CHAPTER 8 - CRITERION: [6] SOME PROPHECIES PROVEN TRUE……….

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· Proof of God’s knowledge is in the truth of His prophecies. Although there are many which have not yet come to pass, still there must be some prophecies, which can validate this attribute of God’s omniscience in the Book.

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By itself, this criterion alone is insufficient proof for divinity of a Book, yet it can be said to be an indispensable factor to be considered. We have below some of these (not exhaustive) for the purpose of fulfilling the case for the Qur’an.

THE CASE FOR AL-QUR’AN

(a) Prediction concerning Abu Lahab

Abu Lahab[1] was the uncle of Muhammad s.a.w. who was one of the strongest opponents to his claim of divine prophethood. He instigated mobs against Muhammad and tried every means to obstruct the early Muslims from preaching the message of Islam. It was on account of these that a Surah (chapter) was revealed very early, in Makkah, which also was a prophecy that Abu Lahab and his wife will most certainly be amongst those who will be doomed to the Fire of Hell i.e. that he and his wife will never become a Muslim.

تَبَّتۡ يَدَآ أَبِى لَهَبٍ۬ وَتَبَّ مَآ

أَغۡنَىٰ عَنۡهُ مَالُهُ ۥ وَمَا ڪَسَبَ سَيَصۡلَىٰ نَارً۬ا ذَاتَ

لَهَبٍ۬ وَٱمۡرَأَتُهُ ۥ حَمَّالَةَ ٱلۡحَطَبِ فِى جِيدِهَا

حَبۡلٌ۬ مِّن مَّسَدِۭ

“Doomed are the hands of Abu Lahab, and doomed is he! What will his wealth avail him, and all that he has gained? [In the life to come] he shall have to endure a fire fiercely glowing, together with his wife, that carrier of evil tales, [who bears] around her neck a rope of twisted strands.”

(Qur’an: al-Masad: 111: 1-5)

Abu Lahab lived for another 10 years after revelation of this Surah, and as ever strongly opposed to Muhammad’s message until the Prophet’s migration, and was also one of the advocator in the war campaign against the Muslim community of Madinah. Yet, true to the prediction of the Qur’an he died as an unbeliever – thus destined to be in the Hell fire. What is amazing is that, if Abu Lahab was to have accepted Islam (even by deception as some Munafiqun [hypocrites] have done) it would have completely nullified Muhammad’s claim or perhaps casted significant doubts of his being a Prophet because of this Surah concerning him - the Surah had already sentenced him to perdition while yet Islam’s message of repentance and forgiveness is still open to all. This opportunity, to prove Muhammad wrong, was open for him for almost 10 years. Yet, only God’s will be done.

(b) The victory for Muslims at the battle of Badr

In the battle of Badr, the Muslims consisting of only three hundred odd men has had to face the army of Quraysh numbering over a thousand. The huge disparity against the Muslim would make their defeat inevitable and elicited boastful claim by their Quraysh aggressors. Seeing this, the Prophet s.a.w. turned towards the Qiblah, raised his hands and implored God: “O God! Fulfil what You have promised me! O God! If this little band of those who have surrendered themselves to You is destroyed, You will not be worshipped on earth …” [2] After which, Allah s.w.t revealed to Muhammad s.a.w.:

إِذۡ تَسۡتَغِيثُونَ رَبَّكُمۡ فَٱسۡتَجَابَ لَڪُمۡ أَنِّى

مُمِدُّكُم بِأَلۡفٍ۬ مِّنَ ٱلۡمَلَـٰٓٮِٕكَةِ مُرۡدِفِينَ وَمَا جَعَلَهُ

ٱللَّهُ إِلَّا بُشۡرَىٰ وَلِتَطۡمَٮِٕنَّ بِهِۦ قُلُوبُكُمۡ‌ۚ وَمَا ٱلنَّصۡرُ

إِلَّا مِنۡ عِندِ ٱللَّهِ‌ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ

“Lo! You were praying unto your Sustainer for aid, whereupon He thus responded to you: ‘I shall verily aid you with a thousand angels following one upon another! And God ordained this only as a glad tiding, and that your hearts should thereby be at rest – since no succour can come from any save God: verily, God is almighty, wise!”

