The Qur'an the Ultimate Miracle

1     10.1 The Quran- Introduction
2     10.2 The Quran- Source of the Quran I- Internal Evidence
3     10.3 The Quran- Source of the Quran II - Impossibility of Muhammad’s Authorship
4     10.4 The Quran- Source of the Quran III- Absence of Personal Motives
5     10.5 The Quran- Source of the Quran IV- Epilepsy: Unscientific Explanation
6     10.6 The Quran- Source of the Quran V- Religious Illusions
7     10.7 The Quran- Source of the Quran VI- Religious Illusions II
8     10.8 The Quran- Source of the Quran VII- Learning from Others
9     10.9 The Quran- Source of the Quran VIII- Borrowing from the Bible I
10     10.10 The Quran- Source of the Quran IX- Borrowing from the Bible II
11     10.11 The Quran- Source of the Quran X- Borrowing from the Bible III
12     10.12 The Quran- Source of the Quran XI- Borrowing from the Bible IV
13     10.13 The Quran- The Quran & Modern Sciences I- Reservations/Comparisons
14     10.14 The Quran- The Quran & Modern Sciences II- Comparisons with the Bible
15     10.15 The Quran- The Quran & Modern Sciences III- Water Cycle
16     10.16 The Quran- The Quran & Modern Sciences IV- The Universe
17     10.17 The Quran- The Quran & Modern Sciences V- Astronomy
18     10.18 The Quran- The Quran & Modern Sciences VI - Geology, Botany, Zoology
19     10.29 The Quran- The Quran & Modern Sciences VII - Human Reproduction I
20     10.20 The Quran- The Quran & Modern Sciences VII - Human Reproduction II

اسم الكتاب: القرآن هو المعجزة الخاتمة


تأليف: جمال بدوي


نبذة مختصرة: مجموعة من المقالات من موقع الدكتور جمال بدوي موضوعها القرآن وأنه الكتاب المعجز الخاتم.

The Qur'an the Ultimate Miracle


Summary of Series
In the first four series of the program basically focused on the matters of belief.  The first one was about monotheism, second dealt with Prophethood, third dealt with Muhammad in the Bible or the his advent in the Old and New Testament, the fourth dealt with other aspects of Islamic belief such as the soul, life, resurrection and related issues.  This amalgam of the first four series, which was made up of 40 programs, was basically an elaboration on the first and fundamental Pillar of Islam the Testimony of Faith.  The fifth series picked up the other four Pillars of Islam (the devotional acts): the five daily prayers, charity, fasting and pilgrimage.  The sixth series focused on the Moral Teachings in Islam.  This dealt with the question of ethics in general, basic questions about the nature of the human, the human’s position in the universe and how he relates to other people, the creator and to the environment.  There were reasonably detailed discussions about the forbidden and lawful issues in matters of food, drinks, clothing, behavior and the question of sexual morality.
The last ten programs in that series dealt with the basic moral virtues in Islam.  The seventh, eighth and night series went beyond the matters of belief, worship and moral teachings to examine Islam as a complete way of life.  The seventh dealt with the social system of Islam.  It looked into general issues such as the universal brotherhood of mankind, brotherhood of the faithful, social responsibility in Islam.  The major part of that series focused on the woman Islam and the position of women and the role of family in the Islamic way of life.  The eighth series took the Economic System of Islam which dealt with the question of consumption, production and distribution within the Islamic framework, riba or interest and how to establish and economy without it, a great deal of the attention was given to the Muslim contribution to civilization and science which was one aspect of Muslim attitude towards production and productivity with a focus on an alternative to mortgage.  The last series dealt with the Political System of Islam in terms of its basic foundations, principles and the basic political process according to Islam, the ideal situation that Islam teaches, the question of succession of the Prophet, we went into details about the virtues of the companions of the Prophet.  We showed that the Prophet left the choice to his followers to chose who would follow him as their leader.  We discussed other guiding principles like freedom and justice and the rights of non-Muslims minorities in an Islamic State.  The last three series dealt with Islam as a way of life.  Throughout all nine series we have been quoting the Quran and the Prophetic Tradition (Hadith).  We however never went into depth of examining these basic sources of Islam, what is the source from which these teachings are derived which is what we hope to accomplish in this series.
 
10.1     Introduction
Host:  Give us an overview of what to expect from this series.
Jamal Badawi:
There are two primary sources in Islam: the Quran and the Prophetic Sayings or Hadith.  There are secondary sources which are based on the first two sources.  As far as the first source, the most basic and fundamental one, we hope to look into some of the basic definitions, the nature of the Quran, how it differs from other revelations, we will examine the Quran’s source, who was the author of the Quran, we will try to verify facts.  Third, we will cover the revelation of the Quran and how it was revealed, how were the Surahs (chapters) organized, how the Ayat (verses) put together.  A fourth aspect would be the history of the Quran’s compilation and recording.  It is crucial that we figure out whether the Quran is still the same as when it was revealed to the Prophet or not.  We will address the question of the “challenge of the Quran” which may relate to the manifestation of its source.  We may touch on the Sciences of the Quran which developed very early in the history of Islam which studied the Quran, authority and authenticity.  Similar questions can be applied to Prophetic sayings.  This all relates to the methodology of finding the proper sources of information about Islamic Teachings.
 
Host:  What does the word Quran mean?
Jamal Badawi:
The word Quran comes from Qara’ which has two related meanings.  The most common meaning is reading or recitation.  A second meaning is to put together or compile.  This could also be a reference to the compilation of the different chapters.  In terms of a definition of the Quran the most common and unanimously agreed upon definition is that it is the word of Allah (God) which was revealed to His last Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and mere recitation makes is an act of worship.  If we look into the elements of that definition it is first the word of God which makes it distinct from the words of any other human being, even the words of Muhammad (PBUH) when he is not receiving revelation is not regarded as Quran.  Second, it is the revealed part of the word of Allah.  This brings to our attention the realization that no all of the words of God have been revealed to us as the knowledge of God is infinite.  This is what He chose to communicate to us.  A third qualification of the definition is that it is not only the revealed word of Allah but that it was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).  We recognize that Allah has revealed scriptures and teachings to previous Prophets throughout history but these are not part of the Quran which is the last revelation particularly the one that has come through the last Prophet.  The fourth part of the definition is that not only is the meaning of the Quran holy but its own words are holy because it is the direct word of God.  The meaning was not inspired into the heart of the Prophet and then the Prophet used his words to convey them, but rather it is the verbatim the words of God.  It is common among Muslims to recite Quran as an act of worship, because it is a devotional act in itself.  Even in Muslim countries where Arabic is not the mother tongue people still try hard to recite the Quran as an act of worship.  Of course it is more desirable to be able to understand in addition to reciting the Quran.  Just like the term Islam which was not a term given by outsiders, a race of people or group the Quran as a holy book is also in the Quran.  There are nearly 70 places in the Quran where the term Quran appears in the Quran itself.
 
Host: Are there other names used for the Quran?
Jamal Badawi:
Yes there are.  The Quran was given the name of Al Kitab, The Book.  Dr. Draz a very prominent author on the subject of the Quran indicates that the fact that it is called Quran, which comes from recitation and Kitab which comes from writing is a reflection of the double protection through recitation as well as through preservation.  Another name given to the Quran which appears in the beginning of the 25th Surah is Al Furqan which means the criterion.  This is the criterion that divides between truth and falsehood, between right and wrong.  Of course the revelation of God is the truth so it shows us the right path or the criterion for distinction.  It is also mentioned in Surah 15 as Al Thikr, the reminder, because it reminds us of our creator of our duty, of our destiny and returning back to our creator.  It is also given the name of Al Tanzeel which means the revelation as we find in (26:192).
In the Quran in (4:174) it is called Nuran Mubina: a manifest light because it brought people from darkness to the true path of the authentic teaching of the creator.  It is also described as Hudan as mentioned in the beginning of the second Surah in the Quran which means guidance.  It is called Shifa’a or healing because it heals the heart, psychological or spiritual diseases, people who are suffering or feel sad can go to the Quran to find soothing.  It is called Mouitha or exhortation and as Bashiran wa Nathiran, bringing of glad tidings and warning.  Mubarak, blessed, Aziz, honored, Majede, glorious and one of the most beautiful names of the Quran is Rahmah, mercy.  The Quran is mercy unto mankind, it is mercy because by following the Quran, the last revealed word of the Creator people can learn to be merciful to each other and themselves and they qualify themselves to deserve mercy.  Sometimes we find that in a single passage in the Quran more than a single name is given to the Quran.  An example is found in (10:57) “O mankind! there hath come to you a Direction from your Lord and a Healing for the (diseases) in your hearts,- and for those who believe, a Guidance and a Mercy.”  Regardless of which name is used to refer to the Quran, the more common name, it is quite different from any other revelation including the Hadith.
 
Host:  How is the Quran different from the Prophetic Sayings?
Jamal Badawi:
While both the Quran and Hadith were uttered by Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) they are kept totally distinct with totally different styles.  In the case of the Quran, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) had no control over the words because the Quran was dictated to him both in meaning and in word.  The Hadith which is also uttered by him but is distinctly separate from the Quran he may have received inspiration from God but not the words which then allowed him to use his own words to explain it.  Since we made the distinction between the Quran, revelation in word and meaning and Hadith, revelation of meaning there are two broad categories.  One is called Hadith Qudsi, Divine Hadith which is an inspiration to the Prophet in meaning but where he says “God revealed” so it is like quoting the Creator but which is separate from the Quran.  This doesn’t mean that the Prophet received the exact wording of the saying even though he may say God says this.  We find many instances in the Quran where it talks about the stories of different Prophets where it quotes the essence of what they said but not verbatim.  The second category is the Prophetic Sayings which have two types.  There are Prophetic sayings which are derived from basic revelation given to the Prophet.  This means that the meaning of the Hadith was revealed to Prophet Muhammad but the Prophet used his own words to express it which is called Touqifi.
The second type is Toufiqi which means that the Prophet did not receive a specific revelation but he based his saying on contemplation, thought and his understanding of the Quran.  The second category is subject to correction.  We find that whenever the Prophet said something that was contrary to the Will of the Creator he was immediately corrected.  With this distinction of Prophetic sayings and the subdivision within them we find that in all cases they are distinct from the Quran in four basic ways.  One the Quran is a revelation in meaning and words, two the mere recitation of the Quran is an act of worship but reciting the words of the Prophet is not an act of worship, third the Quran contains a challenge for mankind to produce anything similar to it and the Hadith doesn’t (in other words the Quran asserts that it is impossible for anyone to emulate in its beauty and wisdom) and fourthly the compilation and collection of the Quran has been done in a way that leaves absolutely no doubt about its authenticity because it came through multitudes through writing and memorization.  There are some categories of Prophetic sayings that are close to the Quran in authenticity but not all of them are the same.
 
Host:  If the Quran was dictated word for word, what then was the role of Prophet Muhammad?
Jamal Badawi:
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was not just a tape recorder.  Yes he was directed by Allah to recite the Quran exactly as it was dictated, but if he had no role whatsoever the Quran could have been revealed on a tape, video or tablet without the agency of any human being.  What was his role did he play if he was simply repeating the dictation given by Angel Gabriel?  First of all, he had the duty to understand and comprehend the Quran as well as memorize it.  Second, he had the duty to communicate it to man kind who could relate and understand better when another human communicates rather than when an unknown voice or equipment communicates this.  Third, the Prophet was not simply to receive the Quran and communicate it but he was supposed to exemplify it and he did in his own life and he applied it in the society and  Muslim community around him.  Fourth he had the duty of interpreting the Quran.  Sometimes the Quran dealt with broader issues and problems which needed interpretation and how to apply it was part of his role.  All of these roles were very important and required a human model to show how the Quran could become a living reality in the lives of the believers.
 
Host:  Some Orientalist make between Prophet Jesus (PBUH) and the Quran which are both regarded as the word of God by their followers, how do you comment on this comparison?
Jamal Badawi:
While the comparison may sound logical suffers from basic flaws.  Some Orientalist say that the basic difference between Muslims and Christians is that in Christianity the word became flesh in the form of Jesus and for the Muslims it was a book.  So here we are talking about a book and flesh.  To start with the Quran says that Jesus was a word from God, but the meaning of this is a little different than what the Christian theologians normally attached to the term.  To Christians the word of God means divine because it is part of God, but when the Quran speaks about this it speaks in plural and mentions Jesus no as the one and only word of God but as a word from him.  What this word means is explained elsewhere in the Quran as it says that the command of God when He wills something is simply to tell it to Be and it is.  In the tenth chapter of the Quran that if the sea was like ink for the words of God the words of God would not be exhausted.  So the words of God are plural and the word Be is a reflection of that.
To the Muslim Jesus was a word, so was Mohammad are you and I and everybody else.  Secondly it is incorrect to compare the Quran with Jesus and to say they are analogous.  In that sense Jesus and Muhammad are similar, both of them are words of God like everybody else and both of them received a book like everybody else.  When the analogy is made that the essence of the word of God in Christianity is in Jesus and the case of Islam it is in a book it seems to give the wrong impression that it is a book verses a person.  As I have indicated in the answer to the previous question that the role of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was not simply to utter the words of the Quran but living the Quran, exemplifying that in his life and in the life of the community around him.  No wonder that we find that when his wife Aisha (May Allah Be Pleased With Her) was asked what was the character of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) her answer was very simple “His character was the Quran.”  This means he was a living Quran, a walking Quran.  The Quran is not just a book because the Prophet was exemplary of it.
 
Summary of 10.1 "Introduction"
We first began with preliminary remarks as to how this series connects with previous series.  It was an overview of the topics that fall under the broader tittle of Sources of Islam.  Then we addressed basic questions such as the word Quran, which used to be referred to as Koran, but Quran is more accurate.  We addressed where it comes from, its different names which appear in the Quran: for example the Book, the Criterion and the significance of these names in expressing the nature of the Quran..  We discussed briefly how the Quran, as the word of Allah, differed from Hadith which is the Prophetic sayings.  Mainly we discussed the issue that the Quran was given in meaning and word to the Prophet unlike the Hadith.  We indicated that the fact that the Quran was dictated to the Prophet word for word doesn’t mean that his role was simply like a tape recorder.  His role included understanding, communicating and applying the Quran in his own life and in the life of the community.  In a way he exemplified and interpreting the Quran for the people in his role as a living Quran.  In fact not just a book was given to the people but a model of how that book becomes a reality in the lives of the people.
 
10.2     Source of the Quran I - Internal Evidence
Host:  How do we know who the author of the Quran is?
Jamal Badawi:
There are a number of sources on this subject in Arabic such as Al Naba’ Al Atheem.  There are also writings on the subject by Rasheed Rida, Alwahi Muhamaddi by Muhamad Lutfi Juma’a, Thouwrat Al Islam Wa Batal Al Anbia.  There is a little booklet that was published by the Islamic Society of North America that is “Muhammad: A Prophethood and Analytical View” which touches on this subject in English.  As Dr. Draz suggests we can start with something that everyone agrees is true regardless of whether they are a Muslim, non-Muslim, believer in God or atheist everybody acknowledges that the Quran was recited for the first time by a man who was born in Arabia in the sixth century by the name of Muhammad (PBUH).  This leaves us with the basic question of the source of the Quran.  It would appear that there are only three logical possibilities.  One that the Quran was authored by Prophet Muhammad himself.  Second is that he was not the author of the Quran but he learned it from other human authors.  Third, that the Quran didn’t have any other author but that it came from God.  It is only through  a carful examination of each of these possibilities, comparison of the variety of evidence (internal and external evidence) that we may arrive at a reasonable conclusion as to who the author of the Quran is.
 
Host:  What do you mean when you use the term external evidence?
Jamal Badawi:
Internal evidence is evidence found in the Quran itself about its source aside from what is being said about the Quran.  The essence of this internal evidence is that the Quran was not authored by Prophet Muhammad or any other human being but that it was a direct revelation from God.  The first time when Prophet Muhammad received revelation when he was meditating in the cave of Hirra’a outside of Mecca, Angel Gabriel came to him held him and said “Iqra’a.”  He said Iqra’a, recite, then he said recite in the name of your Lord who creates.  These were the first verses or passages of the Quran reveled to the Prophet.  It is obvious from the wording that read is a command given to the Prophet and he can not be an author of this.  This appears in Surah 96.  It is no wonder that we find that the Surahs of the Quran start with “In the name of Allah the Beneficent the Merciful.”
In the Quran we find numerous passages that the Quran did not come from any human and emanated from the Creator.  An example is that the Quran in (56:80) “A revelation which came down from the Lord of the worlds.”  In (57:16) “the Truth which has been revealed.”  In the Quran in (25:1) “Blessed is He who sent down the criterion to His servant, that it may be an admonition to all creatures.”  “We have sent down to thee the Book in truth, that thou mightest judge between men, as guided by Allah. so be not (used) as an advocate by those who betray their trust”(4:105).
“It is He Who sent down to thee (step by step), in truth, the Book, confirming what went before it; and He sent down the Law (of Moses) and the Gospel (of Jesus) before this, as a guide to mankind, and He sent down the criterion (of judgment between right and wrong)”(3:3).  “(We sent them) with Clear Signs and Books of dark prophecies; and We have sent down unto thee (also) the Message; that thou mayest explain clearly to men what is sent for them, and that they may give thought”(16:44).  “We have, without doubt, sent down the Message; and We will assuredly guard it (from corruption)”(15:9).  In (26:192-194) of the Quran it describes the Quran “Verily this is a Revelation from the Lord of the Worlds: With it came down the spirit of Faith and Truth- to they heart and mind, that thou mayest admonish.”  It is repeated in the Quran that the source of the Quran emanates from the Creator not from any other author.
 
Host:  Is there any indication that it is Allah who is speaking in the Quran rather than any person?
Jamal Badawi:
The examination of the Quran shows that there isn’t a single passage in the Quran which gives any impression that the author is human.  I am talking about the style and the way it addresses mankind.  The thing which becomes quite evident for anyone who examines the Quran even without any background about Islam is to notice that the address there is from the creator to the creators.  It is not like someone who is telling a story or writing a biography, but rather it is a direct address from the Creator to the human being.  Many times God speaks in first person and sometimes by using the phrase “say.”  In (15:26) “We created man from sounding clay, from mud moulded into shape.”  Notice the term “We” that God uses to refer to Himself does’t mean that God is plural but in majestical language a King says “We the King” not “I the King.”  In (15:85) God says “We created not the heavens, the earth, and all between them, but for just ends.”  The use of an imperative, which is when God speaks and tells the Prophet say such and such, I have counted 340 places in the Quran where God addresses the Prophet by commanding him to “say.”  How could the Prophet be the author when he is constantly being commanded to tell the people such and such.  Examples of that are found in the last three Surahs (112, 113 and 114) which all start with Qul “Say O Muhammad unto mankind.”  This is not the only imperative used but sometimes the term baliqh, proclaim, is used or utlu, recite.  Some examples of this are found in (15:49), (18:27) are examples of God speaking with imperatives.  In other words when we look at the style of the Quran and the way it addresses the human kind it is obvious it is not the words of any human being.  The human being in this case, Prophet Muhammad, is simply a medium who is told to tell people what God wishes.
 
Host:  Are there any passages that negate any claim to human authorship of the Quran?
Jamal Badawi:
Yes, an example is one of the most famous and widely quoted Ayah, passage, in the Quran in (17:88) “Say: "If the whole of mankind and Jinns were to gather together to produce the like of this Qur'an, they could not produce the like thereof, even if they backed up each other with help and support.”  A second example is the Quranic response to those who had doubt if the Prophet himself had anything to do with the Quran or if he was the source of the Quran in (7:203) “If thou bring them not a revelation, they say: “Why hast thou not got it together?”  Say “I but follow what is revealed to me from my Lord: this is (nothing but) lights from your lord, and Guidance, and mercy, for any who have faith.”  In (10:15) it replies not only to those who doubt the authorship and think that the Prophet may be the author but even to those who thought that it was within his authority to change or modify the Quran rather than communicating it exactly as it is.  It reads “But when Our Clear Signs are rehearsed unto them, those who rest not their hope on their meeting with Us, Say: “Bring us a reading other than this, or change this,” Say: "It is not for me, of my own accord, to change it: I follow naught but what is revealed unto me: if I were to disobey my Lord, I should myself fear the penalty of a Great Day (to come).”  The evidence is quite consistent in the Quran itself not only in terms of affirmation but negation of any human source of the Quran.
 
Host:  Does Prophet Muhammad have sayings about the source of the Quran?
Jamal Badawi:
Lets go back to the beginning of revelation when Angel Gabriel came to Prophet Muhammad in the cave of Hirra’.  As narrated in both Bukhari and Muslim it was mentioned that Gabriel simply dictated the Quran to him.  This is a manifestation according to the witness of the Prophet that this is what happened to him.  In Muslim there is a very interesting Prophetic saying where he says “No Prophet from among the Prophets came in the past without God giving him some sign (miracle) which lead many people to believe in him.  What was given to me was a revelation which God has revealed unto me and I pray and hope that on The Day of Judgement I will have the largest of all the followers of the Prophets.”  This is interesting because the sort of signs that were given to Prophets prior to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) were reported to largely be metaphysical miracles.  The difficulty with this is that as time goes by only those who saw those miracles and only those who believe the witnesses of those miracles can really come to the conclusions that the Prophet was a truthful one.  Since Prophet Muhammad was the last of all Prophets and no one came after him it is essential even in the mind of the sceptic to be able to see an existent miracle.  A sceptic might say that some may have seen it but that they had not seen it themselves.
The Quran itself is the miracle or the greatest sign of the truthfulness of the Prophet.  This will be clarified throughout this series.  What we see here is that what the Prophet mentions is consistent with what the Quran mentioned by way of internal evidence.  First, the Quran brings to the attention of people that the Prophet had already lived among his people for 40 years before he received the commission from God to act as his last Prophet.  In the Quran (10:16) “Say: "If Allah had so willed, I should not have rehearsed it to you, nor would He have made it known to you. A whole life-time before this have I tarried amongst you: will ye not then understand?”  One of the interesting situations in the Quran which teaches the Prophet how to respond to this (29:48) “And thou wast not (able) to recite a Book before this (Book came), nor art thou (able) to transcribe it with thy right hand: In that case, indeed, would the talkers of vanities have doubted.”  In other words if the Prophet was highly literate and knows how to read or right and if he were a scholar and recited scripture before maybe then those who accuse him of fabricating his claim of the original source of the Quran could have some grounds for doubt.  In the absence of this it sounds like a very strange claim.  The conclusion here is that the statements by the Prophet himself are in totally consistent with the claims made in the Quran itself that its source is divine and not human.
 
Host:  What is meant by the term revelation?
Jamal Badawi:
There was a fairly lengthy discussion of this in the second series on the topic of Prophethood.  First of all, we can not fully understand the phenomena of revelation if we insist that the only world that exists is the word of the physical, tangible world.  We see things with our eyes but we can see things with our mind and our soul as well.  The fact that there is a difficulty the word that is unseen and unknown to us doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist.  Second, even in this age of scientific progress, we find that there are so many things that have been proven but can not be explained on a physical or tangible grounds.  For example: telepathy, or dreams that come true or predicting that certain things will happen.  This doesn’t happen on a full basis but one realizes that there is something beyond the seen world.  The Arabic word for revelation is wahi and etymologically speaking it means subtle and quick.  It appears in the Quran in a variety of meanings.  It is mentioned in (16:68) to refer to the inspiration that God gives to animals.  In that case it talks about bees or insects and how it is given to them so they know how to survive.  This could refer as we find in (19:11) as a subtle sign without words as is found in the story of Prophet Zakariya.  It also means some kind of inspiration that God gives to people who are not Prophets as is find in (28:7) in the story of the mother of Moses.  It could also be a command to the Angels as we find in (8:12) to support the believers in the battle field.  In some cases it could even mean evil prompting, if one sticks to the purely etymological meaning as is found in (6:12).  Of course the most important and highest level of revelation is that which is given to Prophets and Messengers of God.
 
Host:  How do Prophets receive revelation?
Jamal Badawi:
This is summarized in a passage in the Quran in (42:51) “It is not fitting for a man that Allah should speak to him except by inspiration, or from behind a veil, or by the sending of a messenger to reveal, with Allah’s permission, what Allah wills: for He is Most High, Most Wise.”  From this passage we see that there are three basic ways that a Prophet can receive revelation.  One is inspiration or insight, God guides him to have the proper judgement on certain matters.  Second is rom behind a vail which does not have to by physical but could be a vail of light psychological barrier but not through direct communication.  Third is by sending a messenger which is a reference to Angel Gabriel which communicates a specific message to the Prophet.
 
Host:  Which of the types of revelation were given to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)?
Jamal Badawi:
He was honored by receiving revelation through all of them.  First of all, he received inspiration from God to guide him in the conduct of the affairs of the believers.  Second, he talked to God from behind a veil, of light, in the Miraj incident (night of ascension) when God talked to him and even Gabriel did not go past a certain point and left the Prophet to talk to God.  He also received the revelation of the Quran through the agency of Angel Gabriel who brought the Quran word for word to him.  There is also other inspirations in the form of Hadith, which was an inspiration of meaning into his heart and then he used his own words to express it.  It is interesting to notice that while one Prophet or another might have been blessed by one or more form of revelation; Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) being the last of God’s messengers was blessed by all forms of revelation.
Summary of 10.2 "Source of the Quran I - Internal Evidence"
The program started by examining the internal evidence from the Quran itself and what the Quran says about it’s own sources.  We have seen that the Quran overwhelmingly claims that it came from Allah or God.  We looked into the style of the Quran and is an authority speaking directly or by using imperatives such as “say oh Muhammad.”  In addition to this we also looked into statements made by Prophet Muhammad himself which are totally consistent with what the Quran says that he has nothing to do with the wording of the Quran and that it was simply dictated to him.  In many verses we have seen that they clearly negate this Quran coming from any source other than divine revelation.  Since the discussion touched on the topic of revelation the last part of the Program briefly defined the various meanings of revelation, why they revelation to Prophets is very special and what forms they have taken in the past.
 
10.3  Source of the Quran II - Impossibility of Muhammad’s Authorship
Host:  You said that Prophet Muhammad claimed not to be the author of the Quran, how can you verify that claim?
Jamal Badawi:
Usually a person is challenged when he claims that he had authored something or invented something.  It is not very usual for someone to come out and say that they are not the authors, they didn’t invent it.  This is a good point brought up by Dr. Jaz when he says that this alone, the testimony of the person himself would suffice to get the point across because he is not taking credit for this.
 
Host:  How would you reply to those who say that Prophet Muhammad attributed the Quran to God for his own benefit?
Jamal Badawi
We have to ask ourselves what kind of personal benefit the Prophet would accrue by falsely claiming that this Quran comes from God while he is the actual author of it.  We know that people usually benefit when they claim something to their credit not when they disclaim it.  In the case of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) he was a disclaimer rather than a claimer.  What kind of benefit would he be after from this kind of claim.
 
Host:  Suppose someone says by attributing the Quran to God, a higher authority, it may benefit the person even more?
Jamal Badawi:
To make this assumption seems to imply that (for the sake of discussion) he was not telling the truth when he said conclusively that the Quran did not come from him and this is a sort of deliberate deception.  This assumption is totally inconsistent with what we know about the Prophet in terms of character and his life.  With that reservation aside one of the useful ways to objectively examine this issue would be to look at his wealth and material life before he was a Prophet and after he became one to see if he really benefited in any way materially from claiming that to be a Prophet rather than the.  We know that before he became Prophet at the age of 25 he married a very rich woman from the Qurishites, Khadijah, who had a very successful business woman.  The Prophet was in charge of her business and he was a very successful and well liked merchant.  He lived comfortably and didn’t have any financial worry whatsoever.  When this is compared with what happened to him after he began his career as a Prophet we will notice immediately that he suffered a great deal materially and was worst of after he became a Prophet.  At times he suffered from severe hunger.  What kind of material benefit did he gain from his claim.
 
Host:  Could you give us documentation of his relative status?
Jamal Badawi:
In both Bukhari and Muslim his wife Aisha narrated that “A month or two would go by without fire being lit in our house (for a cooked or hot meal).”  When people asked her how the household of the Prophet survived she said “Alaswadan, altamr wa alma’a.”  Two things: water and dates.  She also added that some of the Ansar, their neighbors, would send them some goat milk which used to be the only supplement to water and dates.  We should note here that this was not just a temporary supplement for some time which was made up for when things got better.  Even after his victory and the victory of Muslims and he had lots of wealth available the same simple life, self imposed depravation continued.  In fact in the Quran in (33:28-29) describes where the household of the Prophet had unease regarding why there was so much wealth and they were living in a very difficult self imposed deprivation.
One time Hafsa, his wife, was asked about the bedding of the Prophet and she said that “his bedding was simply a piece of canvas that I used to fold and put it under him to sleep on.  One night I thought that I should make it a little bit more comfortable so I folded it four times.  When he woke up for the early morning prayer he said what did you do to my bedding?  She replied that she simply folded it four times instead of twice.  He replied that she shouldn’t fold it four times and that she should keep it at two folds because “I am afraid that this much comfort may stand in my way of waking up at night and making the late night prayer.”  Imagine the kind of life he lived at a time when Muslims were victorious and if he wanted to live as a king he could have easily done so without any problem.  One time one of his famous companions, Omar, entered his room and he started crying and the Prophet asked him what was wrong.  Omar said “When I entered the room I only saw the Prophet sleeping on a simple mat that left marks in his body and I looked in the room and only found a handful of barely in one corner.”  His reply to the Prophet was “O Messenger of God you see all the Persian kings and Byzantine emperors are living in all kinds of luxury with rivers flowing under them in their palaces and you the most select of God’s creatures and the last messenger are living in such dire need.  Why don’t you pray to God to make it a little easier and to provide a little more.”  When the Prophet heard that he sat up and said “Omar do you still have any doubt about this matter of faith?  This ease and comfort is much better in the hereafter, than in this life.”
Another companion by the name of, Alnuman Ibn Bashir, once said “I saw the Messenger of God, Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), twitch because of hunger that he could not even find enough of the bad dates to fill his stomach.”  Narrated in Bukhari, Muslim and Ahmad a famous companion, Abu Hurira, said “The Prophet never had a full stomach of bread for three consecutive days till he died.”  This is the sort of life that he lived.  So what sort of benefit did he get by claiming to be a Prophet except in more difficult type of life.
 
Host:  What were the Prophet’s assets like when he died as apposed to when he started his Prophetic career?
Jamal Badawi:
Before he started his wife was a rich successful merchant.  She was actually in charge of his trade and how she got to know about him and his skill and honesty.  They both loved each other so much, she was his only wife from the age of 25 till he was 50 during his youth and manhood, that her wealth was his wealth.  After Khadijah died and he was 50 she was 65 her wealth all became available to his disposal.  In both Bukhari, Tirmithi and Muslim we are told that when the Prophet died his shield was held as a collateral in the hand of a Jewish citizen for some barely that the Prophet bought from him.
As narrated in Bukhari and Muslim Aisha said “when the Prophet died there was nothing edible in the house except some barely.”  This is related to what was in the household.  As narrated by Amr Ibn Al Harith in both Bukhari that when the Prophet died he didn’t leave anything behind, not a dirham or denar.”  This means no dollar no cent, no wealth whatsoever.  He continues “he left no person in bondage, nor did he leave anything except his white ride and his arm.”  This was in reference to his sword.  In fact there was a piece of land knowns as the land of Fadak which some historians mistake to have been owned by the Prophet.  In fact this land was reserved by the Prophet so that the income from that land would be used to support the orphans, the poor and after his death to provide for the needs of his house hold.
The difference that might have risen may have had to do with the administration of the land but nobody ever made a justifiable claim that he ever owned that land but it was just put aside for the benefit of the poor.  In fact this is consistent with what he said “We are not supposed to leave any material possession behind us when we die for our heirs.  Whatever is left must be spent in charity.”  This not only reflects his deeds but it is consistent with what he taught: for Muslims not to be extravagant and for them to keep their eyes on the life hereafter.  In Abu Dawood when people discussed his suffering and how he could have had anything under his disposal but chose to live like any other poor person he said “What do I have to do with this life? My similitude with this life is like someone who is traveling, then on the way he stopped under a tree so he sat down to rest a little bit under the shadow of that tree then he continued his travels.”  So he regarded this entire life like moments that a person spends under a tree.  This was his attitude and his behavior.  This then brings us back to the question of what kind of material benefit did he acquired by claiming that he is not the author of the Quran and that he is the Prophet sent by God to guide humanity.
 
Host:  Skeptics may argue that there are other ways to benefit other than a material sense such as power and leadership?
Jamal Badawi:
There is no disagreement even among critics of Islam that as a leader Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is regarded by some as the greatest leader in history.  Some regard him as the most successful leader in human history.  A person with these qualities and talents could have very easily, without claiming Prophethood said that he is a leader by showing his wisdom, talents and qualities and people would follow.  In fact it would be easier for him to claim power and leadership because of these qualities without claiming being a Prophet.  To claim Prophet is to claim something that people can not comprehend.    For one to claim receiving revelation, the word of God being dictated to you people find to be difficult to believe.  But they find it very easy to believe that this person is a great leader.  It is also known historically that the Quran challenged the most eloquent of the eloquent and for 1400 years not one person has claimed to imitate even a portion of the Quran.  If he was that smart it could have been used as a sign of his ability in deserving leadership.  He did not have to claim that it came from God.  It would have been better to claim that the Quran was his which would have given him more power and respect by the people.
Lets look into his character in order to see if he was an egotistical person looking for personal glory and prestige.  To start with we can not separate the pursuit of power  which was raised in this question with the answer to material benefit.  When people seek power and prestige they also want to have fancy meals, big palaces and guards.  They have to behave like kings or great people if they are looking for power.  If we look at the life of the Prophet we find it to be an amazing example of humility and humbleness.  He used to sit on the ground, eat from the same pot as other poor and down trodden people.  He used to mix more with the poor and needy than with the rich.  Whenever he was invited even by a poor person for a simple meal he graciously accepted the invitation and ate from whatever was given to him.  At one point when he entered a place where believers were sitting and they stood up for him he did not like it and said “don’t stand up to glorify each other.”
Whenever he came to a place where people were seated, he did not sit in a central place as people seeking power do, but rather he just sat wherever a place was available.  No wonder how some people would come and not know who the leader was.  He was a common man and behaved like a very simple person.  In one incident a person hearing about the greatness of the Prophet and what he teaches came to him and somehow he was trembling and the Prophet patted him and told him to “take it easy I am only the son of a woman who used to eat dry bread.”
In one trip it was time to eat and they started preparing to cook the food and everyone started volunteering and the Prophet said he would collect the wood (they were surprised) and they said “O Prophet of God we can do that for you” and he said “I know that you can do that for me but I hate to have any distinction over you.”  As is narrated in Bukhari once the Prophet passed by a number of young girls who were singing and making poetry for some occasion and one of them said “among us there is a Prophet who knows what will happen in the future.”  He stopped her and told her “no don’t say that continue with your poetry that you were reciting before and don’t say that about me.”  In his own lifetime it was reported that he consulted quite a bit with his companions about many decisions and many times he accepted their opinions (in matters that were not decided by revelation) even though in some cases it was against his own personal opinion.  In all logic and from his behavior this is not the type of person who would seek power and glory.  In addition the Quran itself confirms that he never aspired for leadership or to be a prophet.
 
Host:  Is there any evidence in the Quran that would indicate that Prophet Muhammad did not aspire to be a leader or Prophet?
Jamal Badawi:
There are several citations in the Quran.  In (28:86) it says “And thou hadst not expected that the Book would be sent to thee except as a Mercy from thy Lord: Therefore lend not thou support in any way to those who reject ((Allah)'s Message).”  To further indicate that he was not a person looking for power or prestige or prominence he is directed in the Quran to tell the people in (6:50) “Say: "I tell you not that with me are the treasures of Allah, nor do I know what is hidden, nor do I tell you I am an angel. I but follow what is revealed to me." Say: "can the blind be held equal to the seeing?" Will ye then consider not?”  Similarly in (7:188) “Say: "I have no power over any good or harm to myself except as Allah willeth. If I had knowledge of the unseen, I should have multiplied all good, and no evil should have touched me: I am but a warner, and a bringer of glad tidings to those who have faith.”
The Quran also indicates that the Prophet never claimed to know anything that would happen in the future except as Allah revealed to him specifically.  He did not have open knowledge which would equate him with God or make him more than human.  For example in (46:9) “Say: “I am no bringer of new-fangled doctrine among the apostles, nor do I know what will be done with me or with you.  I follow but that which is revealed to me by inspiration; I am but a Warner open and clear.”  One more example which is very explicit and clear is in (18:110) “Say: "I am but a man like yourselves, (but) the inspiration has come to me, that your Allah is one Allah.”  These are only a few of the many citations we find in the Quran.  It suffices to say that he also forbade people from making his graveyard as a place of worship.  He even said it clearly as we mentioned in a previous program “Don’t you over praise me as the Christians overpraise Jesus the son of Mary I am only the servant of God and His messenger.
Summary of 10.3 "Source of the Quran II - Impossibility of Muhammad’s Authorship"
We continued with verification of Prophet Muhammad’s claim that the Quran is not his and that he received it directly from God through Angel Gabriel.  We indicated that his own witness should be enough because usually people claim things to be the opposite rather than having to prove that they are not the author rather than proving that they are the authors.  We also examine the possibility that he might have claimed the authorship of the Quran in order to benefit materially from that and we indicated that by examining his life before and after he was a Prophet we find that he became much worst off.  He didn’t have any financial worries as he was married to a rich woman but we find that he lived like any poor person until he died.  We indicated that this simple live continued even after much wealth was available right under his finger tips.  He however still imposed this kind of discipline on himself.  In the last part of the Program a question was raised as to if a person was not pursuing material benefit that he may have been looking for some sort of power or leadership and we indicated that people who look for prestige and power also look for wealth in order to show off that power.  Second, by examining some examples of his life we saw that he was a very simple and humble individual who forbade his people from over glorifying himself.  It appears that grounds for claiming material benefit or egotistic needs doesn’t have a very strong foundation.
 
10.4     Source of the Quran III - Absence of Personal Motives
Host:  Can we examine the historical record that would show us that the Prophet did not aspire to leadership, power and authority?
Jamal Badawi:
Historically the Prophet began his career as a Prophet at the age of 40.  If there were any aspirations to power from birth to the age of 40.  The question here is if he did in fact prepare himself to be a leader.  Usually people who have that desire would address that desire to the people closest to them for example his beloved wife Khadijah whom he lived with for a quarter century.  If the person was looking for leadership and power they should go about it the right way. For example nowadays if the person wants to pursue a position of power or leadership he has to to get into the political process, get nominated and show his ability so that down the line people would appreciate that he is a good politician and deserves that leadership.  In the time of the Prophet the leading tribe of Qurishe had a place called dar al nadwa which is was a meeting place for the leaders of their people.  There is no record that the Prophet used to go there and sit and discuss his ability, he shunned that and instead he would go to the mountain, isolated, in order to contemplate, think and pray that he would be guided to the path of truth.  If he was seeking political power he was going about it the wrong way.
There is another logical reason that he never aspired for that.  It is known that when the first revelation came to him while contemplating and meditating in the cave of hira outside of Mecca he came down trembling and very afraid which was reported by many including his wife.  If a person aspired and expected to be a Prophet or leader he would have been very happy and proud that his hopes had finally been achieved.  Why however was he afraid?  He was afraid because he didn’t have any expectation that he would be in that position and would play such an important role in human history.  Even after this initial experience of the first revelation, when the revelation came again on a very cold day many companions who had seen it first hand say that even though it was very cold that he was very tense and was sweating.  A person who is looking for power would be composed and would not show emotion and lack of control but would stand strong, comfortable and composed and would talk to people.  Both of these assumptions of the Prophet looking for material benefit or power can not stand firm because without the agony that he went through, hardship, risk to his life and the difficulty he and his companions went through he could have easily attained all kinds of wealth and power without these sacrifices.
 
Host:  How could he have achieved power and material power if he had wished?
Jamal Badawi:
Historically speaking we know that the Prophet and his companions went through all kinds of suffering because of their mission and belief.  They were mocked, persecuted, tortured, some were killed under torture and he was hurt a great deal when he went to Al Taif and threw stones at him and his feet were bleeding, their lives and livelihoods were threatened and in the midsts of all of these difficulties when there was no hope that he would succeed victoriously over his adversaries he received a very interesting offer.  A representative from the pagans by the name of Ukbah Ibn Rabia came to him and he said “Listen, you have divided our people, caused so much dissension.  Let me talk to you about something: you may accept some of my suggestions.  He said “If you are doing this because you want wealth, stop and we will collect enough money for you so that you are the richest from among all of us.  If you are doing this in order to attain leadership we are willing to appoint you as our leader and we will never decide on any matter without your approval.  If you want to be a king we will crown you king.  If what comes to you and claims to be revelation from God is some kind of evil visions we are willing to collect money so that you can seek a cure for you.  But please, I plead with you to accept.”  If the Prophet was a seeker of power, ego or leadership he would have accepted.  The price was for him to stop attacking the wrong beliefs that they had or the idol worship and to accept the legitimacy of their worship and for him to worship Allah as he wished.  All they wanted was that he would stop trying to convince people of his belief.  His answer was in Surah 41 in the first 38 verses.  He replied from the word of God and that it says that this Quran has been sent to people carrying or brining glad tiding or warning to those who reject but many of them turned away as if they don’t hear and they said our hearts are concealing from hearing what you have to say and so on.  It went on pointing out that his missions was not money or ego and that he was only bringing the message of God to them in order to open their hearts, minds and their eyes to the truth.
This was not the only incident.  After it failed they didn’t send him one person but they sent a deputation of the most noble representatives of his people to plead with him again.  They basically made the same offer: money, leadership etc.  And again his answer was the same and he said “Listen, I did not come up with this message on my own.  Nor do I do it in the pursuit of your money, respect, leadership or to become a king.  It is God who sent me as a messenger to you and He has given me a book, the Quran, so I am only and simply communicating and conveying the message of my lord and advising you.  If you accept my advice this would be your luck and share in this life and in the Hereafter.  If you reject it I will be patient until Allah decides between you and me.”  Prior to these two incidents they tried to use psychological pressure by sending him his most beloved uncle Abu Talib.  He loved the Prophet so much and the Prophet loved him too.  Abu Talib used to be a protector of the Prophet by pressing the pagans not to hurt him.  He came to the Prophet and told him that he is causing them so many problems and tried to plead with him to ease up a little bit and the Prophet’s answer was exemplary.  As narrated in Ibn Hisham a biography about the Prophet he said “Oh my uncle if they put the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left hand in order for me to give up this mission of mine, I will never do it till I die in defense of that truth or God decides whatever He pleases.”  This was his attitude, certitude and fortitude in terms of patience and perseverance in terms of carrying his mission.  If the Prophet were an imposture or a person who is seeking material benefit or power he could have lived as a king.  He did not have to worship idols, he could have worshiped as he wished but all he had to do was accept the legitimacy of the wrong beliefs that they had.  This shows that his intentions were more noble than these perishable benefits.
 
Host:  How would you react to the Prophet’s motive being to reform people of his time?
Jamal Badawi:
To reform people from darkness to light is a very nobel objective.  This noble objective must be sought through noble means.  One can not achieve a nobel objective through fabrication, forgery or lying.  If this assumption were true, why didn’t he claim that everything that he said was divine revelation too.  As we mentioned in the introduction, even though the Quran was uttered through the tongue of the Prophet which is totally different than Hadith which is not directly communicated to him through Gabriel.  These two sources are totally separate.  If his motive was to influence people he could have claimed that everything that he said was dictated to him by Gabriel.  Third people loved and trusted him so much to the point that they would have followed him even if he said it was his own saying.  Why did he make such a meticulous distinction between what he said and what he actually received in dictation.  How could he have possibly claim that the Quran comes from God if he was really the author of the Quran while in day and night recited to the people from that same Quran that the most abominable crime against God is to create a lie against God or to say that God said something He did not.
 
Host:  What does the Quran mention about lying?
Jamal Badawi:
In (6:93) it says “Who can be more wicked than one who inventeth a lie against Allah, or saith, "I have received inspiration," when he hath received none, or (again) who saith, "I can reveal the like of what Allah hath revealed"? If thou couldst but see how the wicked (do fare) in the flood of confusion at death! - the angels stretch forth their hands, (saying),"Yield up your souls: this day shall ye receive your reward,- a penalty of shame, for that ye used to tell lies against Allah, and scornfully to reject of His signs!”  The verse goes on to describe the bad news these people will get when the time of death comes and when they receive the bad news that they will be punished eternally.  In another passage in the Quran (69:44-47) it says “And if the apostle were to invent any sayings in Our name, We should certainly seize him by his right hand, And We should certainly then cut off the artery of his heart: Nor could any of you withhold him (from Our wrath).”  The threat is made that any Prophet making this false claim would immediately punished.  In another citation in (42:24) it says “What! Do they say, "He has forged a falsehood against Allah.? But if Allah willed, He could seal up thy heart. And Allah blots out Vanity, and proves the Truth by His Words. For He knows well the secrets of all hearts.”  We have to remember that nothing good and noble comes through some thing that is wicked and false.  Falsehood doesn’t emanate from a person who’s character is like that of Prophet Muhammad.  This is expressed very nicely in the Quran in (16:105) “It is those who believe not in the Signs of Allah, that forge falsehood: it is they who lie!”  A person who’s fundamentals are based on the belief in one God and all the moral teachings that one could think of could not achieve this noble objective by committing the worst of all crimes: lying against God, claiming Prophethood or forging a claim that the Quran came from God.
 
Host:  In your answer you indicated that the character of the Prophet negates the quality of forgery: how widely was his honesty, integrity and so on recognized by his contemporaries?
Jamal Badawi:
His reputation was beyond reproach.  We will look at his life form birth till the time he began his mission as a Prophet at the age of 40.  For 40 years he was well known for his truthfulness, honesty with his chastity to the point that he was given the title Alameen, the trustworthy.  This was given to him by all the people.  It was used as a nickname for him.  When God ordained him to declare the mission of Islam, because in the initial period it remained secret till he convinced those immediately around him.  When he received the command to go public to with Islam he gathered and called on the different tribes, then he stood among them and he said: “If I were to tell you that behind that hill there are horses (an army) that are going to invade you would you believe me?”  The all responded “We never experienced a lie from you.”  Which means that they would believe anything you say.  He replied “I am a warner to you before a sever punishment will come unto you (on the Day of Judgement).  I warn you to give up idol worship and believe in the one true God and worship him alone.”  The interesting part of this was the response of all of his people when they said “We never experienced a lie from you.”  Is it reasonable to assume that a person with this character for his whole life, with not a single lie, to suddenly become, at the age of 40, such a forger that he lies in the name of God and claims falsely that he received revelation.
When the first group of Muslims migrated under persecution to Abyssinia, now Ethiopia, to a kind and fair king the pagans got angry and sent some of their representatives to retrieve them in order to take them back and persecute them.  They were afraid that their belief might grow and they might attract others.  The King of Abyssinia asked the Muslims to explain what kind of person Prophet Muhammad was and what he taught their spokes person Jaafar the son of Abi Talib answered that they were living in darkness and he mentioned some of the evil that they did before he came with is message.  He said this man came to us, we knew everything about him, his lineage and his truthfulness, honesty and chastity so he taught us and ordered us to worship the one true God alone and to give up idol worship.  He taught us to be truthful in what we say, honest in our dealings and to be kind to our relatives.  Again we find biographies about the Prophet like Ibn Hisham we are shown that these characteristics were the brightest points that attracted all of those who had good will and the intention to follow the truth.
 
Host:  From some of the passages it seems that some people accused him of fabricating his claim about the source of the Quran, could you explain that?
Jamal Badawi:
That is natural, as there are always enemies of truth.  They always try to resist the truth and suppress it.  When they lack concrete evidence they start throwing accusations like that.  It happened in the life of all Prophets which includes Moses who was accused of many things by Pharaoh, it happened to Jesus who was accused by the Israelites.  They couldn’t drive people away from any truthful and good Prophet.  But in all cases we find that non of the accusers could give any concrete evidence logically or historically.  Historical references do not show any instant where a Prophet lied, but they say that it is not possible for the person to have received revelation so he must be lying, a magician etc.  These people were just throwing accusations without justification.  An interesting thing that gives us a look into the attitude of his enemies is that the night when the Prophet secretly migrated from Mecca to Medina, because they were about to kill him, and before he left his cousin Ali and told him “After I leave please make sure to return these things to the non Muslims.”  What does this signify?  This means that his own persecutors trusted him so much that they chose him to keep their deposits with him.  And even though the Prophet was leaving, he wanted to make sure they would get their deposits back.  Another interesting example that was mentioned in both Bukhari and Muslim is that when Qurish tried to suppress him and they couldn’t they went to Hercules the Byzantine emperor with Abu Suphian in order to seek his help against the Prophet and Muslims.  One of the questions the Roman Emperor asked was whether Muhammad was accused of lying to them before he claimed Prophethood and they answered no.  He asked if he ever betrayed his trust before he claimed Prophet hood and they answered no.  This was a witness given by one of his arch enemies at the time.  We find numerous examples that the enemies before the friends and companions could not admit that he was not absolutely honest and truthful.
 
Summary of 10.4 "Source of the Quran III - Absence of Personal Motives"
Last time we examined whether there is any possibility that Prophet Muhammad might have claimed that the source of the Quran was divine for personal benefit.  This kind of assumption is totally unsubstantiated on a historical or logical grounds.  There is no basis for this because he could have obtained everything he wanted and accepted some of the offers without putting any effort or sacrifice on his part.
We also discussed the possibility that he may have attributed the Quran to Allah in order to use it as an authoritative way to reform his people.  Again we see the kind of flaws this has and how the Quran very strongly condemns falsification or claims which are not true about what God has revealed even if it is for a good purpose.  Finally we said that if we look into his life and character we will notice he was known as Al Ameen, the Honest, he never lied before or after he became a Prophet and in many instances even his own enemies admitted that he was truthful and would never change facts or fabricate anything.
 
10.5     Source of the Quran IV - Epilepsy: Unscientific Explanation
Host: What would you respond to those who claim that the revelation of the Quran is a psychic phenomena?
Jamal Badawi:
This is just another link in the chain of arguments which center mainly around the denial that the Quran is a divine revelation by trying to find someway or the other to impute it on Prophet Muhammad.  The main difference between the positions that we have discussed in the past few programs the deliberate fabrication and possible premeditated attempt to author the Quran and then say it came form God.  To say that it was psychic is basically the same.  It says that Muhammad was the author of the Quran but he did not deliberately falsified it but he might have psychologically thought it up.  Both of these focus on the issue of the authorship of the Quran and try to deny or reject its divine origin.  However nobody including a Muslim should be dogmatic about it.  There is nothing wrong with being open and discussing any possibility no matter how remote it might be.  People are welcome to raise questions that may help clarify questions that are already in the mind of viewers.
 
Host:  How do you respond to the claim that the Quran is the result of epileptic seizures which Prophet Muhammad used to have?
Jamal Badawi:
It appears that someone made a gross misdiagnosis.  In order to objectively decide whether this is a misdiagnosis or not we can refer to the state Prophet Muhammad was in at the time when he received the revelation.  Then we can perhaps go back to what the authorities say about what epilepsy is and what the types and symptoms are.  To start with the description of what he went through at the time of receiving revelation, we find an authentic saying in both Bukhari and Muslim in which the Prophet said that “The revelation sometimes comes to me as if it were the ringing of a bell.”  Some people describe it as an attention grabber in order for him to be receptive to the dictation given by Gabriel.  The prophet continues “after this ring and the revelation which is hardest on me, Gabriel leaves and I fully retain in memory what he dictated to me.”  It is not just an experience but is imprinted in his heart and the portion of the Quran which is revealed is fully memorized by the Prophet.  Second he said “He (Gabriel) sometimes came to me in the form of a human being-he would talk to me and then I comprehend, understand and memorize what he tells me.”  When he says that Gabriel came to him in the form of a human this doesn’t mean that everyone around him was able to see Gabriel.  It was more of an assurance to the Prophet that he saw Gabriel so that it would be a little easier on him.  That is why we find in Bukhari that the Prophet was telling Aisha “Here is angle Gabriel sending you greetings of peace.”  And she said “You see things that we can not see.”  In Bukhari and Muslim Aisha describes his state when he received revelation and said “when a revelation comes to him, even a very cold day after the revelation is finished we find that his brows are steamed with sweat.  There is some form of deep and intense concentration which results in this sweating.  In Muslim there is another description “When revelation came to him he became a bit perturbed and his face changed.”  In one narration it says that he sometimes nodded his head and when the revelation was over he raised his head up.
There are a couple of references in the Quran which describe the state of the Prophet at the time of revelation.  It was narrated that whenever the Prophet received revelation he was so eager and so careful not to miss any word, realizing that this was the word of God, that he used to repeat the words quickly after Gabriel so that he would not forget anything.  A passage in the Quran came down to assure him that he should not worry about forgetting the Quran in (75:16-17) “Move not thy tongue concerning the (Qur'an) to make haste therewith.  It is for Us to collect it and to promulgate it.”  A similar reference was made in (20:114) “High above all is Allah, the King, the Truth! Be not in haste with the Qur'an before its revelation to thee is completed, but say, "O my Lord! advance me in knowledge.”  There were also historical narrations as we find in Zad Al Muath by Ibn Al Qime that when the Prophet received the revelation if he was ridding a camel his body would become so heavy that the camel would have to sit down.  If his body or leg was leaning on someone it would become so heavy that the person feels this heaviness without falling.  This was the phenomena that the people or animals around him felt.  This is basically what has been mentioned describing his state at the time of revelation.  It appears that some people might have looked into these descriptions and came to a hasty conclusion that since revelation is unexplainable in mathematical terms and if this was his state of affairs at the time of revelation then it must have been epilepsy.  This is a statement that is both bias and scientifically unsound.
 
Host:  Why is this a bias position for an individual to take?
Jamal Badawi:
It is bias because revelation did not start with Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).  This is why we find in Encyclopedia Britannica in the last addition on page 454 “It is the inherent nature of God from all eternity that He speaks to men.”  This was not something that was totally new.  Because revelation was an extraordinary thing one can not really put it in a test tube or explain it in purely mathematical terms.  However there is one thing that is widely excepted by Jews, Muslims, Christians and followers of other religions who believe in some form of revelation believe that many Prophets prior to Prophet Muhammad received revelation.  For example when Moses saw the burning bush in Mount Sini and receiving revelation from God and Jesus receiving revelation, David and many other Prophets in the past.  However it is very strange that many writers never say that Abraham, Moses, Jesus or Paul were epileptic but when it comes to Prophet Muhammad there is an automatic conclusion without scientific verification or thought.  This is why it is bias.  Either the person is atheist and rejects all forms of revelation.  It doesn’t make sense to accept some forms of revelation and then when it comes to Prophet Muhammad it becomes epilepsy.  This is inconsistent and is an obvious bias.
 
