The Amazing Quran

Introduction

One thing which surprises non-Muslims who are examining the book very closely is that the Quran does not appear to them to be what they expected.  What they assume is that they have an old book which came fourteen centuries ago from the Arabian desert; and they expect that the book should look something like that - an old book from the desert.  And then they find out that it does not resemble what they expected at all.  Additionally, one of the first things that some people assume is that because it is an old book which comes from the desert, it should talk about the desert.  Well the Quran does talk about the desert - some of its imagery describes the desert; but it also talks about the sea - what it’s like to be in a storm on the sea.

Merchant Marine

Some years ago, the story came to us in Toronto about a man who was in the merchant marine and made his living on the sea.  A Muslim gave him a translation of the Quran to read.  The merchant marine knew nothing about the history of Islam but was interested in reading the Quran.  When he finished reading it, he brought it back to the Muslim and asked, “This Muhammad, was he a sailor?” He was impressed at how accurately the Quran describes a storm on a sea.  When he was told, “No as a matter of fact, Muhammad lived in the desert,” that was enough for him.  He embraced Islam on the spot.

He was so impressed with the Quran’s description because he had been in a storm on the sea, and he knew that whoever had written that description had also been in a storm on the sea.  The description of

“…a wave, over it a wave, over it clouds” (Quran 24:40)

…was not what someone imagining a storm on a sea to be like would have written; rather, it was written by someone who knew what a storm on the sea was like.  This is one example of how the Quran is not tied to certain place and time.  Certainly, the scientific ideas expressed in it also do not seem to originate from the desert fourteen centuries ago.

The Smallest Thing

Many centuries before the onset of Muhammad’s prophethood, there was a well-known theory of atomism advanced by the Greek philosopher, Democritus.  He and the people who came after him assumed that matter consists of tiny, indestructible, indivisible particles called atoms.  The Arabs too, used to deal in the same concept; in fact, the Arabic word dharrah commonly referred to the smallest particle known to man.  Now, modern science has discovered that this smallest unit of matter (i.e., the atom, which has all of the same properties as its element) can be split into its component parts.  This is a new idea, a development of the last century; yet; interestingly enough, this information had already been documented in the Quran 34:3 which states:

“He [i.e., God] is aware of an atom’s weight in the heavens and on the earth and even anything smaller than that...”

Undoubtedly, fourteen centuries ago that statement would have looked unusual, even to an Arab.  For him, the dharrah was the smallest thing there was.  Indeed, this is proof, that the Quran is not outdated.

Honey

Another example of what one might expect to find in an “old book” that touches upon the subject of health or medicine is outdated remedies or cures.  Prophet, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, gave advice about health and hygiene, which are found in his Prophetic Traditions, and until today this advice is compelling and proven in the field of medicine.

The Quran is a divine revelation and so are the Prophetic Traditions. The Quran sheds light on some remedies as do the Prophetic Traditions; unlike Medical journals of today, there is no information that is outdated in the Quran and the Prophetic Traditions..In specific the Quran mentions one item that can be used as a treatment, which is not in dispute by anyone.  It states that in honey there is healing.  And certainly, I do not think that there is anyone who will argue with that!

Prophet Muhammad and the Quran

If one assumes that the Quran is the product of a man’s mind, then one would expect it to reflect some of what was going on in the mind of the man who “composed” it.  In fact, certain encyclopedias and various books claim that the Quran was the product of hallucinations that Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, underwent.  If these claims are true - if it indeed originated from some psychological problems in Muhammad’s mind - then evidence of this would be apparent in the Quran.  Is there such evidence? In order to determine whether or not there is, one must first identify what things would have been going on in his mind at that time and then search for these thoughts and reflections in the Quran.

