“Say, if mankind and the jinn were together to produce the like of this Qur’an, they could not produce the like thereof, even if they helped one another.” (Al Quran 17:88)
The Muslims are unanimously agreed that the Quran which is recited in all parts of the world and is written in the Mushaf that the Muslims have, which is contained between the first Surah: “All the praises and thanks be to Allah, the Lord of the aalameen”, and the last Surah, “Say: I seek refuge with Allah, the Lord of mankind”, is the Book of Allah and His Revelation that He sent down to His Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, and that everything in it is true and that anyone who deliberately takes away a single letter from it or does cast doubt on its veracity deliberately is a disbeliever.
The Quranic teachings enlightened the world of darkness in a short span of time. Al Quran, which is the name of this last and everlasting Divine Message, does not address any particular region, sect or race, but is a message for peace and success of the entire world and for all ages up to the Day of Judgement.
Each of the previous Prophets were sent for their own people and for a specific period of time. Allah gave them tangible signs and whosoever saw them would believe in them. But the case of our Beloved Prophet (peace be upon him) is different as he was not sent for a specific period or for a group of people but he was for all the creatures for all time. As Allah says in Surah Al Ambiya, Aayat 107: “And We have not sent you (O Muhammad), except as a mercy to the worlds.”
Having said so, it is not possible for any Muslim to entertain or to cast any doubt on the veracity of the Quran, because Allah has guaranteed to preserve His final and ultimate message. As Allah says, “Verily, it is WE who have sent down the dhikr (Quran) and surely WE will guard it from corruption.” (15:9). The Quran was revealed to the Prophet (peace be upon him) in stages over a period of 23 years on numerous occasions and in a variety of circumstances. Had the Quran been merely the recitation of a human being, then most certainly there would have been many contradictions. The Quran itself has pointed out this fact in Surah Nissa, Aayat 82: “Do they not consider the Quran? Had it been from other than Allah, they would surely have found many contradictions in it.” The reason for being revealed in stages was that it may be recited to men at intervals and slowly, so that they may ponder on its meaning and understand the different branches of knowledge contained therein. The Quran was ordered and preserved during the life of the Prophet (peace be upon him), through the memorisation of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them all) which was the primary means of both preservation and transmission of the Quran. The Prophet (peace be upon him) appointed a group of his companions who were trustworthy and knowledgeable, like Zayd bin Thabit, Abdullah bin Amr bin al Aas and others to write down the revelation.
The glorious Quran is Allah’s eternal message, His clear testimony, final argument, undeniable proof, and living miracle. It is necessary to know why was Arabic chosen as the language of the Quran? It is an established fact that all languages gradually change. In English, Chaucer, for example, who lived some 500 or 600 years ago, can be fully understood today only by a few learned scholars. This is also true for all other old or new languages. All languages change and they slowly become archaic. Had Allah’s message been revealed in a language subject to similar change, then it would have become incumbent upon Allah to reveal another book in the 21st century for the guidance of mankind. The Quran too would have become incomprehensible. But here is the only language which is exempt from all such changes. The Quranic words are intelligible because of their familiarity. The sentences are constructed in an elegant style and the conciseness of expression creates such a striking clarity that even the least learned Arabic-speaking person can understand the Quran without difficulty.
The beloved Prophet, peace be upon him, said: “There is not a single Prophet who was not given signs so that the people would believe in him because of them. What I have been given is Revelation that Allah revealed to me and I hope that I will be the one with the most followers on the Day of Resurrection” (Sahih Bukhari 1044 and Sahih Muslim 152).
The glorious Quran as a divinely revealed scripture serves some basic functions, like:
To guide man towards the path of righteousness, peace and brotherhood
To explain Reality and Truth to men so that they may understand the purpose of their life
To warn mankind against the consequences of evil deeds and disobedience of the divine commandment
Last but not the least, what we are required to believe concerning the Quran is that the Quran is the word of Allah and is not created. It came from HIM and will return to HIM.

The writer teaches in a madrasa. [email protected]

Asiya Gani