Bismi llāh, wa l-ḥamdu lillāh, wa ṣ-ṣalātu wa s-salāmu ‘alā rasūli llāh, sayyidinā Muḥammadini bni ‘Abdi llāh, wa ‘alā ālihī wa ṣaḥbihī wa man wālāh. Ammā ba‘d:
This part deals with proving the Qur’ān to be the Word of God and thus the truthfulness of Prophet Muḥammad's (ﷺ) claim to prophethood. (Note that some of the below is copy-paste; I've placed a reference list at the bottom of sources from where I've done this. I may try properly tracing back each quote to its source another time in shā’ Allāh.)
Going Back a Bit
Previously, we proved God's existence: that He definitely exists, He is One and Only, and that He is beyond all need and limitation. But since He created us, does He demand anything from us? Or did He create us purposelessly? To answer this, one would analyse the claims of all religions that call to belief in one god and see if they hold merit. If none of them do, then it could be that God doesn't demand anything from us. Or is it?
With most religions that call to one god, their claims to one god are flawed. They are all unable come up with sufficient proof to back up their claims as being the "true religion". From Christianity (with its unsound approach to "one" god) to Sikhism (which has no idea how to prove that its teachings indeed came from God – pretty much like every other religion), none are able to rationally prove the correctness of their religions.
Except Islam that is.
Proving the Qur’ān to Be the Word of God
There are four sources the Qur’ān could have possibly come from:
1) an Arab
2) a non-Arab
3) Prophet Muḥammad (ﷺ)
4) God.
Let's scrutinise.
An Arab?
It couldn't have been an Arab who was the source of the Qur’ān. This is due to the fact that the Arabs of the time were the experts of the language, unmatched to today, and yet they still could not answer the Qur’ān's challenge to produce a book like it. The best Arabic poets could not produce anything like the Qur’ān. Even the best linguist of the time, Walīd ibn al-Mughīrah, exclaimed: “And what can I say? For I swear by Allah, there is none amongst you who knows poetry as well as I do, nor can any compete with me in composition or rhetoric – not even in the poetry of jinns! And yet, I swear by Allah, Muḥammad’s speech [meaning the Qur’ān] does not bear any similarity to anything I know, and I swear by Allah, the speech that he says is very sweet, and is adorned with beauty and charm.”
To this day, there is no one who has been able to answer the challenge of the Qur’ān. All who have tried have failed and been refuted extensively.
A Non-Arab?
If an Arab couldn't come up with the Qur’ān, then it is even more impossible that a non-Arab came up with the Qur’ān. Knowledge of the Arabic language is a prerequisite to successfully challenge the Qur’ān, so how could a non-Arab come up with such a book?
Prophet Muḥammad (ﷺ)?
It is impossible that Prophet Muḥammad (ﷺ) was the source of the Qur’ān, for the following reasons:
• The Prophet Muḥammad (ﷺ) was an Arab himself and all the Arabs failed to challenge the Qur’ān.
• The Arabs linguists at the time of revelation never accused the Prophet of being the author of the Qur’ān.
• The Qur’ān is a known literary masterpiece yet its verses were at many times revealed for specific circumstances and events that occurred during the period of revelation. Each verse was revealed without revision or deletion, yet were compiled together to create a literary masterpiece. All literary masterpieces have undergone revision and deletion to ensure literary perfection, however the Qur’ān was revealed instantaneously and unchanged. In this light, the explanation that the Qur’ān is a result of the Prophet Muḥammad’s (ﷺ) literary intelligence is obviously unfounded.
• The Prophet Muḥammad (ﷺ) experienced many trials and tribulations during the course of his Prophetic mission. For example his children died, his beloved wife Khadījah (Allah be well pleased with her) passed away, he was boycotted, his close companions were tortured and killed, yet the Qur’ān's literary character remains that of the divine voice and character. Nothing in the Qur’ān expresses the turmoil and emotions of the Prophet Muḥammad (ﷺ). It is almost a psychological and physiological impossibility to go through what the Prophet (ﷺ) went through and yet none of the emotions are expressed in the literary character of the Qur’ān.
• The hadīth or narrations of the Prophet Muḥammad (ﷺ) are in a totally different style then that of the Qur’ān. How can any human being express themselves orally over a 23 year period (which was the period of Qur’ānic revelation) in two distinct styles, instantaneously and without merging one style? This is a psychological and physiological impossibility according to modern research.
