23.
"and if you are in doubt of what we have sent down to our (faithful)
servant (muhammad), then bring forth one sura
the like thereof, and
call your witnesses other than allah, if you are
truthful."
24. "and if you do not do so, and you will
never do it, then fear the fire
whose fuel is people and stones, prepared for
the infidels."
commentary :
after allah (s.w.t.) explains the state of the hypocrite
and
disbelievers, and, through the creation of the heaven and
the earth,
sending down rain and growing plants on the ground, proves
the
existence of the creator and cherisher of the universe, he
begins to
validate the rightfulness of the holy qur'an and the
truthfulness of his
messenger.
in order to show everyone the miraculousness of the
qur'an with
clear evidence,according to one's portion of wit and understanding, that
the qur'an will be an argument for all, allah confirms the
prophethood of prophet muhammad (p.b.u.h.) and the authenticity of
the holy qur'an by suggesting a challenge, a direct confrontation, not
only to all the contemporaries of the prophet (p.b.u.h.) but also to men
in all ages. " and if you are in doubt of what we have sent down to
our
(faithful) servant (muhammad),..."
it addresses all the rejectors, with a concrete test, saying that if
you imagine that the qur'an, which has been sent down from pure
holiness to the chosen servant of allah in the form of statements and
with the combination of ordinary alphabetical letters, is not from him
and it is the word of a human, then since outwardly you are in the same
state from the point of being a human as the prophet of islam (p.b.u.h.)
is, you should be able to produce a sura like that of the qur'an and call
your own witnesses that are like you, the disbelievers of the qur'an.
you would compare your evidence with one of the suras of the qur'an,
even if it be a small one such as sura kauthar and the like. if those
two were similar in comparison in all their qualities, merits and
privileges, you could rightfully reject the legitimacy of the qur'an.
the disbelievers and pagan arabs, who were the masters of
literature and eloquence, refrained from accepting this challenge
despite their pride and haughtiness in eloquence and avoided the
competition. therefore, inevitably, they turned the literary contest into
a bloody battle. thus, getting killed was easier for them than being
disgraced and defeated in a literary contest. the arab literature
became helpless and meagre against the challenge of the qur'an.
neither those who lived at the time of the qur'an's revelation, nor the
people born in the centuries after that could bring anything like this
holy book,
or could do anything against it, inspite of trying with their utmost
strength. they
were thus forced to retreat after exerting utmost efforts.
why is the holy qur'an a miracle and how ?
being complete true revelation, the qur'an is itself a
miracle. as
it is authentically known and also was mentioned in the above, at the
time of the qur'an's revelation the literary talent and eloquence of
arabs were at their peak, yet the miraculousness of the qur'an is not
confined to its inimitable literary excellence and eloquence. it stands
on its own innumerous different merits some of which are beyond the
reach of the complete conception of the literary geniuses of the arab
world. it has such a rhetorical capacity and linguistic excellence that is
able to express different views and knowledge in a manner that is
understood and appreciated by every rational human being of any
standard and accomplishment of all the ages. then everybody in any
time, once provided with the opportunity to become acquainted with
the holy qur'an, which offers information by which all of his/her
arguments will be completed, he/she can find himself or herself
convinced by it. such extensive knowledge and such power of
expression is beyond the limitations of human ability. even of the
literate arab people, as were
previously referred to, especially at the time of the qur'an's revelation
when the literature of the arabic language had reached its climax, none
dared to bring a sura similar to even its shortest one. this very single
point is the smallest miraculous aspect of the qur'an.
there is no doubt that if the qur'an were the word of a human
and the prophet (p.b.u.h.), himself, who was known to the world as an
illiterate one, had produced it, they would bring many qur'ans like it
and would prove that this is not the word of allah revealed to him
(p.b.u.h.). in that condition, the enemies of islam would maintain their
works which would be available everywhere and in any ages so that they
could publish and distribute them, even now, to defame the one
genuine qur'an, but there is none.
apart from its inimitable literary excellence, the holy qur'an
with its other names such as `furqan' and `tibyan' referring to
the
abilities it has, presents to the human world definite prophecies fulfilled
and yet to be fulfilled, and long after. it contains some facts about
endowments in nature which the human knowledge of science as it
progresses will have to understand, for its further advancement. the
perfectness of such nature, naturally, will be the last word with regard
to the ideas, religious and social laws, sciences, and many many other
things that it contains and will remain for ever, until the hereafter.
this universality of the truth expressed in the idea and beauty and
the attractive force of the language is so divine that, as we said before,
it is beyond the reach of the expressive power of any limited being. it is
in this regard that the holy qur'an claims to be not only the word of
allah, inimitable, but the final word in respect to truth and justice
the better or even the like of it is impossible to be produced by any
one.
