Do You Know This Book ?

  • Categories: Quranic Sciences -
Introduction
 
      This booklet is for every freethinking and broadminded human being
      whose goal is to find the truth. We encourage you to read this booklet
      with an open mind. For a few moments, please set aside your
      pre-conceived notions and take a critical look at what is presented. It
      will open before you a new dimension of your role as a human being in
      this universe.
 
 
 
 This booklet is for every freethinking and broadminded human being whose goal is
 to find the truth. We encourage you to read this booklet with an open mind. For a
 few moments, please set aside your pre-conceived notions and take a critical look
 at what is presented. It will open before you a new dimension of your role as a
 human being in this universe.
 
      
 
      When we want to talk about Islam as a way of life, it is a very difficult task
      especially in the West because o f several misconceptions and stereotypes that
      are prevalent about Islam and Muslims.
 
      One of the surprising facts for most non-Muslims is that Islam has over 975
      million followers all over the world. Islam has a revelation, a holy book, called
      the Qur'an which was revealed to the prophet Muhammad peace be upon him,
      about fourteen hundred years ago. The Qur'an is the last and final revelation
      until the end of human existence on earth.
 
      When we talk about Islam or Christianity, we should not consider some
      Muslims ' and Christians' wrongdoing as a way to judge Islam or Christianity.
 
      As far as scripture goes, let us see what Dr. Maurice Bucailie said in his
      book The Bible, the Qur'an and Science, which was published by the
      American Trust Publications 1979:
 
      "Thanks to its undisputed authenticity, the text of the Qur'an holds a
      unique place among the books of Revelation, shared neither by the Old
      nor the New Testament. In the first two sections of this work, a review
      was made of the alterations undergone by the Old Testament and the
      Gospels before they were handed down to us in the form we know today.
      The same is not true for the Qur'an for the simple reason that It was
      written down at the time of the prophet".
 
      Somebod1y with a counter argument might ask, "How would I know that
      the Qur'an is a revelation from Allah? Do you have any evidence?'
 
      I have evidence that the Qur'an is a revelation from Allah and this evidence
      is presented in the next few pages. When the revelation of the Qur'an
      commenced in 622 A.D., it was a linguistic miracle. The Quran has a challenge
      in it. The challenge is for anybody to produce some thing like or similar to the
      Qur'an.
 
      This challenge was presented in the Qur'an in Sura No.17, Veise No.88
      which is translated as follows:
 
           "Say : If the whole of mankind and Jinn were together to
           produce the like of this Qur'an, they could not produce the like
           thereof, even if they back up each other with help and
           support."
 
      Years passed and nobody was able to meet the challenge. Later (after
      several years) the challenge in the Qur'an was eased asking for anyone
      to produce even ten Suras like those in it. This was in the Quran in Sum
      No. 11, Verse no. 13 which is translated as follows:
 
           "Or they may say, "He forged it" Say, "Bring ye then ten
           Suras forged, like unto it, and call (to your aid) whomsoever
           ye can, other than Allah! If ye speak the truth"
 
      Again years passed and nobody was able to successfully meet the
      challenge. Later the challenge was eased for the second time to produce
      one Sura like or similar to the Suras in the Qur'an.
 
      The challenge (to anyone) to produce one Sura was presented in the
      Qur'an in more than a Sura, one of them was in Sura No. 2, Verse No. 23 which
      is translated as follows:
 
           " And If ye are in doubt as to what We have revealed from
           time to time to Our servant, then produce a Sura like
           thereunto; and call your witnesses or helpers besides Allah, if
           what you say is true. "
 
      Since then more than fourteen hundred years have passed, and nobody
      has been able to meet the challenge, and nobody will, because the
      Qur'an is the only existing book containing the word of Allah which no man
      can match or imitate. The most eloquent people in the Arabic language spent
      years going over and searching the Qur'an, trying to find any weak or
      Inadequate word or sentence, but they could not. They even went further, trying
      to find a way to substitute a word or a sentence in the Qur'an, hoping to convey
      a similar meaning as the original one, but they failed to do so.
 
      As a result of this, many people, especially linguists, throughout the last
      fourteen hundred years believed in the Qur'an as a revelation beyond
      any human capacity.
 