Host:  How can you scientifically substantiate that Prophet Muhammad was not suffering from epilepsy?
Jamal Badawi:
We have to refer to authorities in psychologists and psychiatry and for the benefit of those who wish to explore that in a very simple way I would like to refer to the last edition of Encyclopedia Britannica under the title “Epilepsy.”  We have to find out what epilepsy is and what types of epilepsy are there, then we will compare this to the description we gave earlier of the Prophet’s state at the time of revelation.  On page 644 of the Britannica it says that epilepsy is “A sudden and recurrent disturbance in the mental function or the movement of the body or both.”  The general symptoms of epilepsy are described as “a partial or complete loss of consciousness accompanied by muscular spasms or compulsions or by more complex behavior.  It was found that about 70% of the patients suffering from epilepsy experience their first attack before the age of 20.  Then it says that it tends to disappear when the person grows into adult life.  There are four basic categories that epilepsy is divided into.  One, is called the big sickness, two is called little sickness, third is focal seizures and the fourth is psycho motor seizures.  It is interesting that when we analyze each of these and the kind of symptoms compared to the revelation we find that they simply don’t match.  None of the four types match what the Prophet experienced.
 
Host:  Can we examine the symptoms of these various types of epilepsy?  What are the symptoms of the first type?
Jamal Badawi:
The “big sickness” is known to psychologists as “grand mal” which is the French equivalent.  The big sickness is a state of generalized convulsions characterized by complete loss of consciousness and falling to the ground.  This falling to the ground is sometimes proceeded by a loud scream and after the body falls to the ground it stiffens and sometimes for a few seconds respiration stops which is followed by jerky movements in all four extremities (hands and legs).  Sometimes during these seizures the tongue gets bitten because there is an involuntary contraction of the muscles of the jaw.  As the person finishes going through the seizure he feels very disoriented, confused, sleepy and have a headache.  The most important part of the description of these seizures is that the person would have no recollection of what happened to him.  He would not remember what happened during the seizure nor would he remember what happened immediately after the seizure.  We have already spoken about the revelation given to the Prophet and it is obvious that these symptoms are not applicable at all as he never lost consciousness, never fell to the ground, didn’t convulse or bight his tongue.  We find here that the experience of revelation is quite different.  Furthermore the authorities say that the person forgets what happened during a seizure, the Prophet however remembered every single word of revelation that was dictated to him during his experience.
 
Host:  Can we move to the little sickness or “petit mal” what can you tell us about it?
Jamal Badawi:
Petit mal occurs among children and usually does not appear for the first time after the age of twenty.  It tends to disappear in the early adult life of the individual.  The basic symptoms are characterized by a very brief episode of unresponsiveness.  Usually it takes 15 seconds without interruption of consciousness and that is why they say it could happen many times within the same day.  There is no involuntary movement as we find in the grand mal.  Again if we compare that to the revelation of the Prophet we find that there is no relevance at all.  As we said earlier the Prophet started to receive revelation at the age of 40.  The revelation of the Quran didn’t just take fifteen seconds but many times it took several minutes and thirdly it was not something that could go unnoticed like patit mal that took place among children.  The revelation were an observed state of intense concentration.  Again this type has no relevance to the Prophet.
 
Host:  Could you briefly explain the two remaining types and make a similar comparison?
Jamal Badawi:
One of these two are called focal seizures which are defined as seizures which originate in a specific area of the brain and are usually related to the functional properties of that area.  This kind of epilepsy may appear in the form of sustained or jerking movements of some of the extremities or the face, a subtype called the focal motor attacks.  It may also appear in focal sensory attack which is usually characterized by numbness or tingling in the local parts of the body.  In all types of focal seizures we find that the discharges and spreads widely throughout the brain and as such it results in a generalized state of convulsions.
The last type of seizures, psycho motor seizures, is really interesting because it starts with some type of sensory or emotional ora.  This ora is an unpleasant oder, taste, illusion about size, distance or object around the person.  It might involve visual hallucination which is usually is associated with intense fear.  It says that after this ora the patient may become unresponsive and may start walking out or partaking in strange behaviors like picking at his clothes or something of that sort.  These seizures usually continue for one to three minutes.  But again the most important description which relates to our topic of revelation is that it says that during recovery the patient would have totally forgotten what happened.  There is no memory at all of the attack especially after the initial ora receding the attack.  Again it is obvious like in the case of the first two types of epilepsy that by looking into these symptoms it becomes obvious that they are not related at all to the description that has been mentioned about the state of the Prophet as he never forgot a word of the Quran and it was not unconsciousness because he used to recite and people around him would hear him repeating the words of the Quran after Angel Gabriel.  Again all four types and totally irrelevant.
 
Host:  What are the causes of epilepsy?  Was Prophet Muhammad known to have any of the causes?
Jamal Badawi:
It is very difficult in the case of epilepsy to pinpoint a specific cause because as the authorities say epilepsy is not really a specific disease but rather a syndrome made up of many symptoms.  In any case whatever the variety of epilepsy is we find that authorities mention a commonality between all types of epilepsy.  This is a discharge of neurons which are in a state of excessive excitability.  Millions of these nerve cells release excessive electrical energy in the brain in an abnormal way.  This discharge generally leads to a loss of consciousness and convulsive movements.  This is what is accepted by authorities as common in all epileptic cases.  With this in mind authorities also say that in about 50% of cases it is not too hard to determine a primary or contributing factor to this type of syndrome.  This includes injury at birth, congenital defects such cerebral palsy, it may involve infectious diseases which involve nerve tissue like meningitis, practice infections, brain tumors and strokes are all given as primary or secondary contributing reasons for epilepsy.  Sometimes these seizures may happen following withdrawal from alcohol but in many cases they can be precipitated by emotional stress and extreme fatigue.
None of these causes can be traceable to the life of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).  In fact he was known to be in perfect physical and mental health throughout his life.  We know that Prophet Muhammad went through many moments of extreme danger, stress and fatigue and he never once wavered, fainted or had any of those symptoms.  He was always in complete fortitude and steadfast.  The point is that if the Quran, which is available for anyone to investigate, is a product of an epileptic seizure like one Muslim psychiatrist put it “I would like to see more of these epileptic people.”
Summary of 10.5 "Source of the Quran IV - Epilepsy: Unscientific Explanation"
In the second, third and fourth programs in this series the main question was to examine who the author of the Quran was.  The first three programs in that particular program focused mainly on the issue of deliberate fabrication and whether the Prophet might have deliberately claimed that the Quran was from Allah while he was the author of it. In the fifth program we started to analyze the position of those who could not help to admit his truthfulness while still trying to reconcile with the rejection of the Quran as divine revelation by seeking some kind of psychic explanation.  The last program mainly covered the issue of epilepsy and whether it had anything to do with the revelation of the Quran.  To approach that question we first started by summarizing the information that we have historically about the state of the Prophet when he received revelation and then we went to the authorities in psychiatry to examine the nature of epilepsy, how it is defined, what the various types of epilepsy.  By examining them we have seen that their symptoms are quite inconsistent and not really related in any essential way to the experience of the Prophet during the state of revelation.  The Quran after all is in our hands and if anyone thinks this is a result of an epileptic seizure let them read the Quran.  People with epilepsy would not utter such kind of wisdom and like I said before if this is the product of epilepsy then we can do with allot more people like that.  Maybe that is why comparatively this painting of Prophet Muhammad as an epileptic person, while it still persists in some writings seems to be less prominent than it did in the past.
 
10.6     Source of the Quran V - Religious Illusions
Host:  Can you explain the idea of visions and how it relates to the explanation of the source of the Quran?
Jamal Badawi:
This is another attempt to reconcile admitting that the person is truthful and sincere but at the same time claiming that what he said came from himself.  The basic notion is that they say that a person who is deeply religious may go through certain religious or spiritual experiences or have visions in which he may think that his own thoughts come from a different source.  So they would not deliberately lying or changing a person may sincerely think that these ideas actually came to them from an outside source.  The classical example that some people give is the story of Joan of Arc.  It is very strange between that and the revelation of the Quran.  It is just like saying that the elephant and the trees are the same because both of them have trunks.
 
Host: Could you tell us about John of Arc and how the connection is made in relation to the revelation of the Quran?
Jamal Badawi:
Joan of Arc as described by historians was a pious and deeply religious young girl who was also as staunch nationalist.  France at that time, fifteenth century, was under the domination and rule of the British.  This girl loved her country so much that she really wanted to liberate her country from this foreign domination.  she tried all means to seek all kind of help in order to mobilize and motivate her people to gain their independence, part of which was seeking the help of the government.  In this kind of charged atmosphere and nationalism she began to be convinced that she is destined to lead her people towards liberation.  This is why we find that she spoke about voices and visions that she claimed came to her.  This claim was very enthusiastically accepted by her people who were very prone to these things.  They become very staunch followers of Joan of Arch which lead to their victory in Lorraine in 1429.  It is interesting to discuss the story of Joan of Arc but totally inexcusable to make an analogy between Joan of Arc and Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).  We are comparing it here to a limited phenomena, visions, which could happen in man cases other than the story of Joan of Arc.
This was something that was quite limited and had to do with leading the nation for a specific purpose as liberation at that time, an attitude which was enforced by religiosity and deep faith and piety of an individual on one hand and the revelation given to the Prophets which is a much more comprehensive reformation that was not intended for one purpose or for certain circumstances but something which is lasting with comprehensive coverage of areas of belief, moral behavior, total outline for a social system and sometimes economics and political systems like in the case of Islam.  These are really things that changed the history of humanity in a very fundamental way, accompanied by stunning miracles and could not be challenged by skeptics and lead most of them to believe in those Prophets.  We are talking about revelation given to the Prophets followed upon hundreds of millions of people over hundreds of years and to compare that with a limited phenomena is definitely something that is not very relevant.  I was quite amused that in a new encyclopedia called the New Catholic Encyclopedia that they just make this connection automatically as if it is a matter of course between Joan of Arch and the revelation of the Quran which is lacking in substance.
 
Host:  What is the gist of this theory and how it applies to Prophet Mohammad?
Jamal Badawi:
One of the proponents of this theory is a person that people view to be a much better writer about Islam, in being reasonably fair and less bias than many writers who preceded him, but again he falls into the same problem of not going far enough as to admit the divine revelation of the Quran.  This writer was Emit Birmingham in his book The Live of Muhammad.  His basic theory is that, others follow the same way of thinking, the kind of sincerity of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) might have lead him to reject the kind of corruption, lack of belief in God or this kind of paganism that was rampant among his people because of his pure nature and sincerity through his own internal light which allowed him to see that these things were wrong.  He had a pure innate nature and he did not participate in the mode of worship that his people did.  He continues to say that he may have thought and contemplated about the need and hope that his people would improve and that they would come to God in their moral behavior and that they would be guided to the truth.  Prophet Muhammad might have heard things about the belief of the Jews and Christians and he did not accept their way of explaining the creator and divinity.
He says that you may have heard about the Prophet that was prophesied to come about that time and in some cases that the prophecies said he would come form that area.  He said that these thoughts and ideas might have gone into his mind and kept jelling in his subconscious until as, Tore Andre another writer put it until he convinced himself that he would be the reformer or Prophet of that time.  This kind of conviction lead him to have an illusion of voices speaking to him or visual illusions of people talking to him that he thought were angels. and whatever he thought of in his subconscious came out and he sincerely thought this was revelation from Allah which took the form of the Quran.  We find Birmingham presenting this theory in a very lovely and romantic way: the Prophet used to go to the cave in the mountain, he look at the silence of the night and the sparkling stars and soft light of the moon along with the expanse of sand, in many cases they talk about waves which were very far away, with a very romantic picture in the silence of the night thinking and contemplating the creation, destiny of mankind and the ideas kept coming into his mind.  It is a romantic and beautiful presentation but in terms of meeting scholarly rigger is another thing all together.
 
Host:  What reasoning could you put forward that this explanation is in fact incorrect and would not stand the test of good scholarship?
Jamal Badawi:
One can say that a person is under an illusion for a specific period of time, months a couple of years and one could say that whatever the person says under this state of illusion may be a product of his own thinking and subconscious.  The point that is forgotten in this theory is that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) continued his message for a period of 23 years and consistently reported the same thing throughout this period.  He uttered the Quran in front of everyone else and they kept record of that.  To say that for 23 years he was convincing himself that the Quran came from an outside source given what we know about his personality and wisdom doesn’t make sense.  These sort of visions which are only a product of the subconscious would have to be related to the individual’s own experience.  If it came from his subconscious then it came basically from his knowledge, experience and environment.  As such it reflects his own thinking.
When we examine the Quran we will find that there is amble evidence of things in the Quran that could have never emanated from the Prophet’s mind whether conscious or sub conscious.  This includes the fact that certain historical things were mentioned in the Quran from the past that were not known to the Prophet or to the people around him.  We can not say that this came from the subconscious; it was specific concrete knowledge of what happened in the past.  In the Quran there is information about future events that are so clear and vivid which came to pass in the exact way that the Quran mentioned; how could that come from the subconscious.  Third, there are many indications in the Quran that the nature of what is in the Quran could not have come from the mind or thoughts of the Prophet.  Fourthly, from a purely scientific standpoint we will find that there are so many things in the Quran that scientists discovered hundreds of years after the Prophet and it was not known at his time.  Again how could he have had that infinite knowledge?  How could these things come from his subconscious, his limited experience and knowledge let alone the fact that he was an illiterate person in an environment that was not advanced in any science?
 
Host:  How does information about past history in the Quran show that Prophet Muhammad could not have been the author of the Quran?
Jamal Badawi:
The Quran mentions many stories about things that have happened all the way from the time of creation.  More particularly there are lots of stories about the Prophets that came before Prophet Muhammad.  Not all of these stories are identical to what we find in previous scriptures like the Bible.  It is well known that history is specific knowledge and is not something that emanates because of insight it is specific information based on something that actually took place in the past.  It can not come from the subconscious.  The only way it comes is through the person learning it.  Like they say one can’t have their cake and eat it too.  If one is assuming that he learned this history from previous sources or read it (even though he did not know how to read or write but for the sake of argument) and that he knew this information from another source and claimed that it came from God which would delve into deliberate fabrication which we discussed amply in the previous programs.  So we either assume that or that it came from his subconscious.  Again this is illogical because the subconscious doesn’t tell one what happened in history.
Some might say that some of the stories of the Prophets were known in general and that he may have had them in the back of his mind.  We find that there are amazing things in the Quran that show that it is very meticulous and that it did not come by way of general familiarity.  For example the story of the seven sleepers, Ahl Al Kahf as described in chapter 18 in the Quran.  Not only does it mention this story but it says that they stayed in the cave for 300 years plus nine.  This is put in such a strange way.  Why did it not say 309 years but rather 300 years which is increased by nine.
If we keep in mind that the Muslims and Arabs used the lunar calendar which is 11 days shorter than the solar year.  If we multiply 11 days by 300 years and divide it by 365 we end up with nine years.  This was revealed to people who did not know about calculations and as we know the Prophet said “We are illiterate people.”  For this meticulous expression to be mentioned in the Quran we can not say one can not say that it was just a general familiarity.  This is just one example.  There is stronger evidence: in the Quran a challenge was made which was not meat by anyone Muslim or non Muslim.  In (11:49) after the Quran describes some stories of the Prophets it says “Such are some of the stories of the unseen, which We have revealed unto thee: before this, neither thou nor thy people knew them. So persevere patiently: for the End is for those who are righteous.”  If this statement in the Quran were not true then somebody no I am an Arab like you and I knew these stories, but not a single person even from those who wanted to stop the rise of Islam couldn’t raise objections and say that they knew the information.  Nor could any outsiders say that they were familiar with the stories.  A challenge was made and it is a fact that people in fact did not know about these stories.  Where did the Prophet get this information?  Again the subconscious is a very poor explanation of such meticulous and detailed cases of precise information.  Similar citations can be found in (12:3) and in chapter 19 about the story of Mary the Mother of Jesus where we find the mention that the information is new and neither the Prophet nor the any of the people have any knowledge of it.  This is why one scholar of the Quran ended by saying that some of the opponents of the Prophet were smarter than some of the contemporary critics because they were intelligent enough not to say that he got his information from his subconscious but they made another accusation found in (25:5) that they were stories he must have gotten from other sources.  Again they could not reply to the question that these stories were not known to anyone in the area, so where did he get the information from?
 
Host:  Can you give us a few examples of the Prophecies in the Quran that could not have come from the subconscious of the Prophet?
Jamal Badawi:
All of these are characterized with definitiveness.  They are not things that may happen but they are things that had been decided.  None of the Prophecies in the Quran proved to be false and it has been 1400 years after the Quran was revealed.  Many people can say that there are astrologers and lots of people who make prophecies that come true but nobody can say that without any fault after 1400 years that there wasn’t a single flaw in any of there people’s prophecies.  After all the Prophet was neither an astrologer or someone who claimed any other way of obtaining information except what had been revealed to him directly from God.  Some of these prophecies relate to a definite statement in the Quran that Islam would be preserved, protected, its Prophet will be protected and its Book will be protected from loss or change and all of these have proven to be correct.  A statement can be found in (14:24). (15:9), (61:6) and many others.  Many of these revelations came to the Prophet in the Meccan period.  This is quite significant because during this period the Prophet and his companions were under severe persecution and they only had a handful of followers and mostly the weak and downtrodden people.
At that time there was no way that one could predict or prophecies that they would succeed.  We know that there were many Prophets and reformers who came under circumstances where everything was in favore of their success and then something happens suddenly that stopped their message.  How could anyone during the Meccan period under these very adverse conditions predict with precision and definitiveness that these things would happen.  After the fact in the history of  Islam there have been many tragedies, with lots of bloodshed, Muslims murdered in thousands and tens of thousands, their books were burned, copies of the Quran were burned and trampled upon, billions of dollars were spent to try to confuse the message of Islam or present it differently.
Despite all of it Islam continued to grow and it is the fastest spreading religion today both among people who are illiterate and people who are highly literate.  Again how could anyone from 1400 years ago make this definitive prophecy.  For example in (2:24) a challenge was made that even if mankind, Jinn and sea creatures came together to create something to imitate the Quran they won’t be able to do it.  We are now 1400 years later and no body claims to have something even similar let alone identical.  In (5:67) there is a definite promise that God will protect the Prophet and as we said before that was not necessarily the case with all Prophets as some were killed.  It was clearly indicated in the Quran that he would be protected and that is why in Al Tirmithi and Al Hakim it says that when this verse was revealed that God would protect him from the people-the Prophet let those who were guarding him go.  There were many instances during history where the Prophet’s life was at stake and he was very cool and comfortable because he knew of the promise of God would be fulfilled and that no one would be able to kill him.
During the most dangerous of moments he would shout: “I am the Prophet, there is no lie about it.”  This is narrated in Bukhari, Muslim and Ahmad.  There are prophecies about the general destiny of the believing group and the disbelieving group.  For example there is the famous verse in the Quran that God has made a promise to those who believe and do good deeds that He will establish their religion for them and that he will give them power to rule on earth.  When Muslims were true to their faith more than half of the world was under their rule and Muslims had a civilization which was quite unique in its humanitarian orientation as well as its great scientific progress.  In Surah 48 there is mention of the treaty of Hidibiah which is a promise that was made under the most adverse conditions.  None of the prophecies that the Quran speaks of has proven to be untrue even after the passage of 1400 years.  I don’t think that one can reasonably say that all of these are a result of wishful thinking or the so called subconscious.
Summary of 10.6 "Source of the Quran V - Religious Illusions"
We continued to look into the various explanations that give some source of the Quran other than revelation, which tried to reconcile the fact that the Prophet claimed that it  came from God while they tried to prove that it was not.  We discussed different theories which tried to relate it to visions like Joan of Arch and we indicated that the analogy is far from relevant.  We discussed theories of Orientalist  such as Birmingham and Tore Andrea where they somehow claim that the Prophet convinced himself that he would be the reformer and as such these visions started to materialize in his own mind.  We tried to explain the erroneous interpretation on both historical and logical grounds.  We first analyzed the fact that there are so many things in the Quran which pertain to past history and history doesn’t emanate from one’s self, history has to be taught or learned somehow.  We looked into the fact that there are certain prophecies in the Quran, none of which have been proven to be inaccurate and those that have come to pass have done so with great accuracy.  We indicated that prophecies are not things that people invent, one might be right once or twice but to be consistent shows a different source than one’s own thinking.
 
10.7     Source of the Quran VI - Religious Illusions II
Host:  Are there prophecies in the Quran that are more specific than those that we discussed in the last program?
Jamal Badawi:
When what we find in chapter 30 “The Romans” is compared to what actually happened in history we find a striking accuracy.  At the time when Muslims were not strong enough, during the Meccan period, it was 614 in the Christian calendar the Roman empire was defeated by the Persians.  In fact the defeat was so bad that many people thought that the Roman empire was finished.  For example in the year 610 the Persians had stunning victories and dominated so many parts that were under the Roman rule which included Egypt and North Africa.  There was no apparent hope for the Romans and it was under these circumstances that the first few verses of chapter 30 where it says that the Romans had been defeated but that they will have victory again in a few years.  The original Arabic world for “a few” is bide’ in Arabic means anywhere between 3-9 years.  It is interesting to note that despite the defeat of the Romans, the Arab Pagans were happy because they were pro the Persians who were closer to the pagan practice than the Romans who were Christians.  According to historians such as Gibbon in regards to the rise and fall of the Roman empire in which it is stated that about 7 years after that prophecy during 622 there was a battle in which the Romans won against the Persians in Issus and two years later the Romans were able to penetrate the Persian empire and so many places that were under their rule like Musl which is now in Iraq.  Notice here the Prophecy that the Romans would win even though they were soundly defeated.
Second, there would be war within a maximum of 9 years and that the Romans despite their weakness would be the winners during that war.  Nobody could speculate and no military expert could have predicted that in such a time a battle would take place and who the winner would be.  There is something equally stunning about that particular passage because it ends by saying that in that day the believers would be happy with the victory of God.  When we consider the 9 years after the prophecy was made at the same time that the Roman’s were defeating the Persians the Muslims were victories against the pagans in the very famous battle of Badr which is mentioned in the Quran and where Muslims were outnumbered more than 3:1 they were ill armed and ill equipped and they still had a brilliant victory.  This type of prophecy is beyond any human capacity.  This is not the only prophecy about the punishment of the disbelievers or about the battle of Badr.
 
Host:  Can you explain the battle of Badr?
Jamal Badawi:
For example in (54:45) it makes a prediction “Soon will their multitude be put to flight, and they will show their backs.”  The interesting thing is that this passage was revealed in Mecca at a time when Muslims were so few and almost helpless and there was anticipation whatsoever that there would be any confrontation between the Muslims and the pagans who sought to destroy them.  Nobody predicted that at all to the point that Omar, a close companion of the Prophets, asked what kind of multitude that would be?  One of the earliest revelations of the Quran in Surah (8:20) Al Anfal where the last passage says that Allah knows that some of you will be very tired during the day in seeking your living, some will be traveling and some will be fighting in the path of Allah which is why the night prayer was relaxed a little bit.  The interesting part is that the prophecy came early on before any notion of fighting would have occurred to the mind of anyone and that there would eventually be a military confrontation between the Muslims and the Pagans which did come to pass.
Another equally stunning Surah in the Quran is (44:10) describes a prophecy that came to pass down to the minutest detail.  What it says for them to wait in response to their dispute until the sky will bring forth a sort of myst or smoke and that this would be a time of great suffering and difficulty.  Then it says that they would pray for Allah to remove this difficulty and that this difficulty would be removed but that they would go back again to their disbelief and then that they should wait till the mighty punishment comes.  This sounds very vague but when we analyze what happened after this prophecy was made we find that as with Moses because of their disbelief Prophet Muhammad called on God to punish them for this and to give them a sign that they may head his message.
Historians tell us that after this passage was revealed a great famine took place.  The pagans suffered so much that one of them would look into the sky and see that it looked like smoke.  They were so hungry that things were so hazy.  It was reported by historians that they ate anything including bones which they tried to scour just to keep alive.  It also happened that they went to the Prophet and they asked him to pray to Allah to remove this difficulty and if He does we will be good, he prayed and the difficulty was removed but yet again they went back to their disbelief.  The third part of the prophecy says for them to wait for the big punishment.  After the removal of this difficulty they were involved in the battle of Badr where they were soundly defeated.  This was a mightier punishment which was inflicted upon them.  One of the interesting parts about the Quran is that immediately after these few verses it mentions Prophet Moses as if to show the connection in the behavior demonstrated by the pagans and the Pharaoh in their denial of the message of their Prophet Moses.
 
Host:  Are there prophecies that relate to specific individuals?
Jamal Badawi:
One of the uncles of the Prophet was known as Abu Lahab which translates literally to the father of flame.  This was his nickname because he had a very fiery temper.  In the very early days of Islam when the Prophet received the command to declare the message when he collected the people from the different tribes and he stood and said “If I were to tell you that there was an army behind that hill, going to invade you would you believe me?” And they responded “Yes, we never caught you telling a lie.”  Then he told them that he was the Prophet and that he was warning them against God’s punishment unless they followed the right path.  After he made this statement his uncle Abu Lahab swore at the Prophet and said “Are you collecting us so that we hear this kind of talk? Tabban Lak (may you parish)!  He swore at the Prophet.  Following this rude comment towards the Prophet a Surah 111 was revealed which said that the perishing would be of the log of Abu Lahab.  It describes how he and his wife used to hurt the Prophet so much and how they used to throw all kinds of things in his path in order to hurt him especially at night and that they would both be punished in Hell Fire.
The question may arise as to what the prophecy is in this case?  Not only does Surah 111 prophecy that Abu Lahab would be punished in the Hereafter which we can not verify now, because it has not come yet, but the interesting part is that we know form history that there were many individuals in History who were as bad as Abu Lahab, resistors of the Prophet, persecutors of the Muslims who ended up believing.  How could anyone make a prophecy with certitude and confidence that this particular fellow would die an unbeliever and that he would never believe.  This was verified 11 years later when he died after the battle of Badr without believing.  How can anyone say for sure that he would not be a believer and that he would die as an unbeliever is beyond us?  In fact some scholars ask an interesting question.  They say that Abu Lahab like any other opponent of the Prophet was very eager to prove that the Message of the Prophet was not genuine or that the Quran was his own thought or invention and they used all kinds of means to prove it, how come Abu Lahab did not pretend to be a Muslim just to prove that the Quran is false?  He could have said that he believed so that he gave the message to people that the Quran was false because it prophecies that he would not believe.  How could he have not been able to do that unless this is the truth of revelation coming directly from Allah.
There is a similar case of an individual known as Al Walid Ibn Al Mughira who was like a ring leader among those who apposed the Prophet and tried to hurt him.  Whenever he heard the Prophet talking about his teachings he would shout “ancient tales” in Arabic “astatear al awaleen.”  We find that there is one Surah in the Quran (68:16) which prophesied exactly what would happen to that individual.
First, it was implied that he would not believe till he was punished, he would live long enough to engage in a fight against the Prophet and that he would eventually he would get hit on his snout which would be a mark of his disbelief.  If this was speculation how would one know that he will not believe, that he would live long enough till the time of the battle, how do we know that during the time of that battle he would be healthy enough to participate in it, how do we know that he will get injured in that battle and particularly on his nose?  There is no way that anyone can say with confidence that this would happen to that particular individual.  Time goes on and this is exactly what happened to him.  Where did the Prophet get this information from if it were true that the Quran immolated from his own thinking.
 
Host:  Can you explain further the viewpoint that the Quran could not have been a reflection of the experience of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)?
Jamal Badawi:
This is an issue that many scholars have devoted discussions to this topic like Muhammad Sharawi, Rasheed Rida, Dr. Draz.  If the Quran were the product of the subconscious of the Prophet whether he realizes it or not then it is not reasonable to expect that the Quran would include correction of the Prophet and blame.  If you author something you would not reveal your mistakes and especially ones that are small.  In the Quran (80) the Prophet during the early days of Islam was talking to the leaders of the tribes and was trying to persuade them to accept the message of Allah and follow the path of Islam, to give up their paganism and evil practices.  At that time a poor blind man by the name of AbduAllah Ibn Umm Makthoom came to the Prophet and wanted to ask him questions.  The Prophet at the time felt that this fellow was already a believer and could wait, so he frowned and was irritated because that fellow was pressing for an answer while the Prophet was busy with those important people.  That was not such a bad mistake and some people would not consider it to be a mistake at all.  In his mind if he convinced those respected leaders it may guide many people to the path of Islam.  However in Surah 80 we find a very severe blame on the Prophet by God that he should pay attention to that poor blind person.  This established a different way of looking at things.  What kind of person authors a book and reprimands himself for a mistake that he was not even aware of.
In the Quran (8:67) after the battle of Badr the Muslims took 70 of the strong people of Qurishe as prisoners of war even though the Muslims were outnumbered 3:1.  What happened is that there was some discussion as to whether those people should be returned immediately, should have been let go for ransom or should they be held until the disbelievers were subdued.  The Prophet with his soft heart leaned towards a more charitable approach of freeing them for some kind of compensation from their people.  Anybody would look at that and agree that it is a humanitarian approach and not an erroneous behavior on the part of the Prophet.  However we find that in the Quran itself the Prophet is told that the more accurate thing was for him to wait, subdue the unbelievers first till they achieve complete victory and the the Muslim community is secured, then the question of returning prisoners could be considered but not to release them and create an additional threat for future battles.  Again nobody could have suspected any wrong with this kind of decision.
In the battle of Tabouk some people came to the Prophet and asked permission to stay behind and did not want to participate.  Again the Prophet did not want to investigate whether they had a good excuse or not and he simply allowed them, which was militarily too liberal.  Again nobody would see a problem with his decision.  However, the Quran in (9:43) blames the Prophet for allowing them without verifying it even though no one else objected to this decision.
As narrated in both Bukhari and Muslim when one of the staunchest enemies of Islam, who was a hypocrite and pretended to be a Muslim, by the name of Abdu Allah ibn Abi Ubi died the Prophet wanted to pray on him out of kindness.  Again the Quran in (9:84) corrects the Prophet that for people who deliberately reject faith and live this kind of life one should not ask forgiveness for them.  In another case when his uncle Hamza was martyred in one of the battles and a woman was so savage that she asked someone to open is stomach and took his liver and started chewing it.  His dear uncle who was a staunch Muslim in this mutilated state, so the Prophet got very angry and swore that he would punish the disbelievers in a similar way.  Again anyone would say that this is only human even if one doesn’t really intend to do it.  In (16:126) it addresses the Prophet that says that when he punishes he should punish int a way that is similar only to what damage that has been done to you but if you be patient (forgive and wait) it is better for those who persevere.  There are aspects that pertain to the personal life of the Prophet that people didn’t know about that the Prophet was corrected as we find in Surah 33 and 66 about things that the Prophet did simply because of over sensitivity.  The Question is how can someone author a book while pointing out their own very small mistakes which are associated with human judgement.
 
Host:  Are there other psychological aspects that would collaborate that the source of the Quran is beyond the Prophet himself?
Jamal Badawi:
From a psychological standpoint when we are angry it takes us a while to cool down.  We find that when one reads in the Quran in (8:67-68) first there is very strong blame to the Prophet then forgiveness and acceptance.  This usually doesn’t happen in human psychology.  There was a case where some hypocrites promoted all kinds of malicious against the integrity of the Prophet’s wife Aisha.  For one month he did not say a word about it, he could have saved himself and claimed that there was a revelation that she was innocent.  But for one month he sat and waited till the Quran came down and showed the evil design of those people and that Aisha was totally innocent of this accusation.  There are certain aspects in the Quran where verses were revealed and the Prophet did not know the meaning and would wait until another revelation would come to explain the wisdom behind it.  Again if revelation emanates from himself how could he have a revelation of something he doesn’t understand.
One example is a verse revealed in the Quran that says that one should fear that if they hide anything that Allah will know it.  Some people were almost in a state of despair when they asked if they were going to also be held responsible for their thoughts.  Then again the Prophet could not answer till another verse another verse from the Quran came to show that one should try his best and it did not mean what they had interpreted it to mean.  During the Treaty of Huddibiah the Prophet made a decision based on religion and he did not know how to defend it and there was almost an insurrection in the army and he could not give an explanation till the wisdom was revealed later a long time after the action took place.
Summary of 10.7  "Source of the Quran VI - Religious Illusions II"
Last week we discussed the theory that claims that the Quran was a sort of vision and that the Prophet sincerely thought was true but that it emanated from his own subconscious.  We indicated that he content of the Quran includes prophecies that came to pass bout the minutest detail which doesn’t proceed from one’s own thinking.  Secondly, we mentioned that the Quran contains certain passages which blame the Prophet and correct him even though his mistakes were innocent interpretation with good intentions.  We indicated that he suffered himself with accusations made against his wife.  He couldn’t say anything about it for a whole month till the revelation came down.  If he were to author it he could have said something and gotten himself out of this difficulty.  Third, there were some passages of the Quran which had wisdom which came much later.  People would ask him about it and he would not be able to answer till later when the revelation came to clarify the issue.  Again how could one’s own self revelation reveal something that he himself can not understand.
 
10.8     Source of the Quran VII - Learning from Others
Host:  Could the Prophet have learned the Quran from some other source?
Jamal Badawi:
First of all, a part of the answer was covered in a previous program.  This assumption implies that the Prophet did not tell the truth when he said that the Quran came from Allah.  We have already analyzed from the study of his own character, recognition of his own enemy that this is not the type of person who falsifies things.  If the Prophet learned the Quran or the teachings of Islam from somebody then who is that person and in what context.  First of all, the Prophet was unlettered and did not know how to read or write until he died.  Second, we know that he was raised in a community that was predominantly pagan and was not a community that believed in some form of monotheism.  Indeed if one were to be skeptical he should be lease skeptical towards Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
For example the case of Moses and Jesus (PBUH).  Moses was raised in the midst of the house of a Pharaoh during civilization and a time of religious discussions  So if anyone was skeptical they could say that Moses might have learned from someone.  Jesus was raised in Jerusalem in the heart of Hebrew tradition, learned allot and according to the New Testament he engaged in lots of discussions with the Jewish scholars.  I am not saying that there is any reason to doubt them because in the Quran both Moses and Jesus are considered to be Prophets of Allah who received revelation from God.  I am simply saying that if there were any questions raised they are least applicable to the case of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) who was unlettered and raised in a community who was raised in an environment which was not monotheistic in orientation.
 
Host:  Were there any exceptions to the predominantly pagan community around the Prophet?
Jamal Badawi:
In any community there are exceptions.  We can not say 100% of the people in that community were pagan.  Again we are talking about the predominant atmosphere and culture.  Some historians refer to a minor exception who don’t really have any significance.  They refer to a few individuals who used to call themselves Hanafies, people who did not participate in the mode of idol worship and who had a different way of contemplating but they did not constitute a religion as they did not have a church, scriptures or a set of teachings.  This is far from having any relevance to the comprehensive coverage of the Quran.  This is far from the various aspects of the Quran and the various aspects of history, creed, the hear after, life, economic, social and political aspects of life.  There is nothing that can really be correlated, and there is no historical record of what they believed in.  It was just a vague feeling of monotheism which might have trickled down to them from the days of Abraham and Ishmael.
In addition one can not eliminate the fact that there were already a few individuals who may not have necessarily been pagans but who may have had Christians backgrounds.  Those few people as historians tell us were not necessarily a predominant culture an did not mingle much with the other Qurishites.  These people were not allowed to reside near the Kaaba because it was the most holy shrine even among pagans so they kept them on the outskirts of the city of Mecca.  In addition they were among the illiterate people from mostly served as workers and servant but not people who had any influence on the culture and they didn’t have a level of learning where they could have possibly been responsible.  This kind of caliber could not possibly explain the comprehensiveness coverage and wisdom of the Quran.  In fact the Quran refers to some of the unfounded accusations that the Pagans made with a very strong rebuttal.
 
Host:  What does the Quran have to say and the nature of the rebuttals in the Quran?
Jamal Badawi:
Some of those who were really desperate to discredit the Prophet wanted to find a way to disclaim the divine source of the Quran.  They started throwing out all kinds of accusations one of which was to make doubt in the case that they could not prove that the Quran was not from a divine source.  They said that he learned from a Christian Roman blacksmith.  This person was real and he used to work in his shop, the Prophet used to be curious about his work and would watch the blacksmith work.  Aside from the fact that it is unreasonable to assume that in the midsts of fire, banging and smoke that the Prophet would learn from an illiterate person all the high concepts of monotheism that we find in the Quran and all its content which organizes human life and the concepts which relate to the creator.  This is totally irrelevant.
The Quran puts it very nicely and shows an important logical flow for this accusation which appears in Surah (16:103) “We know indeed that they say, “It is a man that teaches him.” The tongue of him they wickedly point to is notably foreign, while this is Arabic, pure and clear.”  This fellow actually only knew broken Arabic, so how could a person with that foreign tongue with broken Arabic be the teacher of the Prophet in producing a Book which challenged the most eloquent of the eloquent to produce something similar to it.  It is similar to saying that a Chinese immigrant in Britain was the one who taught Shakespeare.  This just doesn’t make any sense at all.  These are examples of people who were known not to be pagan but there was obviously no grounds to relate that the source of the Quran was from them.
 
Host:  Were there other Jews or Christians in Mecca who were perhaps more learned and to what extent was the Prophet in contact with these people?
Jamal Badawi:
Yes there was a notable case which was known and recorded in history; an old man who was blind towards the end of his life by the name of Waraqa Ibn Nowfal.  He was a cousin of Khadijah, the wife of the Prophet (PBUH).  Some historians say that even though he comes from Arabic descent that he became Christian at one point in his life and had some knowledge of the New Testament.  However, the extent of his acquaintance with the Prophet was very rare.  In fact, there are only two incidents that we have information on where there were encounters between this man and the Prophet.  One was when Waraqa was walking around the Kaaba he encountered Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and affectionately kissed his head.  The other occasion is an incident which is very well documented and is his encounter with Prophet Muhammad after Prophet Muhammad received the first revelation.  Neither of these give any indication of there being a connection in terms to the source of revelation.
Basically when Prophet Muhammad was meditating in the Cave of Hiraa outside of Mecca and the angel of revelation, Gabriel, came to him he came down from the cave trembling and afraid.  As we said in the previous program he never anticipated or hoped to be a prophet and he was not sure whether this was a genuine angel of revelation or whether it was an evil spirit.  He rushed trembling to his wife Khadijah who took him to her relative Waraqa who asked him a number of questions as to what exactly happened.  He concluded clearly that “By the name of God this is the same angel of revelation that came before” and he told Khadijah that her husband was going to be a very important person and will have great influence.  Some historians say that he said that this was the long awaited Prophet and that he gave a prophecy that he would be driven out of your home and that if this happens he would give him all the support that he could.  So the Prophet asked him if they were going to drive him out of his home and he replied that there was no prophet in history who came with a teaching similar to what he was about to receive except that he was apposed and driven out by opposition and persecutors.  After this it was said that Waraqa died shortly after their meeting.  The most trustworthy resources indicate that he died early and we know that the revelation of the Quran came to the Prophet over a period of 23 years.  They conclude that he died in the first three years and the Quran continued to be revealed for an additional 20 years after his death as he was advanced in age and blind.  Again looking at it this way there was not any connection.
 
Host:  Could the Prophet have learned some of the religious teachings from other Jews and Christians from other parts of the Arabian peninsula?
Jamal Badawi
This is a matter of history and geography.  Yes, there were some Christian tribes living in Najran which was in what we call today Yemen which is to the south of Mecca.  To the north there were some Jewish tribes in Yathrim which is known as Medina.  It is interesting to notice that there is absolutely no record in history about Prophet Muhammad traveling to Najran (Yemen) before or after Prophethood.  Second, with respect to the Jews living in Medina first the Prophet was not recorded to have gone to Medina before Prophethood except when he was six years old and in the company of his mother in order to visit his relatives Bani Najjar and to let the Propeht visit the grave of his father because his father died while he was still in his mother’s womb.  I don’t think that we can say that at the age of six that a person during a visit to Medina learned all the Judaeo concepts and the information from The Old Testament.  Furthermore we are talking about a place which is hundreds of kilometers away from Mecca.  This is not a one hour flight, nor is it a matter of 4-5 hours of driving on a super highway but we are talking about a place in the context of the transportation of the 7th century.  We are talking about traveling on a camel or horse for a matter of weeks.  I really don’t see a connection at all between the existence of those communities far from the immediate environment where the Prophet was located.
 
Host:  None Muslim writers claim that there were cases when the the Prophet was engaged in discussions with learned Jews and Christians, including priests: is this not true?
Jamal Badawi:
It is true.  Sometimes however timing is not mentioned.  Timing in this case is crucial.  The emphasis of my answers in the previous questions was that before he was commissioned as a Prophet and started to receive the revelation of the Quran did he have any contact?  This makes a big difference because yes there were incidents and the Quran refers to the dialogue between the Prophet and the Jewish and Christian religious leaders.   This took place long after he became a Prophet and long after the Quran was revealed.  Many of these discussions took place in Medina after the Prophet migrated.  We know that the Prophet was in Mecca for 13 years before the migration.  These discussions took place more than 13 years after the beginning of his mission as the Prophet of God.  The timing is crucial.  How could he learn from them if he already if he already taught so much and had so many revelations?
The second thing is the context where he met with them.  Did he meet with them as a student learning from them or as a teacher and corrector of some of the notions they used to claim?  History tells us that he met them as a Prophet, to invite them to the path of Islam and to indicate to them and correct some of the dogmas that they introduced into the pure monotheistic faiths of Allah.  The Quran refers to his example of the correction some of the dogmas that they introduced into the pure monotheistic faith of Allah.  The Quran refers to his corrections of notions of trinity etc.  Third, many of those religious people ended up following him and becoming his students.  History tell us of very learned people like Abd Allah Ibn Salam, Kaab Alahbar, Salman who were known to have good knowledge.  In fact the Quran in (5:83) makes reference that when they heard the Prophet recite their eyes flowed with tears and they believed in the Prophet “And when they listen to the revelation received by the Messenger, thou wilt see their eyes overflowing with tears, for they recognize the truth: they pray:  “Our Lord! we believe; write us down among the witnesses.”  So yes they had this meeting but the context and capacity is quite revealing.
 
Host:  Because Prophet Muhammad traveled extensively as a part of his trade in early years, could he have learned it through his travels outside of Arabia?
Jamal Badawi:
The first correction to this common statement is that those who used to travel extensively are the Qurayshites in general and the Quran makes reference to that in a Surah called Quraysh.  The Qurayshites used to make a trip in the summer which would go north to Syria and in the Winter they would go south to Yaman.  That generalization about Arabs who were involved in trade doesn’t mean that the Prophet was involved in these travels too.  In fact historically we know of two trips that he took outside of the Arabian Peninsula made by the Prophet (PBUH).  One was when he was nine (no older than 12) years of age in the company of his uncle Abi Talib when they went to Syria for trade on a caravan.  Obviously one can not say that at that age he learned something that people spend their whole lives learning.  In one of the stories narrated in Al Tirmidhi that on the way one Christian monk, Al Bahira, saw strange signs about the Prophet, asked him some questions and warned his uncle that he was the anticipated long awaited Prophet and to be careful because some people may hurt him if they knew and advised him to go back as soon as possible.  Of course it is obvious that in a caravan passing a monk and resting from the heat of the sun that a 9 year old boy would learn all the secrets of theology and come up with something that really has enlightened the hearts of hundreds of millions of people is too grand an assumption to make.
The second record of his travel was when he was 25 years old, after he married Khadijah, and he was responsible for her caravan.  Imagine a person traveling with the responsibility of a whole caravan, busy buying, selling, negotiating, packing and traveling could have learned something that would result in faith of the magnitude of Islam and as comprehensive as the Quran.  Not only is this kind of claim historically unjustified but it can not even be justified on logical grounds.  There are additional reasons as the life of the Prophet was open to all.  The Quran testifies to that fact in Surah 49 and that he did not even have sufficient privacy in his own home because were around him at all times and were trying to record each and every that he says.  They tried to observe his action as a model for them.  This was the case so how could it be that he was secretly meeting with a teacher while people were around him and in his presence at all times.  How could he have escaped the open eyes that were around him all the time?  These eyes included who were independent and had strong personalities like Abu Bakr and Uthman.
How could such wise people believe in him and sacrifice their property and lives by putting it on the line in defense of what he teaches while they know that he is not telling the truth.  How could it be that a person who was his enemy like Omar who was strong and wise and was an enemy and turned around and offered his life and put it on the line in defense of Islam and what he saw as the truth.  His enemies who kept their eyes open for any flaw or mistake or anything that may have justified their accusations that he was a false prophet or that he claimed something that he in reality learned from someone else.  If there were such a teacher they would have made a big fuss about it and said that not only is he learning from others but they would have revealed his name and that they caught him learning from him.  What kind of teacher let the Prophet learn all of that without claiming the credit for himself.  It would have had to be an invisible teacher who evaded the other teachers.  His teacher was no other than Gabriel the Angel of revelation.  This is the only viable explanation.
 
Summary of 10.8 "Source of the Quran VII - Learning from Others?"
Last week was part of a series of the examination of the source of the Quran or its authorship.  When we began we said that there are three basic possible assumptions: if the Quran was authored by Prophet Muhammad, if he learned it from another source or if it is a revelation from Allah.  In several programs we examined the possibility that Prophet Muhammad was the author of the Quran and in several programs we showed that this was a totally untenable assumption.  Last week’s program examined the second assumption.  Is it possible that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) learned the Quran through some other source.  We tried to examine whether there could have been a possible human teacher from whom the Prophet could have learned the Quran.  We analyzed it in terms of the characteristics of the Prophet himself as a truthful person and the fact that the environment that he was brought up in did not provide for this kind of knowledge or information.  We discussed other aspects with respect to Jews or Christians living in the Arabian peninsula or people that he might have meat in his limited travel.  We concluded that his life was exposed to everyone and that everyone could see who his contacts were.  His opponents kept a watch on him and if there was the slightest evidence of a human teacher/s it would have been clearly recorded in history.  This shows that if there were any teacher of the Quran to the prophet it was non but Gabriel the Angel of revelation.  We find this in the Quran in (53:6).
 
10.9     Source of the Quran VIII - Borrowing from the Bible I
Host:  Was the Quran influenced by the Bible?
Jamal Badawi:
It is interesting to notice that for centuries in recent decades lots of orientalist have been busying themselves in trying to discover the parallels between the two Books.  The basis behind this was to show the influence of the Quran or the Judeo-Christian tradition on Islam.  In this endeavor there seems to have been a number of points that were either concealed or forgotten.  First of all, to assume that there is any influence of any previous scriptures on the Quran in fact would be another way of saying that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was one of the most plagiarizers in human history who carefully studied previous scriptures, chose specific things that would constitute a consistent perfect fit and came up with a new ideology and claimed that it came from a divine source.  We have already seen in previous programs that on the basis of psychological, historical, logical grounds that this kind of assumption is far from reality.  A point that is forgotten was expressed nicely by Dr. Tibawi in his useful volume called “Speaking Orientalists” published by the Islamic Center in Geneva Switzerland.  As a historian and scholar he says that the similarity between any two compositions is not sufficient evidence that one of them copied from the other.  He gives a very reasonable argument which is used by historians.  Both books could in tern be based on a third source.  If the Quran and the Bible were human books which we do not believe they were there is no sufficient evidence to prove any of it.  There are definitely certain parts of the Bible that might have  remained intact and reflect the basis of the revelation which was given to Prophets before.
We find that the Quran is totally and completely nothing but the pure word of Allah.  If Allah was the source of both revelations, it would answer the question of there being similarity.  Because the source of revelation that was given to Moses, Jesus, David or other Prophets is the same source that gave this revelation to Muhammad.  What then is strange that there are certain things in the Quran which are similar to the Bible?  This doesn’t mean that one copied from the other.  In fact, some scholars say that if we take the ten commandments that we may find that in some religions that preceded Christianity and Judaism like Hinduism one might find similar statements.  Does this mean that Judaeo Christian traditions were all copied from Hindu scriptures?  Nobody can make that unreasonable assumption.  In this kind of discussion there seems to be an implicit assumption that a scripture, which is older has more validity than one that is more recent which is not necessarily true.
 
Host:  Why are older scriptures not more dependable than a latter one?
Jamal Badawi:
Suppose that we assume that two scriptures were equally preserved and were intact in their purity would be a different story all together.  The situation here is different.  If there were sufficient historical, logical or otherwise that the later revelation was revealed with the intention of superseding a prier revelation.  Then this becomes more important and its relevant recency becomes a positive rather than a negative.  If God revealed His will in different ways throughout human history and kept in mind through revelation of the human race and then came with the last form of revelation, being more recent and being last is an advantage which doesn’t make older scriptures more valid because it is supposed to supersede it.  The Quran makes a reference to this characteristic in (5:48).
Second, to compare scripture one has to keep in mind the question of authenticity and how far each of them remained intact.  There is ample evidence that only in the case of the Quran and no other scripture revealed before it do we find clear evidence and proof that it was not subjected to being mixed with human interpretation at a later time.  It was recorded in the lifetime of the Prophet under his supervision and in the same original language.  Again one can not compare the older verses the recent, but one must look carefully into the relative authenticity and how each of them reached us today.
 
Host:  Because you say that the Quran supersede previous scriptures does this mean that there should be no comparisons or any attempt to compare the Bible and the Quran?
Jamal Badawi:
There may be some who hold the view that one would be comparing two documents which are quite different.  As one is a combination of revelation plus other commentary of the followers of the Prophet which is the case of the Bible verses a Book which is totally and exclusively the world of Allah or revelation without any human agent contributing to its content.  In my humble understanding I do not see a problem in making comparisons whether this is being made by a Muslim scholar or a non Muslim scholar if the intention behind it is to analyze issues and try to develop a better understanding of some of the common problems, provided that the basic differences between the Bible and the Quran are kept in mind.
 
Host:  What are fundamental differences between the Quran and the Bible?
Jamal Badawi:
First, when we speak about the Bible we are not talking about one book but rather a composite of 66 different books (in the Protestant version as the Catholic version has a few more books).  These books were written by many different authors during different periods of human history.  We compare this with the Quran and we find it to be quite different because the Quran is just one cohesive consistent book and there is no question of there being more than one author as it all was a direct revelation to the last Prophet: Muhammad.  There is no discrepancy of the time of writing as it was written during the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and more specifically during his mission which was from the age of 42 to 63.  Secondly, when we talk about the Bible one is talking about a mixture of both certain injunctions and teachings which may have had divine origins as revealed to earlier Prophets.
The Bible also has interpretations added to it by later followers.  The pure revelation does not have this commentary.  Notice that even the words of Prophet Muhammad himself are kept totally separate from what he uttered the state of revelation when the Quran was dictated to him word for word.  His other sayings are known as Hadith and are compiled in totally separate volumes.  There is a big difference between them and the scripture.  The third comparison is that in the case of the bible we find that in both the Old Testament as well as the New Testament there is an element of biography about the Prophets rather than what they received by way of revelation.  For example the Book of Deuteronomy speaks about Moses and what he did.  It talks about him not about what he taught.  In the New Testament, the four Gospels talk about Jesus which are basically four biographies which talk about Jesus written by his followers.  In the Quran we find that it is not simply a biography about Prophet Muhammad written by his followers.  There is no human interference in what the Quran contains.  There might be certain incidents where the word of Allah mentions something that happened in the lifetime of the Prophet, by way of commandments and directives.  The Quran is not a biography about the Prophet or others.  This is known as Serah which is the story of the lifetime of the Prophet which is completely different from Hadith or Prophetic sayings.
In the case of the Bible we find that there are several books which were written many years after the death or after their mission ended on earth.  This is why we find that Biblical scholars indicate that there are a number of difficulties because of this method of preservation.  There are some issues about the authorship of some of the books and who the authors were of certain books.  In the Book of Hebrew in the New Testament the Biblical scholars wonder if it was written by Paul or someone else.  There are other books like Titus which scholars question whether it was written by Paul or if it was attributed to him.  Because many of these books are not available to us in the original language that the Prophets spoke we find that there are questions regarding the identity of the translators.  Who were the translators, when were they translated and when was it written?  Biblical writers refer to this and F.C Grant in his book “Gospels, Their Origin and Growth.”  In the 1960 addition of Encyclopedia Britannica we find that it indicates that before Gospels gained prestige because one or the other was adopted by the major churches of the time.  An interesting from Encyclopedia Americana in the 1959 addition: Volume 3 (pg. 651-653) it indicates that “we have no certain knowledge as to how or where the for called Canon came to be formed.”  It is also known in History that the four Gospels are not the only ones.  In the case of the Quran this problem didn’t ever arise because the entire Quran was written down directly from the mouth of the Prophet, was memorized by multitudes around him during his life time in the original language in which the Quran was revealed.  The original language was Arabic and if there is any doubt one can go to the original.  In that sense we can say there was no human judgement involved in what is to be contained in the Quran.
 
Host:  What does it mean not to have any human judgement and how does that relate to the Question of comparison?
Jamal Badawi:
Take for example the New Testament and more particularly the four Gospels.  We are told by Church historians that the four Canonized Gospels which we find in the available copies of the Bible were not the only accounts of Prophet Jesus (PBUH).  There were many Gospels but only these four were selected in the Conference of Nice in the year 325 AD.  This was many decades after Jesus (PBUH).  We are not discussing on what bases these were selected and others that were rejected because again we are not talking about something that is uniformly agreed to.  For examples some historians refer to the Gospel of St. Barnabas which is not accepted as a Canonized Gospel and has some fundamental differences from the four other Gospels with respect to the divinity of Prophet Jesus (PBUH).
We are told by Church historians that in the various subsequent conferences sometimes some books would be accepted and at a latter time they would be rejected or the reverse.  The books of the Bible were not always the same throughout history and have always been a matter of dispute and subject of human judgement.  Human beings sat in conferences to determine which part was revelation and which part was not.  The main issue here is that there is no such parallel to the Quran, we never heard in Islamic history that religious scholars tried to determine what Surahs of the Quran should be included in the Quran and what should not.  Nobody has the right to do that because no body has the right to supersede the will of Allah.  There is not such problem in case of the preservation of the Quran.  This doesn’t mean that a Muslim should say that they do not believe in any of the Bible.  What i am saying basically is that when comparisons are made one has to keep in mind these fundamental questions.
 
