Is the Quran the true word of God?

Answer 1

Yes, Quran reflects real God word revelation to prophet Muhammad (PBUH) through the angel Gabriel and in its original revelation language (Arabic) without a single letter change or alterations. Ii is preserved unchanged since its revelation. It is the only book in the world that is memorized fully by heart by millions of Muslims allover the world. It is recited daily by all world Muslims five times a day during praying and is recited as on its own ritual worship. Refer to question below.

Additional informationWhen Muhammad encountered Gabriel, and Gabriel delivered the first words of God to Muhammad, the words being recited were unlike anything anyone had heard before. This was in fulfilment of two prophecies: Moses said: "And God will put His words in his mouth" and Jesus said: "And he will not speak from himself; but whatsoever he hears from the Father, that shall he speak".

When Muhammad recited the words of the Qur'an - every time more were revealed to him - the people of his city, Mecca, were amazed. They had no idea how this man could speak words more beautiful than any poetry, more powerful and moving than the speech of any orator. In the Qur'an, God posed a challenge to people: "If you think this book is from anyone other than the Lord of the Universe, then make even one chapter like it".

Recited in Arabic the Qur'an is like a beautiful melody that moves people to tears. It is an explanation of all things. It clarifies where the Jews and Christians have made mistakes in their religious beliefs. It explains with full detail the purpose of creation and what we will all encounter on the Day of Judgment. And it mentions things about the Universe, the Earth, and human Biology that have only been confirmed by science in the last century.

The Qur'an is the literal Word of God - placed into Muhammad's mouth.

Additional Hint It is understandable that any non Muslim (Christian, Jewish, Atheist, ...) will claim that Quran is not true word of God otherwise they would have believed in the Quran and believe in prophet Muhammad as God prophet and consequently believe in Islam and convert to be Muslims. One of those non Muslims say that :

"My idea is that the Koran is a kind of cocktail of texts that were not all understood even at the time of Muhammad. Many of them may even be a hundred years older than Islam itself. Even within the Islamic traditions there is a huge body of contradictory information, including a significant Christian substrate; one can derive a whole Islamic anti-history from them if one wants. The Qur'an claims for itself that it is 'mubeen,' or clear, but if you look at it, you will notice that every fifth sentence or so simply doesn't make sense. Many Muslims will tell you otherwise, of course, but the fact is that a fifth of the Qur'anic text is just incomprehensible. This is what has caused the traditional anxiety regarding translation. If the Qur'an is not comprehensible, if it can't even be understood in Arabic, then it's not translatable into any language. That is why Muslims are afraid. Since the Qur'an claims repeatedly to be clear but is not-there is an obvious and serious contradiction. Something else must be going on."

To those, I say that why no one asking is The Bible or the Torah a true God word. Sure no one (Muslim or non Muslim) because Muslims believe that both Torah and the Bible are God holy books (although the current texts are altered and modified). I call all who want to know the truth to read about Quran Scientific miracles and to read about the rabbis, priests, scients, and many others who converted to Islam to know on what basis they converted to Islam and why they got convinced about the Quran authenticity. Only after that, they can answer whether Quran is true words of God or not.

Proofs on why Quran is true word of God Quran is true word of God with the same language of God revelation.

Quran is God revelations to Prophet Mohamed (peace upon him). These revelations of Quran by God to Prophet Mohamed was through the Angel Gabriel and started in year 610 AD when prophet Mohamed was in Mecca (Makkah) and was by then 40 years old. The revelations continued since then and was completed by year 632 AD (year of death of the prophet).

The long period for full revelation of the Quran (around 22 years) allowed the Quran to be fully memorized and documented by many Muslims. It was recited in the mosque by prophet Mohamed during the daily five prayers without single letter change. Many Muslims since then until now are memorizing Quran fully without single letter difference. This explains why Quran remains by God will, and will remain by God will, without single letter change.

For those who are seeking the truth and are interested in the proofs behind Quran revelation by God and that Quran is not a human written text, they can refer to the related question below and the related link for more details.

However, it is enough to highlight few issues as follow:

1. Some historians claim that prophet Muhammad wrote the Quran by himself. Arguments against this claim are:

• Prophet Muhammad was an illiterate man who had no formal education in any science, language, religious or secular.