It is common knowledge that Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, had a very difficult life.  All of his daughters died before him except one, and he had a wife of several years who was very dear and important to him, who not only proceeded him in death but died at a very critical period of his life.  As a matter of fact, she was quite a woman because when the first revelation came to him, he ran home to her, afraid.  Certainly, even today one would have a hard time trying to find an Arab who would tell you, “I was so afraid that I ran home to my wife.” They just aren’t that way.  Yet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, felt comfortable enough with his wife to be able to do that.  That’s how influential and strong woman she was.  Although these examples are only a few of the subjects that would have been on Muhammad’s mind, they are sufficient in intensity to prove my point.

The Quran does not mention any of these things - not the death of his children, not the death of his beloved companion and wife, not his fear of the initial revelations, which he so beautifully shared with his wife - nothing; yet these topics must have hurt him, bothered him, and caused him pain and grief during periods of his life.  Indeed, if the Quran was a product of his psychological reflections, then these subjects, as well as others, would be prevalent or at least mentioned throughout.

Scientific Approach to the Quran

A truly scientific approach to the Quran is possible because the Quran offers something that is not offered by other religious scriptures, in particular, and other religions, in general.  It is what scientists demand.  Today there are many people who have ideas and theories about how the universe works.  These people are all over the place, but the scientific community does not even bother to listen to them.  This is because within the last century the scientific community has demanded a test of falsification.  They say, “If you have theory, do not bother us with it unless you bring with that theory a way for us to prove whether you are wrong or not.”

Such a test was exactly why the scientific community listened to Einstein towards the beginning of the century.  He came with a new theory and said, “I believe the universe works like this; and here are three ways to prove whether I am wrong!” So the scientific community subjected his theory to the tests, and within six years it passed all three.  Of course, this does not prove that he was great, but it proves that he deserved to be listened to because he said, “This is my idea; and if you want to try to prove me wrong, do this or try that.”

This is exactly what the Quran has - falsification tests.  Some are old (in that they have already been proven true), and some still exist today.  Basically it states, “If this book is not what it claims to be, then all you have to do is this or this or this to prove that it is false.” Of course, in 1400 years no one has been able to do “This or this or this,” and thus it is still considered true and authentic.

Falsification Test

I suggest to you that the next time you get into dispute with someone about Islam and he claims that he has the truth and that you are in darkness, you leave all other arguments at first and make this suggestion.  Ask him, “Is there any falsification test in your religion? Is there anything in your religion that would prove you are wrong if I could prove to you that it exists - anything?”  Well, I can promise right now that people will not have anything - no test, no proof, nothing! This is because they do not carry around the idea that they should not only present what they believe but should also offer others a chance to prove they’re wrong.  However, Islam does that.

A perfect example of how Islam provides man with a chance to verify its authenticity and “prove it wrong” occurs in the 4th chapter.  And quite honestly, I was very surprised when I first discovered this challenge.  It states (Quran 4:82):

“Do they not consider the Quran?  Had it been from any other than Allah, they would surely have found therein much discrepancy.”

This is a clear challenge to the non-Muslim.  Basically, it invites him to find a mistake.  As a matter of fact, the seriousness and difficulty of the challenge aside, the actual presentation of such a challenge in the first place is not even in human nature and is inconsistent with man’s personality.  One doesn’t take an exam in school and after finishing the exam, write a note to the instructor at the end saying, “This exam is perfect.  There are no mistakes in it.  Find one if you can!” One just doesn’t do that.  The teacher would not sleep until he found a mistake! And yet this is the way the Quran approaches people.

Ask Those Who Have Knowledge

Another interesting attitude that exists in the Quran repeatedly deals with itsadvice to the reader.  The Quran informs the reader about different facts and thengives the advice: “If you want to know more about this or that, or if you doubt what issaid, then you should ask those who have knowledge.”  This too is a surprisingattitude.  It is not usual to have a book that comes from someone without training ingeography, botany, biology, etc., who discusses these subjects and then advises thereader to ask men of knowledge if he doubts anything.  Yet in every age there havebeen Muslims who have followed the advice of the Quran and made surprisingdiscoveries.  If one looks to the works of Muslim scientists of many centuries ago,one will find them full of quotations from the Quran.  These works state that they didresearch in such a place, looking for something.  And they affirm that the reasonthey looked in such and such a place was that the Quran pointed them in thatdirection.

