Is the Quran credible?
Besides religious guidance, the Quran contains hundreds of verses that speak of the universe, its components and phenomena such as the Earth, the sun, the moon, the stars, mountains, wind, running water, plants, embryological animals, and the successive stages of development of the human being. More than 1,000 verses relating to cosmic facts or cosmic phenomena can be counted in the Quran. During the early days of the Quran, scientific knowledge of the universe was limited and it was not easy to elaborate on the verses relating to the universe or its phenomena except within the limitations of the time. However, we now know about the laws of the universe much more than before and that is why reviewing the 1,000 or more verses relating to the cosmos, man and his surroundings can be one of the most obvious miraculous aspects of the Quran. This is because of the precedence of the Quran, which was revealed more than 14 Centuries ago, with many of the scientific facts, at a time when people had no knowledge whatsoever of such facts. The Quran has addressed so many of these facts in a language that is more precise, accurate and concise than scientists have ever been able to do. Nothing in the Quran contradicts any established scientific facts. These cannot be all covered in a short article and hence I have chosen only five verses that can testify to the miraculous nature of the Quran from a scientific point of view:
1) The creation of the universe is explained by astrophysicists in a widely accepted phenomenon, popularly known as the “Big Bang.†It is supported by observational and experimental data gathered by astronomers and astrophysicists for decades. According to the “Big Bang,†the whole universe was initially one big mass (Primary Nebula). Then there was a “Big Bang†(Secondary Separation), which resulted in the formation of Galaxies. These then divided to form stars, planets, the sun, the moon, etc. The origin of the universe was unique and the probability of it occurring by “chance†is zero. The Quran contains the following verse, regarding the origin of the universe:
«”Have those who disbelieved not considered that the heavens and the earth were (once) a joined entity, then We separated them and made from water every living thing? Then will they not believe? “» [21:30]
The striking congruence between the Quranic verse and the “Big Bang†is inescapable! How could a book, which first appeared in the deserts of Arabia 1400 years ago, contain this profound scientific truth?
2) In 1925 an American astronomer by the name of Edwin Hubble provided observational evidence that all galaxies are receding from one another, which implies that the universe is expanding. The expansion of the universe is now an established scientific fact. This is what the Quran says regarding the formation of the universe:
«”And the heaven We constructed with strength, and indeed, We are [its] expander.”» [51:47]
Stephen Hawking, in his book A Brief History of Time, says: “The discovery that the universe is expanding is one of the great intellectual revolutions of the 20th century.†The Quran mentioned the expansion of the universe before man even learnt to build a telescope!
3) Scientists say that before the galaxies in the universe were formed, celestial matter was initially in the form of gaseous matter. In short, huge gaseous matter or clouds were present before the formation of the galaxies. To describe initial celestial matter, the word “smoke†is more appropriate than gas. The following Quranic verse refers to this state of the universe by the word dukhan which means smoke:
«”Then He turned to the heaven when it was smoke… “» [41:11]
Again, this fact is a corollary to the “Big Bang†and was not known to mankind during the time of the Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H). What then, could have been the source of this knowledge?
4) It was thought that the sense of feeling and pain was only dependent on the brain. Recent discoveries prove that there are pain receptors present in the skin without which a person would not be able to feel pain. When a doctor examines a patient suffering from burn injuries, he verifies the degree of burns by a pinprick. If the patient feels pain, the doctor is happy, because it indicates that the burns are superficial and the pain receptors are intact. On the other hand if the patient does not feel any pain, it indicates that it is a deep burn and the pain receptors have been destroyed. The Quran gives an indication of the existence of pain receptors in the following verse:
«”Indeed, those who disbelieve in Our verses (i.e. signs, proofs) – We will drive them into a Fire. Every time their skins are roasted through We will replace them with other skins so they may taste the punishment. Indeed, Allah is ever Exalted in Might and Wise. But those who believe and do righteous deeds – We will admit them to gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein they abide forever.”» [4:56-57]
Prof. Tagatat Tejasen, Chairman of the Dept. of Anatomy at Chiang Mai University in Thailand, had spent a great amount of time on research of pain receptors. Initially he could not believe that the Quran mentioned this scientific fact 1400 years ago. He later verified the translation of this particular Quranic verse. Prof. Tejasen was so impressed by the scientific accuracy of the Quranic verse, that at a medical Conference in 1985 he proclaimed in public the Shahadah (Islamic Declaration of Faith), i.e. he embraced Islam.
