Do You Know This Book ?

Do You Know This Book ? Introduction         This booklet is for every freethinking and broadminded human being       whose goal is to find the truth. We encourage you to read this booklet       with an open mind. For a few moments, please set aside your       pre—conceived notions and take a critical look at what is presented. It       will open before you a new dimension of your role as a human being in       this universe.        This booklet is for every freethinking and broadminded human being whose goal is  to find the truth. We encourage you to read this booklet with an open mind. For a  few moments, please set aside your pre—conceived notions and take a critical look  at what is presented. It will open before you a new dimension of your role as a  human being in this universe.                  When we want to talk about Islam as a way of life, it is a very difficult task       especially in the West because o f several misconceptions and stereotypes that       are prevalent about Islam and Muslims.         One of the surprising facts for most non-Muslims is that Islam has over 975       million followers all over the world. Islam has a revelation, a holy book, called       the Qur’an which was revealed to the prophet Muhammad peace be upon him,       about fourteen hundred years ago. The Qur’an is the last and final revelation       until the end of human existence on earth.         When we talk about Islam or Christianity, we should not consider some       Muslims ‘ and Christians’ wrongdoing as a way to judge Islam or Christianity.         As far as scripture goes, let us see what Dr. Maurice Bucailie said in his       book The Bible, the Qur’an and Science, which was published by the       American Trust Publications 1979:         “Thanks to its undisputed authenticity, the text of the Qur’an holds a       unique place among the books of Revelation, shared neither by the Old       nor the New Testament. In the first two sections of this work, a review       was made of the alterations undergone by the Old Testament and the       Gospels before they were handed down to us in the form we know today.       The same is not true for the Qur’an for the simple reason that It was       written down at the time of the prophet”.         Somebod1y with a counter argument might ask, "How would I know that       the Qur’an is a revelation from Allah? Do you have any evidence?’         I have evidence that the Qur’an is a revelation from Allah and this evidence       is presented in the next few pages. When the revelation of the Qur’an       commenced in 622 A.D., it was a linguistic miracle. The Quran has a challenge       in it. The challenge is for anybody to produce some thing like or similar to the       Qur’an.         This challenge was presented in the Qur’an in Sura No.17, Veise No.88       which is translated as follows:              “Say : If the whole of mankind and Jinn were together to            produce the like of this Qur’an, they could not produce the like            thereof, even if they back up each other with help and            support.”         Years passed and nobody was able to meet the challenge. Later (after       several years) the challenge in the Qur’an was eased asking for anyone       to produce even ten Suras like those in it. This was in the Quran in Sum       No. 11, Verse no. 13 which is translated as follows:              “Or they may say, “He forged it” Say, “Bring ye then ten            Suras forged, like unto it, and call (to your aid) whomsoever            ye can, other than Allah! If ye speak the truth”         Again years passed and nobody was able to successfully meet the       challenge. Later the challenge was eased for the second time to produce       one Sura like or similar to the Suras in the Qur'an.         The challenge (to anyone) to produce one Sura was presented in the       Qur’an in more than a Sura, one of them was in Sura No. 2, Verse No. 23 which       is translated as follows:              " And If ye are in doubt as to what We have revealed from            time to time to Our servant, then produce a Sura like            thereunto; and call your witnesses or helpers besides Allah, if            what you say is true. "         Since then more than fourteen hundred years have passed, and nobody       has been able to meet the challenge, and nobody will, because the       Qur’an is the only existing book containing the word of Allah which no man       can match or imitate. The most eloquent people in the Arabic language spent       years going over and searching the Qur’an, trying to find any weak or       Inadequate word or sentence, but they could not. They even went further, trying       to find a way to substitute a word or a sentence in the Qur'an, hoping to convey       a similar meaning as the original one, but they failed to do so.         As a result of this, many people, especially linguists, throughout the last       fourteen hundred years believed in the Qur’an as a revelation beyond       any human capacity.         In the beginning of the modern ages, some non-Muslims argued that the       appreciation of the Arabic language has declined even among the native       speakers themselves, and that most of the non-Muslims cannot speak Arabic.       They conclude that the Qur'an will not stay till the end of the human existence       on earth as a miracle.         This is not a valid argument because, there are still millions of people all       over the world who have a very good command of the Arabic language and       could appreciate the linguistic miracle of the Qur’an But the Quran has       something else for the modem ages. Some people have noticed that there are       many facts about the science of astronomy, human reproduction and other       scientific fields in the Qur’an.         Modem scientists have been amazed by the accuracy of scientific       information presented in the Quran. Some people wrote books about this       phenomenon which attracted the attention of many people in the       west-both Muslims and Non-Muslims.         