• All types of human expression can be imitated if the blueprint of that expression exists. For example, artwork can be imitated even though some art is thought to be extraordinary or amazingly unique. But in the case of the Qur’ān we have the blueprint – the Qur’ān itself – yet no one has been able to imitate its unique literary form.
You might ask: how am I as a non-Arab supposed to accept that the Qur’ān is a literary masterpiece? Well, just as foreign students defer to scholars of the English language to verify the eloquence and greatness of the literary style of Shakespeare, likewise we defer to the scholars of the Arabic language to verify the eloquence and greatness of the literary style of the Qur’ān. Add to that the fact that no one has ever successfully challenged the Qur’ān and its literary style – all challenges failed, and proof of this is the fact that they were all extensively refuted and gained no traction among the Muslims nor the Arabs whatsoever.
Consider this example: in Sūrat al-Baqarah, āyah 143, Allah describes this ummah as "a middle nation" (ummatan wasatan). Nowhere else in the Qur’ān does Allah use this phrase to describe this ummah. Now, interestingly, this phrase – "the middle nation" – falls smack bang in the middle āyah of al-Baqarah, a sūrah of 286 āyāt. Now, you might contend: anyone can do that! But think about this: Sūrah al-Baqarah was revealed over various years, and the āyāt weren't revealed in the order you seem them now in. So an ayah that appears towards the end of al-Baqarah may have been revealed before an ayah that, in the mushaf, comes prior to it. (Think: The first āyāt to ever be revealed to the Prophet (ﷺ), i.e. the first five āyāt of Surat al-‘Alaq, appear at the back end of the Qur’ān.) So now think about it: how could've the Prophet (ﷺ) possibly thought up on his own to put this phrase as the middle ayah in al-Baqarah, given the way the sūrah was revealed? Subhān Allāh!
There are many other examples of the Qur’ān's literary awesomeness (This one is probably my favourite – mindblowingly awesome).
All this leaves us with one final possibility.
God
God is the best explanation to the question of the source of the Qur’ān. Therefore, the Qur’ān could have only come from Him.
But what if it was someone or something else? What if there was some fifth other possible source for the Qur’ān?
Well, think about a doctor who wants to find out what sort of disease his patient has. The doctor will analyse all of the relevant factors and possibilities, and then narrow them down until he's left with the one possibility he deems to be the best explanation to his patient's condition. The doctor then diagnoses his patient based on that "best explanation". The doctor doesn't go, "Hmm, I wonder if there is some other possible explanation for this disease." That would just be the doctor entertaining far-flung and remote possibilities.
Same thing goes with the Qur’ān. We look at all the possibilities, and then come to a conclusion that the Qur’ān, as per the best explanation, could have only been from one source: God Himself. Thereafter, we do not entertain far-fetched and remote possibilities.
So We've Proven That the Qur’ān is the Word of God. What Now?
Now that we've proven the Qur’ān to be the Word of God, we must thus accept Prophet Muḥammad (ﷺ) to be His prophet. Not only that, but once we've accepted the rationality of the existence of God and the prophethood of Muḥammad (ﷺ), we must accept and believe in everything that comes from God [via His prophet (ﷺ)], even if our minds cannot comprehend them. Why? Because we've already proven that the existence of God is definite and true. We've also proven that the prophethood of Muḥammad (ﷺ) is definite and true. So whatever God informs us of [via His prophet (ﷺ)] must also be definite and true. Thus, we believe in Paradise, Hell, angels, devils, Judgement Day, etc., even though we can't sense these realities.
Thus, we believe Islam to be the only true religion.
Final Remarks
In shā’ Allāh, hopefully things have been clarified in an easy-to-grasp manner. Though if there's any doubts or confusions, please do not hesitate to address them.
Whatever has been mentioned of truth is solely from Allah. Whatever has mentioned of falsehood and error is from the author himself and the devil.
We ask Allah to keep us firm upon His religion with full conviction until the day we die.
And Allah knows best
References
an-Nabahani, T. (2002). The System of Islam. London: Al-Khilafah Publications, p.16.
Faith & Progress. (2015). Al-Khilafah Publications.