(Qur’an: al-Anfal: 8: 9-10)

The Prophet then recited a previous verse revealed to him much earlier while he was still in Makkah[3], which implicitly prophesized a clear victory for the believers when facing such a force, appealing for its fulfilment:

أَمۡ يَقُولُونَ نَحۡنُ جَمِيعٌ۬ مُّنتَصِرٌ۬

سَيُہۡزَمُ ٱلۡجَمۡعُ وَيُوَلُّونَ ٱلدُّبُرَ بَلِ ٱلسَّاعَةُ

مَوۡعِدُهُمۡ وَٱلسَّاعَةُ أَدۡهَىٰ وَأَمَرُّ

“Or do they say, “We are a group united, [and therefore] bound to prevail”? [Yet] the hosts [of those who deny the truth] shall be routed, and they shall turn their backs [in flight]!”

(Qur’an: al-Qomar: 54: 44-46)

And the outcome of the battle of Badr was a resounding victory for the Muslims. A feat which astonished the Quraysh and all Arab tribes in the Arabian Peninsula who had taken this small Muslim community of Madinah for granted.

(c) The Muslims will get to perform pilgrimage in Makkah while it was still under the control of the unbelievers; a prelude to total victory soon to come.

After the Hijrah (migration) to Madina, the community of Muslims under the Prophet there had to fight wars in order to defend themselves. They were, more or less, in a permanent state of war with the pagan Quraysh controlling Makkah. Yet, the Prophet s.a.w. decided to undertake pilgrimage right into the hostile enemy territory. This was because of the dream which the Prophet s.a.w., had and further confirmed by a revelation that he received prophesying its fulfilment:

لَّقَدۡ صَدَقَ ٱللَّهُ رَسُولَهُ ٱلرُّءۡيَا

بِٱلۡحَقِّ‌ۖ لَتَدۡخُلُنَّ ٱلۡمَسۡجِدَ ٱلۡحَرَامَ إِن شَآءَ ٱللَّهُ ءَامِنِينَ

مُحَلِّقِينَ رُءُوسَكُمۡ وَمُقَصِّرِينَ لَا تَخَافُونَ‌ۖ فَعَلِمَ مَا لَمۡ

تَعۡلَمُواْ فَجَعَلَ مِن دُونِ ذَٲلِكَ فَتۡحً۬ا قَرِيبًا

“Indeed, God has shown the truth in His Messenger’s vision: most certainly shall you enter the Inviolable House of Worship, if God so wills, in full security, with your heads shaved or your hair cut short, without fear: for He has [always] known that which you yourselves could not know. And He has ordained [for you], besides this, a victory soon to come.”

(Qur’an: al-Fath: 48: 27)

This prophesy was soon fulfilled with signing of the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah. What was amazing is that the phrase ”a victory soon to come” was actually in reference to the signing of this peace treaty, a moral victory; for it is with peace and cessation of all hostility and of oppression that Islam, the religion of Truth, indeed will be victorious in capturing the hearts and minds of people. With this peace much learning and dissemination of knowledge took place and very soon people embraced Islam in droves, and the community of Muslims grew at a tremendous pace. This alarmed the Quraysh who then violated the terms of the treaty when they attacked and massacred a caravan of Muslims. This occurred only two years after signing of the treaty, whereas the agreement stipulated cessation of all hostilities between them for the duration of ten years. The Muslim had no alternative but to eradicate any further treachery by conquering Makkah itself. Amazingly, this conquest was without carnage, looting nor bloodshed, and demonstrated utmost restrain and highest discipline of the Muslim army and greatest magnanimity of the Prophet s.a.w who even declared a general amnesty to his defeated enemies and forgave them of all their past misdeeds against the Muslims. His noble intent was only to free the land of all oppression such that the right guidance becomes distinct from error. He restored the Ka’abah (that ancient temple) built by Abraham a.s. for the worship of the One True God by purging it of all forms of defilement and idolatry. For Islam that was brought by Muhammad s.a.w. is of that same creed as the creed of their forefather Abraham a.s. – “the sincere in faith of the submission to God’s Will and who never set up any partners to the One True God”. He eliminated the oppressive oligarchic Makkan regime who had violently obstructed the peoples freedom to choose their religion, and thus the people were now genuinely free to make the obvious choice in matters of their faith. That was how finally almost the whole of Arabia discarded their past paganistic religion and embraced Al-Islam. Thus the meaning of “victory soon to come” was carried to its fullest demonstrable conclusion (not merely moral or spiritual but also temporal), even during the Prophet’s lifetime. This is yet another fulfilment of an earlier revelation which prophesies this triumph:

هُوَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَرۡسَلَ رَسُولَهُ ۥ بِٱلۡهُدَىٰ

وَدِينِ ٱلۡحَقِّ لِيُظۡهِرَهُ ۥ عَلَى ٱلدِّينِ كُلِّهِۦ وَلَوۡ كَرِهَ

ٱلۡمُشۡرِكُونَ

‘He it is who has sent forth His Messenger with [the task of] spreading guidance and the religion of truth, to the end that He make it prevail over all [false] religion, however hateful this may be to those who ascribe divinity to aught but God.”

