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| gencnurCom | From the Risale-i Nur Collection Humanity's Encounter with the Divine Series The Miraculous Qur'an and Some of Its Mysteries The Twelfth Word The Twentieth Word The Twenty-fifth Word The Twenty-ninth Letter Bediuzzaman SAID NURSI Table
of Contents Bediuzzaman
and the Risale-i Nur........ iii The
Twelfth Word Revealed
Wisdom and Human Thought Four
fundamentals................................... 1 [Differences
between the Qur'anic wisdom and human philosophy •
Moral training in one's personal life • Moral training
in human social life • The Qur'an is superior to all
other Divine Scriptures, speech, and writings] The
Twentieth Word The
Qur'an: Eloquence and Science Two
stations............................................ 15 [Apparently
insignificant events hide a universal principle and
present the tip of a general law • The Prophets'
miracles show what humanity can attain through
observation, experimentation, and concerted effort] The
Twenty-fifth Word The Miraculous Qur'an Three
parts.............................................. 59 [Said
Nursi's definition of thè Qur'an ] First
light................................................. 62 [An
analysis of verses exhibiting the Qur'an's miraculous
eloquence]
Second
light........................................... 152 [Three
rays displaying more aspects of the Qur'an's miraculous
eloquence] Third
light.............................................. 195 [Three
rays showing how the Qur'an's verses remove the
darkness of unbelief] Conclusion...................
:........................ 212 First
addendum..................................... 215 [Six
points dealing with the Qur'an's excellence] [Why
there is repetition in the Qur'an] [A
translation can never replace the original Qur'an •
Reflections on belief] The
Twenty-ninth Letter The Qur'an Nine
points....... .................................... 249 [Nine
points dealing with various subtle points related to the
Qur'an] Index......................................................
267
Bediuzzaman
and the Risale-i Nur In
the many dimensions of his lifetime of achievement, as
well as in his personality and character, Bediuzzaman
(1877-1960) was and, through his continuing influence,
still is an important thinker and writer in the Muslim
world. He represented in a most effective and profound
way the intellectual, moral and spiritual strengths of
Islam, evident in different degrees throughout its
fourteen-century history. He lived for eighty-five years.
He spent almost all of those years, overflowing with love
and ardor for the cause of Islam, in a wise and measured
activism based on sound reasoning and in the shade of the
Qur'an and the Prophetic example. Bediuzzaman
lived in an age when materialism was at its peak and many
crazed after communism, and the world was in great
crisis. In that critical period, Bediuzzaman pointed
people to the source of belief and inculcated in them a
strong hope for a collective restoration. At a time when
science and philosophy were used to mislead young
generations into atheism, and nihilistic attitudes had a
wide appeal, at a time when all this was done in the name
of civilization, modernization and contemporary thinking
and those who tried to resist them were subjected to the
cruelest of persecutions, Bediuzzaman strove for the
overall revival of a whole people, breathing into their
minds whatever and spirits whatever is taught in the
institutions of both modern and traditional education and
of spiritual training. Bediuzzaman
had seen that modern unbelief originated from science
and philosophy, not from ignorance
iv
The
Miraculous Qur'an and Some of Its Mysteries
as
previously. He wrote that nature is the collection of
Divine signs and therefore science and religion cannot be
conflicting disciplines. Rather, they are two
(apparently) different expressions of the same truth.
Minds should be enlightened with sciences, while hearts
need to be illumined by religion. Bediuzzaman
was not a writer in the usual sense of the word. He wrote
his splendid work the Risale-i Nur, a collection
exceeding 5,000 pages, because he had a mission: he
struggled against the materialistic and atheistic trends
of thought fed by science and philosophy and tried to
present the truths of Islam to modern minds and hearts of
every level of understanding. The Risale-i Nur, a modem
commentary of the Qur'an, mainly concentrates on the
existence and unity of God, the Resurrection,
Prophethood, the Divine Scriptures primarily including
the Qur'an, the invisible realms of existence, Divine
Destiny and humanity's free will, worship, justice in
human life, and humanity's place and duty among the
creation. In
order to remove from people's minds and hearts the
accumulated 'sediment' of false beliefs and conceptions
and to purify them both intellectually and spiritually,
Bediuzzaman writes forcefully and makes reiterations. He
writes in neither an academic nor a didactic way; rather
he appeals to feelings and aims to pour out his thoughts
and ideas into people's hearts and minds in order to
awaken them to belief and conviction. This
book is a selected section from the Risale-i Nur collection.
The
Twelfth Word Revealed
Wisdom and Human Thought In
the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate. Whoever
has been given the Wisdom, certainly has been given much
good. (2:269) [Note:
This Word presents a brief comparison between the
Qur'an's sacred wisdom and human philosophy, a concise
summary of the Qur'anic instruction and training for
humanity's personal and social life, and an indication of
the Qur'an's superiority to all other Divine Words and
speech.] Four
fundamentals First
fundamental: Differences between the Qur'anic wisdom and
human philosophy: A religious, skillful, and renowned
ruler wanted to make a copy of the Qur'an as beautifully
as required by its sacred meanings and miraculous wording
in order to adorn its wonderful words in a worthy
fashion. So, he wrote it in a truly wonderful fashion
with all kinds of precious jewels. To point out the
variety of its truths, he wrote some of its letters in
diamonds and emeralds, others in pearls and agate,
brilliants and coral, and gold and silver. He adorned and
decorated in such a way that everyone was full of
admiration and astonishment. That Qur'an became a most
precious artwork for the people of truth, for its outer
beauty indicated its brilliant inner beauty and striking
adornment. The
ruler showed this Qur'an to a foreign [non-Muslim]
philosopher and a Muslim scholar. Seeking to test and
reward them, he told each one to write about it. The two
men complied. The philosopher discussed the letters'
shapes, decorations, and interrelationships, and the
jewels' properties and methods of use. He said nothing
of its meaning, for he saw only an ornamented object and
was unaware that it was an invaluable book with depths of
meaning. As he was well-informed about engineering and
chemistry, could describe things, and knew a great deal
about jewelry but nothing about Arabic, he wrote his book
accordingly. But the truth-loving Muslim scholar,
understanding that it was the Clear Book (the Wise
Qur'an), ignored its outward ornamentation and the
letters' decorations and described the sacred truths and
secret lights behind the veil of decorations, for they
are far more valuable and worthy of respect, more useful
and comprehensive. Both
men presented their books to the ruler, who began with
the philosopher's book. Seeing that he had worked very
hard, the ruler nevertheless refused his book and
expelled him from his presence. Why? Because he had
written nothing of the bejeweled Qur'an's true wisdom,
understood none of its meanings, and showed his
disrespect for it by thinking that this source of truths
consists of meaningless decoration. Looking through
second book, and seeing that the truth-loving scholar
had written a very beautiful and useful interpretation,
a wise and illuminating composition, he congratulated
him. It was pure wisdom, and its author was a true
scholar, a genuine sage. As a reward, the scholar was
given 10 gold coins from the ruler's inexhaustible
treasury for each letter of his book. The
meaning is as follows: The embellished Qur'an is this
artistically fashioned universe; the ruler is the Eternal
Sovereign. The first man represents the line of
philosophy and philosophers: the second man represents
the way of the Qur'an and its students. Indeed, the wise
Qur'an is the most exalted expounder and a most eloquent
translator of this universe (a macro-Qur'an). It is the
Criterion that instructs jinn and humanity in the signs
of creation—Divine laws regarding creation and the
universe's operation—inscribed by the Pen of Power on
the sheets of the universe and pages of time. It looks
upon creatures, each a meaningful letter, as bearing the
meaning of another (on account of their Maker) and says:
"How beautifully they have been made, how
meaningfully they point to the Maker's beauty and
grace." Thus it shows the universe's real beauty. Philosophy,
focused on the design and decorations of creation's
"letters," has lost its way. While it ought to
look upon this macro-book's letters as bearing the
meaning of another (on account of God), it looks upon
them as signifying themselves (on account of themselves)
and says: "How beautiful they are," not
"How beautifully they have been made." Thus
philosophers insult creation and cause it to complain. In
truth, materialistic philosophy is a falsehood having no
truth, an insult to creation. Second
fundamental: Moral training in one's personal life:
Sincere students of philosophy are Pharaoh-like tyrants.1
They abuse themselves by bowing in worship before the
meanest thing, if they perceive it to be in their
interest to do so. These materialist students are
stubborn, misleading, and unyielding, but so wretched
that they accept endless degradation for one pleasure;
unbending but so mean as to kiss the feet of devilish
people for a base advantage. They are conceited and
domineering, but, unable to find any point of support
in their hearts, are utterly impotent and vainglorious
tyrants. Such people are no more than self-centered
egoists striving to gratify their material and carnal
desires, pursuers of personal interests and certain
national interests.
Sincere
students of the Qur'an are worshipping servants of God.
They do not degrade themselves by bowing in worship
before, even the greatest of the created. They are
dignified servants who do not worship in order to obtain
a benefit, even Paradise. They are modest students, mild
and gentle, who only lower themselves voluntarily to
their Creator, never exceeding what He has permitted.
They are aware of their weakness and need, but are
independent because the Munificent Owner provides them
with spiritual wealth. Relying on their Master's infinite
Power, they are powerful. They act and strive purely
for God's sake and pleasure, and to be equipped with
virtue. The training given by philosophy and the Qur'an
may be understood through the above comparison. Third
fundamental: Moral training in human social life:
Philosophy considers force to be the point of support in
social life, and life as the realization of
self-interest (its goal) and conflict (its principle). A
community's unifying bonds are race and aggressive
nationalism, and its fruits are the gratification of
carnal desires and increased need. Force calls for
aggression, seeking self-interest causes battles over
material resources, and conflict brings strife. Racism
feeds by swallowing others, thereby paving the way for
aggression. This is why humanity is not happy. The
Qur'an accepts right as the point of support in social
life. The aim is virtue and God's approval, and its
principle is mutual assistance. The only community
bonds it accepts are those of religion, profession, and
country. Its aim is to control and thus weaken carnal
desires by urging the soul to sublime matters, satisfying
our exalted feelings so that we will strive for human
perfection and true humanity. Right calls for unity,
virtues bring solidarity, and mutual assistance means
helping each other. Religion secures brotherhood,
sisterhood, and cohesion. Restraining our desires and
urging the soul to perfection brings happiness in both
worlds. •
Fourth fundamental: The Qur'an is superior to all other
Divine Scriptures, speech, and writings: This truth is
explained in the following two parables: First, a king
has two forms of speech and address. He uses the first
one while speaking on his phone to a common subject
regarding a minor matter or private need. He uses the
second one in his capacity as the supreme sovereign,
supreme head of the religious office, and supreme ruler.
He directs his words toward an envoys or high official so
that his commands will be promulgated through an exalted
decree that manifests his majesty. Second,
a person holds a mirror toward the sun. According to the
mirror's capacity, he receives the sun's seven-colored
light and thereby establishes a connection with it. When
he directs this light-filled mirror toward his dark house
and roof-covered garden, he benefits from the sun only
according to the mirror's ability to reflect it.
Another person opens broad windows in his house or
roof-covered garden, thus exposing them to the benefits
of direct and continuous sunlight. In gratitude, he says:
"O fine sun, beauty of the world and skies, who
gilds Earth with your light and makes flowers smile.
You have furnished my house and garden with your heat and
light, just as you have done for the skies, Earth, and
flowers." The first person cannot say such things,
for he has to be content with his mirror's reflections of
the sun's light and heat. Consider
the Qur'an in the light of these two parables. See its
miraculousness and understand its holiness. The Qur'an
declares: If all the trees on Earth were to become pens
and all the seas ink, and if they were to write the words
of Almighty God, they would never finish them. The
Qur'an holds the greatest rank among God's infinite words
because it originated in His Greatest Name and in the
greatest level of every Name, each of which has
infinitely different levels of manifestation.2
It is the Word of God because He is the Lord of the
Worlds; His decree because He is the Deity of all
creatures; and a Divine address because He is the Creator
of the Heavens and Earth. It is a speech of God in regard
to His absolute Lordship, an eternal address in regard to
His universal Divine Sovereignty; a ledger of the
All-Merciful One's favors from the point of view of His
all-embracing, comprehensive Mercy; a collection of
communications that sometimes begin with ciphers in
respect of His Divinity's sublime majesty; and a
wisdom-infusing Holy Scripture that, having originated
from the Divine Greatest Name's all-comprehensive
realm, looks to and examines the all-embracing domain of
the Supreme Throne of God. This is why the Qur'an
deserves to be called— and is called—the Word of God.
Some
other Divine Words are Divine speech manifested for a
specific reason, under a minor title, and through the
particular manifestation of a particular Name. This
results from a particular manifestation of Divine
Hardship, Sovereignty, or Mercy. Divine Words vary in
degree with respect to particularity and universaUty.
Most inspiration is of this kind. For example, in
ascending order, God sends the most particular and simple
inspiration to animals. It increases in importance as
it is sent to ordinary people, ordinary angels, saints,
and greater angels, respectively. This
is why saints who supplicate without mediation directly
through the telephone of the heart "connected to
God" say: "My heart reports to me from my
Lord." They do not say: "It reports to me from
the Lord of the Worlds." They can say: "My
heart is a mirror, a Throne, of my Lord," but not:
"My heart is the Throne of the Lord of the
Worlds," for saints receive the Divine address only
according to their capacity and to how many of the
70,000 veils separating humanity and God they have
removed. A
king's decree issued in his capacity as the supreme
sovereign is higher and more exalted than his
conversation with a commoner. We receive far more benefit
from direct exposure to the sun than we do from its
reflection. The Qur'an is superior to all speech and
books in the same way. Next come the other Divine
Scriptures,3 which are superior to all other
speech and books, for they are based on Revelation. If
all non-Qur'anic but nevertheless fine words, epigrams,
and wise sayings known to humanity and jinn were
collected, they could not equal the Qur'an. If
you want to have some understanding of how the Qur'an has
originated in God's Greatest Name and in the greatest
level of every Name, consider the universal, sublime
statements of Ay at al-Kursi (2:255) and the following
verses: God,
there is no god but He; the Ever-Living, the
Self-Subsisting (by Whom all subsist.) Slumber seizes Him
not, nor sleep. To Him belongs all that is in the heavens
and all that is in the earth. Who is there that shall
intercede with Him save by His leave? He knows what lies
before them and what lies after them, (what lies in their
future and in their past, what is known to them and what
is hidden from them;) and they comprehend not
anything of His Knowledge save, what He wills. His Seat
(of dominion) embraces the heavens and Earth, and their
preservation wearies Him not; He is the All-High, the
Tremendous. (2:255)
With
Him are the keys of the Unseen. (6:59) O
God, Owner of sovereignty. (3:26) He
covers the day with the night, each pursuing the other
urgently. (7:54) O
Earth, swallow your water, and O sky, cease your rain!
(11:44) The
seven heavens and Earth, and all within them extol Him.
(17:44) Your
creation and your upraising are as but as a single
soul. (31:28) We
offered the Trust to the heavens and Earth and the
mountains. (33:72) On
the day when We shall roll up heaven as a scroll is
rolled for books. (21:104) They
measure not God as is due to Him. Earth altogether
shall be His handful on the Day of Resurrection. (39:67) If
We had sent down this Qur'an upon a mountain, you would
have seen it humbled, split asunder out of the fear of
God. (59:21) Meditate
upon the initial verses of those suras beginning with al-hamdu
li-llah (All praise be to God) or tusabbihu (glorifies
Him), and try to understand this significant fact. Look
at the openings of those suras beginning with Alif Lam
Mim, AlifLam Ra, and Ha Mim, and try to understand the
Qur 'an's importance in God Almighty's sight. If
you understand the significant kernel of this fourth
fundamental, you understand the following facts:
•
Revelation mostly came to Prophets via an angel;
inspiration is mostly without mediation. •
The greatest saint cannot attain the level of any
Prophet. •
The-Qur'an possesses its own grandeur, sacred glory and
honor, which are the sources of its sublime
miraculousness. •
Prophet Muhammad was honored with Ascension, ascended
to the Heavens, reached the furthest lote-tree and to thé
distance of only two bows ' length,4 and there
supplicated the All-Majestic One, Who is closer to us
than our jugular veins, and returned in the Iwinkling
of an eye for specific reasons. Just as spUtting the moon
was a miracle of Messengership demonstrating his
Prophethood to the jinn and humanity, the Ascension was a
miracle of his worship and servanthood to God
demonstrating to spirits and angels that he is the
Beloved of God.
O
God, bestow blessings and peace upon him and his Family5
as befits Your Mercy and his dignity.
