Is the Qur an truly the literal word of God, revealed by Him?
Is Muhammad r1 truly a prophet sent by God?
Is Islam truly a religion from God?
In this chapter, six kinds of evidence are mentioned:
1) The Scientific Miracles in the Holy Qur an: This section
discusses (with illustrations) some recently discovered scientific facts mentioned in the Holy Qur an, which was revealed fourteen centuries ago.
2) The Great Challenge to Pro-
duce One Chapter Like the Chapters of the Holy Qur an: In the Qur an, God challenged all human beings to produce a single chapter like the chapters of the Qur an. Ever since the Qur an was revealed, fourteen centuries ago, until this day, no one has been able to meet this chal- lenge, even though the smallest chapter in the Qur an (Chapter 108) is only ten words.
(1) These Arabic words r mean, May God exalt his mention and
protect him from imperfection.
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3) Biblical Prophecies on the Advent of Muhammad r, the
Prophet of Islam: In this section, some of the Biblical prophe- cies on the advent of the Prophet Muhammad r are discussed.
P r e f a c e
4) The Verses in the Qur an That Mention Future Events
Which Later Came to Pass: The Qur an mentioned future events which later came to pass, for example, the victory of the Romans over the Persians.
5) Miracles Performed by the Prophet Muhammad r: Many
miracles were performed by the Prophet Muhammad r. These miracles were witnessed by many people.
6) The Simple Life of Muhammad r: This clearly indicates that
Muhammad r was not a false prophet who claimed prophethood to attain material gains, greatness, or power.
The Qur an mu st be the literal word of God, revealed by Him.
Muhammad r is truly a prophet sent by God.
Islam is truly a religion from God.
If we would like to know if a religion is true or false, we should
not depend on our emotions, feelings, or traditions. Rather, we should depend on our reason and intellect. When God sent the prophets, He supported them with miracles and evidence which proved that they were truly prophets sent by God and hence that the religion they came with is true.
The second chapter, Some Benefits of Islam, mentions
some of the benefits that Islam provides for the individual, such as:
1) The Door to Eternal Paradise 2) Salvation from Hellfire 3) Real Happiness and Inner Peace 4) Forgiveness for All Previous Sins.
The third chapter, General Information on Islam, pro-
vides general information on Islam, corrects some misconceptions about it, and answers some commonly asked questions, such as:
What does Islam say about terrorism?
What is the status of women in Islam?
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(1) The Scientific Miracles in the Holy Qur an
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Chapter 1
Some evidence
for the truth of islam
God has supported His last Prophet Muhammad r with many
miracles and much evidence which proves that he is a true Prophet sent by God. Also, God has supported His last revealed book, the Holy Qur an, with many miracles that prove that this Qur an is the literal word of God, revealed by Him, and that it was not authored by any human being. This chapter discusses some of this evidence.
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(1) The Scientific Miracles
in the Holy Qur an
The Qur an is the literal word of God, which He revealed to
His Prophet Muhammad r through the Angel Gabriel. It was memorized by Muhammad r, who then dictated it to his Companions. They, in turn, memorized it, wrote it down, and reviewed it with the Prophet Muham- mad r. Moreover, the Prophet Mu- hammad r reviewed the Qur an with the Angel Gabriel once each year and twice in the last year of his life. From the time the Qur an was revealed, un- til this day, there has always been a huge number of Muslims who have memorized all of the Qur an, letter by letter. Some of them have even been able to memorize all of the Qur an by the age of ten. Not one letter of the Qur an has been changed over the centuries.
The Holy Qur an
The Qur an, which was revealed fourteen centuries ago, men-
tioned facts only recently discovered or proven by scientists. This proves without doubt that the Qur an must be the literal word of
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A) The Qur an on Human Embryonic Development
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God, revealed by Him to the Prophet Muhammad r, and that the Qur an was not authored by Muhammad r or by any other human being. This also proves that Muhammad r is truly a prophet sent by God. It is beyond reason that anyone fourteen hundred years ago would have known these facts discovered or proven only recently with advanced equipment and sophisticated scientific methods. Some examples follow.
A) The Qur an on Human Embryonic
Development:
In the Holy Qur an, God speaks about the stages of man s
embryonic development:
( We created man from an extract of clay. Then We made him as a drop in a place of settlement, firmly fixed. Then We made the drop into an alaqah (leech, suspended thing, and blood clot), then We made the alaqah into a mudghah (chewed substance)... )1 (Qur an, 23:12-14)
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Literally, the Arabic word alaqah has three meanings:
(1) leech, (2) suspended thing, and (3) blood clot.
In comparing a leech to an embryo in the alaqah stage, we find
similarity between the two,2 as we can see in figure 1. Also, the embryo at this stage obtains nourishment from the blood of the mother, similar to the leech, which feeds on the blood of others.3
The second meaning of the word alaqah is suspended thing.
This is what we can see in figures 2 and 3, the suspension of the embryo, during the alaqah stage, in the womb of the mother.
(1) Please note that what is between these special brackets (...) in this
book is only a translation of the meaning of the Qur an. It is not the Qur an itself, which is in Arabic.
(2) The Developing Human, Moore and Persaud, 5th ed., p. 8. (3) Human Development as Described in the Qur an and Sunnah,
Moore and others, p. 36.