Host:  So do Muslims accept some portions of the Bible despite the difficulties we just discussed?
Jamal Badawi:
This is basically true.  Some earlier statements in this program it was indicated that it is part of Muslim belief, a fundamental part of faith, is to believe in the original Holy Scriptures or Holy Books in their original form that were given to previous Prophets.  This doesn’t change because of the difficulties involved in recording and the authenticity of the Bible.  The acceptance of the Muslim of the previous Scriptures is qualified with its consistency with the Quran, the last revelation of the Creator.  Anything that is consistent with the Quran can be accepted by the Muslim.  We should keep in mind that when the Quran refers to legitimate revelations or Holy Books given to previous Prophets in the past like the Torah to Moses, Injeal to Jesus or Zabour to David it doesn’t mean that these are synonymous with what we call a Bible.  This is a very common error that we find in non Muslims as well as some Muslims who do not understand this basic difference.
Some of the points that I will mention may sound elementary to a Jewish or Christian viewer but I want to indulge in this so that Muslims who do not have that much familiarity with the Bible so that there will be a more mutual understanding where everybody has clarity of what certain terms mean.  To start with the Quran mentions previous scriptures given to Prophets.  More specifically it talks about the leaves given to Abraham, Al Zabour given to David whether it is the same as the Psalms given to David, Tourah given to Moses or Al Injeal given to Jesus.  A Muslim who rejects any of these books in their original form is rejecting Islam.  Part of the belief in Islam is believing in the Prophets and what was given to these Prophets.  The point is that the term Bible actually refers to a collection of 66 books (Protestant version) with two sections known as the Old Testament (before Jesus PBUH) and the New Testament (after Jesus PBUH).
In the Old Testament there is a total 39 books and the New Testament has 27 books.  The Old Testament is composed of 39 books and only the first five of them are referred to as the Law or Pentateuch which is sometimes referred to as the Torah of Moses.  These include Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.  It is quite significant to realize that when the Quran speaks about the Torah given to Moses it does not speak about the Bible, the Old Testament or even of the five books of the Law.  The reason being is that the Quran speaks of the Torah which was given to Prophet Moses as a revelation.  When we examine these five books one would find for example in the Book of Genesis there are certain historical aspects that preceded the coming of Moses.  We do not know if these were part of the revelation given in Mount Sini or it it is based on previous writings.  Second, in the book of Exodus speaks of the story of the Israelites and their deliverance from Egypt which occurred before Moses received the Torah.
The fifth book of the Law includes the book of Deuteronomy which includes addresses and preachings of Prophet Moses not necessarily just what God told him to preach which could be his own interpretation.  It includes certain portions which were written down after Moses.  Towards the end of chapter 34 in the book of Deuteronomy in verses 5-12 it speaks about Moses dying in such and such land and being buried which is something that took place after the lifetime of Moses.  How can that be part of the Torah received by him on Mount Sini.  Similarly if we take the New Testament we find that it speaks about Jesus being given a revelation called Al Injeal which is not the same as the New Testament which includes more than the Gospels.  It is not equivalent to any or all of the four Gospels either because they are biographies of the life of Jesus but not necessarily what the Quran refers to as specific instructions and revelation given to Prophet Jesus (PBUH).  I do not mind making comparisons if we are aware of these differences.
Summary of 10.9 "Source of the Quran VIII - Borrowing from the Bible I"
The first point we clarified last time was that any similarity between the Bible or any previous scripture and the Quran doesn’t mean that the most resent copied from the older one because both scriptures could have based this information on the same original source which in this case is divine revelation.  Second, we indicated that the relevant recency of the Quran is an advantage because as the Quran indicated it came as the criterion or a revelation from Allah to superseded previous revelations, confirming what remained intact and correcting interpretations that may have not been entirely correct and giving comprehensive guidance to human life on earth.  If we want to make comparisons between the Bible and the Quran we have to keep in mind some essential differences which we discussed depending on it all being revelation, part revelation, human interpretation, when and how these things were written and if they are available in the original language in which the Prophet uttered and so on.  Likewise we pointed out some common errors which non-Muslims or even Muslims make in equating some of the Quranic terminology that refers to previous scriptures such as Al Zabour, Al Toura and Al Injeal with the usual Psalms, Torah or Gospel or even in some cases with the Old Testament or New Testament and we indicated that these are not identical in that the Muslim obligation to believe in previous scriptures and holy books revealed to the Prophets and not to biographies written by their followers about what they taught.  The main thing really was just to show that the Quran was a quite independent as a set of revelation from God both in terms of the creeds contained in the Quran as well as matters of history.
 
10.10   Source of the Quran IX - Borrowing from the Bible II
Host:  How is the conception of Allah or God compares in the Quran and the Bible?  How does this confirm that the Quran was not influenced by the Bible?
Jamal Badawi:
A basic similarity between the beliefs of Jews, Christians and Muslims is the belief in one true universal Compassionate, Mighty, Just, Creator and Sustainer of the universe.  Whether the Creator is called Allah, Arabic, or God there is this common ground to start from.  To be honest there are some points that are basically different.  The first thing that strikes any student of both scriptures is the notion of anthropomorphism in the Bible or the way it depicts God as a sort of super man or super human.  The evidences of this are quite plentiful and this point alone shows that the Quran could never have been influenced by the Bible.  For example in the first book of Genesis in (1:26) we are told that God created man in His own image.  This leads the reader to believe that God is just like humans because man is made in God’s image.  I am aware that some may claim that image means spiritual because God is spiritual not material.  My feeling is that this is more of an apologetic or questionable response because of three reasons.  This statement doesn’t only appear in the first chapter of the Book of Genesis but it also appears in chapter five in the first verse.  Interestingly enough this is the same term or expression used to refer to the son of Adam Seth because it said that Adam got a child in his likeness after his image.  Apparently the usage of the term seemed to imply the physical image.
A second reason that the notion of spiritual image is not very convincing is that the notion of Allah resembling humans might have contributed to the notion that emerged later on in the New Testament of Jesus being the God incarnate.  We all know that these types of interpretations have influenced the thoughts of Christians throughout history.  The famous artist Michael Angelo in his depiction of God as an old man and Jesus as a younger man by His side, seemed to show that this was a more common interpretation of what image of God really means.  The third reason is that in the other quotations that we may discuss or refer too we will find that this notion of anthropomorphism, thinking of God in human terms, is not only in the first chapter of the first book of Genesis but it is repeated in many other contexts.
For example in the third chapter of the book of Genesis (8-11) we are told that when Adam and Eve ate from the forbidden tree they hid themselves and then they heard the Lord walking in the freshness of the day and they hid themselves and then He started calling them.  He asked where they were and they said they were naked and he asked how they knew that they were naked and if they had eaten from the tree.  The implication seems to be quite obvious as to how Adam and Eve could hear the Lord walking in the Garden unless the image of God is more physical being moving and making that noise.  The same point is made about the story of Prophet Noah when the Arc settled on Mount Araghat.  The Book of Genesis in (8:21) we are told that he offered a burnt offering, then it says that the Lord smelled the sweet savor which is giving him human characters of smell for example.  Fourth we get the impression from the Bible that God is like a human and He forgets and doesn’t need someone to remind him.  Fourthly, we get the impression from reading the Bible that God is like a human he forgets and may need someone to remind him and he may have to move from one place to the other to find out what is going on.
A quick reference is in the ninth book of Genesis (15-16) when that there is a bow in the clouds so that God remembers His covenant, or in the book of Genesis chapter 18 of God going to Sodom and Gomorra to find out what people were doing.  A fifth point is the notion that God needed rest like the humans.  In the second chapter of the book of Genesis in verse 2 we are told that God created the Heavens and the Earth in 6 days and then He rested.  And this is the origin of the word Sabbath.  This again seems to be of a super human or a manlike type of God.  Sixth, before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorra in the 18th chapter of the book of Genesis that the Lord appeared to Abraham and he sat in the tenth door in the heat of the day.  The seventh point is that there are times that a Muslim reader gets the impression from reading the Bible that God is like a human and He forgets, regrets and doesn’t know what would happen in the future and is surprised at things happening.  This is clear shortly before the story of the flood in Genesis (6:6).  The same notion was repeated when God thought to punish the Israelites because of their infractions as we find in the book of Exodus in chapter (32:14).  These are only seven examples which show anthropomorphic thinking of God.  There are other things that a Muslim may notice in the bible which shows how God is sometimes worried as if He is competing with the power of the humans.
 
Host:  Are there reference that could be checked to examine these statements?
Jamal Badawi:
Going back to the book of Genesis and the famous story of Adam and Eve we are told in the second book in (2:9) that the tree which was forbidden to Adam and Eve was the tree of knowledge and provided the distinction between right and wrong.  We are also told that when they ate from that tree one of the main reasons that God didn’t like that behavior was because he was afraid that the human would “become one of us” as is found in (3:22) of the book of Genesis.  In Islamic understanding the knowledge of right and wrong was inherent in human nature before they ate from the tree.  Eating from the tree was a result of human nature.  In the same chapter (3:22-24) we are told that God was worried that after Adam and Eve ate from the tree of knowledge they may move on and eat from the tree of life and as such live forever.  It says that God placed a flaming sword which moved in many directions in order to keep the way of the tree of life.  Similarly in the famous story of the building of the tower of Babel which appears in Genesis (11:5-9) that God looked down at what man had built and was worried that the human race united, their language was one and that there was nothing that they wanted to do that they could be restrained from doing.  He decided to confound their languages, which is the source of the term Babel, so that they can not understand each other.  Again this seems to indicate that there was a sense of worry that the human power may be competing with His might.  A third example is the reason why Jacob was called Israel.  In the famous story depicted in Genesis (32:22) where it says that Jacob when he was alone one night wrestled with a man and then realized that this man was the Lord and that Jacob prevailed over God, even though He touched the thigh of Jacob and took it out of its joint, but in any case Jacob was triumphant.  Then it says that God blessed him that night and it was indicated that God told him that his name would no longer be Jacob but Israel because he had power with men and with God.  These are three indicators that the perception of God in the Bible seems to indicate a sort of human like nature to God which is a limitation.
 
Host:  How do the references from the Bible compare to those found in the Quran?
Jamal Badawi:
While the Quran emphasis the individual intimate relation between the human and the creator we find that there is a parallel emphasis on the transcendence of the Creator and His dissimilarity from anything that He created.  In that sense we can say that the concept of monotheism in the purest form called towheed is quite different in some important respect from the New Testament, the Old Testament and from the notion common among Jews or Christians.  The Quran doesn’t have any notion of a God incarnate or a God who became a man.  In (9:13), (4:69), (76:77), (15:19) and numerous other places where the basic emphasis that Jesus (PBUH) was a human being and great messenger and Prophet of God and the notion of trinity is absolutely untraceable in the Quran.  In addition to this if we compare citations that are in the Quran with some of the points that were raised earlier we find that the notion of an anthropomorphic God has no parallel in the Quran.  In (42:11) in the Quran it says “there is nothing whatever like unto Him.”  In (6:103) again it indicates that thoughts can not comprehend God but He comprehends all visions and thoughts.
In (112:1-4) “Say: He is Allah, the One and Only; Allah, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him.”  We notice agin the basic notion of the transcendence and that He is dissimilar to any other creator or otherwise is consistent with other situations in the Quran which show that He doesn’t need rest or sleep as we find in (2:255) where it indicates that God doesn’t get overtaken by slumber.  In (42:11) we find the same thing and that He created the heavens and the earth without exerting any effort.  There is no question in the Quran of God worrying about the increasing power of the human.  In (36:82) of the Quran we are told that His command if He wills it to be is simply to say to it “Be” and it is.  How can the creator of the heavens and earth be worried about power, knowledge or strength of humans?
The Quran indicates that God’s knowledge includes the past present and future.  References on this can be found (2:5-6) and (6:59).  In the Old Testament God is depicted as a tribal God (for example the God of Israel) but in there is not a single place where the Quran refers to Allah as the God of Qurishe as opposed to the God of Israel, nor was her referred to as the God of Arabs or Israel.  It speaks of God as the universal God of all humanity and the universe.  From the first Surah to the last the emphasis is on Lord of the universe and Lord of humankind.  Through this series of citations the main point is that there are fundamental differences in the concept of towheed in the Quran compared with either the Old or New Testament.  These differences are not just casual differences but the  Quranic concept is presented with a great deal of consistency but shows that it is totally independent from the either the Old or New Testament.  It is perhaps the purest, most profound yet simple conception about the creator that can be found anywhere.
 
Host:  What similarities and differences are related to the question of the Quran borrowing from the Bible?
Jamal Badawi:
In the Judaeo Christian as well as the Islamic view there is an agreement that God chose certain individuals and showed His will to them and put them in charge of communicating the message to the rest of mankind.  In the Quran we find that unlike the Bible the Prophet is not presented as someone who has the power of prophecy.  The concept of a Prophet in the Quran seems to stand between two extremes.  The extreme that one finds in the Old Testament of major moral sins and shaky belief and the other extreme that is found in the New Testament which exaggerates the importance of Prophets to the point of deifying them.
 
Host:  Why are these differences important?
Jamal Badawi:
Two things are easily detectable by a Muslim reader of the Bible.  One is that some Prophets are accused of having a compromise in matters of belief or faith in God.  Second, some Prophets are accused of major sins and moral sins which one would not expect from an average reasonable individual.  The example of the first one is that of Aaron the brother of Moses.  We are told in the book of Exudes in the beginning of chapter 32 that when Moses went to Sini to receive the Torah from God that it was Aaron who collected the gold from the women and made it into a golden calf.  The Quran makes it clear that he was innocent of this kind of story.
In the case of Prophet Solomon who is regarded as a Prophet we are told in the first book of Kings in (11:4) that towards the end of his life his wives turned his heart away from God and inclined towards to gods.  As far as the question of moral sin attributed to Prophethood which the Quran doesn’t accept: from Prophet Abraham we are told that he claimed that Sarah was his sister which resulted in the Pharaoh taking her and was about to take her as his concubine.  This appears in the 12th chapter in the book of Genesis in verses 12-16.  The Problem is that the same behavior is attributed to Prophet Abraham when he went to see the king of Gerar which is found in the 20th chapter of the book of Genesis.  Again he claimed his wife to be his sister and that the king took her.
The other example of this is a contemporary of Prophet Abraham, Prophet  Lute and the story of his two daughters is quite famous and is found in the Book of Genesis(19:30-38) where a major moral crime was attributed to Lute.  It was attributed in the same chapter that he gave his two daughters to the people of Sodom and Gomorra to do with them as they pleased just to save his guests.  Similar moral infractions were attributed to Prophet David and his story with the wife of Uriah, the Hittite and that he committed adultery with her and used all kinds of deception to conceal it which is found in the second book of Samuel in chapter 12.  This is quite different from the way that the Quran depicts those great personalities.
 
Host:  Can we address the question of sin, human nature and how to overcome sin; how does the Bible and Quran compare on this issue?
Jamal Badawi:
Perhaps if we backtrack to the issue of Prophet it might pave the way to understanding what sin means in the Quran and how it compares to the Bible.  As compared with this kind of description we find that within the Quran there is only praise for them.  They are praised as individuals who are steadfast in their firm belief in God, in terms of their high moral qualities as we find in the Quran in (3:33) and (19:41-59).  These show that from an Islamic standpoint a Prophet is really the best model for his people and if the Prophet was a person who could compromise matters of faith and belief how could he be entrusted by God to communicate his message to mankind?  If the Prophet tells people day and night not to commit adultery, do not lie or steal and then he commits those sins these teachings would not have any meaning or weight.  The notion of the Prophet here is considerably different.  This is what is referred to as the Ismah or infallibility of the Prophets.  This means they are humans and are capable of committing small mistakes here and there but but to commit major sins in matters of belief or behavior is not something that is really befitting the Prophets and their role in human history.  The Quran presents them as the select of the select as we find in (6:68) and (21:73) and that the Prophets are the best models for humankind to follow.
Summary of 10.10 "Source of the Quran IX - Borrowing from the Bible II"
The main theme of this discussion is the examination of the statement made quite frequently but is not correct that because the Quran was revealed after the Bible then the Quran must have borrowed from the Bible.  In the previous program we discussed two basic areas.  One is the conception of God in both books.  We indicated some important differences that show that the Quran could never have been based off of the Bible from the analytical point of view.  We talked about the anthropomorphism or way the Bible sometimes depicts God in super human form that He has an image, that He walks and makes sound when He walks, that He rests, that He forgets and that He doesn’t know what is going to happen which is why he regrets some of his decisions, and that he at times fears the competition of the power of humans as we find in the story about the tower of Babel.  Many times He is referred to as a tribal God like the God of Israel.  In some cases the human prevailed over Him like in the story with Jacob.  We find that while Quran emphasizing the nearness of God and His intimate relationship with the pious we still find a great deal of emphasis on the transcendence of God.  We don’t see any notions of God being physical, materialized or reincarnated in one form or the other and all of these descriptions that we find in the Bible are totally absent in the Quran.  The Quran speaks of God as the Lord of the universe.
The second main question was the question of Prophethood and we indicated that while there may be some similarities on the surface, it was clear from the various documentation and references made to the Bible that the perception of Prophets in the Bible is quite different and that many times great Prophets are accused of compromising in the matter of faith.  Like for example, Solomon and Aaron who were accused of major moral sins.  In contrast to that we have seen how the Quran emphasized a great deal, the holiness of those individuals and that while they were humans they were the best models of humans.  In both items that were discussed it was quite obvious that there was no ground to say that the Quran was influenced or borrowed from the Bible or some of these notions that we find are amply mentioned in the Bible would have crept and effected the content of the Quran.
 
10.11   Source of the Quran X - Borrowing from the Bible III
Host:  Can we examine sin and atonement?  Is the story of Adam and Eve nearly identical between the Bible and the Quran?
Jamal Badawi:
Some people refer to the concept of one God and say that it is basically the same but it may not be as simple as it sounds on the surface.  The only thing that is nearly identical between the Quran and the Bible is that they were the first human beings to be created, they were in the Garden and that they were allowed to eat from any tree except for one and that somehow they were succumbed and ate from that tree, then they were sent to earth where they were supposed to live.  Beyond the surface we find that there are four important differences which are not minor.  First of all in the Bible in the second book of Genesis we are told that this was a tree of knowledge but in the Quran there is no mention of a tree of knowledge.  There are many citations in the Quran which indicate that it was not a tree of knowledge because in (91:8) it shows that when Allah created the human He inspired into that human the knowledge of good and evil, the right from wrong.  According to the way the Quran presents the story of creation the symbol that humans are created from clay is but a clear indication that humans know from their instinctive nature how to distinguish between right and wrong and such they do not need a tree to provide the fruit of this kind of knowledge.
Second, is that in the Bible we find that the woman is the one who carries the burden of this mistake.  This is found in Genesis (3:12-16) we are told that it was Eve who tempted Adam and persuaded him to eat from that tree.  The same verses indicate that as a result of this God decided to multiply her sorrow through pregnancy and childbirth.  This is the same notion that was emphasized in the new testament by Paul in Second Timothy chapter 2 where he seemed to repeat the same kind of notion.  Again when we go to the Quran despite the similarity on the surface that we mentioned earlier we find that there is no single passage in the Quran that implies in any way that women carry the primary burden for that first mistake.  Indeed the Quran always speaks of both them being responsible as we find in (2:21).  In one verse it even points the finger at Adam, not that he was alone in this, which shows that there is no orientation towards a woman being blamed for it.  On the other hand if we compare Genesis three where women suffer through childbirth and pregnancy is a sort of consequence of that mistake we find that this is quite different in the Quran.  In fact pregnancy and childbirth is described in the Quran as something which is noble, praiseworthy, makes the mother entitled to love, affection, respect and compassion as we find in (29:8) and (46:15).  Many more details were given on this issue in the Social Systems in Islam in the part that deals with women as they are depicted in Judaeo Christian and Muslim scriptures.
A third major difference is that in the Book of Genesis in chapter 3 we are told that Eve was tempted by the serpent.  In the Quran there is absolutely no mention of the serpent being responsible for whispering to Eve to eat from the forbidden tree.  We have discussed in the Social System in Islam that the origin of this mythology about the serpent being the symbol of evil.  In fact as opposed to that we find that the Quran in chapter 2 speaks about Satan tempting both Adam and Eve rather than a serpent tempting Eve who then tempted Adam.  It talks about Satan persuading them to disobey God with whatever promises he gave them.  A fourth difference, and perhaps the most important, is that after Adam and Eve ate from that tree there is no mention in the book of Genesis about Adam and Eve repenting to God and asking for forgiveness.  This is something that the Quran emphasis very strongly.  In the Quran Adam and Eve realized their mistake, went to pray to Allah and asked for forgiveness.  Allah knowing their weakness, because he created them and knows their weakness and noting their sincerity and being a Merciful Creator forgave them.  We find that in the Quran in (2:37) and (7:23) we fin an explanation of this whole notion which is totally ascent in the Bible.  On the basis of these four comparisons it appears to me that the story of Adam and Eve in both scriptures is not nearly as identical as some may think.
 
Host:  Why would you consider these differences to be major as opposed to minor?
Jamal Badawi:
These are major differences because they have major theological implications.  In other words they have impacts on what a person believes and the creed.  For example, the issue of the type of tree.  It raises the question that Adam was perfect before he ate from the tree and then as a result of eating from that tree he lost that perfection and his essential nature was changed.  In the Quran depicts that the human was created partially from clay so he has this material or human nature and is subject to temptation and because of his nature he succumbed to eating from the tree.  So eating from the tree was a result of his nature.
The second question is weather a human would have to attain perfection before he can achieve salvation, phallically on earth or in the Hereafter as a precondition for salvation or weather God knowing the weakness of the human and being a just God doesn’t require of humans anything more than they can handle.  If it is impossible, by definition, for human beings to be perfect then how could Allah expect anyone to be perfect.  As the Quran depicts it if a person makes a mistake and tries to correct that mistake, by repenting, Allah will accept him.  Allah expects us to have lapses on the way but it all depends on if we are trying or not.  This raises the Question as to weather a human inherits sin committed by his or her ancestors.  Is every child born with the stigma of the sin that was committed by Adam and Eve? Or is it that every child is born innocent and pure with no inheritance of sin as no body can carry the sin of any other person and that each person is responsible for his or her behavior?  We find ample documentation in the Quran in (17:113) and (53:38) which emphasis the question of individual responsibility for sin.
The fourth point is whether as a result of this original sin in terms of the Biblical interpretation there must be blood shed before forgiveness is given which is the whole notion of God becoming man and having to have his blood shed in order to reconcile himself to mankind or mankind reconcile themselves to Him.  According to the Islamic version of it God doesn’t need to become a man and doesn’t require bloodshed in order to forgive and that if a person really repents he will find acceptance and warm welcome.  This is mentioned in (4:47), (4:110), (11:114), (15:49-50), (20:82) and (39:33) are examples of the many numerous other citations in the Quran which emphasize that Allah is only interested in our sincerity and our attempt to correct our path.  This would appear to not be a minor difference but are major and important differences which negate any notion of the Quran being based on the Bible.
 
Host:  Some claim that Muslims do believe in blood sacrifice for forgiveness and they refer to the practice of sacrificing animals at the feast of sacrifice, is this analogy correct in your view?
Jamal Badawi:
The sacrifice of animals on Eid Al Adha one of the major Muslim festivals has nothing to do with the issue of forgiveness of original sin because there is no original sin to start with.  Evidence that will prove that this is not related to the idea of forgiveness in Christian theology is that first of all the sacrifice of these animals is only mandatory on people who are doing their pilgrimage and forgiveness is required for everybody.  Second, for those who are not doing the pilgrimage it is highly commendable but obviously if a person is poor he obviously doesn’t have to sacrifice an animal.  Again we know that poor and rich alike need to atone for their sins.  We can not say that one commits more sin than the other.  These are two logical reasons why this is not connected with the reason of sacrifice.
A second aspect is that according to the Quran the story of Prophet Abraham and his son Ishmael represented an excellent example and lesson in obedience to God and submission and the willingness to sacrifice anything upon the command of God.  As the Quran presented Prophet Abraham received the revelation or directive from God to sacrifice his only son Ishmael.  I would like to emphasize that it was Ishmael, because not only is this implied from chapter 57 in the Quran which speaks about the story of sacrifice but after that it says that in reward to Abraham he was given the glad tiding of another son, Isaac, who would be born to him.  This is very essential because this is sometimes puzzling when one reads the book of Genesis when it says that God ordained Abraham to take his only son Isaac.  Isaac was never the only son, the one who was the only son for 14 years was Ishmael before Isaac was ever born.  According to the Quran it was Ishmael.  Logically it was Ishmael even if we take it form the Biblical narrative.
The whole notion is that Abraham took Ishmael to sacrifice him and in the last minute God, out of His mercy, having already tested the faith of Abraham and since both Abraham and his son Ismael showed this submission and willingness to sacrifice the angel stopped them and brought a ram to be sacrificed in place of Ishmael.  This celebration of Muslims is basically a commemoration of that act but which has nothing to do with the forgiveness of sin.  No where in the Quran do we find the implication that God or Allah is interested in any blood whether it be the blood of animals or humans.  In fact it is said beautifully in (22:37) “It is not their meat nor their blood, that reaches Allah, it is your piety that reaches Him: He has thus made them subject to you, that ye may glorify Allah for His Guidance to you and proclaim the good news to all who do right.”  Another element which is reflected in (22:34) is that the sacrifice of animals has another symbolic meaning which is the idea of giving thanks for whatever animal He made available to them.  There is an addition to this which is mentioned in (22:28) “then eat ye thereof and feed the distressed one in want.”  It is a multi dimensional thing non of which has any connotation with the notion of blood sacrifice as a precondition for forgiveness of sins the way it was understood by Jews or Christians theology.
 
Host:  Are there other aspects of belief that relate to the question of the Quran borrowing from the Bible?
Jamal Badawi:
We started with the question of God, Prophethood and the concept of sin and atonement as these are pillars of any faith.  In addition there are numerous other points.  Take the question of belief in the Hereafter which both Jews, Christians and Muslims believe in.  This does not necessarily deal with substantial differences: for example that deal with verses in the Bible both Old and New Testament that the wage of sin as Paul put it is death.  As such the punishment of those who have infractions is that they will not have this eternal life.  The Quran indicates clearly that whether the person is good or bad, or saved or not everybody will be resurrected on the day of judgement and everybody would be subjected to judgement and everybody would be placed in Paradise or Hell Fire.  Death is not the end regardless of what a person is exposed to.
While there is belief in afterlife, the description that I interpret from the Christian point of view is mainly spiritual.  In the Quran we find that it is both spiritual as well as physical.  It is not the exact physical body we have on earth but it is not totally spiritual.  The Prophet has warned us not to take some of the descriptions in the Quran superficially but literally especially when he said that in Paradise there are things that no eye has ever seen, no ear has ever thought and no thought could have occurred to the mind of any person.  It is something that we do not know but is both spiritual and physical.  The Question of salvation as we discussed and the absence of any notion of original sin, the absence of inheritance of that sin, the absence of the necessity of blood sacrifice is closely related to another important concept in Islam which is the lack of an intermediary.  The belief in Islam is that the relationship between the human the Creator are primarily direct.  The question of having and intermediate in order to reach God or to Pray in the name of someone else, no matter how great the person may be, Prophet or otherwise is absent in Islam.
I have never seen a Muslim who says that they pray to God in the name of Muhammad or someone else.  This relates to the notion of the concept of Church and as we know in Christian theology when Jesus said that Peter was the rock on which he was going to build the Church.  This has been interpreted to mean that he was the successor or someone to mediate between the human and God.  A Church is basically a constitution that one has to go through.  In other words one has to belong and be a member of a church in order to reach God.  The idea of priesthood before the Protestant reformation still carries a great deal of weight and this sense of intermediate does not exist in Islam and there is no such thing as a Church, an exclusive institution with an ordination type of procedure that anyone without the training can not speak about or teach religion.  Ideally every Muslim is a priest to himself and others.  Christianity might have been influenced by Islam, because as we know the Protestant movement came hundreds of years after Islam was already well spread all over the world and the ideas of direct human divine relationship was emphasized.  A final point is the orientation towards life in general.  While there may be some legal aspects involved in the Bible, especially in the Torah we find that the Quran is much more comprehensive and the approach of life is an integrated whole which not only deals with the moral and spiritual aspect of life and acts of worship but also with social, political and economic aspects of life.  Any fair person who examines both scriptures would not conclude that the Quran borrowed from the Bible or any other scripture for that matter.
Summary of 10.11 "Source of the Quran X - Borrowing from the Bible III"
The last program was a continuation of the discussion of some of the differences between the Biblical and Quranic with respect to matters of creed.  The basic purpose was to show that the claim that the Quran was based on the Bible is not true.  The main focus of the previous program was on the issue of sin, repentance and atonement in both the Bible and the Quran.  We compared and contrasted both especially with issues related to human nature, salvation, inheritance of sin, necessity of bloodshed in order to attain repentance and reconciliation.  In addition we briefly touched on other related issues.  We tried to show that the Muslim’s sacrifice of animals has nothing to do with the notion of shedding blood for forgiveness, a brief discussion of life after death, the question of an intermediate between man and God and between the human and the creator, the absence in Islam of the notion of a Church as an exclusive authority or clergy and the view of life as an integrated and comprehensive whole.  The fundamental belief in Islam are quite independent and consistent of each-other which shows that the Quran as a unit and integrated whole is not copying or borrowing from any other source.
 
10.12   Source of the Quran XI - Borrowing from the Bible IV
Host:  Is there information in the Bible which is not confirmed by the Quran?
Jamal Badawi:
In the discussion of the previous program we talked about the story of Adam and Eve and we found that there are certain things in the Bible which are not in the Quran like the serpent and so on.  In the Quran we do not find any parallel to what we find in the Bible in Genesis 12 and 26 where Prophet Abraham claimed that Sarah was his sister in order to serve himself.  Nor do we find a parallel to what is in Genesis 32 about Prophet Jacob wrestling God and that is why he was called Israel afterwards.  There is no parallel in the Quran of some of the things that attributed to Prophet Aaron the brother of Moses in Exodus 12 where it was said that he made the golden calf or to Solomon heart being inclined to the pagan gods of his wives as we find in the first Kings in chapter 11.  We do not find in the Quran a parallel in the stories about Prophet Lute which are found in Genesis 19:30 or what is attributed to Prophet David with respect to his affair with the wife of the Hittite Yuria as is found in the Second book of Samuel chapter 11.
With respect to Prophet Jesus we find that while the Quran clearly indicates that he was a servant of God, a messenger like great Prophets such as Abraham, Moses or Muhammad we do not find any traces that we may find in the New Testament that could be interpreted as relating him to the question of divinity.  In addition to this point we find that there are additional things which are not found in the Quran which are in the Bible.  In the book of Genesis 27:15 we are told that Prophet Jacob deceived his father Isaac and lead him to believe that he was Esau and brought him food and so on in order to take the blessing which was meant for Esau.  The story seems to involve a deliberate change of facts on his part and nothing of this nature is found in the Quran except for praise of Jacob his father and all other Prophets.  In the book of Exodus in 12:13 we are told that God commanded the Israelites before He came to Egypt to destroy the Egyptians that the Israelites should mark their homes with blood so when God came He would recognize their homes and pass over them and not to destroy them as He would the Egyptians.  These are just a few examples that one can see that not everything in the Bible are found in the Quran.
 
Host:  Could what you have been alluding to are mere details that might have been dropped or left out in the proses of borrowing form the Bible?
Jamal Badawi:
I would say that these are not mere details.  Some of those differences between the Biblical stories and the Quranic stories are quite consistent in the Quran.  They are not just related to a few details here and there but are related to certain basic themes that you find in the Quran.  An example of this is that the Quran emphasizes the question of diving attributes, that God is not subject to human weakness, he doesn’t need to rest, doesn’t walk and make noise, is not in a physical form.  The difference between the Bible and the Quran is that it seems to focus more on this aspect of transcendence of deity or God.  We find that in all the Prophets in the Biblical version there seems to be some sort of refraction or major moral sin attached to the Prophet.  We find that not a single one appears in the Quran, so it is not a matter of dropping details because it is consistent with the way the Quran mentions Prophets and that they were chosen from the select of the select.  The kind of description given to them is more favorable than what we find in the Bible.  What we are saying here is that it is not only the details but they are fully related and consistent with the themes in the Quran pertaining to the various issues where there are differences.  It is not just incidental or hap hazard differences.  This indeed indicates that the source of the Quran is revelation not just a sort of borrowing from here or there.
 
Host: Can you give us examples of stories that are in the Quran but not in the Bible?
Jamal Badawi:
This could be an interesting aspect because if one is borrowing they may drop some details but if there is more in the Quran than what is in the Bible it would raise an interesting question.  In a previous program we mentioned repentance on the part of Adam and Eve after they ate from the tree and that their repentance was accepted.  There was no original sin at all as far as Islam was concerned.  This appears in the Quran in (2:37) and (20:122).  There are also stories of other ancient of Prophets like the people of Ad and Thamoud who had Prophet Hude and Salih for which I could not find a parallel in the Bible.  In the Quran in the story of Prophet Noah we are told in (11:42) that Noah had a dialog with his son when the flood started and Noah was in the Arc.  It says that Noah had a conversation with his son who was an unbeliever and he invited him to come on bored with but he refused and was perished with the other unbelievers.  Again I could not find a parallel of this in the Bible.  There are so many things that are found in the Quran that have no parallel in the Bible.  In (42:19) we are told of a dialog between Abraham and his father when he was trying to invite his father to become a believer.  In (2:258) we are told of a dialog that went on between Abraham and one of the tyrannical rulers who tried to challenge him by saying that he could give life and death.  Abraham said if you can do everything Allah brings the sun from the East bring it from the West which stunned this tyrant.
In (21:57) we are told of Prophet Abraham staying behind during one of the festivals of his people and going inside the temple and destroying the idols that his people used to worship.  We are told in (21:69) that when his people suspected that he was the culprit they made a big fire and threw him into it in order to kill him and we are told that he miraculously came out of it without a scratch because God ordered the fire not to hurt Abraham (a miracle).  In Surah 2 we find the story of Prophet Abraham bringing to life with the permission and command of Allah the four birds that were cut mixed up and put on different mountains.  This was in response to Prophet Abraham’s petition to Allah to show him how He brings the dead to life again.  In the story of Prophet Moses in Surah 2 in the Quran there is a detailed discussion of a command that that was given to the Israelite through Moses to slaughter a cow and the dialog between the Prophet Moses and the Israelites.  Interestingly enough in the story of Prophet Jesus (PBUH) there are more miracles mentioned than are found in the new testament.  An example is in (3:46) where it says that Jesus was able to speak to babies in the cradle.  IN (3:49) and (5:113) we are told that one of the signs that Allah gave to Jesus is to allow him to make a bird out of clay and then in the name of Allah he would breath life into it with the permission of Allah.  These are not miracles that I have ever seen in the New Testament.  How can the Quran have copied from the Bible but have so many other details about the stories of Prophets that doesn’t appear in the Bible unless there was deliberate attempt on the part of the Prophet to fabricate the stories or to make it look different.
 
Host:  Are stories that are common in both of the books basically identical or are there some variations
Jamal Badawi:
There are some details here and there that are similar if not even identical but there are some differences which I think are quite significant.  In the story of Prophet Abraham we are told that he is ordained to take his only son Isaac and as we indicated that is not possible because the only son he had for 14 years was Ishmael and not Isaac because were legitimate children of Abraham.  The Quran in Surah 37 clearly implies from the sequence of events that the son of sacrifice was Ishmael.  In Genesis 22 we are left with the impression that Abraham was evasive with his son about the sacrifice and that his son kept asking but he never told his son what he was going to do to him.  In the Quran it is quite different in Surah (37:102) we are told that when Abraham was directed to sacrifice his son he went to him and told him that this is what he had been ordained to do and his son told him to do what he was told and that he would find him to be patient.  In Genesis 22 we are told that Abraham took his wife Haggar and his son Ishmael to the wilderness of Bear Sheba.  In the Quran in 37 we are told that they were taken to the Holy place which is the site of the Kaaba.
In regards to Prophet Lute there are some similarities because his people practiced abominable things and he had guests who were angels in the form of humans.  And that those people were in pursuit of those guests and surrounded his house.  Till this extent there are similarities-however in the Genesis 19 we find that Prophet Lute offered his two daughters to those people and told them to do with them as they wished so that they may spare his guests.  In the Quran we do not find this.  We are told in the Quran in Surah 11 that when these people came and surrounded his house he told them “there are my daughters (plural) which are cleaner and purer for you.”  This means that speaking as a Prophet and father of the people he was referring to the females of the society as his daughters and he asks them why they have to do these abominable things when there are daughters.  This is why the verse says “they are purer for you.”  There is a big different between the two even though in both he said that these are his daughters.  In the same story of Prophet Lute according to Genesis 9:26 we are told that his wife looked back and turned into a pillar of salt.  In the Quran we are told that she was not even with him and was an unbeliever and did not join him to be saved and was promised the like of her people as is found in (66:10) and (11:18).
In the story of Moses in Exodus 12 one gets the impression that Moses deliberately wanted the Egyptian who was fighting a fellow Israelite.  It says that he looked around and made sure the way was clear then he killed the Egyptian.  In the Quran however in Surah 28 it was obvious that it was involuntary manslaughter.  It simply says the Egyptian was persecuting the Israelites so he sought the help of Moses who sought to strike him by way of defending the Israelite but it happened that his hand was heavy and the fellow died.  It was an involuntary manslaughter.  What I am saying is basically that these variations are not haphazard dropping or adding but are all consistent with all the principles or themes that we have seen before in the Quran.  Furthermore these are events that proceeded the birth of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and the Quran makes it clear that neither he or his people were aware of this information.
 
Host:  Can you clarify the point that this information was not known to the Prophet?
Jamal Badawi:
There are several references to this in the Quran.  One is after the discussion of Prophet Joseph which we find in Surah 12 which is also called Joseph.  In verse 102 it says “such is one of the stories of what happened unseen, which We reveal by inspiration unto thee; nor wast thou (present) with them then when they concerted their plans together in the process of weaving their plots.”  In a similar statement also about Prophet Noah in (11:49) it repeats the same thing indicating that this information was not known to the Prophet or his people “Such are some of the stories of the unseen, which We have revealed unto thee: before this, neither thou nor thy people knew them. So persevere patiently: for the End is for those who are righteous.”  In the Quran in the story about Mary and the fact that she was the custody of Zakariah in (3:44) it again says that the Prophet was not there and that it is from a different source - from revelation that was given to him.  The same thing is found about Moses (28:44).  It is obvious when we talk about borrowing that there is no point and if the challenge the Quran presented to the contemporaries of the Prophet or people later on for that matter were aware that this information was not true they could have easily proved that the Quran was false or did not come from revelation.  No one could challenge this information because it was new and people were not aware of it.
 
Host:  Some people wonder why in the Quran Mary is called the sister of Aaron and how that can possibly be?
Jamal Badawi:
The problem here is the understanding of the Arabic language and some of the expressions that are used.  In Arabic when when you say Akh or Ukht, brother or sister, can have two meanings.  One meaning is blood brother or sister and it can also mean brotherhood or sisterhood in faith.  This can mean brotherhood and sisterhood in clans.  In (46:22) it says “Mention (Hud) one of 'Ad's (own) brethren.”  This doesn’t mean he is a blood relative but that he is one of them.  In the Quran there is reference to the relationship between Mary and Aaron and the context makes it quite clear.  It says that when Mary gave birth to Jesus (PBUH) she came back to her people and they started rebuking her and accused her of committing adultery.  The context of that verse is interesting because it answers the questions and it says that when Mary gave birth to Prophet Jesus she came to her people and they started rebuking her and said “Oh sister of Aaron your father was not an evil man nor was your mother an unchaste woman” which is found int the Quran in (19:28).  The context that says “sister of Aaron” says that she was similar to Aaron who was first in priestly lineage from the Israelites.  And it meant that she was his sister in worship and devotion to God?  Aaron was the first in the priestly succession and Mary and her family and the family Zakariyah was a relative to them come from a priestly family so how is that befitting for a priestly family.  There is an interesting explanation of the sister of Aaron and the relationship in the commentary on the translation of the Quran by Yusuf Ali as we find in (3:35) and (19:28) and by the way as a side observation there are lots of learned Christians who embraced Islam during the time of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and this is how they understood it without any problem.  This is rather a problem of interpretation that some orientalist s created.
Host:  How do we know which version is more accurate?
Jamal Badawi:
It is true that there are certain historical events which are impossible to get addition data on in order to examine which of the versions is relatively more accurate or is the accurate one.   In addition there are some aspects which modern science can shed light on.  One of the best references on that subject was a book written by Maurice Bucaille called the Bible, Quran and Science.
Summary of 10.12 "Source of the Quran XI - Borrowing from the Bible IV"
Last time we discussed a hypothesis of different possibilities that some writers raise about the other sources of the Quran and whether it borrowed from other sources.  We investigated the historical standpoint.  On the question of the stories of the historical aspect of Prophets we found that there are certain things which are in the Bible which are not in the Quran.  These were not mere details that were left out but those parts that are not found in the Quran because everything is totally consistent with the theme of the Quran and its view of Prophets and other credal things that we have discussed previously.    Second, there are certain historical things which are in the Quran but are not in the Bible even though it relates to enchant Prophets.  The Question here was were did Prophet Muhammad get this information from?  He obviously couldn’t have adopted that from the Bible.  We said that even in common stories about Prophets which appear in both the Quran and the Bible we find major yet important differences and certain details which are significant in their in their implication.  We indicated that the Quran challenged the contemporaries of the Prophet who denied the divine origin of the Prophet.  The final question is that some people may ask how do we know which narrative is more accurate in which case perhaps the benefit of the knowledge obtained recently could perhaps shed some light on these historical questions.
 
10.13   The Quran and Modern Sciences I - Reservations/Comparisons
Host:  Why are some Muslims reserved in interpreting the Quran with the sciences?
Jamal Badawi:
In fact this is one of two extremes.  They say that after all the Quran is a book of spiritual guidance but not intended to be a book of science.  Second, they uphold that science may change and with the emergence of new evidence or discoveries.  They say why not keep the Quran away from these fluctuations in the issue of science.  The other extreme are those who are over zealous and any new theory even if it is not prove is jumped to it and say that the Quran mention it some times ago.  In the Quran there are many references to natural phenomena.  We have to make a distinction between two things that are contained in the Quran: the aspects that deal with belief, worship, moral system, social political and economic system and references that the Quran makes to creation or the natural phenomenal around us.  With respect to the first category there should be no difference and no difficulty of interpretation of their foundations because the matters of belief and worship should not be subjected to fluctuation and should be clear cut.  On the references pertaining to science and scientific discoveries it is a matter that needs to be investigated as there are two types of information.  We can make a distinction between two types of information. One can be called scientific facts, which are established beyond any doubt and that has been proven.  For example to say that the earth is spherical, nobody denies it as it has been proven.
The second type is theory which is a combination of some scientific discoveries but also with some assumptions of how these facts fit together.  Again when we talk about scientific theory there are degrees.  Some theories are reasonably established like the origin of the universe being one and then splitting into other parts.  There are some theories that are reasonably well established like the origin of the universe being one part which then splits into other parts.  It is reasonably well established even though nobody can say they were there billions of years ago.  There are also other theories that are still a little more shaky.  If we are referring to scientific facts which are verified and can be revivified then it is impossible to find any text in the Quran that contradict these established facts.  It has never happened in the 1400 hundred years in the past since the revelation of the Quran and I don’t think it will ever happen.  When it comes to theory it is a different matter.  People can understand the Quran in one way or the other depending on their state of knowledge at a given point in time.  There is no absolute guaranty that they would have the right reflection and understanding.
The other extreme of just trying to jump on any finding that may emerge which is tentative and assume it is in ht Quran is a sort of apologetic approach because it may reflect the attitude that we are trying to prove the validity of the Quran by science.  For anyone who believes in the Quran as the word of Allah they believe that Allah does not need verification from any human being.  The truth in the Quran is eminent in the Quran itself and doesn’t need any proof from any humans.  The word of Allah is the truth and science may agree with the Quran but not the reverse.  Science may agree with the Quran when people discover certain things which may help them understand passages in the Quran which were not clear before.  But it doesn’t work the other way around.  If we approach it this way it could be a useful and interesting area of research.
 
Host:  What are examples of what the Quran says about this?
Jamal Badawi:
There is nothing in the Quran that prohibits us from thinking or using the means of science to understand the Quran.  The Quran is full of verses and passages which end with verse such as “afala yanthoroon, “afala yasmaoon,” “afala yanthoroon,” “afala yatafakaroon,” which means don’t they think, don’t they hear, don’t they reflect.  This shows that there is an open invitation for us to investigate.  If you might recall in the previous series on economic system in Islam on the topic of production and productivity where we gave a number of citations.  In the Quran in (21:30) it says “Do not the Unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together (as one unit of creation), before we clove them asunder? We made from water every living thing. Will they not then believe?”  The fact that the Quran gave reference to the origin of the universe, that the heavens and earth were all one part, doesn’t this imply that we have to think, study, analyze and discover?  Another interesting passage says “soon will We show them our signs in the horizons and in themselves until it becomes manifest to them that this is the truth.”  Notice here the use of the word horizon.  Some translate it to be that God will show His signs in the farthest regions but the original word in the Quran actually means horizons.
Hasnain Makhlook, in his dictionary on the wording of the Quran, says that Affaq means the bounds of heaven and earth and it does not only mean earth but could mean space as well.  What does God mean when He says that He will show them His signs on the horizons.  This means that scientific discoveries are signs of God.  And it says in themselves which some translate to be in themselves whether it is in the human soul or body.  Then it refers to the Quran as being the truth, because the passage before this one talks about people who reject the divine origin of the Quran and argue that it did not come from Allah.  So this is the response “till they realize that the Quran is from Allah.”  There is clear implication that they should contemplate and the more they discover in sciences that pertain to the universe the more they will realize that this Quran did not emanate from the mind of any human being and as such they will realize that it had come from Allah.  Another similar citation it says that had the Quran been of any source other than Allah they would have seen in it much contradiction as is found in (4:82) and discrepancies.  These investigations would help us answer questions that we raised in several discussions we investigated before about the source of the Quran, who the real author of the Quran is and if it is possible that Prophet Muhammad would have learned it or borrowed it from any other source.  The best source on this topic is perhaps the book by Bucaille .
 
Host:  Can you tell us about the book, The Bible The Quran and Science, and authored Maurice Bucaille ?
Jamal Badawi:
This book was originally written in French and Maurice Bucaille  is a scientist and physician.  The book was translated into several languages including English which was published in 1997 in North America by the American Trust Publication.  What Bucaille  did in this book was to compile citations in the Bible and the Quran pertaining to science.  Then he tried to test the statements in both the Bible and the Quran against the findings of established sciences.  While reviewing the citations from the Quran he found absolutely no single statement in the Quran on anything that relates to science that has been proven to be untrue and is totally compatible with established scientific facts.  He said that the same thing doesn’t hold with any other scripture other than Islam.  This was uniquely the characteristic of the Quran.  In addition he also compiled verses in the Quran which do not have parallels in the Bible which pertain to science, creation and so on.  Non of the other sources were even compatible with current science.  In his concluding chapter he explains the them of the book and he says in page 251 “In view of the level of knowledge in Muhammad’s day it is inconceivable that many of the statements in the Quran which are connected with science could have been the work of a man.  It is moreover perfectly legitimate not only to regard the Quran as the expression of a revelation but also to award it a very special place on account of a guarantee of authenticity it provides in the presence of scientific statements which when studied today appear as a challenge to explanation in human terms.  It is inconceivable that 1400 years ago an unlettered man like Prophet Muhammad in the kind of environment he lived in with the state of knowledge of the world at that time that he could have made all those references if he were the author of the Quran.
 
Host:  What specific areas of the Quran did he analyze?
Jamal Badawi:
There are three areas that he covered.  One is the story of creation of the universe.  Second, is the approximate date of the emergence of the first human on earth, life on earth.  The third one deals with the story of the flood during the days of Prophet Noah.  He made many comparisons in these three areas which are heavily comparative in nature.
 
Host: How did Bucaille  compare the creation of the universe in the Biblical and Quranic versions?
Jamal Badawi:
He refers to the first two chapters in the book of Genesis.  In Genesis 1:3-5 we are told that day and night were created in the first day.  If we continue in Genesis 1:14 it indicates that the Heavenly systems were created on the fourth day in order to give light to the earth and vary the seasons.  Dr. Bucaille  refers to the fact that it is quite firmly established in science that day and night and the changes of season are related to the rotation of earth around its own star the sun.  As such it is totally inconceivable that day and night were known on earth before the creation of the Heavenly bodies which actually give light to the earth.  So how could these firmaments be created even though the day and night were created in the first day?  The opposite should be true.  This problem does not exist in the Quran.  Another aspect that Bucaille  refers to Genesis 1:9-13 it says that on the third day of creation God created vegetation and plants which yield seeds and fruit trees bearing fruit in which they seed.  Science has established that the organized vegetation which produce seeds could not have taken place before the emergence of the sun.  After all it is the sun that allows vegetation to grow.  According to the book of Genesis in 1:14 we are told that the sun was created on the fourth day which is the day after the creation of vegetation.  Again there is a problem with sequence here.  This problem does not exist at all in the Quran because the sequence is not given.  If it were true that Prophet Muhammad adopted information from the Bible how could he have known to avoid these points which were proven to be incompatible with scientific facts hundred of years after his birth.
 
Host:  What about the issue of the first human on earth?
Jamal Badawi:
Dr. Bucaille  starts with the Bible.  He makes an interesting analysis of the genealogy.  He said that the Bible indicates that Prophet Abraham was born 1948 years after Adam which are found in the books of Genesis (book 4, 5, 11, 21 and 25) and he compiled a list of the decedents of Adam and the dates of births and deaths and how long each lived.  From Abraham to Jesus he says that even though the Bible does not specify but using other sources a reasonable estimate comes to about 1800 with a slight margin of error.  From Jesus to date is 2000 years.  If we we add all of these up we come up with 5800 years.  By the way the Jewish calendar which dates back to the creation of Adam is is in year 5771.  Obviously this kind genealogy is impossible from the scientific standpoint.
The Quran doesn’t mention any of these dates.  The reason this is inconceivable scientifically is that there is sufficient evidence from archeology, excavations and anthropology that the date of the first human on earth goes back much farther than 6000 years!  Bucaille  said that there are remains of humans who were capable of thought and action who’s age might be calculated in the tens of thousands of years.  Leaving some of the remains which are not certain to be of humans which go back hundreds of thousands of years.  Even if we discount these remains and focus on the certain ones tens of thousands of years is quite different from 5800 years.  It is quite impossible for this to be scientifically compatible.
 
Host:  What was the reaction of theologians to the finding of Dr. Bucaille ’s book?
Jamal Badawi:
He actually mentioned reactions that some theologians had given to these difficulties.  He divided them into groups.  There were people like Saint Augustine who could not conceive that the Bible could have anything that is incompatible with reality.  There are those who tried to provide a sort of apologetic answer and say that after all the Bible still makes the point and if there are some mistakes here and there the essence of the Bible is correct.  Of course that is fine but does that mean that other statements about divinity should be reviewed as they can not apply the same logic to that too.  The social factors of the time may have effected the writers of the books but again if that is true we should carefully examine some of the doctrines that have been excepted for hundreds of years as they may reflect the attitude of the writers rather than the reality given by God.  In any case he mentioned that in the second vatican council that was held between 1962-1965 in the Councilor document number 4 where they says “these books (referring to the Old Testament) even though they contain material which is imperfect and obsolete.”  If the Bible and the Quran are both studied with an open mind and heart I am sure many of the difficulties and problems which are found in the bible could be easily resolved.
Summary of 10.13 "The Quran and modern Sciences I - Reservations/Comparisons"
We started with the question that some may raise abut the appropriateness of comparing science with scriptures or with holly books and we discussed the reasons why people may have reservations on this.  We tried to conclude that if some precautions are take there is nothing wrong with that and we refer to the Quran that encourages us to investigate and to increase our knowledge.  We started by looking into some comparative aspects which were discussed in the book The Bible The Quran and Science by Dr. Bucaille .  We analyzed two of the areas that he discussed: which included the story of creation and the date of the first human on earth.  The conclusion that is clear in his book is that only in the case of the Quran do we fail to find a single statement which are incompatible with established sciences.
 
10.14   The Quran and Modern Sciences II - Comparisons with The Bible
Host: How is the account of the flood during the time of Prophet Noah given in the Bible?
Jamal Badawi:
It basically says that there was corruption and infractions during the time of Prophet Noah and not many people believed in him or followed him.  Then God decided to punish the people on earth and there was a universal flood that destroyed everything on earth.  According to Genesis 6:17 it says “And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die.”  The Bible is clear that this universal flood which destroyed all life on earth except of course Noah and his household in the arch.  Beside this universality of the flood the debate of the flood is quite interesting.  According to the calculation made by Dr. Bouquet based on the Bible the flood should have taken place about 292 years before Prophet Abraham.  He went on to calculate when Prophet Noah was born which was 1056 years after Adam, then the flood took place when he was 600 years old.  So the total after Adam would be 1656 years subtracting the years from Adam to Abraham which gives us 292 years before Abraham lived.  Based on the previous calculation that there were 1800 years from Adam to Jesus and from Jesus till today is another 2000 years which means that the flood took place in the 21st. and 22nd century before Jesus (PBUH).
To say that the flood took place about 4200 years ago is rather incompatible with findings from archeology and other sources.  It is known that during that period many civilizations continued to exist without interruption.  For example this period coincides before the 11th dynasty in Egypt and with the 3rd dynasty in Babylon.  From that sense it is impossible that life was entirely destroyed on earth at that time as we find in Genesis 6.  The other observation that Bouquet refers to is that it says that when Abraham came he found that humanity was able to regroup and live in separate communities.  No one was saved from the flood except Prophet Noah, his three sons and their wives and the animals that he took on the arch.  This means that if all of humanity was destroyed and they started with again with the four men and their wives.  Bouquet says that it is impossible that in 292 years that this very small family could have multiplied to such an extent that they were divided and lived in so many different parts of the world and under different civilizations.  These are some of the difficulties that are presented in respect to the story of the flood.
 
Host:  What is the Quranic version of this time?
Jamal Badawi:
First of all the Quran does not give any dates.  All this problem of chronology does not exist in the Quran.  The Quran indicates that there were more than Noah and his sons on the arch.  In fact in the 11th Surah indicated that one of the sons of Noah did not come with him on the arch and was drowned with the unbelievers.  In addition in the same chapter (11:40) it indicates that there were other believers other than the household of Noah who came with him on the arch.  Yes, they were few but they were still people outside of his immediate family.  Perhaps the most important thing from the scientific standpoint is that the Quran does not say that the flood was universal.  In fact there is clear indication in the Quran that it was only the people of Noah that were destroyed.  In (25:37) “And the people of Noah,- when they rejected the apostles, We drowned them.”  Not only does he conclude that the scientific discoveries are totally compatible with the Quran that there was no universal flood.  The only source about the story of the flood prior to the revelation of the Quran was the Bible and for those who say that the Quran adopted or copied from the Bible.  How could it be that the Bible was the only source, when there was no other source that referred to the flood; so how would this have ended up with a different outcome in the Quran.  The Quran is different and makes corrections to the statements made hundreds of years before it and hundreds of years before anyone could have discovered this from a scientific standpoint.
 