(Qur’an: as-Saff: 61: 9)

This fulfilment God’s prophesy in the success of Prophet Muhammad’s mission within his lifetime, to bring about a transformation that totally re-established the pure monotheistic faith and make prevail over all false religion in Arabia, was unmatched in history and indeed a miracle.

(d) The assurance that Islam will triumph over other faith and the prophecy of Muslims conquest of lands

It usually happens that after the death of a great world leader, whatever was left of his empire would cease to grow and inevitably it would fall into decline. But for Muhammad s.a.w. case, his legacy would be an exception. Many historians are amazed at the speed in which Muslim empire grew soon after the Prophet Muhammad’s s.a.w. demise. It came about incidentally almost unplanned, never intended as territorial conquest but rather as reactions towards the challenge imposed by the hegemony of the Romans (Byzantine), the Egyptian and the Persians who declared and demonstrated hostile intent to the growing faith of Islam and the Muslims. Although Muslims are motivated to propagate the faith and invite all people to the Truth (Da’wah); they are never to use force or coercion or deception. They are never taught to have any ambition to conquer land. For in the Qur’an, Allah s.w.t. clearly forbids the Muslims from being the aggressor but only allows them to fight in defence and for removal of unjust oppression (fitnah). But when they were forced by circumstance with no choice but to fight, the relative swiftness and astounding ability for them to totally defeat these superpowers of that time even astonished Muslims themselves, but many are not really surprised that it had occurred as God’s plan, because these had already been prophesised, nay promised, in the Qur’an thus:

وَعَدَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ مِنكُمۡ

وَعَمِلُواْ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ لَيَسۡتَخۡلِفَنَّهُمۡ فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ ڪَمَا

ٱسۡتَخۡلَفَ ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبۡلِهِمۡ وَلَيُمَكِّنَنَّ لَهُمۡ دِينَہُمُ ٱلَّذِى

ٱرۡتَضَىٰ لَهُمۡ وَلَيُبَدِّلَنَّہُم مِّنۢ بَعۡدِ خَوۡفِهِمۡ أَمۡنً۬ا‌ۚ

يَعۡبُدُونَنِى لَا يُشۡرِكُونَ بِى شَيۡـًٔ۬ا‌ۚ وَمَن ڪَفَرَ بَعۡدَ ذَٲلِكَ

فَأُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ هُمُ ٱلۡفَـٰسِقُونَ

“God has promised those of you who have attained to faith and do righteous deeds that, of a certainty, He will cause them to accede to power on earth, even as He caused [some of] those who lived before them to accede to it; and that, of certainty, He will firmly establish for them the religion which He has been pleased to bestow on them; and that, of a certainty, He will cause their erstwhile state of fear to be replaced by a sense of security – [seeing that] they worship Me [alone], not ascribing divine powers to aught beside Me.”

(Qur’an: an-Nur: 24: 55)

Da’wah not war – the cause for the spread of Islam

Muslims believe that the above verse containing God’s promise has timeless relevance for them in the effort of spreading the message of Islam through peaceful means and by personal example of faith with righteous works. They do not have to fear any other power on earth which may be hateful towards them and may impede them, even threaten them with military hostility, for the Muslims are assured of God’s security for them if they have faith and do righteous deeds. An objective look to the history of the success of Islamic propagation will indicate this. The myth of Islam being spread by the sword, has been debunked by modern scholarship as false propaganda which past western historians had perpetuated by depicting out of context, the cause of wars which Muslims had to face in the course of their history. If one was to analyse the history of the spread of Islam especially in South-east Asia where today large majority of Muslims are to be found, one will discover that the Muslims acceded to power in this region not through military conquest but by peaceful proselytization. This was because of the absence of hostility of the people, kings or rulers here towards Muslims and due to tolerance shown towards all religion which gave relative freedom for people to chose their faith.