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A) The Qur an on Human Embryonic Development
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Figure 1: Drawings illustrating the similarities in appearance between a leech and a human embryo at the alaqah stage. (Leech drawing from Human Development as Described in the Qur an and Sunnah, Moore and others, p. 37, modified from
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Integrated Principles of Zoology, Hickman and others. Embryo drawing from The Developing Human, Moore and Persaud, 5th ed., p. 73.)
Figure 2: We can seein this diagram the suspension of an embryo during the alaqah stagein the womb (uterus) of the mother. (The Developing Human, Moore and Persaud, 5th ed., p. 66.)
Figure 3: In this photomicrograph, we can see the suspension of an embryo (marked B) during the alaqah stage (about 15 days old) in the womb of the mother. The actual size of the embryo is about 0.6 mm. (The Devel- oping Human, Moore, 3rd ed., p. 66, from
Histology, Leeson and Leeson.)
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A) The Qur an on Human Embryonic Development
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The third meaning of the word alaqah is blood clot. We
find that the external appearance of the embryo and its sacs during the alaqah stage is similar to that of a blood clot. This is due to the presence of relatively large amounts of blood present in the embryo during this stage1 (see figure 4). Also during this stage, the blood in the embryo does not circulate until the end of the third week.2 Thus, the embryo at this stage is like a clot of blood.
Figure 4: Diagram of the primitive cardiovascular system in an embryo dur- ing the alaqah stage. The external appearance of the embryo and its sacs is similar to that of a blood clot, due to the presence of relatively large amounts of blood present in the embryo. (The Developing Human, Moore, 5th ed., p. 65.)
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So the three meanings of the word alaqah correspond accu-
rately to the descriptions of the embryo at the alaqah stage.
The next stage mentioned in the verse is the mudghah stage.
The Arabic word mudghah means chewed substance. If one were to take a piece of gum and chew it in his or her mouth and then compare it with an embryo at the mudghah stage, we would conclude that the embryo at the mudghah stage is similar in appearance to a chewed substance. This is because of the somites at the back of the embryo that somewhat resemble teethmarks in a chewed substance. 3 (see figures 5 and 6).
How could Muhammad r have possibly known all this about
fourteen hundred years ago, when scientists have only recently discovered this using advanced equipment and powerful microscopes which did not exist at that time? Hamm and
(1) Human Development as Described in the Qur an and Sunnah,
Moore and others, pp. 37-38.
(2) The Developing Human, Moore and Persaud, 5th ed., p. 65. (3) The Developing Human, Moore and Persaud, 5th ed., p. 8.
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A) The Qur an on Human Embryonic Development
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Figure 5: Photograph of a 28-day-old embryo at the mudghah stage. The embryo at this stage is similar in appearance to a chewed substance, because the somites at the back of the embryo somewhat resemble teeth marks in a chewed substance. The actual size of the embryo is 4 mm. (The Developing Human, Moore and Persaud, 5th ed., p. 82, from Professor Hideo Nishimura, Kyoto Uni- versity, Kyoto, Japan.)
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Figure 6: When comparing the appearance of an embryo at the mudghah stage with a piece of gum that has been chewed, we find similarity be- tween the two.
A) Drawing of an embryo at the mudghah stage. We can see here the somites at the back of the embryo that look like teeth marks. (The Devel- oping Human, Moore and Per- saud, 5th ed., p. 79.)
B) Photograph of a piece of gum that has been chewed.
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A) The Qur an on Human Embryonic Development
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Leeuwenhoek were the first scientists to observe human sperm cells (spermatozoa) using an improved microscope in 1677 (more than 1000 years after Muhammad r). They mistakenly thought that the sperm cell contained a miniature preformed human being that grew when it was deposited in the female genital tract.1
Professor Emeritus Keith L. Moore is one of the world s most
prominent scientists in the fields of anatomy and embryology and is the author of the book entitled The Developing Human, which has been translated into eight languages. This book is a scientific reference work and was chosen by a special committee in the United States as the best book authored by one person. Dr. Keith Moore is Professor Emeritus of Anatomy and Cell Biology at the University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada. There, he was Associate Dean of Basic Sciences at the Faculty of Medicine and for 8 years was the Chairman of the Department of Anatomy. In 1984, he received the most distinguished award presented in the field of anatomy in Canada, the J.C.B. Grant Award from the Canadian Association of Anatomists. He has directed many international associations, such as the Canadian and American Association of Anatomists and the Council of the Union of Biological Sciences.
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In 1981, during the Seventh Medical Conference in Dammam,
Saudi Arabia, Professor Moore said: It has been a great pleasure for me to help clarify statements in the Qur an about human development. It is clear to me that these statements must have come to Muhammad from God, because almost all of this knowl- edge was not discovered until many centuries later. This proves to me that Muhammad must have been a messenger of God. 2
Consequently, Professor Moore was asked the following ques-
tion: Does this mean that you believe that the Qur an is the word of God? He replied: I find no difficulty in accepting this. 3
During one conference, Professor Moore stated: ....Because
the staging of human embryos is complex, owing to the continuous process of change during development, it is proposed that a
(1) The Developing Human, Moore and Persaud, 5th ed., p. 9. (2) The source of this comment is This is the Truth (videotape). Visit
www.islam-guide.com/truth for a copy of this videotape or to view the video clips of Professor Keith Moore s comments online.
(3) This is the Truth (videotape).
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