The
Twentieth Word The
Qur'an: Eloquence and Science Two
stations In
the Name of God, the Merciful the Compassionate. First
station: Consider the following verses: When
We said unto the angels: "Prostrate before
Adam," they fell prostrate, all save Iblis. (2:34) God
commands you to sacrifice a cow. (2:67) Yet
after all this your hearts were hardened and become like
rocks or even harder. (2:74) Once,
Satan suggested three things about these verses: You
say that the Qur'an is a miracle of infinite eloquence
and guidance for everyone forever. So why does it
persistently repeat, in a sort of historical manner,
certain insignificant events like slaughtering a cow
and even naming the longest sura (al-Baqara means
"The Cow") after that event? Also, the angels'
prostrating before Adam is a matter of the Unseen and
reason cannot comprehend it. It may be accepted and
affirmed only after one has attained a strong belief, and
yet the Qur'an addresses all those who have reason or
intellect and frequently warns: 'Will they not use their
reason?' Additionally, what kind of guidance is intended
by describing so forcefully certain natural conditions
of-rocks that are only results of chance? The
following points occurred to me. First
point: The Qur'an contains many apparently
insignificant events, each of which hides a universal
principle and present the tip of a general law. For
example: (He) taught Adam the names of all of them (2:31)
states that Adam was taught "the names" as a
miracle to show his superiority over the angels in being
favored with God's vicegerency on Earth—the rale of
Earth in the name of God. Although
this seems a small and particular event, it constitutes a
tip of the following universal principle: Due to Adam's
comprehensive nature, humanity was taught (or given the
potential to obtain) a great deal of information, many
sciences concerning all aspects of the universe, and
vast knowledge about the Creator's Attributes and acts.
All of this made humanity superior to the angels, the
heavens, Earth, and the mountains, for only humanity
could bear the Supreme Trust. It also made humanity
Earth's ruler in God's name. Likewise,
the angels' prostration before Adam, in contrast with
Satan's rejection, is a small, particular event in the
Unseen. However, it is the tip of a most comprehensive
and universally observed principle and suggests a most
extensive truth: By mentioning their obedience and
submission and Satan's haughty refusal, the Qur'an shows
that most material beings in the universe and their
spiritual representatives are subjugated to us and
ever-ready to satisfy our needs and desires. In
addition, the Qur'an warns us about evil beings and their
immaterial representatives, as well as Earth's devilish
inhabitants who corrupt our potential for perfection and
seduce us into wrong paths. It reminds us of these
terrible enemies and great obstacles we will encounter
on the path of progress toward perfection. Thus, while
narrating a particular event pertaining to a single
individual (Adam) the Qur'an of Miraculous Expression
holds an elevated discourse with all creation and
humanity. Second
point: Although part of the Sahara desert, the blessed
Nile's bounteous gifts have made Egypt a fertile, arable
land. Such a blessed, paradise-like land being adjacent
to the hellish Sahara caused farming and agriculture to
be so established in the Egyptians' very nature that
agriculture became sanctified and cows and bulls became
objects of worship. In fact, the Egyptians of Moses' time
worshipped cows and bulls, as can be seen by the Jews
making a calf to worship years after the Exodus. The
Qur'an explains that Moses, by sacrificing a cow and
through his Messenger-ship, eradicated this ingrained
concept. Thus this apparently insignificant event points
to a universal principle with an elevated
miraculousness, and expounds upon it as a most essential
lesson of wisdom for everyone at all times. By
analogy, certain minor incidents mentioned in the Qur'an
as historical events are tips of universal principles.
In Lema'at, in the "Treatise of the Miraculousness
of the Qur'an," I used, as examples, the seven
sentences of Moses' story to explain how each part of
those particular sentences contains a significant
universal principle. Third
point: Consider the following verse: Yet
after all this your hearts were hardened and became like
rocks, or even harder: For there are rocks from which
rivers gush, and some from which, when they are cleft,
water issues; and some which fall down for awe of God.
God is not unaware of what you do. (2:74) While
reciting this verse, Satan asked: "Why are
certain'natural conditions of rocks, known to. everyone,
mentioned as if they were among the most important
issues?" In response, the following point issued
from the Qur'an's enlightenment: It is appropriate to do
so, and there is a need for it, for only through the
Qur'an's miraculous conciseness and bounty of
enlightenment has the matter been simplified and
summarized. Conciseness
is a foundation of the Qur'an's miraculousness, and
bountiful enlightenment and beauty of explanation are
parts of its guidance. These qualities require that
universal truths and profound yet general principles be
presented in simple terms to the broad masses that make
up the majority of the Qur'an's audience. As most
peopie are not deep thinkers, it requires that only
their tips and simple forms should be shown. Also all
events, each a Divine operation whose extraordinary
character is veiled by familiarity, should be pointed out
briefly. Thus,
because of this subtle reality, this verse says:
O
Children of Israel and children of Adam, why have your
hearts become harder and more lifeless than rocks? Look
at those very hard, lifeless, large rocks formed in vast
underground strata. See how obedient and submissive they
are to Divine commands, how permeable and open they are
to His Lordship's acts. This is so clear that the ease
with which the Divine operations form trees can be seen
with the same ease, order, and perfect wisdom
underground. Water flows to them without resistance, just
like blood circulating in veins, in well-arranged water
channels and veins through hard, deaf rocks.6 Just
as tree and plant branches spread easily, the roots'
delicate veins spread underground with the same ease and
lack of resistance from rocks. The
Qur'an points to this and teaches a comprehensive truth
through that-verse, and so by allusion says to the
hard-hearted: O
Children of Israel and children of Adam. You are weak and
impotent, and yet you can make your hearts so hard that
they resist the Divine Being's commands. Huge strata of
hard rocks perform their subtle tasks perfectly in
darkness and in total submission to His commands. They
act as a source of water and other means of life for all
living creatures in such a way, and as means for their
division and distribution with such wisdom and justice,
that they are as malleable as wax or even air in the hand
of Power of the All-Wise One of Majesty. Without
resistance, they prostrate before His Power's vastness,
for almost the same well-arranged occurrences and wise
and gracious Divine operations that we see above ground
take place underground. continuation,
with well-ordered balance, of springs and rivers, sources
and streams. Rocks "write" and scatter over
Earth's face "evidences" of Divine Unity that
they cause to flow, with all their strength, in
"mouthfuls" in the form of water, which serves
life. Moreover,
Divine wisdom and favor are manifested there in a more
wonderful and more wondrous manner than they are above
ground. Consider how soft the hardest and most unfeeling
huge rocks are toward God's commands in the creation and
operation of the universe, and how unresisting and
flexible they are to the pleasant waters, delicate
roots, and silk-like veins that act according to His
command. Like a lover, the rock smashes its heart at
the touch of those delicate, beautiful things and becomes
soft soil in their path. Also,
through the sentence in the verse and there are some
which fall down for awe of God, the Qur'an displays the
tip of a tremendous truth: When Moses asked for a vision
of God while standing at the foot of a mountain, the
mountain crumbled at the Divine manifestation and its
rocks were scattered. Like this, through Divine Majesty's
awesome manifestations as earthquakes and similar
geological events, rocks fall from summits, which are
usually like huge monoliths formed of thickened fluid,
and are shattered. Some of these crumble and become
fertile soil; others remain as rocks and are scattered
down to the valleys and plains. They
serve many purposes for Earth's inhabitants, as in
their houses. In utter submission to Divine Power and
Wisdom, and for certain hidden purposes and benefits,
they stand ready to be used in accordance with the
principles of Divine Wisdom. Not in vain, or because of
accident or random chance, do they leave their positions
at the summit and choose the lower places in humility
and become the means of those significant benefits.
Rather, they do so out of awe of God. This
shows that such events occur by an All-Wise and
All-Powerful One's wise operation, and that there is a
wise order invisible to the superficial eye in such
seemingly chaotic events. Such are the purposes and
benefits attached to these rocks, and the perfect order
and fine artistry in the "garments" adorned and
embossed with the jewels of fruits and flowers with
which the "body" of the mountains down which
they roll are clothed. Thus,
you have seen the value of the verse's three parts from
the viewpoint of wisdom. See the Qur'an's fine manner of
expression and miraculous eloquence, how it shows
through the tips of the comprehensive and significant
truths mentioned above those three well-known and
observed events. Also, by reminding in the same three
parts of three further events, each of which is a means
of taking a lesson, it offers a fine guidance and
restrains in a way that cannot be resisted. For
example, the verse's second part says: and there are some
from which, when they are cleft, water issues. By
referring to the rock cleft with "complete
eagerness" when Moses struck it with his staff, and
the subsequent pouring forth of twelve streams from
twelve sources, it means: O
Children of Israel. Large rocks become tears out of awe
or joy, yet you are so unjust as to remain obstinate when
confronted with all of Moses' miracles. You do not
weep. Are your eyes so dried and your hearts so hard? In
the third part, it says: and there are some which fall
down for awe of God. By recalling the well-known event of
the mountain crumbling and the rocks rolling down out of
awe at the manifestation of Divine Majesty, which took
place at Mount Sinai when Moses supplicated for a vision
of God, it gives the following lesson: O
People of Moses. You do not fear God, yet mountains
crumble in awe of Him. You witness that He held Mount
Sinai above you to receive your solemn promise of loyalty
to Him, and that the mountain crumbled when Moses prayed
for the Divine vision. And
yet you are so bold that you do not tremble out of fear
of God, and you keep your hearts so hard and unfeeling! In
the first part, it says: for there are rocks from which
rivers gush. By recalling such rivers as the Nile, the
Tigris, and the Euphrates, which gush out of mountains,
it points out how wonderfully and miraculously rocks are
susceptible and subjugated to the Divine commands of
creation. To awakened, attentive hearts, this means: The
mountains cannot be the actual source of such mighty
rivers, for even if they were formed completely of
water, they could supply such a river for only a few
months. Also rain, which penetrates only about a meter
underground, cannot be sufficient income for that high
expenditure. No ordinary reason, natural cause, or
chance can explain these rivers' sources and flow. The
All-Majestic Creator makes them flow forth in truly
wonderful fashion from an unseen "treasury." One
Tradition7 refers to this: "Every minute
a drop falls from Paradise into each of those three 1
The Arabic word hadith, commonly translated into English
as Tradition, literally means news, story, communication,
or conversation, whether religious or secular, historical
or recent. In the Qur'an, this word appears in religious
(39:23,68:44), rivers. That is why they flow
abundantly." Another Tradition states: "The
source of these three rivers is in Paradise."8
As physical causes cannot produce their abundant flow,
their sources must be in an unseen world, a hidden
treasury of Mercy, so that the balance between incoming
and outgoing water is maintained. By drawing attention to
this meaning, the Qur'an gives the following
instruction:
O
Children of Israel and children of Adam, your hardness of
heart and lack of feeling cause you to disobey the
commandments of such a One of Majesty. Your heedlessness
causes you to close your eyes to the light of knowledge
of such an Everlasting Sun. He causes mighty rivers like
the Nile to gush from the mouths of ordinary, solid rocks
and turn Egypt into a paradise. For the universe's heart
and Earth's mind, He produces miracles of His Power and
witnesses to His Oneness as strong and abundant as the
gushing forth and flow of those mighty rivers, and makes
them flow to the hearts and minds of jinn and humanity.
Further, while it shows the All-Majestic Creator as the
sunlight shows the sun, that He makes some hard,
unfeeling rocks the objects of the miracles of His Power
in such wonderful fashion,9 how is it that you
are blind to the light of His knowledge and do not see
the truth?
See
how eloquently the Qur'an expresses these truths. Note
the guidance of that eloquence. I wonder what hardness
of heart and lack of feeling cannot be melted by its
"heat." If you have understood my words, see
one guiding gleam of the Qur'an's miraculousness and
thank God. Glory
be to You. We have no knowledge save what You have taught
us. Truly, you are the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. O God,
enable us to understand the mysteries of the Qur'an as
You like and approve, and grant us success in the service
of it. Amen, through Your Mercy, O Merciful of the
Merciful. O God, bestow blessings and peace upon the one
to whom the wise Qur'an was sent, and upon his Family and
Companions. Second
station: (A gleam of the Qur'an's miraculousness, which
shines through the Prophets' miracles.) Notice the two
questions and their answers at the end. *** In
the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate. Not
a thing, fresh or withered, wet or dry, but it is in a
Manifest Book. (6:59)
Several
years ago in my Isharat al-I'jaz (Signs of
Miraculousness), I discussed in Arabic one meaning of
this verse.10 Now two of my
brothers-in-reli-gion, whose wishes are important to me,
have asked for a Turkish explanation of that discussion.
Relying on Alrnighty God's help, and based on the Qur
'an's enlightenment, I write the following section. According
to one interpretation, the Manifest Book is the Qur'an.
This verse states that everything is found in it. This is
true. However, we must realize that things are found at
different levels. They are presented as seeds, nuclei,
summaries, principles or signs, as well as explicitly
or imphcitly, allusively, vaguely or suggestively.
Depending on the occasion, one form is preferred to best
convey the Qur'an's purposes and meet the context's
requirements. For
example, progress in science and industry has resulted in
airplanes, electricity, motorized transportation, and
radio and telecommunication. Such things are prominent in
our daily lives. As the Qur'an addresses humanity [at all
times], it does not ignore these developments; rather, it
points to them through the Prophets' miracles and in
connection with certain historical events. Down
with the makers of the trench of the fuel-fed fire. When
they sat by it, and were themselves the witnesses of what
they did to the believers. They ill-treated them for no
other reason than that they believed in God, the Mighty,
the All-Praised One. (85:4-8)" ...
in the loaded fleet. And We have created for them the
like thereof, whereon they ride. (36:41-42) Such
verses point to trains, while the following verse,
besides its many other meanings and connotations,
alludes to electricity: God
is the Light of the heavens and Earth. The parable of
His Light is as a niche wherein is a lamp. The lamp is in
a glass, and the glass is, as it were, a shining star
kindled from a blessed olive tree, neither of the East or
the West, whose oil would almost glow forth (of itself)
though no fire touched it: Light upon light.12
God guides to His Light whom He wills. (24:35)
Since
many people have analyzed verses of the second type,
those alluding to modern technology in connection with
historical events, and since they require much care and
detailed explanation, as well as being very numerous, I
shall content myself with verses alluding to trains and
electricity as seen in the Qur'anic accounts of the
Prophets' miracles. Introduction God
Almighty sent the Prophets as leaders and vanguards of
spiritual and moral progress, and thus endowed them with
certain wonders and miracles and made them masters and
forerunners of humanity's material progress. He
commands people to follow them absolutely. By
relating the Prophets' spiritual and moral perfections,
the Qur'an encourages people to benefit from them. By
presenting their miracles, it urges people to achieve
something similar through science. It may even be said
that, like spiritual and moral attainments, material
attainments and wonders were first given to humanity as
gifts through Prophetic miracles. For example, Noah was
the first to build ships, and Joseph was the first to
build clocks. Thus the ship and clock were given first as
Prophetic miracles. It is a meanmgful indication of this
reality that so many craft guilds take a Prophet as the
"patron" or originator of their craft. For
exampie, seamen take Noah, watchmakers take Joseph, and
tailors take Enoch. Since
truth-seeking scholars and the science of eloquence agree
that each Qur'anic verse contains guidance and
instruction, it follows that verses relating the
Prophets' miracles, the most brilliant of all verses,
should not be considered mere historical events. Rather,
they comprise numerous indications of guidance. By
relating these miracles, the Qur'an shows the ultimate
goal of scientific and technological developments, and
specifies their final aims, toward which it urges
humanity. Just as the past is the field for the future's
seeds and the mirror to its potential picture, so is the
future the time to reap the past life's harvest and the
mirror to the actual situation. Out of many examples, I
shall point out only a few. The
verse: And to Solomon (We subjugated) the wind: its
morning stride was a month's journey and the evening
stride was a month's journey (34:12) expresses the wind's
subjugation to Solomon: Solomon covered the distance of 2
months' walk in two strides by flying through the air.
This suggests that humanity can and should strive to
travel through the air. Almighty God also is saying:
"One of My servants did not obey his carnal desires,
and I mounted him on the air. If you give up laziness
and benefit properly from certain of My laws in nature,
you too can mount it." The
verse: When Moses askedfor waterfor his people, We said:
"Strike the rock with your staff." Then gushed
forth therefrom twelve springs (so that) each tribe knew
their drinking place " (2:60) indicates that
simple tools can unlock Mercy's underground treasuries.
In places hard as rock, the-water for life may be drawn
with so simple a device as a staff. Through this meaning,
the verse urges us to seek these treasures. Through this
verse, God Almighty suggests: "One of My servants
relied on Me, and so I gave him a staff that draws the
water for life from wherever he wishes. If you rely on My
laws of Mercy, you too can obtain such a device."
Modern scientists have invented many devices to bring up
subsurface water. The verse points to further goals, just
as the previous one specified attainments far ahead of
today's airplanes. The
verse: I heal him who was born blind, and the leper, and
I raise the dead by God's leave (3:49), concerning a
miracle of Jesus, alludes to and encourages the highest
level of healing with which God endowed him. It suggests
that even the most chronic ailments can be cured.
Therefore, we should search for it. By the verse God
Almighty means: I
gave two gifts to one of My servants who renounced the
world for My sake: the remedy for spiritual ailments,
and the cure for physical sicknesses. Dead hearts were
quickened through the light of guidance, and sick
people who were as though dead found health through his
breath and cure. You may find the cure for all illnesses
in My "pharmacy" in nature, where I attached
many important purposes to each thing. Work and find it. This
verse marks the final point of medical development far
ahead of the present level and urges us toward it. The
verses: We made iron supple for him [David] (34:10), We
gave him [David] wisdom and sound judgment in speech and
decision (38:20), and We caused the fount of copper to
gush forth with him [Solomon]"(34:12) indicate that
softening iron is one of God's greatest bounties, one
through which He shows a great Prophet's virtue.