For example, the Quran mentions man’s origin and then tells the reader,“Research it!” It gives the reader a hint where to look and then states that one shouldfind out more about it.  This is the kind of thing that Muslims today largely seem tooverlook - but not always, as illustrated in the following example.

Embryology

A few years ago, a group of men in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia collected all of theverses in the Quran which discuss embryology - the growth of the human being inthe womb.  They said, “Here is what the Quran says.  Is it the truth?” In essence, theytook the advice of the Quran: “Ask the men who know.” They chose, as it happened, anon-Muslim who is a professor of embryology at the University of Toronto.  Hisname is Keith Moore, and he is the author of textbooks on embryology - a worldexpert on the subject.  They invited him to Riyadh and said, “This is what the Quransays about your subject.  Is it true?  What can you tell us?”

While he was in Riyadh, they gave him all the help that he needed in translationand all of the cooperation for which he asked.  And he was so surprised at what hefound that he changed his textbooks.  In fact, in the second edition of one of hisbooks, called Before We Are Born... in the section about the history of embryology,he included some material that was not in the first edition because of what he foundin the Quran was ahead of its time and that those who believe in the Quran know whatother people do not know.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr.  Keith Moore for a televisionpresentation, and we talked a great deal about this - it was illustrated by slides and soon.  He mentioned that some of the things that the Quran states about the growth ofthe human being were not known until thirty years ago.  In fact, he said that one itemin particular - the Quran’s description of the human being as a “leech-like clot”(‘alaqah) [Quran 40:67] - was new to him; but when he checked on it, he found that itwas true, and so he added it to his book.  He said, “I never thought of that before,”and he went to the zoology department and asked for a picture of a leech.  When hefound that it looked just like the human embryo, he decided to include both picturesin one of his textbooks.

Although the aforementioned example of man researching informationcontained in the Quran deals with a non-Muslim, it is still valid because he is one ofthose who is knowledgeable in the subject being researched.  Had some laymanclaimed that what the Quran says about embryology is true, then one would notnecessarily have to accept his word.  However, because of the high position, respect,and esteem man gives to scholars, one naturally assumes that if they research asubject and arrive at a conclusion based on that research, then the conclusion isvalid.

Skeptic’s Reaction

Dr.  Moore also wrote a book on clinical embryology, and when he presentedthis information in Toronto, it caused quite a stir throughout Canada.  It was on thefront pages of some of the newspapers across Canada, and some of the headlineswere quite funny.  For instance, one headline read: “SURPRISING THING FOUNDIN ANCIENT PRAYER BOOK!” It seems obvious from this example that peopledo not clearly understand what it is all about.  As a matter of fact, one newspaperreporter asked Professor Moore, “Don’t you think that maybe the Arabs might haveknown about these things - the description of the embryo, its appearance and how itchanges and grows?  Maybe they were not scientists, maybe they did some crude dissections on their own - carved up people and examined these things.” Theprofessor immediately pointed out to him that he [i.e., the reporter] had missed avery important point - all of the slides of the embryo that had been shown and thathad been projected in the film had come from pictures taken through a microscope. He said, “It does not matter if someone had tried to discover embryology fourteencenturies ago.  They could not have seen it!”

All of the descriptions in the Quran of the appearance of the embryo are of theitem when it is still too small to see with the eye; therefore, one needs a microscopeto see it.  Since such a device had only been around for little more than two hundredyears, Dr.  Moore taunted, “Maybe fourteen centuries ago someone secretly had amicroscope and did this research, making no mistakes anywhere.  Then he somehowtaught Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, andconvinced him to put this information in his book.  Then he destroyed his equipmentand kept it a secret forever.  Do you believe that?  You really should not unless youbring some proof because it is such a ridiculous theory.” In fact, when he was asked,“How do you explain this information in the Quran?” Dr.  Moore’s reply was, “Itcould only have been divinely revealed!”

