The critics of Islam allege the Holy Qur’an to be Prophet’s own creation. This they argue, mainly because, they could not tolerate anybody having revelation after Christ.
It is impossible for us to accept any revelation subsequent to Christ. The Word was made flesh- what need of further words? God after that he spake to the fathers in the Prophet’s hath at last spoken to us in a Son-how then go back to any Prophet? No, it is impossible (Gairdiner Inspiration P. 55).
These lines are pregnant with prejudices. He looks not into the realities of history, but blindly clings to the learnt misconception.
Marmaduke Pikthal who could appreciate the prosody of Qur’an reports Tor Andrea having argued that Qur’an is the handiwork of Muhammad. “On many pages he seems to write of the Qur’an as the work of the man Muhammad and even charges him with such manipulation of it as might as well he described as deliberate imposture’(Book review of Muhammad (The man and His faith, in Islamic culture, Vol. 11. No. 1, January 1937).
Richard Bell maintains that Qur’an is the creation of Muhammad. He has contributed two major works on Islam in the disguise of supporting it, both of which are really misleading. They are ‘the Qur’an- translated with critical rearrangement of the Sura’s and ‘introduction to the Qur’an’.
Criticizing his views, his student William Montgomery Watt scathingly states: “courtesy and an irenic outlook certainly now demand that we should not speak of the Qur’an as the product of Muhammad’s conscious mind; but I hold that the same demand is also made by sound scholarship. I have therefore altered or eliminated all expressions, which implied that Muhammad was the author of the Qur’an, including those, which spoke of his ‘sources’ or of the ‘influences’ on him’(Bell’s introduction to the Qur’an 1970, P. VI).
As denoted, Christian writers even when they believe in god, Prophet and revelation, they appear particularly in the case of Muhammad as materialists relying on reason and nature. Critically analyzing Bell, S Vahidudheen remarks:
‘Generally the European scholars who have undertaken a critical scrutiny of the Qur’an seem to believe in God and in the Possibility of divine communication but seem to deny in the particular case of the Prophet of the Islam. They then try to understand the Qur’an by psychological analysis of the Prophet’s life by the historical situation and social environment in which he grew. Mr. Bell, like others before and after him, is of this way of thinking’ (Richard Bell’s Study of the Qur’an. A critical Analysis).
Among those who popularize the fable of the creation of Qur’an are Margoliouth and D.A. Pailin. Both of them deny Qur’an to be divinely revealed on feeble grounds. Margoliouth writes: ‘the tradesman Prophet could not keep free of metaphors taken from his business’ (Margoliouth , Muhammad P. 69).
In order to corroborate his reasoning he argues that Prophet had to rescind some suggestions when it was proved to be failure. He writes: ‘At one time….commanded his followers to make an offering to the poor before they addressed him, but this had to be rescinded.(Ibid P.216) Indeed, he refers to the suggestion of the Qur’an to give any charity for prophet before starting private consultation. But in the subsequent lines, it follows that, if anybody is not able to give God is forgiving. This he misinterprets to be ‘rescinding’ and he makes a bad impression of Prophet of having tried to exploit the pockets of his companions.
Really Prophet had no greed of financial advancement. When he started his mission the riches of Arabia offered him plenty of money, provided he stopped propagation. Allah almighty offered him to change the Uhd Mountain into gold, but he refused. Even after empires came under his feet he led a simple life. But jaundiced eyes cannot see things as they are!
DA Pailin’s claim is fantastic. ‘Mahomet claimed to bring massages from god. Divine revelations are backed by miracles. The bible shows this; Mahomet produced no trustworthy miracles; therefore his claim must be false.(D. A. Parlin, Attributes to other religions comparative Religion in Seventeenth and eighteenth century, Britain, 1984, P. 89).
Separate Chapters for the description of Prophet’s miracles have been allowed in world famous books on Muhammad. Even there are special books on the miracles of Muhammad. The Holy Qur’an sheds light into the various miracles of Prophet, the event of ‘Isra’ and mi’raj being a major one. Above all, Qur’an itself is miracle in the world. It challenges the world to bring a small chapter similar to that of Qur’an. We can awake a sleeping man but one who pretends so, we cannot!