One of these books is a specialized book in embryology entitled The       Developing Human by Dr.Keith L. Moore, published by W.B. Saunders,       1982. In the third edition of this book, Dr. Moore said:              It is cited in the Koran, the holy book of the Muslims, that            human beings are produced from a mixture of secretions from            the male and the female. Several references are made to the            creation of a human being from a sperm drop and it is also            suggested that the resulting organism settles in the woman            like a seed, six days after its beginning.              (The human blastocyst begins to implant about six days after            fertilization.) The Koran, (and prophet saying), also states            that the sperm drop develops “into a clot of congealed blood”            (an implanted blastocyst or a spontaneously aborted            conceptus would resemble a blood clot.)                   Reference is also made to the leech-like                 appearance of the Embryo ..."         This was part of what. Dr. Moore wrote in his         book Later, after more research and study of the Qur’anic terms used to       describe the development of the embryo in the mother’s womb and       other related descriptions, Dr. Moore found that the Qur’anic terms and       statements are amazing in their scientific accuracy.         Therefore, Dr. ‘Moore decided to add a chapter to the next edition of his       book to discuss the scientific accuracy of the Qur’anic version, which       was revealed fourteen hundred years ago. In the seventh Saudi Medical       Meeting, Dr. Moore wrote a paper about Human Embryology in the       Qur'an and the Hadith. He said in the paper 1 was amazed at the       scientific accuracy of these statements (in the Qur’an), which were       made in the 7th century A.D.         Now the question Is: if the Qur'an describes these scientific facts with       great accuracy, how, could’ it be a human work? Let us see what Dr.       Maurice Bucaille said after he had read the Qur’an:              “My first goal was to read the Qur’an and to make a sentence            by sentence analysis of it... my approach was to pay special            attention to the description of numerous natural phenomena            given in the Qur’an; the highly accurate nature of certain            details referring to them in the Book, which was only apparent            in the original, struck me’ by the fact that they were in            keeping with present-day ideas although a man living at the            time of Muhammad couldn't have suspected this at’ all... what            initially strikes the reader confronted for the first time with a            text of this kind is the sheer abundance of subjects            discussed.., where as monumental errors are to be found in            the Bible I could not find a single error in the Qur’an. I had to            stop and ask myself:              if a man was the author of the Qur’an how could he have            written facts in the seventh century A.D. that today are            shown to be in keeping with modern scientific knowledge?...              What human explanation can there be to this observation? In            my opinion there is no explanation; there is no special reason            why an inhabitant of the Arabian Peninsula should have had            scientific knowledge on certain subjects that was ten            centuries ahead...It is an established fact that at the time of            the Qur’anic Revelation, i.e. within a period of roughly twenty            three years straddling Hegira (622 A.D.), scientific knowledge            had not progressed for centuries and the period of activity in            Islamic civilization, with its accompanying scientific upsurge,            came after the close of the Qur’anic revelation.”                  In addition to what Dr. Bucaille said, there are more examples from       different scientific fields other than embryology.         When I searched the Qur’an for verses which refer to scientific facts, I       found a large number of such verses. I will try to give as many examples as the       space permits.         The Qur’an states several facts about astronomy which were discovered       in the late twentieth century. One of these facts is about the expansion       of the universe. Let us see what Dr. Bucaille said about that:                   The expansion of the universe is the most                 imposing discovery of modern science today it is a                 firmly established concept and the only debate                 centers around the way this is taking place.         It was first suggested by the general theory of relativity and is backed       up by physics in the examination of the                   galactic spectrum; the regular movement towards                 the red section of their spectrum may be explained                 by the distancing of one galaxy from another.                   Thus the size of the Universe is probably                 constantly increasing and this increase will become                 bigger the further away the galaxies are from us.                 The speeds at which these celestial bodies are                 moving may, in the course of this perpetual                 expansion, go from fractions of the speed of light                 to speeds faster than this.         The following Verse of the Qur'an Sura 51, verse 47 where God is speaking,       may perhaps be compared with modern ideas;         “The heaven, We have built it with power. Verily We are expanding it.                   “Heaven” is the translation of the word “sama”                 and this is exactly the extraterrestrial world that is                 meant. “We are. expanding it” is the translation of                 the plural present participle” musi’una” of the verb                 “aus'a” a meaning" to make wider”, more                 spacious, to extend, to expand.”         