Do You Know This Book ?
Of all the
acclaimed masterpieces that the world has seen, nothing can be compared to the book known as the Qur'an. Millions have become Muslims upon simply hearing a verse from this amazing book, yet still the majority knows nothing of it. The Qur'an is the Final Revelation from the Creator to humanity. It was revealed in the year 610 CE to the Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him), and completed over a period of 23 years. These 23 years of revelation resulted in a book which comprised of 114
chapters and over 6000 verses. All of this was to become the primary source of law for the whole of mankind to live and die by.
The impact of this book is such that Allah says :
"Had We revealed this Qur'an upon a mountain, surely you would have seen it humble itself and crumble out of the fear of Allah. Such are the parables We put forward to mankind so that they may reflect" (Surah Al-Hashr 59:21)
However, it seems as if the hearts of the people
have become harder then the mountains which tower above us. When the Qur'an is
recited or even mentioned, people turn away with disgust. In the West, this is
primarily due to the negative exposure from the media. It has resulted in many
non-Muslims not even wanting to hear the name of this amazing book. Muslims too,
have become hardhearted because of the cultural influences of the West. Many
young Muslims perceive the Qur'an to be nothing more then an old wrapped up
book, which comes off the highest shelf once a year during Ramadan!
If people were to truly reflect upon this book,
they would realise that nothing in this world is quite the same. So why should
this claim be accepted over others? Why should the Qur'an be given precedence
over the likes of the Bible, the Gita or the Granth Sahib ? The following
reasons will inshallah give an indication as to why this book deserves
the attention of all humanity.
"There is probably in the world no other book
which has remained twelve centuries with so pure a text". Writing 200 years
ago, these are the words of the famous English critic of Islam, Sir William
Muir. But as Muslims we do not need Williarn Muir to tell us this. 1400 years
ago, the Muslims accepted this reality when Allah revealed to
them:
"Indeed it is We who
have sent down the reminder (the Qur'an), and indeed it is Us who shall preserve
it" (Surah Al-Hijr
15:9)
These words have proved true to this very day. From
the moment the first words were revealed to Muhammed (saws), to this very day,
every single letter and word of the Qur'an has remained unchanged.
Before Islam, all the revelations sent were not
given this divine assurance. This is why we find that books like the Bible are
riddled with corruption and inaccuracies. It is well known that man has tampered
with the Bible to the extent that annually different versions are produced to
suit trends and desires. In fact this has been going on for so long that it is
almost impossible to see what of the words of the Creator are left, if any!
With the Qur'an it is the exact opposite. The
contents of this amazing book are stored in the hearts of millions of Muslims
worldwide. Children as young as 12 have memorised the entire book in its
original language, Arabic. There is no other religious scripture on earth which
is orally preserved in its original language by so many and over such a period
of time, without having been tampered somewhere along the line. The Bible is a
prime example of this. Many Christians believe that English is the divine
language of the Bible. However Jesus (as) spoke Aramaic. From Aramaic, his
life-story was translated into Hebrew. From Hebrew it was translated into Greek.
From Greek to Latin, and then finally from Latin to English! There has not been
a single vicar, priest or layman in recorded history who has even memorised the
Bible in English, let alone the Aramaic! As Muslims we believe the Qur'an can
only be in the language it was revealed in, i.e. Arabic. Anything else is a
translation and not the divine words of the Creator. A true test of this divine
preservation would be to burn all the books and manuscripts in existence, to see
which can return as it was. The Qur'an would be the only book which would return
in its original form, letter for letter, word for word.
Many Christians say that the Qur'anic claim of
preservation needs to be backed-up by manuscript evidence. For us this is not a
necessary criteria, but in order to quell the doubts, the Muslims have ample
proof. Two copies of the Qur'an are in existence which date back to the Third
Caliph Uthmaan, 20 years after the death of the Prophet (peace be upon him).
These two copies are to be found in the Topkapi museum, Istanbul, Turkey and in
Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The Tashkent copy is thought to have been the personal
copy of the Caliph as it still contains stains of his blood, which was shed when
he was murdered whilst reading it. Any copy of the Qur'an which is compared to
these copies, will show that there is not a single difference between what we
have today and what was in existence 1400 years ago. Thus Allah's promise holds
true.
Man as a creature is fallible. For this reason
anything which is produced by him will naturally have faults. With the Qur'an,
such a notion cannot even be considered as it is from the one who is Infallible.
In fact Allah clarifies this matter beautifully when he says:
"Do they not consider the Qur'an? Had it been
from other then Allah surely they would have found much discrepancies within
it" (Surah An-Nisa
4:82)
Throughout history many have tried to scrutinise
and search the Qur'an for mistakes and errors. To this day no one has been able
to bring a shred of proof showing that this book is not from Allah. Some
Christians have even called it the work of the Devil because the book affected
them so much when they read it! With other scriptures, contradictions, mistakes
and absurdities are constantly present. When people contrast these ambiguities
with the Qur'an, it often results in the acceptance of this faultless
book.
Upon hearing Qur'anic recitation, you may be rather
startled. Besides hearing the reciter of the prayer, you often hear people in
the background sobbing and wailing heavily. So what is it that makes these
people cry so much? It is nothing more then the beauty and eloquence of this
book which moves millions to tears. This beauty is expressed in the language of
Arabic. Allah says :
"Indeed We
have revealed this as an Arabic Qur'an so that you may understand" (Surah
Yusuf 12:2)
At the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him)
three modes of expression were used. There was normal speech, the speech of the
soothsayer and poetry. The Arabs were the masters of their language, and poetry
was their cultural highlight. Arabic poetry is split into 16 categories, each
separate from the other. When the Qur'an was proclaimed to the Arabs it amazed
them beyond all limits. It was like nothing they had ever heard before. It did
not fit into the 16 categories of poetry, nor was it the speech of a soothsayer,
and it certainly was not normal speech. If it was not all these, then it could
only be the word of Allah.
The eloquence and majesty of the early chapters of
the Qur'an moved many to tears, and the beautiful Qur'anic Arabic converted
millions of Arabs in the Middle-East. Not only did the Qur'an effect the lives
of these Arabs, but it also transformed their culture. Even today, no serious
study of the Arabic language is possible without reference to this book.
The reaction of some pagans was that they accused
Muhammed (peace be upon him) of being a soothsayer and a madman. In order to
silence them, Allah issued a challenge. At first he asked them to produce a book
like the Qur'an. When it could not be done, Allah asked them to produce ten
chapters like it. When this too could not be done Allah finally
stated:
"And if you
are in doubt as to what We have revealed to Our slave, then produce a chapter
like it" (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:23)
The smallest chapter in the Qur'an is
only 3 verses long (Chapter 108). The pagans at the time of the Prophet (peace
be upon him) could not even produce something as small as this, and since then
no one else has completed this impossible task. All of this is in light of the
fact that the Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him) could not read or write, thus
refuting those who say that the Qur'an was his own handiwork.
The Qur'an is the Final book of revelation. After
it there will be no more. However, many have tried to deny this by producing
their own new versions of the Qur'an. Among them have been the two false
prophets, Musailama and Ghulam Ahmed. Many Chapters in the Qur'an are named
after animals, such as the Ant, Spider etc. Musailama tried to copy this, and
went about creating a chapter in his book called the Weasel! In Arabic it is
called Al-Wabl and it hardly causes people to be struck in awe! On the other
hand Ghulam Ahmed, the 'British stooge', claimed to receive revelation in
cockney English!! Such foolishness could never compare to the beauty of the
Qur'an with its clear and beautiful Arabic language.