Whoever studied the history of Prophet can not claim, Muhammad can write such a book. He never went to school, nobody taught him, never read, write anything. The inhabitants of Makkah never heard him rhyming, while his friends were spontaneous overflows of obscene feeling. They didn’t see in him any signs of creativity up to forty.
He was born as an orphan. His prime contact was with naked nature. He was acquainted with the vallies, hills, ditches, caves, markets, fields, avenues and zigzag footpaths etc… of Arabia. He was befriended with the goats of Halima (1), camels of Khadija and merchants of Sham and Yemen. He never went to abroad where academies and universities worked. But sometimes he took his steps thorough the ‘road not taken’ to the hill of Noor (where no school was working). He abstained from the evils and offences of Makkah and sat in the cave of Hira contemplating the God almighty.
When he was forty, suddenly he speaks of ‘reading’ while he is not reader. He appreciates ‘pen- while he is not a writer. He introduces ‘the protector’, while he is not a theologian, he describes the ‘embryo’ while he is not a gynecologist! He remarks the mysteries while he is not a researcher!. This was the start. Gradually it developed. The words he spoke covered the entire universe. He started speaking such events which a common folk of Makkah cannot. It ranged from the origin of cosmos to the end of the globe, from Adam to Dajjal. He narrated the events of past, foretold the incidents yet to come. It touched the topics of faith, prayer, rituals, routines, business, cultivation, jobs, transaction, family, society, state, war, peace, culture, civilization, politics, economics, science, history, art, literature, earth, stars, oceans, milky way, galaxies, quasars, pulsars, marriage, divorce, spider, bee, Pharoah, Aadh, Thamood, landslides, earthquakes, gold, silver, vehicles.. all and all!
Not a dull narration of manifold things and facts, but marvelous illustration that was divinely appreciative. The poets of Arabia were stunned to hear the unlettered Muhammad spelling verses which were surpassing the beauty of their love-poems. Is it a poem or prose, they couldn’t finalize (we are not still sure as to whether it is a poetic prose or a prosaic poem or not both!). Those that heard it were bewitched magically! Even the hostile enemies were arrested by its melodiousness. Umar (May Allah Please with him) was with weapons to kill Muhammad. On the way he heard mellifluous verses, and his heart was stuck to the Qur’an.
Then it started challenging! It challenged the world of poets, to present a book equivalent to it. The poets turned red with rage. Their pride was on the question. They underwent laborious hard works. Labeed bik Rabeeh, Hassan bin Thabith, Ka’ab bin Al Harith, Ibn Al Rawandi, Abdul Ala Al Ma’rri, ibn Al Muqagga, Al Muthanabbi… were ready to meet the challenge. The final result was that most of them became defensive poets of Muhammad, when he was satirized by rest of Makkahns!!
Those, who attribute Qur’an to be Prophet’s work, can meet the challenge of Qur’an. It is applicable to the entire world. It challenges those who are still suspicious of Qur’an: “And if ye are in doubts as to what we have revealed from time to time to our servant, then produce a Surah like these-unto; and call your witness, or helpers (if there are any) besides Allah, if ye are truthful. But if ye cannot-and of a surety ye cannot- then fear the fire whose fuel is men and stones, which is prepared of those who reject faith (Holy Qur’an 2 :23,24).
European universities are lavishly spending money in order to study Islam critically. As noted before, there are paid writers, whose life mission is to forge lies against Prophet. Hence, let’s suggest them to focus their entire attention in composing a small chapter having three lines similar to Qur’an in its style, prosody and meaning. If it is done Islam is collapsed! Is there any scholar, any university, any government, any Christendom, that can help the enemies of Qur’an?!!
Indeed, what we see is that intellectuals are embracing Islam day by day, palpably experiencing the loveliness of Qur’an. Even those who set out to critically study Qur’an, finally knocked its own doors. Still, there are some, who even if unready to embrace it, appreciating its charm.
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