My purpose for this thread is to ask you all, in your own words, why you consider the narrative in the Koran to be the accurate and unaltered word of god,,,My hang-up, however, is the belief aspect. I can (and do) respect the Koran as a philosophical text, a historical text, and even as a moral treatise. My issue is the last leap to actual belief in a deity. I understand that the pillars of Islam require the belief that there is no god but god, and that Muhammad was his last messenger, but the idea of believing in something that can't be established as observably true is difficult for me, especially since I have never put much thought or care into the existence of deities one way or another.
3 things:
1. Allah's existence
2. The Prophet Muhammed's (Peace Be Upon Him) legitimacy as a Prophet of God
3. The Quran's unalterability (as if that's a word)
1. The existence of the Creator is proven by the existence of the creation: This is easily observable in the meticulous, extreme precision and detail that is apparent in all that exists. This level of organization, precision, and symmetry that we can observe in every facet of science and cannot be replicated in even the most advanced of man-made technology is clear indisputable proof of the One who Fashioned the Universe and gave it its grandeur. Nothing man-made can come about haphazardly or by chance. Human beings and the rest of "creation" are far more advanced than even the most sophisticated man-made technology.
I do not agree with my brothers and sisters here who say that there is no proof of Allah's existence and that you just have to believe. Iman (Faith) in Islam is believing with conviction in the clear signs that are right in front of your face and there is nothing that is clearer in this Universe than the existence of Allah. Two of the Names of Allah are ath-Thahir (The Apparent) and al-Batin (The Hidden). Of course, none of us can see Allah outright but His existence, power, might, wisdom, and greatness are evident in everything that we can observe all around us.
2. Proof of Muhammed's Prophethood (Salalahu 'Alaihi wa Salaam) is established by his character. If he were not a Prophet, there are only 3 other possibilities that could exist, none of which stand to reason:
a)--And said, "Is it one human being among us that we should follow? Indeed, we would then be in error and madness. Has the message been sent down upon him from among us? Rather, he is an insolent liar." They will know tomorrow who is the insolent liar. (al-Qamar: 25-26)
The innumerable examples of his sincerity and truthfulness disprove any thought or statement that Muhammed
was untruthful or a liar. For 40 years in Makkah, he had a reputable standing in society. He was known as being trustworthy. He was married to a very wealthy businesswoman. He had daughters and a good life. He put all of this on the line for the sake of his message and after 13 years of preaching he left Makkah as a fugitive. To keep things brief I will list a number of points which proves that he was one of the most truthful and sincere of people:
*As I said, his reputation was trustworthiness from the leaders of Makkah for 40 years before he became a Prophet. And then, after 40 years he is going to come with the greatest hoax of human history? I don't think so.
*The story of the dispute of the leaders of Quraish as to who would put the black stone into the Kabbah. The matter almost led to bloodshed. The leaders agreed to let Muhammed (Salalahu 'Alaihi wa Salaam) arbitrate the matter which he did brilliantly.
*The story of Abu Sufyan when he went to talk to Heraculius about Muhammed (May Allah's Peace and Blessings be Upon him). Even though he was an enemy to Muhammed he was forced to say nothing but good things about him.
*The complete sacrifice that he made for his message. This proves his sincerity. "Good brother" gave an excellent example of this when the leaders offered him a position of authority, wealth, and women if he gave up his call and he refused.
*When he died, he left almost nothing behind in terms of wealth. Why would he lie when there was nothing for him to gain from it in the worldly sense?
And many more examples besides these which I have not included due to brevity. All of these things (and more) prove that he (Salalahu 'Alaihi wa Salaam) was no liar.
b)--"Say, "I only advise you of one [thing] - that you stand for Allah , [seeking truth] in pairs and individually, and then give thought." There is not in your companion any madness. He is only a warner to you before a severe punishment." (Saba: 46)
The exceptional intelligence, forsight, wisdom and understanding of the Prophet (Salalahu 'Alaihi wa Salaam) are all proof against any defects in the mental clarity and coherence of this wise and noble man . He was an extremely successful father, statesman, teacher, leader, judge, arbiter, friend, husband, strategist, businessman/trader, and more.