5) The source of iron (Fe); we read in the Quran:
«”Indeed, We have sent down iron in which there is great (military) might and benefits for the people.”» [57:25]
It has recently been proven that all iron, not only in our planet but also in the entire solar system, was obtained from outer space. This is because the temperature of the sun cannot generate iron. The sun has a surface temperature of 6000 degrees Celsius and a central temperature of about 20 million degrees Celsius. There exists much hotter stars, which are known as novae, or super novae where temperatures can reach 100s of billions of degrees Celsius and it is in these stars that iron is formed. When the percentage of iron reaches a certain proportion of the mass of the star it explodes and these exploded-particles travel in space until they are captured by the gravitational fields of other heavenly bodies. This is how our solar system all obtained its iron and it is an established fact today that all the iron in our solar system was not generated or created within the system but has come to it from outer space.
One wonders why the Quran comments on matters like these, things that were not known to anyone at the time of revelation or even for centuries afterwards, unless Allah knows in His eternal knowledge that the time will come when man will then immediately realize that the Quran is the word of Allah and that Muhammad is His last messenger. Allah says in the Quran:
«”We shall show them Our signs in the horizons and within themselves until it becomes clear to them that it is the truth.”» [41:53]
Prof. Tejasen accepted Islam on the strength of just one scientific “sign†mentioned in the Quran. Some people may require ten signs while some may require hundred signs to be convinced about the Divine origin of the Quran. Some would be unwilling to accept the Truth even after being shown a thousand signs. The Quran condemns such a closed mentality:
«”Deaf, dumb and blind- so they will not return [to the right path].”» [2:18].
Also:
«”The example of those who disbelieve is like that of the one who shouts at what hears nothing but calls and cries [i.e. cattle or sheep] – deaf, dumb and blind, so they do not understand.”» [2:171].
And:
«”Then do they not reflect upon the Quran, or are there locks upon [their] hearts?”» [47:24]
What is the Purpose of Life?
So what does the Creator, Allah, tell us about our purpose in life? Allah states in the Quran that He created man to be His Khalefah, His trustee on earth (Quran 2:30). Mankind’s basic trust, our responsibility, is to believe in and worship Allah:
«”And I did not create the Jinn and mankind except to worship Me…”» [51:56-58]
Very simple! The purpose for man’s creation is to worship the Creator. The essence of Allah’s message through all of the prophets also was:
«“O mankind, worship Allah, you have no deity other than Him.”» [7:59].
Allah further states that He made this life in order to test man so that every person may be recompensed after death for what he has earned:
«“[He] who created death and life to test you [as to] which of you is best in deed – and He is the Exalted in Might, the Forgiving.”» [67:2]
But in order to worship Him, we have to know Him well otherwise we may form a distorted concept of Him and then go astray. In the Quran Allah tells mankind what He is and what He is not. For example, in response to a question about Allah that was posed to the Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H), Allah instructs Muhammad (P.B.U.H) to give the following reply:
«“Say : He is Allah [Who is] One, Allah, the Eternal Refuge. He neither begets nor is born, nor is there to Him any equivalent.”» [112]
It is clear from this that Muhammad (P.B.U.H) is not the author of the Quran otherwise he would not have shown that someone is dictating to him what to say.
Also, Allah has to tell us how He wants to be worshipped, which He does in the Quran. He also tells us in the Quran that all Prophets came with the same identical message to their people – that is to believe in Allah and to worship Him. He also tells us in the Quran that all the people of other religions have deviated from the original teachings of their prophets. This is due to two reasons. The first is that earlier scriptures were not preserved simply because of the absence or scarcity of writing paper and so the teachings were transmitted orally and with time became distorted. The second reason is because the clergy of various religions introduced doctrines that were never there (e.g., the Christian trinity creed was introduced only after the council of Nicea in 325 AD and the Council of Constantinople in 386 AD). Because of the changes that crept into earlier religions, Allah tells us that He sent the Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) as the last and final prophet and guidance to mankind with a scripture that He promised would be preserved forever. Allah provides a test to prove that the Quran is from Him. Allah says:
«“Then do they not reflect upon the Quran? (i.e. its meanings and its objective) If it had been from [any] other than Allah, they would have found within it much contradiction “» [4:82]
The Quran is available for scrutiny and investigation by any person to try to find even one error or contradiction in it. In fact this test must be applied to any other scripture that claims it is the word of God.
Is there any “blind faith†in Islam?
