I have been blogging long enough now without mentioning Islam’s singular, most WONDERFUL miracle, the Qur’an. Truly, it is a Book from beyond this world! I could say that, although the hijab and modesty taught and practised in Islam was initially the thing that most attracted me to it, in the end it was the Qur’an that brought me on that blessed day to proclaim: La Illaha Illa Allahu, Muhammadur Rasulullah.
If any of you have read my reversion story (the link is on my first post) then you would have seen that it was Khalid Baig’s wonderfully-written article “The Miracle of the Qur’an” which helped me to believe at last. There were quite a few other articles I read (the web links to these I give at the end of this post), which also confirmed the genuine marvel the Qur’an is. After reading these, how could I deny that the Qur’an is the Word of Almighty Allah, the One and True God? How could anyone want to turn away from such an exquisite masterpiece?
As a lover of science and meditation on the beautiful laws and forms of nature, I believed – even as a Christian – that science was not in conflict with faith. As a teenager, I was an avid amateur astronomer, and also loved observing and learning about weather patterns and climate, the earth’s structure, as well as birds and other animals, and plants. I also explored philosophical thought, psychology and art. I was a typical “head in the clouds” kind of person; I loved looking into the deeper side of life. I saw myself as a Sherlock Holmes of some sort, looking for “clues in nature” that the Creator left behind for us to find. It became clear to me that everything in creation was connected – and that we could learn so much from it!
Perhaps before I venture further to describe my thoughts on the Qur’an, I must first mention my exploration of the Bible. As a Christian, I never saw myself as an avid Bible-reader until later in my Catholic years, when I meditated on oft-repeated texts in the Divine Office (Liturgical prayer of the Church). The Bible delighted me, but I was sometimes overwhelmed by its size and all the seemingly-unimportant parts (like the geneaologies and censuses in the books of 1 and 2 Chronicles, for example). Apart from the Book of Psalms and the other wisdom-related books and prophets, the Old Testament was a long history-lesson story. Sometimes when I wanted to read the Bible, I didn’t know where to start. After reading it once or twice the whole way through, I just selected some books to read, and eventually just read the Mass readings and the parts mentioned in the Divine Office. The Bible lives up to its name – it is truly a library of books; a colourful mosaic of the Israelite people’s history, inspired by God, and penned – and edited again and again – by men.
At first, I never really got concerned about the many parts in the Bible which seemed to contradict each other. After all, the authors were human, even thought they were inspired… What concerned me more, was that the Church didn’t seem to follow everything in the Bible. One example was the teachings about women. Paul teaches that women cover their head in worship (1 Cor 11: 3-16), and that they must dress modestly (1 Tim 2: 9) and be silent in church (1 Cor 14: 34-35). If the Church followed his teachings, then why did they choose to ignore this one, even thought it was a small thing? They passed it off as a cultural thing not valid anymore. This got me thinking: would they eventually pass off anything they read as not valid? It was too subjective for my liking. Either you follow the Bible – or you don’t.
However, the hardest thing to tackle concerning the Bible, was the numerous versions of it. As the originals were lost in translation, I desired to seek the most accurate versions. As a Protestant, it was the good old King James Bible. As a Catholic, it was the Douay-Rheims, Jerusalem
I only started to explore the Qur’an about a month before my reversion. I read only the first three or four chapters by the time I became a Muslim, but I also researched articles on the internet (most mentioned below) about its origin, contents, style, preservation and authorship.
And I found a treasure trove.
I was flabbergasted that there was so many scientific truths in the Qur’an, stated in such simple words – even in the English translation of the meaning of the Qur’an. How could it have been that Prophet Muhammad (SAW) knew about embryology? The growing human was (very accurately) described as being an extract of clay, then a sperm drop “firmly fixed” in a place of settlement, then something resembling a leech or blood clot which was “suspended,” then something looking like a “chewed substance” (cf. Qur’an 23: 12-14). And how could he have known that there were three “veils of darkness” in the womb – which seem to signify the three trimesters of pregnancy or the three layers of the placenta, uterus and mother’s body?
Then what about the mountains, which are described as pegs that stabilise the earth? Or that iron was “sent down” to earth, and was not originally on the earth? Or that salt and fresh water has a barrier between them which they cannot pass? I could go on and on, but I encourage you, dear reader, to check out the links and discover for yourself; it is absolutely amazing!
One of the things I was most amazed by – and I must say, I have not known now until I read about it – was that deep seas have two layers of waves. One of these is the top, visible layer, but there is a deeper, invisible layer as well, separating the less dense surface water from the more dense deeper water. These apparently also break like top waves; it is just that we do not see them. See how the Qur’an puts it in Sura 24:40 – “…the darkness in a deep sea. It is covered by waves, above which are waves, above which are clouds.” Two layers of waves! Another thing I was amazed by, is that hail is what creates lightning in thunderclouds. All the time I was wondering how these clouds are charged positively and negatively, and then I learnt how – from the Qur’an of all places! It is the friction from the hail which causes it! Wow! A true science textbook!
Of course, there are many other things I could write about, which impressed me about the Qur’an – the literary style which is poetic, and which would not make as much sense if one stroke of one letter is wrongly placed. (Insha’Allah, I can’t wait to learn Arabic so I can see this for myself!) The brevity and beauty of the verses and that they are so easy to memorise. And the bold challenge for man to imitate at least one Sura of the Qur’an. (I mean… from a point of view by someone who doesn’t yet know Arabic well and presently reads it like a first grader J – how is it that Arabs still haven’t been able to do that? …)
But it was the following that convinced me the most about the Qur’an and Islam – and it was this which signalled the point of no return. Whereas the Bible’s original manuscripts have been lost and changed many times, and numerous contradictions exist in the texts, not even once in 1400 years did even ONE letter of the original Qur’an change! The original has been 100% preserved and millions have memorised the entire Qur’an. Everyone has access to it. I was very interested to read of one incident when there was one small mistake printed in a big batch of copies. When it was discovered, the ENTIRE LOT was destroyed! If it is this serious, then it shows that it is something to sit up and take notice of!
Indeed, for me as a former Christian, these words have come true…
“Nearest among them in love to the Believers (Muslims) will you find those who say: ‘We are Christians’… And when they listen to the revelation received by the Messenger, you will see their eyes overflowing with tears, for they recognise the truth: they pray: ‘Our Lord! we believe, write us down among the witnesses. What cause can we have not to believe in Allah and the truth which has come to us, seeing that we long for our Lord to admit us to the company of the righteous?’ And for this prayer has Allah rewarded them.” (Qur’an 5:82-85)
So next time you wonder why you have to wash your hands, face, arms, head and feet – or your whole body – before you can even touch the blessed pages of the Holy Qur’an… you know it is to remind you that it is The Book which is “out of this world”, and which demands our utmost respect!
May Allah Ta’ala increase our imaan and taqwa – and may we always be grateful for such an outstanding gift as His Word, the Qur’an; His Prophet, Muhammad (SAW); and His Deen, Al-Islam, ameen.
Some really good links to read…
- Khalid Baig’s article: http://www.albalagh.net/food_for_thought/quran.shtml
- A pamphlet called “The Origin of the Qur’an” can be found at: http://www.whyislam.org/
- Gary Miller – “The Qur’an is Amazing”: http://www.islam101.com/science/GaryMiller.html (A very intellectually stimulating article!)
- Various other articles can be found at: http://www.islam-guide.com/ – Ch 1 talks about the scientific miracles of the Qur’an – and www.islamreligion.com/category/75
Salaam
Saadiqah
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