Even in China since the Tang Dynasty, Muslims were accorded powers in high positions in government as well as in the army and as skilled artisans, by Chinese emperors. Muslim presence in China has a longer history from whence their numbers significantly grew even until today, and there never was any kind of Muslim military invasion or conquest of China in the name of Islam.

Even today, in spite of the Islamaphobia and negative image projected by Western media, observers of demographic trends agree that Islam is yet the fastest growing religion in Europe and America. Some analyst even suggested that it was because Islam and the Muslims were targeted and widely highlighted, even though negatively, yet it has made many in the West to begin having interest to study this religion. Interestingly, just after September 11 tragedy, translations of the Qur’an was sold out in most bookshops in the United States of America and conversion to Islam continue to increase steadily in spite of the negative image of the Muslims profusely projected by the media. Why is this possible? Academicians and pundits may speculate on the possible factors or reasons for this anomaly, but Muslims believe this trend as indicating fulfilment of the prophecy of Islam’s triumph over other faith “no matter how hateful the unbelievers may be towards it.”

(e) The Persian will be vanquished by the Byzantine

About seven years (circa 615 CE) before the Prophet’s migration to Madina, the Persians and the Byzantines were at war. The few Muslims with the Prophet in Makkah identified with the Byzantines, who were Christians, as belonging to the monotheistic faith whereas the pagan Quraysh sympathized with the Persian. At that time, the Persian army had already conquered parts of Syria and Anatolia, Damascus and even laid siege to Constantinople, the heartland of the Byzantines. The total destruction of the Byzantine Empire seemed almost certain. When news of this imminent defeat of the Byzantines caused discomfort and gloom to the Muslims in Makkah, and much elation to the pagan Quraysh, this Qur’anic verse was revealed:

غُلِبَتِ ٱلرُّومُ فِىٓ أَدۡنَى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ

وَهُم مِّنۢ بَعۡدِ غَلَبِهِمۡ سَيَغۡلِبُونَ فِى بِضۡعِ سِنِينَ‌ۗ لِلَّهِ

ٱلۡأَمۡرُ مِن قَبۡلُ وَمِنۢ بَعۡدُ‌ۚ وَيَوۡمَٮِٕذٍ۬ يَفۡرَحُ ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنُونَ

بِنَصۡرِ ٱللَّهِ‌ۚ يَنصُرُ مَن يَشَآءُ‌ۖ وَهُوَ ٱلۡعَزِيزُ

ٱلرَّحِيمُ

“Defeated have been the Byzantines in the lands close-by; yet, notwithstanding this their defeat, they shall be victorious within a few years [4]: for with God rests all power of decision, first and last.”

(Qur’an: ar-Rum: 30: 2-5)

In 622CE, about seven years after this prediction, the tide turned in favour of the Byzantines. In that year Emperor Heraclius succeeded in defeating the Persian at Issus south of Taurus Mountain, and subsequently drove them out of Asia Minor. By 624CE he pushed the Persian army onto the defensive and carried the war into Persian territory and by the end of 626CE, the Byzantines completely routed the Persian army – true to the Qur’anic prophesy.

(f) Concerning the Pharaoh of Moses time

In the story of the Prophet Moses a.s. and the Exodus, one verse of the Qur’an narrates thus:

وَجَـٰوَزۡنَا بِبَنِىٓ إِسۡرَٲٓءِيلَ ٱلۡبَحۡرَ

فَأَتۡبَعَهُمۡ فِرۡعَوۡنُ وَجُنُودُهُ ۥ بَغۡيً۬ا وَعَدۡوًا‌ۖ حَتَّىٰٓ

إِذَآ أَدۡرَڪَهُ ٱلۡغَرَقُ قَالَ ءَامَنتُ أَنَّهُ ۥ لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا

ٱلَّذِىٓ ءَامَنَتۡ بِهِۦ بَنُوٓاْ إِسۡرَٲٓءِيلَ وَأَنَا۟ مِنَ ٱلۡمُسۡلِمِينَ

ءَآلۡـَٔـٰنَ وَقَدۡ عَصَيۡتَ قَبۡلُ وَكُنتَ مِنَ ٱلۡمُفۡسِدِينَ

فَٱلۡيَوۡمَ نُنَجِّيكَ بِبَدَنِكَ لِتَكُونَ لِمَنۡ خَلۡفَكَ ءَايَةً۬‌ۚ

وَإِنَّ كَثِيرً۬ا مِّنَ ٱلنَّاسِ عَنۡ ءَايَـٰتِنَا لَغَـٰفِلُونَ

“And We brought the children of Israel across the sea; and thereupon Pharaoh and his hosts pursued them with vehement insolence and tyranny, until [they were overwhelmed by the waters of the sea. And] when he was about to drown, [Pharaoh] exclaimed: ‘I have come to believe that there is no deity save Him in whom the children of Israel believe, and I am of those who surrender themselves to Him!

