But how do you know that the Qu'ran is actually the word of God? People claim all sorts of things, and while it's often easy to prove that they *claimed* these things (although as you rightly point out, with many religions, such as Christianity, even this is not a given), the point is to prove that these things are *true*. The more incredible-sounding, the more proof is needed. If I tell you I had a conversation with my mother last night you would probably have no reason to demand proof, but if I tell you I had a conversation with God or aliens or Elvis Presley, then you'd be foolish to just accept it, even if it can be shown that I genuinely believe what I am claiming.
Stathis Papaioannou On 2/27/07, [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > On Feb 25, 2:06 am, Brent Meeker <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > > Believing in Divine Destiny is one of the pillars of faith, and, in > > > accordance with this belief, everything in the universe is determined > > > by God, the All-Mighty. While there are countless absolute evidences > > > of Destiny, it may be sufficient to make some introductory remarks to > > > demonstrate how important a place this pillar of faith has for the > > > whole of creation. > > > > > The Qur'an specifically explains that everything is predetermined, and > > > then recorded after its coming into existence, as indicated in many > > > verses like, > > > > > Nor anything green or withered except it is all in a Manifest Book. > > > > I guess the Koran's author hadn't heard about quantum randomness. > > > > Anyway that's not an explanation, it's just an assertion - and why > should anyone credit assertions written without supporting evidence by a man > who didn't even know that the Earth orbits the Sun. > > > > > This Quranic statement is confirmed by the universe, > > > > It's not only not confirmed, it would be impossible to confirm even if > it were true. > > > > Brent Meeker > > > There are hundreds of religions flourishing around the world: > Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Sikhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Bahaism, > Babism, Zoroastrianism, Mormonism, Jehovas Witnesses, Jainism, > Confucianism etc. And each of these religions claim that their > scripture is preserved from the day it was revealed (written) until > our time. A religious belief is as authentic as the authenticity of > the scripture it follows. And for any scripture to be labeled as > authentically preserved it should follow some concrete and rational > criteria. > > Imagine this scenario: > > A professor gives a three hour lecture to his students. Imagine still > that none of the students memorized this speech of the professor or > wrote it down. Now forty years after that speech, if these same > students decided to replicate professor's complete speech word for > word, would they be able to do it? Obviously not. Because the only two > modes of preservation historically is through writing and memory. > > Therefore, for any claimants to proclaim that their scripture is > preserved in purity, they have to provide concrete evidence that the > Scripture was written in its entirety AND memorized in its entirety > from the time it was revealed to our time, in a continuous and > unbroken chain. If the memorization part doesn't exist parallel to the > written part to act as a check and balance for it, then there is a > genuine possibility that the written scripture may loose its purity > through unintentional and intentional interpolations due to scribal > errors, corruption by the enemies, pages getting decomposed etc, and > these errors would be concurrently incorporated into subsequent texts, > ultimately loosing its purity through ages. > > Now, of all the religions mentioned above, does any one of them > possess their scriptures in its entirety BOTH in writing AND in memory > from the day of its revelation until our time. > > None of them fit this required criteria, except one: This unique > scripture is the Qur'an - revelation bestowed to Prophet Muhammad > (p.b.u.h) 1,418 years ago, as a guidance for all of humankind. > > > > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Lets analyze the claim of the preservation of the Quran... > > Memorization > > 'In the ancient times, when writing was scarcely used, memory and oral > transmission was exercised and strengthened to a degree now almost > unknown' relates Michael Zwettler.