• Quran speaks about a variety of branches of science like: Astronomy, Embryology, Hydrology, Geology, Sociology, Psychology, Oceanography, Law etc. including lots of scientific statements that were validated only recently and were not known in the time of the prophet.

• It was not known about prophet Muhammad any scholarly tendencies or achievements until the age of forty (when he received the first verses of Quran). So, how this illiterate man suddenly brings about a book like the Quran including an ideological and religious revolution that changed history?

• Why prophet Muhammad (peace be on him), if he authored the Quran, honor the virgin Mary (May Allah be pleased with her), the mother of Jesus (peace be on him) as the best woman over all women on earth over all ages until day of judgment (an honor that even not offered by the bible) while not mentioning his own family members with a single word and even not mentioning any name of them.?

• If he had authored the Quran, why he didn't claim this authorship of Quran and consequently gaining higher prestige among his followers who may consider him as a God.

• Why he mentioned Quran verses that reprimand him (as that of chapter 33, verse 37 and chapter 80 verses 1-3) if he wrote Quran by himself?.

2. Some others claim that Prophet Muhammad copied the Quran from the Bible. Arguments against this claim are:

• No Arabic version of the Bible was available at the time of Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him). The oldest Arabic version of the New Testament was published by Erpenius in 1616 AD (about one thousand years after Quran start of revelation)

• Quran included correct scientific information on some incidents that are scientifically incorrect in the bible (e.g. sun was created after the creation of earth Genesis 1:9-19 and vegetation was created before the Sun-Genesis 1:11-13, 14-19). had prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) copied the information from the Bible and corrected the mistakes before mentioning it in the Quran? In addition, Quran includes lots of other scientific statements, that currently proven as correct, and not mentioned in the Bible.

• How so many Jews and Christians, including many who were were scholars in their religion, converted to Islam if there was doubt that Prophet Muhammad was copying from their scriptures?

• If Quran has some preachings or tales that are similar to that in the Bible, then this is because all holy books came from a single source (God).

3. Some others claim that a person or group of persons taught Muhammad (peace be on him) on how to write the Quran. Arguments against this claim are:

• If this is true, then why not discovered a single teacher of them in the time of the prophet.

• Quran was revealed over 23 years and not at once. Is it logic that that someone or more taught prophet Muhammad over a period of without being known.

• Sometimes Quran revelations occurred in the presence of the people and they witnessed how the prophet receives the Quran revelation.

• Why the teacher, who taught Quran to the prophet, didn't claim it and its credit to himself?

• Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) was surrounded by his companions all the time and every minute detail of his life was recorded. How could Muhammad (peace be on him) make frequent secret visits to that mysterious teacher or teachers for 23 years without being caught even once?

• How could so many Jews and Christians convert to Islam [some of them were scholars in their religion] if Muhammad (peace be on him) was learning from their priests or rabbis?

Other proofsIt is the true word of God as is proved in the following lines.

Proofs and Evidences that Quran is from Allah (swt):

1. Quran says it is from Allah:

The revelation of the Book (Quran) is from the Lord of the worlds (21:2)

2. Challenges:

The Quran gave a challenge to the whole world that if they are so competent they should bring another Quran in the following verse: Produce a Quran like it (17:88)

But so far no one has been able to put up another Quran.

Then Quran lowered the challenge respectively and even then no one put forward his/her version of Quran Produce 10 Suras like it (11:13)

Produce One Sura like it (10:38)

Produce One Sura somewhat comparable to it (2:23)

Thus is means that it is a Divine word that no human has been able to produce a Quran.

3. No Contradictions:Also, Quran is free from any contradictions and this is a proof that it is not coming from a human but from God himself.

"Don't they ponder over the Quran, had it been from anyone besides Allah, they would surely have found therein many contradictions (4:82)

4. No crookedness:

An Arabic Quran without any crookedness...(39:28)

5. Prophecies fulfilled:

Many of the prophesies in Quran have been fulfilled. And it is not possible for a person to see so much further into the future to make that exact a prophecy. Thus it means that it is from God.