Softening iron, smelting copper, and extracting minerals
is the origin, source, and basis of all material
industries. These verses state that these two processes
are great favors granted to two great Prophets, who ruled
according to God's commandments, and are the means to
most general industries. Since
God endowed a Prophet, who was both a spiritual and
political leader, with wise speech, craftsmanship, and
industry, He urges people to speak wisely and encourages
them toward craftsmanship and industry. By these
verses, God Almighty suggests: I
gave such wisdom to the tongue and heart of a servant who
obeyed My religious commandments to judge and distinguish
between all things with perfect clarity and to discern
the truth. I endowed him with such skill that he could
cast iron into any mold and then use it as an important
source of strength for his rule. Since
this is possible and since iron has great significance
for your social life, which requires it, such wisdom and
skill will be bestowed on you if you obey My commands of
creation, My laws of nature. Eventually you will attain
it. By
softening iron and smelting copper, humanity has
achieved great industrial progress and material power.
These verses direct our attention toward this truth. Just
as they warned earlier peoples who did not appreciate its
importance, so they warn today's lazy people. The
verse: One with whom was knowledge of the Book said:
"I will bring it to you before your gaze returns to
you (in the twinkling of an eye). " When Solomon saw
it set in his presence... (27:40), describes the
wonderful event of bringing the Queen of Sheba's throne
to Solomon's court. This suggests that things can be
transported over long distances, either bodily or in
their images. In fact, God Almighty bestowed this as a
miracle upon Solomon, who was honored with kingship as
well as Divine Messengership, so that he could maintain
his infallibility and justice by being personally
informed of all regions in his extensive realm, see his
subjects' conditions, and hear of their troubles. That
means that if we rely on Almighty God and appeal to Him
in the tongue of our potentials, as Solomon did in the
tongue of his infallibility, and if our acts conform to
His laws in the universe and with what attracts His
favor, the world may become like a town for us. The
Queen's throne was in Yemen, yet it was seen in Damascus
either bodily or in image, as were the forms of the
people around it, who were seen and heard. This
verse points to the transport of forms and transmission
of sounds over long distances. In effect, it says:
"O rulers. If you wish to realize perfect justice,
try to see and know your realm in all its details, as
Solomon did. Only by rising to such a level can a just
ruler who cherishes his subjects be saved from being held
accountable. Only in this manner may he realize perfect
justice." God Almighty means: O
humanity. I bestowed on My servant a vast realm. So that
he might realize perfect justice throughout it, fallowed
him to know whatever was happening therein. Since I have
created every person with a capacity to rule according to
My commands, I also have given him, as a requirement of
My Wisdom, the potential to scan Earth's face and
comprehend whatever is in it. If every person cannot
reach this point, humanity as a species may realize it.
If they do not achieve it physically, they can do it
spiritually, like the saints. Therefore, you may
benefit from this great blessing. Come on, let Me see you
do it. Fulfill your duties of worship. Strive in such a
way that you may turn Earth's face into a garden, every
part of which you may see, and the sounds from every
corner of which you may hear. Heed the decree of the Most
Merciful: He made Earth subservient to you, so walk in
the paths thereof and eat of His providence. Unto Him is
the resurrection. (67:15) Thus
the verse mentioned above marks the ultimate point in the
transmission of images and sounds, which constitutes one
of the latest and most significant developments in
science and technology, and encourages humanity toward
that furthest point. The
verses: Others linked together in chains (38:38) and: Of
the evil ones were some who dived for him, and did other
work (21:82), state that Solomon made the jinn, devils,
and evil spirits obey him. He prevented their evil and
used them for beneficial work. In other words: The jinn,
who are conscious beings and Earth's most important
inhabitants after humanity, may serve us and can be
contacted. Devils also may be made to serve, either
willingly or unwillingly. God Almighty made them obey a
servant who obeyed His commands. These verses imply:
"O humanity. I made jinn and devils, including their
most evil ones, obey a servant who obeyed Me. If you
submit yourself to My commands, most creatures, including
jinn and devils, may be subjugated to you." These
verses mark the highest point in the occult or
supernatural sciences dealing with paranormal events,
which appear as a blend of art and science and out of our
extraordinary material and spiritual sensitivity. They
urge us to subjugate and employ such beings through the
Qur'an so that we may be saved from their evil. These
verses, and others like: Then We sent to her Our spirit
and it assumed for her the form of a perfect man (19:17),
hint that spirit beings may assume visible forms. But the
Qur'an is not alluding to modern necromancy, which some
"civilized" people practice by trying to
contact the spirits of the dead, for these, in reality,
are evil spirits masquerading as the dead person.
Rather, it is the form known to certain saints, like
Muhiy al-Din ibn al-'Arabi, who could communicate with
good spirits at will, make contact and form relations
with them, and, by going to their abodes and drawing near
to their atmosphere, benefit from their spirituality. The
verses: We subdued the hills to hymn the praises (of
their Lord) with him at nightfall and after sunrise (38:18),
Oyou mountains. Echo His psalms ofpraise, and you birds.
And We made the iron supple for him (34:10), and We have
been taught the language of birds (27:16), which are
about David's miracles, point out mat Almighty God gave
David's glorifications such strength and such a resonant
and pleasing tone that they brought the mountains to
ecstasy. Like a huge sound system, each mountain formed a
circle around the chief reciter—David—and repeated
his glorifications. This is a reality, for every mountain
with caves can "speak" like a parrot. If you
declare before a mountain: "All praise be to
God," the mountain will echo it back. Since God
Almighty has granted this ability to mountains, it can
be developed. God
endowed David with both Messengership and caliphate in an
exceptional form. Thus He made this seed of ability
flourish as a miracle with that comprehensive
Messengership and magnificent sovereignty that great
mountains followed him like soldiers, students, or
disciples. Under his direction and in his tongue, they
glorified the All-Majestic Creator and repeated whatever
he said. At
present, due to advancements in communication, a great
commander can get a large army dispersed through the
mountains to repeat his declaration "God is the
Greatest" at the same time, and make the mountains
speak and ring with the words. If an ordinary commander
can do this, a magnificent commander of Almighty God can
get them actually to utter and recite God's
glorifications. Besides, each mountain has a collective
personality and corporate identity, and offers
glorifications and worship unique to itself. Just as
each one glorifies in humanity's tongue via echoing, it
also glorifies the All-Majestic Creator in its own
particular tongue. The
verses: We have been taught the tongues of birds (27:16)
and The birds assembled (38:19) point out that Almighty
God bestowed on David and Solomon knowledge of the birds'
languages and of the tongues of abilities (how they could
be of benefit). Given this, and that Earth is a laden
table of the Most Merciful One set up in our honor,
most animals and birds that benefit from this table may
serve us. God uses such small animals as honeybees and
silkworms, through the guidance of His special
inspiration, to benefit humanity. By enabling us to use
pigeons and make certain birds like parrots speak, He has
added to the beauty of human civilization. If
we could discover how to use other birds and animals,
many species might be employed for important tasks, just
as domestic animals are. For example, if the languages of
locust-destroying starlings were known and their
movements could be controlled, they could be used against
plagues of locusts. What a valuable free service this
would be! Thus, the verses mentioned show the ultimate
point in subjugating and benefiting from birds, and
making such lifeless beings speak like a telephone. By
specifying the farthest aim in this field, the verses
urge humanity toward it. By
the same verses, God Almighty indicates:
So
that his infallibility as a Prophet and his justice as a
sovereign might not be damaged, I subjugated to one of
your fellow men, who was totally submitted to Me, the
huge creatures in My Kingdom and made them speak. I put
most of My troops and animals in his service. I have
entrusted to each of you the Supreme Trust13
that the heavens, Earth, and the mountains refused, and
have endowed you with the potential to rule on Earth
according to My commands. Therefore you should yield to
the One in Whose hand are the reins of all creatures.
This will cause the creatures in His Kingdom to yield to
you, so that you may use them in the name of the One Who
holds their reins and rise to a position worthy of your
potential. Given
this, do not waste your time with record players,
musical instruments, playing with pigeons, making
parrots speak, and so on. Rather, try for a most
agreeable, elevated, and sacred amusement—that
mountains may function as a huge sound system for you as
they did for David, that a breeze may cause the tunes of
Divine praise and glorification to reach your
earsirom-trees and plants, that mountains may manifest
themselves as wonderful creatures reciting Divine
glorifications in thousands of tongues, and that most
birds may be each an intimate friend or an obedient
servant, like Solomon's hoopoe. They may entertain you
and drive you with zeal toward the perfections and
attainments of which you are capable, rather than causing
you to fall from the position required by your
humanity, as vain amusements do. The
verse: We said: "O fire. Be coolness and peace for
Abraham" (2.1:69), about one of Abraham's
miracles, contains three subtle indications: First:
Like every element in nature, fire performs a duty
under a command. It did not burn Abraham, for God
commanded it not to do so.
Second:
One type of heat burns through coldness. Through the
phrase Be peace, God Almighty ordered the cold:
"Like heat, do not burn him."14 It
is simultaneously fire and cold. Science has discovered a
fire called "white heat," which does not
radiate its heat. Instead, by attracting the
surrounding heat, it causes the surrounding area to
become cold enough to freeze liquids and in effect burns
them through its cold. (Hell, which contains all degrees
and sorts of fire, also must have this intense cold.) Third:
Just as there is an immaterial substance like belief and
an armor like Islam, which will remove and protect
against the effects of Hellfire, there must be a physical
substance that will protect against and prevent the
effects of fire. As is required by His Name the All-Wise,
and since this world is the Abode of Wisdom, [where
everything occurs for a definite purpose and usually
according to cause and effect], God Almighty acts
behind the veil of cause and effect. Therefore, as the
fire did not burn Abraham's body or clothes, He gave them
a state that resisted fire. Thus
the verse suggests: O
nation of Abraham. Be like Abraham, so that your garments
may be your guard against the fire, your greatest enemy,
in both worlds. Coat your spirit with belief, and it will
be your armor against Hell-fire. Moreover,
Earth contains substances that will protect you from
fire's evil. Search for them, extract them, and coat
yourselves with them. As
an important step in his progress, humanity discovered
a fire-resistant substance. But see how elevated, fine,
and beautiful a garment this verse points to, which will
be woven on the loom of purity of belief in and
submission to God, and which will not be rent for all
eternity. The
verse: He taught Adam all the names (2:31) states that,
as his greatest miracle in the cause of supreme
vicegerency, Adam was taught the names. While other
Prophets' miracles point to a particular wonder in the
course of scientific and technological progress, the
miracle of Adam, the father of all Prophets and the
Opening of the Office of Prophethood, alludes almost
explicitly to the ultimate points and final goals of
human attainment and progress. By this verse, God
Almighty suggests:
O
children of Adam. To prove his superiority over the
angels as regards vicegerency, I taught Adam all the
Names.13 Being his children and inheritors of
his abilities, learn all the names and show that you are
worthy of this superiority over all other creatures, such
that vast creatures like Earth are made obedient to you.
Step forward, hold on to one of My Names, and rise. Adam
was deceived by Satan once and for all, and temporarily
fell to Earth from an abode like the Garden. So do not
follow Satan in your progress, thereby making it the
means of falling from the heavens of Divine Wisdom into
the misguidance of attributing creativity to nature, or
real effect to cause and effect in the creation and
operation of nature. Raise your head and, studying My
Beautiful Names, make science and your progress steps by
which to ascend to the heavens. Then you may rise to My
Names of Lordship, which are the essences and sources of
your science and attainments, and through them look to
your Lord with your hearts. A
significant point and important mystery
In
describing all the attainments of learning, scientific
progress, and wonders of technology with which we have
been endowed because of our vast potential under the
title of "the teaching of the Names," the above
verse alludes to a fine point: Each
attairrrnent, perfection, learning, progress, and science
has an elevated reality based on a Divine Name.
Manifesting itself through veils and in various ways
and levels, a particular branch of science or art attains
its perfection and becomes reality. Otherwise it remains
imperfect, deficient, and shadowy. For
example, engineering's reality lies in the Divine Names
the All-Just (One Who gives everything a certain
measure and creates everything in its place) and the
Determiner. Its final aim is to receive the wise
manifestations of those Names in full measure and with
all their majesty. Medicine is an art and a science. Its
reality lies in the Divine Name the All-Healing, and its
perfection in finding a cure for every illness by
discovering the manifestations of the Absolutely Wise
One's mercy in Earth, His vast "pharmacy." Each
natural science, which discusses the reality of
entities, can be a true science full of wisdom only by
discerning the regulating, directing, administering,
sustaining, and all-embracing manifestations of the
Divine Name the All-Wise in things; in the benefits and
advantages of those things; and by being based on that
Name. Otherwise they become superstition and nonsense,
or, like naturalistic philosophy, cause misguidance.
Compare these three examples with other sciences and
attainments. With
this verse, the wise Qur'an points to the highest points,
the furthest limits, the final degrees— from which we
are still far removed—and urges us toward them. This
verse is extremely rich and elaborate in meaning, but for
now I will go no further.
The
Qur'an is the Prophet's16 supreme miracle, the
seal of the Office of Prophethood, the leader of
Prophets, and the cause of pride of all beings. When
compared with his cause of Messengership, all Prophets'
miracles are like one miracle. He was endowed in full
with all levels of all Names taught, in brief, to Adam.
By raising his finger in a mood of majesty, the Prophet
split the moon; by lowering it in a display of grace,
he made water flow from it abundantly; and he was
verified and corroborated by hundreds of miracles. Many
verses like: Say: "If people andjinn banded together
to produce the like of this Qur 'an, they would never
produce its like, not though they backed each
other"(17:88) express its pure explanation,
eloquent expression, comprehensive meanings, and sublime
and sweet styles. Together, these constitute one of the
Qur'an's most brilliant aspects. Such
verses attract people and jinn to the most manifest and
brilliant aspects of that Eternal Miracle. It provokes
them, stirring up the zeal of its friends and the
obstinacy of its enemies. It encourages and stimulates
them to produce something resembling it. It places that
miracle before the eyes of creatures, as if humanity's
only aim is to take it as our goal and guiding principle
in life, to study so that we can advance consciously and
knowingly to the goal destined in creation. Briefly,
the other Prophets' miracles point to a wonder of human
arts or crafts and technology. Adam's miracle indicates a
concise, summarized form of those crafts' basis, as well
as the indexes of sciences, branches of knowledge, and
wonders and perfections, and urges us toward them. The
Qur'an of Miraculous Expression, the supreme miracle of
Muhammad, the object of all the Divine Names'
manifestations in their fullness, shows fully the true
goal of science and all branches of knowledge, as well as
the perfections, atoinments, and happiness of both
worlds. It urges us toward them in such a way that it
means: O
people, the sublime aim in creating this universe is your
response to Divine Lordship's manifestation
(administering, directing, training, and sustaining) with
universal worship. Your ultimate aim is to realize that
worship through science, attainment, and perfections. The
Qur'an also hints at this: "At the end of time,
humanity will pour into science and learning. People will
derive all strength from science. Power and rule will
pass to the hand of science and knowledge." By
frequently emphasizing its eloquent and beautiful style,
the Qur'an suggests: "At the end of time, eloquence
and beauty of expression, the most brilliant sciences and
branches of knowledge, will be most sought after in all
their varieties. People will find that when it comes to
making each other accept their opinions and exercise
their rule, their most effective weapon will be eloquent
expression; their most irresistible force will be fine
oratory." In
short, most Qur'anic verses are keys to a treasury of
perfections and a store of knowledge. If you want to
ascend to the Qur'an's sky and reach the stars of its
verses, make these 20 Words a 20-step stairway and climb
them. You will see what a brilliant, shining sun the
Qur'an is. Notice how it radiates a pure light over the
Divine truths and the truths of the contingent (created)
realm. See what a brilliant light it spreads. Thus,
since the verses concerning the Prophets allude to
contemporary technology's wonders and have a manner of
expression that suggests their furthest limits, since
each verse has many meanings, and since there are
categorical commands to follow and obey the Prophets, the
verses mentioned above must be pointing to the
importance of human arts and sciences, in addition to
then-literal meanings, and urging us toward them. Two
important answers to two important questions Question:
Since the Qur'an was sent for humanity, why does it not
mention explicitly the wonders of civilization that we
consider important? Why does it content itself with
allusions, indications, or references? Answer:
The Qur'an does so because it discusses each topic
according to its worth in its eyes. Its basic duty is to
teach Divine Lordship's perfections, Essential Qualities,
and acts, as well as servanthood's duties, status, and
affairs. Thus the wonders of human civilization merit
only a slight indication or implicit reference or
allusion.