Host: What were Dr. Bouquet’s findings in Exodus?
Jamal Badawi:
Bouquet found that the story of Exodus in the Bible is fairly compatible with scientific discoveries.  The point that he added in the importance of studying the Quran her is that there are information given in the Quran about Exodus which seem to shed light on many puzzling questions that historians had.  To start with many historians raise the question as to whom the Pharaoh of the Exodus was, his name and dynasty?  In the Quran we find one common point and that is the Pharaoh of the Exodus, who persuade Moses and his followers, was drowned.  However as far as the Bible is concerned there is no mention as to what happened to his body and the implication is that he just perished in the sea.  Dr. Bouquet makes reference to an interesting passage in the Quran in (10:92) which says “This day shall We save thee in the body, that thou mayest be a sign to those who come after thee! but verily, many among mankind are heedless of Our Signs!”  This is a clear reference that is body was preserved.  Dr. Bouquet goes on to describe in some detail from a historical standpoint.  Exodus he says could have been Ramses the second and he concludes that in all likelihood Ramses II is the Pharaoh who persecuted Moses before he took refuge in Median died during the stay of Prophet Moses in Median.  His successor Merneptah, who was also his son, is believed the Pharaoh of Exodus and the Pharaoh who pursued Moses.  The interesting thing is that it was only 1898, the very end of the 19th century, that the mummified body of Merneptah was discovered in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt.  In 1907 the wrappings of the mummy by Elliot Smith who wrote Royal Mummies which was published in 1912.  It was not 1975 that Bouquet persuaded the Egyption Government to allow him to medically examine the Mummified body of Merneptah.  The varies investigations that he and other doctors shed light on that historical aspect.
 
Host:  Can you analyze the results of that analysis and indicate what the Quran says about the Exodus?
Jamal Badawi:
Bouquet called on the help of specialists and doctors who did and excellent radiographic study of the mummy.  In addition he was able to examine the interior of the thorax and abdomen using an endoscopy.  He says that his was the first case where they used an endoscopy to examine a mummy.  He concluded from a few studies that this mummified body o Merneptah, which is believed to be the Pharaoh of the Exodus, most probably died from drowning or from a very violent shock which proceeded the moment of drowning or both.  He says “Those who seek among modern data for proof of the veracity of the Holy Scripture will find a magnificent illustration of the verses of the Quran dealing with the Pharaoh’s body by visiting the royal mummy’s room in the Egyptian Museum in Ciro.”  In this he refers to the citation from the Quran which says that God will preserve him in his body so that he may be a sign for those after him.  This is also a sign that the Quran could have never come from a human source.  To discover this in 1975 and to discover the mummy in 1898 for the first time when nobody knew of its existence for centuries.  This is really amazing and raises the question of it being conceivable that the Quran borrowed from any other source? Or that Prophet Muhammad was 1400 years ahead of his time in terms of science and made that reference at a time where nobody would have thought of it?  Is it possible that the Quran could have had any other source other than divine revelation.
 
Host:  How does our planet fit into the universe?  What does the Quran say about the creation of the universe?
Jamal Badawi:
It is like a drop in an ocean.  Our earth and the planets rotate around various points in the solar system which is the star of that system and in our case it is the sun.  Many of the viewers have read of the moon shuttle and people who landed on the moon and so on which is about 240 thousand miles.  The distance between the earth and the sun is 93 million miles which might sound like allot.  Between the earth and Pluto, the farthest planet in the solar system, the distance is 3,672,000,000 miles.  This means that the light of the sun takes 6 hours to reach from the sun to Pluto at the horrifying speed of 186,000 miles per second.  This is again a drop in another big ocean because the entire solar system is actually a small part of our galaxy and in our galaxy scientists estimate that there are 100,000,000,000 stars.  Again we might think that these galaxies are just stunning and not realize the grandness of it all.  About 55 years ago it was discovered that the Milky Way is not the only galaxy in the universe but that there are also other giant galaxies again with hundreds of billions of starts, some of which are billions of times the size of various planets like our earth.  Now just to appreciate this vastness it sometimes takes billions of light years at the speed of 186,000 miles per second for the light of the farthest star that we know of in the confounds of the known universe to reach earth.  This means that we may be looking at the light that reaches us now after billions of light years have passed of that horrifying speed.  We come back to the initial statement that our earth is not even a drop in an ocean.
 
Host:  How do these galaxies come to existence in the first place?
Jamal Badawi:
It is difficult to determine the exact date when the universe was created.  There is growing evidence that in the beginning the universe was a gaseous mass which was composed mainly of hydrogen and helium which was slowly mutating.  This kind of mass or medulla was then split up into fragments which were so huge, between one to one hundred billion times the size of the sun, beyond imagination.  These fragments separated again into what we know now to be the stars.  The stars are again just one element around which systems rotate.
 
Host:  What makes stars shinny?
Jamal Badawi:
Scientists say that over time there was a process of condensation where gravity came in coupled with the pressure and influence of magnetic field and radiation which started to contract and transform gravitational forces into thermal energy.  This thermal energy is what explain the shininess that we observe in the starts.  As a result of thermo-nuclear reactions the transition took place from hydrogen to helium and then from helium to carbon and oxygen and then from there to metals and metalloids.  It is basically this process which resulted in the sparks that we observe in the stars.
 
Host:  Does the Quran make any reference to the galaxy originally being a mass of gas?
Jamal Badawi:
There are very interesting citations made to this in the Quran.  One appears in (21:30) “Do not the Unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together (as one unit of creation), before we clove them asunder? We made from water every living thing. Will they not then believe?”  The second related citation in the Quran is in (41:11-12) “Moreover He comprehended in His design the sky, and it had been (as) smoke: He said to it and to the earth: “Come ye together, willingly or unwillingly.” They said: “We do come (together), in willing obedience.”  So He completed them as seven firmaments in two Days, and He assigned to each heaven its duty and command.  And We adorned the lower heaven with lights, and (provided it) with guard. Such is the Decree of (Him) the Exalted in Might, Full of Knowledge.”  The word “smoke” is a very simple word that can be understood by anyone at any level of knowledge.  For a Beduin smoke is smoke but for the scientists the mention of smoke in the Quran is very interesting.  As Dr. Bouquet says that smoke is generally made up of gaseous substratum, as physicists call it, in more or less stable suspension.  These fine particles may belong to solid or even liquid states at very high or low temperatures.  In other words smoke is a gaseous mass.  The question that is raised here is how could Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) 1400 years ago invent that the universe as modern science has discovered was one part and then split into fragments which were split into starts and other planets.  How could he have possibly gotten this information?
Summary of 10.14 "The Quran and Modern Sciences II - Comparisons with The Bible"
We continued by referring to the comparative study made by Dr. Bucaille  of the various statements in both the Bible and Quran pertaining to modern science or aspects that were discovered in science.  The last program dealt with the story of the flood and Prophet Noah.  The Bible referred to it as a universal flood that destroyed all life on earth except those who were on the arch with Prophet Noah.  In the Quran however we are told that only the people of Noah were destroyed.  Conclusions from available information shows that it was only the people of Noah that were destroyed because there were other civilizations that existed without being interrupted at the time the flood when the flood was believed to have taken place.  In addition we examined we began to examine other aspects in the Quran where references are made to scientific discoveries that much later than the revelation of the Quran.  We started by looking at the earth and how it fits into the universe.  We said that the earth was a drop in a big ocean if we compare it with the universe.  The light of the farthest star that we are aware of reaches the earth in billions of light years.  When we talk about the speed of light it is 186,000 miles per second which means we could go to the moon in less than 1 and 1/3 of a second.  It was indicated by scientists that the universe started as a gaseous mass and then it split successively which forms the galaxy, stars and planets which rotate around the stars.  We indicated that there were two interesting passages in the Quran.  One in Surah 41 in which the heavens are referred to as smoke.  In Surah (21:30) it says that the heavens and earth were joined together and then God split them.  This is an interesting expression given the fact that the Quran was revealed 1400 years ago.
 
10.15   The Quran and Modern Sciences III - Water Cycle
Host:  When the split took place were the stars and planets the only products?
Jamal Badawi:
What we are told by scientists is that process of separation or splitting of the original mass left certain remains.  The scientific name they give to these are interstellar galactic material.  Some astrophysics refer to them as dusts or smokes and they say that some of these take the form of bright medullae which reflect the light they receive from the starts but there are other dark medullae which are less dense and were known before because they interfered with the photometric measurements of astronomy.  It is interesting to note that several passages in the Quran speak about Allah creating the heavens and earth and all things in-between them.  This could be a possible reference to the existence of this relatively recently discovered material.  The references are not found in one verse but in at least twenty passages.  Some examples can be found in (15:85), (19:20) and (15:59).
 
Host:  Is there any scientific evidence as to how long the process of creation took?
Jamal Badawi:
The exact period is only known by Allah the creator and nobody can say for sure.  It is a matter of reasonable estimates made by scientists based on their studies and analysis but one can not say for sure to the day, hour, year or hundreds of years.  When we talk about the age of the universe I think the term billions of years would be a rather safe expression to use.  To say that the age of the sun is about 4.5 billion years and they estimate that it still has another 5.5 billion years to go.  This is rather dazzling because if one makes a mistake by 100 million or so one is still within the permissible range of error.  In any case while it is impossible to say what the exact dates are, there may be other stars that are older than the sun.  But it is definitely a long period of time.
 
Host:  How do you reconcile the contradiction that seems to exist in both the Bible and the Quran where it says that it only took 6 days for creation.
Jamal Badawi:
First of all what is a day and what is the length of a day?  First of all in the book of Genesis it appears that the definition of a day is clearly a 24 hour day or the regular cycle of day and night that we are used to.  For example in Genesis 2:2 it says that God created the heavens and earth in 6 days and then He rested on the 7th.  From there came the whole notion of the sabbath.  And as the week has seven days it appears from Genesis that God created the heavens and earth in 6 days and 24 hours each day.  As we indicated in a previous program sometimes what may appear on the surface to be similar between the Bible and the Quran when studied further interesting information is discovered.  It is true that many translators of the Quran translate youm as it appears in the Quran into day and the plural ayam into days.  It is also true that there are passages in the Quran that say that Allah created the heavens and earth in six ayam which they translate as days.  The word youm in Arabic could literally mean day but it could equally mean a very long period of time.  The evidence for this is found in the Quran.  For example in (32:5) and (22:44) it says that one day for God is worth a thousand of ours.  In other words a day in the sight of Allah is equivalent to so many years.  There is an interesting passage in the Quran in (70:4) “The angels and the spirit ascend unto him in a Day the measure whereof is (as) fifty thousand years.”  So if we take the terminology as used in the Quran then the word youm does not necessarily mean a day but rather a long time and 50,000 years is given as an example of the terminology that we use is not necessarily what the Quran refers to when it talks about these cosmic phenomena.
 
Host:  Can we explore the sequence of creation of the various elements in the Quran?  Is there a specific sequence?
Jamal Badawi:
There are certain passages in the Quran that indicate that the heavens was created in two youms (but with the meaning of stage or age) which is found in Surah 41:9-12.  How can we possibly understand the Quranic expression of these two periods?  According to Dr. Bucaille  he makes a suggestion that sounds reasonable even though other suggestions may emerge as people develop more understanding of both the Quran and of science.  It says that this could possibly refer to stage one which is the process of condensation of this primary gaseous mass which is the primary nebula.  The second stage is the stage of separation which separated them into segments of galaxies, stars and planets. “Say: Is it that ye deny Him Who created the earth in two Days? And do ye join equals with Him? He is the Lord of (all) the Worlds.  He set on the (earth), mountains standing firm, high above it, and bestowed blessings on the earth, and measure therein all things to give them nourishment in due proportion, in four Days, in accordance with (the needs of) those who seek (Sustenance).  Moreover He comprehended in His design the sky, and it had been (as) smoke: He said to it and to the earth: "Come ye together, willingly or unwillingly." They said: "We do come (together), in willing obedience.”  So on one hand it says it was created in two days and then in the following passage it says in four periods.  We can not take these as an accumulative of 2 days then came 4 stages.  It is obvious that they are overlapping.  Maybe the initial formation of the earth took two days and then additional provisions of the earth took an additional two days which came out to a total of four days.
It is just like saying that I drove from New York to Chicago in 2 days then I completed the trip to Denver in four days.  This doesn’t mean that it took me 4 days to drive from Chicago to New York but that the additional driving time from Chicago to Denver completes the driving trip or brings it up two a total of four days.  The expression in the Quran when deals with the Heavens doesn’t seem to conclusively indicate a specific sequence or order.  A term used in the passage in the Quran is thuma stawa ill al sama’a and thuma can be translated as then which could mean that certain things in heaven were created after the initial formation of the earth.  But the word thuma can also mean furthermore which could mean that there was an interlocking of the heavens of earth and not necessarily that one followed the other.  There is a good discussion of this point in Dr. Bucaille ’s book The Bible, Quran and Science especially in chapter 3.  There are some who wonder whether the mention of the Quran of the earth being created in four periods and whether that could be a hint for what geologists think are the four periods in the evolution of the earth.
 
Host:  Is there any mention in the Quran about an equilibrium?
Jamal Badawi:
The Quran repeatedly emphases that nothing in this universe exists in a haphazard way or by chance or evolved without a specific plan behind it.  In the Quran it says Allah created everything in this universe in due and proper measure and everything is created in due proportion.  This is found in (25:2) and (54:49).  There are additional passages in the Quran that use the term calculation.  For example in (55:5) it says “The sun and the moon follow courses (exactly) computed.”  The word husban which is used in this verse means calculation which is a very early indication about the delicate balance, distance, access and all orbits that scientists have discovered way after the revelation of the Quran.  Indeed when the question comes about the divine order of the universe there is not only one passage but several.  In (23:86), (45:13) and (16:12) which all refer to the basic notion of this balance and how everything follows certain laws.  Bucaille  says that the remoteness of celestial masses at a great distance and in proportion to their mass constitutes the foundation of their equilibrium.  In other words if they were closer than they are now a collision of these bodies would have been inevitable.
 
Host:  How would you respond to the fact that the universe is getting bigger?
Jamal Badawi:
First of all, the theory is reasonably well established and there are lots of justifications for this theory.  What scientists say is that the universe will become bigger and bigger the farther away the galaxies move away from earth.  In fact as far as the Quran is concerned we find a passage which was rather puzzling to many commentators of the Quran in the past.  The text in (51:47) says “The heaven, We have built it with power. Verily. We are expanding it.”  It was difficult for commentators to understand because they could not conceive of the universe expanding.  Some of them interpreted it in an allegorical sense and said that it could mean that He provides lots of provision or blessing.  If the verse were speaking about the earth and said that we created the earth and we are expanding it, it could have meant that God was generous in giving vegetation or provisions.  The interesting thing about this verse is that it says wa al sama’a which is the heavens being expanded.  The obvious meaning seems to be the one that makes sense as far as our understanding of modern scientific information.
 
Host:  I would like for you to explain why there are 7 heavens and what they are?
Jamal Badawi:
There are many passages in the Quran which refer to the heaven and earth in the singular.  This could simply identify that there are heavens and there is an earth.  On the other hand we find that there are many citations in the Quran that use the term heavens in the plural.  There are also some verses that mention “seven” heavens as are found in (65:12), (25:29), (32:4) and many others.  The number seven in Arabic and possibly some other traditions does not necessarily always mean a particular number.  Many times it has been used to refer to “many” and is not exactly the number seven.  It is a term that is used quite frequently to mean many.  One can not say that it could not possibly mean the number seven because we don’t know much about the universe and it is quite possible that the first one of all of these seven could be our solar system, or it could be the Milky Way.  It is quite possible that as we discover more about the universe that a combination of galaxies might be number one and only Allah knows where the rest of the heavens are.  In other words the meaning could go both ways, which is the miraculous aspect of the Quran.  For all times to come, for all levels of people and understanding without at any moment them saying that the expressions in the Quran are erroneous from a scientific standpoint.  If at one point people understood it as an exact number it is fine and if people understood it as a word that implied many there is no problem in terms of the compatibility of science with the revelation.
 
Host:  Is there any reference to the fact that all the elements in the universe are in constant motion?
Jamal Badawi:
There are several references in the Quran to this particular phenomena.  In one verse it says “And He hath made subject to you the sun and the moon, both diligently pursuing their courses.”  In other words they are not stationary as there is constant motion.  In addition to this there are passages in the Quran which are more explicit about the motion of the heavenly bodies.  For example in (21:33) it says “It is He Who created the Night and the Day, and the sun and the moon: all (the celestial bodies) swim along, each in its rounded course.”  An equally interesting citation is found in (36:40) “It is not permitted to the Sun to catch up the Moon, nor can the Night outstrip the Day: Each (just) swims along in (its own) orbit (according to Law).”  And we are talking here about a revelation that goes back 1400 years.  We know the state of knowledge in which the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) lived and many of this information has only been known to scientists in the last couple hundred years or so.  Had it been true that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) borrowed from any other book, scripture or other source of information how could he have arrived at this kind of information unless it was truly divine revelation?
Summary of 10.15 "The Quran and Modern Sciences III - Water Cycle"
We tried to share some of the information in the Quran on aspects pertaining to scientific discoveries which were discovered hundreds of years after the Quran was revealed.  This includes the interstellar galactic material, the meaning of the day (the Quran says a day could be like 50,000 so it does not necessarily mean the heavens and earth were created in 6 literal days made of 24 hours), we talked about the sequence of creation and how there is no conclusive evidence of one preceding the other.  There is a good possibility that there was inter-lapping in the development of the earth along with the development of other heavenly bodies.  We talked a little about the balance of all these elements in the universe and the divine order behind them and how the Quran specifies this.  There was a little bit of discussion about the expansion of the universe which is a relatively recent theory which has a hint in the Quran.  The reason why the Quran speaks about heavens while giving the number seven does not mean that it is necessarily numerical but that it is also numerous.  The las question dealt with the constant motion and movement of the heavenly bodies.  We quoted two passages in the Quran in which it says that the various heavenly bodies are actually swimming along in their orbit and the question there was how anyone during the 7th century raised in the environment that Prophet Muhammad was raised learn this unless it was coming from another source.  We said that the reasonable conclusion here was that this was actually divine revelation.
 
10.16   The Quran and Modern Sciences IV -The Universe
Host:  Is there a particular reason the concept of the bodies swimming along is used?
Jamal Badawi:
Sheikh Mitwali Sharawi made a very nice reflection in the terms used here and why one term was used rather than a similar term that would have given a different indication.  This kind of expression was puzzling to many commentators of the Quran and no body could imagine the heavenly bodies floating or swimming.  Dr. Bucaille  in The Bible, Quran and Science quotes a very famous commentator of the Quran, Al Tabarai, from the tenth century in the Christian Era.  While he explained passages like this in the Quran he said that it is our duty to keep silent when we do not know.  This shows that some things were unclear within the level of their understanding.  The interesting explanation of Sheikh Sharawi is that when one swims nothing is moving you but you are moving yourself so it is internally generated movement.  He says if one really thinks about the rotation of these heavenly bodies it is not that something is turning it but essentially it is something internal that is moving them.  The second reflection is that a good swimmer actually floats in smooth types of movements.  This is a beautiful analogy of what we know of the nature of the smooth rotation of the heavenly bodies which are quite different from the Quranic expression of motion as it relates to mountains which we will discuss when we deal with the earth.  The expressions that deal with the motion of the earth is different and for good reason.
 
Host:  Does the Quran mention the difference of the sun and the moon in their light giving characteristics?
Jamal Badawi
In the entire Quran there is not a single occasion where the sun is described as having noor which means a reflection of light but it always refers to the sun as siraj which means a source of light.  This is found in the Quran in (10:5) and (78:13).  Whenever the Quran speaks about the moon not once does it use the same term that it uses to describe the sun.  In other words nowhere in the Quran does it say that the moon is siraj which would indicate that it is a source of light.  The moon is always referred to as nooran or light or reflection but can not mean a source of that light.  Additional references include (25:61) and (71:16).  It is very interesting to note that when we compare the notion in the book of Genesis about the sun and the moon we find that both of them were described as a light, the sun was the major light and the moon as a lesser light.  The Quran unlike Genesis makes the very delicate distinction about the sun and the moon.  This means that the moon doesn’t generate light of its own but it is simply the reflection from the siraj which is a source of light, the sun.  Again the very basic question is how could Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in the seventh century, unlettered, in uneducated environment in a world which didn’t have a notion about all of this and that there is light on the moon and no one could understand this reflection till hundreds of years later.  If people claim that he copied from other sources of scripture how come this information is not there?
 
Host:  Does this mean that if the Sun cools off like the sun did that life on earth would be distorted?
Jamal Badawi:
It could be a catastrophe.  I don’t want to say that this catastrophe is imminent but of course if God wanted it to happen it could happen without the following of the natural laws.  What is happening is the sun is in a constant process of transforming hydrogen atoms into helium.  When this transformation is completed it automatically means that the sun would cool off and finally its light will diminish and the density will increase and it would become just like other stars that died before it.  There is really no reason for alarm because this process will probably take another five and a half billion years.  There is something fascinating abut the destiny of the sun which is mentioned in the Quran.  It says in (36:38) “And the sun runs his course for a period determined for him: that is the decree of (Him), the Exalted in Might, the All-Knowing.”  The original Arabic word that talks about the destiney of the sun or the final resting place (literal translation) is the word mustakar.  Mustakar could mean a place or a time which the transformation spans.
 
Host:  What does the Quran say about the day and night cycle?
Jamal Badawi:
In (7:54) “He draweth the night as a veil o'er the day, each seeking the other in rapid succession.”  In (6:37) “And a Sign for them is the Night: We withdraw therefrom the Day, and behold they are plunged in darkness.” In (31:29) “Seest thou not that Allah merges Night into Day and he merges Day into Night.”  In (39:5) it says “He makes the Night overlap the Day, and the Day overlap the Night.”  The term used for overlapping, coiling or winding is what scientists call interpenetration.  That is to say the earth is turning around its own axis which means that half of the sphere of the earth makes one revolution around the earth in 24 hours while the other half remains in darkness.  In other words there is a hint that this coiling explains the existence of day and night simultaneously depending on the position of the earth in regards to the sun.  The original arabic is ukawir comes from the original Arabic word kora which means a ball.  This is again a very early mention of the shape of the earth being a sphere.  In a previous program we indicated that the Bible says that on the first day of creation the night and day were created.  Whereas with our present understanding the day and night are a phenomena that only emerged after the creation of the sun, whereas Genesis says that the firmaments were created after day and night.  A similar expression which shows that it was not just casual passage in the Quran in (36:40) it says “It is not permitted to the Sun to catch up the Moon, nor can the Night outstrip the Day: Each (just) swims along in (its own) orbit (according to Law).”  All of these references clearly indicate the constant motion of the earth.  There is more evidence in the Quran about the rotation of the earth.
 
Host: Can you give us more information about the rotation of the earth?
Jamal Badawi:
There is one citation which many scholars including Bouqeth and Sharawi have made nice commentary on.  In (27:88) it says “Thou seest the mountains and thinkest them firmly fixed: but they shall pass away as the clouds pass away: (such is) the artistry of Allah, Who disposes of all things in perfect order: for he is well acquainted with all that ye do.”  The first question is what does the Quran mean?  Does it mean that while the mountains appear to be stationary in fact move?  Or is it a reference to the movement of the earth?  the point is that we think it is stationary but they actually move.  We know however that mountains do not move on their own and there is nothing that provides them with self generated motion which means that it is moving along with the rotation of the earth.  Another equally interesting commentary about the meticulous accuracy of the language used in the Quran when it deals with scientific aspects which is free from any myth that was predominant in the days of the Prophet or after him.  The Quran describes the motion of the mountains and makes analogy between them and the motion of the clouds.  In the previous program when we talked about the sun and the moon swimming along and this is different than the way the Quran describes the motion of the earth.  Why did the Quran say the mountains pass like clouds rather than pass like animals move.  The motion is not coming from the mountain as the cloud doesn’t move by its self.  The motion that we see in the cloud is caused by wind moving it.  So again do not move by themselves but are driven by another force which the rotation of the earth.  How could have this meticulous description been given 1400 years ago unless it had a non human source.
 
Host:  What does the Quran mean when it refers to the East andWest in regards to the East or West as a plural?
Jamal Badawi:
In some cases the Quran speaks about Allah being the lord of East and West in the singular which is the simple meaning that we can relate to and understand.  For example we find that in (2:116), (2:142) and (2:177).  In some cases it even describes the East and West in twos like God is the Lord of the two Easts and two Wests  There are also citations which refer to the East and West as plurals.  The difficulty arrises with respect to two and numerous.  Numerous is easy because if one watches the sunset and sunrise in different seasons one will notice that the sun doesn’t always rise and set in the same spot.  So with the change of seasons we do not have one East and one West but rather several points from which the sun rises and several from which the sun sets.  What about the expression Lord of the two Easts and the two Wests?  There have been some explanations of this.  Some people say that when it talks about two Easts and two Wests it is quite possible that this maybe a reference to sunrise and sunset, moonrise and moonset.  Other people explain it could refer to the basic changes between winter and summer which is in reference to the two points from which the sunrises in winter and summer and the two points of sunset.  There could be other explanations such as reversal of the axis of the earth.  Only Allah knows.  Some scientists speak about some of these possible situations in terms of the reversal of the poles.  This is an area that no one can give the final answer on that.  One East and one West is understandable, plural Easts and plural Wests are understandable but Two Easts and Wests we have a lack in interpreting.  The point is that neither of these expressions can be proven to be incorrect from the scientific standpoint.  This is what we understand so far.
 
Host:  Does the Quran have anything to say about the existence of other planets like our earth?
Jamal Badawi:
We notice that in the very first Surah in the Quran it says AlhamduliAllah Rabi Al Alamin which means praise be to Allah Lord of the worlds in plural.  It didn’t use the term universe but it uses the plural of alam which is worlds.  Some people in the past understood that as a reference to the world of humans and the world of spirits which could be a valid interoperation.  It also could be the world of humans, world of angels and other levels of existence.  However there are certain expressions in the Quran which are quite explicit in describing the heavens in plural as we expressed in the previous program.  Also, some describe the term earths which means that there could be other worlds similar to our own.  As far as the state of knowledge that we have, most times it is believed that it is highly unlikely that there are any other planet in our solar system which has an atmosphere which is conducive to life.  This has been proven when they went to the moon and found no water.  Our solar system is not the only one and if we go beyond the solar system to our galaxy we are talking about ten billion stars and scientists estimate that half are rotating in a very similar fashion as that of the sun.  We say that this seems to suggest that they are surrounded by planets.  The main problem is that these stars are so far away that it is not possible to make clear observations of them.  Scientists deducted from trajectory characteristics of the stars that there is a possibility that there could be other earths similar to ours.
 
Summary of 10.16 "The Quran and Modern Sciences IV -The Universe"
In the previous program we not only covered that the Quran mentioned that the heavenly bodies were in a constant rotation but it uses the term “swims along” which indicates that the motion emanates from these bodies.  The other aspect that was discussed was the question of the succession of the day and night and how the Quran says that Allah coils the day upon the night and coils the night upon the day.  This not only indicates that the earth is a sphere but it also indicates the constant motion or rotation of the earth.  It was also noted that the Quran makes an explicit reference to the rotation of the earth which was not known at the time of the Prophet.  The Quran mentions that the mountains move as the clouds move even though we think they may be stationary.  This again is an indication to the clouds which are moved by the wind, and that they do not have self emanating motions and that the mountains do not move themselves but move with the earth which is also rotating.
We also briefly discussed the expression of the sun and moon in the Quran and that they are not just mentioned as a major or lessor light.  The term siraj is used for the sun which means it is a source of light whereas the word used for the moon is light alone which could be a reflection of the light coming from the sun.  All of this information was not known to Prophet Muhammad in the 7th century, so where did it come from?  The last question that was addressed was the notion that the Quran indicates that there may be other earths, whether there are other forms of life on them or not, and we indicated that in the first Surah in the Quran that it uses the word “worlds.”  In the Quran in (65:12) it says that God created several earths.  Whether that indicates that there is life on other planets is not addressed one way or the other.
 
10.17   The Quran and Modern Sciences V - Astronomy
Host:  Can you explain the Quranic position on the existence of life outside of earth?
Jamal Badawi:
Let us distinguish between scientific fact and theory.  Of course there is no facts that there is or is not life outside of earth.  What is generally excepted by scientists is that in our solar system there is no indication that there is life on other planets within this solar system.  When the moon was explored it was found that there could be no life on it.  However, our solar system is not the only system.  In our galaxy it is estimated that half of its stars (nearly 5 billion) rotate very slowly which indicates to scientists that there are other satellite planets which rotate around those stars the same way that the earth and moon rotate around the sun.  In the solar systems beyond ours we are not sure about because nobody has developed the capability to find out for sure if there are other earths similar to ours.  In any case the Quran seems to leave it open and simply says that there are other earths without saying that they are exactly like ours or not or if they have life on them or other planets is left completely open.  there is no definite statement one way or the other.
 
Host:  Is there any hint in the Quran about the role of water in sustaining life on earth?
Jamal Badawi:
Actually there are strong and clear references in the Quran about water.  It was only relatively recent that scientists discovered more and more the relevance of water in sustaining life.  One of the most fascinating passages in the Quran appears in Surah (21:30) where it says “We made from water every living thing.”  The Quranic term ma’ could mean sperm as we find in (77:24) where it refers to the fact that every living thing is a result of the process of fertilization.  The other meaning for ma’ is also water.  This shows that life is heavily dependent on water.  What scientists are telling us now is that approximately 70% of our weight is water.  So if someone weighs 70 kilograms 50 of which are water.  It is known in Biology that the protoplasm which is the main component of the human cell is actually composed of water.  We are told that one could live without food for up to 60 days but without water it is between 3-10 days.  In the 20th century this information does not seem to be striking but this is far from the ideas that existed during the time when these passages from the Quran where revealed in the 7th century.  The Quran even speaks beyond the importance of water, which is a general statement, but also speaks about the nature of the water cycle.  One may say that this evaporation is not important; yet if there was not a delicate balance in the water cycle and since the earth is over 5 billion years old if evaporation continued over these years over time this water would have evaporated and there would have been no more water.
 
Host:  What is meant by the term water cycle?
Jamal Badawi:
Basically scientists tell us that approximately 72% of the surface of the earth is covered with water.  This is an essential point because the sun is there, with its rays causing evaporation of this water and if there wasn’t a delicate balance in the water cycle and the earth is over 5 billion years old at one point of time all the water would have evaporated and there would have been no more water unless there is a cycle that returns this water to the earth.  This vapor that rises through the atmosphere, as a result of the sun rays, rises into the atmosphere then through a process of condensation we are told that clouds are formed.  At this point the role of the winds become essential.  Wind may either disperse the clouds without rain, it may fragment it and produce rain, or may combine the clouds with other clouds which then creates even greater condensation.  When rain falls it goes back into the oceans, rivers, lakes and is held on soil which is then absorbed by planes and some of it penetrates the earth which then emerges in the form of springs or through other channels back to the oceans.  Without this balance life on earth would not be sustained.
 
Host:  When was the water cycle discovered and what explanations were offered before this discovery?
Jamal Badawi:
This is an area where specialists especially in the area of hydrology and hydrogeology can give us some indication.  Some scientists were quoted by Bucaille  in his book The Bible, Quran and Science.  They say that the first clear formulation about the water cycle goes back to 1580 which is the later part of the 16th century which is mostly connected which is mostly connected to Bernard Palissy who indicated that rain water does in fact infiltrate the soil a matter which was confirmed more widely as late as the 17th century.  Before that there were all kinds of strange myths about the water cycle.  Plato for example believed that water returned back to the oceans through a great abyss.  That theory seemed to have supporters for as late as the 18th century near 1100 years after the Quran and the correction of these incorrect notions.  Some people used to believe that water in the oceans under the effects of winds are thrust towards the interior of the continents.  In the Middle Ages it was believed that spring water actually comes from underground lakes without the explanation of their source.  Some even believe that the water came to these underground lakes through holes which connects to the bottom of the oceans.  It is clear now that these common notions not only during the revelation of the Quran but for hundreds of years after the Quran are mistaken and there is no trace in the Quran to these notions.  On the contrary, we find that the Quran corrects these mistakes.
 
Host:  What does the Quran have to say with respect to mistakes about the water cycle?
Jamal Badawi:
In the Quran in (39:21) “Seest thou not that Allah sends down rain from the sky, and leads it through springs in the earth?  Then He causes to grow, therewith, produce of various colors.”  There is no trace of underground lakes which did not originate from rain.  This notion is corrected as it is rain water which infiltrates the soil.  In the Quran in (23:18-19) “And We send down water from the sky according to (due) measure, and We cause it to soak in the soil; and We certainly are able to drain it off (with ease).”  This shows again that the rain causes the water to penetrate the earth.  Another reference is in (15:22) “And We send the fecundating winds, then cause the rain to descend from the sky, therewith providing you with water (in abundance), though ye are not the guardians of its stores.”  This could be a reference to the f act that we can not prevent it from evaporating and cycling through.
 
Host:  Does the Quran make any reference to the role of the clouds?
Jamal Badawi:
An interesting passage in the Quran (24:43) “Seest thou not that Allah makes the clouds move gently, then joins them together, then makes them into a heap? - then wilt thou see rain issue forth from their midst. And He sends down from the sky mountain masses (of clouds) wherein is hail: He strikes therewith whom He pleases and He turns it away from whom He pleases, the vivid flash of His lightning well-nigh blinds the sight.”  First it talks about wind moving clouds gently, second the term usji or u’alif which is when the clouds are joined together which we mentioned the process of greater condensation.  Another very interesting term that is used is mountain in reference to the clouds.  When one flies and looks out of the window it is amazing how once can see that the clouds are shaped like mountains.  Some may say that anyone can see that but no one could see that in the seventh century.
This passage also talks about electricity in the air which was not known scientifically till recently.  Another Aya which is even more amazing in (15:22) “And We send the fecundating winds, then cause the rain to descend from the sky, therewith providing you with water (in abundance), though ye are not the guardians of its stores.”  Notice the term fecundate or fertilize!  This could have two meanings.  The word lawaqih in Arabic which is translated to fecundate could be a reference to the wind and its role in moving the pollen which causes the fertilization of plants.  The other clear meaning of it talks about the winds and rain and the obvious reference is to the role of wind impregnate the clouds and cause rain?  What sense does the word fertilize cause rain as there are no female and male clouds?  Clouds are not always rain carrying clouds and it is only when the wind joins the clouds together that it creates more condensation which then causes rain.  It is almost like pollination.  This is definitely something that was not known at the time the Quran was revealed to Prophet Muhammad.  Addition references are found in the Quran are found in (7:57), (25:5), (25:48-49) and (30:48).
 
Host:  Is artificial rain a change in the natural process?
Jamal Badawi:
It is not really a change in the natural process as Bucaille indicates in his book as the experts, meteorologists, indicate that it is unlikely that the human can actually cause rain to fall from clouds which do not have the suitable characteristics as rain clouds.  In other words one can not just produce rain from any cloud.  One can not hasten the precipitation process unless the natural conditions are present.  If it were true that artificial rain is a technique one could use to produce rain one could avoid droughts.  We find that droughts exist in the most advanced countries.
 
Host:  Why doesn’t salt and fresh water mix?
Jamal Badawi:
If they had mixed life on earth could have been destroyed because we would not have any fresh water as people in the past did not have the desalination plants which allows us to obtain fresh water from salt water.  Modern science discovered that salty seawater and fresh river water do not mix immediately.  This has been seen in the Tigris, Euphrates and any other river that has a large outflow of water like the Mississippi River.  Scientists say that the Gulf Stream, wider than any known river at 32 miles wide, is a warm stream which begins at the equator and moves north into the Gulf of Mexico then travels along the coast into NewFoundland and then it moves East across the atlantic where it becomes much wider, then it continues till it reaches the coast of several European countries like Norway, France and England then it spreads out and disappears into the ocean.  The amazing thing is that during this lengthy trip the Gulf stream remains distinct from the rest of the oceans water and doesn’t mix with it.  This is amazing not only because it remains distinct from the rest of the ocean as we see from the color variation but there is a difference of 20 degrees between the temperature of the Gulf stream and the ocean.
If one is on board a ship on the edge of the ocean and the stream one could take water from one from the side of the Gulf Stream and it would be 20 degrees warmer and the other side one would get water which is 20 degrees colder.  This is really an amazing point.  There are two crucial references found in (25:53) and (55:19-20).  Both references basically say that Allah created the seas with fresh water and salty water and let them touch each-other but even then there is a barrier which doesn’t let them transfer.  This is a fascinating reference made in the Quran made to this recently discovered phenomena that even though there is mixing between fresh and salt water it is not complete or else life on earth would not have been sustained.  The question again is how could Prophet Muhammad have known about these things that have not been discovered till recently and for hundreds of years after the Quran.
 
Summary of 10.17 "The Quran and Modern Sciences V - Astronomy"
We discussed the water cycle and how the Quran made reference to that more than 900 years before modern science discovered it which could relate to the main question in this series as to what is the source of the Quran.  We discussed specific detailed descriptions found in the Quran which deal with the source of the spring water and how it comes from rain water unlike the myths that were believed.  The role of the wind in joining together clouds and as such increasing condensation and the reference in the Quran that the wind acts as a fertilizing factor in mixing rain carrying clouds with non rain carrying clouds which results in condensation and rain fall.  What is amazing is the mention in  the Quran about the barrier between different masses of water or seas which is a reference to the balance between freshwater and saltwater.  We also discussed that even if it is the same body of water when we analyze the Gulf Stream and its lengthy trip it is is quite distinct from the rest of the water in a considerable difference in the temperature of the water.  This is something that the Quran made reference to far before any notion was ever known about this amazing phenomena.
 
10.18   The Quran and Modern Sciences VI - Geology, Botany, Zoology
Host:  Is there any hint in the Quran as to the function of the mountains?
Jamal Badawi:
There are clear and explicit references in the Quran about the crucial function that the mountains play in stabilizing the earth’s crust.  The citation in the Quran is in (31:10) “He set on the earth mountains standing firm, lest it should shake with you.”  We find some similar citations in (16:15) and(21:31).  In other citations in the Quran it ads another dimension to the role of mountains as we find in (78:6-7) it describes the mountain as awtad which means pegs.  This is an interesting that is found for mountains in the Quran because now with knowledge in modern geology it has been found that radius of the earth is a little less than 4,000 miles from the surface to the core.  They also found that the crust which is used to grow plans and which we live on is a minor part of that radius measuring approximately 1%.  It measures anywhere from 10 to 30 miles or so in depth.  In comparison with the total radius it really is just a small part of the whole.  It was found by geologists that the folds on earth which form the mountain ranges are essential because it gives this thin crust stability.  This process is sometimes referred to as orogenesis which means that in order for the development of relief on earth the crust was driven far down which insures a sort of foundation in the layer which underlies the mountains.  This shows the accuracy of the description “pegs.”  Some also refer to the balance between the depth of the ocean and the hight of the mountain together seem to maintain the crust of the earth in some degree of stability.  This information was definitely not known at all at the time the Quran was revealed nor for hundreds of years afterwards.
 
Host:  Are there any other natural phenomena which the Quran refers too that we should look at?
Jamal Badawi:
There are two points that writers refer to frequently.  One is the notion of the shadow.  In the Quran in (25:45) “How He doth prolong the shadow! If He willed, He could make it stationary! then do We make the sun its guide.”  When it says prolong the shadow they say that this is evidence of the rotation of the earth around its own axis around in the face of the sun.  Without this rotation half of the earth would be in perpetual day and the other would be in perpetual night.  This could be devastating and life would eventually parish because one part would be over exposed and the other part would be under exposed.  There is really a delicate balance here related to this rotation.  If it were true as many believed in the past that the earth is stationary it would have meant that the shadow would have been stationary.  This is why the verse said if Allah willed He would have made it stationary but that he did not and He made it changing.  At the time the Quran was revealed people believed that the sun moved from the East to the West but that the earth was stationary.
In fact the Quran makes another reference in (28:71-72) “Say: See ye? If Allah were to make the night perpetual over you to the Day of Judgment, what god is there other than Allah, who can give you enlightenment? Will ye not then hearken?  Say: See ye? If Allah were to make the day perpetual over you to the Day of Judgment, what god is there other than Allah, who can give you a night in which ye can rest? Will ye not then see?”  This could be a reference to that phenomena or a reminder to us that there are parts of the world which were not known to Prophet Muhammad in those times.  Allah shows us His signs when in some places it is perpetual day or night for some parts of the year, not the whole year so there is still a chance to maintain life.
The second example is in reference to oceanography and what science is telling us is that the deep sea storm results in different types of waves which vary in width, length and hight which can be described as a sort of layer of waves.  In (24:39) which makes reference to the layers “But the Unbelievers,- their deeds are like a mirage in sandy deserts, which the man parched with thirst mistakes for water; until when he comes up to it, he finds it to be nothing: But he finds Allah (ever) with him, and Allah will pay him his account: and Allah is swift in taking account.”  This is in reference to a natural phenomena that exists not only with the layers of the waives but also the cloudy setting that it generates to the point where there is total darkness.
 
Host:  Does the Quran have anything to say about vegetation that was not known at the time of the revelation of the Quran?
Jamal Badawi:
There are numerous citations in the Quran which deal with the question of vegetation.  Some of these are more general, addressing vegetation as a bounty or gift form Allah which is found in (6:99), (13:4), (16:10-11) and (50:9-11).  Some passages in the Quran refer to an interesting phenomena of the variation in color and taste of vegetation even though they are planted and watered with the same water.  This could be a hint to the various plants where the roots are putting certain nutrients which are needed by that particular plant.  The expressions mentioned about the vegetation is totally free of the common  myth that existed about vegetation at the time of the revelation of the Quran.
This shows that the Quran was not simply a human document which rehearsed what was already known during its time.  In addition to this, many of the scientists speak about the balance in nature.  The Quran makes several references to this due proportion or balance in the creation of Allah.  It mentions this balance in general in (9:13), (25:12) and (54:49).  There is one particular passage in the Quran that is in (15:19) which speaks specifically about the ecological balance in the vegetation kingdom.  It says that Allah allowed for all kinds of things to grow in due balance.  The other aspect that the Quran refers to is the process of reproduction in plants.  It was only in recent decades that scientists found out that any plant involves both the male and female parts and even that animals (that were not visibly different) was proven to have both male female functions.  The Quran refers to the law of pairs genially and with respect to vegetation.
The Quran says in (51:49) that of everything did Allah create things in pairs.  When it says things that means animals, vegetations, humans and things.  Even if we look at the atom we have electrons and neutrons.  There is always electricity and there is a positive and negative.  Beyond this we find in (50:23) that is speaks about the variation of plants in pairs.  Again it is referring to the law of pairs as it applies to plants.  A third aspect is the process of germination.  When the plant is put in the soil it goes through certain stages and scientists tell us that the first thing that happen is that the outside casing of the seed splits and that allows the roots to emerge and draw the nutrients from the soil which results in the growth of a new plant.  In a passage in (6:95) it says “It is Allah Who causeth the seed-grain and the date-stone to split and sprout. He causeth the living to issue from the dead, and He is the one to cause the dead to issue from the living. That is Allah. then how are ye deluded away from the truth?”  Again the Quran uses language which is very descriptive of what scientists have been able to observe and study.
 
Host:  How does the Quran explain animal life?
Jamal Badawi:
There are a number of passages in the Quran which speak about the creation of animals and cattle as a bounty of Allah.  This is found in (16:5) where there is mention of the cattle that Allah created and how we derive warmth from them through clothing, the food, milk and the vessel to cary our loads and in enjoying the beauty of watching these animals like horses etc.  However, some interesting things that pertain to the animal kingdom also pertain to the process of reproduction which can be covered when we cover the human reproductive system and which an even more fascinating interesting subject in which the Quran gives lots of explanations.  One of the things which is very fascinating which is basic to the animal kingdom is the notion that animals, like humans, live in communities just like our communities with social organizations with leadership and everything else that we think is exclusive to us.
 
Host:  Is the notion of animals living in kingdoms something that was not understood till recently?
Jamal Badawi:
Yes, and again this is the question as to where the Quran got this information?  It is relatively a recent phenomena which was only achieved after a systematic and detailed study of animal behavior.  There is an interesting Ayah in the Quran, particularly about the communal life of animals, in (6:38) “There is not an animal (that lives) on the earth, nor a being that flies on its wings, but (forms part of) communities like you. Nothing have we omitted from the Book, and they (all) shall be gathered to their Lord in the end.”  This means that there is no animal (original word is dabeh which means any thing that walks or is living) on earth nor bird which flies on wings that doesn’t belong to communities.  Attempts are being made to study this further and to try and understand what mechanism is at the heart of this community life of various types of animals.
 
Host:  Are there specific examples of the kinds of organizations that come from the animal kingdom?
Jamal Badawi:
One of the most interesting things in the Quran is that it refers many times to various creations of Allah, to the point that some Surah’s in the Quran are titled after specific animals or insect.  There is a Surah called The Bees (Alnahl) another is Spidar, another is Al Naml which means The Ant.  Interesting things that the Quran refers to which have been subjected to scientific study in recent decades is the community living of the honey bee.  there is an amazing citation about ti in the Quran in (16:68-69) which is called The Bee where it talks about how Allah inspired the bees to build their own habitat in the mountains on top of trees and that Allah inspired them to eat from all types of fruits.  Then it says Allah inspired them to eat from all types of fruits and then it speaks about the honey that comes out of their belly and how there is cure in the honey.  “And thy Lord taught the Bee to build its cells in hills, on trees, and in (men's) habitations; Then to eat of all the produce (of the earth), and find with skill the spacious paths of its Lord: there issues from within their bodies a drink of varying colors, wherein is healing for men: verily in this is a Sign for those who give thought.”  First, why does it speak particularly about bees?  Is there anything special about the community life of the bees?  Even though it addresses bees in plural when it says that they make out of mountains habitation it says itakhithi which is referring to the female gender.  Is this a possible hint of the fact that the main builders of this habitation are in fact the female workers?
The other interesting point is that it says follow the way of your Lord in taking their food from fruit or flowers.    Scientists have found that there is a remarkable nervous organization in the bee which is reflected in the pattern of the bee dance.  There have been in-depth studies of the bee dance.  When a be finds a flower she comes back and informs other bees how to get there.  The be lets the other bees that she has discovered nice flowers and tells them how to get there.  Scientifically speaking the study of the pattern of the bee dance and the way she moves her wings and the direction of it gives the indication that directions are being given for the exact directions.  There is definite communication and definite direction.  A person who has made lots of studies on that is a man by the name Von Frisch.  In addition some studies were made as to how the cells are designed and again it was found that there there are meticulous angles and degrees that bees have in their genetic code.  The mention of the cure of honey for many diseases is a topic in itself and there have been many benefits of honey.  Another example which is similar to that is the spider.
In the Quran (29:41) appears to be very spiritual but actually has a great deal of mention to scientific things.  “The parable of those who take protectors other than Allah is that of the spider, who builds (to itself) a house; but truly the flimsiest of houses is the spider's house;- if they but knew.”  Like the bee the nervous system of the spider was designed where it results in perfectly geometric designs.  The additional discovery as to why the Quran chose among all other things the spider to as having the flimsiest and weakest of dwelling is that it was found that there are certain glands in the spider which secrete these fine threads with which the spider builds the web and it was found that the caliber of those fibers is almost infinitely fine and that it the weakest, finest dwelling that can not be synthetically imitated.
Host:  Is there anything unusual about ants that is mentioned in the Surah The Ants?
Jamal Badawi:
There is in fact a Surah called The Ants and in (27:17-19) it speaks of the story of Solomon.  It says how Prophet Solomon was on his way with a big army which included humans, birds and it says that one ant told the other ants to get back into their dwelling lest Solomon’s army crushes you under their feet without realizing it.  On the surface saying all of this- for many people this may be difficult to grasp.  But there have been lots of studies made on Ants and how they have this meticulous social organization for themselves.  It was found that not only do they have this organization but they also have a great deal of intelligence and that they love to work hard.  Besides humans ants are the only animals known to barry its dead which is quite fascinating.  It was found also that ants have developed the custom of meeting in large groups once in a while where they exchange commodities, get to know each other or chat (as we call it among humans).  The participate in collective projects such as building of their pathways.
This takes lots of organization and the ability to channel everybody’s efforts.  Furthermore when they collect their food, if it is too big and they can not get it to their store house they try to split it and if it is still to heavy they push it with their legs and raise it with their arms.  When rain falls and the greens they collected get wet they take them out of their homes to dry in the sun and then take it back.  Something that shows us that all of these things were programed by the creator is that when they collect the grains they start by cutting the roots then they split the grain because if they cut the grain first there is no chance that the plant will regrow.  These sophisticated things are going on among ants then what is so strange about communicating a specific message with meaning?

Summary of 10.18 "The Quran and Modern Science VI - Geology, Botany, Zoology"
Last week we continued to examine the natural phenomena which were discovered by science hundreds of years after the Quran was revealed.  More specifically we talked about the role of mountains in stabilizing the earth’s crust that they acted as steaks.  We talked about the movement of the shadow and how the Quran makes clear reference to the rotation of the earth.  We also talked about the waves under the sea which build with layers upon layers.  Some discussion took place about the vegetation kingdom with a focus on the ecological balance, fertilization of plants and the process of germination or splitting of the seed.  Then we discussed the animal kingdom and that the Quran frequently refers to animals living in communities as we find in Surah 6 in the Quran that there is no animal that walks the earth or bird that flies without being in communities like us.  We discussed bees and ants last time and how they have been observed by scientists.  Birds also move in groups.  There is something that is fascinating about birds and the Quran makes reference to it in Surah 16 and 76.  Both Surahs reference the divine order that the birds follow and that Allah has set the law that gives them the ability to fly and perform their functions.  In the light of modern science we can understand these passages more clearly.
We are told by scientists that many species of birds have a very high degree  of programing in their movements.  This has been particularly noted in migratory birds.  Scientists say that in the genetic codes of these birds which is found in their cells and which is particularly active in the nervous cells there is a complete and complex program which guides those birds during lengthy trips.  The thing that amazed scientists is the fact that many times small birds that never experienced flying long distance or for long time frames without any guide to show them the way go through very lengthy and complex trips.  Scientists wonder how they do this.  Pilots at times make mistakes in their navigation so how come these small birds have all these directives to follow their specific direct path?  Some scientists refer to the mutton bird which lives in the Pacific and they say that this bird makes a trip that sometimes extends to 15500 miles and it makes this trip in a specific shape.  Dr. Bucaille commented on this and said that it is obvious that there are detailed and complex instructions which are found in the nervous cells of the birds.  The Quran hinted to all of this long before scientists found this information.
The question of milk production of milk in mammals (which applies to humans too) in Surah (16:66) in the Quran Allah says “And verily in cattle (too) will ye find an instructive sign. From what is within their bodies between excretions and blood, We produce, for your drink, milk, pure and agreeable to those who drink it.”  The Quran says that the initial production of this milk comes from batn which means bellies or interior of the body (not necessarily the belly).  This is a mistake that some fall into by translating it as belly.  Second, it says that this comes from a conjunction of falth which means the content of the intestine and some translate it as excrements which is not accurate.  How does modern science help us understand the secret of this expression in the Quran that the milk comes from the conjunction of the intestine and blood?  When an animal or human eats the food goes through a series of chemical transformation which occurs along the entire digestive track.  When the food substance passes through its walls to the systemic circulation the passage of this food may take place through the portal of circulation which takes it through the liver and back or it can through the lymphatic vessels.  Every nutrient passes through the blood stream or the circulatory system.
The constituents of milk are secreted in mammals by mammary glands that produce milk are nourished by the product of digestion which comes from the content of the intestine and is carried through the blood stream to the glands.  In that sense the blood acts as the collector and conductor of these nutrients so that the milk can eventually be secreted.  Dr. Bucaille says that these discoveries are very recent and are only understood in the light of modern chemistry and the physiology of digestion.  It was totally unknown in the 7th era.  This is why he says that the notion of the circulatory system was discovered by Harvey 1000 years after the revelation of the Quran.  This is why he concludes in page 197 of his book “I consider that the existence in the Quran of the verse referring to these concepts (formation of milk) can have no human explanation on account of the period in which they were formulated.”
 
10.19  The Quran and Modern Sciences VII - Human Reproduction I
Host:  What is the extent of Quranic coverage on the concept of Human Reproduction?
Jamal Badawi:
There are quite a few passages in the Quran that deal with human reproduction.  A casual observer would not just open the Quran and look for the chapter on human reproduction.  The Quran is not a text book in medicine, chemistry or science but has its own style.  Like many other topics in the Quran we find the mention of any topic interspersed in different contexts and different presentation because the purpose of it is different from textbooks.  However we notice that in many of the translations of the Quran, or commentaries there were lack of accuracy in conveying the meaning that is really in the text.  While presenting the different concepts we try to stop and analyze the origin of words in order to make sure there is no problem with translation or commentary which were based on the level of understanding of the commentator but not the text.  It is amazing to notice that the Quran has dealt with a variety of subjects that were only understood in recent decades (late 17th century till present).
The description is very sober and free from any of the myths and mistakes that were common at the time of the revelation of the Quran or afterwards.  This includes a variety of things such as the formation of the sex organs, the function of the uterus and how it is protected, the process of fertilization, the fact that both male and female contribute to the process, the embryological stages and many other things that were not known scientifically till much later.  There are a couple of useful references on this.  One is the book by Dr. Maurice Bucaille The Bible, Quran and Science.  The other is equally interesting and goes into greater depth regarding the scientific side of human reproduction as it is related to the Quran by Doctor Muhammad Albar which is only available in Arabic which is titled The Creation of the Human Between Medicine and the Quran.  We will use both of these references in the discussion of this topic.
 
Host:  What was believed about embryology before recent discoveries?
Jamal Badawi:
Aristotle had the idea that embryo is formed from the menstrual blood an that the human sperm only acts as the enzyme acts on the cheese as a catalyst.  We won’t go back that far but many of the myths about human reproduction which existed and persisted hundreds of years after the Quran while the Quran made corrections to them.  An example as Bucaille mentions in the year 1651 did Harvey discovered new things in the scientific study of embryology that all life comes from an egg.  Dr. Albar gives details on that subject where he says that it was not till 1670 that it was discovered that there was an ovum and human sperm.  But even then scientists were not quite clear as to what role they played in the process of human reproduction.  In fact they did not realize that the sperm and egg are both cells just like other cells in the body.  The notion of cells being the biological base of the human body was not known till 1839.
It was only towards the end of the 17th century in 1694 the theory which was very common was that the embryo exist in a miniature form inside the sperm.  The illustration would be that there was a miniature human being in the head of the sperm.  In 1745, another theory which existed before Wegener which that the sperm had no role in the formation of the embryo and they believed that inside the egg there was a miniature fetus.  During the 18th century another equally strange myth, the Quran was revealed in the 7th century, it says the ovaries of Eve had in her ovaries the seed of all human beings one inside the other.  It was only towards the end of the 19th century that it was possible to actually observe how the sperm fertilizes the human egg.  If we review what the Quran says hundreds of years before these discoveries one would not be able to help being really astonished.  Specialists would perhaps be even more astonished.
 
Host:  What did the Quran have to say about Human Reproduction?
Jamal Badawi:
First let us look at the issue that appears in (86:5-7) “Now let man but think from what he is created!  He is created from a drop emitted-Proceeding from between the backbone and the ribs.”  Before we explain this I need to point out some pointers regarding the wording.  The last part says that the liquid comes from between the backbone and the ribs.  There are two key words that appear in this situation: one is sulb which is properly translated as the spine.  The word taraib in Arabic as Dr. Albar refers to is used in some old Arabic poetry doesn’t only refer to women as some people understood but refers to the ribs.  Some people misunderstood that and mistranslated the Aya and translated the citation to mean that the human is fashioned from something that issues from the backs of men and the chests of women.
This is erroneous on the basis of the structure of the sentence because the text of the passage in the Quran doesn’t say that it comes from the spine and the ribs but it says that it comes from between and that is why Dr. Albar refers to some of the old commentators like Al Hassan Al Basri who did not misunderstood it but said from in between which means that there is something that comes from in-between the spinal cord the rib of the man and the spinal cord and the rib of a woman.  According to modern science the area between the spinal column and the rib is the area which is very crucial in the formation and nourishment of the sex organs of both males and females.
 
