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- 23-Year-Long Extraordinary Phenomenon in the Wilderness
Everyone is entitled to read the verbatim words of the Creator
Introduction and Book Summary
- Roughly six centuries following the birth of Jesus, an extraordinary event took place in the wilderness about 750 miles south of Jerusalem. This event unfolded in the tribal town of Mecca over the course of twenty-three years, was observed by an uncounted number of individuals, and inspired the fastest growing religion. Various accounts, encompassing works of literature, poems, narratives, and oral traditions, convey that Muhammad, the son of Abdullah and a member of the Hashim clan, who was unlettered, would repeatedly experience a unique physical condition. Without any forewarning, Muhammad would gently lower his head, as though bearing an immense weight, begin to perspire, and his complexion would assume a bluish tint. Subsequently, he would lose consciousness, gracefully, without falling to the ground. There are numerous detailed witness accounts of this condition:
- - It starts when he hears 'an approaching jingling sound' (1)
- - If he was sitting and this condition starts, he 'lowers his head' and when it ends, 'he raises his head'(2) again.
- - face color turns darker and/or reddish (3)
- - Sweat drops the size of pearls (4)
- - Faint sound of bee buzz (5)
- Other reports describe a physical pressure:
- - A companion who was sitting next to Muhammad felt as if his thigh bone would break when Muhammad's leg pressed heavily against his, pinning it to the ground during a revelation incident. (6)
- - A camel settled down and laid its head on the ground when Muhammad experienced a revelation as he was riding it. (7)
- The duration Muhammad remained unconscious in every incident varied. When he begins to regain consciousness, the extraordinary phenomenon begins. Muhammad wakes up uttering verses in his native classic Arabic language but in a new mystical recitation form that is "different, incomparable and inimitable" . The verses are linguistically powerful and eloquently articulated. Moreover, they had “rhymes, rhythms, patterns, accentuation, or other linguistic characteristics and techniques that shift and change to support or emphasize messages in a melodious tone.” The verses Muhammad spoke added new literary and recital genres to classic Arabic that are considered, throughout history, a marvel of classic Arabic literature as elaborated in chapter 2.
- The vocabulary in the recitations uttered by Muhammad incorporate various Arabic dialects, names of unknown objects, hundreds of new or obscure terms, words or names of foreign origins, and ambiguous codes or acronyms. Some verses address natural phenomena from an unfamiliar perspective, use common words in obscure context, or emit an air of mystery. Throughout history, Muslim scholars and linguists have unraveled many of the secrets of the Quran but never to the extent as Western scholars did in the last few decades. Researchers in the US and Europe contributed to explaining many of the astronomical, medical, and natural references mentioned in the Quran. Examples of the standing, unlocked, and challenging mysteries in Chapter 3.
- The new recitals, linguistic characteristics, and mysteries, however, are not the most extraordinary aspect of this phenomenon. The verses Muhammad uttered were attention-arresting primarily because they frequently take the first person in a direct God-to-creation address as follows:
- - O people, I have created you …
- - O my servants …
- - Pray to Me, and I will answer …
- - Worship/Serve Me …
- - I am God, Lord of all worlds …
- - Believe in Me …
- This phenomenon occurred probably hundreds of times in the presence of Muhammad’s family, companions, or strangers in the last part of his life. The number of verses uttered after every incident varied, some were few and others many. In about two years after his death, all the recitations Muhammad uttered were collected and scripted in a single manuscript entitled: “AlQuran” and commonly referred to “The Quran”. In the Islamic faith, reciting the Quran is a distinct and highly appreciated ritual similar to other acts of worship and is typically performed either privately or publicly before a group.
- According to the Quran, this revelation is a continuation of God’s earlier revelations, messages, and commandments given to past prophets starting with Adam and ending with Jesus. As such, the Quran confirms and repeats many beliefs, events, and prophecies mentioned in the Torah and New Testament, clarifies, corrects or elaborates on other verses, and completely denies and voids others stating that they are mere human innovations as elaborated in chapter 1.