For
example, if an airplane appealed to the Qur'an:
"Give me the right to speak and a place in your
verses," the aircraft of Lordship's sphere (e.g.,
planets, Earth, the moon) would reply on the Qur'an's
behalf: "You may have a place in proportion to
your size."17 If a submarine asked for a
place, submarines belonging to that sphere (e.g.,
heavenly bodies "swimming" in the vast
"ocean" of the atmosphere and ether) would say:
"Your place beside us is too small to be
visible." If a shining, star-like electric light
asked to be included, the electric lights of that sphere
(e.g., lightning, shooting stars, and stars adorning
the sky) would say: "You have a right to be
mentioned and spoken of only in proportion to your
light." If
the wonders of human civilization demanded a place with
respect to the fineness of their art, a fly would reply:
"Be quiet, for even one of my wings has more of a
right than you do. If all of your fine arts and delicate
instruments were joined together, they could not be as
wonderful and as exquisite as the fine art and delicate
members concentrated in my tiny body." The verse: Surely
those upon whom you call, apart from God, shall never
create (even) a fly, though they banded together to do
it (22:73) will silence you." If
those wonders appealed to the Sphere of Servanthood, they
would receive a reply like the following: You
have very little relationship with us, so you cannot
enter our sphere. Our program is this: The world is a
guest-house. Humanity is a guest with many duties. Each
person will stay there for a short time. Being charged
with preparing themselves for eternal life, they will
give priority to their most urgent and important duties.
As you mostly seem to be designed in heedlessness and
world-mindedness, as if the world were eternal, you have
very little share in servanthood to and worship of God,
which is founded upon love of truth and ofherworldliness. However,
if there are among you respected craftspeople,
scientists, and inspired inventors, who, purely for the
benefit of God's servants, serve the general interest
and public ease and attainment of social life, which is a
valuable sort of worship, the Qur 'an's allusions and
indications are sufficient for such sensitive people, who
are a minority among their colleagues, to encourage them
and honor their accomplishments. Question:
You might ask: "After these discussions, I
understand that the Qur'an contains, along with all other
truths and indications of, as well as allusions to,
modern civilization's most advanced wonders. Everything
necessary for human happiness in both worlds is found
in it, in proportion to its worth. But why does the
Qur'an not mention them explicitly, so that everyone
would believe and our minds would be eased?" Answer:
Religion is for examination, a test and trial offered by
God to distinguish elevated and base spirits from each
other. Just as raw materials are fired to separate
diamonds from coal and gold from soil, Divine obligations
test conscious beings so that the precious
"ore" in the "mine" of human
potential may be separated from the dross. Since the
Qur'an.was sent for humanity to be perfected through
trial, it only alludes to future events pertaining to the
world, which everyone will witness. It only opens the
door to reason as much as needed to prove its argument. If
it had mentioned such things explicitly, testing would
be meaningless. They would be so clear, as if Writing There
is no deity but God on the face of the sky with stars,
that everyone would be forced to believe. There would be
no competition, and the testing and trial would mean
nothing. A coallike spirit would stay with and appear
to be equal to a diamond-like spirit.18
In
short, the Qur'an is wise and gives everything a position
in proportion to its value. Thus, 1,300 years ago it saw
the extent of human progress and its fruits, which were
hidden in the darkness of the Unseen (the future), and
showed them in a better form. This shows that the Qur'an
is the Word of One
Who sees at the same instant all time and all within it. All
that we have explained so far is only one gleam of the
Qur'an's rniraculousness, which shines on the
"face" of the Prophets' miracles. O
God. Enable us to understand the Qur'an's mysteries and
make us successful in serving it at every instant and at
all times. Glory be to You. We have no knowledge save
what You have taught us. Truly, you are the All-Knowing,
the All-Wise. O
God. Bestow blessings, peace, benedictions, and honor on
our master and lord, Muhammad, Your servant and Prophet
and Messenger, the unlettered Prophet, on his Family and
Companions and wives and descendants; on all other
Prophets and Messengers; on the angels made near unto
You; and on the saints and the righteous. Bestow
on them the most excellent of blessings, the purest
peace, and the most abundant benedictions, to the
number of the Qur'an's suras, verses, words, letters,
meanings, indications, allusions, and references. Forgive
us, have mercy on us, and be gracious to us, our God, our
Creator, for the sake of each of those blessings, through
Your Mercy, O Most Merciful of the Merciful. All praise
be to God, the Lord of the Worlds. Amen.
The
Twenty-fifth Word The
Miraculous Qur'an While
we have an eternal miracle like the Qur'an, I
feel no need for any other proof. While we have an
evidence of truth like the Qur'an, I feel no difficulty
in silencing those who deny. Note:
The verses discussed in this treatise are those that have
been criticized or questioned. Their truths are herein
explained in such a way that these very points are shown
to be, in reality, the rays of mirac-ulousness and the
sources of the Qur'an's eloquence. Doubts
based on such pretexts as the sun runs ... and the
mountains as masts, through which they seek to cast doubt
on the Qur'an's authenticity and authorship, are removed.
Since
this treatise was composed quickly and amid troubled
circumstances, there may be some defects in the
expression of ideas. However, it explains several issues
that have great scientific importance, and so may be of
use even in its present form. —
Said Nursi In
the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate. Say:
"If humanity and jinn banded together to produce
the like of this Qur'an, they would never produce its
like, even though they backed one another."
(17:88) Out
of countless aspects of the Qur'an's mirac-ulousness,
which is a store of miracles and the greatest miracle of
Prophet Muhammad, I have so far mentioned about 40 in my
Arabic treatises, Isharat al-1'jaz (Signs of
Miraculousuess, an introductory commentary on the
Qur'an) and in the previous 24 Words. I will explain only
five here, which briefly mention the others, following an
introductory definition of the Qur'an. Three
parts First
part Question:
Will you please define the Qur'an?
Answer:
As explained in The Nineteenth Word and argued elsewhere,
the Qur'an is an eternal translation of the great Book of
the Universe19 and the everlasting translator
of the "languages" in which the Divine laws of
the universe's creation and operation are
"inscribed"; the interpreter of the books of
the visible, material world and the World of the Unseen;
the discloser of the immaterial treasuries of the
Divine Names hidden on Earth and in the heavens; the key
to the truths lying beneath the lines of events; the
World of the Unseen's tongue in the visible, material
one; the treasury of the All-Merciful One's favors and
the All-Glorified One's eternal addresses coming from the
World of the Unseen beyond the veil of this visible
world; the sun of Islam's spiritual and intellectual
worlds, as well as its foundation and plan; the sacred
map of the Hereafter's worlds; the expounder, lucid
interpreter, articulate proof, and clear translator of
the Divine Essence, Attributes, Names and acts; the
educator and trainer of humanity's world and the water
and light of Islam, the true and greatest humanity; and
the true wisdom of humanity and the true guide leading
them to happiness. For
humanity, it is a book of law, prayer, wisdom, worship
and servanthood to God, commands and invitation,
invocation and reflection. It is a holy book containing
books for all of our spiritual needs; a heavenly book
that, like a sacred library, contains numerous booklets
from which all saints, eminently truthful people, all
purified and discerning scholars, and those well-versed
in knowledge of God have derived their own specific ways,
and which illuminate each way and answer their followers'
needs. Second
part Having
come from God's Supreme Throne, originated in His
Greatest Name, and issued from each Name's
most comprehensive rank, and as explained in The Twelfth
Word, the Qur'an is God's word (as regards His being the
Lord of the worlds) and His decree (in respect of His
having the title of Deity of all creatures). It is a
discourse in the name of the Creator of the heavens and
Earth, a speech from the view of absolute Divine
Lordship, and an eternal sermon on behalf of the
All-Glorified One's universal Sovereignty. It is also a
register of the Most Merciful One's favors from the
viewpoint of all-embracing Mercy; a collection of
messages, some of which begin with a cipher; and a holy
book that, having descended from the Divine Greatest
Name's surrounding circle, looks over and surveys the
circle surrounded by His Supreme Throne. This
is why the title "the Word of God" has been
(and will always be) given to the Qur'an. After the
Qur'an come the Scriptures and Pages sent to other
Prophets. Some of the other countless Divine words are
inspirations corning as particular displays of a
particular aspect of Divine Mercy, Sovereignty, and
Lordship under a particular title and with a particular
regard. The inspirations coming to angels, people, and
animals vary greatly with regard to their universality or
particularity.
Third
part The
Qur'an briefly contains all Scriptures revealed to
previous Prophets, the content of all saints' treatises,
and all purified scholars' works. Its six sides are
bright and absolutely free of doubt and whimsical
thought. Its point of support is Divine Revelation and
the Divine eternal Word, whose aim is eternal happiness
and whose inside is pure guidance. It is surrounded and
supported from above by the lights of belief, from
below by proof and evidence, from the right by the
heart's submission and the conscience, and from the left
by the admission of reason and other intellectual
faculties. Its
fruit is the Most Merciful One's Mercy and Paradise. It
has been accepted and promoted by angels and innumerable
people and jinn throughout the centuries. All
of these qualities mentioned above have been proven in
other places or will be proved in the following pages. First
light This
Light has three rays. First
ray This
is the Qur'an's miraculous eloquence, which originates in
its words' beauty, order, and composition; its textual
beauty and perfection; its stylistic originality and
uniqueness; its explanations' superiority, excellence,
and clarity; its meanings' power and truth; and its
linguistic purity and fluency. Its eloquence is so
extraordinary that its eternal challenge to every
individual to produce something like it, even if only a
chapter, has yet to be answered. Instead, those geniuses
who, in their self-pride and self-confidence, consider
themselves equal to the task eventually have had to
humble themselves before it. I
point out its miraculous eloquence in two ways: First
way: The people of Arabia were mostly unlettered at
that time, and so preserved their tribal pride, history,
and proverbs in oral poetry. They attached great
importance to eloquence, and so any meaningful, unique
expression was memorized for its poetical form and
eloquence and then handed down to posterity. Eloquence
and fluency were in such great demand that a tribe
treated its eloquent literary figures as national heroes.
64
The
Twenty-fifth Word
Those
intelligent people, who would govern a considerable
portion of the world after Islam's advent, were more
eloquent than other nations. Eloquence was so esteemed
that two tribes would sometimes go to war over a saying
of a literary figure and then be reconciled by the
words of another. They even inscribed in gold the odes
of seven poets and hung them on the wall of the Ka'ba.20
At
a time when eloquence was in such demand, the Qur'an of
miraculous explanation was revealed. Just as God Almighty
had endowed Moses and Jesus with the miracles most
suitable to their times, He made eloquence the most
notable aspect of the Qur'an, the chief miracle of
Prophet Muhammad.21 When it was revealed, it
challenged first the literary figures of the Arabian
peninsula: If you doubt what We have sent down on Our
servant, produce a sura like it (2:23). It defeated their
intellectual pretensions and humbled them by continuing: If
you cannot, and you certainly cannot, fear the Fire,
whose
fuel is people and stones, preparedfor unbelievers (2:24). Those
self-conceited people could not argue verbally with the
Qur'an. Although this was an easy and safe course to
obstruct and falsify its message, they chose to fight it
with swords, the perilous and most difficult course. If
those intelligent people, skilled in diplomacy, could
have argued verbally with the Qur'an, they would not have
chosen the perilous, difficult course and risked losing
their property and lives. Since they could not, they had
to choose the more dangerous way. There
were two powerful reasons for trying to produce something
like the Qur'an: to refute its claim of Revelation (its
enemies) and to imitate it (its friends). The result was,
and continues to be, innumerable books written in Arabic.
All people, whether scholars or not, who read such books
are forced to admit that they do not resemble the Qur'an.
So, either the Qur'an is inferior—friend and foe admit
that this is inconceivable—or superior to all of them.
There are no other options. Question:
How do we know that people have never dared to dispute
with it, and that their cooperative effort failed?
Answer:
If this were possible, disputants would have appeared.
Since so many people have opposed the truth, such an
attempt would have found many supporters and been well
known. When even an insignificant struggle arouses great
curiosity, such a historic, unusual contest could not
have been kept secret Although the most insignificant and
detestable objections concerning Islam have been
circulated widely, nothing other than a few pieces of
Musaylima the Liar have been narrated.22
Whatever his oratorical skills, the historical record
of his words show them as utter absurdities when compared
with the Qur'an's mfinitely beautiful expressions. Thus
the Qur'an's miraculous eloquence is indisputable. Second
way: Now we explain in five points the wisdom in the
Qur'an's miraculous eloquence.
First
point: There is an extraordinary eloquence and stylistic
purity in the Qur'an's word order or composition. This is
explained in my Isharat al-I'jaz. Just as a clock's hands
complete and are fitted to each other in precise
orderliness, so does every word and sentence—indeed the
whole Qur'an— complete and fit each other. This
extraordinary eloquence is visible for all to see.
Consider the following examples: •
From Swat al-Anbiya': If
but a breath from the punishment of Your Lord touches
them. (21:46) To
indicate the severity of God's punishment, the above
clause points to the least amount or slightest element
of it. As the entire clause expresses this slightness,
all of its parts should reinforce that meaning. If
but {la 'in) signify uncertainty and thus imply
slightness (of punishment). Massa means to touch
slightly, also signifying slightness. Nafhatun (a breath)
is merely a puff of air. Grammatically derived from the
word used to express singleness, it also underlies the
slightness. The double n (tanwin) at the end of nafhatun indicates
indefmiteness and suggests that it is slight and
insignificant. Min implies a part or a piece, thus
indicating paucity. 'Adhab (torment or punishment) is
light in mean-
68
The
Twenty-fifth Word
ing
compared to nakal (exemplary chastisement) and 'iqab (heavy
penalty), and denotes a light punishment or torment.
Using Rabb (Lord, Provider, Sustainer), suggesting
affection, instead of (for example) Ovemhelming,
All-Compelling, or Avenger, also expresses slightness. Finally,
the clause means that if so slight a breath of torment or
punishment has such an affect, one should reflect how
severe the Divine chastisement might be. We see in this
short clause how its parts are related to each other and
add to the meaning. This example concerns the words
chosen and the purpose in choosing them. •
From Surat al-Baqara: They
give as sustenance out of what We have bestowed on them
(as livelihood). (2:3) The
parts of the above sentence point to five conditions that
make alms-giving acceptable to God. First
condition: While giving alms, believers must not give so
much that they are reduced to begging. Out o/expresses
this.
The
Miraculous Qur'an
69
Second
condition: They must give out of what they have, not out
of what others have. We have bestowed on them points to
this. The meaning is give (to sustain life) out of what
We have given you (to sustain your life). Third
condition: They must not remind the recipient of their
kindness. We indicates this, for it means: I have
bestowed on you the livelihood out of which you give alms
to the poor. As you are giving some of what belongs to
Me, you cannot put the recipient under obligation. Fourth
condition: They must give to those who will spend it only
for their livelihood. They give as sustenance points to
this. Fifth
condition: They must give it for God's sake. We have
bestowed on them states this. It means: You are giving
out of My property, and so must give in My name. Together
with those conditions, the word what signifies that
whatever God bestows is part of one's sustenance or
livelihood. Thus believers must give out of whatever they
have. For example, a good word, some help, advice, and
teaching are all included in the meaning of rizq (sustenance)
and sadaqa (alms). What {ma) has a general meaning and is
not restricted here. Thus it includes whatever God has
bestowed. This
short sentence contains and suggests a broad range of
meaning for alms and offers it to our understanding. The
word order of the Qur'an's sentences has many similar
aspects, and the words have a wide range of relationships
with one another. The same is true for the relationships
between sentences, as seen in: •
Surat al-Ikhlas, which is as follows: Say:
He is God, (He is) One. God is the
Eternally-Besought-of-All. He did not beget, nor was He
begotten. There is none comparable to Him. (112:1-5) This
short sura has six sentences, three positive and three
negative, which prove and establish six aspects of
Divine Unity and reject and negate six types of
associating partners with God. Each sentence has two
meanings: one a priori (functioning as a cause or
proof) and the other a posteriori (functioning as an
effect or result). That means that the sura contains 66 suras,
each made up of six sentences. One is either a premise or
a proposition, and the others are arguments for it. For
example: Say:
He is God, because He is One, because He is the
Eternally-Besought-of-All, because He did not beget,
because He was not begotten, because there is none
comparable to Him. Also: Say:
There is none comparable to Him, because He was not
begotten, because He did not beget, because He is the
Etemally-Besought-of-All, because He is One, because He
is God. Also: He
is God, therefore He is One, therefore He is the
Eternally-Besought-of-All, therefore He did not beget,
therefore He was not begotten, therefore there is none
comparable unto Him. •
From Surat al-Baqara: Alif
Lam Mim. That is the Book, there is no doubt in it; it is
a guidance for the God-revering pious people. (2:1-2) Each
sentence has two meanings. One meaning is a proof for
the others, and, through the other, their result. A
composite design of miraculous-ness is woven from the 16
threads of relationship between them. This design was
shown in my Isharat al-I'jaz. As explained in The
Thir-teenth Word, it is as if each Qur'anic verse has an
eye that sees most of the verses and a face that looks
toward them. Given this, it extends to them the
immaterial threads of relationship to weave a design of
miraculousness. The beauty of composition is elaborated
in Isharat al-I'jaz. Second
point: There is a wonderful eloquence in the Qur'an's
meanings. •
Consider the following example: All that is in the
heavens and Earth glorifies God; and He is the
All-Honored and Mighty, the All-Wise (57:1,59:1,61:1). To
comprehend fully the eloquence in meanings, imagine
that you are living in the desert of pre-Islamic Arabia.