      In the beginning of the modern ages, some non-Muslims argued that the
      appreciation of the Arabic language has declined even among the native
      speakers themselves, and that most of the non-Muslims cannot speak Arabic.
      They conclude that the Qur'an will not stay till the end of the human existence
      on earth as a miracle.
 
      This is not a valid argument because, there are still millions of people all
      over the world who have a very good command of the Arabic language and
      could appreciate the linguistic miracle of the Qur'an But the Quran has
      something else for the modem ages. Some people have noticed that there are
      many facts about the science of astronomy, human reproduction and other
      scientific fields in the Qur'an.
 
      Modem scientists have been amazed by the accuracy of scientific
      information presented in the Quran. Some people wrote books about this
      phenomenon which attracted the attention of many people in the
      west-both Muslims and Non-Muslims.
 
      One of these books is a specialized book in embryology entitled The
      Developing Human by Dr.Keith L. Moore, published by W.B. Saunders,
      1982. In the third edition of this book, Dr. Moore said:
 
           It is cited in the Koran, the holy book of the Muslims, that
           human beings are produced from a mixture of secretions from
           the male and the female. Several references are made to the
           creation of a human being from a sperm drop and it is also
           suggested that the resulting organism settles in the woman
           like a seed, six days after its beginning.
 
           (The human blastocyst begins to implant about six days after
           fertilization.) The Koran, (and prophet saying), also states
           that the sperm drop develops "into a clot of congealed blood"
           (an implanted blastocyst or a spontaneously aborted
           conceptus would resemble a blood clot.)
 
                Reference is also made to the leech-like
                appearance of the Embryo ..."
 
      This was part of what. Dr. Moore wrote in his
 
      book Later, after more research and study of the Qur'anic terms used to
      describe the development of the embryo in the mother's womb and
      other related descriptions, Dr. Moore found that the Qur'anic terms and
      statements are amazing in their scientific accuracy.
 
      Therefore, Dr. 'Moore decided to add a chapter to the next edition of his
      book to discuss the scientific accuracy of the Qur'anic version, which
      was revealed fourteen hundred years ago. In the seventh Saudi Medical
      Meeting, Dr. Moore wrote a paper about Human Embryology in the
      Qur'an and the Hadith. He said in the paper 1 was amazed at the
      scientific accuracy of these statements (in the Qur'an), which were
      made in the 7th century A.D.
 
      Now the question Is: if the Qur'an describes these scientific facts with
      great accuracy, how, could' it be a human work? Let us see what Dr.
      Maurice Bucaille said after he had read the Qur'an:
 
           "My first goal was to read the Qur'an and to make a sentence
           by sentence analysis of it... my approach was to pay special
           attention to the description of numerous natural phenomena
           given in the Qur'an; the highly accurate nature of certain
           details referring to them in the Book, which was only apparent
           in the original, struck me' by the fact that they were in
           keeping with present-day ideas although a man living at the
           time of Muhammad couldn't have suspected this at' all... what
           initially strikes the reader confronted for the first time with a
           text of this kind is the sheer abundance of subjects
           discussed.., where as monumental errors are to be found in
           the Bible I could not find a single error in the Qur'an. I had to
           stop and ask myself:
 
           if a man was the author of the Qur'an how could he have
           written facts in the seventh century A.D. that today are
           shown to be in keeping with modern scientific knowledge?...
 
           What human explanation can there be to this observation? In
           my opinion there is no explanation; there is no special reason
           why an inhabitant of the Arabian Peninsula should have had
           scientific knowledge on certain subjects that was ten
           centuries ahead...It is an established fact that at the time of
           the Qur'anic Revelation, i.e. within a period of roughly twenty
           three years straddling Hegira (622 A.D.), scientific knowledge
           had not progressed for centuries and the period of activity in
           Islamic civilization, with its accompanying scientific upsurge,
           came after the close of the Qur'anic revelation."
 
      
 
      In addition to what Dr. Bucaille said, there are more examples from
      different scientific fields other than embryology.
 
      When I searched the Qur'an for verses which refer to scientific facts, I
      found a large number of such verses. I will try to give as many examples as the
      space permits.
 