Host:  Can you elaborate on what happens in this area between the spine and the ribs?
Jamal Badawi:
There are two explanations for that and in Dr. Albar’s book we find a number of interesting illustrations.  One photograph we see a comparison between the initial formation of the male testicle and the female ovaries.  It can be easily seen that the photograph it shows the initial stages of the male testicle and one of the ovaries of a female and both are 6 weeks old.  Both look almost identical and it is difficult to make a distinction between them (except by a specialist).  In the second photograph which shows the development of the male testicle of an embryo which is 4 months old and another picture after it has developed at the age of 7 months in the embryological stage where it shows clearly how the testicle moves to the lower abdomen.  In the third set of pictures we se the ovaries of a female with the first one is in the second month in the embryological stage and the other one is in the 7th month and again the basic outline and features of the reproductive function with the ovaries, fallopian tubes and uterus.
The crucial reproductive organs of both males and females begin their development in the kidney region which is between the middle of the spinal cored and the lower ribs.  This shows the accuracy of the Quranic description of the lower ribs and the spinal cord.  This is one explanation of the initial formation of the testicles and the ovaries.  Another equally important explanation of why the passage in the Quran ties this area with the reproductive function is that even after the baby is born and the baby grows the nourishment received by the ovaries as well as the testicles comes from the same region which is called the aorta.  In addition, the nerves that supply both the testicles and the ovaries come from the same area (between the 11th and 12th rib).  Again this is the same area that the Quran refers to as being between the spinal column and the ribs.  Today we can easily understand that what is meant when it says from between the spinal cord and rib is most astonishing as it was made over a thousand years before it was even discovered.
Summary of 10.19 "The Quran and Modern Sciences VII - Human Reproduction I"
In the first part of the program we just continued our discussion of the animal kingdom and the programing of the nervous system of birds.  There were also some brief discussions of the formation of milk in animals and how God refers to it as something that comes from the junction of the intestine and the blood which we analyzed from the physiological standpoint which was not known at the time of the revelation of the Quran.  Then we started the discussion of human reproduction.  The most striking point is not only does the Quran not mention any of the erroneous myths that existed at the time of its revelation or for hundreds of years after but it mentioned things that were discovered recently, almost 1000 years after the revelation of the Quran.  We discussed some of the backgrounds of the myths, some of which continued through the 17th, 18th and even 19th century.  The Quran which was revealed in the 7th century made reference to the human being created out of the liquid which was produced between the spinal column and the ribs.  We analyzed this by looking at the formation of the ovaries and testicles in the initial stages of development and how they continue throughout life to get their blood supply from the area between the spinal column and the ribs.
 
10.20   The Quran and Modern Sciences VII - Human Reproduction II
Host:  What does the Quran say about the functions of the reproductive organs and how does modern science help us understand it?
Jamal Badawi:
The Quran frequently repeats the word rahm and its derivatives, which means womb.  Womb is not just mentioned in the Quran as a physiological phenomena or organ but it is mentioned as a symbol of motherhood, blood relationship and a cause for respect and reverence.  One of the most fascinating citation is (4:1) called Al Nissa or Women “O mankind! reverence your Guardian-Lord, who created you from a single person, created, of like nature, His mate, and from them twain scattered (like seeds) countless men and women;- reverence Allah, through whom ye demand your mutual (rights), and (reverence) the wombs (That bore you): for Allah ever watches over you.”  This reverence and respect of motherhood through the womb extends to commonalities in being brother, sister or relatives.  In the mention of the womb as a reproductive organ the Quran says (13:8) “Allah doth know what every female (womb) doth bear, by how much the wombs decrease or increase. Every single thing is before His sight, in (due) proportion.”
The original Arabic word that describes the changes in the womb are tagheet and tazdad according to Hasanain Makhlook in the Dictionary of the Terms of the Quran says that tagheet means to degrease or drop and tazdad means to increase.  The translation of decrease and increase reflects more closely the Arabic words used in the passage.  The first thing that comes to mind when we talk about the increase and decrease of the womb is during pregnancy.  Why did the Quran specifically point out the uterus to refer to the increase and decrease in size.  Only the uterus from among all organs is capable of a phenomenal increase in its weight.  For example the uterus weighs about 50 grams before pregnancy and towards the end of pregnancy it can weigh as much as 1000 grams.  This is 20X its original weight.  Furthermore the womb carries nearly 5000 grams  almost 5K, 3500 grams is the average weight of a baby, 1000 grams of amniotic fluid and 500 grams of placenta.  However, it appears that this passage in the Quran not only refers to pregnancy but also to other changes that take place in the uterus which were only discovered recently.
 
Host:  What are the other changes that the Quran seems to be referring to?
Jamal Badawi:
The verse starts by saying that Allah knows what every female bears.  If we translate this as pregnancy it would not be accurate because there are many females who never get pregnant, there are females who never get married, there are many females who are barren and so word “bears” here doesn’t only refer to having children in terms of pregnancy but can also refer to other things that they bear within their body.  The word every female makes this a more general statement.  If one continues in the very same passage Allay says that Allah knows how the womb increase or decrease.  This seams to indicate that the increase and decrease in the womb is common to all females which is beyond pregnancy.  How does this relate to our understanding now in modern science?  During the life of the female the uterus goes through lots of changes, for example when the female is just a little baby the uterus is thin and tender as the girl reaches adolescence the uterus becomes stronger, composed of three layers and its thickness becomes greater.  After the woman becomes fully mature and after the period of menopause we find that the uterus becomes smaller.  The wall of the uterus immediately after menstruation is about half a millimeter and as the uterus begins to prepare for a fertilized ovum we notice that the thickness of the wall increases until it reaches a maximum of about 5 millimeter which is 10 times as much and if there is no ovum to be fertilized it starts declining and the body releases the extra lining in the form of dark blood.  Both of these changes in the uterus in the different stages of development of the female or the changes that happen every month in mature female were definitely not known at the time of the revelation of the Quran and for many centuries afterwards.
 
Host:  What is the role of man in human reproduction?
Jamal Badawi:
The most important contribution of the male in the process in the process of human reproduction is the contribution of the sperm which is what actually fertilizes the ovum and carries the hereditary characteristics of the father.  These sperms are produced in the testicle.  If we look at the testicle we will see a large number of coiled tubes in which sperm is produced.  We would be surprised to note that the length of those tubes if measured come out to half a kilometer.  Sperm are basically elongated cells that have heads and long tails which helps them travel towards the ovum.  The size of one sperm is about 5/1000th of a millimeter.  So if we have 200 of them side by side they would equal one millimeter.  It is shown that in any tiny drop of semen there are millions and millions of sperm.  Each ejection is estimated to have between 200-300 million sperm is released and it is amazing to note that it is only one that is needed to fertilize the ovum.  The Quran refers to semen and ties it to the contribution of the female.  This is amazing when up till the 17th century many scientists believed that the baby existed in miniature form in the ovum and some said in the sperm.  The Quran actually makes reference to both of these contributions being responsible for the production of the baby.
 
Host:  What does the Quran say that the contribution of the male is and how it is connected with the female’s contribution?
Jamal Badawi:
When the Quran speaks of the semen that comes from the male it describes it in (76:2) “Verily We created Man from a drop of mingled sperm.”  Dr. Bucaille interpreted this particular passage to refer to semen.  He says semen doesn’t only constitute of sperm but that the sperm is just one component and that there are a number of other secretions especially those that are secreted from the cooper glands and from the prostate.  In a sense there are different components that constitute the fluid.  I don’t think this is a complete interpretation, but it is not wrong.  Dr. Albar says that many of the old commentators on the Quran interpreted the word anshag or mingle to mean the mingling between the male and the female.  I think this has a strong basis because one saying Prophet Muhammad as narrated in Ahmad said that one Jew came to ask Prophet (PBUH) how the child is created and the Prophet responded min ma’ arajul wa ma’ almara’ which means from the fluid of the man and the fluid of the woman.  This is a reference to the contribution of the sperm from the male and the ovum from the female which is something that was not known till the late part of the 19th century.  Host:  Can you explain what is meant by the woman’s fluid?
One can take it to be symbolic of the ovum but according Dr. Albar it refers to something even deeper than that, something that we have only recently understood even after the development of equipment and means of photographing inside of the female body in regards to ovulation as well as fertilization.  Every month small follicles (they cary the ovum) which are inside the ovaries move to the edge of the ovary and rupture (in a cavity with liquid that is called the anterum).  When it ruptures the ovum is ejected along with the liquid which existed inside the follicle.  Albar describes the liquid as an agent that helps with the initial movement of the ovum.  After this process the ovum moves to the fallopian tubes which contain cilia which help move the ovum through the tubes.  In one saying of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) he made reference to the color yellow as it relates to the woman’s contribution.  In a Hadith in Muslim he says that the man’s liquid is white and that the woman’s liquid is yellow.  The question here is what the significance of the color yellow as it relates to ovulation.
 
Host:  How does fertilization take place?
Jamal Badawi:
When the ovum comes out it moves to the fallopian tube and waits to be fertilized.  The ovum is very tiny at 1/5th of a millimeter.  If the male unites with the female at this time the ejected sperm start to race through the uterus trying to reach the ovum that is in the fallopian tubes.  Once the ovum is in the fallopian tubes a large number of sperm collect around it trying to enter the ovum and fertilize it.  Sperm look like a missiles as the head compares to the capsule which carries the nuclease, the most important thing in the cell, the neck contains material which helps convert sugar into energy and as such helps the sperm in its movement and with its pointed head it tries to pierce and enter the ovum.  After the sperm enters the ovum with its head it begins the fertilization process.  In the process of fertilization the ovum behaves like a cherished lady and the sperms act like pursuing males.
 
Host:  Can you give more details about this?
Jamal Badawi:
Dr. Albar makes a beautiful analogy about this.  He describes says that sperm is formed outside of the body, because the testicles are on the outside, some explains that this as being because on the outside the temperature of the body is 35 degrees and on the inside it is 37 degrees.  The 2 degree difference are essential for providing the proper temperature for sperm to be produced.  By comparison the ovum is formed deep inside the woman’s body.  When the ovum comes out it comes out like a queen and the technical term for it is corona radiata which means radiating crown.  So the egg comes out like a queen with a crown on it and doesn’t move by itself but the follicle carry it by gently moving the ovum into the tube just as the bride is carried on the day of her wedding.  Then the ovum waits for fertilization.  We see how millions of sperm race in order to reach and fertilize the ovum.  Even with hundreds of sperm around the ovum not anyone is admitted and many of them die in the process of waiting to get in which is a means for softening the walls so that when the chosen sperm comes they are able to enter and once it enters no other sperm can enter.  So in a sense the ovum opens her heart to the sperm and the sperm opens his heart to the ovum.  This is not a totally romantic description because this is literally what happens.  The heart of the ovum is the nucleus and the heart of the sperm is the nucleus which mix with each other and the chromosomes intermingle which determines the sex of the fetus which then begins the process of the process of cell division which results in the human being.  This is an interesting analogy of the behavior of both cells.
Summary of 10.20 "The Quran and Modern Sciences VII - Human Reproduction II"
The first point we discussed was that the Quran mentioned in Surah 13 the increase and decrease of the uterus.  We indicated that the wording of the Quran doesn’t refer only to the changes due to pregnancy but that it refers to the various stages the uterus goes through throughout the life of a female.  We also focused on the role of the male during fertilization.  We referred to what the Quran says in Surah 76 about the creation of the human from mingled liquid and we indicated that this indicated the mingling of the contribution of both the male and female which uses both the ovum and the sperm.  This concept was not understood till the 19th century which was more than a thousand years after the revelation of the Quran.  There are amazing things which pertain to fertilization which we discussed from a scientific standpoint.  The last point we discussed was that out of nearly 200-300 million sperms emitted in a single ejaculation only one is needed to fertilize the ovum.

10.21   The Quran and Modern Sciences VII - Human Reproduction III
Host:  Why are there millions of sperm and only one ovum?  Why is the ovum so much larger than the sperm?
Jamal Badawi:
To start with, even though sperm are plentiful in number they are not all good enough for fertilization.  An estimated 20% are not good enough for fertilization to start with.  Second, about 20% die within a few hours which is not enough in order for them to reach the ovum an to fertilize it.  As we know there are two fallopian tubes and the ovum is emitted once a month from one side and the next month form the other side.  It is quite possible that a number of sperm will go to the wrong fallopian tube after they get through the uterus.  This means that the number that reach the ovum are in the hundreds rather than in the hundreds of million.  The ones that do not get through die and allow the one that does to be able to pierce the ovum and fertilize it.  As far as the reason why the ovum is much larger than the sperm is that she acts as a host.  In the initial stage of division the ovum provides needed until the zygote starts to cling to the wall of the uterus and it starts to get its nutrition through the mother.  In the initial stage they need nutrition which is why the ovum is considerably larger.  There is also a process of selection with the ovum as well.  It is estimated that the female fetus may have as many as 6 million ova and by the time she reaches adolescence only 30 thousand remain and only about 400 are functional from the ones that come throughout the life of the female.  Not all 400 get fertilized.
 
Host:  Is there anything in the Quran about fertilization?
Jamal Badawi:
There are clear indications in the Quran that only a very small amount of the semen for fertilization.  The information about reproduction was not known till the 19th century.  The test of the Quran the gives this indication is found in (75:37) “Was he not a drop of sperm emitted?”  This is not the only place where it mentions that it is only part of the semen which fertilizes the ovum.  In (16:4) it says “He has created man from a sperm-drop.”  In looking at the expressions used in the Quran there are two helpful terms that are used.  One is nutfa which literally mean something very tiny that trickles.  Examples of this are given are like when a water container are emptied what is left over is nutfa which is a very small amount.  The other term used in the Quran is the term muni.  The closest translation to muni is semen.  The Quran says that the human is created out of the nutfa out of the semen.  This means that not all of the semen is needed for fertilization which is not something that was known in the 7th century.  There is another passage in the Quran that is even more amazing.  I was talking to an American Doctor on this issue and she was really struck by the expression used by the Quran of the term sulala in (32:8) “And made his progeny from a quintessence of the nature of a fluid despised.”  The striking term here is quintessence or extract.  The literal meaning of sulala  is something that is extracted or the best of the thing.  It is not all of it but something that is chosen out of that small amount of liquid.  This kind of understandings not stretching the meaning at all because as we know the sayings of the Prophet were the explanation of the Quran and in one of his sayings he said clearly said that progeny is not created from the whole of the fluid.  Here he is referring to semen.
 
Host:  Is there any reference to the determination of the sex of the embryo in the Quran?
Jamal Badawi:
The Quran clearly indicates that the sex of the embryo is determined by the male’s contribution.  This can only be appreciated if we have some understanding as to how the sex of the fetus is determined.  The basic structure of the human body is composed of cells (billions and billions of cells).  In each human cell there is a nuclease and inside the nuclease there are 46 chromosomes which carry the hereditary characteristics of the human.  When the human cell begins to divide these chromosomes become distinct.  There are forty six chromosomes joined into twenty three pairs.  In 1953 two scientists by the name of Crick and Watson discovered the chemical composition of these chromosomes.  As a result they won the Nobel Prize for their research which was revolutionary in the study of genetics.  They found that the chemical structure of the chromosomes is composed of a nucleic acid called DNA.  This acid acts as the brain of the cell and controls all the activities of the cell.  It is just like a computer program for the cell.  As scientists say it has a very complex secret of course which determines the activities of the cell.
The human body is composed of different cells as we have so many different organs.  What determines what cell becomes a liver cell, ear cell, an ear drum cell or a hair cell are the DNA.  Furthermore nucleic acid determines the types of enzymes to be secreted and the characteristic of those enzymes.  The strange thing is that it is programed so that certain functions take place only during a given period of time.  For example, a baby boy may have his testicles but God created the code in their DNA so that it would not start producing sperm till a particular point in time, adolescents.  The same thing happens with the female’s ovaries.  These are not only determinations of the way the cell should function but also the time when it should grow in a particular manner or perform certain functions.  This control applied by DNA is achieved through another nucleic acid called RNA.  This RNA carries the orders from the DNA to the cell so that it can start producing enzymes or specific proteins that the cell may be able to produce.
 
Host:  How can something so tiny as DNA determine such complex functions and operations in all the complex combinations of proteins?
Jamal Badawi:
One way of explaining it is to raise another question.  How could a silicone computer chip determine the way a computer preforms certain operations?  The main reason is that there are certain codes or instructions that are contained in these tiny parts.  Of course the DNA is microscopic compared to the chip but this just helps us understand it.  DNA is composed of 4 nitrogenous basis.  As doctor Muhammad Albar explains supposed you take each of these nitrogenous basis as a letter, and if one wants to compose various words with these letters one could have as many as 64 different words.  Each of these nitrogenous basis control 20 amino acids and the combinations that this produces is almost an infinite number of combinations.  This is why we have thousands and thousands of possible types of proteins.  If one goes to any library one may find millions and millions of books and thousands of topics and there are tens of thousands of words even though there 27 letters.  But because of the various combinations one can have tens of thousands of different words.
 
Host:  How do the chromosomes determine the sex of the embryo?
Jamal Badawi:
The whole body is composed of cells, each cell has a nucleus, inside the nucleus are the 46 chromosomes.  These chromosomes become distinct and appear in pairs when the cell begins to divide.  It should be indicated that when we relate chromosomes and their role to the process of fertilization we should bring to mind that the ovum and the sperm are both cells which result from a sort of cell devision.  The female cell is slightly different from the male cell.  The female cell contains the 23 pairs of chromosomes, but only one of those pairs is responsible for the sex of the individual.  In other words the pair of chromosomes in the case of a female is XX.  Usually X chromosomes are used to refer to females and Y chromosomes are used to refer to male characteristics.  In the case of the female cell the 23rd pair is XX.  The 23rd pair of chromosomes in the male cell is XY.  In other words half of the chromosome is X which carries the female nature and the other half is Y which carries the male characteristics.
The female cell divides in order to create the ovum and we find that even if it splits in half each side would have 23 chromosomes but since the 23rd chromosome is XX it means that all the ova produced by the female cary the female characteristic.  On the other hand when the male cell divides to produce the sperm the 23rd chromosome which is responsible for the sex of the embryo is not symmetric.  In other words there are X and Y and not identical.  When that cell divides one of the new cells will contain the X chromosome and the other half would cary the Y chromosome.  This means that all sperm are not the same as one is female and one is male but all ova are all female.  Half of the sperm are male and half are female.  In the process of fertilization the nuclei of both the sperm and the ovum unite so the chromosomes mix and again we get 23 pairs rather than 23 single chromosomes.  The only difference here is determined by the sperm.  If the sperm that carries the female characteristics, X, unites with the ovum, which always has the X chromosome the result is a female, XX.  Whereas if the sperm which carries the male characteristics, Y, unites with the ovum which always carries the X chromosome the result is a male, XY.  This is something that has been proven by science.  It is the sperm which is responsible for the determination of the sex of the fetus.
 
Host:  How do these scientific discoveries relate to what the Quran mentioned over 1400 years ago?
Jamal Badawi:
In more than one passage when it talks about the determination of the male and female sex it ties this expression with the contribution of the male.  For example in the Quran in (53:45-46) “That He did create in pairs,- male and female, From a seed when lodged (in its place).”  The use of the term semen (seed) “mani” is definitely a reference to the male contribution.  In the same time the passage starts by saying that people are created in pairs of male and female, which ties the sex is clearly tied to the contribution of the male not the female.  This is not the only passage which makes this tie.  We find in (75:36-) “Does man think that he will be left uncontrolled, (without purpose)?  Was he not a drop of sperm emitted (in lowly form)?  hen did he become a leech-like clot; then did ((Allah)) make and fashion (him) in due proportion.  And of him He made two sexes, male and female.  Has not He, (the same), the power to give life to the dead?”  Again this ties between the sex with the man’s contribution.  Second, it relates it to the return of the dead, as some ask how billions of people die and then each one will come back as an individual on the Day of Judgement.  There are hundreds of billions of sperm and only one fertilizes the egg so it draws our attention to the fact that Allah is able to return each of us as an individual on the Day of Judgement.  Similarly in the Quran we find in Surah 35 that Allah created us from dust, then from a small drop of semen, then he made us pairs of male and female.  In all of this we find clear evidence in the Quran that it is the male that determines the sex of the fetus, which is something that was not known at the time of the revelation of the Quran.
 
Summary of 10.21 "The Quran and Modern Sciences VII - Human Reproduction - III"
Two basic issues were examined in the last program.  One was the reference in Surah 75 that the human is created from a very small drop of semen extract.  We tried to explain this in the light of modern science and how we can better understand the secret of these expressions in the Quran.  The second issue which was the main focus of the program was the fact that the Quran in Surah 53 ties between the contribution of the male in the fertilization and determination of the sex of the fetus.  In order to appreciate the Quranic term used we discussed briefly the role of the cells and their division and the role of nucleic acid in DNA and RNA in controlling the activities of the cell.  It was indicated that the female ovum is not the one who determines the sex of the fetus because she only carries the X chromosome but on the other hand the male chromosomes cary the X and Y chromosomes.  It is this variation in the sperm which determines the nature of the child.  The main question that we have been asking throughout the program is how could Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) know of these things 1400 years ago unless the Quran was a divine revelation.
 
10.22   The Quran and Modern Sciences VII - Human Reproduction IV
Host:  What happens to the 46 chromosomes when the ovum is fertilized?
Jamal Badawi:
The sperm and ovum are both cells.  There are two different types of cell division.  The more common one which is known as mitosis and means that when the cell is divided we end up with two identical cells which each have 46 chromosomes.  The reason why these cells are identical is clear from the divine wisdom from replacing the cells that die in the body.  It is said that every second that 2.5 million red blood cells die and are replaced.  The same thing goes for white blood cells, for skin and other cells.  The total is close to 216 billion cells that die and are replaced everyday.  It is essential under these circumstances that the replaced cells are identical to the ones that have been lost or we would get strange transformations in the human body.
Another method of cell division which is called myosis is special for the reproductive cells.  The ovum and the sperm originally come from cells in the body found in the ovaries or testicles.  What happens is that when these cells divide and ultimately result in the ovum or the sperm it only carries half the number of chromosomes.  The ovum has 23 chromosomes and the sperm has 23 chromosomes.  When the sperm fertilizes the ovum we end up with a complete cell with 36 chromosomes.  This is also important because it gives rise to two types of sperm.  In the case of the ovum even after the split both carry 23 chromosomes with the X characteristics.  In the case of the sperm they split and one carries 23 chromosomes with the X characteristics and 23 chromosomes that carry the Y characteristics.  Modern research shows that it is possible to distinguish between both types of sperm.  There is a glow on the head of the sperm who carries the Y chromosome and not on the one that carries the X chromosome.  There is distinction between both chromosomes  that could be seen under a microscope.  In fact there are also additional research that shows that sperm that carries the Y chromosome is faster and stronger.
 
Host:  Does the Quran mention anything about the subsequent stage of development?
Jamal Badawi:
There is an amazing passage in the Quran which is quite stunning to physicians who studied it.  This appears in (23:12-14) “We did create the human from a quintessence (of clay);  Then We placed him as (a drop of) sperm in a place of rest, firmly fixed;  Then We made the sperm into a clot of congealed blood; then of that clot We made a (foetus) chewed lump; then we made out of that chewed lump into bones and clothed the bones with flesh; then we developed out of it another creature. So blessed be Allah, the best to create!”  In fact once we analyze the content and meaning of this passage in the Quran it is quite amazing for people to realize that this was not revealed a few decades ago but it was revealed 1400 years ago.  In the previous program we tired to explain the nutfa which is a very small quantity of sperm or drop of liquid.  It is quite amazing to notice here the variety of terms used in this passage, especially describing the place where the fertilized ovum as we know it grows.  The Quran calls it “a firmly established lodge” which is interesting from the anatomical point of view.
 
Host:  Can you explain how the uterus is “firmly established”?
Jamal Badawi:
The uterus is placed in the pelvis in such a way as to protect the fetus from outside pressure.  The uterus is well established as it is connected with the spine and protecting it are a number of ligaments and muscles holding it in place while still allowing it to grow depending on the stage that the fetus is at.  In addition to this protection there is an amazing process of balance in the air pressure inside the bodies cavity as it has been studied by physicians which would help protect and keep the uterus and other organs in place despite all of the flexibility in their growth.  This protection of the fetus is enhanced with the amniotic fluid in which the fetus floats surrounded by the sack which is additional protection.  It is indeed amazing that that the Quran would use this specific expression to describe the uterus as a firmly established lodge.  How could the Prophet have any notion of this?
 
Host:  What happens after the fertilized ovum reaches the uterus?
Jamal Badawi:
According to the description given in the same passage that we quoted earlier that the fertilized ovum becomes alaka and the proper translation of it is something that clings.  There are some errors in the translation including the translation the translation of the meaning of the Quran by Yusuf Ali where he translates it as a clot of congealed blood which has nothing to do with the original Arabic word which simply says alaka.  Alaka comes from yalak which is something that hangs or clings literally.  This Quranic description of that stage is amazing because it was not clearly understood till recently when it was found that the fertilized ovum after passing through the tubes into the uterus it clings or implants into the wall of the uterus.  It literally clings in that stage of the embryonic development.
The reason the ovum clings to the uterine wall is because of something they call velocities which act more or less like the roots of a plant.  It almost eats or intermingles with the cells of the uterus so as to draw the necessary nutrients which are needed for the growth of the fetus.  When we look at a shot of the fertilized (about 7.5 days after fertilization) ovum after it had come to the uterus we see that it has attached to the uterus.  If we look at an embryo that is 12 days old, which is about 5 days after it clings, at which time scientists noticed that there are two types of cells.  One type fuses the fertilized ovum with the uterus and then there are the internal cells from which the fetus is created.  After this we see a connecting stock connecting the ovum to the uterus so the description of clinging or hanging is accurate in the various stages.  This was actually a very meticulous description.  Was the use of the term something that clings in the Quran a matter of coincidence?
 
Host:  Does the expression “something that clings” appear in other instances in the Quran?
Jamal Badawi:
In addition to (23:12-14) we find the term alaqa or something that clings in (42:5), (40:67), (75:37-38) and in the very first passage revealed to Prophet Muhammad while meditating in the cave of Hira’a (96:1-5).  “Proclaim! (or read!) in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created- Created man, out of a something that clings: Proclaim! And thy Lord is Most Bountiful,- He Who taught (the use of) the pen,- Taught man that which he knew not.”  The Quran is clear that the usage of the term cling is repeated in several passage and it shows that this stage happens after the nutfa or fertilized ovum.  This is a very accurate description both time wise and in regards to the nature of implantation.
 
Host:  What is the next stage of development from the Quranic and scientific standpoint?
Jamal Badawi:
The Quran says it is nutfa, small quantitiy of liquid, then alaqa, something that clings, then the term mudgha as we find in Surah 23.  Mudgha could have two meanings.  One is something that one can chew, is small in size.  The more correct meaning is that mudgha is something that has been chewed.  This is why the more correct translation of this says “chewed lump of flesh.”   How can modern science help us understand the depth of this Quranic expression?  When we look at an image of this stage the “mudgha” there appears to be teeth.  An actual picture of an embryo which is only 24 days old there are marks that make it appear as if that it was chewed or that there were teeth marks on the flesh.  Once one looks at an illustration of this one can appreciate the depth of the Quranic expression.   Again the question: could the author have been Prophet Muhammad saying these things and describing this meticulous thing?
 
Host:  Are these the only phrases used to describe this particular phase of development?
Jamal Badawi:
In Surah (22:5) it describes this lump as mudgha mukhalaka and ghair mukhalaka which could mean chewed flesh in proportion and chewed flesh out of proportion.  This could also mean that it is partly formed and partly unformed.  A third meaning is differentiated and undifferentiated.  Dr. Albar describes some of these in detail in terms of modern medison and all of these could apply and are correct interpretation of the meaning mukhalaka nad ghair mukhalaka.  The body of the fetus is out of proportion as we notice that the hands and back are in reasonable proportion, however the head is more than one third of the body.  As the embryo develops further the proportionality becomes more evident.
 
Host:  What happens in subsequent stages?
Jamal Badawi:
After the stage where the embryo is called a chewed lump of flesh we find that it says that bones are formed.  Again this is consistent with what scientists have found out- that bones are closed with flesh.  The initial bone structure develops between the 5th and sixth week which join together to constitute the scull and start to take shape.  Then the Quran says that these bones are closed with flesh.  In week 6-7 of pregnancy we find that the muscles begin to develop.  We notice then that the Aya says then we made the human into another creature.  We can appreciate the meaning of this if we look at actual images of the embryonic development.  The upper part of the embryo is all the neck, because the head leans to the front and we notice two little buds on the side which are the beginnings of the formation of the arms and the legs only just begin to appear near the lower part of the body.
The next phase we notice that the Quran says“then we made him into another creature.”  When we compare the first stages with those of other animals such as rabbits, chicks and fish we will notice that it is very difficult to distinguish the embryos of the human from the animal embryos.  In the second stage the fish seems to be quite distinct but the other animals and human are quite similar.  In the third stage the distinct features of the animals and the human become quite visible.  When we look at the different animals and human that go through various stages of development the biggest one step is at 12 weeks; after this the fetus just gets bigger in size.  An embryo who is 42 days old is only 1.5 cm long but if we look at its head we can see the brain being formed, under the chin we see the heart, immediately under that there are livers and on both sides of the heart we notice the budding of the hands.
Following this we look at an embryo in the 8th week where the features of the human has not crystalize d fully.  Here we see the growth of the toes, feet and hands.  In the following stage the embryo is in the ninth week of development and the features of a human begin to be more distinct but is still not very obvious as the nose looks very small.  In week 10 we can see the fetus sucking his finger.    In the next week we can see the baby holding his umbilical cord.  If we look at a fetus at 5.5 months old they look like they are thinking about what they are going to do after they are born.  We can see a fetus smiling and happy which shows us that they do understand things and we notice marks on their forehead.  The finger nails have begun to grow and the baby can be seen to scratch the fatty surface of their skin.  It is amazing to look at this process and then see the little fellow after coming into this world.  This reminds of us of what Allah says in Surah (39:6) that Allah creates you creation after creation in three darknesses.
Summary of 10.22 "The Quran and Modern Sciences VII - Human Reproduction IV"
In the last program we analyzed the amazing description of the various embryonic stages as it appears in Surah 23.  It has descriptions of the uterus as being placed in a firmly established lodge which we described from the anatomical standpoint, we described what happens to the small drop of liquid that transforms to something that clings which we described from the anatomic standpoint as something that literally clings to the uterine wall.  Third, we talked about the transformation of the thing that clings into a chewed lump of flesh.  We looked at a picture of this which really appears to have marks of teeth in it which is called somites.  Then the Quran describes the stage with the formation of bones and the way they are clothed with intact flesh and muscle which takes place between the 5th-7th week.  Beyond that the Quran says that then God created the human as as another creature.  From this we compared the various embryological stages of the human and we have seen that they are very similar to other animals but only later does it become distinctly human.  Finally, we said that this creation takes place in three vails of darkness.
 
10.23   The Quran and Modern Sciences VII - Human Reproduction V
Host:  Can you explain what is meant by 3 vails of darkness?
Jamal Badawi:
In (39:6) it says “He created you (all) from a single person: then created, of like nature, his mate; and he sent down for you eight head of cattle in pairs: He makes you, in the wombs of your mothers, in stages, one after another, in three veils of darkness. such is Allah, your Lord and Cherisher: to Him belongs (all) dominion. There is no god but He: then how are ye turned away (from your true Centre)?”  Some interpret it, as Bucaille mentioned as the three anatomical layers which protect the fetus: the abdominal wall, the uterus and the surroundings of the fetus.  Another way of looking at it is by looking at the surroundings of the fetus: placenta, embryonic membrane and the amniotic fluid.  Another interesting interpretation found in Al Muntakhab which was published in Cairo said that this could be a reference to the ovaries, fallopian tube and the uterus.  The ovum, the fertilization in the fallopian tube and the growth that takes place in the uterus.  Another interpretation which is consistent with this is the one that Dr. Albar offered that this could be in reference to the three layers in the uterus itself.  When we examine the uterus of the pregnant mother we find that there are three layers: one is the amnion which surrounds the fetus, then there is the chorion which provides nutriants and oxygen and so on and then there is a layer called decidua which is a membrane which is cast off at the time of birth.  The interesting thing about it is that the expression in the Quran itself is a miracle, because it describes three vails of darkness.  This is a broader term that a simple person in the past could understand and the more we develop the scientific knowledge the more we see secretes and more aspects of the interpretation of the expression that we find in the Quran.
 
Host:  Is there anything in the Quran about the development of the senses?
Jamal Badawi:
Yes, in the Quran we find that hearing is put before sight.  In a 100% of the passages in the Quran that deal with creation without failure we find that hearing is mentioned before sight.  An example is found in (76:2) “Verily We created Man from a drop of mingled sperm, in order to try him: So We gave him (the gifts), of Hearing and Sight.”  In (32:9) “But He fashioned him in due proportion, and breathed into him something of His spirit. And He gave you (the faculties of) hearing and sight and feeling (and understanding): little thanks do ye give!”  We find more passages in the Quran as we find in (46:26), (10:31), (16:78) and (67:23).  The question is what does it mean in scientific terms to put hearing before sight?  This could have two meanings.  One is a reference to the learning process and the relative importance of each of these two senses.  If one has a child who is blind at the time of birth he can still learn language and lots of other things.  He could be a genius despite his blindness!  If a child is born deaf there is no learning that can take place or it is very difficult.  Again this could be a reference to the relative learning process.  From the embryological standpoint they find that even the very beginning of the inner ear starts on the 22nd day.  Even in the stage that the Quran refers to as mudgha or chewed piece of flesh the ear begins to be distinct.  The outer ear itself becomes clear in the 8th week of pregnancy, in the fourth month it starts to grow.  We are told that in the begining of the fifth month the ear is completely formed and the fetus begins to hear the voice and sounds of the pulse of his mother, noise around him/her and can actually listen to things that are going on around him.
 
Host:  How does this compare to the development of sight?
Jamal Badawi:
The development of sight takes place very early, perhaps even in the third week, however it isn’t fully completed except perhaps in the 7th month.  There are two stages: the first is in the eighth week of pregnancy where we notice the eyebrows just beginning to form and the eyes not taking their full shape.  The second stage is found in a fetus towards the end of the fifth month at about 20 weeks of pregnancy and we notice that the eye lids are closed (they do not separate till about the 7th month.  It is interesting to notice that the eyes look like something that has been split and this is of particular interest because one of the prayers that Prophet Muhammad taught his followers to say when they are in prostration is: my face prostrates to the Creator Who created it and Who split (shaqa) its hearing and its sight, blessed be Allah the best to Create.  From an anatomical standpoint we are told that hearing involves some kind of splitting in order for the full capacity of the ear becomes operational.  And there is a splitting in the eyelids in order for the eyes to open in preparation for birth.
 
Host: Can the baby see when they are first born?
Jamal Badawi:
We don’t know exactly, but it is quite possible that they are not able to focus their sight as  when they grow.  As far as hearing it can be tested in newborns.  If a sound is produced a newborn will turn react to it.  A baby in the early stages is able to hear its mother and recognize her voice.  Hearing is definitely more advanced.
 
Host:  When does the soul begin in the fetus?
Jamal Badawi:
First, when we talk about the soul the way the Quran uses is not necessarily synonymous with biological life.  We have seen that biological life starts with a fertilized ovum and the potential for life and the genetic code is always there.  When the Quran refers to this it says that Allah knows more about the nature of the soul.  This perhaps refers to the spirituality of the individual beyond spiritual life.  We find that there is no particular time frame that the Quran mentions that the soul comes into being in the fetus.  All we find are passages like (32:6-9) that Allah created the human, fashioned the human then breathed into him something of His spirit.  This is the spiritual part of the human.  As far as the sayings of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) on that.
A famous saying which is narrated in both Bukhari and Muslim says “One of you is created inside the body of his mother for 40 days as a small quantity of liquid, then it becomes something that clings, then he becomes something that looks like a chewed lump of flesh and then the angel breathes the soul into him."  Some people interpret it as 40 days per stage which comes to 4 months.  This is not necessarily the correct interpretation of this saying.  There have been so many sayings of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) who have give different indications.  There have been lots of scholars who have studied these sayings and put it together regarding the soul such as Ibn Al Khium.  A very good summary is provided in the book by Dr. Albar who looks at it from the Prophet’s point of view as well as the medical point of view (him being a physician).
Many of the other versions of this saying-especially ones narrated in Ahmad and Muslim seem to indicate that the breathing of the soul takes place between the fortieth and forty fifth day.  Some people say this happens at about 42 days which is approximately the seventh week.  From the scientific standpoint Dr. Albar mentioned that the period of the formation of the organs in the body actually take place between the fourth-eighth week.  Around the end of the sixth week it starts to be more active.  This stage is referred to as organogenesis.  The soul refers to the unique identity of every human being.  In Surha (75:3-4) “Does man think that We cannot assemble his bones?  Nay, We are able to put together in perfect order the very tips of his fingers.”  Finger prints are very interesting.  Every finger print has a specific code and formation.  Scientists tell us that there are no two human beings, even twins, who have identical finger prints.  There are billions of people who lived over thousands of years and not two finger prints are alike.  This again is a reference to the unique identity of each unique human.  How could the Prophet have known of this fact which was only discovered relatively recently how meticulous fingerprints are.  Not only do we find uniqueness in fingerprints but also in the markings on the forehead of the fetus.  There are similar markings on the forehead of the fetus as are found on the fingerprints.
In one of the sayings of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) as narrated in Al Bazar it says when the child is in the process of being created he says that everything about his future will be written on his forehead which would include disasters that a person may encounter in their lifetime.  It was found, scientifically, that this pattern on the forehead drastically differs from one person to the other.  It is interesting to note that this writing disappears after a while.  These layers disappear under layers of fat, as if it conceals them from anyone who may try to interpret them.  This is an interesting area which science has not reached the limit in understanding.
 
Host:  Does the Quran have anything to say abut childbirth and how does this relate to modern discoveries?
Jamal Badawi:
In the Quran in (80:19-20) “From a sperm-drop: He hath created him, and then mouldeth him in due proportions; Then doth He make His path smooth for him.” This refers to the process of the development of the fetus but also seems to refer to the process of childbirth when it says that He makes the path smooth for him.  As far as the scientific aspect it is noted that the pelvic bones of the male and the female are rather different.  In the case of the female, her pelvic is relatively shorter and wider.  In addition there are certain pregnancy hormones which are secreted when the mother becomes pregnant.  This somehow loosens the ligaments that hold the various pieces of the pelvic bones so it can loosen up and accommodate the fetus.  At the time of birth another hormone is secreted that is called relaxin which relaxes the pelvic and makes it big enough so it allows the baby to pass through with the help of the amniotic fluid which also plays a role in the exit of the fetus.  The expression in the Quran describes in a great deal of accuracy what happens during the time of birth.  Dr. Albar mentions something which might sound remote but refers to what happens immediately after childbirth.  In the story of virgin Mary in (19:24-26) it says that when she was disturbed under the tree when she started to give birth under the tree and said to her that she should shake the palm tree, that God will give her fresh dates and that God has made a small river under her so that she may eat fresh dates and drink and cool her eyes which is assuring her.  It is interesting to note as Dr. Albar mentions that these actually help with the contraction of the uterus which also help reduce the extent of bleeding.  Also, fresh ripe dates contain sugars, minerals and proteins which are excellent sources of energy for mothers who just gave birth.  The river is in reference to fluid which is needed by the mother after childbirth.  It is amazing that while it talks about the story of Jesus and Mary it is interesting that it specifically recommended fresh ripe dates.
Host: Are there any conclusions that you would like to make about this series?
Jamal Badawi:
To start with in dealing with the variety of questions dealing with the source of the Quran and we have seen the numerous evidence that we discussed about the various aspects of science that it is impossible for Prophet Muhammad to know this information which negates any possibility that he may have copied this from some other sources or has been so intelligent or smart that he anticipated science by 1400 years.  Some may understand it if it was one thing but with this variety and expressions which have only been discovered in the last 20 year is something that should cause us to stop and ponder.  We should ponder the source of the Quran and if it is not divine revelation from Allah then where else could this information with this meticulous description be obtained from 1400 years ago.
 
Summary of 10.23  "The Quran and Modern Sciences VII - Human Reproduction Part V"
The whole series of which this is the 24th program essentially deals with the sources of Islam with a special emphasis on the Quran, the main source.  We indicated previously that the Quran is not like any other book or scripture that preceded it.  Its uniqueness is in the fact that Muslims believe that in the entire Quran, beginning to end, is verbatim Word of God as revealed to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).  The Prophet did not actually have any role in the contents of the Quran but simply conveyed what was revealed to him through angel Gabriel.  For those who may not be familiar with Islam and with the Quran in particular this may sound like an exaggerated or a strange statement of belief which requires some rational evidence.  In the last 23 programs we tried to address this issue from the point of view of the sceptic.  We tried to indicate that there is a logical impossibility that the Prophet would have composed this Quran.  We tried to analyze that from the historical, logical, psychological and analytical standpoint.  We indicated that even from the standpoint of modern science and the things that were mentioned in the Quran that were only discovered in recent decades there could be no explanation that there is any human source of the Quran whether it is Prophet Muhammad o(PBUH) or any previous book or human who lived on earth.
Today we are really moving into another element of this proof or analysis of the possible sources of the Quran by looking into the linguistic miracle of the Quran which again will show as we proceed that linguistically speaking the literal beauty of the Quran is not like any other writing in that it would have been impossible for any human begin to produce it.  This topic is not new as there have been volumes written on it in the past and present.  Among the recent writers which are every interesting and try to synthesis many of these points are books like Manahil Alirfan written by AlZurkani, Ijaz of the Quran by Al Rafi’i and another reference that we would use quite heavily Al Naba’aul Athim by Dr. Muhammad AbuAllah Draz.
 
10.24   Linguistic Miracle of The Quran I - Perpetual Challenge
Host:  Why was the Quran revealed in Arabic and how does that relate to the universality of its teachings?  How can a non-Arabic speaking person appreciate it’s linguistic miracle?
Jamal Badawi:
First of all, the issue of the universality or validity of the teaching is independent of the language in which the Quran was revealed.  An example is that the ten commandments given to Moses (PBUH) are valid for all times and places but they were revealed in Hebrew.  This doesn’t mean that because it was revealed in one language that it was irrelevant to people who speak different languages.  By the same token divine revelation in the form of scripture has to be communicated in a language that humans can relate to and understand at least among the people who receive the message first.  Since prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was sent as the universal message to mankind he was born in Arabia and the first people he encountered and conveyed the message to were in his immediate environment which were Arabic speaking.  In the Quran in (14:4) it says “We sent not an apostle except (to teach) in the language of his (own) people, in order to make (things) clear to them.”  Some people question would arise if the Quran was revealed in any other language.  Another aspect is that the Quran is a linguistic miracle and challenge.  The challenge doesn’t have any meaning unless it is addressed to people who know this language which would give them a chance to try to produce something similar to it.
In fact the Quran also makes reference to this in (41:44) “Had We sent this as a Qur'an (in the language) other than Arabic, they would have said: "Why are not its verses explained in detail? What! (a Book) not in Arabic and (a Messenger an Arab?" Say: "It is a Guide and a Healing to those who believe; and for those who believe not, there is a deafness in their ears, and it is blindness in their (eyes): They are (as it were) being called from a place far distant!” Other non-Arabic speakers can relate to this linguistic miracle through the expertise of specialists.  For example one doesn’t have to be a physician to accept the statement made by physicians that smoking contributes to cancer.  One doesn’t have to be the expert but can look to those who have studied, researched and given results on the topic.  So one would have no reason to appose it.  The Quran was revealed in Arabic among people who prided themselves of being so eloquent during the Golden Age of Arabic.  The Quran was revealed in their own language and they still failed to produce anything close to it.  One can say that if the eloquent Arabic speakers in the Golden Age of the Arabic language could not match even a small part of the Quran then who else can meet the challenge?
Host:  What is meant when we say the linguistic miracle of the Quran?
Jamal Badawi:
This relates to the whole notion of prophethood and the miracles given to different prophets.  According to the Quran every prophet was given some sort of a sign so that people who are skeptics may come to their senses and really consider his message.  Each prophet’s miracle is unique and different.  Each miracle was geared to meet certain needs of its time and to address certain issues that are on the minds of people.  In the days of Prophet Moses people were very interested in magic and were experts on that so Moses came with his cane which swallowed all of their magic.  This showed them that even with their own standard of magic this something different.  During the virgin birth of Jesus (PBUH) came at the time when the Israelites began to argue about where the soul exists and weather it was in the blood etc.  They also had so much materialism and formalisms.  Here again they were given a sign of the existence of the world of spirits and the will of God to create which is not limited to any imagination of ours.  By the same token Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) came in the Golden Age of the Arabic language, beauty and literature and prose.  This was an era which has never been matched either before or after.  In the midsts of all of that came Prophet Muhammad an unlettered person, he recited the Quran as God’s revelation and challenged the most eloquent of the eloquent to match anything in its beauty or wisdom and they all failed and the challenge 1400 years after the Quran’s revelation.  This is what is meant by the linguistic miracle of the Quran which is not like any other writing.  The revelation
 
Host:  Are there any historical indication of the importance of the period of the Golden Age of Arabic?
Jamal Badawi:
Yes, in fact history has already retained Pre-Islamic poetry which are studied and taught in different universities and schools as examples as the most beautiful of the Arabic language.  In addition it is known historically that they used to have conferences which was called souque with a literal translation of market but which was a market of ideas and so on.  For example the famous Souque Ukas where they used meet periodically and the best poets from different places would come and present their poetry proudly.  This is like what happens in conferences today where the top people present the best of their productions.  When the Quran came all of this disappeared because the whole concern of all eloquent people was not to come back and present proudly what they considered to be the best because the Quran totally overwhelmed all of them.  This is quite stunning in itself as all of that glory was totally submerged by the beauty and attraction and magi of the Quran.
 
Host:  How is the challenge to try to match the beauty and eloquence of the Quran presented in the Quran?
Jamal Badawi:
It is noted that the first challenge presented to the eloquent to match the Quran, because they claim it is human writing is for them to produce something like it.  The first was to ask them to produce something like the whole Quran.  That was stated in the Quran in (17:88) “Say: "If the whole of mankind and Jinns were to gather together to produce the like of this Qur'an, they could not produce the like thereof, even if they backed up each other with help and support.”  They failed.  The following challenge came in (11:13-14) “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!  "If then they (your false gods) answer not your (call), know ye that this revelation is sent down (replete) with the knowledge of Allah, and that there is no god but He! will ye even then submit (to Islam)?” So basically this is saying that if people think that the Prophet made this up then why don’t they concoct ten chapters like it?
Then came another challenge in Surah 10 when they failed where it asks them to just bring one chapter like that which is found in the Quran.  In (10:38) “Or do they say, "He forged it"? say: "Bring then a Surah like unto it, and call (to your aid) anyone you can besides Allah, if it be ye speak the truth!”  All of these Surah’s were revealed in Mecca.  The challenge didn’t stop there and after 13 years of the Muslims being persecuted in Mecca and after they migrated to Medina we find in Al Bakarah which was revealed in Medina not only does it say bring a Surah like it but something that could be comparable.  In the Arabic language there is a difference between saying mithlih or min mithlih.  Mithlih is something like it but min mithlih is something that is remotely compared to it.  In (2:23) it has the same sort of terms but with a lower challenge.  No body was ever historically reported to have stood up to the challenge or succeeded in the remotest way to come up with something that was even close.
 
Host:  Can you develop the point that some attempted to come up with something like the Quran?
Jamal Badawi:
There are lots of historians who mention people who thought or contemplated matching the Quran.  There are narratives about eloquent and talented poets like Ibn Almukathaa and Al Maathi that some believe that they tried to sit and jot something down which could match the Quran- but nothing came out because apparently they were sensible enough not to make themselves the laughing stock.  In order to preserve their self respect apparently they did not reveal it.  There were some who were crazy enough to rush and publicize their work and those who did that were really the laughing stock.  One of them is Musilameh Al Kathab who’s name was Musilameh the lier.  This fellow wanted to appose the Prophet by claiming that he also is receiving revelation from God and he tried to compose certain things which imitate the beautiful rhyme of the Quran but the meaning was trivial and laughable.  An example which rhymes but translates to “Those women who grind the grain, those who kneed the dow and those who bake the bread.”  This imitates the rhyme but has no wisdom or beauty.  As many historians indicated those who were very proud of their literal ability became totally submerged in the Quran.
 
Host:  What evidence do we have to indicate that people tried to suppress the Quran?
Jamal Badawi:
There have been many attempts to suppress the Quran and even prevent people from listening to it.  If something is suppressed it is usually because one is afraid of it or because it really has influence that one wants to keep people from.  It has been repeated in numerous events that it was attempted to prevent people from listening to the Prophet or hearing the Quran.  People used to come during the season of pilgrimage to Mecca and they used to meet and ask about new ideas and whenever those people came the pagans, who apposed the Prophet, would stop them before they reached the Prophet and they would tell them not to talk to that man with all kinds of ill descriptions so that they would not listen to him.  If one is confident why not let them listen and allow them to decide for themselves.
As narrated in Sahih Al Bukhari one of the closest companions of the Prophet, Abu Bakr, was being persecuted he sought the protection of a neighbor who was not Muslim, who was his friend.  Among the Arab tribes the custom was that if someone gave protection to a neighbor then everybody respected that.  What happened was that Abu Bakr used to recite Quran in the court yard of his house and many of the dependents of the pagan Qurishites would listen eagerly and were greatly attracted to the Quran.  The big chiefs of Quraysh were very upset with this because they were afraid that this would attract their dependents to Islam and react to the Quran.  So they applied all kinds of pressure on Abu Bakr’s neighbor to withdraw his protection of Abu Bakr which he did.  This again shows that they were viciously trying to make sure that the voice of the Quran would not reach other people by making it look terrible to them.  The worry was not only for the dependents but at times there were indications that these people were afraid for themselves because they themselves tried to avoid listening to the Quran while being attracted to it and wanting to listen to it.
 
Host:  Is this based on interpretation or is it based on concrete events that prove this?
Jamal Badawi:
There is a story that was narrated by Abu Ishak in a very famous biography of the Prophet (PBUH).  Three of the most vicious opponents of the Prophets during the Meccan period who were Abu Sufyan, Abu Jahl and Al Akhnas Ibn Sharyia along with their resistance to the Prophet they each had that attraction to the Prophet.  They each realized that during the night Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) used to recite the Quran.  In one night each one (without agreeing on it) decided to sneak to the house of the Prophet in order to enjoy listening to the strange Quran.  In the darkness of the night each one came upon his house and sat in different corners around the house.  Each one was quite as they sat there almost the whole night as they listened to the beauty of the Quran, but when the dawn started to break each one of them said to themselves “Oh no I better get home before anyone catches me.”  The idea here is that if anyone saw them what would they say?  As these people appose the Quran but you yourself can not resist listening to it!  They were afraid that they may be caught so they snuck away on their way home.  But when they started going home they ran into each other.  And each of them questioned where the other was coming from.  Everybody knew what the others were doing and they told each other that they shouldn’t do that again.
The next night each one thought that the others would observe the treaty and not come again but that they could not resist.  Again each one individually broke the oath and snuck in the darkness of the night and sat around the house of the Prophet and listened to the Quran.  When dawn broke again they ran into each other and argument broke about their agreement.  So they agreed not to do this again.  They repeated the same thing the third night which showed the tremendous magic of the Quran.  This time after running into each other they agreed not to leave each other’s company till they mad a solemn oath never to come again and listen to the  Quran.  In fact there is a reference in the Quran to this particular incident- which they thought was secret, but it was not a secret from God.  This appears in Surah (41:26) “The Unbelievers say: "Listen not to this Qur'an, but talk at random in the midst of its (reading), that ye may gain the upper hand!”  So despite their pride in their eloquence the Quran was seen in a category by it’s self.
 
Host:  Are there any incidents where those who apposed the Prophet explicitly acknowledged their inability to mask the beauty and the wisdom of the Quran?
Jamal Badawi:
There is the famous story of Waleed Ibn Al Mugheera, a person who apposed the Prophet.  One time he came to listen to the Quran from the Prophet and he was so impressed and touched.  He was a very famous eloquent person.  Some of the other disbelievers were afraid that he may have been influenced by the Prophet so one of the Abu Jahl, literal translation of his name is the father of ignorance, came to him and told him that the people collected money for him in order for him to say something in apposition of the Quran.  He replied “you people know that I am the most eloquent of you, you all know that I have all knowledge and expertise with poetry and I don’t know want to say in opposition of the Quran.”  They tried to pressure him to say something.  His answer was “I know that non of you know poetry better than I do I swear that what this man is saying is nothing like what we do at all.  For that saying there is a kind of sweetness, it has a sort of grace, its upper part is lightning and its lower part is shining, it surpasses and can never be surpassed, it destroys anything that is under it and there is nothing that can be compared to it.”  After lots of thinking they asked him to please think harder to say something against it.  He said “this Quran must be magic.”  But he himself could not even come close to even saying something that could indicate that this Quran has come from a human.  The fact that he said it was magic shows that he threw his hands in the air and admitted explicitly that the Quran is quite different.
 
Summary of 10.24 "Linguistic Miracle of The Quran I - Perpetual Challenge"
First, we indicated that it impossible that the failure of the eloquent Arabs to match the Quran was because of any incidental reason.  We also indicated that the fact that the Quran is composed of the same letters and words that were already known in the Arabic language does not mean that it is not a miracle, because the human body is also composed of minerals which is found in the earth.  Thirdly we indicated that each writer has their own style of writing but the Quran didn’t ask them to produce something of identical style but anything that was even comparable in eloquence.  It was also indicated that it is possible for the same writer to have two drastically different styles.  We can not say that the Quran is one style and the Prophet’s sayings is another style and both emanated from the Prophet.  We analyzed this in some detail and we proved that his can not really happen because the Quran was revealed suddenly.  It did not happen out of expectation and there was no time for the style to be polished- there was no time difference.  Usually the styles of a writer are not that drastic as we see between Quran and the Prophetic sayings.  Then we looked into the secret in the Quran which made it so captivating, to the point that its adversaries called it magic.  The Quran is unique and captivates those who do not understand the language.  The fact that the Quran doesn’t have have the same characteristics as poetry but has the impact of poetry in terms of joy and grace, some of the characteristics of prose but is not prose, it has rhymes but is nothing like the rhymes of the soothsayers or wizards.  There are lots of additional issues which show the precision and unique linguistic characteristics of the Quran.
 
