate to both the past and
the present. Some of them were used as illustrations of Allah's
omnipotence and knowledge, while others continue to stand as
challenges to the present day. An example of the former is the
statement made in the Qur'an about Abu Lahab. It clearly
illustrates that Allah, the Knower of the Unseen, knew that Abu
Lahab would never change his ways and accept Islam. Thus Allah
dictated that he would be condemned to the Hellfire forever.
Such a chapter was both an illustration of Allah's divine wisdom
and a warning to those who were like Abu Lahab
People of the Book
An interesting example of the latter type of falsification tests
contained in the Qur'an is the verse which mentions the
relationship between the Muslims and the Jews. The verse is
careful not to narrow its scope to the relationship between
individual members of each religion, but rather, it summarizes
the relationship between the two groups of people as a whole. In
essence, the Qur'an states that the Christians will always treat
the Muslims better than the Jews will treat the Muslims. Indeed,
the full impact of such a statement can only be felt after
careful consideration of the real meaning of such a verse. It is
true that many Christians and many Jews have become Muslims, but
as a whole, the Jewish community is to be viewed as an avid
enemy of Islam. Additionally, very few people realize what such
an open declaration in the Qur'an invites. In essence, it is an
easy chance for the Jews to prove that the Qur'an is false -
that it is not a divine revelation. All they have to do is
organize themselves, treat the Muslims nicely for a few years
and then say, "Now what does your holy book say about who are
your best friends in the world - the Jews or the Christians?
Look what we Jews have done for you!" That is all they have to
do to disprove the Qur'an's authenticity, yet they have not done
it in 1400 years. But, as always, the offer still stands open!
A
Mathematical Approach
All of the examples so far given concerning the various angles
from which one can approach the Qur'an have undoubtedly been
subjective in nature; however, there does exist another angle,
among others, which is objective and whose basis is
mathematical.
It is surprising how authentic the Qur'an becomes when one
assembles what might be referred to as a list of good guesses.
Mathematically, it can be explained using guessing and
prediction examples. For instance, if a person has two choices
(i.e., one is right, and one is wrong), and he closes his eyes
and makes a choice, then half of the time (i.e., one time out of
two) he will be right. Basically, he has a one in two chance,
for he could pick the wrong choice, or he could pick the right
choice.
Now if the same person has two situations like that (i.e., he
could be right or wrong about situation number one, and he could
be right or wrong about situation number two), and he closes his
eyes and guesses, then he will only be right one-fourth of the
time (i.e., one time out of four). He now has a one in four
chance because now there are three ways for him to be wrong and
only one way for him to be right. In simple terms, he could make
the wrong choice in situation number one and then make the wrong
choice in situation number two; or he could make the wrong
choice in situation number one and then make the right choice in
situation number two; or he could make the right choice in
situation number one and then make the wrong choice in situation
number two; or he could make the right choice in situation
number one and then make the right choice in situation number
two.
Of course, the (only instance in which he could be totally right
is the last scenario where he could guess correctly in both
situations. The odds of his guessing completely correctly have
become greater because the number of situations for him to guess
in have increased; and the mathematical equation representing
such a scenario is ½ x ½ (i.e., one time out of two for the
first situation multiplied by one time out of two for the second
situation).
Continuing on with the example, if the same person now has three
situations in which to make blind guesses, then he will only be
right one-eighth of the time (i.e., one time out of eight or ½ x
½ x ½ ). Again, the odds of choosing the correct choice in all
three situations have decreased his chances of being completely
correct to only one time in eight. It must be understood that as
the number of situations increase, the chances of being right
decrease, for the two phenomena are inversely proportional.
Now applying this example to the situations in the Qur'an, if
one draws up a list of all of the subjects about which the
Qur'an has made correct statements, it becomes very clear that
it is highly unlikely that they were all just correct blind
guesses. Indeed, the subjects discussed in the Qur'an are
numerous [some of them are listed in the Qur'an and Scientific
Knowledge], and thus the odds of someone just making lucky
guesses about all of them become practically nil. If there are a
million ways for the Qur'an to be wrong, yet each time it is
right, then it is unlikely that someone was guessing.
The following three examples of subjects about which the Qur'an
has made correct statements collectively illustrate how the
Qur'an continues to beat the odds.