Islam is not a religion of “blind faith†but is a religion that strongly calls on man to use his logic, reasoning and intellect. Allah in the Quran stresses the importance for people to think, to reason and to use their mind and intellect. The word “mind†or “reasoning†is mentioned 49 times in the Quran (in Arabic Ta’qiloon 24 times, Ya’qiloon 22 times, and A’qal, Na’qil and Ya’qil one time each). Also Allah refers to “people of understanding†16 times in the Quran (in Arabic Ulu Al-AlBab or Uli Al-Albab). Allah also refers to “those of intelligence†two times in Chapter 20 by the Arabic term Uli Al-Nuha. Allah also refers in many chapters in the Quran to the mind by the Arabic word Al-Fuad. Also in many verses in the Quran, Allah uses the term heart (in Arabic Al-Qalb) in place of the word Al-Fuad (mind) to mean the same thing. In one place in Chapter 89 verses 53 & 54, Allah refers to the mind by the Arabic word Al-Hijr. The Quran also, in tens of verses, strongly calls and emphasizes the need to “contemplate†and to “give thought†(in Arabic Fikr or Tafakkor). Also in tens of verses, the Quran draws attention to the importance for man to “remember†and to “recall†(in Arabic Tazakkor). The significance of the two being: to “give thought†is to increase or acquire new knowledge, whereas to “remember†is to recall and remind oneself of relevant knowledge and events that may have been forgotten, but which are important for one’s faith.
Allah praises people who use their mind:
«”Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of the night and the day are signs for those of understanding – Who remember Allah while standing or sitting or [lying] on their sides and give thought to the creation of the heavens and the earth, [saying], “Our Lord, You did not create this aimlessly; exalted are You [above such a thing]; then protect us from the punishment of the Fire.â€Â» [3:190]
About the Quran, Allah Says:
«”[This is] a blessed Book which We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], that they (i.e. people) might reflect upon its verses and that those of understanding would be reminded.”» [38:29]
In the Quran, the words that can be formed from the term “know†or “knowledge†(root ‘elm in Arabic) is to be found 865 times. In one verse Allah says:
«”Are those who know equal to those who do not know? Only they will remember [who are] people of understanding.”» [39:9]
Also:
«”And so those who were given knowledge may know that It (i.e. the Quran) is the truth from your Lord and [therefore] believe in it, and their hearts humbly submit to it. And indeed is Allah the Guide of those who have believed to a straight path.”» [2:54]
On the other hand, the Quran strongly rejects certain mentalities that are driven by myths, illusions, absurdities, ignorance, blind imitation of others, assumption (conjecture), prejudice, whims and desires. In fact, Allah in the Quran confirms that most people on earth have gone astray because they follow assumption, conjecture and ignorance. Allah says:
«”And if you obey most of those upon the earth, they will mislead you from the way of Allah. They follow not except assumption, and they are not but falsifying (out of ignorance, conjecture and assumption).” » [6:116]
Is there Life after Death?
All the prophets of God called their people to worship God and to believe in life after death. They laid so much emphasis on the belief in life after death that even a slight doubt in it meant denying God and made all other beliefs meaningless. The very fact that all the prophets of God have dealt with this metaphysical question of life after death so confidently and so uniformly – the gap between their ages in some cases, being thousands of years – goes to prove that the source of their knowledge of life after death as proclaimed by them all, was the same, i.e. divine revelation. We also know that these prophets of God were greatly opposed by their people, mainly on the issue of life after death, as their people thought it impossible. But in spite of opposition, the Prophets won many sincere followers.
The question arises: what made those followers forsake the established beliefs, traditions and customs of their forefathers, notwithstanding the risk of being totally alienated from their own community? The simple answer is: they made use of their faculties of mind and heart and realized the truth.
Did they realize the truth through perceptual consciousness? They couldn’t, as perceptual experience of life after death is impossible. God has given Man besides perceptual consciousness, rational, aesthetic and moral consciousness too. It is this consciousness that guides man regarding realities that cannot be verified through sensory data. That is why all the prophets of God while calling people to believe in God and life after death, appeal to the aesthetic, moral and rational consciousness of man.