Victory of Rome over Persia (30:2-4)

Allah makes superpower of those Muslims who believe and do good works (24:55)

Islam will prevail over all other religions (48:28)

6. Answer to every question

Every time they come to you with an argument, We bring you the truth and

the best of explanations. (Qur'an, 25:33)

7. Solution to every problem

O mankind! there hath come to you a direction (QURAN) from your Lord and a healing for the (diseases) in your hearts,- and for those who believe, a guidance and a Mercy.

[Quran, 10:57]

8. Scientific facts: See page on Quran and Science

Refer to links below

Answer 2

Answer 1 yes it is;

Holy Quran is the ultimate book of guidance for mankind in accordance with Islam. It is an article of faith with every Muslim that it is the word of Allah Almighty and there is no debate possible on the subject matter.

Islam did not originate in the time of Prophet Muhammad PBUH rather it was the religion of Adam A.S, Moses A.S, Jesus A.S. Allah sent 124,000 prophets on the face of this Earth, each meant for certain nation and time period and as a proof of their prophet hood they all performed some miracles by the will of God just as the final messenger of God, Prophet Muhammad PBUH performed miracles but the greatest miracle of all time is the Quran itself.

The holy Quran was revealed over the period of almost 23 years 1400 years ago and it is preserved word to word even today not only in paper but also the hearts of men. The previous Holy books are no longer available in their authentic purity unlike the Quran.

Muhammad PBUH was the most honourable, trustworthy and a noble man, who has never been reported to have lied, or make any sort of mistake what so ever. His honesty is proved in the manner that even after he started preaching the Islamic message, his enemies and people who didn't believe him alike, trusted him with their property and often gave him for safe keeping. He never uttered the word of unkindness nor cursed the tribe who threw stones at him till he bled. He cleaned the house of an old non believer women who threw rubbish at him every time he walked passed his street when she was severely sick.

He taught his companions the most dignified human values. He taught them the manners and rules for everything in this life. He was the best example and inspiration for everyone. He never lied nor uttered anything useless. He had no reasons to make up a new religion of his own. Allah had chosen him as the final prophet, the indication of his arrivals were already available in the previous religious scriptures.

If the non-Muslims accuse that he called himself Prophet of God for material gains, then that is incorrect as he donated everything he had to the needy and led the most simple and honourable life. Even to an extent he was much more financially better off before prophet hood. And if they accuse him for calling himself prophet for glory then how come if he had authored the Quran, he didn't claim this authorship, consequently gaining higher prestige among his followers who may by then consider him as the God?

If he authored the Quran, why did he honor the virgin Mary (May Allah be pleased with her), the mother of Jesus PBUH as the best woman over all women until the day of judgment (an honor that even not offered by the bible) while not mentioning any of his own family members not even mentioning a single name of any of them?

There was every possibility that if Quran was created by Prophet Muhammad PBUH himself he would have been exposed and would have been called the biggest hypocrite. The time of 23 years is enough to discover any teacher if Muhammad PBUH had any. If there ever was any teacher why they didn't take the credit to themselves rather forwarding information to Muhammad PBUH? Why did so many of the priests and rabbis convert to Islam if he was only learning from them? How so many Jews and Christians, including many who were were scholars in their religion, converted to Islam if there was even a doubt that Prophet Muhammad was copying from their scriptures?

He was almost always surrounded by his companions and every minute detail about his life has been recorded, how come he managed to make secret visits to this teacher of his? His companions sometimes witnessed the revelation as to how he received it.

What are the attributes of a person who wants status and glory? He likes to wear fancy clothes; eat good food; live in palace and have guards etc. Muhammad PBUH was an amazing model of simplicity and humbleness. He even milked his own goat, mend his own clothes, repaired his own shoes, he even many a times did the household work. He never complained and was the most content and composed man. He was forever forgiving and smiling with elegance. He sat on the floor, he went to shop in the market without any guards. Even when the poor people used to invite him, he used to dine with them and eat graciously whatever was given to him.