      The Qur'an states several facts about astronomy which were discovered
      in the late twentieth century. One of these facts is about the expansion
      of the universe. Let us see what Dr. Bucaille said about that:
 
                The expansion of the universe is the most
                imposing discovery of modern science today it is a
                firmly established concept and the only debate
                centers around the way this is taking place.
 
      It was first suggested by the general theory of relativity and is backed
      up by physics in the examination of the
 
                galactic spectrum; the regular movement towards
                the red section of their spectrum may be explained
                by the distancing of one galaxy from another.
 
                Thus the size of the Universe is probably
                constantly increasing and this increase will become
                bigger the further away the galaxies are from us.
                The speeds at which these celestial bodies are
                moving may, in the course of this perpetual
                expansion, go from fractions of the speed of light
                to speeds faster than this.
 
      The following Verse of the Qur'an Sura 51, verse 47 where God is speaking,
      may perhaps be compared with modern ideas;
 
      "The heaven, We have built it with power. Verily We are expanding it.
 
                "Heaven" is the translation of the word "sama"
                and this is exactly the extraterrestrial world that is
                meant. "We are. expanding it" is the translation of
                the plural present participle" musi'una" of the verb
                "aus'a" a meaning" to make wider", more
                spacious, to extend, to expand."
 
      Another example from a different scientific field is about the living things
      in general which we can find in more than one verse in the Qur'an. For
      example Sura 21, Verse 30 was chosen by Dr. Bucaille to present how the
      Qur'an talked about these scientific facts. The Verse is translated as follows:
 
           " Do not the Unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth
           were joined together, then We clove them asunder and We
           got every living thing out of the water. Will they then not
           believe? "
 
      The notion of "getting something out of something" does not give rise to
      any doubts. The phrase can equally mean that every living thing was
      made of water (as its essential component) or that every living thing
      originated in water. The two possible meanings are strictly in accordance
      with scientific data. Life is in fact of aquatic origin and water is the major
      component of all living cells. Without water, life is not possible. When the

      possibility of life on another planet is discussed, the first question is
      always: does it contain a sufficient quantity of water to support life?
 
      From the Animal Kingdom there are so many facts stated in the Qur'an.
      One of these facts is about the source of the constituents of animal milk
      which has been described in the Qur'an fourteen hundred years before.
      It has been understood only in recent times. Let us see how Dr. Bucaille
      explained that when he made comments on Sura 16,Verse 66 which is
      translated as follows:
 
           " Verily, in cattle there is a lesson for you. We give you to
           drink of what is inside their bodies, coming from a conjunction
           between the contents of the intestine and the blood, a milk
           pure and pleasant for those who drink it."
 
      "From a scientific point of view, physiological notions must be called
      upon to grasp the meaning of this verse.
 
      The substances that ensure the general nutrition of the body come from
      chemical transformations which occur along the length of the digestive
      tract. These substances come from the contents of the intestine. On
      arrival in the intestine at the appropriate stage of chemical
      transformation, they pass through its wall and towards the systematic
      circulation.
 
      This passage is effected in two ways: either directly, by what are called the
      'lymphatic vessels', or indirectly, by the portal circulation.
 
      This conducts them first to the liver, where they undergo alterations, and
      from here they then emerge to join the systematic circulation. In this
      way everything passes through the bloodstream..
 
      The constituents of milk are secreted by the mammary glands.
 
      These are nourished, as it were, by the product of food digestion brought
      to them via the bloodstream. Blood therefore plays the role of collector
      and conductor of what has been extracted from food, and it brings
      nutrition to the mammary glands, the producers of milk, as it does to any
      other organ. Here the initial process which sets everything else in motion
      is the bringing together of the contents of the intestine and blood, at the
      level of the intestinal wall itself. This very precise concept is the result of
      the discoveries made in the chemistry and physiology of the digestive
      system. It was totally unknown at the time of the Prophet Muhammad
      and has been understood only in recent times. The discovery of the
      circulation of the blood, was made by Harvey roughly ten centuries after.
      The Qur'anic Revelation.
 
