Is The Holy Book (The Quran) Word Of God?

This article covers the answer to the question: “Is The Holy Book Word Of God?“

The Holy Book is completely different from all the other books in the world

1. When we study the Holy Book even superficially from the viewpoint of its wording, styles, and meaning, we will certainly conclude that it is completely different from all the other books in the world. So, in rank and worth it is either below all of them-even Satan cannot claim this, nor does he conceive of it-or above them. Since it is above all of them, it must be the Word of God.

The Holy Book, which he brought, has challenged all mankind with all their literary geniuses and scientists, from the first day of its revelation to the Last Day, to produce a like of it or even a single chapter of it

2. The Holy Book (The Quran) openly declares:

“You (O Muhammad) was not a reader of any Scripture before it, nor did you write (such a Scripture) with your right hand, for then those who follow falsehood might (have a right) to doubt it (29:48).”

“If you are in doubt concerning that which We have sent down onto Our servant (Muhammad), then produce a chapter of the like thereof, and call your witnesses, supporters, who are apart from God, if you are truthful (2:23).”

Mankind have since been unable to produce a like of only one of its chapters, including, of course, its shortest ones like chapter Oneness or chapter Abundance ; those who have ventured to do that have all laid themselves open to ridicule. This is a clear proof for the Divine authorship of the Holy Book.

The Holy Book was revealed in 23 years, yet there are not any contradictory points in it

3. The revelation of the Holy Book lasted 23 years. It is inconceivable that any book was written by a mortal being in 23 years, one which is a book of Divine truths, metaphysics, religious beliefs and worship, prayer, law and morality, a book fully describing the other life, a book of psychology, sociology, epistemology, and history, and a book containing scientific facts and the principles of a happy life, does not have any contradictory points. Whereas, the Holy Book openly declares that it has no contradictions at all and therefore is a Divine Book:

“Will they not then ponder on the Holy Book? If it had been from other than God they would have found therein much contradiction and incongruity (4:82).”

The Holy Book is beyond compare from the viewpoint of its styles and eloquence

4. All the sentences, words, and even letters used in the Holy Book form such a miraculous harmony that, with respect to rhythm, music, and even geometric proportions and mathematical measures, and with respect to how many times each is used in the whole of the Holy Book, each is in the exact place it must be and interwoven and interrelated with others. The literary masterpiece of no one, including the sayings of the Messenger himself cannot compete with the Holy Book.

Messenger was unlettered and no one had heard him say even a couple of poetry. However, the Holy Book also challenged the known experts in poetry and oratory and forced them to surrender

5. In the period when the Holy Book was revealed, in addition to eloquence, poetry and oratory enjoyed great prestige in the Arabian Peninsula. They used to hold poetry competitions and the poems of the winners write in gold and hang on the wall of the Kaaba. The Messenger was, as everybody knows, unlettered and no one had heard him say even a couple of poetry. However, the Holy Book also challenged the known experts in these fields and forced them to surrender. When those who persisted in unbelief heard the Holy Book, they were captivated by it. Nevertheless, in order to prevent the spread of the Word, they labeled it as something magical and advised people not to listen to it. But when those, like Hansa and Lebid, who believed in the Holy Book, gave up inventing poetry after the Holy Book’s revelation in respect for and awe of its styles and eloquence, the unbelievers had to confess: ‘If we call it a piece of poetry, it is not. If we designate it a piece of rhymed prose, it is not. If we describe it as the word of a soothsayer, it is not.’ At times, they could not help listening to the Messenger’s recitation secretly at night but they could not overcome their arrogance and so believe in its Divine origin.

6. Despite the high level poetry reached at that time, the vocabulary of Arabic was not as advanced as the same degree. It was difficult, even impossible, to express in it metaphysical ideas or scientific, religious and philosophical concepts. Restricted to the words and expressions to explain the thoughts and feelings of desert men and the simple life they led, this language became so rich through the Holy Book and attained such a high level that it developed as the language of the most magnificent civilization of the world history with all its scientific, religious, metaphysical, literary, economic, juridical, social and political aspects. It is impossible for an unlettered one to prepare the ground for and give way to such a philological revolution unparalleled in human history.

Despite its apparent simplicity, the Holy Book has such depths of meaning that everyone from the commonest of people to the most high-ranking scholar, scientist and literary man, finds his share in it

7. The Holy Book is such a book that it illuminates the ways of both poets, musicians and orators, sociologists, psychologists, scientists, economists and jurists. Also, the founders of all the true spiritual orders and the schools of law and conduct found in it the principles of their orders and schools. The Holy Book has shown everybody the ways to solve their problems. It also satisfies everyone in his spiritual quests. Is there another book of the same character, quality and level next to the Holy Book?

No one has ever been heard to be bored with the recitation of the Holy Book

8. However beautiful and interesting, we can read a book at most two or three times and then are bored with it. However, no one has ever been heard to be bored with the recitation of the Holy Book. Hundreds of millions of Believers recite portions from it in their five daily prayers and most of them recite it from beginning to end at least once a year. There have been hundreds of thousands of people reciting it from the beginning to the end once or twice or even three times a month. The more frequently one recites it, the more one benefits from it and the more desire one feels to recite it. One never gets tired of it, its wording, meaning and content, nor does the Holy Book lose anything of its originality and freshness. As time passes, it breathes into minds and souls new truths and meanings, thus increasing them in activity and liveliness.

The Holy Book describes man with all his physical and spiritual aspects and contains principles to solve all the problems that may appear at any time and in any place concerning all the social, economic, juridical, political and administrative fields of life. Furthermore, it satisfies both the mind and spirit at the same time and guarantees happiness in both worlds.