Once prophet Muhammad PBUH was offered the leadership and wealth of entire Arabia, in return for which he had to stop preaching Islam, if by then Muhammad PBUH was after glory he would have achieved it. Once his uncle offered him to make the wealthiest man of Arabia for the sake of stopping the spread of his message of one God, rather he said 'Oh! My Uncle, even if they put the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left, I will not give up this mission until I die. Why should a person lead a life of such suffering and sacrifices when he was triumphant even with his advisories? Apart from these there were endless attempts to prevent him from spreading the message of God, his companions were put to torture but they never backed from the truth, as nothing could stop them from living the truth, not fear nor pain.

Can a person be under the false impression that he is a prophet when everything is coming from his sub conscious mind for a period of 23 years. There are several facts in the Qur'an which can disprove this. For example Qur'an mentions about several historical events which no one at the time of the prophet knew. There are several prophecies, which are, mentioned which have been fulfilled. There are several scientific facts which were known that time and had been confirmed today.

Regarding Muhammad PBUH copying material from other scriptures; he was illiterate. He couldn't read nor write from other scriptures. If Quran has some preaching or tales that are similar to that in the Bible and other holy books, then this is because all holy books are from a single true God.

Beside no Arabic version of the Bible was available at the time of Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him). The oldest Arabic version of the New Testament was published by Erpenius in 1616 AD (about one thousand years after Quran start of revelation)

Quran included correct scientific information on some incidents that are scientifically incorrect in the bible (for example: sun was created after the creation of earth Genesis 1:9-19 and vegetation was created before the Sun; Genesis 1:11-13, 14-19). How did the Prophet copy something from Bible and then correct the mistakes before mentioning it in the Quran? In addition, Quran includes lots of other scientific statements, that currently proven as correct, and not mentioned in the Bible.

Qur'an encourages reasoning. The Qur'an says that this book is a revelation from God Almighty. If it is not, then what is it? You give the other alternative which cannot be disproved.

If you want to prove Quran wrong it has falsification tests which are meant for all times.

Hud, Ch. No. 11, Verse No. 13

'Do they say he has forged it, tell them produce 10 such Surahs forged and let them call for help anyone besides Allah if they speak the truth.

And no one could produce 10 Surahs exactly like the Qur'an. Allah further simplifies the test and says in;

Yunus, Ch. No. 10, Verse No. 38

That do they say he has forged it, say produce one Surah exactly forged like the Qur'an. One Surah forged exactly like the Qur'an and call to help anyone besides Allah, if you speak the truth and they could not do it'.

Then Allah gives an easiest of easy of the test. The easiest falsification test in;

Baqarah, Ch. No. 2, Verse No. 23 and 24

'And if you are in doubt as what we have revealed to our servant from time to time then produce a Surah somewhat similar to it. And call forth your helpless and witnesses if there are any besides Allah, if you speak the truth but you cannot. And of a surety you cannot. Then fear the fire whose fuel shall be men and stones…'

People have often tried to produce something similar in order to prove Quran wrong. Even some of the oldest works are still present but all of them, yet all of them failed miserably and it makes their work a laughing stock.

Nisa, Ch. No. 4, Verse No. 82

'That do not they consider the Qur'an with care? Had it been from anyone besides Allah, there would have been many contradictions. There would have been many discrepancies'.

For Muslims, ultimate yardstick is the Qur'an. It is the criteria to judge right from the wrong. But for an atheist, for an educated man who does not believe in God, science is his yardstick.

Who will be the first person who will be able to tell you the mechanism of an unknown object which no one has ever seen or heard of before? Answer is the creator. Similarly Quran has numerous scientific facts which no one at the time of Qurans revelation i.e. 1400 years ago knew or could think of.

Al-Ambiya, Ch. No. 21, Verse No. 30

'Do not the unbelievers see' that the heavens and the earth were joined together and we clove them asunder'.

How come Qur'an says it speaks about big bang theory? It speaks in a nutshell.

Previously people thought the world was flat and people were afraid to venture too far lest they would fall over.

Luqman, Ch. No. 31, Verse No. 29

'It is Allah who merges the night into day and merges the day into night'. Merging means a slow and a gradual change. The night gradually changes into day and the day gradually changes to night. This phenomenon is not possible if the world is flat. It is only possible if the world is spherical.

Al-Zumar, Ch. No. 39, Verse No. 5

'The night overlaps the day and the day overlaps the night'. The Arabic word used is 'Tanwara' as though you coil a turban round the head, this overlapping of the night over the day and the day over the night is only possible if the earth is spherical. It is not possible if the earth is flat.