(1) > > Prophet Muhammad (S): The First Memorizer > > It was in this 'oral' society that Prophet Muhammad (S) was born in > Mecca in the year 570 C.E. At the age of 40, he started receiving > divine Revelations from the One God, Allah, through Archangel Gabriel. > This process of divine revelations continued for about 22.5 years just > before he passed away. > > Prophet Muhammad (S) miraculously memorized each revelation and used > to proclaim it to his Companions. Angel Gabriel used to refresh the > Quranic memory of the Prophet each year. > > 'The Prophet (S) was the most generous person, and he used to become > more so (generous) particularly in the month of Ramadan because > Gabriel used to meet him every night of the month of Ramadan till it > elapsed. Allah's Messenger (S) use to recite the Qur'an for him. When > Gabriel met him, he use to become more generous than the fast wind in > doing good'. (2) > > 'Gabriel used to repeat the recitation of the Qur'an with the Prophet > (S) once a year, but he repeated it twice with him in the year he > (Prophet) died'. (3) > > The Prophet himself use to stay up a greater part of the night in > prayers and use to recite Quran from memory. > > Prophet's Companions: The First Generation Memorizers > > Prophet Muhammad (S) encouraged his companions to learn and teach the > Quran: > > 'The most superior among you (Muslims) are those who learn the Qur'an > and teach it'. (4) > > 'Some of the companions who memorized the Quran were: 'Abu Bakr, Umar, > Uthman, Ali, Ibn Masud, Abu Huraira, Abdullah bin Abbas, Abdullah bin > Amr bin al-As, Aisha, Hafsa, and Umm Salama'. (5) > > 'Abu Bakr, the first male Muslim to convert to Islam used to recite > the Quran publicly in front of his house in Makka'. (6) > > The Prophet also listened to the recitation of the Qur'an by the > Companions: 'Allah Apostle said to me (Abdullah bin Mas'ud): "Recite > (of the Quran) to me". I said: "Shall I recite it to you although it > had been revealed to you?!" He Said: "I like to hear (the Quran) from > others". So I recited Sura-an-Nisa' till I reached: "How (will it be) > then when We bring from each nation a witness and We bring you (O > Muhammad) as a witness against these people?"' (4:41) 'Then he said: > "Stop!" Behold, his eyes were shedding tears then'. (7) > > Many Quranic memorizers (Qurra) were present during the lifetime of > the Prophet and afterwards through out the then Muslim world. > > 'At the battle of Yamama, many memorizers of the Quran were martyred. > 'Narrated Zaid bin Thabit al Ansari, who was one of those who use to > write the Divine Revelations: Abu Bakr sent me after the (heavy) > casualties among the warriors (of the battle) of Yamama (where a great > number of Qurra were killed). Umar was present with Abu Bakr who said: > "Umar has come to me and said, the people have suffered heavy > casualties on the day of (the battle of) Yamama, and I am afraid that > there will be some casualties among the Qurra (those who memorized the > entire Quran) at other place..."' (8) > > 'Over the centuries of the Islamic Era, there have arisen throughout > the various regions of the Islamic world literally thousands of > schools devoted specially to the teaching of the Quran to children for > the purpose of memorization. These are called, in Arabic, katatib > (singular: Kuttab). It is said that the Caliph 'Umar (634-44) first > ordered the construction of these schools in the age of the great > expansion'. (9) > > Second Generation Memorizers: > > "...Quranic schools were set up everywhere. As an example to > illustrate this I may refer to a great Muslim scholar, of the second > Muslim generation, Ibn 'Amir, who was the judge of Damascus under the > Caliph Umar Ibn 'Abd Al-Aziz. It is reported that in his school for > teaching the Quran there were 400 disciples to teach in his absence". > (10) > > Memorizers in Subsequent Generations: > > The Number of Katatib and similar schools in Cairo (Egypt) alone at > one time exceeded two thousand. (11) > > Currently both in the Muslim and non-Muslim countries thousands of > schools with each instructing tens of hundreds of students the art of > memorizing the entire Quran. In the city of Chicago itself, there are > close to 40+ Mosques, with many of them holding class for children > instructing them the art of Quranic memorization. > > Further Points of Consideration: > > * Muslims recite Quran from their memory in all of their five daily > prayers. * Once a year, during the month of Fasting (Ramadan), Muslims > listen to the complete recitation of the Quran by a Hafiz (memorizer > of the entire Quran) * It's a tradition among Muslims that before any > speech or presentation, marriages, sermons, Quran is recited. > > Conclusion: > > Quran is the only book, religious or secular, on the face of this > planet that has been completely memorized by millions. These > memorizers range from ages 6 and up, both Arabic and non-Arabic > speakers, blacks, whites, Orientals, poor and wealthy. > > Thus the process of memorization was continuous , from Prophet > > Muhammad's (S) time to ours with an unbroken chain. > > "The method of transmitting the Quran from one generation to the next > by having he young memorize the oral recitation of their elders had > mitigated somewhat from the beginning the worst perils of relying > solely on written records..." relates