- The primary themes of the Quran are enlightenment and guidance. The author introduces Himself, His attributes, and provides logical explanations for numerous questions concerning the purpose behind the creation of humankind, life, Earth, and the universe. The Quran also outlines what is expected of humans on Earth and what they should anticipate in the afterlife. In this chapter, we will draw parallels with the development of intelligent human-like androids to enable the reader to view the challenges of this industry from a maker’s perspective. This perspective will offer answers to challenging questions within Abrahamic faiths, particularly the paramount importance of monotheism, or the belief in One God. The analogies also offer rational reasons why atheists or agnostics, despite noble intentions and significant humanitarian contributions, are seen as having strayed from their fundamental purpose, failing the test of life. Finally, this chapter offers a comprehensive summary of the divine guidelines given to humanity, which are designed to help them through life's trials, successfully pass the test of life, and secure their well-being in the afterlife as found in Chapter 4.
- The Quran considers Christians and Jews who adhere to divine scriptures as believers and addresses them with love and care, recognizing them as men and women of faith and as a fulfillment of God's 'Great Nations' prophecy to Abraham. Muslims believe that Islam is a continuation and renewal of Judaism and Christianity, and the Quran gives special regard to Christians, considering them closest in affection to Muslims. Additionally, Christians and Jews are granted a special status in Islam; Muslims are duty-bound to respect and defend them if they reside in Muslim nations, even at the risk of their own lives. Generally, the Muslim view of Christians is comparable to the Christian view of Jews. Moreover, Muslims assert that the Bible contains indirect references to Muhammad and Islam and believe some of the evidence is too obvious to be unseen. Many Christians may find it intriguing that upon studying the New Testament, Muslim scholars find the nature of God to align with that in the Quran, the Torah, and previous scriptures. The difference in how Christian and Muslim scholars interpret the same biblical verses is more technical than theological. The Muslim side observes and adheres to a distinct scripture interpretation control rule: 'Implied interpretations or meanings that clash with explicit, direct, and reiterated scriptural statements are deemed invalid.' It may also come as a surprise to some that Muslims share many broad End Times prophecies with mainstream Christians and believe that Jesus is alive in heaven and will return 'in the flesh.' Moreover, Muslims believe that those who survive the anti-Christ test and persevere will join Jesus when he confronts evil. Like mainstream Christians and Jews, mainstream Muslims believe that End Times prophecies should serve as a source of inspiration and motivation for believers to lead virtuous and pious lives. However, mainstream Muslims disagree with Zionist Christians and evangelical leaders regarding the objectives, applications, and implications of these prophecies. From the Muslim standpoint, the End Times are believed to be a part of God's grand plan to test all of humanity on Earth: Will the faithful adhere to divine commands or transgress them when they have foreknowledge of the future, thereby suggesting that 'the end justifies the means'? As a result, Muslims strongly reject the notion that the awaited return of Jesus and the anticipated kingdom of heaven, which are both also anticipated by Muslims, can be used to justify more than 75 years of displacement, suffering, anguish, and the violation of millions of Palestinian children and their families. More about Christians and Jews in the Quran, scripture interpretation controls, End Times, and the return of Jesus can be found in chapter 5.
- Muslims hold the belief that the Quran has been meticulously preserved and recorded, capturing precisely the words spoken by Muhammad. Over the course of 23 years and as Muhammad received revelations, he guided hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of his companions to memorize sections or the entirety of the Quran. He fostered a meticulous Quran recitation culture in which it was socially acceptable, even expected, for individuals to publicly interject and correct any recitation errors made by others. Roughly two decades post Muhammad's demise, his companions compiled and recorded the matching recitations from about six distinguished companion reciters who had withstood the rigorous public vetting of the meticulous recitation culture. These collected works were subsequently examined, reviewed, and received unanimous endorsement from eyewitnesses who had directly heard Muhammad's Quranic recitations. A more in-depth exploration of the Quran's collection and documentation, along with analogies to illustrate the dialect/accent challenge, is provided in Chapter 6.
