? Was It the Words of Satan or God
Quranic
Teachings about Satan and about Morality
Some
claim that the Quran was the work of the devil.[1]
Let us examine how much sense (or non-sense) this allegation makes.If he
authored or inspired the Quran, why would Satan curse himself and call himself
the worst enemy of man (Q.35:6; 36:60)? Why
would Satan command that before reciting the Quran, one must first say: “…I seek refuge in God from Satan the accursed.”
(Quran 16:98
How
could Satan so vehemently condemn himself? Is it really acceptable to common
sense to hold the view that Satan would ask people to do good, to be moral and
virtuous, to worship none but God, to not follow Satan or his whispers, and to
avoid and struggle against evil
?
To
hold such a view is clearly repugnant to reason, as Satan has only undermined
himself through this means if he is the author. Even the Bible attests: “And if Satan has risen up against himself and is
divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end.” (Mark 3:26)[2]
This argument applies to any “Satanic forces”, be they “evil spirits”, “deceitful
aliens”, etc
The Quran’s Factual Contents and Scientific Information
Within
the Quran are recorded facts about ancient times that were unknown to Muhammad’s
contemporaries and even to historians in the first half of the 20th
century
In
scores of verses, we also find references to scientific wonders, some only
recently discovered or confirmed, regarding the universe, biology, embryology,
astronomy, physics, geography, meteorology, medicine, history, oceanography,
etc. Below are some examples of modern scientific discoveries mentioned in
the Quran
· The Lost City of Iram. (Quran 89:7
· Worker bees being female. (Quran 16:68
· Mountains as “stakes” and stabilizers.
(Quran 78:6-7
· The spherical shape of the Earth. (Quran
7:54; 36:37; 31:29
· The expanding universe. (Quran
51:47
· The “Big Bang”. (Quran 21:30
· That at one point in time, the whole
universe was nothing but a cloud of “smoke”. (Quran 41:11
· The Quranic description of the
development of the human embryo. (Quran 23:12-14
Readers
who are interested in further examples, are referred to “The Bible, the Quran
and Science” by Maurice Bucaille,[3]“Struggling
to Surrender” p.33-38, by Jeffery Lang[4],
“The Quranic Phenomenon” by Malik Bennabi[5],
“The Developing Human”, 3rd edition, by Keith L. Moore[6],
“A Brief Illustrated Guide to Understanding Islam”, by I. A. Ibrahim[7], “The Sources of the Quran” by Hamza Mustapha
Njozi[8],
“The Basis of Muslim Beliefs”[9] and “The Amazing Quran” by Gary Miller[10],
etc
How
many well trained modern scientists and geniuses with the aid of hi-tech
equipment, satellites, telescopes, microscopes and computers were required to
discover the scientific facts mentioned in the Quran, and over what time span
?
Is
it even conceivable that any human being over 1,400 years ago could have
produced a scripture with such information in it, let alone a person who had
never been educated
?
Although the inability of man to encompass all the mysteries and
complexity of creation is mentioned in the Quran (67:3-4), the revelation
nevertheless seems to point to various natural phenomena as if urging human
beings to enquire and verify what is said – again, with such an attitude of
confidence that one can only assume the author is indeed challenging our
disbelief
To
be generous to the skeptic, perhaps one or two of the scientific revelations were
the result of nothing more than a good guess or coincidence, but how probable
could it have been that they all were
?
Comparing
Quranic statements that deal with the physical universe with certain scientific
notions leads us to discover profound similarities. But, more notably, as Dr.
Maurice Bucaille observes, the Quran is distinguished from all other works of
antiquity that describe or attempt to explain the workings of nature in that it
avoids mistaken concepts. For in the Quran, many subjects are referred to
that have a bearing on modern knowledge without a single statement
contradicting what has been established by present-day science.[11]
Dr.