John Burton (12) > > "This phenomenon of Quranic recital means that the text has traversed > the centuries in an unbroken living sequence of devotion. It cannot, > therefore, be handled as an antiquarian thing, nor as a historical > document out of a distant past. The fact of hifz (Quranic > Memorization) has made the Qur'an a present possession through all the > lapse of Muslim time and given it a human currency in every generation > never allowing its relegation to a bare authority for reference alone" > reflects Kenneth Cragg (13) > > > > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > Written Text of the Quran > > Prophet's Time: > > Prophet Muhammad (S) was very vigilant in preserving the Quran in the > written form from the very beginning up until the last revelation. The > Prophet himself was unlettered, did not knew how to read and write, > therefore he called upon his numerous scribes to write the revelation > for him. Complete Quran thus existed in written form in the lifetime > of the Prophet. > > Whenever a new revelation use to come to him, the Prophet would > immediately call one of his scribes to write it down. > > 'Some people visited Zaid Ibn Thabit (one of the scribes of the > Prophet) and asked him to tell them some stories about Allah's > Messenger. He replied: "I was his (Prophet's) neighbor, and when the > inspiration descended on him he sent for me and I went to him and > wrote it down for him..." (14) > > Narrated by al-Bara': There was revealed 'Not equal are those > believers who sit (home) and those who strive and fight in the cause > of Allah' (4:95). The Prophet said: 'Call Zaid for me and let him > bring the board, the ink pot and scapula bone.' Then he (Prophet) > said: 'Write: Not equal are those believers...' (15) > > Zaid is reported to have said: 'We use to compile the Qur'an from > small scraps in the presence of the Apostle'. (16) > > 'The Prophet, while in Madinah, had about 48 scribes who use to write > for him'. (17) > > Abdullah Ibn 'Umar relates:... 'The Messenger of Allah (S) said: "Do > not take the Qur'an on a journey with you, for I am afraid lest it > should fall into the hands of the enemy"' (18) > > During the Prophet's last pilgrimage, he gave a sermon in which he > said: 'I have left with you something which if you will hold fast t it > you will never fall into error - a plain indication, the Book of God > (Quran) and the practice of his Prophet...' (19) > > 'Besides the official manuscripts of the Quran kept with the Prophet, > many of his companions use to possess their own written copies of the > revelation'. (20) > > 'A list of Companions of whom it is related that they had their own > written collections included the following: Ibn Mas'ud, Ubay bin Ka'b, > Ali, Ibn Abbas, Abu Musa, Hafsa, Anas bin Malik, Umar, Zaid bin > Thabit, Ibn Al-Zubair, Abdullah ibn Amr, Aisha, Salim, Umm Salama, > Ubaid bin Umar'. (21) > > 'The best known among these (Prophet's Scribes) are: Ibn Masud, Ubay > bin Kab and Zaid bin Thabit'. (22) > > 'Aisha and Hafsa, the wives of the Prophet had their own scripts > written after the Prophet had died'. (23) > > Conclusion: > > The complete Quran was written down in front of the Prophet by several > of his scribes and the companions possess their own copies of the > Quran in the Prophet's lifetime. However the written material of the > Quran in the Prophet's possession were not bounded between the two > covers in the form of a book, because the period of revelation of the > Qur'an continued up until just a few days before the Prophet's death. > The task of collecting the Qur'an as a book was therefore undertaken > by Abu Bakr, the first successor to the Prophet. > > Written Quran in First Generation: > > At the battle of Yamama (633 CE), six months after the death of the > Prophet, a number of Muslims, who had memorized the Quran were killed. > Hence it was feared that unless a written official copy of the Quran > were prepared, a large part of revelation might be lost. > > Narrated Zaid bin Thabit al-Ansari, one of the scribes of the > Revelation: Abu Bakr sent for me after the casualties among the > warriors (of the battle) of Yamama (where a great number of Qurra > (memorizers of the Quran, were killed). Umar was present with Abu Bakr > who said: "Umar has come to me and said, the people have suffered > heavy casualties on the day of (the battle) of Yamama, and I am afraid > that there will be some casualties among the Qurra at other places, > whereby a large part of the Quran may be lost, unless you collect it > (in one manuscript, or book)...so Abu Bakr said to me (Zaid bin > Thabit): You are a wise young man and we do not suspect you (of > telling lies or of forgetfulness) and you used to write the Divine > Inspiration for Allah's Apostle. Therefore, look for the Qur'an and > collect it (in one manuscript)'...So I started locating the Quranic > material