      I consider that the existence in the Qur'an of the verse referring to these
      concepts can have no human explanation on account of the period in
      which they were formulated."
 
      The last example I would cite from Dr. Bucaille's book is what I consider a
      very interesting one, because this example illustrates where the Qur'an
      showed the people facts that have not even been discovered without the
      help of the information given in the Qur'an. This example is about the
      story of the Pharaoh and Noses which was presented in the Qur'an in
      more than one Sura.
 
      The Verses which inspire Dr. Bucaille to do the research around this
      incident are in Sura 10, Verses 90 to 92, which means as follows:
 
           "We (Allah) took children of Israel across the sea. Pharaoh
           with his hosts pursued them in rebellion and hostility till,
           when the fact of his drowning overtook him he said: I believe
           there is no True God except the God in whom the Children 0]
           Israel believe. I am of those who submit themselves to Him.
           (It was said to him)' Now! Thou has rebelled and caused
           depravity: This day We save thee in thy body so that thou
           mayest be a sign for those who come after thee' But verily,
           many among mankind are heedless of Our signs.
 
           
 
      This is what the Holy Qur'an said about the story of Moses and the
      Pharaoh and the sign Allah left for the people who come after the
      Pharaoh to see who has a revelation from Allah and who does not have.
      Let us hear from Dr. Bucaille how he conducted research to verify this
      Qur'anic story:
 
                "In June 1975, the Egyptian high authorities very
                kindly allowed me to examine the parts of the
                Pharaoh's body that had been covered until then.
                They also allowed me to take photographs...
 
                What may already be derived from this
                examination is the discovery of multiple lesions of
                the bones with broad lacunae, some of which may
                have been mortal although it is not yet possible to
                ascertain whether some of them occurred before
                or after the Pharaoh's death. He most probably
                died either from drowning, according to the
                scriptural narrations, or from very violent shocks
                preceding the moment when he was drowned or
                both at once.
 
                The connection of these lesions with the
                deterioration whose sources have been mentioned
                above renders the correct preservation of the
                mummy of the Pharaoh somewhat problematical,
                unless precautionary and restorative measures
                are not taken very soon. These measures should
                ensure that the only concrete evidence which we
                still possess today concerning the death, of the
                Pharaoh of the Exodus and the rescue of his body,
                willed by God; does not disappear with the
                passage of time.
 
                It is always desirable for man to apply himself to
                the preservation of relics of his history, but here
                we have something which goes beyond that: it is
                the material presence of the mummified body of
                the man. who knew Moses, resisted his pleas,
                pursued him as he took flight and lost his life in the
                process. His earthly remains were saved by the
                Will of God from destruction to become a sign to
                man, as it is written in the Qur'an.
 
           Those who seek among modern data for proof of the veracity
           of the Holy Scriptures will find a magnificent illustration of the
           verses of the Qur'an dealing with the Pharaoh's body by
           visiting the Royal Mummies Room of the Egyptian Museum,
           Cairo!"
 
      These are a few examples just to illustrate what I am talking about in
      this booklet. There are over a hundred of these examples in several
      scientific fields in the Quran which all have been proven to be
      scientifically true; in this Book which was revealed fourteen hundred
      years ago. Anybody who would like to examine more of these concepts
      could read the Qur'an and find out for himself or, an interested person
      could get Dr. Bucaille's book The Bible The Qur'an and Science, which is
      available in bookstores and check the accuracy of what he referred to.
      Not only Dr. Bucaille and Dr. Moore, but many scholars have researched
      these concepts and a lot of this research was presented on September
      23rd, 1985 in the conference which was held in Cairo under the title of
      The Scientific Concepts in the Qur'an.
 
      Severa1 papers were presented at the conference. One of the most
      interesting papers was from Dr. T.V. persuade, a professor at the
      University of Manitoba, Canada, about human reproduction. Another
      interesting paper was presented by Dr. Marshal Johnson Ph.D., the
      Director of Daniel Baugh Institute, Philadelphia, U.S.A., also about
      embryology in the Qur'an. Dr. Johnson said at the conference that he
      started to use the Qur'anic terms in teaching embryology to his students
      because they were more accurate and easier to learn than the terms in
      textbooks.
 
