Evidences For Qur'an's Divine Origin?

Greetings CleansingWater,

Here are two posts which help summarise the key information to begin with:

format_quote Originally Posted by Muhammad

It has been Allaah the Most High's way that whenever He sends a prophet, He gives that prophet certain miracles and signs to prove his prophethood to his people (for example, the miracles of Moses and Jesus).

In the case of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), he was given the Qur'an as the ultimate proof of his prophethood. Note, however, that it wasn't the only miracle of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), but it is the only one which is permanent i.e. not restricted to a particular time or place. It is a miracle for all generations after the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to see and realise.

We can therefore appreciate that there must be something about the Qur'an that makes it stand out from all other scriptures proclaimed to be divine, something that indicates it is the truth, something that proves it is indeed the very Words of Allaah (swt).

The beauty of the Qur'an is that it is not miraculous in only one facet, but rather from all facets and angles that one can look at it. Thus the miraculous nature of the Qur'an cannot be limited to one list. In this thread it seems we have attempted to begin examining two or three of these aspects. However, many more exist, and it is important to consider all of the miraculous facets in combination, as the miraculous nature of the Qur'an is not by any one of them only. Examples of these are the following:

1. The language and style of the Qur'an
2. The incapability to produce anything similar to it by the disbelievers during the Prophet's (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) time and those after them.
3. The stories and accounts of the nations and prophets of old, since the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had no recourse to such information.
4. The predictions which occurred in the Qur'an, and which later came true
5. The perfect belief of Monotheism - the attribution of all that befits Allaah and the negation of all that does not befit Him, and the call of the Creator to the created to worship Him. All of this is not possible for a human to bring forth unless he was inspired by Allaah.
6. The laws and sharee'ah that the Qur'an came with, and the morals and conduct that it called for. All of this leads to the betterment of life in this world and in the Hereafter. The perfection of a set of laws that can be applied to any society at any time and place is humanly impossible, and the sharee'ah is the only example of such a set of laws.
7. Scientific facts mentioned in the Qur'an that were unknown at that time.
8. The fact that it has been protected and remained unchanged over such a long period of time, despite the fact that all other religious books have been distorted.
9. The compilation of the Qur'an and the diligence with which all the knowledge essential for its understanding has been preserved (such as the causes of revelation behind specific verses, verses revealed in Makkah/Madeenah, abrogation etc.)
10. The miraculous nature of the various ways and manners of reciting the Qur'an (the ahruf and qira'aat).
11. The ease by which it is memorised, and this is known by experience and observance.This is in contrast to all other religious books, for none of them are memorised like the Qur'an.
12. The deep meanings that are present inside it, and the fact that a reader never tires of reading the Qur'an, no matter how many times he has heard it or read it. This is in contrast to any other book, since a person cannot read it more than a few times without it getting monotonous and mundane.
13. The impact that the Qur'an has on those who hear it and the euphonious quality of the Qur'an.

Taken from An Introduction to the Sciences of the Qur'an, Yasir Qadhi, with slight modifications.


Each of these can be discussed in much greater detail, and the level of depth would be limited by the knowledge and research of those discussing it. But I hope it is apparent from looking at this list that the subject of the miraculous nature of the Qur'an is one that is very vast and that the previous pages of this thread have done little justice in that regard. Yet the sincere person who researches this issue adequately will soon find ample proof that the Qur'an is the very Words of Allaah (swt).

Regards.

format_quote Originally Posted by Ansar Al-'Adl

First, I would like to present a brief list of some of the qualities the Qur'an posseses that will enable you to understand exactly why Muslims feel it is such a special book. This is what I posted before on the forum:

format_quote Originally Posted by Ansar Al-'Adl

I'll try to give you a comprehensive answer as to why the Qur'an is regarded the way it is by so many people.

1. The Power of the Qur'anic Message:

-it is universal, unrestricted by time and applicable to any nation/culture. The Qur'an is by far the most widely followed and acted-upon book in the world. As for the Bible, most Christians follow the Church over the Bible, and each denomination has its own bible anyway. The fact that there is no other book in the world that forms the constitution of the lives of billions of followers is itself a sign.
-it is practical and logical, it can be established practically in society and is logically able to address the fundamental questions relating to all aspects of our universe.
-it is comprehensive, addressing all fundamental sectors of human life, be it spritual, physical, mental, social/societal, politcal, environmental, economic, etc.
-it is natural, in concordance with a person's nature and what they feel deep inside to be the truth.
-it is clear and consistent, free of the changes in worldview and understanding that dominate the works of human beings.
-it is deep, having provoked thousands upon thousands of volumes of exegesis, expounding upon its meaning and revealing fascinating details that many people otherwise miss in their reading of the Qur'an.

2. The Power of the Qur'anic Style:

-it is Interactive, the text seems alive as it responds to the very questions that arise in one's mind at that moment. It speaks to the reader and delivers specific yet universal advice.
-it is Inerrant, free from contradictons and discrepancies, or other errors that would normally be found in the works of human beings.
-it is Memorizable; the Qur'an is the only book in the world which is continuously being memorized by millions of people and recited daily. No other book has been committed to memory by so many followers, as though it fits in one's mind as a key in a lock.
-its Language, the Qur'anic arabic is a stunning miracle in itself, its style is powerful and its recitation is melodious. More info: Here, Here, Here.

3. The Power of the Qur'anic Text:

-it is Preserved, even after fourteen and a half centuries, the Qur'an is recited today exactly as it was first revealed. Thus it was free of the tampering that befell other religious scriptures.
-its other Remarkable features; many Muslims find a striking concordance between many Qur'anic statements and established scientific truths, which could not have been known by any normal human being 14 centuries ago. (see here). Many Muslims have also found the Qur'anic perfection extends even to various mathematical miracles within the text (see here for discussion of word repetitions). As well, there are the Qur'anic Prophecies.
-its Authorship; the context in which the Qur'an was revealed leaves the reader with no other conclusion than the fact that it could only be the word of God.

