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08/03/17
Courtesy: Ramadan Legacy
Miracles of the Qur'an
Feb 27, 2017 | Featured Article
Allah (SWT) revealed the Qur'an to human beings as a book of guidance. It was revealed in the 7th century and has been preserved for over 1400 years without changing a single word. The Qur'an is the preeminent word of the Almighty, inimitable in style and absolute in nature. The matchless style of the Holy Book, its superior wisdom, and the miraculous attributes are definite evidence proving that the Qur'an is the word of the Almighty. It is a living miracle which can be studied from innumerable points of views and there is no end to this research. With the passage of time, the Qur'an is becoming new to newer and every day a new secret is revealed. The Holy Book has many unprecedented attributes; one of it is the fact that a number of scientific truths that we have only been able to discover in the 20th century were already stated in the Qur'an 1,400 years ago!
The Qur'an is and will remain a sole guide and a methodology of life for humanity but human knowledge is too weak and finite to help him understand everything about the existence and his tools of understanding is limited. The Book includes a lot of subtle points, mysteries, parables, riddles, and reasonings. There is no doubt that with passing time the greatness of the Qur'an, its miracles, mysteries, and secrets will be revealed. We must remember that the Qur'an is not only a book of science but also a book of 'signs'.
سَنُرِيهِمْ آيَاتِنَا فِي الْآفَاقِ وَفِي أَنفُسِهِمْ حَتَّىٰ يَتَبَيَّنَ لَهُمْ أَنَّهُ الْحَقُّ
We will show them Our signs in the horizons and within themselves until it becomes clear to them that it is the truth."
Surah Al-Fussilat, 41:53
Prof. Van der Hoven, a psychologist from Netherlands, announced his discovery of the healing effects of reading the Qu'ran and repeating the word 'Allah'. He said that Muslims who can read Arabic and who read the Qur'an on regular basis can protect themselves from psychological diseases. The psychologist explained how each letter in the word 'Allah' affects healing of psychological diseases. He pointed out in his research that pronouncing the first letter in the word 'Allah' which is the letter A, released from the respiratory system controls breathing; pronouncing the velar consonant L in the Arabic way, with the tongue touching slightly the upper part of the jaw producing a short pause and then repeating the same pause constantly relaxes the aspiration. Also pronouncing the last letter H makes a contact between the lungs and the heart and in turn this contact controls the heartbeat. What is exciting is that Prof. Hoven and many of his patients were non-Muslims, who do not speak Arabic and were trained to pronounce the word 'Allah' clearly.
مَرَجَ الْبَحْرَيْنِ يَلْتَقِيَانِ بَيْنَهُمَا بَرْزَخٌ لَّا يَبْغِيَانِ
He released the two seas, meeting [side by side]; Between them is a barrier [so] neither of them transgresses."
Surah Ar-Rahman, 55:19-20
Because of the physical force called 'surface tension', the waters of neighboring seas do not mix. This property of the seas, that they come together yet do not mingle with one another at all, have only recently been discovered by oceanographers. Due to the difference in the density of waters, surface tension prevents them from mingling with one another, just as if a thin wall were between them not visible to human eyes. Allah (SWT) created it by His decree and it prevents mixing of the fresh water with the salty water even though the two waters meet at the mouths of rivers. The fascinating side to this is that during the time when people had no knowledge of surface tension or oceanography; this was revealed in the Holy Qur'an.
بَلَىٰ قَادِرِينَ عَلَىٰ أَن نُّسَوِّيَ بَنَانَهُ
Yes. [We are] Able [even] to proportion his fingertips."
Surah Al-Qiyamah, 75:4
Human beings have fingerprints that are unique. Whether dead or alive each individual in this world has a specific set of fingerprints. For this very reason, fingerprints are accepted as a very important means of identity, exclusive to their owner, and are used as proof of identity around the world. But what is important is that this feature of fingerprints was only discovered in the late 19th century. Before then, people regarded fingerprints as ordinary circular patterns without any importance or meaning. However in the Qur'an, Allah (SWT) speaks about fingertips, which did not attract anyone's attention before, and finally, its importance was understood only in our times.
غُلِبَتِ الرُّومُ فِي أَدْنَى الْأَرْضِ وَهُم مِّن بَعْدِ غَلَبِهِمْ سَيَغْلِبُونَ فِي بِضْعِ سِنِينَ ۗ لِلَّهِ الْأَمْرُ مِن قَبْلُ وَمِن بَعْدُ ۚ وَيَوْمَئِذٍ يَفْرَحُ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ
The Byzantines have been defeated. In the nearest land. But they, after their defeat, will overcome. Within three to nine years. To Allah belongs the command before and after. And that day the believers will rejoice."