The Quran very clearly says that the disbelievers have no sound basis for their denial of life after death. It is based on pure conjecture:
«”And they say, “There is not but our worldly life; we die and live (i.e. some people die and others live, replacing them) and nothing destroys us except time.†And they have of that no knowledge; they are only assuming. And when Our verses are recited to them as clear evidences, their argument is only that they say, “Bring [back] our forefathers, if you should be truthful.†Say, “Allah causes you to live, then causes you to die; then He will assemble you for the Day of Resurrection, about which there is no doubt.†But most of the people do not know.”» [45:24]
The explanation that the Quran gives about the necessity of life after death is what the moral consciousness of man demands. Actually, if there is no life after death, the very belief in God becomes meaningless or even if one believes in God, it would be an unjust and indifferent God, having once created man and now not being concerned with his fate. Surely, God is just. He will punish the tyrants, whose crimes are beyond count – having tortured and killed hundreds or thousands of innocent people, created great corruption in society, enslaved numerous persons to serve their whims, etc. Because man has a very short life span in this world and because numerous individuals are affected by one’s actions, adequate punishments and rewards are not possible in this life. Could the good and the righteous be equated with the wicked and evil? Moral, aesthetic and rational faculties of man reject this logic and endorse the possibility of the life after death. Allah confirms this truth in the Quran:
«”Then did you think that We created you uselessly and that to Us you would not be returned?”» [23:115]
Also:
«”And We did not create the heaven and the earth and that between them aimlessly. That is the assumption of those who disbelieve, so woe to those who disbelieve from the Fire. Or should We treat those who believe and do righteous deeds like corrupters in the land? Or should We treat those who fear Allah like the wicked?”» [38:27]
Also:
«”Or do those who commit evils think We will make them like those who have believed and done righteous deeds – [the evildoers being] equal in their life and their death? Evil is that which they judge [i.e. assume]. And Allah created the heavens and earth in truth and so that every soul may be recompensed for what it has earned, and they will not be wronged.”» [45:21]
Also:
«”And We did not create the heavens and the earth and that between them in play. We did not create them except in truth, but most of them do not know. Indeed, the Day of Judgment is the appointed time for them all.”» [44:38]
The Quran emphatically states that the Day of Judgment must come and that Allah will decide the fate of each soul according to his or her record of deeds:
«”But those who disbelieve say, “The Hour (i.e. the Day of Judgment) will not come to us.†Say, “Yes, by my Lord, it will surely come to you. [Allah is] the Knower of the unseen.†Not absent from Him is an atom’s weight within the heavens or within the earth or [what is] smaller than that or greater, except that it is in a clear register – That He may reward those who believe and do righteous deeds. Those will have forgiveness and noble provision. But those who strive against Our verses [seeking] to cause failure (i.e. to undermine their credibility) – for them will be a painful punishment of foul nature.”» [34:3]
The Day of Resurrection will be the Day when God’s attributes of Justice and Mercy will be in full manifestation. God will shower His mercy on those who suffered for His sake in the worldly life, believing that an eternal bliss was awaiting them. But those who abused the bounties of God, caring nothing for the life to come, will be in the most miserable state. Drawing a comparison between them, the Quran says:
«”Then is he whom We have promised a good promise which he will meet [i.e. obtain] like he for whom We provided enjoyment of worldly life [but] then he is, on the Day of Resurrection, among those presented [for punishment in Hell]?”» [28:61]
The belief in life after death not only guarantees success in the Hereafter but also makes this world full of peace and happiness by making individuals most responsible and dutiful in their activities:
«”Every soul will taste death. And We test you with evil and with good as trial; and to Us you will be returned.”» [21:35]
Why should one read the Quran?
No person can afford to be ignorant of the Quran, for it is the constitution revealed by Allah to regulate and govern human life. It speaks with the perfect knowledge of the Creator about His creation. It exposes the truth and invites man to the way of truth. It contains important information about human destiny and that of the individual. It educates and raises men to the highest moral, intellectual and social level when they strive to comprehend it and apply its teachings to life.
Moreover, it is the actual words of Allah – not created, but revealed by Him through the angel Gabriel to a human messenger, Muhammad , for the benefit of humanity. It is an eternal miracle given to the final prophet, Muhammad , as proof of his prophet hood and a challenge to all succeeding generations. It is of unique and inimitable quality. Revealed fourteen centuries ago, it remains today completely intact and unaltered in its original Arabic form.
What does one discover when he understands the meanings of the Quran? The answers to this question can be classified in four main categories:
1) That he can know his Creator as He has described Himself
2) That he can know the purpose of life on this earth and what is expected of every person during this life
3) That he becomes aware of the consequences of his attitudes and his behavior
4) How he should relate to all things – to Allah by worship and obedience, to his fellow man by justice to all, and to the universe in general by putting those things under his control to good use.
This divine message was revealed to confirm and renew the relationship between man and his Creator and to reinstate the sincere and correct worship of the one true God, Allah, who says:
«”Then let them respond to Me and believe in Me that they may be [rightly] guided.”» [2:168]