- Finally, Chapter 7 has the author’s personal appeal to Peace- and God-loving American pastors to help their congregations empathize with Palestinian children and show unconditional and indiscriminate compassion to other weak and helpless victims of the on-going pursuit of End-Times prophecies. The Palestinian cause and children and this appeal have inspired ‘The Recital’.
- Basic Quran statistics compared to the popular King James translation of the Bible:
- Quran King James Bible
- Number of books 1 66
- Total chapters (Surahs) 114 1,189
- Total verses 6,236 31,102
- Total Words 77,430 788,258
- By way of comparison, the Arabic Quran at 77,430 words is a little bit shorter than the New Testament (the four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), which total about 83,883 words in the English KJV.
Christians Believe Today
The Bible | Muslims Believe Today
The Quran |
Inspired by God | Revealed by God |
Authored by a large number of individuals, some are unknown | Uttered by a single individual: Muhammad son of Abdullah son of Hashim |
Human authors, were moved by the Holy Spirit in choosing thoughts and words to convey God’s deeds, plans, commands, and laws and the life of Jesus | God’s words were dictated, word for word, by the Angel Gabriel to Muhammad |
Various sections or chapters were written at different times and locations starting in the first century AD | First rough manuscript made of sorted but unbonded sections was compiled two years after Muhammad’s death. First complete bonded codex was written about 20 years after |
Various sections were written in different languages depending on the author | The Quran is in Classic Arabic |
Translated Bibles, whether English, German, Spanish, or other languages, are also "word of God" because Jesus called a Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament the “word of God” | Translations of the Quran are articulated by humans and might have many errors (Muslims are usually confused when Christians use the term "word of God" to refer to the English Bible because God did not speak to Jesus in English) |
The Bible was put together by a process called “canonization” by which certain writings are selected, officially recognized by the church as authoritative and sacred, and added together to form a collection of authoritative scriptures | The Quran is collected into one book by documenting the matching or consistent recitation of popular reciters that survived public scrutiny. Afterwards, the documented recitations were reviewed and approved by eyewitnesses and Muhammad’s trusted companions. |
The term “Word of God” is a general reference to divine messages found in the scriptures | The term “Word of God” refers to the verbatim words God |
Footnotes:
- Bukhari's Authentics #2 (https://sunnah.com/bukhari:2) - Last accessed 6/2/2023 - translation by author
- Muslim's Authentics #2335 (https://sunnah.com/muslim:2335) - Last accessed 6/2/2023 - translation by author)
- Muslim's Authentics #2334 (https://sunnah.com/muslim:1180c - Last accessed 6/2/2023 - translation by author)
- Bukhari's Authentics #2661 (https://sunnah.com/bukhari:2661) - Last accessed 6/2/2023 - translation by author
- Termithi #3173 (https://sunnah.com/tirmidhi/47) - Last accessed 6/2/2023 - translation by author)
- Bukhari's Authentics #2832 (https://sunnah.com/bukhari/56) - Last accessed 6/2/2023 - translation by author
- Musnad Ahmad (https://hadithprophet.com/hadith-28313.html) - Last accessed 6/2/2023 - translation by author
- Philip K. Hitti. 1960. “History of the Arabs,” seventh edition. Macmilllan & Co Ltd.
- COBHUNI Lecture. The Effects of Rhyme in the Quran. Lecture by Prof. Devin Stewart, Emory University, Altlanta. Tuesday, June 21st 2016, 2 pm Edmund-Siemers-Allee 1, Room 136 20146 Hamburg. https://www.cobhuni.uni-hamburg.de/bilder/postern-rhyme-in-quran.pdf