Another example from a different scientific field is about the living things       in general which we can find in more than one verse in the Qur’an. For       example Sura 21, Verse 30 was chosen by Dr. Bucaille to present how the       Qur’an talked about these scientific facts. The Verse is translated as follows:              “ Do not the Unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth            were joined together, then We clove them asunder and We            got every living thing out of the water. Will they then not            believe? ”         The notion of “getting something out of something” does not give rise to       any doubts. The phrase can equally mean that every living thing was       made of water (as its essential component) or that every living thing       originated in water. The two possible meanings are strictly in accordance       with scientific data. Life is in fact of aquatic origin and water is the major       component of all living cells. Without water, life is not possible. When the       possibility of life on another planet is discussed, the first question is       always: does it contain a sufficient quantity of water to support life?         From the Animal Kingdom there are so many facts stated in the Qur’an.       One of these facts is about the source of the constituents of animal milk       which has been described in the Qur’an fourteen hundred years before.       It has been understood only in recent times. Let us see how Dr. Bucaille       explained that when he made comments on Sura 16,Verse 66 which is       translated as follows:              “ Verily, in cattle there is a lesson for you. We give you to            drink of what is inside their bodies, coming from a conjunction            between the contents of the intestine and the blood, a milk            pure and pleasant for those who drink it.”         “From a scientific point of view, physiological notions must be called       upon to grasp the meaning of this verse.         The substances that ensure the general nutrition of the body come from       chemical transformations which occur along the length of the digestive       tract. These substances come from the contents of the intestine. On       arrival in the intestine at the appropriate stage of chemical       transformation, they pass through its wall and towards the systematic       circulation.         This passage is effected in two ways: either directly, by what are called the       ‘lymphatic vessels’, or indirectly, by the portal circulation.         This conducts them first to the liver, where they undergo alterations, and       from here they then emerge to join the systematic circulation. In this       way everything passes through the bloodstream..         The constituents of milk are secreted by the mammary glands.         These are nourished, as it were, by the product of food digestion brought       to them via the bloodstream. Blood therefore plays the role of collector       and conductor of what has been extracted from food, and it brings       nutrition to the mammary glands, the producers of milk, as it does to any       other organ. Here the initial process which sets everything else in motion       is the bringing together of the contents of the intestine and blood, at the       level of the intestinal wall itself. This very precise concept is the result of       the discoveries made in the chemistry and physiology of the digestive       system. It was totally unknown at the time of the Prophet Muhammad       and has been understood only in recent times. The discovery of the       circulation of the blood, was made by Harvey roughly ten centuries after.       The Qur’anic Revelation.         I consider that the existence in the Qur’an of the verse referring to these       concepts can have no human explanation on account of the period in       which they were formulated.”         The last example I would cite from Dr. Bucaille’s book is what I consider a       very interesting one, because this example illustrates where the Qur’an       showed the people facts that have not even been discovered without the       help of the information given in the Qur’an. This example is about the       story of the Pharaoh and Noses which was presented in the Qur’an in       more than one Sura.         The Verses which inspire Dr. Bucaille to do the research around this       incident are in Sura 10, Verses 90 to 92, which means as follows:              “We (Allah) took children of Israel across the sea. Pharaoh            with his hosts pursued them in rebellion and hostility till,            when the fact of his drowning overtook him he said: I believe            there is no True God except the God in whom the Children 0]            Israel believe. I am of those who submit themselves to Him.            (It was said to him)’ Now! Thou has rebelled and caused            depravity: This day We save thee in thy body so that thou            mayest be a sign for those who come after thee’ But verily,            many among mankind are heedless of Our signs.                       This is what the Holy Qur’an said about the story of Moses and the       Pharaoh and the sign Allah left for the people who come after the       Pharaoh to see who has a revelation from Allah and who does not have.       Let us hear from Dr. Bucaille how he conducted research to verify this       Qur’anic story:                   “In June 1975, the Egyptian high authorities very                 kindly allowed me to examine the parts of the                 Pharaoh’s body that had been covered until then.                 They also allowed me to take photographs...                   What may already be derived from this                 examination is the discovery of multiple lesions of                 the bones with broad lacunae, some of which may                 have been mortal although it is not yet possible to                 ascertain whether some of them occurred before                 or after the Pharaoh’s death. He most probably                 died either from drowning, according to the                 scriptural narrations, or from very violent shocks                 preceding the moment when he was drowned or                 both at once.                   