9. However great a genius one may be, it is impossible for one to establish rules to solve all kinds of problems that mankind may encounter until the Last Day. Even the best of systems that do not originate in the Holy Book or the Divine Revelation cannot last without undergoing revisions at least every 50 years. More important than this, none of those systems can promise man eternal happiness; the principles of all of them are restricted to worldly life, which is transient and infinitely short when compared to the afterlife. By contrast, none of the principles, which the Holy Book laid down centuries ago, has become outmoded and worn-out with the passage of time, nor do they have any defects or shortcomings. For example, the Holy Book enjoins that wealth should not become a means of prosperity circulated only among the rich (59:7); that government offices should be entrusted to competent persons qualified for them and absolute justice should be the rule in public administration and judging between people (4:58), and it lays down that a man has only that for which he makes effort (53:39) and that whoever kills a human being unjustly is as if he had killed all mankind (5:32). All such eternal, golden principles and many others like the prohibition of usury, gambling, alcohol and all kinds of illicit intercourse, and the injunctions with respect to praying, fasting, alms-giving and good conduct. principles strengthened through love and fear of God and through the promise of an eternal, happy life and fear of the eternal punishment of Hell. constitute another undeniable proof for the Divine authorship of the Holy Book.

The Holy Book unveils the mystery of man, creation, and the universe

These three creatures of God, that is, man, the Holy Book, and the universe, are the three ‘books’, which make the Creator known to us. They are the three versions or expressions of the same truth. Therefore, the One Who has created man and the universe is He Who has revealed the Holy Book.

10. A writer usually writes under the influence of the conditions surrounding him. It is almost impossible to find a writer, whether he be a realist or idealist or even a science-fiction writer, who can write completely detached from the conditions surrounding him. By contrast, even though revealed in parts on certain occasions, the Holy Book is equally universal and objective where it deals with particular issues as it is exact and precise where it deals with universal matters. It uses precise expressions even while describing the beginning of creation and end of time and the creation of man and his future life in the other world. Also, just as it sometimes draws universal conclusions from particular events, so too it sometimes goes from universal principles to particular events. This is typical of the Holy Book’s style, which is impossible to find in any human work and is, therefore, another sign of its Divine origin.

11. There has been no one in human history who has written books accurate to the same degree on both religion and law and sociology and psychology and eschatology and morality and history and literature and so on. However, the Holy Book contains at least the principles of all the branches of knowledge either in summary or detail and not even a single piece of the knowledge it contains has ever been contradicted. Must this not be enough for one unprejudiced to acknowledge its Divine origin?

“As time passes, the Holy Book grows ever younger.”

12. Which writer can claim that whatever he writes is absolutely correct and cannot be contradicted until the Last Day? At a time when the conclusions of science soon become. outmoded. and worn-out and even the previous Divine Scriptures such as the Torah and Gospels undergo continuous alterations. even a superficial study of the issues of the Bible published in different times and in different languages will be enough to see the great alterations it has undergone. the truths of the Holy Book retain their freshness or, in the words of Said Nursi, as time passes, the Holy Book grows ever younger.. Despite all the efforts to find mistakes and contradictions in it exerted since the beginning of its revelation, it has remained unchanged and displayed its uniqueness, conquering every day new hearts and its hidden unlimited treasures being discovered one by one or growing to full bloom like a heavenly rose with countless petals.

The Holy Book addresses and legislates for all in all times

13. However knowledgeable you are and if you are famous for your truthfulness, can you speak on behalf of the president, the prime minister and all of the ministers, and also on behalf of the associations of literary men, lawyers and craftsmen, and the board of university lecturers and scientists? If you can, can you claim that you represented them all as perfectly as each would want you to? If you can, can you legislate for all the affairs of the country? This is just what the Messenger achieved through the Holy Book. Now, how can you claim that an unlettered one, who had had nothing to do with any such affairs until his fortieth year, achieved this without Divine inspiration and support?

There are answers to many such questions in the Holy Book that one who does not have an all-encompassing knowledge could not have answered them

14. There are many verses in the Holy Book beginning with ‘They ask you’ and continuing with ‘Say (in answer)’. The questions asked were about lawful or unlawful things, the distribution of war spoils, the mansions of the moon, the Judgment Day, Dhu’ l-Qarnayn (one of the ancient kings who made great conquests in Asia and Africa), the spirit and so on. One who does not have an all-encompassing knowledge cannot answer such questions. But the answers given by the unlettered Messenger satisfied everybody and no one could object to him. This shows that God, the All-Knowing, taught him.

15. As was explained earlier, the Messenger lived a very austere life and never pursued any worldly gains or aims like fame, rulership, wealth and having beautiful women. Furthermore, he had to resist hardships and persecutions of the severest kind. To claim that Muhammad invented the Holy Book means that Muhammad, who was known as Muhammad the Trustworthy, was the greatest liar and cheat history has ever known. What might have caused him to falsely claim Messengerhood despite the severest of deprivations and persecutions? To accuse the Messenger Muhammad of falsely claiming Messengerhood and attribute the Holy Book to him, is the most groundless and the most degrading and meanest of accusations.

It is another argument for the Divine authorship of the Holy Book that it refers to certain facts of creation recently established by modern scientific methods

16. How, except on account of its Divine authorship, is it possible for the Holy Book to be literally true on matters of which people had not the least inkling at the time when it was revealed? For example, if the Holy Book were not a Divine Revelation, would it have been possible for it to contain such a verse as this:

” Do not the unbelievers realize that the heavens and the earth were one unit of creation before we split them asunder (21.20)?”

The Holy Book really does refer, explicitly or implicitly, to the kinds of facts the sciences deal with, and the relationship between the Holy Book and modern sciences.

By M. Fethullah Gulen