and collecting it from parchments, scapula, leafstalks of > date palms and from the memories of men (who know it by > heart)..." (24) > > Now, a committee was formed to under take the task of collecting the > written Quranic material in the form of a book. The committee was > headed by Zaid bin Thabit, the original scribe of the Prophet, who was > also a memorizer of the complete Quran. > > '...Zaid bin Thabit had committed the entire Quran to memory...' (25) > > The compilers in this committee, in examining written material > submitted to them, insisted on very stringent criteria as a safeguard > against any errors. > > 1. The material must have been originally written down in the presence > of the Prophet; nothing written down later on the basis of memory > alone was to be accepted. (26) 2. The material must be confirmed by > two witnesses, that is to say, by two trustworthy persons testifying > that they themselves had heard the Prophet recite the passage in > question. (27) > > 'The manuscript on which the Qur'an was collected, remained with Abu > Bakr till Allah took him unto Him, and then with Umar (the second > successor), till Allah took him unto Him, and finally it remained with > Hafsa, 'Umar's daughter (and wife of the Prophet)'. (28) > > This copy of the Quran, prepared by the committee of competent > companions of the Prophet (which included Memorizers of the Quran) was > unanimous approved by the whole Muslim world. If they committee would > have made a error even of a single alphabet in transcribing the Quran, > the Qurra (memorizers of the Quran) which totaled in the tens of > hundreds would have caught it right away and correct it. This is > exactly where the neat check and balance system of preservation of the > Quran comes into play, but which is lacking for any other scripture > besides the Quran. > > Official written copy by Uthman > > The Quran was originally revealed in Quraishi dialect of Arabic. But > to facilitate the people who speak other dialects, in their > understanding and comprehension, Allah revealed the Quran finally in > seven dialects of Arabic. During the period of Caliph Uthman (second > successor to the Prophet) differences in reading the Quran among the > various tribes became obvious, due to the various dialectical > recitations. Dispute was arising, with each tribe calling its > recitation as the correct one. This alarmed Uthman, who made a > official copy in the Quraishi dialect, the dialect in which the Quran > was revealed to the Prophet and was memorized by his companions. Thus > this compilation by Uthman's Committee is not a different version of > the Quran (like the Biblical versions) but the same original > revelation given to the Prophet by One God, Allah. > > Narrated Anas bin Malik: Hudhaifa bin Al-Yaman came to Uthman at the > time when the people of Sham (Syria) and the people of Iraq were > waging war to conquer Armenia and Azherbijan. Hudhaifa was afraid of > their differences in the recitation of the Quran, so he said to > Uthman, 'O chief of the Believers! Save this nation before they differ > about the Book (Quran) as Jews and Christians did before'. So Uthman > sent a message to Hafsa saying, 'Send us the manuscripts of the Quran > so that we may compile the Quranic materials in perfect copies and > return the manuscripts to you'. Hafsa sent it to Uthman. 'Uthman then > ordered Zaid bin Thabit, 'Abdullah bin Az-Zubair, Said bin Al-As and > Abdur Rahman bin Harith bin Hisham to rewrite the manuscripts in > perfect copies. Uthman said to the three Quraishi men, 'In case you > disagree with Zaid bin Thabit on any point in the Quran, then write it > in their (Quraishi) tongue'. They did so, and when they had written > many copies, Uthman sent to every Muslim province one copy of what > they had copied and ordered that all the other Quranic materials > whether written in fragmentary manuscripts or whole copies, be > burnt..." (29) > > Again a very stringent criteria was set up by this Committee to > prevent any alteration of the Revelation. > > 1. The earlier recension (Original copy prepared by Abu Bakr) was to > serve as the principal basis of the new one. (30) 2. Any doubt that > might be raised as to the phrasing of a particular passage in the > written text was to be dispelled by summoning persons known to have > learned the passage in question from the Prophet. (31) 3. Uthman > himself was to supervise the work of the Council. (32) > > When the final recension was completed, Uthman sent a copy of it to > each of the major cities of Makka, Damascus, Kufa, Basra and Madina. > > The action of Uthman to burn the other copies besides the final > recension, though obviously drastic, was for the betterment and > harmony of the whole community and was unanimously approved by the > Companions of the Prophet. > > Zaid ibn Thabit is reported to have said: "I saw the Companions of > Muhammad (going about) saying, 'By God, Uthman has done well! By God, > Uthman has done well!" (33) > > Another esteemed Companion Musab ibn Sad ibn Abi Waqqas said: "I saw > the people assemble in large number at Uthman's burning of the > prescribed copies (of the Quran), and they were all pleased with his > action; not a one spoke out against him". (34) > > Ali ibn Abu Talib, the cousin of the Prophet and the fourth successor > to the Prophet commented: "If I were in command in place of Uthman, I > would have done the same". (35) > > Of the copies made by Uthman, two still exist to our day. One is in > the city of Tashkent, (Uzbekistan) and the second one is in Istanbul > (Turkey). Below is a brief account of both these copies: > > 1. The copy which Uthman sent to Madina was reportedly removed by the > Turkish authorities to Istanbul, from where it came to Berlin during > World War I. The Treaty of Versailles, which concluded World War I, > contains the following clause: > > 'Article 246: Within six months from the coming into force of the > present Treaty, Germany will restore to His Majesty, King of Hedjaz, > the original Koran of Caliph Othman, which was removed from Madina by > the Turkish authorities and is stated to have been presented to the ex- > Emperor William II". (36) > > 'This manuscript then reached Istanbul, but not Madina (Where it now > resides)'. (37) > > 2. The second copy in existence is kept in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. 'It > may be the Imam (master) manuscript or one of the other copies made at > the time of Uthman'. (38) > > It Came to Samarkand in 890 Hijra (1485) and remained there till 1868. > Then it was taken to St.Petersburg by the Russians in 1869. It > remained there till 1917. A Russian orientalist gave a detailed > description of it, saying that many pages were damaged and some were > missing. A facsimile, some 50 copies, of this mushaf (copy) was > produced by S.Pisareff in 1905. A copy was sent to the Ottoman Sultan > 'Abdul Hamid, to the Shah of Iran, to the Amir of Bukhara, to > Afghanistan, to Fas and some important Muslim personalities. One copy > is now in the Columbia University Library (U.S.A.). (39) > > 'The Manuscript was afterwards returned to its former place and > reached Tashkent in 1924, where it has remained since'. (40) > > Conclusion: > > 'Two of the copies of the Qur'an which were originally prepared in the > time of Caliph Uthman, are still available to us today and their text > and arrangement can be compared, by anyone who cares to do, with any > other copy of the Quran, be it in print or handwritten, from any place > or period of time. They will be found identical'. (41) > > It can now be proclaimed, through the evidences provided above, with > full conviction and certainty that the Prophet memorized the entire > Quran, had it written down in front of him through his scribes, many > of his companions memorized the entire revelation and in turn possess > their own private copies for recitation and contemplation. This > process of dual preservation of the Quran in written and in the memory > was carried in each subsequent generation till our time, without any > deletion, interpolation or corruption of this Divine Book. > > Sir Williams Muir states, " There is otherwise every security, > internal and external, that we possess the text which Muhammad himself > gave forth and used". (42) > > Sir William Muir continues, "There is probably no other book in the > world which has remained twelve centuries (now fourteen) with so pure > a text". (43) > > This divine protection provided to the Quran, the Last Reveled Guide > to Humanity, is proclaimed by One God in the Quran: > > We* (Allah) have, without doubt, send down the Message; and We will > assuredly Guard it (from corruption)' (Quran - Chapter 15, Verse 9). > *('We' is the plural of Majesty, and not the Christian plural of > trinity) > > Compare this divine and historical preservation of the Quran with any > literature, be it religious or secular and it becomes evident that > none possess similar miraculous protection. And as states earlier, a > belief is as authentic as the authenticity of its scripture. And if > any scripture is not preserved, how can we be certain that the belief > arising out of this scripture is divine or man made, and if we are not > sure about the belief itself, then our salvation in the hereafter > would be jeopardized. Thus this above evidence for the protection of > the Quran from any corruption is a strong hint about its divine > origin. We request all open hearted persons to read, understand and > live the Quran, the 'Manual for Mankind'. > > > > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Everything List" group. To post to this group, send email to everything-list@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/everything-list?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---