Geology

One of Professor Moore’s colleagues, Marshall Johnson, deals extensively withgeology at the University of Toronto.  He became very interested in the fact that theQuran’s statements about embryology are accurate, and so he asked Muslims tocollect everything contained in the Quran which deals with his specialty.  Againpeople were very surprised at the accuracy of the findings.  Since there are a vastnumber of subjects discussed in the Quran, it would certainly require a large amountof time to exhaust each subject.  It suffices for the purpose of this discussion to statethat the Quran makes very clear and concise and correct statements about varioussubjects while simultaneously advising the reader to verify the authenticity of thesestatements with research by scholars in those subjects.  And as illustrated by theprevious examples of embryology and geology, the Quran has clearly emergedauthentic.

You Did Not Know This Before!

Undoubtedly, there is an attitude in the Quran which is not found anywhereelse.  It is interesting how when the Quran provides information, it often tells thereader, “You did not know this before.” Indeed, there is no scripture that existswhich makes that claim.  All of the other ancient writings and scriptures that peoplehave do give a lot of information, but they always state where the information camefrom.

For example, when the Bible discusses ancient history, it states that this kinglived here, this one fought in a certain battle, another one had so many sons, etc.  Yetit always stipulates that if you want more information, then you should read the bookof so and so because that is where the information came from.  In contrast to thisconcept, the Quran provides the reader with information and states that thisinformation is something new.  Of course, there always exists the advice to researchthe information provided and verify its authenticity.  It is interesting that such aconcept was never challenged by non-Muslims fourteen centuries ago.  Indeed, theMakkans who hated the Muslims, and time and time again they heard suchrevelations claiming to bring new information; yet, they never spoke up and said,“This is not new.  We know where Muhammad got this information.  We learned thisat school.” They could never challenge its authenticity because it really was new! 

Proof of Authenticity: An Approach

It must be stressed here that the Quran is accurate about many, many things, butaccuracy does not necessarily mean that a book is a divine revelation.  In fact,accuracy is only one of the criteria for divine revelations.  For instance, thetelephone book is accurate, but that does not mean that it is divinely revealed.  Thereal problem lies in that one must establish some proof of the source of the Quran’sinformation.  The emphasis is in the other direction, in that the burden of proof is onthe reader.  One cannot simply deny the Quran’s authenticity without sufficientproof.  If, indeed, one finds a mistake, then he has the right to disqualify it.  This isexactly what the Quran encourages.

Once a man came up to me after a lecture I delivered in South Africa.  He wasvery angry about what I had said, and so he claimed, “I am going to go home tonightand find a mistake in the Quran.” Of course, I said, “Congratulations.  That is themost intelligent thing that you have said.” Certainly, this is the approach Muslimsneed to take with those who doubt the Quran’s authenticity, because the Quran itselfoffers the same challenge.  And inevitably, after accepting its challenge anddiscovering that it is true, these people will come to believe it because they could notdisqualify it.  In essence, the Quran earns their respect because they themselves havehad to verify its authenticity.

An essential fact that cannot be reiterated enough concerning the authenticity ofthe Quran is that one’s inability to explain a phenomenon himself does not requirehis acceptance of the phenomenon’s existence or another person’s explanation of it.  Specifically, just because one cannot explain something, it does not mean that onehas to accept someone else’s explanation.  However, the person’s refusal of otherexplanations reverts the burden of proof back on himself to find a feasible answer. This general theory applies to numerous concepts in life, but fits most wonderfullywith the Quranic challenge, for it creates a difficulty for one who says, “I do notbelieve it.” At the onset of refusal one immediately has an obligation to find anexplanation himself if he feels others’ answers are inadequate.

