The Challenge of the Quran

The Quran is not only unique in the way in which it presents its subject matter, but it is also unique in that it is a miracle itself.  By the term “miracle,” we mean the performance of a supernatural or extraordinary event which cannot be duplicated by humans.  It has been documented that Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, challenged the Arabs to produce a literary work of a similar caliber as the Quran, but they were unable to do so in spite of their well-known eloquence and literary powers.  The challenge to reproduce the Quran was presented to the Arabs and mankind in three stages:

l.       The Whole Quran

In the Quran, God commanded the Prophet to challenge all of creation to create a book of the stature of the Quran:

“Say: ‘If all mankind and the jinn would come together to produce the like of this Quran, they could not produce its like even though they exerted all and their strength in aiding one another.’” (Quran 17:88)

2.      Ten Chapters

Next, God made the challenge ostensibly easier by asking those who denied its divine origin to imitate even ten chapters of the Quran:

“Or do they say that he has invented it?  Say (to them), ‘Bring ten invented chapters like it, and call (for help) on whomever you can besides God, if you are truthful.” (Quran 11:13)

3.      One Chapter

This final challenge was to produce even a single chapter to match what is in the Quran, whose shortest chapter, al-Kawthar, consists of only three verses:

“And if you all are in doubt about what I have revealed to My servant, bring a single chapter like it, and call your witnesses besides God if you are truthful.” (Quran 2:23)

These challenges were not just empty words with no one caring to prove them wrong.  Prophet Muhammad’s call to monotheism, to the abolition of idolatry in all its forms, and to the equality of slaves and their masters threatened the whole socio-economic framework of Mecca society in general, and the position of the ruling Quraishee tribe from which the Prophet came in particular.  Mecca, the trading center of Arabia, as well as its spiritual center, desperately wanted to stop the spread of Islam.  Yet all that the Prophet’s opponents had to do to crush the movement was to make up a single chapter like any one of those which the Prophet and his followers were reciting to the people.  A number of Quraishee orators and poets tried to imitate the Quran, but they failed.  They then resorted to offering him vast amounts of wealth, the position of king over them, and the most noble and beautiful of their women in exchange for his promise to stop inviting people to Islam.  He responded to them by reciting the first thirteen verses of Chapter Fussilat, until they asked him to stop.[1]  The Quraish also resorted to torturing their slaves and relatives who had embraced Islam in a vain attempt to cause them to revert to paganism.  Later they organized an economic boycott against the Prophet his followers and the members of his clan, Banoo Haashim, in an attempt to starve them into submission.  But even this plan eventually failed.  Finally, they plotted to kill him in his home by sending armed young men from each of the clans of Quraish in order that the guilt of his murder be shared by all the clans, making revenge by the Prophet’s clan impossible.

However, God enabled the Prophet and his followers to flee Mecca and join a new band of converts who had arisen among the tribes of a city to the north called Yathrib.  Islam spread rapidly through the clans of Yathrib, and within a year Muslims became the city’s majority.  Prophet Muhammad was then made the ruler, and the name of the city was changed to Medina an-Nabee (The City of the Prophet), which was then shortened to “Medina.” Over the next eight years, the clans of Mecca and its neighboring lands mounted a series of unsuccessful battle campaigns against the emerging Muslim state in Medina, which ended with the Muslim invasion of Mecca itself.

All of this bloodshed could have been avoided if only the Quraish and their allies had been able to produce a mere three lines of poetry or flowing prose similar to the shortest chapter of the Quran.  Hence, there can be no doubt about the inimitability of the Quran’s literary style, about the miracle of its rhyme and the marvel of its rhythm.

It has been suggested that the inimitability of the Quran is not necessarily unique, for great English poets like Shakespeare, Chaucer, or great poets in any language tend to have distinctly unique styles which set them apart from their contemporaries.  However, if, for example, some leading poet of today were to make an in-depth study of Shakespeare’s writings and write a sonnet in Shakespeare’s style in old ink and on old paper, then claim that he had discovered a lost poem of Shakespeare’s, the literary world would probably accept this claim, even after careful study.  Thus, even the greatest of poets could be imitated, no matter how unique his style was, just as the famous painters have been imitated.  [In fact, some English scholars consider much of what has been attributed to Shakespeare to have been written by his contemporary, Christopher Marlowe.] The Quran, however, is way above this level, as attempts to forge chapters have been made throughout the ages, yet none has withstood close scrutiny.  And, as was mentioned before, the incentive to imitate the Quran was more intense during the time of its revelation when literally skills were at their peak than at any other time, yet there was no successful attempt.

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Footnotes:

[1] Collected by al-Haakim, al-Bayhaqee, Aboo Ya’laa and Ibn Hishaam, and declared hasan by lbraaheem al-’Alee in Saheeh as-Seerah an-Nabaweeyah, p.64.

 Is the Quran Authentic?

The Quran, sometimes called the Holy Quran or the Noble Quran is the divine scripture or sacred text of the religion of Islam.  Muslims believe that the Quran is the literal word of God.  It was revealed to God’s final messenger Muhammad, to bring humankind out of the darkness of polytheism and ignorance and into the light of Islam.  Quran confirms the books that were sent before it, including the Jewish Torah and the Gospels of Jesus.  It became the book of guidance for all humankind.  Quran abrogates all scriptures before it.  It contains signs of God’s greatness, miracles, parables, and lessons.  The Quran explains the names and attributes of God and His creation.  It calls us to believe in God, His angels, His Books, His Messengers, the Last Day, and in in fate or the divine decree.