This is just my summary of the miraculous features Muslims find in the Qur'an. For more information, please see section 3c of The First and Final Commandment.

Many of the points in the list are further discussed as a proof, for example in this thread br. akulion has decided to discuss scientific miracles. Because the scientific miracles are arguably more subjective, I tend to elaborate on my points that I feel are far more concrete. For example, with regard to word repetitions, see my posts here and let me know what you think:
http://www.islamicboard.com/170015-post7.html
http://www.islamicboard.com/171261-post12.html
Br. Azim's post:
http://www.islamicboard.com/172587-post14.html

The above examples are just a few of word repetitions in the Qur'an that pose many difficulties to the critic of the Qur'an's divine origin.

The argument I use more frequently is one I raised in a dialogue with czgibson on the existence of God. The argument is reduced to the fact that either Muhammad was a liar, deluded, insane, or he was what he truly claimed to be and the revelation he recieved was truly from God, the last option being the only rational position one can take with his life and with the Qur'anic revelation. While czgibson did not concede my argument, he did admit that his "answers with regard to Prophet Muhamamd pbuh are a little deficient and [that he'd] have to study this area more in order to formulate a rational position".

I hope this helps.

Regards

Here are some more links which go into detail on the various aspects. There are many more, but hopefully this will give you an introduction. Then you can research in more depth, God-willing.

Miracles in general
http://www.whyislam.org/submission/t...-of-the-quran/
http://www.islamic-awareness.org/Quran/
http://www.islamicboard.com/quran/13...racle-god.html
The Miracle and the Challenge of the Qur'an

Challenge of the Qur'an:
The Challenge of the Qur'an
http://www.islamicboard.com/clarific...ml#post1281044
http://www.islamicboard.com/quran/32986-challenge.html

Literary excellence:
http://www.islam21c.com/texts/203-an...e-of-the-quran
http://www.theinimitablequran.com/index.html

Preservation
http://www.islamicboard.com/clarific...tml#post785930
http://www.islamicboard.com/discover...n-changed.html

Prophecies
The amazing Quran - Prophecy of Romans
History Proves the Accuracy of the Qur'an
http://www.islamicboard.com/discover...ut-failed.html

Scientific miracles
http://www.islamreligion.com/category/33/
http://www.islamicboard.com/health-s...les-quran.html
Exploring Islam
http://islampapers.com/embryology-in-the-quran/

I would add this to the list:

The greatest miracle of God’s Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace), an eternal one, is the All-Wise Qur’an, which comprises hundreds of evidences of his prophethood, and forty aspects of whose own miraculousness have been proven. The Twenty-Fifth Word has explained concisely and proved those forty aspects in its approximately one hundred and fifty pages. Therefore, referring that supreme miracle, a treasury of miracles, to that Word, here we shall explain only one or two points.

First Point

I f i t i s a s k e d : The miraculousness of the Qur’an lies in its eloquence. But all classes of men have the right to a share of its understanding, and only one learned scholar out of a thousand can understand the miraculousness in its eloquence?

T h e A n s w e r : The All-Wise Qur’an has a different kind of miraculousness corresponding to the understanding of each class; it indicates the existence of its miraculousness to each in a different way. For example, to the scholars of rhetoric and eloquence, it exhibits the miraculousness of its extraordinary eloquence. To the poets and orators, it shows its exalted, beautiful, and original style, which no one can imitate although it pleases everyone. The passage of time does not cause its style to age; it always remains fresh and new. Its prose and word-order are so well-ordered that it is both elevated and pleasant. To soothsayers and other diviners of the Unseen, it displays its miraculousness in its extraordinary reports concerning the Unseen. To historians, it demonstrates its miraculousness by giving information concerning events of past ages, as well as those of the future, and of the Intermediate Realm and the hereafter. To social and political scientists, it shows the miraculousness in its sacred principles. Yes, the Supreme Shari‘a, which proceeds from the Qur’an, indicates that mystery of miraculousness. To those occupied with knowledge of God and cosmic truths, it shows the miraculousness of the sacred divine truths in the Qur’an, or else it indicates the existence of that miraculousness. To some, it shows the miraculousness in the hidden mysteries of its verses, which constantly rise and fall like waves in the sea of the Qur’an. And so on. To each of forty classes of men, it opens up a window and shows its miraculousness. The ordinary people even, who only listen to the Qur’an understanding a little of its meaning, confirm that it does not resemble any other book. They say: “The Qur’an is either inferior to all the other books we have heard read, which not even an enemy could claim – just as it is impossible – or it is superior to all of them and is thus a miracle.” Now, in order to help him, we shall explain further the miraculousness which the ordinary man understood by just listening. It is as follows:

When the Qur’an of Miraculous Exposition appeared challenging the whole world, it aroused passionate feelings of two kinds in people:

The First: In friends, the desire to imitate it; that is, the desire to resemble the style of their beloved Qur’an, and a wish to speak like it.

The Second: In enemies, the desire to criticize and dispute it; that is, the wish to invalidate its claim of miraculousness by competing with its style.

Thus, because of these two intense emotions, millions of books were written in Arabic, and are to be seen. Now, whoever listens to the most eloquent, the most brilliant, of these books being read together with the Qur’an is bound to say that it does not resemble any of them. That means that the Qur’an is not of the same level as them. In which case, it must either be inferior to all of them, which together with being impossible a hundred times over, no one, not even Satan, could claim, or the Qur’an of Miraculous Exposition is superior to all of them... (Click here for further reading.)