The Amazing Quran (part 6 of 9)
Description: A series of articles compelling the reader to ponder over the marvels of the Quran. Part 6: A reply to those who allege that the Quran could be from the Devil or one suffering from mythomania.
- By Dr. Gary Miller (edited by www.islamhouse.com)
- Published on 07 Jan 2013
- Last modified on 04 Dec 2014
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An EncounterwithaMinister
Aboutsevenyearsago,I hadaministerovertomyhome. Intheparticularroomwhichwe weresittingtherewasaQuranonthetable,facedown,andsotheministerwasnotawareof whichbook itwas. Inthemidstofadiscussion,I pointedtotheQuranandsaid,“I have confidenceinthatbook.”LookingattheQuranbutnotknowingwhichbook itwas,hereplied, “Well,I tellyou,if thatbook isnottheBible,itwaswrittenby aman!”Inresponsetohis statement,I said,“Letmetellyousomethingaboutwhatisinthatbook.”Andinjustthreetofour minutes,I related tohimafewthingscontainedintheQuran. Afterjustthosethreeorfour minutes,hecompletelychangedhispositionanddeclared,“Youareright. Amandidnot writethat book. TheDevilwroteit!”Indeed,possessingsuchanattitudeisvery unfortunate-for manyreasons. Foronething,itisavery quick andcheap excuse. Itisan instantexitoutofan uncomfortablesituation.
Asamatteroffact,thereisafamousstory intheBiblethatmentionshowoneday someofthe JewswerewitnesseswhenJesus, peace be upon him,raisedamanfrom thedead. Themanhadbeen deadforfourdays,andwhenJesusarrived,hesimply said,“Getup!”and themanaroseand walkedaway. Atsuchasight,someof theJewswhowerewatchingsaiddisbelievingly,“Thisis theDevil. TheDevilhelpedhim!”Nowthisstoryisrehearsedveryoften inchurchesalloverthe world,andpeoplecry bigtearsoverit,saying,“Oh,ifI hadbeenthere,I wouldnothavebeen asstupidastheJews!”Yet,ironically,thesepeopledoexactlywhattheJewsdid wheninjust threeminutesyoushowthem onlyasmallpartof theQuranandalltheycan say is,“Oh,the Devildidit. TheDevilwrotethatbook!”Becausethey aretruly backedintoa cornerandhave nootherviableanswer,they resorttothequickestand cheapestexcuseavailable.
The Source of the Quran
Anotherexampleofpeople’suseofthisweakstancecanbefoundintheMakkans’ explanationof thesourceofMuhammad’smessage. They usedtosay,“Thedevilsbring Muhammad thatQuran!”Butjustaswithevery suggestionmade,theQurangivestheanswer. Onepassage(ChapterAl-Qalam68:51-52)inparticularstates:
“...andtheysay,‘Surelyheispossessed,’ butit[i.e.,theQuran]isnot except a remindertotheworlds.”
Thusitgivesanargumentinreplytosuchatheory. Infact,therearemany argumentsinthe QuraninreplytothesuggestionthatdevilsbroughtMuhammad hismessage. Forexample, inthe26thchapterGod, clearly affirms:
“Noevil oneshavebroughtit[i.e.,thisrevelation]down. Itwouldneitherbefitting forthem,norwouldtheybeable. Indeed theyhavebeen removedfarfrom hearing it.”(Quran 26:210-212)
Andinanotherplace(Surahan-Nahl16:98)intheQuran,Godinstructsus:
“Sowhenyou recitetheQuranseekrefugeinGodfromSatan,thecursed.”