At a time when everything is enveloped by the darkness of
ignorance and heedlessness and wrapped in the evil of
"lifeless" nature, you hear from the Qur'an's
heavenly tongue: All that is in the heavens and Earth
glorifies God or The seven heavens and Earth and those in
them glorify Him (17:44), or similar verses. You
will see how, in people's mind, those motionless
corpse-like entities acquire a purposeful existence at
the sound of: All that is in the heavens and Earth
glorifies God, and being so raised, recite His Names. At
the cry and light of glorifies Him, the stars, until then
lifeless lumps of fire in the dark sky, appear in their
understanding as wisdom-displaying words and
tram-showing lights in the sky's recitation, the land and
sea as tongues of praise, and each plant and animal as a
word of glorification. •
From Sural al-Rahman: O
company of jinn and humanity. If you can penetrate and
pass beyond the spheres of the heavens and Earth, then
penetrate and pass beyond (them). You will not penetrate
and pass beyond them save with an authority. Which then
of the blessings of your Lord do you deny? There will be
sent on you a flash of fire, and smoke, and no help will
you have, which then of the blessings of your Lord do you
deny? (55:33-36) Verily,
We have adorned the skies nearest the Earth with lamps,
and made them missiles (to drive away) the devils. (67:5) Listen
to these verses, which are discussed in The Fifteenth
Word, and pay attention to their meaning. They say:
O
humanity and jinn. You are arrogant and refractory
despite your impotence and wretchedness, rebellious and
obstinate despite your weakness and destitution. If you
do not want to obey My commands, pass beyond—if you
can—the boundaries of My Kingdom. How dare you disobey
a King Whose commands are obeyed by stars, moons, and
suns as if they were trained soldiers ever ready to carry
out their commander's commands. You rebel against a
Majestic Ruler Who has such mighty and obedient
soldiers that, supposing your satans were to resist, they
could stone them to death with mountain-like cannonballs.
Your ingratitude causes you to rebel in the Kingdom of a
Majestic Sovereign Who has among His forces those that
could hurl down upon you mountain-sized or even
Earth-sized stars or flaming missiles, if you were
unbelievers of that size, and rout you. Moreover, you
mfringe upon a law to which such beings are bound: If it
were necessary, they could hurl the Earth in your face
and rain down upon you stars as though missiles by God's
leave. Compare
the force and eloquence in the meaning of other verses
and their elevated style with these: Third
point: The Qur'an has unique, original styles that are
both novel and convincing. Its styles, which still
preserve their originality, freshness, and "bloom
of youth," do not imitate and cannot be imitated.
To cite a few examples: •
The muqatta 'at: The
cipher-like muqatta 'at, the disjunct, individual
letters (e.g., Alif-Lam-Mim, Alif-Lam-Ra, Ta-Ha, Ya-Sin,
Ha-Mim, and 'Ayn-Sin-Qaf, with which some suras begin),
contain five or six gleams of rniraculousness. For
example, they comprise half of each category of the
well-known categories of letters—emphatic, whispered,
stressed, soft, labio-linguals, and kalkale (ba,jim, dal,
ta, qaf). Taking more than half from the
"light" letters and less than half from the
"heavy" letters, neither of which are
divisible, the Qur'an has halved every category. Although
it is possible to halve all categories, existing together
one within the other, in one out of 200 probable ways,
taking half from each category cannot be the work of a
human mind or chance. Together with these disjunct
letters at the beginning of certain suras as Divine
ciphers displaying five or six further gleams of
rniraculousness like this, scholars well-versed in the
mysteries of letters, as well as exacting, saintly
scholars, have drawn many mysterious conclusions and
discovered such truths that they consider these letters
76
The
Twenty-fifth Word
to
form a most brilliant miracle. Since I cannot discover
and show their secrets as clearly, I refer readers to the
five or six gleams of their miracu-iousness explained in Isharat
al-I'jaz. I
now discuss briefly the Qur'anic styles followed in its
suras, aims, verses, sentences and phrases, and words. •
Consider Surat al-Naba': Swat
al-Naba' describes the Last Day and the Resurrection, as
well as Paradise and Hell, in such an original and unique
style that it convinces the heart that each Divine act
and the work of Divine Lordship in this world proves the
Hereafter's coming and all its aspects. In the interest
of space, I mention only a few points. At
the start of the sura, it proves the Day of Judgment by: I
have made Earth a beautiful cradle spread out for .. you,
and the mountains bulwarks of your houses and lives full
of treasures. I have created you in pairs, loving and
familiar with each other, I have made the night a
coverlet for your repose, the daytime the arena in
which to gain your livelihood, and the sun an
illuminating and heating lamp, and from the clouds I send
down water as if they were
The
Miraculous Qur'an
77
a
spring producing the water of life. I create easily and
in a short time from the one, same water all the
flowering and fruit-hearing things which bear all your
sustenance. Since this is so, the Last Day, which is the
Day of Final Judgment, awaits you. It is not difficult
for Us to bring about that Day. (78:6-17—not exactly
translated but interpreted [Tr.]) Following
in the same strain, the sura implicitly proves that on
the Last Day the mountains will be moved and become as a
mirage, the heavens rent asunder, Hell made ready, and
the people of Paradise given gardens and orchards. It
means: "Since He does all these things before your
eyes on Earth and mountains, He will do their likes in
the Hereafter." In
other words, the mountains mentioned at the sura's beginning
have some relationship with the Hereafter's mountains,
and the gardens with the gardens mentioned at the sura's end
and with those in the Hereafter. Study other points from
the same view, and see how elevated its style really is. •
From Surat Al- 'Imran: Say:
O God, the Owner of Sovereignty: You give sovereignty to
whom You will and You withdraw sovereignty from whom You
will. You exalt whom You
will and You abase whom You will. In Your hand is the
good. Surely You are powerful over all things. You cause
the night to pass into the day, and You cause the day to
pass into the night; You bring forth the living from the
dead, and You bring the dead from the living. And You
give sustenance to whom You will without measure.
(3:26-27) The
Divine acts and operations in this world, the Divine
manifestations in the alternation of day and night, the
Lordship's control of the seasons and acts in life and
death, and the world's changes, renewals,
transformations, and convulsions are expressed in such
a vivid and elevated style that it captivates the minds
of the attentive. Since a little attention is enough to
see this brilliant, elevated, and comprehensive style,
I will go no further. •
From Surat al-Inshiqaq: When
heaven is split asunder and heeds (the command) of its
Lord in submission, as in truth it must. And when Earth
is leveled, and casts out all that is in it and becomes
empty, and heeds (the command) of its Lord in submission,
as in truth it must. (84:1-5) These
verses express in a most elevated style to what extent
the heavens and Earth submit to and obey Alrnighty God's
command. To accomplish and conclude a war—strategy,
fighting, enrolling, and mobilizing soldiers, and so
on—a commander-in-chief establishes two offices. After
the fighting is over, he wants to use these offices for
other business. However, the offices request him in the
tongue of their staffs: "O commander, let us clean
up and remove the bits and pieces of the former business,
and then honor us with your presence." They do so,
and then say to the commander: "Now we are at your
command. Do what you wish, for whatever you do is
right, good, and beneficial." Similarly,
the heavens and Earth were built as two arenas of testing
and trial. Following the end of this period of trial for
conscious beings, the heavens and Earth will expel the
things connected with that trial at God's command. Then
will they call: "O Lord, we are at Your command, so
use us for whatever You wish. Our due is to obey You, for
whatever You do is right and true." Based on this
understanding, reflect upon the verses' elevated style
and meaning. •
From Sura Hud: O
Earth, swallow your water. O sky, withhold (your rain).
And the water subsided. And the matter was accomplished.
And (the Ark) came to rest upon (the mount) al-Judi, and
it was said: Away with the wrongdoing folk. (11:44) To
point to a drop from the ocean of this verse's eloquence,
I will show an aspect of its style through the mirror of
an analogy. After victory, a commander orders one of
his armies to cease fire and the other to remain where it
is. He announces: "The job is well done. The enemy
is defeated, and our flag is raised on the highest tower
in the enemy's headquarters. Those aggressive wrongdoers
have received what they deserved and have gone to the
lowest of the low." Similarly,
the King Who has no equal ordered heaven and Earth to
annihilate Noah's people. After they did so, He decreed: O
Earth, swallow your water. O heaven, stop, for you have
completed your duty. The water subsided. The ark came to
rest upon the mountain as if setting up a tent. The
wrongdoers received their due. Consider
how sublime this style is. The verse says that like two
soldiers, heaven and Earth heed God's commands and obey
Him. The style suggests that the universe is indignant
and that the heavens
The
Miraculous Qur'an
81
and
the Earth are furious with humanity's rebellion.
Moreover, it warns humanity that its rebellion against
the One Whose commands heaven and Earth obey is
unreasonable and that people must not rebel. The verse
expresses a very powerful restraint. In a few
sentences, it describes a global event like the flood,
with all its truths and results, in a concise,
miraculous, and beautiful manner. Compare other drops of
this ocean to this one. Now
consider the style apparent through the window of the
Qur'an's words: Andfor the moon We have determined
mansions till it returns like an old shriveled date-stalk
(36:39). Look at like an old shriveled date-stalk. What a
fine style it displays: One of the moon's mansions is
the Pleiades. The versé compares the moon in its last
quarter— the crescent—to'an old shriveled date-stalk. The
comparison gives the impression that behind the sky's
dark veil is a tree, one pointed shining stalk of which
tears the veil and shows itself with, the Pleiades like a
cluster hanging from that stalk, and other stars like the
glittering fruits of that hidden tree. If you have
taste, you will appreciate what a proper, beautiful,
fine, and noble style this is, especially for
desert-dwellers whose most important means of livelihood
is the date palm. •
From Sura Ya Sin: And
the sun runs its course to a resting place destined.
(36:38) The
expression runs its course is a noble image. By reminding
us of Divine Power's systematic, magnificent, free acts
and operations in alternating day and night as well as
summer and winter, it makes the Maker's might and
greatness understandable, turns one's attention to the
Eternally-Besought-of-AlPs messages inscribed on the
season's pages by the Pen of Power, and makes known the
Creator's Wisdom. By
using lamp in He has made the sun a lamp (71:16), the
Qur'an opens a window on a particular meaning: This
world is a palace, its contents are humanity's and other
living things' food and necessities of life, and a lamp
(the sun) illurninates it. By making the Maker's
magnificence and the Creator's favors comprehensible in
this way, the sentence provides a proof for God's Unity
and declares the sun (which the polytheists of that time
viewed as the most significant and brightest deity) a
lifeless object, a lamp subdued for the benefit of living
beings. In
lamp, the verse signifies the Creator's mercy in His
Lordship's might and greatness, reminds us of His favor
in His Mercy's vastness, suggests His munificence in His
Sovereignty's magnificence, and thereby proclaims His
One-ness. It also teaches that a lifeless, subjected lamp
is unworthy of worship. By mdicating Almighty God's
systematic, amazing acts in alternating night and day
as well as winter and summer, it suggests the vast Power
of the Maker, Who executes His Lordship independently. Thus
the verse deals with the sun and moon in a way to turn
our attention to the pages of day and night, summer and
winter, and the lines of events inscribed on them. The
Qur'an mentions the sun not in its own name but in the
name of the One Who has made it sinning. It ignores the
sun's physical nature, which does not benefit us, and
draws our attention to its essential duties: to function
as a wheel or spring for the delicate order of Divine creation
and making, and as a shuttle for the harmony of Divine
design in what the Eternal Designer weaves with the
threads of night and day. When you compare other Qur'anic
words with these, you see that each word, even if common,
is a key to the treasury of fine meanings. In
sum, the vividness and extraordinariness of the Qur'an's
styles sometimes entranced a Bedouin with one phrase, who
would then prostrate without even being a Muslim. Once Proclaim
openly and insistently what you are commanded (15:94)
engendered this very reaction. When asked if he had
become a Muslim, he answered: "No. I prostrate
before the phrase's eloquence." Fourth
point: The Qur'an's wording is extraordinarily fluent
and pure. As it is extraordinarily eloquent when
expressing meaning, so also it is wonderfully fluent and
pure in wording and word arrangement. One proof of this
is that it does not bore the senses; rather, it gives
them pleasure, even if recited thousands of times. A
child can memorize it easily. Seriously ill people,
even if troubled by a few words of ordinary speech
nearby, feel relief and comfort upon hearing it. It gives
dying people's ears and minds the same taste and
pleasure as that left by Zamzam water in their mouths and
on their palates.
The
Qur'an does not bore the senses; rather, it feeds the
heart, gives power and wealth to the mind, functions as
water and light for the spirit, and cures the soul's
illnesses. We never tire of eating bread, but might tire
of eating the same fruit every day. Similarly, reciting
or listening to the Qur'an's pure truth and guidance does
not bore us. The
Quraysh23 sent one of its eloquent leaders to
listen to the Qur'an. When he returned, he said: "It
is so sweet and pleasing that no human tongue can
resemble it. I know poets and soothsayers very well. The
Qur'an is not like any of their work. We should describe
it as sorcery so that it may not deceive our
followers." Even its most hardened enemies admired
its fluency and eloquence. It
would take too long to explain such things. One who looks
at the arrangement of the letters in:
Then,
after grief, He sent down security for you, as slumber
overcame a party of you. While another party lay
troubled on their own account, moved by wrong suspicions
of God, the suspicion of ignorance. They said:
"Have we any part in the affair?" Say:
"The affair wholly belongs to God." They hide
within themselves [a thought] which they reveal
not
to you, saying: "Had we had any part in the affair
we would not have been slain here." Say: "Even
though you had been in your houses, those appointed to be
slain would have gone forth to the places where they were
to fall. [All this was] in order that God might try what
is in your breasts and prove what is in your hearts. God
knows what is hidden in the breasts [of people]."
(3:154) will
see the miraculousness brought about by the letters'
extraordinary arrangement. Such
an arrangement, subtle relationship, delicate harmony
and composition show that the verse is not the work of a
person or chance. Such an order may be for other unknown
purposes. Since the letters are arranged according to a
certain system, there must be a mysterious order and
illustrious coherence in the choice and arrangement of
words, sentences, and meanings. Those who notice and
understand it will remark: "What wonders God wills.
How wonderfully God has made them." Fifth
point: The Qur'an's expressions contain a superiority,
power, sublimity, and magnificence. Its fluent,
eloquent, and pure composition and word order, as well as
eloquent meanings, and original and unique styles, lead
to an evident excellence in its explanations. Truly, in
all cate-
gories
of expression and address, its expositions are of the
highest degree. For
example: The expressions in Surat al-Insan, one of many
examples of exhorting and encouraging good deeds, are
most pleasing, like the water of a river of Paradise, and
as sweet as the fruits of Paradise. Aimed
at deterrence and threat, its explanations at the
beginning of Surat al-Ghashiya produce an effect like
lead boiling in misguided people's ears, tire burning in
their brains, Zaqqum scalding their palates, Ffellfire
assaulting their faces, and a bitter, thorny tree in
their stomachs. That Hell, an "official"
charged with torruring, tormenting, and demonstrating
the Divine Being's threats, roars and nearly bursts
with rage and fury (67:7-8), shows how dreadful and
awesome that Being's powers of deterrence and threat
are.
In
the category of praise, the Qur'anic explanations in
the five suras beginning with All praise be to God2*
are brilliant like the sun, adorned like stars, majestic
like the heavens and Earth, lovely like angels, full of
the tenderness and compas-
88
The
Twenty-fifth Word
sion
shown to the young in this world, and beautiful like
Paradise. As for censure and restraint, consider: Would
any of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? (49:12).
It induces a heart-felt aversion to backbiting,
reprimands the backbiter with six degrees of reprimand,
and restrains him or her with six degrees of severity. The
initial hamza (in the original Arabic) is interrogative.
This sense penetrates the entire sentence like water,
so that each word in effect asks: "Do you not have
enough intelligence to ask, answer, and discriminate
between good and bad, to perceive how abominable this
thing is?" Like asks: "Is your heart, with
which you love and hate, so corrupted that you love such
a repugnant thing?" Any of you asks: "What has
happened to your sense of social relationship and
civilization, which derive their liveliness from
collectivity, that you accept something so poisonous to
social life?" To
eat theflesh asks: "What has happened to your sense
of humanity, that you tear your friend to pieces with
your teeth like a wild animal?" Of his brother asks:
"Do you have no human tenderness, no sense of
kinship? How can you sink your teeth into an innocent
person tied to you by numerous links of brotherhood? Or
do you have no intelligence, and so senselessly bite
into your own limbs?" Dead asks: "Where is your
conscience? Is your nature so corrupt that you can engage
in cannibalism although your brother deserves great
respect?" Thus
slander and backbiting are repugnant to one's
intelligence, heart, humanity, conscience, human nature,
and religious and national brotherhood. This verse
condemns backbiting in six degrees very concisely, and
restrains people from it in six miraculous ways. As
for proving and demonstration, consider: Look,
therefore, at the prints of God's mercy: how He revives
Earth after its death. Indeed, He it is Who revives the
dead (in the same way), and He is powerful over all
things. (30:50) This
verse is such a wonderful proof of the Resurrection that
no better proof is conceivable.
The
annual spring resurrection of countless plants and
animals that died during the previous autumn and winter
contains infinite examples of resurrection.25
The verse states that the One Who does these things can
raise the dead with ease after destroying the world.
Since it is the stamp of the One of Unity to inscribe on
the page of Earth countless species with the Pen of His
Power, one within the other without confusion, together
with proving Divine Oneness like the sun, the verse
shows, the Resurrection as clearly as sunrise and sunset.