“And We have sent down to you the Book (the Quran) as an exposition of everything, guidance, a mercy, and glad tidings for those who have submitted themselves.” (Quran 16:89)

“The Messenger (Muhammad) believes in what has been sent down to him from his Lord and (so do) the believers.  Each one believes in God, His Angels, His Books, and His Messengers.  (They say)  ‘We make no distinction between one another of His Messengers’ — and they say, ‘We hear, and we obey.  (We seek)  Your forgiveness, our Lord, and to You is the return (of all)’”. (Quran 2:285)

“And We have sent down to you (O Muhammad) the Book (this Quran) in truth, confirming the Scripture that came before it and trustworthy in highness and a witness over it (old Scriptures).” (Quran 5:48) 

The Quran is the greatest of all scriptures.  Through it, God speaks to humankind.  He shows us His mercy, His love, His justice, and His wisdom.  It is guidance, and a comfort to the heart.  It is a most important book indeed.  How then can we be sure that God’s words have not be changed or lost?  How can we be sure that the Quran we hold in our hands today is authentic? 

Muslims have no doubt that Quran is exactly the same today as it was more than 1400 years ago when it was first revealed to Prophet Muhammad.  The authenticity of Quran is  established in several ways.  The most important way we can be sure that the Quran is authentic is the fact that when God revealed the Quran, He promised to preserve it. 

“It is We Who have sent down the remembrance (i.e. the Quran) and surely, We will guard it from corruption.” (Quran 15:9)

In the time of Prophet Muhammad, may God praise him, the Arabs, although predominantly illiterate, were masters of the spoken word.  Their poetry and prose were considered outstanding, and a model of literary excellence. When Prophet Muhammad recited the Quran – the words of God – the Arabs were moved tremendously by its sublime tone, eloquence, and extraordinary beauty.  The Quran was Prophet Muhammad’s miracle from God.

The Quran was also preserved by the people around Prophet Muhammad, they  memorised the words of the Quran as they were revealed and  paid careful attention to each word. Until today there are people who memorize the Quran with direct chains of memorization that span back to the Prophet, may God praise him, himself. Besides this record of memorization there is the written record as well, whereby trustworthy scribes wrote down the revelation. They wrote on flat stones, bark, bones, and even animal skins.

Prophet Muhammad himself supervised the memorisation and writing of the Quran.  The preservation of Quran was also a major priority for the four men destined to follow Muhammad as leaders of the Muslim nation.  Through their extraordinary effort and by the permission of God the Quran came to be written in book form.  Generation after generation, one after the other, went to great lengths to preserve the word of Quran exactly as they were revealed.

This process is called Tawatur in the Arabic language.  It means that  historical continuity and perpetuation is achieved by transfer from one generation to the next.  What is implied is that so many people in each generation conveyed it that there can be no doubt about its authenticity.  Quran was not transmitted by a handful of people in one generation to a few persons in the next.  It was passed  by each entire generation to the next generation.  More about how the early Muslims preserved Quran can be found in The Story of Quran, Parts 1-4. 

One of Quran’s most remarkable qualities and another reason for believing its authenticity is the complete consistency between the Quran and many of the discoveries of modern science.  Quran even pre-empts facts only discovered in the last 50 years or less.  More information about the marvellous symbiotic relationship between the Quran and scientific discoveries can be found on this website in the section entitled The Scientific Miracles of the Holy Quran.  Dr Maurice Bucaille, a French medical doctor specialising in gastroenterology had the following words to say about the scientific information contained in Quran.

“The Quran follows on from the two Revelations that preceded it,  and it  is not only free from contradictions in its narrations, but provides a quality all of its own for those who examine it objectively and in the light of science, i.e. its complete agreement with modern scientific data.  What is more, statements are to be found in it (as has been shown) that are connected with science: and yet it is unthinkable that a man of Muhammad’s time could have been the author of them.  Modern scientific knowledge therefore allows us to understand certain verses of the Quran which, until now, it has been impossible to interpret.”

The Quran used by more then 1.5 billion Muslims throughout the world today is known as the Uthmani Quran.  It was compiled by the third leader of the Islamic nation, Uthman ibn Affan, and copies were distributed throughout the Caliphate.  Each book is a copy of the original and it is believed that two of these original copies exist to this day in Turkey and Uzbekistan.

The words of Quran have remained unchanged. Over the centuries Muslims and non Muslims alike have examined copies of Quran more than 1000 years old and found that they are all identical, apart from the introduction of vowel marks in the 7^th century CE. These marks were introduced to further guard the authenticity of Quran by demanding strict adherence to pronunciation rules.

The preservation of Quran is a tale of wonder and amazement. It is a testament of God's love for humankind, a book of guidance and a source of comfort. Muslims around the globe bear witness that it is the divinely revealed words of God.  Words from the Most Merciful to His slaves.  From the moment it was revealed to Prophet Muhammad it has been protected and preserved by God from the corruption of mankind and generations of men, women, and children have stood guard over Quran with their hearts, minds and lives.