This familiarity with the information will give the person “the edge” when futurediscoveries are made and additional information is presented.  The important thing isthat one deals with the facts and does not simply discard them out of empathy anddisinterest.

Exhausting the Alternatives

The real certainty about the truthfulness of the Quran is evident in theconfidence which is prevalent throughout it; and this confidence comes from adifferent approach - “Exhausting the alternatives.” In essence, the Quran states,“This book is a divine revelation; if you do not believe that, then what is it?” In otherwords, the reader is challenged to come up with some other explanation.  Here is abook made of paper and ink.  Where did it come from? It says it is a divinerevelation; if it is not, then what is its source? The interesting fact is that no one hasyet come up with an explanation that works.  In fact, all alternatives have beenexhausted.  As has been well established by non-Muslims, these alternativesbasically are reduced to two mutually exclusive schools of thought, insisting on oneor the other.

On one hand, there exists a large group of people who have researched theQuran for hundreds of years and who claim, “One thing we know for sure - that man,Muhammad may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, thought he was aprophet.  He was crazy!” They are convinced that Muhammad was fooled somehow. Then on the other hand, there is a group which alleges, “Because of this evidence,one thing we know for sure is that that man, Muhammad was a liar!” Ironically, thesetwo groups never seem to get together without contradicting.

In fact, many references on Islam usually claim both theories.  They start out bystating that Muhammad was crazy and then end by saying he was a liar.  They neverseem to realize that he could not have been both! For example, if one is deluded andreally thinks that he is a prophet, then he does not sit up late at night planning, “Howwill I fool the people tomorrow so that they think I am a prophet?” He truly believesthat he is a prophet, and he trusts that the answer will be given to him by revelation.

The Critic’s Trail

As a matter of fact, a great deal of the Quran came in answer to questions.  Someone would ask Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, a question, and the revelation would come with the answer to it.  Certainly, if one is crazy and believes that an angel put words in his ear, then when someone asks him a question, he thinks that the angel will give him the answer.  Because he is crazy, he really thinks that.  He does not tell someone to wait a short while and then run to his friends and ask them, “Does anyone know the answer?”  This type of behavior is characteristic of one who does not believe that he is a prophet.  What the non-Muslims refuse to accept is that you cannot have it both ways.  One can be deluded, or he can be a liar.  He can be either one or neither one, but he certainly cannot be both!  The emphasis is on the fact that they are unquestionably mutually exclusive personality traits.

The following scenario is a good example of the kind of circle that non-Muslims go around in constantly.  If you ask one of them, “What is the origin of the Quran?” He tells you that it originated from the mind of a man who was crazy.  Then you ask him, “If it came from his head, then where did he get the information contained in it?  Certainly the Quran mentions many things with which the Arabs were not familiar.” So in order to explain the fact which you bring him, he changes his position and says, “Well, maybe he was not crazy.  Maybe some foreigner brought him the information.  So he lied and told people that he was a prophet.” At this point then you have to ask him, “If Muhammad was a liar, then where did he get his confidence?  Why did he behave as though he really thought he was a prophet?” Finally backed into a corner, like a cat he quickly lashes out with the first response that comes to his mind.  Forgetting that he has already exhausted that possibility, he claims, “Well, maybe he wasn’t a liar.  He was probably crazy and really thought that he was a prophet.” And thus he begins the futile cycle again.

As has already been mentioned, there is much information contained in the Quran whose source cannot be attributed to anyone other than God.  For example, who told Muhammad about embryology?  When people assemble facts such as these, if they are not willing to attribute their existence to a divine source, they automatically resort to the assumption someone brought Muhammad the information and that he used it to fool the people.

However, this theory can easily be disproved with one simple question: “If Muhammad was a liar, where did he get his confidence?  Why did he tell some people out right to their face what others could never say?” Such confidence depends completely upon being convinced that one has a true divine revelation.