The Female Bee
In the 16th chapter (Surah an-Nahl 16:68-69) the Qur'an mentions
that the female bee leaves its home to gather food. Now, a
person might guess on that, saying, "The bee that you see flying
around - it could be male, or it could be female. I think I will
guess female." Certainly, he has a one in two chance of being
right. So it happens that the Qur'an is right. But it also
happens that that was not what most people believed at the time
when the Qur'an was revealed. Can you tell the difference
between a male and a female bee? Well, it takes a specialist to
do that, but it has been discovered that the male bee never
leaves his home to gather food. However, in Shakespeare's play,
Henry the Fourth, some of the characters discuss bees and
mention that the bees are soldiers and have a king. That is what
people thought in Shakespeare's time - that the bees that one
sees flying around are male bees and that they go home and
answer to a king. However, that is not true at all. The fact is
that they are females, and they answer to a queen. Yet it took
modern scientific investigations in the last 300 years to
discover that this is the case.
So, back to the list of good guesses, concerning the topic of
bees, the Qur'an had a 50/50 chance of being right, and the odds
were one in two.
The Sun
In addition to the subject of bees, the Qur'an also discusses
the sun and the manner in which it travels through space. Again,
a person can guess on that subject. When the sun moves through
space, there are two options: it can travel just as a stone
would travel if one threw it, or it can move of its own accord.
The Qur'an states the latter - that it moves as a result of its
own motion (Surah al-Anbiya 21:33). To do such, the Qur'an uses
a form of the word sabaha to describe the sun's movement through
space. In order to properly provide the reader with a
comprehensive understanding of the implications of this Arabic
verb, the following example is given.
If a man is in water and the verb sabaha is applied in reference
to his movement, it can be understood that he is swimming,
moving of his own accord and not as a result of a direct force
applied to him. Thus when this verb is used in reference to the
sun's movement through space, it in no way implies that the sun
is flying uncontrollably through space as a result of being
hurled or the like. It simply means that the sun is turning and
rotating as it travels. Now, this is what the Qur'an affirms,
but was it an easy thing to discover? Can any common man tell
that the sun is turning? Only in modern times was the equipment
made available to project the image of the sun onto a tabletop
so that one could look at it without being blinded. And through
this process it was discovered that not only are there spots on
the sun but that these spots move once every 25 days. This
movement is referred to as the rotation of the sun around its
axis and conclusively proves that, as the Qur'an stated 1400
years ago, the sun does, indeed, turn as it travels through
space.
And returning once again to the subject of good guesses, the
odds of guessing correctly about both subjects - the sex of bees
and the movement of the sun - are one in four!
Time Zones
Seeing as back fourteen centuries ago people probably did not
understand much about time zones, the Qur'an's statements about
this subject are considerably surprising. The concept that one
family is having breakfast as the sun comes up while another
family is enjoying the brisk night air is truly something to be
marvelled at, even in modern time. Indeed, fourteen centuries
ago, a man could not travel more than thirty miles in one day,
and thus it took him literally months to travel from India to
Morocco, for example. And probably, when he was having supper in
Morocco, he thought to himself, "Back home in India they are
having supper right now." This is because he did not realize
that, in the process of traveling, he moved across a time zone.
Yet, because it is the words of Allah, the All-Knowing, the
Qur'an recognizes and acknowledges such a phenomenon.
In an interesting verse it states that when history comes to an
end and the Day of Judgement arrives, it will all occur in an
instant; and this very instant will catch some people in the
daytime and some people at night. This clearly illustrates
Allah's divine wisdom and His previous knowledge of the
existence of time zones, even though such a discovery was
non-existent back fourteen centuries ago. Certainly, this
phenomenon is not something which is obvious to one's eyes or a
result of one's experience, and this fact, in itself, suffices
as proof of the Qur'an's authenticity.
Conclusions
Returning one final time to the subject of good guesses for the
purpose of the present example, the odds that someone guessed
correctly about all three of the aforementioned subjects - the
sex of bees, the movement of the sun and the existence of time
zones - are one in eight!
Certainly, one could continue on and on with this example,
drawing up longer and longer list of good guesses; and of
course, the odds would become higher and higher with each
increase of subjects about which one could guess. But what no
one can deny is the following: the odds that Muhammad (s), an
illiterate, guessed correctly about thousands and thousands of
subjects, never once making a mistake, are so high that any
theory of his authorship of the Qur'an must be completely
dismissed - even by the most hostile enemies of Islam!
Indeed, the Qur'an expects this kind of challenge. Undoubtedly,
if one said to someone upon entering a foreign land, "I know
your father. I have met him," probably the man from that land
would doubt the newcomer's word, saying, "You have just come
here. How could you know my father?" As a result, he would
question him, "Tell me, is my father tall, short, dark, fair?
What is he like?" Of course, if the visitor continued answering
all of the questions correctly, the sceptic would have no choice
but to say, "I guess you do know my father. I don't know how you
know him, but I guess you do!"
The situation is the same with the Qur'an. It states that it
originates from the One who created everything. So everyone has
the right to say, "Convince me! If the author of this book
really originated life and everything in the heavens and on the
earth, then He should know about this, about that, and so on."
And inevitably, after researching the Qur'an, everyone will
discover the same truths. Additionally, we all know something
for sure: we do not all have to be experts to verify what the
Qur'an affirms. One's iman (faith) grows as one continues to
check and confirm the truths contained in the Qur'an. And one is
supposed to do so all of his life.
May God (Allah) guide everyone close to the truth.
Addendum 1
An engineer at the University of Toronto who was interested in
psychology and who had read something on it, conducted research
and wrote a thesis on Efficiency of Group Discussions. The
purpose of his research was to find out how much people
accomplish when they get together to talk in groups of two,
three, ten, etc. The graph of his findings goes up and down at
places, but it reaches the highest point at the variable of two.
The findings: people accomplish most when they talk in groups of
two. Of course, this discovery was entirely beyond his
expectations, but it is very old advice given in the Qur'an
[Surah Saba 34:46]:
"Say, 'I exhort you to one thing - that you stand for Allah,
[assessing the truth] by twos and singly, and then
reflect...'"
Addendum 2: 'Iram
Additionally, the 89th chapter of the Qur'an [Surah al-Fajr
89:7] mentions a certain city by the name of 'Iram (a city of
pillars), which was not known in ancient history and which was
non-existent as far as historians were concerned. However, the
December 1978 edition of National Geographic introduced
interesting information which mentioned that in 1973, the city
of Elba was excavated in Syria. The city was discovered to be 43
centuries old, but that is not the most amazing part.
Researchers found in the library of Elba a record of all of the
cities with which Elba had done business. Believe it or not,
there on the list was the name of the city of 'Iram. The people
of Elba had done business with the people of 'Iram!
In conclusion I ask you to consider with care the following [Surah
29:50-51]:
"And they say, 'Why are not signs sent down to him from his
Lord?' Say, 'Indeed, the signs are with Allah, and I am but
a clear warner.' But it is sufficient for them that We have
sent down to you the Book [i.e., Qur'an] which is rehearsed
to them? Verily, in that is mercy and a reminder to people
who believe."
Allah: Allah is the proper name in Arabic for The One and
Only God, The Creator and Sustainer of the universe. It is
used by the Arab Christians and Jews for the God (Eloh-im in
Hebrew; 'Allaha' in Aramaic, the mother tongue of Jesus,
pbuh). The word Allah does not have a plural or gender.
Allah does not have any associate or partner, and He does
not beget nor was He begotten. SWT is an abbreviation of
Arabic words that mean 'Glory Be To Him.'s or pbuh: Peace Be
Upon Him. This expression is used for all Prophets of
Allah.ra: Radiallahu Anhu (May Allah be pleased with him).
"The Holy Qur'an," Text, Translation and Commentary by Abdullah
Yusuf Ali, 1934. (Latest Publisher: Amana Publications,
Beltsville, MD, USA; Title: "The Meaning of the Holy Qur'an,"
1992). Includes subject index.
"The Meaning of the Glorious Koran," An Explanatory Translation
by Mohammed Marmaduke Pickthall, a Mentor Book Publication.
(Also available as: "The Meaning of the Glorious Koran," by
Marmaduke Pickthall, Dorset Press, N.Y.; Published by several
publishers since 1930).
"The Bible, The Qur'an and Science (Le Bible, le Coran et la
Science)," The Holy Scriptures Examined in the Light of Modern
Knowledge, by Maurice Bucaille, English version published by
North American Trust Publication, 1978. |