[But God said:] “Now? - when ever before this thou hast been rebelling [against Us], and hast been among those who spread corruption?

[Nay,] but today We shall save only thy body, so that thou mayest be a [warning] sign unto those who will come after thee: for behold, a good many people are heedless of Our messages!”

(Qur’an: Yunus: 10:90-92)

In the above text, it states very clearly that the Pharaoh’s body will be saved, to serve as a sign for future generations. At the time of Muhammad s.a.w. (i.e. when the Qur’an was being revealed), the bodies of all the Pharaohs who are today considered (rightly or wrongly) to have something to do with the Exodus were in their tombs of the Necropolis of Thebes, on the opposite side of the Nile from Luxor. At the time however, absolutely nothing was known of this fact, and it was not until the end of the Nineteenth century that they were discovered there. As the Qur’an states, the body of the Pharaoh of the Exodus was in fact rescued.[5]

(g) Mankind future discoveries

In appealing to mankind that this book indeed is from God, it states as a prophecy, that in future man will discover signs from nature which will vindicate its claim to Divine authorship is the truth, because its references to the wonders in creation would become known profoundly then. When they witness such profoundness, they must concede that it must have been witnessed or known to some consciousness other than man, if not at it is as though these things had existed in vain. For man to adamantly believe that only they are the only being capable of knowledge and of consciousness is arrogance. Who gave them these? God the creator of every creation including mankind surely exist, and He is witness to everything; and He is the source of the revelation in the Qur’an:

سَنُرِيهِمۡ ءَايَـٰتِنَا فِى ٱلۡأَفَاقِ وَفِىٓ أَنفُسِہِمۡ

.

حَتَّىٰ يَتَبَيَّنَ لَهُمۡ أَنَّهُ ٱلۡحَقُّ‌ۗ أَوَلَمۡ يَكۡفِ بِرَبِّك

أَنَّهُ ۥ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىۡءٍ۬ شَہِيدٌ

“In time We shall make them fully understand Our messages [through what they perceive] in the utmost horizons [of the universe] and within themselves, so that it will become clear unto them that this [revelation] is indeed the truth. [Still] is it not enough [for them to know] that thy Sustainer is witness unto everything?”

(Qur’an: Fussilat: 41: 53)

From the Islamic perspective, this Qur’an is regarded as a sign, the word (ayat qauliyyah) from God in as much as the whole creations in the universe including mankind itself contain God’s sign, the handiwork of God (ayat kauniyyah). Both would inevitably point man to the same author, God, Who is the Creator, Sustainer and Cherisher of the universe. The Qur’an always asserts that this universe cannot be the outcome of mere accident, not a result of chance from random chaos which certain scientist purports, and therefore would seemed to be purposeless. Rather, the Qur’an invites mankind to contemplate creation to discover that everything in nature and creation has purpose, contains manifestation of wisdom or a Will recognizable by man, which therefore inevitably indicates to him existence of a Creator, God. To merely ascribe these wonderful creations to “nature”, a formless entity randomly produced by chance (i.e. a non-being), and not from a Being which is self-aware and have a will of its own who has created - is unsatisfactory. It only reveals the arrogance of modern man who clings to the notion of creation coming out from mere chance, no matter how remote such a probability is to him. And in time thinking man will have to shed this arrogance when they discover much more fascinating, amazing discoveries which cannot be ascribe to mere chance that it will debunk the atheistic notion regarding creation, held thus far. It prophecies that man will see these “in the utmost horizons [of the universe]”, i.e. in the field of astronomy and space travel; as well as “within themselves” i.e. alluding perhaps to biology, medical sciences, genetics, psychology, etc. that knowledge which pertains to human being and his knowledge of the self.

For example in one verse, it invites mankind to analyse His creation thus:

وَٱلسَّمَآءَ بَنَيۡنَـٰهَا بِأَيۡيْدٍ۬ وَإِنَّا لَمُوسِعُونَ

.