A Revelation - Abu Lahab

Prophet Muhammad had an uncle by the name of Abu Lahab.  This man hated Islam to such an extent that he used to follow the Prophet around in order to discredit him.  If Abu Lahab saw the Prophet speaking to a stranger, he would wait until they parted and then would go to the stranger and ask him, “What did he tell you?  Did he say, ‘Black’?  Well, it’s white.  Did he say ‘morning’?  Well, it’s night.” He faithfully said the exact opposite of whatever he heard Muhammad and the Muslims say.  However, about ten years before Abu Lahab died, a little chapter in the Quran (Surah al-Lahab, 111) was revealed about him.  It distinctly stated that he would go to the fire (i.e., Hell).  In other words, it affirmed that he would never become a Muslim and would therefore be condemned forever.  For ten years all Abu Lahab had to do was say, “I heard that it has been revealed to Muhammad that I will never change - that I will never become a Muslim and will enter the Hellfire.  Well, I want to become Muslim now.  How do you like that?  What do you think of your divine revelation now?” But he never did that.  And yet, that is exactly the kind of behavior one would have expected from him since he always sought to contradict Islam.

In essence, Muhammad said, “You hate me and you want to finish me?  Here, say these words, and I am finished.  Come on, say them!” But Abu Lahab never said them.  Ten years! And in all that time he never accepted Islam or even became sympathetic to the Islamic cause.

How could Muhammad possibly have known for sure that Abu Lahab would fulfill the Quranic revelation if he (i.e., Muhammad) was not truly the messenger of Allah?  How could he possibly have been so confident as to give someone 10 years to discredit his claim of prophethood?  The only answer is that he was Allah’s messenger.

The Flight

Another example of the confidence which Muhammad had in his own prophethood and consequently in the divine protection of himself and his message is when he left Makkah and hid in a cave with Abu Bakr, may God be pleased with him, during their emigration to Madinah.  The two clearly saw people coming to kill them, and Abu Bakr was afraid.  Certainly, if Muhammad was a liar, a forger and one who was trying to fool the people into believing that he was a prophet, one would have expected him to say in such a circumstance to his friend, “Hey, Abu Bakr, see if you can find a back way out of this cave.” Or “Squat down in that corner over there and keep quiet.” Yet, in fact, what he said to Abu Bakr clearly illustrated his confidence.  He told him, “Do not worry, God is with us!” Now, if one knows that he is fooling the people, where does one get this kind of attitude?  In fact, such a frame of mind is not characteristic of a liar or a forger at all.

So, as has been previously mentioned, the non-Muslims go around and around in a circle, searching for a way out - some way to explain the findings in the Quran without attributing them to their proper source.  On one hand, they tell you on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, “The man was a liar,” and on the other hand, on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday they tell you, “He was crazy.” What they refuse to accept is that one cannot have it both ways; yet they need both theories, both excuses to explain the information in the Quran.

An Encounter with a Minister

About seven years ago, I had a minister over to my home.  In the particularroom which we were sitting there was a Quran on the table, face down, and so theminister was not aware of which book it was.  In the midst of a discussion, I pointedto the Quran and said, “I have confidence in that book.” Looking at the Quran but notknowing which book it was, he replied, “Well, I tell you, if that book is not the Bible,it was written by a man!” In response to his statement, I said, “Let me tell yousomething about what is in that book.” And in just three to four minutes, I related tohim a few things contained in the Quran.  After just those three or four minutes, hecompletely changed his position and declared, “You are right.  A man did not writethat book.  The Devil wrote it!” Indeed, possessing such an attitude is veryunfortunate - for many reasons.  For one thing, it is a very quick and cheap excuse. It is an instant exit out of an uncomfortable situation.