The Prophet united the war-mongering tribes of Arabia under one banner, established a charity/welfare system, set up educational institutions for learning, pragmatically abolished slavery gradually, basically established an empire from scratch. None of these things could have been accomplished except by a man with a sound mind.
c)--And indeed, for you is a reward uninterrupted. And indeed, you are of a great moral character. So you will see and they will see which of you is the afflicted [by a devil]. (al-Qalam: 4-6)
"And the devils have not brought the revelation down. It is not allowable for them, nor would they be able. Indeed they, from [its] hearing, are removed. So do not invoke with Allah another deity and [thus] be among the punished." (Ash-Shuara: 210-213)
And this is actually an accusation that is made by some of the Jews and Christians. So what I want to know is: what's the devil's grand master plan here? Before Muhammed (Salalahu 'Alaihi wa Salaam) Arabia was steeped in darkness. Drinking, gambling, fornication and adultery were all widespread norms in the society. It was a custom for the Arabs to bury their daughters alive out of fear of poverty. Tribal warfare was ongoing and normal and could easily arise out of some kind of stupid dispute. Highway robbery and gangs who would steal, kill and plunder were all normal threats that one would have to beware of. Swindling and cheating in business were also problems. Arabia was in Shaitan's (may Allah Curse him) back pocket.
Why, then, would he go out of his way to inspire a man to abolish all of the above-mentioned vices, to put an end to idol-worship, the killing of baby daughters, fornication and adultery, the killing and blood shedding of the tribes, to establish prayer and the giving of charity, to teach that one should give proper respect to one's parents as well as all the other moral teachings?
This is not the work of the devil (may Allah Curse Him) this is not something that befits him. None of these things that Muhammed (Salalahu 'Alaihi wa Salaam) accomplished are things that would please the devil but on the contrary would grieve him.
If you can think of a forth possibility let me know.
What also proves his prophethood (Salalahu 'Alaihi wa Salaam) is the challenge. This was also well-mentioned by "Good brother". Allah in the beginning challenged the Arabs to bring a Quran like it if they think that Muhammed wasn't truthful. They couldn't do it. Then Allah made the challenge easier and told them just to bring 10 surahs (chapters) like it. They still couldn't do it. Then Allah made it even easier and said to bring just one surah like it and they can organize whomever they want for the task. The smallest surah in the Quran is just 3 verses long. 3 verses long and they still were unable to do it. The Arabs were masters of Arabic. If the Prophet were making this up, then the Arabs could have easily made one up like it, but they didn't because they couldn't.
3. The Preservation of the Quran
The Prophet
taught his companions the Quran. Many of them memorized it by heart and taught it to others successfully throughout the centuries until today where we still have thousands if not millions of Muslims who have the entire Quran memorized by heart. There are even many children in the Muslim world who have the entire Quran memorized and could pick out a chapter if you asked them to.
A Muslim who has memorized the entire Quran is called a "
Hafidth" which means "preserver". The one who has memorized the Quran is literally one who preserves it. This is the main method of how the Quran was and is preserved. If you were to go to a masjid (and any one of the brothers or even sisters can testify to this) and observe the Muslims when they pray: if the Imam (the one leading the prayer) were to make an unintentional mistake and change so much as a letter from the Book of Allah (again unintentionally) you will find one of the common Muslims would immediately correct him in the prayer. If someone were to try and change anything from the Quran, they would be found out immediately. In fact, if every single copy, both printed and digital, of the Quran were to be destroyed (which of course is impossible) we the Muslims could easily compile the Quran again word-for-word and letter-for-letter within a matter of hours. And it could be done independently from different parts of the Muslim world (meaning one from Saudi Arabia, one from Egypt, one from Malaysia, and so on). This is proof that the Quran we have toady is the same exact Quran that Muhammed
taught to his noble companions (RadiaAllahu 'Anhum).
These are just some quick points that I hope can be of use in answering your queries. I tried to keep it brief on purpose. If you wish for me to elaborate on any one of the points (including the point of the existence of the Creator), then I would be more than happy to do so.
Again, I do not agree with my Brothers and Sisters who are saying that there is no proof for our beliefs, you just have to believe. This is a Christian concept. Allah says that He Sent Messengers with
signs so that people could reflect on those signs and then believe and follow the Truth with certainty. These signs are not only the specific miracles that the Prophets (May Allah Peace and Blessings Be upon them all) showed to their respective peoples but also the clear signs that are all around us to this day (if only we would reflect) and that the vast majority of mankind is taking for granted.
"And We have made the night and day two signs, and We erased the sign of the night and made the sign of the day visible that you may seek bounty from your Lord and may know the number of years and the account [of time]. And everything We have set out in detail." (al-Isra: 12)
"...And indeed, many among the people, of Our signs, are heedless." (Yunus: 92)
"We have already sent Our messengers with clear evidences" (al-Hadid: 25)
Wa Allahu 'Alim
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