وَٱلۡأَرۡضَ فَرَشۡنَـٰهَا فَنِعۡمَ ٱلۡمَـٰهِدُونَ وَمِن ڪُلِّ شَىۡءٍ

.
خَلَقۡنَا زَوۡجَيۡنِ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تَذَكَّرُونَ

“And it is We who have built the universe with [Our creative] power; and, verily, it is We who are steadily expanding it. And the earth have We spread out wide – and how well have We ordered it! And in everything have We created opposites, so that you might bear in mind [that God alone is One].”

(Qur’an: az-Zaariyat: 51: 47-49)

In the above, the author alludes to the creation of the universe. What is interesting or rather amazing is the phrase “We who are steadily expanding it.” – it explicitly states that the universe is not static but is ever expanding! This assertion had remained unnoticed, (rather man was not able to verify it – neither proving its truth nor to categorically refute it) - Not until the late 20th century with better understanding of Einstein’s special theory of relativity, aided with better technology in astronomy and astrophysics, better telescope etc. scientists have now confirmed that the universe indeed is expanding. This conclusion meant that the universe must have originated from a centre somewhere, a single mass or point of origin, and since then is ever expanding. This led to scientists accepting the “theory of the Big Bang” – this conclusion as well as another accepted scientific theory which states that living things must have originated from water, have already been asserted more than 1400 years ago and preserved in the Qur’an:

أَوَلَمۡ يَرَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوٓاْ أَنَّ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٲتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضَ ڪَانَتَا

.

رَتۡقً۬ا فَفَتَقۡنَـٰهُمَا‌ۖ

.

وَجَعَلۡنَا مِنَ ٱلۡمَآءِ كُلَّ شَىۡءٍ حَىٍّ‌ۖ أَفَلَا يُؤۡمِنُونَ

“Are, then, they who are bent on denying the truth not aware that the heavens and the earth were [once] one single entity, which We then parted asunder? – and that We made out of water every living thing? – Will they not, then, [begin to] believe?”

(Qur’an: al-Anbiya’: 21: 30)

What is significant about ‘finger-tips’ and resurrection?

Another amazing verse, which may not be understood profoundly in the past but with the scientific knowledge we have today, indeed is very significant, is this reference to our ‘finger-tips’:

أَيَحۡسَبُ ٱلۡإِنسَـٰنُ أَلَّن نَّجۡمَعَ عِظَامَهُ ۥ

.

بَلَىٰ قَـٰدِرِينَ عَلَىٰٓ أَن نُّسَوِّىَ بَنَانَهُ ۥ

.

بَلۡ يُرِيدُ ٱلۡإِنسَـٰنُ لِيَفۡجُرَ أَمَامَهُ

“Does man think that We cannot [resurrect him and] bring his bones together again? Yea indeed, We are able to make whole his very finger-tips!”

(Qur’an: al-Qiyamah: 75: 3-4)

What is there in the finger-tips? In the past this does not mean much, but the author mentions this 1400 years ago as though anticipating that man in time will understand profoundly this reference. Today, we know of the amazing fact that no two finger-prints are exactly the same. Each one of us has a unique identity and has been sophisticatedly created. This shows that our own creation as a human cannot be random, because outcome of random chance usually will tend to produce several identical resultants. To refer then to the area of the fingertips where the pattern of each finger printing will have to be unique (not repeated ever again), yet it can fit all permutation which encompass the total number of every human being, displays the work of a conscious Will, of the Creator with the highest artistry. To deny God’s existence would be sheer arrogance because today modern man prides themselves as being creator of yet smaller micro-chips, nano technology etc. yet they ascribe the creation of their own human self with all its apparent sophistication, to no one but product of mere chance in nature. And they conveniently deny the possibility of resurrection because they have denied the existence of God. The above verse is warning man that most certainly, after death they will each be resurrected individually and as distinct as their personal identity on earth has been – because God, the Creator of man in the first instance is surely capable of re-making man whole again.

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Notes:


[1] His full name was ‘Abd al-‘Uzza ibn Abdul Mutalib. “Abu Lahab” (meaning ‘father of flame’) was a nickname on account of expressed glowing countenance (according to Baghawi, Zamakhshari and Razi).

[2] Authentic tradition reported by Muslim, Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, Ahmad ibn Hanbal etc.

[3] Reported by Bukhary.

[4]” In the Qur’anic phrase “fee-bidw-‘i si-neen” (“in a few years”) the Arabic term “bidw-‘ “denotes any number between three and ten.

[5] Maurice Bucaille “The Bible, The Qur’an and Science” chapter on the Exodus pp 239.

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