Qadhi, Y. (1999). An introduction to the sciences of the Qur'aan. Birmingham, UK: Al-Hidaayah Pub.
Tzortzis, H. (2014). The Mirage of Atheism.
This part deals with proving the Qur’ān to be the Word of God and thus the truthfulness of Prophet Muḥammad's (ﷺ) claim to prophethood. (Note that some of the below is copy-paste; I've placed a reference list at the bottom of sources from where I've done this. I may try properly tracing back each quote to its source another time in shā’ Allāh.)
Going Back a Bit
Previously, we proved God's existence: that He definitely exists, He is One and Only, and that He is beyond all need and limitation. But since He created us, does He demand anything from us? Or did He create us purposelessly? To answer this, one would analyse the claims of all religions that call to belief in one god and see if they hold merit. If none of them do, then it could be that God doesn't demand anything from us. Or is it?
With most religions that call to one god, their claims to one god are flawed. They are all unable come up with sufficient proof to back up their claims as being the "true religion". From Christianity (with its unsound approach to "one" god) to Sikhism (which has no idea how to prove that its teachings indeed came from God – pretty much like every other religion), none are able to rationally prove the correctness of their religions.
Except Islam that is.
Proving the Qur’ān to Be the Word of God
There are four sources the Qur’ān could have possibly come from:
1) an Arab
2) a non-Arab
3) Prophet Muḥammad (ﷺ)
4) God.
Let's scrutinise.
An Arab?
It couldn't have been an Arab who was the source of the Qur’ān. This is due to the fact that the Arabs of the time were the experts of the language, unmatched to today, and yet they still could not answer the Qur’ān's challenge to produce a book like it. The best Arabic poets could not produce anything like the Qur’ān. Even the best linguist of the time, Walīd ibn al-Mughīrah, exclaimed: “And what can I say? For I swear by Allah, there is none amongst you who knows poetry as well as I do, nor can any compete with me in composition or rhetoric – not even in the poetry of jinns! And yet, I swear by Allah, Muḥammad’s speech [meaning the Qur’ān] does not bear any similarity to anything I know, and I swear by Allah, the speech that he says is very sweet, and is adorned with beauty and charm.”
To this day, there is no one who has been able to answer the challenge of the Qur’ān. All who have tried have failed and been refuted extensively.
A Non-Arab?
If an Arab couldn't come up with the Qur’ān, then it is even more impossible that a non-Arab came up with the Qur’ān. Knowledge of the Arabic language is a prerequisite to successfully challenge the Qur’ān, so how could a non-Arab come up with such a book?
Prophet Muḥammad (ﷺ)?
It is impossible that Prophet Muḥammad (ﷺ) was the source of the Qur’ān, for the following reasons:
• The Prophet Muḥammad (ﷺ) was an Arab himself and all the Arabs failed to challenge the Qur’ān.
• The Arabs linguists at the time of revelation never accused the Prophet of being the author of the Qur’ān.
• The Qur’ān is a known literary masterpiece yet its verses were at many times revealed for specific circumstances and events that occurred during the period of revelation. Each verse was revealed without revision or deletion, yet were compiled together to create a literary masterpiece. All literary masterpieces have undergone revision and deletion to ensure literary perfection, however the Qur’ān was revealed instantaneously and unchanged. In this light, the explanation that the Qur’ān is a result of the Prophet Muḥammad’s (ﷺ) literary intelligence is obviously unfounded.
• The Prophet Muḥammad (ﷺ) experienced many trials and tribulations during the course of his Prophetic mission. For example his children died, his beloved wife Khadījah (Allah be well pleased with her) passed away, he was boycotted, his close companions were tortured and killed, yet the Qur’ān's literary character remains that of the divine voice and character. Nothing in the Qur’ān expresses the turmoil and emotions of the Prophet Muḥammad (ﷺ). It is almost a psychological and physiological impossibility to go through what the Prophet (ﷺ) went through and yet none of the emotions are expressed in the literary character of the Qur’ān.
• The hadīth or narrations of the Prophet Muḥammad (ﷺ) are in a totally different style then that of the Qur’ān. How can any human being express themselves orally over a 23 year period (which was the period of Qur’ānic revelation) in two distinct styles, instantaneously and without merging one style? This is a psychological and physiological impossibility according to modern research.