NowisthishowSatanwritesabook? Hetellsone,“Beforeyoureadmy book,ask God tosave youfrom me?”Thisisvery,very tricky. Indeed,amancould writesomethinglikethis,butwould Satandothis?Many peopleclearly illustratethatthey cannotcometooneconclusiononthis subject. Ononehand,theyclaim thatSatanwouldnotdosuchathingand thatevenif he could,God wouldnotallowhimto;yet,ontheotherhand,theyalsobelievethatSatanisonly thatmuchlessthanGod. Inessencethey allegethattheDevilcanprobablydowhatever Godcando. Andasaresult,whenthey look attheQuran,evenassurprisedasthey areasto howamazingitis,they stillinsist,“TheDevildidthis!”
Praisebe toGod,Muslimsdonothavethatattitude. Although Satan may havesome abilities,theyarealong wayseparatedfromtheabilitiesofGod. AndnoMuslimisaMuslim unlesshebelievesthat. Itiscommon knowledgeeven among non-MuslimsthattheDevilcan easily makemistakes,anditwouldbeexpectedthathewouldcontradicthimselfifandwhen hewroteabook. Forindeed,theQuran states(Surah an-Nisa4:82):
“Do theynot considertheQuran?Had it beenfromotherthanGod,theywould surelyhavefoundthereinmuchdiscrepancy.”
Mythomania
Inconjunctionwiththeexcusesthatnon-Muslimsadvanceinfutileattemptstojustify unexplainableversesintheQuran,thereisanotherattackoftenrenderedwhich seemstobe acombinationofthetheoriesthatMuhammadwascrazyandaliar. Basically,these peopleproposethatMuhammad wasinsane,andasaresultofhisdelusion,heliedtoand misledpeople. Thereisanameforthisinpsychology. Itisreferred toasmythomania. Itmeans simplythatonetellsliesandthenbelievesthem. Thisiswhatthenon-Muslimssay Muhammadsufferedfrom. Buttheproblemwiththisproposalisthatonesufferingfrommythomania absolutely cannotdealwithany facts,andyetthewholeQuranisbased entirelyuponfacts. Everythingcontainedinitcanberesearchedand establishedastrue. Sincefactsaresucha problemforamythomaniac,whenapsychologisttriestotreatonesufferingfromthat condition,hecontinually confrontshimwithfacts.
Forexample,if oneismentally illandclaims,“I amthekingofEngland,”apsychologistdoes notsaytohim“Noyouaren’t. Youarecrazy!”Hejustdoesnotdothat. Rather,heconfrontshim withfactsandsays,“O.K.,yousayyouarethekingofEngland. Sotellmewherethequeenis today. Andwhereisyourprimeminister?Andwhereareyourguards?”Now,whentheman hastroubletryingtodealwiththesequestions,hetriestomakeexcuses,saying“Uh... the queen... shehasgonetohermother’s. Uh... theprimeminister... wellhedied.”Andeventually heiscuredbecausehecannotdealwiththefacts. Ifthepsychologistcontinuesconfronting himwithenoughfacts,finallyhefacesthereality andsays,“I guessI amnotthekingof England.”
TheQuranapproacheseveryonewhoreadsitinverymuchthesameway apsychologist treatshismythomaniapatient. ThereisaverseintheQuran(SurahYunus10:57)which states:
“Omankind,therehascometoyouanadmonition[i.e.,theQuran]fromyourLord and a healing forwhatisinthehearts-and guidanceand mercyforthe believers.”
Atfirstglance,thisstatementappearsvague,butthemeaningof thisverseisclearwhenone viewsitinlightof theaforementionedexample. Basically,oneishealed ofhisdelusionsby readingtheQuran. Inessence,itistherapy. Itliterallycuresdeludedpeoplebyconfronting themwithfacts. AprevalentattitudethroughouttheQuranisonewhich says,“Omankind,you say suchandsuchaboutthis;butwhataboutsuchandsuch?Howcanyousay thiswhenyou knowthat?”Andsoforth. Itforcesonetoconsiderwhatisrelevantandwhatmatterswhile simultaneouslyhealingoneofthedelusionsthatfactspresented tomankindbyGodcan easily beexplainedaway withflimsy theoriesandexcuses.
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