The connection of these lesions with the                 deterioration whose sources have been mentioned                 above renders the correct preservation of the                 mummy of the Pharaoh somewhat problematical,                 unless precautionary and restorative measures                 are not taken very soon. These measures should                 ensure that the only concrete evidence which we                 still possess today concerning the death, of the                 Pharaoh of the Exodus and the rescue of his body,                 willed by God; does not disappear with the                 passage of time.                   It is always desirable for man to apply himself to                 the preservation of relics of his history, but here                 we have something which goes beyond that: it is                 the material presence of the mummified body of                 the man. who knew Moses, resisted his pleas,                 pursued him as he took flight and lost his life in the                 process. His earthly remains were saved by the                 Will of God from destruction to become a sign to                 man, as it is written in the Qur’an.              Those who seek among modern data for proof of the veracity            of the Holy Scriptures will find a magnificent illustration of the            verses of the Qur’an dealing with the Pharaoh’s body by            visiting the Royal Mummies Room of the Egyptian Museum,            Cairo!”         These are a few examples just to illustrate what I am talking about in       this booklet. There are over a hundred of these examples in several       scientific fields in the Quran which all have been proven to be       scientifically true; in this Book which was revealed fourteen hundred       years ago. Anybody who would like to examine more of these concepts       could read the Qur’an and find out for himself or, an interested person       could get Dr. Bucaille’s book The Bible The Qur’an and Science, which is       available in bookstores and check the accuracy of what he referred to.       Not only Dr. Bucaille and Dr. Moore, but many scholars have researched       these concepts and a lot of this research was presented on September       23rd, 1985 in the conference which was held in Cairo under the title of       The Scientific Concepts in the Qur’an.         Severa1 papers were presented at the conference. One of the most       interesting papers was from Dr. T.V. persuade, a professor at the       University of Manitoba, Canada, about human reproduction. Another       interesting paper was presented by Dr. Marshal Johnson Ph.D., the       Director of Daniel Baugh Institute, Philadelphia, U.S.A., also about       embryology in the Qur’an. Dr. Johnson said at the conference that he       started to use the Qur’anic terms in teaching embryology to his students       because they were more accurate and easier to learn than the terms in       textbooks.                   Dr. Arthur Elson from the City University in London,                 U.K., stated that he was amazed by the scientific                 accuracy of the statements which had been made                 in the Qur’an. He had no doubt in his mind that                 these were not human words because these facts                 had lust been discovered recently.         I would like to quote a Verse from the Qur’an which may sum up the       purpose of having these scientific facts in the Quran as signs for the       people.                  The verse is from Sura 41, Verse 53 which is translated as follows:              " We (Allah) will show them (the unbe lievers) Our signs in            the farthest regions, and within their own selves until it            becomes manifest to them that this is the Truth.”           What is the Qur'an all about ?         The Qur'an is written in beautiful prose that continues to be marvelled by       the experts of the Arabic language. But it is not merely a literary       masterpiece.         The Qur'an contains scientific facts and explanations that fascinate       scientists of all fields. But it Is not an encyclopedia of science.         The Quran mentions stories of people and places in the past with vivid       detail. But it is not merely a book of history.                So what is Qur'an ?         The Qur'an is a revelation from the Creator of this universe to all human       beings.         Its most important message is the Unity of God - that there is only One       Supreme Being who has no partners and is not dependent on anyone or       anything. He is the Creator of everything and the whole universe is in His       control. He is the only One worthy of being worshipped.         It is impossible for the created to fully comprehend the Creator - so the       Qur'an makes us aware of Him by mentioning His Attributes. He is the       most Merciful, the Loving, the Majestic, the Oft-Forgiving. The name that       He has chosen for Himself is Allah.         In His infinite mercy, Allah has not left mankind to wander searching for       the correct path. He has revealed the Qur'an which includes a code for       all people to follow. Islam is not just a set of beliefs. It is a complete way       of life which covers all spheres of human activity - the social, economic,       political, educational as well as the spiritual. Islam enjoins good       manners for every occasion and stresses treating people, particularly       relatives and neighbors, with kindness. The family enjoys a high status       in Islam - it is viewed as the nucleus of society.         Allah has also sent messengers to guide mankind to the truth and to be       an example for others to emulate. Stories of these messengers starting       from Adam and including those of Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus, and       ending with Muhammad ( may peace be upon them all ) are found in the       Qur'an.         ThiS final revelation from Allah to mankind has been safeguarded from       any alteration. Since the Qur'an has been preserved in its original Arabic       it has not lost any meaning in translation to another language. Millions of       people from all parts of the world have memorized the complete Qur'an.       So even if all printed copies of the Qur'an were destroyed it would       continue to live in the hearts of these people.