The Qur'an uses how to refer to the way of Resurrection,
and describes it in many other suras. Also,
in Sura Qaf (50), the Qur'an proves the Resurrection in a
brilliant, beautiful, lovely, and elevated manner of
expression. Replying to the unbelievers' denial that
decomposed bones can come to life once again, it
declares: ' Have
they not then observed the sky above them, how We have
constructed it and beautified it, and how there are no
rifts therein? And Earth We have spread out, and have
flung firm hills therein, and have caused every lively
kind to grow therein, a sight and a reminder for every
penitent servant. And We send down from the sky blessed
water whereby We give growth to gardens and the grain of
crops, and lofty date-palms with ranged clusters,
provision for people; and therewith We revive a dead
land. Even so will be the resurrection of the dead.
(50:6-11) Truly,
the manner of its exposition flows like water, glitters
like stars and, just as dates give to the body, gives
pleasure, delight, and nourishment to the heart. A
most dehghtful examples of proof and demonstration is: Ya
Sin. By the Wise Qur 'an. Certainly you are among those
sent (as Messengers of God) (36:1-3). This oath points
out that the proof of Muhammad's Messengership is so
certain and true that an oath can be sworn upon it. In
other words: "You are the Messenger, for the Qur'an,
the truth and word of God, is in your hand. It contains
true wisdom and bears the seal of miraculousness." Another
such concise and miraculous example is: (Humanity)
asked: "Who will revive these bones when they have
rotted away?" Say: "He will revive them Who
built them at the first; He has absolute knowledge of
every creation." (36:77-78)
As
explained elsewhere, one who reassembles a huge,
dispersed army in a day can certainly gather, through a
trumpet call, a battalion dispersed for rest and then
line the soldiers up in their previous positions.26
Not believing this is irrational. Similarly,
an Ail-Powerful, All-Knowing One can assemble all living
beings' atoms, regardless of location, by: "Be, and
it is " (2:117) with perfect orderliness and the
balance of wisdom, and make from them bodies having the
most delicate senses and keenest faculties. Each spring
He creates infinite army-like animate species on Earth.
If He can do this, why do you think He cannot
reassemble all of a formerly living entity's atoms and
raise it in a new body by a blow of Israfil's Trumpet? As
for guidance, the Qur'an is so affective, penetrating,
tender, and touching that its verses uplift the spirit
with ardor, the heart with delight, the intellect with
curiosity, and the eyes with tears. Just one example
shows this: Then
your hearts became hardened thereafter and were like
stones, or even harder; for there are stones from which
rivers come gushing, and others split, so that water
issues from them, and others crash down in the fear of
God. God is not heedless of the things you do. (2:74) This
verse, addressed to the Children of Israel, means:
"Even a hard rock cried tears like a spring from its
twelve 'eyes' when it saw Moses' miracle, and yet your
eyes remained dry and your hearts hard and unfeeling.
What has happened to you?" Since the verse's meaning
was elaborated elsewhere, I will not discuss it here.27 As
for silencing and overcoming in argument, consider the
following verse: If
you are in doubt concerning what We have sent down on Our
servant, then bring a sura like it and call your helpers
and witnesses, other than God, if you are truthful.
(2:23) The
verse, directed to humanity and jinn, briefly means:
If
you think a human being wrote the Qur'an, let one of your
unlettered people, as Muhammad is unlettered, produce
something similar. If he cannot, send your most famous
writers or scholars. If they cannot, let them work
together and call upon all their history,
"deities," scientists, philosophers,
sociologists, theologians, and writers to produce
something similar. If they cannot, let them try—
leaving aside the miraculous and inimitable aspects of
its meaning—to produce a work of equal eloquence in
word order and composition. By:
Then bring 10 suras like it, contrived(11:13), the Qur'an
means: What
you write does not have to be true. But if you still
cannot match the Qur'an's length, produce only 10
chapters. If you cannot do that, produce only one
chapter. If you cannot, do that, produce only a short
chapter. If you cannot do that—which you
cannot—although such inability will put your honor,
religion, nationality, lives, and property at risk, you
will die humiliated. Moreover, as stated in: Then fear
the Fire, whosefuel is people and stones (2:24), you and
your idols will spend eternity in Hell. Having understood
your eight degrees of inability, what else can you do but
admit eight times that the Qur'an is a miracle? As
for silencing, consider: There cannot be and is no need
for any other exposition after that of the Qur'an, as
well as: Therefore
remind. By Your Lord's blessing you are not a soothsayer,
neither possessed. Or do they say: "He is a poet for
whom we await what fate will bring?" Say:
"Wait. I shall be waiting with you." Or do
their intellects bid them to do this? Or are they an
insolent, rebellious people? Or do they say: "He
has invented it?" Nay, but they do not believe. Then
let them bring a discourse like it, if they speak truly.
Or were they created out of nothing? Or are they the
creators? Or did they create the heavens and Earth? Nay,
but they do not have sure belief. Or are your Lord's
treasuries in their keeping? Or are they the watching
registrars? Or do they have a ladder whereon they listen?
Then let any of them that listened bring a clear
authority. Or does He have daughters, and they sons? Or
do you ask them for a wage, and so they are weighed down
with debt? Or is the Unseen in their keeping, and so they
are writing it down? Or do they intend a plot? But those
who disbelieve, are they the outwitted? Or have they a
god, other than God? Glory be to God, above that which
they associate. (52:29-43) I
will discuss only one of the countless truths found in
these verses to show how the Qur'an silences it
opponents: Through 15 questions introduced by Or, which
express a rejection and impossibility, it silences all
opponents, ends all doubt, and makes misguidance
impossible. It rends all veils under which they may hide
and discloses their fallacies. Each question exposes the
fallacy, remains silent where a fallacy is evident, or
refutes briefly (and in more detail elsewhere) the
unbelievers' assertion. For example, it refers their
assertion that the Prophet is a poet to: We have not
taught him poetry; it is not seemly for him (36:69), and
their claim in the last section finds its answer in: Were
there gods in them (Earth and the heavens) other than
God, they would surely go to ruin (21:22). In
the beginning, it says: "Relay the Divine
Commandments. You are not a soothsayer, for then-words
are confused and consist of conjecture. You speak the
truth with absolute certainty and are not possessed. Even
your enemies testify to your perfect intellect."
Or do they say: "He is a poet. We will wait to see
what happens." Say to them: "Wait, and I shall
also be waiting." The great and brilliant truths you
bring are free of poetic fancy and artificial
embellishment. Or
do their intellects bid them to do this? Or, like
senseless philosophers, do they consider then-own
intellects sufficient and so refuse to follow you? Any
sound intellect requires following you, for whatever you
say is reasonable. However, human intellect is unable to
produce a like of it and grasp it by itself. Or are they
insolent and rebellious? Or, like rebellious wrongdoers,
is their denial due to their non-submission to truth?
Everybody knows the end of such leaders of mutinous
wrongdoers as Pharaoh and Nimrod. Or
do they say: "He has invented it." They do not
believe, and, like lying and unscrupulous hypocrites,
accuse you of inventing the Qur'an. Until this time,
however, they knew you as the most trustworthy among them
and even called you Muhammad the Trustworthy. They have
no intention to believe. Otherwise they must find a human
work similar to the Qur'an. Or
were they created out of nothing? Or, like those
philosophers who see existence as absurd and purposeless,
do they regard themselves as purposeless, without a
Creator, and left to themselves? Are they blind? Do
they not see that the universe is embellished with
instances of wisdom and frmtfulness, that everything has
duties and obeys Divine commandments? ,
Or are they the creators? Or, like materialists who are
each like a Pharaoh, do they imagine themselves
self-existent and self-subsistent, able to create
whatever they need? Is this why they refuse belief and
worship? It seems that they consider themselves creators.
But one who creates one thing must be able to create
everything. Self-conceit and vanity have made them so
foolish that they suppose such an impotent one to be
absolutely powerfiil. They are so devoid of humanity
and reason that they have fallen lower than animals and
inanimate objects. So do not be grieved by their
denial. Or
did they create the heavens and Earth? No, for they have
no sure belief. Or, like those who deny the Creator, do
they deny God and so ignore the Qur'an? If so, let them
deny the existence of the heavens and Earth or claim to
be their creators, so that all can see their complete
lack of reason. The proofs of Divine Existence and Unity
are as numerous as stars and as many as flowers. Such
people have no intention of acquiring sure belief and
accepting the truth. Otherwise, how can they say that
this Book of the Universe, in each letter of which is
inscribed a book, has no author when they know that a
letter must have an author? Or
do they possess your Lord's treasuries? Or, like some
misguided philosophers and Brahmans who deny Almighty
God's free will, do they deny Prophethood and therefore
belief in you? If so, let them deny all prints of wisdom,
purpose, order, purposeful results, favors, and works of
mercy seen throughout the universe. Let them manifest a
deliberate choice and absolute will, as well as all the
Prophets' miracles. Or let them claim to possess the
treasuries of favors bestowed on all creatures, and
show that they are not worthy of address. If this is so,
do not feel sorrow for their denial. Or
are they watching registrars? Or, like the Mu'tazilites
who made reason the absolute authority in judging
matters, do they consider themselves overseers and
inspectors of the Creator's work and desire to hold Him
responsible? Never be disheartened and do not mind
their denial, for it is vain. Or do they have a ladder
whereon they üsten? If so, let one of them bring a clear
authority. Or,
like the soothsayers and spiritualists who follow jinn
and Satan, do they imagine that they have discovered
another route to the Unseen? Do they tMnk they have a
ladder by which to ascend to the heavens, which are
closed to their satans? Is this why they deny your
heavenly tidings? The denial of such people means
nothing. Or
has He daughters and they sons? Or, like philosophers who
associate partners with God (e.g., the Ten Intellects and
the Masters of Species), the Sabeans (who ascribe a
sort of divinity to heavenly objects and angels), or
those who attribute sons to God Almighty, do they
assert that angels are His daughters, despite the fact
that such is contrary to the necessary existence of the
Unique, Eternally Besought One, to His Unity and absolute
independence, to His being the Eternally-Besought-of-All,
and to the innocence and servanthood of the genderless
angels? Do they consider angels their intercessors with
God and therefore not follow you? Sexual relations
ensure the multiplication, cooperation, and continuance
of all contingent and mortal entities. A
great example is humanity, whose members are impotent,
enamored with the world, and want to be succeeded by
children. It is sheer foolishness to ascribe fatherhood
to God, for His necessary and eternal Existence,
absolute freedom from all physical qualities, exemption
from multiplication and division, and absolute power
make fatherhood unnecessary. Even more amazing is their
saying that God has daughters, when they regard their own
daughters as sources of shame. Given this, do not mind
the denial of such people. Or
do you ask them for a wage and place them in debt? Or,
like the rebellious and insolent, miserly and
ambitious, do they find the commandments you convey
unbearable and so avoid you? Do they not know that you
expect your wage only from God?
They find it hard to receive the blessing of abundant
wealth, and yet have to give one-tenth or one-fortieth of
it to the poor. Do they oppose Islam so that they will
not have to pay zakaf?2i Their denial is not
worth answering, and they will be punished. Or
is the Unseen in their keeping? Are they writing it down?
Or, like those who claim to have knowledge of the Unseen
and those pseudo-intellectuals who imagine their
guesses of future events to be certain, do they not like
your tidings of the Unseen? Do they have books of the
Unseen that refute your book of the Unseen?
If
so, they mistakenly believe that the Unseen, which is
only open to Messengers receiving Divine Revelation and
cannot be entered by anyone on his or her own, is open to
them and that they are just writing down the information
they obtain from it. Do not be disheartened by the denial
of such conceited people, for the truths you bring will
destroy their fancies in a very short time. Or
do they want to outwit you? Know that the unbelievers are
outwitted. Or, like hypocrites and heretics, do they
encourage others to join them in their unbelief or
consider you a soothsayer, a magician, or one
possessed? They are not truly human, and so you should
not be disheartened by their denial and tricks. Rather,
be more vigorous and strive harder, for their trickery
only deceives themselves. Their apparent success in
evil-doing is temporary, a gradual perdition prepared
for them by God. Or
do have they a deity other than God? Glory be to God,
above that which they associate. Or, like the Magians who
believe in two deities (a creator of goodness and a
creator of evil), and those who attribute everything to
causality and make it a point of support for them, do
they rely on false deities and argue with you? Do they
consider themselves independent of you? If
they do, they are blind to the universe's perfect order
and delicate coherence: Were there deities in them (the
heavens and Earth) other than God, they would surely go
to ruin (21:22). Two headmen or elders in a village,
two governors in a town, or two sovereigns in a country
would make order impossible. If God had partners, the
universe's delicate order and harmony would be
impossible. Since such people act completely contrary
to reason, wisdom, common sense, and evident realities,
do not let their denial cause you to abandon
communicating the Divine Message. So
far, I have sought to summarize only one of the hundreds
of jewels in such truth-laden verses. If I could show a
few more of their jewels, you would conclude: "Each
verse is a miracle." The
Qur'anic expositions in teaching and explaining are so
wonderful, beautiful, and fluent that anyone can
understand easily the most profound truths. The Qur'an
of miraculous exposition teaches and explains many
profound and subtle truths so clearly and directly that
it neither offends human sensibility nor opposes
generally held opinions. Rather, such exposition
conforms with what is familiar to us. Just
as one uses appropriate words when addressing a child,
the Qur'an, "the Divine address to the human
mind," uses a style appropriate to its audience's
level. It uses allegories, parables, and comparisons to
makes the most difficult Divine truths and mysteries
easily understood by even the most common, unlettered
person. For example: The Most Merciful One has settled
Himself on the Supreme Divine Throne (20:5) shows Divine
Lord-ship as though it were a kingdom, and the aspect of
His Lordship administering the universe as though He were
a King seated on His Sovereignty's throne and exercising
His rule. The
Qur'an, the word of the Majestic Creator of the universe
issuing from His Lordship's highest degree of
manifestation, surpasses all other degrees. It guides
those who rise to those degrees, and passes through
70,000 veils to illuminate each. Radiating enlightenment
to all levels of understanding and intelligence, it
pours out its meaning, regardless of people's ability
and scientific level, and keeps its infinite freshness
and delicacy. It continues to teach all people in an
easy yet most skillful and comprehensible way, and
convinces them of its truth. Wherever you look in it,
you will find a gleam of its miraculousness. In
short, when a Qur'anic phrase like All praise be to God is
recited, it fills up the ear of a tiny fly as well as
that of a mountain (a cave). Likewise, just as its
meanings fully saturate the greatest intellects, the
same words satisfy the smallest intellects. The Qur'an
calls all levels of humanity and jinn to belief and
instructs them in the sciences of belief. Given this, the
most unlettered person as well as the most distinguished
member of the educated elite will follow and benefit
from its lessons. The
Qur'an is such a heavenly table spread with intellectual
and spiritual foods that beings of all levels of
intellect, reason, heart, and spirit can find their
sustenance and satisfy their appetites therein. Moreover,
the Qur'an has many more treasures of meaning and
truths that will be opened by future generations. The
whole Qur'an is an example of this truth. All Muslims,
regardless of profession, level of intelligence, or
knowledge of God, declare: "The Qur'an teaches us in
the best way." Second
ray This
ray, the extraordinary comprehensiveness of the Qur'an,
consists of five gleams. First
gleam: This comes from the Qur'an's comprehensive
wording, which was discussed in . the previous Words, as
well as in the verses whose meanings are quoted in this
Word. As pointed out in
the Traditions, each verse has outer and inner meanings,
limits and a point of comprehension, as well as boughs,
branches, and twigs.29 Each phrase, word,
letter, and diacritical point has many aspects. Each
person who hears it receives his or her share through a
different door. •
From Surat al-Naba: And
the mountains as masts. (78:7) means:
"I have made mountains like masts and stakes for
your Earth." Ordinary people see mountains as if
driven into the ground and thank the Creator for the
resulting benefits and bounties. Poets imagine Earth as a
ground on which the heavens' dome is pitched, in a
sweeping arc, as a mighty blue tent adorned with electric
lamps. Seeing mountains skirting the heavens' base as
tent pegs, they worship the Majestic Creator in
amazement.
Desert-dwelling
literary people imagine Earth as a vast desert, and its
mountain chains as many nomads' tents. They see them as
if the soil were stretched over high posts and as if the
posts' pointed tips had raised the "cloth" of
the soil, which they see as the home for countless
creatures. They prostrate in amazement before the
Majestic Creator, . Who placed and set up such imposing
and mighty things so easily. Geographers
with a literary bent view Earth as a ship sailing in the
ocean of air or ether, and mountains as masts giving
balance and stability to the ship. Before the
All-Powerful One of Perfection, Who has made Earth like a
well-built orderly ship on which He makes us travel
through the universe, they declare: "Glory be to
You. How magnificent is Your creation." Philosophers
or historians of culture see Earth as a house, the pillar
of whose life is animal life that, in turn, is supported
by air, water, and soil (the conditions of life).