10.25   Linguistic Miracle of The Quran II - Beyond Human Capacity
Host:  Can we examine some of these unique linguistic characteristics?
Jamal Badawi:
To clarify this issue is the combination and balance of precision and comprehensiveness.  When one tries to express an idea any writer would have a very difficult dilemma.  If they want to express it with a great deal of clarity and comprehensiveness then they have to use words.  Sometimes for the purpose of clarity people go too far in adding words, many of which are redundant, exaggeration may have to take place and it may get to be boring.  If one tries to economize in the usage of words the expressions may become dry and won’t express the idea with clarity.  It is quite known that whomever writes something, no matter how skilled, if the writing is given to a good editor it is always editable.  A writer or poet may write best in one particular subject, but no one can really be excellent in all subjects.  Even in the same subject some of what one writes might be excellent, some might be good and some might not be as good.  The thing about the Quran is that throughout the entire Quran, with the variety of subjects which are all consistent nothing can be improved upon.  Dr. Draz said “open the Quran anywhere randomly on any page and put your hand on the page and just count how many words are under your hand.  Bring an equivalent number of words from the writings of the most eloquent and just compare both texts to see which can be improved upon.  Any work from any human being can be given suggestions for more editing.  He says if we search the entire Arabic dictionary with a word to replace any specific word used in the Quran we won’t find it.
 
Host:  Does this mean then that the Quran can only be appreciated by those who are eloquent?
Jamal Badawi:
This is another aspect of the miraculous nature of the Quran.  This is something that human beings can not reach.  If we address people who are very educated and highly intelligent as we have found in academic meetings and among specialists and scientists.  If we speak to them at their level these words appear to outsiders almost like a mystery especially if it is not in one’s field.  On the other hand when one speaks to the public they must be addressed in a way that they would understand.  If one has to address both audiences at the same time it becomes very difficult.  If we want to address the more educated the rest of the population won’t be able to follow and if we gear it towards the public the more educated might feel that their intelligence is insulted.  That is why people find it hard to combine these two.  In the case of the Quran we find that in spite of the fact that it discusses so many subjects in so many diverse areas of human life and give complete guidance in various aspects of human life the same Quran can be heard by the simple person, an uneducated person, educated, more educated, the scientist or the eloquent person and can make sense of it and appreciate it.  We might recall from the previous segment dealing with the Quran and modern sciences where we gave examples of this.  One example was that the heavens and earth were smoke.  A simple person can understand smoke and a scientist might relate it to the theory that the universe started as a gaseous mass.  Both can find a great deal of understanding and appreciation without anybody feeling that their intelligence is insulted or that it is difficult to follow.  This means that the Quran has the unique characteristics which came from the creator and is able to address all of humanity with all of their levels of understanding without it being difficult for anyone and still has the characteristics of moving their feelings and evoking emotion.
 
Host:  The Quran evokes strong feelings in some instances does this mean that it appeals mainly to the human side?
Jamal Badawi:
This can be regarded as a third aspect of the miracle of the Quran.  Again the difficulty that we as humans encounter when we try to satisfy more than one thing at the same time.   If we want to address people to evoke their emotions then one may may have to go far in their emotions and thus weakens the rational element.  This is why we find that in poetry poets go in all kinds of directions and we find it focuses on feelings more than the mind.  That is why the Quran says that poetry can be dangerous because it evoke good feelings as well as evil.  Poetry can be used to describe the creation of God and the universe.  It can be used to encourage people to drink and do drugs.  We find in the Quran in (26:224) Which talks about those who follow poets are those who stray because poets wonder in all kinds of valleys (subjects) without any aim.  On the other hand if we want to address people on an intellectual level and appeal to the rational thought and understanding then one would have to sacrifice a great deal of the emotional appeal.  If we go back to the writing of philosophers the emotional element is very limited but otherwise they discuss philosophy, argument while trying to rationalize a particular view with their defense.  So they sacrifice one for the other when it comes to the emphasis on emotion compared to rationality.  The strange thing about the Quran is that it has an emphasis on emotion and rationality in proper proportion so as to meet the individual intellectually and emotionally.
 
Host:  Could you give us an example from the Quran as to how the rational and emotional appeals are combined?
Jamal Badawi:
For example, take an issue which most philosophers spent most of their time and effort to explain regarding the notion of the existence of God and the evidence that there is only one unique creator of the universe.  In the Quran (21:22) “If there were, in the heavens and the earth, other gods besides Allah, there would have been confusion in both! but glory to Allah, the Lord of the Throne: (High is He) above what they attribute to Him!”  These words have strong, powerful and intellectual and rational for the existence of the One Creator of the universe.  It says if there were other gods there would have been disorder.  A scientist or ecologist can see this quite clearly in terms of the ecological balance in the creation of Allah.  The balance between the earth and the other components of the solar system.  In the balance between the various heavenly bodies, the balance between water and dry land, the balanced between oxygen and carbon monoxide.  This is a treasure in expression regarding the unity, order and pattern which is followed on earth and in the universe at large.
If there is consistency and a tie between the universe then there must be one source of this creation, because if there were two wills or minds behind it, it would not have been that beautiful in its consistency and harmony.  Even if we assume there is more than one god on this universe then the Quran responds to it in (23:91) “No son did Allah beget, nor is there any god along with Him: (if there were many gods), behold, each god would have taken away what he had created, and some would have lorded it over others! Glory to Allah. (He is free) from the (sort of) things they attribute to Him!”  There is clear evidence in both of these passages about the oneness of the creator which can be understood by the simple person as well as by the highly educated.  However the amazing thing about both passages is that beside the rational appeal it appeals to the heart.  For example the first passage in (21:22) ends by saying “(High is He) above what they attribute to Him.”  So after the mental conclusion it evokes feelings by making a receptive reader.  The same thing applies to the other verse.  In other-words the Quran is a unique combination which doesn’t just speak philosophically or emotionally but combines both elements to the heart and to the mind in due proportion in a way that no human being could ever do.
 
Host:  What is the style of the Quran when dealing with law?
Jamal Badawi:
Dr. Draz gave an example of this.  Let us take the law in Islam for murder which appears in the Quran in (2:188).  When we analyze the content of it we find that even though it deals with the legal aspect of someone committing premeditated murder the beginning of the passage it starts with “Oh ye who believe.”  Notice that here it doesn’t start with article so and so of law so and so but it starts with “Oh ye who believe.”  This talks to the heart and invokes emotions and appeals to people who comply with the will of Allah in their faith.  This is a very powerful beginning.  Again when it talks about faith in Allah it is meant to soften the heart of the murder and the family of the murdered.  The passage goes on to describe the law of equality and it says that “the law of equality is prescribed to you in cases of murder” and it goes on to clarify that there is capital punishment for premeditated murder.  In the same passage it provides uniqueness to Islamic Law both in content and in the way it is expressed.  It is only found in Islamic Law that if the family of the deceased forgive the murder he may be exempt from capital punishment.  This is unique and solves the problems and brings a person back to his senses if he is forgiven by the family of the deceased and sometimes this might be accompanied by monetary compensation to help them weather difficult period because of the loss of their bread winner (example).
The verse continues “But if any remission is made by the brother of the slain, then grant any reasonable demand, and compensate him with handsome gratitude, this is a concession and a Mercy from your Lord. After this whoever exceeds the limits shall be in grave penalty.”  This is beautiful because while it provides for a way for forgiveness and some degree of financial compensation and uses the tender term “brother” which shows that even though there was a case of murder one should appeal to the family of the disease and that in the end we are all brothers and one should always have the opportunity for forgive.  In this case fairness and gratitude are injected into this rather the dry language we are used to using in these legal issues.  Then the verse says that this is a concession and a Mercy from your Lord then it ends that whoever exceeds the limits afterwords will have to deal with severe punishment.  The various shades of appeals that are made even when speaking about law - even when it is made in regards to the question of life.  The various shades of meaning and appeals are made on a law which has to do with blood-which provides precision and beauty.
 
Host:  When an expression is precise it means that it gives only one meaning: however we are always hearing of scholars discovering new meanings to the Quran.  How does that reconcile with precision?
Jamal Badawi:
This is yet another aspect of the miracle of the Quran.  If we look at the writer of any writer if he is writing in a specific century we find that after a few hundred years it doesn’t sound as fresh or as relevant to the style or expressions given time.  On the other hand if a person if writing precisely is one thing but to say that there are different meanings which are discovered within hundreds and hundreds of years is something that is beyond human capability.  Dr. Draz explained this nicely.  He said that if we read a passage in the Quran we will feel that it is so precise and clear that the idea presented is so vivid it is as if one is seeing pictures of it rather than words.  On the other hand if we come back at some other time to the passage and read it and really think about it- many times people who think deeply about the Quran will be able to see other meanings in it.  This happened to me and happens to many people.  The same passage with all its clarity gives different shades of meaning.  This is something that is beyond human reach.  Again if we want to be so precise it would only mean one thing.  But to have the same text without any editing or modification have new meaning as time goes on is something which is quite unique.
 
Host:  Does this provide for any problems with consistency?  Could the meanings be contradictory?
Jamal Badawi:
The various shades that one can see in the same passage at a different time and place which is seen by different people is not necessarily contradictory but in fact it is complementary and corroborated.  A very nice similitude is that if one looks at a diamond , each side of the diamond gives a different shade of light or sparkle and if one looks at the diamond as a whole one would be amazed by the variety of all the colors.  In other-words they are not contradictory but rather complimentary with all the different sides.  Perhaps understanding this would be easier if we look at the analysis of one passage that Dr. Draz mentioned in his book.  In a very concise and brief passage in the Quran it says “for Allah bestows His abundance on whom He will without measure.”  The beginning is clear that God can give bounties to whomever He wishes without measure.  But if we really look at it we find five interrelated meanings.  The miraculous expression of these two births is that God gives whoever he wishes without measure that God doesn’t stop giving for fear that what He possesses would not be enough.  Second it could be without measure that He gives abundantly and generously without measure.  Third it means without hissab which means accountability.  Which means that God will give the human without holding him accountable for it.  Fourth without account means without looking into an account or without the person expecting bounty to be given to him.  Fifth, it could mean without count because the bounties of Allah are plenty.  There are a number of shades of meaning in this single expression which are all inter-related and fit together like the same shades of light in the same diamond.
Summary of 10.25 "Linguistic Miracle of the Quran II - Beyond Human Capacity"
We started looking at the unique characteristics of the unique Quranic style which is not to be found in the writings of any human.  Some of which are a strange and amazing  balance between precision and comprehensive in a way which is of consistent quality throughout the Quran and in a way which can not leave any room for improvement or editing.  It is able to balance the human mind, intellect and the human feeling, emotions in a way that combines truth, beauty, wisdom and feeling.  Third the balance in terms of addressing people from various backgrounds, various levels of intellect, experience and knowledge but all of them can understand it easily.  It can be appreciated by the simple person as well as the more educated person as well as the more educated person.  We have given specific example of how the Quran deals with the issue of the oneness of Allah not in a philosophical dry way but in an emotional intellectual mix.  We gave another example of the law of equality in terms of deliberate murder like in the second Surah in the Quran and it is quite different from the dry language we use in the law.  We indicated that the strange thing about the Quran is that while it is easy to follow in its flow the same expression can have a variety of shades of meaning as are discovered generation after generation.  The meanings are not contradictory but are quite complementary which is what we showed in (2:212).  This showed a variety of meanings in the same expression without a need for editing or updating of the text of the Quran.
 
10.26   Linguistic Miracle of The Quran III - Unique Characteristics
Host:  Are there redundancies in the Quran?
Jamal Badawi:
This reflects on the understanding of the subtleties of the Arabic language.  One can study  Arabic as a second language and can have in-depth understanding but this doesn’t mean that they would get to the full subtleties of the language.  The best way is to understand this is to quote specialists of the Arabic tongue and who have specialized training in this like Dr. Draz to whom we have referred to before.  One example from the volume of Dr. Draz is that when the Quran speaks about the Creator, God, no where in the Quran does it say lisa mithlaho shai but it says lisa kamithlahi shai.  Just one letter difference between the two statements and both mean that God is not similar to any of His creatures.  But we find that every time this phrase is used the ka is used.  Based on the rules of the language we find that this letter means allot.  This is found in (42:11) and has a very good reason behind it.  If we use the term that is not used in the Quran it means that there is nothing like God but there is something comparable to him but less than him.  For example we can say that one million is much bigger than the number 4 but they can be compared on some scale.  Whereas the term used in the Quran with the extra letters ka means that there is nothing even comparable.  So it is not that God is so great that there may be something between the level of God and mankind but rather that there is nothing even comparable to God.  This shows the very meticulous expression which eliminates any way of even comparing with God.  Just like it is incomparable to compare the number one to infinity.  When comparing we can compare one verses a million years but we can not compare one to infinity which shows the subtle but important difference.  This is not the only example.
In addition there are some words, sentences or passaged may appear to be redundant but which actually has very good reason to be there.  There are cases where the Quran uses two different words which may appear to be synonymous on the surface but each used in a different verse but appear to give the same meaning.  In some cases we find that the Quran omits certain letters or words; some say that there should be consistency and question why it was omitted but again we find that there is very good reason for omission which doesn’t appear in the sentence at all.  There are cases where the Quran reverses the order of words in and some people think this may be a mistake but it is not.  In some cases on the surface there may appear to be inconsistency in the Quran.  Sometimes in the same passage it uses singular and then shifts to plural and some people say why not use singular from both or plural from both of them.  These are things that may come up from editors but they all seem to fall into the error of not trying to build beyond what appears on the surface in order to find out what the subtleties of expressions are in the Quran.
 
Host:  Can you give another example where a single letter makes a difference in meaning?
Jamal Badawi:
Another example is mentioned by Shaikh Muhammad Mutwali Sharawi who wrote about this in a number of publications, but one of his publications is called The Miracle of the Quran.  He refers to two citation in the Quran which both address the human to be patient when something bad happens.  The expressions look exactly identical except for one word.  For example in (31:17) ina thalika min azm al umour and the other one says ina thalika lamin azm al umour which appears in (42:43).  The difference is the word la.  In the Arabic language when the letter la is added it means indeed.  It puts more emphasis.  Why was this emphasis used in one verse rather than in the other?  If we go back to the contexts of each of these verses, we will find that in the first one it speaks about something that may happen to one which is not caused by an adversary.  For example, if someone is driving on the highway and a rock falls off of the mountain onto the person’s car and damages part of it, it is bad but the patience here is easier to acquire because there is no animosity being taken out on anyone.  Whereas in the second one the emphasis is on the characteristics of truly good people.  It speaks about an enemy having caused injury to you- and how one would need more patience in the second case than the first.  In the second case one has to be patient because of the wrong that has been done, the hurt and one needs patience to resist the instinct of revenge.  Sometimes there is a need for double the patience and self control and this additional letter conveys the very accurate meaning found in the Quran.
 
Host:  Are there any examples of redundant words or sentences?
Jamal Badawi:
Yes, for example in the Quran in several places such as (3:135) and (4:109) which conveys the message that if someone does something wrong,evil or wrongs his or her own soul and then it continues to ask Allah for forgiveness and Allah will forgive him.  The Question here is that it says if someone does something wrong or evil why does it have to add or wrongs his soul?  Is it not the same thing that if we are doing something wrong that we are wronging our souls?  Is that just extra?  The answer is definitely no because the question of wronging one’s soul have degrees.  I could do something wrong by being tempted towards something that doesn’t belong to me but with personal benefit.  If someone steals something they did something wrong but they got something out of it.  He is motivated to do this act because of his desire to acquire this property.  The same thing is found if someone commits adultery, gets intoxicated etc.  There is a sort of payoff when one does it to achieve pleasure.  There is another type of wronging the soul which is done without benefit to oneself.  Just hurting someone else just to hurt him, bearing a false witness against someone just to prevent something good from happening to someone else just out of malice.  This is what one refers to as wronging ones soul.  Again it deals with both situations of doing evil for benefit or doing evil just for the sake of hurting others and this could make a difference in the meaning.
 
Host:  Some people claim that there are words or letters used in the Quran that have no meaning but to keep the rhyme of the Quran.  Is this true?
Jamal Badawi:
No, it is not true.  In fact there is one statement which we quoted from Dr. Draz last time which we will clarify further in answering this question when he said the challenge to all of humanity is that one can go through the entire Quran and find one word in the whole Arabic dictionary that would be a better expression than the actual world used in the Quran.  This means that there is absolutely no room for improvement.  We search in the dictionary and no other word would convey the specific meaning better than each specific word used in the Quran.  When the Quran speaks about the attitude of some disbelievers which appears in Surah 3 and another in Surah 5.  In one case it says that when the disbelievers are told to come to what Allah has revealed we find that they reject and claim to follow what their followed.  In both of the them the same expression is made.  However in one verse it ends by saying “Say if their parents did not reflect or understand would they still follow them?”  The second verse says if their parents didn’t know anything would they follow them?  The difference between reflecting and knowing and how does that relate to the context of both passages in the Quran?  By further examination we will find that in the first expression talking about the parents not reflecting the context is to invite them to believe in God, the Creator.  The world reflect here parents reflected on the universe and used their faculties they would have concluded that this universe is created by one and only one supreme power.  The context of the second verse talks about believing in the revelation of God and it mentions the Prophet.  Here we find there is another degree of reflecting and understanding because in reflection one discovers something on their own.  Knowledge may not be found through reflection but rather is learned from someone else.  If someone that is trusted tells or teaches one something one can know that this is true.  In the second case the response was that they just followed what their parents did.  This not only means that they are refusing to think but that they are refusing to learn from the knowledge coming to them.  These differences are subtle but have meaning behind them.
Another example is that in the Quran there are two verse in (72:16) and one in (76:21) which both talk about God giving us drinking water.  However each a different term in each of the passages.  One is askahum and the other is sakahum.  Both of them translate simply to “God gave them drink (water).”  If we look at it linguistically that appears in the first passage means that God provided the water but that one has to put some effort to get it.  For example that God created rivers or in the wells but one still has to get a bucket in order to get the water out.  Whereas in the Arabic language when the term sakahum is used it means that one doesn’t have to put any effort into it but that it comes to you.  If we go back to the context of these verses we would be surprised.  The first one: which refers to water availability but that one has to put effort into getting it talks about the life on earth and that God provided us with this so that we use it.  The second expression about being given water without effort talks about the hereafter in Paradise where as we know one doesn’t have to put forth any effort and everything comes to you.  On the surface one might say it was just to keep the rhyme the Quran used one term here and the other there, but when we look at it we know that we can not replace one with the other because each one has a different shade of meaning.
 
Host:  Is it true that sometimes the Quran drops words that should have been included?
Jamal Badawi:
There is an excellent example of this provided by Sheikh Sharawi in his book Miracle of the Quran.  It described some of the statements that were used on the tongue of Prophet Abraham.  This appears in (26:78-82).  In this Aya there are six basic things that Prophet Abraham is mentioning about he omnipotence, power and compassion of the Creator.  One is creation: says that God created me.  Second it talks about guidance and that God is the one who provides Guidance.  Third that Allah provides sustenance which includes food and drink.  Fourth, that God is the One who gives cure when we are ill.  Fifth that God is the one who gives life and death and sixthly that God is the one who forgives sins on the Day of Judgement.  The thing that is really striking is that in all of these six items some refer to God using the pronoun “He” who gives and in the other three it drops the pronoun.  It is also not consistent but the first one doesn’t refer to God with the pronoun but in the second, third and fourth it refers to God with the pronoun “He” and in the fifth and sixth it drops it.  Why was it not used every time?  Some orientalists say it was just to keep the rhyme pleasant.  Again this has nothing to do with the wisdom behind it.  The first, fifth and sixth points are items that no human being can dispute with God even if he is an unbeliever.  For example as God as the creator, one can not claim that they created earth, Saturn, Mars or the moon.  Nobody can make this claim of creation.  No human claims to have the power to give life and death- God created life in the womb of the mother and when the person dies naturally it is God’s will.  The sixth point talks of God’s forgiving quality on the Day of Judgement.  Of course nobody claims to forgive on the Day of Judgement but it is only God who is able to forgive.
The points in the middle deal with God’s guidance, God providing food and drink and God curing diseases can be disputed.  For example if I am a disbeliever I can tell someone that I control their food and drink because I can fire them.  Some people may try to make that false claim.  A person could be a medical doctor and could tell the patient that it is not who cures you but me- because if I do not diagnose your sickness and give you medicine there is no way you would be cured.  People could also claim to have better guidance than that of God and that they have better ideas and that their way of life and their ideology is better than what God has revealed.  In the items that are undisputed even by the unbelievers we find that the word He is dropped because there is no need for emphasis.  There is no need to say “he who created me” but one can just say “God created me.”  When it discusses points which are disputable Prophet Ibrahim emphasized every time that it is He, Allah, who guides it is He, Allah, who gives food and drink and it is He, Allah who cures.  This draws our attention to points that people may have thought to be disputable but that the ultimate power and sovereign is exclusively in the hand of God.  This again is something that a person may not notice, especially if they are reading a translation of the meaning of the Quran in any other language.
 
Host:  What is the explanation for the reversal of the order of words in different verses?
Jamal Badawi:
The best way to explain this is to give examples.  Two verses in the Quran look identical but there is a reversal in the order of some words.  In (6:151) and in (17:31) both of them prohibit and end female infanticide that some people used to practice when they were poor.  The first one says “Kill not your children on a plea of want;-We provide sustenance for you and for them.”  In the second one it says “Kill not your children for fear of want: We shall provide sustenance for them as well as for you.”  Why does it say you and them in the first case and then them and you in the second case.  In the first passage it deals with existing poverty- in other words “Don’t kill your child because you are poor now.”  When the person is poor he would be more concerned about his own sustenance which is why the passage assured the individual that God provides for you and them.  In the second passage it may not deal with a person who is poor but one might say if they have many children how can I look after them.  So in this case the person doesn’t have poverty but fears future poverty.  This way the concern is more for providing for the children and agin the this is why verse refers the order and says God provides for them  and you.  Again this is something which is eloquent but perhaps the most effective way of conveying the meaning in both cases depending on the specific context of the Quran.
Summary of 10.27 "Linguistic Miracle of the Quran IV- Specific Examples"
The last program dealt with the precision of the expressions in the Quran in such a way that showed that no improvement can be made on the selection of words.  We have seen that what may appear as an extra world or letter or a synonymous word that could replace the word used is not true and there is absolutely nothing extra and nothing less in the Quran.  We also spoke of what may appear to be words dropped here and there but we found that there is very good reason behind the style of the Quran.  We concluded that there is absolutely no room for replacing one word or even letter in the Quran without deducing the effectiveness and the eloquence of its expression.  We said there are no human writing that we know of that has absolutely no room for even the slightest improvement or editing and that it is all of consistent high quality from A to Z.  This becomes even more amazing as we realize that the Quran was revealed to the Prophet spontaneously.  He did not sit down to think and write, correct and edit but it all came despite of himself which shows that the Quran can not be explained by way of human phenomena but that it must be divine revelation.
 
10.28   Linguistic Miracle of The Quran V - The flow of Meaning
Host:  Can you comment on the apparent lack of symmetry in some passages of the Quran?
Jamal Badawi:
There are some orientalist, not entirely familiar with the Quran, who point out that in some cases the passage in the Quran uses singular then all of a sudden uses the plural form.  A clear example of this is in (2:257)  “Allah is the Protector of those who have faith: from the depths of darkness He will lead them forth into light. Of those who reject faith the patrons are the evil ones: from light they will lead them forth into the depths of darkness. They will be companions of the fire, to dwell therein (For ever).”  The word darkness in arabic is plural thulumat which is not depicted in the English translation.  So it says that God brings them out of darkness (plural) into light (singular) which some people see as a lack of symmetry.  But if we look at it carefully whenever the Quran refers to light, which is a symbol of truth it always uses singular form because ultimate truth is one.  We can not have two truths because truth can not be contradictory and there is only one ultimate truth.  Darkness however can be of a different variety.  If one deviates from the true path of the creator they can follow a variety of ways.  So it is more appropriate to express in a plural sense.
 
Host:  Some writers claim that there sometimes is no connection between the various passages of same Surah in the Quran?
Jamal Badawi:
This is a common thing that many Orientalists especially people who write encyclopedias and books that sound authoritative for the Western reader.  The basic complaint like you indicated is that they say the Quran covers a whole variety of diverse subjects that don’t seem to make a consistent whole.  This lead some of them to come up with a number of interpretations which are all erroneous.  Some have said that maybe the reason the Quran deals with so many subjects is to reduce the level of boredom.  Others said that it is just to keep the rhyme of the Quran as if it sacrifices the consistency of meaning just to maintain beautiful and varying rhyme just to make the reader enjoy reading it.  Some Orientalists have given the reason that maybe the lack of apparent consistency or tying between the topics, diverse as they may be, not because of the Prophet but because the companions after him compiled the various parts of the Quran they just put it in a haphazard manner.  Dr. Draz comments on these erroneous explanations and as far as historical facts the Quran is today in the exact same order, exact topics as was revealed to the Prophet and as he was directed by the angel of revelation.  In other words the whole basis for this kind of interpretation is not well founded.  This means one of two things either the Quran is lacking in the diversity of topics it deals with or that those who came up with these conclusions did so in haste and did not study the Quran in sufficient depth and didn’t try to understand the Quran in its own context rather than in the context of other conventional books (which I believe to be the case).
 
Host:  What do you mean by the Quran in its own context?
Jamal Badawi:
The Quran is a unique book.  It is unlike any other book which is authored by a human.  It is not a book authored by a human, and it is not a book of law even though it contains law.  It is not a book of science even though as we have seen it includes many statements that science only discovered recently but it is not a book of science.  This is not a book on sociology, political science or economics even though all of these things are included.  If the Quran was like any other human authored book then those writers would have been correct because we are used to saying that a book deals with that subject and then even within that subject there is a chapter dealing with a specific point and when it is finished with it it moves on to another point.  The Quran above all is a book of divine guidance in all aspects of their lives.  It is not only guidance but it is a book to be read for worship which moves the heart and  stimulates the mind the mind.  Imagine somebody reading the one chapter in the Quran dealing with nothing but law or economics and be able to use that in matters of worship.
Muhammad Rasheed Rida, a prominent writer on the subject of Quranic revelations, says that if the Quran were ordered in the way some of those academics or Orientalists think is best the Quran would have lost its major and distinctive characteristics as a book to move the heart and to guide human beings.  The thing that should be remembered is that many Orientalists and critics come from a Judeo-Christian background and of-course they are more accustom to the chronology that is found in the Bible which starts all the way from the story of creation, the Prophets of the Old Testament, the New Testament, the disciples of Jesus and their works.  Even if they were not necessarily influenced by the style of the Bible which is basically a chronology of history they are raised in an environment which tends to divide life into separate compartments.  So even if they try to be fair in their writing in the Quran they fail to understand that the Quran and Islam in general doesn’t accept this compartmentalization of human life.
The Quran makes the distinction between the nature of worshipping God in terms of basic rights or rituals or worshiping God in the social or political arena.  They failed to understand that Islam is basically a complete way of life which is reflected in the Quran.  Islam harmonizes these different aspects of human life into one integrated whole.  As a result we may find that even in a small passage in the Quran one will find the discussion of moral teachings, social organization, stories of the Prophet not for the sake of history but to learn a certain lesson from that story.  The point here is that one can not impose an alien framework within which to understand the Quran, but rather one must understand the Quran within its own framework within its own context and keeping in mind both the micro and macro levels of understanding.
 
Host:  What do you mean when you talk about the micro and macro approaches to the understanding of the Quran?
Jamal Badawi:
This basically refers to looking at something in detail verses looking at something at a larger scale.  Dr. Draz says that if someone tries to examine a beautiful painting and if one examines it by looking at one specific portion, one might say that specific part is beautiful, nicely designed and has beautiful colors.  But if one keeps focusing on a micro level by looking only at this one small segment of the painting they may say that they can not see how it fits with other beautiful pieces.  The only way to look at the whole painting and in order for it to make sense one needs to look at the macro view.  To get back far enough so that one can look at it as a whole and this way one can appreciate the beauty of it and how the various parts fit together when the totality of the painting is taken in.  the same thing applies when one examines a beautifully designed piece, Arabisc Design or mosaic.  Taking small parts doesn’t make sense but looking at it as a whole gives better perception and appreciation for it.  This is not to say that we should evaluate the Quran in the same way we evaluate a painting because these are human made things where the Quran is a divine revelation.  This is just an analogy which helps us understand the meaning.  If we look at the Quran in terms of one small part of a Surah one may say that it is beautiful but how does it relate to the various topics which are covered in the same Surah.  Again we have to go back a little and examine the entirety of the Surah or unit of the Quran and only then can we see the flow of meaning and how they in fact connect nicely with each other.  This is far from the notion that the car was just collected in a haphazard way.  Yes it has a unique style but it is not haphazard at all.
 
Host:  Can you give us an example to illustrate this a little further?
Jamal Badawi:
One example in the book by Dr. Draz, Alnabu Al Athim, which means ominous news which deals with the authority of the Quran, he spent fifty pages just commenting in a very summarized way about the second Surah in the Quran.  The main thing to notice is that this is a big challange that he took upon himself.  He didn’t take a small Surah which is composed of a few verses but he took the longest Surah in the Quran with 286 passages which deal with a variety of topics.  Basically he says it has an introduction, four basic objectives that the Surah and a conclusion with a neat and perfect flow from beginning to end.  The introduction which is probably the first 20 passages in that Surah it is basically an introduction of the Quran and shows that in this Quran there is guidance.   It also deals with the attitude and response of people towards the Quran.  It starts by giving the profile of those who except.  Why doe it start with the believers?  The last part of the verse says guidance for those who are righteous.  So beginning by talking about the believers is actually describing those righteous people.  It is almost like a golden bridge so that one can move from one meaning to the other without the reader or listener noticing the change.  Then it deals with the other side: of those who deliberately reject the Quran.  Then it deals with a third group of those who are neither believers nor rejectors of the Quran, but those who are hesitant and it gives the profile of those people.
Having dealt with the nature of the guidance of the Quran, the responses of the three categories of people it moves on to the first objective of the Surah.  Which is to invite all of mankind to follow the guidance of Allah as narrated in the Quran.  This is a very nice connection because it talks about the categories of people and their response to the Quran and then one ends it by inviting everyone to the path of truth.  In this particular Surah we find that it talks bout believing in Allah, worshipping Him, obeying Him, remembering His bounties on us, to challenge those who say that the Quran is from a human source and for them to try to produce something like it, to discuss the creation of Adam and the purpose of creation.  Basically it is all connected to the invitation to the path of truth.  The second part is related to the first but deals specifically with the invitation of the People of the Book mainly because thy share allot with Muslims.  They believe in God, prophets, revelation and so on.  This is a major part of the Surah and explains lots of things about the attitude of the People of the Book and the history of the Israelites, a history with lots of lessons which were related to the contemporary history of the lifetime of the Prophet and relating it to the relationship with Prophet Abraham as a source or patriarch who is highly respected by the followers of the three major religions.  It indicated that his religion was Islam, submission to God.  It discusses the blessing to his descendants Isaac and Ishmael.
This also relates to the Qiblah, the direction of prayer, and why it was changed to the original house: the Kaaba.  The third objective flows nicely too.  First we invite people, specify the People of the Book then part describes the faith that it is inviting people to.  The major part from (2:163-383) indicates the nature of Islam which they are invited to, the belief in Allah as the ultimate authority and sovereign to the universe.  It also covers certain aspects of the lawful and unlawful in regards to food, drink, economic activities, things pertaining to criminal law, inheritance, fasting, pilgrimage, marital life and a whole gamete of topics.
The fourth objective of the Surah is to indicate what the real motive for people to follow this faith.  This includes the fear of God, the love for God and the individual responsibility.  In the conclusion it covers the belief in all Prophet s and messengers which ends in a nice prayer for God to guide us and help us fulfill our duties and so on.  This is not the only way that Dr. Draz is offering to understand this Surah in the Quran.  Throughout history people have come up with complementary ways of looking at things and everyone discovers how beautifully these meanings connect with each-other.  There are many authorities on the subject such as Alnaisabori, Alrazi, Ibn Al Arabi and Alshatibi who have written volumes and volumes trying to show the flow of meaning in the Quran.  It would be rather unfair for Orientalists to ignore the literature and haphazardly say that the Quran is put together without any order.  The miracle in the Quran, and in that particular Surah is not only in how the various thoughts connect with each other but the greater miracle can be understood in the timing and the circumstances under which the Surah was revealed.
 
Host:  Tell us about the timing and circumstances of the revelation and why you consider it to be miraculous?
Jamal Badawi:
I consider it to be even more miraculous for a simple reason: because when one looks at that Surah one can never tell whether that Surah was revealed all at once because the meaning flows very nicely.  But it is interesting to note that this Surah was revealed in small parts over a period of 9 years and not necessarily in chronological order.  One part at a time was revealed and the Prophet would put them in order.  Many parts of that Surah were revealed in response to certain problems, questions raised by Muslims or non-Muslims and certain events that took place over nine years.  Scholars estimated that there were 80 different circumstances where parts of this were revealed.  What is miraculous is how could a human being over a period of 9 years author a part of the Quran so that by chance the 80 incidents that took place over these years would fit very nicely so that at the end the Surah would become an integrated whole.  It is rather impossible to assume - even if we say that this person had a computer in his head- it is very difficult for him to have done it in that particular precision.  What is even more fascinating is how could one author know the unseen and exactly what is going to happen over nine years in 80 different incidents, with various revelations which corrected and commented on these incidents and then after 9 years come together as an integrated perfect whole.  This could only have been done if the author knew what was going to come in the future and that can only be known by the Creator.
 
Host:  Do these characteristics apply to the sayings of the Prophet (PBUH)?
Jamal Badawi:
Not really.  This is an interesting point because a basic distinction between the Quran and Prophetic sayings is that even though both of them are basically revelation- the Quran was revealed to the Prophet and his sayings were inspired into him- but there is something really distinct and different between the Quran and Prophetic sayings.  The Quran was revealed to the Prophet as it is in meaning and in the exact words that we have today.  The strange thing is that the style of the Quran and Hadith linguistically are quite different even though both were uttered by the Prophet.  Dr. Draz says that if we apply the same things that we find in the Quran on the Prophetic sayings we will find that it doesn’t have that characteristic at all.  It is impossible to come up with things which are as cohesive, as consistent and as connected as the Quran.  This is an actual testimony that the Quran could never have been a product of any human being.  There can be no human explanation of the phenomena of the Quran.
 
Host:  What is the style of Quranic expression?
Jamal Badawi:
In Surah (2:91-94) but we notice that there are three basic objectives in this expression.  First, to advise the Jews who were the subject of the verse to believe in the Quran, to narrate the response to that invitation and then to respond to their reply.  As Dr. Draz analyses it we find that it is quite different from any human writing because in human writing when someone is criticized someone it is criticism all the way and when you praise someone you praise all the way, and one has a difficulty in shifting and being fair and impartial.  We find that they are advised to believe in “what Allah has revealed.”  The words “what Allah has revealed” do not say what has been revealed to Prophet Muhammad because the essence is that it is divine revelation.  It says that if we believe in the Torah because it was revealed from God we should also believe in the Quran which was also revealed by God.  This gives a logical reason because it confirms what remain intact in your Torah.  It goes on and on analyzing words, terms, how it is put and how no other word could have expressed the same meaning.  It shows again that both the precision of the expression as well as the flow of meaning is something that is really unique and all it requires is a fair and in depth analysis.  The only haphazard thing is the methodology in understanding the Quran.
Summary of 10.28 "Linguistic Miracle of The Quran V - The flow of Meaning"
The last program continued the one before it which covered the accuracy and meticulousness of words and letters used in the Quran.  We looked at the connection and consistency of meaning despite the diversity of topics to which the Quran addresses itself.    We explain why so many topics were covered in the same Surah.  We indicated that the Quran was not meant to be like other books or other human writings where you have one chapter for each topic and the Quran is basically a book of guidance to stimulate the mind and open the heart.  So it is different in nature and has its own unique style.  We gave examples from the second Surah called Albakara and we indicated that it was revealed over a period of nine years.  This unique characteristic can not be found anywhere and can not be applied to the words of the Prophet himself.  Towards the end we touched on another example of the consistency of meaning in Surah (2:91).
 
10.29   Did the Quran Pre-Exist before its Revelation? Part I
Host:  Can you explain that last point in more depth?
Jamal Badawi:
The basic passage addresses the Jewish people and is inviting them to accept the mission of the Prophet (PBUH).  If we look at it we find that it deals with three basic elements.  One it advises the Israelites to believe in the Quran.  Second, it describes the response to this invitation and third the response to their question.  As far as the advise the passage addresses them and says believe in what Allah has revealed.  The point that is made here is that because the Jews believe that the Torah is what was revealed from Allah the most important emphasis then is that since they believed in the Torah as revelation from Allah then this Quran is also a revelation from Allah and that they should believe in it.  It did not say believe what was revealed unto Muhammad (which would have been accurate).  To emphasize the universality of Islam it stresses that aside from the Prophet that was given the revelation, the fact that the revelation was from Allah should in itself have been sufficient for them to follow it.  In narrating their response we find that a great deal of justice is done in the honesty and accuracy of it says that when this is said to them they say: no we believe in what has been revealed to us but they reject what was revealed afterwards even though it is the truth confirming what they already have.  The description doesn’t say that they rejected it but that they believe in what was given to them and they reject things beyond that.  It doesn’t accuse them of rejecting all the revelation from Allah.  It simply says that they believe in one revelation but that the rejected something that came afterwords.  Notice here when it says “they reject” without quoting them which is a very meticulous and honest way of narrating their position without being bias or quoting something that they did not actually say.  We should notice here that it doesn’t say that they believed in the Torah and rejected the Quran but it says that they reject what came after the Torah which is a very deep expression as it includes what was revealed to Jesus.  Again this means that their rejection includes both the Quran and the revelation given to Prophet Jesus.  It doesn’t argue with them as to weather they believe or not but it almost implies that if they believe in their book then lets begin by asking how you can reject a revelation that confirms that you have.  It accepts their argument for believing in their book but doesn’t their book indicate that there is consistency between it and the later revelation which came from the same creator.  Towards the end of the Ayah it says if it is true that you believe in your books then why do you kill the Prophets of Allah.  I tried my best given the virtual impossibility in conveying the beauty and the precision of the original Arabic expression in the Quran but I hope this shows the precision in expression but the fairness in narrating what they say and the great depth in the choice of any words that appear in this passage.  All of this and the Quran was not corrected, edited and thinking but was all revealed to the Prophet despite himself.  When the revelation would come to him he would sweat and all this wisdom would flow out of his mouth which can not be improved upon or perfected in anyway.  How can it be explained other than it is from Divine revelation.
 
Host: Can you explain the notion of the preexistence of the Quran and its significants?
Jamal Badawi:
First, the Quran was not revealed at once, it was revealed on peace-meals over 23 years.  The order of the Surah’s that the Quran is in today are different and not the same as the order of the revelation itself.  In the meantime we find that the present order of the Quran from Surah 1-114 was not an invention but was divinely directed to the Prophet through Angel Gabriel.  A third observation is that even in many of the Surah’s in the Quran we find that not all Surah’s were revealed at once.  For example Surah one was not revealed in succession or the chronology it is in.  Many times part of a Surah is revealed and then parts of another Surah would be revealed and before both are completed a third Surah is revealed and as time goes on the Prophet says put this part here and that one there.  What kind of human memory can keep track over a period of nine years of different parts of the second Surah which continued to be revealed over 9 years in small parts and not in the chronology in which it was put together?  What kind of human computer could do that?  There were 80 different circumstances about which the Surah commented.  The perfection is not haphazard but is related to prior knowledge of what is going to happen in the 9 years and so that each part would fit perfectly without any editing or change.  This means that perfection is related to prior knowledge of what is going to happen in the nine years so that each part would fit perfectly without any editing or change and who can control or know for sure the exact details or questions that are going to arise by individuals over a period of nine years so that the response can fit perfectly both in rhyme and meaning.  One can find absolutely no foundation to say that any human could do that or control the future.  Another point that might be useful is that many jurists divide the Quran into 2 periods of revelation.
Jurists describe the Quran into two types or periods of revelation.  One is the initial period of persecution which was revealed in Mecca in the first 13 years of the mission of the Prophet, the other 10 years are referred to as the Medani Quran which was revealed in Medina to which the Prophet migrated after the persecution.  I think this is very essential and interesting.  In some copies of the Quran when we look at the beginning of the Surah it indicates that this was revealed in Mecca except for verses so and so.  This is incredible because what happens is that after a Surah was completed it was perfect in rhyme and in the connection of topics even though parts were revealed in Mecca and parts in Medina.  How could it be that with these spans of time with so many years in-between everything fits together perfectly.  It is almost like somebody who writes a poem: he writes the first five verses, then after three years writes verses 8-10 while skipping 6-7 and then after 10 years he composes verses 6-7 and puts it in the middle and it fits exactly between the two other portions that he completed before.  It is impossible, if it were that it was all in order but it was not all in order and after everything was revealed and everything was put together that it was put in order.  This perfection could be looked at from the point of view of the rhyme which is very difficult in an English program to convey clearly as we have to check the Arabic in order to notice that with the passage of time it sounds as if it were all revealed at once.  The thing that may be highlighted is the connection of the meaning that regardless of the time when each passage was revealed, regardless of the order in which it was revealed after they were put together they constituted a very nice flow to the point that any reader, when he looks at it finds it very difficult to distinguish any time frame as to where or when these verses were revealed.  One of the great scholars, Jalal Aldeen Alsuyoti, wrote a book on this topic and in fact the book is called the secrets of the order of the Quran.  I am indebted to the introduction of that book written by the editor Abdul Kadir Ata which stimulated me to do research on that.  This deepened my conviction that the Quran could not have come from any source but the divine.
 
Host:  Could you comment and clarify the method that you have used for this research?
Jamal Badawi:
My suggestions for various who wish to explore this further that my remarks are preliminary and I would suggest notes to be taken on the numbers of the Surhas and passages so that it can be reviewed in detail.  For example the second, Al Bakarah, which is mainly a Madani Surah which means that it was mainly revealed in Madina after the first 13 years (of Islam) in Mecca.  However interestingly enough there is one passage from that Surah was revealed in Mecca.  If you look at the flow of meaning before the Mecci passage (2:281)we find that the Surah speaks about the prohibition of usury encouraging people to be charitable and people to lend money to those who can not pay.  Then comes the passage that says for them to beware of a day when they are going to return to Allah and every soul will be given its reward.  This is a perfect fit with the encouragement of charity and the encouragement to be good to others and the prohibition of usury.  The passages after that continue with the same subject that cam before this middle passage with respect to dealing with financial contracts.  A second example is in Surah 5 which was basically a Medeni Surah however verse 3 was revealed in the farewell pilgrimage in Mecca.  Again the passages before (5:3) we find that it talks about the prohibition of eating dead animals, blood and things that relate to dietary laws.  Then with years in difference in time comes a different verse which says that they ask you oh Prophet what is permitted unto them and it continues with the same topic.  The following verse continues to deal with the lawful and unlawful pertaining to food and the marriage of Muslim males to the females of the believing Jews and Christians or the People of the Book.  Again when we look at the passages with their flow and with passage 3 being from a different time and place we would not notice a difference as if it was all revealed at the same time and dealt with the same topic.  How could anyone design this ahead of time?
Take Surah 6 for example.  This Surah is a Mecci Surah but there are number of verses which are exceptions to that rule and appear in different parts of the Surah.  For example the verse before (6:20) talks about the argument between the Prophet and the People of the Book and he indicates to them how his mission is authentic and so on and then this verse, which was revealed in a different city and time all together, which says that those we have given the book know him (they know the signs of the advent of Prophet Muhammad or the Quran) as they know their own children.  The passage after that which was revealed in Mecca says who is more of a wrong doer than he who rejected the mission of Allah or said says something has been revealed to them without anything having been revealed to them.  Again the flow of the topic that addresses the People of the Book in regards to the mission of the Prophet is continues even though one verse was revealed in a different time and place.  Then we go on to passage 23.  The context before verse 23 talks about the Day of Judgement and how people who associated others with Allah in His divine attributes would be called upon to defend themselves.  This shows that all the power is in the hands of Allah and that no god that is worshiped other than Him would avail on the Day of Judgement.  Then comes passage 23 which is revealed in Medina.  Then it says that those people who were exhorted to produce their gods blame themselves and how they rejected the truth.  The following passage which took place where most of the Surah had been revealed, Mecca, says look how they lied to themselves and how nobody now is helping them.  The flow of the meaning is perfect and we can never tell which was revealed where.  Each of the 3 or 4 passages leads on to the other.
Then we skip to verse 91 which was revealed in Medina.  The context before it describing the rejection of the Israelites of the mission of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and how they asked how a man could receive revelation from Allah.  Then comes the response from the Quran in verse 91 by asking who revealed the Book that God had given to Moses and that this Book (the Quran) is a blessed Book that We have revealed that confirms what had been revealed before.  From these two verses it is obvious to the reader that they were revealed at the same time because it talks about the Book that was revealed to Moses and then it talks about this Quran which confirms what Moses brought.    Historically each one was revealed in totally different places and in a different context but still it fits perfectly.  In (6:141) it speaks about Allah providing human beings with gardens and plantations as it deals with the blessings from the agricultural side.  The verse after that speaks about the blessings from animal resources.  Again these two were revealed in different places, different cities but yet the meaning still flows.
Surah 7 is generally a Mecci Surah, the exceptions are passages 163-170 which were revealed in Medina.  Before these verses it speaks about the Israelites and how some of them disobeyed Allah and it describes some aspects of their history as a lesson for Muslims.  Then comes 163-170 comes and deals with the exact same subject.  The following verse continues to speak about the same subject going into depth as to what Allah gave them and and some of the privileges and signs that He gave them.  Again it all looks like it would have been from the same story or time but each was revealed at a different time and place.  But we look at it and the meaning flows perfectly.
Surah 8 is a Medeni Surah revealed in Medina but with the exception of 30-36 which were revealed in a different city before the begining of the Surah..  This means that someone authors the conclusion and then later ads the introduction and the body and it fits perfectly.  It is incredible to think that any human being is capable of doing it.  After verses 30-36 end it says “So that Allah may distinguish between the good and the evil.”  On one hand it describes the destiny of those who rejected faith and then immediately  the above quoted verse is revealed.  So even the words at the beginning of verses 30-36 seemed to connect with the rest of the Surah even though they were revealed in a different time, city and under different circumstances but fits perfectly to the last letter.
Summary of 10.29 "Did the Quran Pre-Exist before its Revelation? Part I"
We tried to present that there seems to be clear evidence that the entire Quran existed prior to its piece meal revelation to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).  This preexistences could not have been except in the knowledge of God.  To give some background we  indicated that the Quran was not revealed at once or in order. The Quran was revealed in pieces over a period of 23 years.  This period can be divided in two major sub periods: 13 years and 10 years.  The first period is known as Meccan period which is prior to the migration of Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Medina.  The other ten years were in Medina after the Prophet migrated to Medina.  It was indicated that while the Quran both Meccan and Medinite is divided into 114 Surahs, not every Surah was revealed and completed before moving to the next one.  Sometimes a few verses would be revealed from one Surah then other verses from another Surah with several incomplete Surahs at one point or another, but when the revelation was completed every Surah was completed.
The order in which the Surahs were put in the Quran are different from the chronological revelation of each portion of the Surah.  What we find to be even more amazing is that while the Quran was revealed in this unique way without any particular chronology related to the way it appears in the Quran today after the revelation was completed (23 years) if we look at any of the 114 Surahs regardless of where it was revealed, how long it took to be revealed, regardless of the events it came to comment on there is a perfect fit both in terms of the rhyme as well as the continuity of the meaning.  This would have been incredible and impossible for any human author.  Even if a person could preplan all of it, how could anyone preplan the events that take place in the future over the span of 23 years and author something to comment and direct on the particular events so that when everything is finished it fits perfectly unless the designer is God Himself.
10.30   Did the Quran Pre-Exist before its Revelation? Part II
Host:  Were the examples we covered last time specifically selected because they are unique or does the same thing
Jamal Badawi:
Let us backtrack to the methodology I used.  First I gave acknowledgement and recognition to the introduction by Abdul Kadir Ata Ata in the book by Jalal Aldeen Alsuyoti about the reason for the order of the Quran which stimulated my thinking in this new area.  He gave a few examples then I started looking into it on my own.  What I did was to go through the entire Quran from beginning to end which is composed of 114 Surahs.  Each Surah does not have a combination of Mecci and Medani but 41 have elements from both periods.  In regards to which Surah was revealed where I depend on the common and well accepted print of the Quran which was done in Egypt under the supervision of Al Azhar (the famous university) showing which of the verses were revealed in Medina and which were revealed in Mecca.  Authorities in Quranic studies indicate that there are 20 Surha’s which seem to be accepted as Medinite Surahs.  There are 82 other Surahs which (generally agreed) to have been revealed in Mecca.  To be honest there are 12 Surah’s which there is a difference of opinion as to weather it was revealed in the Meccan period or Medinite period.  Interestingly enough I went through all 12 and I found that none of them actually includes a combination of Meccan and Medinite revelation which doesn’t effect the conclusions that we are coming up with.  Of course there some authorities who may disagree with some verses as to where they were revealed, but the more general and widely accepted opinion is the one that I based my research on which is the designation of the where Surah was revealed.
The verses that we highlighted were not specially selected because the research covered all 41 Surahs which have this combination.
 
Host:  Can you give us additional examples from verses that we have not touched on?
Jamal Badawi:
Surah 9 in the Quran is designated as a Medinite Surah with an exception of the last two passages (9:128-129).  In order to show the continuity of the meaning regardless of the time lag we will summarize the context before these different verses were revealed.  The verses before 128 simply talk about the reaction of the disbelievers when a new revelation came to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and that they looked at each other and still tried to persist in stubbornness and reject his message.  The part that was revealed in Mecca says “Now hath come unto you an Messenger from amongst yourselves: it grieves him that ye should perish: ardently anxious is he over you: to the Believers is he most kind and merciful.  But if they turn away, Say: "(Allah) sufficeth me: there is no god but He: On Him is my trust,- He the Lord of the Throne (of Glory) Supreme!”  Again the context continues as if it was all revealed at the same time and place.  It talks about their stubbornness and then it says that this Prophet is very sad and disappointed by their stubbornness.  Again nobody can feel the difference in revelation which again shows the predesign.
In Surah 47, revealed mainly in Medina except a few verses in the end and verse 13 in the middle.  Verse 13 was revealed on the way when the Prophet was migrating from Mecca to Medina.  The contexts before verse 13 we find that it talks about how the disbelievers eat and enjoy themselves as animals do and that the fire would be their destiny.  It talks about the resistance, their stubbornness, their rejection of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and their persecution of him.  Then in (47:13) says “And how many cities, with more power than thy city which has driven thee out, have We destroyed (for their sins)? and there was none to aid them.”  We notice the continuity of the meaning, with no gap or editing needed and flows as if it was all revealed at the same time.
 
Host:  You gave examples of Surahs mainly revealed in Medina and few exceptions revealed in Mecca: does the reverse hold true as well?
Jamal Badawi:
The reverse also applies.  The number of Surah’s revealed in Medina is relatively smaller than those revealed in Mecca.  20 out of 114 were revealed in Medina.  In my count I found that only 6 Surahs were revealed in Medina which had parts revealed in Mecca.  Thirty five of the Surahs which were revealed in the Meccan period only had small parts in the middle revealed latter on in Medina.  This is even more surprising because this was not completion or continuity in terms of chronology.  We are talking about Surahs where the first and last parts of the Surah were revealed in Mecca (earlier period) with a gap.  Later on after years during the Medinite period another verse or so were revealed.  Then when it was taken and put in the gap that was deliberately kept open for it we notice that the meaning is continuos.  I have a list of a few of the examples that were revealed in Mecca and I will mention the number of passages which were revealed in a different place an time.
Starting with Surah 10 we find that passage 40 is different.  The passages before 40 speak of the disbelievers rejecting the Quran and its authority and that it came from Allah.  Passage 40 says “Of them there are some who believe therein, and some who do not: and thy Lord knoweth best those who are out for mischief.”  After this it says if they reject you oh Muhammad say: unto me are my deeds and unto you are yours.  The flow of meaning doesn’t indicate that the verse in the middle may have been revealed years later in a different place all together.
Another example is from Surah 11 a Mecci surah.  Before passage 114 (towards the end) it instructs Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) to be upright as Allah ordained him and also those who repented with him and that they should not be inclined towards those who are oppressors.  The different passage continues to address the Prophet and says “And establish regular prayers at the two ends of the day and at the approaches of the night: For those things, that are good remove those that are evil: Be that the word of remembrance to those who remember (their Lord):” The one after it says “And be steadfast in patience; for verily Allah will not suffer the reward of the righteous to perish.”  We notice here that in all of three passages they address and give Prophet Muhammad instruction to be upright, establish prayer and persevere.  Second observation is the perfect flow of meaning as it talks about repentance, establishing prayer and having patience which all fit together.  The third observation is that the passage that came i the middle (11:114) came as a response to a question that was put towards Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).  As narrated in both Bukhari and Muslim a man came to Prophet Muhammad and said that he committed this error and so on and asked what he should do; this verse was revealed as a response.  This verse was revealed at a different time, place and for a different reason all together but when it is put with the rest of the Surah there is perfect flow and meaning.
Another example is found in Surah 15.  The context before verse 87 speaks of the punishment and destiny of those who reject prophets.  Then it address Prophet Muhammad and says forgive them.  Then (15:87) comes which was revealed in Medina and says “And We have bestowed upon thee the Seven Oft-repeated (verses) and the Grand Qur'an.”  After this it says do not aspire to what we have given to some of them because after-all you have the Quran.  Again notice here that in all three passages the address is to the Prophet (PBUH).  In the passage revealed in Medina it speaks about the blessing of the Quran and in the following one it indicates that the Quran is better than any other blessing that anyone has.  The perfect flow of meaning makes it as if the three were revealed at the same time and place.
Another interesting passage in the Quran is Surah 17.  In this Surah we find that it alternates between Mecca and Medina where portion one was in Mecca, two in Medina and so on.  In other words there is a whole that is interspersed which would maximize the possibility of lack of consistency.  However if we look at it carefully we notice that passage 26 is different.  The passage before it speaks of kindness to parents, speaks about a person being repentant as an aspect of moral teaching.  Then comes verse 26 which was revealed in a different place and says give relatives their rights (kindness and charity) and the orphan and do not be wasteful.  The continuation that was revealed a long time before verse 26 in Mecca says that those who are wasteful are the companions of the devil.  The verse after 26 seems to be a continuation - one says don’t be wasteful and the next one says that those who are wasteful are companions of the devil.  The later one was reveled before the first one- how all of this came together to fit perfectly.  We move on to passages 32-33 which again are not revealed in Mecca as the major part of the Surah but in Medina.  The context before them speaks about the prohibition of killing children (male or female infanticide that some did because of fear of poverty) and it says that Allah provides for all of you.  Then comes 32-33 which were revealed later in Medina and continue the same subject, and say do not approach adultery or fornication, do not kill the soul that Allah has sanctified.  This again one of the major ten commandments.  The one after that speaks about respecting the rights of the orphans and not devouring their rights.  We put all three together and there is a perfect in the number of moral teachings.  We notice that the worlds it starts with in arabic are wala which means “Don’t you” which allows for all of the verses to flow without any editing.  Another example from Surah 19 known as “Mary” the mother of Jesus (PBUH) was revealed mainly in Mecca with the exception of two passages.  One is passage 57.  The context before it is about several prophets in history, it praises them and their character.  It talks about Prophet Abraham, Jesus, Moses, Ishmael and so on.  After it finishes that comes passage 57 which says that such prophets are the ones that Allah has bestowed His blessings upon from among the Prophets and the pious people.  The one after it says that after these prophets those who followed them neglected their prayers and followed their own passion.  In other words it talks about Prophets then the verse revealed in Medina is commenting that these Prophets are among those whom Allah blessed.
Another example in the same Surah in passage 71 is equally amazing because it speaks about the punishment and Hell Fire for those who reject the truth and ends with the description of Hell Fire.  Then passage 71 comes which was revealed in a different place and time which adds that no human except that will pass over Hell Fire on Al Sirat (narrow path).  The verse after that says that Allah will save those who are pious and righteous and let the wrong doers and oppressors revive their punishments.  Verse 71 comes right in the middle in a particular niche specifically designed for it.
For example in Surah 30 we notice that passage 17 is revealed in Medina and 18 and on were revealed before that in Mecca.  We find that the order in which it is found in the Quran is the reverse order of the chronology but the meaning is perfect.  Verse 17 which was revealed in the Medina says “So (give) glory to Allah, when ye reach eventide and when ye rise in the morning.”  The following verse which was revealed after 17 and in Mecca says “Yea, to Him be praise, in the heavens and on earth; and in the late afternoon and when the day begins to decline.”  In Surah 36 this is a Meccan Surah but passage 45 was revealed in Medinah.  The context before 45 speaks about how God created ships for humans to sail on, and that He could drown them if He and then comes verse 45 which tells them that they should be careful and heed then the one after that whatever verses or signs come to them from Allah they turn away from which is a perfect continuation of the meaning.
In Surah 39 it speaks about repentance to Allah.  Verses 52-55 are the different and were revealed in Medina unlike the rest of the Surah.  It speaks bout Allah providing for all humans and that the door of repentance is open for those who commit evil and it says that one should follow the best revelation that has come to you from Allah before one faces their penalty all of a sudden and without feeling it.  It talks about penalty on the Day of Judgement or at the time of death and how it could be too late.  The one that was revealed before that in Mecca says that in such time when a soul would say I wish that I could have done something better (the context is in regards to repentance and being too late) and regret that one did not repent early enough.  We could go on and on with these examples.
Summary of 10.30 "Did the Quran Pre-Exist before its Revelation? Part II"
The main reason that motivated me to do this small piece of research is the fact that the Quran as a Holy Book was revealed in a way that was unique and different than any other scripture.  It was revealed over a period of 23 years.  Two, this period includes 13 years in Mecca and ten years in Medina.  Thirdly, many of the revelations in the Quran were revealed by way of commentary on certain events or as an answer to certain questions that may have risen from time to time in the life of the Muslim community.  We noted that while many Surahs in the Quran were mainly revealed in Mecca or Medina we find, strangely enough, that in many of these there may be verse/s in the middle of a Surah that were revealed in the alternate location.  There is usually no particular order or chronology to these revelations.
After I mentioned some of the reservations and limitations of this research and the certitude of what is revealed in Mecca and Medina both in terms of Surahs and specific verses with the reservations of the reasons for revelation I said that if we follow the classification that we find in many copies of the Quran about where each Surah is revealed we counted 41 Surahs which have a combination of revelation from Mecca and Medina.  It is amazing to note that if we look at the flow in terms of meaning and style flows very nicely and gives the impression as if they were all revealed at the same time.  If we look at the verses before or after the verse that was revealed in a different place we find that the meaning flows very nicely not only in terms of style or rhyme but the flow of meaning gives the impression that they were revealed at the same time and place which is not the case.  The only thing that can explain this is if the knowledge of the Quran existed in full prior to its revelation and then it was revealed in parts.  Then the Prophet was directed to put it together and where every verse should be place.  It finally came out fitting completely and perfectly which shows that it all existed before its revelation.
 