• All types of human expression can be imitated if the blueprint of that expression exists. For example, artwork can be imitated even though some art is thought to be extraordinary or amazingly unique. But in the case of the Qur’ān we have the blueprint – the Qur’ān itself – yet no one has been able to imitate its unique literary form.
You might ask: how am I as a non-Arab supposed to accept that the Qur’ān is a literary masterpiece? Well, just as foreign students defer to scholars of the English language to verify the eloquence and greatness of the literary style of Shakespeare, likewise we defer to the scholars of the Arabic language to verify the eloquence and greatness of the literary style of the Qur’ān. Add to that the fact that no one has ever successfully challenged the Qur’ān and its literary style – all challenges failed, and proof of this is the fact that they were all extensively refuted and gained no traction among the Muslims nor the Arabs whatsoever.
Consider this example: in Sūrat al-Baqarah, āyah 143, Allah describes this ummah as "a middle nation" (ummatan wasatan). Nowhere else in the Qur’ān does Allah use this phrase to describe this ummah. Now, interestingly, this phrase – "the middle nation" – falls smack bang in the middle āyah of al-Baqarah, a sūrah of 286 āyāt. Now, you might contend: anyone can do that! But think about this: Sūrah al-Baqarah was revealed over various years, and the āyāt weren't revealed in the order you seem them now in. So an ayah that appears towards the end of al-Baqarah may have been revealed before an ayah that, in the mushaf, comes prior to it. (Think: The first āyāt to ever be revealed to the Prophet (ﷺ), i.e. the first five āyāt of Surat al-‘Alaq, appear at the back end of the Qur’ān.) So now think about it: how could've the Prophet (ﷺ) possibly thought up on his own to put this phrase as the middle ayah in al-Baqarah, given the way the sūrah was revealed? Subhān Allāh!
There are many other examples of the Qur’ān's literary awesomeness (This one is probably my favourite – mindblowingly awesome).
All this leaves us with one final possibility.
God
God is the best explanation to the question of the source of the Qur’ān. Therefore, the Qur’ān could have only come from Him.
But what if it was someone or something else? What if there was some fifth other possible source for the Qur’ān?
Well, think about a doctor who wants to find out what sort of disease his patient has. The doctor will analyse all of the relevant factors and possibilities, and then narrow them down until he's left with the one possibility he deems to be the best explanation to his patient's condition. The doctor then diagnoses his patient based on that "best explanation". The doctor doesn't go, "Hmm, I wonder if there is some other possible explanation for this disease." That would just be the doctor entertaining far-flung and remote possibilities.
Same thing goes with the Qur’ān. We look at all the possibilities, and then come to a conclusion that the Qur’ān, as per the best explanation, could have only been from one source: God Himself. Thereafter, we do not entertain far-fetched and remote possibilities.
So We've Proven That the Qur’ān is the Word of God. What Now?
Now that we've proven the Qur’ān to be the Word of God, we must thus accept Prophet Muḥammad (ﷺ) to be His prophet. Not only that, but once we've accepted the rationality of the existence of God and the prophethood of Muḥammad (ﷺ), we must accept and believe in everything that comes from God [via His prophet (ﷺ)], even if our minds cannot comprehend them. Why? Because we've already proven that the existence of God is definite and true. We've also proven that the prophethood of Muḥammad (ﷺ) is definite and true. So whatever God informs us of [via His prophet (ﷺ)] must also be definite and true. Thus, we believe in Paradise, Hell, angels, devils, Judgement Day, etc., even though we can't sense these realities.
Thus, we believe Islam to be the only true religion.
Final Remarks
In shā’ Allāh, hopefully things have been clarified in an easy-to-grasp manner. Though if there's any doubts or confusions, please do not hesitate to address them.
Whatever has been mentioned of truth is solely from Allah. Whatever has mentioned of falsehood and error is from the author himself and the devil.
We ask Allah to keep us firm upon His religion with full conviction until the day we die.
And Allah knows best
References
an-Nabahani, T. (2002). The System of Islam. London: Al-Khilafah Publications, p.16.
Faith & Progress. (2015). Al-Khilafah Publications.
Qadhi, Y. (1999). An introduction to the sciences of the Qur'aan. Birmingham, UK: Al-Hidaayah Pub.
Tzortzis, H. (2014). The Mirage of Atheism.
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