Surah Ar-Rum, 30:2-4
History says that the Byzantine Empire was severely defeated at the hands of the idolater Persians. But these verses were revealed few years after the defeat and yet it was stated in these verses that the empire would shortly gain victory. As the British historian Gibbon says, "Even after seven to eight years after this prediction of the Qur'an, the conditions were such that no one could even imagine that the Byzantine Empire would ever gain an upper hand. Not to speak of gaining domination, no one could hope that the empire, under any circumstances would even survive." This victory seemed so impossible that Arab polytheists had gone so far as to make fun of these verses. Around seven years after the revelation of the first verses of Surah Rum, in 627 AD, a decisive battle between Byzantium and the Persian Empire was fought. And this time the Byzantine army unexpectedly defeated the Persians. At the end, the victory of the Romans as proclaimed in the Qur'an came true.
وَالسَّمَاءَ بَنَيْنَاهَا بِأَيْدٍ وَإِنَّا لَمُوسِعُونَ
And the heaven We constructed with strength, and indeed, We are [its] expander."
Surah Adh Dhariyat, 51:47
The Qur'an states that the universe expands. And this is the very conclusion that science has reached today. Until the 20th century, the only view prevailing in the world of science was that "the universe has a constant nature and it has existed since infinite time". At the beginning of the 20th century, the Russian physicist, Alexander Friedmann and the Belgian cosmologist Georges Lemaitre theoretically calculated that the universe is in constant motion and that it is expanding. This fact was also proved by observational data in 1929. Edwin Hubble, the American astronomer, while observing the sky with a telescope, discovered that the stars and galaxies were constantly moving away from each other. These observations verified that the universe is constantly expanding. This fact was explained in the Qur'an when it was still unknown to anyone. This is because the Qur'an is the word of Al- Basit, the Expander, and Al- Khaliq, the Creator.
عَلَيْهَا تِسْعَةَ عَشَرَ
Over it are nineteen [angels]."
Surah Al-Muddaththir, 74:30
Based on this ayah, Dr. Rashad Khalifa established the fact that the Qur'an has its own mathematical code. Using computer science, he counted every letter and every word of the Qur'an. The computer data revealed that there was a close relationship between the letters, words and the number 19. He states that BismillahAr-RahmanAr-Rahim, the opening formula of the Qur'an in Arabic consists of 19 letters. Qur'an consists of 114 Surah (6×19=114). The first Qur'anic revelation, Surah Al-Alaq, 96:15 were of 19 words and these 19 words consist of 76 letters (19×4=76). The first Surah revealed, Surah Al-Alaq is in 19th position from the end of the Qur'an. It consists of 19 ayah and 285 letters (19×15=285). Last Surah revealed Surah An-Nasr consists of 19 words and the first ayah of this Surah consists of 19 letters. First word Bism, in BismillahAr-RahmanAr-Rahim occurs in the Qur'an exactly 19 times and the second word Allah, occurs 2698 times, a multiple of 19, (19×142=2698), third word Rahman occurs in the Qur'an 57 times, (19×3=57) and fourth word Rahim comes in the Qur'an 114 times, (19×6=114). BismillahAr-RahmanAr-Rahim is missing from Surah At-Tawbah but compensated in Surah An-Naml, ayah 30. This restores the frequency of this formula of imitation to 114 (19×6=114) and also the frequencies of the four constituent words of BismillahAr-RahmanAr-Rahim. Dr. Khalifa concluded that it is not humanly possible to compose a text of this size, format, and content of the Qur'an with these essential features.
فَاجْعَلْ أَفْئِدَةً مِّنَ النَّاسِ تَهْوِي إِلَيْهِمْ وَارْزُقْهُم مِّنَ الثَّمَرَاتِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَشْكُرُونَ
So make hearts among the people incline toward them and provide for them from the fruits that they might be grateful."
Surah Ibrahim, 14:37
Zamzam was the first among many fruits. Science unveiled new secrets about Zamzam water and the way it is influenced by the verses of the Holy Qur'an. Japanese scientist Masaru Emoto mentioned Zamzam water in his five volume book called "Messages from Water". He writes, "I have proven that Zamzam water, this peculiar liquid, is capable of thinking, fathoming, feeling, getting excited, and expressing itself." He conducted research on Zamzam water and found out that if one drop of Zamzam water mixes in 1000 drops of regular water, regular water will get the identical quality and structure like that of Zamzam water. He also found that a mineral in one drop of Zamzam water has its own importance and is not found in any other water on this earth. It is a miracle that Allah (SWT) holds the extraordinarily powerful aquifer for not throwing extra Zamzam water out of the well, otherwise the entire world would sink.Masaru Emoto also said, "When my Muslim colleague offered to recite Qur'anic verses over the water, the Qur'anic verses created the most perfectly shaped crystals. Then he played the 99 names of Allah (SWT). Each name produced a uniquely shaped crystal. SubhanAllah!