                Dr. Arthur Elson from the City University in London,
                U.K., stated that he was amazed by the scientific
                accuracy of the statements which had been made
                in the Qur'an. He had no doubt in his mind that
                these were not human words because these facts
                had lust been discovered recently.
 
      I would like to quote a Verse from the Qur'an which may sum up the
      purpose of having these scientific facts in the Quran as signs for the
      people.
 
      
 
      The verse is from Sura 41, Verse 53 which is translated as follows:
 
           " We (Allah) will show them (the unbe lievers) Our signs in
           the farthest regions, and within their own selves until it
           becomes manifest to them that this is the Truth."
 

 
 
    What is the Qur'an all about ?
 
      The Qur'an is written in beautiful prose that continues to be marvelled by
      the experts of the Arabic language. But it is not merely a literary
      masterpiece.
 
      The Qur'an contains scientific facts and explanations that fascinate
      scientists of all fields. But it Is not an encyclopedia of science.
 
      The Quran mentions stories of people and places in the past with vivid
      detail. But it is not merely a book of history.
 
      
 
    So what is Qur'an ?
 
      The Qur'an is a revelation from the Creator of this universe to all human
      beings.
 
      Its most important message is the Unity of God - that there is only One
      Supreme Being who has no partners and is not dependent on anyone or
      anything. He is the Creator of everything and the whole universe is in His
      control. He is the only One worthy of being worshipped.
 
      It is impossible for the created to fully comprehend the Creator - so the
      Qur'an makes us aware of Him by mentioning His Attributes. He is the
      most Merciful, the Loving, the Majestic, the Oft-Forgiving. The name that
      He has chosen for Himself is Allah.
 
      In His infinite mercy, Allah has not left mankind to wander searching for
      the correct path. He has revealed the Qur'an which includes a code for
      all people to follow. Islam is not just a set of beliefs. It is a complete way
      of life which covers all spheres of human activity - the social, economic,
      political, educational as well as the spiritual. Islam enjoins good
      manners for every occasion and stresses treating people, particularly
      relatives and neighbors, with kindness. The family enjoys a high status
      in Islam - it is viewed as the nucleus of society.
 
      Allah has also sent messengers to guide mankind to the truth and to be
      an example for others to emulate. Stories of these messengers starting
      from Adam and including those of Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus, and
      ending with Muhammad ( may peace be upon them all ) are found in the
      Qur'an.
 
      ThiS final revelation from Allah to mankind has been safeguarded from
      any alteration. Since the Qur'an has been preserved in its original Arabic
      it has not lost any meaning in translation to another language. Millions of
      people from all parts of the world have memorized the complete Qur'an.
      So even if all printed copies of the Qur'an were destroyed it would
      continue to live in the hearts of these people.
 
    What do Muslims believe?
 
      There is only one God, Allah, who alone is worthy of being worshipped.
 
      Mankind has been guided at various times by the messengers of Allah of
      whom the most prominent were Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and
      Muhammad. The final message was sent to the last prophet,
      Muhammad, which replaces all previous messages. None of the prophets
      claimed to be god or part-god - they were human and were obedient to
      Allah.
 
      Finally, I want to inform you that Islam is the universal message of Allah
      to all mankind and prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the last
      and final messenger of Allah. Therefore, Allah will not accept any way of
      life except Islam. He said in the Gracious Qur'an which is translated as
      follows:
 
      " And any one who chooses a way of life other than Islam, it will not be
      accepted from him and in the hereafter he will be one of the losers. "
      (3:85)
 
      
 
             Please save yourself from the hell fire by embracing Islam
 
      
 
                                       
 
                              Suggested Reading
 
                                     If you wish to Know
 
      More about Islam YOU may refer to the following books:
 
           1. Fundamentals of Tawheed by Bilal Phillips.
 
           2. Towards understanding Islam by Abul Ala Al-Moudoodi.
 
           5. Salvation through Repentance by Bilal Phillips.
 
           4. The Bible, The Qur'an and Science by Maurice Bucaille.
 
           5. Al-Qur'an The Miracle of Miracles by Ahmed Deedat.
 
           6. The True Religion by Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips.