Why the Qur’an is a Miracle: Part II

As we mentioned last week, the Qur’an is a guidance for mankind. Allah says,
 شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ الَّذِي أُنزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنُ هُدًى لِّلنَّاسِ وَبَيِّنَاتٍ مِّنَ الْهُدَىٰ وَالْفُرْقَانِ 
“The month of Ramadan [is that] in which was revealed the Qur'an, a guidance for the people and clear proofs of guidance and criterion.” (2:185) 

Allah guides people through this book in various ways, such as through science, history, spirituality and more. In today’s Khutbah I will continue to talk about the unique features of the Qur’an.  

3) The accuracy of the historical stories mentioned in the Qur’an  
The Qur’an accurately narrates many stories and events of the past. The uniqueness is in the fact that the stories from the Qur’an match stories found in the Bible and Torah even though they were all revealed at different eras and places. Now, one may accuse the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ of copying from previous scriptures. However, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was an illiterate man, meaning he could not read or write. Allah says, 
 الَّذِينَ يَتَّبِعُونَ الرَّسُولَ النَّبِيَّ الْأُمِّ 
“Those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered Prophet ….” (7:156) 

So how could an illiterate prophet have copied from previous scriptures? How does an illiterate man accurately narrate stories of events that happened hundreds or thousands of years before his birth, at a time when there was no internet to check? The real reason why the Prophet ﷺ knew about previous historical events is because Allah told him through the Qur’an. Allah revealed to the Prophet stories regarding Musa, Isa, Ibrahim, Nuh and Adam (peace be on them).  


 4) Scientific facts revealed 1400 years ago 
There are many scientific facts/theories discussed in the Qur’an and only now, using complex technology, have scientists discovered many of them. To appreciate this unique feature, one has to remember that the Qur’an was revealed 1400 years ago in a desert area, where there was no absolutely no technology.  

So, what are some of the scientific verses in the Qur’an?   

The Qur’an mentions that the earth moves around in an orbit, even though at that time everyone thought the earth was stationary and things were moving around it.
 لَا الشَّمْسُ يَنبَغِي لَهَا أَن تُدْرِكَ الْقَمَرَ وَلَا اللَّيْلُ سَابِقُ النَّهَارِ ۚ وَكُلٌّ فِي فَلَكٍ يَسْبَحُونَ 
“It is not allowable for the sun to reach the moon, nor does the night overtake the day, but each, in an orbit, is swimming.” (36:40) 
 
Allah mentions that the universe is expanding/becoming bigger,
 وَالسَّمَاءَ بَنَيْنَاهَا بِأَيْدٍ وَإِنَّا لَمُوسِعُونَ 
“And the heaven We constructed with strength, and indeed, We are [its] expander.” (51:47) 
 
Allah amazingly describes what happens when two seas meet. Allah says, 
مَرَجَ الْبَحْرَيْنِ يَلْتَقِيَانِ ﴿19﴾ بَيْنَهُمَا بَرْزَخٌ لَّا يَبْغِيَانِ 

“He has set free the two seas meeting together.  There is a barrier between them.  They do not transgress.” (55:19-20) 

Allah is telling us that when two seas meet, a barrier forms. This barrier divides the two seas so that each sea has its own temperature, salinity, and density. This information has been discovered only recently, using advanced equipment to measure temperature, salinity, density, oxygen dissolubility, etc.  The human eye cannot see the difference between the two seas that meet.  

The Qur’an accurately describes the development of an embryo in a mother’s womb. Allah says,
 وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنسَانَ مِن سُلَالَةٍ مِّن طِينٍ ﴿١٢﴾ ثُمَّ جَعَلْنَاهُ نُطْفَةً فِي قَرَارٍ مَّكِينٍ ﴿١٣﴾ ثُمَّ خَلَقْنَا النُّطْفَةَ عَلَقَةً فَخَلَقْنَا الْعَلَقَةَ مُضْغَةً فَخَلَقْنَا الْمُضْغَةَ عِظَامًا فَكَسَوْنَا الْعِظَامَ لَحْمًا ثُمَّ أَنشَأْنَاهُ خَلْقًا آخَرَ ۚ فَتَبَارَكَ اللَّـهُ أَحْسَنُ الْخَالِقِينَ 
“And certainly, did We create man from an extract of clay. Then We placed him as a sperm-drop in a firm lodging. Then We made the sperm-drop into a clinging clot, and We made the clot into a lump [of flesh], and We made [from] the lump, bones, and We covered the bones with flesh; then We developed him into another creation. So blessed is Allah, the best of creators.” (23:12-14) 

One can go on and on regarding the scientific miracles in the Qur’an, as there are many. The miraculous nature of the Qur’an should increase our Iman and make us appreciate the Qur’an more. May Allah give us the ability to study and understand the Qur’an. Ameen.  

5) Memorisation of the Qur’an 
The Qur’an is a living miracle which is utterly unique in its features, composition and meaning due to it being the Word of Allah. But there is one simple but unique feature of the Quran which amazes pretty much everyone that knows about it. That is the fact thousands and millions of people have memorised the Qur’an. There are thousands of Huffadh (those who have memorised the whole Qur’an) in the UK. You can almost say that every city and every area where Muslims reside have a large number of Huffadh. What do we understand from this amazing miracle of millions of Muslims memorising the entire Qur’an? We understand that number 1, Allah is preserving the Qur’an through the hearts and mind of the believers and number 2, Allah has made it easy to memorise and remember the Qur’an. Allah says, 
 وَلَقَدْ يَسَّرْنَا الْقُرْآنَ لِلذِّكْرِ فَهَلْ مِن مُّدَّكِرٍ 
“And We have certainly made the Qur'an easy for remembrance, so is there any who will remember?” (54:17) 

Isn’t it amazing the fact that a person never gets tired of reciting and repeating the verses in the Qur’an? Even though we listen and recite the Qur’an on a daily basis, in our prayers, in various gatherings, during taraweeh in Ramadan, we still want to listen to more. I can guarantee you that no other religion has even a few hundred people who have memorised their entire scripture. You won’t find many Christians who have memorised the whole Bible, nor will you find many Jews who have memorised the Torah, nor will you find Hindus who have memorised their entire scripture. It may be because it for them it very hard to memorise, remember and understand. It is only the Muslims that memorise the entire scripture. Every single community of Muslims, Arabs and non-Arab memorise the Qur’an. Subhan’Allah, Muslims as young as 10 memorise the entire Qur’an. Even if you haven’t memorised the entire Qur’an, one can confidently say that every single Muslim has memorised at least the last few Surahs of the Qur’an. Tell me one other book that is venerated like the Qur’an. How many times can you read a book? Even if it is great book you get tired and bored after reading it two or three times. As for the Qur’an, we want to recite or listen to it again and again. So, the fact that millions of people recite, memorise and love the Qur’an is a miracle, as no other book engenders that type of attachment.  

In conclusion, the Qur’an is living miracle and is full of unique features which are unparalleled and unmatched. Today we mentioned some of these unique features of the Qur’an with reference to the accuracy of historical events, scientific descriptions of the universe, and the fact that it is the only book easily memorised by millions of people. Given the power of the Qur’an, it is vital that we Muslims spend some time learning it. All you have to do is spend a few minutes reciting the Qur’an and do this on a daily basis. Even if you recite the Qur’an 5 minutes every day, it will accumulate to 35 minutes a week. If you get into the habit of reciting, then you can start reading the meaning and studying the different miracles of the Qur’an. Once we have a grounding in the knowledge of the Qur’an, we can tell others about it and get everyone to appreciate the uniqueness of the Qur’an.  

May Allah give us the tawfeeq and ability to study the Qur’an and spread its message. May Allah increase our love for the Qur’an and make us people who live their lives according to the Qur’an. Ameen.