Over the past few decades much interest has been
shown in the scientific content of the Qur'an. Scientific data which has been
discovered in recent times, has been existent in this book for 1400 years. In
fact the very common origin of this universe is stated clearly by Allah, the
Most High:
"Do not the
disbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together, then We
parted them. And We made from water every living thing. Will they then not
believe?" (Surah Al-Anbiya 21:30)
This parting of the heavens and the earth is more
commonly known to scientists as the 'big bang'. It is also a fact that life
originated from water and that every living cell is composed of 85% water.
Without water life is impossible.
The mountains of the earth, like icebergs, have
roots going deep into the ground. This ensures that they will not topple with
their extreme heights - this is known as 'isostasy'. In this way the mountains
are like the stakes which are used to anchor a tent. But this fact is already
known to us when Allah says:
"Have We not made the earth an expanse and the
mountains stakes?" (Surah An-Naba 78:6-7)
and "Allah has
cast into the ground mountains standing firm so that it does not shake with
you" (Surah Luqman 31:10)
The embryological data which is found in the Qur'an
is astounding. Allah describes the formation of a baby inside the womb from the
very moment the sperm reaches the ovum, to its formation into a human. This
data, which was only discovered about 30 years ago, has amazed many westem
scientists. Amongst them is Dr Keith Moore from the University of Toronto,
Canada. Dr Moore is a recognised authority in embryological circles, with his
university text book being set as a standard text in many universities
throughout the world. When Dr Moore was asked as to how this information in the
Qur'an could be explained, he replied: "It could only have been divinely
revealed".
The Qur'an is a book of historical accuracy. One
accuracy which has corrected the mistakes of many Christians and historians, is
the fate of the pharaoh who drowned in the Red Sea whilst pursuing Moses. The
Biblical story would have us believe that the matter ended when the pharaoh
drowned. But the Qur'an explains further. When he was drowning the pharaoh
confessed his faith in Allah. But it was too late, and Allah promised him:
"This day We
shall preserve you in your body, so that you may be a sign for those who come
after you. But indeed many of mankind are heedless of Our signs" (Surah
Yunus 10:92)
In 1898 the tombs of various pharaohs were
discovered in the Valley of the Kings, in Egypt. In 1975 Dr Maurice Bucaille, an
eminent French surgeon was allowed to examine the mummified bodies of Rameses II
and the pharaoh who had pursued Moses - Merneptah. Dr Bucaille discovered that
Merneptah had received very violent blows to several parts of his body and had
suffered a massive heart attack. Amazingly, these are the results which occur
when someone dies from drowning! Thus Allah had saved the body of the
transgressing pharaoh as a sign for all humanity.
For those who say that Muhammed (saws) knew his
history and wrote it in the Qur'an, the following shall prove otherwise. In the
year 615 CE the Roman army was defeated by the Persians. About this event Allah
revealed: "The Romans have been defeated in the lowest land, but in a few
years they shall be victorious again, within three to nine years. The decision
of the matter, before and after, is only with Allah" (Surah Ar-Rum
30:2-4)
The words of Allah proved true as the Persians were
defeated at the battle of Issus, 7 years later in 622 CE. There is no possible
way that Muhammed (peace be upon him) could have known (if he wrote the Qur'an)
that the Romans would be victorious. In fact he also did not know that the
'lowest land' at which the battle was fought was literally that. The battle in
615 CE was fought on the shores of the Dead Sea, the lowest point below sea
level on earth, at 1300 ft.
A book with these credentials could only be from
the Creator of the heavens and the earth. A book which we need to acquaint
ourselves with. A book . . . "...which has been
revealed to you (O' Muhammed) so that you may lead mankind out of the darkness
and into the light" (Surah lbrahim 14:1)
Doing Quran recitation is the religious duty of every Muslim. In saheed Sunnah, it is encouraged to do the recitation of Quran in a melodious voice by the holy Quran reciter by making the voice more melodious and interesting. Reading quran and Making it melodious does not mean that it should be made more in singing tone but once should at least recite and read quranic Arabic in a good tone so that he/she himself feels good while listening to it and others also feel good while listening to it.
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