Al-Furqan, Ch. No. 25, Verse No. 61

'Blessed is he who has created the constellation and placed there in a lamp and a moon which has reflected light. The Arabic word for moon is 'Qamar' and the light described there is 'Munir' which is borrowed light or 'Noor' which is a reflection of light. The Qur'an mentions that the light of the moon is reflected light, you say you discovered it today how come it is mentioned in the Qur'an 1400 years ago?

Today science is advanced, recently we came to know that the sun besides revolving it also rotates it is not stationary it rotates about its axis. The sun has got black spots and it takes about 25 days for these black spots to complete one rotation.

Ambiya, Ch. No. 21, Verse No. 33

'It is Allah who has created the night and the day, the sun and the moon, each one rotating about its own axis. It revolves and rotates, each one rotating about its own axis. You tell me who could have mentioned this scientific fact in the Qur'an which was discovered recently?

Zumar, Ch. No. 39, Verse No. 21

'Sees not thou that it is Allah who sends down rain from the top, from the sky and leads it into the sources of the earth and causes fields of various colors to grow'.

In several places the Qur'an describes in detail this water cycle which was discovered by Bernard Palacy in 1580. Who could have mentioned in the Qur'an, 1400 years ago?

Naba, Ch. No. 78, Verse No. 6 and 7

'We have made the earth as an expanse and the mountains as stakes'.

The Qur'an says that the mountains are made as stakes as pegs. The mountains are like text peg. Qur'an says that we have made the mountains to prevent the shaking of the earth.

Al-Ambiya, Ch. No. 21, Verse No. 31

'We have set on the earth, mountains standing firm lest it would shake'.

Today science tells that salt water and sweet water do not mix. There is a partition. The Qur'an says 'Barzak' an unseen barrier and this phenomenon is very much evident in Cape Town, which is the southernmost tip of Africa. Even in Egypt when the Nile flows into the Mediterranean Sea. And the best example is the Gulf Stream which runs for thousands of miles. Both the waters are present but they do not mix.

Furqan, Ch. No. 25, Verse No. 53

'It is Allah who has created two bodies of free flowing water. One sweet and palpable and the other salt and bitter and between them, he has made a barrier which is forbidden to be trespassed'.

Rahmaan, Ch. No. 55, Verse No. 19 and 20

'He has made two bodies of water between them is a barrier which is forbidden to be trespassed'.

Ambiya, Ch. No. 21, Verse No. 30

'We have created every living things from water, will they not they believe'

Imagine in the deserts of Arabia where there is scarcity of water who would have thought that every living creature is made of water. If they had to guess, they would have guessed everything but water and today science tells us that cytoplasm which is the main constituent of the cell it contains 80% of water. And every living creature contains 50 to 90 percent water. Who could have mentioned this fact in the Qur'an 1400 years ago?

Al-Ambiya, Chapter No. 21, Verse No. 30 and Nur, Chapter No. 24, Verse No 45

'Every animal is made up of water'.

Furqaan, Chapter No. 25, Verse No. 54

'Every human being is made of water'.

Ta Ha, Chapter No. 20, Verse No. 53

'The plant have been created in pairs' which you discovered recently.

Rad, Chapter No. 13, Verse No. 3

'The fruits are created in pairs'.

Nahl, Chapter No. 16, Verse No. 68 and 69

'It is the female bee which goes out and collects the honey'.

It is not the male bee which science has discovered recently and in the honey, there is a healing for mankind, that there are antiseptic properties. Russian soldiers used it to cover their wounds which left very little scar tissue. It is used in the treatment of certain Allergies.

Naml, Chapter No. 27, Verse No. 17 and 18

Says that the ants are talking to one another. Today science tells us the insect or animal which has the closest resemblance to the lifestyle of the human beings is the ants. It buries the dead, has a very higher system of communication, has market place etc.

Nahl, Chapter No. 16, Verse No. 66 and Muminun, Chapter No. 23, Verse No. 21

Qur'an speaks about physiology. It describes the blood circulation and the production of milk. And 600 years after the Qur'an speaks about blood circulation, Ibn Nafeez discovered it and 1000 years after the revelation of the Qur'an, did William Harvey made it famous to the western world.