Mountains are essential for these conditions, for they
store water, purify the atmosphere by precipitating
noxious gases, and preserve the ground from becoming a
swamp and being overrun by the sea. Mountains also are
treasuries for other necessities of human life. In
perfect reverence, they praise the Maker of Majesty and
Munificence, Who has made these great mountains as
pillars for Earth, the house of our life, and appointed
them as keepers of our livelihood's treasuries. Naturalist
scientists say: "Earth's quakes and tremors, which
are due to certain underground formations and fusions,
were stabilized with the emergence of mountains. This
event also stabilized Earth's axis and orbit. Thus its
annual rotation is not affected by earthquakes. Its wrath
and anger is quietened by its coursing through mountain
vents." They would come to believe and declare:
"There is a wisdom in everything God does." •
From Surat al-Anbiya': The
heavens and Earth were of one piece; then We parted them.
(21:30) To
learned people who have not studied materialist
philosophy, of one piece means that when the heavens were
clear and without clouds, and Earth was dry, lifeless,
and unable to give birth, God opened the heavens with
rain and the soil with vegetation, and created all hving
beings through a sort of marriage and impregnation. Such
people understand that everything is the work of such an
Ail-Powerful One of Majesty that Earth's face is His
small garden,-and all clouds veiling the sky's face are
sponges for watering it. They prostrate before His
Power's tremendousness. To
exacting sages, it means: "In the beginning, the
heavensand Earth were a formless mass, each consisting of
matter like wet dough without produce or creatures. The
All-Wise Creator separated them and rolled them out and,
giving each a comely shape and beneficial form, made
them the origins of multiform, adorned creatures."
These sages are filled with admiration at His Wisdom's
comprehensiveness. Modern
philosophers or scientists understand that the solar
system was fused like a mass of dough. Then the
All-Powerful and Self-Subsistent One rolled it out and
placed the planets in their respective positions. He
left the sun where it was and brought Earth here.
Spreading soil over its face, watering it with rain, and
illummating it with sunlight, He made the world
habitable and placed us on it. These people are saved
from the swamp of naturalism, and declare: "I
believe in God, the One, the Unique." •
From Sura Ya Sin: '
The sun runs its course to a resting place destined.
(36:38) The
particle // (written as the single letter lam), translated
here as "to," expresses the meanings of
"toward," "in," and "for."
Ordinary people read it as "toward" and
understand that the sun, which is a moving lamp providing
light and heat, one day will reach its place of rest and,
ending its journey, assume a form that will no longer
benefit them. Thimdng of the great bounties that the
Majestic Creator bestows through the sun, they declare:
"All glory be to God. All praise be to God." Learned
people also read // as "toward," but see the
sun as both a lamp and a shuttle for the Lord's textiles
woven in the loom of spring and summer, as an ink-pot
whose ink is light for the letters of the
Eternally-Besought-of-AU inscribed on the pages of night
and day. Reflecting on the world's order, of which the
sun's apparent movement is a sign and to which it points,
they declare before the All-Wise Maker's art: "What
wonders God has willed," before His Wisdom:
"May God bless it," and prostrate. For
geographer-philosophers, // means "in" and
suggests that the sun orders and propels its system
through Divine command and with a spring-like movement on
its own axis. Before the Majestic Creator,
Who created and set in order a mighty clock like the
solar system, they exclaim in perfect amazement and
admiration: "All great-ness and power is
God's," abandon materialistic philosophy, and
embrace the wisdom of the Qur'an. Precise
and wise scholars consider li to be causal and adverbial.
They understand that since the All-Wise Maker operates
behind the veil of apparent causality, He has tied the
planets to the sun by His law of gravity and causes them
to revolve with distinct but regular motions according to
His universal wisdom. To produce gravity, He has made
the sun's movement on its axis an apparent cause. Thus a
resting place means that "the sun moves in the place
determined for it for the order and stability of its own
(solar) system." Like
the Divine laws, that motion produces heat, • heat
produces force, and force produces gravity. The sun is a
law of Divine Lordship. On understanding such an
instance of wisdom from a single letter of the Qur'an,
wise scholars declare: "All praise be to God. True
wisdom is found in the Qur'an. Human philosophy is worth
almost nothing." The
following idea occurs to poets from this li and the
stability mentioned: "The sun is a
light-diffusirig tree, and the planets are its moving
fruits. But unlike trees, the sun is shaken so that the
fruits do not fall. If it were not shaken, they would
fall and be scattered." They also may imagine the
sun to be a leader of a circle reciting God's Names,
ecstatically reciting in the circle's center and
leading the others to recite. Elsewhere, I expressed
this meaning as follows: The
sun is a fruit-bearing tree; it is shaken so that its
travelling fruits do not fall. If it rested, no longer
shaken, the attraction would cease, and those attracted
to it would weep through space. •
From Surat al-Baqara: They
are those who will prosper. (2:5) This
general verse does not specify how they will prosper.
Thus each person may find what they pursue in it. The
sense is compact so that it may be comprehensive. People
seek to be saved from the Fire, enter Paradise, or
acquire eternal happiness. Others seek God's good
pleasure or the vision of God. In many places, the Qur'an
neither narrows nor specifies the sense, for it can
express many meanings by leaving certain things unsaid. By
not specifying in what way they will prosper, it means:
"O Muslims, good tidings! O Godfearing one, you
will be saved from Hell. O righteous one, you will
enter Paradise. O one with knowledge of God, you will
gain God's good pleasure. O lover of God, you will be
rewarded with the vision of God." •
From Sura Muhammad: Know
that there is no god but God, and ask forgiveness for
your error. (47:19) This
verse has so many aspects and degrees that all saints
consider themselves in need of it and derive from it a
fresh meaning and spiritual nourishment appropriate to
their ranks. This is because "God" is the
Divine Being's all-comprehensive Name, and thus it
contains as many affirmations of Divine Unity as the
number of the Divine Names: There is no provider but He,
no creator but He, no merciful one but He, and so on. The
story of Moses has thousands of benefits and pursues many
purposes, such as calming and consoling the Prophet,
tirreatening unbelievers, condemning hypocrites, and
reproaching Jews. Thus it is repeated in several suras to
stress different ¦
aspects. Although all purposes are relevant in each
place, only one is the main purpose. Question:
How do you know the Qur'an contains and intends all
those meanings? Answer:
As the Qur'an is an eternal discourse speaking to and
teaching humanity at all levels and times, it contains,
intends, and alludes to all of those meanings. In my Isharat
al-I'jaz, I use Arabic grammatical rules, as well as the
principles of rhetoric, semantics, and eloquence, to
prove that the Qur'an's words include and intend
various meanings. According to Muslim jurists'
consensus and interpretations, Qur'anic interpreters,
and scholars of religious methodology, all aspects and
meanings understood from the Qur'an can be considered
among its meanings if they accord with Arabic's
grammatical rales, Islam's principles, and the sciences
of rhetoric, semantics, and eloquence. The
Qur'an has placed a sign, either literal or allusive, for
each meaning according to its degree. If allusive, there
is another sign from either the preceding or the
following context, or another verse to point to the
meaning. Thousands of Qur'anic commentaries prove its
wording's extraordinary comprehensiveness. Interested
readers can refer to my Isharat al-I'jaz for a more
extensive (yet still partial) discussion. Second
gleam: This relates to the Qur'an's extraordinarily
comprehensive meaning. In addition to bestowing the
sources for exacting jurists, the illuminations of those
seeking knowledge of God, the ways of those trying to
reach God, the paths of perfected human beings, and the
schools of truth-seeking scholars from the treasuries of
its meaning, the Qur'an always has guided them and
illuminated their ways. All agree on this. Third
gleam: This relates to the extraordinary
comprehensiveness of the knowledge contained in the
Qur'an. Not only is its vast knowledge the source of
countless sciences related to the Shari'a, truth (haqiga),
and religious orders (tariqa), but the Qur'an also
contains true wisdom and scientific knowledge of the
Sphere of Contingencies (the material world), true
knowledge of the Realm of Necessity (the Divine realm),
and esoteric knowledge of the Hereafter. For examples,
consider the previous Words, although they are only 25
drops from the oceans of the Qur'an's knowledge. Any
errors in those Words come from my defective
understanding. Fourth
gleam: This relates to the Qur'an's extraordinarily
comprehensive subject matter. It deals with humanity and
its duties, the universe and its Creator, the heavens and
Earth, this world and the next, and the past, future, and
eternity. It explains all essential matters related to
our creation and life, from correct ways of eating and
sleeping to issues of Divine Decree and Will, from the
universe's creation in 6 days to the functions of winds
alluded to in such oaths as: By the (winds) sentforth (77:1)
and By the (winds) that scatter (51:1). It
discusses so many other topics: from God's intervention
in our heart and free will: (God) stands between a person
and his [her] heart (8:24), and But you will not unless
God wills (76:30) to His grasp of the heavens: The
heavens shall be rolled up in His "right hand" (39:67);
from Earth's flowers, grapes, and dates: We made
therein gardens of palms and vines (36:34) to the
astounding event described in: When Earth is shaken with
a mighty shaking (99:1);.from heaven's state during
creation: 772e?« He comprehended in His design the sky
when it was smoke (41:11) to its splitting open and the
stars being scattered in endless space; from building
this world for testing and trial to its destruction;
from the grave, the other world's first station, to the
Resurrection, the Bridge, and eternal happiness in
Paradise. It
also discusses the past, including: When
your Lord took from the children of Adam, from their
loins, their seed, and made them testify of themselves,
(saying): "Am I not your Lord?" They said:
"Yes, assuredly. We testify."—lest you should
say on the Day of Resurrec-tion: "Of this, we were
unaware" (7:172), the
creation of Adam's body and the struggle between his two
sons, the Flood, the drowning of Pharaoh's people, and
the Prophets' life-stories, to what will happen on the
Day of Judgment: When some faces shall be radiant, gazing
upon their Lord (75:22). The
Qur'an explains all such essential and important
matters in a way befitting an AU-Powerful One of Majesty,
Who administers the universe like a palace, opens and
closes the world and the Hereafter like two rooms,
controls Earth like a garden and the heavens like a
lamp-adorned dome, and in Whose sight the past and future
are like day and night or two pages, and eternity like a
point of present time. Like
a builder describing two houses he has built and listing
what he will do, the Qur'an is— if one may express
it—a list or program written in a suitable style for
the One Who has built and administers the universe. The
Qur'an says that it is the Word of the Creator of the
universe. It contains no trace of artifice, pretence,
or unnecessary trouble, and no strain of imitation,
trickery, or deception. It does not pretend to speak in
another's name. Like daylight announcing to be from the
sun, with its absolutely genuine, pure, clear, solemn,
original, and brilliant style, it declares: "I am
the Word of the Creator of the universe." Can
the Qur'an belong to someone other than the Maker, the
Bestower of Bounties, Who has decorated this world with
the most original and invaluable works of art and filled
it with the most pleasant bounties? It resonates
throughout the world with cries of acclamation and
commendation, litanies of praise and thanks, and has
made Earth into a house where God's Names are recited,
where God is worshipped and His works of art are studied
in amazement. Where can the light illuminating the world
be coming from, if not from the sun? Whose light can the
Qur'an be, other than the Eternal Sun's, which has
unveiled and illuminated the universe's meaning? Who
could dare to produce a like of it? It
is inconceivable that the Artist Who decorated this
world with the works of His art should not address
humanity, who appreciates and commends that art. Since
He knows and makes, He will speak. Since He speaks, He
will speak through the Qur'an. How could God, the Lord of
all dominion Who is not indifferent to a flower's
formation, be indifferent to- a Word resonating
throughout His dominion? Could He allow others to
appropriate it, thereby reducing it to futility and to
nothing? Fifth
gleam: This consists of five beams related to the
Qur'an's comprehensive style and conciseness. First
beam: The Qur'an is so wonderfully comprehensive in
style that one sura may contain the whole ocean of the
Qur'an in which the universe is contained. One verse may
comprehend that sura's treasury, as if most verses are
small suras and most suras are little Qur'ans. This
miraculous conciseness is a great gift of Divine Grace
with respect to guidance and easiness, for although
everyone always needs the Qur'an,
not all people read it. So that they are not deprived of
its blessings, each sura may substitute for a small
Qur'an and each long verse for a short sura. Moreover,
all people of spiritual discovery and scholars agree
that the Qur'an is contained in Surat al-Fatiha, which is
itself contained in the basmala (In the Name of God, the
Merciful, the Compassionate).
Second
beam: The Qur'an contains references to all knowledge
needed by humanity.30 Moreover, it gives
people whatever they need, so that: Take from the Qur 'an
whatever you wish, for whatever need you have has been
widely circulated among verifying scholars. Its verses
are so comprehensive that the cure for any ailment and
the answer for any need can be found therein. This must
be so, for the Book that is the absolute guide of all
perfected people who each day move forward in the way
of God must be of that quality. Third
beam: The Qur'an's expressions are concise but
all-inclusive. Sometimes it mentions the first and last
terms of a long series in a way that shows all of it;
other times it includes in a word many explicit,
implicit, allusive, or suggestive proofs of a cause. •
From Surat al-Rum: And
of His signs is the creation of the heavens and Earth and
the variety of your tongues and colors. (30:22) By
mentioning the universe's two-part creation— the
creation of the heavens and Earth and the varieties of
human languages and races—it suggests the creation and
variety of all animate and inanimate beings as signs of
Divine Unity. This also testifies to the All-Wise
Maker's Existence and Unity, Who first created the
heavens and Earth and then followed this with other
links—from adorning the heavens with stars to
populating Earth with animate creatures; from giving
the sun, Earth, and moon regular orbits, as well as
alternating day and night, to differentiating and
individualizing speech and complexion in cases of extreme
multiplication. Since
creating the vast heavens and Earth displays certain
artistry and purposes, the artistry and purpose of a
Maker Who founded universe on the heavens and Earth will
be much more explicit in other parts of His creation.
Thus, by manifesting what is concealed and concealing
what is manifest, the verse displays an extremely
beautiful conciseness. Also,
more probably than all other things in existence, the
amazing purposeful system of differentiation clearly
manifests a deliberate order. Although one may suppose
this system to be determined by chance, the links of
creation point to their Designer. The
evidence beginning six times with: Of His signs fi-om so
glory be to God both in your evening hour and in your
morning hour (30:17), to His is the highest comparison in
the heavens and Earth; He is the All-Mighty, the All-Wise
(30:27), is a series of jewels, lights, miracles, and
miraculous conciseness. I wish to show the diamonds in
those treasures, but must postpone doing so. •
From Sura Yusuf. Then
said the one who had been delivered, remembering after
a time: "I will myself tell you its
interpretation; so send me forth." "Joseph,
you truthful man..." (12:45-46) The
narrative omits several events between so send me forth and
Joseph, you truthful man: [So send me forth] to Joseph so
that I may ask him about the dream's interpretation. They
sent him. He came to the prison and said: [Joseph ...].
In such a way does the Qur'an narrate briefly and to the
point without any loss of clarity. •
From Sura Ya Sin: Who
has made fire for you out of the green tree. (36:80) and,
in the face of rebellious humanity's denial of the
Resurrection: Who
shall quicken the bones when they are rotted away?
(36:78) The
Qur'an says: "The One Who originated them shall
quicken them. The One Who creates knows all aspects of
all things. Moreover, the One Who made fire for you out
of the green tree can quicken decayed bones." The
part of the verse quoted deals with (and proves) the
Resurrection from different viewpoints. First,
it reminds us of Divine favors. Since the Qur'an details
them elsewhere, it only alludes to them here. It actually
means: "You cannot escape or hide from the One Who
made fire for you out of trees, causes them to give you
fruits, provides you with grains and plants, has made
Earth a lovely cradle containing all your provisions,
and the world a beautiful palace containing whatever you
require. You have not been created in vain and without
purpose, and so you are not free or able to sleep in the
grave eternally without being woken up." Second,
in pointing to a proof of the Resurrection, it uses the
green tree to suggest: "O you who deny the
Resurrection, look at trees. How can you deny the Power
of the One Who quickens in spring innumerable trees
that died and hardened in winter? By causing them to
blossom, come into leaf and produce fruits, He exhibits
three examples of the Resurrection on each tree." It
points to another proof and means: "How can you deem
it unlikely for One Who makes a refined and light-giving
substance like fire out of hard, dark, and heavy trees?