As a matter of fact, there is a famous story in the Bible that mentions how oneday some of the Jews were witnesses when Jesus, peace be upon him, raised a manfrom the dead.  The man had been dead for four days, and when Jesus arrived, hesimply said, “Get up!” and the man arose and walked away.  At such a sight, some ofthe Jews who were watching said disbelievingly, “This is the Devil.  The Devil helpedhim!” Now this story is rehearsed very often in churches all over the world, andpeople cry big tears over it, saying, “Oh, if I had been there, I would not have been asstupid as the Jews!” Yet, ironically, these people do exactly what the Jews did whenin just three minutes you show them only a small part of the Quran and all they cansay is, “Oh, the Devil did it.  The Devil wrote that book!” Because they are trulybacked into a corner and have no other viable answer, they resort to the quickest andcheapest excuse available. 

The Source of the Quran

Another example of people’s use of this weak stance can be found in theMakkans’ explanation of the source of Muhammad’s message.  They used to say,“The devils bring Muhammad that Quran!” But just as with every suggestion made,the Quran gives the answer.  One passage (Chapter Al-Qalam 68: 51-52) inparticular states:

“...and they say, ‘Surely he is possessed,’ but it [i.e., theQuran] is not except a reminder to the worlds.” 

Thus it gives an argument in reply to such a theory.  In fact, there are manyarguments in the Quran in reply to the suggestion that devils brought Muhammad hismessage.  For example, in the 26th chapter God, clearly affirms:

“No evil ones have brought it [i.e., this revelation] down.  Itwould neither be fitting for them, nor would they be able. Indeed they have been removed far from hearing it.” (Quran26:210-212) 

And in another place (Surah an-Nahl 16:98) in the Quran, God instructs us:

“So when you recite the Quran seek refuge in God from Satan, the cursed.” 

Now is this how Satan writes a book?  He tells one, “Before you read my book,ask God to save you from me?” This is very, very tricky.  Indeed, a man could writesomething like this, but would Satan do this? Many people clearly illustrate that theycannot come to one conclusion on this subject.  On one hand, they claim that Satanwould not do such a thing and that even if he could, God would not allow him to; yet,on the other hand, they also believe that Satan is only that much less than God.  Inessence they allege that the Devil can probably do whatever God can do.  And as aresult, when they look at the Quran, even as surprised as they are as to how amazingit is, they still insist, “The Devil did this!”

Praise be to God, Muslims do not have that attitude.  Although Satan may havesome abilities, they are a long way separated from the abilities of God.  And no Muslimis a Muslim unless he believes that.  It is common knowledge even among non-Muslimsthat the Devil can easily make mistakes, and it would be expected that he wouldcontradict himself if and when he wrote a book.  For indeed, the Quran states (Surah an-Nisa 4:82):

“Do they not consider the Quran? Had it been from other thanGod, they would surely have found therein much discrepancy.”

Mythomania

In conjunction with the excuses that non-Muslims advance in futile attempts tojustify unexplainable verses in the Quran, there is another attack often renderedwhich seems to be a combination of the theories that Muhammad was crazy and aliar.  Basically, these people propose that Muhammad was insane, and as a result ofhis delusion, he lied to and misled people.  There is a name for this in psychology. It is referred to as mythomania.  It means simply that one tells lies and then believesthem.  This is what the non-Muslims say Muhammad suffered from.  But theproblem with this proposal is that one suffering from mythomania absolutely cannotdeal with any facts, and yet the whole Quran is based entirely upon facts.  Everythingcontained in it can be researched and established as true.  Since facts are such aproblem for a mythomaniac, when a psychologist tries to treat one suffering fromthat condition, he continually confronts him with facts.

For example, if one is mentally ill and claims, “I am the king of England,” apsychologist does not say to him “No you aren’t.  You are crazy!” He just does not dothat.  Rather, he confronts him with facts and says, “O.K., you say you are the king ofEngland.  So tell me where the queen is today.  And where is your prime minister? Andwhere are your guards?” Now, when the man has trouble trying to deal with thesequestions, he tries to make excuses, saying “Uh...  the queen...  she has gone to hermother’s.  Uh...  the prime minister...  well he died.” And eventually he is cured becausehe cannot deal with the facts.  If the p