Bucaille goes as far as to conclude his study with the following remark: “In view of the level of knowledge in Muhammad’s day, it
is inconceivable that many statements in the Quran which are connected with
science could have been the work of a man. It is, moreover, perfectly
legitimate, not only to regard the Quran as an expression of Revelation, but
also to award it a very special place, on account of the guarantee of
authenticity it provides and the presence in it of scientific statements which,
when studied today, appear as a challenge to explanation in human terms.”[12]
Conclusions
In
examining the possible source of the Quran we have covered the following
points
:
· Muhammad’s
being unlettered
· Muhammad’s
integrity
· The
Style of the Quran
· Discrepancies
between the Quran and the Bible
· Quranic
teachings about Satan and about morality, and
· The
Quran’s factual contents and scientific information
These
points were presented to aid us in our “elimination process” of unacceptable
sources or authors of the Quran, as follows
:
Muhammad: We might start by eliminating Muhammad from the list of possible
authors of the Quran. There is just no way that he could have authored the
Quran in view of points 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 presented above
Other
Arab Poet(s), Scholar(s), etc.:
We can also eliminate any other Arab from the list of possible authors in view
of points 2, 3 and 6 (at least
Some
non-Arab: The reasons for the elimination of
any Arab from the list also eliminate any non-Arab scholar, poet or religious
personality
Christian
Monks or Jewish Rabbis (i.e. Judeo-Christian sources): This alternative source of the Quran is unreasonable in
view of points 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6
Satan
(or other deceitful spirits or aliens, or anyone on his side, etc.): This option is also unacceptable in view of the points discussed,
especially under 5
God
(i.e. God): In the absence of any more acceptable alternative as source and
author of the Quran, one is more or less forced by reason to accept the Quran
for what it claims to be – revelation from God through His Prophet Muhammad,
may the blessing and mercy of God be upon him, This position seems
reasonable not just because it is the only option that cannot be objectively
eliminated, but because it is only reasonable to expect that a book with such
qualities and contents would come from man’s Creator and Guide. Of all the
possible sources of the Quran, it is also only the last alternative – God – who
even claims in the Quran itself to be the author of the scripture
The position, therefore, which holds that God is the author of the
Quran still stands, and the challenge (or falsification test, Q.4:82) remains
open to anyone to disprove the Quran’s claim to being revelation from
God. Having undertaken this task ourselves, the Muslim’s contention that
the Quran is the Word of God appears not just a product of blind faith but, in
fact, a product of very sound and reasoned judgment in light of all the
available evidence. Indeed, after having assessed the evidence, it would
be blind faith to contend otherwise
Note: The evidence for the Divine Authorship of the Quran is also
evidence for
the existence of the Divine. God must exist, unless a more
reasonably acceptable author of the Quran can be produced!
[1] See Norman Daniel’s Islam and the West:
the Making of an Image, UK: Edinburgh University Press, 1989, p.83, 94, etc.
[2] Cited in H.M. Njozi, The Sources of the
Quran: A Critical Review of the Authorship Theories, Saudi Arabia: WAMY
Publications, 1991, p.96
[3] Maurice Bucaille, The Bible, the Quran
and Science, Indianapolis: American Trust Publications, 1978
[4] Jeffrey Lang, Struggling to Surrender,
Maryland: Amana Publications, 1994
[5] Malik Bennabi, The Quranic Phenomenon,
transl. A.B. Kirkary, Indianapolis: American Trust Publications, 1983
[7] I.A. Ibrahim, A Brief Illustrated Guide
to Understanding Islam, Houston: Darussalam Publishers, 1997
[8] H.M. Njozi, The Sources of the Quran: A
Critical Review of the Authorship Theories, Saudi Arabia: WAMY Publications,
1991
[9] Gary Miller, The Basis of Muslim
Beliefs, Kuala Lampur: Prime Minister’s Department - Islamic Affairs Division,
1995
[11] Maurice Bucaille, The Bible, the Quran
and Science, Indianapolis: American Trust Publications, 1978
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