however, it is true to say simply and shortly that the holy qur'an
is a miracle with respect to its contents which is the source of all
knowledge and science, as it itself says : " say : if the sea were
ink
(wherewith to write out) for the words of my lord, the sea would surely be
consumed before the words of my lord are exhausted, though we were to
bring the like of that (sea) to add thereto for its aid", (sura al-kahf,
no. 18, verse 109).
thus, this verse, by itself, is a vital piece of evidence regarding the
correctness of the above stated claim. 1
why do prophets need miracles ?
we know that the divine mission of prophethood is a great
rank
endowed upon some of the purified distingished members of the human
race. since the purpose of prophethood is the comprehensive guidance
ruling over the body and spirit of individuals, and society, toward
perfection and the laying down of a legal system and social order for
mankind, the assumption of responsibility involved is necessarily heavy
and taxing. so, it requires great capacity and energy. allah, therefore,
bestows the position of prophethood on those who have the ability and
capacity to receive and follow through the light of revelation. this
unique privilege and speciality of prophets is also shown in their
miracles, which all of them had. and, to prevent some false, deceitful
impostors from claiming the position, it is necessary that, besides the
revelation, the real ones should have sufficient evidence to bear
testimony to the truth of their declaration and prove the claim that they
are sent by allah. that is, a prophet should utter such words and
exhibit such deeds which could not be uttered or performed by any
natural means within the power of a finite being, such as : restoring the
dead to life again, communicating with animals and inanimate bodies,
and the likes of them. these supernatural events are termed as
miracles.
the prophet who has a miracle should introduce it to people and
invite them to challenge with it. if they can produce none similar to
that, thus, by the means of his miracle, he proves the truthfulness of his
declaration.
the holy qur'an,
the everlasting miracle of the prophet of islam(p.b.u.h.)!
amongst the miracles issued by the prophet of islam
(p.b.u.h.),
the qur'an is the best remaining evidence of his rightfulness. we
know, of course, that, according to what the leading scholars of islam
have said, he (p.b.u.h.) had about 4440 miracles. but the qur'an is a
book beyond the thoughts and mind of a mortal being. none has been
able to bring one similar to it yet. it is a great heavenly miracle.
the reason that amongst all the miracles of the messenger of
allah (p.b.u.h.) the qur'an has been chosen as the greatest remaining
evidence of legitimacy of the prophet of islam (p.b.u.h.) is that it is a
miracle which is `expressive', `everlasting', `world-wide', and
`spiritual'.
each of the former prophets (a.s.) had to accompany his miracle
to prove its inimitability when he used to invite his opponents for
challenging and bringing the like of it. in fact, his miracle or miracles
could not express themselves and it was the explanations of the prophet
that would complete them. this statement is also true for all the
miracles of the prophet of islam (p.b.u.h.) except the holy qur'an.
the qur'an is a clear miracle which need not be introduced. it
invites others to itself, demands the rejecters to challenge it while it
defeats them, condemns them, and it always stands victorious. that is
why it, after passing centuries, viz., since the departure of the prophet
(p.b.u.h.) up to the present, has been continuing its invitation the same
as it did during his lifetime (p.b.u.h). it is both religion and miracle;
law, and the document of the law.
the holy qur'an, global and eternal
the reputation of the holy qur'an
cleft the bonds of time and
distance and influenced beyond them. the miracles of the prophets
before the prophet of islam (p.b.u.h.), and even his own miracles save
the qur'an, happened in a special period of time, at a definite place
and for a specific group of people. for example : the utterances of the
holy little child of virgin mary, and raising the dead by jesus (a.s.) were
done at some definite times and places before the eyes of some
particular people. and we know that regarding the things that depend
on time and place, the farther we move away from them correlatively
the weaker they become. this is one of the properties of affairs related
to time.
but, the holy qur'an does not depend on time and place. its
brilliance and authority that illuminated the darkness of arabia
fourteen centuries ago continues unwaveringly to shine with its original
splendor. besides that, the passing of time, the advancement of science
and the development of information have made it possible for us to
understand it and take its advantages even more than the nations of
former ages did. it is evident that what time and place cannot influence
will continue to be everywhere in the world for eternity. it is also clear
that a world-wide everlasting religion should have a world-wide
everlasting document of legitimacy in its possession.
then we can discuss the holy qur'an :
from the point of modern science;
and the scientific explorations;
and the rotation of the earth;
and reproduction in the plant kingdom;
and general reproduction in all the particles of the world;
and general gravity;
and the surrendering of the sun and the moon;
and the secrets of the creation of mountains;
and the advent of the world;
and the existence of life on other planets;
and the winds, the pollinator of plants;
and the question of the roundness of the earth; 2
and many other scientific facts and knowledge about the world
can be found in the holy qur'an, too.