How can you say that He cannot give a fire-like life and
a light-like consciousness to wood-like bones?" It
points out yet another proof: "Everything in the
universe is subject to and depends on the decrees of the
One Who creates fire when nomads rub two green tree
branches together, and reconciles opposing natures to
produce new things. How can you oppose Him and consider
the Resurrection unlikely?" Moreover, it alludes
to the well-known tree near which Prophet Moses received
the first Revelation and suggests that Muhammad's cause
and that of Moses are the same. Thus it refers
indirectly to all Prophets' agreement on the same
essential points and adds yet another meaning to the
compact treasures of that word's meaning. Fourth
beam: The Qur'an's conciseness is like offering the ocean
in a pitcher. Out of mercy and courtesy for ordinary
human minds, it shows the most comprehensive and
universal principles and general laws through a
particular event on a particular occasion. The
following examples are only a few of many such concise
examples: •
The explanation of three verses in the First Station of
The Twentieth Word. Several
tilings are suggested. Teaching humanity the names of
all things means that men and women were given the
potential to obtain all knowledge and science; the
angels' prostration before Adam and Satan's refusal to do
so signify that most creatures have been placed at our
disposal, while harmful beings (e.g., Satan and snakes)
will not be so docile. Mentioning the Israelites'
slaughtering of a cow means that cow worship (borrowed
from Egypt and shown in the Israelites' adoration of the
calf made for them by the Samiri: 20:85-88) was destroyed
by Moses' knife. Mentioning that rivers gush forth from
some rocks, that others split so that water issues from
them, and that still others crash down in fear of God
(2:74) states implicitly that subsurface rock strata
allow subterranean veins of water to pass through them
and that they had a role in Earth's origin. •
Each phrase and sentence of Moses' story points to and
expresses a universal principle. For
example, in: Hainan, build for me a tower (40:36), the
Qur'an means: "Pharaoh ordered his minister Hainan:
'Build a high tower for me. I will observe the heavens
and try to find out through heavenly events whether there
is a god such as Moses claims.'" Through
this particular event and by tower, the Qur'an alludes to
a curious custom of the Pharaohs: Worshippers of nature
who lived in a vast desert without mountains, believers
in sorcery and reincarnation because of unbelief in
God, they cherished a deep desire for mountains and
claimed absolute sovereignty like that of Divine Lordship
over people. To eternalize their names and fame, they
built mountain-like pyramids for their mummified
bodies. •
From Sura Yimus: So
today We shall deliver you with your body. (10:92) By
mentioning Pharaoh's drowning, the Qur'an suggests:
"Since all Pharaohs believed in reincarnation,
they mummified their bodies to eternalize themselves.
Thus their bodies have survived until now. Although not
mummified, the body of the Pharaoh who drowned while
pursuing Moses with his army, was found prostrate beside
the Nile in the closing years of the nineteenth century.
This is an explicit Qur'anic miracle, which foretold it
centuries ago in the verse in question. •
From Sura Yunus: [T]he
folk of Pharaoh who were visiting you with evil
chastisement, slaughtering your sons and sparing your
women [to use them]. (2:49) This
verse mentions the Pharaohs' evils and cruelties to the
Israelites. It also implicitly refers to the mass murder
of Jews in many places and times, and the notorious part
played by some Jewish women in history: You
shall find them the most eager of men for life. (2:96) You
see many of them lying in sin and enmity, and how they
consume the unlawful; evil is the thing they have been
doing. (5:62) They
hasten about Earth to do corruption there; God loves not
the workers of corruption. (5:64) We
decreed for the Children of Israel in the Book: You shall
do corruption on Earth twice. (17:4) Do
not make mischief on Earth, doing corruption. (2:60) These
verses express the two general disastrous Jewish
intrigues against humanity's social life. The Jews have
used compound usury, which has shaken human social life.
Pitting labor against capital, they have driven the poor
to struggle against the rich and have caused the building
of banks and the accumulation of wealth through unlawful
ways. Also, they usually have been the same nation who,
to revenge themselves upon states or governments who
have wronged or defeated them, have entered seditionist
committees or participated in revolutions. •
From Surat al-Jumu 'a: You
of Jewry, if you assert that you are the friends of God,
apart from other men, then long for death if you speak
truly. But they will never long for it... (62:6-7) Revealed
to refute an assertion of Madina's Jewish community,
these verses state that Jews, renowned for their love of
life and fear of death, will not give up these traits
until the Last Day. Humiliation and misery were stamped
on them (2:61) states their general fate. Due to such
general and awful aspects of their nature and fate, the Qur'an
deals with them severely and criticizes them harshly.
Compare with these other aspects of the Qur'anic account
of Moses and the Children of Israel. Notice the many
gleams of miraculousness behind the Qur'an's simple words
and particular topics, like the gleam of miraculous
conciseness described in this beam. Fifth
beam: This relates to the Qur'an's extraordinarily
comprehensive aim, subject matter, meaning, style,
beauty, and subtlety. When studied attentively, its suras
and verses, particularly the former's opening sections
and the latter's beginnings and ends, clearly show that
it contains no trace of confusion. And this despite the
fact that it contains all types of eloquence, all
varieties of fine speech, all-categories of elevated
style, all examples of good morals and virtues, all
principles of natural science, all indexes of knowledge
of God, all beneficial rules of individual and social
life, and all enlightening laws of creation's exalted
reasons and purposes. Indeed,
such a perfect and comprehensive work only can be the
work of all-powerful one who sets everything in a
miraculous order. It only can be the extraordinary work
of a source of miracles like the Qur'an, which sees and
shows the truth, is familiar with the Unseen, and
bestows guidance. Only the penetrating expressions of
such a work can rend the veil of the commonplace over
things and events, which causes the compound ignorance
leading to unbelief (e.g., atheism and materialism),
and shows the extraordinariness behind that veil. Only
its diamond-like sword of proof can destroy naturalism
(the source of misguidance), remove thick layers of
heedlessness with its thunder-like cries, and uncover
existence's hidden meanings and creation's mysteries,
which are beyond the abilities of all philosophers and
scientists. Unlike
other books, the Qur'an does not pursue a series of
arguments gradually unfolded on certain interrelated
subjects. Rather, its verses give the impression that
each verse or each group of verses was sent separately at
one time as the codes of a very solemn and important
communication. Who, other than the universe's Creator,
can carry on a communication so concerned with the
universe and its Creator as the Qur'an? Who can make
the Majestic Creator speak and cause the universe to
"speak" so truly? In fact, the universe's Owner
speaks and makes the universe speak most seriously and
truthfully, and in the most elevated style, in the
Qur'an. No
one can find any signs of imitation in it, for there are
none. Supposing the impossible, that someone like
Musaylima the Liar appeared and managed to make the
All-Mighty, All-Compelling, and Majestic Creator of the
universe speak as he wishes and make the universe speak
to Him, there would be countless signs of imitation and
pretence. Every manner of those who put on great airs,
even in their basest states, shows their pretence.
Consider the following verses, which declare this with an
oath: By the star when it plunged, your comrade is not
astray, neither errs, nor speaks out of caprice. This is
naught but a Revelation revealed (53:1-4). Third
ray This
relates to the Qur'an's miraculous prediction, as well as
its freshness and ability to address all levels of
understanding regardless of time and place. This ray
consists of three radiances. First
radiance: This relates to the Qur'an's predictions and
has three light-giving aspects. First
aspect: The Qur'an gives news of the past. Although
communicated by an unlettered one, the wise Qur'an
mentions in a solemn and powerful manner the important
experiences of all Prophets from the time of Adam to the
Era of Happiness as well as the main aspects of their
mission. The information it provides usually coincides
with the commonly agreed descriptions of the previous
Scriptures. It also corrects the points on which their
corrupted forms disagree. Thus the Qur'an has an
all-seeing vision that knows the past better than the
previous Scriptures. Its
account of the past is not something rational, but it
may be traditional. Tradition is usually particular to
lettered persons, whereas the Prophet was unlettered.31
While the stories of previous Prophets are mentioned
mainly in Makkan suras, no one in Makka knew about them.
Furthermore, traditions are based partly on hearsay and
usually are mixtures of tmth and untruth. But the
Qur'an speaks of past events as if seeing them.
It
extracts the kernel of a long series of events and
presents its argument through that kernel. The extracts,
summaries, and indications found therein therefore show
that the One Who presents them sees all dimensions of the
past. Just as a substantial summary, a fine extract, or
a telling example shows a specialist's skill or expert
knowledge, the Qur'an's chief points and main themes,
chosen from certain events, show that the One Who chooses
them has an all-encompassing knowledge of the whole and
is describing them with an extraordinary skill. Second
aspect: This relates to the Qur'an's many categories of
predictions, one being particular to saints and spiritual
unveiling. For instance, Muhiy al-Din ibn al-'Arabi found
many predictions in Surat al-Rum. Imam Rabbani discovered
signs of many future events in the muqatta'at (the
individual, disjunct letters at the beginning of
certain suras). For scholars of its inner aspects and
esoteric meanings and of creation, the Qur'an is full
of predictions. I will focus on only one and be content
with giving some examples, without going into detail. The
Qur'an says to the Messenger: So
be patient: Surely God's promise is true. (30:60) You
shall enter the Holy Mosque, if God wills, in security,
your heads shaved, your hair cut short, not fearing.
(48:27) It
is He who has sent His Messenger with the guidance and
the religion of truth, that He may uplift it above every
religion. (48:28) The
Romans have been vanquished in the nearer part of the
land; and, after their vanquishing, they shall be the
victors in a few years. To God belongs the Command.
(30:3-4) You
shall see, and they will see, which of you is demented.
(68: 5-6) Or
do they say: "He is a poet for whom we await what
fate will bring." Say: "Wait. I shall be
waiting with you." (52:30-31) God
will protect you from people. (5:67) If
you are in doubt concerning what We have sent down on Our
servant, bring a sura like it and call your witnesses,
helpers, apart from God, if you are truthful. If you do
not-—and you will never do it— then fear the fire...
(2:23-24) Say:
"If the Last Abode with God is yours exclusively,
and not for other people, then long for death— if you
speak truly." But they will never long for it.
(2:94) We
shall show them Our signs in the outer world and in
themselves till it is clear to them that it is the truth.
(41:53) Say:
"If humanity and jinn banded together to produce
the like of this Qur'an, they would never produce its
like, even though they backed one another."
(17:88) God
will bring a people He loves and who love Him, humble
toward believers, mighty and dignified against
unbelievers, (people) who struggle in the way of God, not
fearing the reproach of any reproacher. (5:54) Say:
"All praise be to God. He shall show you His signs
and you will recognize them." (27:93) Say:
"He is the All-Merciful. We believe in Him and in
Him we put all our trust. Assuredly, you will soon know
who is in manifest error." (67:29) God
has promised those of you who believe and do righteous
deeds that He will make you successors in the land,
even as He made those who were before them successors,
and that He will establish their religion for them, that
He has approved for them, and will bring them into
security after their fear. (24:55) All
of the predictions made in these verses came true. So if
a person who was subject to the severest criticisms and
objections, in whom even one fault was certain to lead to
his cause's failure, makes predictions so unhesitatingly
and confidently, and in such a serious manner, it shows
without doubt that he speaks not of himself but of what
he receives from his Eternal Teacher. Third
aspect: This relates to what the Qur'an says about the
Unseen, Divine truths, and the Hereafter's realities.
Certain truths of creation also may be considered in this
category. The
Qur'an's explanations in these areas are among the most
important pieces of information about the Unseen.
Humanity cannot advance in a straight direction amid
paths of misguidance and reach the Unseen's truths or
realities. The deep, endless disagreements between
schools of philosophy and scientists show that even
their greatest geniuses cannot discover even the least of
these truths by unaided reasoning. With purified souls,
refined hearts, evolved spirits, and intellects
perfected by the Qur'an, humanity could perceive and
accept those truths and realities, and then could say
only: "May God bless the Qur'an." No
one can discover and perceive the Hereafter's events,
states, conditions, and stages, including the life of the
grave, by himself or herself. However, one can penetrate
and comprehend them via the Qur'an's light, as if seeing
and observing them clearly. You may refer to The Tenth
Word, which discusses how right and true are the
Qur'an's explanations of that Unseen world of the
Hereafter. Second
radiance: This relates to the Qur'an's freshness, which
is maintained as if it were revealed anew in every era.
As an eternal discourse addressing all humanity
regardless of time or place and level of understanding,
it should—and does—have a never-fading freshness. The
Qur'an so impresses each new generation that each one
regards it as being revealed to itself and receives its
instructions therefrom. Human words and laws become old
and so need to be revised or changed. But the Qur'an's
laws and.prin-ciples are so established and constant, so
compatible with essential human nature and creation's
unchanging laws, that the passage of time has no effect
upon them. Instead, it shows the Qur'an's truth,
validity, and force even more clearly!
This
twentieth century, including its People of the Book,32
is more confident of itself than preceding ones, and
yet most in need of the Qur'anic wisdom beginning with:
O People of the Book. As this phrase also means "O
people of schooling and education," those messages
seem to be directed toward this century exclusively. With
all its strength and freshness, the Qur'an calls to us: Say:
"O People of the Book, come now to a word common
between us and you, that we serve none but God, and that
we associate not anything with Him, and do not some of us
take others as lords, apart from God." (3:64) Our
present civilization, the product of human ideas and
perhaps of the jinn, has chosen to argue with the Qur'an.
It tries to contradict its miraculous-ness through its
charm and "spells." To prove the Qur'an's
miraculousness against this new, terrible opponent, and
affirm its challenge of: Say:
"If humanity and jinn banded together to produce
the like of this Qur'an, they would never produce its
like, not though they backed one another" (17:88), I
will compare modern civilization's principles and
foundations with those of the Qur'an. First,
all of the comparisons and criteria put forward so far,
and the truths and verses contained therein, prove the
Qur'an's miraculousness and indisputable superiority over
modern civilization. Second,
as convincingly argued in The Twelfth Word: Modern
civilization says that the point of support in social
life is force or power, the aim of life is to realize
self-interest, conflict is the principle of
relationship in life, the bond between communities is
racism and negative nationalism, and its fruits are the
gratification of carnal desires and the multiplication of
human needs. In
addition, force calls for aggression, and gratification
of self-interest causes conflict over material
resources. Conflict brings strife. Racism feeds itself by
swallowing others, and so paves the way for aggression.
Thus despite modern civilization's advantages and
positive aspects, only 20 percent of people are
superficially contented while the other 80 percent are
in hardship and misery. In
contrast, the Qur'an accepts right as the point of
support in social life, considers the aim of life to be
virtue and God's approval, recognizes mutual assistance
as the principle of relationship in life, and accepts
ties of religion, profession, and citizenship as the
bonds between communities. It seeks to place a barrier
against the illicit attacks of lust, urges the soul to
ennoble and satisfy its lofty aspirations, and
encourages people to perfection and so makes them truly
human. Right
calls for unity; virtue brings mutual support and
solidarity. Mutual assistance means helping each other.
Religion secures brotherhood (and sisterhood) and mutual
attraction, while restraining the carnal self and
urging the soul to perfection bring happiness in this
world and the next. Thus
despite its borrowings from previous Divine religions and
especially the Qur'an, which accounts for its agreeable
aspects, modern civilization cannot offer a viable
alternative to the Qur'an. Third,
I will give a few examples of the Qur ' an's many
subjects and commandments. As its laws and principles
transcend time and space, they do not become obsolete.
For example, despite all its charitable foundations,
institutions of intellectual and moral training, and
severe disciplines and laws and regulations, modem
civilization has been defeated by the Qur'an in the
following matters: First
comparison: Perform the prescribed prayer, and pay the zakat
(2:43) and: God has made trading lawful and usury
unlawful (2:275). As explained in my Isharat al-Fjaz, the
following two attitudes or approaches are the causes of
all revolutions and social upheavals, as well as the
root of all moral failings. They can be summed up,
respectively, as: "I do not care if others die of
hunger so long as my stomach is full," and:
"You must bear the costs of my ease—you must work
so that I may eat."
A
peaceful social life depends on the balance between the
elite (rich) and common (poor) people.33
This balance is based on the former's care and compassion
and the latter's respect and obedience. Ignoring the
first attitude drives the rich to wrongdoing, usurpation,
immorality, and merciless-ness; ignoring the second
attitude drives the poor to hatred, grudges, envy, and
conflict with the rich. This conflict has destroyed
social peace for the last 2 or 3 centuries, especially in
Europe's social upheavals, all of which are rooted in the
century-old struggle between labor and capital. Despite
all its charitable societies, institutions of moral
training, and severe laws and regulations, modern
civilization has neither reconciled these two social
classes nor healed those two severe wounds of human life.
The Qur'an, however, eradicates the first attitude and
heals its wounds through zakat, and eradicates the second
by outlawing interest. The Qur'an stands at the door of
the world and turns away interest. It says to us:
"If you want to end social conflict and struggle, do
not engage in interest," and orders its students
to avoid such things. Second
comparison: Modern civilization rejects polygamy as
unwise and disadvantageous to social life, even though if
the purpose of marriage were sexual gratification,
polygamy would be a lawful way to realize it. The Qur'an
permits a man to have more than one wife under certain
circumstances. However, as observed even in animals and
plants, the purpose for and wisdom in sexual relations is
reproduction. The resulting pleasure is a small payment
determined by Divine Mercy to realize this duty. Marriage
is for reproduction and perpetuation of the species.
Being able to give birth at most once a year, to become
pregnant during half of a month, and entering menopause
around 50, one woman is usually insufficient for a man,
who can sometimes impregnate even until the age of 100.
That is why, in most cases, modern civilization
tolerates prostitution.
Third
comparison: Modern civilization criticizes the Qur'an
for giving a woman one-third of the inheritance (half of
her brother's share) while giving a man two-thirds.
However, general circumstances are considered when
establishing general rules and laws. In this case, a
woman usually finds a man to maintain her, whereas a man
usually has to take care of someone else.34
Given this, a woman's husband is to make up the
difference between her share of the inheritance and that
of her brother. Her brother, on the other hand, will
spend half of his inheritance on his wife, equaling his
sister's share. This is true justice. Fourth comparison: The Qur'an prohibits idolatry and condemns the worship of images, which can be an imitation of idolatry. However, modern civilization sees sculpture and the portrayal of living beings, which the Qur'an condemns, as one of its virtues. Forms with or without shadows (sculptures and pictures of living beings) are either a petrified tyranny (tyranny represented in stone), embodied ostentation or caprice, all of which |