Tariq, Chapter No. 86, Verses 5 to 7

'Does no man think from what he is created? He is created from a drop emitted from between his backbone and rib'.

And today we know, that the genital organs, testes and the ovaries, during the embryonic age, develop from where the kidney is placed - between the backbone and the 11th and the 12th rib.

Najm, Chapter no 53, Verse no 45 and 46 and Qiyamah, Chapter No. 75, Verse No. 37 to 39

Says that it is the male which is responsible for the sex of the child which we discovered recently. The Qur'an says that the embryo is covered that the fetus is covered in three layers of darkness, which is confirmed today, the Qur'an describes the embryonic stages in great detail.

Muminum, Chapter No. 23, Verse 12 to 14, and in Hajj, Chapter No. 23, Verse No. 5

It says that 'The human being have been created from a minute quantity of liquid'. From something which clings, a leech like substance, then made into a 'mudgah' a chewed like substance, then made into 'izamaan' that is bones, then clothed with 'Laham' that is flesh

Sajdah, Chapter No. 32, Verse No. 9 and Insan, Chapter No. 76, Verse No. 2

'It is Allah who gives you the faculty of hearing and sight'

Today medical knowledge tells us, that hearing comes first. It is developed completely by the 5th month of pregnancy. And then the eyes is open by the 7th month.

Sajadah, Chapter 32, Verses 1 to 3

'Alif Laam Meem'. This is the revelation of the book in which there is no doubt from the Lord of this world. Or do they say He has forged it. Nay, It's the truth from your Lord. That you may admonish a people to whom no Warner had come before you in order that they may receive guidance.

Jaziyah, Chapter 45, Verses 1 to 6

'Ha Meem'. The revelation of the book is from Allah. The exalted in powerful of wisdom. Verily, in the heaven and the earth, are signs for those who believe. And in the creation of yourselves and the fact that animals are scattered through the earth, are signs for those of assured faith. And in the attenuation of night and day, and the fact that Allah sends down sustenance from the sky, and revolves therewith the earth after its death. And in the change of winds, are signs for those that are wise. Such are the signs of Allah, which we rehearse to you in truth. Then in what exposition will they believe after rejecting Allah and His signs? Verily Allah speaks the truth.

(To know more about the scientific knowledge, which is mentioned in the Qur'an, refer to Dr. Zakir Naik's videocassette 'Qur'an and Modern Science Conflict or Conciliation'.)

Answer 2: It most probably is not.

While a person may choose to believe that the Qur'an is the word of God, such belief is not actually demonstrable.

Muslims, Baha'i, the individuals of numerous minor religions, and the Qur'an itself all claim that the Qur'an is the Word of God. However, the claim that the Qur'an is Divine is at best questionable. It is impossible to prove that the Qur'an is not a Divine Holy Book simply because it is impossible to prove a negative in an absolute sense. For example, it is impossible to absolutely prove that there is no teapot in the Asteroid Belt, because our telescopes can't see something that small. There is no disagreement between Islamic Apologists and Critics that the Qur'an was physically written on Earth by humans (as opposed to falling out of the sky as a fully written book). Islamic Tradition asserts that different groups in the Early Caliphate transcribed Mohammed's revelations. However, what splits the Islamic Apologists from the Critics is the claim that humans wrote the Qur'an with Divine Assistance and this is a positive claim, an assertion of information. Muslims understand rightly that they have to justify this belief. Therefore, if all of their positive arguments can be dispelled, then the Qur'an returns, by default to human authorship without provable Divine Assistance, even if we assume a divinity capable and interested in providing Divine Revelation.

In bold are the arguments proferred by Muslims and the subsequent paragraphs seek to refute those arguments.

1) Lack of Changes in the Qur'an Text: Muslims hold that the Qur'anic Text has never been altered from the moment of revelation until today. This is generally considered a defensible claim since most Qur'ans that have been discovered from the Middle Ages are consistent with the current Qur'an. However, recent Archaeology has discovered Qur'ans in Sana'a, Yemen which have small differences with the current Qur'an. It is nothing major, but it shows that the Qur'an has not been consistently preserved. Additionally, even according to Islamic Tradition, Caliph 'Othman burned all of the Qur'ans that did not agree with his standardized version, meaning that there must have been some incorrect copies. The Bible was compiled over 600 years, whereas the Qur'an was compiled in, at most 200 years, but probably much less. There are fewer transcription problems when the first revelation and final revelation come closer in history.