10.31   Did the Quran Pre-Exist before its Revelation? Part III
Host:  Could you continue with a summary of your findings?
Jamal Badawi:
Surah is used here in place of the common term chapter because the Quran is not divided into chapters like any textbook.  The word Surah means a portion of the Quran or unite.  The word Ayah means what is usually referred to as verse which is one small passage in a Surah.
In Surah 42 we notice in Ayah 22 towards the end it speaks about the reward that Allah has prepared for those who prepared for those who do good deeds and that they would enjoy bliss in Paradise and that this is a magnificent bounty that Allah has gives to the pious.  In 23 it talks about God giving glad tidings to His servants.  If we look at these two passages we can not tell a difference in their flow and whether one was revealed in a different time and place.  One comments on the other.  Verses 1-22 were revealed in Mecca and 23-25 were revealed in Medina again with out any noticeable break in meaning or rhyme.  This kind of thing could have no human author.  In the same Surah we find that verse 26 was revealed in Mecca.  If we look at the connection between 25 a Medani verse and 26 which is a Mecci verse there is the same flow of meaning.  In Ayah 25 it says that Allah would accept the repentance of His servants and forgive their sins and that He knows what they do.  In the following Ayah it says “and he listens to those who believe and do deeds of righteousness and He gives them increase of His bounty.”  Agian we hardly feel the difference in style it starts with the expectancy of repentance with the following Ayah showing how Allah listens and accepts the prayers.
It is not that some verses were revealed in Mecca first and then the completion was in Medina but it was rather scattered here and there.  In the very same Surah Ayah 27 was revealed in Medina, 26 Mecci, 25 Medani which shows that there is no way that a person could offer this and scatter them.  We noticed that in 27 a Medani passage it says that if Allah gave provision for his servants without any limit or gave them more provisions that some of them might transgress but that Allah gives this wealth in some measure.  The following Ayah speaks about Allah sending the rain down after people had disparaged.  The term unazil in Arabic is used in both these Ayas which means to send down.  So God sent down wealth or rain.  There is a connection because rain and wealth are matters which are coveted and desired by the people.  Second, as it is dangerous for bounties and wealth to be too much, as it may cause arrogance and indulgent, so is excessive rain.  Again excessive rain may be damaging and destructive.  The perfect variation of the meaning with the time and place of revelation.
Surah 43, verses 51-53 speak about the story of the Pharaoh in Egypt and how he was haughty and proud and how he claimed he owned the domain of Egypt and the rivers were flowing under him.  He started to belittle and criticize Prophet Moses in passage 52.  In 53 Pharaoh says that if Moses was really a Prophet why doesn’t he get gold bracelets bestowed upon him from the Heavens and why don’t angels come with him.  All of them refer to the attitude of haughtiness on the part of the Pharaoh and his argument to his people that they should not listen to Prophet Moses.  In verse 54 it says did he fool his people his people into obeying him? The following verse says and when they (the Pharaoh and his people) angered or provoked Us we exacted retribution on them.  Can you tell if there is a difference in the flow of meaning- it is perfect.  They both deal with the story of the Pharaoh and describes his arguments, describes the result of these arguments and how his people were fooled by his argument and followed him blindly.  It talks about the consequences of following the Pharaoh and how they angered Allah and Allah punished them and drowned them as we know.  It is interesting to note that Ayah 54 which says that Pharaoh fooled his people into obeying him comes in the middle, revealed in Medina, and the verses that came before and after it came years before it and were revealed in Mecca.
In Surah 45 around passage 14 we notice that from 12-13 it speaks about how Allah made the sea subservient to people and how a ship may sail in it.  It talks about how Allah made subservient to human kind everything in the heavens and the earth.  In passage 14 it says tell those who believe to forgive those who do not look forward to the Days of Allah (Hereafter) that Allah may recompense each people according to what they earned.  In passage 15 it talks about whomever does righteous deeds that it is for himself and whomever does wrong it is against him.  Between 14 which was revealed in Medina and 15-16 which was revealed previously in Mecca we notice that the meaning flows as it talks about people who do not remember the bounty of Allah and that people can forgive them but that the ultimate punishment for their deeds would lie with Allah which is found in Ayah 15.
In Surah 46 there are three Ayahs which are not necessarily in the same sequence which were revealed in Medina while the rest of the Surah was revealed in Mecca.  In Ayah 9 it addresses Prophet Muhammad and tells him to say that he is not the bringer of a new-fangled doctrine (it was revealed to other Prophets before) and it ends by saying that I am only following what has been revealed unto me.  Ayah 10 says “Say: "See ye? If (this teaching) be from Allah, and ye reject it, and a witness from among the Children of Israel testifies to its similarity (with earlier scripture), and has believed while ye are arrogant, (how unjust ye are!) truly, Allah guides not a people unjust.”  Again we notice the continuation of the meaning because the previous Ayah spoke about the Quran which was revealed to the Prophet.  This basically speaks about the same message received by previous Prophets including Prophet Moses (PBUH).  Ayah ten was not revealed in Mecca but in Medina and was revealed commenting on a particular incident.  This incident was that one of the main Jewish scholars in Medina, when Prophet Muhammad went to Medina, by the name of AbduAllah Ibn Salam who was regarded as the most knowledgable amongst his people, and in fact he embraced Islam but didn’t want to announce it among his people so he asked Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) to invite the Israelites to join in his presence and AbduAllah hid himself.  The Prophet asked them what they thought of AbduAllah Ibn Salam.  Then AbduAllah Ibn Salam came out of hiding and said if you people believe in my knowledge and integrity I have found that the Quran brought to Prophet Muhammad is the truth and you should follow it.  So then they attacked him started saying that he was the worst of them and gave him all kinds of bad descriptions.  Many writers of the explanation of the Quran say that this Ayah was revealed in Medina not Mecca in commentary on that incident and it says that this Qruan is similar to previous scriptures at least in some essential concepts and that he believed and you rejected.  The following passage, 11, gives the argument of other Arab pagans who rejected the Prophet and said that if Islam was true then how could the poor people be the first to follow the Prophet.  In Ayah 12 it talks again about Prophet Moses and it says “before it” referring to the book revealed to Prophet Moses.  Again the flow of the meaning is perfect as though it was all revealed at the same time when in fact it was not.
In Surah 50 and we look at the citations before Ayah 8 it basically talks about learning a lesson from the punishment that Allah had given to people who rejected the mission of their Prophets.  In Ayah 38 it talks about the creation of heavens and earth in six periods and that Allah was not touched by any sense of wariness.  The immediate Ayah after it says “Bear, then, with patience, all that they say, and celebrate the praises of thy Lord, before the rising of the sun and before (its) setting.”  The flow between 38 and 39 is perfect.  It talks about the creation of Heavens and Earth and that as such oh Muhammad be patient with their rejection (which is the context of that part of the Surah) and to supplicate in the name of your lord.  Verse 38 was revealed in Medina and the remaining parts before and after were revealed in Mecca.  Again how could it fit like a glove with this perfection?
Take Surah 53 which was entirely revealed in Mecca with the exception of one Ayah: 32.  If we look at the verses before it we find that it says to Allah belongs what is in the heavens and earth so that He may reward those who do evil according to their deeds and he rewards those who do good with what is best.  Verse 32 was revealed years later in Medina says those who avoid great sins and shameful deeds.  In other words it is almost a continuation of the description of the good people that God will reward them and that the try, who deserve the mercy of Allah try to avoid great sins.  It is a perfect continuation of the meaning with the variation of time and place of the revelation.
In Surah 54 the entire thing was revealed in Mecca except for 44-46.  The context before them was the arguments made by unbelievers whom Allah told that the unbelievers of Qurishe were not better than those whom Allah destroyed in the past.  Ayahs 44-46 talk about the argument of those same Qurishite disbelievers who will claim victory but then they will have defeat and that after all the Hour of the Day of Judgement is their appointed time and this is even more grievous and bitter.  The continuation of the Surah was revealed before these verses in Mecca describes the punishment of those who will stray in mind and are mad.  Again it continues with the same type of punishment which would be inflicted.  In 48 it talks about how they would be dragged on their faces in Hell fire.
In Surah 56 in passages 77-80 it speaks exclusively about how the Quran is an honored book and so on and that it is revelation from Allah.  In Ayah 81-82 it speaks about the Quran being belittled and rejected which were both revealed in Medina and the rest before and after were revealed in Mecca.
In Surah 68 up to passage 16 it talks about one of the disbelievers who used to claim that whatever the Prophet said were stories of the past.  Ayah 17-33 it says we tried them as we tried the people of the Garden.  It tells us about people who used to own a Garden and they were very stingy so before the poor came to ask for some charity they said we will wake up in the morning and go get some fruit before anybody asks for charity and how Allah destroyed and punished them.  The flow of the story even though 17-33 was revealed in Medina is similar to the story before it which talks about testing the human with wealth and children in order to see if they would be responsive to the message of Allah.
In Surah 73 up to passage 9 were revealed in Mecca.  In fact verse 9 addresses Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and it says that Allah is the Lord of east and west and there is no God but He take Him for they disposal of affairs.  Passages 10-11 were revealed in Medina and it says and have patience Oh Muhammad with what they say.  In other words again the difference in place and time, the flow of the meaning is not interrupted at all.
In Surah 77 the entire Surah was revealed in Mecca except for one passage somewhere in the middle, 48 which was revealed in Medina.  In passage 47 we find that it continues to use a passage that is repeated often in this Surah.  It says woe that Day to the rejector of truth.  Then in 48 it says and when it is said to them prostrate yourself they do not.  It still continues the descriptions of those who are rejectors of truth and those who refuse to bow down and prostrate to worship of Allah.  In 49 which is the verse before the last it uses the same repeated verse woo that Day to the rejector of truth.  If we look at it and read it as a whole we can hardly feel any difference whatsoever that anyone would come to the conclusion that this Surah must have been revealed all at the same time and under the same circumstances when in fact it is not yet the flow of meaning is perfect.  This Surah is almost divided into
The last Surah that I want to cover today is 107 towards the very end of the Quran.  This Surah is almost divided into two parts.  The first three passages were revealed in Mecca the remaining part in Medina.  The first passages speaks about those who deny the Day of Judgements, those who repulse the orphan and those who are not helpful to the poor and needy.  The remaining part of the Surah was revealed in Medina and says “So woe to the worshippers “Who are neglectful of their prayers, Those who (want but) to be seen (of men), But refuse (to supply) (even) neighborly needs.”  There is flow in rhyme and meaning and notice the difference between Mecca and Medina.  In Medina some people were already Muslims (but not really good ones and were showing off) and some did not apply the teachings of Islam.  In the first half it speaks of those who do not believe at all and the second half it says even if you believe you still have to follow certain rules and standards in order to be a true believer.  The main question that is raised in this very humble research is how could any human being author something scattered over 23 years in different places and sometimes commenting on certain events that were not known at the time unless the author of the Quran was none but the Creator Himself.
Summary of 10.31 "Did the Quran Pre-Exist before it’s Revelation? Part III"
In the beginning we said that the sources of Islam are heavily dependent on the Quran, the word of Allah.  So far in the past 31 programs we have been dealing with the question as to how we know that the Quran actually is the word of Allah, not written by Prophet Muhammad, not copied or adapted from previous teachers or scriptures.  We approached the answer to that question from the historical point of view, logical point of view.  We talked about the scientific challenge in the Quran which shows that the Prophet could not have known this information but that it came from the Creator.  We approached this from the linguistic standpoint and that the style of the Quran is totally unimitateable and that nothing comes close to it which reflects on its source.  So far we have dealt with points that were about the Quran rather than the content so we studied the content of the Quran as clear evidence that it was actually revealed from Allah.  The concepts we find in the Quran with the variety of topics that it deals with could not have emanated from any single human being and could not be improved upon because perfection can only emanate from the creator.
 
10.32   Contents of The Quran: Manifestation of its Source
Host:  Perhaps we can begin with the conception of God: In what sense is the Quran the ultimate explanation in your view?
Jamal Badawi:
One reason the Quran could not have been authored by any human and that it had emanated by the creator is that when we look into the Quran at how it explained the conception of Allah it is something that really strikes a cord with human nature.  All humans regardless of where they are born or live have this instinctive innate feeling of the existence of the Creator.  Not only does the Quran make reference to the supreme being but it avoids the deviations and errors that have taken place throughout history in trying to understand something about the Supreme Being.  On one hand we find that the Quran rejects the notion of the denial of the existence of the Supreme Being or the claim that everything was created by chance.
The Quran makes the appeal even to the sceptic emphasizing over and over the unity in the laws and natural operation of the universe which is something that science has discovered more and more that there is a central organization and interconnectedness between the various aspects of creation.  Of course if we have this unity in creation then it must have emanated from the one God who has no one sharing with Him any other will or responsibility.  The concept of monotheism in Islam is a scientific concept.  It also eliminated the belief in one God or polytheism.  Again this relates to the same issue that if we have one God for good and one God for Evil we won’t have coordination on earth.  If we have many gods then you have many wills and this can not be reconcilable.  In that sense it is not just monotheism but that anyone regardless of their understanding can relate to and find a sort of positive reaction to it.
Again the Quran constantly emphasizes this principle.  It avoids the aberration in history in trying to materialize God or perceive the Creator in some physical form.  Whether this form is animate or inanimate object.  The Quran over and over again negates notions of idolatry or taking icons to represent God or believing in heavenly bodies as having any divine powers like the sun moon or the stars, it avoids the the believe of God incarnated in some human, physical or animal form.  Avoiding all deviations such as the worship of saints or human beings even if they were Prophets great as they may have been.  The Quran is clear on this and makes no confusion in the mind of the reader.
On the other hand we find the various notions that existed throughout history of admitting monotheism in some form but not really perfect form, while in the same time believing in intermediaries who have the authority and power to act between the human and the creator.  The Quran is very clear that there is nothing called minor gods or demi-gods or intermediaries between God.  It is either the Creator or the creatures nothing in between.  In general we find that the Quran also emphasizes the proper attributes of the Creator.  On one hand there is the emphasis on the transcendence of the creator and that He can not be similar to any of His creators.  This is very sensible from the standpoint of the scientific mind.  On the other hand it doesn’t present Allah as some vague remote concept but as a personal God to whom we relate.  The Quran frequently emphasizes the personal relationship with the creator, the attributes of mercy and forgiveness as much as the attributes of might and greatness and absolute will and power.
The Quran emphasizes the universality of the creator and we again compare that with other forms that some people believe are monotheistic but that we find have a big difference.  There is no where in the Quran that we find an analogous to the God of Israel as it never says God of the Arabs or God of Qurishe or God of Muslims but it always speaks of God of the universe.  God is Lord of entire mankind from beginning to the end of the Quran.  This makes the call of the Quran a universal, noble notion that all human beings can unite around and relate to easily.  This is something that makes Islamic monotheism consistent with human nature.  One feels that it could not have emanated from the thought of any human being because it touches a person from the spiritual lever and intellectual level and one can easily establish a relationship with their creator on the basis of both the respect and fear of displeasing the creator as well as the hope for his forgiveness and mercy and ultimately the relationship of love and submission to the creator.  Again I do not think any human being or any philosophy can measure to that standard in the purist form of monotheism that appears in the Quran which again shows its divine source.
 
Host:  What is distinctive about the Quranic explanation of Prophethood and revelation?
Jamal Badawi:
To start with the Quran makes it clear that the fundamentals of the faith can never be contradictory between one generation or the other.  Because the source of revelation is the Creator Himself.  The Quran emphases a very noble concept regarding Prophets.  All Prophets are one brotherhood in faith and that their essential message was the same.  What we see today by way of variations in religions is not the responsibility of those Prophets but is the responsibility of those after the Prophets who either deviated from what these Prophets taught, forgot part of their teaching or misrepresented or misinterpreted their message.  In some cases some people with vested interest might have concealed the truth from the people.  In some cases it may have just been the notion of mixing the pure message of those Prophets with the ideas and interpretations of humans even with good intention.
The Quran presents it’s message not as something competing with what was revealed to Moses or Jesus not negating the essential truth revealed to them but restoring that essential truth to its original form and completing it.  It teaches that those Prophets were neither sinners as some might perceive of them committing crimes and still claiming to be Prophets nor does it go to the other extreme of deifying or worshiping those Prophets.  It provides a clear explanation of what people usually refer to as miracles.  It shows that those miracles that the Prophets performed were not of the power of those Prophets.  Each Prophet had a different miracle.  Prophet Moses had great miracles similar to the great miracles that God gave to Prophet Jesus.  The point here is that these miracles are by the power of the creator of those Prophets not coming of their own individual power.
Again these miracle stunning as they may have been do not really constitute the core and essence of the mission of those Prophets but to establish evidence against the skeptics.  The analysis of the Quran it is the greatest and most permanent miracle that shows the geniuses of the last mission of the last Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).  To put it in a nutshell the Quran invites all mankind to a real religious unity.  Unity on the basis of the firm pristine, undistorted, unadulterated revelation of the Creator which is both authoritative and authentic.  It invites all mankind to rise above the narrow concerns and interests of religions and remind people that there is one way of life that God has ordained and revealed to all of these Prophets throughout history.  This is the way of submission as perfected through the last Prophet, Muhammad (PBUH).
 
Host:  What is the nature of the human and his or her tie to the universe from the perspective of the Quran?
Jamal Badawi:
The Quran doesn't present the human as an ascending animal or a descending angel but as a being who combines three elements.  The material element is not neglected and people are not encouraged to go to monasteries in negation to human living.  It approaches the human as an intellectual being and doesn’t require the human to accept any belief or dogma which is impossible.
Yes, there are things that exceed our human ability and understanding but even in the most delicate areas like the belief in the creator and we find that the Quran always gives the logical rational reasons to believe in Allah and His creation.  It doesn’t neglect the mental aspiration or regard faith as blind or something that is observed and can never be understood.  It asks people to understand and believe in something that they can relate to with their innate nature that Allah has created in them.  It also deals with the human as a spiritual being.  It harmonizes all of these three elements.  The challenge for human living is to harmonize and combine all of these levels.  In explaining the nature of the human we find that the Quran doesn’t ignore the existence of evil and sin.
As indicated in previous programs there is no notion of original sin, no notion that we inherit the sin that is brought to this world by one man.  It shows again the way to overcome sin which is direct repentance and asking for forgiveness from the Creator.  It indicates that human existence on this earth is not simply because of that sin but because we are created in order to fulfill certain responsibilities, to be the trustees of Allah on earth and that we are stewards.  It emphasizes knowledge and considers the seeking of knowledge in all areas including he various scientific aspects as an act of worship.  It teaches the human how to utilize the resources available in the universe and use it wisely.  It teaches kindness even to animals, how a person should preserve the environment and not to be wasteful.
As such the notions that we see in the Quran which reflects it’s divine origin gives new meaning, new taste to human living on this earth, gives the person a sense of direction as to how one can conduct his or her life in accordance and harmony with the will of the creator.  It clearly indicates that the resurrection, punishment and reward are real.  The Quran speaks about the various pictures and scenes on The Day of Judgement not as spiritual living which is vague and unclear, not considering death as an end but it makes the individual conception of the life hereafter as a real one not just an imagination and as such provides a motive to do the good and avoid evil and try to conduct life in accordance with the will of the Creator.  No human being can up with this noble concept in this delicate balance that strikes a cord with the human heart.
 
Host:  All revelations emphasize the moral aspect of life; what makes the Quranic explanation a perfect one?
Jamal Badawi:
The Quran doesn’t present moral teachings as a means of achieving individual improvement or development.  Doing good in the society as the Quran puts it is one aspect of worship as much as when the person bows down in humility when worshiping the creator.  We find that the Quran basis its moral teachings on the notion of moral consciousness of the human.  The innate pure feeling and nature within the human that God has inculcated in humans when they were created.  Regardless of the place or time we find that all human beings hate certain vices and appreciate certain virtues.  This is something that may not be based on any specific religious teaching but it is something which is ingrained in human nature.  When the Quran uses the terms ma’roof and munkar which are known as descent and improper things.
The Quran also presents these moral virtues which are things of the universality of the teachings of the Quran.  All of these moral virtues constituted the basic mission of all Prophets prior to Prophet Muhammad Peace be upon them all like Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Isaac, Ishmael and Jacob and so on.  Furthermore we find that the Quran ties between the punishment and reward and as such provides for a sense of justice.  It doesn’t say that there is no resurrection and no reward and that the hereafter is only something that takes place in this place during our lifetime.  This leads to greed, loosens the moral code and moral consciousness of the individual because after all punishment and reward is here on earth.  On the other hand it doesn’t death as a punishment in itself but rather there is a connection between moral and social responsibility and the punishment and reward in the hereafter.  This of course is consistent with the divine law of not equating good and evil and not equating those who work hard and those who just do evil and do not fulfill their responsibilities.  From the practical standpoint the Quran renewed what people misunderstood about the teachings of previous prophets.  For example the notion of justice verses love.  On one hand we find that the old testament’s teachings emphasized the question of justice, an eye for an eye and truth for truth.  On the other hand if we look into the New Testament we find a clear message of love while turning the other cheek.
The Quran makes it clear that these interpretations are extreme and there are no contradictions at all between the message given to Moses or Jesus because justice is there and must be done where love and forgiveness would not work.  Again when love and forgiveness can operate in a given situation it should be the one to use.  This shows that Jesus and Moses were not operating in difference as the Quran put them both into perspective.  The Quran says that there is room for justice with room for forgiveness which allows for an assessment as to which one could be more effective and beneficial to the person and society at large.  This is a correction of the misunderstanding of the moral teachings of previous prophets.  The Quran did not present the moral virtues as a block of listings but it is presented throughout the entire Quran, connected with all aspects of human life in order to show that moral teachings are interspersed throughout its teachings rather than to be listed in one chapter of human life which then moves to other aspects of human life.  In fact we can say that the moral teachings are a basic theme in all social economic and political activities on all levels.
 
Host:  What do you mean by levels?
Jamal Badawi:
For example, this could refer to the personal moral virtue.  For example, we find that the Quran combines between the reward in this life and the reward in the hereafter as a result of moral behavior.  The main motive to abide by these principles is the pursuit of the pleasure of Allah.  The good intention that one is seeking truth as an absolute truth, not necessarily because it serves one particular contingency that the person was thinking about.  To do something that is really for the sake of Allah as the Quran emphasizes in numerous Surahs.  On the level of relationships between individuals we find again that the Torah given to Moses and Jesus represent the branches of the tree of virtue and watered with the Quran that tree would bear fruit.  There is a complimentarily in bringing all of these moral teachings that other Prophets taught throughout history.  In addition to this virtue at an individual level we talk about the social level.  In the past we find that there were barriers between the Jews and the Gentiles.  For example here were different rules in regarding lending to Jews without interest and with interest to the Gentiles.
There used to be concern about the protection of one particular group of people which also applies to other teachings.  With the mission of Prophet Jesus (PBUH) we find that this barrier that people thought of is dropped and Prophet Jesus speaks about loving the people regardless weather they are of one’s own clan or not.  In other words the purpose in the Old Testament was to achieve the social interest in general verses the other.  Again in the Quran between these two considerations.  On one hand we find that the Quran addresses mankind in general and invites them to one universal and general brotherhood.  On the other hand within the boundaries of this brotherhood it also emphasizes the protection of the community of the believers without necessarily having a barrier in one particular way of life.  It combines and balances those two considerations.  Also, at an international level we find that again it organizes the laws of morality as it deals with these issues.  Moral teachings doesn’t look at one narrow aspect but looks at the individual their relationship into society and relationship of societies in the more universal level.
 
Host:  How is the Quran a complete way of life from a social aspect?
Jamal Badawi:
From the social standpoint we find the program for freeing those in bondage.  The emphasis on the social responsibility of human beings.  The emphasis in the Quran on social justice and charity through various means, some are compulsory some are optional.  The emphasis in the family as the corner stone of any healthy society and restoring the dignity of women.  We discussed this in detail in the series on Social Justice in Islam.  In the economic level the emphasis again is on encouraging people on one hand and to satisfy their need and instinctive desire to have property on the other hand and to keep that within the boundaries of social concern.
On the political side to emphasis the concept of Shura or mutual consultation so there is no theocracy, no monarchy or dictatorship according to what Islam teaches no what some people may be doing.  All of this again is put in a way that allows people to participate and guaranties basic freedoms and respects the rights of non-Muslim minorities.  All of these issues as we may recall were covered in the Political System in Islam.  We look at the impact in history and how it totally transformed the life of the immediate recipients of the message of the Arabs but how it changed the whole world and occupied its due place as the universal place of Allah.  This in itself could suffice to indicate and clarify that there is no other book in human history, religious or otherwise that contains as noble and perfect principle as the last revelation of Allah.  No book in history has ever produced and changed so many millions of people throughout the hundreds and hundreds of years as the Quran did.  This itself shows that its source transcends human ability and thinking that it is a divine source.
10.33   Introduction
Summary:
The main focus of this series is to analyze the basic sources of Islam and of-course the Quran is the primary source of Islamic teachings which were discussed in the previous series of this program.  The first 32 programs of that series dealt with one essential question as to the authority of the Quran.  More specifically it dealt with whether it was a revelation from God?  How we know it was a revelation? How we know it was not written by the Prophet or learned from books or other human beings or borrowed from other sources?  All of these questions were examined in some degree of detail in these first 32 programs from the standpoint of internal and external evidence, from the historical logical and analytical, scientific and linguistic point of views.  The basic conclusions from these discussions is that there are no reasonable grounds that there is any change of a human source for the content of the Quran.  We also saw powerful and overwhelming evidence which indicated that the Quran spoke about discoveries that science arrived at in recent decades which shows that it could not have possibly been authored by humans, especially in the area of human embryology and genetics.  We have discussed these subjects in detail before.  All of these programs dealt with the question of authority which is quite different from the authenticity of the second segment.
 
Host:  What doe we mean by authenticity and why is it so important?
Jamal Badawi:
To start with if we put authenticity in a simple term it refers to the preservation of the Quran.  Mainly it focuses on whether or not the Quran which was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) came to us throughout the ages and centuries in exactly the same form that it was received by him without undergoing any change or modification.  This is important because as the Quran itself indicates there have been so many revelations in the past that were given to Prophets prior to Prophet Muhammad, the last of these Prophets.  In a sense all of these revelations were authoritative, were based on divine revelation.  To say that the present scriptures of revelation that we have on our hands today is exactly the same is a different issue as some could be authoritative, originally revealed by God and authentic or not.  This is very important because a number of questions should be raised which apply to other scriptures but also apply to the Quran.
First of all, do we have the text in tis purity as it was revealed to the Prophet?  Without additions, deletions and without change by way of modifications or mixed with the interpretations of the disciples or fellows of those Prophets and are the interpretations kept separate or is it part and partial to the scripture?  Was it preserved in its original language or do we depend on translations.  Do we have information about the translators?  What knowledge they had of the subject and again there are questions pertaining to the credibility of the translators.  As indicated this applies to the Quran and other scriptures.  This segment will deal with the Quran and if it meets these critical tests of authenticity or not.
 
Host:  Within the Quran is there any indication that the Quran is preserved from loss or misinterpretation?
Jamal Badawi:
There are several.  One of the most quoted passages in the Quran is in (15:9) “We have, without doubt, sent down the Message; and We will assuredly guard it (from corruption).”  The word thikr translated as Message has also been translated as Reminder in some versions.  It should be noted that the term thikr or Reminder used in the Quran is in fact one of the names of the Quran.  We find this in (15:6), (3:58), (38:1) and (21:50).  In all of these we find evidence that the Quran is actually called thikr or Reminder.  So when the verse (15:9) mentions thikr it is definitely speaks of the Quran.  In addition to this there is another quotation in the Quran that is explicit that the Quran would be preserved without any error which is found in (41:42).  “No falsehood can approach it from before or behind it: It is sent down by One Full of Wisdom, Worthy of all Praise.”  The emphasis in this passage is that falsehood would not even approach it.  This means that it would be totally preserved without any loss, change or modification.
 
Host:  Why is it unique in the case of the Quran when previous scriptures have claimed that they would be preserved and are now changed?
Jamal Badawi:
To best of my relative knowledge I don’t know of any scripture that was revealed before the Quran which has the same statement in a strong and explicit way that the scripture will be preserved.  Some people may refer to statements that are rather ambiguous and could be interpreted in a variety of ways.  For example if we say that the law in the heavens and the earth will not change.  What does it mean here that the law will not change?  Is it the law of creation, the natural laws that God created in nature?  Or does it refer to the moral law the God revealed, the Ten Commandments given to Prophet Moses?
The Ten Commandments are a small portion of the Bible in this case.  If we interpret the law to refer to the essence of the mission of all Prophets this doesn’t necessarily mean that all previous scriptures previous to the Qruan were preserved and fully intact because ultimately the Quran came to reveal anything that was lost or correct anything that was changed.  In that sense it doesn’t give that explicit assurance as we find in the case of the Quran.  The terms used that refer to the preservation of the Quran refer to it as The Book or athikr as one of the names of the Qruan talk about the entirety of the Quran not just the laws but rather of The Book.  After all the ultimate test as to whether the statements about preservation is to be taken seriously or not is whether external evidences historical or not support one interpretation or the other?  It is definitely quite unique in terms of the Quran which was preserved by memorization as well as writing.
 
Host:  Is there anything in the Quran that deals with this issue of preserving the Quran partly with memorization?
Jamal Badawi:
It is well known that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) didn’t know how to read or write and that he received revelation threw angel Gabriel, the Angel of revelation, who would dictate the Quran to the Prophet and the Prophet would utter it after him and people around him would commit it to memory as well as to writing.  To reflect the state of the Prophet when he would receive the revelation and how much effort he exerted so that he memorized the Quran and utter it before he forgot it or messed up any part of it.  We find that the Quran itself makes specific reference to that.
In (75:16-18) it says “Move not thy tongue concerning the (Qur'an) to make haste therewith.  It is for Us to collect it and to promulgate it:  But when We have promulgated it, follow thou its recital (as promulgated):”  This seemed to refer to the effort on the part of the Prophet to memorize the Quran immediately as it was revealed to him.  The same kind of emphasis was mentioned in (20:114) that says “High above all is Allah, the King, the Truth! Be not in haste with the Qur'an before its revelation to thee is completed, but say, "O my Lord! advance me in knowledge.”  The Prophet said that when Gabriel came with the revelation and after he leaves me I fully understand and remember the Quran and in one vision he says it is as if the Quran is engraved in my heart.  This is internal evidence that is a reference to this.
There is one reference that is indirect and doesn’t appear as conclusive as the first two verses which appear in (29:49) “Nay, here are Signs self-evident in the hearts of those endowed with knowledge: and none but the unjust reject Our Signs.”  Some interpreters of the Quran like Ibn Katheer indicates that this is one means to preserving the Quran because these verses are preserved in the hearts through memory.  We have direct and indirect evidence which all seam to show how the Quran was preserved by memorization.
 
Host:  Is there any collaborate evidence that committing the Quran to memory would help preserve the Quran?
Jamal Badawi:
All historical narration especially in the most authentic book about the Prophet as Bukhari it was stated that every year Angel Gabriel would come to the Prophet during the last 10 days of the month of Ramadan and review with him everything that revealed in the Quran up to that particular point.  Furthermore, the year in which Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) died Gabriel repeated the Quran with him twice in the last 20 days of the month of Ramadan.  This was something that was known to his companions because he used to go into seclusion in the masjid.  Among the companions of the Prophet we find corroborating evidence they used to compete with each other to memorize the Quran.
It was reported that if people go at night one hears recitation late at night in homes and the Mosques.  Someone described it as if it sounded like bees because people were reciting in so many places.  Furthermore there is historical evidence that as soon as a person embraced Islam the first thing a Prophet did was to assign another Muslim to him to teach him how to pray and of course prayers require memorizing some parts of the Quran.  There is also evidence that many of the companions memorized the entire Quran.  In one occasion narrated in Bukhari that Ibn Masood one of the companions was sitting with the Prophet and the Prophet said “recite Quran” and the companion said “should I recite Quran to you, whom it was revealed to?”  The Prophet replied that he would like to hear it form others.  There are other versions that say that other companions recited it.  There are specific names of companions of the Prophet who were known to have memorized the entire Quran.
Among the Muhajiroon, people who migrated from Mecca to Medina, there are the four Caliphs: Abu Bakr, Omar, Uthman and Ali.  There were the daughters of Abu Bakr, Aisha and daughter of Omar Hafsa.  There were Ibn Masood, Ibn Omar, Ibn Abas, Muawia, Amr Ibn Al As, Ibn Al Zubair, Sa’ad, Huthifa, Salim and among the residence of Medina of which the Prophet migrated known as AlAnsar we find famous companions like Ubbi Ibn Kaab, Muaath, Zaid Ibn Thabit, Anis Ibn Malik and Abu Aldarda’a.  These are only a fraction of the multitudes who memorized the Quran.  There is clear indication that there were much more who memorized the Quran.  For example there was a case of people who were martyred in Bir Maoona, 70 people were martyred, and it is said that all 70 had memorized the Quran.  During the reign of the first Caliph after the Prophet 70 companions of the Prophet who had fully memorized the Quran were martyred in the battle of Yamama against the false Prophet, Abu Sylama.  It is fair to say that there are multitudes and multitudes who memorized the entire the Quran.
 
Host:  What may have contributed to the widespread memorization of the Quran?
Jamal Badawi:
Many historians indicate that the Arabs were unlettered people.  As writing was known to them but it was not as common.  So they tried to make up for it by this amazing ability to memorize.  Their history and poetry was mainly preserved mainly through memorization.   In addition to this general skill that Arabs at the time of the Prophet possessed the Quran has a unique characteristic which makes it easier for people to memorize.  Actually the Quran mentions this in (54:17) “And We have indeed made the Qur'an easy to understand and remember.”  In addition there are factors that contributed to the ease of memorization.  To start with the Quran was revealed over a period of 25 years.  Small piecemeal approach.  This is mentioned in the Quran in (17:106) where it mentions that the Quran was deliberately sent in small parts.  The other aspects is the literal beauty and rhyme which made it very appealing especially to the Arabs who were very fond of beautiful literature.  In addition this was the world of God so they paid great attention to memorizing it exactly as revealed.  It is an act of worship to merely recite the Quran.  In the daily prayers Muslims have to recite some portions of the Quran.
As we mentioned earlier they worship God at night through the recitation of the Quran.  furthermore the Quran gives guidance in all aspects of life.  It is the legal source to resolve issues and problems in socio, economic, and even political aspects.  The Quran was used and was not just a book that was preserved.  It was constantly referred to and used as a source of guidance in people’s lives.  In addition to that we find that some parts of the Quran were revealed by way of commenting on certain events or answering some questions that were posed to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).  This is not unique only to the time of the Prophet.  Even in recent history we find that children as young as 8-10 years old memorizing the entire Quran word for word.  Many of them do not come from families that speak Arabic.  We find memorizers of the Qurans among children of Arabs as much as we find it among people from India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria and many other African countries.
In fact we have an example of this.  I attended a conference about the history and life of the Prophet in California organized by the Islamic society of Orange County and was surprised to find a small boy, about 9-10 years old who was very good at reciting Quran.  This is not the only case, I have seen many children like him who have really good memory of major parts of the Quran or the entire Quran.  In fact Every year there are competitions held at national or international levels among children like him for the memorization of the Quran.  Note his recitation also.  He was not just reciting by way of memorizing it but he used some of the rules of proper recitation and beautification in the way he recited the Quran.  It is quite common that people from various linguistic backgrounds without any basic knowledge of Arabic memorize it with the correct enunciation of the vowels.  This is really an amazing thing which one sees which can not be compared to any other Holy Book that has been memorized by that many people.
Summary of 10.33 "Introduction to The Quran- It's Authenticity & Science"
First, we tried to explain what is meant by authenticity and basically that even if you say that the Holy Book is authoritative or based on divine revelation the main question is how do we know that it has been preserved till now in its purity.  How do we know that there has been no change, addition or modification and mentioned that these questions apply to the Quran as well.  In order to answer these questions we began to examine the internal evidence that is from the Quran itself and we made references to Surah (15:9) (41:42) which shows clear statements that the Quran would be preserved and would not be mixed with people’s writings or peoples interpretations which would be kept separate.  In addition to that we find that the Quran made some references that it would be preserved through references memorization and among the most important verses sited there were (21:14) and (75:16-18) which were corroborated by the saying of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).  Additional corroborating evidence were also presented which indicated that there were larger number of people who memorized either parts or the whole of the Quran, there were many who memorized the entire Quran.  We also discussed some of the circumstances or factors which were helpful in making the memorization of the Quran easy and widespread.  Towards the end of the program there was a short segment that we played of the recitation of the Quran by a Vitamins child who was around 9-10 years of age who’s mother tongue is not Arabic who recites very nicely and had memorized most if not all of the  Quran.
 
10:34   Early Preservation
Host:  Is there allot of emphasis on memorizing the Quran?
Jamal Badawi:
This is true, this tradition goes back to the days of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).  There are lots of references authoritative of Hadith like Bukhari and Muslim.  For example in Bukhari we find chapters under the titles like Committing Quran to Memory and Keeping the Quran so that it is not forgotten.  In Muslim in chapters titled Virtues of the Quran in which the that the best of you are those who learn Quran and teach it.  Even writing was known memorization was the most important instrument that people use to memorize the Quran through.  In the Islamic Community is highly honored and he was requested to lead prayers.  Even a child who memorizes Quran is sometimes the one to lead the prayers since as you know in Islam there is no concept of Islam Church or Clergy.  Anyone can compete with this virtue of the memorization of the Quran.  These traditions continued century after century, generation after generation.  I heard of some people in Saoudi Arabia who depended generation after generation just on memorization of the Quran and there are people who traced it back to days of the Prophet (PBUH).  If we listen to their recitation it is identical to the written form of the Quran.
Personally, I know many people in Muslims who have memorized the Quran and they are not students of Islamic Studies but people of different fields.  It is amazing to find this wide spread attention which is given to the Quran.  The emphasis on this tradition of memorizing the Quran from the time of the Prophet till today doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t exert effort to understand and apply the Quran.  Memorizing the Quran is not just about repetition but also about understanding and application.
 
Host:  Was preservation of the Quran in writing know to the Arabs in the time of the Prophet?
Jamal Badawi:
It was known but maybe not that common.  We find some documentary evidence that the Arabs before the revelation of the Quran before Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) were all keen about poetry and they used to really pride themselves by showing their abilities.  Historians of pre-Islamic period spoke of the Seven Suspended Ones and what they were referring to in fact that the best of poetry used to be written on parchment and hung around the Kaaba as a way of to show off their poetic skills which shows that the written word was known.
 
Host:  Is there internal evidence in the Quran that the Quran was preserved in writing?
Jamal Badawi:
Several passages in the Quran, especially the first one given to the Prophet given in (96) where it says “Proclaim! (or read!) in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created-Created the human, out of a (mere) clot of something that clings. Proclaim! And thy Lord is Most Bountiful,-He Who taught (the use of) the pen,-Taught human that which he knew not.”  The mention of the pen is there which is reference that the preservation of the Quran would also be with the pen as the Prophet was told the Quran and then he dictated it to others who wrote it.  The Prophet himself was very cautious and interested to make sure that every portion of the Quran that was revealed was committed to writing.  Other evidences that we find are in (2:2) where it refers to the Quran “This is the Book; in it is guidance sure, without doubt, to those who fear Allah.”  Elsewhere in the Quran it refers to itself as leaves or pages as is found in (98:2-3) where it describes the Prophet and says “An apostle from Allah, rehearsing scriptures kept pure and holy: Wherein are laws (or decrees) right and straight.”  This seems to speak of pages unless we are talking about something that has been committed to writing.  In fact there is an interesting Ayah in the Quran that not only shows that the Quran was available in written form which mentions the pious companions of the Prophet who devoted themselves to committing the Quran to writing in addition to memory which appears in (80:13-16).  It says in the translation of meaning that “(It is) in Books held (greatly) in honor, Exalted (in dignity), kept pure and holy, (Written) by the hands of scribes- Honorable and Pious and Just.”  It not only describes the pages of the Quran but also describes those in charge of committing the Quran to writing as honorable and pious.  Linguistically speaking the word suhoof which appears in both of these last verses definitely refers to the written word and it is no wonder that we find that the first collection of the Quran known as the Sahifat Zaid which was collected by Zaid and sahifa comes from the same derivative as pages.
 
Host:  Your answer indicates that the whole of the Quran was written in the time of the Prophet (PBUH) but some Orientalists doubt this.  What are the basis for this and how do we respond to this?
Jamal Badawi:
A famous Orientalist who wrote about the Quran, Arthur Geoffrey, in his book about Kutaab Almasahif claims that there are some traditions which indicate that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) died at the time when nothing of the Quran was “collected.”  He uses this tradition to say that this common claim made by Muslims that the Quran was written to be contradictory with this tradition.  We already indicated in the answer to the previous Question how the Quran itself indicates that it was put into written form.  How could this overwhelming evidence from the within the Quran itself simply be negated by one tradition or two that make this kind of statement.  It appears as Dr. Zarzour indicates in his book that this seemed to have mixed between two things: writing the Quran and putting the pages together.  The original word used in this tradition is lam ujama’ from the Quran which in Arabic could refer to writing or compiling.  The first meaning would refer to the preservation of the Quran in writing during the time of the Prophet (PBUH) which we have overwhelming evidence that shows that this is not what is meant.  This tradition is referring to the absence of compiling the Quran before the Prophet died.  Even though the Quran was committed to writing and was memorized it was not all brought together under one roof or one volume.  There is a big difference between saying it was written and it was compiled.  We can have something complete even though it may not be compiled in the same place.  This kind of mix up by Geoffrey shows that the extent of his understanding of the Arabic language which is natural as it is not his mother tongue.  A result of this mistake gives misleading impression that this tradition proves that the Quran was not put in written form.  There are many other Orientalists who do not uphold his view and they find the evidence more than enough to show that the Quran was fully written down in the life of the Prophet.
 
Host:  How was the Quran written during the life of the Prophet and on what material was it written?
Jamal Badawi:
According to the most important authority on the sayings of the Prophet (PBUH), Bukhari, when referring to Zaid (a companion of the Prophet) he says that during the time of the Prophet we used to write the Quran on parchment.  According to Abu Dawood, another collection of Prophetic sayings, he refers to Uthman Ibn Afan the third Caliph after the Prophet (PBUH) and was among the very early people who embraced Islam.  Uthman says that it was customary with the messenger of Allah that when portions of different Surahs of the Quran were revealed to the Prophet and when any Ayah was revealed to the Prophet that he would call one of the scribes of revelation and would ask them to write down the new verse in the Surah where it says such and such which gives the exact location in the Surah where that revelation was supposed to be placed.  In addition we find that the reference to the writing of the Quran in the lifetime of the Prophet (PBUH) is quite evident and clear and not what was stated that corroborating evidence seems to be consistent with this notion.
 
Host:  Can you give us examples of the evidence?
Jamal Badawi:
First of all, to show how consistent the issue of writing the Quran was from the very beginning of Islam we refer to the foremost authority in Islamic history particularly the life time of the Prophet Ibn Hisham.  He is well known and widely accepted by Muslim and non-Muslims authors alike.  This is one of the earliest documents available on this topic.  Ibn Hisham describes how Omar, the second Caliph after the Prophet became Muslim.  It is a classic story.  Even though Omar later became a very good Muslim he was a disbeliever and at one time thought that he could get rid of this new faith and the Prophet and took his sword and was on his way to kill Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).  On his way he met a friend who asked him where he was going and he told him he was going to kill Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).  His friend told him that before he looks after Prophet Muhammad he should look after his own sister and told him that his sister and brother in law had already secretly embraced Islam and were following Prophet Muhammad.  This made Omar very angry and he went towards the house of his sister.  Since he was very tough they heard his voice as he was approaching and they were reciting the Quran and so they hid the parchment on which the Quran was written so that it would not fall in his hand.  But it was too late because he had already heard them recite the Quran before he entered the house.  He started assaulting his brother in law so his sister started to defend him, she got injured in the struggle and when he saw the blood on his sister he was touched and became merciful and then he demanded that she show him what the Quran that they were following and she gave it to him.
Historians even indicate which Surah they were reading.  Then when he read it he ended up embracing Islam.  This shows us that the Quran was written from the early days, as Omar became Muslim in the early period before the announcement to the public of this new faith that God had sent to the Prophet.  It also indicates, as this is talking about a specific Surah in the Quran that was in writing which was revealed at that time and in Mecca.  We should notice that when Ibn Hisham and other historians tell this story, not because they are trying to give undue importance to that particular Surah or that incident it does’t even deal with the preservation of the Quran but comes casually as a unique case and shows that the Quran was available in writing.
In addition, to this we find other corroborating evidence for example in Bukhari that has been narrated that when one verse in the Quran in (4:95) the Prophet said bring Zaid, one of the scribes of revelation, with his writing material and then when he came the Prophet dictated this revelation to him.  When Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) migrated from Mecca to Medina they were planning to assassinate him, during this dangerous trip, he and Abu Bakr had to take the most essential things for the trip: food, water and a pen, ink stand and writing materials.  This means that he was very careful in the case that revelations were revealed on the trip and they did not want to totally depend on memory and that way he would get Abu Bakr to commit it to writing.  Other evidence that we find stated in Fath Al Bari which is a sort of commentary and explanation of Bukhari in which the Prophet was quoted as saying “Don’t write anything from me except the Quran.”  Many interpret this to mean that the Prophet forbade people from writing any other thing that he said except the Quran.  Others interpret it to mean that they were not allowed to write anything on the same pages that the Quran was written.  The idea here is to make clear distinction between the world of God dictated verbatim to the Prophet through Angel Gabriel, on one hand, and the Hadith, the sayings of the Prophet, which were different and not the word of God as it was communicated to him.  The meaning shows that a great deal of care and attention was taken to make absolutely sure that the Quran would not be mixed even with the words of the Prophet even when he was not receiving the Quran by way of revelation.  All of these show that the Quran was written during the time of the Prophet.  There is additional evidence that Prophet Muhammad was reported as saying to his companions “Don’t travel to the lands of the unbelievers and cary the Quran with you.”  This again was during the early days.  What he meant was that when they took the Quran it might be subjected to disrespectful treatment by some of the unbelievers, especially those who are very hostile to Islam.  This means not only that the Quran was committed to writing but that it was common- as he was addressing the public not to take copies of the Quran with them when they traveled to dangerous places.  All of these leave no doubt about the Question of writing.
 
Host:  Were there other official scribes in addition to Zaid?
Jamal Badawi:
Zaid was not the only scribe to whom the Prophet dictated the revelation but perhaps he was the most important one, maybe because of his exceptional competence in writing as well as his integrity.  There are however many other companions of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) who were also among the scribes of revelation.  These include the first four rightly guided Caliphs: Abu Bakr, Omar, Uthman and Ali.  In addition there were other famouse companions to the Prophet like Azubair, Ubi Ibn Ka’b, Hanthala, Abdu Allah ibn Ruaha and Abu Allah ibn Sa’d who are only among many who were scribes of revelation.  Some historians give as many as 42 names of actual people whom we can trace in history, we know their biography, where they lived, families and clan.  The official scribes of revelation were not the only ones who actually committed the Quran to writing.  History tells us that there are other people who knew reading and writing including Aisha the daughter of Abu Bakr and Hafsa the daughter of Omar.  The example that was given before about not traveling with a copy of the Quran shows that not only the official scribes wrote the Quran down.  The message was for the public who had part or the full Quran in written form.
Summary of 10.34 "Early Preservation"
The second program focused on the preservation of the Quran in writing after the first program dealt with preservation by memorization.  We indicated that writing was known to the Arabs like the SevenSuspended Ones in regards to the poetry they used to suspend on the Kaaba.  We indicated that in the Quran there is internal evidence that the Quran was found in written form during the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).  We also tried to clarify that some Orientalists like Arthur Geoffrey mixed between committing the Quran to writing which took place during the life time of the Prophet (PBUH).  We clarified that some Orientalists like Arthur Geoffrey mixed between committing the Quran to writing which took place during the lifetime of the Prophet and compiling the Quran and collecting the already written manuscripts into one volume which took place after the death of the Prophet.  Some say that the Quran was written after the death of the Prophet which is not an accurate description.   We made reference to several references in Bukhari and Abu Dawood indicating that whenever revelation came to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) with a small portion or a few passages in the Quran he used to call someone of the scribes of revelation and instruct him to place it in such and such place in which Surha.  We also discussed some additional antidotes that shows that the Quran was present in written form during the lifetime of the Prophet including the story of how Omar embraced Islam and the fact that the Prophet forbade Muslims to travel with the written copies of the Quran to places where people were too hostile so that they my not treat the Quran with disrespect.  We indicated that many historians include as many as 42 names of the official scribes of revelation who were appointed by the Prophet to record it.
We finally indicated that in addition to these official scribes  of revelation there were also people who were writing portions of the Quran for their own use.  It was indicated that they used to write on tablets, leather, shoulder bones, palm stems as well as other writing materials that were available at that time.
 
10.35 Early Compilation
Host:  What were circumstances that lead up to the compilation of the Quran after the death of the Prophet?
Jamal Badawi:
After the Prophet died there were a group of people who were new Muslims who started a rebellion against the State by refusing to pay the poor’s due.  As we mentioned in the previous series on the Pillars of Islam Zakah, poor’s due, is not charity which can be paid or not.  It is rather a part of the system of the State just like if anybody carries arms and they say they are not going to pay taxes.  In this case the government would have to take steps to prevent these things from happening and provide for the resources of the State.  This was a sort of commotion that was going on which lead to some fighting.  In those battles as many as 70 memorizers of the Quran were martyred.  By the way that number in itself is further evidence that there were so many people who memorized the Quran.  Their martyrdom alarmed a prominent companion, Omar, so he went to Abu Bakr and told him that those who memorized the Quran are very courageous people and if there were any further threats to the State or battles to establish order that those people would be the first to offer their lives for this.  He said that he was afraid that if that happened and too many memorizers of the Quran die then there may be times in the future where the Quran may be forgotten.  So he suggested that Abu Bakr try to compile those manuscripts together in one volume.
 
Host:  Why would Omar be concerned if in fact the whole Quran was already written down during the lifetime of the Prophet (PBUH)?
Jamal Badawi:
It is true that the Qruan was written in full during the lifetime of the Prophet.  It was however not all put together in one official volume.  On the other hand it is not enough to have the written word, but the proper enunciation is just as important.  That is why the Quran is preserved by memorization as well as writing.  Despite this fact what Omar was worried about having a large number of people who had the Quran memorized die and that the manuscripts get lost.  So the fear in his mind was that in the future the Quran would remain in its text.  On the other hand the Prophet (PBUH) throughout the 23 years of revelation go his companions accustomed to the notion that the Quran must be preserved both in writing as well as in memorization.  What Omar was really concerned about was to assertion and to be overly cautious that even though the Quran was available in writing that if anything were to happen in the future that there would be an authoritative reference to refer to.
 