آتُونِي أُفْرِغْ عَلَيْهِ قِطْرًا
Bring me, that I may pour over it molten copper."
Surah Al-Kahf, 18:96
It is mentioned in the Qur'an that Dhu'l Qarnayn (may Allah be pleased with him) helped people against warmongering tribes called Yajuj and Majuj by trapping them behind a physical barrier built of iron and melted copper. The Qur'an gives us very specific details about the construction of this wall by mentioning the metals, iron, and copper. The properties of iron and copper are very distinct. Iron is one of the strongest metals on the planet. But despite its strength, when exposed to water, it rusts. Copper, on the other hand, is a relatively soft metal, does not rust when exposed to water and turns green upon oxidation. So Dhu'l Qarnayn built this magnificent wall using iron and then poured molten copper over it to keep it from rusting. The copper exterior turned green and blended in with the natural color of the earth, making it nearly impossible to locate it today. It is so amazing that the building of such a perfectly powerful structure is described in the Qur'an and is somewhere present on earth where we cannot find.
إِنَّا أَنزَلْنَاهُ قُرْآنًا عَرَبِيًّا لَّعَلَّكُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ
Indeed, We have sent it down as an Arabic Qur'an that you might understand."
Surah Yusuf, 12:2
Arabic was the most advanced and comprehensive language at the time when Qur'an was being revealed and is still the most comprehensive. The rhyming system in the Qur'an is known as "rhymed prose" and linguistic describe the use of this rhyme in the Qur'an as a miracle. In the Qur'an, 29 chapters begin with one or more symbolic letters which are known as the Muqatt'a letters. 80% of rhyme system in the Qur'an consists of just three sounds (n,m, a) containing letters Alif, Meem, Ya and Nun. Qur'an attains unique literary form by fusing together metrical and non-metrical speech. This fusion of composition is present throughout the whole of the Qur'an but cannot be found in any Arabic text, past or present. This is summarized by the famous Arabic literary scholar Arthur J. Arberry, "For the Qur'an is neither prose nor poetry, but a unique fusion of both." The Qur'an employed the same words which were used in the contemporary Arabic language and these were fashioned with such supreme skill that the simple words gave the Qur'an its peculiar style which has the grace of its own.
إِنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا الذِّكْرَ وَإِنَّا لَهُ لَحَافِظُونَ
Indeed, it is We who sent down the Qur'an and indeed, We will be its guardian."
Surah Al-Hijr 15:9
The Qur'an today is recited in the same manner as our Prophet Muhammad (SAW) used to recite. This makes it the only religious scripture that is still completely retained and understood in its original language. As Sir William Muir states, "There is probably no other book in the world which has remained twelve centuries (now fourteen) with so pure a text." The evidence above confirms Allah (SWT's) promise to protect the Qur'an. The Qur'an has been preserved in both written and oral format in a way no other book has, each form providing a check and balance for the accuracy of the other. Signs of Qur'an have different aspects, and scholars have exclusively covered each aspect. One of the aspects of the mystery of Qur'an is in terms of its rhetoric.
وَأَنَّهُ خَلَقَ الزَّوْجَيْنِ الذَّكَرَ وَالْأُنثَىٰ مِن نُّطْفَةٍ إِذَا تُمْنَىٰ
And that He creates the two mates – the male and female. From a sperm-drop when it is emitted."
Surah An-Najm, 53:45-46
In many cultures, it is believed that a baby's sex is determined by the female's body. Due to which women were blamed when they gave birth to a girl child. Information in the Qur'an states that male or female gender is created from a sperm and not by the mother's cells. Scientific research proves the accuracy of this information given by the Qur'an. It is now well understood that gender is determined by the sperm cells from the male and that the female has no role in this process. Two sets of 46 chromosomes are identified as the sex chromosomes. These two chromosomes are called XY in males and XX in females. The formation of a new human being begins with the cross combination of one of these chromosomes, which exist in males and females in pairs. If an X chromosome from the female unites with a sperm that contains an X chromosome, then the baby is female. If it unites with the sperm that contains a Y chromosome, the baby is male. In other words, a baby's sex is determined by which chromosome from the 'male' unites with the female's ovum. Astonishing it may sound but none of this was known until the discovery of genetics in the 20th century.
SubhanAllah, these are just a few of the wonders from the beautiful Qur'an amongst the countless known and yet to be known miracles. Allah (SWT's) knowledge is supreme, unending, far beyond the imagination of humans. After all the Book is Allah (SWT's) design, He is the Master, He is the Creator.
Neha Mohd. Qasim
Ph.D. student
Born in India and raised in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Currently, pursuing Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India.
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