Additionally, even if the Qur'anic text is without a difference as to how it was 1400 years ago, that only shows faithful copying, and not necessarily Divine authorship.

2) Illiteracy: There is the claim that Mohammed's illiteracy proves that God inspired him. How else could he craft poetry or read the Bible? While the latter will be covered in #3, the former is easy to explain; poetry was an oral contest. Arab Poets would come together in the marketplace and have poetry contests much like "slam poetry" in the modern day. Being illiterate, while a possible hurdle, would not prevent someone with an incredible acumen from creating incredible poetry. There is also the question of how he could create a scholarly work if he were illiterate, but he was never tasked with writing the Qur'an, only speaking it. Illiteracy does not pose a problem to Mohammed having created the Qur'an himself and having it written down by others.

3) Bible Stories: There is the question of how Mohammed knew Biblical stories without a Bible to read. Of course, the assumption here is that a person would only be able to learn Bible stories by reading the Bible. This is not necessary. There were numerous Christian and Jewish groups who practiced their faith quite openly in Arabia and during his younger years, Mohammed could easily have spoken to them and learned the Bible stories. His memory may not have been perfect, so he retold some of the stories differently. It was likely that when he was confronted with this difference, he chose to blame the original sources for being wrong as opposed to himself. Also, it is worth noting that many of the differences between Biblical stories and Qur'anic stories of the same events that do not rise to textual disagreement use Jewish Midrash or Talmudic commentaries as opposed to new insights.

Additionally, there is the argument that Qur'an corrects certain scientific errors in the Bible such as greenery appearing before the sun and Noah's flood covering the whole world. While it is true that the Qur'an does not make these mistakes, it does not actually "fix them"; it just ignores the point. This is because the Qur'an is structured as a number of commands to believers and interpretations of stories that were already well known. As a result, it talks about Creation in sweeping terms as opposed to dealing with the events of every single day. As for the flood, prior to the modern age, there are no Qur'anic commentaries showing that Noah's flood was localized; this has developed recently.

Finally, some have questioned how Mohammed could have learned Bible stories on-the-spot during his 23-year revelation, but the answer was that he did not need to. He had forty years during which he was not a prophet and could learn the Bible stories that interested him. He could then take his time in retelling them.

4) Science: Qur'anic Science is as nonsensical as Biblical science. The Qur'an asserts many scientific claims that are untrue, such as: the idea that mountains hold the earth firm like tent pegs instead of plate tectonics (Q: 78:6-7), that the sky/heaven is a protected ceiling instead of a slowly thinning layer of gasses (Q: 21:32), that the Sun orbits the Earth like the moon (Q: 21:23), that two bodies of water will form a barrier instead of noting that the contents of the two bodies of water will diffuse (Q: 25:53), etc.

There are also very vague Qur'anic verses that have been adapted to refer to current scientific knowledge. For example see, Q: 21:30 (cited below). Qur'an Scientists argue that this indicates the Big Bang Theory and the fact that humans and other animals are over 60% water. However, the verse does not describe the fundamental basics of the Big Bang Theory nor does it account for all of the time between the beginning of the universe and living creatures on Earth. Additionally, the terms "heaven" and "earth" are the same ones used in the Genesis account in Arabic Christian Bibles, referring to a creation of the Earth. Similar vague Qur'anic verses are used in the following claims: that a fertilized zygote is a blood clot (Q: 22:5), that all creatures come in pairs, even bacteria (Q: 51:49), etc.

Q: 21:30: (Sahih International) Have those who disbelieved not considered that the heavens and the earth were a joined entity, and We separated them and made from water every living thing? Then will they not believe?