Host:  What was the reaction of Abu Bakr to this suggestion?
Jamal Badawi:
He initially disapproved, simply because he asked “Omar are you going to do something that the Prophet did not do.”  This is not a reflection of extreme conservatism but is a reflection of the great deal of honesty and caution that everybody treated the Quran with.  They knew that this was the word of Allah and that the had to treat it with utmost respect.  They had to be accurate and meticulous, even the notion of bringing the manuscripts together in one volume, which has no wrong in it, made Abu Bakr have reservations because the Prophet did not do that.  Omar however kept pursuing it and said that even if the Prophet did not do it there is benefit from it to the Muslim community for generation.  So Omar kept talking to Abu Bakr till Abu Bakr became more receptive towards the idea.  When this happened Omar called Zaid, who was also hesitant to agree and was hesitant to except the responsibility of acting as the catalyst or main person to head the mission to collect the manuscript.  In fact in one of his expressions he said that if they asked him to move a mountain it would have been easier on me than to be in charge of this important task.
 
Host:  Why did Abu Bakr choose Zaid in particular for this task?  Why did Zaid consider it to be such a difficult task?  Was their a problem concerning the general availability of the Quran in writing?
Jamal Badawi:
The answer could be traced to what Abu Bakr said to Zaid when he asked him to take charge of this mission.  As narrated in Bukhari Abu Bakr said “you are a wise young man and there is no accusation that blemishes you, and you used to write down the revelation for Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) so go around and collect the various manuscripts and compile it together.”  There are a number of things that gave the qualifications to Zaid.  One, his integrity, reputation and piety.  Second, Zaid was one of the official scribes of the revelation for Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).  Some considered him to be the main writer.  In one statement that we mentioned in the previous program the Prophet said that Zaid was the best in writing whereas others may have been the best in recitation.  In writing Zaid was the most accurate and meticulous.  Third, as we mentioned last time Gabriel the angel of revelation used to come to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) every year during the month of Ramadan - especially during the last ten days and reviewed with him all that had been revealed so far.  In the last year before the death of the Prophet that was done twice and Zaid was present.  This was said in the presence of Zaid, so he heard the Prophet reciting as Angel Gabriel was reviewing the Quran with him.  With this kind of qualifications Zaid was the most logical and competent person to hold this task.  I would like to clarify however that Zaid had a free hand to write whatever he pleases or to write something new that was not in written form in the life time of the Prophet.  He was simply the head of a tax force in which many people contributed and helped.
Zaid considered this task to be very heavy and very difficult has nothing to do with preservation of the Quran which was one of the problems which Arthur Geoffrey, has fallen for.  The feeling that Zaid had when given this task was a combination of excitement and apprehension about the kind of mission that was entrusted in him, because he would play a key role in the compilation and ordering of the various manuscripts of the Quran, the way the Prophet instructed it should be.  He was in charge of heading the task of carefully verifying each and every passage of that revelation in all accuracy.  He was doing this task for the word of God and in order to help it remain for generations to come.  It is not that there was not any part available but rather the magnitude and force of the fact.  But still it is exciting, difficult and meticulous that one feels a little apprehensive.
 
Host:  How did Zaid go about organizing his mission?
Jamal Badawi:
As far as what Zaid did there was nothing in the mandate given to Zaid by Abu Bakr or by himself.  He was not authorized to write anything anew from his own memorization.  There was no such mandate that authorized the Quran be written afresh.  In fact what he had to do was simply collect the written manuscripts which he collected from the mouth of the Prophet.  But even then he didn’t accept the manuscript on face value but verified and got trusted witnesses whom have heard those parts directly from the Prophet and testify that it was written in the presence of the Prophet.  One aspect of the methodology is that nothing was excepted unless there were two witnesses.  Some interpret the two witnesses as a witness by memorizing and a witness by writing.  Others interpret it to mean two witnesses who saw the Prophet reciting it and heard it and testified that this was written in the presence of the Prophet.  There were lots of people who were helpful to Zaid in this mission.  According to Abu Dawood for example Omar, who was the second Caliph and the one who suggested the compilation to Abu Bakr, actually went around and was quoted to have said “Whoever of you who has learned anything of the Quran let him bring it.”  This was an open invitation to the public, nothing was done in secret or in small group of scholar, everyone heard it from the prophet could bring what they had and check on each other.  It is obvious from the language that Omar used that this was an open invitation and it included not only the official scribes of revelation but anyone who wrote anything official or not official.  All of this shows the meticulous care which was applied to the Qruan’s compilation to make sure it was the original manuscript that was written under the supervision of the Prophet.
 
Host:  Did Zaid face any problems in trying to collect these written manuscripts?
Jamal Badawi:
Bukhari, the most trusted source of the Prophetic Tradition and time immediately after it narrates that Zaid said when he compiled the various parts of the Quran he was putting together the end of the Surah Al Toubeh he only found it with an Ansari man by the name of Abu Khusaina Ibn Abi Thabit.  The fact that even Zaid was looking for that particular verse which shows that he memorized it and he knew and there were lots of other people who memorized it.  It is quite possible that many had written that specific part but some may have been out of town on travels or expeditions but it so happened that for that particular small passage it was only found in writing with that particular man.  Even though Zaid knew the verse, memorized it by heart he did not give himself the authority to write it down and kept looking until he found the manuscript.  As indicated before Zaid and many others were memorizers of the full Quran or a large part of it and these were the kinds of people who were in charge of putting the different manuscripts together.  For the first time they had put together the first original manuscript after the Prophet.
 
Host:  What happened to that original manuscript?
Jamal Badawi:
First of the manuscript that was collected in the time of Abu Bakr, and the reign of Abu Bakr was very short.  We are talking about something that was written in the lifetime of the Prophet which was compiled in less than two years.  The original copy remained in the custody of Abu Bakr for the period of his rule.  When he died that copy passed on to his successor and it remained in the custody of Omar till he died and when he died it moved to the custody of his daughter Hafsa.  His daughter, Hafsa, was a very important woman not only because she was the daughter of Omar but also she was the wife of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).  Then during the Caliphate of Othman, the third Caliph, who took permission from Hafsa that he keep it so that other copies could be copied from it and sent to the various parts of the Muslim world, which was the third phase of the preservation and distribution of the Quran.
 
Host:  How was this third phase started?
Jamal Badawi:
The circumstances were somewhat similar to those which caused them to compile the Quran together in one volume.  During the Caliphate of Othman Islam spread so fast and many reigns all over the world came under the rule of Islam, as a result many of the close companions of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) spread throughout the new world.  All of the companions heard the Quran recited from the Prophet and when they moved around to different place some of them recited the Quran in ahroof.  Ahroof doesn’t mean a different language or dialect but rather the mode that they used to recite.  Because basically the Prophet actually allowed people to recite the Quran with a slight variation, which is not really in any substantial thing that would change the meaning.  Some of those companions recited in accordance to one mode and another in a slightly different mode even though both were correct and sanctioned by the Prophet.  What happened is that one of the famous companions of the Prophet by the name of Huthifa Ibn Yamman went to an expedition in Armenia and Abravigan and he noted that some people started hassling each other about the mode of recitation as one person learned to recite in one way and another in a slightly different way and each one thought their recitation was better.  So some of them started getting into conflict about this and this alarmed Huthifa and many others that if they differed on these slight things that they would gradually end up differing like other people before us with respect to their scripture.  So they really felt that something should be done about the mode of recitation even though it was all excepted by the Prophet.  When he came back he went to Othman the ruler and he described to him what he witnessed in his travel and he suggested to him that as Abu Bakr compiled the various manuscripts in one volume that maybe what he should do is make people unite on the one mode of recitation which was the Qurayshite mode in which the Quran was revealed even though the others were consented to by the Prophet so people would have less difficulty.  This would help in the case where someone learned one mode without knowing about the others from having conflict about this even though it is a very slight issue they were very careful not to allow these kinds of things to magnify.  Actually Othman was more readily receptive to the idea.
In response to the recommendation he invited Zaid, who was perhaps one of the most prominent people still living at the time, who also invited three other prominent companions of the Prophet who were memorizers of the Quran, Abdu Allah ibn Zubair, Sa’ad Ibn Al As and Abdu Allah ibn Alharith ibn Hisham.  It was almost like a committee.  He asked them to go through the same process of reviewing one passage at a time and he said to them that if there was any difference in the mode of recitation even though they were all acceptable, that they should write it in the tongue of Quraysh which where the Prophet was from and the mode in which revelation came to the Prophet and even though he consented to the other slight variations.  Othman took Hafsa’s permission to take the original manuscript and to give it to the committee so that they could use it to verify what they were doing and after the went threw it theirs was identical to the original manuscript.  So they returned the manuscript and it was used as the base for future copies.
Summary of 10.35 "Early Compilation"
After the discussion of the preservation of the Quran during the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) which is the first phase of preservation.  We discussed some of the circumstances which lead to Abu Bakr the first Caliph or successor to the Prophet to compile the written copy of the Quran that was written during the days of the Prophet into one volume after the suggestions and encouragement of the companions less than two years after the death of Prophet Muhammad.  We discussed the reason why Zaid the son of Thabit was particularly commissioned to head this task.  We said that his mandate did not include writing anything that was not already written during the time of the Prophet.  So he simply compiled it with the witness of a person who memorized it and one who had the written manuscripts.  It was also indicated that this task went quite smoothly and that he did not face any problem in tracing everything that was written from from the entire Quran.  Then we started talking about the beginning of phase three which was not writing the Quran, happened in the days of the Prophet, or compiling the Quran, in the days of Abu Bakr, but rather the copying of the Quran after verifications and various copies were sent to different parts of the Muslim world in accordance with the mode of recitation of Quraysh in which the Quran was originally revealed.  We indicated that this copying was totally in conformity with the original manuscript which was collected during the days of Abu Bakr, the first successor to the Prophet.  So it was mainly to unite people on the original Qurayshite mode of expression.
 
10:36   Early Copies of “Othman’s Time”
Host:  What information do we have regarding these copies and where they were sent?
Jamal Badawi:
Historians that there were 4 copies, some say 5 and some say there were 7.  But the four places where there are common agreement that copies of the original manuscript were sent include Medina, Basra and Qufa in Iraq and Syria.  There are other reports that there were additional copies sent to Yaman, Bahrain and Mecca.  We know that at least there were 4 copies.
 
Host:  Are these manuscripts still in existence today?
Jamal Badawi:
As far as the original manuscripts which were written at the time of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) which was kept with Abu Bakr, Omar and Hafsa.  The manuscript was said to have been returned to Hafsa, the wife of the Prophet, during the reign of Othman the third Caliph after it was used to verify the copies that were sent to other countries.  There are two reports narrated in Al Tabari that it was washed or erased- but was already copied into several other copies.  Another report says it was probably burned during the rein of Marawan Ibn Al Hakam.  Whichever report is looked at does’t matter because copies were sent out to different parts of the Muslim world which were checked carefully and verse by verse were identical with the original manuscript.  Of the 4-7 copies that Othman sent out there is a report by Ibn Katheer (which took place hundreds of years after the death of the  Prophet -roughly 750 years) that he saw a copy that he believed was a copy from the copies made during the time of Othman which was written on canon hide in the Mosque of Damascus.  Sheik Mana’ Al Qatan in his book Studies in the Sciences of Quran which was published in 1976 mentioned that there are reports that the copy that was in Damascus ended up in the library of Lemongrass during the Czarina period.  However there seems to be two old manuscripts that scholars believe date back to the Othman’s time.  One of them is found in a Muslim in Istanbul Turkey and still has marks from the blood of Othman, who was martyred by the rebells while reciting the Quran.  There is another copies in Pushkin Russia.  I have seen a recent publication by a group called Hidarabad Times which had photo copies of this script side by side to the copies that we have today.  It is interesting to note that they are identical and even though a few passages in the copy in Pushkin.  The interesting thing is that whenever something is missed we find it in the copies in our hands today.  In other words it is more amazing than finding 100% of the manuscript.  Wherever one starts or stops, even if a few lines are missing from the Pushkin manuscript and we start on the third line and we compare it with the copy of the Quran we have today and we find that the third line is identical.  This shows that they are absolutely identical and that the copies we have today go back to the copy of Othman which was copied form the original manuscript written from the mouth of the Prophet.
 
Host:  Othman asked people to burn any copy which did not conform to the original manuscript, can we infer from this that there were different versions of the Quran in existence?
Jamal Badawi:
Othman asked people to burn any copy of the Quran that was inconsistent with the original Quraysh style Quran.  This has nothing to do with the availability of the Quran or  the versions of the Quran.  There has always been one Quran throughout history.  First of all, we have to remember that Othman, the third Caliph, did not do the copying himself nor did he assign it to one individual while depending on this person’s integrity and knowledge.  As mentioned towards the end of the previous program they had a committee of four of the most prominent companions of the Prophet who had full knowledge of the Quran.  Even that committee didn’t work in secret.  Their work was open, as there was a general call to anyone who had copies and for anyone who had memorized the Quran to participate in the process.  In fact it was reported that Ali, the fourth Caliph, mentioned this specifically and that what Othman did was done in the presence of all of us and that the companions of the Prophet approved of it.  Nothing was hidden.
The third phase was completed in the year 25 of Migration which is approximately 12 years after the death of the Prophet which means that many of those who were living at that time were contemporaries of the Prophet.  The majority of these people memorized the Prophet directly from the Prophet during his lifetime and as such the copies that Othman suggested that people should burn were not other versions of the Quran but basically copies that may have had slight errors here and there that is not consistent with the verified, both in writing and memorization, versions or the copies that had different modes of expression than the mode used by Quraysh to which the Prophet belonged.  Even those who murdered Othman, the rebells, had no proof that he changed a single word of the Quran or ordered the change of a single word of the Quran.
 
Host:  You had touched on the concept of modes of expression briefly but what is meant by this?
Jamal Badawi:
Among the best of those who wrote on this subject was Jalal Aldeen Alsuyoti in a book called Alitkan fi Oloom al Quran and a resent reference was written by Sheik Mana’ alKatan who deal with the subject in some detail.  The various tribes of Arabia all spoke Arabic but each tribe had a dialect, may be a word that conveys more than what we mean and that is why I like to call it “mode of expression.”  It is an expression of the same message, the same meaning but some may use a slightly different word to convey the same message.  Among all of those tribes the mode of expression of the tribe of Quraysh of which the Prophet was born was the most prominent.  They prided themselves on their closeness to the Ka’ba their service to the pilgrims their engagement in trade.  There were a number of reasons why they were the most prominent and perhaps the most eloquent of expressions in the Arabic language.  It is quite natural that the Quran was revealed in the mode of Quraysh.  Despite this we find that the memorization of the Quran was one of the most crucial factors.  For some tribes it was harder for them using specific words to memorize or understand.  Since the Quran was intended to be memorized and understood.  There was a sanction to the meaning in order to be understood or memorized.  Since the Quran was intended to be memorized and understood their was some kind of sanction for them to pronounce the words that they found difficult in the mode of expression they used at the time.
 
Host:  Who was it that sanctioned these modes and are there documentations on that sanction?
Jamal Badawi:
First, there is consistent evidence that the concession to using the variations in modes of expression of the same thing was sanctioned by Prophet Muhammad himself.  First of all, in Bukhari and Muslim, the 2 most trusted of Prophetic sayings, the Prophet said that Angel Gabriel taught me the Quran on one mode of expression then I told him to increase it.  He said that then Angel Gabriel taught him the Quran again on a second mode of expression.  Then the Prophet asked for more flexibility so as to make it easier to recite and on the fourth time it was said that Angel Gabriel, that God commands you to teach your followers on seven modes of expression.  This means that the sanction on his own and not from Angel Gabriel but that God permitted these modes of expressions on the basis of the Prophet’s request and pleading of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) for the purpose on making it easier on other tribes to understand.
Another vision of the Prophetic saying or Hadith was narrated was narrated in Mulsim.  It narrates that Angel Gabriel came directly to the Prophet and gave him that directive and that the Prophet commented that his Ummah could not bear to all recite in one mode of expression.  So the modes were increased till they reached seven.  There is other evidence that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) did not introduce these modes of expression himself and that it was revealed it was nothing that he himself made up. In one saying of the Prophet narrated in Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawood, Nassai and Tirmithi that Omar said “I heard a man by the name of Hisham ibn Hakim reciting a Surah from the Quran known as Surahat Al Furkan but in a slightly different way that I did not learn from Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).”  Then Omar said that he went to him, Hisham ibn Hakim, and asked him how he was reading in that way and that he had not heard the Prophet reading that.  They started arguing about it so Omar took that man to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and Omar told the Prophet that the man was reciting in a slightly different way than what he had taught us.  So the Prophet asked Hisam to recite that Surah and he recited it.  The Prophet then said that it was revealed like that and then he asked Omar to recite it.  Omar recited it with the slight variation and the Prophet said that that was correct and that it was how it was revealed.  From this Hadith it is obvious that the Prophet did not say that this was what he had approved or sanctioned but it was how it was revealed.  This means that even the different modes of expression were sanctioned and given to the Prophet as they were.  Then the Prophet added, after talking to both men, that this Quran was revealed on seven modes of expression so recite whichever is easiest on you.  According to Jalaludin Alsuouti he mentioned as many as 21 companions of the Prophet who narrated that they were given concession of the Prophet to recite with these different modes.
The difference may arise between scholars as to what the exact meaning of the word ahroof, modes.  There are lots of specialized studies on this.
 
Host:  Can you familiarize us with the various interpretations of the mode of expression, ahroof?
Jamal Badawi:
According to Jalaludin Alsuouti he mentioned that there were so many opinions on this, as many as 40 interpretations of the exact meaning of what constitutes modes of expression.  Many of these opinions overlap.
One interpretation which is a little far off says that seven modes of expression means that in the Quran there are seven basic things: command, prohibition, lawful, unlawful, conclusive verses, allegorical verses and proverbs.  This opinion is weak, because if we refer back to the sayings that we addressed before we found that the Prophet sanctioned two different modes of expression and there was no contradiction between them.  If we take the seven modes as the list above then they would be opposite of each other and could not have been sanctioned.
Another weak opinion says that the number seven doesn’t necessarily mean the number seven as this number is sometimes used to indicate many.  It is true that in the Arabic language 7 is not always numerical.  However in the context of these particular sayings of the Prophet that we quoted he was allowed to recite in one mode then the other and kept increasing until it reached 7.  So this shows that it was actually the number seven and makes this a weak interpretation.
Another way of explaining it is that the seven modes of recitation refer to recitation of the same word in a different enunciation.  An example of this is that Prophet Moses’s name is Musa and in some expressions it may appear as Musay which is the exact lettering but has a slant to the pronunciation at the end of the word.  This is a sort of accent.  This is a good interpretation but doesn’t fully explain the notion of modes of expression because there is evidence that it was not only restricted to a word enunciated differently but in some cases alternative words were used to express the same meaning.  This may not be a fair explanation if one has to look critically into the matter.
Another fair and reasonably acceptable but may have some weaknesses that it says that the mode of expression refer to aspects that pertain to Arabic grammar.  They say that one  thing was weather they speak about singular or plural, one word instead of another, one letter instead of another, or an extra letter here or there that expresses the same thing.
One of the explanations includes words that have the same meanings.  For example the Quran uses the word ihn which means wool which is referred to as soof in many dialects.  This seems to be a more supported type of explanation.
However there is another explanation which is very close to this one seems to be more likely.  The term itself which is known and excepted by major Arab tribes was used to refer to the word with identical meanings.  This seems to be more specific than the previous meaning but actually refers directly to the variation of words.
This is a very technical topic in nature but we can conclude from it that modes of expression in all interpretations refer to the same meaning expressed in the Quran with the slight variation depending on dialect or tongue of different tribes.
 
Summary of 10.36 "Early Copies of Othman’s Time"
Last week we continued the discussion of the third phase of the preservation of the Quran 13 years after the death of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).  We said that there were at least 4 identical copies from the original manuscript.  Some believed that there were as many as 7 and that two copies still exist, one is in Tashkund Russia and one in Topkapi in Istanbul Turkey.  We also indicated that Othman the Caliph gave instructions to burn copies of the Quran which were not consistent with the original manuscript.  This doesn’t in any way mean that there were different Quran’s or different versions of the Quran but simply because some of them contained modes of expression which are different from the mode of Quraysh in which the Quran was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad.
We also indicated that this action was taken with the approval and consent of the companions of the Prophet with a great deal of participation and after very meticulous check with the memorizers of the Quran to the point that even those who assassinated Othman never raised any question about his integrity or anything that may border tampering with the Quran.  We also discussed the meaning of the seven modes of expression and we gave some of the various explanations given by scholars.  The main point that was raised is that some of those expressions were sanctioned by the Prophet in order to make the Quran easily understood and easily applicable for the variety of tribes who, even though they all spoke Arabic, had variations in the way the express the same meanings.  These opinions in any case agree that there is absolutely whatsoever on the meaning and the only difference is only of the scrupulous exactitude.
 
10:37   Support of Othman’s Decision
Host:  Did the different modes of expression exist in written form?
Jamal Badawi:
There is absolutely no indication that these seven modes of expression existed in writing in the official verified manuscripts (written during the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad under his supervision and which was put together under one roof and under the reign of Abu Bakr).  The fact that Othman had some copies be burnt makes it appear that some of those modes did exist in writing.  In any case any of those private collections did not have the exactitude and careful examination as was the case with the original and verified manuscript.
 
Host  What is the extent of difference between the modes of expression and the official one?
Jamal Badawi:
Even then there are very insignificant and minor and have no effect on the meaning conveyed on the verses of the Quran, they have no variant theological implications whatsoever.  There were basically a sort of concession given by the Prophet so that people of different tribes who do not use the same exact way of expression to express and understand the Quran.  In all cases the meaning was the same.
 
Host:  If the differences were minor and insignificant, why did Othman order the burning of the other non official fragments?
Jamal Badawi:
It may appear like Othman took drastic action.  But if you really look into the circumstances of the preservation of the Quran we find there are very good reasons why he suggested this measure.  First of all, the nature of the Quran is not like any other book.  The way the Quran was revealed in the mode of Quraysh must be transmitted not only in meaning but in the fullest exactitude because it is the word of God.  Secondly, the Quran was uttered by Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and as he uttered the Quran he dictated it to the official appointed scribes of revelation and he recited it in public.  The way the Prophet recited the Quran and dictated it was actually in the mode of expression of Quraysh.  This necessitated that there must be a standard copy which is not just similar but must be identical to the exact original manuscript according to which the Prophet uttered the Quran in public.
Since as we indicated last time the other variant modes which expressed the same meaning which were given by way of concession seemed to turn out to be a potential source of this argument, even though the meaning was the same,  the danger is inherent in the unnecessary disputation resulting from having these concessions carrying on for many years beyond usefulness.  If there was any reason for a slight difference between the original manuscript and some other fragments in private collections it could be that the private collection used a different mode of expression or it could have been a minor writing or copying error.  Unless one had a committee and carful verification it is quite possible that people writing or copying could make errors.  There may have been private collections with minor mistakes and those mistakes with respect to the Quran are not a matter that one can be lax with.  This is the word of God and not a general thought so it has to be consistent.  As we indicated in the previous program the decision that Othman took which he did not take on his own but after the consent and consultation of the major companions of the Prophet like Ali and Zaid and others.  They not only had the consent of people who were very close to the Prophet but the consent of the Public, many of whom were memorizers of the entire Quran as they heard it from the Prophet (PBUH).  This may sound like a drastic action but is really very appropriate having gone through all this process of public verification.
 
Host:  Some authors describe that the pressure that you have described may have been a product of pressure for conformity, how do you respond to this?
Jamal Badawi:
Writers who say that may not have known the nature of the Arabs especially during the time of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).  First, an Orientalist a very famous German scholar by the name of Moeldeke as quoted by Dr. Draz he says that the text of the Quran was as complete and as accurate as could reasonably be expected.  Then when he touches on the topic of conformity he says that the reason for conformity can not explain the unanimous agreement of early Muslims on Othman’s version.  It is not Othman’s version but Othman’s copy based on what we have seen before.
We should add that when one speaks of conformity it is implied that the soul way of preserving the Quran was in writing which is not the case as there were memorizers from the contemporaries.  How could conformity cancel writing and cancel memorization.  This is not possible.  Second, the nature of Arabs and the kind of environment in which they grew up made them very independent and the question of blind conformist and unanimity is something which is very difficult to achieve.  The fact that they were unanimous means or signifies that they realize that since this is the word of God that it must be preserved in the utmost purity and they offered their lives to defend the Quran and against anyone no matter what his position may be who may attempt to tamper with the word of God.  Because of the evidence that they have seen and the verification and things were done in public with full scrutiny one can never yield the argument of conformism as a possible explanation.
In fact the whole notion of conformist is quite contradictory to the fact that during Othman’s reign there were people who were deserters to the point that some of the rebells killed him.  Even those who killed him, who were very powerful at the time, never accused him of tampering with the Quran.  They reached power a short time after the Quran was copied and they could have easily revealed that the Quran was tampered with, and if written copies were lost they could have gotten the witness who had it memorized and they could have said that these people were contemporaries of the Prophet, memorized the whole Quran and recited it so many times and that what they recited was different than the original manuscript.  None of them could produce such evidence which proves beyond any shadow that the public way and the careful scrutinizing approach that was followed lead everybody to agree fully that it was better to avoid the conclusion of these concession of other modes and to just use the one that was there in the official manuscripts.
 
Host:  An issue that is raised by writers is that by taking this action of destroying manuscripts that Othman has in fact destroyed forever material that might have been very useful in terms of later studies about the origins of the Quran: how would you comment on this?
Jamal Badawi:
This argument could only be valid if there were a number of official versions that are quite different as was the case in the history of other scriptures.  For example if there were different writers and biographers of a Prophet but in the case of the Quran that is totally irrelevant because it is totally one book and all revelation.  Furthermore the argument may have some validity in the absence of a standard official scrutinized manuscript.  In the case of the Quran it is different as we already had an official verified document, in writing and by the multitudes of memorizers of the Quran so what would be the benefit of keeping something that is less accurate that might have contained slight errors on the part of individual copyist.  It should be added that when Othman ordered the burning of other collections or manuscripts that were not in conformity with the verified one we have no evidence in history that he sent detectives to knock on everybody’s home and try to inspect or make any kind of inquisition we never heard of any trials held for people because they possessed private collections different from the one that everyone agreed to or was punished for it.  There was no such thing.  An even more important point that seems to be forgotten is that when Othman did that he did it in Medina, one city.
We all know that by the time Othman was the Caliph of the Muslim community of believers Muslims were in control of nearly one half of the known world at that time.  Many of the major and prestigious companions of the Prophet (PBUH) were already spread in so many different lands.  One really needs to have a really strange stretch of imagination to say that this order meant that it completely made all other form of manuscripts that might have had the slightest variation disappear.  It was more of an appeal and people did it voluntarily and out of conviction to make sure the original copy was preserved.  By having one standard copy they could avoid disputes on something that doesn’t have scrupulous exactitude in its copy.  We also mentioned that there was not only one copy because Othman ordered several copies to be made which were sent to different locations.  These were not kept in museums then, now they are, but at that time the normal practice was to have that verified copy in the central mosque and it would be accessible to anyone who wants to learn from it who wanted to copy from it.  Until today we hear or read about those ways of expression which shows that they were not completely destroyed.
 
Host:  Are there examples of these different modes of expression?
Jamal Badawi:
This is why I was mentioning that there wasn’t complete destruction of other ways of expression.  Dr. Draz one of the major scholars of the Quran having studied them divided them into three categories.  One category the copies had some kind of insertion and not necessarily an issue of insertion.  For example in the Quran in (2:127) it talks about Prophet Abraham and Ishmael when they started to build the Kaaba.  The official copy that we have in our hands says “And remember Abraham and Isma'il raised the foundations of the House (With this prayer): "Our Lord! Accept (this service) from us: For Thou art the All-Hearing, the All-knowing.”  In one of the old documents it is claimed that the world yaqolan was used which means they say.  But in Arabic both express an identical meaning as one is more eloquent and is implied without having to use the word yaqolan.  Again however the meaning is exactly the same.  In some other minor verses where the Quran says we send such and such prophet to his people or my people, one instance says and “he says my people.”  Whether the verse goes directly to what he said or whether it preempts it with he said “my people we get the exact same meaning.”  According to Dr. Draz these instances seem to be the work of a glossarist than something that was accepted by the Prophet because it is not a variant mode of expression.  A glossarist may have added the words for their own understanding.
A second category are words that express the identical meaning but could be understood by one group of people better than another word.  An examples such as utim and ukmil which both mean to complete which is a variant that people refer too.  Another variant that some people claim is the word ihn verses the word suf which are both mean exactly the same thing as they are synonymous words.  A third category that Dr. Draz studied which is the single inversion.  For example “wa Allahu bima ta’maloona basir” and “WaAlla basiron bima ta’maloon” which are both saying that Allah sees what you do.  As Dr. Draz comments on these three categories he says that even if we accept that these variations that some writers mention were genuine, not the work of a glossarist or a copyist error, and even then it would not have the slightest effect on the meaning of the verse.  It is interesting that some of the writers from among the orientalist keep digging into this minor and rare points when they themselves acknowledge are not quite certain about the origin as to weather it is really attributed to authorities.  An example is Arthur Geoffrey, he himself says that the other modes of expression are rarely attributed to authorities, but more often was part of the oral way of recitation.  This has nothing to do with the official verified manuscript.
 
Host:  If the modes of expression were authorized by the Prophet what authority did Othman have to restrict them even if it is just in written form?
Jamal Badawi:
There is no question taht there are several Ahadith narrating that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) did allow that concession.  The concession means that the equivalent modes of expression of the same meaning are not required, are not encouraged but merely permissible.  These things that was permissible and not required could be restricted if there is a good reason.  For example if the government feels that a certain species are threatened of extinction they may say that hunting it is not allowed.  If something is permissible it can be restricted if there is reasonable ground for it.  There was a reasonable ground for this as Quran was recited by so many people in so many places, by people with so many different diverse and linguistic backgrounds which is the reason that lead Othman to examine this issue and to try to settle it.  There is no problem if one reads with one mode or another in terms of meaning but to dispute concerning the Quran even with the same meaning is a matter that could have lead to further complication that was not really needed at the time.  This was no only the judgement of Othman but also of the major companions and everybody else.
It was not Othman who took it upon himself to unilaterally do that.  It is also interesting to note that the Prophet gave this consession as he himself expressed it in Ahmad, Abu Dawood and Al Tirmithi that he was sent to people who are unlettered among whom there is a small child and a very old man and obviously to make it easier on them he gave that concession and many scholars believe that his was a sort of temporary thing so that those who grew up with this kind of tongue can still continue to benefit from the Quran.  After Islam spread and the majority of people who followed Islam were from non-Arab backgrounds, for the non Arab it doesn’t make a difference weather you teach him the Quran in the Qurishayt mode or another mode.  It is just like learning French, one can learn the classical French or some other form of accent, but it doesn’t make a difference because French had to be learned and it should be learned the right way.  This again is the rational, as it doesn’t make a difference to the non-Arabs so why not just use the proper and authenticated form of recitation which the Prophet had recited in public prayers which was also the way it was dictated in the original manuscript.
Summary of "Support of the Othman’s Decision"
Last time we continued our discussions of the seven modes of expression.  We emphasized a number of points is that the difference between these modes of expression were very insignificant and minor and do not effect the meaning.  Second, these modes were sanctioned by the Prophet in order to make the understanding and enunciation of the Quran easier especially for a variety of tribes with different tongues or different ways of expressing meanings.  We emphasized that the official mode of Quraysh was the one that was uttered in public prayers because it was the tongue in which the official manuscripts were written and which was also the standardized copy used during the time of Othman which is the same Quran we have today in our hands.  We also indicated that the unanimity of early Muslims in support of the decision taken by Othman to standardize the mode of expression can not be explained on the basis of conformist and all of this evidence shows that the purity of the text of the Quran was upper most in the minds of everyone.
 
10:38   Nothing Lost or Dropped
Host:  Is there a possibility that any part of the Quran was forgotten by the Prophet before he was actually able to communicate it?
Jamal Badawi:
No, because this would be contradictory to the internal evidence that we find in the Quran without any loss as we find in (15:9).  Second, it would contradict the historical evidence that we discussed in previous programs about the preservation of the Quran both by memorization as well as by committing it to writing and the fact that there are multitudes of people who participated in the process of preservation.  Even if we assume that in one rare case the Prophet might have forgotten one passage or more it was definitely easy to check that because there were many other memorizers and there was the written manuscript and there was absolutely no evidence that I know of that the Prophet forgot any passage of the Quran before it was promulgated or announced or recited in the presence of others.
 
Host:  Are there any reports about the Prophet forgetting any passage of the Quran after it was communicated to others?
Jamal Badawi:
Yes, there is one report that in one occasion as is reported in Bukhari and Muslim that the Prophet forgot something but that it was a temporary thing.  It says that the Prophet once heard a man reciting the Quran in the Mosque and when the Prophet heard him he said “May Allah have mercy on him, he reminded me of a specific verse from a specific Surah in the Quran.”  In some other narration it says that specific verses which I dropped, and this is an erroneous translation because in another translation it says verses which he forgot.  In this sense it was not deliberate but a few verses that he forgot.  As explained by scholars including people like Mana’a Alkatan, it his book that we referred to earlier, he says that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is a human being and it is quite possible that as a human he may temporarily forget passages of the Quran but that couldn’t and didn’t happen before these verses were already promulgated and recited in front of others who recited it and wrote it down.  In fact this story proves this point.  Because how could the Prophet correct his own 8 of these passages unless he heard it form another man and how could this man know it unless he heard it before from the Prophet.  There is conclusive evidence that this happened after the Prophet had already recited it and it had been preserved.
The entire Quran was conveyed in full as dictated to the Prophet.  Many times it was memorized or written directly from his mouth at the time he received the revelation.  So in this case he was not the only one who memorized the Quran.  If he was the only one who memorized the Quran we could say how do you know that he did not forget parts of the Quran.  He recited it at the time of revelation and dozens if not multitudes memorized and wrote it, which made it very easy to detect any forgetfulness either on the part of the Prophet or anyone else.  Let us remember as mentioned in a previous program that the angel of revelation himself used to come to the Prophet every month of Ramadan to review with him the revelation of the Quran.  Fasting was prescribed in the second year of migration to Medina.  This means that it was reviewed at least ten times (in the last year of the life of the Prophet angel Gabriel reviewed the Quran with him twice) which shows that any temporary forgetfulness, rare as it may be, was something that can be immediately detected and corrected.
 
Host: What is the possibility of the Prophet forgetting the Quran?
Jamal Badawi:
These writers refer to a verse in the Quran which is crossly misinterpreted.  They usually refer to (87:6-7) in the Quran in which Allah addresses the Prophet (PBUH) “By degrees shall We teach thee to declare (the Message), so thou shalt not forget, Except as Allah wills: For He knoweth what is manifest and what is hidden.”  The argument that some writers made is that the verse says “except” which they say means the possibility that the Prophet may forget the Quran on his own.  This conclusion is erroneous for a number of reasons.  To start with even if we assume that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) may have forgotten something it is obvious that this was not before was already conveyed to people, committed to memory and committed to writing.  This also would be contradictory to the verse in (9:15)if he would have forgotten it before people even heard of it.  As that verse promised the preservation of the Quran and it would contradict (75:16-17) which makes the same kind of promise.  Even if we interpret it in a sense of abrogation or erased from the memory of the Prophet by God Himself well this would not be part of the action of the Prophet himself but would be a reflection of the divine wisdom that saw that it was more suitable to replace one revelation with another.  In other words an abrogated revelation was intended as an interim measure to deal with a particular situation and God chose to abrogate it directly or by erasing it from the memory of the Prophet or others for that matter.  In whichever case it was not meant to be included as part of the Quran that God intended for us to have in our hand.  Even if this is interpreted to mean the Prophet forgetting any passage in the Quran again it could never happen except as a temporary thing after the message had been promulgated through memorization and writing.  Whichever way it is interpreted it can never be correctly interpreted to refer to any permanent forgetfulness of any passage of the Quran that was intended by God to be included in the Quran.  In the style of the Quran one speaks about he will of Allah we should always emphasize that it is an absolute will and that if Allah decides on any decision it is not because he is forced or pressured by any person or any of his creatures.
 
Host:  Could you clarify the point about the absolute will of Allah?
Jamal Badawi:
In (11:108) in the Quran it says that those who are lucky will enter Paradise and stay there forever so so long as the Heavens and Earth exist except as Allah wills.  Except doesn’t mean that people will be driven out of Paradise after entering it.  Elsewhere in the Quran as well as the saying of the Prophet (PBUH) we find that it says that those who enter Paradise will never get out as we find in verse (15:48) in the Quran.  So when the verse says except as Allah wills it is just a theoretical possibility.  This is just a reminder that even though Allah decided to keep them in Paradise forever it is only because of His Grace and not exclusively because of their deeds and He willed differently they would not have been there in Paradise forever.  Given the style of the Quran it is quite possible to interpret this to mean that it is a theoretical possibility especially if we mean by it permanent forgetfulness of the Quran which is contrary to what Allah intended.
 
Host:  Are there other prophesies in the Quran referring to the same issue?
Jamal Badawi:
Yes, I searched for anything in the Quran that has to do with it being forgotten and I only found two.  One was the one we just described in (87:6-7).  The other one appears in (2:106) “None of Our revelations do We abrogate or cause to be forgotten, but We substitute something better or similar: Knowest thou not that Allah Hath power over all things?”  In this verse there are two terms used: One is abrogation which is an issue that needs separate explanation, but the term nunsiha or cause to be forgotten.  The word ayah (revelations) is used in a number of meanings.  A common meaning is a verse in the Quran.  Another meaning that is used quite frequently in the Quran to mean cosmic sign of the existence of God: the heavens, skies, creation of animals are signs of the existence of the creator.  In the context of the stories in the Quran about Prophets some were given miracles and these represented by the word Ayah or sign as the Quran used again.  This could conceivably mean that if Allah decides to abrogate one previous scripture and replace it He would replace it with something that is similar if not better.  This is quite conceivable because as the Quran indicates it supersedes previous revelations confirming what remained intact of them and guarding them from errors that people may have introduced or the replacement of a previous law with another law.  It could apply to times before Islam like Prophet Jesus coming with a message superseding what had been given to Moses.  He didn’t totally remove it but superseded it by adding and correcting some of the people’s misunderstanding of what was revealed.  This could be one meaning but we should keep in mind that when Allah decides to send another revelation it doesn’t contradict with previous revelations but could be corrections of other points or change of certain laws.  Even if we interpret this verse to mean to be forgotten again it is a divine decision which has nothing to do with any human or deliberate forgetfulness or neglect.  Neither of these two verses which are the only ones that I found on the question of forgetting or dropped from the Quran.
 
Host:  What are implications concerning the preservation of the Quran?
Jamal Badawi:
Even if we assume that the term Ayah means verse from the Quran all it means simply that Allah revealed certain instructions or laws or directives that were intended to deal with a specific situation, perhaps on an interim basis and not intended to be a permanent law and then He decided to abrogate it and replace it with something of more permanent and more general nature whether abrogation by simply revealing it to the Prophet or by way of erasing it from their memory.
Who’s decision is it what is to be included in the final permanent form of the Quran verses something that was revealed to deal with an interim or temporary type of situation?  No human had any role in this as it is a divine decision and as such the purity of the Quran in it’s final divine form has not been touched.
 
Host:  Some claim that the Quran contains certain portions which established the right of Ali and his descendants to be the only rulers of the Muslims and that these portions were somehow deleted from the Quran- how documented are these claims?
Jamal Badawi:
These claims are not documented at all.  Many of the critics of Islam (not Muslim scholars alone) are more of political sectarian in nature.  Without any evidence or analysis some claim that there was a Surah in the Quran called Thinurain which means the one with the two lights in reference to Ali.  Historically Thinurain was not known till many years after the revelation of the Quran was completed.  This in itself shows that the claim is not founded at all.  Unfortunately those who claim to claim to be supporters of Ali, all Muslims love Ali as the cousin of the Prophet, but some feel that there are more supporters of Ali claim that some of those references we mentioned about the right of Ali as the soul ruler with his descendants was tampered with or concealed from the Quran.  We have discussed some of those aspects on the series of political systems of Islam.  Some claim that in (25:74) of the Quran it originally used the term Imam instead of Ummah which is what is in the Quran.  Ummah means community of believers and they say the original term was A’imah not Ummah which means Imam which is a term that usually refers to Ali and his descendants.
Anyone with the slightest knowledge of Arabic who goes and puts these words into this place it would etymologically not make any sense nor is it consistent in anyway with the context of the verses before and after in the chapter.  A strange claim is that in Surah 33, there are other verses dealing with the virtues of the houses of the Prophet which includes his cousin Ali that were dropped.  This is totally illogical for one reason because it assumed that somebody wanted to degrade the household of the Prophet which of course no true Muslim would do as we have allot of respect for them.  Nor is it consistent with the fact that in that very Chapter in verse 33 it includes a great deal of praise towards the household of the Prophet and it says that Allah promised to cleans them thoroughly.  If anyone wanted to demean them why not remove that too which shows again that there is absolutely no reason to believe in that.  Others said that there might have been a Surah in the Quran that was called Wilaia which establishes the right of Ali to Khilafa.  Others went as far as claiming that there was an entirely different Qruan known as the Quran of Fatimah.  In fact I have a xerox here from a book called Alusool Min Al Kafee which was published in Iran and under a chapter called Alhujah on page 239 it discusses another Quran known as the Qruan of Fatimah which is three times as big as the Quran that they had after the Prophet and that it contains no letter of the present Quran.  This is really going too far into something that is absolutely baseless and contrary to all internal, external and documentary evidence that we have.  All of these are totally baseless things.  I am glad we brought up this question.
 
Host:  What are a few more reasons why these claims are totally baseless?
Jamal Badawi:
To start with if a claim like that is made there should be evidence to support it and there is no direct or indirect evidence to support it.  Second, we have ample evidence to the contrary, that no word of the Quran was dropped and that it was persevered with meticulous care both by memorization and writing.  Second, making an assumption like that means that Muslims after the time of the Prophet were unanimous in tampering with the word of God and letting anyone (we know that they offered their lives to defend a single word of what they believed in) tamper with the word of God.  Ali himself who’s leadership is claims to be suppressed was involved in the compilation both during the time of Abu Bakr and in the time of Othman when copies were sent to different areas.  Fifthly, Ali himself was a ruler and was the head of the Mulsim Ummah after Abu Bakr, Omar and Othman he was fourth in the succession.  So he came after the people who supposedly tampered with the Quran.  He was the head of the Islamic State and did not hear of any different Quran or even any word that was different but kept using the same Quran.  Ali himself was quoted, we referred to this in a previous program, that he kept praising and defending all his predecessors and especially Othman for their role in preserving the Quran in its purity.  However for fairness many scholars who hold this view came out courageously and said that there is only one Quran for all Muslims.  There is unanimity among Muslims that anyone who believes there is another Quran can not be regarded as a Muslim.  All Muslims throughout history regardless of difference had one Quran.
Summary of 10.38 "Nothing Lost or Dropped"
Last week’s program dealt with one essential question: Is there any possibility that any portion of the Quran was ever lost or forgotten by the Prophet.  We examined it in terms of internal evidence and we found more than one reference including (15:9) that there is a clear divine promise to preserve the Quran from loss.  To remove any question or doubt about internal evidence we discussed the two verses in the Quran which refer to the term nasia or forget or its derivatives as they relate to the Quran.  By analyzing them carefully it was quite clear that neither of them refer to the Prophet (PBUH) forgetting any portion of the Quran before it was promulgated or communicated to people.  Any possibility of minor forgetfulness on the part of the Prophet of a few passages was definitely after the Quran was communicated to others both by memorization and in writing.  It was clear from the insident narrated in Bukhari and Muslim when the Prophet remembered a few passages that he forgot when he heard a man reciting them in the Mosque that this is proof that the Prophet might have forgotten those passages only after the Quran was communicated.  How could that man know those verses unless it was recited before.
What was more important actually is the annual revision where Angel Gabriel came to the Prophet to review with him what had been revealed of the Quran up to that point.  This review took place twice in the final year of the life of the Prophet and in the presence of the most prominent memorizers and companions.  Towards the end of the program we discussed the political sectarian type of claims that are sometimes made that the Quran used to contain evidence of the right of the cousin of the Prophet Ali with his descendants as the exclusive rulers of Muslims forever.  This was mentioned in the book called Al Kafi and we tried to indicate that these types of claims are totally baseless with complete lack of evidence and totally untrue.
 
10.39 Baseless Claims in and “Al-Kafi”
Host:  Could you give us a brief idea of Al Kafi?
Jamal Badawi:
The exact title Al Usoul min Al Kafi.  The author is called Abi Ja’far Alkulili who died in the year 328 of Hijrah, which is approximately the middle of the tenth century in the common era.  This is regarded by Shia as the most important source of Hadith or tradition.  When they refer to Hadith they not only refer to the sayings of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) but also the sayings of their imams which they put on equal footings.  In a way that book is regarded almost in the same status as Bukhari the collection of Prophetic Traditions that Sunni Muslims use.  The importance of that book according to Shia understanding is indisputable and has been printed several times.  It is this same reference in which it was claimed that there was a Mushaf of Fatimah which is three times as big as the present Quran but doesn’t have a single word of the Quran we have today in it.  The reference is to Volume 1: page 239 Published in the year 1388 of Migration which is 1968 in our era in Tehran, Iran by Dar Al Kutub Al Islamia.
 
Host:  You mentioned Mushaf fo Fatimah: could you explain exactly what this is according to the Shia?
Jamal Badawi:
Again we can refer to the same reference, Al Kafi on page 240 it is claimed that when Prophet Muhammad died his daughter Fatimah was very grieved so God sent her an Angel to sooth and talk to her.She mentioned to Ali, her husband and cousin of the Prophet, that he told her that whenever she feels the presence of the Angle that she should tell him and he started to write down what the Angel was saying and that they put it together in leaves or Mushaf.  It was mentioned by the narrator that this Mushaf didn’t contain any aspect of law like the forbidden but they say it contains the knowledge of what will happen.
If we look at this narration it seems to indicate that Fatimah the daughter of the Prophet received revelation after the Prophet as if to complete and supplement the revelation given to him.  It is contrary to what the Quran itself said especially in (5:3) in which God says that “This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed.”  For this reason we find that Muslims uphold the belief that no human being after Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) received divine revelation including the members of his own household.
It is also claimed that the a’imams or the descendants of Ali possess a document which contained the Psalms of David, the Torah of Moses, the Gospel or Injeal of Jesus, the Leaves of Abraham, the Laws of the forbidden or the permissible and the Mushaf of Fatimah.  Then there is an addition that says that none of this contained the Quran  This is why we will comment on the term Mushaf which literally means leaves and doesn’t mean the Quran.  In Islamic terminology the term Mushaf has always been used to refer to the Quran.  The Mushaf of Fatimah here in this major source of Shia thinking the the claim is made without any substantial evidence at all that the Quran that we have today is not really complete because it doesn’t contain these claimed portions.  This is a matter which is definitely contrary to the unanimity of Muslims and even the witness of many faire researchers from among none Muslims.  This kind of document is not the only reference that we find in Shi’ite books, pertaining to the completeness of the Quran.  Mind you as we mentioned in a previous program any person who believes that there is a different Quran or that the Quran that we have today is not complete or has been tampered with in any way aside from being contrary to all internal and external evidence can not still be regarded as a Mulsim.
 
Host:  Are any of these other references actually limited to the leaves of Fatimah?
Jamal Badawi:
No, a couple of other references which are not necessarily limited to the leaves of Fatimah.  For example in Al Kafi in Volume 1: page 228 my translation of what it says is that anyone who claimed to have collected the whole Quran as revealed is but a liar, no one collected and preserved it and understood it as Allah Most High revealed except Ali son of Abi Talib and the Imams (his descendants) after him.  This statement is mentioned quite clearly.  Another claimed Hadith they say is an attribution to one of their imams says “No one can claim that he has the entire Quran, the evident meaning and the hidden meaning, except the Guardians (used by Shia to refer to Ali, May Allah be pleased with him and his descendants).  There are also numerous examples which show the same basic claim that there have been systematic attempts contrary to all evidences that we have seen to drop portions of the Quran or small parts or words that used to contain evidence of the political claim made by the Shia that only Ali and the Imams, his descendants, were the only qualified rulers of Muslims.
 
Host:  Can you give us examples of specific passages where the claim of dropping words is made?
Jamal Badawi:
Again in their main source Al Kafi on page 176 there is a reference to the verse which appears in (22:52) which has been confirmed and preserved “Never did We send an apostle or a prophet before thee.”  The way this is quoted in Al Kafi it says “Never did We send an apostle or a prophet or Muhadath (a term used to refer to the Imams or descendetns of the Prophets) before thee.”  In another print of the same book in Volume 1: page 414 we find again a similar claim of a few words being dropped.  In reference to (33:71) in the Quran “He that obeys Allah and His Messenger, has already attained the highest achievement.”  The claim was maid that it says “He that obeys Allah and His Messenger in accepting the Guardianship of Ali and the Imams after him, has already attained the highest achievement.”  So they claim that this evidence that shows that only Ali and his descendants should have ruled the Muslims.  In chapter (26:227) in the authentic Quran it says “Except those who believe, work righteousness, engage much in the remembrance of Allah, and defend themselves only after they are unjustly attacked. And soon will the unjust assailants know what vicissitudes their affairs will take!”  Another example which appeared in a book called Fasl Al Khitab which appears on page 180 in Surah called Al Sharh in-which Allah recounts His bounties on Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).  They say that one verse was dropped from that that says that they made Ali your son in law.  It is interesting to note here by way of commentary that the insertion here is clearly political because it is well known that if anybody had the honor to be related to the Prophet it would be the other way around.  In other word the great honor to be given to Ali is that he was the son in law of the great Prophet Muhammad but to say that one of the blessings of Muhammad was that Ali became his son in law sounds like reverse logic.  We said before that this is a sort of political insertion that doesn’t have evidence at all and has never been part of the Quran.  In addition to Al Kafi and Fasl Al Khitab other books like Tafseer al Khumi and Tafseer al Safi a commentary on the Quran have similar claims.  Anyone with the slightest knowledge of Arabic will know and easily can distinguish the sounds of these verses with the claim that parts were dropped do not make any sense at all from the standpoint of the literal beauty and nature of the Quran.
 
Host:  Could you give us more details about the chapter that was claimed to have been dropped?
Jamal Badawi:
There is actually more than one chapter that they claim had been dropped not just words here and there.  This is more serious than just words as they claim that a chapter had been dropped which they call Surahof Alwilayah.  It refers to the same political view of Shiaits and that only Ali and his descendants should have been the permanent exclusive rulers of Muslims throughout history and warning anyone who doesn’t except that particular view.  This particular chapter was referred to by many Shiat writers including Altabrasi who was a very famous Shiat who wrote it around 1881.  This was quoted by the famous German Orientalist Noel Decay in his history of the copies of the Quran in Volume 2: page 102.  It also appeared in a French Journal in 1842 from pages 431 on.  I know that the pictures shown, show the chapter in Arabic with some translation in Persian underneath.  Some of what is says is “Oh ye who believe, believe in the Prophet and the Guardian which we sent both (equating the Prophet with Ali) guiding you to a straight path.  A Prophet and a Guardian proceeding one over the other and I am the Knower the Aware. Verily for those who fulfill the covenant of Allah are the Gardens of Felicity and those on whom our signs are recited they reject them, for them is the hell fire.  In the hell fire is a great abode when it is called unto them in the Day of Judgement where are the transgressors, the rejectors of the messengers.”  If we go to the Arabic version of it, it doesn’t make any sense at all in terms of literal meaning.  This reminds me of the claimed Quran of Musilamah the lier, a false Prophet after Prophet Muhammad and during his lifetime.  He tried to imitate the Quran by taking small parts of the Quran and patched them together which made a very laughable as anyone can read and judge for themselves.
There were at least two chapters that we mentioned, that are called Alnurain.  We made a very quick reference to that in the previous program.  Alnurain is a title that is used to refer to Prophet Muhammad and Ali.  It is interesting to notice that this term didn’t appear till the 13th century of Hijrah which is nearly 600 years after the death of Prophet Muhammad and after the Quran has been completely revealed.  This again shows the kind of fabrication which was published by an Orientalist by the name of Garcin Tassy under the title An Unknown Chapter of the Quran.  In either of these we do not find a shred of evidence internally or externally that stands against the overwhelming evidence that we discussed in several programs showing that not a word of the Quran was dropped and that there were many watch dogs with lots of people having memorized the Quran which was also written down.  It is obvious that these claims are truly sectarian and political in nature.
 
Host:  To the best of your knowledge are these views about the Quran common among the Shia today?
Jamal Badawi:
The answer to this question in a conclusive way is difficult for two reasons.  One is that the matter of belief is something which is basically in the heart unless the person comes forward and states clearly what they believe.  The references we mentioned do say that they believe that it is the same as it was revealed to the Prophet.  One also finds that this problem is not resolved totally because in Shia thinking and theology as is found in Al Kafi, their main reference, and many other of their contemporary leaders there is a concept called Al Taqia which means that one can reveal something different form what they believe under certain circumstances.  But we will leave aside judging the intentions and motives and just look at the clear indicators that may help find an answer to this question.  I do not claim to know the answer fully.  We encounter from time to time some Shiaits who forcefully and clearly deny that they believe in any other Quran other than the Quran has been unanimously accepted by all Muslims.  In fact some of their scholars have said as quoted by Dr. Draz in an interesting article called initiation into the Holy Quran published in the Islamic Review and Arab Affairs in Walking England in January of 1969 in which one of their leaders is quoted to totally reject the notion that they believe that there is a different Quran.  However it is interesting to notice that one of their major scholars, Al Tabrasi, wrote in the year 1289 which is approximately 1878AD a book which is called “The Final Word Improving the Alteration of the Book of the Lord of Lords.”  It contains hundreds of texts quoted from Shiat scholars in many different points of history who carried this idea.  After that book appeared some Shiat scholars replied and tried to reject what he said.  But in explaining this some writters believe that their rejection of what he said was only an application of Taqia.  They were disturbed that if this book was published at a large scale might awaken many Muslims to the real Shiat beliefs.  However only God knows.
Perhaps the most prominent Shiat leader in his book Islamic Government, in the Arabic version, that I have on page 72 he praises Al Kafi and he says that it contains the rules of the religion.  As we have mentioned before he is the same Kafi that this leader praises who claims these alterations of the Quran.
 
Host: Is there an attempt by Shia leaders today to clarify how they feel about the whole matter?
Jamal Badawi:
The matter is very serious because this is not a matter of difference in jurisprudence or how to make ablution but something which determines weather a person is a Muslim or not as it relates to the Quran, the book of Allah.  We hear allot these days that calls for the unity of Muslims but obviously we can not have unity between belief and disbelief in the Book of Allah.  This issue must be clarified very clearly and somebody from among the Shiat leaders should come forward courageously, honestly and publicly condemn these writings of the past whiles stating clearly to us and to their followers that the Quran is the same and that they accept what all Muslims accept as the source of revelation and inspiration to all Muslims.
 

 

The Qur'an the Ultimate Miracle

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About the book

Author :

Jamal Badawi

Publisher :

www.jamalbadawi.org

Category :

About Quran & Hadith