5) Failure to Self-Glorify: Qur'anic Apologists point to the fact that Mohammed did not refer to himself often in Qur'an and occasionally referred to himself in a less-than-flattering light as evidence he did not write it. On the contrary, Mohammed was interested in creating a unified religion for all Arabs and so would naturally stress elements such as the Jewish and Christian Prophets/Heroes/Messiahs to attract their followers as opposed to self-glorifying which would highlight his differences with their traditions.

6) Conversions of Jewish and Christian Scholars: There can be many reasons for a person to convert and some of these scholars may very well have believed that Mohammed was Prophet. Others may have believed that he was an ascendant power and wanted to join him. Additionally, Jewish and Christian scholars had been incorrect before. Rabbi Akiva was a big supporter of failed Messianic Candidate Bar Kochba around 130 C.E. Paul of Tarsus believed that Jesus would return before he died. Both were very smart men in the Jewish and Christian traditions and both were wrong.

7) No Teachers to Show Mohammed How to Write the Qur'an: This is patently false. There were numerous Jewish, Christian, Hanif, and Henotheist religious groups who could have provided the information that he would need to put together a Qur'an.

8) No Contradictions: The Qur'an challenges believers to find contradictions in its text (Q: 4:82). Well, there are many, but Muslims refuse to acknowledge them or they abrogate one of the verses (Q: 2:106). For example, the Qur'an argues in some places that God leads people astray (Q: 2:6-7, 18:57) and in other places that Iblis (the Devil) leads people astray (Q: 19:83); it argues that Jews and Christians should be treated with kindness and patience (Q: 2:109) and elsewhere it argues that they should be fought against and subdued (Q: 9:29); it argues that all of Noah's family was saved from the flood (Q: 21:76) and that one of Noah's sons died in the flood (Q: 11:42-43); it argues that a "warner" or prophet was sent to every people (Q: 10:47, 16:35-36), and that some peoples did not receive "warners" or prophets (Q: 28:46, 32:3).

9) Why Would Someone Lie?: There is an implicit assumption in this claim that either Mohammed truthfully revealed the Divinely Inspired Qur'an or Mohammed falsely created a book and pretended that it was God's. This ignores the very real possibility that he could have written a book of his own while truly believing that God had told him the information. However, even if we assert that Mohammed lied, there are many noble reasons for him to have done so. He wanted to end centuries of Arab internecine strife and end corruption in Mecca. Those are laudable goals and may have been sufficient to induce him to lie, if you refuse to accept the possibility that he truly believed that God revealed the Qur'an to him when God actually did not.

10) Satan is not the author: If you disprove Satan as the author, that does not say anything as to whether or not God is the author.

Answer 3

• I wonder that no one can prove that the Bible and/or Torah are God revealed holy books while they ask for proofs that Qur'an is God holy book. -- Refer to the Related Links below for those questions.

• Refer to related question below for more information on the proofs that Qur'an is God revealed holy book.
• See the Discussion Section for comments on this Answer.

Answer 3

It's hard to say. The Bible can be contradictory or irrational at times; and sometimes there is sublime wisdom. My personal opinion is that it is a collection of personal opinions; sometimes mistranslated or miscopied, sometimes downright wrong (the death penalty for witches, adulterers and homosexuals, for example), and sometimes valuable.

"All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;"

--2 Timothy 3:16, New American Standard Bible

The writers recorded their thoughts inspired by their concept of God. That doesn't mean that every word of the Bible is literal truth.

Answer 4

Yes

Quran is real God words revealed to prophet Muhammad (PBUH) by God through the angel Jibril (or Gabriel). Quran revelation started in year 610 AD through year 632 AD (year of prophet Muhammad; peace be upon him; death). Refer to questions below for more information. Quran is the only miracle that remained in our lives from all prophets. Without the Quran, nothing is provable about the prophets.

Answer 5

This is, of course, a contentious question and typically the answer will depend on whether you are a pious Muslim, and therefore believe as an article of faith that the Qur'an is the word of God, or you are not a Muslim and argue based either on faith or based on Western scholarship that the Qur'an is a man-made document. I encourage you to see all of the arguments and decide which one makes the most sense at this Related Question where both sides of the argument are well represented: Did Prophet Muhammad write the Qur'an himself as claimed by many non-Muslims?

Answer 6

Of course, Quran is the right words of God as revealed to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

Answer 7

imaan